One Year ago today

Where did the time go? Amazing!

So I dug my pattern out of the pile and it calls for 3.5oz of cobweb weight wool. I have 4.4 oz of silk/merino. I'm spinning it at roughly 40 wpi which is cobweb weight. I think I should be covered. Now the question is do I want to make my wedding ring shawl out of this lovely blue/green silk/wool. Or should I just bite the bullet and spin the baby camel/silk? Or BOTH!

Crazy is as crazy does after all.

I also have a bag full of bison to clean and spin. I really need my basement kitchen clean up first. I think that will be my first woolee winder project. I'm very excited about that purchase. I'm not sure why. I will have to practice spinning slightly heavier for that. I think about 20 wpi from the sample I looked at at the Yarnery on Wednesday.

I need to call my aunt and find out how much she wants and my mom to see if she can get some more fiber. I'm not sure I have enough down for a sweater. Even at that weight.

And that is the story of my life - lots of projects all due next week.

Grumpy - for no good reason

I'm just crabby. I'm not sure why. I'm staying in my cube and avoiding interacting with anyone who should be allowed to keep their head.

I am running out to a yarn store a little later. I'm grabbing a skein of yarn for a friend and, in all likelihood a couple skeins of koigu for the KOTR socks. There is yarn in my stash but I do not want to try to find it. I had enough trauma trying to find my keys this morning.

Last night I spun another 2 foot piece of the lovely silk/merino roving I bought last spring. I have 4.4 oz of it that was on sale - the last of the dye lot - cheap. I should have enough to make socks but I'm spinning it fine enough to knit a shawl should I decide to use it for that. It is a lovely color and I will take pictures just as soon as I have enough on the bobbin.

I have to figure out how much yardage of it I'll have. Then I can decide what I'm going to do with it. I also have a lovely "garnet" roving to spin which is suppose to be enough to make a sweater. I need to find a pattern so that I know what guage to spin it at. I hope that the Woolee Winder gets here soon. I've heard many good things about it and I can't wait to try it out.

Busy is as busy does

Last night I finished the EZ Surprise Baby Sweater. It is very nice. I had to alter the button bands because I was running out of yarn. I have about 5 yards left. Maybe.

I pulled out things I need to finish; the green baby sweater that needs buttons, two pairs of socks that need kitchnering and the EZ that needs buttons and two seams sewn. I resisted the urge to start anything new by counting the things I need to finish. With any type of luck and perseverance I'll finish them all before the house is done enough that I have time to catalog them all.

I should have painted but some other things went cross ways and that didn't happen. Hopefully tonight.

Other (forgotten) Sunday Acquisitions

We also drove through Chippewa Falls on Sunday. Since it was fall we thought the Leinie's Apple Spice was available and went looking for a liquor store. Instead I introduced Terri to G's childhood ice cream parlor. We went in and had ice cream to go and I purchased some cinnamon ice cream. Tonight there should be apple something hot from the oven with cinnamon ice cream!

Yummy

Holy Crap!

Friday is my Blogiversary!

September is almost gone. Leinie's Apple Spice Ale doesn't come out until November. So I'm torn. Between not believing it is almost October and wishing it was November.

I finished knitting my spouse's slippers, now they need felting. I have almost finished EZ' Surprise Baby sweater, size 12mo. I would have finished it if I hadn't made so many mistakes yesterday.

Friday I ordered a woolee winder with bobbins and two cones of 5-ply guernsey weight wool. I also ordered some lacing rings and some brass pins. The rings and pins were here when I got home Sunday evening. The brass pins bend like they are made of tin foil. But only the first two items are knitting related in any way.

I also stopped at All About yarn over my lunch hour on Friday and bought some sock yarn with the aloe/jojoba oil in it. I needed it for the KOTR KAL. It is a lovely color and will either become Friday Harbor or Canal de Midi socks. I also bought some lovely Cascade 220 for a baby sweater - but I think I'm going back and get enough to make the wrap around sweater pattern from Yellow Dog Knits; either that or the Cromarty from AS. Because really - I don't know that many babies.

Saturday I went to Hobby Lobby with my friend and bought some books I didn't need and a split ring tool. This should make stitch marker making much easier. I will have to make some more stitch markers. I also have to find some friends to gift them to, because who needs 11ty dozen stitch markers. Well okay - people who have 11ty dozen projects going - but I intend to stop that, really - I do. Step one - recognize you have a problem, Step two - stop contributing to the problem. I'm trying really. I'm finishing stuff and not starting new stuff - more or less. :)

Sunday we went to Ben Franklin and I bought some reed for costuming. It's a good thing we didn't go to the bead store, because while I wanted some beads - really! what do I need with more stuff. But next year I am going to the Bead and Button Show! Ha!

I petted some fabric this weekend as well - but I managed to leave it in the store. I attempted to find some worsted weight cotton so I could make a baby sweater for a friend but failed to find anything appropriate.

And thus - once again we are thwarted in our attempts to curb the acquisition of yarn and other sundries.

I'm Cursed!

Okay so I found the sweater pattern and the yarn for the baby sweater. But the only needle the right size that I can find is 32" circ. It's a little hard to knit a 20" baby sweater on that. I found 3 double points that were the right size and long enough but three isn't really enough needles. I could manage with 4 but three - no. I did cast on and I am about 10 rows in but my joints all ready are aching. I have approx. 17 weeks to finish it, so I think I'm good.

My poor spouse says - so are you starting my slippers? No - I can't find the needles. I can't imagine where they are, how often do you use size 13 (9.5 mm) double points? I bought them for some bulky weight mittens that I had to have a couple years ago. I can't find either one of my needle cases at the moment, which is where the needles are, I'm pretty sure. It's very annoying. I'm going to stop at JoAnns and grab a set (assuming they have them) and work on the slippers this weekend.

I think I should be able to get them done over the weekend. I hope that I can get them to a agitating washing machine for the felting. My gentle front loading machine doesn't felt. Which is great when you don't want to and sucks when you do. Maybe I should see about buying a little apartment size one for felting?

Another one Bites the Dust

Aberlady is no more. I was wrong about over coming the yarn not being right. There are too many other things I want to knit to spend my time on this. The yarn is ready to be skeined and washed and I'm ready to move on to other things.

I have no lack of items to work on. I think I'll start the baby sweater for Shannon. I hope I can find the pattern!

Progress

The lights are all hung at my house. Yay!

I knit another inch on the back of Aberlady yesterday. Only 4 more to go and then I can start the front! And then - the sleeves. Two weeks to knit a sweater on size 1 needles. Who exactly was I trying to kid? It is taking at least 1 day to knit one inch. I have 9 inches on the back and 20 something on the sleeves. That is a month of knitting, at least.

I still can't decide on a color for Beadwork. I really need to order the yarn last week. At this point it is either grey or cream. I should just flip a coin. Or maybe go with the cream. I wear a lot of cream anyway. I'd like more color in my wardrobe - but I'm drawn to purple and I have a lot of purple. To have less purple I've been going with blues. I have several blue sweaters now. I think I'll head into green next. I have several kitted up in burgundy (which is as close to red as I'm likely to get)

I have decided to design my own version of St. Brigid (another AS design) I simply will not pay $250 or more for a book. I have several Aran design books and some pattern discussions to go by. I have some lovely gold aran weight yarn that I bought for a pattern that is nice but not as much me in person as I thought it would be online. So I have the yarn and the knowledge - we'll see if I can manage the ability. That will keep me busy thinking all winter and I'll start knitting in the Spring. (ha! I know me better than that!)

Knitting - Again

So the urge to finish things has caused me to climb over piles of stuff and rescue from oblivian my Aberlady sweater. It is another (yes another) AS that I started mummblety years ago. It is knit in the round to the sleeves then back and forth for the back/front. I'm about 1/3 the way up the back. Once I got set in the pattern knitting went well and I managed to get about 2 inches done. I'm concerned that, given the length of time since I started this piece and the way I have adjusted my tension, that I will have a harder time getting gauge, but I'm watching carefully and we'll hope for the best.

The yarn has been in storage so long that it has a little smell (it reeks of neglect). I dumped a bunch of lavender in the bag when I got home and we'll hope that makes it better. It is amazing the amount I have learned about yarn substitution since I started that. The weight of the yarn gets gauge, it doesn't give the right pop to the stitch definition though. It will still be nice to wear and I am still going to finish it, but if I was starting it today I'd find something else that would show to better effect.

I've been meaning to get back to it but other things always demand my attention. I'm going to attempt to finish it by October 1st. (yikes - a deadline) This is the date the KAL for Beadwork begins. It would be nice to start that on an up note.

Like I said before - I really need a 12 step program.

I took Aberlady to Eastside Fiber Enablers. It was really nice to get out. We are hoping to move it back to my house after Halloween, hopefully most of the debris will be out of the house by then and there will be places to sit.

Book Signing!

I went with a group of friends to see the Yarn Harlot speak and sign books. She was very entertaining and quite nice.

I got a book signed for Mom for her birthday. I hope she likes it. She had no idea who the Yarn Harlot is which was funny since she has shown me the books a couple times in the book store.

I didn't wear a single thing that I had knit to the event. Rather silly of me really. But there you have it. I've caught the 'finish it' bug again. I've brought forward several old things and I'm going to start working on them again.

I have to get back to cleaning and re-arranging the house so that we can actually live here. It will be nice. I hope.

Knitting?!

Yes another knitting post - I'm starting to think this is a knitting blog!

Here is the baby sweater, sans buttons. Cute, I think. This was a nice easy knit. I might have to make more like this.



Here are my Unst socks from Knitting on the Road.


Today I'm going with friends to see the Yarn Harlot. We should have a great day. I'm taking my camera and I hope I remember to take pictures. I doubt it - but you never know.

Finally - Pictures!

Finally have the desktop computer up and running. We'll have the wireless up soon (I hope).

Here are my SP8 gifties. They are so nice! First the lace shawl pattern and yarn. There was also candy (but I ate it) and a book light (it's in the car). I will have to wait (impatiently) to start until the house is more settled. Right now my knitting has to be the not mentally challenging variety. But the end of the remodel is in sight!


And the final package which is most excellant:
There are RED HOTS! hiding in there! I can't wait to start reading the book and knitting the fair isle socks (you can't really see the pattern very well). They will be so beautiful. Or I think I might use the lovely blue and purple yarn to make the Friday Harbor socks from Knitting on the Road.

I haven't managed to find time to do more than fondle the other yarn - but I think there should be mittens or a hat or a scarf from the other yarn. Winter is coming. They are predicting warmer weather with freezing rain - I'll need nice mittens for scraping ice off the car windows. I'd rather have feet of snow!

What next?

We have fleas, and because we have fleas, you know they are in my stash. Stupid cats.

I called the vet and she said to get some Frontline. We don't have to worry about bombing the house (which isn't terribly effective anyway) because the cats will take it anywhere they've been and it will kill the fleas there, then. When we take the cats to the vet on Monday we will get some Revolution - which is better but also a controlled substance, to use next. 4 months of this should kill all the fleas. I'll let you know.

My Filter Queen and I will be very busy the next week or so. I'll be putting my yarn in a laundry bag, in a garbage bag and sucking all the air out of it. Just what I wanted to do. On the other hand I will also acquire a vast number of new bins to place said yarn in and move it up to the new work room, after it has been processed. Two birds with one stone, and hopefully we'll manage to suck up most of the flea eggs in the process. This was not on the previous agenda.

This will mean that the cats, in order to spread their flea killer, will have total access to my stash. Stupid cats. Not that my house has ever been free of cat hair, but I've at least made some unreasonable attempts to keep them out of my yarn and fabric.

I have always had pretty good luck getting rid of fleas. The last two times we've had them I had the erradicated in a month. So while I'm all grossed out and unhappy about it, I'm also hopeful that it will be short lived.

Hopefully we won't have to deal with fleas as long as we've had to deal with stupid plumbers.

I'm depressed

We have two more draws to make on our house. The final contractor draws and the flooring/doors draw. The contractor draw will make us go over our target and we haven't even gotten quotes for the flooring and doors yet. YIKES!

I finished my Unst socks last night, except for weaving the ends in. I started another new pair. Some lacey cable socks from a sock of the month club I get.

Liz needs to get back to karate but I want to move furniture. Mike wants to get the flooring and doors quotes but I want to move furniture.

I suppose that duty will win over desire and I will spend another night in the RV.

Impossibility

It is impossible to post pictures if you leave the camera and SD card at home.

September - remember

School started today! Which means that unless my daughter finally agrees that she can be responsible for getting herself on the bus my work schedule sucks!

I got my Secret Pal 8 box on Friday! It was super. I have pictures that I will post ASAP. Meaning - this afternoon if I can manage a break at the coffee bar that has free wi-fi. However did she know that I adore sock patterns. I forgot to grab the card so I can go to her blog and say thank you.

I finished my Unst socks last night and they are too small - out come the toes and add an inch. I wish I had thought to check them before I broke the yarn off the first one. Oh well.

I finished the green baby sweater and realized that I lost one of the cards of buttons in the store. I didn't pay for them but I still have to go back and buy another card of them.

I am going to order the 5ply gansey yarn for Beadwork KAL tomorrow. I'm having such a hard time chooseing a color. It is a good thing I'm not also choosing a yarn I'd never manage. KAL starts Oct. 1st.

I painted the first coat of the guest room. After work tonight I'm doing the second coat, creating a path to get the bed out and setting it up in the room. We will be living in the guest room until our room is done. The bathrooms are done except for storage spaces. Closets need to be built for upstairs and a cabinet bought for downstairs.

The house is a mess on a grand scale. I'm not sure it will ever be clean again.

We Have Water!

That is all for now! - Moving stuff! Yay!