So, you’ve been wondering how many knitting and spinning books I have, right? Dying to know who would win my extra copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting?

Well, congratulations, Pam! She guessed on the nose, 204 books. Two hundred four.

The range of guesses was interesting, too, from 85 up to 345.

Do you want a closer look?

All my knitting and spinning books are on this one bookcase. (The one next to it is devoted to other crafts and all my writing reference books. The cookbooks are near the kitchen, and except for a few in the hallway next to the bedroom, the rest of my books are all downstairs. I still need to figure out how to catalog all of them, but I think it’s in the 2000-2100 range for total number of books–down about a third from before we moved last November.)

Anyway, here’s the top of the bookshelf.

That’s lace books, sock books, DVDs and spinning books on the top shelf. Basic how-to kind of reference books on the second shelf.

The middle shelf is devoted to pattern books, and the fourth down is for stitch dictionaries and more pattern books.

The very bottom, hiding behind the chair is where I keep all my Vogue Knitting magazines (going back to about 1987), and knitting-essay type books, as well as some of my less-favorite pattern books, that I might not really plan on using any time soon, but don’t really want to get rid of either … which is why they’re on the most inaccessible shelf.

So, Pam, I’ll need your address, please, so that I can send you your book!

Oh, and in Today’s Spinning?

That’s about 4 ounces of that never-ending roving of mine from 2005, that I told you about here. Such pretty stuff, and I still adore the color. It’s not quite so purple in normal light–it needs direct sun or a camera flash to bring it out. Mostly it just looks like this beautiful, medium gray with a hint of purple. I love it.

I’ve also finished the body of my sweater and am working on the hood. I just have to finish that and knit the inside of the pockets and this baby is done!

We’ve had a great weekend, too. The weather, miraculously this summer, cooperated for the second weekend in a row, and we took Chappy to the park on Saturday, where I neglected to take a single picture. (Sorry.) He had a wonderful time, especially walking on the horse trails with their extra-interesting smells, and the chance to get his feet wet in the stream. He completely zonked out after we got home, though–and so did I! I had a nice nap on Saturday afternoon–though my eyelids gave me very little choice.

Today, we had blueberry pancakes for breakfast, and I baked a cake. I made it up myself–a Pineapple-Coconut-Lime cake with coconut-flavored frosting. It came out pretty well, if I do say so.

I didn’t get as much writing done as I should have, but I’m blaming Homefront for that. Do you remember that TV show from 1991-1993? With a young Kyle Chandler? I adored it and still regret that it’s not available on DVD. It IS, however, available on YouTube, and frustrating as it is that the quality is not ideal and each episode is broken into five or six parts to keep the videos short enough for YouTube, I’ve been loving rewatching it. (And yes, I find that I still love Ginger’s hairstyles as much as ever.)

I’ve also been reading about World War I and the immediate social aftereffects as research for my new book, the sequel to my After-Titanic story. You know, because (1) I’m enjoying the characters so much, I want to see what happens next and (2) I’m assuming that After Titanic WILL get published, and having a sequel coming along behind is never a bad thing.

It’s partly because of the WWI research that I got the yen to rewatch Homefront, in fact, even though it takes place after a completely different war. Many of the issues are the same, though not all–no Prohibition to speak of, for example. But still–the idea of men returning from war and expecting things to be the same when in fact they’ve changed is an intriguing (if sad) one.

Which reminds me … I should really be writing that right now, shouldn’t I? So, if you’ll excuse me…

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:204 // 4 Comments »

This little guy? My Chappy? He’s having a practically perfect weekend. In fact, as “just us, no guests” weekends go? There’s not much that would make it better. (Other than the forecast possible thunderstorms later today.)

First, it’s been blessedly cool compared to, well, basically the entire summer. Like, in the 75-80 degree range, and with no humidity to speak of. You can step outside without automatically saying, “Whoo! It’s hot!” which is a pretty rare event this year.

Then, yesterday, Saturday, we took him out for coffee. That is, Mom and I drank the coffee–Chappy doesn’t need the caffeine. But it wasn’t just the three of us.

Dad came, too! This is practically unheard of, and only happened because bribed him with eggs for breakfast because we had a Mara’s gift-coupon for buy-one-get-one-free.

Afterwards, we walked around town, I stopped at the bank, and Chappy insisted on stopping at the doggy-specialty store, the one with its own bakery. That was funny, actually. The store is on our town’s main street, and we’ve stopped in a few times to buy biscuits. But, they also have an entrance in the back, on Bloomfield Avenue across from the parking lot where the car was. We were walking back tot he car, and Chappy literally pulled me up the stairs to the door, as if he’d read the “Come visit our bakery” sign next to them. It was funny because we’ve NEVER gone in that way and hadn’t even realized that we COULD, but Chappy read the sign or followed his nose and … there we were. So, yes, my clever dog got a package of freshly-baked biscuits. It’s only fair.

We had a nice, lazy afternoon and then, the four of us all went out AGAIN, this time for supper. We went to Stewart’s, which not only has the best root beer, but has car service. You know, where you pull up in your car, and they bring your food on a tray that hangs on the window? They’ve been around for ages and since it’s about the only restaurant we ever take Chappy to (other than coffeeshops), it’s his favorite. They bring Milkbones out to the dogs, too, which he appreciates, even if he prefers bites of hamburgers and fries.

Today, we had a walk, I baked a pound cake, and then I plied a couple hundred yards of yarn while watching “Wag the Dog.” I haven’t seen it in years and had forgotten how much the Political-Science major, cynical-side of me really loves that movie. Dustin Hoffman is wonderfully hilarious as the producer. His response to every set-back is “What? That’s nothing,” followed by some Hollywood anecdote about something that was even worse.

The yarn is all plied, though I lost track counting while I wound it on to the skeinwinder, so I’m not sure what the yardage is. It came out pretty, though, and pretty consistent, which is always a treat. Once again, this is “Sock Hop” yarn from Crown Mountain Farms, in the “Twist and Shout” color, which I’ve had waiting to be spun for a few years now.

Next up for spinning?

If you’ve been reading long enough, you should recognize this.

Five years ago for my birthday, Mom gave me three pounds of this merino/tussah silk roving from the Sheep Shed (bought at Rhinebeck a couple weeks before my birthday). Three pounds of it. I don’t know what I had been thinking. Over the next year or two or three, I spun about two pounds of it, but at different times and different skill levels and after referring to it for months as the “never-ending fiber,” finally ended up stashing the last pound of it.

Well, it’s time it got spun, don’t you think? And right now, while I’m “in practice,” too, so that hopefully all 16 ounces of it will make consistent yarn. Because, yes, I still love the color of the stuff. It makes a beautiful purple-tinged gray yarn. So gorgeous.

And, now? We’re having roast chicken for supper (making the house smell really good, I might add), and Chappy’s getting very excited. He ADORES roast chicken and turkey. I’d venture to say that they’re his favorite kind of meat to eat … he doesn’t get this excited about the chicken in his food dish every day, or when Mom cooks a couple chicken breasts for supper. But … roasted in the oven? Ohhhhh, he loves it. Loves it! The house is starting to smell really yummy, and he’s pacing a bit, not quite able to settle down out of anticipation.

I tell you, this weekend keeps getting better and better for my boy.

• Tags: Family, Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Perfection // 2 Comments »

I’m getting awfully close to having two sleeves–isn’t it exciting? Just a couple more inches. I only just finished my first skein of yarn, too, about 4 rows back.

And, yes, I’m still loving this yarn.

Here’s a look at my finished green yarn … with that single skein of golden-yellow adding a little accent (and taking me right back to high school, too).

I’m really happy with this. And I adore the color … hard though it is to photograph.

The current spinning, you’ll remember, is the Sock Hop in “Twist and Shout.” I love the blue-green thing, of course, and I’m loving how it’s spinning up.

I love watching the color changes. It’s one of the most fun and satisfying things about spinning multi-colored yarn.

Did you see the preview for the upcoming Interweave Knits? There are several designs in there I think are lovely, but the one that caught my eye the most?

The Hoarfrost Moebius by Annie Modesitt.

So, I’m planning ahead. Because this requires a very specific yarn.

Yep. Lion Brand Yarn’s Stainless Steel Wool. It looks pretty much identical to the Habu yarn that I’ve been looking at for ages but never quite sure what to do with. This pattern, though? I love it. Love the color, love the design, love the amazing drape the steel gives to it … so, I ordered some.

Yes, even despite the fact that I really shouldn’t be spending any unnecessary money at the moment. I told you the other day that I’d gotten a new computer because Mom’s had died, right? It’s the one I’m typing on right now, and it’s a perfectly okay computer … except … that’s all it is. Okay. For basic stuff, it works just fine–MS Word, checking email, tweaking photos. But for heavier-duty internet stuff? Like watching videos, uploading pictures, writing blog posts? Um … not so much.

I can’t upload more than 2 photos at a time on Flickr without it locking. Watching a video on Hulu.com, it freezes several times–which my old computer never did. I’m not fond of the touchpad, either–the buttons are part of the pad, not separate buttons. I know this is the new Mac thing and all, but I’m finding it annoying. It’s true that most of the time I just tap on the touchpad to click, and that works fine, but there are times when it’s helpful to hold down the button–like when selecting more than one file, or something like that. And then, when I lift up my finger to click on the button … the cursor moves, just enough for me NOT to click on what I’m aiming for. Sigh. Add to that the fact that the yellows are kind of weird on the monitor and the slow internet speed for God knows what reason, and … the computer’s going back.

The sad part, though, is that Amazon charges a 15% restocking fee for returned computers (unless they’re DOA), so that’s about an extra $90, plus shipping to return it, in addition to the cost of the new (faster, I hope) computer. So, buying more yarn? Um, yeah, that’s got to stop again for a while … but at least I have this pretty Stainless Steel yarn to play with, huh? Not to mention all that great Peace Fleece from the other day.

(And we won’t discuss the broken cap, right?)

Just … cross your fingers for me that this new computer behaves the way it’s supposed to, okay?

• Tags: Finished Spinning, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Spinnin’ and Knittin’ // 1 Comment »

Oh, dear. You see what happens?

I brought my “kids” upstairs for a change of scenery, and look what I found.

Lucky took over the remote control.

And Buttons started checking her email.

Why do I get the feeling they’re not going to want to go downstairs to the others?

• Tags: General • Permalink:Oh, Dear // Add Comment »

We went to see Toy Story 3 today, and when we got home, well, I had to go find Buttons and Lucky and give them hugs. In fact, they sat with us while we ate supper, and I brought them upstairs afterward so they we could spend time together. They’re sitting with me right now, watching me type, and keeping an eye on Due South on the television.

The doll is Buttons, who I got on my first birthday. She was my absolute favorite doll. Still is, in fact. She’s only about 7″ tall, and was the perfect size to carry around when I was little. I carried her everywhere. The crack in her face? The lack of hair? That’s from years and years of serious loving. I’d regularly wake up in the morning to find her head on one side of the bed and her body on the other. I’d put her back together and give her a kiss, and start the day.

The dog is Lucky. We bought him at Great Adventure amusement park on August 2nd when I was 9. His fur is pretty much all rubbed away now. He used to have spots, and his eyes were a brighter blue, but his face is still the same. He fit perfectly under my arm, too, with the curve of his back, between his neck and tail a perfect fit.  Mom would hold him at his neck, cocking his head, while we played, and over the years it wore through. She mended it, but it wore through. I tried mending it. He even wears one of the earliest examples of my knitting–a “collar” I knitted in green acrylic and sewed on, a layer or two down from other mending attempts, but still showing at the back. The leather collar he wears belonged to our very first dog, Muppy, after she outgrew it.

During the movie, I knitted on this hat. Normally, of course, I’d knit on the sock in my purse, but since that has a cable pattern and is something I need to see, I started this instead. I knitted the ribbing last night, and pretty much everything else was done while watching Woody, Buzz, and the others.

Of course, the sad part about going to the movies? This little guy was left home alone. That doesn’t actually happen very often, especially in the afternoon. He gave us SUCH a greeting when we got home, too–super excited, and he’s been sticking pretty close to me ever since.

Oh, and my “Sheep need shade” sale yarn from Juniper Moon Farm arrived today … this great hand-dyed brown that goes really wonderfully with those buttons from Lars that I got the other day. Now I just think I need to find the right pattern!

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

• Tags: Family, General • Permalink:Toys // 1 Comment »

Look at these lovely buttons!

I got them from the Buttons by Lars shop on Etsy. He’s the son of one of the Juniper Moon Fiber Farm “aunties” on Ravelry and makes these wonderful glass buttons. (In fact, Susan posted about them the other day.) He’s putting the money toward college and, well, these are just beautiful buttons, just over 1/2″ wide, and perfect sweater-sized buttons. Because, you know, glass buttons that are too big can be too heavy for handknits.

And, these? Perfect. And I absolutely adore the topaz color. (And it doesn’t hurt that it’s my birthstone, either. It never hurts to be prepared.)

Oh, and here’s a look at my sweater. Just because.

So, Chappy and I went visiting tonight. I brought some brownies over to our neighbor Hillary tonight. Her husband was late coming home from work, so we sat out on her patio and chatted. Frankly, I’m a little jealous of her patio–much cozier and shady than our glaringly bright deck in the back. She’s got trees and grass and chipmunks running around, it’s all very appealing. We just have a hot wooden deck two flights above the ground and no way to reach the grass. Not nearly as inviting. Chappy says we really need to visit her more often–he really enjoyed watching the chipmunks.

Actually, he was such a good guest, that even though he could easily reach the edge of her patio to get to the grass at the edge, he waited until we left her house and were on the way home before he relieved himself. Isn’t that polite of him?

• Tags: General • Permalink:Finally Beautiful // 1 Comment »

I had to have them.

Birthday candles, but–in Roman numerals.

I’ve always rather liked roman numerals. I always mentally convert the ones at the ends of tv shows and movies. In fact, in the one computer programming class I had in high school (in FORTRAN, of all things, this was a while ago), my final project was writing a program to convert numbers to Roman numerals. I think they’re fun, and when I saw these candles a couple months ago, I decided I couldn’t resist.

Besides, think how great the photo album photos will be with the years counting by in classic, alphabetic fashion rather than boring old Arabic numerals.

The only problem was that they were back-ordered, and I was afraid they would miss our family birthday season altogether, but they squeaked in just before Chappy’s birthday next week. Phew!

He’s so excited. He’s going to be IX on the VIIth of July, you know.

Oh, and you’ll be interested to know that I sewed buttons onto my sweater. They’re a bluish pearl-gray with this really subtle little flower. They’re really perfect.

Does this mean the sweater is wearable? I’m not entirely sure. I blocked it as wide as I could and it almost kind of sort of fits. It would fit if my waistline were smaller. (Do we really want to discuss my waistline? Not really. Any extra weight I ever get goes right to my stomach and I should really know better than to knit sweaters with waist-shaping. It’s my own fault. It’s just that, since this was knit in pieces and then sewn together, there was really no way to know if it would fit correctly until it was done. Sigh.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Roman Numerals // 2 Comments »

Mom and I went into Chester today, to Why Knot Knit, to meet Joanna Johnson, author of the adorable Phoebe’s Sweater.

Funny thing about Joanna Johnson. She lives in Colorado, but grew up not too far from here–which we found out when she sent me a copy of the book last month. But then, there was more. We both went to Drew University, so what are the odds of that? Two people who write, knit, and went to the same college? I mean, I’m sure there are lots of people who have gone through Drew in its two hundred-plus years who knit, but, wel, how many of them do I know? (grin)

The nicest part is that she was a delight to talk to, too. (And, please forgive the lousy picture. She looks good, mind you, but I don’t.) Mom and I were there about two hours.

I didn’t buy a copy of the book, mind you, because I have one already, but I did buy some yarn.

That’s two skeins of “Jezebel” lace yarn and one of Opal sock yarn. Because, well, why not?

Anyway, it was a nice day. Chappy’s grandpa took him for a walk while we were gone, which they both enjoyed. It was a hot June day, in the mid-80s, but not as hot as it could have been. Low humidity, thank heaven.

Hey, my sweater’s almost done. I just need to finish the collar … which is a little odd, but I’m working on faith and hoping it comes out right. If I get it done tonight, I’m hoping to block the pieces tomorrow so I can start sewing it together.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Book-Signing // Add Comment »

Today, Dad was leaving around 9:00 to go golfing with a friend, and Mom was being picked up by my sister to head to Short Hills Mall, which meant that poor Chappy was going to be alone for hours. Poor little guy! What’s a mother to do?

So, I took the day off from work.

Except … I didn’t tell anyone.

I mean, I told the people at work, of course. I told them I was taking a vacation day, and so THEY knew I wouldn’t be there.

But I didn’t tell anybody HERE. I got up at my usual time, ate my breakfast, made my coffee, and drove away just like any usual Thursday. Except instead of going to work, I went to a coffeeshop downtown. I bought some coffee and a croissant, and sat there with my netbook and added about 1,000 words to my book.

At about 9:30, I got back in the car and headed home. But … to be safe, I called first, and good thing, too, because Mom hadn’t left yet. So I pulled into one of the empty parking spaces around the corner and pulled out my iPod Touch and read for half an hour, and then drove home.

Chappy was SO happy. Ecstatic. Not only wasn’t he alone any more, but his Mommy was home super early for lunch! Not only that, I immediately started doing stuff in the kitchen. I baked a cake. I even descaled the kettle and soaked all our very tea-stained mugs in a combination of baking soda, lemon juice, and the vinegar-water I boiled in the kettle. I gave Chappy a much-needed haircut, too. We had a walk with Grandma after she got  back, too, after visiting with her and Patty for a while.

I even found time for a nap. How great is that, huh?

The irony is that I’m playing hooky today, the 25th anniversary of my graduating high school. June 17th, 1985. That seems an awful long time ago! It’s ironic, though, because I had perfect attendance my senior year in high school. I never once played hooky in school.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Hooky // 2 Comments »

You know your day is going to be interesting when you get to work just before they deliver a house to the parking lot.

Now, realize that our office building is tucked into a residential neighborhood. Right on the other side of that fence is a street of houses.

So, you know, driving past houses is something we do every day, but not usually IN the parking lot. (And, hmm, interesting. My parking spot is empty. This picture must have been taken at lunch time.)  It turns out that a man is putting in a new house on that street, a modular. It was delivered today, but for some reason they’re not installing it until tomorrow. Since the street is obviously too small to store a, well, a house (at least, temporarily, and when you want to be able to move it again later on), he asked if they could use our parking lot. Lucky for him, we said yes.

Then there was the delivery truck with a new inserter machine so all of us who park in the front had to move our cars out of the way. And six boxes of attached renewals to pack up and ship. And letters to type … a busy, interesting morning all in all!

There was some remarkably good news, though.

My Battlestar Galactica Season 3 disks arrived today! Such a relief. Now I can finally watch the season finale of season 2 which I’ve been holding off on for a week now.

Although, of course, tonight is Monday, so Mom and I will be watching CHUCK. No complaints about that!

• Tags: General • Permalink:Just Park Behind the House // Add Comment »

I worked hard and polished furniture today. You know, the old kind of polish, not the stuff that you spray on and wipe off.

Well, not polish, exactly. This, Howard’s Feed-n-Wax Wood Preserver. It’s not a polish, exactly, but more nourishment for the wood. The small print on the label says, “A penetrating feeder and preservative for all furniture finishes and natural woods.”

As you know, I’ve got two heirloom pieces of furniture in my room. One grandmother’s secretary desk, the other grandmother’s cedar chest. I don’t know that they’re particularly valuable, other than being solid pieces with a great deal of sentimental value, but since there is the sentiment and I certainly loved their prior owners, I’m rather attached to them.

I’m also a lazier housekeeper than I used to be. I used to clean, dust, scrub, and vacuum every Sunday without fail, but these days I’m a lot more cavalier about these things. And doing anything more than rubbing a microfiber dusting rag over the furniture? That’s pretty rare.  Not to mention that I gave up using things like Pledge years ago because they’re generally bad for the environment and not all that good for the furniture, either. I used to use Lemon oil on the Secretary, but that always seemed to be so much work … and then I read that that wasn’t supposed to be good, either. (No idea if this is true, mind you, but it made for a good excuse.)

But, still … both these pieces deserved some TLC. The cedar chest, in particular, hasn’t been polished in years because it’s had things piled on top of it for almost as long as I can remember, even a television for a few ages. And while I keep smaller, lighter things on it (since I want to be able to reach the spinning fiber I’m storing in it), it also lives under a window these days and sunlight can be seriously drying for furniture.

Well, between the nourishment of the Feed-n-Wax and the scratch-covering of the Old English Scratch Cover furniture polish that Kim recommended months ago … the difference is astounding. You can still see the scratches if you look closely, but the top has an actual shine to it.

The Secretary desk isn’t exactly a high-gloss, but it’s got a depth of color to the wood grain that hadn’t been there before. I only did the front and the inside of the lid, but am now feeling guilty about the hutch and the sides…

But that wasn’t all. I did the top to both of my dressers, too, and Mom’s dresser as well.

But, do you know what else I have in here that’s wood that deserves some extra special TLC?

My Majacraft is spinning like a girl in a pretty party dress with ribbons and a flouncy skirt, she’s feeling so wonderful.  I haven’t touched this wheel with anything resembling polish since I got it, and oh … what a difference.

I can’t get over how rich the color looks, and keep imagining it feels like my hands do when I put on lotion … even if they hadn’t felt particularly dry before hand, afterwards, they feel moisturized and soft. Kind of like the difference in Chappy’s fur after a bath, which is somehow, miraculously softer than it was before.

The Majacraft isn’t my only spinning wheel, though.

I pulled out my Journey Wheel, too. And, good heavens, this wood just SOAKED in that polish and immediately rewarded me with this wonderful honey-golden glow. Wow.

Polishing all the moving parts on the inside was obviously a little harder, but … those too. You could practically hear it saying, thank you, thank you, thank you as I rubbed it in. I know, you can’t really see in the picture because I didn’t think to do a “before” photo, but trust me. This wood is much happier now.

Now I’m thinking about how sad and dry the breakfront downstairs looks. I mean, it sat in direct sun in our dining room for 34 years, and hasn’t been properly polished in forever. (Although, considering there’s about 12″ of room there, the logistics are challenging.)

Speaking of spinning wheels, here’s what I’ve been working on.

I took the flyer off while I was polishing the wheel because, somehow, I thought the Corriedale really didn’t need beeswax and orange oil, you know? But it looked so pretty nestled into the waiting fiber, naturally I had to take a picture. This is a Grafton Fibers batt that I bought at Rhinebeck … last year? Or the year before?

I think part of the reason I haven’t been spinning as much lately (other than the writing thing) is that I’m uninspired. I have lots of beautiful stuff, but it’s either delectable and undyed or dyed but not calling to me at the moment. So … no spinning. But I pulled out this one batt and am already on my second bobbin because I’m enjoying it so much.

Now, I COULD try dyeing some of the fiber I have to make it more interesting, but that’s a scary preposition considering I’ve never dyed anything other than my own gray hair. Nor have I ever wanted to. Or, I could just be responsible and start spinning from my stash, inspiration or not. But …. really? I’m tempted to buy more stuff, which is naughty (especially considering last week’s book-buying spree).

You’ll be glad to know that this little guy is having a good weekend, though it had an iffy start. His tummy woke me up yesterday morning making all kinds of noises. Gurglings, grumblings, squeaks. It was LOUD. We got up at our usual Saturday time, though, and while I was making my breakfast, I tossed his vitamin on the floor … but he didn’t run to get it. Okay, he looked all kinds of comfy, maybe he figured he’d pick it up on his way to his breakfast. I offered him my oatmeal dish to lick out (tradition), but he ignored that, too … which was a first. And when I put down his breakfast? He looked at it and then turned away with an “Um, no thanks” kind of look on his face.

That was practically unheard of, but when I called him over to his dish and told him he should eat his breakfast, he did … slowly. But he still mostly wanted to just be quiet. So Mom and I stayed home instead of going out for coffee … meaning I missed my chance to knit in public, but for a good cause, right? Then I got my netbook and my sock-in-progress, and sat in the living room with him for most of the day.

That worked out fine because there was a writing challenge yesterday called “Write Your A** Off Day” where you were supposed to write 3,000 words, and this gave me the perfect chance to participate. I wrote just over the limit and finished the chapter of my book, so, yay for me, right? And by lunch, Chappy was acting like himself again. So, all’s well that ends well, right? Right?

There was an open-house at a townhouse across the street from us today, so Mom and I went over out of curiosity to see what some of the other floorplans were like. I’ve got to say, we loved the layout of the main level, with the living room and the kitchen–both bigger than ours–and the open stairway. The two smaller bedrooms were both bigger than my tiny ones, too. But–no full-basement level like the ones where Mom and Dad’s desks and my library are. A lot more stairs to get into the unit, too, since the front door opens onto a landing half a flight down from the main level (and the garage is half a level below that). Loved the patio in the back, though. It’s the one thing I’d change about this unit if I could–the grounds between streets are beautifully landscaped with grass and shrubs and trees, and we kind of miss that. All we have are two wooden decks that don’t even have stairs down to the ground. If we were on the other side of the street, we’d have a “backyard” (even if we’d have to share it with ALL our neighbors). Still … we like this one, and that’s what matters, right? It’s not like I could afford to buy that one anyway!

Hope everyone has had a great weekend. The only real negative for me? It looks like my Battlestar Galactica season 3 DVDs are on their way back to the West Coast instead of being either forwarded on here or held at the post office to be picked up. Sigh. This means it’s going to be at least another week before I get them, I think, and that’s kind of frustrating. But, at least, I haven’t watched the S2 season finale yet … because I know it’s a cliffhanger. At least this keeps the frustration level down, huh?

• Tags: General • Permalink:Polish // Add Comment »

I know, it’s been quiet here lately. I’ve been working on my Page-A-Day Challenge, so most of  my writing has been going there.

Not that I’ve been writing non-stop, or anything. I spent an inordinate amount of time reading last weekend. Not that I’m the only one.

I came home from work this afternoon and found Mom sitting on the couch reading–a rare thing. And, as soon as he’d said hello to me, Chappy jumped up next to her. That really almost never happens. I’ve told you before, he’s an affectionate dog, but not snuggly, so when he settles down within petting reach, it’s special. Especially on the couch. So … Mom was kind of chuffed. Sweet, huh?

What else have I been doing? Watching Battlestar Galactica.

Now, I’ve been a sci-fi fan for years, but wasn’t able to watch this when it aired on the Sci-Fi channel because our cable company required a cable box for reception. I didn’t have one so even though I heard how good it was, I couldn’t watch. But when I saw season 1 on Amazon for only $20, I figured I would give it a try.

Needless to say, I liked it, and wanted to see more. Except … the prices for seasons 2.0, 2.5, 3, 4.0 and 4.5 were … rather more. Hmm. What’s a girl to do? Then Annie recommended eBay (which I usually don’t think of), so I went there and found the rest of them for at least close to $20 each.

The problem?

Seasons 2.0 and 2.5 came right away, which was great. Then season 4.0 arrived … with my current address handwritten across my OLD address. The one we haven’t lived at since last November.

Um…

Turns out that, since I so seldom use eBay, it had never occurred to me to change my address on my eBay account. I hadn’t noticed the address on the season 2 DVDs, but they arrived in a timely fashion. The season 4.0 DVD, which was definitely forwarded was shipped first class mail, which DOES get more timely attention than say, Media Mail, which is how season 3 shipped.

I don’t know yet what’s going to happen with my season 3 DVDs. I know that they’re in New Jersey, but don’t know if they’re going to get forwarded or not. It has been seven months, after all, and the post office usually only forwards for six. I had gotten a media-mail review copy of a book a couple months ago from Interweave and our post office sent me a “Pick up at the post office” alert and charged a small handling fee to claim the package. That would be okay, too.

I’m just hoping that they don’t send it all the way back to California because, while I’m sure the seller would be happy to remail it to the correct address, and I’d certainly be willing to pay him another $4 or so to cover it, that would mean another week or two before the disks arrive.

I don’t want to wait that long before watching season three! I haven’t even dared watch the two-part finale of season two yet, knowing that there’s going to be a cliffhanger of some sort.

Sigh.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Quiet // 2 Comments »

You never know what you’re going to need again.

Now, none of us are really packrats, but I think just about everyone keeps random things because “they might come in handy” again some day. We got rid of a lot of these things when we moved, mind you, but some of them were worth bringing along.

So, today, we had a little hardware problem.

Mom and Dad’s bedroom is in the front of the house, over the garage. Obviously, the garage isn’t air-conditioned, so it gets hot, which means their room was often cold during the winter and lately, has been hot. (Interestingly, this is exactly what used to happen with my old bedroom because there was no insulation in the one wall, so it always reacted more to temperature extremes.). Anyway, this situation is why their bedroom is the only room in the house that has a ceiling fan.

Except, the fan has a very short chain–about six inches long. Now, it’s turned on and off by a lightswitch by the door, but to adjust the speed, you need the chain. Because of the high ceiling, though, Mom couldn’t reach it at all, I needed to climb on the bed to do it, and even my over-six-foot-tall father needed a step-stool, which makes the whole thing a little … unwieldy. Especially when Mom wanted to adjust the speed and neither of us was around.

So, today, Dad stopped at the hardware store and picked up a length of chain with a handle. You know the kind, those chains made up of lots of little balls and are used for all sorts of things from chains for drapes, blinds to keychains and necklaces.

But … somebody had to attach it to the existing chain.

Mom couldn’t, obviously, because she couldn’t reach the short chain to begin with. Dad tried, but his fingers aren’t nimble enough and attaching the two ends was too fiddly for him. Which left me.

So, at lunch, after trimming Chappy’s nails, taking him for a short walk, and gobbling my lunch, I climbed up on the bed …

You know how, when you’re only reaching with one hand, you can reach farther than you can when you’re reaching equally with two? Yeah. I was able to reach the chain with both hands, but to do so, I had to stand on my toes. On a mattress.

And you know how mattresses and box springs don’t remain perfectly steady? These things added up to some very fiddly, difficult maneuvering–me standing on the bed, on my toes, reaching up as high as I could with both hands, trying to connect the chain with that little plastic connector.

I tried for a good five minutes, but was starting to lose feeling in my fingers. All I need, I thought to myself, was a few more inches. If I didn’t have to balance on my toes, if I didn’t have to stretch quite so far, it would be easier. But I certainly wasn’t going to try balancing on a step-stool on top of a bed (even if it would have been a soft fall).

Then, the perfect solution occurred to me, hiding under my bed.

I’ve had one of those Jane Fonda exercise steps under my bed for YEARS. Like, at least 15 years. I haven’t used it to exercise with in ages, though. I found that it was making the backs of my calves too tight (no doubt I was doing something wrong) which made normal, every day walking difficult, so I stopped using it. But I hated to get rid of it–if nothing else, it makes getting to the top of the closet easier. Which is exactly why I brought it to the new house, even though I don’t have room to exercise with it, even if I wanted to.

But … it provides a large, stable, skid-free surface. No sharp edges that could hurt a mattress or the bedding. And a good eight inches in height. Hmmm …

So I carried it in and put it on the bed. Climbed up onto the bed and then c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y climbed up onto the step, watching to make sure my head didn’t come near the fan blades, being cautious about my balance.

Ah… no problem.

The extra inches were just what I needed. I got the two chains connected with no trouble at all and then stepped down. The only weird part was stepping off the slightly-jiggling step onto the even-softer bed. But, mission accomplished.

It almost makes me want to pull out my old Jane Fonda step routine VHS tapes …

Well, almost.

But then, I came home from work and baked.

My sister and her family are coming down tomorrow to celebrate her birthday, so naturally we have to feed them. Which is fine because, you understand, we enjoy feeding them. But since they’re coming tomorrow, rather than on Sunday as is usual, that meant I needed my dessert today. My pleasure. It looks yummy, too.

You’ll be relieved to know, I’m sure, that they painted our decks today. What a difference!

• Tags: General • Permalink:That Was Handy! // 2 Comments »

I don’t know how it happened.

But I seem to have fallen down and landed on the “Buy” button over at Amazon. Look at this pile of books!

• Sir Ken Robinson’s The Element
• Catherine Blyth’s The Art of Conversation
• Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought
• James Thurber’s The Thurber Carnival (because I stupidly got rid of my copy last Fall)
• Mary Roach’s Spook
• Jay Heinrichs’s Thank You for Arguing
• Anna Dean’s Bellfield Hall
• Allison Winn Scotch’s The One That I Want
• Sharon Lee and Steve Miller’s Mouse & Dragon
• Joanne Harris’s Runemarks.

Oh, and the new issue of Vogue Knitting there at the bottom.

With all this new reading material, it’s a good thing I’m making progress on my knitting, huh? I know, it’s a lousy picture. I didn’t have the space to lay the pieces out nicely, and they’re all curly around the edges … all of that. But it DOES prove that I’ve been working on my sweater, huh? The two fronts are done and I just started the sleeves.

You’ll be glad to know that Chappy (and the rest of us) are doing well with the work going on, even if they’re not going quite as fast as we’d like. They power-washed the building on Monday. (Wow, the deck looks so much better already.) They haven’t started painting or staining yet, though, which means Chappy still doesn’t have access to the deck for his bathroom, which is kind of inconvenient for all of us.

He was so good on Tuesday, though. Even with all the noise and the unfamilar routine, he didn’t go crazy-barking. In fact, if anything, he was a little clingier than usual. In fact, before I left for work, he followed me into my room and curled up on my red chair. That’s unusual for him. I told him that, if he wanted to, he could come back and sit there any time during the day, if he needed a break.

Well, when I got home on Tuesday, Dad explained how he had gone looking for Chappy, to check on him. He wasn’t downstairs. He wasn’t on his pillow or the couch in the living room. He wasn’t sitting by the door or in the kitchen. So, he came upstairs–Chappy wasn’t in his crate. He was, in fact, on the red chair. A place where he never sits during the day, and rarely at night.

Aww. Such a smart boy! Frankly, I don’t think he’s upset at all that it’s been quiet the last couple days. Even if the rest of us are kind of anxious for them to get the deck done, already…

The hardest question now?

What do I read first?

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning, Reading • Permalink:Accident // 1 Comment »

Chappy’s going to have a rough week.

Power cleaning the building?

Painting?

Staining the decks? AKA his bathroom?

Ooooooh, boy.

I sense a lot of barking coming, and a lot of trips out the front door on a leash … with extra, bonus barking when WALKING out the front door for potty stops and seeing the men washing, painting, etcetera.

Of course, we humans who already miss the doggy door he had in our old house but are more than willing to open the deck doors for him, are going to miss access to the decks even more. Because, naturally, we can’t let him out there to go to the bathroom when they’ve just power-cleaned them. Or when they’re freshly painted and stained … especially while they’re still wet!

How about another look at that newly-spun brown yarn, huh? That’s 16 oz of merino from the Sheep Shed, bought at Rhinebeck two years ago.

The lighter picture is untouched by photo software, but is pretty much how it looks in direct sun. The darker picture I needed to tweak a bit, but is closer to what it looks like in normal, indoor light. It’s brown, very brown, but with the occasional hint of blue.

How brown?

I’m thinking the colorway should be named “Chappy.” I mean, so far as I know, the Sheep Shed doesn’t name their colors, but … could there really be a question?

And, oh yes, there was one other thing I did today–baked a lemon meringue pie!

• Tags: Finished Spinning, General • Permalink:Rough Week // 3 Comments »

Yep, my vacation is over. Back to work tomorrow!

On the plus side, look at the lovely little new bag I’ve got. A brand new bag Stitched by Jessalu.

The fabric is actually from the pillow my sister made me for my birthday last year. As much as I like the fabrics Jessalu uses, I really liked this fabric. So, I asked my sister if she had any leftover and since she did, sent it to Jess and … voila! My own lovely little bag. I just need to be careful not to leave it on the pillow or I might lose it…

All in all, it’s been a quiet vacation. Mom, Chappy, and I went up to Pennsylvania to visit my sister on Wednesday.  Milford is a lovely little town and Chappy was delighted to see it. The yarn shop was less than friendly, though. Not the MOST unfriendly LYS I’ve ever been to, but not as friendly as it could have been. The two people in the shop called a hello with a “let us know if you need help” when I walked in, but they didn’t bother to look up when I browsed my way back there. It was a coolish day, too, and I was wearing my lovely new cabled cardigan. What kind of yarn shop owner ignores a person browsing in such a beautiful handknit? (Spoken with all due modesty.) Isn’t it easier to make a sale if you, oh say, strike up a conversation instead of keep your eyes on your computer screen?

Oh, and they had a dog in the shop–a poodle, I think–but wouldn’t let Chappy come in. So… humph.

Otherwise? I’ve been writing on my page-a-day challenge, and well, after the $1,000 on car repairs last week, I’m not really spending a lot of money at the moment.

Did you know my favorite shepherd has gotten behind Norma‘s favorite Red Scarf Project charity?

I don’t drink very often, but one of these days I really MUST try this Magic Juice stuff. It sounds absolutely wonderful.

I totally agree with Quinn–I simply do not understand the fashion industry.

Do you ever watch the TED videos? They’re inspiring and amazing. Like, say, this one from Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity. It’s wonderful.

Then there’s this wonderful poem, “If I Controlled the Internet.”

I hope you all have a great Monday.

And–don’t forget to watch the TWO HOUR Chuck season finale on Monday! (Don’t forget, it’s two hours.) I know I can’t wait…

• Tags: General • Permalink:Over // 4 Comments »

Poor Chappy had an emotional rollercoaster today.

Now, don’t get worried. It wasn’t a SCARY kind of emotional rollercoaster.

You already know I’m on vacation this week. And I told you yesterday that I was taking my car into the shop today. So we pretended this was a work day, in terms of sleeping arrangements. In other words, Chappy was in his crate last night and this morning, I got up and dressed at the same time as if I were heading to work. The only difference was Dad followed me out the door. A little confusing, but not too unusual. So while Chappy was a little disappointed about Mom heading back to work on a rainy Tuesday morning … he curled up on his pillow and settled in.

We dropped the car off and came back home, about 30 minutes later.

Chappy gave me a greeting as if I’d been gone for months. He was so happy, so surprised, so excited to see me. He jumped, he spun, he licked. He was quite simply ecstatic. Even after I came upstairs and sat down, he came running in as if to say, “I’m so HAPPY you’re home!”

But then, an hour later? Mom and I left. Woe is Chappy. She and I took advantage of the wet, rainy day and headed to Short Hills Mall, a place we haven’t been in months. Last summer, maybe. It’s possible I may have bought a birthday present while I was there, but  nothing else.

We tried to get frozen yogurt at 40 Carrots in Bloomingdales (we love their frozen yogurt), but we couldn’t get two chairs together. You would THINK that, with single patrons using every other chair that somebody–the server, or one of the patrons–would think, “Oh look, there are two people at the door that have been waiting for 10-15 minutes. Why doesn’t somebody move over one chair so they can sit together?” But no. so, after we stood there for a while … we gave up and came home hungry.

But the point is that we came home. Eventually. My usual lunchtime, of course, is 12:30 and Chappy knows this. So at 12:30, Dad says that Chappy was at the door, waiting for me. And when I didn’t come and didn’t come, there was some whimpering involved. When Mom and I got home around 1:30, he was ecstatic again … “I missed you so much, where were you? You were late? I’m so glad you’re home!”

Phew! By now, he was getting kind of tired. We sat down together on the couch for a while and he did some serious napping … until 3:00, when I called the garage to find out if my car was ready. Turns out it was, which was great. So Dad and I got ready to go get the car … and Chappy looked devastated. Absolutely crushed that we were leaving … again! Honestly, if we were going to be gone for longer than half an hour, I would have been just as upset as he was.

So … we went to get the car. It feels so much better now. She tells me it doesn’t hurt to go over the bumps any more, and she’s so glad not to be winking at all the other cars any more. And she loves the new shoes. So, that’s all good …

Well, it made my check book hurt a little. Like, $1000. (Yes, one thousand.) On the plus side, the nice people at the garage rounded DOWN the price and didn’t charge for the alignment.

Then, back home, where I got yet another desperately happy greeting from Chappy, who basically told me that I was simply not allowed to leave the house again today. At all. Period.

Yes, sir.

Hey, you know how I keep telling you how much I enjoy the Sharon Lee & Steve Miller Liaden books? How they keep showing up on my “books read” list every couple months? Well, I’m not alone. Check out some of these quotes from other Liaden fans, starting with Anne McCaffrey and other great authors. And then? Read the interview with the authors.

Are you still uncertain what the Liaden books really are? Sharon Lee describes them as, “The Liaden Universe is an original space opera geography where honor, wit and true love are potent weapons against deceit and treachery.” Steve Miller, though? His description is “Zorro and his Cartwright cousins back-up the Texas Rangers as the Goths invade, with music, knives, attitude, spaceships, allies, and moxie.”

I mean, really, how awesome does that make these books sound?

Okay, two videos for you. You must watch this adorable little book trailer for “It’s a Book!” by Lane Smith … which I’m now trying to justify buying.

And then, for those of you who are Chuck fans like me? Have you SEEN the trailer for next week’s finale?? Because… WOW.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Emotional Rollercoaster // 1 Comment »

Well, you know that our townhouse doesn’t have a spare room for guests since I’m using both of the small bedrooms and there just isn’t room for a guest in either of them. (Apparently I have a lot of stuff.)

So far, this hasn’t been an issue. We’ve only had one overnight guest since we moved in, my niece, about a month ago. She slept on the couch and was fine with that but it’s not really ideal. I mean, it’s RIGHT in the middle of the house, but what else could we do? Ideally, we’d at least have a futon downstairs, but in the meantime …

That doesn’t mean we can’t provide … something, right?

So, here’s our guest room. A twin-sized airbed with a built-in pump. Not ideal, perhaps, but still–it can be set up downstairs which might be a longish walk from the bathroom, but which at least provides some privacy. Mom and Dad just need to avoid their computers until our guest is awake, and hey, the guest gets the whole floor to themselves for a peaceful night sleep. There’s even a television.

Although, keeping Chappy out in the morning might be tricky.

He does so love snuggling with blankets and such.

• Tags: General • Permalink:Guest Room // 4 Comments »

It’s a rare Monday morning post today, because it’s a rare Monday … I’m on vacation, not at work.

Don’t get too excited, though, because it’s not exactly going to be an exciting vacation.

First,  my car is going in for the rest of the work it needed in October. It broke on Rhinebeck weekend, two weeks before we were moving, and because of the timing, I couldn’t afford to have everything done it needed to have done (an estimated $1500 of work). I had $600 worth done then–the new ignition switch and two new tires–and saved the rest for, well, now. The “rest” being two more new tires, new brakes, new suspension links and … since last Wednesday … a new headlight.

Really, it’s just as well we weren’t planning on going away for this vacation. I’m bringing my car in tomorrow and just really, really, really hoping they can get all the work done in one day so we can go up and see Patty on Wednesday. (Send good, fast car-repair vibes, would you, please?)

So, what HAVE I been doing with my vacation so far?

It almost looks as bad as it did when we moved in, huh?

Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but I’ve been frustrated for months at how impossible it is to get INTO anything. How inaccessible things like files are because I always have to move something to reach them, and they’ve been so tightly packed, even once I do, it’s an exercise in frustration to get anything into the files, and so I keep stalling, instead of filing regularly. Meanwhile, the desk, therefore, is filled with papers and stuff waiting to be handled, so that–even if I wanted to–I can’t actually sit at the desk … All in all, it’s frustrating.

I don’t object, mind you, to having to move things to get somewhere, and the space is smaller, and that’s all reasonable. It’s that, to do ANYTHING in this room other than to sit down in front of the computer, I need to move SOMETHING. Even to sit in my chair, I need to move stuff to be able to use the ottoman. I need to move my Little Gem to reach the filing cabinet. I need to walk around the computer and step past the stool to reach the printer … and up until yesterday, I needed to move the Journey wheel every time I needed to get into any of THOSE drawers.

All of which makes just coming in here to use the computer much more appealing.

Except, at heart I’m a neat-freak, and the fact that this room ALWAYS looks cluttered seriously bugs me. Even when things are neat and as tidy as I can make them, there are things everywhere. Including cables for the computer and television and the netbook, and the Kindle’s charging cord… I’m not complaining, mind you, just whining a tiny bit. The room does work, and it’s cozy enough. I just hate clutter.

BUT, on the plus side, I just moved all sorts of things around. I finally went through all the desk drawers to make them more functional. I moved a bunch of older files into a box so that the file drawer isn’t so tightly packed. I moved the Journey wheel under the table so it’s no longer blocking that other file drawer.

Next, I should do the same thing with my yarn/fiber stash in the closet and in the cedar chest. Can I just tell you how much I love having a cedar chest for my yarn? Thank you Grandma! Technically, this piece of furniture still belongs to Mom, but it lives with me, now, and is full of wool … which seems pretty ideal, if you ask me.

In this crowded little room of mine, I’ve got one Grandmother’s secretary desk … unfortunately not ideal for using a computer, but hey … and the other Grandmother’s cedar chest. Nice, huh? We won’t discuss that both of them need dusting and some TLC. Lemon oil or some kind of wood-nourishing rub would be good for both of them. That Old English dark wood polish to help cover some of the wear and tear, maybe.

Otherwise, I did usual weekend-type stuff. Took Chappy to the park for a long walk. Made granola. Took a nap. Watched a movie with Mom (“Amadeus,” which I haven’t seen in years).

I also started the Page-A-Day Challenge. It was thought up by a writer named Weronika Janczuk (who is just now finishing high school but whose writing career is already far ahead of mine, which would be disgusting for a woman of her talent if she weren’t so darned nice). The idea is to write at least one page a day–figuring that sometimes, the hardest part is the actual sitting down and starting part. If things flow, you can keep going, but even if they don’t … you’d still have a finished novel in a year.

For my challenge, I’m working on my second novel. Lest this confuse you–didn’t I just finish my second book?–my “After Titanic” book was actually my THIRD book, even though I hadn’t finished Book Number Two. It got sidelined when inspiration took over with the Titanic story, and now that that is finished, I’m going back to finish this poor thing. It’s already half finished (47,000 words), and I have the plot for the second half all mapped out. It’s just SAD that it’s been waiting this long to be written. Judging by the calendar of dates in the chapter headings, I started this in 1997.

In other news?

Did you hear that CHUCK got renewed for season 4? Hurray! In fact, it will be coming back in the Fall this time, rather than as a mid-season replacement. The only sad part is that it’s the same, brutal time-slot, Monday nights at 8:00.

Which reminds me … WATCH tonight! We’re closing in on the season finale (such a relief to know that it won’t be the series finale), and not only will Scott Bakula be back as Chuck’s Dad, but the Ring is closing in on Chuck’s secret, they’re targeting his sister and trying to use her to get to his Dad, and, oh yeah, the Intersect might be driving him insane by more or less literally frying his brain. How can you NOT watch? (grin). (Um, that’s a rhetorical question. I really don’t want to know if you’re not. I’d rather still pretend we’re friends.)

Okay, time for lunch and to take Chappy out for a walk, then back here to work on my book!

Yep, I sure now how to take a vacation…

• Tags: General • Permalink:Rare Monday // 2 Comments »

As part of the day-before-Mother’s Day festivities, I bought my Mom some flowers. Peonies, which we bought at Whole Foods today. I told Mom I wanted to buy her flowers and for her to pick them out. She almost went for the tulips, which are her favorites, but was wooed away at the last moment by these blowsy, frilly beauties.

Just before we went to Whole Foods, we stopped for coffee at “Drip” in Madison, and then went back to the “Blue Purl,” where it’s possible I may have bought some yarn.

Okay, I DID buy yarn.

Three skeins of Cascade Eco wool in color 9004, “Ecru Beige Twist.” You can’t quite see it in the picture, but there are two very slightly different colors in here. They’re very close, very subtle, but just enough to add a little depth. Really nice, and just begging to be made into a cabled Aran of some kind.

How about another look at these pretty peonies?

• Tags: General • Permalink:Pre-M Day // 3 Comments »

Somebody made a comment the other day about “I guess that’s why you don’t make socks.” But I DO. I just don’t usually bother to photograph them.

Here’s proof, though. I finished this pair on Friday afternoon, made out of Mountain Colors Bearfoot yarn–a blend of 60% superwash merino wool, 25% mohair, and 15% nylon–a practically perfect combination for sock yarn. This colorway is called “Northern Lights” and is actually a little darker than in this photograph.

The thing is, I almost always have a sock-in-progress in my purse. The problem, in terms of sock productivity, is that I don’t usually have a lot of “found” time out and about with my purse and nothing else to do. One of the beauties of having knitting with you at all times is that you’re never without something to do while waiting on lines, at a doctor’s office, while commuting, or whatever.

Except–it’s pretty rare for me to do any of those things. My commute to work is about 10 minutes by car, during which time knitting is frowned upon. I come home at lunch to walk Chappy, so no desk-side knitting while scarfing down a sandwich. I do as much shopping online as possible to avoid standing on lines, and try to avoid doctor’s offices.

So, basically, the only time my socks really get worked on is when I’m out for coffee with Mom on Saturday mornings. Or, like a week or so ago, when I don’t have anything else to knit. Or, Friday afternoon, when I knit on my sock while being amused by Mom and her friend.

I took Friday afternoon off from work, you see, because Mom’s oldest friend was coming to visit. They’ve known each other since they were 14, and I haven’t seen her in about 8 years. Even more amazing, she was coming HERE. Mom’s friend is terrified of driving, and even though she’s only about 15 miles (or less) away … the fact that she was driving ALL this way was probably a once-in-a-lifetime event. In fact, she was so afraid of getting lost, Mom met her somewhere around Parsippany so that her friend could follow her back up Rt 46 to the house. (She said when she got here that she couldn’t believe how “far out” we were, and she thought Mom was never going to get there. Um … depending on traffic and all, Parsippany’s about 15 minutes from here. Tops.)

So, I took the afternoon off so that I could enjoy spending time with Mom and her friend. They are hilarious together. I mean, of course they are. They’ve known each other forever, and tell great stories about each other. I made some tea and then just sat there with my sock while they laughed and talked and joked. It was great fun. (And really helpful for the work-on-the-sock vibe.)

I would show you one of the pictures I took while she was here, except Mom would kill me. My mother–who I adore–has always been difficult about letting us take her picture, but lately she’s gotten worse. She’s decided that she doesn’t “like her face” (whatever that means), and now really  hates having her picture taken. So, while her friend was standing, smiling nicely for the camera, Mom was being silly. She was making faces, glaring at the camera, covering her face with her hand while she laughed. Generally doing everything she could to make the pictures, well, bad. Not just the kind where I think she looks fine but she hates them, but the kind where I can’t find a decent shot in the group. Out of 3o pictures. A probably-never-going-to-happen-again event, and there’s not a decent photo of it. Sigh.

(And no, I’m not going to share any of the bad ones with you. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for my death, would you? Because I’m not kidding. She’d kill me.) (Well, figuratively, anyway. I’ll take the risk for photos that I think are good but that she doesn’t like. But these? No, I wouldn’t share them anyway.)

I CAN show you the yarn for my next pair of socks, though. This is the yarn I bought at the Blue Purl in Madison a couple months ago. (Come to think of it, why haven’t I been back yet?) The color’s name is “Orange You Glad” but it’s really more of a gold-orange than a pure orange. Kind of school-bus colored, actually. I’m trying something different with this one and am using an actual sock pattern instead of my usual plain-jane, basic stockinette socks. I’m bringing the book into work tomorrow to use the copy machine so I don’t have to try to lug the book around with me. We’ll see how this goes. Usually I prefer plain socks, but something different doesn’t sound terrible.

The only problem, of course, is my crazily-loose knitting gauge. Since my stockinette socks are usually knit on size zero needles with just 44 stitches and fit just fine, and most sock patterns have at least 56 or more stitches, it makes knitting a pattern that has a distinct pattern across half the sock a little more challenging. So, we’ll see how it goes. On the plus side, this yarn is narrower than, say, Koigu, so hopefully the gauge will be tighter and all will be well.

Hope your weekend was a good one. I can’t believe it’s May already. My heart goes out for all the people who got flooded or socked by tornadoes this weekend. And I’m immensely grateful that car bomb in Times Square fizzled. The fact that there WAS one, whether it went off or not, is kind of terrifying.

But, also? Really, really grateful that we’re Six Months removed from THIS. Our Death By Moving Van moment.

• Tags: Friends, General • Permalink:Socks // 3 Comments »

First things first–there’s a dog that needs your help. More precisely, her Mom–the woman behind the February Lady Sweater–does. But here’s the thing–they’re not asking for charity or donations or anything like that. No, what they’re doing is selling an adorable knitting design, with all proceeds going to poor Crash’s medical bills. (And the sweater really IS adorable. Honestly. Go take a look. I’ll wait.)

But–there’s more! I heard about this from Susan at Juniper Moon Farm and she was so anxious to help spread the love (especially considering how swamped she was by her Lucy’s vet bills over the winter), she’s donating a free CSA share of her gorgeous, gorgeous wool.

All you need to do is buy this cute little pattern for $6 to help out Flint Knits and her poor, crashed Crash and then leave a comment at the JMF fiber blog saying so and you’ll get entered in a drawing for the $100 wool share.

Is that a great deal or what? (And, of course, spreading the word is good, too … though, admittedly, the more people who enter means fewer chances to win, but since this is ultimately an effort to help poor little 9-month old Crash, who is far too cute to be wearing such a big cast, I say it’s worth the risk. Besides, it’s better karma this way.)

Chappy wants to know what you’re waiting for?

Okay, onward.

Look at that, isn’t it pretty? That’s the beginning of Miss BB from Chic Knits. I told you I wasn’t going to tell you the pattern until I was pretty sure things were going well, but since this is three nights running with no glitches, it seems reasonably safe to say at this point. I know, you’re only seeing a few inches at the end, but trust me, this is the back section, and it’s about 6″ long.

And, man, I’m loving the color of this yarn.

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Introducing Miss BB // 2 Comments »

Hey, look at that. It’s a swatch … it’s just a matter of time before we find out whether it will lead to a sweater or not. Remarkably, my gauge IN THE SWATCH is just about right on target which is so unprecedented it frankly scares me a little. Especially since, as you know, swatches lie.

Still. I am loving the color of this yarn. It’s a deep blue-gray from Peace Fleece, subtle and really wonderful. (The fact that I love gray yarn and I love blue certainly doesn’t hurt.)It’s got that great, heathered, tweedy look to it, and little specks of browns and greens mixed in. It’s gorgeous. And, even though this sweater will be for me, this color would be fabulous for a man. (Or a nephew, because I still think my nephew would look amazingly handsome in this yarn, but I’m pretty sure that he who never wears sweaters at all would consider it too “scratchy.” Sigh.)

I’m not going to tell you the pattern I have in mind, though, because I don’t want to jinx anything.

I WAS going to start knitting something with the handspun Cormo yarn I made from my first MVFF yarn share (back when there was a Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm). My only real problem is that I spun some of that yarn last summer, and some of it last fall–both before and after our move in November–and it came out different weights, which makes finding a pattern that will work for it challenging. The spinning is uneven, too. The yarn I made right after we moved was more a therapeutic act than something I was doing to get good yarn, so it’s not as even or consistent as the first couple of skeins.

Sure, I could make smaller projects, but where’s the fun in that? It should be obvious by now that my favorite knitting projects are the big ones. Not necessarily the “huge” variety like queen-sized afghans, but bigger than socks or hats, and more interesting than scarves. Sweaters are by far my favorite thing to make, so it saddens me that this gorgeous CORMO yarn isn’t as … immediately conducive for turning into a sweater as it could be. Making irregular yarn in slightly varied weights work in a single sweater is going to take some time.

Hence the Peace Fleece swatch.

Speaking of Juniper Moon Fiber Farm. (Well, Susan Gibbs’–the woman who had the brainwave that was Martha’s Vineyard Fiber Farm–farm, which is located in Virginia.) You’ll be pleased to know that teeny tiny little Rushworth is hanging in there. I don’t know if they consider him to be out of the woods yet, but he’s definitely doing better. So, yay!

• Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Swatching // 4 Comments »

As requested (and with Mom’s help), the modelled shots:

(Yes, even with my gray roots  and that pesky waistline showing. Interesting, though. I so seldom get to see what my hair looks like from the back!)

Before I go on, first things first. There’s a tiny little lamb–whose real name is Rushworth but is mostly known as Mr. Tiny because is IS–who needs some prayers and good will sent his way. After a rally his first day, he’s weak today, and his shepherds are worrying about him.

Then, what do you think of Knitting Scholar’s new logo?

How about these incredible photos from the “Beetle Cam“? (Not pictures of insects, but of wild animals. Very cool.)

Very cool picture of wild Icelandic horses running away from the volcano. (Good thing they didn’t need to fly.)

Just what every bake sale (or, heck, freezer) needs … individual blueberry cobblers baked in jars. Yum!

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Upon Request // 12 Comments »

Yep. The sweater is done. Done, done, done! Which means it’s time to pick out buttons. I pulled out all the good possibilities from my button stash.

Narrowed it down to my favorites, and then asked Mom for her opinion. Luckily, she agreed with me on the one that was best.

I’ve had these in mind for this sweater for weeks. First, the brass color of them was perfect for the warm, golden-brown yarn. I loved the concentric circles on the buttons, which went so well with the circles in the cables, and they fit perfectly into the Os on the X-and-O cabled button-bands.

I sewed them on tonight AND ran a length of ribbon down the inside to give a little extra support. If I’d been smart, I would have used those little plastic rounds on the inside, but I didn’t give it a thought … and didn’t have any anyway. This ribbon, though? I bought it online a month or two ago and it’s the perfect color–a deep copper that goes perfectly with the yarn (and even matched the thread I used to sew on the buttons)–but that is ALSO exactly the same width as the cable.

In other news for today, Mom and I went out to look for a frame for the counted cross-stitch picture SHE just finished. I hope you’re impressed, too, because Michael’s is right next door to a Borders book store and not only did we park in front of the bookstore, but when we left the craft store, we got directly into the car and drove away. I know. Shocking behavior for me, right?

We headed over to Macy’s instead, which was having one of it’s rare (cough) “One Day Sales” and I bought some socks and a couple t-shirts. I was ridiculously happy to find any t-shirts at all that were plain, a decent weight, and not absurdly expensive. When did it become so impossible to find good t-shirts? It seems like most of the ones I see–even assuming I can find any at all that aren’t ruched or covered with print, beads, sequins or heaven knows what else–are (1) too long, (2) too thin/cheap, (3) too tight, or all of the above. So finding a few decent crew necks that were a relatively good fit despite my waistline issues? Very nice.

And, before you say anything about my BUYING socks, yes, I adore my handknit socks, but I can’t knit the really thin little anklet socks that are light enough to wear in summertime under sneakers.

Chappy rested while we were gone, but we took him for a walk when we got home. Doesn’t he look adorable snuggled into MY yellow afghan? The one he keeps trying to tell me should be his?

I baked some Apple-Oatmeal Bread this afternoon, too, though I baked it in a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan because I tend to have trouble with quick breads in loaf pans, so it looks more like a cake, but no worries there. Tonight, Mom and I watched 1967′s “Barefoot in the Park” with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford and just laughed and laughed and laughed. It’s been years since I’ve seen it and I enjoyed it just as much as the other times I’d seen it. The laughs began when they comment on their honeymoon at New York’s Plaza hotel costing (gasp) $30 a night! And then, there are all those stairs…

Now, my new sweater and I are going to go relax for a while…

• Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning • Permalink:Finished! // 8 Comments »