You know it's spring when...

Faerie villages appear in the back yard. Actually, these are monster villages. One of my kids received a monster in a treat bag about 5 or 6 years ago and they have been playing with them ever since.



First up is City Hall. Very important place, but not much activity right now, as it is after hours.



Then the swimming hole. Apparently monsters like to dive and so the swimming hole had to be quite deep. It is a little cool yet to be swimming, but the season shall be starting up soon.



The community center. Note the relaxing lounge chairs in which 6arms and peach guy are resting. Monsters are generally named for their colours, or special attributes.




What village is complete without a fine restaurant featuring patio dining. The house specialty is toasted marshmallows. Note the toasting stick to the right resting on the log.



What to do if someone gets hurt. It does happen occasionally that someone looses an arm to overuse and so he is rushed to the hospital. The shell stretcher is kept to the right of the hospital entrance for easy access should the need arise.



And keeping an eye out for enemies and cats, 4eyes and 6arms are standing tall in the watch tower. Monsters take turns in the watch tower. But they don't mind the duty. They like standing tall (even though they don't have any legs.

Thanks for taking the tour. The hotel is scheduled to be opening soon. We are taking advanced registration. All monsters welcomed.

TA-DA

Here is my lovely sister modeling the midnight shawl.



And here she is modeling the sunset shawl.




Lastly is a side by side comparison showing the pattern detail. I quite like the diamond shapes that showed up in the blue shawl. Of the two, it is my favorite.

Thanks again to Jay for hosting this challenge. I actually like working with a reasonable deadline. And now I know what to do with that box full of merino.

So get over to

Jay's Craft Room

and vote.

Thanks to all who have commented as I worked my way through my weaving. Now I have to decide what to do next.

There's only so much cleaning a girl can do

And when she has reached her threshold, she weaves. At least that is what I do. I am sure that some of you knit instead. Or crochet. Or even bead on incredibly time consuming lace shawls.



So here I am ready to cut the second shawl off of the loom. Colour wise, I prefer the first, but if I have learned anything about the buying public, it is that everyone has different tastes and preferences. It is one of the things that make people so interesting.

I have my sister here to model for me. She has a better wardrobe for such a thing.

Tomorrow, the official end of Jay's challenge, I will post the final pictures. See you then.

What a knotty girl

After cutting something off the loom, your job is far from finished. The ends need to be sewn in and the cut yarns dealt with. The simplest way to finish a piece of cloth is to hem it. In my opinion, it is also the least attractive, although it does have it's place. For shawls and scarves, I prefer a fringe. When I make a fringe, I usually start by tying knots across the warp.



The bar that you see is merely a weight so that I can pull a bit and the weaving doesn't move.

Then you make your fringe. This is done by dividing the bunches of yarn in half and twisting them in the same direction, then placing the two pieces together and gently letting the twist come out of it, while not letting go of the ends. Simple enough, even though it sounds confusing as I have described it. Sorry about that.



Once the fringe is all twisted and the ends knotted, it is wash time. Best done by hand in cool water with a mild soap. The one excecption that I make to this is when I make blankets. I like them fuller, and so I wash them in the washing machine. I don't mind if they felt up a bit. In fact, I prefer blankets that way. It's cold up here and a felted blanket is just the thing in February.

So, as we stand now, my blue shawl is hanging in hopes that it will be dry by tomorrow. The red one is about 1/3 woven. It is coming along nicely, but will not be finished by the 14th. I don't think. As you know, my sister is coming tomorrow and I am sure that we will be otherwise occupied.



That's it folks. Keep watching for final pictures within the next day or two.

Duhh

In order to finish a sock, one generally needs a pattern, right? O.K. I know that some of you have knitted enough socks that such a silly little thing as a pattern is passe. I am working on my fourth sock of my life. Second of a supposed pair. I know that I was going to get myself a second set of needles, and I will. At some point. Until then, I shall be a one at a time sock knitter. There are worst things I could do, (than go with a boy or two. Even thought the neighborhood thinks...) Sorry. Flash back to my youth when Grease came out. In any case, I had borrowed the "knit socks" book from the library a month or so ago. Started the procrastination sock out of the procrastination yarn which happily sits in the procrastination basket. The patterns are all for knitting with 5 needles, I have 4, so I translate the pattern to work with 4. I mark down the translation, knit sock #1. All is good. Then I start sock #2, get half way down the cuff, the book is due. And I, thinking "I have the translated pattern marked down so I will return the book and all will be well." Yet another round of procrastination sets in while I work on my weaving and dealt with colds, flus, and a sinus infection (in Bill). Not to mention all of the other stuff that surfaces in the a day in the life of a mother of 4. Wednesday night, after happily bedding down all short people, I think about a movie and my sock.



Here's the DUHH. I have copied down the pattern until the heel has been turned. Sigh. Sometimes I amaze myself. But I will just add this little incident to all of the other balls that I have been dropping lately. I think that I am going to have to break my one knitting project at a time rule. Maybe it is time to give the lace shawl another attempt. Kate, I'm a gonna need some help!

And I told you that the egg painting was going to come later. Here are two of mine and Liz's two painting their eggs. Wee Nicole showed no interest in the proceedings. Thank the Flying Spagetti Monster! I remember painting eggs with Mira when the boys were little and there were no end of tears as little hands crushed delicate eggs. These kids are all at the stage that I can set them up and walk away. I'm loving it.



I got a call from my sisters last night. They were in a casino in Niagara Falls drinking G&T's and spending a few bucks. They will be here soon! I can hardly wait!

Recipe time

Today is Jasmine's birthday. Ya gotta do SOMETHING for a kid on her birthday, right? Especially if it is a rainy school day. Enter....

Carrot Pineapple Muffins

3 cups flour
1.5 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon heaping
1 cup oil
2 eggs
1 cup crushed pineapple
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups carrots grated

Measure everything in a large mixing bowl and stir well. Grease muffin tins (or use paper cupcake cups) and fill 3/4 full. Bake at 350 C for 20- 25 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly poked. Makes 24 muffins.

That is it. It is one of the easiest recipe's that I use. The kids love them. They are nice with cream cheese frosting or a piece of old cheddar. Bill likes them with butter. The mix keeps up to two weeks in a fridge, and the cooked muffins freeze well. What's not to like?

The recipe originally came from a coffee shop where I worked in my other life. Molly's. Actually, back then it was Mim's. An ill fated partnership. In any case, I made at least 3 or 4 batches of this stuff every week and the recipe eventually stuck on my sugared and caffeinated brain. It is an old stand by in my house. Even Liz's boy child, a self confessed carrot loather, loves these.

My freshly dyed weft yarn is almost dry, thanks to the dehumidifier.

And, I now know why there is such a term as "Spring Cleaning". All of a sudden, I have light in my house, thanks to an ever brighter and more powerful sun. I am now seeing all of the grime that was hidden in shadows throughout the winter.

Ick.

So far it has only effected my kitchen. But before long, I know that it shall spread to other parts of my house. I don't know whether to be happy or sad. It might just end up being too much cleaning. But then I shall have a clean house, right? At least until the kids get home.

Progress update

Shawl #1 is off the loom! And it is really quite a bit longer than I had figured on. About 90 inches. It will shrink up a bit when I wash it so the final measurement will not be given until later. This is where a guide string comes in handy. In any case, because all of the preliminary set up has been already done, all that I have to do is tie on again and I am ready to weave shawl #2. I usually don't cut projects off as I weave them unless there is a tension problem, but I thought that seeing as there was a deadline for my shawl, I would break with tradition.

And even as we speak, there is a skein of wool drying and one in the dye pot! I am having so much fun. Thanks Jay for kick starting me on a project that I have wanted to do for about 8 months now.

If I had a camera....

I could show you PROGRESS!!! Yes indeed, the red part of the warp is peeking up over the back beam. Which means that I have about 18 inches left to weave. If I can get my butt in my seat, I should be able to finish today. And then I have to decide what to do about fringing and finishing. Now the big question is will I be able to finish BOTH by next Thursday? Press on girl. Press on.

mememememem

Poached from somewhere out there in blogland........

X the things you’ve done in your life…

(X) Smoked a cigarette
(X) Drank so much you threw up( that cheap wine)
( ) Crashed a friend’s car
(X) Stolen a car (it was a friend’s uncle's car…)
(X) Been in love
(X) Been dumped
(X) Shoplifted (unintentionally, I went back and paid for my lettuce later. Don't ask)
(X) Been laid off/fired
(X) Quit your job
( )Been in a fist fight
(X) Snuck out of your parent’s house ( well, duh)
(X) Had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back
( ) Been arrested
( ) Gone on a blind date
(X) Lied to a friend (yes, I like your hair)
(X) Skipped school (once, to go to a Science Fair. I got caught. Go figure)
( ) Seen someone die
(X) Been to Canada (I live in Canada)
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Europe
(X) Been on a plane
(X) Been lost
( ) Been on the opposite side of the country
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Felt like dying
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Fell asleep studying
(X) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored your hair
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t (remember those butterscotch chips?)
(X) Made prank phone calls
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain
(X) Climbed a tree
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sun rise with someone you care about
(X) Blown bubbles
(X) Made a bonfire on the beach
(X) Crashed a party
(X) Gone roller-skating
(X) Ice-skated

I guess that the older you are the more chance you have had to have done some stupid or beautiful things. And of all of the things that I haven't done, the only one that I really want to do is go to the other side of the country. I think that I can live without being arrested or seeing someone die.

Another reason to take a course

This little puppy is called a bobbin winder. It is just one of the many tools that a weaver needs. Well, I am sure that one could handwind bobbins. I have before, but it takes ssssssoooooooo lllllooooonnnggg that it very soon becomes painful. This baby retails at $110. You can get electric ones too, and they go up to $330. Those are Canadian prices, but the exchange rate isn't THAT bad right now. If you do decide that you want to weave and are patient, you can usually find most equipment used. Which is good. I have been weaving for more than 15 years and have all of the equipment that I need. The only things that I bought new were bobbins and a ball winder. I have a few things that fall into the "want" category, like more reeds and an 8 (or 12) harness loom, but those will have to wait until I can either find a great deal, or justify spending a couple of thousand dollars on myself. I'm thinking that neither is going to happen any time soon. In the mean time, I have my cute little heirloom Dorset, my 27" LeClerc Fanny, and my 45" Milleville.

Progress

Here is my progress. I am weaving. I have probably woven about 2.5 feet. Normally I would use what is called a guide string, This is basically a string that is tied to the front beam next to the warp and knotted at the beginning and end of each project that I am weaving. When you hit a knot, it is time for a change. Because I only have two things on my loom right now and they are completely different colours, I am letting my colour change dictate when one project ends and the next begins. Makes sense to me.

Even though I have kids, they were pretty quiet for April Fools Day. Any one out there get gotten?

Look what I have!!!

It is defiantly spring! In the foreground are 2 varieties of broccoli, 2 varieties of eggplant, next come 5 types of peppers, mostly hot, and half a dozen types of tomatoes, at least. Basil is in there somewhere. My seedlings are coming along fine and the weather is finer. Here I sit with the front door open and the screen up! Today it was 18 C (65 F). Normal for this time of year is a big whopping 6 C. I think that I even have a bit of sunburn. Oh the joys! Unfortunately, this means that I will have to be extra careful when applying sun block from now on. I remember being able to play outside all day and never get a sunburn, with the exception of the beach. I remember sun tan lotion when I was a kid. There was no such thing as sun block. I think that sucks. It makes me fearful for what kind of world my kids will be facing when they are my age.

Damn! This was suppose to be a happy post.

Isn't it almost Easter?

What is going on here?






Santa production of course.

And why, you may ask, is a Canadian weaver making santas in March? Sugar high has me confused? Shouldn't I be decorating eggs?

We will do that too. But for now, I have been in Santa production because MY SISTERS ARE COMING HOME!!!! Big Nicole will be here in less than two weeks and she asked if I could make her some santas like I gave her for Christmas many years ago. I made 'em, but she will have to paint them. Nicole lives in Scotland an has not been home since the summer of '03 when I was pregnant with her namesake, Wee Nicole. Christine will be home a few days later, just in time for Easter. I can't wait! The kids are all excited too. Well, excecpt for the baby. She really has no idea. But she will grow to like it.

In any case, there are 33 of these little guys waiting to be fired. My mom used to have a ceramics business and still has some molds (or moulds) and a kiln or two. Nicole wants 12, so there are going to be a few left over for the rest of us.

The kids are going to have a field day on their egg hunt! I am getting my sisters to hid the eggs at my mom's house. It will keep them busy all day!

1600

1600 what you may ask.

That is the number of calories in the average bag of butterscotch chips.

Why do I know this you may ask.

Don't bother. Lets just say that that bag of chips are not going to be bothering anybody else any time soon.

I guess that butterscotch chips are my butt's Waterloo.

A tale of two skeins

Just a demonstration of over dyeing. The two skeins were dyed in the same dye bath. 60% turquoise, 30% national blue, 8% yellow, 2% black. Above, on cones, is the original colours.

Neat, eh?

And now that I have weft, I have started weaving my first shawl.

Finishing the warping

After threading all of your warp threads through the correct heddles, it is time to thread them through the reed. The reed is the thing that is laying across the boards. It has a reed hook on it. The reed holds your warp yarns in order and it also allows you to "beat" the yarns into place after you put them through the warp.



Here is a close up of the reed, and an action shot of the reed hook being used.




Then you have to tie everything on to the bar attached to the front apron, making sure that the tension is even......



And you are ready to weave. That is if you have already dyed your weft yarns. Which I haven't , so I guess that I should go and do that.

It looks really complicated to learn to weave, but it really is not. There are many many steps to follow and it is quite time consuming, especially when you first start, but then again, so is knitting a pair of socks in singles.I think that it is worth it. There are some excellent books out there, but for any one interested in learning to weave,I would suggest taking a course. The two main benefits are that you have someone showing you what to do and the other is that you don't have to fork out for all of the equipment only to find out that weaving is not your cup of tea. I worked as a studio tech in the weaving department of the local craft college (where I learned to weave all those many years ago) for a few years, before wee Nicole came along. I can honestly say that there are some people that just don't get it. And there are some that take to it like they have been doing it for years. You won't know until you try.

I have seen week long courses that are like "weaving vacations". Search for them on the net if you are interested.

Good luck .

Next step....Weaving. Once I dye my yarns.

Step Three or Warping the loom

So here we are putting the warp on the loom. Despite the word "warp"( as in "Warp speed, number one"), this is slow going. The first thing that you need to do is put your lease sticks in your cross. This is done before attaching the warp to the loom. The lease sticks are the two sticks that are hanging off the back of the loom that are threaded through the warp.



They act to hold your cross in place so that your yarns don't get out of order. I wove once with out of order yarns. It is not an exercise that I want to repeat.




At the end of your warp, there is a loop. This is where the yarns are attached to the loom. The larger roller bar is called the back beam and this is what you wind the warp on. Attached to the back beam by either strong string or a piece of fabric (called the apron) is,in this case, a dowel (but it can be metal) This dowel goes through the loop on your warp.
Are you confused yet? Let's just throw a few more terms at you then. The "raddle" is the piece of wood that has the nails on it. This is used to spread the warp and keep it spread while you wind it on. The white string on the raddle is just to keep all of the yarns in their little spaces. Sometimes things happen and the yarns will come out of their space if you don't tie them in. Not as bad as somethings that can happen while warping , but I hate to do a job twice if I don't have to. The colourful paper( see the first picture) is an old calendar that I use to put on inbetween the warp as it goes around the back beam. This is necessary because tension is VERY important in weaving. You want all of the yarns on the loom to be stretched the same amount and under the same tension. Even the difference of a few millimeters as yarns slip between each other if you don't separate them with paper,or sometimes fabric, make a difference. Bad tension is BADBADBAD. As you wind on, you have to "strum and stroke" the warp. Get your minds out of the gutter children. This is to untangle the warp below the lease sticks. Here is one of the places where warping is slow. Especially if your warp is either very slippery, like reeled silk, or very sticky, like the merino that I am using. As you slowly wind on, you must make sure that the tension is even.




Yeah! More than half way now. You can really see how the lease sticks sort out the yarns from the mess that is below them into the neat and tidy order above them.



Once the warp is wound on, you need to thread it through the "heddles". The heddles are distributed on 4 "harnesses". The heddles are those white string things to the right. The harnesses are the wood and metal frames that hold the heddles.There is an eye in each heddle and through these eyes go your warp. One warp thread per eye. Did I mention that my warp has 446 threads? Here is another reason that weaving is time consuming. And another reason that I usually put more then one project at a time. Could you imagine trying to pick each piece of yarn through each eye? Neither could I. Neither could someone a long time ago, so they invented.....



the heddle hook. Kind of reminiscent of an instrument of backroom abortions,eh? Shudder. Depending on what order you pull the yarns through the heddles in the harnesses, you can create different patterns. Nuff said about that. I could go on but either your head would start to hurt, or you would fall asleep.




Here I am using the heddle hook. You can easily see how the hook can be of great assistance.

Elapsed time to this point... about 6 -6.5 hours. I am about 1/8 of the way through threading my warp. Next stop the reed. Which I may not get to until much later. Hubby picked up a flu bug and it is nasty. I am expecting it to hit us all. I am not looking forward to it.

Thanks for reading and....Any questions?

What do you mean "It's Spring?"

I'm here to tell you all that it's still cold and windy. It certainly doesn't feel like spring. See the scarf? When it's Spring, the scarf will be gone!

Has anyone seen my horse?

For 'Zann

I was going to dedicate these flowers to spring, But instead, they are for 'Zann at

lizardintheleaves

whose son died this past weekend at the too young age of 20. I cannot imagine the pain in her heart. Let us all cherish our loved ones today, because we never know when they will be taken from us.

My heart goes out to you Zann.

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.