Purple Haze

September 2, 2008, 06:32 PM

Just when things have pushed you to your limit, someone comes along and does the smallest thing that cheers you up! I’ve been anxious over my kids moving out, and then a hurricane threatens my parents’ abode (that’s still not finised from the last storm!) and then there’s just plain life. whew!

But last week my daughter asked me to make her another hat like the red one from last year - only this time purple! I mean dark kool aid purple.

What a pleasure it has been to start a new little project that will complete in just a couple of weeks. And it’s take-along size as well.

I also spent some time Labor Day cleaning out my little office and replacing my old broken desk. Here is the new one; a little plain and austere, but neat and sturdy.

We have pretty much finished our home improvements from the refi on our house. Lots of things that were put off are now done. Done!

Hands On

August 26, 2008, 06:22 PM

If there is ever a thing that will change my mood, it’s going to spinning group. I was half an hour into the meeting when I realized I was at the meeting and not staring at a computer at work. Everyone brought their knitting (’cept one) and I noticed that all the photos are of our hands. So here we go. A real hands on experience!

There’s also a FO made of homespun - a pretty shawl for chilly mornings at church.

And finally, a selection of the books inspiring the group for our upcoming natural dye day!

(sorry it’s upside down)

I love my group because they change my mood like a handful of pills without the side effects. Work was a bit arghhh! this morning. Yesterday my boss closed the deal to purchase a new business and he told me he wanted me to fly to the city where it’s run from, and learn all the ropes from the guy’s secretary. Then we’ll bring it back to good ole TN and start running it after the new year. But it hit me this morning just how much work will probably be involved in running this new business along side of the one we’ve already got. It’s mostly me that does the daily admin stuff and now the load may double. So you see, it was a real nice thing to go to spin group today. A whole hour of talking fiber, knitting, spinning and farm animals. yeah.

Not prepared for class

August 23, 2008, 06:46 AM

When I was growing up, no matter what class it was in school, you were expected to be prepared for class. It was a private school (I so wished Icould be out there with all the kids wearing blue jeans and t-shirts to class!) and the least little infraction meant a pretty hefty punishment.
Today, things come across our paths for which we are totally unprepared. I am now officially an empty nester. My daughter moved out a few weeks ago, and my son moved out this past week, and that’s a lot for a mom to take in one month. Both occasions hit me like a ton of bricks. You hear about the emotional impact, but much like a funeral, no amount of preparation can stop the tears when they must come. And come they did.
But, today is a new day. I am a very pro-active person and I my mind is constantly clicking with ways to take this thing head on. Today, for instance, I’m playing tennis again. It’s time for mom to have some fun!

I’m also having lots of fun knitting on this afghan. It goes really fast and the yarns I’ve chosen are soft and comfortable to knit with.

I would highly recommend this pattern to do right now. If you’ve got some odd balls of yarn and they’re of similar weight and color, give it a try and see how far you get. You can always turn it into a scarf if you don’t like how it’s going!

Our spinning group is meeting this week and I’m looking forward to that. I have begun to spin on the blue blend I bought at the last meeting. Not much progress but here it is.

It’s a terrific-ly soft and almost fuzzy single, but I’m keeping it smooth with not too much twist. We’ll see.

Great Expectations

August 17, 2008, 08:30 AM

It’s Sunday morning and the weather is just perfect outside for August. Not too humid but still warm and sunny. We had such a drought last year and the record high temperatures make me very thankful for this mild summer. I am anticipating a nice transition into fall.

With that in mind, I have started a nice soft afghan with some of my favorite homespun yarns. I’m using the Knit Picks pattern Sweet Dreams Throw.

The pattern is an easy garter stitch block sewn in strips. So far it’s a very relaxing knit with almost zero concentration required.

I have had a headache for several days now and that’s just not like me. It would seem that it’s sinus related and I tend to not have the sneezing, etc. associated with sinus trouble. I did have chills, aches and a slight fever last week & went home from work midday. I will not, get the flu. I mean it.

Lately, I’ve been on a kick (music wise) of listening to the chill channel on xmradio. The music pretty much goes nowhere, but is sort of like a metropolitan club sound. Instrumental and a bit faster than new age without any religious tendencies. Just music. It makes me chill, just like the name of the channel. It doesn’t take me back to a different time or place, it doesn’t hype me up or bring me down. It’s better than white noise, which I sometimes listen to. Natures sounds, etc. And along the lines of the chill channel, I recently got a record by Sade. I think she is just beautiful, in a classic way. And I like the way her music is just there. It is what it is.
On the book front, I’ve been reading The Target, not making much progress, but mostly just to help me fall asleep at night. I usually get in about 2.5 minutes and I’m out. And a little business book my cousin’s husband recommended. You Can Negotiate Anything. In my office, when a review is coming up, we all know it. It’s on the bosses calendar and one of our attorneys is due for his this week. Mine is not until November; it always falls on the anniversary of the day you started working there. I’m so thankful that they keep up with that kind of thing where I work. The raises are very prompt and there’s no making excuses. You get your review and you get your raise (hopefully!) So, anyway, I’m reading that book on negotiating now so that I’ll be prepared to ask for that company car and 6 weeks paid vacation when my number comes up! What, you don’t think I’ll get it?

Hook, Line & Spinner

August 10, 2008, 04:41 PM

Part of becoming a spinner, is getting through all the different steps it takes to actually make the yarn.

You have to wash, pick and card the wool. Yesterday and today I carded some of the softest wool you’ve ever touched.

I also spent some time spinning and plying the last of the darkest portion of the Jacob fleece I bought last year.

And of course, I worked on my new little make-up purse. Now, I know what you’re thinking. “Dang, girl, weren’t you about that far along in the last picture?” Yes. But I messed up. And had to start over with larger needles. You’re a knitter, so I don’t have to say any more.

The weather this weekend has been wonderful. I spent some time in my new flower bed - transplanting some liriope and digging up a tree that I hope to transplant.

It seems there’s no time like the present to get reacquainted with what means the most to me. As my kids are moving out, I am doing a bit of re-evaluating. I really do love my gardening and fiber work. Good to know that old friends are still around!

8/8/08

August 8, 2008, 08:32 AM

It is curious that physical courage should be so common in the world and moral courage so rare.

–Mark Twain

I like this quote, not because I can point the finger at anyone else. I find that it is so much easier to get on the treadmill at night, but so very hard to hold my tongue when it comes to criticizing others. Lord help me get a handle on doing the right thing!

OK, promises, promises! I told you I’d post a new project soon. There’s not much progress but I really like this one. A small make-up kind of bag.

New WIP

Getting the fever for sock blanks. Maybe I can do some dyeing this weekend!
Sock blank

What I bought at the last spinning guild meeting. Thank you Brenda M.!!
Blue blend

We had a wonderful dinner last night with my baby girl. She has not been to our house since she moved out and it feels like forever. Probably only a little over a week.
Anyway, she, my son, my husband and myself all had dinner together last night; and when she left I sent her packing! Pasta, paper towels, you name it, if there were two in the house, she went home with one. (Soooo reminds me of my grandmother!)

Wow what a week!

August 2, 2008, 09:36 AM

Sometimes this week all I could do was take one day at a time, so as not to fall over.

After a week on vacation, work was good but a steady, busy pace. Lots of catching up to do on Monday at work, and quite a bit of processing to do with my voluteer work at church. It literally took the whole evening on Tuesday to spread out dozens of sheets, charts and emails and sift through the information from church alone.
But Tuesday was highlighted with a great time at spinning group on my lunch hour. We were served a wonderful salad and cheese lunch with a super tasty bundt cake desert. Now I just have to got straight to the photos!

Beautiful Handwoven, handmade blouse. Expertly made!

Variety of rovings to choose from - with yarn samples. Beautiful colors!

Yes, that’s the scarf in this month’s Spin Off - great job!

Lots more photos but I have to go on.

So, the week progresses to Wednesday which was the last day my baby girl would live with us. She has moved into an apartment with a friend closer to her work and we had a nice quiet evening at home - just us four- our little family.
Thursday night she moved into her new place. My DH borrowed a large truck from our church and used it to empty a few things out of our garage ( OK, a lot of things!) along with my DD’s stuff for her apartment. He also picked up a new mattress for us because we gave her our old one. (Three cheers for my very hardworking husband and son who did all the hard work and heavy lifting!!)

The drive home from moving her in on Thursday evening was a tear-fest for dear old mom. No matter how much I tried to deny the sadness, and no matter how happy I was for my daughter, I cried the whole way home. The guy in front of me on the way home looked pretty concerned!
She called me first thing on Friday morning; I thought she just wanted to say good morning. How sweet. But instead she told me she was on her way home from the emergency room - her boyfriend had cut his finger wide open with a box cutter after we left and they had spent the whole night at the hospital.

Friday finished no less busy but after work I got to go hear my husband sing at a town square nearby. It was like a great big tailgate party. Lots of wonderful, friendly generous people and nothing to do but sit back and enjoy. Nice way to end a very full week.

This morning I finally got back to my new flower bed. I pulled the last of the weeds and tilled in some compost.

Next post I’ll show you what I bought at spinning meeting, and I’ll post pictures of what’s on my needles!

Armed and Dangerous

July 28, 2008, 07:43 PM

Sitting on the arm of this old slipcovered chair is the now famous (ok, not really) Meredith Scarf. It’s more like a lap robe, or a blanket for a weenie dog. But it’s finished. All that yarn…two skeins and I didn’t even get a whole scarf out of it…..? Anyway.

So tonight I find myself between projects. I did some carding on Saturday morning and began to spin it yesterday and again tonight. It’s the dark brown portion of the Jacob fleece. With a little too much grease left in.

Sorry for the poor exposure - but it’s a photograph. Digital and amateur.

Tomorrow is my spinning guild meeting and I’m really looking forward to it. I hope to take at least a few shots of my friends’ progress. We’ll see. I may even take my wheel and spend the time spinning! What a novel idea! Spinning at my spinning meeting!

While visiting my relatives in Mobile, I stayed with my cousin who lives in a little town called Daphne. She moved back to Alabama after living in Boston for several years. She left home to “see the world” as a young woman, met her husband up north, and brought him back to the deep South with her. Just like the movie, Sweet Home Alabama. As we talked each morning and evening, I found that she is a football widow. Her husband is a lifelong Patriots fan and football season is about to begin. So I invited her to be a part of our office Fantasy Football league. But our “commissioner” suggested to me today that I start my own team, made up of football widows. So, maybe Stefanie and I will be part of a new trend. Sort of a powderpuff team. We can pick our players based on their ability to wear white after Labor Day and get away with it. What do you think?

Ocean views

July 25, 2008, 12:50 PM

After several days at the homes of relatives, I am back in my own house today - catching up on laundry and housework. I did find the Meredith scarf and I took it with me, so there is a little bit of progress to show. So, …..first things first.

I won’t bore you with all my vacation shots, but I do want to prove that I did something tangible while I was away. I helped paint my parents’ bathroom and helped strip their kitchen cabinets to re-hang in their new kitchen.

My husband kept busy with the tedious job of wiring the phones and internet. There is still a lot to do, but the work is getting done, day by day. You can’t see it but the front windows look out over Mobile Bay.

Neighboring houses that are finished.

My parents’ house on the far left, under the trees.

view from the driveway

View from the neighbors’ pier

Just a song before I go

July 19, 2008, 12:21 PM

I’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon for a trip to visit my parents. They are sooo close to moving back into their house (since Katrina) and yet there are still more things to be done. My husband and I are taking our vacation together next week to try to help them make a dent in their numerous “final touches” like floor tile, cabinets, etc.

Before I leave, I had to do a little more maintenance on my new flower bed. I think I’ve got the last of the grass out of the bed. I was about to put in some of my homemade compost, but I’m not sure I have enough, and frankly, I’m tired. (I’m on vacation right?)

When I got up this morning, instead of finding birds on the patio, I found this sweet little baby bunny.

Later in the morning I spent a while with my fiber. I cannot find the second skein of blue for the Meredith scarf. Where is it???! So instead I got out my yardage counter and did a little trial and error stuff with it. It’s a bit finicky if the yarn isn’t very thick. But it works!

I did some measuring in this bright blue wool and found it to be about 91 yds. That sounds right, doesn’t it?

I’m fiddling around with a sample anklet; gauge and needle size. It’s about 3.5 spi