January Spin-in

Ok, my blog has been majorly neglected. No excuse except that I have been kniting like crazy to actually get things finished. Novel concept!

Christmas was wonderful and very, very restful. J and I were somewhat rushed when Christmas arrived 2 days after we landed in FL but relaxing after that. This year everyone had a flying pig and there were some major pig wars while trying to open presents.

Going back to FL less than a month later almost felt like I hadn't left. Spin-in was great and met lots of new people as well as seeing friends who have been there for years, and years, and years.

I did manage to bring home lots of dyed, ready to spin wool and also some silk. I'm not sure what possessed me as the last thing I need is more fiber, but it followed me home anyway. It must have been all the fiber in the air. I inhaled it and was lost. I'll post some pictures when the sinus infection has cleared up. Yuck! Pictures of the fiber, not the sinus infection.

I also bought a Trindle which is a spindle made by a physics teacher. It weighs 7 grams and spins like a dream. This could become my favorite spindle. Gale of Gale's Art was selling them and they are wonderful!!!!

Too many ideas OR Where did I put that yarn?

I have about 3 or 4 projects floating around in my head right now. The problem is putting the project and the yarn together with the needles. I just sorted my knitting needles--AGAIN--and hopefully the knitting elves will stay away and they can remain in order for the next few days.

Naturally, I don't have exactly the right needles or yarn for the projects I want to do. Thus the huge frustration level that is occurring. I really do think that sometimes it would just be easier to be the type of person who is focused on one craft and doesn't enjoy doing 500 different things.

I have put all of my major knitting patterns and books that I use a lot in one very large tote bag so I can find them when I need them. The needles are now sorted by size in plastic zip bags and in another tote bag. I have all my commercial wool yarn in a large clear plastic container. So far so good wouldn't you think? Then there's the rest of the fiber stash. ...on shelves, in plastic containers, in drawers, and probably some stored under the bed but I refuse to look there as the dust bunnies reside there and they are getting somewhat aggressive when disturbed.

I know where the big bin of silk fiber to be spun is because I stumble over it regularly. It won't fit in any of the closets and I can find it in the middle of the room where it is currently located. All the cotton fiber is out in the "workroom" and there it will remain until I make a dent in the spun cotton.

So project # 1 is a moebius scarf using some of my handspun cotton. I am actually going to, GASP, sample a swatch so I can buy the correct size needle that I need for the project. This is so difficult as I just love to jump right into things and sampling really is at odds with my basic nature. It will be worth it, it will be worth it, it will be....... Did I mention that I hate to sample?

Thankfully I have Catherine Coulter's TAILSPIN to listen do which should help me get through this step.

Thanksgiving???

No, it really can't be almost Thanksgiving again. I'm not ready. Not that the universe seems to care about that or take my considerations into account but more notice would be a good thing.

I need to find a calendar that has a fake Thanksgiving and Christmas on it. They should arrive about 1 month before they actually get here so I would have a nice cushion to finishing making and ordering presents. The problem with that is that I would know it was fake and would still procrastinate. SIGH. Give me a week or a year, it's all going to get done in that last week.

The roof is finally fixed and beautiful once again after the hurricane. The fence is back in place and the only things remaining on the extra to do list are the ceilings in the 2 bedrooms which need to be repainted. The problem is the regular to do list. It never seems to stop growing. The flower beds need to be prepared for winter, the bath tubs need to be recaulked, and the windows need a serious cleaning.

Take the mail for instance. It arrives here with great regularity. I appreciate my postman who is wonderful but wouldn't it be great to have a post office filter for spam mail? It could be intercepted and shredded before it ever gets here. The post office would make money, the organization would have the satisfaction of sending it out, and best of all, I wouldn't have to deal with it.If I ever find political candidates who don't send 5,000 flyers or make annoying telephone calls, I seriously think I may support them. Wouldn't you vote for them?

Knitting: I have made 2 Dumpling Bags (pattern by Sharon Dreifuss in Fall 2008 Interweave Knits). Love the pattern . Interesting enough to keep you from being bored but you can still take it along and visit while you knit without totally losing your place. I should have paid a bit more attention when they were in the washing machine since they are slightly smaller than intended but I am pleased with them anyway. When they are dry I'll post a picture.

I think the next thing on the list is to remember to be ever so grateful that I have all these things that need doing and people to do them with if needed.

Shades of Big Brother

I don't know about anyone else, but after reading 1984 at an impressionable age, I find the Google street view somewhat disturbing. It's bad enough that satellites are overhead taking pictures, but now they are driving around neighborhoods taking pictures. What next?

On the fiber front, I am working on what, I hope will be the next to last panel on the baby blanket. At least the yellow combinations have been cheerful to look at but this certainly wasn't a quick project! I have managed to do each panel in a different stitch pattern . I did one in plain garter and was bored out of my mind so I have been thinking up other things to do and perhaps that has slowed the process down. On the positive side,I know it has helped to keep me knitting on it.

I have been wrapping several yarns around a yardstick to see how they look together in anticipation of the Ravelympics which start tomorrow. I hope to knit a shawl for that and will probably use a dropped stitch technique as a pattern. ... along with big needles. The plan is to start with a small triangle and increase to about 24 inches and then either make the other end rounded or decrease to another small triangle. Basically it will be a rectangular shawl with funny ends. It's in my head but we'll see how it comes out on the needles. There may also be tassels involved.

Well, today has been designated "Bathe the Dogs" day so it should rain for the next week. Regardless of this possiblity, I need to either bathe them or douse them in perfume which would gross out myself and totally disgust Allie and Conner. On the other hand, I could run errands and get some chores around here done that are pending. SIGH. No, the dogs really do need bathing first. Why can't they learn to take showers?

Heat index, polka dots, and knitting

The heat index is ridiculous. I almost wish they wouldn't tell us so we wouldn't anticipate how hot it is going to get. Sometimes being ignorant of that kind of information helps to keep you cooler, even if only in your mind. Thinking that an egg might fry on the sidewalk is not as bad as knowing that it would.

I now have polka dots on my face, or will have in a day or two. Went to the dermatologist and he found 4 precancerous spots which he froze. On the positive side, it's too hot to go running around town so the number of people who will be exposed to my polka dotted persona is limited. It should look really lovely in another week after the blisters have formed. Something to look forward to as we approach the dog days of summer.

Speaking of dog days, my dogs do not care to go out in this heat either. They have each claimed a floor fan and there they plant themselves. The positive side of this is that all the dog hair gets blown into 2 piles. My dust bunnies are majestic in stature!

I am currently knitting a baby blanket for Josh and Tanya's baby which is due in Dec. What possessed me to make up my own pattern I really don't know. That sort of thing is always slower than if I just follow a pattern someone else has worked the kinks out of already. I am knitting the 3rd panel. The middle panel is a yellow ombre of Peaches and Creme cotton done in a seed stitch. The panel on one side of that is a solid golden yellow done in a basket weave of K4,P4 and the current panel on the other side is done in a lace pattern. A very simple lace pattern.

It's fun to knit with the various patterns and it will be interesting to see how it develops.

Well, I am off to enjoy wonderful, cooling, fabulous sweettea. That was not a typo. In this part of the world, sweettea is one word and don't even think about trying to tell me that you can add sugar to unsweetened tea. It is NOT the same thing at all.

Garden doings

What a treat this morning. I was in the garden weeding, my least favorite job, when I spied 8 caterpillars on the fennel. I just felt like it was a special gift as I have been working on developing a butterfly garden this past year.
These look like the catepillar of the black swallowtail. I guess only time will prove my guess as right or wrong. The fennel doesn't look too well but the caterpillars are very well rounded. Finding them certainly gave a lift to the weeding job. Well, ok, I had to stop weeding so I could get the camera and take a picture of the newest visitors. Then I had to come in and upload the pictures so I wouldn't forget. Now, darn it, it's getting too hot to weed any more today. Bless you caterpillars! I think I'll plant more fennel.

Over the Top

Ever have an idea floating around in your head but you just can't quite get a hold on it? That's been me for the past couple of days. I want to make a hat for the January Spin-in and I knew that I wanted to do something different but I couldn't pin down exactly what .

It finally came to me a bit . I remembered my stash of freeform crochet and knitting that I had in the bag in the hall which I have been stumbling over for a couple of months. (If I had put it out of sight, I never would have remembered it.) Anyway, I pulled them out last night and played around with them but kept going back to the computer to play solitaire. That's what I do when the brain is puzzling over something and I need a break.

I was reaching the point of frustration this morning. This is where I become very grateful for artistic, brilliant friends. I popped over to Melody's house and in a couple of minutes she solved the problem I was having. Talk about a DUH moment. I was trying to put the pieces together to resemble a hat. Melody suggested I pull out a styrofoam head and pin the pieces onto that to see how they work. I had even forgotten that I had styrofoam heads--they were put away in the top of a closet. This is why I love my friends. They are artistic, smart, and can think outside the box and provide great practical advice when I need it.

So Samantha now has pins in her head and will sit for a while like that until I decide that the pieces are arranged the way I want. Life has improved considerably.

Some of the other freeform pieces may go toward a vest in the future.

On the dog training front, Conner only has two more classes and he will graduate from basic obedience class. The little stinker is wonderful on lead and comes like a shot as long as there are treats involved. He really seems to like the classes as he jumps like a Parson Russell Terrier when he realizes we are going in the car.

On the other side of the coin, Allie is going up for Shetlie sainthood. Last night I looked over and Conner had Allie by the tail and was pulling her across the living room floor. It's not the first time he has done it. Somehow he has gotten the idea that her (once) fluffy tail is his personal toy and he can grab it and hang on anytime he wants. Like I said, Allie is up for sainthood.