Step two or Space Dyeing 101

Step two is dyeing the warp.



Yarns to dye (not to die for). The multicoloured bundle to the left is my warp. Fugly colours to my way of thinking. The blue and green bundles are my weft. they will be dyed one colour in a pot.




Dyes to dye them with.

On display are wash fast red, fuscia, yellow, golden yellow, turquoise, and national blue. Not here is what I shall call mystery green. Last summer when I was dyeing some warps, I had a little bit of a whole bunch of blues and yellows left over and so I mixed them into the mystery green that I shall never be able to reproduce. Oh well.




I soak my warp in cool water, to which a drop of dish soap has been added. Then I wring it out and soak it in vinegar. Wring most of the vinegar out.Then the warp gets spread out. Underneath my warp is a very distracting old shower curtain that I use to protect my table. Also underneath my warp is plastic wrap layed out in the same snakey pattern as the warp is. You will see it's use later.



This is me applying the national blue. I have my pot of dye and a small sponge that I use to do the application. I basically plip the dyes down one colour at a time until I have the whole warp covered. Sorry I don't have more photos of the progression, But I got kind of caught up with all of the fun and forgot to snap picts.



Here is my warp with the dyes all applied. I massage the dyes in with my fingers and gently lift and look underneath to make sure that the dyes have penetrated to the bottom. Then it sits for about 30 minutes. Usually. This day, my husband, who had taken all of the children plus a spare to the university to see the annual robotics competition, called to say that there was nothing happening this year and they were on their way home. After the half hour, you are suppose to soak up the excess dyes with paper towels. Sometimes I do this , sometimes I don't. If you do soak up the excess dyes, there is less tendency for the colours to run together.




So I quickly wrapped the plastic wrap around my warp to seal it.






And put it in my pot to steam for an hour. I have a wire rack held about 3 inches off the bottom of the pot by one of those old metal veggie steamers. I keep the different ends of the warp as separate as I can so that I will not get reds in my blue end and blues in my red end. On goes the cover and the timer for 1 hour. Unlike rice, you can take the cover off from time to time to see how things are progressing. If you press a piece of paper towel to the yarn and it comes away clear, everything is set. Then I let it cool as long as possible. On my less impaitent days, this is until it is completely cooled. I find that the turquoise sets better if the yarns cool to room temperature.This day, I was able to hold off for about an hour.



This is my first rinse. I love acid dyes because of the lack of runoff. I can and sometimes do use fiber reactive dyes to dye cottons and rayon, but I much prefer acids and wool and silk.




And here is my dyed warp. Of course the colours don't look as bright here as they do in real life and natural sunlight. The reds are not quite so orange and the blues are richer. The bright pink from time to time are the ties that I used every foot or so to keep my warp seperate when it was being soaked and wrung. They are woven in through the bundles of warp like a figure 8. Well , two 8's on top of eachother. You want them loose or they will act as a resist, and the dye will not penetrate.

This technique can be used to dye skeins too. Arrange plastic wrap in an oval shape and put the vinegar soaked skein on it before applying dyes. Put at least 4 ties around the skeins.

Or you can apply the dyes before the vinegar and apply the vinegar on with a spray bottle after the dyes have set for the half an hour.

This is space dying 101 completed. No guys in silver suits. Just me in my purple smock. Sorry Jay.

Any questions?

FYI

I just wanted you all to know that when I say "overdying", all that I mean is that I am going to dye yarn that is already coloured. I started this when I inherited a couple of cones of lovely, soft cotton that was a horrid pale blue and an ugly light brown. I was taking a dye class at the time and needed to make a final project, so I made a mini skein containing about a dozen rounds of each the blue and brown and dyed parts of it the various colours that I had mixed up. It was an enlightening experience. I expected to like the blue yarn better, but the brown came out richer. How many of us out there have yarn with a wonderful feel and texture, but is some what lacking in colour as per our own individual colour choices? I highly recommend dying it! A wonderful array of dyes are available from http://www.dharmatrading.com/ as well as instructions. Check it out!

More on space dying later.

Cute sock book

This is a really great sock book. There are many different patterns of varying degrees of difficulty as well as different styles. And it is shaped like a sock! What more can I say?

Jay's challenge, step one

Step one in weaving ( after figuring out what you want to weave) is to make a warp. OK. You have to do a warp calculation sheet to figure out how long a warp you need to make and how much yarn you need to buy. Numbers on a sheet. Boring. No pictures.

Once you have that done, you make the warp. My warp is 220 inches long. That will give me two shawls of 70 inches with a generous 8 inch fringe on each side. Included is also an amount for stretch from being held on the loom under tension, a bit for shrinkage, and what is called "loom waste". The bits at each end of a warp that you use to tie the warp to the loom. In case you didn't know, a warp are the yarns that run through the loom. Basically, all a loom does is hold a bunch of yarns of the same length at an even tension so that you can raise some and put other yarns across to create fabric. In order to create a bunch of yarns all the same length, you use a warping board. A smooth board with holes into which you put pegs and wrap the yarns around the pegs. Just behind the green cones are two pegs that are set rather close together and this is where you make what is called a cross. The cross is necessary to keep the yarns in order or else you will end up with a BIG tangle. Not a good idea. Here my warp is about 1/3 done. I am changing colours so that when I overdye there will be slight variations in the new dyed colour.





I have done a lot of overdying, but have never before done so with more than one colour in the warp. This is an experiment. Overdying will take place this weekend (when I can get a camera again and have another adult to run interference with all of my short people). Once the warp is all made up, You tie it on the crosses (one at each end) and about every foot so that the bugger doesn't end up as a tangled mess and in the garbage. And then I shall scour it in preparation for dying. Scouring is basically washing it to remove any sizing and crap so that it will dye well.




Same picture, different angle.

Keep watching!

Thar be sprouts!

I went to check my pots full of soil and seeds and there were a few sprouts! I now have 4 broccoli plants that are reaching towards the sun, as well as a few jalapino peppers that are just starting to make an appearance. I am soooooo ready to plant the garden! Now all I have to wait for is the garden to be ready to be planted! If this warm weather keeps up, I won't have very long to wait. I would like to get my first peas in in about a month. Then I will have peas before summer! Yum.

For Jay's craft challenge

On view, my little "heirloom" that I inherited from my wonderful weaving teacher, Susan Judah. Ugly coloured yarns and assorted weaving paraphenalia including, shuttles, bobbins and bobbin winder,reed hook. A few cones of yarn already skeined off so that I can dye them for the weft. Actually on the loom is my colour tests and sample so I can determine the correct sett (how many ends pre inch). I have not included all weaving equipment to be used, such as warping board, raddle, ball winder nor swift. The plastic bag on the loom contains my dyes, but all other dying stuff ( like pots and plastic wrap, measuring cups and rubber gloves have been left out because who really needs to see all of that stuff)

In any case, Jay, does this mean that I am official now?

As promised

Second set of socks started with the procrastination space dyed yarn.













procrastination yarn in procrastination basket.











Drum roll please......



Happy feet in soft foot bags.

song meme

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they a’re any good, but they must be songs you a’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they are listening to.

1. Jewel - Who will save your soul

"Who will save your soul if you won't save your own?
Some are walking, some are talking, some are stalking their kill
You got social security, but that doesn't pay your bills
There are addictions to feed and there are mouths to pay
So you bargain with the Devil, say you're o.k. for today,"

I love the range. I love the lyrics. She is a truly talented writer. This was her first album, before the spit and polish was applied to her. It is still a little raw and her voice is the focal point. This is one of my all time favorites to sing along to.

2. Jewel - almost the whole album "Spirit" But if I had to chose one song, it would be "Down so long"

"I look to everyone but me to answer my prayers
till I saw an angel in the bathroom who said
she say no one worth saving, anywhere.
And a blind man in the corner said it's simple,
like flipping a coin.
Don't matter what side it lands on if it's someone else's dime"

I find my self singing this one from time to time when I am feeling particularly oppressed by life, the universe, and everything.

3. Richard Einhorn - Anonymous 4 - Voices of light

Taken from the inside booklet "An Oratorio inspired by the film "The Passion of Joan of Arc"

Holy oh mothers! This is a beautiful album. The words are Latintin (translation in side booklet) . I will not pick one song from this album, and you can't make me!

4. Amanda Marshall - Everybody's got a story

"See my eye's, don't see what I see.
Touch my tongue, don't know what tastes good to me.
It's the human condition that keeps us apart.
Everybody's got a story that could break your heart."

Why do I like it? I'm not quite sure, but I like to walk to this album. It is upbeat and true.

5. The sound track from " The Piano" Michael Nyman

I saw the movie 12 years ago and fell in love. With the music, the film, New Zealand. Hubbies comment " what a strange concept for a movie". I love the scene where Ada ( Holly Hunter) is on the beach playing the piano and her daughter,( played by Anna Paquin) is dancing and making sand sculptures. It is an incredibly moving scene where you can see the bond and understanding between the two characters.

6. On the street where you live - From the sound track of My Fair Lady with Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison

"I have often walked down this street before;
But the pavement always stayed beneath my feet before.
All at once am I Several stories high.
Knowing I'm on the street where you live.
Are there lilac trees in the heart of town?
Can you hear a lark in any other part of town?
Does enchantment pour Out of ev'ry door?
No, it's just on the street where you live!
And oh! The towering feeling
Just to know somehow you are near.
The overpowering feeling
That any second you may suddenly appear!
People stop and stare. They don't bother me.
For there's no where else on earth that I would rather be.
Let the time go by, I won't care if I
Can be here on the street where you live."


Another one that I find myself singing when wee N and I are on our way home from a walk and she is starting to get fussy Excecpt that our version goes "On the street were WE live"

7. Gulf War Song - Moxy Fruvous


"We got a call to write a song about the war in the Gulf
But we shouldn't hurt anyone's feelings
So we tried, then gave up, 'cause there was no such song
But the trying was very revealing
What makes a person so poisonous righteous
That they'd think less of anyone who just disagrees?"

Apparently the first part is true. They did get a call to write a song about the war in the gulf and were told to not hurt any ones feelings. The strange thing about this is that it was 13+/- years ago and about the first gulf war when George Sr. had enough sense to stay out of Iraq. Because there was no good "exit strategy" . The song still rings true for this war that is happening now. What has changed excecpt the common sense?

As for the tagging part, that feels to me like chain letters. So do it if you want, don't if you don't.

BTW. Did any one else have the spell checker cack up your text? It did strange things to mine. Like it was stuttering. Curiouser and curiouser.

Heavenly foot bags

I actually did it today.

After all of the sweat and tears, after days of sidelong glances and admiring stares, after fondling and wondering at their softness, I wore my socks today. Both indoors and out. At first, I thought "let no boot rub against my carefully constructed heel" But then, after wearing them around all morning in my birk's, it was walk time. Or at least "get me out of this house" time. One deep breath later, and my socks were in my boots. You have 4 kids cooped up all day when it is nice out and see how long you last. We walked to Victory, the locally owned meat/grocery store. Then on to the library to exchange a DVD. Then across the foot bridge to the walking trail and down river to the old converted train bridge. It was a balmy +6 C. The rest of the week looks about the same. I am so glad that winter, mild as it was, is loosing its grip. I think that everyone will sleep well tonight.

The socks held up well and my feet feel great in their new "foot bags". When my eldest was quite a bit younger, she enjoyed playing with words, Well, she still does. Everything that you say goes through a "how can I make this funny" filter. Some times this can be a good thing, sometimes it can be down right annoying. One day she decided that socks was too boring for her and renamed them "foot bags" What can I say? I kind of like it.

I am already thinking about what other soft yarns I have in stash that I can convert to socks. I should say soft FAT yarn. I think that there is a wool silk blend that I have had for years waiting for the perfect project. It is off white, and I inherited some turquoise so I think that they will end up in the dye pot.

I also got a great tip from a sock book (Knit Socks! by Betsy Lee McCarthy) checked out from the library. If you need to splice yarn with mostly wool content ( with the excecption of superwash types) you can easily do so by unraveling about one inch from each end, laying them together, apply enough spit ( I kid you not) to moisten and rub the splice rapidly between your palms. The combination of wet ( from the spit, but water would work as well I think) and heat and friction ( from rubbing your palms together) will felt the ends together. It took me about one minute of this to get the ends well felted and reduced in size to the original weight. Who knew?

STOP THE PRESSES!

I am.... done the socks. Yes done. All the way done. Ends sewn in and washed type of done. They were a little large and so I did as I has threatened and shrunk them. Carefully. Slowly. They are still a little loose around the instep, and should I ever use this pattern again I shall adjust the stitches. I have already started on my next pair of socks in the blue green procrastination yarn that I dyed last week. They are working up quite a bit quicker. Fat yarn. Pictures, as always, to follow.

On a slightly negative note, I have discovered that I simply cannot tolerate cheap wine. I shared a few glasses with Liz yesterday afternoon while sitting in the sun and a few more last night while watching "10 things I hate about you" . Drank lots of water before going to bed. Woke up with a headache and the urge to make a call on the porcelain phone. Sigh. I am getting old.

What are we doing?

So here I am, doing my morning surf, and listening to CBC and it is an article about cancer. Now , the chances of getting cancer is 1 in 2. 50% . That is either me or my husband and two of my kids. That is my mother, who had breast cancer diagnosed three years ago, and is fine now. For the moment. That is my mother in law. Breast cancer 30+ years ago. That is my paternal grandmother. Breast cancer. That was Rick and Robbie. And Haifa, and Marilyn, and Liz S. Who else? And what is causing all of this? Nobody really knows. The best guess is that it is all of the crap that we eat and breath. The chemicals that are put in our food to keep them "fresh". The shit that "off gases" from the cheap building materials that go into today's houses, and mini home. I went to an "open house" for one of these locally built "Maple Leaf Homes" It is basically a modular mini home. House lego. You chose the pieces and they assemble the bricks on your property. Looked nice and clean, but I could smell the chemicals and I had a headache after 5 minutes. And these things are being marketed to young families. Look at the ingredients list on lots of "foods" in the grocery store. After a few that we know and can pronounce, there are many that are there to give whatever it is a shelf life of 18 months or more.What else are they doing? I would love to buy everything organic, but my grocery bill would rise to $1000 per month. I kid you not. I can't afford it. The money isn't there. So what do I do?

In North America, a chemical is considered innocent until proven guilty. Why are the food giants trying to kill us slowly? Oh, right. The same reason that the US is in Iraq. Money.

There are days that I dream of being omnipotent. I make my self large, look down on the world, and start squishing the greedy bastards that put money above life, humanity, morality. I squish them like mosquito's with my thumb.

Spring is coming!

It is the last day of the dreaded month of February! Finally! The weather is suppose to be warmer starting Thursday. And my seeds have arrived! I can just see the peas poking their little tender heads out of the soil! I can't wait! Last year, due to a large late flood, the garden was under water until mid May. I didn't get anything in until the first week of June. June 1 is our usual planting time here for the tender things like tomatoes and beans, but there are a few hardy souls that actually do better when they are planted when it is cool out. Peas being one of them. I like to put them in as soon as dad tills the garden. My father is a dairy farmer who lives just on the outskirts of Fredericton. He has plenty of room out there, and so has, for the past 12 years, tilled up a small plot for DH and myself. Last year it was about 700 square feet. The kids LOVE peas, as do I and so every year I plant about 40 to 60 feet of peas. At peak pea season, I can pick a 40 Liter bucket and we don't even sit down to eat them. It is like witnessing the vegetarian vultures descending. Usually only one pot of peas gets cooked. Hubbie likes them cooked, so he gets one pot on his birthday. Personally, I think that it is a waste of a raw pea to cook it. I can eat cooked peas anytime of year, but a fresh raw pea only comes in a short window. Yummy. I can hardly wait!

The things you notice....

Lying in bed last night, sniffing and snuffing, I came to the realization that you don't really take notice of breathing through your nose until you can't. Damn, I hate having a cold.

Speaking of cold, Wind chill was registered at -29 C this morning. Isn't it suppose to be getting warmer? I guess that we are paying for our mild January.

Sock progress... Cuff done, and heel done. I shall attend to the turning of said heel when a certain small someone has her nap. She is also sniffing today and so has spent most of the morning on my lap. It is hard to knit when you have a girl asking for hugs.



And here is one of my quilts, as per discussing them with Mia. This is not a baby quilt, but the construction was pretty much the same.

This weekend was a bit of a wash. First, it was cold, and we all know how I feel about the cold. Second, I didn't feel 100%. We did get to watch "The Return of the King" however. So there was a few positive notes. I know for some of you, that this was a the first time that I had seen it could only come as a shock. I tried to read the first book in my mid 20's and couldn't get through the first 3 chapters. Several times. I must note that I had the same problem with "The Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I finally got over that one and have read it several times. Maybe the same holds true for the "Lord of the Rings" Time will tell. I did see the Two Towers when I was visiting my sister this past spring, and I have only seen half of the Fellowship of the Rings. Small girl needed attention and I never got back to it. I will.

I also figured out something interesting and rather disturbing this weekend. Saturday night, actually Sunday morning, I woke up about 3 with a splitting headache. One of the kinds that I knew wouldn't go away on it's own, so I took acetaminophen. I never really did get back to sleep, but a couple of hours later, after feeling increasingly queasy, I ended up in the bathroom talking on the porcelain telephone. Back to bed feeling suprisingly better for a few more hours rest, but the headache wouldn't go away. Another acetaminophen and eventually another call on the phone. Lightbulb moment. I was wondering why, when I had had a particularly , shall we say, spirited night, I ended up being uncommonly sick so much later that would have been normal given the way spirits work. I wake up with a headache that won't go away, take a pill, get sick. Duhh. Never thought that it would have been the thing that was suppose to make me feel better that was making me feel worse. It never used to bother me. I must be getting old.

Yet another sock report

My hubby thinks that I talk about my sock too much here. It's either that or moan about the weather, which has turned cold again. But on a positive note, the dreaded month of February is almost over, march break is just around the corner, and it was actually light out yesterday when the alarm went off and I hauled my tired ass out of bed. Summer is coming! Well, maybe I should herald the arrival of spring first, but summer is what I really want.

In any case, Thursday night, I watched "Sweet Home Alabama" and almost finished my cuff. I have seen it enough times that I didn't have to pay complete attention to the screen, and I have the K2P1 down so that I didn't have to pay complete attention to the sock either. I started to knit the heel last night, but was convinced by a little girl that cuddle time was more important. We went to bed shortly there after and my sock sits waiting for me to come to it again. Which I will do later on today when someone is napping. In hope no one else needs attention.

I balled my blue/green yarn yesterday, and it is all aquiver with anticipation to be transformed into socks. Who knew that socks would be so addictive?

Tomorrow is my parents 40th wedding anniversary. So Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! They will be coming over for supper. Last night, they went out for Chinese, my aunt is getting them a gift certificate for another restaurant, and they are coming here to eat. So I guess that in my family, 40th is all about food.

Little sock progress and more creative procrastination

I have been working on the sock. I swear. It sits in its little basket on the kitchen counter and I pick it up from time to time and do a few rows. I tried to knit in the dark while watching a movie the other night. I don't recommend it. There are a few more mistakes that shall grace my foot when finished.

As for creative procrastination, I dyed two skeins of Briggs and Little off white into blends of green and blue with a touch of yellow. I love the instantness of the dye process. In an hour you know if you have something beautiful, or something not.

The weather is warmer today, but still hasn't broken above freezing. I look forward to those hot summer days. I am tired of being cold, and tired of the power bill. It amazes me how much it costs to heat our place to something slightly more than frigid. Not like you could tell by looking at baby N. She is a striptease artiste. The longest that I can keep clothes on her is about 30 minutes, and that is only if she knows that we are going for a walk soon. Once we get back from the walk, off come the boots, then snowsuit, soon followed by socks and pants. Last to go is the shirt. All my kids were like that. Must be something genetic. On any given day the two of us are a study in opposites. Her, diaper clad. Me wool covered.

Summer, get here soon.

Soup and Baskets

I have to say that I made the best veggie soup the other day. It was one of those panic moments when Mother Hubbard looked in her substantially depleted cupboards and came up with veggie soup. I have 3 other veggie soup recipes in my hand written cookbook, but they are going to get tossed in favour of this one.

6-10 cloves of garlic sliced
2 onions coarsely chopped
3 sticks of celery 3/4 inch slices
2 med carrots quartered and 3/4 inch slices
1 yellow pepper coarsely chopped
1 green pepper coarsely chopped
2 small zucchini 1/4 inch slices
2 med potatoes 1 inch cubes
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp each oregano, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
oil

Heat oil over medium heat in large pot. Saute onions and garlic in oil about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and celery, cook 2 minutes. Add peppers, carrots, and potatoes. Cover and cook about 10 minutes or until things start to soften.Stir often. Add can of tomatoes and two cans of water, herbs, and vinegar. Cook until done, about 20 minutes.

note: I used the tomato can to measure the two cans of water. Seems obvious, but you never know when someone might go to the store looking for canned water. My daughter is a literalist. I have learned to be careful about what I say.

So maybe my cupboards weren't all that bare. But it was good. This recipe make a big pot of soup, but I cook for 6, so it works out fine for us.

As for basket making.... I don't know about those backpack baskets, and I really have no desire to make one ( my back is wroteoff) but if you all want to learn how to make a small basket then I am more than willing to lead all you wannabe basket making Frederictonians in a informal workshop. But the thing that we need is water and space. The reeds that we use can reach about 10 feet in length, sometimes longer. They tend to get tangled and to untangle them required a bit of shaking. For the course that I took, there were 6 of us, plus the instructor in a room that was about 20' by 12' and that was cramped. As I say to the kids, we all like our eyes. So I will suggest that we go ahead in the summer, when we can soak the reeds (and our feet) in a kiddie pool, ( I have one courtesy of Liz) sit in someone's back yard ( I volunteer mine), and swill beer. Sound good ladies?

And my basket dried out so I gave it a test run last night. It worked out fine with no snagging. It may not work so well with a fine single ply silk like Kate is using, but does the trick for my wool.

Cabin fever

ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH! I hate this weather! It is cold out there. Nasty cold. We have been spoiled by mild weather. The other day it went up to +12C. Today we are at -11 C with a wind chill of -19. This morning the wind chill was -29. Nasty. I have been used to going out almost every day. The only time that I haven't gone out for at least the walk to get the kids at school has been when I had that flu. Either 24 hour or 24 ounce. I did walk to my weaving guild meeting yesterday. It was cold then too. I want the mild weather back. Winter , winter go away. Now! How confused must those poor birds that over winter up here be? I wonder how many chickadees dropped dead of shock two nights ago when the deep freeze struck.

That was my bitch session for today. Or at least as much as you are going to hear. Lucky you.

Over the past couple of days I have been making progress with sock 2 The cuff is about 4 inches. I picked up a sock book at the library the other day and I had to laugh when I started reading through it. One of the first things that it said was, if you were going to knit a sock, you had to believe the directions. I has that disbelief when I got to the heel of my sock. K2P1 is pretty basic. I had done this before and knew what to expect. But at the heel, I read the directions 3 or 4 times and still didn't understand how the heck it was going to work. And wouldn't it be lopsided. It just didn't make sense. But I bravely said WTF and plowed on. Son of a gun. It worked out just fine. I shall believe the pattern from now on and trust that they know what they are talking about.

And here is some crafty procrastination. Friday night, I decided that I was tired of holding my ball of yarn on my lap and I was also tired of it rolling around my none to pristine floor. So I decided to make a basket to hold my ball of yarn while knitting. I had taken a basketry course a few years ago and loved it, so had picked up some reeds so that I could continue on in basket land. I used the tub for soaking my reeds so I had to finish this particular project within 24 hours. 6 people, 1 bathtub. The math is easy.

No jokes about underwater basket weaving please. I heard enough of them at the time that I took the course.

So 24 hours later, I have a slightly damp basket that is about 7 inches wide and 5 inches deep. I may have to line it with fabric or varnish it to get the inside smooth enough so that my yarn won't snag. When it is completely dry, I will give it a test run and see if the yarn even does snag.

Speaking of snags, I found what I thing will be my shawl pattern. Apparently it is " suprisingly simple to knit". That is yet to be seen. It is a traditional fir cone pattern. I started a sample because this was yet another time when reading the pattern left me shaking my head. A sample is not another project and so I am within my one project per medium restraint. I have only done about 7 rows, but it is looking suprisingly like something that the cat ate and spit up. But not as slimy. I shall believe the pattern, press on, and see if it starts to resemble a fir cone.

I shall see if I can get my hands on a camera so that you can see my progress.

Thanks and goodnight.

OK. I lied.

Or, read the pattern right stupid.

I looked at the pattern again last night because I hit the toe and needed to consult. And while I was there, I looked at the tension recommendation and it said "To be measured on 3mm needles in Stocking stitch 7sts. 10 rows = 1 inch or 2.5mm"
So I went back to my sock and did the measurements and lo and behold, the gauge was RIGHT! According to my pattern. Maybe I just have a skinny foot.

I still should have sampled and did my GD swatch. I will next time.

And guess what else happened last night?!?!?

I FINISHED SOCK #1 !

And I tried it on over the sock that was on my foot. It was a little loose, but I can live with that. I can still also shrink it. And here comes my lie. After finishing sock #1 and determining that it wasn't really all that big, I started on sock #2 without doing my shrinkage swatch. I didn't want to fall into what is , around here referred to as, " a gumption trap" . I am sure that you are all familiar with them. Something comes up and you don't start or continue or finish a project and then after a while it seems like just too much bother, or there is always something else to do that is more important. I am learning to spot mine and I spotted one last night. As simple as casting on sock 2. It was almost bed time for me and I thought " I'll just start this and then won't have to start it later". I find starting on dp's a bit awkward. It would be a gumption trap for me. So now I have sock #2 started and about 4 rows of k2p1 done and it shall be easy to pick it up and continue on.

As for the rest of my life, Today was a beautiful day and wee N and I walked up the hill to go to the Blue Cross office to turn in some receipts and get some cheques. I have decided that , although it was not as painful as I anticipated,(pushing the stroller) I definitely need some more exercise and will get out for longer walks if the weather is fine. I read an article in a mag in the dentist office yesterday about why it is hard for some people to loose weight and I learned that when you hit perimenopause ( which is where I am) your body produces more estrogen which makes you retain more fat. I like my beer, I like my chocolate, I like my food, BUT I don't want to get fat so that means less intake than I had before, or more calorie burning exercise. I have a hard time saying no so I guess that I will start to say yes and just walk more.

What were those things called again?

You know, those little knitting things that you make before you start a new project?

Swatches, right.

And why do you make them?

So that things will fit. Right.

Can you all guess what I didn't do?

Right. I didn't make a swatch.

My bad.

Last night, I tried on my sock. Now don't get ahead of me. The sock isn't finished yet. I am about 7/8 of the way down the foot. The needles looked long enough so that if I shoved my foot into my sock, just to check the fit, nothing would pop off. And I was right. Nothing did pop off. But the sock was just a bit loose. Hmmmm, think I. Let's check what the pattern says. Gauge 10 st per inch on size 3mm needles. I had 3 mm needles, but upon approaching the plain knitting part of my sock with a ruler, what to my wondering eyes did appear? 7 stitches per inch. I guess that the yarn I chose was a llleeeetle bit larger than the recommended yarn,although not by much, and I guess that I am a loose knitter. I also guess that I have learned my lesson. After all, what is a first sock without a few lessons. I will, however, NOT rip it out and knit it smaller. I'll leave that for the rest of you mad knitters. DH pointed out that his feet were larger than mine and he would kindly sacrifice his feet if the sock was going to be too big for me. I thanked him, but I'm not done yet. Wool has this wonderful property of shrinkage. So when sock # 1 is finished, I shall knit my swatch and see what the shrinkage is. Then go on to sock # 2. I have used the shrinkage thing before. My 2 year mittens are a case in point. I knit then out of fat glossy wool that I picked up at a yard sale and then dyed. I purposely used a man's pattern so that they would be large, but they turned out HUGE! About 12 inches from cuff to fingertip. They shrunk really well though, and now I have super warm and wind proof mittens. A definite plus when you walk about in winter as much as I do. So if the shrinkage thing works, I will still have my socks, if not, DH will inherit a pair of socks that were knit with equal parts love and cursing. And there are enough mistakes in them that I thing that they are safe from the gods' wrath.

Next up... purchase some smaller needles and SAMPLE, SAMPLE ,SAMPLE. I guess that you keep getting lessons that you need to learn. And I hope that some day I will learn to sample BEFORE I start a new project with a new material in a new technique. Sigh.

Happy Wednesday all. Gee, that sounds like a reason to celebrate.

My sock runneth over

I am so jazzed! Thanks to the wonderful woman of knowledge, Kate, I am well on my way to completing 'the sock'. The k2p1 of the cuff is done. The heel, complete with turning, is done. The instep with all of its cryptic codes, is done. I am just working my way down the foot. Then I hit the toe. And then I'm DONE. Well, done the first sock. This sort of reminds me of when I gave birth to twins. During the pushing out stage of the birth, I screamed "I can't believe that I have to do this AGAIN". But I suppose if I want a "pair" of socks, that I shall. Now I just have to figure out how to wear them without touching the ground.

To all of you that were hit with the blizzard yesterday... here in Fred'sville we got about 4 inches. And it was light and fluffy. A dream to shovel. Now that I said that, the next storm will probably dump 3 feet of heavy wet snow and then top it off with some freezing rain.




I also took some time to scroll through all of "you knit what?"s archives. By far the funniest thing I have seen in ages. And this poor dog takes the cake. I almost peed myself, spit my tea and fell off the chair laughing. Doberman's should not wear bonnets.

Another question....

OK. I am crusing along on my sock. I'm counting, and picking up stitches alongside the heel.l I'm feeling pretty cocky. Then I come to the instruction .....

2nd needle K1, Sl1, K1, PSSO, K to end of needle.

I got the K's I got the Sl's, I can P with the best of them. According to the abbreviation guide PSSO means, Pass Slip Stitch Over. I know. I know. Not rocket science, some of you are thinking. Others are thinking, And she wants to knit LACE??? Is it so painfully simple as to mean that you slip a stitch that you slipped from the row before? Or is it deeper than that. Hidden knitters code. Like the DaVinci Code. The Knitters Code, unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe to save Mankind. Or at least keep their feet warm.

A pitiful plea at best from a humble wannabe sock knitter.

On a good note, I put my proverbial foot down and told M that she had to finish her scarf this weekend. It has been on the loom now around a month and I have some experimentation to do in all of my spare time. She just finished off!! Now the cut off and fringing. This is monumental! WOW! I'm excited for her!

In any case HELP please so I can get on with my sock.

Thanks in advance

Sock Update

The heel is turned!!!!!

You are right, Zann. I am not even done and I feel competent. I am going to feel like I am on top of the World when I am done.

For the record

What a lot of knitting vibes flying through the air yesterday. I think that some flew through me and so I actually worked on my sock. I only got about an inch and a half done on my heel due to a certain small person who believes that the best place to be is mama's lap. Makes for awkward knitting.

So here it is. I am unofficially joining the knitting Olympics and will do my darnedest to finish sock 1 by the end. There. I said it. It is unofficial. Or official. Or maybe officially unofficial. Forgive me. I'm tired. I've been up since 4:30. Someone let the cat out last night after I went to bed and forgot to let her back in. So some kind person rang the door bell at 4:30 to let us know that we had a cat that wanted in. Good for the cat. Bad for me. I couldn't get back to sleep. So at 5:45, gave up and got up. Made my coffee, did my surfing, had breakfast, and now I find myself rambling. STOP! The funny thing about the cat being outside in the cold was when she came in, she didn't feel cold. Her fur was warm and so were her ears. I wish that I could do that. I've often wondered where she goes when she goes out. Someone once suggested investment meetings. But her portfolio doesn't seem to be in that great of shape, so I don't think so.

On the head front, my cold seems to be worse at night when I lay down. It was better yesterday when I did my running around. Maybe it was all that fresh air. Fresh COLD air. -11 with a wind chill factor of -20. I hate February.

One of the things that wee N and I did was go to the library and exchange Pooh videos. And I also picked out a bodice ripper. It is the lead up to Valentine's Day, right? So thankfully there was a display of romance novels. I chose one with an inoffensive cover and after getting home sat down to start it. I only read about 6 pages and felt better. Nothing to heavy in this one. Just what my sick little head needed. No snickering Liz. That's when I put down the book and picked up the sock.

Full circle! Speaking of circles, I would like to see someone knitting on two circular needles. It sounds......interesting.

Happy knitting all, and thanks for listening.

Head cold and the February Blahs

I have succumbed to my first head cold of the season. Or maybe it's my second. I just know that I feel like one of those teddy bears that you see in those 'create your own bear' shop who hasn't been stuffed. Actually, maybe it's more like a dishrag. Floppy and drippy. We are also in the almost middle of that month I have never liked, February. The calendar says that it is the shortest month, but I know different. And we have had enough mild weather to melt what little snow we had this year so now, in the middle of a cold snap, it doesn't even look pretty outside.

I don't even feel like knitting on my sock.

Part of my problem may be that I just finished reading The Lovely Bones. Wonderful book. Heartbreaking. But wonderfully written. It speaks to one of my most profound fear. To have one of my children murdered and never having a body to grieve over or to give a sense of closure. To never know. It may sound strange, but even when she was talking about her rape and murder, I was dryeyed, but the second that she started talking about her family's reaction and emotional turmoil, I became a faucet.

I think that I need to go find me a light, funny, cheesy romance novel to help me pull myself up. If I feel like I can brave the elements, I just may go to the library and see what they have. But I'm going to go lay down first.

Oh yeah, and to top it all off, the cat has fleas. Poor old beast.

HELP!!

It all seemed so simple when I was starting "the sock". Instructions seemed to make sense. I know knit and purl. But I just want to clarify before I start THE HEEL.

The instructions are as follows.( after adjusting the number of stitches on the needles)

Row 1. K across row. Turn

I can do this!

Row 2. P1,Sl1 across row ending in an Sl1. Turn

My big question is... Does "Sl1" simply mean slip one stitch from one needle to the next. Followed by a purl of course. And then ending in another Sl.

I know that those of you that are seasoned sock knitters may think that this is a trivial question, but I want to get it right! The first time. I hate the idea if pulling out rows of knitting.

Which actually leads me to question number 2. How did pulling out knitting stitches ever come to be known as "frogging" ???I saw a reference on somebody's blog once and have been baffled ever since?

Please help me finish my sock so that I can get to work on sock #2 and then proceed to ,gasp, a lace sample. I made myself promise me that I would finish one knitting project before starting the next one. Lofty goal, I know.

Thanks in advance.

Just what I needed!!!

There I was, innocently reading Valeries blog and I saw a link to the princess shawl ! All I have to say is Holy Horse Feathers! And thanks a lot! Just what I needed! The desire to do something else insane. I now want to make one of these shawls. ME! Knit a two million hour lace shawl out of super fine fiber. I think that I need my head looked at. I am having commitment issues with my sock. Now don't get me wrong. I will finish it. The big question is just WHEN? It only took me two years to get my mittens done. Mittens! So I figure that if I get my socks done before 2007, I am way ahead of schedule. But I find that I MUST KNIT LACE! Maybe a book mark or cell phone cover would do me or one of these tree ornament skirts that Kate was making. I just need to get it out of my system. I can hear the cursing now!

Wow. What a lot of exclamation marks. I guess that I am really worked up about lace. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

Right now my focus is on needle felting. Hand #1 is at a standstill. I think that it is finished. I am just waiting to make sure. In the mean time, I am working on hand #2. My left. A small bit of advice to any aspiring needle felters. Needle felting is a bit like cooking. It is easier to add than to take away. I have a bit too much fleece in one of my fingers and I am desperately trying to compact it so that it will look like a finger and not a sausage. I recall that I had the same problem last time. But you keep getting the same lessons presented until you learn them. OK! I got it this time. The trick will be to remember the next time I start on a project.

I don't know about where you live, but here in New Brunswick, yesterday was one fine day. Sunshine. Above freezing temperatures. Liz and I sat on her back step while the kids played in the yard and the baby slept. The only drawback was that yesterday was "Groundhog Day" and according to the story, if he saw his shadow yesterday, it means 6 more weeks of winter. I always thought that it was a bit of a lost hope any way. I mean really. I live in Canada. Maybe Victoria will see daffodils blooming soon. But in my neck of the woods, Spring doesn't usually get here until after mid April. Only 10 weeks to go!

Why?

Whose bright idea was it to make garbage cans white? I mean really? Come on. What do you do with a garbage can? You stick a pretty white bag in it and then start shoving garbage in it. And if your house is like my house and NO ONE ELSE ever changes the garbage of their own free will, the game becomes" let's see how full we can get it before Mom changes it." All subconscious of course. All I have to say about the lid is "EEEWWWWW!" Even DH, If I ask him to put out the garbage in a rare free moment, he will. But then doesn't finish the job by putting in a new pristine white bag. So instead of training him for the rare occasion that I ask, I have trained myself to add "...and put in a new bag". Isn't garbage putting out a "man job" any way?

So after all of this, you may ask "why did you buy a white garbage can in the first place?" The answer. I didn't. It was a gift. And we here don't look gift horses in the mouths until those horses are on their last legs. Which the can is. I shall soon be retiring my last white garbage can and replacing it with a stainless steel one. I figure that if I can get ten years out of a white plastic one, a stainless steel one will see me out.

Thanks for letting me vent.

What I learned at my own workshop

I taught a workshop last night and in the process, I learned a lot. It was a temari ball workshop that I was asked to give to a local stitching group. Here are the highlights of my lessons. I am sure that many little lessons were learned by me, but these are the BIG ones that really stick out in my mind.

Lesson # 1.

Set your price per head with a minimum number of heads.

I had agreed to do the workshop before agreeing to the price. Silly me. So last night I ran around the table containing 11 people for 3 hours and was paid $50. I had taught some workshops in the past through a weaving group that I belong to and we were paid $120 plus materials. I think that that is much more reasonable. Thankfully I received a kit fee in which I included a fee for the time it took me to make up the handouts (about 6 hours) and was promised for 15 kits. So I feel a little better about getting $95 for my efforts last night.

Lesson # 2

Have a maximum number of people.

In the case of temari balls, 11 was a bit too many. I couldn't keep an eye on what everyone was doing and there were the fast people and the slow people and some ended up waiting while others took up a lot of my time. Some people charged ahead thinking that they knew what they were doing and ended up having to pull out a lot of stitches.In temari, every step is important and not following the exact directions from the first will lead to problems later.

Lesson # 3

Don't expect people who know a lot in one area to be proficient in a related but different area.

In the case of last night, the group was a group of embroiders who range in age from mid 40's to 60+. When I asked my contact how experienced they were, she said that their group were all very good. In this case, a very good embroider does not translate into a good temari ball stitcher. The "expertise" of the group was one of the reasons that I agreed to host a workshop for such a large number. Live and learn.

Lesson # 4

Be VERY specific about the materials that you ask people to bring.

I thought that I had done this, but I guess that I was just specific and not VERY specific. For example I said "glass head pins" when what I should have said was "Glass head pins in the following colours and quantities , 8 green, 8 yellow, 8 red, 1 black and 1 white." Next time I shall know.

Lesson # 5

Buy the beer before you go and not on the way home.

We didn't finish until slightly after 10 and in Fredsville the Liquor stores all close at 10. Even if I flew, I couldn't have made it. And I sure could have used a beer last night after I got home.

Tagged

So here we go. Thanks to the odd ball, I have my subject for today.



It's the tag of fours.

Four jobs you've had in your life.

1. Swing manager at a fast food joint. The swing shift was low manager on totem.

2. Summer student at an art gallery

3. Coffee shop lady in attendance.

4.Health food store worker. I actually med DH while working here. He said that I was the best thing he ever picked up there.


Four Movies you could watch over and over again.

This is a hard one for me. So I will go with movies I have watched more than 6 times.

1. Men with Brooms.

2. About a Boy

3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding

4. Finding Nemo ( this one courtesy of baby N)


Four Places you have Lived.

This will be boring.

1. Lincoln,N.B.

2. Fredericton ,N.B.

That's it. Pathetic,eh?

Four Places you have been on Vacation

1. Cambrige, London, Devon, Lake District, Yorkshire Dales, England

2.Glasgow, Edinburgh,Stirling, Highlands, Scotland

3. Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, Maine

4. Skiff Lake, N.B.

Four Places You Want To Visit.

1. New Zealand

2. Newfoundland

3.B.C.

4. Australia

Four websites you visit daily.

Sorry guys, my browser doesn't let me do that auto link thing. Unless I am doing it all wrong. Entirely possible.

1.comics.com

2. Washington post

3. watchers web funny farm

4. oddball knittery( don't you feel special Kate)

Four things on the floor/trunk of your car.

1.Snow brush

2.kleenex

3.chocolate bar wrapers

4.dirt/snow/ice/water/sand/mud depending on the time of year. I have kids, right. Kids=Dirt.


Four people I am tagging.

Well, actually , most of the people that I know who blog have already done this, and I don't think that it is a polite thing to tag people you don't know, ( kind of like sending chain mail letters to names picked out of the phone book, which I once did in a bid of desperation back in the days when snail mail was the norm and I was still afraid to break the chain) so there is only one person that I will tag and he will have to count as four.

1-4. Broken Joe


And here is a little bit of fun for those of you who have not yet seen it. I am a hornbeam and It seems quite accurate. And even if you don't perceive your self to be like your tree, maybe others do.

Have fun

WHAT TREE DID YOU FALL FROM?
Find your birthday and then find the definition of your tree. This is
really cool and somewhat accurate. Then send it to all you friends, so
they can find out what tree they fell from, but don't forget to change the
subject line to your tree.

Dec 23 to Jan 01 - Apple Tree
Jan 01 to Jan 11 - Fir Tree
Jan 12 to Jan 24 - Elm Tree
Jan 25 to Feb 03 - Cypress Tree
Feb 04 to Feb 08 - Poplar Tree
Feb 09 to Feb 18 - Cedar Tree
Feb 19 to Feb 28 - Pine Tree
Mar 01 to Mar 10 - Weeping Willow Tree
Mar 11 to Mar 20 - Lime Tree
Mar 21 (only) - Oak Tree
Mar 22 to Mar 31 - Hazelnut Tree
Apr 01 to Apr 10 - Rowan Tree
Apr 11 to Apr 20 - Maple Tree
Apr 21 to Apr! 30 - Walnut Tree
May 01 to May 14 - Poplar Tree
May 15 to May 24 - Chestnut Tree
May 25 to June 03 - Ash Tree
June 04 to June 13 - Hornbeam Tree
June 14 to June 23 -! Fig tree e
Jun 24 (only) - Birch Tree
Jun 25 to Jul 04 - Apple Tree
Jul 05 to Jul 14 - Fir Tree
Jul 15 to Jul 25 - Elm Tree
Jul 26 to Aug 04 - Cypress Tree
Aug 05 to Aug 13 - Poplar Tree
Aug 14 to Aug 23 - Cedar Tree
Aug 24 to Sep 02 - Pine Tree
Sep 03 to Sep 12 - Weeping Willow Tree
Sep 13 to Sep 22 - Lime Tree
Sep 23 (only) - Olive Tree
Sep 24 to Oct 03 - Hazelnut Tree
Oct 04 to Oct 13 - Rowan Tree
Oct 14 to Oct 23 - Maple Tre! e
Oct 24 to Nov 11 - Walnut Tree
Nov 12 to Nov 21 - Chestnut Tree
Nov 22 to Dec 01 - Ash Tree
Dec 02 to Dec 11 - Hornbeam Tree
Dec 12 to Dec 21 - Fig Tree
Dec 22 (only) - Beech Tree

YOUR TREE MEANS : (in alphabetical order)

Apple Tree (the Love) -- quiet and shy at times,lots of charm, appeal,
and attraction, pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, adv enturous,
sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender
partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate
partner.

Ash Tree (the Ambition) -- extremely attractive, vivacious, impulsive,
demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented,
likes to play with fate, can be very
egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the
heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.


Beech Tree (the Creative) -- has good taste,concerned about its looks,
materialistic! , good organization of lif and career, economical, good
leader, takes no unnecessary risks, reasonable, splendid lifetime
companion, keen on keeping fit (diets, sports, etc.).

Birch Tree (the inspiration) -- vivacious, attractive, elegant,
friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors
the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of
imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere.

Cedar Tree (the Confidence! ) -- of rare strength,
knows how to adapt, likes unexpected presents, of good health, not inthe
least shy, tends
to look down on others, self-confident, a great speaker, determined, often
impatient, likes to impress others, has many talents, industrious,
healthy optimism, waits for the one true love, able to make quick
decisions.

Chestnut Tree (the Honesty) -- of unusual stature, impressive,
well-developed sense of justice, fun to be around, a planner, born
diplomat, can be irritated easily, sensitive of others feelings, hard
worker, sometimes acts superior, feels not understood at times, fiercely
family oriented, very loyal in love, physically fit.

Cypress Tree (the Faithfulness) -- strong, muscular, adaptable, takes
what life has to give but doesn't necessarily like it, strives to be
content, optimistic, wants to be financially independent, wants love and
affection, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied,
faithful, quick-tempered at times, can be unruly and careless, loves to
gain knowledge, needs to be needed.

Elm Tree (the Noble-mindedness) -- pleasant shape,tasteful clothes,
modest demands, tends not to forgive mistakes, cheerful, likes to lead
but not to obey, honest and faithful partner,
likes making decisions for others, noble-minded, generous, good sense of
humor, practical.

Fig Tree (the Sensibility) -- very strong minded, a bit self-willed,
honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, hard worker
when wants to be, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals,
few sexual relationships, great sense of humor, has artistic ta! lent and
great intelligence.

Fir tree (the Mysterious) -- extraordinary taste, handles stress well,
loves anything beautiful, stubborn, tends to care for those close to them,
hard to trust others, yet a socialbutterfly, likes idleness and laziness
after long demanding hours at work, rather modest, talented, unselfish,
many friends, very reliable.

Hazelnut Tree (the Extraordinary) -- charming, sense of humor, very
demanding but can also be very understanding,knows how to make a lasting
impression, active fighter for social causes and politics, popular, quite
moody, sexually oriented, honest, a perfectionist, has a precise sense of
judgment and expects complete fairness.

Hornbeam Tree (the Good Taste) -- of cool beauty, cares for its looks
and condition, good taste, is not egoistic, makes life as comfortable as
possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and
acknowledgment in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is
seldom happy with its feelings, mistrusts most people, is never sure of
its decisions, very conscientious.

Lime Tree (the Doubt) -- inte lligent, hard working, accepts what life
dishes out, but not before trying to change bad circumstances into good
ones, hates fighting and stress, enjoys getaway vacations, may appear
tough, but is actually soft and relenting, always willing to make
sacrifices for family and friends, has many talents but not always enough
time to use them, can become a complainer, great leadership qualities, is
jealous at times butextremely loyal.

Maple Tree (Independence of Mind) -- no ordinary person, full of
imagination and orig! inality, shy and reserved, ambitio! us, proud,
self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many
complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to
impress.

Oak Tree (the Brave) -- robust nature, courageous, strong, unrelenting,
independent, sensible, does not like change, keeps its feet on the ground,
person of action.

Olive Tree (the Wisdom) -- loves sun, warmth and kind feelings,
reasonable, balanced, avoids aggression and violence, tolerant, cheerful,
calm, well-developed sense of justice, sensitive, empathetic, free of
jealousy, loves to read andthe company of sophisticated people.

Pine Tree (the Peacemaker) -- loves agreeable company, craves peace and
harmony, loves to help others, active imagination, likes to write poetry,
not fashion conscious, great compassion, friendly to all, falls strongly
in love but will leave if betrayed or lied to, emotionally soft, humble,
needs affection and reassurance.

Poplar Tree (the Uncertainty) -- looks very decorative, talented, not
very self-con! fident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill
and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity,
great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy,
reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.

Rowan Tree (the Sensitivity) -- full of charm, cheerful, gifted without
egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest, and even
complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic,
passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive.

Walnut Tree (the Passion) -- unrelenting, strange and full of
contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected
reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and
uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious
strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

Weeping Willow (the Melancholy) --likes to be stress free, loves family
life, full of hopes and dreams,attractive, very empathetic, loves
anything beautiful, musically inclined,loves to travel to exotic places,
restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live
with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love
until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others
laugh.

Where are passing gypsies when you need them?

So last Friday, I played host to a couple of extra kids. Liz's kids as it were. It was one of those rare days that my patience was boundless. Usually the noise created by these six kids is enough to wake the dead, cause significant hearing loss, drive me around the bend, cause fire to spew from my ears, eyes, and mouth. You know the routine. On my nice days, my last words are usually "If you want to make noise, take it outside, otherwise, be quiet." Nine times out of ten, they go out. They are wize, these children. This magical day, their noise making wasn't bothering me. It might be that they were actually being creative instead of just loud. They made, or found musical instruments , got out the tape deck, and proceeded to record their first single. "Dancin' with the Monkeys" This is their band picture. Later, we created the video to go with the single. What can I say, our kids are unique. Strange. Wonderful.

Note the authentic costuming. Pay special attention to the headdress of M-boy in the middle back row. Yes, gentle reader. It is a chicken. Little did Liz know when she called him her little chicken when he was a baby, that the name would stick.
To the left of M-boy is M-girl. My multi-layered, air tasting, xylophone playing eldest. This is a picture to show to her prom date.
Completing the back row is #1 son S. #1 because he beat his brother by 10 minutes. I think he was going for a Jack Sparrow look. Pirates of the Caribbean ya know. He does have a sword that you can't really see clenched in his right hand. Pirates 2 is coming soon and we can't wait!
In front of S is second son L. Or cool cow wizard. A couple or years ago, he couldn't decide if he wanted to be a cow or a vampire for Halloween, M-girl, very logically said, "Why don't you go as a vampire cow" The best of both worlds. Instead of Trick or Treat, he said"I want to drink your milk!" in his best Count Dracula voice.
Front and center is wee N on the recorder. And yes she was every bit as bad as you can imagine. But some humming cute!
And lastly is I-girl. Note the tongue, the hand gesture, the steady stare into the camera. This girl could already be a seasoned rock star.

And there you have it folks! Dancin' With The Monkeys!

Cat deserting a cooling heat vent

I don't know how this picture ended up on the camera, but there it was and I decided to share.

Happy day all.

My balls

Actually it is only one ball. I have been doing trials with creating patterning with needle felting. So I started with a simple sphere and started adding swirls and spirals of colour. I think that next time I will start out with dyed fleece underneath instead of white.You can see the white peeking out from between the colour in the bottom photo. I quite like needle felting, but prefer the surface of a wet felted piece, so I am going to continue with more experiments before committing my hand to wet felting. Also my wool ( Briggs and Little from undisclosed sheep type) may not have the same surface when finished as the merino that Denise Richard uses with wonderous results. It's a budget thing. I can get a generous pound of B&L wool for $10. Plus I get to go for a nice drive in the country.








And one for Dudley Spinner.I know that you like to see what people do with your roving and I spun a tiny skein from the sample that you sent. It looks so like a forest floor that I am going to use it as such in a small tapestry. But that probably won't happen just yet. I haven't set the twist yet and it is still some what "highly energized" . I tried to e-mail it to you, but there was a short circuit between the chair and the keyboard and it didn't want to attatch. I can't figure it out.


Thanks All

Do we have contact?

LOOKLOOKLOOK!!!!A picture of my "studio"! Everything is safely out of reach of little hands. This is one of my "studios" around the house. A drawer here, a shelf there, and the top of the toy cabnet.









My hand before dyeing.












My hand after dyeing.












And... Drum roll please... A sock that I HAVE been working on. It looks kinda camoflageish. But I love the colours and the wool is so soft and not itchy. I wish that I knew what it was. It has been in my stash for about 4 years now and the label is long gone. It was from Fleece Artist in Nova Scotia.





And on a political note, Conservative minority up here, which means that they are on a very short leash and will not be able to push hard nosed right wing religeous views, for which I can only be thankful. Believe what you believe, but don't try to ram it down my throat. I am all for the seperation of church and state.


And on a technical note, can anyone tell me why, when I imported my pictures :-) they all went up to the top of the page even if the cursor was at the bottom of the compose page? Any quick tips? Or is it just my browser thingie. I use Safari on a Mac.

Thanks all.

The band wagon

If you are Canadian, please go vote. If you are American, Vote the next time that you are able to. I'd like to say something like do your part to get the ass monkey that is ruining your country out of office, but I might offend some people, so I won't. Let us all ensure that the rights of others are not trampled, even if we disagree with their point of view. The obvious excecption is when their actions or views hurt others.

On an almost positive note, I TOOK PICTURES ON A DIGITAL CAMERA YESTERDAY. So where are they you ask? Hubbie borrowed a camera from work and when we went to move them to the computer, The wrong cord was included in the camera case. He will ( hopefully) get the right cord today, which means maybe tomorrow there will be pictures to look at.

Catching Shit

As some of you know, I have a two year old who has learned how to deal with the velcro closures on her diaper. She is potty training, although loosely. No pun intended. So there I was, yesterday, typing away and she runs into the room sans diaper. She has a rather concerned expression on her face. Uh oh, think I. Do you have to poop in the potty? Nooooo was the quavering reply. She started to run out of the room and.... plop. Hurryhurryhurry! say I let's get to the potty. Noooooo. again she says. I see something else starting to make its way out and so what do I do? You read the title. I caught it. So here I am laughing, she's crying and I have warm baby shit in my hand. At least I didn't have to wash the floor. I mean really, I disposed of the poo in the toilet and washed my hands, which I do at least two dozen times a day, I only wash my floors on average every two months. And that is when the in-laws are coming. I chose the easier clean up. I suppose that I did have to clean up the other plop, but it landed on a throw rug, which, after disposing of the poo, I threw in the washing machine. Easy clean up.

The other day , she came in the room, holding her diaper loosely between her legs , squatted, and started to pee. Well, you can imagine what happened. Diapers weren't designed to work well that way. It ran all over the floor. Spot clean. So I said Noooo! That's not what you do, you pee in the potty. Oh, she says. Stops and runs to the potty and finishes! Wow! She has some degree of control. I really do have to take this potty training a little more serious.

I suppose that my two months is almost up. I shall have to think seriously about mopping again. I don't think that I would hate it so much if I didn't have to deal with all of the stuff that is in the way. You know what I mean. I think that I could find enjoyment in mopping an empty room. Ahhh, space.

I love the CBC

Today on the noon hour show on CBC radio, an author named Shirley Lock (or Locke, I am a bad speller) was interviewed. She wrote a book about her father who was, and still is at the age of 80, a country doctor who takes at home phone calls and makes house calls. There are still doctors who do this? Who knew?!? The wonderful thing about the book is that it is called "The Ladies of the Sock Drawer" because it is told from the point of view of his socks that have been hand knit by some of his patients over the last 60 years! Of course a doctor would have to wear socks when he went out on calls and they would have seen and done all sorts of things. The "ladies" are named after the ladies who had knit them and they only tell their stories on the night of remembrance day. They only talk then because they feel that it is important to share old stories with the new socks, and to hear from the new socks what the doctor has been up to over the past year, and well, to talk every night might lead to gossip and there is the privacy of the good doctors patience to conceder.

Speaking of socks, mine have more rows and more mistakes as I knit some more on them last night and I kept dropping stitches. I didn't even have the excuse of alcohol in my system. I brought the recycling back today and so can justify spending what little money I got on beer. Maybe I'll try knitting tonight with some beer in my system and see if I do any better. I know that these will be blue ribbon socks in my heart only.

My felted hand is coming along nicely. I am going to (GULP) dye it. I just have to take a deep breath and do it. I have decided to put a base on it and have it as if it is coming out of water or some such thing. Could be interesting. I am not quite sure how I am going to go about it or how well a felted thingie will dye. Has anyone ever dyed already felted things?

And on the other "hand" I am sitting here waiting for ..... Goat meat. My upstairs neighbour's brother(I think) has some goat meat that he had got for someone in town who doesn't want it. Would I like some? Free food to feed my ravenous hoards. Do I look stupid? Really, my kids make piranhas look like picky eaters. And the boys are only 8! Some day they will both be 15! And then 16, and I will have to feed them for at least two more years after that ! I'll just get rid of the table and chairs and put in a food trough. 54 jars of dills left out of the 92 (was it) that I put up this year. I just checked and it was 91, so I was close. We didn't start eating them until October. I have pickle pigs. In fact, the other day when I had spare kids courtesy of our snow day,someone asked if they could open a jar of pickles, and I said "sure". Like piranhas, they were. Less than 3 minutes into it, the only thing left was the dill sprigs and a few pepper corns. I am glad that they like my cooking and pickling and that none of them are truly picky eaters.

What do all of you think of the pathetic excuse of a spell checker that comes on blogger? So far as I can tell, most everything else about this site is great, but the spell checker SUCKS! And I am a bad speller. I often go to google to check spelling words that this spell checker doesn't get. Like "piranhas". Ya know. The little fish with the big teeth? I'm thinking that I am not the only person in the history of blogger that has used this word. And another small thing, but it also refuses to accecpt that north of that east/west line some miles south of me, colour is spelled with a "u". Neighbour too.

Look at that! A whole post and I didn't mention the weather! Well there was that snow day reference, but that doesn't count.

Snow day

Here is another great reason to be Canadian. Snow days. Y'all in Florida just don't get 'em. So today, because of the threat of freezing rain ontop of our "snow packed and slippery roads" gave the kids a day off from school. No lunches, no hustling reluctant kids out of bed, no "would you just hurry up!?!?!?" I have to admit that it is great that I am a stay at home mom and don't have to scramble to find someone to take care of my kids. Bonus. In fact, this morning, I had three extra kids due to the fact that Liz had classes this morning and had her own and one spare anyway. It was not as bad as one would think. 7 kids and there is pretty much always someone to play with and the cool new computer game for those that want to sit quietly and do some logical thinking. It is called "Zoombenies logical journey." Yeah, what can I say excecpt that even I find it challenging to try and solve the puzzles that are presented. It is a good game. Add seeing as it was not FREEZING out , there was also the outdoor option that a few kids took for a while. Looking out the window now...it is positively dumping! It is going to be some slick out there. A few days ago we had "flurries" that dropped about 3 inches which was then packed and so ontop of this the freezing rain lands and creates a weak skating rink. I do tend to go on about the weather, don't I? It's a Canadian thing, I've heard. I tend to talk about the weather much less in the summer. "Some hot, eh?" is about the extent of it. Occasionally " Some dry. Sure could use some rain." Neither of which can be taken as a complaint, mind you. Just a statement of fact. I DON'T complain about the heat.

Speaking of complaining... We in Canada are in the final throws of an election. Next Monday is the big day. I am mildly interested in politics. It does matter to me who leads our country. I am going on vote on Monday. But after 6 weeks of everyone attacking everyone else, I am getting kinda tired of it all. I was just wondering how all of you Americans deal with a whole YEAR of this shit. I think that I would go stark raving mad having to listen to speeches and promises and bullshit for a whole year. 7 weeks is long enough. Another reason that I am a proud Canadian.

But I still like import beer.

Yea of little faith

I worked on my sock last night while watching a movie, The Birdcage. I think that there are a few more errors in my sock than there were before, but seeing as they shall only grace my feet and I shall not display them for inspection to any keen knitter, I can live with them.

So I am looking out the window at "flurries". Looks like snow to me. And there is a windchill of -20 this morning and I suggested that my 11 year old wear her snow pants and she refused. Sigh. It has started. Cool wins out over warm. I don't think that she is in danger of frost bite but it is a 20 minute walk to her school. Her choice. Her consequences. So long as they are not endangering her, I shall bite my tongue when she makes choices that I don't agree with. How did my mother do it? Or my grandmother? GOD! That woman had 17 kids! Yup, you read right, 17. Good old back woods New Brunswick RC. Apparently when mom was young (she was #3) when the priest came around, if Memere wasn't pregnant or carrying an infant, he would say that she wasn't doing her job. Her job being, of course, to breed more Catholics. I think that the pope should try having 17 kids and doing all of the work that comes with them. Maybe he would change his tune on birth control. Could you imagine cooking,on a wood stove no less, for 17? Mom left home to go work before her youngest brother was born. In fact my older sister is a year older than our youngest uncle.

We've come a long way, baby!

It's winter again

Not that I didn't enjoy the past few days of warm weather,+14 C on Friday, but it is somewhat less worrying to have winter weather in the winter. -10 C with a wind chill of -18 C. Now I can get back to bitching about the cold. In the summer I NEVER complain about the heat so that in the winter I can bitch with a clear conscience. Let's face it. There is quite a bit more to complain about in the winter. The cold for one. Heating bills. Fresh veggies, or at least what the grocery stores try to pass off as fresh. The price of the aforementioned this time of year. Snowsuits. Wet mittens and that distinct odor that accompanies them. KIDS INSIDE!!!!! Coughs, sniffles, runny noses, congested chests,cold feet, fevers, chills and shivers. So what if it gets hot and humid in the summer. Feet in a kiddie pool and cold beer in the hand always work for me. But I live in Canada. If I lived in Texas or India, the bitching might be the other way around.

The hand is almost done. It is nicely formed and now has knuckles and some of the major palm lines. I am still unsure as what to do with the below the wrist part. And I think that I might colour this one. I am working on a test piece to see what embellishing with colour might look like. Or I might just drop it in a pot of dye. More testing and trials needed. There is something so satisfying about repeatedly poking a sharp object into something and having it create instead of destroy. I can't think of anything else that could withstand a felting needle and not come out like mush. Wool rocks!

The sock has stalled. I will work on it tomorrow. I promise! No, really, I will!

Hubbie has found a new way to waste time

http://earth.google.com/

It is satellite images of the earth. You can go look anywhere. We found my sister's flat in Scotland, His brother's in BC, Various places that we have visited. There are some areas that are quite clear and others that haven't yet been rendered in high resolution. For example, Fredericton downtown, where I live is quite blurry. It looks fine from 10,000 feet, but when you zoom in, it get kinda blurry. But Just outside the city limits too the east, we were able to pick out a couple of friends' houses. Who knew? Warning, it gets somewhat addictive for some people. Kinda like Snood.

April in January

Yes indeed. As much as I am loving the mild weather (+9 C forecasted for tomorrow) I am concerned. How long before global warming really rears it's ugly head and my fair city of Fredericton becomes like Venice? Every spring the Saint John river floods. I grew up about a ten minute drive down river in a little burrow on the outskirts called Lincoln. My Father, a dairy farmer, owns about 200 acres down that way, right on the river. It is beautiful. I had an idyllic childhood roaming the fields, playing in the barn, and hanging out with cousins imported every summer from Montreal. But, every year in the spring there is a flood as the snow upriver melts. Some years, we reach flood stage and then the water recedes. No big deal seeing as water rarely came over the road.Others, like last year, are what one could call doozies. My parents could only reach their house by boat. My brother has a wonderful picture of the lane to my parents house taken from a canoe. Nice adventure, but not what one would call convenient. Not to mention the clean up of the basement.

Is this the way that it is going to be? Already the Inuite in the north of Canada are having problems because in their considerably long winter, they rely on the ice as their roads. Some of the communities are quite remote and once the ice goes, or becomes unsafe, for some, it is either LONG trek's overland, or air travel. The ice is becoming unsafe earlier every year. Which means that there is more time for the permanent ice pack to melt. And that water is going somewhere. Ocean levels rise. Fredericton will be flooded. That sucks. How long will it take? And how long is it going to take big business to cleanup their act and stop contributing to the mess. Can we save our planet, or have we gone past the point of no return yet? What will my kids have when they grow up? When I look at the changes that have taken place since my father-in-law way born (he's 82), and I project into the future, to when myself, or even farther to when my kids hit that mile stone, I can only wonder what will be left by our consumptive society.

On a more immediate note, the outdoor skating rinks are all going to be pooched by the end of the day. Apparently it takes about two weeks to get a rink built up. When we hit below freezing again, the rink making guys are going to assess whether or not it is feasible to build them up again. I hope they can.

Rain and a hand

On the weather scene, today we are scheduled for a couple of inches of rain and above freezing temperatures. Won't that be fun when it freezes. We have a couple of inches of snow on the ground so we are looking forward to a slushy mushy mess. Sidewalks are going to get interesting.

On the plus side, I was cleaning the top of my dresser the other day (read "catch all") and found an old deck of tarot cards. I though, "What the heck" and shuffled, thought " What should I know?" and pulled a card. The basic interpretation was "take a definite step towards a change in your direction". So I have decided to get together a body of work and get my self a gallery show. I would like to apply for Canada Council Creation Grants at some point in the future, Which means that in order to be eligible, I need to be creating. I need to have a body of work. And I need to have been "recognized by my peers" which I take to mean having had a show or two. I have an idea for my first BIG project that I will need cash for and I guess that now is a good time to start on prototypes. I have started by needle felting a hand that is modeled on my own. It is much harder than I thought. I have done needle felting before, but my creations were rather soft. This past summer I did an artist in residency week term with Kim Vose Jones. I wish that I had photos of her creations to show here. They are magical. She takes mythical creatures and creates them out of felt. The average size is about 10 inches high and into each goes about a pound of fleece! These things are FIRM. Who knew? So I decided to make my new hand firm. I have worked about 6 hours on it and I now have a general hand shape. I have to start building up the pads on the palm and nuckles on the back. The fingers are still a little thick too. Can't have thick fingers now can we? I am uncertain as to what to do once I past the wrist. Right now, it is still pretty loose fleece. I am keeping my options open and my fleece unfelted for now.

M is still on my loom, although I have seen very little progress lately. I am going to have to light a fire under her butt. I want my loom back to start weaving for my show. Where and when???? Who knows. I just know that it is going to happen.

Do you hear that?

That, my friends, is the sound of silence. Well, the baby is watching a video, and there is a load of laundry in the washing machine, but other than that, it is quiet. It is THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!! Gotta love it! I can clean up and not have it immediately undone, Lunch for only two, And the true silence of nap time. Although nap time shall soon be going out the window. Yesterday, wee N made it through out the whole day without falling asleep and was in bed at a decent time. She became only a little unmanageable at the end of the day. As for potty training, no progress. Still more puddles on the floor than in the potty, as well as a few other things landing on the floor. Ick.

I have about 3 inches on sock #1, and I am gearing up to do a temari workshop at the end of the month. I am getting a bunch of balls in the various stages ready. I finished my "this is where we are heading" ball. No weaving right now. M is still on the loom, She is about half way through the weaving process. I hope to convince her that she should finish soon. I am going to make up a couple of warps to dye and hopefully get them dyed before spring. Dyeing is not something that I like to do when I have little hands to help, if you know what I mean.

It is gently snowing outside right now. We are suppose to get a couple of inches in the next day or two. The kids will be glad. They built an incredible fort in the yard during a mild spell. It had steps, a slide,and archway and a lookout tower. They carved a face in one of the walls. And then it started to rain. Quite heavily. And it sort of partially melted. The kids have been waiting for more snow since.

Withdrawal

O.K. Christmas is over. The cookies are gone. The chocolate is gone. All of it. The candy is all gone with the excecption of a HUGE candy cane that someone bought for baby N. That will get divided between the three older kids. I don't care for candy cane. But in the face of sugar withdrawal I might consider it. My problem is the wee bit of weight that I have put on during the holiday season. All bets are off and I do not say no to my food desires in late December. And then there is getting rid of the leftovers that sometimes lasts into January. The things that we have to do. They are all gone now and I find my self trolling the fridge and cupboards for sugar containing substances. I am trying to content myself with celery. It's not working. Although I once heard that you burn more calories chewing celery than are contained in the fool stuff. I can only hope.

School starts in three days. And for that I am thankful. Sleeping in has been great, but running errands with my kids is like herding cats. I took them downtown yesterday to skate at an out door rink , warning them that we would not be staying for a long time because little N would get bored, and cold , and hungry and cranky which would make her cry. When I said that it was time to go( 6 times) they finally came into the little skate changing hut so thoughtfully provided by the city, the baby was starting to whimper. Skates off. Boots on. 5 minutes. Whimpers are starting to be punctuated by crying. Big clue people. Get her home. What do the other kids do? Run out on to the ice again to go "booting"!!!! If one does it, they all seem to think that permission has been given. Drives me nuts. And they wonder why we don't go lots of places. At least,as of Monday, I will only have to herd them out the door in the morning.

M's scarf is coming along nicely. I told you I would let her weave. And she has done it all herself( with a few pointers and reminders) She is weaving a beautiful colour and weave in eggplant and plum. Very subtle and will not show too many mistakes. Two shuttles you know, so there are bound to be a few. The tree was in my weaving corner for the past two weeks and the loom was in her bed room. Neither room is very large and it was good to get the tree down and everything back to where it belongs. Did I mention that we are spacially challenged. That means 6 people, 1 cat, 3 bedrooms, kitchen, small bathroom, living room and what I shall call DH's room of piles. Squatters rights I guess. The family has expanded, the stuff has expanded , but the space has not. Soon please, Great Spagetti Monster, soon.

How much is too much?

The other day, instead of cleaning in the back shed (too cold out there) I attacked my boys room. I got a grocery bag of garbage out of there including the stuff in their very small garbage can. And so now I have several questions.Why can't those boys put garbage in the garbage can? Why is it that most of the stuff in their garbage can is stuff that I put in there? I mean, I understand that there are some grey areas in what is considered garbage depending on who's eyes are doing the viewing, but there are definitely things that are garbage in anyone's eyes. Like....small bits of string, blister packs from Christmas presents, cardboard backs from Christmas presents, small plastic bags that have been torn open by impatient hands. You see where I am going here? Add to that scraps of paper and bits of crud, and you have GARBAGE. I suppose that the answer to my question is the same answer to the question " Why can't they put their clothes in the laundry hamper?" The floor is easier.
Next question.... How much lego is too much? I think that we are just about there. I have been buying lego for Christmas and birthdays since they were old enough to to play with the little stuff. They make amazing things out of it, but almost never large things. Usually they are space ships or aliens to go in the space ships. Picking up all of the lego, including all of the pieces that had migrated under the dresser made me think that we had enough lego. In fact I did not buy ANY lego this Christmas for anyone. They have two plastic tubs that are about 3'X2' and about 8" deep and they are FULL. Too full. I think that we need another tub. They have a hard time finding any pieces because they like the little ones and they sink to the bottom. No wait, they have the perfect solution, just dump them on the floor and shove the excess under the bed. My dream house now has a lego pit.

On the crafty side, I have done it! I have started a sock. I knit standing up in my bedroom, ( which is just off of the kitchen) and this negates the problem of a small girl crawling up on my lap and asking for a hug. Or at least telling me that I need a hug. The knitting stuff is in a bag on the top of my dresser which is tall enough to keep away curious hands. I started it two days ago and have an inch done. Sigh. My father-in-law tells stories of two of his aunts getting together and sitting and knitting socks and chatting. He said that once they started, they may have glanced down when they turned the heel and finished within a couple of seconds of each other. Now that is pratice!

Happy New Year

Well, Happy New Year one day late.

We had a great time New Years eve. The whole lot of us went to Linda's and ate, drank and were merry. The kids watched a variety of videos and the only one who fell asleep before we left at 2:00 was baby N. My kids have stamina! Sue played some games with the kids while we helped in the kitchen and then the only other game that we played was Monopoly. It had been a while since I have played with adults( my son L is the game player in the house) and I actually came away holding most of the property and all of the money! For once. A sweet sweet victory. If I could only get some money and property in real life....

DH went back to work today. No rest for the wicked. The kids all have another week off. No rest for the weary( that would be me.) There seems to be so much to do and most of it centers around cleaning and organizing. If only I could really start to chuck stuff. But most of the things that I want to chuck belong to someone else. And they tend to get a bit upset when I start fooling with their stuff. In fact that is my biggest threat to get the kids to clean their rooms " Either you clean it...Or I will!" They all know that when I clean, I make good use of the garbage can.

The older kids have all gone off to play at a friends house and the baby is asleep. I have blessed silence for the next hour or so. After doing the chopping and prepping for supper, I think that I will attack the back shed with a garbage bag in preparation for that most sacred of all days... GARBAGE DAY!