Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Oooo! Ahhhh!



And here, for your fiber/yarn viewing pleasure, are my latest adventures:

This is my latest yarn off of the spinning wheel. A luscious blend of satin angora, wool, and bombyx silk. I LOVE IT! And "NO!" Julia you can't have it! (She has bought some of this from me in the past and knows how amazing this yarn is). I have one more skein to finish and then I have to find the right pattern so that I can make something for me out of it. This first skein came up to about 320 yards of sport weight sized yarn. I can't wait to wear it!

This is some LOVELY fingering weight, merino/bamboo blend yarn that I found at a yarn shop the other day along with...............................................

This delicious kid mohair/silk blend yarn and..................................

This yarn.

Aren't they all just wonderful!! I can't wait to knit it all up! That beautiful blue mohair blend is going to become this, and the other two skeins will become socks. The Daughter especially likes the Tofutsies so I am sure she will end up with some socks from it.

I have pretty much recovered from my "Spring Fever" for now. It snowed 6 inches in the last two days and dropped down to 21 below zero. Somehow that just seemed to take the wind right out of my sails. So I am back to loving winter and feeling like a bear all snuggled up warm and safe from the ice and cold. We are supposed to see more snow the next few days.

And now I am off to create my latest idea. I thought of it the other night as I was trying to go to sleep. If it turns out well I will post pictures here and list them for sale in my etsy store. Stay tuned................................................................................

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

I Feel it Coming

I don't know what it is, but about this time of year I get a "bee in my bonnet". "What?" you say. Well if you look back through my blog every year at this time I start getting........hmmm trying to find a way to describe it..........wander lust? I start feeling like it's time to migrate. Spring is coming so it's time to start thinking about moving, building a nest in a new tree, beginning a garden on a new patch of soil.

I blame it on my mother and ancestors from that side of my family. They were a wild and nomadic bunch! I have native americans, gypsies, and pioneers in my past. The way I was raised didn't help much either. I spent the first eighteen years of my life hunting, hiking, water skiing, motorcyle riding (dirt bikes on trails), scuba diving, rock hunting, camping, snow skiing, etc, etc, etc. Even when we did come home (? to the house that wasn't attached to the boat or truck, or wasn't the tent) I didn't spend much time in it. We always lived out away from the population. So I spent my time outside hiking in my back yard, building indian dwellings, cooking over the fire, etc. (side note here: One of my indian dwellings was "discovered" by park rangers and now features a lovely sign that tells all about the anasazi people that built it. LOL!)

In addition to all of the outdoor sporting stuff, my mother also liked to move around a lot! About every six months or so she would convince my dad that she needed new surroundings. We wouldn't necessarily move to a new town--though we did that a few times also--but just to a different house. (I lived in seven different houses in a town who's population was only 1,300 people.) The years that we didn't move she would completely rearrange, repaint, and/or remodel the house we were living in.

Anyway, so every year as soon as New Years is over I start feeling like a little animal ready to come out of hibernation. It really is awful. It's like cabin fever, but more intense. I remember sitting in school in April watching the breeze blow the new leaves around on the trees thinking, "If I have to sit in here one more minute I am going to have a melt-down." I had and still have a terrible time being inside, especially if the sun is shining!

So, here I am today; standing in the lobby of the motel, looking out these huge windows that give a 180 degree view of outside, the sun is shining, and I am feeling the stirrings of a restless spirit.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Good and The Bad

I'll start with the good stuff so if you don't want to listen to me whine about the bad you can just skip it at the end :)


GOOD STUFF!!

Yarn/knitting is always good stuff. Here are my latest two sock projects all done. The first pair are for the Sockamaina KAL. It was a previous monthly pattern but since January is "Make-up Month" I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to get them done. (Christmas had kind of interferred with them getting finished). I used Sockamania's "Get Fruity" pattern and Tofutsies yarn. Next time I make them I will use a solid color so that the pattern is visible since it kind of disappears into the varigation of this yarn. (I turned my foot backwards because the patterning on the back of the sock is completely different that the patterning on the front)


The second pair is made from the "Log Cabin Socks" pattern from "Handknit Holidays". GREAT PATTERN! No mistakes, works up super fast with worsted weight yarn....just a great pattern. I used some yarn that I had hand dyed a dark mossy forest green. However, as I approached the toe of the second sock, to my horror, I realized that I did not have enough yarn to finish it! Of course I had only dyed one skein--I don't need to emphasize the feelings here, all of you Knitter's know just what I mean! So after punishing the entire project for a few weeks for taking more yarn than it was supposed to I ripped back the toe of the first sock, knitted the second sock until both socks were the same length and the last tiny bit of yarn was used up, then finished both toes with a nice golden tan color that actually accented my yarn perfectly. And forgave the pattern for leaving me in a panic.

Here's something fun! My sister-in-law gave me this adorable apron for Christmas. Annie had bought one this past summer and I have wanted one since. This ain't your Grandma's apron! Made out of top quality fabrics, reversable and so cute I would wear it to town!


We ended up have a nice Christmas even though we were stuck at work for the entire holiday season. The kids got lots of fun great stuff. There was plenty of chocolate to go around (Santa was experiencing PMS when she was shopping I guess). Now with it all over.....all of the regular stuff is going on.

I think I am just tired. No one told me that getting old wears you out. I was watching a show last night about a couple that had six babies at once in addition to their two older daughters. They think that it's taxing to feed, change, and clothe them--JUST WAIT until they all become teenagers at once! I'd be selling them off I think. Farm them out to people who have no children or something! The drama, the grades, boys, girls, friends, peer pressure....need I say more? I don't remember why I wanted children at this point. I am definately tired!

For those of you considering getting your teenager/child a cell phone...DON'T DO IT!!!! It seems like such an innocent, good idea. It's not, don't be fooled, don't be sucked in. It is the source of evil--I am sure of it. My kids honestly will walk through molten lava then crawl over broken glass to keep from getting their phone taken away. They think that somehow their very life existence depends on the possession of their phone--like it is some kind of life support system.

The Motel Management life isn't any more fun than having a house full of teenagers either. I get really tired of rude people! I had no idea that the general population was so awful. I've spent so many years around Knitter's and fiber people I was beginning to think everyone was like us. NOT SO! What I wouldn't give to hang out with my own kind for a few days. I had a lady check in last night from an area in Washington that I know has a great yarn store. I mentioned the fact and she said that her mom knitted and liked that yarn store. I couldn't stop myself from gushing on and on about yarn, knitting, patterns, fiber, Knitters. I am sure the lady thought I was quite off my rocker--she was a Non-Knitter. I am getting desperate enough that I have actually considered taking out a "personal" ad. in the classifieds: "Desperately seeking male or female, any age, for knitting companionship. Must have large, out of control stash of yarn, more knitting needles and patterns than they could ever use in two lifetimes, a complete disregard for resisting wool/cashmere fumes, and a lack of conscience when they spend their entire months grocery money on yarn. Please respond soon....I am loosing my mind." I just told my husband that I was going to do this and he said, "DO IT!" He knows me so well it's scary.

Well, I need some lunch and a few hours of personal time with my yarn.