Did I Tell You?
Did I tell you that I finished my Celtic Dreams Cardigan?
You’ll remember that this is a cardigan version of Beth Brown-Reinsel’s wonderful “Celtic Dreams,” knit out of my CSA-share yarn (Cormo/mohair blend) from Juniper Moon Farm. I even had the perfect buttons all ready. I think I’m going to run a ribbon along the inside behind the buttons to make it look tidier inside, but otherwise … done. I finished it almost exactly a year after I finished my last Aran cardigan which I made out of the yarn I recycled from my original Celtic Dreams pullover.
Did I tell you I need to buy a zipper?
For something I can’t entirely show you in case a family member who’s not supposed to know about it sees the blog?
Did I tell you that Chappy still has a tick embedded in his face, poor boy?
He picked up a little, sesame-seed-sized tick a month or so ago and I started to pull it out with one of our “Ticked Off” spoon gadgets–which have never failed me–except the stupid tick was so tiny that instead of coming out, it stripped, with the head left in place. I called my vet to ask what I should do and they said to just leave it alone, which was backed up by the JMF group on Ravelry. So … I’ve tried very hard not to touch it, but I’ve kept an eye on the spot. It’s conveniently located just under an inch from his eye, so the little lump of callous that’s formed around it is easy to spot. (If this were on his back somewhere, you can just forget it. I’d never have found it again in all that fluffy brown fur!
May I just say here what a wonderful dog I have? Because, with that tick an inch from his eye, attached to his sensitive facial skin, he let me poke and prod and pull with tweezers and such without a single complaint. It never fails to amaze me how GOOD he is when I need to do stuff like this.
Did I tell you I’ve been spinning?
After lots of emails back and forth with Majacraft, I finally got the spinning head on my new Aura replaced. They sent a replacement for it right away when I told them about the crack, but I couldn’t–really Could Not–get the whorls off the original one. I got the little plumb screws out and then … no amount of pulling or twisting would budge the whorls, so they had to send me replacements for those, TOO, which is just crazy but much appreciated. Their customer service is awesome.
So, I’ve just finished spinning my third bobbin of singles. This is corriedale from the Sheep Shed that we picked up at Rhinebeck a couple years ago. (Technically Mom picked it up because it was my birthday present exactly 1.5 years ago.)
Anyway, I’d always planned on these three lots of roving would make a 3-ply yarn. Two plies of the olive green, one ply of the lighter green. And how awesome are these bobbins that they HOLD 8 ounces of yarn?
Of course the plying will be challenging because I only have one other bobbin, so once it’s filled with plied yarn, I’ll have to wind all the yarn off before I can continue. Not ideal, but … hey, I’m still happy that I got all of each color on ONE bobbin.
Did I tell you I had a guest post at Susan’s Juniper Moon Farm blog?
Yep, and doing one of my favorite things–reviewing a knitting book.
For that matter, Juniper Moon Farm is coming out with a commercial line of yarn in the Fall and I can’t wait to see it. Mom and I are seriously hoping Susan comes to NJ on her promotional tour and that we get to see her.
Did I tell you I’ve been doing some writing?
I unofficially participated in Script Frenzy last month–the screenwriting version of NaNoWriMo, only instead of writing a 50,000 word novel, you write a 100-page script. I took one of my unpublished novels–one I’ve always vividly pictured as a movie anyway–and converted it to a script. Of course, I’ve never written a script before, so I’m sure there are all sorts of things I’m missing, or structure things I got wrong, but … that was fun! In fact, I think the story is much stronger as a screenplay than as a novel, so good for that.
Did I tell you that my niece and nephew are getting too grown up?
My nephew is graduating high school next month. How did this happen? My little baby nephew is almost a foot taller than me, turning 18, and finishing his basic education. He’ll be heading to community college for the next two years which I don’t think he’s particularly thrilled with, but at college prices these days, it’s the only option he’s got for higher-education (grin). He’s having a hard time finding a summer job because there just really aren’t that many available where they live (or anywhere?), but we all hope he finds something. Not only for gas money (!), but because he gets bored so easily.
My niece is finishing up her senior year at college–though she has one more semester to go. She’s also working at the Merry-go-Round theater in NY state this summer, building and painting sets, which is exactly what she wants to do for a living. We won’t get so see her all summer, therefore, but we’re happy for her anyway.
Did I tell you I bought some yarn?
Not a lot of yarn, but enough for a sweater. It’s Spud & Chloe “Fine” in this gorgeous gold-yellow color. I used the $50 gift card I got when I bought my new cell phone last November, so only had to pay $5 for the whole thing. I was thinking that Kate Davie’s “Deco” might be perfect for it.
Did I tell you I’m making EZ’s Green Cardigan?
(Yes, the yarn really IS green.)
You know, the cardigan that was recreated last year? (You might have read about it in Twist.) I bought the kit from Schoolhouse Press which came with the yarn … though I’m not crazy about the yarn. It also skews because it’s a singles yarn, but … hey, it came with it, right? And I don’t have anything I like better, so …
Did I tell you I have a Chocolate-Mint Plant? Sort of?
A Ravelry friend sent me a seedling to grow, but apparently the trip from Oklahoma was tough on it. Almost all the leaves came off and I’m left with pretty much just a stem. But, I put it in a pot and am hoping for the best. It’s meant to be an outside plant, but it doesn’t seem sporting to put it out there before it’s got its roots settled, don’t you think?
Did I tell you I think Chappy’s top-knot is coming back?
So far as his other health issues, he seems fine. We stopped going for platelet counts at the vet a few months ago, finally, and I haven’t seen any signs of a recurrence of the problem. Whatever caused it is a mystery. His fur has finally grown back–he lost massive amounts just as he came off the prednisone and my feeling is that it was all a reaction to the medicine. That and having any blow to your system can make your hair fall out months later when what would have been the new growth fails to come in.
Chappy used to have this adorable “top knot,” a tuft of unruly fur on top of his head that I adored.
But, since the Prednisone last fall and the flaky skin/seborrhea/bald spot thing of the last month or so … his top-knot is gone. The top of his head is sleek and smooth.
But I think he’s starting to get a little crimp to the fur on top of his head, so I’ve got hopes for his top-knot to return. Handsome though he looks with a smooth head, I kind of miss the top-knot.
Click here to subscribe via RSS
Follow me on Twitter!
Tannenbaum.
House Calls
