Hello from the sick house

I am the only healthy one here - at least as we speak. Nicole had a virus of some sort all week with a fever for 4 days and hubby has a fever and puke bug. I bought clorox wipes and have been hitting all the doorknobs, light switches, remotes, keyboards, etc... I have been taking Airborne until I can't take the taste anymjore. I'll be darned if I am going to be sick next weekend for my spinning retreat.

A few of you asked about the retreat. A bunch of us from the Bayberry Spinners get together once a year at a convent in Watch Hill RI and spin, knit, eat, drink, and laugh and laugh and laugh. We look forward to it every year. I promise to take pictures this year - I have my own camera now :-)

In the midst of playing Florence Nightingale I did accomplish a few fiber related things. I finished spinning all of the Riverwalk from Spunky Eclectic. I ended up with about 550 yards. I was going to make a vest with it but I don't think I have enough. I'm open to suggestions....



Still no pics of the laptop case in progress. I keep forgetting... I am going to try to get the knitting finished today. Felt it tomorrow. I may be a bit over ambitious. I have to leave shortly for my dad's for his birthday dinner. Everyone wish my daddy a happy 66th birthday!

Ta Da

I am out of garter stitch hell and my pi r square shawl is complete.



I am pleased as could be with the shawl. Even with the panic attack I had at the end when I finished with about a yard of yarn left. But the real panic happened when I went to block it. I layed it out over my bed and pinned it all to find that the garter stitch portion had much more stretch in it than the feather and fan border I decided to use. "oh shit" was all I could say. I put it on me - and it fell just perfectly. All was fine. I love it - it is like a big hug and I will definitely make another one with more handspun.

Christmas a little late

In all the Christmas chaos I never did post my knitting related Christmas presents.
They were all books, and to be honest I have only read through one and looked quickly through another. But look at the goodies!



Very funny! Nicole and I read through it and were hysterical. Some real cute cartoons.









I didn't take pictures of the two calendars I got though. One was the Yarn Harlot and the other was the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar. Speaking of that calendar, whats up with 4 days of the same damn pattern? Don't think that calendar will be on my list for next year.

As for knitting - I am in garter stitch hell. The pi shawl is just taking forever and the hell is that I don't think that I will have enough yarn for the darn thing. I was hoping to just work with the foxfire batt mixed with the celestial roving but I think it will be too short. I think the garter stitch will grow when I block it so I will have to see when I get to the end of the yarn. My original plan was to mix my other handspun blues but the thickness is not consistent and it puckered when I tried to mix it. Boo hoo.

And the Starsky sweater I am knitting for hubby is not fun. I have to come up with a better way to follow the charts. Any hints??

Weekend Fun

I was looking forward to this weekend - I was ready for it! It was a fun week. Got lots done. There was some knitting



Sock 2 is on the needles already. I love knitting with Trekking. Watching the colors change is so exciting.

I subscribed to Judy's spin 10 minutes a day technique. And it's working.


I finished the baby llama that I got at Rhinebeck. I am addicted to spinning on my Golding spindle. It just goes so fast. And it is so portable!

The pi shawl seems like it is taking forever. I would like to be able to wear it for the retreat in a few weeks - not too sure if that will happen. I also need to decide what kind of border I want to put on it. No pictures of that though - to me it looks the same and it is kinda depressing!

Saturday was spent spinning with friends at Slater Mill. I have no pictures to prove that, but let me assure you there was fun. I have to stick my camera in my knitting bag. I always seem to forget it. A natural photographer I am not! Slater Mill is a great place to meet. It's such a nice open airy place. They are doing great things as a community fiber guild. If you are a New Englander it's a great place to go see.

Being that it is January there is lots of football going on in our home. Playoffs to be exact. And there was explanation of football terms.




And there were teens acting silly


And the NY Giants are playing right now, so off I go to knit and watch. Let's go Giants!!!

10 on Tuesday

I read Jessalu's post today and got inspired to finally do a "10 on Tuesday" post

10 Things I Want to Do In 2009

1. Continue with my weight loss. I lost about 25 lbs. since the summer and found a couple over the holidays. I am back on the wagon again though. I feel so much better when I am eating right.

2. Along that same chord - continue to exercise. As a matter of fact, I am making it a goal to find some activity that I really enjoy (besides walking with my friends) and want to do every day. No gym though please......

3. Find love for lace knitting. I have tried - really I have. I don't know if it's the constant concentration or what but I am just not feeling the love yet.

4. Be more attentive to my family - and not such a drill sargeant like I have been. I find myself walking in the door and barking out the orders when I should really keep my mouth shut. How many wives can walk into the house after work and find the dinner already cooked and the hubby doing laundry and cleaning. Yeah - he seriously does that.

5. Make a dent in my fiber stash. It is unbelievable. Really - I can't go to a fiber festival this spring until I get that pile down. For real.

6. Finish the sweater for my hubby (I will get pics on here soon - don't get too excited - I am only on the ribbing for about 2 inches). But he does deserve it. See reason in #4.

7. Talk less and listen more.

8. Organize organize organize. ALL. AREAS. OF. MY. LIFE.

9. Spend some time doing natural dyes this year - I want to plant a natural dye garden.

10. Stop being so serious - especially at work. I have job to get done and I do it to the best of my ability every single day but I notice that lately I don't laugh as much as I did - especially at the office. No reason for that - no reason for that at all. And I take that seriousness home with me. Again, see #4.

Hmm - didn't think I could come up with 10 things. I actually have more but I have to get out of here and pick up Nicole.

Anybody else with a list???

When All Else Fails

There is always a sock


I had found this old sock I had been working on in the big clean up last week. It is Trekking - my first Trekking purchase - and I love the colors. I worked on it last night for a bit and it is fun to see how the colors change.

I am still working on the Pi Square Shawl. I love the way it is coming out and the fact that it is pretty much a "no think" knit. I didn't bother to take another picture - it looks the same except an inch or two longer. A very slow growing item....

Back to work this morning. I hate re-entry. Not fun - not fun at all. But necessary. Have a good back to school or work day, for those who had vacation.

I present the Studio....

And overall storage unit for the family





I can't wait for the insulation to find a new home. Same with the wood flooring. It's better than it was and it is an actual space that I can use now. I need to find a comfortable chair to sit in for spinning. And the lighting up there when the sun goes down is nonexistent.

All my fiber and yarn is neatly put away and organized to some degree. The little white portable storage unit with the drawers has all my sock yarn in it. Now I just need to photograph it and get it on ravelry. But let's be honest - I would rather spend that time knitting!

New Years Day Lazy

So I spent my New Years Day just the way I wanted - kntting spinning and reading. I got some progress done on the shawl. There was actually much more progress but I had to rip out about 6 rows after I added the second ball of yarn. It seems that the other yarn is thicker than the original and it was puckering. Ick. I think I will save that till the end and use it as he edging. I can make it look like a ruffle. Still not sure. I love the colors....

Today my big project is working in the studio. Did you all know that I had a studio? Yeah - its a very inspirational place to be.



Scarey place is more like it. This is our spare room upstairs. I have taken it over. Or should I say my fiber has taken it over. My goal is just to organize my fiber stash and get rid of all the crap that gets thrown up there because it has no place else to go.

I can't get rid of the wood flooring that is being stored up there or the insulation. But I can at least get rid of all the other stuff and see what I have. OK - I need to get moving. I would much rather stay and chat with you, but that isn't getting my studio looking like something that shouldn't be condemmed. Wish me luck.

Happy New Year!!!

New Years Day is one of my favorite days of the year. It is full of hope and new beginnings. And it has absolutely no excuses to not sit around and knit/spin/listen to the ipod and read ALL DAY LONG. What else would you want to do after partying the night before? Did we party - just a bit. Our party was squashed a bit by the snowstorm that came to town. We only had 4 brave souls who were willing to travel the roads to come visit. My mom only lives 2 blocks away, so I guess it wasn't too treacherous a ride for her. But we do live at the bottom of a steep hill that is very intimidating in the snow so I give her full credit.

There was bit of drinking (no photos to show, but I assure you I enjoyed my Butter Shots and Baileys.

There was a teenager acting goofy


There was chatting and laughing and even some knitting.


Yes I am knitting again. That is the Pi R Square Shawl. I am using some of my handspun stash for it. I am mixing up the colors a bit too.


I knit a camera case for the new camera.


Did I mention that we got a new camera for Christmas? That was a long funny story. One best saved for another post. But you will notice the picture quality is better these days. So easy to shoot a pic and download it to the laptop now.

Enjoy your New Years Day however you celebrate. And my best wishes for a Healthy Happy and Prosperous New Year for all of you.