I'm Knitting, not Smoking

WooHoo!

2012-02-02T12:44:00.003-06:00

Last night just before midnight I knitted to the end of the Fair Isle on the Red Marl sweater. (can I get an "Amen") I'm nowhere near done with the sweater and I have no excuse for it taking me a month to knit fewer than 46 rows even with 2 colors involved, but if I EVER even think about knitting something larger than a hat or pair of mittens using more than one color of yarn (other than simultaneously) you have my permission to bop me on the head. For some reason the longer I did it the more I hated it, the more I ground my teeth, and the more I tensed up my back and shoulder muscles. I abuse those particular muscles enough as it is, I don't need a "relaxing activity" to help with that. Now I need to knit about 6" of solid red, divide for the fronts, knit those, knit sleeves, put it all together (which just happens to be the program at next Thursday's Bay Lakes Knitting Guild meeting) knit the collar, and wear it. Probably next fall or winter, but that particular monkey will be off my back--and I can go on to the next one in the queue. There's no dearth of monkeys (so to speak, I'm really referring to projects begun and shoved aside) at Barbara's house.

Marl, Tree & Helix

2012-01-31T12:34:00.005-06:00

Well it's the last day of January... and I'm not done with the Red Marl sweater which was one of my New Year's resolutions, to finish an OTN project each month. I have 6 more rows of Fair Isle (oh, I am soooo glad to be nearly done) and then the fronts around the neckline, and the sleeves of which I almost have the cuffs done. However, I am not disheartened. I have made good progress and practiced an increased (and almost unheard of) level of project monogamy. I will continue with this project until it is completed, and then I will move onto the next UFO in the queue. That is how this is going to go. I has spoken (as Mammy Yokum used to say, if you're old enough to have read L'il Abner in the funnies).

I am really enjoying watching the slow growth of my Maple Tree Scarf. It occurred to me if next fall/winter are snowier than this winter has been so far the ends of my scarf with not look the same, not that I expect it to look the same or regular because the tree changes almost daily. The chunk of scarf with the white is from the time after it snowed when there was snow on the tree, but I looked at it and realized that it made it seem like it had snowed daily for days on end, so I decided to only carry the white when it's actively snowed on a day and that way the short white bits that arrive with the green variegated sock yarn that stands for the lichens and moss on the tree kind of speak to that little patch of snow caught in the crotch of the tree. In looking at the tree daily I have discovered a branch in the center of the tree that is black and patched with pinkish white. I assume it's dead and will come down in the next big storm but I love that I see it at all.

The Helix charity hat is an easy one to work on at Friday Night Knitting or when I knit with a friend. You totally need to try knitting something using this one-row-stripe method. You knit along with one color and when you come to the next color you just drop one and pick up the other, no "pick up from below" or "twist together" to prevent a hole in your knitted fabric, just drop one and zoom off with the next one. It's fun and makes an interesting hat or sock or whatever your little heart desires.

Red Shoes!

2012-01-27T12:40:00.004-06:00

My new red shoes came today! I put them on as soon as I had the box open and I may not take them off until I go to bed tonight. Of course I'll take them off to do yoga tonight at Harmony Cafe during knitting but you know what I mean. I think they go very well with my blue jeans and mismatched socks, don't you?

In another box from the UPS guy were 3 more skeins of green yarn, one of sock yarn in variegated black and white, and some Susan Bates Velocity circular needles. I really like the feel of the joins and the tips are the level of pointy I enjoy, and they're very reasonable when I buy them from Yarnsupply.com. Plus there's a code on the packing list giving you 10% off on your next order. What's not to like about that?

I'm going to be using some of the green yarns I've been buying to represent various leaf colors through the year of knitting my Maple Tree Scarf. I realized that I have very little green yarn so I went a little crazy this last week when I was down in the dumps and bought/ordered way too much. That's okay. I've got a little "mad" money stashed in a safe place for just these needs.

I Caved

2012-01-26T21:19:00.003-06:00

I meant to knit the Maple Tree Scarf out of stash yarn but I didn't have any summer leaves greens so ordered a few clearance skeins online (they'll arrive tomorrow) and then I stopped at Patti's Yarn Shop the other day and found a few more skeins of medium greens for leaves. So sue me, I bought it. I bought it all. And more needles will arrive with the yarn from Yarnmarket.com. As will a pair of red shoes from Zappos. Red Dansko shoes. It's a red shoes time for me. A girl can never have too many pairs of red shoes, you know.

I was totally wrong when I said the other day that I had only ten or so rows left on the Red Marl sweater front. I wasn't able to knit much at work this week so only a few rows were added and I added a few rows tonight and NOW I have ten rows remaining. I'm hoping to finish them this weekend. I did take the time to cast on both of the sleeves and have knitted on them some.

At Terri's last Saturday morning and at Mary's Tuesday afternoon I worked on the Helix Spiral Hat for the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild outreach project. Knitting these jogless stripes is endlessly entertaining. It's like a slow motion magic trick.

Weekly Progress Report

2012-01-23T15:56:00.002-06:00

I've been doing pretty well this week. I'm within about a dozen rows of the end of the Fair Isle part of the front of the Red Marl sweater so I wound up four more skeins of red to cast on the sleeves. I am going to knit them both at the same time for expediency and to make them the same.

I ended up frogging the charity hat I'd finished and cast on the pattern I got with the yarn at Knitting Guild. Still not feeling it. I may end up frogging this beginning and falling back on Crazy Aunt Purl's Brangelina Hat pattern. And what I did with my Bryspun US10 DPNs I do not know.

I started the spiral stripes of charity hat #2 yesterday at Terri's. It's hard to see the green and brown stripes but I can tell I'm going to like this hat.

Week three of the Maple Tree Scarf is done. I sure like how it looks.

It's dangerous for me to go to JoAnn's with a "20% off your total purchase" coupon. I found the book I was looking for, but also allowed quite a bit of fabric to leap into my cart. Good thing there's stash money. Well, good thing there was stash money.

Resolution Progress--See, DD, cool, huh?

2012-01-22T12:04:00.008-06:00

After spending 6 crazy weeks going through Mom's stuff, making decisions about what to keep, what to sell, what to donate, and what to toss, I resolved not to leave such a huge job for my beloved children and their spouses. The job at Mom's was complete on December 2 so that gave me a month to mull over how to attack Durwood and my house full of stuff. I got an inkling of how to handle a big, intimidating job while working to insert all the family pictures onto shelves until TW, AJ, and I can get together to go through them. *light bulb moment* I did a little at a time. Didn't exhaust myself with trying to wrap my head around the whole job, I just looked at about 6 linear feet and dealt with that from rafters to floor. I took the last week of 2011 and the first week of 2012 and made a tidy in the sewing/yarn area so I could use the expanse of floor and the lovely cutting table I kept from Mom's as a sorting and staging area, making one pile of trash and another of donations, keeps, of course, go back onto the shelves or into bins. I've realized that Tuesday's the best day for it because it's trash night so I can haul up the bags of trash, not letting them pile up either, and then carrying up the boxes and bags of donations for Goodwill, packing them into the capacious back of Durwood's van which I then borrow on Friday to make the donation and collect the receipt.

I started under the stairs and am moving around one section at a time. First came the liquor cupboard because there were boxes and bins of bathroom and linen closet things that moved from Liberty St. here 9 years ago and were not touched since.

Then the scullery shelves got it. Pots and pans, small appliances, the bin of kitchen gadgets (Durwood's beloved gadgets) got gone through, sorted and rearranged. Look at that open space!

I turned the corner and arranged the pantry shelves and the canned goods shelves below them. Outdated things were tossed, jars washed, and readied for new canning adventures.

Last Tuesday I worked the paper plates, disposable food containers, and all the bags and wraps from Mom's onto the shelves across from the washer. Below those shelves were 3 bins of old dive gear, most of which got tossed but one bin went to the dive shop to see if any hoses, etc. could be salvaged. Now the sauerkraut-making heirlooms live down there, ready to spring into action next fall because we're out of homemade kraut. Out! And we can't have that, can we?

I have a staging area that holds empty bins and boxes and the overflow yarn & fabric bins; and the things, like the nativity set, that were stored way apart from the other holiday things are kind of piling up in another area. But I suspect that by the time I get there I'll have opened up space to start working things in and getting it off the floor.

I'm enjoying doing this just a bit every week, one day's endurable and not overwhelming. I'm looking forward to getting the basement done (so we can really use the woodworking tools and build stuff!) and moving upstairs. I can't wait to see what's hiding in the depths of the front closet. I haven't seen most of that stuff since we moved.

Brace Yourself--Actual Knitting Content

2012-01-17T11:09:00.005-06:00

Sorry I get so wrapped up in other things that I blog about stuff and forget the knittery things. It's a snowy day and the bank's running late with the refinancing papers so I lined up all my latest knitting and took pictures. This post will be all knitting, cross my heart.

I finished up my first 2012 charity knitting on Sunday. It's supposed to be an adult size watch cap but it turned out to fit a small child. I've got half the skein left! So I'll be casting on another similar hat with a shorter cuff and knitting up the rest of the yarn.

At work yesterday I was a bad girl and didn't knit on the sweater front. Instead I cast on the rolled brim of the second charity hat because I want to get past the brim and into the helical stripe part. I am going to throw in the bright green with the donated powder blue and brown because it just needs the green. This is another kids' hat, but I need to find a plain old hat pattern that I can just knit up without all this fancy yarn craft and also make them bigger for kids that have aged beyond the "cutesy hat" stage.

It has been months and months since I took a picture of my latest car knitting warshrag. It goes into waiting rooms for a few rows or sits in the car door when I'm stuck at an open drawbridge and doesn't get into the limelight to get its picture taken. I'm likiing these cool colors.

I am thrilled with the way the Tree Scarf's coming along. It's very hard not to knit more than 2 rows a day but it's no good relying on the weather forecast to knit ahead because at least 60% of the time it's wrong and I do hate tinking back.

The coolest, most insane and exciting item that has to do with yarn is this!
My bff Scully unearthed this from her basement and gave it to me to play with. It's so old it has a VHS tape to watch to learn how to use it. Good thing I got a TV/VCR combo from Telaine last year, eh? I can't wait for the weekend to have days of time to see about setting it up. Good thing I have that cutting table I got from Mom downstairs too. I'll keep you posted.

Hen Fruit

2012-01-15T11:25:00.006-06:00

I wanted to show you that Henny & Penny's eggs aren't just for show. Durwood fried up some Nueske's bacon, I made the toast, and he fried us each an egg. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. I am certain that the egg was so delicious because of the excellent care I took of them while their parents were away skiing in Whistler. Their outstanding flavor had nothing to do with the organic and enriched feed that their owner/parents feed them on a daily basis or the warm and spacious quarters they live in, I quite convinced of it. Don't confuse me with facts.

I finished the Brangelina Mitts last night before bed. They're called Brangelina because they match the Brangelina hat that is my favorite. Thanks for the pattern, Crazy Aunt Purl! Instead of a skein of Wool Ease Thick & Quick it calls for I held one strand of Patons Classic Wool in Mercury with one strand of Bernat Alpaca in Stone. Those yarn colors were made for each other.

Charity Begins At Knitting Guild

2012-01-14T19:49:00.006-06:00

Thursday night in the midst of a (pain in the ass) snowstorm a few hardy souls made it to the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild meeting. There was a tantalizing heap of bags on a back table that proved to be "kits" of yarn and a pattern to knit hats, scarves, and mittens for charity. The Guild has adopted a couple elementary schools in town to help provide warm accessories for kids who don't have them. Some of the bags contained the softest yarn and patterns to knit chemo caps. I took a skein of Wool Ease Thick 'n Quick in a two-color ply of forest green and burgundy. While I'm intrigued to make the pattern clipped to the bag, I suspect that I'd have been knitting a helmet because the yarn's a bit thicker than what's called for. Happily I had another free pattern (no copyright infringement to worry about) down in my files so I got out a couple circular needles and cast on.

The other package I chose had 2 partial skeins in it, one light blue and one brown, to make a striped hat. I took the pattern for that one; it turned out to be a cabled hat. I'm slower than molasses in January at making cables so I searched the free patterns on Ravelry for a striped hat pattern I liked. Naturally I chose the Helix (sic) Striped Hat that calls for 3 colors. I thought I'd take a stab at knitting it with only two colors but if it doesn't work I thought I'd toss in this crazy green I had downstairs. I may just use the green anyway since the three of them together please me no end. (we all know I am categorically unable to follow directions as written)

I've been chugging along on the Red Marl sweater at work. I'm less than 20 rows from finishing the Fair Isle and then it'll be straight red knitting which should go faster.

My plan is to finish the second Brangelina Mitt tonight so that I can cast on the first Red Marl sweater sleeve or maybe I'll see about casting on both and knitting them together so they're the same length. My Clearing friend, Fran, was doing that a couple years ago for that very reason and I thought it was brilliant.

It's quite difficult to limit myself to only knitting 2 rows on my Maple Tree Scarf every day, but forging ahead would defeat the whole purpose. Did I show you that I found a couple partial skeins of green sock yarn to carry along in honor of the lichens on the tree? I feel very smug about it. (Thanks, Z-Dawg.)

DS just called to say that they're in MPLS waiting for their flight home and would we please come over to let Porter out to potty tomorrow afternoon? Yay, I get to play with Porter. She's a lot more fun(ner) to visit than Henny & Penny. Although I did get to goose both chickens in the tail when I went over to shut them in for the night. They were perched side by side on the doorstep of the roost and didn't move when I asked them to, so I tootsed them both in the keester, one at a time, took off the ramp and shut the door. Foolish birds.

Only One

2012-01-11T11:42:00.004-06:00

It's my job to go let Henny & Penny out of their roost in the morning and shut them up at night while DS & DIL1 are off to Whistler, Vancouver, BC skiing for a few days. This morning was my first time. They were clucking and mumbling when I got there and Henny scooted right out of the roost when I opened the door, but I had to get the hoe handle to chase Penny out.

Then there was only one egg. DIL1 and DS both said that they each lay an egg a day. Someone's holding back. Maybe there'll be another when I go to shut them in to stay warm overnight.

This is Henny. She was frustrated that I wouldn't let her out of the fence when I left to go to work. Sorry, sweetie, I have to work and you have to peck.

Here's the poopy egg fresh from the egg box,

and the clean, speckledy egg.

Neither one of them pecked me.

Full Moon

2012-01-08T19:03:00.004-06:00

I went out to move my car into the driveway last night and see what I saw. There hovering above the bare branches of Lee and Susie's maple tree was the Wolf Moon. I love seeing the full moon up there pouring its cold blue light down on me and the rest of the quiet world. Do you ever stop to listen when you go outside at night? You can hear the murmur of traffic in the distance but you can also hear the rustle of leaves as they tumble by on the wind and the groan that branches make as they sway in the wind. I learned not to overfill the crockpot today. I put all the chili ingredients in there, set it on High, and it wasn't bubbling after 3 hours, and we could hardly smell it, so I ladled it out into a Dutch oven and put it into the oven to cook. NOW I can smell it. Good thing the ground turkey was browned so it hasn't been sitting in there all day raw. Eesh, that would be bad.

I tried to take the day off yesterday and ended up sorting my knitting needles and crochet hooks, but that isn't a big, sweaty job so I didn't count it as a chore. I did happen onto a scarf pattern that intrigued me so I unearthed some super bulky yarn and US19 needles and cast on. I got about 6" of it knitted before I realized that it was hurting my hands and I didn't like the way it was looking. I frogged it and put all the parts away.

I've been knnitting my 2 daily rows of garter stitch on my Maple Tree Scarf and here's how it's looking. I'm happy with the brown because it has a bit of green to it and there's a green furry lichen that grows on the bark of my tree. I was looking for some greenish sock yarn to add in on days that it's especially lichen-y but I didn't see any. Maybe I'll go look again. I was hoping that we'd get snow every once in a while so I could add in the white but I'll be patient and not cheat.

My Red Marl sweater front's coming along. I still can't knit with one color in each hand, when I try I end up with the right hand yarn stitches on the needle backwards. At least it's been quiet at work so I can knit Fair Isle there, even one row is good, right?

I'm way farther than this on the first Brangelina mitt. I finished the thumb gusset last night and am on my way up the finger part. This is an excellent pattern.

Today was the first day of my resolution to clear out a part of our crap once a week all year. I guess last weekend when I redid the craft area was really the beginning but that was a necessary redo to work in the stuff I brought home from Mom's so thi s weekend was the real start of the clearing out of stuff we don't need/use. I organized the liquor (I know we have a lot and I'm not sure why), sorted through 2 banana boxes and a tote of bathroom and toiletry things we moved from the old house and haven't touched since. I have a satisfying pile of trash and a small (but growing) pile of donations. Most exciting is the space that appeared on the shelves under the basement stairs. I didn't get quite as far as I'd hoped so I might put in an hour or so on Tuesda y afternoon, but it's a good start.

Merry Christmas From Me to Me!

2012-01-03T16:09:00.005-06:00

Belated, true, but Christmas is Christmas. Last Friday I stopped at a local, non-chain jewelry store to have a link removed from my new watch's band. It's from Durwood, isn't it pretty? While he worked I looked at the displays.

In a display case right at the back of the store I saw a box with a pair of small hoop earrings with pearl dangles--and six other colored pairs of pearl dangles too. When the owner came back with my watch I asked him to show me the earrings. He said, "Finally! I've been waiting for someone to notice them." I asked how much, he said, "$66," I said, "Sold!" Merry Christmas from me to me.

I'd told Durwood that I wanted a new fitness game for the Wii. He didn't know which one so he gave me a little money to go buy one. I did that today. I got Wii Zumba! I love to dance so I can't wait to try it out. It'll probably be real good that no one can see me but I'll enjoy it, I'm sure. I'm ready to Zumba. (There will be no pictures, guaranteed.)

Lots To Share (So Lots Of Pictures)

2012-01-02T17:10:00.012-06:00

It's the beginning of a new year (yay!) and I have lots to share with you. I spent most of New Year's Eve boxing up Durwood's books, putting them on a shelf, and removing the shelves they'd been on. Then I put up the set of shelves my brother, AJ, dropped off for me. They were throwing them away where he works and he offered them to me. They're perfect for my yarn bins. Perfect.

Then yesterday on New Year's Day I sifted and sorted through my yarns and projects started, patterns and fabrics so that I now have room to pursue my crafty manias in an area of peace and calm orderliness. For a while, anyway.

Skully suggested that we all make a Sky Scarf in 2012. The idea is that you look at the sky at the same time every day for a year and knit two rows using representative colors so that by the end of the year you have a scarf that chronicles the weather over the past year. I think it's a great idea. One problem, I don't especially like blue and don't want a blue scarf. She and I brainstormed ideas of things we could observe that would change almost daily besides the sky. We talked about birds that visit the feeders or colors of sunrise or sunset. After a lot of thought, I decided to knit the maple tree outside my window. It's a beautiful tree and it has the best autumn display of any in the area. I sorted out all the browns, a little white for snow, some autumn variegateds, and every green or variegated form of green I had in stock yesterday and the only thing I'm lacking is a mid-summer green, so if anyone has some leftovers of emerald or Kelly green in worsted or Dk they'd be willing to donate or swap I'd really appreciate it. Z-Dawg?

My other knitting resolution for 2012 involves finishing the metric crap-ton of UnFinished Objects I've got scattered around. That was another benefit of tidying the crafting area; I was able to assemble all of the UFOs and determine how much effort is required to finish them.

First up is the Red Marl sweater. It's my first Fair Isle project and once I had the back done the front somehow got shunted aside. Since January is a 31 day month, I thought that would be an appropriate project, plus it's damned cold and I want to wear it. Soon.

Because February is a short month, even though it'll be 29 days this year, I'm going to finish knitting the Lava Shawl. This time I won't have to tink back because I've forgotten how to knit it between times.

In March I will finish the Khaki Cardi which only needs a sleeve and a half to be finished.

The striped Pompom Christmas Stocking gets done in April for one of my DILs. (Neither of them has a stocking made by me. I am a terrible MIL.)

I'll be making the last 5 blocks for the Bandwagon Afghan, sewing it up, and knitting the applied I-cord edging in May.

The onset of warmer weather in June makes me think I'll want something non-wool to knit. That means the Mae Geri Scarf will get finished.

That's as far as I've gotten assigning projects to months. I hope you noticed the confident statements and lack of equivocation. I will have other, quicker projects on the go at the same time each month. I have 3 socks On The Needles (OTN): a Yoga sock, a Fixation Ankle sock, and a Stashbuster Spiral sock (thanks for the yarn, Z-Dawg) that I'll keep working on, one at a time. They're all plain socks so they're something I can knit on with people around. I want to knit at least 2 preemie hats per month for the Knitting Guild charity but those don't take much time. This month I've cast on another pair of Fast and Fearless Mitts because I absolutely adore the first pair I made and I want a pair to match my favorite hat.

I love the clean slate and the endless possibilities of a new year spread out before me. I AM going to exercise regularly in 2012. I am going to STICK to the Points Plus food plan and lose 20# this year. I am NOT going to buy yarn until I have knit up almost all of the yummy and beautiful yarn I snuggled up to yesterday down in the stash. I am GOING to spend one day per week sorting, donating, and tossing things that we don't need and don't use. The insane and endless six weeks my brothers and I spent sorting through and disposing of Mom's stuff convinced me that we need to get started clearing out NOW to spare our beloved children and their spouses from having to do that when we kick the bucket. Amen.

More Makings

2011-12-31T13:36:00.000-06:00

I finished a couple of projects this week, little things. I needed one more soap sack so that everyone I wanted to give one to got one. This is the last one for a while since I ruined my wrists and hands with my marathon crocheting over the last month.

I finished up the teeny tiny tree I cast on the other evening. I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do with it. Maybe I'll take it to Friday Night Knitting tonight and someone will love it and adopt it. It's very small, about 1-1/2 inches tall, and it's stuffing is exposed if you look under its skirt, um, trunk.

One More Day After Today...

2011-12-30T13:15:00.004-06:00

... and it'll be 2012. I couldn't be happier to see one year go and another come. In my extended family we started 2011 with three Grandmas up, DIL1's Grandma Carol was the first to go, then DIL2's Grandma Shirley, finally my mom pulled her little "burst appendix" stunt in late October so DS & DIL's Grandma Maralee rounded out the year at three Grandmas down. This is not a good score, people. To paraphrase Grandma Carol's daughter HJZ, "we don't like it one little bit."

What we do like, what I like are the gifts I got from the crafty people around me.

My pal Skully is into machine embroidery so she made me these flamingo kitchen towels. Aren't they cool? And she wrapped the package in a fat quarter of fabric in this gorgeous "sand and sea" print. She really knows me.

Cookie was making these coasters when we were up at TC in November, and she made this snowman snow globe ornament that I immediately put on the tree.

DD gifted me a skein of Happy Hippie sock yarn in the Jungle colorway. She knows I only make one sock, and I love the colors.

Making Stuff

2011-12-27T09:19:00.003-06:00

I love to make things, no, really, I do. (Exactly how many commas can I put in a nine-word sentence?!) I'd put these two sewing books on my Amazon wish list and my darling DIL1 & DS got them for me. DIL1 did say she had a hard time restraining herself from putting markers in the Zakka book and looking through it I can see why. I'll have to consult with her re: colors, etc. so the sewing can commence... once I can find my sewing machines amidst all the yarn and other things heaped in the crafting area down in the basement.

I've gotten a tiny bit of length accomplished on my Hellical Stripe sock, see? I made one unfortunate yarn choice so the contrast isn't as great as I'd anticipated but it's a logical way of making jogless, single row, stripes. Maybe I'll change out that one yarn for a different one...

Like a total goofball I also got out my size US1 DPNs and some sock yarn with sparkles to attempt to make the free knitting pattern of Christmas day which was tiny trees. Tiny is the word. Look! I'm 10 rows in and it's not big enough to cover my fingertip. It took me six or eight tries to get the first round done. There are only 6 stitches in the first round and the needles kept twisting around so I'd have to rip it out and do it over. Finally about 10 PM I managed to make it to the second round and then I kept going, zooming up to row 10 before calling in a night. This is my first go on such tiny needles with such teensy yarn. I don't like the llittle needles, not one bit. Size three's about the smallest I can tolerate. How do people knit on 00s? Or even 0000? Eesh.

DD and my nephew, CA, decided the bonsai needed to be decorated for the holiday. Pretty cute, eh?

It's Like Crack

2011-12-24T15:41:00.004-06:00

I need to learn to knit faster. Lots faster. Lots and lots faster. I have way too many projects OTN (on the needles) now and I cast on more whenever the spirit moves me. Since there's not really much danger of running out of needles (I have a metric crapload in all the sizes in the free world plus crochet hooks from 3 generations of women in my family) I could easily dig myself into a deeper hole--and probably will before long. One thing I want to do next week is pull out all the UFOs (unfinished objects) and see what I can put in some effort on and finish. Like one of the two sweaters I have down in the heap. One needs only a sleeve and a quarter and neck edging. (Why do I put things away when I've got so little work left? *shrug*)

Remember I showed you that bag of sock yarn I got from Z-Dawg? I dug out a pattern for Stashbuster Spiral Socks that has intrigued me for years and I've been looking at it and checking out the pages and pages of projects on Ravelry, but the pattern's for toe-up socks and I really don't especially like knitting socks that way. Then one of the Rav projects said something like "I'd rather knit socks top-down so I just took the process and made it my way." Revelation! I could knit it my way still using the spiral stripe part. *head-desk* So I picked out yarns and cast on, first on DPNs (double pointed needles) and then I transferred it to Magic Loop (one long circular needle) because the skinny sock yarn was sticking to the bamboo too much for comfort, now it's better. I'm excited to get past the ribbing and into the leg of the sock so I can add in the other three yarns. I decided to go with 4 different stripes, all variegated/self-striping so this should be one odd looking sock, but I don't care, it'll be in my shoe and under my jeans anyway. Who gives a hoot?

DD & DIL2 helped me decorate a birdie tree this afternoon. Durwood bought me a bigbigbig jar of creamy peanut butter that I spread on some of the branches with a spatula, then I sprinkled shelled corn and birdseed on it. I popped some popcorn in the micro and tossed that into the branches and the girls zip-tied on little bundles of suet cake wrapped in colorful net squares. Durwood warned that squirrels will make off with the suet just as fast as they can but I don't care, squirrels gotta eat too. Hmm, maybe I'll cut up an apple and an orange and put them out there. Or not, maybe I'll eat those myself.

When I went thourhg Mom's doll room I found a box with a bunch of spoolies in it. Spoolies are tiny little Christmas ornament dolls made of tiny spools dressed in cute. I want everyone in the family to have one on their tree. Aunt B, d'you have a color request?

Here's my dishcloth swap cloth from Bay Lakes Knitting Guild last week. Don't you love the colors? Mitch made it on a loom, he knits exclusively on looms and man, does he crank out the stuff. He's a knitting machine.

Not Much To Report

2011-12-21T12:27:00.003-06:00

I haven't been knitting or crocheting for the last week because all the cotton-crocheting I did enraged (there's no other word for it) enraged my hands to the point that I had to go and buy a new wrist support and I've been wearing them nearly constantly for the last week. Evidently I'm having Carpal Tunnel problems. Will I need surgery? Lordy, I hope not but I haven't seen a doc for it, this is self-diagnosis at its finest. My fingers get numb and it's hard for me to do fine motor things like put on earrings. Feh. I hate this.

Mitch took a picture of my Kiss Under the Mistletoe dishcloth that I took to Knitting Guild last week and forgot to take a photo of before I went. Thanks, Mitch! It was a fun and simple gift to craft, and we had fun admiring all the dishcloths and then passing them around whenever Terri said the secret word until The End. I got one Mitch made on his loom. It's nice and squishy and bright. I'll take its picture soon. Cross my heart.

Z-Dawg Knits a Lot of Socks

2011-12-13T22:06:00.004-06:00

On Friday I went to Friday Night Knitting and Z-Dawg had brought the yarn she w anted to give away. Everyone had gone through it when I wandered over to look at the shopping bag of sock yarn leftovers. She said, "oh, just take it and donate what you don't want." So I did. When I got home I got out the ball winder and Durwood and I spent a couple of hours untangling and winding up balls. I've spent the days since thinking about what to make out of all that sock yarn. So far I'm thinking about a striped scarf or maybe a striped sock.

I've been unable to stop crocheting soap sacks. So far I've got 8 made; number 9 is on the hook.

I cast on a yoga sock in Cascade Fixation last Wednesday before I went to the first night of Yoga Basics. I've knit a few more rounds this week, but I've mostly concentrated on soap bags. I don't know why I'm so fixated on soap bags but they are consuming my every yarn moment. I promise I'll knit on the sock tomorrow at work. Cross my heart.

It's 11 days until you-know-what. I can't imagine being ready.

Do Not Put a Thermal Mug of Coffee in Your Purse **

2011-12-03T11:29:00.010-06:00

Ask me how I know... once I see if the stains come out of my hoodie, Clearing tee, and sports bra.

I got to go to Friday Night Knitting with a clear conscience last night. It was the first time I took Mom's knitting basket as mine. I put a few of my Copper Harbor buttons on it so that it wouldn't feel undressed and it worked just fine.

And I had it stuffed to the tippy-top as usual.

On Thanksgiving I cast on the Pom Pom Stocking from last winter's Knit Simple. The dark red and old gold of the stripes really appealed to me and I liked the white heel, toe, and points with small pompons that rings the top. There're a couple wives, new-ish to the family, that don't have handmade stockings just in case Santa wants to drop off a few items for them here. I had hoped to finish one by this coming Christmas but Mom's little stunt in October put paid to that. I plan to knit one and sew one to honor both of my favorite crafts.

I got the newsletter from Bay Lakes Knitting Guild and it talks about the December meeting which is a party and elections. I'll keep being Member-At-Large by request of the new Prez. Whew. Everyone's supposed to bring a cotton dishcloth to exchange, and people whose last names start with A - M bring dessert and N - Z bring salad. I had a brilliant idea for my dishcloth so I got right down to making it at work this week. And I had another brilliant idea for what dessert to bring. Double whew.

Way back in the dawn of time before Mom burst her appendix and up and died, Aunt B asked me to knit her a Potato Chip Scarf. I cast it on and knitted away on it, only to discover when I was nearly finished that it was going to be too short and way too narrow. So I frogged it, cast on again adding 30 stitches, and got going again. To make it wider I doubled the knit rows (from one to two) between the increase rows. I finished it week before last; it took 3 work days to bind off. I intend to mail it off to her early next week to protect her from the icy winds of December in North Carolina. (Yeah, let's all feel sorry for her. It's barely above freezing and supposed to snow tomorrow.) Have you ever tried to photograph something black? That black hole is the scarf.

For some reason the idea of making Soap Sacks has been scratching at the back of my mind. I think it'd be nice to have a place to collect bar soap scraps. I hate throwing them away and they stick to everything. Maybe I can melt some glycerin soap and make bars to put in them. I crocheted one and started two more last night. I've got another pattern that's more lacy that I want to try out too.

The coolest thing about Friday Night Knitting is that a new knitter, Mardi, came. She's very nice and she's a yoga teacher. She and the program director of Harmony Cafe are planning to offer a Friday Night Yoga class starting in January. That means we can knit a bit, go yoga-ing across the hall for an hour, and then go back and knit until 9. I am so excited about it that I woke up earlier than I had anticipated to do a half hour of Wii Yoga. Lucky I have made a clearing in the living room or I might have done myself an injury. Now I have to find a pattern for some of those cool yoga socks. (As if I don't have enough UFOs lying around.) Oh, I also will be placing a yoga mat on my Christmas list, if anyone's interested.

Another new-to-us knitter, Kathleen, was there last night too. She doesn't have an obvious advantage to bring to the mix but she's nice and friendly and I think we're going to like her a lot.

**The coffee stains came out of my sports bra and Clearing t-shirt. I'm happy about that.

Mitts!

2011-11-21T08:13:00.003-06:00

I finished the Fast & Fearless Fingerless Mitts the other night. I love them. I love the yarn. Now I wish I'd bought every skein of it she had. Not that I need even one more SCRAP of yarn. I don't need any at all. Want, now, want's a different story. I work in a place that's all about want, not much about need, so I'm very familiar with want. (Hm, on a totally unrelated note, both my kids played Want in the local production of A Christmas Carol when they were small.)

The Rutabaga That Ate Green Bay

2011-11-17T12:03:00.003-06:00

One of our customers, an enthusiastic gardener, stopped in yesterday with a second box of veggies for me. He brought leeks, carrots, apples, squash, and a rutabaga. I thought when he told me what was in the box that maybe one rutabaga wasn't enough for a meal. I was wrong. So wrong. I think Durwood might have swooned a bit when I hefted it out of the box to show him, but he's gamely making plans to subdue it for our table. We've agreed that the next batch of soup will be Jamaican Pumpkin Soup. It is to die for. Makes me want to eat my chicken soup faster.

I've been knitting a bit. I finished the Fast & Fearless Fingerless Mitt #1 and immediately cast on Mitt #2. The first one I made on double points so I transferred the second one onto a long circular needle to see which one I like better for making mitts. I've only done a row or two on the circ so I can't be sure but I'm thinking I'm liking the DPNs better.

It was sunny and beautiful when I crossed the bridge toward work this morning so I snapped a photo as I crossed the bridge. I love sunny and clear days like today, it's pretty darned cold and windy though. I'm not as much of a fan of that.

A Bit of Knitting

2011-11-14T09:01:00.003-06:00

I'm telling you (and I know I keep harping on this but it's consuming all my available personal RAM) but I'm too driven to get thorugh all of Mom's stuff and have a sale before the end of November so we don't have to pay another month's rent. I did make an awesome discovery the other day in the doll room. I found Mom's knitting basket. I remember being pretty small, about 10 years old, and this basket sat on the floor next to her place on the couch and held her knitting and her latest romance novel. Now it's holding my knitting. No novel because mine lives either on the counter next to the potty or on my nightstand.

I found a pattern for some bulky yarn fingerless mitts and decided that I need another pair. So I dug up a couple of skeins of worsted that I bought at a Fiber Fest in Valders last November. They're the undyed wool of a "black" sheep. I put the word "black" in quotes because the sun bleaches the wool and it's really dark, walnut brown, but I like it anyway. I'm holding it double and it's knitting up beautifully, crisp and defined stitches and it feels great. I can't wait to finish them. Here's some of the sheep that the wool came from and here's the mitt so far.

Last night we took DS & DIL1 out to supper at the Prime Quarter Steak House for DS's 33rd birthday and to thank them for all their help during the funeral. We had a great time. Mmm, steak.

Cool Stuff I Buy-ed

2011-11-12T16:48:00.007-06:00

I was determined not to spend much time not at The Clearing last week or to spend too much moola if we did indulge in a little retail therapy. I did okay.

On the way up we stopped in Sturgeon Bay at a quilt shop that Skully knew of. I was fairly restrained. She had her fat quarters priced "buy 3, get 1 free" so I found 4 that I especially liked. Don't you like the 60s vibe they give off? And I love the bright orange with the prints.

Then I cruised the $1 piles and found these striped ones and one little print. I love the prints.

We went next door to the corner bar for burgers and fries (photo in previous post) and then continued on our way.

On Friday Skully and Cookie wanted to go to a Sister Bay quilt store but I stayed at The Clearing and took a walk. Good girl, me.

On Saturday Cookie said she wanted to go to Fish Creek to Red Sock Yarns and then we'd have lunch so I went too. I mostly bought this single skein of yarn to be polite. I do like the colors and don't have any like it. It'll make a good sock.

Then they insisted on going back to the quilt shop because the lady was a hoot. Well, she wasn't on her game on Saturday like she'd been on Friday. Her husband was in the shop "helping" and they were bickering. I don't like bickering so I found a few fabrics, had her cut me fat quarters of each, and I lit out for the quiet of the parking lot.

We had the most delicious burgers and fries at Northern Grill and went back to the peace of The Clearing where we walked in the cold wind and Skully and I tried out the new stargazing circle. It worked great. (It was dark then. Even I know that the stars aren't out in the daylight.)

Arrrrgh!

2011-11-09T09:33:00.003-06:00

See this? It was raining and blowing to beat the band this morning,

then THIS!

OMG, it's not even into the double digits of dates in November. It's not supposed to stick and it's melting immediately on the pavement, but, yup, it's really snow. Ack.

In estate news, I finished up sewing the cheerleader outfit and got her all dressed up. Yesterday the lady came to pick her up and paid the estate $75. That'll help.

We've gotten all sorts of forms to fill out and send back so that we'll get Mom's insurance, etc. so that we can settle all the bills. Slowly but surely we're moving forward and getting things done. Now I'd rather have a bulldozer to clear out the apartment instead of a flamethrower. This is better.

Weekend Runaway

2011-11-08T11:15:00.004-06:00

Last Thursday Cookie, Skully, and I ran away to The Clearing for a little self-directed retreat. They brought their sewing machines and their knitting. I brought my writing and my knitting. They sewed, I wrote, we all knitted. We ate too much (brought out own food) and walked in the woods. It was sunny and cool and breezy. A perfect November weekend and the perfect get-away antidote to the previous two sad and busy weeks. Not that I'm not still sad or don't have a boatload of things still to do, but that little break of needing to only think of myself was most refreshing. Most. Here's some scenery pictures and one of the reading nook in my room. I stayed on the loft bedroom and had a breathtaking view of the bay. I was smart enough to be on the business end of the camera. Although I suspect that at least one of the others had her own camera.

Re-New

2011-10-31T20:56:00.002-05:00

'Member that glove start I showed you yesterday that I was so proud of? I tried it on and it was too small, so I dug out the original needles the pattern calls for, ripped out all my work, and started over. I decided to knit the cuff and palm as the pattern directs and then switch to smaller needles for the fingers. So far, so good. In fact, as the picture shows, it thinks I'm #1. Me too.

Today's the end of Blogtoberfest. I can't say I'll miss the need to post every day. I do think I did rather well considering the nasty surprise I had 9 days ago, don't you? I will still post to my writing blog daily since I'm starting NaNoWriMo tomorrow and intend to write at least 50,000 words in the next 30 days. That's not much, only 1,667 per day, and they don't even have to be all different. You can reuse them all you want. What a deal!

New!

2011-10-30T17:56:00.003-05:00

New knitting! I dug out a skein of Patons Wool in Mercury and one of Bernat Alpaca in Stone and this pattern that I made too big last year. I'm using smaller needles and am hoping that it makes gloves that fit me, especially in the fingers. I think I might have been smart to make the cuff with the bigger needles and use the smaller ones for the fingers. We'll see.

I found a new knitting book in the Clearance shelves at Barnes & Noble this afternoon. I paid even less than the sticker price with my discount card. Tee hee.

And instead of making a paper list of things I don't want to forget to take along on my retreat on Thursday I'm making a list on my iPod Touch. Very advanced techie of me, don't you think? (You do if you're older than me, if you're younger you just rolled your eyes.)

A Girl Can Never Have Too Much

2011-10-29T20:33:00.005-05:00

jewelry. That's right, Aunt B, I found more. Mom's jewelry box was in the garage (the garage?!?) and it had 2 watches and a bunch of jewelry, including an "M" heart necklace I bought for her for Mother's Dad when I was about seven, in it. I remember because Grandma was helping me and told me that "M" stood for Maralee, I told her no, that was for Mom. Silly Grandma. Durwood and I rejoiced in sitting own at the table, just the two of us, and eating real food like veggies (that skillet's full of all the veggies left from the deli trays) and then we shared an orange. Ah, it was good to get back to eating the way we like too. He said he misses cooking and I miss having good, healthy food. And fruit. I love fruit (I usually have at least 3 and up to 5 servings a day) and have hardly eaten any all week. What does scurvy feel like? I'm having yogurt for dessert tonight too, with 3 Fig Thins cookies on the side. And tomorrow I'm meeting Cookie and Skully at The Attic Cafe & Books to knit in the afternoon. I'm hoping to not step foot in Mom's apartment all day. I need a break.

I'd Better Post

2011-10-28T22:32:00.002-05:00

because I forgot yesterday. I have to say that my mind is a blur these days so I'm giving myself a bit of a break. Here's some other people's knitting pictures I took at Friday Night Knitting a while back. I promise that I'll have some of my own knitting, new knitting one of these days. Soon.

This is the Way We Sort Mom's Jewelry

2011-10-26T17:26:00.002-05:00

O.M.G. My mother, may she rest in peace, had more damned jewelry than you could shake a stick at, and most of it wasn't worth the powder to blow it to H-E-double toothpicks. Aunt B did find Mom's diamond earrings though so that mystery was solved. I screwed them suckers into my ears so fast my earlobes got pinched.

No Sunshine Today

2011-10-25T21:53:00.003-05:00

Rain, sleet, rain, rain, hail, rain, rain-- with a bit of thunder thrown in for spice. I knit one row on Aunt B's Potato Chip Scarf last night. Anybody made one? I added 30 sts and am adding an extra knit row between increase rows, and thinking of adding at least one more repeat, and I'm still using way less yarn than the pattern says. Plus it looks too skinny. Tips?

At Least the Sun's Shining Today

2011-10-24T08:43:00.003-05:00

Well, right now anyway. I have a crapload of things to accomplish today, phone calls to make, errands to run, and I'd really rather pull the covers over my head and hide. Or maybe take Porter to the dog park all day to see what dogs come out to play. I'd take treats. For both of us. I really haven't been knitting so I don't have any knitting to show you, but I can find a
few U.P. pictures to dazzle you with.

Coping

2011-10-23T11:43:00.005-05:00

I am employing several coping mechanisms today. One is blogging,

another is cleaning, because DD and Mom's sister are coming, and you know there'll be random people here this week.

Possibly the most ill-advised is a pint of Ben & Jerry's New York Super Fudge Chunk ice cream for lunch. I've been frustratedly trying to reduce the shadow I cast and not had a lot of luck. Grief eating is not going to help but once Tuesday's over I'm back on the wagon. Really. This is my last pint of bad-girl food for a long time. Cross my heart.

DS and I took Porter to the dog park on Friday. She met and played with a Newfoundland named Morgan. Morgan is as big as a Smart Car. No. Lie. Good thing she's friendly.

In knitting news, at Friday Night Knitting I frogged and restarted Aunt B's scarf. I added 30 stitches and an extra knit row between increase rows--and I may add another repeat to make it wider, but it's fast knitting and going well.

Bye, Mom

2011-10-22T20:08:00.002-05:00

I love you lots. I always did.
Barbara Sue

Inspired by Mooncalf

2011-10-21T12:01:00.003-05:00

I read her blog daily and I am in awe of her productivity and output, both in knitting and other crafts. I have followed her lead making fabric baskets

and pocket monsters,

but today she blogged about getting a new pattern book. Well, I got a new book too. It isn't a pattern book, it's a book of essays but the subject is knitting. You can see it has already moved into its rightful place--on the vanity next to the "throne." Where else would you put a new and treasured volume?

I Am The Sweetest

2011-10-20T12:34:00.004-05:00

Durwood says so, I believe him, and I've got the flowers to prove it. See? They were waiting for me when I got home from work last Saturday. It was Sweetest Day, one of those Hallmark holidays, and he gave me a card and the flowers. I think they look perfect in this ugly pitcher I bought years ago at T.J. Maxx. I remember what DD said when I picked it up. "Mom!" she said, as only a 15-year old can. "You're not going to buy that hideous thing, are you?" That clinched it; I had to have it and it has amused and pleased me ever since.

This is the pumpkin cheesecake that DS & DIL1 brought for Sunday supper. It had an absolutely fantabulous graham cracker crust and it was totally delicious.

When Durwood and I ran away from home the other day we went to Appleton and strolled through World Market. I love that place. It's like a vacation without a passport. Everything's a tiny bit exotic and the store smells like foreign places. I bought this sarong to use as a scarf. It was 50% off and I loved the muted colors. I wore it yesterday and felt very swell.

False Start & Restart

2011-10-19T21:10:00.002-05:00

Last Friday I cast on 90 stitches and got started on Aunt B's Potato Chip Scarf while I was visiting Mom. I worked on it at Friday Night Knitting, but it was going fast and going nowhere. What you see is all but the last row of knit front and back and the bind-off. It's not long enough and I don't think it's wide enough. I'm going to frog it and start over. Some of the ones I saw on Ravelry added stitches and rows; I think that's what I'll do.

I frogged my last attempt to make a Special Olympics scarf and put it aside. The other night I pulled it out and started again with bigger needles. Great big needles. US13s. I do love it when it goes fast.

Oh, you should have had supper with us tonight. We had leftover Peking Chiken so Durwood cut it off the bone, heated it up, put it in whole wheat tortillas with hoisin sauce, cucumber spears, and chopped green onions with steamed broccoli on the side. You would have wanted some but we ate it all.

Posting In The Dark

2011-10-18T21:33:00.003-05:00

I mean to do this in the morning, or at least in the daylight, but my days get away from me more than I care to admit. I hear that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, so I plan to have a very smooth path to perdition one of these days.

I used yarn as decor on Sunday...

but it couldn't compare to the allure of the appetizer platters Durwood and I fixed for our family supper.

His Italian Wedding Soup was delicious and my Creamy Mushroom Barley Soup was nearly gone. (his recipe makes a lot more than mine does)

Arrgh!

2011-10-17T16:38:00.002-05:00

I neglected to blog yesterday. I was busy cleaning my house, making dip and soup and filling birdfeeders. I have pictures but they're in the camera at home. I need, I need... I don't know what I need but I really need something to center me again.

Blowing

2011-10-15T13:47:00.002-05:00

It's a really windy day and I wish I was out in it instead of here in the store (earning money which I will appreciate come payday on Monday). I would like the wind to blow the leaves in my yard away up the hill into someone else's yard or even across Fisk St. into the park where they'll just turn into mulch. I wouldn't mind leaving the leaves in our yard to turn to mulch but Durwood (and the neighbors) wouldn't like it at all. Actually I'd like to dig up most of the grass and plant rocks so that I don't have to mow the slopes in our yard but that idea isn't flying either. I am thwarted at every turn.

Yarn Stuff!

2011-10-14T10:47:00.004-05:00

Finally I have some actual yarn-y content. I appreciate your continued patience with my lunacy.

Last night was the Bay Lakes Knitting Guild meeting and we learned 3 new increases: knit in front and back (of the same stitch), make 1 (right or left leaning), and row below (right or left leaning). Terri had giant US35 needles and super bulky pink yarn to demo them and we all managed to get our yarn and needles to obey with a minimum of swearing but there were a lot of tongue tips sticking out at times. It was great to see new faces and old ones too. It's getting to be a very congenial group and I'm learning a lot of helpful things. Besides, you can't know too many knitters.

I'm working on my MeWarmer (scroll down). See? I've turned the first corner, now I knit straight for a few rows for the underarm, then I'll turn another corner to make the back up to the neck. Basically I'm making a big "U" shape, I'll make another, and then stitch them together to make an open front vest I can snuggle into when winter winds blow.

And it turns out I haven't invented a bizarre hybrid row on my Sea Foam scarf. It was just all scrunched together.

Tonight I'm casting on a Potato Chip scarf at Friday Night Knitting for my Aunt B who wants something I knit to swan around in during the "harsh" North Carolina winters. She'll look fab in it.

Oh, Doody

2011-10-13T11:54:00.003-05:00

I forgot to take pictures of my knitting progress last night when I got home, so you're just going to have to be satisfied with, uh, a selection of Lake Superior photos from last week. Perhaps I will remember to photo the yarn stuff tonight after Knitting Guild, post then, and be caught up for the month.

Here's the lovely Durwood at the head of a stairs over the dunes. See how relaxed he looks?

This stairs led from a scenic overlook down to the lake shore. I was pleased to be able to climb back up with a minimum of huffing and puffing.

I love this view of Lake Superior and the fall sky. They both went on forever.

Well, Hell

2011-10-12T11:25:00.005-05:00

Sorry I missed posting yesterday but Mom decided to have a burst appendix so I spent the day in the ER and various hospital waiting rooms. I didn't even have time to change out of my sweaty walking clothes before I had to run to see what was up with Mom. Thank God the darned thing didn't rupture on her ride home (with DS driving) from her 65th high school class reunion on Monday. I was totally planning a relaxing afternoon in the autumn sunshine. I even thought about carrying my most portable sewing machine out onto the patio and sewing up the skirt I cut out in the lovely weather. But taking care of Mom took precedence, of course. I knitted on the Sea Foam scarf in the ER and the MeWarmer while she was in surgery but haven't taken pictures of either yet. Just trust me, progress was made and I think I may have invented a bizarre hybrid of the seafoam stitch but I was too cross-eyed to really tell. Here's a picture of Mom's knitting project from last winter so you won't grump that there's no yarn-y content. I know how you get.

No Nearly Midnight Posting for Me Today

2011-10-10T09:28:00.005-05:00

Nope, today I'm Johnny-on-the-spot.

The only knitting I have to show you is the first piece of the MeWarmer I'm creating as I frog (ribbit! rippit!) the hideous Campsie Wrap I made last winter. I got smart and frogged the end a-ways, started the new project and now I'm unknitting and knitting at the same time. Clever me! On the left we have the wrap (ugh) and on the right is the MeWarmer (yay). Much better.

Whoa, Nellie

2011-10-09T22:46:00.003-05:00

I almost missed posting today, good thing I remembered. I mowed the lawn and brushed by the milkweeds I keep for the monarch butterflies and a bunch of the seed pods burst open and a cloud of them followed me around the backyard for a lap. They're so pretty.

The tree in the front yard is trying keep some leaves in every color. Some, the red/yellow/orange ones are falling and the green ones are still sticking, the plain yellow ones are falling too, trying to bury my car when I park it on the street.

You should see the chrysanthymums blooming against the front of the house. I could sit and look at the deep red and bronze ones all day.

We opened the house up this morning and look at what is just hanging there outside the window of the second bedroom. It's big and just beautiful. It is outside so there's no need to be creeped out, DD. I know you're cringing just looking at it.

Rocks In My Bag

2011-10-08T09:01:00.003-05:00

I took my bag of rocks into the Rock Knockers Shop at Da Yoopers Tourist Trap only to find out that none, not one of them is an agate. That meant I had to buy one from him. (Hmm, I wonder if he told me that so I would buy one.)

Outside they had bigbigbig boulders of other ores. This one has gold in it...

but my favorite is this one with jasper. It's the red.

I Flew A Frog

2011-10-07T17:15:00.007-05:00

I worked on the MeWarmer on the long (149 mi.) drive from Copper Harbor. I thought I'd need it this week but it has been so warm that even long sleeves are too warm.

We toured ourselves around Marquette yesterday. First we visited Knit 'n Purl where I exhibited admirable restraint.

Then we found the ore docks, seeing two big carriers coming in.

Then we drove past the ore docks and there was a carrier being loaded. It was noisy... no, it was LOUD when those ore pellets slid down the metal loading chutes but it wasn't dusty and it was interesting to watch the bow of the huge ship sink down into the water five feet. (There's those marks on ships' hulls that tell you how much of it is underwater.)

We then drove back along the shore and found a nice park where I unlimbered my poison dart frog kite and flew it. It was so eager to fly it fairly leapt into the air. Tons o'fun.

I am having a whale of a time on this consolation vacation, and I totally still love ol' Durwood, even after spending all this time with him.

Who Ordered Perfect Weather?

2011-10-06T13:29:00.004-05:00

We didn't order it but that's what we've had all week. Our van is full of heavy coats, medium coats, hats, scarves, and mittens and we're sweltering in long jeans and flannel shirts. Happily I did pack mostly short-sleeves figuring I'd layer so I'm doing okay. Durwood's okay too since he's always cold anyway.

Yesterday we drove from Copper Harbor to Marquette, 149 miles. It was a long day in the van, but we did see beautiful country.

I could spend an entire vacation sitting on the lake shore watching it change.

Up Nort'

2011-10-05T09:51:00.006-05:00

We drove up along the beautiful lakeshore to Copper Harbor, stopping wherever the impulse struck. This is Jacobs Falls, I thought of Rose when I was taking its picture.

The towns got smaller and older and emptier as we went. We're both having such a great time just wandering together without timetables or expectations.

I climbed down to the Sand Bay beach and picked rocks, some of which might actually be agates (well, maybe one or two).

We spent a lovely hour sitting and watching nothing in Copper Harbor, and then went back for the sunset.

Shopping!

2011-10-04T07:48:00.001-05:00

Finally yesterday we were in a place where there are open stores that weren't tourist traps or bait shops. We stopped in a rock shop to get some info about identifying agates on the beach. I thanked them by buying a couple of mineral chip bracelets.

We were coming into town and saw the morning mist rising off Portage Lake. With the sun on the changed leaves we had to stop to take a lot of pictures.

Here's a telephoto shot of a lakeside walking path I'd like to explore with my friend Skully.

We stopped at Walmart so that Durwood could see his friend Mary the greeter. They had only a short time to chat but both really enjoyed seeing each other. I managed to spend a quarter of my "mad" money in their fabric department. (Our Walmart doesn't even have fabric anymore.)

The lady in the rock shop directed us to Roy's Bakery for "the best pasties in town." Not having eaten all the pasties in town, I can't agree but they were worlds better than the microwaved ones we had in Ontonagon yesterday. The search continues in Copper Harbor later.

I discovered the address of a fabric/yarn shop in downtown Houghton so we went there. The fabrics were mostly "eh" except for a few fat quarters but I managed to find a few keepers in the yarn department. Like the Weekend Neck Down Pullover pattern from Knitting Pure & Simple.

Like the gray and red skein of fibranatura Yummy 100% Superwash Merino (370 yds.) DK.

Or the skein of hot-colored Ty-Dy 100% Wool (218 yds.) worsted.

We had to change motels because there wasn't a room with 2 beds at the one we were in. We're out of the habit of being able to sleep together in a double bed. Dratted king size bed! I'm blaming Grandma Carol for moving so we got her bed. Our new motel was a few miles north of Houghton/Hancock so we'd be that much closer to Copper Harbor tomorrow. I can't wait to get back to the Lake Superior shore. I thought all the places we'd be up here would be along the lake but they're not. Imagine that.

On the way to the motel we passed the enormous Quincy Mine Hoist, it's the biggest thing around.

We drove to find a different yarn shop in Lake Linden (but it was closed on Monday) but we saw this along the road. Cool, eh? (I was going to write "huh" but we're so close to Canada I thought I should say "eh")

I Am So...

2011-10-03T08:24:00.007-05:00

knitting while on vacation. I know you were wondering, but I am. See? I finished one, uh, something (not shown), and I cast on the next, um, thing.

Also remember this?

I hated it. Hated every awkward, ugly inch of it. So I'm unraveling it as I knit it into an EZ's Ribwarmer. It's 100% garter stitch, what's not to love?

In more interesting news--we went to see a waterfall yesterday! It was about 1/4 mile down a woodland path which we both walked, then down a 100 step stairs which only I climbed down and up, but it was sunny and warm and the waterfall was beautiful and LOUD. It was just lovely to stroll through the woods on such a gorgeous day with Durwood. What a perfect day.

Then we drove through multicolored tunnels of trees to Lake Superior where Durwood pulled over so I coudl walk along the road and then I found a path down to the beach and walked there. It was lovely. Anyone know what agates look like?

We shared a so-so pasty for lunch in Syl's Cafe in Ontonagon and then drove on to Houghton where we are now. More adventures to come.

A Lucky Start

2011-10-02T08:13:00.001-05:00

Last night after supper I was sending our orange peels down the disposal when I spotted this in the backyard. It seemed a good omen for the success of our week of wandering through Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

On the drive up we stopped in Wittenburg, WI at Nueske's smokehouse for a cheddar brat for lunch. Mmm. (You should be jealous.)

There was a gigantic Loon along the highway in Mercer!

We went to The Liberty Bell Chalet in Hurley, WI for supper. Durwood had the lasagna, I had homemade sausage and peppers on penne. I've been craving garlic bread for weeks so I ordered some. It was to die for. No, that's not right. To. Die. For. I could only eat one piece; it was so buttery, garlicky, and cheesy I knew if I ate more I'd deeply regret it for days so I was mature and smart--and left the rest go. *sigh*

Blogtoberfest Starts Today!

2011-10-01T10:32:00.001-05:00

(Well, that was stupid. I hit "enter" by mistake after typing the title and it posted. Won't do that again. Often.)

I'm down to the last few chores to do before we drive off into the sunset toward the U.P. to goof off all week and look at pretty scenery. I've already scoped out two yarn shops, one in Houghton and one in Marquette, and ascertained that they'll be open the days that we'll be in each city. We packed last night and will soon load up the Uplander and head out.

Thanks to my dive shop customer, Merlyn, we have a lovely box of winter squash from his garden. Aren't they pretty? They'll make lovely meals as the weather turns. Thanks!

Last night at knitting I made sure to take photos of everyone's project so I'll have a stockpile of pix for this month. Of course I forgot to ask anyone to take MY photo, and I didn't take one person's photo (Helen) because she wasn't working on a project, she was just goofing off. Here's Julia knitting a lime green with sparkly pink fuzzy yarn mitten for today's fiber photo. It's very warm and very cool looking in person even without a thumb yet.

Practice Post #4

2011-09-30T12:25:00.005-05:00

When I was making those collage postcards the other day I realized that I was running out of old stamps and didn't know how many postcards I have on hand. So on my pre-prep errands yesterday I zoomed around to pick up holds at the Library, check out Goodwill's bookshelves to see if they had any I couldn't live without, stopped at the Book Stop where they did have what I was looking for (and more!) so I spent part of my credit there, and finally I went around the corner to the Green Bay Stamp Shop. I bought all my current stamps from him and he's got a lot of old, low postage ones from around the world. I kind of went nuts. But I only spent $18 and it'll last me for years and year, plus look how pretty.

The book in the upper left of the photo is Nick Bantock's Urgent 2nd Class with his suggestions on what to use and how to repurpose ephemera to make collages, etc. Fanned out across the bottom of the photo are my remaining postcards. I can get by with them for a while. Maybe I'll find some cool ones on our jaunt next week. I'm sure Durwood won't mind stopping in yarn shops and antique stores. He's a good sport.

Practice Post #3

2011-09-29T11:32:00.004-05:00

The subject of today's post is Random Creativity. Years and years ago I fell in love with Nick Bantock's Griffin and Sabine books. I loved essentially reading someone else's mail and I loved the surreal element of his art style. I'm not much of an artist in the painting and drawing area but I can cut out and glue with the best of them. I buy old unsent postcards (13/$10) from a local antique shop and old cancelled stamps ($.01 ea.) from the stamp shop in an old mall a few blocks away. I found some sticker books at the School House with spiders and lizards and other oddball stickers. I put them all together like this,

and mail them off to my kids and friends who I think might need a pick-me-up.

Yesterday I remembered that I have a packet of sticky postcard backs meant to turn snapshots into postcards, so I dug them out along with all the old stamps, cut-apart stock photo books I bought at Goodwill year before last, and an envelope of art paper scraps, took them to work with me, and made some collage postcards. They aren't as rigid as standard postcards but I really like them and had fun making them. I have the best job in the world!

Practice Post #2

2011-09-28T12:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I decided that I should probably practice for Blogtoberfest, to get into the groove of finding something to snap a photo of, something fascinating to blog about, so that when the fest kicks off on Saturday October 1st I'll be cocked and primed, up and at 'em, ready, willing, and mable. Something like that. So here's today's contibution.

I look out the window by my desk in the corner and there's a nice big maple tree there. I noticed last weekend that the leaves have started to change colors. The leaves at the tips of the branches are a rich deep red, almost maroon, but the green leaves have changed too. Not their color yet, but they're a more solid green, not as translucent as summer green leaves, like their natural under-color is beginning to assert itself. I'm not thrilled that all this change and beauty will lead us to the deep freeze of winter in no time flat, but I do love the crisp days and the flamboyant colors of the leaves as they kiss summer goodbye.

Despite my best intentions I've cast on another scarf. I think it was a Free Knitting Pattern a Day one from a couple months ago that interested me enough to print it off. Then I found some silk and bamboo yarn up at Spin in Sturgeon Bay--on sale, of course--that called out to become a scarf. I was cleaning out my knitting catch-all basket in the living room, dug down to the yarn, and I was sunk. I started it on the needle size called for but I think my yarn's a bit thicker than the pattern yarn (worsted rather than DK) so I ripped it out, got out fatter needles and took another run at it. I'm liking it--and it's not a usual color for me.

I also found a different free pattern that caught my interest, I dug up some stash wool, and cast it on last night. We will not be discussing this further, suffice to say that I am weak when it comes to new projects. But we knew that, didn't we?

Pokey

2011-09-27T20:25:00.004-05:00

I got tired of having sewing pins slide up under my nails when I tried to grab one without looking. So I sewed up a pincushion with piping and stuffed with ground walnut shells. Walnut shells? Yeah. Skully said that they were the perfect thing for pincushions. I looked around on the internet and discovered that ground walnut shells are used for a lot of things.

Like for reptile bedding...

filtering water in the oil industry...

and as a blasting medium...

but I'm just using mine as pincushion stuffing. My blasting days are over.

Where Did This Week Go?

2011-09-24T20:28:00.006-05:00

As my mama used to say, "I swan to John, time sure is flying." Nah, she really didn't. I just made that up, but I gotta say that time is flying and I can't begin to pin it down to my satisfaction. I meant to post a couple times this week, I really did, but the days got away from me. I promise I'll do better. Promise. Maybe I'll sign up for Blogtoberfest and post every day next month. We'll be up in Michigan's UP the first week of the month so that might be a good way to start. I'll give it some thought. I wonder if they have the internets up there. I'm hoping to see lots of pretty leaves and Lake Superior and maybe find an agate on the beach or at least walk along looking for one. Mostly I want to go away with Durwood and veg.

The other night things were going remarkably well on the Lava Shawl and I thought maybe I could finish it to take along next weekend, so I took it to work with me on Thursday and I knitted 4 rows at work--wrong. It wasn't until I got home and was adding another row that I realized that about seven rows back I'd gotten my count off or my stitches off. It was totally noticeable and had to be frogged back and fixed. I started tinking back (backing up stitch by stich, unknitting, hence t-i-n-k, k-n-i-t backwards) before bedtime and got a couple rows. I was bitching about it at Friday Night Knitting and Z-Dawg, the yarn whisperer, held out her hand and spent the next two hours putting in a lifeline, ripping back all those bad rows, getting it back on the needles, and back on pattern. I tried to pay her but she'd only take enough cash for a piece of pie. One of these days I'll figure out a way to make her take money for that. Maybe I'll buy her a skein of some super yarn...

Last week I finished Bandwagon Block #7, haven't got the tails woven in yet, but it's done-ish. I will not be casting on another block until I get the Lava Shawl and the Sea Foam Scarf done. *firm head nod*

Speaking of the Sea Foam Scarf, it got to go to work with my on Monday and Wednesday. I got lots added, and I worked on it while Z-Dawg rescued the Lava Shawl last night. Thanks again!

Last week on Purl Bee they brought back a nice quick tote bag pattern that I thought might be the perfect project for those couch fabric sample pieces I got out of the load of not-for-doll-clothes fabrics someone gave Mom. Turns out I was right. I even had enough webbing to make handles. The ones I liked the best were the ones that look like mid-80s sunroom furniture, you know, kind of watercolor-y and bright with fruit, flowers, and pitchers on it. Loud and brash, just the way I like it. I cut out 4 bags and sewed up three of them this afternoon. I'll probably pop down and finish the last one before bed tonight. They're called the Twenty Minute Tote, very easy, very quick. They'd make great, reusable gift bags, if you're so inclined.

Sometimes You Get Your Inheritance Early

2011-09-17T13:52:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago my brother Andy called to say that he had custody of the "family canning supplies" they were clearing out things and did I want it. I said yes and he dropped off a few boxes. We walked around them stacked in the living room for a while and then unpacked them to see what I had last week.

There's a big pressure canner and a small one (that might have been GramMary's); both of them have their instruction manuals, thank God. Dad's red bottle capper was inthere with a box of bottle caps, some of which have cork liners. There's a box of old Coke bottles, individually wrapped in old newspapers, in both the 6.5 and 12 oz. sizes. The cone ricer used to belong to my grandma Babe, it was in her full set of Mirro aluminum cookware, Mom says I don't know where the big old scale and wooden slicer are from, maybe the farm, they look familiar. The most surprising item is the box with four 2-quart Ball jars. I don't think I've ever seen jars that size. Gallon jars, yes, quarts, pints, even half-pints, sure, but half-gallon ones, never. I hope that they fit in the hot water bath kettle. They'd be great to can Durwood's homemade tomato juice in. Cross your fingers.

This entire treasure trove may be destined to belong to the Canning Women one day.

Slacker

2011-09-15T12:53:00.006-05:00

I decided the other day that I need to corrall all my WIPs (works in progress), rank them by finish-ability, and plunge in. I've started too many big projects that I lose interest in and then tuck away so I chose the Lava Shawl because that's made with big-hole lace on big needles with bulky yarn so it should go quickly (I'm all about the speed of gratification.) for my at-home project.

(Don't you love the orange carpeting in my basement lair? Lairs don't get redecorated very often.)

For now Bandwagon Block #7 is the work project. It's nearing completion. Once it's done, the Seafoam Scarf will come back into the at-work project spotlight.

There's only a sleeve and 3/4 to knit on the Khaki Cardi. I'm not sure why it got pushed aside, maybe because it looks like it might be way too big, but it needs to be finally finished.

I did a little sewing yesterday and assembled the Egg-Collecting Apron I'll give to DS & DIL1 once Henny & Penny start laying eggs. I am in love with the fabric!

So What Did I Do Last Week?

2011-09-11T17:38:00.008-05:00

I worked on this, trying to make a knitted flower and a crocheted bee to send to the Goobie for her mama to sew on her new winter hat. I suck at it, sucked at it all week. I might look for another pattern I can make, a one piece pattern of a flower to crochet, to hell with the bee.

On the way down to the Quilt Show I knitted on the log cabin parts of Bandwagon Block #7, got one side done, picked up stitches and knitted the next side, and picked up the third side.

The last few nights I've been trying to remember to knit a row or two on the Summer Fever Shawl. I feel good about it even though it's going slowly.

I really should unearth a wool shawl I've got OTN since summer's almost over and hold this one until late next winter for next spring. It'd be smart to finish some of the myriad projects I've got around here, wouldn't it?

Here's my loot from the quilt expo. I bought a pack of charm (4") squares ($5.99!!) to make a bag that Bells made last month. It's very cute and I want one, now I have the raw materials.

I couldn't resist the fat quarters for $1.49 and the batik yards for $7 at the Nancy's Notions booth. I love batiks and they're always so expensive.

A few (hundred) booths later we spied tables of fat quarters in very interesting prints. Here's the ones I bought: Dots & Teapots (don't you love the colors?)

Bugs & Butterflies (couldn't resist the little bugs making tracks in the sandy background) and

Fish & Flamingos (no explanation needed for these).

The vendor was from Nicholasville, KY just down the pike from where DD & DIL2 live. Small world. At another booth I resisted buying a flamingo umbrella for $23. I am amazed at my continued maturity.

Cookie and I spent quite a bit of the drive home talking about food, in particular grilled veggies. I had to make some and I took a picture for you to see. This is the second batch. You see I was taking the last of the first batch off the grill, rested the pan on the grill rim, and grabbed the hot handle with my bare hand. I dropped it, and all the yummy grilled veggies spilled onto the dirty patio right near where I had sprinkled ant killing granules early today. I had to throw them all out and start over. I cried, both over burning my finger and having to waste all that food. Not my finest hour.

Not Long At All

2011-09-04T14:20:00.006-05:00

Almost immediatly after making the statement in the previous post that I need to finish things instead of start them, I ran across the Special Olympics 2012 Scarf Project info that I'd bookmarked a while back. Naturally I printed off the details and a few patterns, stopped at JoAnn on my way to Cookie's yesterday and bought the Red Heart Soft yarn they call for. I cast on and knitted a few inches. I like it alright but I really like carrying some eyelash yarn along, making it more boa-like for those young (and young-at-heart) athletes who yearn for something flashier. I should check the stash, I'll bet I've got some red eyelash down there.

In harvesting news, I went out and clung to the side of the hill to pick raspberries for Durwood. What I do for love...

while I did that he went off and picked up the half-bushel of tomatoes he ordered from Sunnyhill Farms and got right to making his own tomato juice. See how excited he is!

I turned my back for two day, TWO DAYS, and look at the patty pan squash. The biggest one is about the same diameter as a salad plate. If you don't keep an eye on the little devils they just explode. They sure are tasty.

We got tired of looking at the dead lettuce in the pot by the patio doors so I cleaned it out at Durwood's suggestion and planted spinach in its place now that it's cooler. It's sprouting nicely.

Easy Come, Easy Go

2011-09-02T21:43:00.003-05:00

Well, actually, the "come" part wasn't that easy, but the "go" part sure was. I finished the toe-up Easter Egg Ankle sock the other day. I tried it on. It didn't fit well. I didn't like it.

I got out my ball winder and turned the sock back into a ball of yarn. Zzzzzip!

Then I took the yarn to work and cast it on again but this time in the old tried-and-true cuff down method.

I worked on Bandwagon Block #7 tonight at Friday Night Knitting.

I'm in a "I need to finish things instead of start them" mood. We'll see how long that lasts.

Pods

2011-08-30T15:01:00.004-05:00

I went up to the raspberries the other afternoon and saw some pods growing on the hummingbird vine. They look like pointy, thick green beans but they're pretty dark green with a bit of reddish added. I love the color of the flowers and this summer the hummingbirds have discovered it. Aren't they pretty? I do wish I knew the purpose of the pods.

P.S. We're getting a grand-dog on Friday. Her name's Porter (or it will be once DS & DIL1 get her home). She's a 9-month old mutt and they said she was very ladylike when they met her. Isn't she cute?

Walking For Art

2011-08-28T11:13:00.014-05:00

Yesterday DS and I walked from Titletown Brewing across the Main St. Bridge to Artstreet, the annual downtown art fair. It was a perfect day for a stroll in the sun and breeze. Lots of people were out, lots of families. A great time was had by all, at least DS and I. I got a pair of souvenir earrings that I'm wearing right now.

Last night I almost finished the Easter Egg Ankle Sock, just one more ribbing round and binding off left to do.

I knitted a row on the Summer Fever Shawl after supper the other night and then realized that I'd done it wrong. Do you know how hard it is to "tink" back a row of lace? It's a pain in the needles, that's how hard it is.

I cast on the next Bandwagon Afghan Block. It's #7, which means that I'm on the second half of the afghan. I like the colors of this skein of yarn, even though neither blue nor green are my favorite colors.

And I was finally unable to resist digging out the pattern and US 13 needles and casting on EZ's (Elizabeth Zimmerman, the woman who de-granny-fied knitting in the 50s and is a goddess to many knitters) Ribwarmer out of the UGLY Campsie Wrap I made last winter.

In sewing news, I whipped up a Pocket Monster the other night from a couple of fat quarters. I think, sadly, that it needs to be made from only one fabric as it is so small. I'll be making more of these once I tweak the pattern to my satisfaction.

Walking back to our cars from Artstreet we passed by some tall vines outside the brewery. They're hops! See the little pale cones? What else would you grow outside a brewery?

Stitching Away!

2011-08-22T08:42:00.009-05:00

I didn't knit last weekend. I only sewed. And dived on Saturday with Kevin & Deb, but on Friday and Sunday I sewed. I did other stuff too, like pick tomatoes and do a few chores for Mom, use my coupons at Jo-Ann for fabric and rick rack, but mostly I sewed.

On Friday I made the last skirt I had cut out and ready to go. I like it because it's neutral and not really patterened so it'll go with just about anything.

On Saturday I went diving, two dives, up at the end of Door County. It was a gorgeous day. Gorgeous! The sun shone, the water was warm (mostly) and the company was genial. Days like that remind me why I stay in shape and haul all that heavy gear up and down the basement stairs. I had a blast.

Yesterday I finished the bag I'd started at last weekend's Sew-in at Skully's house,

and turned 3 t-shirts from crew necks into v-necks. Thanks for the tip, DD!

But first I zoomed over to Mom's in the morning to do a few chores for her before her afternoon bridge party--delivered watermelon, filled bird feeders, unearthed wine glasses in the garage, and looked for rick rack in the doll room. I did see this chicken pitcher in her cabinet, when I admired it she told me to take it. I love the dopey look on her face!

Then I dropped a bag of shirts I'd culled out of my overstuffed closet at Goodwill, after that I went to Jo-Ann's to spend the 2 expiring coupons I had in my purse. I found more rick rack (I have a secret project I need it for--shhhh),

a bunch of remnants,

some yardage for a skirt and other as yet undecided uses,

and this. I absolutely adore the panicked look on her face. She was only 39 cents but I couldn't leave her behind. I usually only buy fish stuff, in fact I bought two fish fridge magnets too, but this chicken... well, I'm calling her Penny after my one grand-chicken who is the bigger of the two but also the biggest scaredy cat.

Finis!

2011-08-19T11:31:00.006-05:00

After not finishing one knitted item in all of July I've finished two in the last two days! Wednesday I wrapped up the foot and toe of Clara Beth's first set of mismatched socks. I could sit and "aw" at them all day. I'm totally impressed with my ability to craft such tiny things--and the cuteness.

Then yesterday it was very quiet at the dive shop so I got all but the last two rows of the last log cabin section of Bandwagon Block #6 finished. I cranked up Netflix after supper last night (I am hooked on watching the entire run of Brothers & Sisters. I know it's nothing but a yuppie soap opera but I'm hoooked. I can't help myself. Will Justin ever get a job and get on top of his addictions? Will Kevin ever stop being the most uptight gay man in California? Will Kitty and Robert ever get a baby? It goes on and on, and I am helpless to stop.) and got it finished, even the tails are woven in.

Before I hit the sack I picked up the Summer Fever shawl and knitting a couple rows so I'm all ready to plunge into the next pattern section tonight at FNKC. I'm sure that it'll be fall by the time I'm done with this but it'll be a lovely autumn accessory and even into winter.

I felt bad that the pictures I posted of the patty pan squash plant the other day looked so bedraggled so I took another one this morning and one of the blossoms too because they look so cheerful. They won't all turn into squashes but that's okay, enough of them will to eat and share with all and sundry.

Feeding The Hungry--At Least The Ones At Our Table

2011-08-17T10:56:00.012-05:00

August is a lovely month if you have a garden. The tomatoes are ripening, the squash are blooming, and the peppers are plumping up. Our kitchen counter is full of fresh veggies (and a bit of dirt) most days and our suped mowing and turned on the sprinkler yesterday so it's happier now, or at least perkier. (I don't really have a sense of its emotional state.) The patty pan squash up on top of the retaining wall keeps trying to fall off so I'd just shoved the leaves back on. Our suppers are enhanced by all the bounty. Yum. Just, yum. The garden looks a little thirsty here. I'd just finishes back and turned on the soaker hose up there, it's all perked up too. The pale green ones are the patty pans. They're kind of like zucchini but drier and milder. I slice them and saute them with onions. Mmm.

The hummingbird vine's going gangbusters this year, and the hummingbirds have been diligent about checking each and every trumpet for nectar.

Only the foot and toe left to knit of Clara's last mismatched sock. My fingers have been getting numb lately and that's been slowing me down. I'm trying to lay off knitting and mousing a bit. I've been more successful at not knitting.

I ordered this book from Interweave Press. It shows you how to make dresses without a pattern. Naturally they're for people smaller than me but I figure the principles apply to we more generously sized women. A lot of the designs are a bit "over designed" for my taste but I like the simpler silhouettes.

Sewing & Swimming

2011-08-14T20:28:00.006-05:00

Oh, man, did I have a blast yesterday at a sew-in with a couple friends. Once all the gossip was dispensed with (it didn't take that long) crafting began. Cookie had to go back on her pain meds (stupid knees) so she decided not to run a sewing machine. You know how they always tell you not to operate machinery when you're taking narcotics (Skully said they meant stuff like bulldozers but Cookie said she didn't want to take a chance, hee hee) so she brought some beads and made pretties, then after lunch she knitted more on a blanket she's making for the animal shelter. Skully had cut out a bunch of shopping bags to put in her "gifts" box. She sewed one up and then flipped through books about beading and knitting while kibbitzing. She had sent a picture and supplies list of a bag pattern she'd gotten at a quilt shop and that's what I wanted to make. I cut and cut and cut and cut--and cut. Then I ironed on interfacing and got sewing. I love the way the different fabrics go togehter. I'll finish the lining and pockets next week. More pictrures then.

Today was the dive shop's annual Corn Roast up in Ellison Bay at the end of Door County. I, of course forgot to take pictures. The wind was out of the north so Garrett Bay was out, 4 ft. rollers coming in. We went around the corner to Ellison Bay town beach and went in there. It was shallow and stirred up, not much to see, but we saw a bunch of nice sized white bass. We got pushed by waves into the rocky breakwater. It was pretty shallow on the top so we did a little crawling across the rocks. The bad part was that when I got to shore I realized that I'd lost one of my weight pockets. Not the way I wanted to lose 6 pounds, I'm telling you! The corn was, as usual, outstanding. We were able to bring home a dozen of the leftover ears. That'll be Durwood's job tomorrow, cutting the kernels off the cobs, some to eat and some to freeze.

I stopped over at Mom's the other day and she had the Irish doll dress nearly finished so I took some photos. She does such gorgeous work. I wish you could see the precise stitches and the care she takes. I tell people that Mom's doll clothes are nicer than most people's wedding dresses.

It Always Happens...

2011-08-11T22:48:00.009-05:00

Last Saturday I sat here at the laptop uploading a book on CD so I could fong it over to the iPod, knitting while I waited. At suppertime I scooped up the yarn and needles and put them into the project bag. I didn't knit after supper. The next morning while making the bed I nearly stepped on one of the needles, so I carried it into the kitchen along with my reading glasses. You understand that I was semi-awake at the time. I was sure that I'd set it on the table but then I couldn't find it. I looked under the Sunday paper, checked the floor and the chair. No needle. I looked around on the coffee table where my knitting is spread out. I looked into the baby sock project bag and the other bags around. No needle. It wasn't down between the cushions. It wasn't anywhere in the hall. I tidied around because DS & DIL1 were coming to supper. Didn't find the needle. All week I was annoyed that I couldn't find it. I took each project to work with me one day at a time carefully removing each one from the bag. No needle. Today after work I stopped at the yarn shop and bought a new set of size 4 DPNs. Tonight I sat on the couch and pulled out the ankle sock I've got on the needles. Glancing into the bag I saw the crochet hook I keep in there--and this. I swear I'd looked in that bag. Had taken out everything and yet there was that needle. I knew that all I needed to do was buy a new set and the missing one would appear. Sheesh.

I finished the heel of the Easter Egg Ankle sock and now I'm going to knit an inch of leg before starting the cuff. I've never knitted an ankle sock toe-up with a short row heel, and of course the pattern's written cuff-down with a heel flap and gusset, so I'm kind of knitting blind. But I like the colors and the way it's turning out.

I got the first of the "mismatched" baby socks finished the other day and cast on sock #4 on Tuesday while waiting for Durwood's doctor to show up. (His pneumonia's getting better but won't be all better for another 6 weeks. He'll have another CT scan then to make sure all is well. Good news!) For some reason this sock seems to be taking a lot longer. I'd better rev up my knitting or Clara Beth's feet will outgrow the socks before she even gets to wear them!

When DS & DIL1 came for supper last Sunday we made the most delicious pork kabobs and zucchini salad from the Weight Watchers Points Plus cookbook. It sure didn't taste like "diet" food. It had clementine quarters and onions with the pork cubes and the grilled oranges were really good. We made it all disappear. I'm ready to cook my way from cover to cover--and I ordered another plan cookbook from Amazon and that's got scads of yummy looking recipes. They look so good I'm considering asking Durwood if I can cook a night or two a week just to make them.

You have to see my latest skirt. It's gauze but not see-through and so comfy. I wore it on Monday with my green tee shirt and looked nice (if I do say so myself). Of course I dropped a teensy bit of supper on my "shelf" so I had to take it down to the laundry and stain stick it. I buy a gel stain removing stick at Hancock Fabrics that I just love. You smear it on the stain, let it sit a while, and then wash as usual. It's great at taking out greasy spots. One of these days I'm going to eat a meal and not get it on my. I look good in everything I eat. Har.

Two Steps Forward & One Step Back

2011-08-05T08:14:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to concentrate on finishing something, anything. I realized that I didn't finish one thing, one item, not even one afghan block in all of July. Somthing must be done. So just this week I finished Clara's First Socks--and cast on another sock, because really who can resist knitting tiny, self-striping socks? You only cast on 24 stitches. You only knit 2" of leg, then 10 rows of heel flap, pick up 6 gusset stitches (6!!), and then knit 3" of foot. I knit the leg of the next one during the City Band concert the other night. That's one hour, folks, with time out for enjoying the music and clapping. Anyway, seeing how darned cute the first pair turned out, I decided to knit one, just one, of a couple more colorways of that same yarn so that Clara will have a pair for formal occasions, but have some mismatched onesies for casual days--and Knitting Nights where she'll see her Auntie Barbara who also never wears "pairs" of socks.

Sticking with feet, I put this ankle sock away knowing that I royally screwed up the short row heel and didn't want to deal with it up at The Clearing. Yesterday I took the baby socks out of my bag and put the Easter Egg Ankle Sock in so that when Skully came to the shop to knit for a couple hours I'd have moral support when I frogged the heel and picked up all those stitches to start the heel again. I have a lot less trouble ripping and picking up if I've got someone to talk to me while I do it. If I pay too much attention to what my needles are doing I get frustrated and screw it up, so thanks for your chatter yesterday, Skully.

I've been beavering away at the Summer Fever Shawl now that I have the corrected pattern. I'm liking this 80% cotton/20% wool yarn and the cool gray green and cream color. It goes fast on size US10 needles too.

I Am Knitting Too

2011-07-31T20:00:00.003-05:00

I'll have you know that I voluntarily vacuumed today. I vacuumed the carpet in my sewing area in the basement--and then I made another skirt, and I used the machine Mom gave me a couple weeks ago to get used to it.

I have been knitting, though. I got a free pattern when I bought a couple skeins of yarn from Spin last weekend on my way home from The Clearing. I cast on last Sunday and couldn't get past Row 2. Row 2!! I knit and ripped, knit and ripped until I flung it from me in frustration. I got smart on Monday and personal messaged the pattern's designer on Ravelry. She got right back to me that there was an error in the pattern and she'd send me an email copy. Hooray!

I tried to finish the Baby Socks for Tanya's baby-to-be before Friday Night Knitting because it was the last Friday she'd be there before the baby arrived. Didn't make it. I had to show her the single completed sock and promise the second before the baby was born. Didn't make that either. I got the leg knitted sitting in the ER yesterday waiting to find out that Durwood was fine, but didn't get the heel, etc. done. I visited with Mom and sat with Durwood after supper not knitting. Baby Clara Beth lost patience and got herself borned yesterday evening during a storm. Babies, they're just not reliable.

Skirtiness

2011-07-28T11:23:00.004-05:00

Remember I said that my roomie Lala wore skirts in the scorching heat and looked cool last week? I showed you all the fabric I bought on Tuesday to make some for me. Well, despite Mrs. Boss being at the shop for about 5 hours yesterday I managed to lay out and cut out a couple (right under her very nose!) and I got one sewed up last night. So that you don't think I have suddenly become organized or sane, I'll confess to not going down to sew until after 9 PM so that it was nearly 11:30 when I came up with a completed skirt. It still needs a tweak or two at the waist and the pockets I added need to drop down an inch but it's a nice, old (1989) easy Simplicity pattern for skirts and pants. I looked through all the pattern books at JoAnn and didn't really find a simple, everyday skirt pattern. Where are all the "normal" clothes these days?

I've never really been a "blue" girl but this fabric grabbed me and wouldn't let go. I like the way the skirt turned out and it's very comfy. I'll be firing up the machine again tonight.

Raw Materials & Blooming Lilies

2011-07-26T17:23:00.007-05:00

I love to make things--yarn, fabric, wood, flour & sugar, words--I don't care what the raw materials are I can't help making something out of something else. It's a compulsion that I can't resist.

Lala, my roomie last week wore skirts and looked cool and comfortable. I want to be cool too so I thought I'd make myself some. I stopped at JoAnn's on my way home from walking this morning and found these 4 fabrics on the sale tables, one of them (the one in the upper right) is even a border print which makes me strangely excited. The plaid in the lower right is made of squares stitched and serged together that I can't wait to sew up. I'll be taking it and the pattern to work tomorrow. Maybe I'll find the time to pin and cut it out then.

After mowing this afternoon I showered and left early for my chiro appointment to get some birdseed. On the way to the clinic I swung into Hancock Fabrics and found some more. These I found on the $1 and $2/yd. table. I'm most excited about the brown cotton gauze with flowers on it or maybe the muted plaid second from the top of the pile.

My lilies are doing their best to impress this year. I took one of the white ones to work with me yesterday and enjoyed its fragrance all day.

The pink Stargazers are my favorites and their colors are extra vivid this summer.

I was amazed to see the purple mums blooming away behind the lilies.

And Dad's rose has started its second round of blooming.

I'm Melting, Melting...

2011-07-24T13:59:00.014-05:00

Hot. Humid. Still as the grave. I had been confident that there'd be a cool breeze blowing up the bluff to cool us off, after all there's all that cool water right there at the base of the cliff. Wrong. Oh, so wrong. The only thing that saved me was the workshop is air-conditioned so at the end of a hot walk there was a cool room. It was hard not to prop the lock so we could sneak back after dark and sleep in there, but I resisted. Then I thought that since I know the door code for the Jensen Center where there's carpeting, I'd drive over with my sheet and pillow and sleep in the office. I didn't do that either. I thought about all those years growing up with only a fan to cool us and decided to just deal. I took a lot of cool showers, drank lots of water, and complained. (I'm sure it was the latter that kept me the coolest.) We did go down to The Clearing's beach for a swim a couple times but the climb back up the bluff steps and the hike back to the cabin really undid all the cooling, plus we were working nearly non-stop from 9-5:45 every day to get our chairs cut out, drilled, sanded, turned, and glued together. I had 5 classmates (all male) and 2 teachers (also male) and I changed the design of my chair (naturally. when have you ever known me to follow the crowd?). Herb, the 85-year-old teacher was patient and helped me all the while scolding me (in a friendly way) if I whined too much about how hard it was since he told me it'd be way harder than following his suggestion (hey, no one can resist a little "I told you so" every once in a while). I was certain that I had some natural woodworking talent since Grandpa Stephan was a carpenter, as was his brother, but turns out I don't, or at least it's not as much of an "instinct" as I had hoped. I wasn't the worst in class but you get out of practice as an adult learning totally new things. I needed to take along my kindergarten self and didn't always manage it but I toughed it out and triumphed in the end.

I stopped at a yarn shop on my way up and shopped the 40% off bins...

Lala and I went to the kite store on Sunday and I bought me a new kite...

We tried to fly it and my "old" Ironman kite on Thursday but the wind was too light and variable. She got Ironman to fly for about a minute so I grabbed a picture. I'll be flying my frog as soon as it's windy enough.

In the workshop, we cut out the chair pieces...

glued them together...

turned the legs...

sanded and sanded and sanded...

glued and clamped...

and ended up with chairs. Mine's the Shaker one. It still needs stain and varnish or some sort of finish, but for now I'm happy that it's 3-D instead of 2-D.

Sew Much Fun

2011-07-13T14:25:00.004-05:00

I had a brainstorm on Sunday, that I should make a bag for my writing friend, Lala, as a gift when we room together next week at The Clearing. Of course, it would have been smarter to make the bag weeks ago when I had the brainstorm the FIRST time but I'll never get the time back so I flipped through One Yard Wonders and found a super-simple bag pattern. It's called the Baroque Banana Bag but I think that's a terrible name for a cute bag. I had the fabric, only needed to buy a zipper and wide ribbon for the strap. Naturally I had to make one for me too. I picked out the fabric for the bags and linings, and cut them out at work on Monday. On my way home I stopped at JoAnn for zippers and ribbons, then after supper and 2 episodes of Antiques Roadshow, I sewed the first bag body together. It was quick and easy. The directions told you to pin the strap onto the bag and sew it all by hand. That's right, sew the strap onto the bag over the center seam and then sew the 2 layers of ribbon together BY HAND. Two Yards' Worth. And to sew the 16" zipper in by hand too.That was not happening. I suck at handstitching and avoid it at all costs. So I thought about it yesterday while driving Mom around and had a plan by the time I got home. I should have taken in-progress pictures but I didn't think of that until I was done with both of them. Anyway, TA-DA! Didn't they turn out cute? I love them. The ferny one is for Lala and the flowery one's mine. (To give you an idea of their size, that's a sofa cushion they're lying on, so they're about 17" wide and the strap makes them 1 1/2" wide.) My friend Skully commented today that sewing gives you instant gratification unlike knitting which makes you wait sometimes for weeks.

Some Knitting & Some Flowers

2011-07-10T12:50:00.010-05:00

I'm trying to be more balanced. I'll probably be trying to be more balanced for the rest of my natural life, but I'm taking another stab at it today. I'm trying to go a little easier on myself when I fall short (which is usually) and enjoy the attempt(s). I've finally come to grips with the notion than I'm probably never going to be perfect (for long) so I need to appreciate my natural wackiness and just run with it.

At Friday Night Knitting I consulted with the others and came to the conclusion that I need to knit about 1 1/2 more inches of foot before I make my short-row heel. I hoped to have this sock done before I go off to The Clearing next Saturday for my week in the woods playing with wood but I might not. Oh well. (See the mature lack of self-recrimination? Growth!) The foot is the long part of these socks and I lose track of how long I have to knit on it so that it fits right. I should write it down.

I got the Lava Shawl out of hibernation again on Friday and added a few rows. It's starting to look shawl-ish and I adore the colors. I understand that it's not going to be wool shawl weather for about 5 months but I'm liking making it anyway. I even end up with the correct number of stitches on most rows and, when I don't, I can see where I went wrong and fix it. (See? Learning!)

I've slowed down on Bandwagon Block #6. Don't know why. I've slowed down on all my projects lately. Must be because it's officially the dog days of summer. I finally learned why it's called that. This is when Sirius, the dog star, is above the horizon and long ago people thought that the bright star added its heat to the summer to explain why it's hotter in July and August. Pretty clever, isn't it? Wrong, but clever. Everyone knows it's because of all the cookouts and campfires. Sheesh.

Here are some pictures of all the things bloom ing today--red Cock's Comb, Daisies, and Lantana looking fantastic with its pink and yellow florets.

Durwood picked his first tomato yesterday and ate it before I could take its picture, but he said that this one's mine. I might be a nice person and let him have this one too. Might.

See how the lettuces are rebounding? We'll get a couple more suppers' worth of salads before I replant.

See the baby Patty Pan squashes? They look like tiny, pale green turbans at the base of the blossoms. We can't wait until they're ready to eat. I made the mistake of giving Mom a couple last year, now she wants more. Luckily one plant will make enough for both houses. This is one of those sneaky plants that hides its fruit until it's gotten big and then you find it, or it uproots itself with the weight of it. I promise to keep a closer eye on it this year.

I love lilies. I like Asiatic lilies

and day lilies

and Stargazer lilies.

I just wish they bloomed longer--or more than once a season.

No Knitting Here

2011-07-05T10:37:00.005-05:00

It hasn't been a very knitter-y weekend. I played in the dirt, played with watercolors, talked with Durwood, visited Mom, and grubbed through a few bins of fabric scraps. So I don't have any knitting to show you, but I do have pictures of the flowers I planted (the yellow snapdragons made me think of DD & DIL2)...

I hauled up my watercolors and goofed around a bit on the back patio,

but I got an early birthday gift from Mom. It's a fancy computerized one, the first one she bought and no longer uses, so she passed it along to me. I anticipate spending a bit of this afternoon with the manual and a few fabric scraps.

Last night I went to the fireworks with DS but first I got a peek at Henny and Penny who had already roosted up for the night. The fireworks were excellent, loud and bright.

Holiday Weekend

2011-07-02T22:07:00.004-05:00

I didn't seem to accomplish much this week so I don't have much to show you, but I did knit on the Bandwagon Afghan Block #6 at work. See?

We're both enjoying the fruits of my lettuce planting. We figure this is about 3 more days' worth of salad before we'll have to wait for the next batch of leaves. Look at the bottom of the picture to see the little pale green leaves starting. Next time I think I'll plant spinach in the pot too, or maybe I'll dig another pot out of the shed and plant spinach in that one. I want to go get some annuals to plant in some pots, bet they'll have seeds on sale now that it's July.

Today I got to go diving with a couple friends. (They said to say "hi," DD) It was a perfect day--hot, sunny, and with just a bit of breeze. We went up to Gills Rock at the tip of Door County for a couple of dives, then back to Garrett Bay (my favorite) for a third dive. They've done some remodeling at Garrett Bay, DD. They spread out the big "sitting on" rocks, there's a rubberized launch area (for all the kayaks that launch there, I think), and they've made a little park across the road with a real Port-a-Potty! No more peeing in the woods!!!! Yay! Still got the biting flies, tho. We got Subway on the way up this morning and sat in the dappled shade after our last dive and enjoyed the perfect day before driving home to rinse and hang gear. If I didn't have a 10:30 AM haircut tomorrow I could go with
them again. Oh well. Maybe next weekend.