The String and I

Tell me if this sounds crazy

2008-08-31T19:18:00.002-07:00

I have been doing some weaving lately and I wanted to experiment with weaving silk without using my handspun for the experiment.

I have two partial cones of 60/2 silk (think sewing thread). One cone is white and the other is dark royal blue. Just to give you an idea of the fineness of this thread - it's 14,000+ yards per pound.

I knew that I didn't want to weave anything that fine - I'm doing good to put on a warp that's 12 ends per inch. I also didn't know how much thread was on each cone. I took my bobbin winder and filled three 6 inch bobbins with the white. I plyed those into a three ply and then cabled that back on itself for an almost fingering weight yarn. It's about 150 yards per ounce. I was able to get another one of those from the cone of white. So, I've got two skeins - not nearly enough for the ruana that I want to weave.

I wound off the rest of the white onto one bobbin and plyed that into a 3 ply with two bobbins of the royal blue for a barber pole yarn. I plyed three bobbins of blue together and then plyed that with the barber pole yarn.

The 4 skeins are sitting in a rich green dyepot right now. My plan is to warp with the overdyed blue and weave with the green. I'm hoping that the blue will take some of the green, the white thread in the blue will influence that and that the difference between the two colors will be noticeable but similar enough in value to not be contrasty.

I'll wait until it's dry to see what to set it at, but I think 12 ends per inch will work. I hope so, cause then I can get about 36" wide by 7 feet long (depending on the take up)

What do you think?

I know - I should have taken pics of the yarn before it went into the dye bath - but didn't. The yarn will sit in the dye bath all night long to be sure that the deepest possible color is gotten. This is my first time using Gaywool dyes. I didn't have the color I wanted so I did an emergency trip to the Fiber Factory and Gaywool is all they had.

I expect to get the yarn dried tomorrow and on the loom by tomorrow night.

Funniest thing I 've ever gotten in the mail

2008-07-02T05:10:00.002-07:00

ok - a long time ago - I enlisted in the Navy during Viet Nam. I did my tour of duty and got out.

A few years after that, I re-enlisted, but this time in the Army reserve and I stayed in for about 6 years.

For those who don't know me very well - I'm 53 years old, pretty overweight and out of shape - so imagine my surprise yesterday when I got an offer from the Navy Reserve - asking me to reclaim what I loved so much about military service and consider rejoining.

Now I have to assume they got my name from my military records - don't they know that I'm 53?

How desperate must they be?

Anyway, I'm tempted to take the offer and go into a recruiting office just to see what they say when they see me with my knitting.

Fibers Thru Time 2008

2008-05-15T05:17:00.002-07:00

I never did get around to writing up the fabulous time I had at Fibers Through Time 2008, but here are the photo albums from the event.

The Gallery of items submitted for the juried show - I'm sorry - the captions are still not entered. I'm working on it slowly

Photos all over the event

The workshops - the output of the participants was gorgeous and the examples brought by the workshop instructors were amazing.

New Socks

2008-05-12T05:05:00.002-07:00

I have been working on this pair of socks for it seems like forever. It's the same stitch pattern - crocus bud - as my portland souvenir are, but I just got so tired of it.

I got the yarn last year at OFFF from some indie dyer, but have lost the band and have no clue what it's called or who dyed it - sorry.

I think I remember that it's a wool bamboo blend - it has a softness and sheen to it that is very very nice.

Here it is on my new sock blockers that I got from Bobbie in Portland - founding member of the PDX knit bloggers group and new spinner.

And an action shot - how long can a plump grandma stand on her toes before falling over? Taken by Fred at Tempe Yarn and Fiber - that's where I go to sew in my ends on FOs.

A Little Scare

2008-05-08T06:00:00.003-07:00

Ok, so I take my health for granted. I rarely get sick and when I do go to the doc - all my tests are normal for my age and weight.

On Tuesday at work I was sitting in a project review meeting with my whole team and my chest started to really feel tight. I've felt a milder form of this before - I think it's related to heartburn or acid reflux. I got up from the meeting, went to my desk and got a Zantac, and took it with a glass of water - that's always taken care of this before.

I went back to my meeting and my chest was still really tight - starting to hurt pretty bad - I realised that one of my co-workers was asking if I was alright. Instead of saying "yeah, I'm ok" which truely was what I was going to say - I think I said "no, I don't think so"

To make a long story shorter - I ended up on the couch in the quiet room until the pretty firefighters and EMTs came to take me away to the hospital. I spent the night and all of yesterday getting checked out. We did a full cardio workup and from all we were able to determine - it's probably not my heart.

I'm on a different proton pump blocker and will follow up with my PCP next week.

The cardio doc and I talked about two different things - What is causing the current pain and how to keep it from being my heart.

We are starting with the new proton pump in inhibitor - if I go the whole two week therapy without any more pain - that will tell us that it's gastro in nature and we can treat that. If I do have the pain again during treatment - then we have to do some more tests - perhaps an endoscope to look at the esophagus or a heart cath to see what the heart is doing in more detail.

My cholesterol is on the high side of normal and he wants me to start walking a couple of times a week - to get my heart rate up a little - he thinks that will bring the cholesterol right down to where it needs to be. That's going to be the hard part.

Fiber Festival

2008-03-19T21:16:00.002-07:00

I have to tell you all about a fiber event that I just returned from. Sorry - no pics yet - but I will post some.

A two day workshop in spinning silk taught by the incomparable Judith MacKenzie McCuin!

Sponsored by Carolina Homespun and held at the Point Bonita Lighthouse just north of San Francisco.

OMG - what a great time I had. I flew into SFO early on Friday morning and was picked up by Lann. We toodled on over to Carolina Homespun and we all got the YarnV loaded up with anything we thought might be helpful to have at the retreat. A quick trip to Trader Joe's for munchies and lunch and Morgaine and I were on our way out to the lighthouse.

We ate our lunch and then unpacked an incredible amount of stuff from the YarnV.

I took my personal stuff to the dorm and picked out my room. There were so few of us at the facility and no other groups there - so I got a room to myself. The bed was firm just as I like it - so I scored!

Nancy Finn - the genius behind the Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks brought some of her work to Morgaine and hung out for a while. Turns out that she and I know some of the same fiber people from the 80's. What a trip.

The spinners started arriving and we got to know each other over setting up our wheels and then over dinner.

We sat and spun and talked for quite a while - then headed off to bed about 10 or so. I slept very well, only woke up once and then dropped right back off.

The next two days was a blur of silk spinning - trying to cram more knowledge into my brain that it was ever designed to hold.

If you ever get the chance to take any class with Judith - take it. The amount of knowledge that woman drops in passing is incredible - I only wish that I had a video of the workshop - cause I know I only got about half of what she was saying.

It was so hard to leave - Judith was teaching another class right after this one on weaving - at the same location - sure wish I could have stayed - maybe it would motivate me to warp up one of my looms this year.

Now for the good news for you all - Carolina Homespun is doing it again - only bigger and better.

The Golden Gate Fiber Institute presents the Summer Intensive. 6 Instructors - 6 workshops - the only down side is that you can only pick two. I registered months ago - and can't remember what classes I signed up for - but it doesn't matter - cause any of these women have something to teach.

I'm not affiliated with Carolina Homespun or Judith - other than the friendships I feel like I formed this weekend -but I encourage anyone who is remotely interested in the July program to contact Morgaine - there are still openings.

The wedding

2007-12-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

I've been sick for days, but with the help of my whole family - we pulled the wedding off.

The weather was great, the house was decorated, the out of town guests arrived safely, Grandma got ordained so she could perform the ceremony, the cakes were baked, the dress was perfect, the groom was sober and not hung over, the family and friends were mostly on time, the bride was beautiful, all in all - not bad for a wedding pulled together in 5 weeks.

I put captions on most of the pics. Here is a small selection from the over 400 pictures taken by DeVia and I. I'm hoping to get copies from everyone else.

Catching up

2007-12-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, there's a lot going on in my family and around my house...

I'm going to try and catch you all up in one post with lots of pictures.

Halloween - we had lots of kids this year - went thru 2 large bags of candy and had to shut our porch light out at 8 pm. Here's a cute pic of Summer and Zach - niece and nephew

I finished three shawls.
Another brown handspun Forest Canopy for my sister Juanita,

a commercial yarn Forest Canopy for Mom,

and my Kiri out of handspun exotics for me me me.

Here are some gratuitous cat pron... We have 4 cats - a 14 year old long haired calico - Cameo - my sweet old gal.

Two adults - Candy

and Stormy,

and a youngster - Baker Baker.

Here's a shot of them all on the bed at once - this rarely happens. Cameo is picky and doesn't like any of the others to come close to her.

Here's the reason we bought the new couch - Maegan and Sarah spend the night at our house almost every other weekend - this new couch gives them both room to sleep on it

The couch also got put to good use on Thanksgiving - the reclining feature was appreciated by all - my son and some of the girls

My mom and a couple of sisters

The kids had a good time at Thanksgiving - look at them playing fort under the table.

I have to finish the last minute details for my sons wedding this weekend. I'll probably have more updates soon.

Kiri finally done

2007-12-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

No pictures yet, I just sewed in the ends last night.

At SOAR this year, I received a number of exotic fibers as samples from peace of yarn.

There was cashmere, cashmere/silk, ultra fine merino, angora, yak, camel down, etc...

About 1.5 ounces total for 10 different fibers - most of them white or off white.

When I got home, I scored an electric drum carder with a fine drum, so I carded all the white and off white exotic fibers together with some merino I already had. I added about 25% more in bleached tussah silk to get four ounces of yummy batts.

I spun it medium fine laceweight and the single came out slightly slubby in places, but pretty.

I already had 3/4 bobbin of very fine bleached tussah singles for a different project that I had stalled on - so I plyed those two together to get 1200 yards of a very pretty off white yarn - total weight a little less than 5 ounces.

I have knit the Forest Canopy Shawl 6 times so far and wanted to do a different one.I like my shawl knitting to be a memorizable pattern - written with a chart, but a small enough repeat to be able to knit without looking at the pattern every row every stitch. Kiri fit the bill perfectly.

So, in between the felted bags and the watch caps that I've made for holiday presents, I finally finished knitting the shawl. This was my take along knitting. Everyone at work has seen me knitting it and are waiting for me to wear it to work.

I have less than about 20 yards of the yarn left and did 20 repeats of the pattern rather than the 14 called for. I dressed it on to my 7 foot triangle loom to see if I was going to be able to block it on there like I've done all my other shawls and it fit, but a very soft block. Once I wet it down with a sprayer, the shawl sagged and I was afraid it was going to stretch all out of shape. As it is, it's very large on me and I love it.

I finished it last Friday and then sewed in the ends last night so that I could wear it to my guild meeting.

I'm hoping to get some pics of it soon

Taking a break from work - Which Superhero are you?

2007-11-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

It's been really stressful at work lately and I saw this on a friend's blog, so I had to take it.

Your results:
You are Green Lantern

Green Lantern		85%
Wonder Woman		70%
Spider-Man		65%
Superman		60%
Catwoman		55%
Supergirl		50%
Batman		45%
The Flash		45%
Robin		40%
Hulk		40%
Iron Man		35%

Hot-headed. You have strong
will power and a good imagination.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Guest Blogger - Book Review - "The Knitter's Book of Yarn"

2007-11-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

My friend Alicia Santiago wrote this great book review and gave permission for me to post it here - enjoy..

I was up just about all night and took the opportunity to read "The Knitter's Book of Yarn" The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using and Enjoying Yarn by Clara Parkes, published by Potter Craft.

It's written to not only be very informative but also done interestingly rather than a bland text book. Clara covers all fiber foundations found today including SeaSilk and Soy but also covers the luxurious qiviut and cashmeres. She also discusses the government's current laws regarding fiber content. You'll know everything about Protein, Cellulose, Cellulosic and Synthetics and how they're processed, the uses and their care. She thoroughly evaluates the types of yarns, twist per inch, handspinning vs. mill spinning, yarn manufacturers (not all of them, of course), the dyeing process and whole myriad of other fiber facts.

She goes into the types of yarn as well: singles, plied, cabled, novelties and the felt factor. Care of the yarn before and after it is a garment. How to take a beloved pattern that uses discontinued yarn and use the yarn you have at hand (or make a run to the store).

There are also patterns from socks to lace to sweaters to fast knits. She's got charts in the back with WPI (wraps per inch) and what that means as far as your yarn weight. A glossary, recommended reading, briefs on the various designers that contributed to the patterns (Norah Gaughan, Cat Bordhi, to name a couple), resources on the yarns and fibers mentioned, and abbreviations and techniques.

This is an encyclopedia on yarns and fibers and I highly recommend it. If you're looking for a holiday gift for a fiber friend or for yourself, you won't go wrong with this one!

As always, I'm unfortunately not affiliated with Clara, though back in 2000 I did send her a spindle and various fibers to try out. Clara is also the person behind Knitter's Review, which is an online 'zine that you can sign up for free.

I hope you enjoyed my review! Next up will be Vogue Knitting's "The Ultimate Sock Book" but you'll have to wait until my next insomnia attack :-)

Alicia

Tag - I'm It!!

2007-11-10T12:54:00.000-07:00

I've never been tagged for a meme before - so we'll see how this goes since Cindy got me this time. So, here you go -- probably more information than any of you really want! LOL

38 things about me that you may or may not want to know.

Name one person who made you laugh last night? DeVia - she's always the one

What were you doing at 0800? Getting ready to meet my sister and go pick out a new living room couch

What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Eating lunch with my sister and her two wonderful daughters

What happened to you in 2006? Went to Hawaii for the first time - first class too!!

What was the last thing you said out loud? Get off the Table - to Cameo -one of my cats.
How many beverages did you have today? A glass of water and some of Maegan's root beer
What color is your hairbrush? I only use a comb.

What was the last thing you paid for? the new leather couch being delivered next Tuesday.

Where were you last night? home with my sweetie.

What color is your front door? um, wait a moment while I go check - boring Tan

Where do you keep your change? bottom of my purse.

What’s the weather like today? I'm hoping that this long late summer will end this weekend. It's a little cloudy but still in the 80's.
What’s the best ice-cream flavor? Bear tracks

What excites you? Family, yarn, fiber - festivals - hanging out with other like minded people

Do you want to cut your hair? It's plenty short enough

Are you over the age of 25? hrump! more than twice that

Do you talk a lot? yes

Do you watch the O.C.? The O.C.? What's that?

Do you know anyone named Steven? Yes.

Do you make up your own words? yes - fotched is currently my favorite?

Are you a jealous person? not when I am secure

Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘A’. Angel.

Name a friend whose name starts with the letter ‘K’. Karen.

Who’s the first person on your received call list? Juanita.

What does the last text message you received say? me2.

Do you chew on your straw? No.

Do you have curly hair? curly in the back - wavy on top.

Where’s the next place you’re going to? Home depot for lamp shades

Who’s the rudest person in your life? I don't think I have any rude people in my life.

What was the last thing you ate? Los Compadres Chile Relleno.

Will you get married in the future? In a committed relationship - don't think we will get married unless they actually legalize it in our state.

What’s the best movie you’ve seen in the past 2 weeks? I don't think I have watched a movie in the last two weeks.

Is there anyone you like right now? yeah!

When was the last time you did the dishes? Ha! That would be housework and I don't do that.

Are you currently depressed? No.

Did you cry today? yes .

Why did you answer and post this? Cause Cindy tagged me and I have never done one before.

Tag 5 people who would do this survey. I'd rather not tag anyone - if you read this and haven't done it before - then you are tagged. K?

News - not fiber related

2007-11-07T19:54:00.000-07:00

My oldest son is getting married - in 4 weeks. I am working on the details required to pull this all together.

At first they were going to just go to the JP, but have now decided to make it a little more of a wedding.

My youngest sister has volunteered her house for the event. We will do a small ceremony and then a reception. Even if we just invite family - there's going to be about 50 people.

Yikes! I have so much to get done - find a minister, rent tables and chairs, figure out what to do about food, decorations, dress for the bride, dresses for all the little girls who want to be flower girls. There will be at least 5 flower girls - probably no other attendants.

My son's father and his brother have to be gotten down here - I already booked the ticket for my youngest son - now I have to figure out how to get his dad here - he doesn't fly and lives in Wyoming.

Lot's to do - not very much time to do it in.

Moo Cards Arrive!

2007-10-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

At Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (OFFF) a number of the bloggers has half size calling cards called Moo Cards.

I was entranced by them and finally got mine the other day.

On the Moo Card website, you can upload your own photos, crop them to the card's size and then have 6 lines of printed info on the other side.

I love mine - lot's of fibery goodness on them. Can't go wrong for $25 bucks (total with shipping).

Now I need to get one of the little carrying cases I saw...

Fibers Through Time 2008 - Registration Opens

2007-10-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

Whew! After a lot of hard work by a number of people, the registration information is now available for Fibers Through Time 2008. Presented by the Arizona Federation of Weaving and Spinning Guilds in April 2008.

Please take a look at the workshop information. The vendor info is not on the website yet, but from what I heard yesterday, it promises to be a great selection.

I am the registrar, if you have any questions please let me know and I will do what I can to help.

I'm very excited - our theme this conference is "Connections to the Past" and it promises to be a lot of fun.

April in Arizona is one of the best times to come - I hope to see you then.

New Learning Opportunity

2007-10-17T05:04:00.000-07:00

At Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival (OFFF), Morgaine of Carolina Homespun let me know about a conference they were pulling together for 2008. At SOAR, she finally gave me the rest of the details. Here they are from the handout she gave. I am SO going to do this one next year.

Golden Gate Fiber Institute Summer Intensive
July 28 -August 3, 2008

Join us for the first meeting of the Golden Gate Fiber Institute. We have great teachers, a beautiful location, fabulous food and the Pacific Ocean at our door step!

The retreat will be 6 days of instruction. The classes are intensive and each student will take two classes. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Our hope is that by dividing up the day and spending some time with 2 different subjects we will be giving your mind and body time to learn and absorb all the new information and techniques.

Just imagine spending the morning (or afternoon) learning about Estonian lace knitting with Nancy Bush, spinning ancient fibers in new forms with Judith Mackenzie McCuin or Weaving cut silk pile with Sara Lamb and the rest of the day learning about natural dye with Darlene Hayes, freeform crochet and knitting with Myra Wood, or felting with Loyce Ericson.

This is a small retreat in a relaxed atmosphere with lots of time to learn and practice, walk for exercise and inspiration and enjoy your fellow fiber folk. The classes are small to maximize your learning opportunity and provide plenty of individual attention.

The retreat facility is rustic but the location is fantastic! We will be using the YMCA Camp at Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). The facility is an old military base set amidst the beauty of the California coast just 5 minutes north of the Golden Gate Bridge. If the accommodations are rustic the food is not! The chef is a graduate of the California Culinary Academy and does a magnificent job of providing for a variety of special food needs while making the overall dining experience a pleasure. Visit their website to see more about the camp. www.pointbonitaymca.org

Registration opens Dec 1, 2007

www.goldengatefiberinstitute.org

I don't have the total handy - but it was between $800 - $900 - that's a great deal for 6 days of workshops + food + lodging. OK, I am definitely going to this one next year. Any one going to join me?

Last day – Leaving SOAR…

2007-10-15T05:53:00.000-07:00

It’s bittersweet on the last day. I am eager to get home to my family, but sad to leave the friendships I have made in the past few days. I always find that leaving SOAR and other immersion type of events and returning to ordinary life is hard for me. I don't return to work refreshed and ready to get busy. I almost resent work for taking me away from what I really want to be doing, instead of being grateful that what I do for a living provides the ability to go and do these things.

Shanty Creek is a beautiful setting - the leaves are turning colors that I rarely get to see in Arizona. The morning mist rising from the water this morning was so peaceful. I wish that I lived in a place that had the seasons so clearly delineated. I slept with the windows wide open and snuggled under the covers. On the last night I even wore my socks to bed to keep my feet warm - yum!

I took four classes during the retreat – Spinning for Lace with Margaret Stowe, Getting the Most Out of Hand Held Combs with Robin Russo, Kitchen Sink Batts with Janel Laidman and a great entrelac class with Kathryn Alexander - the name of which escapes me right now.

I learned a great deal in each class – not necessarily what I expected to learn, but valuable in any case. The staff of Interweave, and the Spin Off group in particular are once again to be commended in putting together an event that I will remember.

The best parts were seeing friends made during previous SOAR’s like Janel of Chameleon Colorworks and Spindlicity Magazine, Shirley of Lambspun, and Morgaine of Carolina Homespun; and then making a couple of wonderful new friends. I feel that I met a couple of kindred spirits in Connie and Steve of Spindlewood Spindles. I met them my first night there at dinner and we became instant friends. Their generosity of heart was appealing from the start and over the few days that we spent together, I felt like we were old friends reconnecting after a long time apart.

Funny that I make friends more easily with people who are vendors than participants, hmmm, I wonder why that is?

I also met Abby, I have been reading her blog for some time now and it’s cool to put a face with the name. She was very nice – down to earth and friendly. I ran into Stephanie a couple of times, got some good pictures with her and Janel in them from the panel discussion on Sunday morning.

Well, my bags are packed and the shuttle is on it's way. I'll spend all day traveling and be wiped out tonight.

(posted Monday - written Sunday)

SOAR 2007 - Day one

2007-10-12T03:17:00.000-07:00

It feels strange to be blogging about SOAR when I haven't written anything up about OFFF from last month, but here goes anyway.

I arrived on Wednesday - I have only attended the retreat portion of SOAR so far and this year is no different. I like to get here the day before check in so that I am already settled in and know my way around when the market opens Thursday Mornings. Yes, one of the major draws for me is the shopping. Now that I know that the number of vendors here is is much less than OFFF or other major fiber festivals - I think the shopping will be a much less important part of the trip.

Actually that is exactly what happened yesterday. All day to shop the market and I came away with much less than ever before. I bought a couple of spindles, two more bobbins for the WW on my Gem, a couple of small doo dads and only two rovings. That's right - only two. One of them was one of the gorgeous Cashmere/silk dyed rovings that I got from Carolina Homespun at OFFF. Perhaps now that I have two of them, I may work up my courage to actually spin one.

I met some wonderful people at dinner Wednesday evening. Connie and Steve from Spindlewood Spindles. Steve makes square spindles and they are gorgeous. He and I talked about custom spindles so now I have to ask D's son if he still has any of that Koa wood that we sent him from Hawaii.

I've run into Janel, Patty and Morgaine - so nice to see people again from last year. Stephanie and I have bumped into each other a couple of times also. Last night I was in line to use the ladies room and she was struggling with the latch on the stall she was in. I told her that it would be on the internet by morning and here it is.....

I was able to sign up for all the classes I want and will actually take my camera with me today so that my next post may have photos.

It's nice and cool here, I get to wear my sock and my shawls. Yippee.

New Item at my house

2007-09-19T06:40:00.000-07:00

The last think I need is another piece of equipment - but I could not pass up the opportunity to have this Baby Wolf Loom come live at my house.

Pics to come.

I am looking forward to putting a warp on her when I get back from Portland.

Warning - family members do not read

2007-09-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, that means you, too, Bonnie.

My sister and I just sat down and figured out the Christmas list and I'm going to be very very busy between now and the end of the year.

Yikes - I have at least 11 felted bags to make and only 95 days to do it in. That's just about one a week.

Luckily, Juanita will do all the finishing - make the linings and attach the handles.

I am going to use the one that is already felted as one gift - only 10 to go!

The Felted Bag

2007-09-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

The bag from the last post was so much fun that I am doing another one right away. I acquired 6 skeins of Plymouth Boku yesterday from TYF along with some interlacements Tiny Toes. The Tiny Toes looks very similar to the base yarn used for Koigu - I'll let you know how it knits up.

Anyway - back to the bag. Last night at the store, I was asked for the pattern. So, I thought that while I am knitting this bag, I will write the pattern and then post it here for those interested.

More to come.

My first felted bag

2007-09-09T16:45:00.000-07:00

I was captured by a Patons SWS colorway one day and knit a little bag using two skeins. It was nice, but not spectacular and I never did get around to felting it.

One day on Ravelry, I spied 3 skeins of a different colorway offered for sale or trade and soon it was mine too.

In August, my LYS had a weekend retreat and the technique that I wanted to learn was Entrelac.

I unraveled the first bag and used some of that yarn to knit the bottom of this bag, I then used 2 skeins of the new yarn to knit the first 4 rows of entrelac, the next two rows of entrelac was from the first yarn again and then the bag was finished off with the remaining skein of the new colorway. An I cord bind off and I cord tie and then into the washer.

I was a little concerned exactly how to do the felting in my front loader. I can't adjust the spin or rinse cycles and decided to check on the bag after just 3 minutes in the washer. Good thing as it was already as felted as I wanted it to be. I have a box in it right now and it's drying out on the back patio. I'll post pics as soon as it's dry and assembled.

These pictures don't really do justice to the vibrancy of the colors in this.

Finished Portland Koigu Socks

2007-09-06T05:44:00.000-07:00

I love these socks... I purchased the Koigu KPPPM from KnitPurl in Portland when I was up there for the PDX Knit Bloggers meet up.

They are knit in my usual toe up fashion, however I used the patch toe from Duffy for the first time and the sherman heel that Mel explains so well.

The stitch pattern is from the 365 patterns a year calendar - it's called Crocus Buds. It's very simple, but gives a great texture. Very effective for handpainted yarns.

The richness of the yarn and stitch pattern is not fully visible in these pictures. The socks have to be seen to really get the impact.

I have to have more Koigu KPPPM - I can see more in my future - no matter where I have to go to get it.

Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival

2007-09-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, another trip to Portland this year! Yippee - this makes the third one so far. The 21st of September I am flying into Portland and then Melissa and I will go to the festival on Saturday. I will probably also be there on Sunday, depending on the workshop I take Saturday.

Melissa has to work on Friday, so I am looking forward to a little running around Portland, perhaps getting together with a couple of friends, purchasing sock yarn (the Koigu KPPPM at Knit Purl better watch out) and in general loving being in Portland.

So, any of my Portland friends, drop me a comment if you want to get together on Friday.

Re-organizing day

2007-09-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

I finally started setting up the back bedroom to be my fiber prep room. I put up the two new tables, got out the drum carder and started sorting thru the 35+ bins to sort the yarn, ready to spin fiber, and fiber to be prepped.

I have moved the fiber to be prepped into the back room and will start going thru the yarn and ready to spin fiber this afternoon. I'm hoping to take some pics of my handspun yarns and put them into Ravelry.

I have been itching to work with my drum carder lately and been discouraged at the thought of having to put it away every time someone wants to use the dining room table. Being able to leave it set up and in the middle of a project really makes it more productive.

I am thinking that I want to card up some sweater size (16-20 ounce) batches for sale. That take time and space that I did not really have up until now.

More later with photos.

This is sooo funny

2007-08-29T15:16:00.000-07:00

Mamacate had a link to this on her blog today and it's too funny not to share.

I promise I will post pics of the almost completed Koigu Portland souvenir socks soon. I ran into a slight hitch in the cast off and it wants to roll forward - Arrrgh!

It's that time again... SOAR

2007-08-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

I just finalized my lodging and shuttle trip for SOAR 2007. I'm very excited to think that it's right around the corner.

Last year's trip was so much fun - my second time - I was starting to feel like I knew what I was doing.

I didnt' get my registration in on time this year and had to wait on the standby list to see if I was going to be approved to go. Once I got that confirmation - I was thrilled.

Again this year, I am only going for the retreat weekend. Going to the whole thing is just too cost prohibitive. Someday, perhaps, I'll be able to attend the whole event, but for now I am just happy to take the retreat classes and hang out with everyone.

Hey, if you are going too, drop a note in the comments and we can meet there.

Retreat Weekend

2007-08-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

No pictures - forgot to take my camera. Spent the weekend at a hotel in Scottsdale with spinners and knitters at the Tempe Yarn and Fiber Retreat.

There were about 20 of us on Saturday morning as we checked into the Hilton Garden Inn. My friend Alicia was there - she's the final reason that I decided to go. I haven't had the chance to spend very much time with her this year. When I found out that she signed up for this retreat, tht was the deciding point for me attending also.

Fred took pictures - here they are on TYF's website. I accomplished my goals for the weekend - cast on for my sister's sweater and learned how to do entrelac. And Alicia and I got to spend hours in each others company. Worth the price right there.

I was hoping to also finish my socks, but that didn't happen. I am so close, only a few more rows and I can cast off both of them.

I met some great women and got to know some others a little better, thanks to the TYF gang for pulling this together.

They don't fit

2007-08-19T07:22:00.000-07:00

Sarah tried on her socks yesterday and she cannot get them over her heel. They are the right length and fit her foot - but the heel and arch are too small.

So I am keeping them for me and will knit her another pair.

Finished Socks

2007-08-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

Here are the finished socks for Sarah. I completed them on Thursday night while hanging out at TYF waiting for DeVia to call from the airport.

Fred from TYF took the photos and everyone who has seen them thinks they are cute. I hope Sarah likes them too.

I will try to get the pattern written up sometime soon. They are knit from Panda Wool and the ruffle is Tango. Amazing color match for yarns from too different makers.

Life Path Number

2007-08-01T07:30:00.000-07:00

I didn't take pics yet of the hat I knit for my sister's friend and not much progress has been made on the other two active projects - so for your amusement - here is another quiz.

I got this from Rabbitch's site this morning - it's not even funny how close this is to my real personality.

Your Life Path Number is 1

Your purpose in life is to lead others.

You have great drive and determination. Nothing is going to stand in your way.
You seek out challenges and the spotlight. You'll take all the work - and all the glory.
Status and success are important to you. You demand the best from everyone and everything.

In love, you tend to take a protective role. You enjoy being the provider in relationships.

You expect others to be like you, and as a result, you are often disappointed.
A little selfish and vain, you always put yourself first.
Remember, everyone already knows you're great - you don't need to remind them!

What Is Your Life Path Number?

My Real Age

2007-07-30T10:43:00.000-07:00

Very interesting quiz that asks a bunch of questions to add and subtract years from your chronological age to determine your real age.

I don't know that I feel 20 years younger - my 30's were hard years..... hmmm - maybe that means I get to take it easier now?

Yesterday with Friends

2007-07-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

There's a group of us that meet once a month in Queen Creek - we call ourselves the Yarn Yankers. We hang out for a few hours, show each other what we have been up to. Bring stuff to give away - teach each other new things. It's a lot of fun. Recently one of our members has been having some health issues and we haven't seen as much of her as we would like to.

Yesterday we had an impromptu gathering of a few of us and it was really nice to see them all.

Beverly had to try on my mothers shawl and show us her runway style

I had no idea how much difference it makes to get together with a few friends for a couple of hours and just talk about what we do with fiber. It's amazing how recharged I feel afterwards. The sense of community, of fitting in with your own small segment of society. Most of my life I have felt like an outsider. The kid on the sidewalk watching every one else do/have/be what I wanted. This little bit of time with them takes that "outsider" feeling away.

Portland Souvenirs

2007-07-29T07:20:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue - but I have been out of sorts lately due to the theft of my company laptop at work. Yes, at work, during working hours..... kinda creepy to think there is a thief with that much balls hanging out where I work.

ok, on to the swag...

Beautiful new spindle from Woodland Woolworks along with some gorgeous silk to spin on it. By the way - that place is very hard to come away with only 3 items. There was so much more that I wanted. Luckily for me, there was no equipment that needed me on the day we were there. I told the staff about the little wheel I purchased that is now living back in Oregon with Melissa.

more gorgeous silk - 2 ounces of hand dyed yummyness

These two skeins of Koigu KPPM for socks for me me me are from Knit Purl as my souvenir from the PDX Knit Bloggers Meet up

There is also two more skeins of Koigu that will not be posted until they are transformed into something else so that one of the readers of this blog will be surprised.

Progress report for two projects

2007-07-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

I am knitting socks for my sweet Sarah out of the Panda Wool yarn in Red Cinnamon colorway. My intention is to knit a ruffle at the top from a knit ribbon yarn that amazingly matches it almost exactly. I made sure the first sock fit her to the heel yesterday before starting the second one. Here are both of them so far.

I have 10 more rows to go on clue two, perhaps I will be able to start clue 3 tomorrow. This photo is not true to the color of the handspun I am using for this. What appears to be green is actually a blue/teal color.

Finished Socks

2007-07-15T06:23:00.000-07:00

My sister Juanita spotted this yarn as soon as it came into my house from Ray and put her name on the ball band - so here are Juanita's socks...

Superwash merino and nylon - toe up with the figure 8 cast on and the YO short row heel - my standard sock recipe - the stitch pattern is an offset broken rib that I unvented to show off the colors. the instep and leg are knit as follows: k2 p2 for three rows, k for two rows, p2 k2 for three rows and repeat. The gauge for this stitch pattern kept the yarn in stripes rather than any pooling. Juanita really likes them, she put them on even though it was 110 degrees yesterday. Said they are the most comfortable socks she has ever worn

Yarn P0rn

2007-07-15T06:15:00.000-07:00

Look at what was waiting for me when I got back from Portland..... It almost made coming back ok in a small, non-heat related way.

This is two more huge skeins of sock yarn from Ray. I just can't say enough about this yarn. My favorite LYS just placed an order from him - so now I can go fondle his yarns before buying them!

My first order from Knit Picks. I've heard lots of great stuff about their yarns from Melissa, and met the owner at the PDX Knit Bloggers meet up. So here are 3 pairs of socks just waiting their turn.

This is some test yarn sent to me by the distributor so that I can knit it up and give my opinion. Who'da thunk it?

Promised Portland Pictures

2007-07-15T06:02:00.000-07:00

Ok, bad blogger that I am, these pics do not have captions.

Suffice it to say that a good time was had by all. Food was eaten, Yarn stores were visited, friends were hugged, knitting was done etc etc etc (imagine Yul Brenner voice right there)

I am a Yarn Yenta

2007-07-13T09:46:00.001-07:00

I took this quiz over on DIY and got 8 out of 10 correct. It would be interesting to know which ones I got wrong.

Ok, I know that I owe pictures from the Portland Trip and the PDX knit bloggers meet up. I still have not unpacked - the camera cable is in the depths of my suitcase somewhere. Tonight - I promise.

I am knitting away on the MS3. I am about 80% done with clue 2, but clue 3 came out today. I am almost caught up. It would go a lot faster if I didn't have to knit each pattern row twice. That is an exaggeration, but not by much. I am knitting and then unknitting about every 3rd pattern row at least by half. I was hoping to get better at this, not worse.

home again

2007-07-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Whew! It's hotter than HELL here and I wish I was still in Portland. Even though it was warm there, it was still a lot cooler than here.

Didn't get home until after 11 last night and I have to go to work this morning. It will be tonight or tomorrow before I get the pics posted from my trip.

Up to row 117 on the MS3. I was able to get 10 rows done in the airport yesterday afternoon waiting for my plane.

There were stacks of packages waiting for me - books and lots of sock yarns. Yarn from 3 different sources -nice!

Portland Visit - Day 1

2007-07-08T21:46:00.000-07:00

Wah!!! I took photos, but am using my work computer and cannot download or upload....

pics will be added at the end of the trip or whenever I figure out how to post flickr photos to blogger. Usually I post pics from PicasaWeb and that works fine.

Anyway - a great time today. DeVia and I met Melissa B, Duffy, Gary, and Mary for lunch at Dan and Louis. It was so nice to see Melissa and Duffy again, to meet Gary and Mary for the first time and to give DeVia a small glimpse of the excitement generated when two or more knitters are gathered together.

After leaving Dan and Louis, we headed towards the yarn store, but stopped at Starbucks first for a chai and bit of a knit.

We then went to Knit Purl for the PDX Knit Blogger meet up. Bobbie invited me to join them and conferred on me honorary PDX knit blogger status. The store personnel could not have been more welcoming - there ending up being about 25 of us and they handled it very well.

DeVia hung out for a little while and then headed to Powells. She came back for the ending and was recognized as the outstanding fiber enabler that she is.

There was chocolate, yarn fondling, pattern oohing and aahing.... I can't begin to remember everyone's names - Kathy wrote them all down (including blogs). 3 other knitters were working on the Mystery Stole 3 - I had to put mine away as I just could not concentrate on the lace and talk too.

Another Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl

2007-07-08T18:36:00.000-07:00

Here are some unblocked pics of the most recent incarnation of the Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl.

More later once it's blocked.

Taking the do even shorter

2007-07-07T10:23:00.001-07:00

Hey - hair is fiber!

It's too dang hot and I decided to take my hair even shorter. I did not want to get my hair cut like Annie's, but really wanted to go shorter than it was.

Luckily I got an appointment this morning and went to see Robin at Jacar. She is so good about really hearing what I am trying to say about my hair.

Look at this great cut!

They take before and after pics. I'm not showing the before, cause only my hairdresser should see my hair like that. As it is, I'm thinking that pic should not really be posted on the WORLD WIDE WEB - lol.....

Off to Portland in a few hours. Yippee! We are meeting some knit sibs for lunch tomorrow and then doing a small yarn crawl.

DeVia has to work Monday and Tuesday, but I will be roaming the city. PDX - look out!

Another pair of socks

2007-07-06T05:53:00.000-07:00

My sister Bonnie is such a little foot and her feet get cold easily, so even though she lives down here in the desert (or HELL as I usually call it) I made her some wool socks

The yarn is Noveau Riche from Knitivity and the pattern is a chevron with an eyelet rib. I liked the look of the chevron on the Jaywalker sock, but I knit socks toe up and that made the chevron point the other way. I also wanted a more open look, so I changed the increase from a Kfb to a YO which created a wonderful eyelet rib running up the center - but you can only see it when the sock is on the foot.

It's knit over 60 stitches, toe up, magic cast on, YO short row heel.

MS3 - half of clue one

2007-07-06T05:46:00.000-07:00

I joined the Mystery Stole 3 KAL very late - yesterday in fact. I cast on last night hanging out at Tempe Yarn and Fiber and was able to get thru the first 50 rows of the first clue.

The second clue comes out today, so I am going to hustle up to see if I can get the other 50 rows of clue one out of the way this morning.

This is my very first KAL and I am hoping to have fun. This is already the most complicated lace I have every knit - everything else has been small pattern, easily memorized. Every row on this is different and there is no pattern repeat so far.

Lots to say - more later

2007-07-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have a bunch of stuff to blog about - finished my sister's socks, knitted for the 4th at my favorite LYS, cast on the first clue for the MS3, and the most important thing of all - I got a call today saying that the waiting list for SOAR finally got to me!

Yippee! I am going to SOAR this year!.

I will try to take some pics tomorrow morning before work.

On Saturday, DeVia and I are off to Portland again. She will be at a conference, but I will be hanging out with the PDX bunch and trying to get a group together to go to Woodland woolworks on Monday or Tuesday.

Very interesting results - but no surprises here

2007-07-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

I saw this quiz on Queer Joe's blog and had to take it. 20 questions about beliefs later and here are the results:

Your Results:
The top score on the list below represents the faith that Belief-O-Matic, in its less than infinite wisdom, thinks most closely matches your beliefs. However, even a score of 100% does not mean that your views are all shared by this faith, or vice versa.Belief-O-Matic then lists another 26 faiths in order of how much they have in common with your professed beliefs. The higher a faith appears on this list, the more closely it aligns with your thinking.

1. Neo-Pagan (100%)
2. Mahayana Buddhism (91%)
3. Unitarian Universalism (90%)
4. Theravada Buddhism (89%)
5. New Age (88%)
6. Liberal Quakers (71%)
7. Secular Humanism (68%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (65%)
9. Sikhism (63%)
10. Taoism (62%)
11. Jainism (61%)
12. Reform Judaism (60%)
13. Hinduism (56%)
14. New Thought (50%)
15. Scientology (46%)
16. Orthodox Quaker (45%)
17. Nontheist (37%)
18. Bahá'í Faith (31%)
19. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (30%)
20. Orthodox Judaism (26%)
21. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (25%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (18%)
23. Seventh Day Adventist (18%)
24. Eastern Orthodox (15%)
25. Islam (15%)
26. Roman Catholic (15%)
27. Jehovah's Witness (11%)

Insidious LYS

2007-07-01T05:29:00.000-07:00

I ran a couple of errands yesterday - I needed a couple of dpn point protectors that I can only get at one LYS and needed to replace a broken brittany size one at the Place I Love. It was only going to be a couple of quick stops, cause I wanted to get home and start the second chevron sock for my sister.

It was a quick trip at the first place - they have just moved and are always too busy for me to feel comfortable there. When I got to the second store, I got my needle replaced and Terry started showing me the new yarns. I showed her the sock I finished out of Ray's yarn and we started talking. Then I sat down at the table and the next thing I know there are a few people around.

I showed a couple of people how to do the magic cast on and by 7:30 or so had finished the foot of my sister's sock.

I am not sure how, but this yarn followed me home.

I have not knit with cotton blends before, but I love the colors. The single skein is a ribbon yarn that I experimented with that forms ruffles when you knit it. It matches the sock yarn exactly and I am going to put some ruffles at the top of the socks I am going to knit for Maegan. Pink is her favorite color. It's all I can do not to cast them on right now, but I am determined to finish this other sock first.

I have also decided that the knit/spin from stash 2007 does not include sock yarn - thanks Wendy.

Who knew?

2007-06-30T06:45:00.000-07:00

I was kinda surprised to find that this rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

queer (2x)
crap (1x)

This was interesting to do....

Part 2 - Sea World Trip

2007-06-26T21:34:00.000-07:00

4 adults, 3 children, one minivan, 4 nights, 800 miles, two motel rooms = one glorious trip.

We really had a blast. I think all the kids had a great time, I know that DeVia, Juanita and I did.

Melody was miserable for part of the trip, but she had a much better time than last year.

Here is a slideshow of some of the over 400 pics from the trip:

Part 1 - Sea World trip

2007-06-26T07:14:00.000-07:00

We had such a good time. D, her granddaughter, my sister Juanita and all three of Juanita's children rented a mini van and drove to San Diego to spend 2 days at Sea world and get some beach time.

Here are the first set of pictures from the swimming with Dolphins event that we did.
All five of us in the water to stroke the underside of the dolphin. The 18 year old did not want to do this event, so I got to do it again. It was just as much fun this time as it was in Hawaii. These pictures do not show how cute my hair cut is - cause I had to take the combs out of it and it's pretty funky looking in these shots.

My beautiful sister Juanita.

Princess Maegan

Shawnee had a great time on this trip. It's the first time that we have spent more than just a few hours with her and we really think she had fun.

Sarah looks so natural in the wet suit. She had lots of questions to the trainer about how to work with the animals.

All five of us, giving a signal to the dolphin.

Another Finished Object

2007-06-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

or rather two of them - socks count for two - right?

Here is the pair of socks that I started on my trip to Mom's right before Mother's day weekend. I started the second sock on my trip to Portland to see the Yarn Harlot. She said that she liked the yarn - it's from Ray. The stitch pattern is an offset rib with a couple of knit rows between - like this k2 p2 across for 3 rows, k two rows plain, p2 k2 across for 3 rows, k two rows plain. figure 8 cast on with 12 stitches and a YO short row heel down to 12 stitches and then back up.

It's my generic sock formula with a pattern stitch on the instep and leg.

I finished the socks last night at the guild meeting and cast on for a new pair immediately. This new color is very intense and I think I am keeping them for myself.

I'm trying to figure out what kind of pattern to do on the instep of this one.

Portland to see the Yarn Harlot

2007-06-10T06:30:00.000-07:00

ok, as promised, this post is very picture heavy...

I flew into Portland Thursday morning - it was gorgeous out. A light breeze blowing, nice and cool. I found the MAX and called Melissa to tell her I was on my way. I sat in the very front seat next to the window so that I could knit on my sock and look at all the green. I swear, someday, I WILL move to Portland and live in the green again.

Melissa has two cats, I could only get a photo of this one. Isn't she pretty?

We went to dinner on Thursday night. Duffy picked us up at Lint where Melissa introduced me to the seductiveness of Koigu. I resisted that night, but see Koigu in my future. We rode in Duffy's little VW across the bridge to Roux for amazing Cajun food.

Friday morning, after lazing about in our jammies and knitting, I took off for a few hours to wander about Portland. I ended up in Powell's, checking out the set up for that evening and escaping with only 4 books. I walked over to the park with the elephant to sit and read for a while before heading back to Melissa's place. Melissa and I lay down for a short nap and were woken up by Rodger letting us know that even at 5:30 it was filling up fast. We pulled ourselves together as best we could and walked down instead of waiting for a bus or MAX. Rodger saved us seats right up front. Can you pick me out of the crowd?

Here's little cutie pie Rodger holding my sock. He was so helpful, took lots of my photos for me as he was in the front row and had a much better view

Here's photo Rodger took of my sock admiring the crowd.

And here's the Yarn Harlot herself, taking pics of her sock with the crowd.

The very worried look on her face as she describes a potential future after the world wide wool blight hits and we all must guard our stash from those foolish cold muggles who mocked our forethought.

The Harlot held my sock and pronounced it good - she even asked where I got the yarn - of course I was knitting with Ray's yarn again - go ahead and browse his shop - you know you want to. My next sock will be knit out of this, I took it to Portland with me just in case I finished the sock I was working on.

I'm tired, but it's a good tired. I'm sure glad that I have today to rest before heading to work tomorrow.

Off to Portland

2007-06-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

I know, I know - another post without any pictures. I promise, when I get back from Portland I will upload all the knitting, spinning and travel pics from the last two weeks.

Tomorrow I will fly to Portland to visit with a couple of friends from a knitting list that I am on and see the Yarn Harlot at Powell's Books. I can't stand it - my favorite author, my favorite book store, hanging out with knit sibs, and Portland all in one trip. Oh, and there will be knitting and spinning too!

I fell in love with the city of Portland the first time that D took me there. I did not want to come back. It had everything - water, weather, beautiful downtown area. If it wasn't for the family we both have here - we would be living in Portland in a second!

New Work Space

2007-06-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

My son is moved out - they have taken possession of the new townhouse and I really think they like it.

Besides missing him, this means that we have resumed discussions of what to do about a work space for me. I have the wall o' stash, (that photo was over a year ago -you know the wall is bigger now) I need space to put my drum carder and spread carding/blending projects out. I haven't produced any spinning batts for months.

We are talking about taking out the wall between our two small bedrooms, turning that area into one large room with space for the computer server and printer and plenty of room for me to work.

I've ordered two of these, to start with.

I may start using the bigger room before we move ahead with the demolition. It all depends on how fast I think the project is really going to be done.

I'll have pics when it gets busy around here.

What color is your brain

2007-06-02T21:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a fun quiz - very close to true.

What Color is Your Brain?

GOLD:

At work or in school: I like set routines and organized ways of doing thingsl rules and directions are a great help to me. I prefer to stay on one topic at a time. I need to know what is expected of me, and I always want to know if I am on the right track. I like subjects that are useful and traditional, such as business, accounting, history and government.
With friends: I prefer people who are careful with their money and who make plans ahead of time. I like my friends to be loyal, dependable and on time. I am serious about love and show it in many practical ways.
With family: I like stability and security and enjoy traditions and frequent celebrations. I like to spend holidays with family members, and I plan ahead for such gatherings.
Take this quiz!

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Best haircut of my life

2007-05-27T05:42:00.000-07:00

Hey - this is fiber related.... Hair is fiber.

I've been growing my hair out for the last 3 or 4 years. I used to wear it very very short - about 2" all over to bring out the curl. I have serious hair envy for my sister Belinda's hair. Long thick curly hair, so I decided to see if I grew mine out - would it be even half as nice. Well it isn't. Besides not having the same hair, I am just not into taking care of it like she does.

So, last month on a visit to her in Missouri - I asked her to cut my hair down to something more manageable. She removed 6 inches, which brought it up to just above shoulder length.

I have been wearing it like that for a few weeks, but now it's too hot on my neck and just a little to short to wear pulled up. One of my my other sisters, Juanita, has been going to this salon that she loves. She takes her kids there too and has been suggesting that I come with her.

So I made the appt to get my hair cut and decided to go crazy and get some color streaks too.

I love my new hair cut - and the red streaks are fabulous. The cut is short in the back and longer at the sides. I wear my combs on the sides to pull it back away from my face and with a little wave at the top.

I don't have a pic, but will see if I can get one.

Meantime - I now love my hair, instead of being frustrated with it.

It's such a little thing in the scheme of it all, but makes a huge difference in my daily attitude.

New Site meter

2007-05-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am trying out a site meter that gives me some info about visitors to the blog. I love this kind of data.

Sisters

2007-05-13T05:53:00.000-07:00

I have 4 sisters and it's a blessing in my life that we are all close. I also have 4 brothers, but that's another post.

It's two groups of two, separated by 8 or so years in age. Their names are Bonnie, Belinda, Juanita and Michelle. I'm the oldest, Bonnie and Belinda are in their 40's and Juanita and Michelle are in their 30's. Michelle is only 6 months older than my oldest son.

Belinda lives in Missouri in the same town as my mom and the other three live here in the Metro Phoenix area.

About once a year, I make the trip to Missouri to spend a week with Belinda and Mom. This year, Juanita was there for a visit right before me and we overlapped for one day. Here are a couple of pics from that day.

AIDS Lifecycle

2007-05-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how proud I am of my friend Janisis. For the second year, she is a roadie for the AIDS Lifecycle ride. Here is the page where she describes what this entails and what it means to her.

I wanted to insert just a small quote from her description

"I want to tell you about how much fun it is, but the term 'fun' doesn't begin to cover the emotion ... it's so much more than fun... it's deeply rewarding, enormously satisifying, hugely gratifying... joyous service."

Please take a moment, go to her page and write her a note of encouragement - donate if you can to support her in this effort.

Socks for my sister

2007-05-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

This is a chain plyed BFL dyed by Spunky Electric that I spun up last year. It knit up so nicely for these socks. I used my toe up recipe and did an interesting pattern on the instep and legs.

It's a K2P2 rib for 3 rows and then 2 rows of plain knit - repeated

This gave an interesting texture to the socks and made them very stretchy - I didn't get a close up of the pattern, but should have.

Spring is here

2007-04-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

I love Iris's - here are a couple of my favorites

and here's a close up

these only last for a couple of days - but they are pretty when they bloom. I may have to divide them this fall - they are pretty crowded right now.

My amazing partner

2007-04-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

D fixed my computer. Yep - she took my laptop apart and replaced the keyboard. Woo and also hoo!!!!!

I have been using the office desk top and the little dell laptop - but neither of them have all the features that the big laptop does (including the 17" screen).

Now I just have to get an adapter for my camera's sim card and I will really be set up.

I see more posts in my future - now that the computer is really really fixed.

Note to self - I will never leave the laptop open again so that horrid cats do not leave nasty messes.

Been a long time

2007-04-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

It's been over a month since my last entry and I have a lot to blog about. My niece's Cinderella birthday party, easter, pretty growing things in the garden and new yarns - however today is about Knit Camp.

Some of the members of the GLB-knit group that I belong to got together over the weekend in Vermont to hang out and knit together.

Oh my gosh - what a great time it was. The flights were on time, even though I was in a 40 seat prop job for one leg of the flight. The weather was amazing and the people I met felt like family that I had not seen in a long time.

I have a bunch of photos to share - they can be found here.

Here is the text of the post I made from the Albany airport on my way home:

*****************************

Well, Fudge just dropped me off at the Albany Airport for my trip home from glb knit camp.

What a wonderful couple of days. It was great meeting everyone. It felt like a school reunion - I wasn't really sure how people would look and felt a feeling of familiarity even when meeting someone for the first time. It felt like old friends after a long time apart.

Ray's yarns were wonderful and the alpaca that Mel and David brought is amazing. I learned the mobieus cast on from Witt and demo'd the figure 8 cast on for toe up socks. I learned the patch toe for toe ups from Duffy.

Sarah and Jeri are full of fun, Jenny and Deanna have wonderful soothing energy - I just could have sat in their presence for hours.

Much much thanks to Sadia and Ann for pulling this together.

Wonderful Melissa accomplished miracles with food for all of us.

I can't wait to see Duffy again - another great reason to head to Portland every chance I get.

Melissa Scott - I restrained myself and didn't act like a star struck fan in front of her - thank all the gods there are.

And the boys - what can you say about the boys but how great it felt to have their gentle male energy - Witt, Gary, Lou, Mel and David - I have missed having queer men in my life and you all felt so familiar.

it was great to meet Joy, Susan, Pamela too.

I have to thank Fudge for schlepping me back and forth to the airport and for being my friend. It's always easier to go somewhere when I know there's at least one person who knows me and who I know likes me already. Then I can be brave with strangers who might not like me.

Thanks to all who came - those who didn't missed a great time.

***************

I'll catch up later with everything else that's been happening.

Renn Faire

2007-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

We had an amazing time yesterday at the Renn Faire. My sister Juanita made all of our outfits, the weather was good (not too hot and not muddy) and the crowds were not too bad.

Maegan rode a number of the rides for smaller kids - here she is pulling on the rope for all she is worth.

Sarah and Melody rode the elephant and were very excited about it. Mel is 17 and it is so cool to watch her go from sullen teenager to excited child about 20 times a day. It's a hard time to be in her shoes - I hope it gets better for her.

Sarah is on the brink of adolescence, I hope she doesn't have as hard of a time as Mel did.

Maegan rode the camel instead, cause the line for the elephant was too long by the time she got done on the swing. Here she is with the princess wave - even from the top of a camel - she has the princess thing down. The girl in front is a stranger, but when I yelled "princess wave" she got into the spirit of it with Mae.

I love this picture of all of us together. Sure can tell that we are related - eh?

first pool party of the year

2007-03-18T09:14:00.000-07:00

The pool is too cold to swim, but they had to get in the pool anyway. It's still pretty green from the winter, but we tested the water and it's fine.

Update on the socks from Ray's sock yarn

2007-03-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

I love this yarn. The diagonal striping is fabulous - I love the white lightning strike up the center portion of the one is very cool.

It's hard to see in these pictures, but the leg is coming out pretty too, more later

Cheating on my tofutsies - Sock yarn review

2007-03-09T06:42:00.000-07:00

I am working on the second sock from my second skein of Tofutsies yarn, but when this arrived - I had to find a set of needles and cast it on immediately.

It's the sock yarn that I ordered recently from Ray. Just shut up about the spin/knit from stash 2007 - I could not refuse this color. The yarn is 75% merino superwash and 25% nylon and it knits up very nicely.

This skein photo does not reflect the accurate colors of the yarn -

This picture is better

This is best of all - look at those colors come to life. I am trying a new stitch this sock. It's a four stitch basket weave. I like how it complements the sock colors without being too busy.

Cats

2007-03-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Candy and Stormy cuddled up on the couch. I tried to snap the pic before they noticed, but Candy raised up to give me this evil look.

From Blog photos

Saturday - Art in Action

2007-02-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

The mermaids had a school event this Saturday that I offered to take them to. The older one is getting to almost be a teenager and is shy about having her pic taken - but she mugged for this one.

From art in action

here's my little cutie pie -

From art in action

And here she is again - getting ready for the program that the 3rd grade put on.

Family is everything

2007-02-26T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Sunday again. My favorite day of the week. It's family day at our house. That means that at a minimum we have the following people over for early dinner. My son and his girlfriend (and sometimes her 3 girls - 5, 3 & 10 months), my sister Juanita and her two youngest (and sometimes her teenager), my brother in law, his wife and their 2 kids (3 and 18 months) - so from 9 up to a possible 13 regulars. We are also occasionally joined by another sister and her 3 children or my 2 grandsons.

D cooks a big meal and we all hang out for a couple of hours. Yesterday my son and the brother in law and their respective partners/kids all went to the park for a pick up game of football. They came back hungry and worn out.

I have a lot of regrets when it comes to the mother I was when my kids were small, but I know now that it's never too late to become a good mother. And the Grandma thing is very cool.

I didn't have grandparents - well ok, I must have had them, but I did not know them at all - no contact after age 6 or so. I'm learning how to do this blind.. I must be doing soemthing right.

green silk

2007-02-26T06:23:00.000-07:00

Remember this silk on the bobbin? I originally intended to ply it with some gorgeous dyed merino roving. When I took the bobbins and the roving to Yarn Yankers last weekend - the harsh light of day revealed that the two do not go together at all.

So, I plyed the bobbins together and ended up with this 790 yards of 100% silk.

From Blog photos

The weight is about 4 ounces - so about 3500 ypp. I am looking at shawl patterns to see what will bring out the shine and color of this.

From Blog photos

I love the teal accents in the green.

Why I stay

2007-02-23T06:13:00.000-07:00

Diane's post this morning got me to thinking about why I live here in Phoenix and I thought I would go ahead and post my comment here for you all.

I miss San Francisco and Berkeley so much - for all the same reasons she listed. I lived there for 14 years before moving back to Phoenix.

There's only one reason I stay here instead of moving back. Only one reason, but it's a big one. I hate the climate, the traffic, the desert, actually everything about the place.

Ok, maybe there's two reasons to stay.

The first is the best one and it keeps me here when I long to get away to anywhere but here - and that's family. I have 3 sisters, my son, 7 nieces and nephews, two grandchildren & 2 cousins that all live here.

No one is more than 20 minutes away. And we do things together, we love each other and are close knit. When I lived in California, I didn't know how that would feel to be so close to them - I cut myself off from them and I didn't know that'w what was missing until I moved here and found it.

The second one is my little guild. I've become good friends with some amazing women and we feed each others fiber addiction.

So I stay. It's a trade off that's worth it.

What trade offs do you make and is it worth it?

Knitting wiki

2007-02-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

Woo hoo - a new knitting wiki out there.

http://www.knitting-and.com/wiki/Main_Page

Put together by Sarah Bradberry.

Take a look.

The purple Shawl - before and after blocking

2007-02-19T18:46:00.000-07:00

I love the way the brown and purple in this play across the whole shawl. Amazing what blocking will do for the lace.

From Blog photos

Yarn Yankers guild meeting last Saturday

2007-02-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is such a fun group. It's not an organized guild - just a bunch of nuts who play with fiber and such. We meet once a month at the Queen Creek Historical Society.

From Blog photos

Ellen modeling Alicia's Crocheted hat

From Blog photos

Here is Ellen again, showing off the hat I knit for charity. We debated the tassel... consensus is to leave it.

Much fun was had by all.

Friday - First week back - whew!

2007-02-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

Well, the first week back and I survived. Work has been interesting. Lot's going on and perhaps some changes coming. I got some good feedback from a trusted source about the client's opinion of me and their valuation of my contribution. That made me feel good.

Sometimes I wonder when (if) people are going to realize that I'm not really as great as they think I am - cause I am such a good pretender. After a kick in the A--, I accept that I am good at what I do, I add value to the projects I work on - and the whole "pretender" thing is old f--ked up thinking that trys to get me sick again. I can catch this whole action pretty quickly now, but it used to affect me for days.

It's so good with my son right now. I wish it could stay like this all the time - and maybe it can. He's working and seeing a great gal. I know that success takes work. D and his g/f said something last night about how much he loves me - how much being here means to him. I know it's so important to me. He kisses me goodbye before he leaves for work in the morning. OK, that may not seem like such a big deal, but it is to me.

From Blog photos

I have not started blocking the purple shawl so I thought I would share the pics of the green silk that I finished spinning on the cruise. Hard to get a true to color photo indoors with the flash, but the top photo above is closest to the right color on my monitor.

From Blog photos

Here is the next spinning project - This is superwash I got from Royale Hare at SOAR '06. It's spinning up pretty fine - not sure exactly what I will use it for, but I have 12 ounces of it.

I also finished plying the blue yarn for Mom's sweater last night. There is 16 ounces of it. I still need to spin up the multicolored yarn for that project and haven't even started it. I am still debating whether to re-dye the roving or not.

Guild was very interesting on Wednesday. Mary Walker gave a great presentation on Navajo rugs and weavers, then she evaluated Navajo rugs that people brought in. Very cool.

Travel Journal - very long

2007-02-14T06:16:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to the pictures taken on the trip:

Friday - departure

Up at 5 am to get the last minute details ironed out and the final bits packed. The super shuttle was right on time and we arrived at the airport plenty early. We are flying Southwest even though I really don’t care for their open seating policy. D has to be first in line so that we can get aisle seats close to the front of the airplane.

In Los Angeles, we boarded the shuttle to the port fairly quickly, then circled the airport a couple of times picking up other passengers. We met a couple at the Phoenix airport that were taking the same cruise and they told us about the Princess shuttle. Our shuttle drove us all over town dropping off a couple of other passengers, but we beat the Princess shuttle to the embarkation site. First sight of the boat – man it’s big. (insert pictures of boat here) The tent was huge and quite a few passengers were already there. (Insert pictures of tent here)

I was hoping for a snack and a ladies room in the tent, but no such luck. Processing time wasn’t too bad and we were aboard ship in our room within an hour or so. Dropped our carryon luggage in the room and off to the buffet for a lunch snack.

We came back to the room, watched the forklifts loading the ship for a while and then off to explore the ship.

Saturday – at sea

What a great day. I didn’t sleep very well last night – getting used to the motion of the ship. Our room is very far forward and only a couple of levels above the ocean. As a result, we can hear the waves as they break on the bow even with our balcony door shut. The room is smaller than I expected, but still very comfortable. The shower was designed for a skinny person and the shower curtain kept trying to get me.

I finished D’s socks this morning sitting at the library. I brought along my shawl to work on – thankfully I have memorized the pattern and can knit it and talk at the same time.

It’s been very cold and I have been grateful for my brown shawl. I’ve gotten some compliments on it.

I took a digital camera class that was not what I expected at all. I spoke to the instructor and he said that the next class was probably more what I really wanted. I’d like to learn how to use this great new camera that I bought for the trip.

I also saw an announcement for a meeting of the friends of Bill W. I was amazed to see that. There were 5 of us in the meeting and I was going to keep it light, but the “safe place” feeling that I get at a meeting overcame me and I spilled my guts about my fears, hopes, and helplessness that fill me when I think about my son and his struggle with addiction.

We opted for free style dining. Dinner the first night was a seafood turnover – very good. Last night was a nicely prepared Red Snapper with an amazing appetizer of bay scallops on an avocado half, topped with caviar. We left before dessert so we could get to the comedy show. Split our sides at the comedy show – Oh my gosh – what a funny guy.

Sunday – at sea

It’s our second morning at sea. This morning is much warmer.

We went to the gym this morning and worked out for about 25 minutes, then took a few minutes to plan our day. We are off to breakfast.

Attended a pottery throwing demo – I am seriously considering taking the class this afternoon.

At 11:30 there was a meeting for all veterans – no matter the country. I was not surprised to see that there was only one other female veteran besides D and I. The other woman was a WWII British Air Corps Women’s auxiliary. Amazing.

Time for a nap and then off to the afternoon activities.

I looked into the shipyard build off, but was not interested it in after all. I wandered about and found the art auction. Everything was way out of my price range, but I enjoyed the artist information offered for each group.

Attended the afternoon friends of Bill W meeting and then up to the room to get ready for formal night. I hate getting all dressed up, but D wants to do it, so at least once I will.

We changed out of our formal clothes to go watch the comedy show tonight – this guy was not nearly as funny as the comedian the first night.

Monday – at sea

The cruise daily schedule didn’t really have much interesting to do today. The lecture on “Current Immigration Wave” was dull – just a bunch of numbers – no analysis or cause and effect.

I stopped by a flower arranging seminar – that was fun. The “friends of Bill W” meeting was early today and we had 10 attendees. We talked about long times spent away from meeting rooms. I watched the movie “Breaking Up” with Jennifer Anniston. The best part of the movie was seeing Vincent D’Onofrio in a different role.

A listing for “Rainbow friends of Dorothy” was posted – we thought it might be for glbt, so we stopped by. We saw a number of guys who we were pretty sure were gay. We met a couple of women from Toronto and exchanged a lot of information back and forth – differences in culture… etc.

Dinner was good – the mahi mahi was tender and not dry – but I have been eating so much that I was not very hungry and left half of it.

No show that we want to see tonight and the captain has said that we are in for some weather. It’s rocking and rolling pretty well right now. I think we are just going to hang out in our room and go to bed early.

Tuesday – at sea

The waves were high last night – we had a thunder and lightening storm with a lot of rain. The motion of the ship woke me up often during the night. My stomach was a little queasy today and I ate lightly. The schedule didn’t have anything that thrilled either of us, so we both went back to bed after breakfast and slept the morning away. After a light lunch I went to the “Bill W” meeting and then sat in the art auction just to listen to the guy talk about the artists. I saw quite a few pieces that I would love to own, but I would rather travel than buy art.

I think we are going to one of the shows tonight after dinner.

Wednesday – Kaua’i

High seas continue to the point that Nawiliwili harbor is closed to us. The captain announced this morning that we would be diverted to Honolulu harbor to offload passengers with a medical emergency. I went to the AA meeting this morning and we all were very grateful for a program that helps us accept the things we cannot change. Many passengers were upset at the change in schedule – but we have been very “easy does it” about it. Saw a lecture by the comedian Kevin Hughes called “The truth about lies”; very informative and entertaining at the same time. Watched the movie in our room and were asleep pretty early.

Thursday - Lahaina

Calm seas as we approach Lahaina, but the captain informs us that a front moving across Maui will bring 55 knot winds by just a little after 1 pm. This will prevent the tenders from being able to bring us back from the harbor – so another day on board ship and another missed port. No meeting on the regular schedule today, I am hoping that the revised schedule will have a meeting posted. There is a knitting and needlework group announced - I am going to go hang out there and see how that goes. I have talked to a number of knitters, but none of them were carrying their knitting around with them. I have gotten quite a bit of knitting done on the most recent incarnation of the Forest Canopy Shawl with the cobweb weight polwarth that I dyed at SOAR 2007.

DeVia has a headache tonight – she’s been lying down since right after lunch. I ate dinner alone and then went to see the second comedy show by Kevin Hughes. He talks about relationships and communication. Very funny guy. I think I will end up getting his CD’s before we leave the ship.

Tonight we are passing by the lava flow. We can see it from our balcony. I am going to try to get a picture of it, but considering the results I got photographing the full moon this morning, I will probably just get a picture of some red lights on the horizon.

Friday - Hilo

Finally we have arrived at a port where we will be allowed to get off the ship! I was getting ready to start the rumor that we were not being allowed to leave the ship because we are under quarantine. LOL – that’s not funny.

Our excursion today is up to Mauna Kea – 13,000+ feet high - second highest mountain on the Big Island of Hawaii. Mauna Loa is the highest. We could see it in the distance as we drove up to Mauna Kea. When our tour bus got to the ranger station, we were informed that the road was closed due to ice and high winds. Crap! We turned around and came down to the Imiloa Astronomy center and then to the Mauna Loa Macadamia nut groves and processing plant. I got a few pictures of Mauna Kea in the distance with the observatories and then some great shots of the storm that rolled in.

We ate lunch at a nice little park overlooking a waterfall and then back to the ship by 4 or so. Dinner tonight looks good and Tom Briscoe is doing another comedy show – we will go again – but we were not thrilled by his first performance.

Saturday – Honolulu

We were up early today – watched as Oahu came into sight. Docked at the pier and we walked to Aloha tower shopping center. Our bus was late for the excursion to Sea Life Park, but once we finally got there - swimming with the dolphins was amazing.

Sunday – Kona

Another calm day and the tender boats to the island are swift. We get on a Robert’s bus and are off up the mountain past Parker Ranch to another ranch with the horseback riding and ATV riding. It’s a perfect 65 degrees out. We grab slickers and I pick up some cowboy boots to wear in place of my Sketchers. Man, I forgot the feel of boots on my feet. I tied the slicker on the back of my saddle cause the coolness feels good to me. After two hours and 5 miles, some gorgeous scenery on the way, I had forgotten how much I like riding. The horses were great – willing to trot or run, responsive to the reins.

Monday – at sea

It’s good to be at sea – very relaxing. The seas are calm and I finished my purple shawl. I wish I could block it so that I could see what it will look like. The Bill W meeting is set for 10:30 today, good to be back, I missed going while we were in port. I really like the connection to people that a regular meeting gives.

Tuesday – at sea

The meeting was at 10:30 again today, I like it when it’s the same time, and same place every day. A knitters and other needlework gathering was on the schedule today. I brought my spinning wheel and we had a great time. I started a pair of socks in handspun. Dinner tonight with Penny and Chip – we really like those guys. We are making plans to see them this July. The Comedy show was lukewarm.

Wednesday – at sea

The meeting today’s topic was our life today. Great stories from everyone. I’m sitting here with the horizon a million miles away wondering how early peoples got up the courage to cross this wide water with primitive boats. I started a stole from the Victorian Lace Book. The border is knit first, the center next and then the border for the other side. I’m knitting it up in the same yarn that I used for the purple shawl. I started it twice. The first time, I realized that I would need a row counter as it’s a 20 row repeat. I was reading and one of the women from the knitting get together sat down next to me. I told her what I was going to do and she offered me one of her row counters. What a nice gal. I have 1.5 repeats done so far and it’s a challenging knit.

The comedian is Kevin Hughes again tonight – I can’t wait – he’s the best entertainment on the boat.

We met Jody and Dennis at the comedy show and had dessert with them. They are so nice and I am looking forward to staying in touch with them. Kevin outdid himself tonight. He has a way of taking everyday issues and making them funny.

Thursday – at sea

I was up early and went up to breakfast while DeVia was still asleep. She joined me later and we hung out for a while, then I went off to return my book and work on my knitting. D found me later and let me know that she had met Kevin’s wife Kathy. We sat with them at lunch and had a great time laughing. Kathy and I talked about knitting and I gave her my copy of the Forest Canopy shawl.

The meeting was at 12:30 today and one of the regulars was missing. Jody brought a daily meditation guide - today’s meditation used a yarn analogy and I got a copy of it for future use.

Friday – at sea

Not much to write about today – got all the bags packed up pretty early in the afternoon and went to the last Kevin Hughes show in the evening. Touched base with the couples we met that we really liked – got email addresses so that we can keep in touch.

The last meeting for the friends of Bill W was this morning and it made me cry to say goodbye to them. Tomorrow will be hectic – with customs and immigration inspections and then the airport security stuff. I will be glad to be home.

I'm Home

2007-02-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

from the long cruise to Hawaii. What a great time. I really enjoyed all the days at sea. Long stretches of nothing is my idea of a good time. I did a lot of knitting.

I finished the Tofutsies socks for D. My first pair of socks from commercial yarn.

From Socks

I also finished the Forest Canopy Shawl in the cobweb purple SOAR yarn. I haven't blocked it yet - I will post a picture as soon as I do.

The best thing is that when we got home, we found that my son is home again. I am so happy to have him here. He's already got a vehicle and a job again - seems to really be on the track now. Please send good thoughts for his success,

The next post is a very long one - day by day account of the voyage.

cruise reading & project planning

2007-01-25T14:50:00.001-07:00

Yippee! The books I ordered arrived just in time for me to take them with me! Finally I have my own copy of Victorian Lace Today, along with a couple of Yarn Harlot books.

Perfect cruise reading.

Now, I have to plunder my stash to find a laceweight yarn to take, just in case a project demands to be started while I am away.

My current planning is to take the shawl in progress, a pair of almost completed socks, the yarn for another lace shawl and another pair of socks for the knitting content - is that really going to be enough for two weeks? Hmm - I'm going to have to think about it.

I also am taking my Little Gem, the remainder of the silk I am spinning and two other spinning projects - one is 4 ounces and the other is 12 ounces.

Just to be certain - I am also taking a couple of spindles with their own fiber supply.

Getting Ready

2007-01-25T07:21:00.000-07:00

It's been a while... My laptop is still down for the count. D will take it to the shop soon.

I am off work today - packing for our cruise. Two weeks - from Los Angeles to Hawaii. We are so excited. I bought a new camera and want to take one of the cruise ship classes in using it.

I hope to come back with lots of great pictures and renewed interest in blogging daily.

It's been a while

2007-01-08T06:52:00.000-07:00

My computer is still on the fritz and I have not been good about writing.

I have a number of pictures to upload, I don't know why I have been putting it off.

The blue version of the Forest Canopy Shawl is done, blocked and put away, all without one picture. The green striped one is almost done - I hope to take a photo when it's blocking.

The cruise is less than 3 weeks away now and we are planning the luggage to take. I have to determine which projects to take - the Little Gem is the wheel that is going along. I just have to figure out what fiber I want to spin. I have over a pound of fiber to spin for mom's sweater, I could take that. I also have some gorgeous dyed silk that I am thinking of taking. It will take hours and hours to spin, but I don't know if the humidity will be an issue.

As for knitting. I will look in my stash for some handspun sock yarn and start a souvenier sock. I have the blue ones from last years trip and my red ones from SOAR. I think memory socks is a wonderful idea. I will also take a lace project - I am thinking that I need to try another pattern for lace now that I have the Forest Canopy Shawl pattern memorized. I still have the cobweb yarn that I dyed at SOAR that I want to knit into a shawl. I have to find the perfect pattern for it. I also have another skein of the chocolate polworth and silk that needs to be turned into something beautiful.

Pecular title

2006-12-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

I can't decide which one of these I like best - what do you think?

Barbara Anne the Lush is great, but "in the Middle of much madness on Avon has a great ring to it.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Excellency Barbara Anne the Lush of New Porton Wells
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Empress Barbara Anne in the Middle of Much Madness upon Avon
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

The brown blob blocking

2006-12-21T09:57:00.000-07:00

I finished the Forest Canopy Shawl and it is a delight to knit. Very easy to memorize the pattern and the instructions are very clear. I did many more repeats than the pattern called for, as my yarn was finer and my gauge swatch was more stitches per inch. My first lace shawl.

I knit this out of a fingering or lighter hand spun yarn. The wool is chocolate Polwarth from Rovings.com and I blended it with some silk I bought at SOAR. The ball of yarn weighed 6.5 ounces and was 850 yards. I have very little left.

The colors of the silk are very hard to see but give the yarn quite a bit of tweediness in some places. I am not sure that I like it, but will wait to see what it looks like after blocking.

Blocking on the Tri loom, if I was going to do it over I would change how I put it on the loom. I did the top first and then tried to do the sides. I should have done it from the center out three ways.

More pictures when my camera starts working again. I think I need to replace the batteries in it.

Guild Meeting of the Queen Creek Yarn Yankers

2006-12-21T09:40:00.000-07:00

We had a little holiday/birthday party last Saturday at our guild meeting. The food was fabulous and this is Ellen trying on her new hat over top of some novelty yarn I spun at the last demo.

Knitters without Borders

2006-12-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Once again the Yarn Harlot has challenged knitters to step up and put our money where our heart is... hmm somehow that didn't come out right.

Please take a look at this post and consider giving to this great cause - even if just a little bit in this holiday season. Paraphrasing Steph - each of our donations is a small stitch amoung many and each stitch is necessary to the whole.

Knit from your Stash 2007

2006-12-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

Wendy has started a Knit from your Stash 2007 idea and I am going to participate.

My own little twist to the rules is that I will also spin from my stash. The two exemptions are fiber bought at fiber festivals and my monthly fiber of the month club package.

Otherwise I will attempt to knit and spin from stash from January until September.

NO fiber content whatsoever

2006-12-14T14:20:00.000-07:00

I saw a great quote today on another blog about consequences and it struck home for me today especially.

My 34 year old son has been living with me since he was released from prison last August and recently he stopped doing what he was supposed to do. You know - see his parole officer once a week, keep a job... etc.

It's always hard to watch those we love act in a way that we know will bring them nothing but trouble and will break our hearts. I know this first hand

Just a little while ago I got a call from D saying that my son was in an accident and she was going to see what he needed. Still not sure what happened, but the police ran his record and his parole officer already had a warrant for his arrest out there - so back to prison he went.

I am destroyed......

Computer Woes

2006-12-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

I have been pretty much offline for quite a while now due to one of the nasty cats pissing on the keyboard of my laptop. I can do some functions, but basically it's not usable.

I have another computer in the office - a huge old slow desktop that I really hate, but between the two of them I can get some of my draft posts completed today.

I took the day off work as I have to burn thru some of my PTO before the end of the year. We switched to a use it or lose it policy for time off and I had quite a bit accumulated prior to the change. I get 25 days PTO per year and another 4-5 days of personal holidays. I had at least 15 days on the books at the start of the year so I've gotten creative at using up vacation time.

Next year I will have to use the rest of my legacy time of 10 days in addition to the 29 days for 2007. I have been sitting down and planning days off for the whole year - mostly around fiber retreats and festivals. I'll have the time off - now I have to save for the events themselves.

The first vacation will start January 26th and last until February 11th - we are taking a 15 day cruise to Hawaii. 4 days at sea, 5 days around the islands, 4 days back to Mexico and then back to Los Angeles. I have never been on a cruise and I am desperately trying to figure out how I can pack 15 days worth of spinning and knitting - (not to mention books) in luggage I can actually carry. LOL - D will probably only need one of her checked bags, I can use hers too.

Thanksgiving

2006-12-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

It was great to have Bill here for the holiday. Here he is holding Zachary. The guys on the couch are my nephews Tyler (on the left) and Matthew.

My sister Juanita has lost a bunch of weight and looks great here with my best friend Jackson.

Patrick and his father - really the reason I brought Bill down here was so that he and Pat could have a little time together

Sarah looks so cute wearing Melody's hat

My family - That's D on the left, my son Patrick, me in a hideous dress and Bill.

Green Socks

2006-12-04T06:05:00.000-07:00

I finished these green socks quite a while ago, but pulled them out to wear recently. I have completely crossed over to the dark side of knitting - yes that's right! I know wear socks as well as knit them.

For a long time, I considered my self on the grey side - I knit socks but did not wear them. Barefoot is the way to go as far as I have always been concerned, but the weather here has hit a cold spell and I tried on these green socks.

That was all it took. These have a cable running up each side of the instep and then two cables on each side of the leg. This is a 2 ply handspun superwash merino. I cannot remember who I got the fiber from.

Holiday presents finished

2006-12-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

when I was at SOAR, I purchased a couple of kits from Lambspun for their "One Ball Shawl" the kit had all these fun fur and other novelty yarns in it and was wound in a ball with each yarn tied to the next. It was like knitting a surprise. I knit both of those up and gave them to my two younger sisters

This past weekend, I was at the craft store looking for some "unnamed items" for a couple of holiday presents and saw the novelty yarns all stacked up and decided to make my own kits for holiday presents. I bought about 10 skeins all different types, mainly browns. At home, I divided them up. some skeins into 3 parts, some into 4 - depending on the number of yards in the skein and how I liked the color or texture. Then I sorted those little bits into 7 piles and then arranged it so each pile had the colors and textures in a "different from all the rest but pleasing" sequence.

I started knitting one of the kits in the everyday - cast on three and increase 4 every other row - triangle shawl that Sarah is modeling below. That came out so well, I immediately cast on for Maegan's poncho. The girls loved them so much that they took them home with them instead of waiting for the holiday party.

The scarf to the right is for one of the other nieces and I knit it out of one of the kits too.

I still have 4 kits left - I am going to knit D's granddaughter a scarf and perhaps my mom and sister in Missouri.

Optim

2006-11-23T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here is 500+ yards of Optim, 4 ounces, from a roving I got at SOAR from Janel at Chameleon Colorworks.

It's so pretty,I'm not sure what I am going to make out of it - I think I will let it age in my stash for a little while.

swatching

2006-11-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the design of a yarn from my SOAR purchases.

The chocolate polworth, the brown and orange silk - the cashmere/alpaca blend... what to do, what to do.

so I did something different this time. I sampled. I spun up a bobbin of the cashmere/alpaca, a bobbin of the polworth and a little bit of the silk. I tried plying the three together, that didn't thrill me - so I tried two plys of the three combinations. Didn't really care for any of those either. The silk was too much contrast to the polworth and got lost in the cashmere tweediness.

I went to the drum carder and blended some of the silk with the polworth and spun up a bobbin of that. Back to sampling. Plyed all possible combinations of the three bobbins and then knit a test swatch of each sample. This is a picture of the test swatch.

6 different yarns and I like the one on the right side the best. This picture doesn't show the silk shine, but the right hand yarn is the polworth plyed with the polworth/silk blend.

This skein is about 6.75 ounces and over 800 yards of pretty pretty yarn.

Tarot Card

2006-11-21T18:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time between posts. My camera is not working and I have been feverishly working on the design of the yarn for my sweater.

Here is an interesting test I took today

You are the World

Completion, Good Reward.

The World is the final card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents saturnian energies, time, and completion.

The World card pictures a dancer in a Yoni (sometimes made of laurel leaves). The Yoni symbolizes the great Mother, the cervix through which everything is born, and also the doorway to the next life after death. It is indicative of a complete circle. Everything is finally coming together, successfully and at last. You will get that Ph.D. you've been working for years to complete, graduate at long last, marry after a long engagement, or finish that huge project. This card is not for little ends, but for big ones, important ones, ones that come with well earned cheers and acknowledgements. Your hard work, knowledge, wisdom, patience, etc, will absolutely pay-off; you've done everything right.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Soar Retreat classes

2006-11-07T05:46:00.000-07:00

I took 4 Retreat classes at SOAR - here are the results from two of them.

The first class I took was painting handspun yarns with Deb Menz. I took a drum carding class last year with her and it's made all the difference in my color blending on my drum carder.

Anyway, this is 1600 yards of grey polwarth spun laceweight or cobweb. It weighs 6.5 ounces and is amazing yarn that I still can't believe I spun. I experimented with some different colors, but knew that I wanted to keep it simple so as to not detract from the lace shawl that I intend to knit from it.

The color theory in class really helped me decide that I wanted the different colors to have roughly the same value. Every chance to take a class with Deb, you can bet I'll jump on it.

I was standing there, afraid to put dye on my yarn cause it took so long to make. and she said: "don't make it too precious, you can always spin it again" - this gave me the freedom to just dye it and not agonize over whether it was going to turn out great or not. Luckily, it did. I love the colors and the way they go together. I am leaving it in the skein form until Guild tomorrow night for show and tell. Then it's off to the ball winder to get it ready to knit with. I still don't have a pattern for the semicircle shawl that I want to knit from it.

This is from Maggie Casey's class on Boucle the easy way. The bottom sample can't be seen very well in this picture, but it didn't come out as boucle as the others anyway.

This is the result of spinning one finer ply of soft wool with one ply slightly thicker of adult mohair. The two different white samples were both rambo roving with different preparations of mohair - the top one was mohair roving and the bottom one mohair top. After spinning, you shock the yarn to shrink it - agitate it in hot hot water and then plunge it into cold water. Instant Boucle! What a great class. I took a class with Maggie last year on spinning skeins for submitting in a skein contest. She looked at my niddy noddy and instantly knew who made it. What a fount of knowledge she is.

Update to SOAR shopping post

2006-11-06T14:50:00.000-07:00

I learned how to make words into links in my posts - so I linked to each of the vendor's websites in my original post listing my purchases at SOAR. I am so moving into the technological world.

I always wondered how people put all those links in their posts and now I know how to do it too.

woo, and also, hoo.

Stash enhancement project

2006-11-05T17:25:00.000-07:00

This doesn't look like much does it?

Even spread out, it's not really that much.

Left to right top: three 4 ounce braids of superwash, 2 ounces of camel down, one ounce of alpaca, two 4 ounce bumps of alpaca/silk/cashmere, 2 lbs of chocolate polworth

Left to right bottom: 4 ounces dyed tussah, two 4 ounce braids of optim, two more 1 ounce samples of alpaca, two 4 ounce braids of merino tencel, three different 1 ounce cashmere samples

Promised Harlot picture

2006-11-05T17:22:00.000-07:00

Here is Stephanie holding my red sock up with her blue one. She was so friendly and said nice things about my sock.

She rocked the tent on Thursday night.

More Yarn Harlot

2006-11-04T06:51:00.000-07:00

If I was able to upload my pictures - right here would be a shot of Stephanie holding up my sock with hers. As soon as I get home, I'll add a post with all of the pictures.

She was sitting at the book signing last night and I asked if I could take a picture of her with my sock. She was so nice about it - and said very nice things about my sock and the yarn that I am knitting it with. It's just one of those feather and fan socks that I like to make with a purl ridge added right before the pattern row to make it fancier.

She said that she recognized my name and blog address once I got over my star-struckedness and told her what it was. I babbled something about reading her every day - she was very gracious. When she complimented me on my sock, it was all I could do not to just give it to her right then and there.