work, travel and knitting fun

As you can see by my last post....I've been busy! I'm working more days and longer hours at my new job as well as working a half day a week at the old job (for the past two weeks anyway) and the same at my LYS (as I've said before...that counts as play not work).

It's been nice to stay kinda low key this weekend, get some chores done around the house and watch a movie or two...study some, knit some and enjoy the crazy cool weather we're having!
It should be about 102 for this time of year, knock on wood...it's 82 and breezy out there! Yahoo!!

Last weekend my sister, niece and I took a quick roadtrip to Portland with a stop in Ashland along the way. We visited a couple of yarn stores...of course....and did some clothes shopping...ya gotta love the no sales tax thing in Oregon! I should apologize now to the local merchants here...but....we were there....there were sales....no tax....what was I supposed to do? I did what I had to....new clothes for work....down a size too yay!!!!
So, that was a lot of driving....in a short time... it's good to lay low this weekend!

Happy Sunday everybody.

busy....

and tired....and needing to knit but not finding the time.

good things come to those who waaaaaiiiiiiit....

Isn't that how the saying goes? Well.....my new job is not only new to me....but it's also a new position for the place I'll be working. As in .... they've never hired or employeed a "me" before. So....it's a learning situation for us both.....so....some paperwork didn't get done when it should have and my start date....well it can't really be my start date now and has been sorta pushed back by almost two months. But....(and ya gotta love this) since they told me that would be my start date, they're going to honor that and put me to work then and let me have a longer orientation of sorts....and so I'll not be unemployed for a few months! I already love that place!

On the knitting side of life, I've made great progress on the test knit...but it's not done yet.

Lambtown USA! Was good! Lots of cool rovings and fleeces and yarns everywhere! We pretty much just stuck to the market place, and bought stuff. We didn't take any classes or see any animals....but I'm thinking that would be fun to do next year.

We got too hungry and headed for Chevy's instead! And then....to Vacaville to the outlets to shop for Niece type clothes! ok, and maybe some Auntie type shoes. It was a fun day.

Here are the pics I promised last time:

This is some very beautiful 100% merino roving from Canada. It was a gift from my good friend

Joanne of Heartstrings (thank you Joanne :)

and this.... is some roving I couldn't resist at Lambtown.

same with this, I bought little sample amts so that I can play with it to see how the different fibers and fiber blends spin up (really I bought it for science!) silk, silk/romney blend, tussah/English Leicester/Suri alpaca blend and I and Alpaca by itself and romney by itself all in the name of science I tell ya.

And this little goodie....also from Canada.....beautiful Fleece Artist sock yarn....I couldn't resist.

This is the secret knitting....I made it blurry on purpose because....it's secret.

This is the market bag from Magknits. Pattern and yarn compliments of my sp10....thanks sp I am happy with how it turned out! (except the part where there were seams to sew up....it was a fun knit.)

and this....is also a secret....but you can see it's feather and fan...in Noro Sumile (ok, not the greatest pic so just trust me, it looks good and will look better with blocking!)

baaaaad blogger

I know...I know....I haven't blogged in awhile....but, in my defense.....ok, I have no defense. But I'm taking a break from the Secret Pal thing...so I'm not breakin the rules! :)

So, I took the job and start on 8/6. It will mean alot of studying....which is fine, but will definately cut into my knitting time (I'm thinking audio books). But still, I look forward to the challenge...it'll be good...right?

hmmm what else, I still haven't finished dear son's Panda Wool socks...I just need to graft the toe...on the first sock. And...I'm still working on the surpise which is a gift for a friend....but I have til Oct. on that one and am making good progress.

and... I started something new....I'm making great progress on it...but I'm test knitting a pattern for friends who are writing a book so it's pretty much secret knitting too.

oooh ooooh this is exciting....dear sister and dear neices x2 and I are going to Dixon this weekend to Lambtown USA so, we're all excited about that. And in a couple of weeks, we're doing a road trip to Portland, OR. Looking forward to that one too!

Pictures next time!!! honest! Happy last week of July everyone. (can you believe it?)

It's Official

Today I was officially offered a new job. I haven't officially accepted yet...but I will. :) hmmmm change is good right? Scarey.....but good? yes...that's right.
I think I'll go knit....or spin....or try to do something to calm my jitters.
Happy weekend everyone.

I should have knocked on wood....

My last blog post was titled "In a Spin".....I think when I typed that out I must have ruffled the feathers of the gods or something....because over the past week...my life has been in a spin. Yikes people....I'm just cruising along and then blamo.....spinning, and I don't mean yarn. Now, if you read back through my past posts...you know I don't get too personal on this thing, and so I won't today either :) But....there have been changes at work....which caused me to look, and apply, and interview.... and the interviewers have eluded to the fact that an offer will be forthcoming.

Hey....have I ever mentioned how I'm kind of a creature of habit and big change scares the hell out of me? Cause....it does. And this would be big change....in a lot of ways.

One of the positive changes ..... two Thursdays a month, I'd be less than 3 minutes from the Paradise spinning guild meetings...so Brooke and Heatherly, no more showing up an hour late for me.... I might even beat you there! (maybe....although I think the shift might end at 6 :(

So stressed was I over this impending change....I couldn't knit or spin! But...that passed after a few days and I decided I just really needed to cast on something new...something different and something quick...so I started on the Market Bag. It's a cool pattern, knits pretty fast, and it's different. I think...next time I'd knit it in the round and do a 3 needle bind off because I'm not so much into sewing pieces together after I've knit them. (that's why the Noro sweater isn't done....maybe in the fall).

hmmmm change is good right?
Happy Tuesday everyone.

in a spin

That's me....I've been spinning! And before I start....let me just say congratulations to my sp10 pal Cetta who just bought her first drop spindle and roving!!!! Welcome to the club Cetta!!! (Or should I say welcome to the guild.)

What have I been spinning....well, there's this:

This roving I bought at Stitches West from the Alpaca Direct booth. It's merino and spins up nice and soft. I think the colorway was forest or something like that.

And this:



I can't talk much about yet... but it's from my LYS, Kraemer yarns, "60% New Zealand Wool/40% Domestic Wool". And the colorway is Spice....it's yummy! a little wooly compared to the merino ....but ...that's because it's not merino right?



And last week, I went to the Paradise Spinning Guild meeting where I received this:

I'm told by Heatherly that it's silk noil? Anyhow...whatever it is it's pretty cool and though I haven't begun to spin it yet...it looked really neat when Heather was spinning it at the guild! So I'll be playing with it soon.



And this...remember this?
This was shorn from a Dorsett cross...I received it wet and dirty and stinky....I washed some up (see previous posts from spring for those images if you dare) and it turned into this:
which doesn't look cleaner but it is...trust me.

And that turned into this (with the help of Heather's hand carders! thanks Heather!)These are called rolags and they are basically roving but they end up in this shape when you card by hand!

And this is what you get when you spin those rolags! weee...
so far so good!

blogitis... or something

I don't know what's wrong with me lately...but when I think about blogging....I start itching....I must be allergic. But today, I'll brave the rash and push on!
Now I know....that I've been delinquent in my blogging duties....and this goes back awhile, like to Denver! So I'll post some pics and talk a little about Denver and everything since then, here goes!

1. Denver, well you all know that I was in Philly, and I posted a few pics about that. From there I flew to Denver, where I met Julie and we saw the play Wicked...which was really really good. Ok, before we went to the play, we walked around downtown, and were lucky enough to have landed there on the weekend of "The Peoples Fair" which is a huge craft fair! Do we have great timing or what?

The next day we drove north about an hour to Fort Collins, CO where we visited my friend Coral


She moved to Fort Collins....well...a long time ago and I miss her! This was the first time we've gotten to see each other in years....(Coral if you're out there reading this....let's not wait so long next time!)
We had a great visit....went for a walk downtown, shopped a little, and just before dinner....I mentioned something about knitting.....
Coral: you knit?
Me: ummm yeah....
Coral: Me too! Do you Spin???
Me: Yes do you????? (getting louder now...)
Coral: Yes....Do you have a wheel????
Me: Yes I just got one....Do you?
Coral: YES!!!! so...by now we're both jumping up and down in our seats and squealing....

You had to be there...but it was pretty funny! So we got the stash tour....very fun! So Coral....next time we'll have to get together and knit and/or spin together! ooooh maybe we should meet somewhere at a fiber festival sometime....just a thought!
Ok where was I ....
So when we left Coral's house that evening we took the scenic route back to Denver 3 hours worth of beautiful Rocky Mtn scenery!
Seen here through my eyes and a buggy windshield (sorry)


and Heatherly, this one's for you deary! Estes Park!!(what's up with the computer lingo around the pic?)

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and this....is our return to "the mile high city" (I should say here that they call it that for a reason....and just because one can walk around for a week at sea level in Philadelphia in a sleeveless top and not get sunburned....does not mean that the same "one" can walk around in Denver for a few hours...under the same sun but apparently much closer...without getting fried! So, when in Denver people...think sunscreen!


2. While I was gallivanting around the country....my son bought a ski boat! (pics soon) What a great time that is! He took his mom to the lake this week....I'd forgotten how much I enjoy being there. Even though we spent a lot of time on the boat when I was a kid....seems we've gotten busy and away from it for a long time. Again...think sunscreen. I have to say the kid is prepared...he's got three tubes of spf 30 on that boat and he's great at remembering to re-apply! That makes for nicer memories of the day let me tell ya!

3. Tomorrow....I'm going to a wedding. Now, I've waited to post this pic for a while. I started this just about the same day I heard of this engagement which was I think about a year ago. So, it's been done for a long time, except of course for weaving in the ends, I'll do that tonight! lol Even if the bride to be was prone to read my blog....which I feel very confident that she is not....I'm pretty sure she's not thinking about my blog tonight!:) so I do believe it's safe to show this pic!
Feather and Fan, in a combination of Berroco Chinchilla, and Idena Sorbe which gives it a shiny, soft sort of worn/rag look but in a lacy pattern! I'm hoping it's not too small...there's a lot of yarn in there and it is pretty stretchy so ....

To Nichole (beautiful daughter of my good friends Dawn and Lea) and Paul, her lucky husband to be....I wish you a wonderfully happy life together!



there's just one more thing...and I'm saving the best for last...

4. Tomorrow...my sweet niece Lindsay comes home!!! Yay! Lindsay is younger sister to my sweet niece Jenny
she's been gone for over seven months....I miss her! How many sets of sisters does it take to have an official knitting circle anyway?
Welcome home Lindsay girl! I can't wait to hug you!

I'm Grape?

You Are Grape

You are bold and a true individual. You are very different and very okay with that.People know you as a straight shooter. You're very honest, even when the truth hurts.You are also very grounded and practical. No one is going to sneak anything by you.People enjoy your fresh approach to life. And it's this honesty that makes you a very innovative person.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorpurpleareyouquiz/">What Color Purple Are You?

Soooo much to blog about....

And so little time!



First.....I have to post pictures of the gifties my secret pal sent. She "revealed" herself with this package and you can find her here: www.anninvermont.blogspot.com This is what she sent:



She MADE me a project bag....see it here in pink? It's incredibley cute, and a really nice size for small projects. The pattern is for the Market Bag which the woman in the photo is carrying and she sent the cotton yarn for that....I've been looking at patterns for similiar bags for a long time and thinking I'd like to make one sometime!!! How'd she know that?
Now, the candy is maple candy....Ann is in Vermont. :) Three skeins of Karoke yarn....yummy colors....and some really nice lavender soap and the cute little blue tin is full of mints....which I'll devour and then use the tin to store my stitch markers in!!! Thanks Ann, it's been great being your pal...I love the package!!!!!


Second..... My friend Joanne ( www.heartstringsyarn.com) and I took a little drive on Thursday...to Petaluma ..... to see..... The Yarn Harlot!!!! (www.yarnharlot.ca) She was wonderfully funny!!! We had a great time! Got there just in time to reserve our seats, get dinner, return to our seats and enjoy the fact that we got there early to reserve them. We knitted for a few minutes in the company of about two hundred or so other knitters and then....there she was. Sorry I don't have pics to post yet....but if you check out the Harlot's blog you can read about her Petaluma visit...and in the pics...count back about 11 or 12 rows and the people with the tiny blurry faces....yeah that's probably myself and Joanne!

If you get a chance to see/hear the Harlot speak...it's way worth it!

Denver

All I can say is....if you have the chance to see it.....then do see it.

We happend to be here for The People's Fair.... which is a craft type fair, music food crafty hand-made type things....it was a good day. Except....um no sunscreen...yeah, a mile high and no sunscreen.

And....we went to Lamb Shoppe today, a very nice shop.

Happy rest of the weekend everybody.

Work in Progress

This is my latest cast on. I cast it on while on the plane. I haven't gotten a lot of knitting time in... been so tired in the evening I'm falling asleep in the middle of it. But...for the next two days, we're going to be very good and go to lectures all day long....honest....we are!!! And I'll be knitting for two days straight!!!! yay!!!

The lovely Robyn, who's my hostess for sp10 is doing a little contest where she asks us to post a pic of our work in progress. This is pretty much it...except for that gift I can't post a picture of yet.

This is a sock from Panda Wool (bamboo/wool/nylon) for my son.





and today...we saw this:

the Pennsylvania State House....aka Independence Hall.

And this is where the supreme court justices met for 2 months a year (while they were'nt split up traveling around being district judges)

And this...um....this is "The Signer" but from behind it looks like he's a Singer! hahaha

who me?

Oh....(he he) OK then.
I have no idea who that man is.


mmmmmm candy!!!!



So...we played a little hookie from lectures this afternoon and did a trolly tour of the city...it was pretty fun. Went to the National Constitution Center (I'd highly recommend it). And of course...we saw the Liberty Bell Exhibit. Very cool.

busy week

It's been a busy week....work, work, errands, work, work, fly across the country, (my arms are tired)adn conference started today....I am trying to adjust to the time change...we got to the hotel around midnight Philly time, and of course, me being the night-owl that I am...fell asleep sometime around 2:00, wake up at 7:00 (aka 4 am my body's time) and start the conference day...I don't mind admitting that my eyes may have closed (head nod) more than once while trying to listen to a few lectures....it was tough to stay awake even though the topics were good... There I was knitting and listening and falling asleep during both! So, fairly early to bed tonight I hope .... though I'm looking at the clock on my computer and it's 6:40 CA time....it's just doesn't feel right to be thinking about going to bed already!!! Weird.

um Nichole...if you're out there, we're thinking Tuesday for NYC...I'll e-mail ya. (in case you're not out there).

Um...sister....jeez have some self respect and show a little restraint at Heartstrings annual sale...hahaha or not.

I did bring a couple of projects to work on, socks that I cast on during the flight...and, another one which is a gift and I'll blog about it in the fall after it's been given.

OOoohhhh and speaking of fall....dear sister and I are planning a lil trip in the fall....um...somewhere with a reputation for beautiful foilage and ....a three hour time difference. ( oh did I forget to mention a fiber festival as well?) More on that later.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend !!! Have fun....but don't forget to remember!

lunchtime surprise!

I am home for just a few minutes at lunch and when I went to check the mail, this is what I found on my doorstep:


This is a very nice package from my secret pal!!! Cute bracelet/anklet....very summery!!!
And can you see in the box?? yummy vanilla scented body was and candle, bayberry candles (also yummy smelling), incense ( I think my pal can sense that my house is starting to smell like savory beef flavored catfood since the cat moved back indoors hahaha).
The yarn, is knitpicks sock yarn and there's a pattern for summery ankle socks. Theres a cute shower poofy scrubby thing and an uglydog uglydoll...lol. oh oh see the cute notecards and nifty "R" shaped post-its? Fun package!!! thanks Pal :)

back to work Happy Monday everyone!!

minestrone meme (Heather got me)

Yep, been tagged....this is what she says I have to do:
Each person tagged gives 7 random facts about themselves. Those tagged need to write on their blogs 7 facts, as well as the rules of the game. You need to tag seven others and list their names on your blog. You have to leave those you plan on tagging a note in their comments so they know that they have been tagged and need to read your blog.

seven random facts:
1. I taught myself to knit with a knitting for dummies book (appropriate? hehe)
2. My sister, brother, and son are my closest friends.
3. Most of my next closest friends....I've met through knitting.
4. I wish I could travel more than I do. (someday)
5. I can't picture things in advance (room decoration, color combinations etc...) and yet I have
this strange fantasy that I'd be able to do a good job dying yarn/rovings.
6. I still miss rocking my little baby boy.....who's now 25.
7. I'm not nor have I ever been into disco....but I sing along with the BeeGee's...(it's just wrong
on so many levels) ps....Teri, da da da " I think I love you"...how's that song go again?
ahahahaha.

I don't think I have 7 people to tag who have blogs! So, um....here goes: my sister, Rachel (sp8), Zana and Nichole (both sp9), Susan, Julie, and....A my current sp10 spoiler, (I did it....yay)

Stinky Wool Update

Well, I've done a little wool washing this week and here's what that looks like:
This is the beginning of the first wash

This is the nasty water from the first wash....no wonder that stuff is stinky, yuk

This is the final rinse.....looks and smells much better!

for each small basket of fleece, I'm putting it through a wash/rinse/2nd wash/rinse/rinse. A bit time consuming but it's working. I don't want this stuff in my washer so the sink it is!

Now, I wanted to show a picture of the clean, dry wool but....my camera batteries died before I could put them on the computer...so I'll have to show that next time.

I'm afraid I may not be able to do much with this fleece, the Dorsett is mainly raised for meat, so probably not the most spinner/knitter friendly fleece. It's fairly short....and I think the shearers were pretty inexperienced too so, I'm not sure it will be "spinable". I thought I'd give it a try, picked through looking for the longest fiber I could find and have washed some of it. It's good practice, I'm not afraid to wash fleece now! :)

Also, I wanted to put a pic up of the yarn I have been spinning on the new wheel, it's spun, plyed, washed and is hang drying as I type this. It will have to be in the next post as well.

On the secret pal front....I got a short note from her today saying she mailed a package to me yesterday....weeeee....so I'll anxiously be awaiting it's arrival!

Today I Lost My Mind!

It's true....I have completely lost it. Here's the proof:

hmmmmm what could this be?

Oh Joy!!!

And then, while I was attempting to spin ..... on my new Ashford Joy spinning wheel..... there was a knock on the door and this arrived!

Can you smell it from there?

My neighbor is in FFA at her high school, and she raised a lamb this year. Today was lamb shearing day, (next week is fair). So she was kind enough to glove up and put the fleece in a big plastic bag for me. Did I mention that before they sheared today, they had to wash the lamb? Yes it's true, the fleece is sopping wet....and I'd hate to see it before it was washed...cause it's nasty. Smells like the sheep barn at the fair...go figure.

And......there's a lot of it. I didn't have time to start washing it tonight, so I thought I should spread it out to let it dry so it doesn't get all nasty (like it isn't already). Guess what I'll be doing this weekend? :)

Now that's progress!

My Mother's Day was celebrated a day early this year, as was my son's 25th birthday!!! (wow)

He had to work on Sunday so he spent the day at my house on Saturday as did my brother. They made big progress on a little project (I like to call my patio structure) that's been pretty much in the planning stage for about 5 years or more. (that's not counting the 5 or more years before that when it was in the thinking stage....me thinking it would be nice to have)


So, it starts like this.... ok those little metal things sticking up near the lawns edge, those were put in place in concrete about 4 years ago, in hopes of finishing this project that summer. Um, well that was a busy summer so it didn't exactly get much farther than that. so.... after a few trips ( ya know...me tripping over them) and banged up ankles ....I've learned to navigate and trim around them...more or less.

Fast forward 4 years into the future....say to the present.... this showed up at my house on Saturday: Now ya have to admit...this looks promising! :)


and when you add to that some brain power....times two

(brother on the left, son on the right)

and a few power tools.....
You end the day with something like this:


I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this!!!! I have wanted this patio structure/arbor /whatever you want to call it....for a very long time!

Now the guys are on a break because they both have to work for a living and unfortunately are not at my beck and call 24/7 (wouldn't that be something).....but I do belive this thing will be finished soon!!! Yay!

I'll be spending my weekend starting the staining process....picture espresso brown....and me sitting underneath this finished thing with my morning chai tea!!! YES!


While they were busy building....we also did the barbecue thing for dinner.....my son opened his birthday gift....and gave me a gift certificate for a local spa for Mom's Day.....nice.....now I just have to decide whether I want to get a facial, pedicure or massage...hmmmm well life is just full of tough decisions isn't it?

But I'll press on.

Happy Mother's Day

To all my knitty friends, I hope you're all spending the day doing what you love the most with your favorite people!!!

this past weekend

ds was part of a team of four who took part in a 24 hour mountain bike relay race. It took place in the foothills not too far from home. The route was a 12 mile loop with a 1500 ft climb in elevation and each person took turns riding for 24 hours. I went up to hang out for a while in between his laps, it was a windy...sunny...and overall nice day!!! This is ds after his second lap. He looks pretty happy to be near the finish line here.







That took up pretty much all of my Saturday but of course I took my drop spindle with me and worked on consistancy in my guage. That and trying to find the right guage to ply together to have about sock yarn guage! I don't think this roving is good for socks, but it is great for practice right? This little ball of yarn is about 90-100 yards.I think it's getting better.....certainly better than the big two toned purple stuff :).




I love this book!! The Dizzy Ewe told me about it
and I can't wait to try some of the dying
methods they teach in the book. And the socks
are amazing!

Sunday...yardwork followed by housework,
Tonight I dinner with my sis and we hung out
at my house afterward while I spun and she
knitted on her Noro Transitions Vest....it's almost
done and so beautiful!

oooh and my sp got her package....seems she liked it!!! And that's all I can say about that...wouldn't want to give my identity away just yet hehehe.
Have a happy week everyone!!!

I hate fringe....

I know....hate is a strong word, and I don't use it lightly....I Hate Fringe! But.... I finished it anyway. This my friends is the Fiesta Yarns Biased Stole knit in La Boheme in the Malibu colorway (blue,green,teal,cream,gold,brown). It's a Mother's Day gift for my mom. It was knit on Addi circulars size 17. Wouldn't recommend it....too slippery, I wish I'd used bamboo. But it did turn out nice don't ya think?

The lawn is short, mowed it yesterday. The carpet is clean, vacuumed it today. And the laundry is pretty much finished, so.....today was a nice day, a day for finishing stuff....stuff like, the afore mentioned stole and this:

I finished spinning the roving I dyed last weekend (scroll down a few posts for info). And then I plyed it. And then I washed it to set the twist (look I think I'm speaking the lingo) and now it's drying. OK I admit, it's not the prettiest yarn I've ever seen....but it's my first dye job and my first spin job and my first ply job, so it's special even if it's not very pretty.

I have to say that I've had a lot of fun with this and I've learned alot....in retrospect there are probably several things I could have done with it to make it prettier....so I plan on experimenting next time. I ordered two books today online from BandN, Twisted Sister's Sock Workbook, and Yarns to Dye For both favorites of Ruth (Dizzy Ewe).

And that was pretty much my day! Oh wait...there was one more thing....yesterday I went to my LYS and bought some Noro Sumille. I'll be making an afghan for a wedding gift. I started that last night....today I timed how long it takes me to knit one row....not the yo/decrease pattern row...just a straight knit row....9 minutes! pretty much a single strand worsted wt. on a size 10.5. Yikes!!! I have til October....but still....yikes. I'd better get busy before it gets hot here when I won't feel like working on it.

Hope everyone else had as productive a weekend as I did.