Knit1Spin2

Goodbye

2012-02-14T04:28:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the blog absence yesterday. Sometimes life has other plans than the ones we have. The weekend plans totally changed. We got the news on Friday that we our sweet dog Magnum was in the last stage of kidney failure. We were blindsided. How could this dog that had been running around with his toys a week earlier be at the end of his life now? We were told to enjoy the time we had left with him and take it day by day. The weekend was spent with friends coming and going to visit our buddy for the last time. He had very alert times where he would still fetch his toy when a visitor came to the foor (which Labs usually do). As each day progressed you could see him struggle a bit more. Each person got to spend their special time with him. It amazed me how many people loved this special dog.

Yesterday morning it became evident that he was nearing the end. And the decision to put him to rest was the most confusing and difficult thing I have ever had to do. We just didn't want to say goodbye, but knew it was time. The emptiness we feel now is indescribable. We know that he is at peace and it's good to know he isn't fighting anymore but it's hard for those of us left here without him. I know each day will ease the pain and time heals the wound. But right now - it hurts.

It's Friday

2012-02-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

The week flew by and it's already Friday. No complaints here. I'm looking forward to getting some organizing done, maybe read some more of this

which was an early Christmas gift from hubby. We will visit with friends and enjoy some snow that is apparently heading our way. I'll hopefully finish this sock

so I can work on the brown scarf and then move onto the Lacey Baktus.

What are your plans this weekend?

Getting It All Done

2012-02-09T04:37:00.000-08:00

With the lack of daylight in the winter I start to feel like a mole - I leave the house in the dark and come home in the dark. It's nice to see the sun still out after 5:00 now and I know it will only get better over the coming weeks. The positive side is that I light my candles alot and it's really cozy in the evening (I even light them at work for some coziness).

My productivity in life seems to fizzle in the winter. I attribute it to the darker days but I wonder if that is really it. I leave the house at 7:30 AM and don't get back home until 5:30 PM. That leaves me approximately 5 hours to get things accomplished. Most nights I don't have to cook dinner (Im lucky that hubby likes to do that) but clean up has to happen. Then there are the things that need to just get done - like sorting the mail, paying bills, taking care of the pets, straightening up the house, tending to whatever the teen might need (study help, drama, you know.....). Where is the time to knit or spin or even read? I marvel at these women on blogs who craft and cook and garden and get so much accomplished. I realize a lot of them don't work outside the home and that does make a difference. I feel like there is SO much I want to do - then I pass out at 10:30 PM feeling like I have failed.

I have been making strides to keep things as simple as possible and if something is not high on the priority list - it just falls off the list for another time. I have learned to be flexible and to be realistic. Everything cannot be done without sacrificing something else (I'm willing to sacrifice sleep but my body said NO). Yet I still have pangs of guilt.

So how do you "do it all" or "not get it done".

Some Yarn

2012-02-08T04:00:00.000-08:00

I did a fair amount of spinning on the retreat. I really wasn't sure what I felt like spinning. I had my fleece to hand card and spin, but I was craving more color than just brown. I brought the fleece, the shetland, the rasberry roving, my drop spindle and roving I have just for that (did I mention the blanket I'm making from my spindle spun yarn? We'll get into that insanity another time). My car looked like the Beverly Hillbillies when I drove up to Sacred Heart. Before I left on retreat, I had started spinning some shetland I found in the stash with plans of knitting a scarf with it, but it didn't end up being soft enough.

I am going to add it to my "natural colors" stash for now. I plan on making a shawl with all my natural colored yarn that I have spun. I still don't know if I am going to knit or weave it yet. Nothing has caught my eye.

Check out how this spun up. From this:

To this:

It spun up almost a chunky weight. That merino really puffed up after it was washed. I have no idea what it wants to be. I'm sure it will speak to me soon. In the meantime, it's back to that sock stash.

2012 Goals

2012-02-07T03:34:00.000-08:00

Time to check up on how my goals are coming along for 2012. Let's consult the original post:

1. Keep schedules better. I have been doing well in this area. I have been putting appointments and reminders into my phone as soon as I can. I have been sticking with Informant since I already have it set up on the Iphone. I'm sure there is something better but for now it's working.

2. Take more pictures with my camera. A definite score here. Since hubby got me my memory stick I can shoot till my hearts content. No worry about running out of space. I still need to take more each day but it's progress for sure.

3. Read more. Well I guess if you count blogs I have accomplished this. I don't seem to get that much alone time lately, which doesn't lend itself to reading for long periods of time. I have gotten through about 1/3 of 1000 Gifts which is probably more than I have done in years.

4. Knit my sock yarn stash. I'm still working on the first pair of socks, but I haven't bought any sock yarn!

5. Card and spin my fleece. I carded a little. I will probably spin a little this week. I put this in my calendar as a reminder to card every couple of weeks.

6. Publish one of my patterns. I have to have my last pattern test knitted and then I can put it on the blog. I haven't even been able to blog about the project because the original was a gift for Christmas that I still have not given to the recipient.

7. Explore the vegetarian lifestyle. I signed up for the Whole Foods Workshop and am so excited about it. I think this is going to be life changing.

8. Take country line dancing. Lisa has been researching this for us. It's a go as soon as we can find a class that is convenient.

9. A place for everything. I made some strides on the first floor. I have been just tossing whatever I can when nobody is looking and finding cute baskets and things to keep items contained. My yarn room is this weekend so wish me luck.

10. Change up the blog. I made some changes but I have more that I would like to do.

I think I am on target. I'm not expecting miracles overnight but it is progress. And that is good.

Currents

2012-02-06T07:20:00.000-08:00

LISTENING - Recap of the Superbowl on radio (sorry local Patriot fans - Congrats to my NY peeps!)

EATING - nothing yet, but need to get something soon

DRINKING - same as the eating

WEARING - The first sweater I ever knit for myself

WEATHER - sunny but a bit breezy

KNITTING - second of my spring colored socks, brown scarf

WANTING - a day to myself to knit and spin and catch up on my podcasts

NEEDING - to clean the house when I get home from work after the Superbowl gathering we had

ENJOYING - a slow paced week ahead

LOOKING FORWARD - to the Whole Food Workshop I signed up for which starts today

WONDERING - if blogger will format this correctly this week. If not, how am I going to fix it??

UFO Friday

2012-02-03T07:32:00.000-08:00

I have a couple of UFO's flying around that I wanted to blog about. The first is my socks. In my effort to use some of that sock yarn I have been talking about, I dug out some old stuff I got from Knit Picks. I'm using the good old picot edge sock pattern by the talented Carole Knits. Nice spring colors, huh?

And look at that awesome project bag my favorite aunt sent to me for Christmas (OK - I showed her exactly what I wanted on Etsy but she is a crafter too, so she gets me). We both tried to stick to local artists in our gift exchange this year and it was a lot of fun. While she is amazingly talented with stained glass and painting, I enjoy my fiber and I have the greatest time when I get to visit her in NC and hang out in her studio. I am now determined to have seperate bags for each of my knitting projects, so I have a feeling I may have to break out that sewing machine and spend some time with my mom so she can teach me what to do. I also cast on a simple basket weave scarf for Nicole's boyfriend (with yarn from my stash - can I hear a "YAY" for stash busting?).

I apologize for the Iphone pictures. The weather has not been very photo friendly lately so this is what I am left to work with. Did you notice the Vera Bradley bag in the background? A present from my hubby. He gives the greatest presents, especially when I call him and say "guess what? You just bought me a Christmas present! I'm at the Vera Outlet and yes, I'm going to love it." Makes us both happy.

I don't think I will ever shop anyplace else for Vera except the outlet store. Everything was 50 percent off. I even got a matching ~~cosmetic bag~~ project bag for around $12. Anything to avoid sewing my own.....

Middle Age Jewelry

2012-02-02T06:54:00.000-08:00

I am 45 going on 46. I am reminded of my age each time the Superbowl comes around. See - me and the Superbowl are the same age. SB is slightly older though. I don't blow the candles out on my Bday cake until May. I have no problem with getting older. I really don't. I have even embraced this changing of seasons, so to speak. I even need those reading glasses to see my phone, knit and read. If I gotta do this - I'm doing it my way.

Eyeglass jewelry. Made by my friend Lisa. If she had a blog I would link to it but sadly she doesn't. And of course I had to get them in purple as well!

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The Weekend Part II

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-08:00

It's easy to show all the productivity but it's hard to convey the laughing we did this weekend. How could you not laugh at Beth in her sheep pj's? Aren't they the greatest?

Sheryl laughing (probably at Kelly)

Because Kelly thinks she is going to win the ugliest yarn contest at the Barnstable Fair by spinning this

She probably will.Heidi finished her shawl with the fiber she spun from her pygora goat, Bubba, who passed away last year.

Pygora is wonderful. So warm and soft.

And one of my favorite things about Sacred Heart - the deer.

The Weekend

2012-01-31T05:01:00.000-08:00

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and warm wishes yesterday. Yesterday was difficult at best. Grief councelors were at school and helped the kids to cope with their emotions. They held a candle light vigil last night and it was healing for all these kids to get together and talk and remember Cayla. Nicole understands that things will get better with time. Life goes on.

So those who guessed that a spinning retreat was my destination last weekend - you were correct. We arrived at Sacred Heart Retreat Center on Friday afternoon. The grounds are just incredible. We went for a nice walk on Saturday afternoon.

And there was some spinning. Boy was there spinning!

Karen was a new spinner who started spining this

And by the end of the weekend she spun this

Some carded batts

There was weaving

And more to come tomorrow...

Currents

2012-01-30T07:11:00.000-08:00

EXCUSE THE FORMAT - BLOGGER IS BEING DIFFICULT THIS MORNINGListening - 630 WPRO NewsEating - nothing right nowDrinking - orange juiceWearing - sweats & purple turleneck with a jacketReading - 1000 Gifts (still - I know, I'm a slow reader)Weather - sunny and in the 40's. Very pleasantKnitting - socks (that will be every week after my resolution)Wanting - to take my daughter's pain away after hearing that her friend was tragiclly killed yesterdayNeeding - an hour to myself to get my thoughts together before dealing with the weekEnjoying - the days being longerLooking forward - getting my house back in order after the weekendWondering - if there will be enough snow in upstate NY so we can go snow mobiling this weekend.

It's Friday

2012-01-27T04:26:00.000-08:00

Can anybody guess where I'm going today?

Some FOs You Might Like

2012-01-26T04:40:00.000-08:00

I'm the first to admitt that I am terrible with taking pictures. When I first got my Iphone I took alot of pictures with it (and still do)but it's going on 3 years old so the quality isn't great. I have my digital camera (a simple Sony Cybershot) but if I took decent quality pictures it only had the capability to hold 10 pictures at a time. Not very convenient. So hubby bought me this memory card and I can now fit over 5000 pictures on my little camera. So while I save my pennies for a DSLR I can explore the options this little guy has without having to upload my pics every 10 shots.I realized that I have many many FO's that I have never shown you. I will get to taking pictures of all of them, but here are two (one is quite old) that I have not blogged about yet.

This was a cowl pattern that I kinda made up as I went along. It's knit from cormo I had spun up from my fiber share from Juniper Moon Farm. I can't tell you how squishy and warm that cowl is. I love cormo. Cormo was the very first fleece I bought (I don't recommend this as a first fleece project if you plan on processing the fleece yourself - the amount of lanolin is ridiculous and the long staple can be tough to card). I started washing and carding myself but quickly realized that this was far too much work for this girl. I loved the fact that this came all washed, carded and ready to spin from Juniper Moon. It is by far the warmest cowl I own and I use it the most.I finished my hat over the weekend. It' the Coffee Beanz Hat. I really should have some shots of it ON somebody's head but getting Harry to model for me? Let's just say he did his part by getting me the memory card..

. It was knit it Univeral Yarns Classic Shades. It's a combo of wool and acrylic and it's not itchy at all like I thought it would be. I have another whole skein that I think I might try and knit mittens from (I realized during the last snow storm that I, a knitter and spinner, have NO mittens - this is now an emergency).

The Last Skein

2012-01-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

Socks That Rock - my favorite sock yarn. Notice the rockin skein I picked up over the Christmas break during my visit to WEBS.

Magnum is always willing to model for me.

That's the last skein I will get to purchase for a while. I decided to participate in the 2012 Stash Busting ChallengeThis is all part of my attempt to simplify my life in 2012. I cleaned the Yarn Loft, aka - the mess of a room upstairs that houses my yarn, fiber, loom, wheels, etc... out a bit and was pleased to discover that I only had one large rubbermaid container full of store bought yarn, one big bag of hand spun yarn, and a seperate container for my sock yarn. The sock yarn is where I have been glutonous - I have enough yarn to knit 30 pairs of socks. My goal for this year is to not buy any more sock yarn until I have most of that stash knitted up. I'm just not sure if I can knit 30 pairs of socks in one year! What do you think?

Weekend In Pictures - And A Few Words

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

4 inches of snow? I don't think so. I believe the total ended up around 12 inches. But hey - they were close. I didn't mind though. We stayed inside most of the weekend and read, baked, knit, got cozy by the fire and enjoyed each others company. Exactly what we needed.

Currents

2012-01-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

Call me un-original but I saw this awesome post on Mary's blog and also on Beth's blog

listening - Pandora Radio on Shuffle

eating - not much (don't fall down from shock). I've got a touch of the stomach bug today

drinking - same as eating, but I should go get some tea as I'm sure it would help

wearing - LL Bean polar fleece with a turtle neck and it's not keeping me nearly as warm as it ought to

reading - 1000 Gifts. A must read.

weather - probably in the 40's but I feel like it's 0 degrees. We saw the sun for about 50 seconds in the late morning so I should consider it a lucky day

knitting - just finished socks above. Just cast on a scarf for daughter's boyfriend who requested another one

wanting - to get the house de-cluttered this afternoon/evening. It's getting on my nerves now

needing - to do some bookkeeping duties for spinning guild

enjoying - the way we have been simplifying life these days

looking forward - my spinning retreat this weekend

wondering - what should I pack for the weekend

10 on Tuesday - 2 Weeks Late

2012-01-17T06:25:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my world people. I saw this topic a couple of weeks ago and loved it. I never got to blogging about it because my laptop was giving me trouble, I had no current pictures to post, I was busy, etc... That's usually why I don't blog regularly - everything else gets in the way and I let it fall off the To Do List. Well hopefully the following list will be helpful in not letting that happen anymore.

10 Things I Want To Do In 2012

1. Keep schedules better. With all the apps I have downloaded to my Iphone such as Toodle Do, Informant, Springpad, Evernote, Organizing - you would think I had it all together. I guess I do - it's just spread out all over the place and needs to be streamlined.

2. Take more pictures with my camera. I was looking to get a DSL camera after Christmas but I couldn't justify spending the money if I can't even operate the 3 simple digital cameras correctly. I am carrying my camera with me all the time and I plan to go online and find some helpful tutuorials.

3. Read more. I have my Nook Color and I love it. I just have a hard time reading these days with knitting calling my name. I think I can manage both at the same time if I am knitting simple socks now.

4. Speaking of knitting - I want to knit most of my sock yarn stash. It is not huge. I'm guesstimating that I have maybe enough yarn to knit 20 pairs of socks. And socks make great gifts.

5. Card and spin that awesome fleece I got last year. I am hand carding it (yes, I do have access to a drum carder but I like to hand card in small amounts and I think I can do this). This fleece will become a sweater for me and my daughter next year sometime.

6. Publish one of my patterns. Even if it is only on my blog, I will feel like I contributed something in exchange for all those great free patterns I use on Ravelry.

7. Explore the vegetarian lifestyle. I never thought I would say this but I have met quite a few people lately who have made the change and they look and feel great. I think they may be on to something.

8. Take Country Line Dance lessons. I went to Tobie Keith's "I Love This Bar" a couple of weeks ago to see a friend play in a band and was in awe of all the people line dancing. I think I convinced Lisa to do this with me.

9. A place for everything and everything in it's place. I can't count the hours that are wasted in my household on "straightening up". Bottom line - we have way too much crap for one household. Bottom line problem - some people, who shall remain nameless, refuse to throw anything out. I am afraid I will have to resort to drastic measures to make them see the error of their ways. If anyone has any helpful hints, please pass them on. In the meantime, you will find me sneaking big black garbage bags into the dumpster at 6:30 AM.

10. Change up the blog. My blog has had little attention, let alone not many entries. It has been neglected and I plan to spruce it up a bit. Stay tuned.

Crafty

2011-12-16T06:22:00.001-08:00

Each year for the Bayberry Spinners we bring gifts to share at our Christmas party. The idea is to keep the cost down to around $1-$2 per gift. And if possible - it's nice to give something hand made.

After poking around on Pinterest (if you don't know about this Pinterest please go now. It's www.Pinterest.com. Add me - I'm Knit1Spin2. Go ahead. I'll wait.) I saw this cupcake and loved it.

It's a sock wrapped up in a cupcake wrapper with a pompom on top for a cherry. Can it get any easier than that? No - they are not hand knit. I'm crazy but I'm not insane.

The girls loved them and some even put them on while still at the party. Total cost per cupcake - about $1.50.

Pictures of the party? Not so much. It's a wonder why I want a DSLR camera from Santa.

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I'm Not Knitting For Christmas

2011-12-14T10:05:00.001-08:00

During a visit to my cousins house over the summer we were playing cards. They were playing cards - I was knitting. Cousin Donna gasps -"you KNIT!!". My Hubby pipes up, " Not only does she knit, she spins her own yarn, she weaves - she's amazing.". Thank you for the shameless plug honey. This leads to her asking "Can you knit me slippers? We buy these slippers every couple of years at this craft fair and they no longer do the fair anymore.". She proceeds to show me the slippers. Not very pretty. And they need to be knitted in God awful acrylic yarn because they need to be able to be washed. I get the two pairs knitted up in short order (because her husband needs them too). They are wicked easy and knit up in no time really.

Since this has been my No Brain knitting that I take everywhere the slippers have amassed quite the audience. And twice the response. Mostly sounding like this. "I want a pair of those!" or "make those for me for Christmas.".

Seriously?

This is what I have been looking at these days.

I'm rewarding myself with burning my Yankee Candle in Holiday Sage which has been discontinued.

The slippers will continue.

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Weekending the 2nd

2011-12-12T11:09:00.001-08:00

The second one because the first one was eaten up by my Iphone.

My weekend consisted of:

Cleaning
Shuffling teenagers back and forth to their necessary destinations
Getting a Christmas tree
Going to the Spinning Guild Christmas party
Seeing cute Santa below at said party

Having friends and family over for dinner
Cleaning
Playing Wii with the teenager and her visiting teenage friends
Getting Christmas tree lights (small digression here - please tell me how Christmas lights can be fully functioning in January, yet when taken back out to work 11 months later, they are dead. All dead - all seven sets. SEVEN. OF. THEM. These lights do not hold down a job nor pay rent or anything stressful. They sit in my basement nuzzled in a Rubbermaid box. Oh - and the seven sets passed on their illness to the 3 new sets still in the box. Now all 10 sets are occupying the dumpster. End of rant.)
Taking the teenager driving (with persistance this will eventually eliminate the need for #2 above)
Managed not to get any more grey hair than I already had
Shopping for some presents and groceries
Cleaning
Small amount of knitting

You would think with all that cleaning that the first item on Toodle Do for my day wouldn't be "straighten up the house".

10 on Tuesday

2011-11-29T08:35:00.001-08:00

10 Favorite Musicals! I had to participate in this one. My favorites are mostly ones that my daughter has performed in.

1. Bye Bye Birdie. This was her first performance when she was 7 years old and she had a blast. "We love you Conrad, oh yes we do..."
2. Annie. I still can't listen to Hard Knock Life without getting a tear in my eye thinking about my little "orphan" singing and dancing on the stage. Great Christmas time show for sure.
3. A Christmas Carol. For those of you living in the Providence RI vicinity - you know that Trinity Rep does this (sometimes musically) every year. And every year it's different. The year Nicole did it there was a lot of music. And a lot of time dedicated to that performance starting in mid summer. It was amazing to see everything that goes into a "professional" show.
4. Rent. Nicole's high school was the first in our area to perform it in school. Some mature subject matter involved for sure but they held workshops afterwards for the kids for question and answer sessions. The music was awesome!
5. Wicked. We saw this a couple of years ago to see what all the hype was about. It lived up to it all!
6. Fiddler on The Roof. We did this when I was in high school (no I did not sing and dance on stage - pigs would fly first people). I was in the make up department.
7. Grease. A classic! Although it was the movie that I fell in love with.
8. High School Musical. Nicole did this a few years ago and the music was real catchy!
9. Beauty and The Beast. This was the first Broadway musical we took Nicole to see. The look on her face was priceless.
10. The King and I. We saw this in elementary school and I just loved it!

And now that life is slowly going back to normal around here - we can return to some regular blogging! See you later in the week for a big catch up!

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10 on Tuesday

2011-10-11T08:06:00.001-07:00

Great topic this week! We had the perfect weekend in the northeast. It was like summer. So here are 10 Things I Did This Weekend.

1. We laughed. And laughed and laughed. Mostly because of number 2.
2. Had a great visit with family. The cousins came to visit and it was great. Nicole got to hang out with her cousin who is her age and they had so much fun.
3. We went apple picking. A little late for us but we still managed to pick 30 pounds.
4. We went to an Italian Feast in Providence. And we ate our way thru the entire thing. Good thing I did a lot of number 5.
5. Walked. For miles. Every place we seemed to go required a lot of walking and it felt good.
6. Went to Waterfire. For anybody living within an hour of Providence this is a must see. They have big goblets of fire sitting in the canals while music is piped throughout. We don't go very often anymore because the crowds get a little too much to deal with but once in a while is fun.
7. Had a car wash for Nicole's chorus group. They were selected to sing at Disney in December which is awesome. Now they just have to earn money to get down there.
8. Finished my weaving project. That will get it's own post soon.
9. Got Nicole's ear double pierced. She had been asking for a couple of years and when her cousin came to visit they asked if they could go together. The above picture was taken afterwards.
10. Went to the Scituate Arts Festival. This was my first time going and I was amazed at how many craft vendors there were. I was equally amazed to see that nobody was buying. Anything. Sad sign of the economy for sure.

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Contrary To Popular Belief

2011-10-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

I DO know how to cook! I get teased about the fact that I don't cook. It's not that I don't know how or I'm not good at it. The truth is that I can cook - but my Hubby is much better at it and it's his passion. I can get the job done but he puts LOVE into his cooking let me tell ya. Oh - and due his employment situation these days - he is home more than I am.

Now while I do like to cook I LOVE to bake. I did a lot of it when I was home more often. While reading Faiths blog (Needle and the Damage Done) I saw a great recipe for cupcakes. (Sorry for the lack of links- that is one downfall of posting from my IPhone). I immediately thought of baking them for my moms birthday this past weekend. I made some modifications - I left the cookie dough out because, well, I kinda ran out of time. And the cupcakes - they were a box mix I had.

Look at that marshmallow frosting.

We toasted them just before serving.

Well - Hubby did the toasting with one of his gadgets (oh please - my life with his gadgets needs an entire post of it's own).

They kinda reminded me of something Dr. Seuss might serve with the Cat In The Hat.

Mom loved them. And thats what was important. Happy Birthday Mom!!

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Spinning....

2011-09-28T06:25:00.001-07:00

So my Tour De Fleece project was a semi flop. I guess maybe it wasn't - I did spin enough to make the wedding blanket warp happen so I guess I shouldn't be so critical. I haven't spun much on my wheel because the only spinning I am doing lately is "on the road" for guild functions. I have become lazy in my older age. I don't feel like dragging my wheel out of the house so I bring my favorite spindle - my Golding. And I've been fairly productive. This is some stash I had sitting around from Spunky Club. I totally forget the name of the colorway.

I'm even getting consistant with my drop spindle spinning.

Not too bad huh? And the colors are exactly the same as my wedding colors. My made of honor wore aqua blue and my bridesmaids wore peach.

I saw an article in Spin Off recently that featured a gal that took all her spindle spun yarn and wove it into a blanket. So that's my five year plan. At the next few fiber festivals I will buy some colorful fiber especially for my spindle.

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Ten on Tuesday

2011-09-27T07:57:00.001-07:00

I usually don't participate in Ten on Tuesday posts but this was an easy one. And it feels good to contribute!

10 Things You Do Every Day

1. Let my puppy out. If I don't get up by a certain time my buddy makes sure I do.
2. Take a shower. I never feel truly awake until that water hits my face.
3. Make a coffee stop on the way to work. Sometimes it's Dunkin. Sometimes it's McDonalds. And it's not always coffee. I don't need that caffeine injection to get me going. I might have a coolatta or a frappe.
4. Watch the morning news. I love Channel 10. I'm not real fond of the weather forecasters though.
5. Check email and Facebook. The way Facebook keeps changing their format is driving me crazy though.
6. Check my Google Reader.
7. Tweet. Yes I'm a twitter fan. I didn't see a rational reason why people would want to do this but it is addicting!
8. Listen to the radio. Especially at work. I go back and forth between talk radio and podcasts.
9. Charge my iPhone. Which I use for just about everything. Including writing this post. It's my favorite gadget and I always say its so useful that I could marry it.
10. Say I Love You to my family. Every. Day. You never know if it will be the last thing you get to say to them.

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What My Desk Looks Like

2011-09-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

My favorite time of year. I love the Fall. Even if it's 83 degrees out today with 100 percent humidity. This weekend is supposed to bring seasonal temps. I'm looking forward to it!

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Where Did The Summer Go?

2011-09-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

In the blink of an eye it's September. Wow! I have a hard time with the transition from Summer to Autumn. Wait - it's not the change of seasons. It's the change of responsibilities that come with Autumn. Mostly Nicole and her school schedule. She is a Junior now and it's a busy year for her. Varsity jacket, school ring, junior prom, SAT, and throw in a car and drivers license in there too. It gets me dizzy.

But let's relax a bit and review our summer- shall we?

There were a few really hot days. Thank goodness it was only a few.

There was weaving. This is only half the blanket. The second half is on the loom now.

There was a pesky little hurricane. Not much damage done at the homestead. Lost power, phones etc at the office for almost a week.

There was spindle spinning. There was more spinning done on my spindle than on my wheel I think!

Most of all there was lots and lots of fun. We had kids over the house constantly and had a blast. We played volley ball, badminton, bocci, football, hockey (ok - so maybe I only did the volleyball and badminton). Nights were spent playing cards and games and watching movies and just enjoying these last years of the kids wanting to spend time with us before they all get cars and become independent. Where does the time go?

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Typical Summer

2011-07-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a beautiful summer so far. The weather has been great. The weekends have been rain free and not overly hot. The weatherman is telling us that is going to change this weekend. They are predicting it will get to 100 degrees tomorrow. I don't believe it! One good thing about the hot weather is that the garden loves it.

It's also been great weather for sock knitting.

Socks that Rock! I am planning a trip to WEBS soon as I am now out of STR totally. Anybody up for a trip?

Tour de What???

2011-07-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

I know - this post should be all about my Tour de Fleece project. You should be seeing the pounds of yarn I have spun up. Ummm - not so much. But I have been busy with fiber. Just the kind that is already spun up. My Multnomah shawl is finished and it got a proper photo shoot - something I rarely get to do.

I'm thinking there's a problem though..

I know I know. It's so addicting. It's an easy pattern to memorize and it uses up the sock yarn stash!

Tour de Fleece 2011

2011-07-03T07:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't participated in the Tour in a year or so. Summer is my "chill out" time so I don't usually do well with goals. I guess that summer "I'm outta school" mentality never left me. I looked forward to this summer I think because the weather was just so blah until June. I couldn't wait to be able to sit on my back deck (like I'm doing now) and do "my stuff". That stuff consists of knitting spinning reading blogging etc...

Back to the Tour.

I was reminded about the TDF while I was going through my Ravelry groups. I noticed I had belonged to the TDF group a couple of years ago. It occurred to me that it was that time of year again. I have a nice little (ok - maybe not so little) fiber stash. This would be a great way to turn some of it into yarn. Then the next brainstorm came to me. I want to weave a hand spun blanket for a wedding gift for a friend getting married in October. But what to use?

I dug through the stash and remembered this chocolate brown "bale" wool my friend Pat & I got from Sheep Shed years ago. It was perfect. It's nice and soft and I have plenty of it.

I spun some up yesterday and plied it. It's soft and airy and will make a great blanket that's not too heavy but will be very warm.

So thats my Tour de Fleece 2011 project. The goal is to spin spin spin. I'm not sure if I will get through all the fiber though. I have over 10 pounds of it....

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Perfect Sunday Morning

2011-06-26T08:33:00.001-07:00

My knitting, my Nook and the sun. Have a great Sunday!

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Knit Nothing Spin Zero

2011-06-14T06:14:00.001-07:00

Yep - that about sums up the creativity in the house lately. I did finish spinning my cotton candy looking batt.

I got the color changes I wanted. It's too darn thin though. I tried to go back and Navajo ply it. Can't be done after the twist is set I'm guessing because it looked like Ramen noodles no matter what I did. So I'm knitting with it as is but I'm not happy with it. I was hoping for bulky yarn - which apparently I'm an epic fail at because as thick as I think I'm spinning at the time - it's still too thin.

My order from Webs came in so I can finish up my Multnomah. The dye lot is different but I think it will work with all the color changes. But I'm not jumping to finish it.

I have been preoccupied with my Nook for sure. I'm still searching for the books I want and it's so easy for me to overbuy so I'm using some restraint here. Wayne found an IPad holder that I can use to prop my nook up while I knit. We found it in 5 Below. What a fun store! I highly suggest a trip if you have one in your area.

And speaking of Wayne (my daughters boyfriend of over 2 years for those who don't know) he graduated high school this past weekend! We had a fun weekend celebrating with his family and it was great to see him reach this milestone.

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Weekend Recap

2011-06-06T08:51:00.001-07:00

It was a busy weekend in the Knit1Spin2 house.

There was spinning.

I'll start knitting my Nook cover later this week with the yarn.

I knitted on Multnomah.

I am running out of yarn unfortunately. Fortunately Webs has more - and half the price of what I originally paid. I can make it longer now. And that makes me happy.

The highlight of the weekend-

Nicole's lacrosse team won the state finals. It was amazing to see so many people from our little town come out to cheer these girls on. Most of them did not have daughters that were even players. They just wanted to go and support them. It was an experience I don't think any of the girls will forget. I know I won't.

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RI Sheep and Wool

2011-06-03T09:04:00.001-07:00

Better late than never I always say. RI Sheep and Wool was 2 weeks ago. I went. I saw. I sold. I bought - nothing. You read that right. I bought nothing but fries for lunch. I went as a vendor this year and sold my batts.

They all sold except 5 of them. I just figured whatever didn't sell I would put on the online shop. The few that were left over were colors that I love so I kept them for myself. My favorite was the pink. I made alot of them. And they all sold but two.

I'm spinning them now so I can make a cover for my Nook.

Back to the festival - the weather had been miserable all week and wasn't looking too promising for this day either. Can I just say that the sun came out and it was hot! We were amazed. And relieved. They had lots of great vendors. I was tempted to get some beautiful alpaca fleece but I stopped myself. I have so much in my stash that I can't buy another thing. The truth is that I have very little storage space and even less money to spend these days. But hey - I can just go shopping in my stash pile and be quite satisfied.

Have a great weekend. Ours will be busy with catching up, digging into my stash, prom, and lacrosse. Nicole's team made it to the State Finals and we are super proud of those girls. And it looks like the weather will be on our side as a bonus.

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Toys

2011-05-27T06:04:00.001-07:00

I guess I will never grow up. I love a new toy. I researched and decided this would be my newest one.

Everyone chipped in and got it for my birthday. I resisted the idea of an e-reader for a long time. I love holding a book. I like to turn the pages. But after the realization of how much space I would save from not having books upon books in my house - and having them all in one little location, I was sold. Add to that the fact that the Color Nook is actually a tablet that has apps? Love it!! I will be spending the weekend reading. And learning how to use it.

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Happy Spring!

2011-05-26T10:45:00.001-07:00

Yeah right. Any of you who live in the north east know what spring has been like. Nonexistent. We have had more rain than we need. The lawns look like jungles, the gardens are water logged. My blueberry bush started turning black. So here is something nice and colorful to cheer us up. Its an Orange Star plant that my friend Kathy gave me for my birthday. And it's just what's needed for the weather of late.

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Last Weekend

2011-01-28T07:12:00.000-08:00

As you know by now our little group of local spinners gets together once a year for a retreat in Wareham. For me - it was a badly needed weekend away. I looked forward to it but at the same time I had been so busy that I couldn't even pack my stuff together until an hour before leaving. I guess that's why I needed it so badly!

It's fun every year - but I think we did more laughing than ever this time around. It had been a pretty stressful year for most of us and I think we ALL were desperate for some down time.

It was also very productive. I spun my 8 oz of cormo. I will be making a huge cowl from it.

Lisa got some spinning done.

She was planning on making some cool legwarmers out of it but I think she changed her mind and will going with a bag.

There was some reading - I can't tell you the last time I picked up a book.

And question of the weekend? How many spinners does it take to untangle some handspun?

At this point there was 6 but I know some more joined in as we went along.

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Of Things Not Yet Blogged About

2011-01-18T06:05:00.001-08:00

I'm not good at all with posting my projects on Ravelry. It's on that "To Do" list but it never quite makes it to the top. With the cold weather I have been wearing alot of my hand knits. And I'm noticing that I never showed some of them to you.

Behold the woven scarf:

I wove this on my rigid heddle with my handspun. It was a batt from NH Sheep & Wool. I kept the colors separate and wove it as a single.

For the warp I used Kauni Effektgarn that I bought at Yarn and Fiber Company on a road trip to NH.

I still need to work on my edges. They are still too loose.

I love the fringe though. Those conaire hair twirlers are good for something!

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Another Birthday

2011-01-06T07:03:00.001-08:00

Another Birthday Cowl actually. I bought the yarn at a little yarn shop in Plymouth last spring. Malabrigo. I love it for Cowls. This will be my second one. I love the simple pattern and it's so soft and squishy. I might have to buy another skein in another colorway soon.

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My Supervisor

2011-01-05T05:16:00.001-08:00

I got a fair amount of spinning and plying done over vacation. I'm trying to finish up that soft alpaca so I can work on a sweater for me. I'm plying some of it up with that funky mix of purple roving I got at Mass Sheep and Wool last May. I will use that for the yoke and the plain brown alpaca for the rest of it.

It's a good thing we got that cat. She makes sure that I am doing it all properly. She inspects the wheel for safety.

She makes sure it gets on the skein winder properly.

And we must be sure that it is washed properly.

Yep - it's a good thing we have her.

She did approve of the end result.

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Christmas Wrap

2011-01-04T08:45:00.001-08:00

We had a nice relaxed low-key kind of holiday this year.

There was some relaxing.

There was a kitty looking for her presents.

There was a dog happy to find his.

There were teenagers playing with toys.

There were teens singing at the local tree lighting.

And there was some drinking of the eggnog by the fire - while spinning. Hope your holiday was everything you wanted it to be.

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First Finished Object of 2011

2011-01-03T06:47:00.000-08:00

A pair of mittens. I had 10 days off from work and thats what I accomplished. Actually I did get the 28 row (project name switched to 28 week scarf) off the needles right after I finished the mittens. I haven't been able to get a good photo of it though. The mittens are going to my aunt in NC who is having a cold winter. She has a condition that makes the cold weather affect her hands and feet. Handspun knitters were called for!

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Fall Fiber Festival

2010-11-09T07:26:00.001-08:00

This past weekend was the first New England Fiber Festival in West Springfield Massachusetts. For you locals - it was held at the Big E. I went with no expectations (and not much money). It was a nice festival. There was a holiday influence that you don't see at the other fairs (who is thinking about Christmas in May?). I found it to be very cozy and the crowds tolerable. That could change next year as it becomes more popular. I love Rhinebeck but the crowds frustrate me at times.

So what did I get? 4 oz of BFL from Knitty Bits.

I will spin that to make myself a neck warmer.

And what do I usually cave in to at fairs?

Yep - sock yarn. But it was half price and I fully intend on making Christmas gifts with it.

I got some homemade soap for gifts. And a couple of cute knitting pins that I like to put on my knitting bag.

And now the task begins of spinning and knitting what I have acquired this year. Because after all - the Spring Fiber Festivals start in 6 months!

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We Interrupt Regular Knitting For A Cute Moment

2010-10-30T14:11:00.001-07:00

It's still loads o' knitting here. Nothing for me though. Cowls are done and on the way to the intended recipients. Knitting for school spirit week and seniors on the hockey team is complete.

Not very exciting but loved by the kids nonetheless.

Enjoy your Halloween tomorrow and the beautiful Autumn season.

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I Could Not Resist

2010-10-17T09:43:00.001-07:00

While having an hour to kill while Nicole was at hockey practice I came down to the beach to finish up the birthday cowl. I couldn't resist some beach photos as soon as I bind it off.

Excuse the lack of blocking.

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Lots of Knitting

2010-10-13T06:45:00.001-07:00

It's been knitting and spindle spinning around here. I barely touched my wheels all summer. I just had this overwhelming urge to drop spindle.

My grand plan is to do some Christmas knitting this year. Lots of socks planned and neck warmers. Great stash buster! I truly have a problem even going to a yarn shop lately. I just have so much at home. Especially sock yarn. I'm still planning on going to the 1st Annual New England Sheep & Wool in November though. But I turned down an invite to Rhinebeck this weekend. It's all about moderation right?

I'm working on a birthday cowl for a friend we recently visited in Lake George. It was my first visit in the area. Isn't it beautiful?

We had gone boating and my friend complimented my cowl and how her and her husband would love them for snow mobiling over the winter. So stash diving I did. I started this one over the weekend.

I had bought the yarn years ago to make myself a scarf and frogged it last winter.

And look at this stitch marker.

How cute is that? That was from Sarah as well as the basket. And I would link to her blog but I still haven't figured out how to do that from my phone yet.

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Sunrise Citron

2010-07-25T07:25:00.001-07:00

It's been a hot summer around here in New England. Humidity has been a constant and we have seen 90 degrees more this summer than the last 4 summers combined. Needless to say the heat has not inspired much knitting. But I did cast on Citron.

I spun a couple of my club fibers from Spunky in the spring. I kept it as a single so the colors would stay separate.

It's way too warm to think about wearing it anytime soon but before you know it the chilly evenings will be upon us

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Preoccupied

2010-06-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

Computer is back up and running. But who cares when you are preoccupied with this?

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More Socks - No Computer

2010-06-14T07:12:00.001-07:00

I'm glad I got into writing blog posts from my Iphone. The photo quality leaves a bit to be desired but it's not terrible I guess. My laptop is under the weather. Nothing working at all. I'm majorly bummed because I needed to work on a project and really need it. Hubby is working on it and I'm hoping it will be feeling better soon.

In the meantime I finished one of the BFF Moms socks

The color fades make me happy and the yarn is so soft. A big recommendation for Kroy Socks FX. Sorry for the lack of photo originality. The sun is about as reliable as my computer lately so indoor photo shoots it is.

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Socks and Bags

2010-06-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

It's still a sock-a-thon in my world. I finished the watermelon socks.

They scream summer time to me and I can't wait to wear them. I started another pair in the Kroy sock yarn for my best friends mom.

It's the blue/grey colorway and I like the way the colors fade. It's nice to knit with and it's soft yet thick and should be warm for the winter.

There's only one other thing that I need less than sock yarn and that's bags. I am addicted to them. For some people it's shoes. Others love clothes. I'm all about bags. Handbags, knitting bags, baskets, you name it. If it can carry something I like it. So I spent my birthday money on this.

A Namaste Hermosa Bag in eggplant. I've always wanted one of their bags in that color. On a recent trip to Webs I spotted it and it was mine!! I have yet to use it as a knitting bag. It's my everyday work bag because it fits everything in it. It's huge!!

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Proud Momma

2010-06-06T20:44:00.000-07:00

Lots of knitting going on around here. Another pair of socks finished. The weather wasn't cooperating when I finished so photos will follow. And I'm not the only one knitting. Nicole is knitting a blanket for a new family addition. She is a great knitter. And nothing made me prouder than watching her walk out the door this weekend prepared to knit in public.

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Don't Say A Word

2010-05-28T03:32:00.001-07:00

It's all Tina's fault - really it is.

Watermelon Socks

2010-05-27T05:28:00.000-07:00

I cast on a new pair of socks last night. I'm calling them Watermelon socks because that's what I think of when I see the yarn.

Nicole had a jumper when she was 2 years old that looked like a watermelon and had those exact colors.

I was hoping to get to the heel last night but I was exhausted by the time I actually got to knit at 9:00. I wanted to go out on the deck this morning and knit on them for a while but it had rained and it was actually chilly. I guess when you go from 96 to 59 degrees it feels cold! The next few days look sunny and beautiful so Im sure outdoor knitting will commence.

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Sock Please

2010-05-26T07:51:00.001-07:00

I finished my first sock with the STR fiber I spun up. It is so soft and squishy. Not to mention thick and warm. I am calling them my field hockey socks. I can envision myself wearing those on the bleachers in October watching my daughter play.

I pray they wear well since they are three ply. The good news is that I will have enough yarn to make TWO pairs of socks. How awesome is that??? I'm ready to cast on sock number two but this came in the mail yesterday.

Don't ask why the picture is upside down. I have no clue what happened when I took the pic early this morning. The one on the left, Picnic, is calling my name so it's cast on time. The colors are so summer like. And with a 90 degree day today who can blame me?

Quick sock slow sock

2010-05-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I made a visit to Evas Yarn Shop last month. I didn't want to buy anything but I fell in love with some Sheep Feet from the Sheep Shop. Nice sock yarn in a heavier weight. And hey, when you have enough yarn in your stash to knit 30 pairs of socks, isn't it normal to buy more?

I started knitting a picot edge small cuff sock within the week. It was my travel project of choice. It. Took. Forever. Just to knit that one sock!! Imagine my surprise yesterday when I finished the second sock in one day.

I had a completed pair of socks by days end.

Very cute and I can't wait to knit another pair. Let's not talk about the sock yarn I purchased last week in a weak moment. Thanks Tina! (sorry - posting from the phone so no links).

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Festival Fun

2010-05-20T05:39:00.001-07:00

The first festival of the year was CT Sheep & Wool. It's a great one because it's not too big but just big enough to get you started for the season.

There were bunnies

Sheep being sheared

Beautiful spindles

Nope - I didn't buy any.

There were spinning demos

And overall general fun. And can you believe that all I bought was this?

2.5 lbs of rambouillet fromTouch of Twist. I plan to spin it for another bulky sweater in the round for myself because I wear the last one I knit constantly. That's a record for me - getting out of a fiber fair having spent less than $50. Let's just say I wasn't as frugal at NH.

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Can't Blog - Its Fiber Festival Time

2010-05-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

I know - bad excuse. It's not just fiber festival time but it's Spring which, in my house, also means we are in full swing with lacrosse and the school musical. It's been exhausting but so much fun.

I went to both CT and NH and have much to show for both but will save that for the next post. Tomorrow is RI Sheep and Wool and I am super excited for that because we are participating in the Sheep to Shawl event. We don't have a contest - both local guilds participate and we raffle the shawls off to raise money for Coggeshall Farm. If you are in the area tomorrow stop by. It is going to be awesome. We have over 30 vendors coming this year.

I did do some online shopping before the festivals began.

Check these amazing batts out

I love the colors! I got them from Faith and you really need to check out her shop.

I kept it down to 2 batts but I know I will be going back for more.

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10 On Tuesday

2010-04-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

I don't usually do a 10 on Tuesday post. This one I saw on Caroles blog hit my hot button though:
10 favorite iPhone apps

Twitterific. I would never tweet without this.

Facebook. I don't post much but it's great to see what everyone else is up to.

Pocket Informant. Great organizer. I'm still trying to get everything on there. With the recent lacrosse/field hocky/school musical/karate/choral rehearsal/voice lesson schedule it has been my bible.

Shake and Spell. It's like my favorite childhood game of Boggle. I was a boss at that and nobody in my family wanted to play. Now I can play it by myself.

Pocket Bingo. Great amusement for about 5 minutes. Gets my bingo fix in.

Weight Watchers. I would never track my points if I didn't have that one.

Rockband. Need to be in touch with my inner child. Great way to play!

Prayer Journal. This is almost like a spiritual Twitter. You follow people and what they are praying for. Everyone prays for each other. It's neat to see people of all different religions being on the same team.

WPRI.com. This is our local news site. It's great for weather and I had a blast tracking our first thunderstorm of the season last week.

Blogpress lite. Without this I would hardly ever blog.

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My favorite time of year

2010-04-13T07:05:00.000-07:00

I love this time of year. The promise of summer is in the air. The buds are popping up on the trees. The birds are chirpping away. And the pollen flies freely. Well that's my "not so favorite" thing about the spring. But the rest is all good. Even better is the thought of Fiber Festival season being upon us. And the best - sitting out in the sun spinning that awesome fiber.

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Hoppy Easter

2010-04-05T05:54:00.001-07:00

We couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend weather-wise. It was just beautiful. I had a rather long "to do" list over the weekend so I didn't spend much fiber time out in the sun like I had planned. I knit two rows while sitting on the deck before company came for Easter dinner. I worked on Shawl That Jazz. It's difficult to take pictures of but here are a few.

It is a series of short rows so it can't be stretched out properly to see the progress. It kinda stays bunched up on the needles. But I like that it is rather mindless knitting and lately that is about all my brain can handle.

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My Socks Will Rock

2010-03-26T06:13:00.000-07:00

I finished plying my STR fiber last night. I can usually get through two 4 oz bobbins plied together in about an hour or so. This took me almost 2 hours to ply 3 bobbins that only had about 2.6 oz on each one. I obviously spun it as thin as I was hoping for!

I ended up with 433 yards of three ply sock yarn.

Considering I took the pics with my iPhone camera the colors are pretty accurate.

Here it is drying by the fire last night.

Check out how much twist is in the plying.

The instructions say to do it that way even though it won't seem correct. It looks all good to me right now.

I am hoping it dries in time over the weekend so I can cast on!

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There is knitting - really

2010-03-25T05:25:00.001-07:00

Despite the time change and the fact that it actually stays bright out till about 7 pm I haven't had a chance to take many good photos of my knitting and spinning. I have been able to work on my socks at odd times. I have also been working on Shawl That Jazz (sorry for the lack of links). I am happy with the progress and my goal is to have it finished by CT Sheep and Wool - which is only 4 short weeks away. There is the promise of sunshine this weekend so I will take some photos then.

I was going to to ply my Socks That Rock Fiber that I finished spinning last night. I brought my wheel downstairs to ply (becaause my Louet is THE plying wheel) and was getting ready to start. Then Nicole came out of her room in tears. Her hamster died. She had her for a little less than a year. And she was devastated. The rest of the night was spent sitting on the couch with her. There was nothing I could do but hug her and let her cry. It was "her" first pet that she had responsibility of. Nicole asked if I could "dispose" of the body in the morning, so Magnum and I gave her a proper burial at sea. Well, in the stream, or at least somewhere down in the valley where other wild creatures roam free. He sat next to me, we said a couple of words and off she went. Then a deer ran by. We hadn't seen one in months so I took it as a good sign.

RIP Mort the Hamster

10 On Tuesday Update

2010-03-09T06:45:00.001-08:00

Last month I listed 10 Household Tasks I had been avoiding. My goal was to get 5 tasks accomplished by the end of the month. Do you think I met my goal?

Yarn room - cleaned out. I went through bins and sorted my stash a bit. Found lots of fiber I had forgotten about. It at least makes me less likely to buy what I don't need this spring during the fiber festivals. I was not organized enough to take photos of said stash for ravelry. I think what I might do is photograph what I spin from now on and add it to rav stash. At least it's a start right?

Bedroom closet - purged. I will do it again in a few months with the change in the weather.

Antique dressing table - cleaned out. It's still not being used properly but I got rid of alot of garbage that needed to go.

China cabinet - hubby stroked out when I started pulling stuff out and putting it in storage. He has no problem with the "cluttered" look. It makes me want to crawl out out of my skin. In the interest if marital harmony we will have to discuss this at a later date. I have storage boxes in the kitchen so it won't come as a total shock when items start to go "missing".

Paper - I cleared out every bag that had paper/bills/keepsakes from Nicole. I bought more storage bins to organize even more. But last weeks mail is still on the counter so I need to do it again!

I am pleased with the progress. I am determined to finish the list by April 15th. Now is the perfect time to get those things done. There is more light in the day and it's not so cold to encourage hibernation.

And speaking of finishing:

My rockin socks are done and ob my feet today! Just loving them!

And another finished project:

Baktus. Great way to use handspun stash.

It is actually too warm to wear around my neck but knowing how March is around here I am sure the cold will be back for one last visit.

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Olympic Sweater

2010-03-07T07:25:00.000-08:00

Done in 18 days

The colors aren't quite as bright in this pic as they are in person. At first I wasn't happy with the striping but it grew on me. I did a light blocking on it. In my fear of running out of yarn I made it shorter than I had wanted. I have yarn left over so I will pull out the bottom and add to the length. Overall I am happy. It keeps me superwarm, it fits well (a bit big but I don't like clingy sweaters), and I know I will get lots of use out of it.

Here is a close up of the sleeve. I actually got them to match pretty darn close! Now back to knitting socks and back to my neglected wheel. I might even get to sit outside and spin today.

Silver Medal

2010-03-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

For the last couple of years I looked forward to the winter Olympics for a multitude of reasons. First I love the sports - the snowboard cross kept me mesmorized as well as the downhill skiing, curling, and the mens figure skating. We just won't talk about the hockey. Actually - let's talk about that, shall we? I could not watch the game as Nicole had her hockey practice at the same time. I kept getting updates on my Iphone. When we finally arrived home we got the update that Team USA lost. But they didn't really lose. They failed to get the gold but they did get a silver medal. And while it takes some of the excitement out of the experience, they still won.

That was how my Olympic knitting went too. I cast on during the opening ceremonies and knit on my sweater at about every free moment. I wouldn't even stop to take pictures of my progress or update the blog. Must keep knitting was my mantra. The other mantra became, "oh my aching hands". And I had to take a break. Life had the nerve to get in the way - so much happened last week that I won't bore you readers with, but I did finish my sweater. On Monday - March 1st. One day after the closing ceremonies. So while I didn't get the Gold, I consider my award to be Silver. I have a sweater that I love and is comfortable to wear. And you can't see pictures of it yet because I am wearing it today! I will take some over the weekend when we have some sunlight (did I mention we have had almost no sun for 2 weeks?).

Only Me

2010-02-04T06:24:00.001-08:00

Way back when Blue Moon Fiber Arts 'Socks That Rock' yarn became popular it was near impossible to find. The only thing I could find that was close was to spin it myself from this kit that they sold.

It has been sitting in my stash for at least 2 years now. I couldn't even recall what the colors were but I never got around to spinning it.

Fast forward to October 2009. Lisa and I went to Stitches East and Webs was there. They now sell Socks That Rock. I was in heaven! I restrained myself and bought one skein of medium weight. It has been great to knit. I also dug out the fiber so I can spin some as well. I am getting kind of depressed that I am almost done with the yarn and wanted to have more to cast on immediately. Here's my fiber being spun:

And here is my second sock in progress:

See any similarities? They are THE SAME COLORWAY! What are the odds of that happening? How many colorways does Blue Moon make? I didn't even notice it until I was spinning for a while. Yep - only me.

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10 On Tuesday

2010-02-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

I don't usually participate in 10 on Tuesday, but this week on Caroles blog she had a good one. 10 Household Tasks You Have Been Avoiding. Use it as a motivational tool, if you will.

1. Clean out that yarn room! It has gone way down hill since the last clean up (which was so long ago I can't find the before/after pics to post).

2. While cleaning said yarn room, take pictures of yarn/fiber for ravelry. Why do I resist doing this?

3. Tackle my bedroom closet. I finally have a large closet and all I do is shove more crap in it.

4. Back to the yarn room - that has a closet large enough to keep some live sheep in, and it can use a bit of tidying up. I did that last year, but stuff got tossed in with abandon and it's looking a bit out of order again.

5. The "hall" closet. I don't know why we call it the hall closet. Its smack in the middle of our living room. It's 2 feet wide and about 5 feet deep. Can you say "inconvenient". We keep coats in it (which need to be purged) and toss anything else we don't feel like dealing with.

6. My hubby bought me this real pretty antique dressing table about 16 years ago. I love the way it looks but it isn't very practical. I hate to give it away or sell it. It has 6 drawers that need to be cleaned out. One cool thing about it - when we originally bought it, under the bottom drawer were photos from the early 1900's hidden away. We have never been able to locate the people, but it's cool to have the history. I just wish we could have found the original owners. It would have meant alot more to them.

7. China cabinets. For years I longed for cabinets with glass fronts so I could display my pretty glasses and fragile items. I got the cabinets. The fragiles? They are still packed in boxes because the cabinets are chock-full-o crap! I shouldn't say crap. I have some pretty things from my grandmothers that I cherish. It just needs to be purged and some items need to either go or get packed away due to inpracticality (sp?).

8. Corner cabinet. Like the strange closet in the living room, we have a similar cabinet in the kitchen. I am thinking a lazy susan style thing is in order or things will continue to get lost in the back.

9. Computer desk. I personally think the whole thing needs to go. It's just another place for crap to collect. A simple desk from Christmas Tree Shop would work just fine (Ikea would be ideal, but I'm not getting up there any time soon).

10. I need to have a serious paper party. I have bags of papers that need to be filed. I resist to the bitter end. Maybe because paper is so much a part of my day job that I don't want to deal with it at home. With taxes coming up, it will have to be dealt with anyway.

The biggest job is the basement. Most of that belongs to my hubby. And let me tell you - it will take him longer to tackle that job than my entire list.

So let's see. I think I shall set a goal for getting 5 items on my list done by the end of February. Think I can do it?

A GREAT Weekend

2010-01-28T05:38:00.001-08:00

Our fiber retreat was all that we could have asked for. We got there Friday afternoon and within 10 minutes I was spinning at my wheel. One big dissapointment is the fleece I was spinning. It still has a lot of vm in it which makes it unpleasant to spin. There is no way I could make a sweater from it. Maybe a vest. If I have enough. It's difficult to spin consistently. I'm not getting much yardage out of it. I am going to bite the bullet and get the rest of it done. The only thing I do like is the way the colors are coming out.

So most of the weekend was spent spinning with a few knitting breaks in between. On Saturday afternoon I sat in one of the living rooms and relaxed on the antique couch as I knit. I looked over at the fireplace and observed the outside of it.

I'm not sure if you can see the crack at the top. It's not in use anymore. It is a large retreat house with a lot of history.

I still have to download the few pictures I did take from the camera but I will leave you with one I took from the phone.

That's only half of us!

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Outta Here!

2010-01-22T08:54:00.001-08:00

All my bags are packed and ready to go. I am looking forward to a fiber producing and relaxing weekend. Catch ya after Sunday.

I am almost done carding. I have enough to keep going over the weekend. The batt count is up to 28 with more to go. I am thinking the total will be around 32. The person with the closest guess is Sarah! I have a fun prize to give you when I see you (which might be soon perhaps?)

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Preparation

2010-01-18T18:12:00.001-08:00

The main reason I have been carding the Jacob fleece has been in preparation for my spinning retreat this weekend. I can't wait to get out to Cape Cod and relax with the spinning gals for three days. I miss my family while I am away but I come back refreshed and renewed.

Part of the prepping process was cleaning off the bobbins so I can use them this weekend. I finished up spinning two batts I had gotten from Terra Bella Spun (I would link it if I weren't in my phone) on etsy. She is actually part of our spinning guild so I was excited to get them from her at our Christmas party back in December.

These keep saying wrist warmers to me.

This is destined to be woven somehow. If I prepare real well this week I might even warp the loom and bring that with me too.

I am still carding and the contest is open till Friday morning when I announce the winner! I have a nice fiberrific prize waiting for some lucky person!

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15 Batts

2010-01-13T17:21:00.001-08:00

And counting. I am probably only 2/3 if the way done with carding that jacob fleece. Maybe only halfway done? I don't even know anymore. But I am having a contest. Guess how many batts I will have carded by the time I am done with this fleece. If it helps I believe the fleece was around 4 lbs. when I purchased it. Leave your guess in the comments and whoever comes closest gets a little prize.

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2010

2010-01-11T19:18:00.001-08:00

Now that we have reviewed the past it's time to look to the future. I have some fiber goals this year:

1. Knit another lace project this summer. I already have the yarn. I just need to pick out the pattern. I'm sure it will be another shawl. I'm open to suggestions. I have over 2000 yards.

2. Knit myself a hoodie with the blue/pink yarn I spun last year. I saw a great pattern in knitty last summer.

3. Card and spin the Jacob fleece I have. I want to spin it at the retreat at the end of this month. That means I better load up the iPod and get that drum carder moving this weekend.

4. Knit above Jacob fleece into the Rebozo shawl from Folk Shawls.

5. Expand my weaving skills. I know there is a wealth of information out there for me to soak up. I am thinking of taking an actual rigid heddle class if I can find one close by.

6. Finish spinning the beautiful alpaca/shetland roving on my Polonaise wheel. I think I have 6 pounds sitting in the closet.

7. Knit more socks. I just love wearing them and I could always use more.

My alpaca throw came off the loom. It needs a washing so it can bloom but I haven't gotten to it yet. Here's the ham posing with it

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The 10 Year Post

2010-01-10T07:09:00.001-08:00

I hestitated doing the 10 year look back post for a few reasons. One - our main computer is still not up and running so my pics will be few and far between. I also didn't think much happened that was worthy of dedicating so much time to writing about it. As I looked back alot really did happen.

2000
Nicole is entering kindergarten and my life as a mom changes now. She is in school full time and I struggle with working only part time when I could be putting more hours in. I miss having her with me every day, but she thrives and all is well. The fun fur scarf craze is starting and I pick up the needles and with the help of a co-worker get back into knitting. Harry and I make the decision at the end of this year to purchase the house we have been renting for the last 3 years. It's ours and the mortgage payment is less than the rent payment.

2001
Now that Nicole is in first grade I no longer struggle with the guilt of working part time. I immerse myself in volunteering at her school and make some great friends. I start to go to knitting night on Thursdays at a small knitting shop about 15 minutes away. I start a sweater for myself which takes years to finish and I start and complete a blue cardigan for Nicole. Our best friends from NY make the decision to relocate up here to New England and we are thrilled. 9/11 happens and I can remember going to the school at lunch to be with Nicole. I am amazed that we didn't know a single person who perished in the towers that day since we both grew up in NY. I can't sleep for days. I lisen to non-stop news

2002
Second grade was big for Nicole - she made her First Communion and I cried when I saw her walking into church looking like a little bride. It struck me how fast these 7 years had gone by since she was a baby and knew the next ones would fly by even faster. We learned that year that she could sing. I get teary eyed thinking back at that Christmas Concert at school. The music teacher gave her a mic and she sang Ave Maria in front of 200 people like it was nothing. The entire audience sat there with their mouths open in disbelief that this amazing voice was coming from this peanut sized kid. This was the year we made our first visit to North Carolina to visit my Aunt, Uncle and Grandmother. My dad, me and Nicole drove down and had such a great time. We were in a hurry to get home though because we had a new family member waiting at the house with Harry when we got back

Of couse he was alot smaller back then - about the size of his head.

2003
We love having a puppy in the house but realize it's alot like having a baby for the first 3 months. Thank goodness Magnum is so cute or there is no way I could put up with all the things he did. And he was really a good dog. The only damage he did in the house was chew a cabinet corner and my coffee table. For a lab - that's pretty good. Harry was great with training him and he becomes the best dog we could ever ask for. Nicole does her first musical production ever - Bye Bye Birdie - and falls in love with theater and singing.

2004
This is the year I start getting the knitting bug big time. I start knitting socks after kniting and ripping over and over again. My first sock could have fit a giant and I still have it. We go back to North Carolina with Harry this time and fall in love with the lifestyle in the country. We start to get more in touch with nature, going a bit greener, and take the time to do what we enjoy doing instead of rushing around in chaos on a daily basis. We make the best investment in the house we ever could

2005
Major changes happen this year. We decide to go ahead with the major construction in our house which will prove to be more of a source of stress than enjoyment. We renovate the entire first floor and add a second floor.

The view from the master bedroom

My dad and stepmom move here from NY and it's great having them around. It does, however, make our trips back to see our friends less frequent.

This is also the year we all decide to take a trip to NH to look at some land. I agree to go if Harry will stop off at some sort of yarn event that's going on so I can get some cheap yarn. That even turns out to be the NH Sheep and Wool Fair. It's downhill from there as I leave with some tencil roving and a drop spindle that I struggle with for months. I go online and chat with people who help me to learn to spin and hook me up with a local spinning guild. After one visit I decide I want a Lendrum DT and Harry gets it for me for Christmas. A monster is born.

2006
On the Yahoo Knitting Group I get an invitation to come to a spinning group right in my own town. I go and meet the greatest group of ladies - some of whom are my closest friends now. They enable me by introducing me to all the New England Fiber Festivals. I convince hubby that I need a nice new Birthday present at the Massachuesetts Sheep and Wool.

At Christmas I buy myself a present

I get my first ipod and immerse myself in knitting podcasts. I teach Nicole to knit and spin. She does an amazing job - she even gets published in Spindlicity online magazine. Construction is still going on at the house. Everything but the second floor is complete.

2007
We make the decision to transfer Nicole from private school to public school. The transition goes well and we are pleased. She enters a contest at school asking for new computers and ends up winning 15 new computers for them. We get to meet some of the New England Patriots (Wes Welker is the greatest) and she ends up on the local news and on the cover of the newspaper.

I start to work more hours, but still not full time. I am coming to the realization that Nicole doesn't really need me during the day anymore. The older they get the less opportunity there is for volunteering at school.

I continue to knit and spin and decide to become a vendor at the first RI Sheep and Wool Festival.

I love dyeing the fiber and yarn in my spare time. I subsequently open a shop on Etsy and get enjoyment seeing others spin and knit my creations. I teach my girlscouts how to spin that year and they are mesmorized by the process. I bought my first fleece at NH Sheep and Wool to process myself. It was a cormo - full of lanolin. I ended up sending it out to be processed the following year! The house construction is still going on.

2008
Change. That is how I can best describe 2008. We now have a moody hormonal teenager in the house and we struggle with how to proceed. Then my mother gently reminds me that I wasn't any better. I disagree. I was an angel - my grandmother tells me all the time.

Speaking of my grandmother - we lose her in February and I am devastated. The only thing that lessens the shock is that she had been failing mentally for a few years and just seemed to slip further and further away.

I pretty much close my Etsy shop - I don't have as much time as I once did. I am still spinning and knitting like a woman possessed.

Harry has his first surgery ever - to repair his rotator cuff. It took a long time to heal and I felt awful for him. Everyone I have spoke to said it is one of the worst surgeries to recover from.

I am offered a full time opportunity at work and I take it. It turns our lives upside down. I work crazy hours just trying to catch up and get a handle on everything. I find it difficult at first to find the perfect balance between work and family and struggle to get it all done.

I buy myself a Christmas present for all my hard work.

The house construction is still going on.

2009
This is obviously the easiest year to recapture. Work is still beyond crazy but I start to get my footing and feel comfortable. My biggest struggle is that I simply don't have time to knit and spin as much as I did before. I actually "mourn" the loss of time and become resentful for a while. I get it together - learn to be grateful for what I have and make time for me.

I take up the hobby I swear I never will touch.

We now have a teenager in highschool who is loving every minute of it. She gets involved in sports and finds her "place" in a difficult time in her life. We are proud of her as she jumps in as the goalie for the field hockey team without any training or hesitation.

She starts dating her first serious boyfriend, who we adore.

I tackle some new knitting ventures. I learn to make thrummed mittens.

I finally make a scarf for the red scarf project. I tackle an entrelac shawl. I missed Rhinebeck but made it to my first Stitches event. I love my Golding spindle that I got in 2008 and use it more than my wheel.

And in case you are wondering - the construction on the house is still going on.

Still lacking Internet

2010-01-05T15:59:00.001-08:00

But still want to share. The following is a snippet of the christmas break

I ended up getting sick. Sick enough to not want to knit much. The sock is my daughters creation and I can't believe what a great knitter she is. She had that sock done in about 5 days. It's probably been a year since she picked up the needles but she had them burning up the yarn at lightening speed. She started the cuff on the second one and is up to the heel. I am getting ready to sit at the loom for a while and them on to some sock knitting for my valentine swap partner.

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A Proper Post

2010-01-04T18:31:00.001-08:00

The Holidays are over and so is my vacation. I would love to give you a long picture filled post but alas - the computer gods are not smiling on us in 2010. We caught a virus of unspeakable proportion and hubby is having the hardest time resuscitating our system. So my laptop can't connect to the Internet. He won't take a chance connecting any of the laptops until the desktop is clean. I do have a couple of pics of my latest weaving project on my loom.

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Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T20:57:00.000-08:00

A wonderful holiday was had by all. So much to share, but as it's approaching midnight I will show my two favorite pictures of the day

A different Christmas List

2009-12-23T05:02:00.000-08:00

Have you started your Christmas shopping? Well - it's December 23rd. I hope I'm done. No matter how early I start there is always little last minute stocking stuffer items to buy.

Tell me about your special traditions. Baking cookies - epic fail this year. Nicole did bake some but I have been out of the house most days so it hasn't happened yet. In the last few years I put off the baking until after Christmas when I have more time. I do make Italian cheesecake and that is breakfast on Christmas morning. We always have the typical Italian Christmas Eve with all the fish.

Are you a Black Friday shopper? Oh yes - the highlight of Thanksgiving weekend! This year was even more fun because I had an app on my iphone that gave all the sales ahead of time and allowed you to make a list for each store. I go with my friend Diane and now that our kids are older it is more fun - there isn't that pressure to find Tickle Me Elmo for $4.99. And the key to the day is that you can't take it too seriously. It's not the day that I get most of my shopping done, it's just the one when I get the best bargains.

When do you put up your tree? 2 weeks before Christmas. It is real, we have a woodstove, you can guess what happens if we put it up too early. Fire hazard anyone??

Do you travel at Christmas or stay at home? We go to my moms on Christmas Eve which is a huge trip - 2 blocks away. On Christmas Day we go to my Dad who lives about 20 mins. away.

What is your funniest Christmas memory? One year my parents let my brother go pick out the tree by himself. He had a big truck and a friend who had a tree lot. He came home with a tree that should have been at Rockefeller Center. It was huge. I think it was over 20 feet tall and so damn wide you couldn't see the TV. We laughed the whole season. The best was trying to remove it from the house AFTER Christmas. It was not going to fit back out the door. A chainsaw was needed. Can you say "mess". My stepmom did. And still reminds him of the mess to this day 20 years later.

What is your favorite Christmas movie of all time? I have a bunch - Love Actually, Elf, The Grinch, Home Alone, and Christmas with the Kranks. I think the best is Christmas Vacation. That is a Thanksgiving Tradition - we watch it after dinner.

Do you do your own Christmas baking? What is your favorite treat? See above

Holiday spinning: Don't have time to spin before the holidays but you can bet the day after I will be at that wheel.

Fake or real tree? Got to be real.

What day does the actual panic set in to get it all done? If there is a panic it is Christmas Eve and it's usually brought on by my hubby who thinks he can accomplish 20hours of cooking in 7 hours.

Are you still wrapping presents on Christmas Eve? Not usually. I try to keep that day low key - see previous question.

What is your favorite family fun moment at Christmas? Watching my daughter open her presents. As she becomes older it is harder to surprise her. Last year was a good one. We got her tickets to see Chris Brown with her cousin and the concert was 2 days after Christmas. She was crying. It was great.

What Christmas craft do you like the best? Sometimes we attempt the gingerbread house or make some sort of jewelry but in recent years the time hasn't been there.

Christmas music – yes or no? Absolutely! I put the Christmas station on the day after Thanksgiving.

What is your favorite song? Merry Christmas Darling and Have Yourself a Merry Christmas

The Last White Post

2009-12-22T06:03:00.000-08:00

This is my last post on the snow around here. I promised pics of what it looks like at my house so here ya go:

This is my basement door. We aren't using that for a while. The house in the background is my neighbors.

I think the happiest of all was Magnum

White Christmas? Sure!

2009-12-21T07:23:00.000-08:00

The totals were around 18" to 24". Schools are closed. The roads are in pretty good condition. Temps in the 30's all week so the white stuff will be around for Christmas! Not real good pics but just to give you an idea of what it looks like outside my office. They got less snow here than at my house. We have a 5' drift at the basement door!

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What to do on a snowy day

2009-12-20T19:20:00.000-08:00

Ummmm.....

Knit?

Got one thrummed mitten done

And this is a test to see if I really can do a blogpost from my phone.

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It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

2009-12-19T19:41:00.000-08:00

In my house

On my needles

Outside

The timing of the snow couldn't be more perfect. It is a blizzard out there, which leaves us all in the house in front of the woodstove with nothing else to do but knit, watch TV, listen to kids laugh, and enjoy the tree.

And it's a good thing I have time to knit. I am working on a pair of thrummed mittens for Nicole for Christmas. And did I mention that I wanted to knit Christmas stockings for me and hubby? What am I thinking???

Random Wednesday

2009-12-16T10:15:00.000-08:00

For all who were asking - yes, I did get the red scarf done and out by the 15th. I was actually a day early.

This was actually one of the nicest parts of my holiday season so far. It felt great to give.

Another fun thing has been checking out the local decorations

That is only a small portion of what this house looks like. I would have loved to walk around and take more pics but Nicole said we looked like stalkers. I would have been willing to make a donation to their electric bill. It was beautiful.

I did cave in and do some Christmas knitting.

Aren't they cute? They are a sock bookmarker. And I am glad I took a picture of them before they got mailed out (incidently - they were finished just as my hubby was packing the box for UPS. Can I ever do anything on time?) because I never did take a picture of the finished "adult" version which was gifted to my aunt for her birthday. Hopefully she isn't reading this - or there goes one surprise for Christmas.

Tonight is our Bayberry Spinners Christmas party and I am excited as can be to just relax and knit with my buddies. And eat and drink of course! And speaking of relaxing, I won't be doing much of that this week. Hopefully I will have pictures soon of my latest brainstorm. It goes in the category of "what was I thinking?'

Hurry Up!

2009-12-10T05:15:00.000-08:00

This year I made a concentrated effort to keep the holidays more simple and just enjoy it. My tree isn't up yet - it still looks like Thanksgiving in my house. No lights outside yet. I cut way back on the gifts. With the exception of a few items I am done with my shopping. Not sure if I am sending out Christmas cards this year. I didn't last year and we all lived. When Nicole was little I was busy taking the perfect picture to put in the Christmas card and rushed to get them out in the mail. Now that she is older, and not so willing to sit for a photo session during these teen years, I am not so compelled to have to get the cards done. So if you are reading this and don't get a card from my family please know that we love you, but just didn't get around to putting it in writing.

I have been reading about the Red Scarf Project for a couple of years now and each holiday season seems to be busier than the last - so I never got to do it. I did some charity knitting last year and enjoyed the feeling of helping others during the crazy season. It put the focus back on the real meaning of Christmas. I have been working on my red scarf and have a little more to go.

The pattern is Palindrome and it couldn't be any easier. I was intimidated by the cables. I have done them before but I don't love them. These are reversible and it gave me the idea to make an afghan in the same pattern.

So the scarf needs to be sent by 12/15. I want to get it in the mail by tomorrow which means I have to do a decent amount of knitting today and tonight. I'm in work all day, then Nicole's show opens tonight - doesn't leave much time for knitting. It's not the type of project you can do in the dark in the theater.

And speaking of traveling with knitting - what do you do when you leave your cable needle at home? Well, I can cable without one, but this yarn is slippery and was a hassle to do without.

Yeah - it's a Q-tip. Thanks Lisa.

New England Weather

2009-12-09T07:36:00.000-08:00

Only here can you have it almost 70 degrees one week and this the next

It looked like this yesterday

At least there was still a hint of autumn. Let the winter begin.

Wordless Wednesday On Thursday. Always a Day Late!

2009-12-03T06:09:00.001-08:00

Sorry for the silence

2009-12-01T06:43:00.000-08:00

Most of it brought to you by

I don't know how I lived without it. I am hardly on my computer anymore. I haven't even begun to check out the apps that are available. I did download the black Friday one, which was very helpful on shopping day!

I can't believe Thanksgiving has come and gone. And now onto Christmas. I decided not to do much Christmas knitting for a multitude of reasons. I never said I wouldn't weave though.

Thankful Thursday on Friday

2009-11-06T16:36:00.001-08:00

I noticed some of my blog friends started "Thankful Thursday". I thought it was a great idea to reflect on the positive in our lives - especially with so much negativity and depressing things in the news lately. I missed the Thursday so I bring you Thankful Friday (isn't that typical of me?).

I am thankful for my family

As silly as they are. They make me laugh and not take life so seriously all the time.

Living near the water and being able to enjoy this every day

My puppy dog

I only wish I could be as great a person as he thinks I am!

Spindles

2009-11-04T04:46:00.000-08:00

When I first had a try at spinning years ago (I lost count - is it 5 years already?) I bought an inexpensive Ashford spindle for about $12. I had gone to the NH Sheep and Wool in search of some yarn and found myself wanting to learn how to spin. I had nobody to teach me and I just kept at it for a while. And got extremely frustrated. I didn't pick it up again for another 6 months. At that point I had found some people online who connected me with a spinning group in my area and went to a spin in. I saw all the wheels and I was hooked. I came home and told hubby I wanted a wheel. Now this was 3 weeks before Christmas so I was hoping he hadn't bought me anything yet! The rest is history, but I did come back to my spindle and wanted to be able to make some nice consitent yarn with it. I heard from alot of people that the trick to spindle spinning is in the spindle. The better the spindle, the more it will turn and therefore, easier to use. I bought my Golding at Rhinebeck in 2008 and haven't used another spindle since.

I spent some of Sunday spinning some Shetland I had gotten a few years back at Adams Family Farm in VT. It is another nice soft yarn and is a pleasure to spin on my spindle. I am strange - spinning to me is a way to relax, as I sure it is for alot of people, but I won't sit down to my wheel to spin unless I have completed what I need for the day around the house. I just can't spin with chaos around me. Weird? I can, however, take my hand spindle and spin for a bit and get very relaxed. It takes the stress away.

Speaking of chaos - how do you like that mess in my back yard? That was what was left of my gazebo after last weekend's windstorm. The good news is that hubby can fix it so I will have it back next year. One of the pitfalls of living on the bay is the fierce wind gusts we get. I always say that it's a good thing we have a great water view because I can't hang anything else outside to make it look pretty!

More Weekend Productivity

2009-11-03T05:25:00.001-08:00

I was going to sing the praises of my spindle today but I realized that I didn't download the pictures I wanted to use. So that will have to wait again.

Besides finishing my Yak fingerless gloves, I got some more carding done on my Jacob fleece. It was so beautiful outside that I couldn't resist bringing the carder onto the deck. The only problem was the wind. I did have some fleece blowing around, and even though my hubby complains about having white puff balls all over the yard (well, he doesn't complain, he justs makes silly comments about it) I insist it will be used by the birds and squirrels for nesting material. Sounds good, huh?

Speaking of the husband, today is a rather large milestone for him. It's his 50th birthday! He has never been one to celebrate birthdays in a large fashion - unlike me, who celebrates for the entire month of May and sometimes into June - so there will be no party. We are going out for dinner tonight at a new Japanese Hibachi Restaurant with the family. I'm sure there will be more celebrating over the weekend!

I also got some knitting done on an old sock I had laying around. I love the Autumn colorway. And I can't honestly remember what the yarn is.

The biggest problem with picking up a project from long ago - getting guage! I think I have it under control though.

I really have to remember to keep my camera in the car with me. Last night my daughter and I were dropping her boyfriend off at home and we drove past a cemetary. My daugher yelled "Look! Look at all the deer in there!". We drove into the cemetary and they practically came up to the car. She was so excited because she had never seen a deer that close before. Nature is awesome.

Weekend in Productivity

2009-11-02T05:27:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful Halloween weekend. I don't think the kids could have asked for better weather. Here in New England it was almost 70 degrees during the day. It was windy (what else is new) but it never felt cold. Even when the kids went out trick or treating around 7 it was great.

I had some treats of my own. I finished my fingerless gloves

I just use a simple rib pattern that I made up myself. With the weather turning cold this week (we haven't even turned the heat on in the house yet, although we have used the woodstove) I know they will be put to good use in the early mornings. They are great when I get into the office early and there is still a chill in the air. I can get on my computer and start working without my hands going numb.

The yarn is hand spun yak that I had gotten at Rhinebeck last year. Talk about SOFT. Oh my gosh. Words can't describe it. I spun it on my Golding Spindle. Did I mention how much I love that spindle? Yeah - more about that tomorrow.

The Joy of My Socks

2009-10-29T18:40:00.000-07:00

My comfort knitting is socks. When I want to zone out it's my socks that I turn to. My usual pattern is a knit 3 purl 1 rib. They always fit no matter what. My second favorite is the plain vanilla sock with a picot edge ala Carole. Over the summer I picked up a skein of Berocco Comfort Sock at Bella Yarns. The price was awesome and I loved the colors. It didn't take long and they were done.

I have two pairs of socks I am working on now. I have to have two pairs going at a time. Don't ask me why. Again - it's a comfort thing. Hmmm - maybe I can switch my love of comfort foods to comfort socks.

So What Did I Get?

2009-10-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

With the missing of Rhinebeck I went to Stitches with a mental list and no guilt about buying anything: Find Socks That Rock, buy another set of those dp square needles, knit on the big sock, and possibly get some yarn for the Spiral Wrap (rav link).
Socks that Rock - check. I am thinking I will make my usual simple ribbed socks. I have to finish two other pairs first before I sink my teeth into this. I will, however, be using these:

I bought a set in 5" length. Not long enough for my liking. I bought the longer ones this weekend. Awesome I tell ya. Thanks for the suggestion Margene.

If I could marry this yarn, I would. It is Blue Moon Fiber Arts BFL Sport. It is so soft and it will be beautiful for my Spiral Wrap. But I can't start that until I finish Tasha Tudor. The shawl is easy to knit up. Till you get to the edging. Oh. My. Gosh. It is like cutting the lawn with cuticle scissors. Slow is all I can say.

Check out this little extra:

I had got the Zuma bag to use as a handbag as well as a regular knitting bag. I ended up not using it so much because it didn't have a shoulder strap. Loved the bag, but it didn't work for me. I caught this wallet at Stitches and had the great idea to use the strap for the bag.

I have used the bag every day since.

Text Between Friends

2009-10-26T18:11:00.000-07:00

I love texting. I don't spend my day doing it, and I certainly can't beat my daughter's average (about 6000 a month),but I like that I can have quick conversations with friends and family throughout the day without interupting my work flow. I think it's a great invention. During my workdays I talk to Lisa and we keep each other sane. Imagine both of our surprises when I found out I would be having to take a little work trip - and Stitches East was in town! Texting immediately commenced and in the car we went. And then we landed.

Yarn overload is all I can say. I don't have many pictures - they are very strict about their "no photo" policy. One of the only places we were allowed to take pictures was at the big sock booth.

Yes - this geek did knit on it. I even got my button. I'm like a kid. But I mean, how cool is it to knit on what will hopefully be the biggest sock in the world? The sock will be coming to Rhode Island for anybody interested! You can get details on Ravelry.

So did I use restraint or did I buy lots of yummy stuff?

Why I Have No Rhinebeck Pictues

2009-10-19T19:37:00.000-07:00

Last year was my first trip to NY Sheep and Wool. We made a "kamikazi" run. There and back in one day. The bunch of us figured we would save the hotel money and spend it on yarn instead. It's a long day, but very worth it.

Due to hockey commitments on Saturday I wasn't able to go till Sunday. No big deal. Unfortunately the weather forecast was not so great for that day. Lisa, Linda, Pat & myself conferred on Saturday and decided we would forge ahead and go, regardless of the cold, windy, rainy forecast. I got it all together Saturday night. I packed my camera, plugged the address in the GPS, printed out the map (because me being the control freak that I am still doesn't trust the GPS entirely), plastic garbage bags to put my purchases in to stay dry, and a change of clothing for the ride home. I set the alarm for 5 AM. I was actually up before the alarm, due to the excitement. I hopped out of bed. And then reality hit - I had a sinus headache from hell. You know the kind that borders on being a migraine? I couldn't focus, my head was stuffy, the right side of my face was red and hot. I got into the shower figuring if I took some tylenol (I can't take the sinus meds anymore - they don't work on me)and sat in the steam for a bit I might be OK. No chance. I got out of the shower, got partially dressed and laid back down. Sent texts to the girls saying I had a headache and that I would be 15 mins late for our departure. After 30 mins it was obvious that this headache was here for the day. There was no way I could spend 7 hours in a car with the pain. I wanted to cry, but didn't fearing the pain would get worse. I texted again and told them I was out. I couldn't do it.

Most of the day was spent depressed that I couldn't go and frustrated that I couldn't even focus to knit a stitch. I was aggravated. The pain did subside by about 4 pm. I knew I made the right decision to stay home as left out as I felt. Well, at least I can say I made it there once. And there' always next year.

And since you know how much I hate a post without a picture, I will share a new favorite of mine.

My favorite Yankee Candle scent of late. Farmers Market. Very similar to Harvest, but a little more fruity. I highly recommend it.

Wash, Card, Spin

2009-10-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

This past spring I went to NH Sheep and Wool with one goal in mind. To get a Jacob Fleece. I love the different colors and I was told that this was the place to get the best fleece. Now if I was a real good blogger I would have the name of the booth, but of course I don't. For those who go to NH, just know that it's the lady towards the back of the festival in the stalls. She is on the corner and she has the most amazing Jacob fleeces you will ever see. I didn't want to get a huge fleece because, unlike the alpaca I bought, I had planned to process this one myself. I wanted to seperate the colors, wash and card it. So I got started this past weekend. Although dirty, you get the idea...

I love it. I got about 2/3 of it washed. After listening to Megan at Stitch It Podcast (you do listen to Megan's podcast, don't you? If not, I highly suggest it. She is a wealth of information on spinning amongst many other things) I realized that if I didn't get my butt in gear that I would have a hard time drying that fleece outside in the cold! Well the joke was on me because it already got damn cold here! Thank goodness for this;

It helps immensely with the drying process. And yeah, it's helping to keep this house warm because I'll be damned if I am turning my heat on in OCTOBER! After it dryed I started carding

They came out like puffy soft pillows. I am anxious to see how the other colors come out. I hate carding so it's going to be a long process.

Rhinebeck is this weekend and yes, we are making the one day kamikaze trip again. I am majorly bummed about the weather forecast but I am hoping it will change. We are going on Sunday so I hope the rain/snow passes by then. Not looking too good. For all who are going, I hope to see you there. It's great how many blog friends I am meeting up with. Have a great weekend, however you are spending it!

"I Don't Have Any Interest In Doing That"

2009-10-13T03:32:00.000-07:00

I remember when I picked knitting back up after years and years of not doing it. I went to a Knitters Breakfast at Fabric Place (are any of them even in business anymore?). They had all kinds of demonstrations going on. Entrelac knitting, sock knitting, lace knitting. We saw some people spinning on spinning wheels. I thought to myself "why would you ever spin yarn when you can buy it in the store? I have no interest in doing that." And I ignored that demonstration. Well eat my words, because as we all know I got the spinning bug and 4 wheels later here I am.

After I became fully obsessed with my spinning I noticed the weavers. I didn't get it. "Why would you weave fabric when you can buy it in the store. Plus I am highly allergic to sewing, so I really don't have any interest in doing THAT."

And you can guess the rest.

Yes I am the proud owner of a Kromski Rigid Heddle. I took the plunge back in the spring and have been weaving here and there.

This was some singles I had spun and dyed. I am in love with the blues.

This was some mohair I had in my stash. See, one of the reasons I was attracted to knitting was the thought of what a great stash buster it is. And while I have no interest in any other kind of weaving but ridid heddle, I have learned to never ever say never.

One of THOSE Blogs

2009-10-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

I love following a good blog. I look forward to seeing my bloglines each day and checking out the latest and greatest in my blog friends lives. Most of them post regularly. Some more frequent than others. Then there are those that just kind of fade away. Nothing. I have become one of those blogs I fear. I have the greatest of intentions, but I don't take pictures, get too busy with other things. And now over 6 months has passed and I can't believe the entire summer went by with not so much as a single post!

For a multitude of reasons, while summer is usually my "down" time, it wasn't this year. There was lots of work, lots of little trips here and there with the family, there was certainly knitting, spinning and weaving (did I say weaving? Ah, yeah - a post for another day). I got hooked on Facebook, found Farmville (another addiction which needed an intervention), had lots of fun with my family - overall it was busy. Who doesn't have a busy life? Summer had been my "time to have fun and abandon work and structure". Now with the fall here I find myself trying to get a little more organized (another intervention sadly needed).

I found myself in a knitting slump for a while. I would sit down at the end of trhe day at 9 pm and have no energy to work on anything. I did accomplish some things though.

My entrelac shawl. I am in love with the colors and the way it looks. The way it feels - eh. Too much mohair. Lesson learned. It's not next to the skin, so I can live with the feel.

This was some Knitpicks yarn I had dyed a couple of years ago. I had bought a shirt in the beginning of the summer with the same exact colors. I knit on the socks fearing that the summer would either be over or I would stain the shirt and never get wear them together! I did finish the socks. I even got to wear the ensemble a couple of times. Guess what I did last week? Wore the darn shirt while my mother was dyeing my hair. And yeah - it got dye on it. Can you say "What were you thinking?" I love the socks anyway and wear them all the time.

I did some spinning too. Check out this brown Alpaca

Not sure what it's going to be yet. I originally planned on weaving a nice heavy blanket with it, but I found a nice wrap that might work. I have about 2 pounds of it.

We have a frost warning in RI tonight. I am looking forward to lighting the first fire in the woodstove and knitting on my shawl. And maybe making some popcorn too! Enjoy your day.

Ten on Tuesday

2009-03-31T10:13:00.000-07:00

I found this on two blogs this morning (and since I am at work please excuse the lack of links)

List of 10 Things To Do:

1. Renew car registration online
2. Go to hair appointment today at 4
3. Get decision from somebody in the family about Easter and where we are having it
4. After getting answer on #3, probably make up the menu for Easter Dinner
5. Finish up sock and start on second one (pictured in last post)
6. Tally money for school candy order
7. Hit the laundry pile if hubby hasn't tackled it yet by the time I get home tonight
8. Get Nicole to voice lesson at 7:15
9. Deliver girl scout cookie money to the cookie mom
10.Start a second list cause 10 items doesn't even put a dent in the TO DO's

Hope you all have a productive day!

And yes - I will post pics soon of my latest projects. Notice the plural there?

Where Have I Been??

2009-02-25T18:51:00.000-08:00

Ripping this shawl out - 4 times! Look at it - admire it - enjoy it - cause off to the frog pond we go again. I started the Entrelac Stole and couldn't get the pattern, got frustrated and ripped. Did a ribbed pattern - it was bunching up too much. Tried another ribbed pattern and that didn't work. So back to the entrelac. And I like it! Problem - I won't have nearly enough yarn if I keep it the width I have it at now.

So rip again. I think I will go back to the sock I have working on to keep me sane. Check out the pooling on this one.

And I am anxious to start this, because I needed some more sock yarn you know.

And I have another project I am itching to start but you will never guess what it is. I will give details tomorrow (or the next time I post because tomorrow on Knit 1 Spin2 is never the next day!)

Results of the Weekend

2009-02-12T16:11:00.001-08:00

In addition to all the fun I had this past weekend with the gurlzzzz I did do alot of spinning. One pounds worth to be exact. I really wish I could remember which vendor I bought this from at Rhinebeck.

The blending is really cool. I only ended up with about 600 yards so I don't think I have enough to do the Tasha Tudor Shawl I was thinking of. I thought of Lady Eleanor but I am still too short for it. Any thoughts???