BOO!

Happy Halloween/Samhain !

Or happy Tuesday. Or happy knitting day. Or happy cooking day. Or happy doing nothing day! Whatever you choose, I hope it's just the best day.

The list that wasn't

Remember on Saturday when I said 'list things' could happen on Sunday. Umm nope. First plan was to head outside and work in the yard in the morning, and then in the afternoon travel to OKC. I wanted to go to this park called Martin Park...a real natural place..and take pictures. And then, I had heard that the LYS was open on Sunday afternoon. just sayin'.

Alas, my back, which on a good day isn't the best, decided that mowing and trimming wasn't going to happen early in the day. OK, so now the list has been modified..skipping the park and the lys and changed to knitting in the morning and yard in the afternoon. Still a good plan.

But after some entertaining (?) political discussion on the morning news shows and a bit more knitted on Farrow Rib, it became apparent that the back was not sorting itself out at all. And sitting was really, really uncomfortable.

New plan...find the dang heating pad and the Theragesic and Lortab. So a nest was made across the big bed. And smelling like a menthol factory and with the heating pad held in place by a very large teddy bear, and a cat curled up comfortably next to me, the afternoon arrived. Pretty comfy as long as I didn't move. Dang, when I made this nest I forgot the remote so instead of football I watched some really odd stories on some cable channel. Or maybe it was the Lortab making them odd. Dunno.

After a several hours, things were improved and I was hungry so a nice meal was made and eaten. ok so it was soup and a grilled cheese. But still quite nice. Back woke up and said 'hello? and you thought I was vanquished. Ha!'

My hip was desperately trying to curl itself up around my shoulder blade. So after a rather frantic search I found one lonely muscle relaxer and had it for dessert. Finally things got better and I could actually SIT. Yay me!

So to celebrate, I knitted...this. My first cable attempt. No that's not true, I tried it once before but that was a disaster that barely registers in my memory. It was FUN! And rather magical. Who knew that the cable thing only happened once in a while and the other rows were knitting and purling. Now I will admit that I put the pattern on my old cross stitch magnet board and used one of the magnets to mark what row I was on. And I used a counter so I didn't get lost and not repeat the previous row. But I have CABLES. I don't know what's up with that little hole on the top right. Maybe the stitch was too loose? It was sooo much fun!

Yarn: my workhorse pink Cascade 220. I bought this for a little project and since then it's been used for all sorts of experiments and small things so there's not enough to make a scarf. MUST GET YARN!

Needles: Knitpick circs. Gosh I love these soooo much!

Pattern: Irish Hiking Scarf

Question: Can I do this with such glee when not under the influence of legal drugs?

A post for Dave

I knew there was something I forgot to tell you about the fiber retreat I attended. Someone there (and I never really figured out who) had an antique sock knitting machine. Heavy iron beastie and it really didn't take up much space since it stood perpendicular. Reminded me of my old meat grinder that my mom used for everything. There was always quite a crowd around it, and I was a bit manic so I didn't wait my turn to get really up close and personal but it was quite amazing! The lady would turn the handle and it just knit. Makes sense to me for the ribbing/top..and even the foot, but I have no idea what it did for heels/toes. There were several socks there that had been made on it, and I think they were made over Friday and Saturday morning. I just don't understand, but then I am thinking of buying and IPOD for Dummies book so I can even figure out what one I really need.

Saturday Sky

Note: I started trying to get this to post about
9:30 AM but it was repeatedly refused. If you see it
then you'll know they finally like me.

It's mostly blue, but I did manage to find a few skiddy sort of clouds. I'm not sure that skiddy is a word, but in my vocabulary it means what your feet do when they are trying to get a grip on something slippery. Those clouds have disappeared in between the time I took it and the time I got back from the grocery. And every thing is all blue.

All of the *have-to-do* things are done. There is food, and clean clothes (well the towels are still in the dryer) and I am going to try to do nothing that either Needs to be done, or I think I need to do. That can happen tomorrow. Sometimes I have trouble just letting go and doing something..or nothing.. just because I want to. That's the plan for today.

Tomorrow can be back to the list.

I hope you have lots of playtime today

Nothing much to say

The wind played a trick on these leaves. When I left for work, there were some on both sides of the street. Later in the morning I drove by as I did the Dr. rounds and they were mostly on the north side. Some time later, the wind shifted and they decided to meet in the middle.

This one is entitled "Leaves on Broken Birdbath Base" It's concrete and too heavy to move so it shall be a still life. uh huh. I don't know what the stuff is. It gets really red later on in the year. A neighbor told me it would make me break out, but it doesn't so I just let it be.

Definitely a Hump Day..err Night

It started out great but turned into one of those backward days. No matter what I was doing, I either had to stop and do something else; the task changed..you get the idea.

Even Blood Drive Day was odd. I almost always donate and it's always a pain because no matter if you sign up for an appointment, you end up sitting and waiting...and waiting...and waiting. But I outsmarted them. I took my sock in progress. Cool. I could knit and still earn my hourly wage. Not to be. I got 3 stitches done. In and out in no time. Well, at least I know now what to do!

Finally home. All was calm, all was bright. After my supper oatmeal I decided to defrost the freezer. That went pretty well until I noticed that a cat knocked the hamburger balls that I use for Zoey's meds onto the floor. And there were a bazillion little balls of frozen hamburger rolling all over. They all (hopefully) were either found or eaten and the task was done.

Next on the list was my fabric project which involved cutting out little pieces of curvy cloth. Well, the cloth wasn't curvy but the shapes were. Maybe I should have known better. I really wasn't excited about it, but wanted to move forward on the project. So I cut..and cut...and cut. And then, I guess I just lost it. Because I cut all the little shapes into a bazillion shards and dumped them in the trash! Oh well. Sometimes I forget I'm a grown up. :::sigh:::

A break was in order. So after a short, but soaky bath I started addressing more Halloween cards. Calm, happy until I realized that I was addressing them to ME. Hello? Good thing there were a couple of extras.

That put away, I curled up on the loveseat to knit on the Farrow Rib scarf. And thanks be to whatever goddess watches over knitters I DIDN'T SCREW IT UP!!!! 8 inches later I went to bed.

I'm blaming all of this on Rush Limbaugh. He made me sooo mad about his comments about Michael J. Fox. It's time to give Mel a break.

But today....it's gonna be the best day ever. I know this and wrote it on my board so I would remember it :-)

48 Things

48 Things You Could Care Less About
1. FIRST NAME? Susan
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? first name No...middle name Yes
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Last Saturday, but it was because I was laughing so hard.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yep
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? ham or real turkey breast like after Thanksgiving
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Geez, I hope so! I have a lot of fun with me.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? You're reading it
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? I'd like to say yes, but ummm No
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? oatmeal
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? yes
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Strong willed. Unfortunately not as strong physically as I used to be.
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? eggnog
14. SHOE SIZE? 9
5. RED OR PINK? pink
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My very poor financial habits.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom, my friend Tam
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Well, since I'm not sending it to anyone, that's unlikely. But I'd love to read it somewhere.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? lt blue tshirt, purple/pink/yellow Tweety sleep pants, barefooted
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Moon Pie
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? weather forecast
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? periwinkle...the color is nice but I love the word
23. FAVORITE SMELL? mint that just got mowed; vanilla; new yarn
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The Girl
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? hands, smile
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? but, of course!
27. FAVORITE DRINK? coffee, chai tea
28. FAVORITE SPORT? football, curling, snowboarding
29. EYE COLOR? green
30. HAT SIZE? I have no clue
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope, trifocals
32. FAVORITE FOOD? spagetti, white pizza, cheeseburgers...ummmm cheese!
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? mystery/adventure with a happy ending
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? winter...I really dislike summer
36. HUGS OR KISSES? either or both
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? fruit pie, but I rarely have it.
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? no clue
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? still no clue
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? "It Had To Be You" (funny cozy mystery); "Whole Craft of Spinning"
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? circles
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? news, NCIS, The Unit
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? rain, The Girl's laughter, my dog's snoring
44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Not fair! I adore them both
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Niagra Falls
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I have no idea.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Columbus, Ohio
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? nobody...I "borrowed it from Laura"

Just Pretend

It's been a busy and fun evening. A bit of fabric stuff going on; some computer scanning; some knitting; a wee bit of ironing (the fabric) and some picture taking.

That's where the 'just pretend' comes in. I can't get the colors to be right in the dark night. Even with all the lamps on, it's just not right. So I'll tell you what to imagine.

So many folks were at Rhinebeck (although some really best folks weren't) so I decided to just journey around the web. And, while out there I found a new-to-me stitch called Farrow Rib. Probably old hat to most of you, but I was excited! So poor sockie went back in it's bag and I started rummaging in the stash. Now, outside of sock yarn and the yarn I got at the Fiber Fest and that wonderful Rowan that lives in my china cabinet so I can gaze at it lovingly, most of my 'stash' is of questionable quality. Lots of Lion Brand lives in there, bought when I didn't really know about fine yarn...and haha probably couldn't afford it anyway.

So, I found this bulky WoolEase and with new Knitpicks needles set out to see what it was like. And here ya go. The yarn is really a dark rust, and the pillow it's on is a medium rust. Not really orange. I have no idea how long I can make this sucker. I 'think' there is another skein but I haven't found it yet. Hopefully it can become a scarf headed for my friend's partner ... they live in Buffalo, NY and get lots of snow, so I'm thinking a really warm scarf could be handy. And...umm if it works, I'll have to get busy and make one for my friend. I don't think she'd be pleased if Bonnie got something hand made and she didn't. Oh and I didn't realize that the lower left hand corner was turned under when I took the pic. It really is str8.

These are pics are of the yarn cakes from the yarn I dyed at the fiber retreat. The green isn't 'quite' so garish. But it's all pretty wild. I'm excited about swatching it. And, of my new plate! I won a cake in a raffle and it came on this fine Melmac plate. It's such a happy thing! And the cake was a huge, 3 layer German Chocolate cake. Yum! And fun sharing it with my coworkers. I don't think I've ever won a cake before.

The fabric project is still just little pieces of fabric so not much to show there. But hopefully soon. It's a fun project and I just hope I can get it to work right.

Sock? Oh, poor sockie is asleep in the bag. I frogged the heel flap...I really didn't like the way the reinforcing stuff thickened it up. And then re-knit it and turned it. And once that was accomplished, it was time for sockie to have a nap. Socktobefest? Well...I worked on them in October, does that count???

Baby, It's Cold Outside

First freeze of the year. Just down to 29F in the night and is up to 32F. There is NO wind which is a bit strange for Oklahoma so it really isn't bad out there at all. At least it wasn't bad for the few minutes I was out.

I had a Saturday Sky shot that I took from the car window on my way to the store early yesterday morning. Alas, I didn't really look closely at it until I got home. There was a spectacular sunrise marred by some HUGE blob of glare/smoke/who knows. You'll just have to take my word for it. And no, LOL I didn't take it through a closed window as a friend thought.

The slight plan I had for Saturday got rearranged rather suddenly. Groceries were purchased, laundry underway as was some ironing. And then The Girl called about 11 asking if I would like to go with her, and her mom and her mom's friend to this big craft/antique/fine art/gift/collectible show called Affair of the Heart. Well...sure! It's held twice a year at the fairgrounds in Oklahoma City. It's been years since I've gone but it was always fun...if sometimes awash in home made bunnies. Somewhat juried I think so things were good quality and also there was always a lot of *stuff* that you could use to make your own whatevers.

There were lots of Christmas and Halloween decorations and a lot of Christian stuff too. Short on antiques and other old stuff. My first score though was an old zinc canning lid with a glass insert. I love old canning jars and use them to store pasta and such. Second score was what I thought was raspberry tea. The booth had those big thermos servers with all their flavors and I tried the little tiny cup of raspberry. Pretty darn tasty so I got a bag. When I got home, however, I discovered that it's more like a drink mix. 2 teaspoons to a cup with lots of other stuff in it. Still good..but not zactly what I wanted. I found some camo tennis shoes that I really, really wanted but since I hadn't planned on this show I didn't have much cash with me. Oddly enough, when I got home and pulled my leftover cash out of my pocket I discovered that separated from the $1 bills was a $20. So...I could have got them, but I'm guessing it wasn't to be.

Their friend was just loads of fun and I really enjoyed getting to know her a bit. I recruited her in my search for a teapot and although I found a few, the only one that called my name was way to expensive for my budget. She's recently moved back to Oklahoma and told me that she thinks she has a teapot and cups packed somewhere that might be just the ticket..and if, they ever turn up I can have them. :::crossing fingers:::

The Girl, her mom, and I stopped on the way home for some haute cuisine at Taco Bueno. It seems to be our custom now. This time though, eating was interrupted with a huge giggle fit. One of those *you had to be there* things, but I can't remember laughing that hard or that long in a very long time. My cheeks hurt, my stomach hurt, tears running down my face. It felt really good...especially since I managed to neither spew my drink or choke on it!

Last night was spent snuggling with the cats and a heating pad. Those 4 big buildings and their concrete floors make me creaky. I started the heel flap on a sock. For the first time, I am using reinforcing yarn/thread. It's amazing how much difference that skinny piece of wool makes things. And my fingers kept trying to make each stitch into two. I think now though that they've been accustomed to the feel so hopefully it will go better today.

Today, besides knitting, I need to find my warmer clothes. It's definitely time to haul out the flannel and find my comforter. I can do all that and still pout because I'm not at Rhinebeck, right?

laters..

laters...

Wind Chill

is in the mid 30s this morning. I'm thinking that's why my internet connection is sooooo s l o w.
Well, maybe not the whole thing, but certainly Yahoo. I just spent 15 min trying to reply.
And that was after rebooting. So, I shall just give up until this evening.

And I won't even attempt to upload pictures. But, if I did, and they actually loaded you'd get to see the yarn cakes I made from my acid dye yarn. Then your eyes would hurt from the glare. *L* I think I took the term *acid* a bit seriously.

And you would get to see my almost completely woven coin purse. As I was weaving on it last night (using worsted weight acrylic) I got to thinking that this would be a cool way to use up remainders of sock yarns. I'd sort of designed (in my head) a larger one with woven in designs. And then I looked at the clock and realized it wouldn't be a quick project. Just when I would think I was about done, I'd pack it down and shazamm it was if I hadn't done a thing *L*

It was a good project though since it seemed that last night was not a good night for counting. Or remembering a simple repeat. So the *to be started* Opera scarf is not a reality. And the sock flap isn't longer.

Laura, when you watch My Name is Earl this evening, laugh for me please. It's being pre-empted by a political 'town meeting'. It will be shown at 1:48 AM or some other dumb time and for reasons that are too long to go into, I can't tape it. On the good side though, when it's rerun time, there will be one I haven't already seen.

See ya!

merino me

I saw this test over at Laura's and of course, I just had to take it.

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes.
Take this quiz!








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New Stuff!

Well of course I had to shop a bit. I was good...I put my spendable cash in my pocket and even came home with some left over. Not because I ran out of things I wanted, but more because I was scaring myself LOL.

First day, I bought a book...for $3 and these batts. I fell in love with the colors. Not that I can spin it, I guess it will serve as inspiration. Although I did see this wonderful bag that someone had crocheted from roving using a great big hook and then felted.

Then I bought some raw wool (no picture yet) and I did scour a bit of it yesterday. I don't think I got enough to really do anything with but it was just wonderful to run my fingers through the curly locks.

There was some yarn that I just loved but it was more expensive than I thought I should spend. I dreamed about it though so on the second day I got it. I thought my subconscious was guiding me. that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I loved that it looks so coarse and feels so soft. It's alpaca and silk and yummy. I started a scarf yesterday but it's not far enough along to really show.

Then when everyone was packing up, I was helping some load their vehicles. Two people that shared a booth had a bunch of books, mostly (I think) from their stash. I know one of them, when questioned why she would sell one of them, said "Because I have 3??" So anyway as we were getting stuff semi-organized Gwen handed me this huge book called "The Weaving, Spinning and Dyeing Book" by Rachel Brown. And then asked me if I wanted it. Qualifying the offer by saying, "It's old and the binding is falling apart, but if you want it you can have it." Of course I said YES. There is soooo much info in it! I took it to the car and then went back to vehicle loading. After carrying the book box outside the other person in the booth, Emmelita, said, "Why don't you pick out a book? You've been such a help" I explained that Gwen had already given me a book and her response was "Well I haven't, so pick one!" It's not nice to argue so I agreed *G*
And chose Folk Bags by Vicki Square and published by Interweave. I'd looked at it a bazillion times over the weekend and was entranced by the variety of bags inside. Lucky me!

By Sunday afternoon, I was tired and really stupid so I didn't get too far in my woven coin purse. Anna, the instructor, was quite patient and gave me yarn to finish with. It's in my project bag and will be a good thing to work on while watching tv. And then all I have to do is to remember how to finish it LOL

Yesterday was spent doing laundry and knitting and watching tv and generally just being a slug. I did finish the cuff on the Levi sock #2, and worked a bit on the scarf and washed a bit of the raw fleece from Todd and napped. And napped, and watched tv and napped. You get the idea :-)

Today it's back to work. Now if I can just concentrate on Medicare paperwork instead of fibery things. Multitasking..that's what I shall do.

Dyeing on the Prairie

Dyeing was a part of both days at the fiber fest. The first day Jessica (that's her in the tie dye) led us through dying with acid dyes. She is messy and way too much fun. My gosh, she had a bazillion jars of colors. Well, ok maybe 50? It was really hard to figure out what I wanted to do. I had an idea when I got there, but after seeing all those colors it went up in smoke. When it was my turn to pick out colors, I just told her I wanted mine to be like easter eggs on acid. These are the colors I ended up with. And she had the most clever dyeing dishes. Those are plastic chip and dip bowls The skein fits nicely around it and the removable center helps keep things from just slopping around. I also learned that superwash really, really likes the dye. Hardly any in the bottom of the bowl and in fact, a bit difficult to get dye everywhere you wanted it. One of mine is pretty saturated, the other one, I wanted some white to show.

And this, thanks to the lovely Elabeth, is me doing my best to make only a small mess. It was so fun and I was delighted to know that she had sock yarn as well as roving. So I got two skeins to play with. Afterwards we hung them on a drying rack outside the building, and they finished drying in my bathroom. They aren't wound yet. Maybe tomorrow.

The second day was dyeing silk with Kool Aid. This is the weirdest thing I have ever done. We were given a silk hankie as well as some silk roving. It basically went like all other Kool Aid dyeing except that the silk, when wet, sort of looked like a wet cat's tail. Fortunately, before we ever started we got to see that when dry, things changed. What you do is to grasp the fiber in your hands, maybe 6-8 inches apart and tug hard. Sort of like snapping a cracker. And when you do, it opens up into much loveliness. Amazing. What will I do with it when it's all open? Umm probably keep it in a box until I can spin better and someone can show me what to do with it.

Mornin

It's 8:15 here (although it will probably be much later by the time the pic loads) and I have made a big pan of vegetable soup and 18 pumpkin/walnut muffins. The second batch was still in the oven when I took the picture. Later today will be almond/poppyseed muffins I think...and maybe later some cranberry muffins. We shall see. There is going to be a bake sale at work to benefit our sick coworker/friend. And well..the almond and cranberry are new recipes to me so I shall have to sample. I really didn't want that much soup but I don't seem to know how to make a small pot. It has cabbage and onions and carrots and green beans and peas and..uhh I think that's all.

Later I shall be back with more stories from the fiber fest.

Update: I really didn't mean to put this post in Sunday Socks. (it's gone now thank goodness) My socks must be demanding their time on the web.

Quick Post

because it's almost time to head out the door again.

I had sooooooooo much fun yesterday. All the people I've met are ever so friendly and fun. I got to help unload a couple of trucks. Just to carry fiber and wheels is pretty fun *G*.

There is so much fiber there. Who knew there were so many people in my state involved in this. I even got a small amount of raw wool from a ram named Todd (I even have his picture. How cool is that?). And will get (so I'm told) some free stuff today. I bought some gorgeous roving (?) that I won't dare spin until I get much better but the color sucked me in. Saw some more later that I thought I needed but I've talked myself out of that. I do know who was selling it so maybe someday.

Dyeing with Jacquard dye is FUN..and superwash really sucks up the dye! The girl that taught it was crazy and fun and messy so I fit right in.

A good variety of ages and people from Texas and Arkansas too.

The beginning drop spindle was fun especially because I made friends with the instructors young daughter (well probably pre-teen) who is a great spinner and a good teacher. Hah she liked my shoes (PF Flyers) and maybe thought anyone of a "certain age" that wore PF Flyers needed attention. I didn't take my spindle as I was told we would be provided with ones to use (and keep). I do better on mine..it's heavier and spins faster than I could get this one to do.

I really wish I had signed up for beginning spinning on a wheel. but maybe I can con someone into letting me try for just a little while. Although, the quiet clicking that one of them made almost hypnotized me. Or maybe I was just tired.

Ohhhh and the potluck dinner was excellent. Some really good good stuff there and I do love to eat!

Got home about 9:30, threw my jeans in the washer and went to bed...and dreamed about yarn.
Woke up almost as tired as I was when I went to bed but I'm blaming that on a wet weather front that is moving in (for tonight and tomorrow and Monday) which always makes me creaky. I'm thinking though that fun will outweigh any discomfort.

OK..gotta go. Have a good Saturday y'all!

Hershey Says...

It's cold!! Well it really isn't but temps in the high 30s did cool off the house and this is what I found when I went in to make my bed. I took the first pic and then thought I'd let him snooze a bit longer. I guess he thought if he went deeper under the covers I would forget about him being there. Sorry Bubby!

After a really fast but difficult week at work, I have today and Monday off. Scheduled for a couple of months and it was probably all that kept me from either screaming at someone or crawling under my desk a la Hershey.

It's going to be an interesting couple of days because it's time for the Okie Fiber group to have their fall retreat. And it's here in my town so I'll be able to sleep in my own bed instead of camping out at the fair building or in a motel. So there will be a bit of $$ left for a vendor.

I neglected to copy my registration so I'm not sure what class I have when; but I think this is my "schedule". This afternoon is "Dyeing" and I think it's with acid dyes. Tonight is beginning drop spindle (and needed since I have forgotten the little bit I learned in the summer). Tomorrow morning it's "Playing with Silk" I know there will be some dyeing involved since I was instructed to bring some kool aid. The woman teaching this raises silk worms so I'm hoping to see some of those little silk hankies that I have read about. There will also be some silk spinning, I think. And then tomorrow afternoon I'm going to weave a coin purse...or at least attempt it. The classes are all quite affordable. The most expensive being $20 and the least $10 and that includes supplies to play with for the most part.

A lot of these folks also are vendors with spindles and wheels and fiber and who knows what else. It will be a chance to find local vendors to support. AND perhaps most importantly, time spent with folks that have interests similar to mine; and outstanding skills.

I am sooooooooooo excited.

It ends Saturday evening I think which will leave me two more days off. We are having a benefit bake sale at work on Wed for my friend who is so ill (went home from the hospital finally yesterday) and I have some muffin recipes I want to try. I hate to experiment on folks who are going to have to spend money, so I thought I would make some on Sunday and run them out to the office on Monday and folks can give me their opinion before I actually bake for the sale.

It's just the bestest weekend! And I hope your Friday goes quickly (unless you have the day off also)

Success at Last

yesssssss...the 2nd afghan square for Laurie's grandma (or another resident of her nursing home) is done! After so many do-overs, I didn't even cut the yarn when I was finished. It didn't require much blocking...just a bit of tidying up from being squashed in my bag but still...I had this fear that when I took out the pins it would scrunch up into a 4x4. I even think I have an envelope, but still need to write a note to go with it. Oh, and find the address. Whew. I had no idea it would take up this much time but I learned more about my knitting.

1. I learned that I need to cast on with a needle that's a little bigger than the needle I'll use to knit the project. At least on an afghan square. I know I cast on tight so I normally cast on using two needles stacked together. But for some reason here, the cast on edge tended to be enough tighter that it pulled the sides in a bit.
2. I learned that if you must knit and watch The Unit at the same time, it's best to use somewhat blunt ended needles, otherwise something will blow up and you'll stab yourself. Blunter needles still hurt but you won't bleed on the project.
3. I learned that you can frog Cascade 220 a bazillion times and it will still look like yarn. just sayin'

I've learned something else. The Dallas 'Sortation Center' works very slowly. I have an order from Knitpicks in transit. It's been in transit since the 4th. And the majority of those days, it's been in Dallas. Geez. I should have just driven down and picked it up. It left there yesterday and hopefully it's made the Oklahoma state line by now! Maybe tonight I'll have new needles and some color cards to play with ::::crossing fingers:::::

Oh, and hey, it's 41 degrees outside! How cool is that? (pun intended). Will warm up later into the 70s but still. And tomorrow it's supposed to be colder..with a wind chill even. I have to go to the store tonight and shall get some potatoes and make a nice steaming bowl of soup for supper then.

Life is good!

Got Gauge?

Not me :-( Yesterday was going to be all about sock knitting. I have the cuff on one done and 1/2 of the cuff of it's mate; and planned on finishing that and maybe getting one heel done.

Then, I remembered that I needed to get busy on the afghan blocks (I promised 2) for Laurie's grandma. My calendar says I am going to mail then on Friday. Quick knit, no problem, right?
Umm. I knocked one out quickly using my face cloth pattern. Then on to more interesting things. Out comes the stitch book and I chose a really simple one called Double Moss, K2P2 one row, P2, K2 next row. Check the yarn label. 5 stitches/inch with #7 needles. I need an 8" sqaure. Therefore, cast on 40. Right? Not in this house. Initially it was right on. But I guess I was knitting too loose because after 2 inches this thing was huge. Size down in needles. Now too small.

I really want to knit socks so try again but this time I did the K2, P2 on one side and just K on the other. It will go faster and I can get to the socks. Yep. It did go faster. It also went smaller. It would block out, but since it's superwash and will be probably going in a dryer I don't think blocking is the answer. Try again and again. I still don't have gauge LOL

At least I think I know what I will be doing this evening.

A friend of mine is in serious medical trouble so much of the knitting was updated with phone calls. It's been decided that all of us showing up at the hospital is quite wearing so we take turns. And we've come up with quite a good calling circle thing. Things had quieted down by late afternoon. Not really better, but not getting in more trouble. Then the phone rang last night. I heard someone say "How are you?" below static. Lots of static. They called back. More static and I couldn't hear anyone. There are areas around here where cell phone reception sucks so then I had to start calling to see if someone was calling me. Nope. But of course, we had to chat awhile. :-) That meant I didn't get to see my Steelers lose LOL. There's always a good side, I suppose. I keep saying that anyway.

And now it's off to Monday. I just know it's going to be a slow week since I'm looking to a fiber-y Friday and Saturday. So...maybe I will finally get gauge. Ya think?

Barely Under the Wire

Just barely got this in in time. This really isn't the pic I wanted to post but it's the one that Blogger would take. The others were of the same building, just better pics. This is a mural painted on the side of a building downtown. At one time long ago, there was an interurban street car that went on tracks from here to various points outside of town. That's it on the right. The red car is also a trolley on tracks but it just travels around the town. It's a lot of fun to ride on if you pretend it's long ago.

It's been a nice day. Up early and hit the floor running. The dog and I both got haircuts...the dog looks pretty good, mine not so hot. But then, I don't claim to be an expert. I really was going to go have it cut, but that was $$ I'd have to spend next weekend when the fiber slumber party happens. So, it was dog clippers for me too :-).

Then the usual hustle and bustle of house stuff and laundry and all that jazz. This afternoon was spent with friends, watching OU get beat by Texas :-( . However, the Rotel dip and the little smokies and the beans and cornbread almost made up for it.

After a brief attempt to see if I could get speakers to work on this computer, the rest of the evening was spent curled up on the couch with the cats and sock knitting. Nice!

Hope your day went well, and there is still one more day of the weekend! Yay!

National Spinning and Weaving Week

I just read on Dave's blog that this week is all about spinning and weaving. And there's been some of that going on here. Alas, not by me but still quite exciting for me. I spent much of last evening taking picture to commemorate this event. And now....Charlotte. You can barely see her up there in the top of the picture. I'm not sure why the symmetry is upset there towards the bottom. She seemed unconcerned and possibly that was because in the middle of our photo shoot, she captured dinner. A moth flew right into the web and she hit it sooo fast. I was looking through the viewfinder and I was never able to actually see the web, so I would use her as a place to look toward. All of a sudden....BAM. Haha scared me and I almost fell off the porch. Shooting straight into the web I got nothing, so I had to shoot sort of parallel to the web and then angle in a bit. I won't go into how many pictures got dumped! She was a fat girl, and judging by how fast she jumped that moth, was hungry too. And here she is in all her creamy colored glory.

This is so me

You Belong in Winter

Quiet, calm, and totally at peace... You're happy to be at home, wrapped in a blanket, completely snowed in Whether you're lighting a fire or having a snowball fight, you always feel best in the winter.

What Season Are You?

Thanks Sara for the link!

pushing fate?

so since one pic posted, I'll try to post the bad results I had when trying to knit my regular pattern on #2 needles with Regia Silk striping yarn. And just for Cookie, a repeat of the gratuitous cat paw...my photographic assistant.

So, it kinda looks like using #3 needles might make it work, but I'm going to have to go down in stitches and tighten up my tension or else wear it as a headband *G*

once again

I shall try to post a pick of the Levis sock. We shall see. On a dialup it takes a long time, even when it works. So, after writing, I'll go do breakfast dishes and scoop litter and maybe by then, shazamm a picture will appear.

Work was way stressful yesterday. Well, it was only partly the actual work. But our director, a relatively young man was having some majorly big heart surgery. Scary shit! So far, so good :::crossing fingers::::. And so the unknowing of that coupled with a big work load made 5 pm seem like a most wonderful thing.

After the regular after work stuff, supper, dishes yadda yadda, I made a cup of tea and sat down to knit.

Probably 4 rows on the L sock, and a couple on the cryptic stripey sock that nobody could see.. It would be HUGE if I finished it, but somewhere while surfing this morning, I read where someone had made a sock out of this Regia stripey stuff using #3 needles and 48 stitches and it worked. I shall try that. This yarn is slippy, and on metal needles I have to hang on tight (I don't have any #3 bamboo) so it makes my hands hurt a bit.

So, I'm knitting and suddenly realized my hands aren't moving and I have no idea what is on the tv because, I've gone to sleep in the middle of a stitch! Hahaha! I gave it up. Thought to do something else, like water plants, but was yawning so hard. So to bed. At 8:30 pm. What's up with that. Slept through until 5 this morning so I guess I really did need to sleep.

OMG a photo loaded. You can't know how happy that makes me. It's going to be a good day for sure!

*&%(&%%$@#$

So there! Once again I can't put any of my pics up but I'm thinking maybe it's my computer. They apparently start to load and then I get a message that it contains no data. :::sigh::: So I thought I would load them up to photobucket but I can't get there either. It's not to be, I suppose.

On the bright side, I started another pair of socks for Socktober Fest. Regia, blues and browns. Spent much time on the phone last night and fortunately had gotten past the fiddly first two rows so the ribbing went well.

Zoey (my dog) had a vet appointment Saturday. Seems she is in the early stages of congestive heart failure. She's started on meds (including Lasix) and yes, she can pee like a race horse. She did well. One of them had the potential of making her blood pressure drop too much so the vet said to keep an eye on her after the first dose. So, since Saturday had a thousand errands, I gave her the first dose yesterday morning. And, since I was supposed to pay attention to her, we cleaned out more drawers...this time in the dining room. End result, her breathing was easier and two big trash bags left the building.

I'll try for pictures later.

Hope your weekend went well also and that your week is even better.