What am I doing now?

2005-12-19T18:12:00.000-09:00

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Devil Hat

2005-12-09T22:14:00.000-09:00

Here is the devil hat I made for my nephew. I finished it a week ago, and it is on the way to it's owner, but just now got around to posting. It looks small on the display head, but I figure that since it is for a 4 year old, it should be about the right size.

Its been a busy week, and I haven't gotten much knitting done. I knitted the felted gift bag following Susan's directions, but I haven't had time to felt it yet. I will try to get it done and take some pictures of it this weekend. I am going to be spending tomorrow doing as much of my Christmas shopping as I can, so I can try to get everything in the mail on Monday if possible.

What I need to be working on right now is a Christmas stocking for my youngest niece. I have made stockings for everyone else in my brothers family, so she needs one to match. I made the first ones almost 20 years ago, and then didn't knit anything else until last year when my brother asked me to make more for his second wife and their 1 year old daughter. Then they had another daughter in May, sh she needs one as well. Unfortunately, I have misplaced the notes I made last year, so I haven't been able to start on the new one yet. So that is my other project for the weekend--find those notes and start on the new stocking.

Turtleneck Shrug

2005-11-30T18:20:00.000-09:00

I took this first photo this morning on my way to work, about 8:15.
The second one I took when I got back from lunch, at 2:30. You can see why I am having trouble taking any decent photos--there is no light here.

During lunch I tried to take photos of Stephanie's turtleneck shrug, but as you can see, they came out darker than I would have liked. Hopefully Stephanie will post some photos when she receives the shrug.

The Turtleneck shrug is from the Scarf Style book, and is an interesting design. I have seen photos of a number of people with these, and I like the look, but I never wear turtlenecks because they seem restrictive to me. I really enjoyed working with this yarn, it is Jo Sharp Silk Road Aran Tweed (85% wool, 10% silk, 5% cashmere). It was very soft while knitting, and felt aabsolutly wonderful after a bit of a bath with some gentle shampoo. I will definately want to use this yarn again.
6 skeins of yarn came out short for the shrug, I ran out with the turtleneck at 6" rather than the 8" specified in the pattern. After talking with Stehanie about it, we decided I would go ahead and send it so she could try it as is, and if it is too short she will order more yarn and add to the neck. I intended to not weave in the final end so it would be easy for her to rip out the cast off if that was what she wanted to do, but I was watching a movie, and forgot to leave it undone. Sorry Steph, I hope its not too much trouble for you.

Happy Thanksgiving

2005-11-24T00:13:00.000-09:00

I don't have any pictures yet of Stephanie's Turtleneck Shrug for the SYNO scarf swap because it is not dry yet. After talking with Stephanie about it, we decided that I would finish it up and send it, and then she could try it before deciding if she wanted to get another ball of yarn and add to the length of the neck. So I cast off, and gave it a bath, and now it is drying. Hopefully I will get all the ends woven in and take photos tomorrow, but It may be the weekend before I get it done.

I am working on a devil hat for my 4 year old nephew. I started with the Snow Devil Hat Pattern but it is a complicated pattern, and I got frustrated trying to figure it out, and change the size at the same time. So I used the horns from that pattern, and I am going to attach them to the Brioche Helmet Hat from the fall 2005 Interweave Knits. I will go back later and make the Snow Devil Hat though, I just don't have time right now spend on it, and I think my nephew will like this style hat better as well. I like the helmet hat a lot. I am thinking I may upsize it and make one for my DH for a winter hat.

I am so looking forward to Thanksgiving tomorrow. Our Thanksgiving tradition is to stay home and have a pajama day. We don't cook, and we don't stress. We either cook a turkey in advance, or some years, like this one, buy sliced turkey at the deli. Then we have sandwiches, fruit and cheese, deserts, etc. All easy food, and no one has to spend the day in the kitchen. We watch movies and play board games, and just hang out and enjoy each other's company. All three of us look forward to Thanksgiving every year. We started doing this about 10 years ago--I was working 3 jobs that November (only for about 3 weeks thankfully but I had been working 2 jobs for several months). Thanksgiving was the first day I had off in over a month. So I took the day off-- completely. We haven't been able to do this every year as some years we are invited somewhere and can't refuse without offending someone. Some people don't understand that we would rather spend the day at home doing nothing than with them. But any year we are able to, we take advantage of it and enjoy it. This year with all of us getting over nasty colds, it is a particularly good year to stay home.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving doing the things you enjoy.

Not a good week

2005-11-20T20:59:00.000-09:00

This has not been a good week. DH and I have both been sick. He was home from work on Tuesday and half of Wednesday, and I stayed home Thursday and Friday. Fortunately, we both are much better now. The only good thing about staying home for the last 4 days is that I was able to work on Stephanie's scarf for the SYNO scarf swap. I have gone as far as I can, as I have run out of yarn with 6 inches complete of the 8 inches called for on the neck. I have emailed Stephanie about what to do now: try to find more yarn, or bind off and hope it is long enough for her.

The really bad news this past week is that one of our ferrets passed away. We got Phoebe in August 2004. She came in as a stray to the shelter where my DH works. Someone had found her wandering down a road. DH brought her home becasue it was obvious that she had adrenal gland disease, and her chances of being adopted were not good. We got her on medication for the adrenal gland disease, and she was doing really well. Then, in September we noticed that she seemed to be showing symptoms again, and so her medication was increased. During the last week or so, we thought she was improving again. However, she passed away Monday night.
Phoebe was a real sweetheart. Even though she was ill, she was never bad tempered, and was such a cuddlebug. She loved to explore, and loved it when the neighbor kids came over to take her for walks. Her favorite snack was Cherrios. We had no idea how old Phoebe was, and we knew we wouldn't have her for long, but we were not prepared to lose her so fast.

Camera Cozy

2005-11-13T14:37:00.000-09:00

The camera cozy came out well--on the second attempt. The first one was too big, as you can see. I am thinking I will put a shoulder strap on it and give it to my niece to use as a small purse. She has always been a tomboy, but this year, now that she is in middle school, she is suddenly interested in girly things. I think this will be a good size for her to carry a few essentials in. Right now they are both still blocking. It will probably take a couple days to dry completely considering that we keep our house at about 67 degrees. To block the camera cozy, I found a small box that is almost the same size, and used some paper and then plastic wrap to pad it so it is the same size as the camera. The larger one I just stuffed with plastic grocery bags and formed to shape. I have to find some sort of buttons for both of them. The other two photos show each of them before I felted them.
This was the first time I used the Noro Kureyon and I really like the way the colors came out after I felted it. I can see why so many patterns for felted bags etc. call for this. This is color 139, and it took almost exactly 1 skein to make both of these. I have less than 2 yards left.

2005-11-11T18:07:00.000-09:00

Although I said I wasn't going to start any other projects until I finished Stephanie's Scarf, I did. At lunch today I went to my LYS and bought a skein of Noro Kureyon to make a case for my new camera. I am worried about it getting beat up in my bag. Then I took Bob to the park and started on it while we walked a little ways on one of the trails. We didn't get far (walking or knitting) because I only had about 20 minutes left of lunch. But he thought it was better than sitting in the truck watching me knit. I am just winging this, but as I am going to felt it, I figure I have some leeway as far as size goes, as I will be able to adjust the size by how much I felt it. I will probably hand felt it since it is such a small project. I am hoping to finish it tonight.

The second picture I took the second picture from work this afternoon as the sun was setting. Yes, sunset is in the afternoon here now, about quarter to 4 today. Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny as well, so I will probably take the dogs out before I go to work tomorrow. I am working a second job on Saturday afternoons for a few weeks, training people at my old job.

New Camera

2005-11-06T16:59:00.000-09:00

I bought a new camera this weekend: a Nikon coolpix 460. Nothing special, but the price was right, and it will be fine for snapshots. This afternoon I took the dogs out to run, and played with the camera. It did pretty good. The only thing I don't like is that it seems like it takes a long time between shots. Anyways, here are a couple shots from our walk by the lake. No pictures of knitting, but I am still working on Stephanie's scarf for SYNO.

2005-10-31T21:08:00.000-09:00

Wow, somehow here it is two weeks later. I have been busy helping one of my brothers with some remodeling. He has kind of a time limit on getting some repairs done, and other things taken care of, and I since I have more experience than he does, I have been giving him a hand. Now it is all done except the painting, so he will be doing that himself.

I still don't have a working camera. I have been looking a bit at buying a new one, but can't decide what I want. Anybody have any suggestions?

I have not gotten much knitting done lately. I am still working on Stephanie's turtleneck shrug for the SYNO swap, but I have not had much time to work on it lately. It should be done and in Stephanie's hands by now, but I have just started the second half. I am trying to finish it as soon as I can. I will be renting a lot of movies coming up. We don't have TV, and I can knit faster watching movies than while reading or surfing the net.

After I finish the shrug, my next project will be finishing the snowdevil hat that I am making for my nephew. It is getting cold here, and I know he will love it. One of my nieces wants a "fuzzy purple scarf" as well, and if I make one for her, I will have to make her cousin one as well, only in blue. I guess that will keep my busy for a bit. I also want to make a couple pair of fingerless gloves: one pair for me, and one for my father-in-law. While he was in town last summer, he saw the pair I made for myself last spring, and thought that they where what he needs because his hands are always cold. I would like to make him a pair for Christmas.

Somehow I need to find more time to knit!

Catching up: Random bits from the last couple weeks

2005-10-14T15:42:00.000-08:00

The last couple weeks have been too busy. I came back from my trip with a nasty virus, and behind at work. Of course, by the time I got over my virus, my DH had it. Much fun all around. Just as I started getting caught up at work, my boss left for a week, and that means more work for me as well.

My trip was fun, but very busy: meetings all day, and evening spent catching up with people I hadn't seen in a year or more. They may have been a bit of drink involved as well. At any rate, I came back feeling like I needed a vacation. The auction went well. Between that and some other fundraising, we raised about $4000 for a scholarship program, and we also raised $5000 for hurricane relief! I don't know what the final price on the shawl was though, as I wasn't there when the auction actually ended, but was doing a bit of shopping instead.

It is definitely fall here. Not the pretty kind of fall with leaves changing colors, etc. But rather the rain nearly every day for months, cold and windy kind of fall we get here in Southeast Alaska. We have gotten lucky the last two weekends, and had decent weather on both Saturdays, so DH and I spent a lot of time the last 2 weeks working on the house and the yard getting ready for winter. We are trying to improve our insulation and weatherseal, etc, so we can hopefully reduce our fuel oil use this winter. And of course, there is always lots of yard work to do as well.

I have been working on the Turtleneck Shrug for the SYNO swap. I am almost done with the first sleeve (2 more inches to go). My ribbing isn't as even as I would like, and its bothering me. I hope Stephanie isn't too disappointed with it. I am hoping it will even up some with blocking. I don't have any pictures, because my camera is on the fritz. I would borrow the one from work, but my boss took it with him on his trip.

I ordered a ball winder and swift from JoAnn's, and they came in on Saturday, but I haven't had time to play with them yet. I also bought a spool of wool/alpaca blend from Kate, and it came in on Monday. It is a dark green/black, and I love the color. I haven't decided what to make with it, but I am looking through patterns for it. I won't start on anything new until I finish Stephanie's scarf though.

I have seen this going around and it looked like fun, so I had to try it: Google your name + needs, and post the 10 best results.

Rosa needs at least 30 years of service to qualify for an immediate optional retirement.
ROSA needs to continue its efforts to ensure the open spaces in Richmond are protected for generations to come
Rosa needs no filler, and there is none.
Rosa needs to construct a project that will make the Subregional Wastewater System weather independent
Rosa needs to do a better job providing affordable housing for teachers, child care workers, and young working families
Rosa needs no introduction
Rosa Needs A Boyfriend
But now Rosa needs a favorite old recipe from one of them for a friend's visit
Rosa needs references to those studies
and that is when Rosa needs to dance. ...

Good thing this is only for fun, as some of those are pretty tall orders.

2005-09-28T13:40:00.000-08:00

I have a few minutes before I have to leave for the airport, so I thought I'd post the photos I took of Kiri last night. I gave up on the rain stopping (this is Southeast Alaska after all) and took a couple indoor shots last night. They aren't great, but since I am donating Kiri to a fundraising auction, and it starts tomorrow, I won't have another opportunity.

I am going to be in Petersburg, another SE Alaska town, until Sunday night. I am taking the Turtleneck Shrug I am working on for the SYNO swap, but I doubt I will have much time to work on it except for waiting at the airport, and on the flight. In this case the waiting time is longer than the flying time. This in my priority project though, until I finish it. The only other thing I am working on right now is a Snow Devil Hat for my 4 year old nephew. (Sorry, I don't have time right now to find the link). Have a great week end.

Finally--Kiri!

2005-09-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Finally--Kiri is blocked. This has been a busy couple of weeks. I wasn't able to block Kiri at work, as my boss worked last weekend. Also, I was sick all last weekend so I didn't get anything else done either. Saturday I spent all day knitting 4 rows on the Victorian Shoulderette. Actually, I knit them, realized that I was off somewhere, had to rip out everything I had done, and then redid it. Then I found another mistake, and ripped some more, and reknit. Then I put it away. Sunday I slept all day. This week was crazy at work with competing deadlines and equipment problems. I am taking the second half of this week off, so I am trying to finish some things up before I go, so that just added to everything. On the other hand, the overtime I got last week will help make up for taking half next week off.
I finally came up with a plan for blocking Kiri. I bought one of those gridded cardboard cutting mats, covered it in plastic sheeting so it won't absorb so much water, and screwed 1x2's to the long sides. Then, after I pinned out Kiri, I just leaned it up against the bookshelves in the living room, and it was out of the way (and out of the reach of all the beasties) while it dried. The 1x2's keep the cardboard rigid so I can stand it up without it folding back up at all. And when I am not using it, I can just take the 1x2's off and put them back in the shed, and fold the cardboard up and store it in the closet until next time.
Kiri blocked out to 70 inches wide, and 35 inches long at the center. I bought this yarn off ebay, and was told it was 100% wool, except for the colored specks, but now I don't think that is the case, because it didn't block as well as I expected. The points didn't keep their shape as well as I would have liked. I tried steaming it with my iron before I unpinned it, and that helped some. I will try to get pictures of it if it ever stops raining.
I also finished the Victorian Shoulderette this weekend, and it is blocking now. I didn't do the edging on this, as I think I like the plain edge. There is enough going on with the multi-color, and the lace band. The yarn is Imperiale S-Print by Filatura. It is 80% mohair, 20% polyamide, and I used about 2 1/2 25g balls. This picture doesn't show the colors at all, but I will try to get a better picture of it one day this week.

Kiri Unblocked

2005-09-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

I finished Kiri this past weekend, and her she is, unblocked. I attempted to block her yesterday, but ran into a couple problems. I have a small house and too many pets, so finding enough space to block something this large is a problem. I can't use the floor because of the pets, and I don't have carpet either. I can't use our bed, because in our climate nothing dries in one day, and my DH is understanding about many things, but sleeping on the floor because my shawl is on the bed isn't one of them.

When I made my previous Kiri, I used a sleeping bag and a sheet. I spread them out on our bed and pinned out the shawl. Then at bed time my DH and I carefully carried it out to the living room, and draped it over the back of the couch. I tried that yesterday with this one, but it didn't really work. The sleeping bag is too flexible, and so it didn't stay tight enough. Also, last time the cats left it alone, but this time, but this time, they kept trying to sleep on the back of the couch, and messed with it.

So I have been trying to think of how and where to block it. I though about using the floor in my office next weekend. It is carpeted so that would be fine, as long as my boss isn't planning on working at all. He usually brings his dogs with him if goes in, and that would be bad. The other idea I thought of is buying a sheet of insul-form or homosote, but then I have the problem of where to store it. I will keep thinking about it, and if I don't come up with a better idea by Friday, I'll ask my boss about using the office this weekend.

Adventures with Bob

2005-09-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning I got out of the shower to discover Kiri spread out all over the livingroom floor. I had left my knitting bag sitting by the chair, and the puppy decided it looked fun. Of course, I was running late, so I didn't have time to really check the damage, so I just scooped it up as gently as possible, and left it on the kitchen counter until I got home. And this is what I found:
A broken Denise cable, and 95 stitches pulled off the needle. At the very edge, some of the stitches had dropped back 3 rows, but other than that it was only one or two. So I carefully picked up the stitches on the 3rd row down, except for the last dozen stitches, where I went down to the 4th row, and then reknit them. The only good thing about this is that after 12 repeats, I was knew the pattern well enough to know where I was, and to be sure I had every stitch. I was definitely glad I bought an extra set of Denise needles a couple weeks ago. The whole thing took a couple hours, including a couple breaks when I started getting uptight because it was so fiddly. Sometimes its better to step back and take a deep breath. At the end, it looked like this:
Fortunately, the dog didn't break the yarn anywhere, or chew any holes in it (at least none I have found yet, I won't know for sure until I block it).

I got quite a bit of knitting done over the weekend, and I am halfway done with the last repeat. Then just the edging to go. Unfortunately, I didn't get anything done with my computer. I was going to work on it on Monday, since my DH would be at work, and I would have fewer distractions, but I had forgotten that I had an appointment, and that took most of the afternoon. Fortunately I remembered before I started. We don't have TV ( and haven't for 10 years) so we get the majority of news, etc. from the internet. About the only thing that would drive my DH crazy more than a computer that barely works, would be one that didn't work at all for a week, as I tried to fix it in my "spare" time after work.

On a side note; I have been reading If Men Were Angels by Reed Karaim, and finished it this weekend. I am comfortable enough with Kiri now that I can read and work on it, although it slows me down in both knitting and reading. Anyways, I really enjoyed the book--I thought he did a great job with the characters. check it out if you get the chance.

This and That

2005-09-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

Wow--time sure slips away, doesn't it. Lots of unrelated bits of stuff, so I'll do this as a bullet list.

My computer is giving me problems and I think I am going to have to zap my hard drive and reload everything--so time consuming. But right now, I loose my internet connection randomly and have to shut everything down and unplug my modem and router, than restart to get it back. I know the problem is in the computer, because I borrowed a laptop the other night, and I had no proplems with it, while my computer said no connection at the same time. I can receive email, but every time I try to send, I get error messages. My CD drive won't burn anything. I really need to upgrade my system and get something faster and with more memory, but that's not going to happen for a while. So I will try to find time this weekend to get mine working again, at least for a while. (I am posting this from work since its a slow Friday afternoon.)

I have been reading the news from New Orleans and it just makes me ill how badly we have done as a country, and how many people have and are suffering as a result. These people are in a bad enough situation without the added stress and fear caused by the fumbled recovery situation. The comment by the President today that "We're going to make it right." made me so angry. How will he make it right to the families of the people who died needlessly, and those who have suffered through these days waiting for assistance they so badly need? I feel that this statement just shows how disconnected the President is from the American people.

I finally got around to sewing the handles on my felted bag last weekend. It came out taller in proportion to the width than I originally had envisioned, but overall I like the size. None of the pictures I took show the colors very accurately, they really do work together better than it appears in the photo.

I have been working on Kiri and have 2 1/2 repeats left, and then the edging. I need to have this finished by the 26th in order to have time to block it before my trip. I plan to work on it this weekend while waiting for software to load. At least that will make reloading my computer less frustrating.

I haven't started on the Turtleneck Shrug for the SYNO scarf swap yet. I will be taking it on my trip with me at the end of the month and working on it then, and maybe sooner if I get Kiri done early.

I know everyone has heard/read about ways to help the victims of Katrina, but I need to add my voice to the throng. Do whatever you can--however little or large that is.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend. The only thing we have planned is to go to the high school football game tonight, and then have a fire in the backyard and hang out with some friends. I will probably work at least part of Monday, as I don't want to take any more time off this month than I already have scheduled, but we'll see how I feel then. I have a great boss, and he is leaving it up to me.

New Projects

2005-08-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

Two new projects this week:

The first is for the Stick ya Neck Out swap. I am making the turtleneck shrug for Stephanie. The yarn is Jo Sharp Aran Tweed in Bark. I have been swatching (this is the second try) and this yarn very nice to work with--very soft. I think I will enjoy this project a lot.

The second project is the Victorian Shoulderette from Sivia Harding. I received the pattern a month or so ago. Then, last week I had to go to my LYS and buy another set of Denise needles. (Yes, I wanted two sets, as it seems the needles I need are always being used. Besides, a puppy we were fostering last winter ate one of my #9's. Yeah, puppy damage--that's a better reason.) And this yarn was on sale, and my yarn budget went out the window.

I want to finish this by the end of September so I can wear it for an event I am going to. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but that is also my deadline for finishing Kiri. The auction I am donating it to will be held at this conference. I am just past half way on Kiri, so I need get more done in the next 4 weeks than I have in the last 4. This should be do-able, as things should be slowing down for me now. My parents have left town for the winter, the wedding that occupied all last weekend was celebrated successfully (it was wonderful), and now that school has started, all the "end of summer" events are over.

In puppy news, Bob is settling in fine. Yes, after a week of talking about it, we decided on Bob. A very common name, for an uncommon breed of dog. He is getting along fine with our 8 year old lab, and 2 of the cats are starting to get used to him (the other one doesn't like anyone). The ferrets are still fairly wary of him: he tries to get them to play, and one of them will, but the other one is more timid. He has been very good with them though, and not aggressive at all. We aren't leaving them alone together though. Bob goes to work with me or my DH every day, and is kenneled at night.

Almost an FO

2005-08-16T23:37:00.000-08:00

Here is my finished bag, before it went for a swim in the washer. It measured 26"from top to bottom, and 17 "across. I put the tennis ball in for scale, but of course I forgot to include it in the after picture.

And here it is now, blocking. I lined it with plastic bags and filled it with books. It ended up taller than I wanted. That's what I get for not making a swatch and guessing at the relative proportions of how much it would felt. The current dimensions are about 10"wide, 7"deep, and 11"tall. I was envisioning something that would be shorter in relation to its diameter. After it dries (which will be days as we have our heat off, and the humidity here is always high) I will sew the handles on and see what I think. If its too far wrong, maybe I'll cut the top off and try something else for the handles. Or, maybe I'll try felting it again instead and see if it ends up shorter.

The blue isn't as bright in real life, I think the flash makes it stand out like that.

Puppy Pics

2005-08-15T23:34:00.000-08:00

A few pictures of the new puppy. He seems to be settling in fine, but we'll see how much sleep we all get tonight. He is sleeping in his kennel now though, so I will hope for the best. The second picture is the puppy and our 8 year old lab playing in the yard. Not a gread picture of either of them, but you can see the size difference. These dogs only get about 15 inches tall, so that will be quite different for us. I will be taking him to work with me in the morning. We don't want to leave him alone with the other beasties (1 dog, 3 cats, 2 ferrets) until we are sure they will all get along, and I don't like the idea of leaving him in a kennel all day as well as at night. My boss is okay with me bringing him to work, as he brings his 2 dogs every day and they hang out in the office with me most of the time. I can also work on training him throughout the day this way. Once he is better trained, he will probably go with DH sometimes as well.

I worked on my felted bag tonight for a while. I am working on the i-cord edgeing around the top now, and am half done. Then I have a bunch of ends to weave in, and then into the wash with it. I should be done later this week, maybe even tomorrow.

2005-08-15T18:07:00.000-08:00

After all that sunshine last week, my lilies are finally starting to bloom. Isn't it pretty. I am not sure the name of this one; we picked up quite a few this spring while we were visiting my brother in Portland, and some of the labels were missing by the time we got them planted.

We got quite a bit done in the yard on Saturday (fortunately it wasn't as hot as they were predicting, only about 83). DH got the lawn mowed and the weed-eating done, and I deadheaded, weeded, and watered and then worked on a new bed we have been talking about all year. We had already bought a couple small rose bushed we wanted to put in it, and it is getting late enough here that we needed to get them planted so they can establish new roots before fall.

Sunday I did laundry, etc, and knit on Kiri. It still looks the same , so I won't bore you with a picture. I have now got 10 repeats done, and I think it would be about 48" blocked now. I was thinking 14 repeats will be about the size I want, but we'll see when I get closer.

The big news of the day is: we got a new puppy today. My husband called me at work at about 11 this morning and asked if I could go see him because someone was bringing in puppies for him to look at. He had met these people and their dogs before, and was impressed with the dogs. So when he saw them again this morning and was complimenting the woman, she told him that she had 3 puppies available, and would give him one, instead of selling it to him. They are Lundehunds, and are very rare, so she could sell them, but she is more concerned with them having good homes. DH works at the local humane society, so I guess she figured we would be good owners. So we are now the new owners of a 3 1/2 month old Norwegian Puffin Hound. I will post pictures later, probably tomorrow. I took him back to work with me for a couple hours, then my husband picked him up for the rest of the afternoon, and he isn't home from work yet. We will probably take turns taking him to work with us for a while at least so we can work on training him. No name yet either, any suggestions on names for a small, Norwegian dog?

Sun Day!

2005-08-12T14:38:00.000-08:00

Its still gorgeous and sunny today, so we closed the business early and took a "sun day". The shop guys left about 10, my boss left at 11, and I took off at noon. (I wanted to get to a certain point on a bid first, so I didn't have to stress about getting it done on Monday.) So what am I doing with my free afternoon? Catching up on house work. Seems like a waste, but it will mean that tomorrow, I have the whole day free to spend with my DH: dinking around in the yard, maybe check our garage sales, and then the first high school football game of the year tomorrow night.

Hope everyone else is having a great Friday too.

Hot, Hot, Hot!

2005-08-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

We are having record breaking weather this week. The all time high temperature record here was 90 degrees, back in 1975. We are expected to break that in the next couple days, and may hit the mid 90's this weekend. It's just too hot. I know that it doesn't sound that hot, but our normal temperatures this time of year are in the 60's. We just aren't used to this.

Last night after work I dropped my husband off at the disc golf course, and took the dog to the beach for a couple hours.

I threw some stick,
saw some porpoises, (sorry its such a lousy picture)
and knit a few rows on Kiri.

The past week was a very busy week, and I did almost no knitting. Things I did get everything done that I needed to get done. It helped that my husband was gone for 4 days, that gave me more time to do my stuff without having to take his schedule into account as well.

But now, hopefully things will slow down a bit, and I can catch up on my reading (both online and not) and my knitting.

Uh Oh--cat pics

2005-08-01T19:57:00.000-08:00

So, I have nothing new in knitting, so I thought I introduce my old lady cat: Fuzz. Fuzz is 10 years old, and very standoffish. She doesn't like the ferrets or Archie, and only tolerates the dog. She likes Jerri enough to play with her now and then, and sleep near her occasionally, but mostly she is a loner.

I didn't get as much done on my afghan square this weekend as I wanted. Friday night we went out to dinner with friends from out of town. Saturday we worked on some projects that couldn't be put off any longer, and then went to a birthday party for a friend. And Sunday we had our annual family picnic, except we did it 6 weeks late this year, so we held it at my brother's house because of the weather. We have been holding this event for the last 12 years of so, and usually do it about the middle of June. We have been lucky and had decent weather for it every time. We usually go to one of the local beaches, and bring rafts, canoes, fishing poles, etc. Generally we invite old family friends, and its an all day event. This year because of some scheduling problems, we weren't able to have it until now, and the weather this time of year isn't as nice. So we had a smaller version at my brother's house, with just the family, and we ordered pizza to make it easy for everyone. We all had a good time. My parents are snowbirds, and will be leaving to go south in 2 weeks, so it was nice to all get together before they go.

I probably won't have my time to knit this next week either. I am the bookkeeper for a civic group I belong to, and it's report time this week. So, I have to get caught up on everything from the last 3 months. We are changing computer software as well, so I don't think I'll have much free time until after next weekend. I will probably knit a few rows whenever I can squeeze them in, but I don't expect to make much progress on anything this week.

Try, try again.

2005-07-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

Does this look like an afghan square? Actually, it didn't a few minutes ago either. I've made 3 tries at this, and each gets closer to what I have envisioned, but its not quite right yet. So now that I have a better idea what I need to do, I think its time to print out some knitter's graph paper, and chart it out. Then I'll try it again. Hopefully this weekend I'll have a finished square. Finally.

Look what came in the mail

2005-07-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

The yarn I ordered from Danette Taylor Designs came in today. 3 skeins of baby alpaca in the colorway referred to as Pony-puke. This is for a gift, and the person it's for will love the colors, fortunately. They really aren't my colors at all. But the yarn is wonderful, and I think I will enjoy knitting with it.

The second yarn is for me. It is 700 yards of superwash merino. The colorway is Bouquet. I don't know what I am going to do with this, but I liked the colors, and since I was ordering the pony-puke anyways, I ordered this for me. (I ordered all this about 2 hours before my husband told me about his upcoming dental ordeal.)

Progress shot on my bag. I still need to graft the seam at the bottom, and I think I'll get about 10 more inches before I run out of yarn. Then we'll see how it felts. The colors look a bit odd together now, but because I used these for slippers already, I know that they will look quite different after I felt it. I think they'll be fine together then.

I worked on Kiri last night, and got another repeat done. Tonight I want to work on my afghan square, and of course, I have to get some housework done too.

One last picture--my cat Jerri, just because she was feeling left out.

Sewing Lessons?

2005-07-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

So, The other night while I was over at my parents house, my brother made it a point to tell me that my niece will be 8 this winter. I agree that this is true, while wondering what the significance of this is. Well, apparently, at some point in the past I said something that has cause my niece to be certain that when she is 8, I will teach her to sew. I have no recollection of this at all. But, apparently it made a big impact on her. My brother says she has been looking forward to it, and has been reminding him of this impending milestone since her last birthday. So, this fall I will be giving sewing lessons to my almost 8 year old niece and my 10 year old niece. I figure if I am going to teach one of them to sew, I should teach them both.

So, my dilemma is: I don't actually remember learning how to sew. I learned so young that I feel like I always knew. My first memory of sewing is when I was 7. I was sewing a set-in waist band on a barbie skirt, by hand. I remember being really annoyed because my Mom wouldn't let me us the sewing machine until I was 9, and that was forever.

So--any suggestions on where to start? My Mom suggested having them start with sewing seams and hems on scraps until they got their stitches down, before actually making anything. But that sounds pretty boring, and I think it will hold their interest better if we start with an actually project. I'm looking for something really simple that they can be sucessfull at with out too many problems. And they will be hand sewing whatever it is. Any Ideas?

Wrist Warmers

2005-07-25T15:59:00.000-08:00

Thanks Christina, for the comment. (Look, my first comment!)

Those will be my second pair of wrist warmers. I made these in March, shortly after starting my current job. My office is always cold, and this spring, it was occasionally so cold my hands would be numb. I have always had cold-sensitive hands, and I find I use these a lot, even this time of year. Our low temperatures get down in the high 40's or low 50's at night, even in the summer. Regular gloves would be too warm but these are perfect on a chilly night. We turn our furnace off in May usually, so it is sometime chilly in the house in the morning or when I am up in the middle of the night. (My allergies often keep me from sleeping.) I made this pair with some Patons Kroy socks that I had around. I read a couple of patterns for gloves, and then just made these to fit my hands based on what I read. I want another pair in a more subdued color, and I'll make a couple other changes as well. One of the things I don't like about these is that they are too long by the little finger, and too short by the index finger. Now that I have learned about short rows, I'll be able to make the next pair fit better.

I made some progress on Kiri this weekend (I'm on row 88 now), but mostly I worked on my bag. It is now about 16 inches long, and the bottom is done except for grafting the seam. Next I will pick up the stitches from the provisional cast on, and knit until I am almost out of yarn, then figure out how I want to attach the handles. No photos today though, as my camera battery died.

I finished reading The Secret Life of Bees this weekend, that's what I was doing as I knit on my bag. I thought it was a very good book. Then I started reading A Widow For One Year, by John Irving. My DH and I watched The Door in the Floor this weekend, and As soon as I saw the opening scene I recognized it. (I had no idea what the movie was about, my DH chose it.) I read the book years ago, and some of the scenes have stuck with me ever since. So after seeing the movie, which is base on just a portion of the book, I had to read the book again. I love the way John Irving writes, his scenes are so visual.

Stash inventory

2005-07-22T19:03:00.000-08:00

First a photo to show that we do get occasional bright days. Our yard is in the shade by the time I get home from work, but you can see the sun hitting the street. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice too, so hopefully we can get the yard work caught up. You can see that DH started cutting the grass today before he got dragged away to play disc golf.

Since it was nice this afternoon, I decided it would be a good time to inventory the yarn I have on hand. So here is all is, all spread out on the picnic table. Not a whole lot, but as I am not a very fast knitter, I thing it will keep me busy for a while.

I have enough sock yarn for a couple pair, although the grey Regia there will probably become a pair of wrist warmers instead of socks.

This is 2 kg of Sari Silk. There are 10 skeins of the dark color range, and 10 of the light. I bought this from someone because I got a great deal, and I really like the recyled silk. I want to make a vest from some of this, and I may make a shawl for a friend as well.

32 balls of cotton ease, in 4 colors. I am working on the a project in the blueberry already, but it is going very slowly as it is my "take along knitting" for when I am waiting for someone, etc. and I haven't worked on it much lately.

4 Skeins of Silky Wool. I was going to make a gift for someone out of this, but she didn't like the color. It is a dark grey and she thought it would be better in a true black. (She didn't know it was intended for her.) But anyways, she ended up getting a different gift, and I have this, which I really like, but haven't decided what to do with yet.

I also have a bunch of assorted single skeins and odd bits that could be hats, scarfs, etc. With the projects I have already started, this is plenty to keep me busy for a while. And it will also keep me from getting distracted from what I am working on by new projects.

I have gotten a bit farther on my bag, but not much more done on Kiri. Last time I worked on it, one of my ferrets decided to check out my bag. Ferrets are extremely curious, and always check out anything that is new, or in a different place, so I didn't pay much attention. Later I realized that she had been digging at my cone of yarn, and had made a big tangle at the bottom. So I spent the 45 minutes I could have been knitting, untangling yarn. No more ferrets in my knitting bag! At least she didn't damage the yarn, and I was able to untangle it.

Last new yarn for a while

2005-07-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after work I stopped by my LYS and picked up these. The first one is Cherry Tree Hill Super Worsted in Silver Streak and is for my afghan square for the tribute project that Annie is organizing. This is wonderful yarn, very soft. I played around with my design last night for a bit, but it didn't come out quite how I wanted it to, so I ripped it all and I'll try it again.

The second yarn is 650 yard of handpainted silk/merino blend from Raven Frog Fiber Arts in Sitka, Alaska. I was bought this the Midwest Moonlight scarf for the stick ya neck out scarf swap. This is a bit finer than the yarn called for, but I think its fine-its a scarf after all, and I think a smaller scarf will be just fine. I love the colors in this and the way it feels.

So, why is this the last yarn for a while? After I got home last night, my DH told me that he has to have $4000.00 worth of dental work done in the next couple of months! And, of course, his health plan at work doesn't cover dental. So, I am now on a strict yarn budget (and everything else budget too). Of course, I still have yarn coming that I ordered on Saturday. I have enough stash yarn to keep me busy, but what I keep thinking, is that my stash isn't very balanced. I have alot of Sari Silk, some sock yarn, and a bunch of cotton ease. I guess I need to go through it all and see what I do have.

The States thing

2005-07-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know this is old, but I'm new, and as I have nothing else to show you today, so here goes.

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...
Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C. /
Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Sunday I worked a bit more on Kiri. I've done 72 rows, which means I am 25% done according to my excel chart. I also messed around with ideas for an afghan square for this project. I don't have the yarn that I want to use for this though, so I need to shop before I actually make it. I have an idea for a design, and for the color I want, so if it works out I'll have something in a day or so. Yesterday I didn't knit at all as we had friends over after work.

Why I didn't go to art school

2005-07-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

Okay, you can see why I never went to art school. Here is a bad sketch of how I envision my bag coming out. I have several shoulder bags already, so I think one with handles will be a better choice for this one. After I get it felted I will mess with making it fold in at the top like I have it drawn. I think I may stitch the top inch or so like a pleat to make it keep this shape when closed, but still open fully. The colors didn't come out great on the scanner, either, but the colored pencils I used weren't exact matches either, so I don't suppose it really matters, as it is basically just a visual note to myself.

This is another bag I made last winter. I based it on the idea in Cat Bordhi's Book, and just made it up as I went along. The yarn is Paton's Classic Merino. I had one skein of each color, and had enough left over from the bag for a pair of Fuzzy Feet. When I knit this I made the base round, but then changed my mind when I felted it, and blocked it into an oval shape. I love the bright colors.

The knitting you see there is a sweater I am working on. It is the With-a-Twist Turtleneck from Sally Melville's The Purl Stitch, and I am knitting it in ggh Relax. I finished the front and back, and did the shoulder seam using a 3 needle bind off. Then I tried it on and remembered that I planned to do some short row shaping on the front. I did most of the front while watching movies, and got distracted from what I was doing. By the time I remembered I was supposed to stop and figure out the short row thing, I was almost done with the front, so I decided to just keep going and see if I really need the short rows. What was I thinking--being of the "full figured" variety, of course I need them. So there it sits, waiting for me to rip back, figure out where to start the short rows, and re-do the front. One reason this has been waiting (for about 2 months now) is that once I got the shoulder seems done and tried it on, I'm not sure this is the right yarn for this sweater. Or maybe not the right yarn for me. It is too fluffy and soft, and makes me feel like an orange marshmallow. Having put it that way, it seems pretty obvious that I really don't like it. So, I'm going to rip the whole thing and think of something else to do with that yarn. I love the color, but I think the only way I will like the texture is to use it with another yarn so the fabric has more substance. At least I got the yarn on clearance. (Besides that, if I rip it, I can have my bag back to use for another project.)

Rainy, lazy Sunday

2005-07-17T10:59:00.000-08:00

Well, I have done some knitting this weekend, but I have no pictures becasue it is pissing rain today, and the light is awful. Here is a picture of the rain hitting my little tank pond. And also one of the street so you can see how bad the light really is. Southeast Alaska is full of "grey days" with a few gorgeous bright ones thrown in just so we don't all move somewhere else.

Anyways, Friday afternoon was one of the great ones, so we grilled steaks and sat around the fire in the backyard with a friend. I knit another repeat on Kiri, then my count ended up off somewhere, and by then it was too dark to find the mistake, so I put it away.

Satuday I worked on my bag, and got about 4 inches done on it while finishing The Most Beautiful House in the World. I really enjoyed it, but I have a thing about books about remodeling, building, etc. I think I have a plan for how I want the bag to look now. I picked up some bamboo rings that I want to use for the handles. I'll try to sketch out what I am thinking and scan it for you.

Also yesterday, I signed up for stitch ya neck out, a scarf swap that looks like it will be a lot of fun. Then I had to go to my lys and buy the Scarf Style book (and a set of size 13 dpns, and another ball of wool for my "scrap"bag). I also ordered some yarn from here, and some patterns from here. SHH! Don't tell my husband!

I have been fighting a cold for the last few days, and today it's winning. So I think I'll stay out of the rain and spend the day knitting, and start the next book on my pile: The Secret Life of Bees.

Hope there is sun where you are.

Current reading

2005-07-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Since I did not have time to do any knitting yesterday, I thought I would post about books today. I read quite a bit, and we have a house full of books: shelves in every room, and piles of books all over as well. I get most of my books from a used bookstore that benefits our local libraries. Books there cost anywhere from 25 cents for most mass market paperbacks and up. Most trade paperbacks and hardbacks are $1.00. Books that are especially popular, or really nice are more (The Harry Potter books in hardbound are about $5.00 right now) but I don't recall ever seeing anything over about $10.00. All of the books are donated, and all the workers volunteers, so it generates quite a bit of money for our local library. So, I buy most of my books there, and then I keep the ones I really like, and give back the others. About every 6 months I go through the house and reconsider the books I have and get rid of some more, just because we have run out of space.

Right now I am reading The Most Beautiful House in the World by Witold Rybczynski. I just started it the other day, and am not very far into it, but I am really enjoying his writing style. Kind of a slow, meandering tour of architectural history.

The last book I read was A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. This is the first time I have read it, and I really enjoyed it. I can see myself reading it again. This won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981. About 5 years ago I decided that I would read all the Pulitzer Price winners for fiction. I have read about 20 so far, so I still have a long ways to go, but I have enjoyed all of them. The reason I have been reading them so slowly is that I mainly buy them at the used book store, so I only get them when I come across them.

Last week my husband was looking for something good to read, so I handed him Empire Falls, by Richard Russo. He read it in about four days, and enjoyed it so much he has decided to try to read all the Pulitzers as well. So he asked if I have any others around. Then, when I started pulling them off the shelves, he decided they should all be grouped together, rather than filed alphabetically with the other fiction books. A few years ago, I had started doing that, but when we rearranged some of our shelves I moved them back into the general fiction. Kind of funny that I have been playing at this for 5 years, and now he suddenly takes notice.

The pictures show some of our books: under the livingroom window (modeled by Doobie, our 8 year old lab) and in the hallway.

We actually got some sun today, and my husband had the day off, so he and a friend went hiking. I am waiting for them to call so I can pick them up and take them back to where they left the car. So I think I will go sit in the backyard and enjoy the sun myself (and work on Kiri) while I wait.

Random musings on a slow day

2005-07-14T10:37:00.000-08:00

Its a slow day at work today. My boss took the day off, and the shop guys are busy on a couple of easy projects. Therefore, they haven't needed to come ask me questions about my drawings or anything. I have a couple of bids I am working on, but nothing urgent. Its a grey rainy day here, as is typical in Southeast Alaska (after all, it is a rain forest) so no walk-in business yet today either.

So, I made a spreadsheet to figure out my progress on Kiri. I based it on my guestimate of needing to do about 150 rows to get the size I want. 14 repeats will be 151 rows, and is 29763 total stitches before the edging. I am up to row 55, with 145 stitches on the needles, and that works out to be about 15% completed. Not that I am terribly concerned as I am really enjoying knitting this and have lots of time before it needs to be done, but I find the numbers interesting.

I haven't worked on it at all the last two days. (And I probably won't be able to work on it tonight either, as I have a meeting after work and won't get home until about 10pm.) Tuesday I went over to my parents house after work and stayed all evening. Then yesterday, I wanted to catch up on my computer reading, so I worked on something simple.

I started a bag out Iceland. I had small amounts of this in 3 colors left from making felted clogs for my husband and myself, and last weekend I picked up a couple balls of purple to go with what I had. I am making this up as I go along, and just have a general idea of what I want to end up with. I was going to make the base similar to the one on the French Market Bag, but I discovered that I don't have any size 13 dpns, and I didn't want to go to the mall last night to get some. So I cast on using a provisional cast on, and figured I would add the base later. Besides, I am thinking I may want the base to be rectangular rather than square, but I won't decide for sure until I have a better idea of you wide it will be. So I cast on 100 stitches, and started knitting in the round. I am going to do a basically random stripe pattern with the colors I have left from the clogs, and see how it goes. I haven't decided how I want to do the handles yet, I thing I will have to wait and see what size and shape I end up with first. I am not too concerned about the final size because I want to use it for a project bag, and regardless of how big it ends up, its bound to be good for a project of one size or another.

And here is a picture of the felted clogs, and a curious cat. I made a pair for my husband in January, and then decided I want a pair as well, so I made myself a pair last month. We like to sit and have our coffee on the back porch on weekends, and the felted clogs are great for that because of the double thick soles. We can wander about the yard in them if we want, and they are thick enough to hold up and not feel damp from the grass, and to be comfortable on the gravel path.

Kiri Progress

2005-07-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

This is a lovely skein of handspun that I received from June as a prize for donating to Claudia's MS ride. It is 100g of heavy worsted weight (spun dense), 100% wool (Mary Pratt Merino x Romney). (Yes, I copied that from Claudia's blog.) I haven't decided yet what I am going to do with it, but it will definitely be saved for something special.

So, Saturday morning I cast on again for Kiri, and again I got about 8 rows done before I frogged it. I decided the stitch markers I was using were too big and were throwing my gauge off every place I used one. So I took a break and made stitch markers.

Then I cast on again, and worked on it on Saturday, and a bit on Sunday. I am about 50 rows into it, and have about 129 stitches on the needles. Judging by the size it is so far I am guestimating it will take about 150 rows total to end up about 60 inches wide after blocking. This is a wonderful pattern. Even though I have already decided to give this away, I keep looking at it and thinking 'I could just keep it.' But I know I would never use it, so I would rather it went to someone who did.

Escape Artist

2005-07-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

This is one of our ferrets, Riley. He got out of the house tonight, and was missing for about 1 1/2 hours. Fortunately, he always wears a harness with a name tag and a bell. Some nice people in the next street found him in their kitchen and gave us a call. He has gotten out before, and we've always found him in the yard. We aren't as worried about him finding his way home again as we are about dogs, eagles, and cars.

In knitting news, I decided to make Kiri again. I have a cone of wool that I bought off eBay, and then decided it wasn't really my color. It a dark blue/black that I love, but it has bits of green, yellow and pink in it. It is a fingering/sport weight (19 wpi), and I think it will be nice. I started on it tonight sitting by the fire in the back yard, but frogged it after the 8th row because I decided I want to go down a needle size. By then it was getting too dark to knit anyways, so I'll probably start it again tomorrow.

Kiri

2005-07-07T22:36:00.000-08:00

I knit this a few months ago using Polly's wonderful Kiri pattern and sari silk. It is small for a shawl-- more of a large scarf. I think I did 3 repeats of the pattern on size 15 needles.
As you can see in the second picture, there are bunches of small bells hanging from the 5 centermost points. These clip on with lobster clasps, so I can remove them if I am going somewhere I don't want to jingle. I think they work well with the funkiness of the sari silk. They are really very quiet, and not even noticeable except in a very quiet place.

The picture of it on the grass also shows a bag I made out of the same sari silk with a pattern I made up as I went. It also has removable bunches of bells on the drawstrings, and the strap clips on so I can change the length. I only carry a purse when we go out. Most of the time I just shove my keys, phone, and wallet inmy pockets. So I needed a bag to hold all that stuff when I wear something dressier than jeans, and I don't want to have to keep my coat handy.

I was reading what Cate wrote about knitting lace, and I completely agree. I have been so distractable lately; it seems I never do only one thing at a time. I read or watch movies when I knit, or I knit in front of the computer. At work I seem to jump from project to project. I think one reason I enjoyed knitting this so much, I it took my attention so completely that I didn't do anything else at the same time. I just knit--and I enjoyed it!

Since I finished this, I keep looking at other lace projects and trying to decide if I should knit another shawl of something. I know if I do, I'll probably never wear it. We don't dress up that often, and I work in a woodshop so it would never work there. I think I've decided to go ahead and knit another shawl and donate it to a charity auction that will be happening this fall. So the only question now is: Which one?

Weekend Update

2005-07-05T22:25:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty good weekend. I didn't do much celebrating, but I did get a lot done. On Saturday I worked a booth at a charity carnival. There were about 10 booths in all, and each was raising money for a non profit organization or community project. The various booths had carnival games, face painting, etc. People buy tickets when they come in, and use them at the various booths. Then at the end of the day, the tickets are turned in, and each organization is paid what they earned. All the prizes for the games were paid for in advance with money raised from sponsors, so ALL the money spent on tickets goes to the non profits. I belong to a fraternal organization, and our booth was raising money to help with medical cost for 3 local kids: 2 of them have cancer, and the other one has some surgery coming up. We raised $600.00 on Saturday, to add to the other funds we have raised. Not bad for a days work. I didn't hear how all the booths did, but several that I did talk to were in the $400 to $500 range, so I think as a whole the carnival did pretty good. And the kids playing the games all seemed to be having a great time. This used to be an annual event here in town, but ended after a fire destroyed all the booths and some of the games. This year one of the malls decided to host it, and it seemed to go well. They also have the advantage of being able to hold it indoors, so even though the weather was awful, they got a good turnout. Hopefully they will do it again next year.

Sunday I ran errands in the morning, and then cleaned house. I hate to say it, but I am finally getting around to "spring cleaning"." Spring is our best weather here, so we spend as much time outside as we can in April, May and June, and my house was showing it. So on Sunday I started de-cluttering. All the stuff that gets put somewhere "just for now, I'll put it away latter" got put away (or went in the trash, or donation box). All the stuff in the living room, and entry way at least, I still have to go through stuff in the bedroom. My husband worked on the shed on Friday when he was off, so we got a good start.

On Monday local legend held true and we got good weather for the 4th of July. (Good is a relative term and in this case means it wasn't blowing a gale and pissing rain.) We had scattered showers in the morning, then the clouds blew out and by afternoon it was sunny and about 70 degrees. Perfect weather. So we worked in the yard. I weeded and deadheaded the flowers, and my husband dealt with the compost piles and mostly we just dinked around and enjoyed the yard. It was a great way to spend the day.

Today, July 5th, is the traditional start of the rainy season here. We average 223 days of rain a year, with April and May having the least rainfall, and October the most. So from here it gets wetter and wetter. Oh well, that's what makes the sunny days so great!

Fuzzy Feet

2005-07-02T07:34:00.000-08:00

These are some fuzzy feet I made last winter from the pattern in Knitty. They are from Patons Classic Merino. Most of the yarn was left over from a bag I had made. I love these things, they are great for our cold floors.

I don't have much time this morning, I am spending the day working at a booth for a local fun fair/charity carnival. Our booth is raising some money to help with medical expences for 3 local kids, 2 of them with cancer. Wish us luck!

Obligatory Cat Picture

2005-06-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

Since it seems that cat pictures are a requirement for knitting blogs (and since I want to play with adding pictures) here is a picture of Archie. He is one of three cats who own us, and is about 2 years old. He was adopted from a shelter when he was about 6 months old.

By the way, I am not still playing with this at work; I am taking a late lunch but I am just about out of time.

What am I doing?

2005-06-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

I have no idea! I'm just sitting here at work on a slow day, and messing around. I have thought about starting a blog a couple of times, and now seemed the time to do it. I am not sure exactly what I will do with it, so we'll just see where it goes.

I have been knitting a fair amount lately, and would like a place to record my projects, so there will be some of that. I will probably use it to rant about things occasionally too, but hopefully not too much.

I also have a lot of other hobbies (too many probably) and so they will show up as well.

For now I think I will go play around with this thing and see how it goes.