Life Is A Pain

...but I won't get into that and this will be short, but my advice is that getting married is worthless if you end up getting divorced. Why oh why won't this divorce ever end?


On my wheel...a little slow in the works. The dye sometimes gets on your hands. Not exactly sure what to do about that. I've never experienced that before. I am still enjoying the wheel spinning though. Just as much as I thought I would.


However, convincing some small boy that a spinning wheel is not the niftiest device to spin and use is a bit difficult. After all, mama does it, so how come I can't? I'm just as good at making it go fast as she is.


I want a new digital camera, any suggestions? I have an old Sony that has 3.2 megapixels, which may be a lot to some, but makes a fuzzy close up spinning pictures.


In the works...Christmas presents for the kids. This will be a dinosaur, and mice, and if I'm really awesome I'll squeeze out a pair of felted clogs and a pair of socks. Not sure if that's going to happen.


I got to go to a KPH that Nachaele organizes last Saturday which was cool. I think it's good for my well being right now to meet new people. This sort of odd funk is/has been making me an awfully odd duck to be around at work. I'm not sure what people think of me anymore.


Anyway, I got to sew up a few of the mice, which was super because I hate sewing, unless it's with a machine. This is the reason I make small things...like for children. I have yet to make anything for myself and I've knitted for about 6 years or so. Imbrium thinks I should change that.

And looky what I found...heck yes! In town even. I got the last two skeins, eat your hearts out! Although, as I drove to the LYS I thought to myself, I should have called first, just in case, but I lucked out. Apparently they will be receiving more. I may have to acquire more, although what I will do with this yean, I have no idea. They're only ordering the rainbow colorway which is somewhat of a bummer, but I saw the swatches of the others and there wasn't much colorways on them, but still it would be fun. They do have some solid fingering weight yarns in solid and semi-solid colors, so maybe I can figure out something with that.


However, I just got onto Ravelry, although when I will have time to take pictures of my yarn stash, myself, my FOs, my WIPs...etc I have no idea. This will also involve me trying to recall my password to Flickr...yeaah...



So, besides the stress with the X, which believe me is taking up way more time that I prefer it to, not to mention asking for lots of patience and understanding from my work, is this...



To be honest, I haven't even taken the progress Santa I did last weekend, and this is just the primer. I found furniture, but then I took it all back. I hope she likes this. I really really hope she likes this. I found a doll family...wooden and ethnic. Kind of cute.


Thus far, I have the whole house, windows, door, stairs, the big doors to shut the back of the house (from little brother) and the back part of the shutters. This weekend I have to find the furniture I think will fit. I started looking at the calendar and realized how bad of an idea it would be to leave it until I have a free weekend again, which will be the 2nd week in December. Wish me luck!

Maddening

A few weeks ago I went to Hobby Lobby looking for some more skeins for the blanket I was crocheting since I had a gift card. I found one but I didn't find the other. I thought that the other may be exclusive toWal-Mart. Rats.

Today I went to Wal-Mart and I couldn't find the Bernet self striping yarn at all. So, being my wonderfully stubborn self, I went to Michaels. No luck there either. The bad news is that the blanket I was working on for my son I had put down and then picked up again...with the wrong crochet hook size. As a matter of fact, I have no idea what size I was using. So I finished the second skein of the blanket only to realize that it seemed as though it was shrinking in size. Damn, I think it was a J or K I was using and not an I.

Last night I proceeded to frog that part of the blanket. Well, it didn't go well. Can I reiterate my loathing for boucle style yarn? I just *knew* I should have knit this thing. 1 ball of yarn turned into 4 balls of yarn with no end in site yet. I thought I'd just throw awaywhat I did thus far and just start over. That, of course isn't going to happen if I can't find the yarn.

*grumble*

Update

I found some of the yarn at another Wal-Mart. I have 5 skeins. I bet I'm going to be short anyway. Oh well, at least I found some to do something with.

I was trying to get a few things in order...or at least try and find out what plastic bag I stowed them in...for girl child's birthday party coming up soon.

What I realized was I had a small disaster in my "craft" closet. So I organized.

Only to discover that I'm not satisfied with my organization and that my quilting/sewing items are in my garage. Also, I really do have enough stuff to start a small craft store. If I don't start letting the kids into the craft items that I've gotten for them over the years, I will be run over by them.

If you don't hear from me, I have been buried from the stuff in my closet, please send help.

Too Tired To Think Of A Title

...I want to take a bath. It's cold.

However, I've spent the last hour looking at amigurumi. Ah...just what I need...another to add to my crafting. I could open a craft store.


Now, instead of taking a bath, I'm writing to you, my non-existant fan base. I do appreciate you. Leave comments if you are out there. ^-^

A few weeks ago, I got to go here. I think I need to go back. I love hot springs. This place was wonderful. It was like skipping around in 15-20 different hot tubs. I could have stayed there a long time. The hardest part was that I don't think we took enough water...and by water I mean frozen bottles of water. Also, there wasn't a super selection of lunch items there. Next time I want to stay at the resort itself and nose in and out of the pools as I wish all day. On my trip I did happen to take one crochet project. I've been trying to finish it for what feels like forever.


And, I didn't that weekend, but I did this weekend...still with me? I'm not convinced that the recipient loved it too much though. Oh well, he's only 3, with a fondness of fleece. His dad liked it though and I know he was touched by the thought.


Now, back to Pagosa Springs...I found a LYS. What a good idea. I had to buy something...anything...well, not really, but it seemed the touristy thing for me to do.


I found some Noro, one of my favorites. This is destined to be a scarf, 1x1 rib, 2 rows 1 skein, 2 rows other skein. I love how Noro knits.


I also found sock yarn. Interlacements. Now mind you, I can find any of this stuff at home, but for some reason I felt the need to acquire more to my stash. I wonder if I can fit another plastic bin in my closet...


Lastly, to add to my new found spinning wheel addiction, not to be confused with my drop spindles, which are a little dusty, I had to buy this. I'm not super crazy about the colors, but the store had 3 of these and one just wanted to come home with me.


I think part of my issue was that the man I was with was so very supportive of my hobby. Encouraging even, see the sock yarn...that one was his idea...I was fondling them...he said, "Oh, this is a nice color." Sold. I'm not sure if I can take him shopping with me anymore.


That was my trip in a nutshell.


Speeding up to last weekend, again...I finished my girl child's pick of fleece from...3 years ago?


Navajo ply. 2 skeins. There was one full bobbin, and a tiny bit left over. The reason why I didn't 2 ply. Also I kind of just like the colors staying together. It's probably in between laceweight and sport weight. Either way it's pretty, I'm proud. Not too bad for my second try.

Fin

...and...

fin

Turned out pretty good. Navajo ply...not too shabby. I love looking at it.

Especially after hand spinning for about 2 years now. I wasn't sure if I'd like spinning on a wheel or not, but I have to say that I'm really enjoying it a lot. The wheel is pretty low maintenance and doesn't take a lot of work to fold down or set up.

I even twist the skein decently. I'm so proud.

Closer picture of course, but kind of fuzzy. I thought I did pretty good for my first spinning wheel project.

Le sigh...

Commitment

I apparently have commitment issues. I start writing one blog, only to start another one here. Not for any reason other than for some reason I started feeling very vulnerable...not really the right word...I was just too out in the open and it bothered me at some great degree. So I started a new blog for anonymity.

Today, checking up on the knitting blogs I browse...Mouse had this.



What a great little button. So true.

So here I am back. Why? Because sometimes I think there are people out there who read this. I suppose, there are others like me, who want to be read, yet at the same time don't. It's a weird thing. I am the queen of indecision.

Counter Clockwise

Actually posted on 09/25/07

Okay...now in reverse!

Plying turned out a little more challenging than somehow my brain had envisioned. My lead was technically too big, the wrong material, and too long. When the yarn caught, I had a thread like catch. It broke at least 3 times. Then Navajo plying...it's fun once you get the rhythm down, but frusterating trying to initially start. I think that the biggest problem was that some how my bobbin got tangled and there was a thread holding the thread I was drafting down, which caused breaking.
Tomorrow, hopefully, a FO.

The Mission If You Choose To Accept It...

Actually posted on 09/24/07

Yes, yes Imbrium and I...shopping together we shouldn't. So D, E and get up bright and early at 8:00 am and eat breakfast, get dressed, the usual. I fuss and make panicky gestures and complain that it's 8:30 am, we leave at about 9:00 am. We arrive at Shuttles early...9:40 am. D suggests that we just drive around and look around for 20 minutes before the store opens. I fuss...what? I could be late, I could get lost. He rolls his eyes in a loving way...you know, the way that says, "My girlfriend has *completely* lost her mind." So, we drive, down the street, turn around realizing that this is highway 93 and I'm now heading out of Boulder. D jokingly says, "Yes, there may be a line" to my sort of anxious state of being. We drive into the parking lot again to which I exclaim, "OMG! There IS a line!" He laughs, "Please don't make me have to fight an old lady over a spinning wheel okay? That'll be so hard to explain, 'I'm sorry ma'am but, I really need to have this wheel, because if I don't get one, I'll have to go home with HER.'"

I park the car, jump out of the car, and throw the keys on the drivers seat, all in one smooth movement. I then race up the stairs...there's a line! We wait...all of the lovely ladies...open, open, open...the longest 4 minutes...EVER! Imbrium isn't there yet, but I know she'll show up soon. The door opens, they make noise that there is a cake somewhere in the store and welcome welcome, thanks for waiting. I enter the store and 3-4 spinning wheels stare at me. Sweet. Who works here? I can't tell. In most LYS, I can't tell the employee from the patron. I finally find a woman walking by in an apron...I stare her down and she asks me if she can help me...why YES you can! Yay!! She indicates that I'll need to talk to another woman, who just wandered off with another customer...rats...but wait, she'll go let her know. YAY!!! The right person comes walking back within a minute, and leads me to the back to open a box which happens to be sitting on the floor...was meant to be! I ask another employee who happens to be standing nearby, if they have swifts, and she fetched one for me...plastic.

The other woman is busily showing me the bits and pieces and making sure they're all fine. They are. Can I leave the box here while I go grab some other items? Yes. Super! She goes and places an oil bottle in the box while I'm gone. I'm looking at books, and sort of lost, this is a big store, when I get a tap on the shoulder. Imbrium! Made it at last. Want to see?! Of course! So I lead her to my box. I can tell she is impressed that I made her get up early on a Saturday to go to a store where she is not allowed to buy anything, just to see a box.

We nose around the store...we talk about the various rovings and how some are beautiful and must be acquired, and how some just look like clown vomit, but you can't stop staring. I offer and insist that I buy some of the beautiful roving for her dedication to coming out and supporting my emotional purchase. She says really, no need...oh yes...but...you have no choice...blah blah...those fun conversations you know? In the end...I purchased 7.5 oz. of the roving and acquired about a yard and a half of it to practice with. My drop spindle project will soon be the wheel project, but I first need to know if I can spin lace weight yarn on the wheel successfully.

I also found some lovely cashmere and wool blend yarn. It's going to be a fingerless glove pattern, once I find a pattern. I'm picky and I can't decide. Maybe I should just make a scarf.

I found more lace weight yarn for the lace I'm going to make for my mom. I wanted to make her a shawl...but I don't think she'll wear it. I'm leaning towards table runner now. I know she has tables, and she'll use them there. Imbrium keeps encouraging me that really, I ought to make something for myself.

Sadly, the store did not carry and Noro. So my need to make thousands of self striping scarves for random people, or at least myself, see there's a thing for myself, has to be put on hold. They didn't carry Malabrigo that I could find either but they did carry this, and I purchased some because C wants mama to make some toy mice.

I also found this lovely cotton, which of course can't be a solid color, it must be a varigated color because I like color movement when I'm knitting/crocheting. So this cotton is destined to be a dinosaur for J, because he too found the book of knitted toys that I was hiding in the cracks of my couch and exclaimed that mama should make him a dinosaur. Well, haha...Christmas is taken care of...if it's anything like last year, I will be knitting until 1am, freaking out. However, unlike last year, I will not be trying to see if the wet felted slippers fit on sleeping feet or if I need to quickly knit another pair.

Oh, and the swift...I ended up going with a wooden one instead. Lucky for me Imbrium noticed that after I paid, while I was waiting at the car for my keys, as D and E had wandered to the grocery store, that there was a piece missing. Luckily it was in the basket where I found the swift.

I love mail

Actually posted on 09/17/07

After playing a nerve wracking game of, "Where In The World Is My Wallet," I received a nice surprise in the mail. I love mail.

A top whorl drop spindle, a present to myself. I fell in love with it after seeing Margene's from Rhinebeck last year. Since I won't be attending Rhinebeck this year, nor possibly any year in the near future, I thought I'd order myself one.

Today is Monday...5 more days until I can get a spinning wheel.

Open! Open! Open!

Actually posted on 09/13/07

Remember those commercials of once upon a time? I think it was a Mervyn's commercial where a woman stood eagerly at the locked door waiting for the store to open and the sale to begin. That's me right now, although the store is not Mervyns. Ever since Imbrium introduced me this glorious item, I have been obsessing ever since. I haven't hand spun in months. In fact my poor little drop spindle has been decorating my basket of remembering, where I keep my keys and other items I shouldn't lose, for months now. So last Saturday she brought her spinning wheel that we had joked about at Estes 2 years ago. The jist of the conversation was that we should get them and the controversy was that we didn't really have the funds nor the room in our respective homes.

I must acquire a wheel I have decided. I've spun on a spinning wheel exacty 2 times. I think I'll do okay without lessons. I'm brave. Besides the place where I would like to go is about an hour or more away from me and to be there by 6:00 pm I'd have to leave work by 4:30 pm and find a sitter for the kids. Oh well, I can learn from the internet right? Haha. It's more the aintenance stuff about spinning wheels that I am unsure of.

The store I want to go to will be having a sale soon...but not as in this weekend soon...rats. So I have to wait. Well, not really, but I should wait. So in order to keep my excitement to a mere crawl, which isn't working all that well, but I'm trying, I'm hand spinning. Like I mentioned before I haven't spun for a few months now. Since last Saturday I've been trying to spin every day. So much so, that I noticed that I haven't been putting enough spin in some of the yarn I've been spinning. So today at lunch I wound it off of the spindle onto my niddy noddy and I am respinning it...if that is possible...I guess the better term is that I am adding more twist to what I have spun. Kind of OCD of me dontcha think? I mean I could have left it alone and just plyied it when the time came, but something kept bugging me that perhaps it would pull apart or something. Want to guess the percentage that I most likely place the yarn on the drop spindle on to a bobbin when I get a spinning wheel?

Sadly, I must admit that my UFOs are greatly suffering due to my interest obsession with spinning. After finishing the baby blanket for M and C, I started a blanket for my friend's kid E. I had this yarn in my stash, I had originally purchased it for a co-worker who had purchased socks from me for his new nephew. I thought he might be interested in a blanket, after all he had mentioned it in passing, and really who am I to give up a chance to buy some yarn? However, my co-worker was recruited and I didn't hear from him again. So, I thought this yarn would look nifty using a wave crochet stitch...and it does! I was so excited about this stitch I had to make another one. This time for my son because the only blanket he has made by me is the one I made before he was born. I was convinced he was going to be a girl so it's white and pastel with a baby blue border.

Now I swore I would never crochet with a boucle type yarn again, but here I am...and this time oddly enough...it's not turning out nearly as horrible as I thought.

Eh...

Actually posted on 09/06/07

So...summer. Girl child took swimming lessons. Boy child loves water. We swam, went to the zoo, we went to the aquarium, we went to the park. It wasn't a lot, but is was a tiny v-cation. Maybe one day I can take them elsewhere, but for now we'll just nose around our places. During this time until this post...I just could't find myself motivated to blog anything.

As for knitting. I finished a blanket. My friend M and C enjoyed it for baby J. It was smaller than I hoped, but after knitting on size 7, I think, I didn't want to to it anymore.

It's my own take on a log cabin pattern in a self striping yarn, very soft.

School now is back in session. It soon will be getting colder. I can't really determine my mood other than just sort of meloncholy.

I'm working on 2 kid blankets, for my 2 favorite toddlers, a pair of baby socks, I want to start a pair of felted clogs, and I'm thinking about knitted toys. Oh my old blog is here.

I've also finished 2 Noro scarves.
They are so addicting to make. I want to start another one.

Still kickin'

I seem to have recovered from the plague. No more licking doorknobs, I have learned my lesson. XD I am no longer launching into a fit of coughing, I am now just dealing with a bit of soreness in my left ribcage.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day, I got to spend with my children and my parents. It was quiet and calm and filled with leftovers.

A wonderful surprise greeted me in my mailbox and boy was I surprised. Not only did I win one of the prizes on the blogversary contest on Wanda's site but there were extras. How I do love getting mail. I used to have pen pals, I think around 50 and we would swap all sorts of things. It was grand.

Trekking yarn...I have the perfect pattern I think for this yarn. The Thelonius. One of these days I will start those. So many things to knit, so little time.

Also included were a lovely bottle of lotion from Aribonne. Great line of products. I love their orange sugar scrub. One day I will acquire a jar. Until then this will satisfy me greatly.

Lastly, a bunch of nicknacks in a lovely little metal case.

They will fit wonderfully in my bag that I carry my knitting in.

So lately my projects have been put aside because I have finally started a knitted project with Noro. How great it is to knit with expensive yarns or at least yarns that are more than $5.00.

Snow day

So I got a chance to visit Knitty Cat a LYS that carries Alchemy Yarn. I didn't get a skein of Alchemy, I didn't like the colors, but I did pick up some Desert. It's calling "scarf" to me. At some point, I'm thinking, online, I will have to acquire some Alchemy. The bamboo was so soft. But I like their Migrations. That just looks nifty. I think I also want to acquire some linen yarn as well.

I also found some Lorna's Laces in Embers. Couldn't live without it. I think it will make a dandy pair of socks. I like the colorway so much I may have to acquire another skein.

My daughter also found a skein she didn't want to leave without. It is now her pet. :)

I came home and found this...

And what is that? Why that is my ceiling in my apartment kitchen peeling. It didn't feel wet. I'm hoping that it's not a leak. Well, at least if it is, I'm hoping that it was due to the rain and not a pipe.

Finally, some knitted objects. A hat and 1 bootie for now for my friend and his wife. One more to go. Not sure if I like the bootie pattern though. It was knit on two needles, it was a bit tight to manipulate.

This is a scarf...it soon will be a big ball of yarn. Bummer to frog so much, but the basket weave pattern isn't showing up at all, and it's a little wider than I expected.

Socks! Done!

They only took about 4 years of asking. But my family member will finally get them. So now I won't have to hear it anymore. Do I look like I can just pop these things out in little plastic packages like at Wal-Mart? But I would like to say that those of the population who are not knitters some times do not understand the amount of time that it can take to knit items. This in fact is proven to me by my young daughter all the time. :)

Not out of the woods yet...

I think there can be a point of working too much. For me that came about 4 years ago last week. My job is okay. We've all read about that before. It could be a lot better. I've been at my job longer than my supervisor. Sad. I've had two title changes in the last two months, which is nice and about time. However, I am still sick, not nearly to the outrageous fevers of last month, but coughing sneezing, etc. My lung hurts. Last week I worked perhaps 51 hours or so? This week I think will be normal, but I'm wiped. I'm still sickly. My co-workers have commented on it. But...enough about that.



Today, I received a lovely gift from Knit.Eat.Sleep...yarn...wool...beautiful. Part of some unstashing she was doing, and I will always adopt yarn.



However, this has caused a dilemma with my stash boxes...a need for another stash box. I will have to acquire another one soon. For now I moved my roving and spindles to another space on my bookshelf.



This also caused the need to reorganize my boxes. As well as the thought stupid OCD that I may need to rewind some of my yarn.


Also, I remembered since this is such a yarn porn post, that I have not shown off my latest acquirement of soy yarn from Colorful Yarns, by far my favorite LYS so far. One skein of Tofootsies (sp.) with chitin in it. Soft! and another soy silk, 2 skeins lace weight. Enough to perhaps take on a shawl. I have been much better about leaving the tags with the yarn I wind so I know how much yardage I have, a mistake learned from Estes Park last summer.


I also picked up two more skeins of Malabrigo, by far the most fun wool I've gotten to knit thus far. I love the colors, they're a dark purple and wine, but you can't tell from this picture...and right now I'm to lazy to dig them from the bottom of my reorganized box.

Back from the beyond...

...well mostly.

I have been sick. My lovely flu turned into walking pnemonia and took me out of work for about a week and a half. I feel so behind right now, at work, at home, in my life. However, slowly but surely things are returning to normal. Slower than I would prefer of course.

I didn't get much knitting done while I was out. I did watch a lot of TV and napped. I don't think that people who have never had children really understand the scope of being sick. Going to work for 8 hours and then come home to work another 8 hours getting the kids, fed, washed, played with, read to, put to bed. Getting a good 6-8 hours of sleep just isn't enough to get better.

This is the progress on the blanket so far. It's a little bigger.

My spinning has been going slow. But I do love this dragon spindle.



My son graduated to a big boy bed. He's been doing fairly good at staying put at night. *sniff* Babies grow up too fast.



I think the most I've gotten since I got sick has been *finally* replacing my dishes. My dish set was a Noritake Colorwave in plum. It was nice. It was basically picked for me by my former mother-in-law. I thought we would go to 2-3 stores for dinnerware when she offered to buy us some, but we went to 1 store, and I thought the set was okay. Frankly, it was too expensive in my opinion. I wanted a black set I saw at Target, but we never made it there.

So, finally now after, what 2 years, of being divorced I have replaced that set with a set I do like, and that didn't cost a small fortune. They're teal and black and lovely AND something I picked.



I especially like my little fish dipping set. Target is so much fun.