Dis'n'Dat

And a new year begins

2012-01-14T22:52:00.001-08:00

This is the first day of the New Year -- on the Old Calendar. This gives an opportunity for those of us that have messed up the first two weeks of the year, according to the new calendar, to have a fresh start. Sometimes we just don't get it quite right the first time we try it!

For me, my year hasn't started out that well. I was hoping that all my bad luck was over now, and I can look forward to a better year. Just not working out that way.

I had quite a horrible week at work this past week, I even missed an important appointment. Because I was so fed up with all the craziness, when the end of the day came, I just went home! It wasn't until 20 to midnight that I remembered my appointment!! It was a full moon, you know. Oh,well, nothing I could do about it now.

On Friday (another bad day at work with just too many crazies still running around loose), I was on the way home, and could see flashing red lights in front of my building. Not again!! And then I see that a police wagon has blocked off the street to all traffic. Would I be able to get closer to my building and see what the trouble was?

But the sidewalk was clear, and as I got closer to my building, I see that the fire trucks are parked oddly on the street. There is a little riverlet running down the gutter on the street. And there, right in front of the building, is a little bubbling gurgling spring! I guess the water main has sprouted a leak and was causing some flooding. Just great! The temperature is set to drop to a very cold -20 on Sunday; I've always wanted a skating rink outside my front door!

I got home, made supper, and then noticed that the water was running really weakly. There was no pressure at all. By about 11, there was no water at all. By morning, there still was no water. Normally, I wouldn't care too much, but I had to go out early that morning to meet some people, and I would have liked to at least have a shower! Oh, well.

I got home about 3:30 in the afternoon -- still no water. The water crews were out there digging a big hole in the recently paved street. But now there are some tanks outside our building with drinking water. We can go and fill up bottles and buckets, and pots and pans for our use. Not a big help, but it's something. Still can't have a shower, and can't flush the toilet. I warmed up some supper of leftovers from Friday night, and I was alright.

And about 10 at night, the water came on again. What a nice surprise!! I guess they finally got the break repaired and we are okay. I imagine they will need to flush the pipes to get any grit out of the lines, but I'll leave that to the rest of the building.

I was thinking today that I am having a really hard time trying to find anything good about living in this building. As hard as I try, I am having almost nothing going on the positive side of sheet of paper! The only thing I can say that is good is that I am close to work that I can walk over in less than 15 minutes. I can run home at noon, if I have to, grab a bite to eat and make it back to work in time. I sure would hate to lose that! But I can't face moving right now. I just can't take it.

So on the start of this great and wonderful New Year (for second chances), I want to wish all of you a very healthy and prosperous year. New year is the time to forget every bad memory of the past year and start your life afresh. Each moment in a day has its own value: Morning brings HOPE, Afternoon brings FAITH, Evening brings LOVE, Night brings REST. I hope you will have all of them everyday. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

Last socks of the year

2011-12-21T20:17:00.000-08:00

So I started these socks in early November, hit a bit of a stall when I wasn't sure how long to make them, and then the disaster hit near the end of November, so they were put on hold.

But I've cleaned up, and to keep my sanity, I worked on the socks. I finished them a few weeks ago, and haven't had the time to post any pics!

These were meant for my Mom. But I don't know her size, and since she wasn't nearby so I could measure against her foot, and since my foot WAS here, I made them my size. So I guess these will have to be for me! I'll make another pair for Mom later on.

These two balls of yarn have been sitting here for years, calling out to me nearly every day that they want to be socks. But I didn't have the right pattern until one day I stumbled across this one. It is called SKYP because you do the cable cross with a YO. It was a fun little manoeuvre, and look quite nice. Because I like to twist thing just a little bit, I made the twists in the opposite directions for each sock, just to be different. You might not even notice!

This is a 75% wool/25% nylon by Patons called Kroy socks, 50 gm ball. I wanted to use it all, with nothing left over, and so I had to do them toe-up. I used my own heel design, knit the leg as long as I could, and when there was just a bit of yarn left, continued with the established 2/1 ribbing until the yarn ran out. I had about 20 cm left after binding off the first sock... and I had just enough to barely make the last stitch on the second sock. It would never hold that way, so I "borrowed" 5 cm from the left over and spliced it in to do the last 2-3 stitches. All's well.
I like the way they fit. They feel very comfortable. I wore them the rest of the day after taking these photos. I probably won't wear them every day, but once in a while, when I think of it.

Now, to find more yarn (somewhere in this turmoil) to knit another pair. Oh, yes, the repairs have been done, I have a new carpet, but they didn't feel they had to rip out the walls, thankfully. I now have to move everything back in from storage, but first I need to sort it out, and get rid of a lot of stuff I don't need any longer, or was too damaged to salvage. This will be very painful.

Best Wishes of the Season

2011-12-21T20:15:00.000-08:00

(This should have been posted a few weeks ago. I don't know what happened)

I wanted to send some sort of holiday greeting to my friends and colleagues, but it is difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone. So I met with my lawyer yesterday, and on her advice I wish to say the following:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the summer or winter solstice, depending on which side of the equator you live, holiday practised with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practise religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country great (not to imply that our country is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee .

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms:

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

Best Regards ( without prejudice )

Name withheld ( Privacy Act ).

Oh, the hell with all of this! Merry Christmas!

Disaster!

2011-11-19T23:50:00.000-08:00

It's about -20C, and midnight. My stupid dumb idiot neighbour has gone away somewhere, and left her windows open! Idiot, I know! And you know what happens next, don't you?

So the heating pipes burst and started a fountain in her apartment. Of course, because I had the misfortune to live next to her, I have been flooded. The bedroom that is against her wall is used as my storage room, piled high with boxes and boxes of yarn. A flood is not the thing I need.

So the disaster people are here, mopping up at her place and finally shut off the water. They can't get into my place because it is so crowded with "stuff". In order to clean up, I will have to move everything out, and very soon, to get it all dried up before mould sets in. This is NOT something I need right now!

So I've been mopping up the water as it is flowing into my place, trying to keep it confined to the bathroom and the bedroom. That was a joke! It looks like the flow has abated somewhat now, but it is seeping up into my stash -- I can hear it! LOL I needed to cut down, I know, but this is not the way I would have wanted to do it! As long as it is only the acrylics that are at the bottom, but I doubt it. I knew I should have put the useless things on the bottom as a cushion! Will I learn -- for the next time? I wonder.

Oh, the joys of living next door to an idiot!!

It happened!

2011-11-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, about noon, I could see this wall of white coming in from the north. I was too busy to pay much attention to it. But suddenly, when I looked out, there was nothing! The building across the street was gone. It was all white. There was nothing!

The wall of white had hit us downtown. All you could see looking out any direction was faint ghost images of buildings that I knew were still out there.

Of course, we knew it was coming -- it is the middle of November after all. It was predicted that we would get some of that "s-word" stuff before Hallowe'en and it almost did. We had a faint sprinkle overnight of Oct 30 which disappeared by evening. And the weather man has been threatening us with that white stuff since the weekend. I knew that eventually he would get it right!

So here it is. Most of the time, it was coming in at us sideways. It blew through very quickly -- a matter of a few minutes -- and then was clear. Well, for a short while. Then another wall ran over us. And of course, accompanied with all this, is a very cold temperature with a good wind. Perfect.

There isn't much we can do about it anyway. Perfect weather to sit inside and knit. Or spin. Or watch movies. And I've been doing all of that. I can knit without paying much attention, and getting better at doing a few stitches just by feel. I can spin on the spindle easily enough and that is my usual fall-back activity while watching some old TV or movies; otherwise I would fall asleep! The socks are coming along, and I hope to get them completed maybe by next week. I only get a few moments a day to work on them, and they are taking far longer than I would have expected. But what else do I have to do??

New Socks

2011-10-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

It's been such a very long time that I have knit anything, let alone socks, that this is a momentous occasion! I've been wanting to knit something but could not decide on what it was to be. I did want to knit some socks for my mother, who really liked the last pair (the first for her) that I knit a couple of winters ago. She always comments on how well they stay up for her.

I had this blue yarn sitting here, calling out to me that it wants to be socks, and I finally found a pattern that I liked as well. I am doing them toe up, because I like doing them that way. I actually wasn't sure how long to make them, so this seemed to be a sensible reason. As I am now nearing the heel, I need to decide when to start the gusset... and not having my mother near to measure, I am going to guess! I am hoping I will be close enough because fit is extremely important for socks.
This pattern is called Skyp and I found it on the net somewhere. The pattern does look nicer when it is on the foot, and I may have to take a pic of them that way. I am doing both at the same time, working on first one and then the other, trying to keep them at about the same point. When I get to the gusset and heel, I may do each one separately, or do each section on each so that I knit them the same. I have the habit of "adjusting" a few things here and there as I need at the time, forget to do them on the second one and so the socks then are NOT be the same! I will try to avoid that happening with these.

That line of red yarn is my row counter and beginning of round marker. I find these to be the most versatile of all markers I've used, and will continue to use them, until someone can come up with something better -- but I don't see how you can improve on this.

I have quite a bit of spinning done, still some plying to do, and I will show you that another time. I had some idea that I wanted to knit a scarf, and dye it, but now with this very fine yarn, I may have to reconsider. I don't look forward to all that knitting with this yarn for a scarf!! But that is for later.

Test Six

2011-09-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

I sure didn't realize I would have to make so many test swatches, just to find out all the possibilities of plying. There are probably a few more colours I could try out, but this will have to do for now.

After doing the white, I realized I didn't try the opposite end of the scale and use black. I have some nice soft shiny black of unknown fibre content which I've been spinning for about a year, off and on. I don't know what to do with it. But it will work great for a swatch.

So I plied a small sample with more of my colourful singles. This is the ply on the spindle.
Again, you can see the barber pole effect and it shows the eveness (or not) of your plying. The colours do seem to be a bit brighter, don't they?

I then knit up a sample swatch, as always. And this is what I got:
You can quite clearly see that the colours are much brighter when put next to the black. The white seems to weaken all the intensity of the colours, while the black will increase whatever colour there is.

For comparison purposes, here they are side by side.
It's a little hard to believe that these are the very same singles, plied with a white and a black. If I hadn't done them myself, I may not believe it either. I've known that white tends to wash out colours, and have seen that in some examples of knitting, but when it is shown like this in side-by-side swatches, you just can't deny it.

Now, the problem is that I am not sure which would be best to use for plying. I had an idea in my mind when I first started this so very long ago, and with all these samples, that idea has become muddied a bit by the results. I mean, there is nothing that is entirely wrong. Each swatch I've done has some redeeming qualities, and depending on what effect I was trying to achieve, and what item I was knitting, one of them would be the correct thing to do.
Here are the other four samples, with (from left to right): grey, blue, red, itself. I am looking at them now, admiring each of them, and can see that each would be quite perfect for a different kind of item. I can't say No to any of them.

So now I have another dilemma -- what is it that I want to make with this yarn? I think it will have to sit for awhile longer, letting them stew for a bit, and one of them will finally jump out at me and tell me what needs to be done.

In the meantime, I've been working on another bag of delicious combed top in another range of variegated colours. Will I have the same trouble again? Let's hope not.

Test Five

2011-09-09T00:49:00.000-07:00

So one more test that I wanted to try, since I haven't done it yet, is to ply with white.

Now, we all know that if you are using two very different colours, you are going to get a barber pole effect. Not my favourite design in yarns, although I have knit some socks with that kind of yarn, and it actually looked okay. So I am not saying no without at least giving it a try.

I spun up a fine white single on the spindle, naturally. Then I plied them. The neatest thing was the barber pole I got! I liked it! And the thing is that you can easily see how even your plying is when it is lying next to each other -- that angle of the ply really shows itself, and when you have several yarns laying side by side like this, you can see if the angle (therefore your plying) of the ply is all the same. Cool!

Then I knit up a sample tonight with this plied yarn. It's very interesting. Nothing like any of the rest. The white, because of the fine yarns, and the tight ply, produces a speckled effect, and when knit up, it looks quite heathered. The white doesn't interfere too much with the colour of the other single, letting the colour differences show up nicely. The white does tend to wash out the colours a bit, but that is minor in this sample.

So now there is one more sample I need to do. This time, I think this will be the last. No, really. There isn't any more I can do -- after this last one.

Testing Four

2011-09-02T22:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm really venturing out further and further from my initial vision of what this yarn was to do for me. Someone has asked if I have tried plying with itself. And I have to be honest and say I did not. I wasn't planning on doing that, and hadn't even thought of doing a sample! The obvious, I know, but have not done it.

So now I have plied a sample with itself, just so I know what it will do, and then I could dismiss it as not being what I want. Here it is:
I've knit a swatch from it as well.
I dunno --it's not that bad, actually. Not quite what I was visualizing, but still quite acceptable. There is some variation showing through, it is not all blended together. Who would have thought?

Well, okay, so now I have one more idea. Darn these samples! You can't just have one.

Testing Three

2011-08-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Okay, so now I'm going to get really brave, and spin up some bright red/pink and see what that does. I don't have any. But I do have some orange/red mohair -- it will have to do. This is the skein I got:
And this is the knit swatch:
Quite different, isn't it? So much can change just by which colour is used as the background. Actually, I can't tell which is background and which is the main colour!

Now, that I've done this much, another idea strikes me. Okay, more spinning to do.

Testing Two

2011-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Since that last sample tended to produce a rather dull lack-luster over-all tone, I needed something that would pickup one of the colours in my original, without being too strong. I do have some dark blue and spun up a small bobbin, and plied with my purple/pink single. This is the skein I got.
I then knit a swatch to see what it looks like. You can never tell what will happen just by looking at the skein!
This is better. I notice a bit more brightness in the colours now.

Hmm... now I wonder what would happen if I used something a bit brighter. Okay, one more test.

Some testing

2011-08-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

There hasn't been an update for some time on the spinning I've been doing. So much has been happening that I have neglected to tell you the latest. So here is a bit of what I've done.

When I was spinning this roving, with all these colours in it, I kept thinking of how to ply it. I didn't want to ply with itself, since I would lose some of the variation of colours. I felt it would all blend together. And, because I only had a limited quantity, I wanted to stretch it as far as I could. At first, I thought I would use another strand of the purple/pink colours, to use as one of the plys and to tie the whole together. But that is not quite a colour that I would use. I had no plans for this yarn either, so what colour it was really didn't matter much!

I did think that a darker neutral colour would work well, since it would not overpower the subtle colour changes in what I was spinning, and a darker colour would tend to let the colours stand out a bit more. A white would make it all quite pale, I felt.

So I was able to spin up a little bit of grey alpaca to ply a small bobbin. The results are below.
I did knit up a small swatch with that skein. I am not quite sure whether this has achieved what I intended. The gray does blend it all together, but the colours are not as bright as I would have liked.

Obviously, more testing is required!

Conference treats

2011-07-04T23:07:00.000-07:00

In early June, the provincial conference was held here in the city on June 10-12. I am not a member (yet) but I always like to go to see the public displays and the vendors area. I had decided I needed to treat myself to a really nice spindle. I got a little extra money for my birthday, and I thought it was about time that I got myself something special. I love my CD spindle, but by now I deserve a real fancy tool.

I was holding a garage sale that day as well, and it was very cold and windy. Not a good day to be standing out on the street trying to push some yarn!!

By noon, I made my way to the venue, carrying my umbrella because it threatened rain. I finally found the place (they sure hid it well this year) and tried to find the display and the vendors. I ran into an old friend I haven't seen for a long time, so we had to catch up on what we've done for the last few years. And then there was another friend that I hadn't seen for awhile. I've been out of the weaving community for some time, so I have lost touch with many of these ladies.

The public display was rather disappointing. There were very few entries, the prizes were not very obvious -- they used tall wine glasses with fragments of woven material to signify the placement of a prize, but I had no idea which was first or second. There were many entries by the same person, and the others were the usual people who always enter these kind of shows.

The vendors were spread over four rooms. Which meant I had to stop into each one to get a general feel of what was available, and then spend time to find that exact thing I wanted. The first thing I noticed was that I could not find a single spindle in the whole place! In fact, one of the vendors actually asked if I had mine with me, since she wanted to try out some fibre. I was greatly disappointed -- it's not often that I am willing to spend money, and here no one wanted any of it!!

I did find some nice fibre. Okay, I found a lot of really nice fibre! So then I went around touching (we always have to touch) trying to decide which I wanted the most, and the second most. Not easy! And there was so much to choose from: merino, alpaca, bison, silk, angora... and blends of any of these as well! What's a poor person to do?!? It's been quite some time since I bought any fibre, I think I lost any skill I had in that area. I have been spinning up some wool that was sent to me, and also finding bags of nice fibre I got several conferences ago. Now I needed to replenish my stash!

I did end up getting some really great roving, and will be spinning that shortly. I spent all the money I took with me, and so had to leave. I also told myself that when this shopping bag is full, I'm done. But some nice merchant offered to get me a bigger bag!

But I just wanted to show you this. I agonized over this for so long, trying to visualize how I would spin it, and what would I make of it. She had two very similar colourways... of course I liked parts of both. I started spinning this as soon as I got home.. well, to see how it works, naturally, and maybe I would go back the next day and get more if I liked this batch.
Of course, it's so difficult to get the right lighting to show you the exact colours. This is the best I could do.

I'm spinning it quite fine... well, what else is new. That is what it wanted to be! honest! I tried hard to convince it to be a little softer and thicker... but it had other ideas. I am trying to keep the colours separated, but because of how the roving was dyed, I'm not being too successful there. I still haven't decided how to ply this. I had thought of plying it with itself, but I only got 227 gm and that is not enough to make anything substantial. I may want to ply it with one of the main colours in the roving... if I can find some. I still haven't decided which colour yet. I just may have to do that dreaded "s*****", but I didn't say that! I'm nearly finished spinning the whole batch... so I need to decide quickly.

Rainbows

2011-06-09T10:50:00.000-07:00

Even on a bright sunny day with blue skies, life will throw you a few rain clouds.

That is what seems to happen to me most often. It’s really hard to say it’s a good day or a bad day – it seems to be a mixture of both, and then I don’t know what to feel!

It seems that for the last several weeks, it has been extremely busy for some reason. There seems to be more and more things that need my attention, and I have less and less time to do it all. Am I really getting involved in too many activities? Is time really getting shorter? Am I only getting older and can’t keep up any longer?

Last Saturday was the 20^th anniversary of the local knitting guild. There was a bit of a celebration with some displays of the past (we soon forget what we have accomplished in our own recent past) and some mini-workshops on a variety of knitting techniques, and a big dinner in the evening. I just didn’t want to get up on Saturday, and it took a very long time to get myself ready and to get to the hall where it was all held.

The guild had arranged for some door prizes to be given away – always nice. I wasn’t there for the 2 o’clock drawing, so didn’t get anything then. I hadn’t yet arrived for the 3 o’clock drawing, and didn’t get a prize then as well.

At the 4 o’clock drawing, my name wasn’t in the basket either, since I hadn’t quite made it to the venue by then. It is a long ride on public transit to get there, plus a long walk, and I was a bit late. I kept thinking to myself that I will NEVER go to another event that is so far from home! By the time I got there, the mini-workshops had nearly all completed, and the prize drawing was done, so I missed all of that. But since I had already purchased a ticket to the dinner, I felt I had to go; otherwise, I’m sure I would have just stayed in bed for most of the day.

It was great to get a chance to talk to some people that I don’t see very often. Almost everyone was knitting on something, so of course, everyone was in a great mood! The dinner was excellent. Everything was very fresh and tasty and well-prepared. They used a well-known caterer and everyone was very pleased. After the dinner, there were a few speeches from long-time members about their memories of some outstanding events, and we also remembered many members that are no longer among us. They did the final drawings for prizes since there were a few things left. I really would have liked the book by Franklin Habit “It Itches”, but it went to someone else. And as I sat there, hoping they would call my name eventually for anything, it seemed doubtful they would find my one piece of paper with MY name on it.

Then suddenly, when I wasn’t paying attention, they did call out my name! I had given up hope by then. And I got a book by Lucy Neatby called “Cool Knitters Finish in Style”. This is all about finishing techniques for your knitting. I never learned how to do seams, so all of my knitting was either flat or in the round. Several years ago, I took a class from Lucy on finishing methods, and learned so much! She is a great teacher. This book is based on those classes, with more details, and I will treasure and use it a lot.

I got home early enough to be able to run over to a friend’s house who was having some people over that I wanted to meet. So I was able to be there for a couple hours. When I finally got home and checked on some internet things, and this and that, I was still wound up that I didn’t get to sleep until about 6:30 am! It was a very long day.

I was so pleased with how the day ended finally, that I didn’t mind all the inconveniences of getting there. So even though there may have been a few storm clouds, there also are some rainbows, and that is alright too.

Morning Sickness

2011-06-02T01:24:00.000-07:00

This happens every year at about this time. It's not the thing you might be thinking of. And no, it's not that I hate to get up every morning and go to work -- which is beside the point.

Every year, in the spring (usually a little earlier than this), I suffer through this morning sickness for a couple of weeks. I still don't know what causes it. I am fine at home, I get dressed, but as soon as I get outside, it strikes me about half a block from home. I get really nauseous, kind'a upset stomach. It might last nearly the whole day. I am fine by the time I get home in the evening, and the next morning, it starts all over again. Odd thing is, if I stay home all weekend, nothing happens. It's only when I step outside. There must be something in the air.

Man, I can understand why pregnancies are not fun!

This has been going on for quite a number of years, and now I just come to expect it. It happened quite late this year... and is going on now. It's not as severe as it has other years, but still bothersome. There really is nothing to do but wait it out. And this spring is really dragging itself out!

Oh, how I hate mornings!!

Shadows

2011-04-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

For over the past three years now there has been destruction and construction going on in the block next to the building where I work. I've been watching with much interest how it was all taken apart, how that huge hole was dug, and then filled in with different construction.

Rather than build another high tower in that space, they have opted to just have underground parking, and then make a small park in that spot. There was all kinds of talk about what they were going to create there, and something about mountains, and it wasn't to be used by the public -- well, you know how people like to create and embellish stories.

They seem to nearly complete now, or at least there aren't many workmen around anymore. Of course, the weather hasn't decided what it wants to do. Last week, the last of the snow was gone, and then the other day, we got more! It was at least 10 cm (4 inches) of wet snow. All I can say is that it does make everything nice and clean and white. For a day, and then people start walking and driving on it, and make a horrible mess of it all.

In this park, there are some interesting sculptures. From my vantage point, all I can see are a thin dark line against the white snow, so I know there is something. When on the ground, I can see them. Honestly, I think they are more interesting from up above! LOL

Today, at noon, with the sun shining nicely on these sculptures, and silhoutted against the white snow, I could clearly make out what they were!! They looked just so awesome!! Well, okay, so maybe I'm easily impressed. But I thought I would show them to you, and see what you think. I tried to rotate the pic horizontally, to make it easier for you to see them, and it just seems to have set my whole world upside down! Rather than give any of you vertigo, I will leave it just as I see it from high above.
I do think this presents a most unique perspective of these very common sculptures, to say the least.

Off the Wall

2011-04-11T17:57:00.001-07:00

As you have seen in the previous post, I have been working on some lace. I got tired of spinning, spinning, spinning. Not that I don't enjoy it, but it gets tedious if you do it all the time. Not that lace knitting is not tedious as well, but it is a different kind of tedious.

I did get tired of this scarf. It was not very interesting to do. It was soooo predictable! The decreases all followed a set pattern, and the YOs were all in the same place. I know -- that is what makes lace lace! And it is the repetitiveness of it all that is impressive. I got that. It's still very boring and tedious to do!

I have been working on the Three Sisters Scarves #3. There are two other designs (see her previous posts), and I think I will do at least another one -- maybe all three. They are very simple designs, but because of the repetiveness of the motifs, they are very attractive.

I didn't arrange my scarf as nicely as Monika did hers. I was in a rush to take pics! I completed this on Thursday night. I ran home at noon on Friday, washed it, and took it back to the office to pin it up on my cubicle wall. They are made of some sort of fibre-covered foamboard, and I can stick pins into it. And they are large enough!

Here you can see a pic of my scarf pinned out on the wall. It was dry by the time I left for home.
Because it is stocking stitch based, it does want to curl. I did 2 stitches on the edge in garter, but that didn't seem to be enough to prevent that curl. I might have to block it once more.... or maybe I'll just leave it. When a person is wearing it, no looks to see if it is curling or not.

I used some kind of yarn that I found somewhere. It is very fine, and I used two strands together to knit this scarf. I am assuming it is a wool. I think I used about a 4mm needle -- I never check, I just grab a circular that seems to be about the right size, and just cast on! The knitting went very smoothly, there was hardly a slip-up -- except when I would fall asleep, and just keep on knitting, not watching for the next decrease! So I had to tink only a couple of times and just a few stitches at that. As I said, it was boring to do. It seemed it was never going to end! So eventually, when I thought it was plenty long enough, I came to the end of a pattern repeat, and cast-off.

It's a nice wine colour, and I have no idea what I am going to do with it. Perhaps I'll just put it into my "gift box" so that when I need something quick, I will have something ready to go. Here is a detail of the scarf.
Now, I should get back to my spinning. I have a lot of cops here waiting to be plied. Then I can have more things to show you.

Bumping Along

2011-04-04T21:10:00.000-07:00

On Friday night, there was this strange weather with sort of rain/snow coming down. It had been quite warm, and we were warned about a snow storm for Saturday. And it did come, but at first, it was quite wet and wasn't sure what it wanted to be.

That was alright. I had nothing to do on Saturday, and planned to just stay inside, and looking out at the weather rather than be in it. When I got up Saturday morning, I looked out, saw nothing but white, and turned around and went back to bed. Perfect.

It remained white all day. I mean, there was nothing to see so there is no pic here. I didn't even want to take a photo! I couldn't see any buildings in the next block, there was no ground below me, there was no sun... it was just.. well, white. The whole day was just white. I didn't care.

I was working away comfy and cozy in my high tower. I have a lot of spinning to do, as you can imagine. And I've been spinning up a storm. No pics just yet, because you've seen them all before. Some neat colours, but I don't quite know what I am going to do with it just yet. It will come.

Here is some knitting I'm working on. It's a really nice deep wine colour, but that is so very hard to photograph! I've tried it every way, and this is about the best I can get. I hope it shows up on your monitor. Of course, this is an "in progress" pic of lace, and you know there is nothing much to see of the design yet but I'll let you look anyway.
This is of the front on the left, and the back side on the right -- I love those ridges and bumps it creates. I know too that these will be worked out when it is blocked, but is interesting to see the texture it produces right now. It's a scarf, not for anyone in particular, except I was bored from spinning all the time. Now I'm bored of all this knitting!! It's all the same: YO, K2tog, SSK, repeat. Well, lace is like that, I know. I think I'm about ready for something more challenging... now let's see....

The Wonderment Continues

2011-02-15T23:13:00.000-08:00

I have just been so pleased with my good fortune that arrived in a little box last week.

Today, I'm even more thrilled -- and dumbfounded -- when ANOTHER package arrived. With this inside:
I was content with getting about three skeins of the purple. And now... What can I say??

Thanks Doc!

First skein

2011-02-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

I had to laugh when WillyG commented that I chose the purple to spin first! How could he tell? But that is what I did. There was only one roll of it, and it was on top, so that is what I grabbed first.

Here is a pic of the first skein:
It's really quite nice to work with. It is wool, not very fine, but acceptable. I put in quite a lot of twist, and did a 2-ply with it. I like them that way! It would work quite well for a pair of socks, I think, since it is fine enough, and it is strong enough. I'm not sure what I will do with it.

There are two more skeins possible with this colour. I will decide later what they will become. I spin first, then let them sit for a while, and then they have time to think about what they want to become.
The colour is quite nice, a little deeper than these pics, I think. I am anxious to finish this one, and then start with the pale blue... or the green, or... well, one of them!

Kindness of others

2011-02-13T00:41:00.000-08:00

It still amazes me that there are people in this world that are really good people. You may not find it very strange, but you need to understand where I am coming from.

I work with criminals all the time. All day long, all the people I deal with are accused with some crime or are convicted of some crime. I never see any innocent people. Oh, yes, they all claim they are innocent victims, but in the end, we learn they are not. They are in fact the perpetrators of a crime.

So my view of the rest of humanity is tainted. Everyone I see or meet is painted with the same brush. But now and then, I am reminded that this is not so. Most people are good, and kind, and thoughtful. Really.

Last night, there was a note on my door when I got home that the post office attempted to deliver a parcel to me but I was not at home. No, because I have this stupid thing called a job!! But this morning, I ran out to the postal outlet and picked up the package.

I had been informed a few days ago that I was being sent some wool rovings, since I have expressed an interest in them. I didn't think it would arrive so soon!! Cudos to the Post Office!

And I was so anxious to open it!! Here are the contents of the box:
I'm thrilled!! This will keep me busy for a little while. I've run out of wool to play with... oh, yes, I do have many skeins waiting to be washed and put away, and many more that are waiting to be made into something, but I don't have much more that needs to be twisted into yarns! So this will do for a while. I've already started. Guess which colour!

Thank you, my friend, for sending these to me! I'm amazed. And humbled.

The Great Lull

2011-01-27T14:24:00.000-08:00

We have had the strangest weather this winter. It started too early, very cold, and more snow than we normally get. We were in the deep freeze for many weeks, in the -30 most of the time, and it was not fun! Just getting dressed before going out was a struggle, for even a few minutes was enough to really freeze your ... skin. Of course, wearing a scarf over your face is only good as far as it goes, but you need to see! Wearing glasses didn't help-- as soon as you took your first breath, they fogged up, and you were blind anyway!

Here is a pic of the cold. You can actually SEE how cold it was!!
Then this week, it suddenly changed. Quite drastically, in fact. Well, living here in the foothills of the Rockies, we should be used to the Chinooks (I've written about them before). They come every winter, some years have more than others. It is a welcome relief from the bitter cold we can get here too. There is a wall of warm air that comes in. We can see the effect in the sky -- there is a definite clear line where the clouds end. What a welcome sight!! And if you happen to out on the road (in a vehicle), you can actually notice a big change as you drive through this wall. Very amazing phenomena.

This week we were up into +13, and +4 overnight. Since last Saturday, I've had my windows open in the apartment -- it was just too uncomfortably hot. And they have been open ever since! Even at night, it doesn't cool down enough to need more than a light sheet as covers in bed. And this is only January! I'm afraid to think what will happen in spring, when it really warms up.

The mountains were magnificent this week. Some days, I can't even see them. And other days, they stand out sharp and clear, and brilliantly bright in the sunshine with all that white snow on them. Here is a pic:
Of course, that was Thursday. Then yesterday, it all changed. It was cooler in the morning, and by early afternoon, the snow started. It was light at first, there was a light skiff on the cars, but the streets were only wet. However, by 9 pm, up in the hills to the north, there was a nice white covering on everything. I closed my windows; it was a bit cool.

This morning, when I awoke and looked out, we had the white down in the valley as well. It was cold. I was NOT going out! Here is a pic out my window --notice the snow on the windowsill.
I am working on a special project; I may show some pics later. It's interesting, a little boring, and not sure what I would do with it! And I've been watching skins from England. I find it a little disturbing, and yet compelling to watch! Knitting while it is on is a little harder to do. Even spinning has to stop so that I don't miss something important! LOL

In all the glory

2010-12-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

A couple of years ago, someone was moving and had given me a couple of potted Amaryllis. They grew nicely, had huge bulbs, and I was expecting to see some great blooms. Nothing happened. They grew... they died back, and rested, and then grew more leaves, and kept on growing! But no flower stalk or blooms.

Many long years ago, an old lady I knew gave me some seeds from her amaryllis. I planted them. And I have two bulbs from them. They are many years old now, a good size, but still haven't bloomed for me. Of course, I don't put them into the cold rest they prefer... I just don't have the basement which they would love.

I have a great window sill in my office. It faces south, and I get light in the afternoon. I took one of my larger Amaryllis bulb to work and set it on my window. It grew great big leaves. And then in the fall, the leaves died back one by one. That is a sign that it wants to go into the resting phase. I covered the pot and placed it into the corner on the window ledge, where it was fairly cold, and left it there for a couple of weeks. Then it decided it wanted to grow new leaves... and I pulled it back out into the sunlight. There was no flower stalk.

This year, when the leaves died back, I was determined to get it to bloom! I covered it with a plastic bag, and stuck the whole pot into the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. It would not be very cold there, but cooler than anywhere else. And it would be left undisturbed. Every 2 weeks or so, I would check on it. And as time went by, I eventually noticed a tiny leaf coming out. I could see it was not a flower stalk. This was not good. The flower should come out first, and then the leaves later. So I put it back into the drawer and left it for another week. I was not too pleased with it.

One Friday, I remembered it. I wondered what it was doing. When I opened the drawer, I could see there was some growth... there was something protruding and pushing the bag to one side. I opened it up and saw it was a flower stalk!! Iit was about 25 cm (10") and had to lay horizontally! The poor thing! And it was white, because of the lack of sunlight.

I put it on my desk, and left it for the weekend. When I got back Monday morning, it was all green and standing straight upright! Gotta love the way nature works.

I put it back on the window sill, and let it have some water and sunlight. That flower stalk kept on growing steadily upwards. I was anxious to see what colour it was, because since I've had it, it never bloomed and I was not told what colours they might be. This is so very exciting!!

Finally, the bud was quite full and opened slightly showing me the innards. I could detect deep red. That was going to be great!
Last week, the bud opened, and revealed four blossom buds. They were a deep red, not maroon, not orange, but a really nice red. By Friday, the bud had fully opened, and revealed four great big flower buds! Oh, and it was going to open up on the weekend! I will have to come in on my days off to see it!

I came in on Monday morning to be greeted by the most beautiful gorgeous gigantic blood red blossoms!! Four perfectly and fully formed blossoms in the most vibrant red I have ever seen!

Oh I am so happy! This is such a marvel! I feel reallly blessed to be rewarded with such a miracle of the formation of this intricate and beautiful flower from a simple bulb. I never cease to be amazed at how incomprehensible our world is.

Here is one pic of the blossoms. Red is such a hard colour to capture with the digital cameras, but this one is close. I was not able to show you the majesty of all four flowers, so only one will have to do. I could not be more pleased.

May I extend to you all a very Merry Christmas and many blessings in the New Year.

More loaves

2010-11-28T23:26:00.000-08:00

The weather has been strange around here, hasn't it? Just a few days ago, it is -32C going to work in the morning. By evening, it had gone up to about -9C. The next day, it was +4C -- so the snow we had earlier was melting and we had slush. That's the Chinook, you know. It's nice to see, although a lot of people get bad headaches from it, and there is quite a strong wind. Oh, well, it does break up our winter.

It was very cold in my apartment. I had the oven on for over a week. That didn't seem to help much -- it was still very chilly inside. We had a fire alarm in our building one day, and I happened to talk to one man who told me it was very cold in his place too! Apparently, they forgot to turn on the heat!

But right the next day, when it finally warmed up outside, it was hot inside! That was a pleasant relief. In fact, I had to open a window! It's been open for the last two days and nights ... I may close it tonight...maybe tomorrow. What odd weather! Mind you, we are used to having it change this quickly in this part of the country. Still is a little hard to take.

I baked more bread yesterday. I had so much to do, and instead just stayed in, had a nap, and baked some bread.

I put in some chopped apple, some dried apricots, a handful of dried cranberries, and the rest of the canned. It's quite good! I made four small round loaves. One has already disappeared -- I think it's our dry climate that makes them just dry up and vanish. (well, it works for me!)

I think I may put in some seeds next time. Just to add something different to it. No matter -- it all seems to disappear just as quickly. Sorry, no pics this time. They don't seem to sit around long enough! :-)

So Much Better

2010-11-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

This is much better in real life than in photos, but this is the best I can do. While I wrote the post previous to this one, my bread was baking in the oven. I have just taken it out, and had to show you what I did this time! I'm so excited! This is about the best it's been.

The last several times I've baked bread, they have turned out great. Almost perfect! I had a lot of trouble a couple of months ago in that it would not rise evenly for me. But I think I've discovered the secret now -- although I really don't know what I'm doing differently -- and the last few have been just wonderful.

I usually just make a round loaf and let it sit on the pan that way, but today, I decided to place this one in a loaf pan. It rose beautifully, no more cracks in the surface, and baked just right. Sometimes they get a little darker than this one, but I was careful to watch the timing.

It's still warm over there -- that first slice has already vanished -- and I have to try a few slices, just to be sure it's done all the way through! Sometimes the centre might not be baked as nicely as the rest, you know! :-)

This one was made with a little bit of cranberry, and I always add a little bit of sauerkraut to my breads. You can't really taste it at all -- it sort of disappears -- but I think it helps in the rising. At least, since I've started adding it to my breads, I've never had an failures! So I'm sticking with this method.

I only baked one loaf, because that will do for me for a few days. I like it fresh. I will bake another early next week... not sure what I will add to it then. I like to try different things. I may throw in some fruits in the next one.. just for some variety, and because I have some.

But right now, I have to go and test another slice... maybe with some of my real strawberry jam this time. You know, you have to try it all different ways to see what works and what doesn't!

Enjoy!!

PS: I should add that this cloth was woven by me several years ago. It was meant for a sale, but I made a treadling error about a quarter from the end... so I kept it. It sat in a drawer for many years, but I have started using it the last couple years. I really like it, and am planning on making another one. I am afraid I am going to stain this one, so I need to be careful what I do with it! It is a regular waffle weave in cotton.

Merino-Silk

2010-11-13T11:59:00.000-08:00

What fibres could be any nicer to play wtih than Merino and Silk. And having both together is even double the pleasure!

Here is some that I had for quite a long time... just waiting for the right time, you know... and I have now spun it up. I did it all on the spindle, of course, as my spinning tool of choice. I really love my spindle!

Here is a pic of the roving, the spindle and the cops I've done. I still have to ply, and that will be done soon.

But in the meantime, I got distracted by some regular wool in rich brown and some navy blue. I do have some black that needs to be twisted a bit too, but with there not being much daylight these days (only 9 hours today), I think it will wait a bit longer. I will process these skeins that have been plied, maybe complete this grey, and then I'll post more pics.

I've been looking at all kinds of patterns for the next kntting project. Some lace, some scarves, some vests, some hats. We'lll see if anything ever gets completed! I seem to be distracted so easily... by more fibre!

More BFL

2010-09-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

For the past couple months, I've been spinning some Blue Faced Leceister (http://www.bflsheep.com/images/breed.htm). I've heard many others squealing with delight about this fleece, and when I had a chance to see some it, I knew why. It's beautifully soft, and has a nice lustre to it. What I have is natural brown -- it's a rich brown, but with a few white hairs in it, which softens the colour to this gorgeous soft brown colour.

Of course, I am spinning this on my trusty CD spindle. I find it so portable, and it's always beside me when on the computer, and I take it with me if I am going to have some waiting to do. While watching some movies (and I've seen some wonderful marathons lately), I pick up the spindle to keep me awake. And I can't just sit doing nothing -- I have to account for every minute in the day! While the spindle is slightly slower in producing yarn, it sure has done a lot more than my three wheels. I haven't touched my wheels for many months now, so they are essentially useless to me at the moment. Perhaps one day I will get some time to sit down at them, but for now, yarn is being produced without them.

It's been miserably cold for the last week or so, and raining (or pretending to rain) so there is no good reason to go anywhere. I will stay home, inside, comfortable, and spin. I really should be knitting or weaving up warm winter clothing, because I will need it sooner than expected!

I have included a pic here showing you (cc from top right) the roving, the spindle, the little cocoons I make with the quills I use, and the plied yarn.
I only have 227 gm. I did this as a 2-ply -- I usually prefer a 3-ply -- and it will become some lace I think one day. The pattern hasn't been chosen just yet. I haven't measured the grist of the yarn, but it's pretty fine. But that is how it wanted to be spun! I am using the long-draw with this, and it goes very quickly, and so very easy to form smooth even yarn. I'm having the best time of my life with this BFL. Give it a try.

BFL Skeined

2010-09-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

As I wrote last time, I have some gorgeous BFL which I have been spinning. Whenever I have some time, I grab the spindle that is always beside me and spin a little of it. I have taken it with me on trips and spin a little when I have the time. And little by little, these little cops of singles are accumulating.

This weekend, I decided it is time to ply some of it and see if I have put the right amount of twist in the singles. After all, I need to know that before continuing! I should have done that right at the start... making my twist swatch, so to speak.

But I needn't have worried -- the singles plied just right. Well, they had to. I mean, no matter if I don't have the right amount of twist, whatever I have is what I am going to get. The 2-ply yarn meets my requirements for the moment, and I quite like the way it looks. I had thought that perhaps I had put too much twist into the yarn, but after plying, I think it will work quite well.

I yet don't know what it wants to be, and so have no idea where it will end up. It is very fine, so it may become some lace. We haven't found the right pattern just yet, but there are a few that are being eyed and have some potential.

I may have to try doing some with less twist and get a softer yarn. While they have their place, I find they don't hold up to handling that well. It all depends on the gauge of the knitting, or the sett of the weave, but for my purposes, I feel it needs to be a firmer yarn. So what I have will serve me well.

Here is a pic of a skein that I have plied.
The colours are more accurate this time. I have about 780 metres (about 850 yards) now, and only about half of it is spun. So I should be able to get something fairly good sized when I knit whatever it will be. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying the spinning of this fibre. And after all, it's the process that matters, right?

Basic Brown

2010-08-16T18:37:00.000-07:00

So as I said, I really enjoyed spinning that black alpaca, and was very disappointed when it came to an end. I went into a slight depression -- nothing really seemed to measure up!

But as I was moving something one day, I spotted a bag of a nice brown roving, and remembered that I bought a pound of a nice rusty alpaca about a year (maybe two?) ago from a local producer. I set it aside and promptly forgot about it. I was so happy to see it.

However, I didn't want to start right into it. I had some rich brown wool waiting as well, so I thought I would spin it up. Oh, what a difference! It' s just not very nice at all! It felt coarse and harsh and didn't draft easily, and over all very disappointing. But I persevered and spun up two cops so I could ply it. They are still sitting here waiting to be plied. Just not that enthused about it.

So last night I decided it was just time to do some fun stuff for myself, and forget all this unpleasant wool. I dug out that bag, and pulled out the bag of alpaca... and it's not alpaca!!

It's a lovely cool brown shade, and looks nice through the plastic bag. The label says Blue Faced Leicester in natural dark. I have half a pound. I opened the bag, and Oh, ah, Nice!!! It's great stuff. Very very soft, and so light. Better than alpaca even!!

I couldn't wait to show you what I have. I spun this up last night:
(the colours aren't very accurate)
It said it wanted to be spun very fine, and I was glad to accommodate. And what a pleasure it was to spin! It just flowed so easily, it is beautifully prepared, all combed top, no neps in it... just the best thing I've seen!

I have heard many people raving about how lovely BFL is, and I thought they would go on about anything with just as great a gusto. But they are right! It is very fine, so very soft, and drafts without any effort at all. I love it!!

Oh dear -- do you think I am turning into a yarn snob?!

Middle of Black

2010-08-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Way back in May, at the monthly meeting of the local knitting guild and their annual garage sale, I located a bag of loverly black fibre. I debated whether I should get it or not. I looked over the other tables, not really needing anything you understand, but not wanting to let a real bargain go by! I found a couple magazines (like I needed more?) but resisted getting any yarn of any kind. I have enough!

But I keep thinking about that black roving... and thought about it some more. It was nice, and I could use it, but I promised myself I would not bring anything home!

Eventually, I did the only thing I could: I went over and bought it!! It was a pound of rick black alpaca. So how could anyone resist it? I didn't. It appears no one else was really interested in it.

As soon as I got home, I had to try it!! Nice! So since then, I've been spinning alpaca with my spindle. And I just kept on going. Of course, it wanted to be spun fine, and I gladly obliged. I spin my singles on a paper quill, as you know. It took me a good long evening to spin one cop.

I plied up on skein, and it was really nice hanging here in front of me! And of course, I just had to do more.... and I kept on spinning.

Now, a pound is quite a lot, and spinning fine, it seemed to just go on and on and on. It had to end, I know, but at the moment, I was enjoying playing with the roving. It was carded and was very nice. A little VM now and then, but I didn't mind.

When I got near to the last bit in the bag, I decided to see how long it took me to ply one skein. I timed myself on the weekend -- I didn't do anything else but ply. I watched a couple of old TV shows, and a couple of Indiana Jones movies. Do you know it took me a little over 5 hours? I think it took me about that long to spin one cop as well. So that is a lot of spinning!

What would one charge for one skein? Considering all the time I spent on it, this is not very cheap yarn! Of course, the financial outlay was relatively small, but the amount of man-power that went into even one skein makes this a very expensive yarn!

Here is a pic:
Do you know that it is really very hard to get a good photo of black yarn? Who knew?

It's quite fine, and I like it. I have 518.6 gms -- that is a little over a pound. I have 6 skeins, of about 180 - 200 metres each. I'm not sure what I will do with them, but there is a lace shawl KAL that is just starting, and I may use this yarn for that. Although, I would like to know what the pattern will be before I commit to this yarn!
Maybe I should look around for another project. It will probably be lace... it's too fine for anything else ... and maybe it will have a few beads too.

Mindless Knitting

2010-07-21T22:45:00.000-07:00

Quite some time ago, a lady I know was given some yarn by a weaver that wasn't going to be using them. They are on cones, some of them very large! They are very fine, and in the most awful colours you can imagine! We have no idea what she was weaving with these yarns, because they are very fine.

But this lady didn't want them either, so she gave them to me! I thought I might be able to do something with them, but I sure didn't care for the colours. Nothing really went with anything else, nor could I find anything that would work with them. Very strange colours.

So one day, when I was really bored, I took a box of those yarns, and thought I would combine several coordinating yarns into one large yarn and knit something with them -- perhaps a rug or something along that line. But I just couldn't find many that would work together!

I decided on making two yarns: one is a lighter orange brown, and the other a dark brown. I took three of the lighter shades to use as one, and there were two brown yarns that I used for the darker shade. I was going to knit something in garter stitch -- perhaps a scarf knit the long way.

I grabbed a needle that I thought would work with these yarns, and cast on. I don't know how many stitches -- I didn't count -- but when it looked like there were enough, I started knitting! I decided I would alternate colours every two rows. That would give a clean row of a colour from the right side... but there would be those little blips on the back side. Oh, well.

I wouldn't cut the yarns at the end of the rows but just carry it up the side. And that worked quite well. The knitting was just plain knit all the time... very boring, but I could do that while watching a movie. In time, it slowly took shape. Despite using three yarns as one, it still took a long time to complete even one row!

This is the scarf. Trying to get the colours accurate, and still show the stitching was most difficult. It's still not quite correct, but comes close. I don't know what kind of fibres these are, but probably some sort of acrylic. It feels quite nice despite that.
The front shows nice clean lines of colour. The back side is also in rows, although not quite as distinct, but pleasing nonetheless. It was a fun knit (albeit somewhat tedious), and I will do another with other yarns. There are a couple of other ideas I have using this same principle, but I need to work on it a little before I get something completed. It's odd how the perfect design in my head doesn't quite work that way once it is made up in yarns!

Bare Truth about the Ladies

2010-07-12T21:47:00.000-07:00

Last night, I decided to go and see the Bare Naked Ladies. They were finally playing at the Calgary Stampede for the very first time in 22 years of performing.

I have enjoyed some of their music over the years, but wasn't ever really a big fan. But I wanted to go and see their show. Not a good idea.

There were far too many people! So there was security all over the place... not really sure why. They were just keeping people away for some reason. You really had to force your way into the venue. Gave the whole thing a very bad taste right from the start.

The sound level was much too high. I think most of the young people must be quite deaf, if they listen to this stuff, and if they need to turn it up that loud. I was very disappointed because everything the band played sounded about the same. It was just noise... irritating, obnoxious, disturbing noise. I think they sound a lot better on their recordings. Perhaps it's all the magic they can do in the editing, I dunno.

They seem like nice guys. They smiled a lot, seemed to really enjoy what they were doing, they looked like they were having fun. They made a few jokes that seemed to go over well, except that thing about cats. That really was a big blunder. I don't think they ever recovered from that one.

After last night's experience, I have to say that I don't like crowds. There are a lot of people whose parents should have used condoms more often! I don't know what purpose these creatures serve. Just using up valuable oxygen is the way I see it. Of course, I would have to be right next to the few that made it bad for everyone else. But I must be tolerant and not say anything about it.

So it was quite a shame that it went so badly last night. The Ladies seemed to sound quite good the few times I've heard their recordings. But it was quite a disappointment to see them live. I don't know if it was them, or their production people at the venue, but I don't think I would pay to see them again. At least, that was my experience. YMMV

All gone flat!

2010-07-06T21:08:00.000-07:00

The little shawlette has been washed and blocked.

Now the problem is that I really don't have anywhere to block it at my place. Really -- I don't have that much space on the floor or on the bed or anywhere on the wall to pin it out while it dries. But I do have the perfect spot at my office! So I ran over on the weekend (imagine! going to the office when you don't need to!) and I pinned it on the cubicle wall. Because it's lace, it dries very fast. I went back in about 6 hours, took it off the wall, and it's all done! No one even knows about it.

Well, all those lovely waves and nipples are all gone. It's all flat now! Still, it does look quite nice in its own right. That is the amazing thing about lace knitting, isn't it? What you see as you are knitting is nothing like what it becomes when you are finished! Transformation. Or in Greek, methaphor.

Here is a look at my newest knitting:
And here is a detail of the pattern and the edging.
It was rather easy to do. After all, it's plain basic ordinary lace. And the yarn was nice to work with too. I like the spinning I did on it. I'm very pleased all around!

Now, I got a few more ideas for another little neckerchief. I better get working on it.

Nipples

2010-07-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

(so let's see what the searchbots make of this post!)

I have completed my latest project, and am showing you a few tidbits of what I've got so far. It really does look a bit peculiar, and as I spread it out while working on it, I couldn't help thinking that it does remind me of something -- I couldn't quite put my finger on it.
As I cast-off, and it was revealing itself (it was all bunched up on circular needles, so you couldn't really see the full patterning), it became more and more clear what I had created. I just couldn't help giggling to myself! It is the funniest thing. Look:
Well, I'm sure it will look a lot better once it is blocked -- won't it? Tell me it will! Please!!

KIP

2010-06-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

This is just a quick note to let you all know that I am working on something, and it is just taking its time!

I've tried a few things, thought about things for a very long time, worked on doing some computer repairs (not going smoothly) and once in a while I try to do some household chores around here -- because if I don't do it, no one else will!

Here is a quick peek at what I am working on now. This is one of those skeins you've seen hanging earlier.It is going to be a small shawl, and I think I put a little too much twist in the yarn for this project, but would have been perfect for socks. Maybe I should make socks instead! But as you know, I NEVER rip anything! So it's going to have to stay.

More later!

Hung

2010-06-12T12:51:00.000-07:00

Once I got the skeins rinsed, and rolled up in a towel (several towels, actually) and then snapped a few times to straighten out the strands, I hung them up to dry. I do not believe in weighting the skeins, as some do, because there is no need to do so. I also like to keep some elasticity in my yarns, and don't want them stretched out like commercial yarns.

I have a wooden yarn blocker, so these skeins are all wound to the exact same size (I can't adjust the size at all) but I noticed while they were off the blocker before being washed that they were all different sizes. In truth, it is hard to tell, since most of them were so kinked up that they were shortened a lot.

After I threw them into the bath, and leave them awhile, I find they do relax a lot. Most of the kinks seem to disappear too. After the rinse, I insert my hands inside the skein and then snap them open. Not with a great force, but just enough to straighten out the strands because they do get tangled a bit while being handled in the water. I then hang them up, usually on wire or plastic hangers because that is what I have! And then just let them dry.

If you take a look at these, you will see they are pretty straight, there are nearly no kinks at all now, and there is no twisting! So all my fears about having tight over-twisted kinky skeins was all for nothing! They just hang there, nice and neat, very relaxed, just as they should. I like that. But do you see that they are not all the same length? I mean, one would expect them to be, since that is how they started out.

These are all wool, but from different breeds of sheep, so there is a different amount of crimp in each fibre. There probably is some degree of variance in the amount of twist as well, since I am not that consistent on the spindle! Still, I am a little surprised by how some are shorter than others. This will require some investigation.

However, here is the pic of all 18 (yes, eighteen) skeins hanging when mostly dry. I'll get some close-ups as soon as my beauties are ready!

Bathing Beauties

2010-06-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

WARNING!!
This is to warn you that you will encounter some scenes that were shot in the bathtub, and some readers may find the following discussion shocking! Proceed at your own risk.

***********
From my last post, you would have seen some skeins of yarn that I have spun and plied on my truly remarkable CD spindle. The skeins were all wound on my wooden blocker, and are all the same size. They are just hanging there awaiting the next step in the processing.

I was enjoying the plying and didn't feel like doing the rest of the work. So I plied more. And more.

You may have noticed that they were a bit twisted, kinky, over-plied. Well, that is the way I like my yarns! Okay, not so kinked up, but I like the twist in the plied yarn, and that is how I did them.

I tried to spin the singles with a lot of twist, knowing that I would be plying with a lot of twist as well. In the past, while I got a pleasing single, when plied, I found them to be rather weak, and softly plied. But according to my spinning instructor, we were to aim for a "balanced yarn" which means that the twist in the single is balanced against the twist in the ply resulting in a truly relaxed stable complacent yarn. Well... okay.

So when I plied my yarns, they were too weak for my tastes. So I put a lot of extra twist in the plying process to give me the yarn I like ... resulting in an over-plied yarn. Not good.

The result was what you saw last time. Today, I show you those beauties in the bath!
I ran a couple inches of the hottest water I can get in my tub. I added some soap and a dash of salt. Then I threw the skeins in, one by one. I didn't count them... there were quite a few!

And then I walked away. I never touch them, I leave them alone, to do their soaking and whatever else they want to do when I am not looking! I watched a movie, chatted with my brother about computer problems, and then remembered my poor skeins!

Here you see them laying quietly, peacefully, comfortably in the now-cooled water.

I drained the water, and refilled with warm water and let them soak a bit more. They are soaking now... I will go check on them in a moment, and then squeeze out the water, and hang them up to dry.

Now, where will I be able to hang them so they don't drip all over my floor? A final look at the skeins in the next post.

Kinky Stuff

2010-06-05T09:28:00.000-07:00

So for the last several weeks, I've been involved in some other activities and haven't been blogging here in that time. I've been meaning to -- while walking to and from work, I keep thinking I will write a short note about what I've been doing. And by the time I get home, it has already been done (in my mind) and forgotten. Just not posted!

As you may know, I don't like to be idle. So when I have a few moments, I will grab my spindle and spin away. I will do this outside my apartment building while waiting for my ride, or while reading emails, or watching a movie. My hands can work while I do other things! So in the past several weeks, I've spun up quite a lot of yarn. I hadn't realized until I looked at all the bobbins of singles waiting to be plied. And when they are all together, there is quite a lot!! So for the past week or more, I've been plying. Some evenings I can get two skeins done. After all, plying is not that hard to do.

I always spin my singles on a quill, and then put them away until I have more done up for plying. Sometimes I just like to spin, and leave the plying for when "I am in the mood" to do so. Here is a collection of some of my paper quills that I have recently cleared up. Okay, so now I have to fill them up again??

These are usually half a sheet of 8x11 paper (salvaged from the office), or most often even a quarter sheet. You will also see some paper from a flyer, since that is all I had when away from home. It all works!

So I like a good firm plied yarn. I have been finding that when I ply "balanced" as my teacher tells me to do, that it is much too loose for my liking. So I have purposely twisted my singles very tight... and then plied tightly to make a yarn to more my liking. But that wasn't enough either. I found that to get the yarn I like I would have to really over-ply, according to my teacher. But that is what I like!

So here are some skeins I've recently plied, and they look a bit -- um -- over-plied? They are really kinky, don't you think?
I like the look of the yarn itself, but in the skein, they really twist up, and make all those kinky curls. Will it be alright? Will my knitting be all biased and twisted as well? Is this just a reflection of what I am like?

Stay tuned for the next episode in the "Kinky Files".

Art Linkletter

2010-05-31T21:30:00.000-07:00

Art Linketter, born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (that's in Canada, you know), passed away in his Los Angeles Bel Air home on Wednesday, May 26, just short of his 98th birthday with his wife of 74 years at his side. His life did not start easy and he worked hard in his youth, and had much tragedy in his personal life. But throughout it all, he abided by a simple belief, which I want to share with you.

I never want to be what I want to be
Because there's always something out there yet for me.
I get a kick of living in the here and now,
I never want to feel I know the best way how.
There's always one hill higher with a better view,
Something waiting to be learned I didn't know,
So till my days are over never fully fill my cup.
Let me keep on growing – growing up.

July 17, 1912 - May 26, 2010

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Linkletter

Starting anew

2010-04-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, the OTR community that I participate in was holding their Spring Marathon. This meant that there were 12 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday of excellent old-time radio presentations. I listened in on Saturday, all day, and heard many really good shows that I hadn't heard before. Very well done! In between presentations, there was time for a little chat. Because most of the people here are blind, these are voice chats. It's really quite an efficient way to do these things. I've formed very good friendships with these people from across North America.

So eventually I shut down and went to sleep because the next round started in a few hours! I got up early on Sunday morning, turned on the computer, and it didn't start. It would not boot up. Something was wrong here! I tried, and tried, and tired very many times. It just would not boot up. I didn't know if it was the HD or something else. There was power, there was humming, it just didn't start up.

So Sunday was dismal. I didn't know what to do! I was annoyed because I was missing a really good day of shows, and that I couldn't do anything else. I suddenly realized how much I depend on getting access to everything through the computer. I couldn't watch any of the shows I've collected, or the music, or access my mail, or chat with friends... I was lost! I had no contact with the outside world. I felt like a prisoner, lost on an isolated island somewhere.

So I sat at my wheel and tried to console myself. I always turn to the wheel in times of need. That is one thing that will ground me, will calm the turmoil in my life, that gives me a sense of some stability in the world. It helped -- but only a little.

Monday I called my computer tech person, and made arrangements to take it in for some service. After work, I ran over with it, and he checked it out. Seems that the power supply had failed. He suggested I get a whole new case. And a motherboard since this one was shot too. (I still don't really know what the problem was) And one thing after another, I ended up buying a whole new computer!

I can't use the HD that I had with the O/S on it. I had to re-install.. which is good since I already have XP Professional. But I had to get a new HD as well. I get home, and search everywhere for the disks... and they are no where. I know they have to be here somewhere... but where? Since I moved couple of years ago, everything is still in boxes piled to the ceiling. Not labeled. So where do I even start looking? Another dismal tortuous evening without the computer! I spin some more.

One good thing, though, about digging through a bunch of boxes and moving things around is that I will find things that I had 'lost'. I did find some money -- a lot of money, in fact -- which was enough to pay for the new computer, so that was fortunate. I think I need to go through more of the things around here and do some "cleaning" and see what else I can find.

Tuesday I run back to the techie guy and cry out for help. So I have to buy another disk! But he says XP is no good, it is being phased out, there is no support, get Windows7 -- and it's cheaper too. wtf? So I end up buying Windows7, which I really did not want to do. Damn that Bill Gates!

Okay, the installation went smoothly enough. Then the drivers (at least most of them). But I have to start from scratch again... all the bookmarks are gone, all my saved programs I had installed, all gone. I haven't tried hooking up the old drive with all my files... he said I can do it once I get this all installed. I will do that tomorrow. Luckily, much of my emaill is web-based, so I didn't lose anything there. I had a lot of my OTR and movies put on disk (just in case) and I'm glad of that. But I still don't have sound!

I finally found the right spot to plug in the speakers, and got sound working. The mic is not recognized -- I have to work on that. I will need that for the Thursday chat. I need to get everything back to the way it was -- I just don't like change!

I had made a promise to myself the last time I had to get a new computer (almost 6 years ago) that the next one will definitely be a Mac. I'm sorry I didn't follow through on that. I think it would be so much better if I did. Next time for sure. Maybe even before then.

Completed

2010-04-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

The socks are now finished, and washed, and dried. Here is what they look like:I think they are a little shorter than I like, but shall see. Because they are knit from toe-up, I can always add a bit more to the cuff if I need to. But they fit nicely, and feel good. Maybe I'll just leave them as they are for now. You never know!

More Socks

2010-04-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

I heard from Mom that the socks were a great hit. They fit perfectly, and he is very happy with them. He wore them for three days, and Mom finally got them from him and "washed them in the sink", she said, and laid them out on the bed to dry. She knows how to handle my precious wool socks! haha So it appears I was a success. I wonder if he thinks there will be another pair following these.

But I did like them too, so I decided I have enough yarn to knit myself a pair as well. I wanted the same kind of pattern -- seemed to work well -- and wanted to do a white heel for myself. And when I got to doing the gusset, I decided to do my favourite with the increases on the bottom of the foot. Well, that meant that I couldn't do the white heel (because of the construction method) so I just went with all grey. I also did the slip-stitch heel flap, as I like, and then continued the rib pattern up the leg. I will make two white stripes at the top, as I did with the others, just to tie it together. As I am going along, I've been trying it on (to see if it fits) and I really quite like the way they feel. I can understand why he wore them for three days!

I'll show you the turning of the heel. I quite like the way it works this way, and it makes for an interesting structure and design.
Oh, about the frog. The girl next to me took him home and put him in a terrarium. We are just calling it a "him", but the guys at the pet shop didn't know for sure. She bought a tub of crickets and would put 2 or 3 in with him and overnight, they seem to disappear somewhere. Because it is nocturnal, he hides under some bark all day, but when she gets up in the morning, there he is hanging on the side of the glass, eyes wide open, and looking for something to eat. She gave him some meal worms, but he doesn't seem to care for them. I think he likes to see things move, and then snaps them up. I wonder if he has a long tongue? She may have to catch some grasshoppers in summer. But I did tell her not to let it go here because he doesn't belong to this part of the world. So for now, she will keep him. Still no name for him/her/it.

Just Hopping Along

2010-03-23T22:58:00.000-07:00

A little over two years ago now, I made a decision to accept a new position. It's still with the same large corporation, but in another unit of the same department. Anyway, they had built a new office tower, and had just opened it when I started there. The place I was at was also moving into a newer larger building, which I have visited, but I was glad I didn't have to go through the move. So I was quite lucky -- I left one place just before the move, and joined a new one just after the move.

The new building was officially opened in the fall of 2007, but there were still workmen doing all the last finishing touches (like replacing cracked windows and warped doors) for quite a few months.

A few of the older staff have retired, and so these prime offices have come available. The senior staff remaining then get first choice of which office they would like. So for the past 2-3 weeks, there has been quite a bit of shifting of offices. It's like musical offices -- we move one out, another moves in to clear up one more office, which someone else moves into, and so on. This involves moving entire offices... all the furniture, art work, books, etc. The senior management people have their own furniture in their own offices, so it's quite involved. But it's all overseen by a very competent organizer, and it all moves like clockwork -- most of the time.

Late on Friday, when one office was almost moved over, and the assistant was cleaning up (the assistants have to do all the work), she discovered something hopping away down the hallway into a corner. It was a little frog! It apparently had been in that office, on the 23rd floor, was disturbed and was trying to find a new place to hide. How long it was here, where it lived, what it ate, we don't know.

It's the cutest little thing. It is a tree frog. There aren't any native tree frogs in our part of the country; there may be some on the west coast. I believe this one is native to south-east Asia, perhaps from Indonesia. It has very long delicate fingers and toes -- with suction cups on the ends. Looks a little like E.T. It's no more than about 5 cm (2 inches) long.

So the assistant took it home, put it into a terrarium and may let it go in spring. However, I don't know if it will survive our winters here. She got some coconut bark for it to hide under, and even a little tub of crickets! These frogs are nocturnal, so she hasn't seen if it is eating any crickets, and it seems to sleep most of the day. In the morning, she finds it on the side of the glass looking very bright and chipper, so she assumes it has found a cricket or two.

So here is a pic of the little darling! It's really quite cute -- in its own way.

I am finished

2010-03-15T20:22:00.000-07:00

Well, the socks are done! I finished them and they are on their way now.

After quite an agonizing week, with no knitting, I decided that the socks can just stay as they are. There isn't a "mistake" after all; it's a design feature that the socks wanted, and I should let them be. Which is what I did.

Here is a look at the toes again, after washing and viewed from the side.

They do look a lot better than at first. But I knew they would. :-)

The gussets were a bit troublesome, but after all is said and done, they seemed to be just right. The math was there, so it had to work out; just that it didn't look right when I was doing them. Here is a look at the gusset and the heel:

The heel was not quite as I had hoped it would go, but since this was the first time doing it with this formula, I really had nothing to compare it to! In the end, I think they worked out just fine. I have made a mental note to change a few things on the next socks!

I continued the 3/1 rib pattern established on the instep and carried it around the back of the sock as well. I was thinking of increasing a few stitches as I went up the leg, but where? It would just upset my whole patterning, now wouldn't it?! So I just left it as it was. There is considerable stretch there anyway, so that will account for any leg shaping. With the ribbing, I don't need to worry about the socks staying up as well.

When I got to the top of the cuffs, I remembered I needed to do some white stripes! I did have to tink back just a little, and added the two stripes of white, and cast-off. I used my version of the Very Stretchy bind-off, and it is surprisingly stretchy. There is lots of room to get it over the ankle.

I washed the socks last weekend, and hung them to dry. They were still quite damp the next morning! So I left them until I got back from work. They were pretty well dry by then. I left them for a few days extra to be sure they are completely dry. It is 100% wool, and they are fairly thick, for socks, so they should provide lots of insulation. But they do take a long time to dry!

I packaged up the socks into a nice little package, and wrapped it very neatly, complete with a nicely printed address label. I took it down to the Post Office to mail on their way. They wanted $9.56 postage for it! It was only going 840 km!! I said there is something wrong, that can't be right. But she said yes it was right, it has to go parcal post -- duh-- it is a parcel, I know! It's just a pair of socks, damn it! I told her that I was getting ripped off. Then she said if I could package it into a flat packet, it would be less.

So back I go to my office, and take it all apart very carefully, and stuff the socks flat into a 8x11 envelope which was able to pass through that magic little slot they have, and it went for $2.00. Can you believe the difference?!!

Anyway, I'm awaiting word to see if they fit, and if they are going to be worn. I should hear something in about a week. Here is a look at the full socks:

Much Better

2010-02-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been quite a week! But I have survived, and am feeling much better now.

Last week, late in the afternoon, I started feeling unwell, and had some abdominal discomfort. Something I ate? Only had a sandwich at lunch, shouldn't be that. But it kept getting worse, and was making me very concerned. I did get home, and didn't feel like having any supper, and went to bed early.

Of course, the pains were getting more and more bothersome. I didn't sleep all night, just couldn't find the right position where I didn't hurt and could sleep. I still went in to work, suffered through the day -- it was ever so long when I didn't get any sleep -- and had chills all day long. But I'm normally cold at work, so that wasn't unusual. The security person came around in the afternoon and said I looked flushed... my face did feel hot, but I was still shivering.

Eventually, I got home at the end of the day, and went straight to bed. I had no supper again. I woke up during the night, and took 2 aspirins for the fever, and slept a little. I got up a few hours later and took 2 more, and slept again. I stayed in bed for 18 hours, and felt a lot better when I finally got up. I wasn't that hungry yet, so didn't do much in the day, had a nap in the afternoon, and went to bed early again. I just needed the rest!

By Monday, I was better, and went to work, but it was several days later that I was feeling back to normal -- or as normal as I can be. But it was a bit of a rough time for a few days there... and gave me much time to think about a few things that I have ignored. I'll have to do something about that now.

So there has been no knitting! I just was not in that space where knitting would have been appropriate. There are times that I am just not in the mood, you know? And that's alright too... it will wait for me!

But now that I'm better, I guess I have no excuse! I have to get back to my work. It's waited long enough. I hope the socks have learned their lesson and are going to behave now!! LOL

and around the bend

2010-02-20T21:31:00.000-08:00

I have finally gotten around to doing the heel. It's not really that hard, but I've been finding that there seem to be so many other things that I am required to do, and that takes away from my knitting time.

Doing the heel with a flap from the bottom up means you have to do everything backwards, in a way, and think of the final goal and how to get there from here. Do you remember in highschool, having the answers in the back of the Algebra book, but you had to figure out how you get to it?? This is much the same.

Now, true, I need to do some calculations here. I start out with X number of stitches, and I need to end up with Z at the end, and I have Y nuimber of steps to get there. A real problem. However, it is possible to work it out. Just have to sit down without distractions and work them out.

So I have finally done it, and turned the heel, which I find really cool how it does that, and I am on my way. Not a problem!! Why did I think it would be? It all just works out, as it should. Here is a look at what I have so far:
I tried to show you how I did the heel, and you can also see the gussets. I did do each heel turn and the flap separately, since you really can't keep working in the round while on that part. It's not that hard, really --just need to keep focusing on what you are doing.

So far, I'm finding the yarn nice to work with. It's quite even, and is holding up ..... Oh, darn it!! I just spotted an error -- a huge glaring mistake! So now what?? Do I rip out (I have a rule about never ripping out) or do I ignore it and keep on going. But it will keep bothering me. Oh, darn! I'm sick over all of this... I think I'm going to go lie down for awhile.

It's started

2010-02-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

After doing the swatch, and determining which needles I wanted to use, and deciding on the 3/1 patterning, I cast on!

I am doing these toe-up because... well, because I want to! I like doing them toe-up and trying out different heels. It is a good way if you don't know how many stitches to cast on -- try them on until they are large enough! I am not sure how long to make them either, so this is a better way to go. I don't have to worry about not having enough yarn -- I think I have enough for a couple pairs -- and I do like a challenge. I've decided to try and do them as traditionally as possible, with the heel flap, and to do them in reverse, so to speak. I've done this before some time in the past, after struggling to find a way to do it that way. It is rather easy, when I finally figured it out!

I will do the toe and the heel in white, perhaps a little around the top of the cuff, and the rest of the sock will be in the grey. It is going to be very appropriate for a farmer in winter! I don't want to try and do anything fancy. Here is a pic so far:

I am doing both socks at the same time, on one circular. I don't do second socks very well, and since I don't have a pattern (I don't keep notes unfortunately) so doing them both at the same time is insurance that they will be the same. I used Judy Becker’s Magic Cast-On for the toes. I've used this method several times for all sorts of things, and I just enjoy doing a small sample when I am bored. It's so ingenius and so simple! Gotta love it! Oh, the red thread? That is my marker showing me the beginning of the round. I used it when making the increases on the toes, and it just stayed. I'll need it later for the gussets and heels. I just use a piece of smooth yarn in a contrast colour and it works really well. I also use it for counting rounds.

I'm coming up to the heel soon, so I want to put in some gussets. I had better concentrate now and put them in the right spots. More to follow!

The Required Swatch

2010-02-06T12:07:00.000-08:00

So I'm doing this right. In order to plan this project, I need to do my swatch. I've chosen a needle size, and after a couple rows, I can see it is too loose. Then I used a smaller needle, and it's much better. I want a firm fabric for socks to wear well, so this will do just fine.

I did find, though, that the smaller needle size was harder to work with. I can feel the extra strain on my hands. So this will be a little tougher to do, but I will manage.

I used 4.0 mm and 3.25 mm needles. I have some nice bamboo needles that I really quite like, but not enough for both socks at the same time. I don't like doing one and then the other -- I always forget what I had done on the first! No, I don't follow a pattern! These will be knit toe-up, and I make up the design as I go along. I haven't yet determined how I will do the gusset or the heels. I do want the toe and heel to be in white, the rest in grey, but I don't like short-row heels, but am not sure how the flap will look in white. Shall see when I get there, I suppose! Why worry about it before I need to?

I do want a simple rib on the instep and around the leg, so tried out a 3/1 rib on the swatch, with both needles. Yes, the smaller works better. One thing I noticed, which I should have known, is how much the fabric pulls in with the smaller needles! You can see in my swatch, in the stocking stitch area, and in the ribbing, how much they have pulled in, even with these few stitches. This is compounded when you are doing a sock, or even a sleeve! Something to keep in mind.

Here is the swatch, with the needles placed next to their corresponding section.
Now, to cast on.

Skeined

2010-02-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

Those hanks I showed you drying have now been twisted up into a skein waiting to be used. I just wanted to show you a closer pic of them. I really like the way they look! I like a yarn with more plys to the inch than the regular stuff we tend to do.

My teacher said I need to ply a balanced yarn. But when I did, it was too loose for my tastes. Well, that is easy to fix, right? Just put more twist into the singles, then you need to put more twists in the ply and you will get what you want... in theory. So I did. But even then, with so much twist in the singles that I was getting tangles before I could ply them, it was still not what I wanted if it was a balanced yarn.

So I just did what I needed to do. These singles have a LOT of twist in them. I was careful in the plying to put in the amount I wanted.. it kinked up badly. Well, of course, it would be said to be over-plied! But as I showed you, once washed, they seemed to balance themselves out, and were very happy where they were! I dunno... but I liked the result and the yarn seems to be quite happy to be there too. (am I seeing more than I should??)

Anyway, here's a pic. More to come later.

I'm twisted

2010-01-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

When I was reading the Harlot's blog about her sixth blogiversary, I was reminded that I too have celebrated my blogiversary as well. (We do things together, you know) It's only my fifth, but I thought it was longer than that. I don't post as often as she does, if you hadn't noticed, but she is a writer, while my other writing goes elsewhere and you won't read about it here.

I've been really busy lately, with work, and by the time I get home, I'm too bushed to do much of anything I had planned. YoU know how it is -- I write all these wonderful blog posts in my head, while walking to or from work, or at work, and by the time I get home, they are done, so I don't need to actually post them! And I'm always so surprised when I look and find out they are not there!

I don't do much knitting these days, although I have a lot in queue and I doubt I will ever get to them. I just am not inspired to do much. But I do spin a lot. I always feel the need to do something while I am watching a movie or listening to a radio show. And the first thing I grab is my spindle. I have three wheels, as you know, but they are sadly being neglected, and I do feel a bit guilty over that. But it requires a bit more organization for me to sit at the wheel. Of course, the wheel is not conveniently positioned so that I can watch my computer screen -- where I watch all my movies. So the spindle is it.

I've decided that I want to knit some socks, and want to use my own handspun for that. But what I have been doing is 3-ply which is a bit too heavy for what I want. So I am now doing some 2-ply. For socks, I want a firmly spun yarn, so am putting in a lot, and I mean A LOT of twist in my singles. I am doing a fairly tight ply too and getting what I feel is a very nice yarn for socks. I just need to knit up a sample to know for sure, but I'm sure it will be just fine!

I've noticed that the white seems to be a bit finer than the greys, so I need to make some adjustment in how I am making my singles. I wonder how it will work when I knit them together in one piece; I was thinking of white toes and heels, but I shall see yet. I have watched four seasons of Dexter, and am awaiting season 5 to be broadcast. I am addicted! Now I need some other show to watch, as interesting and suspenseful as this one.

But what I want to show you this time, is what happens to my spinning in the process from spindle to sock. Here is a pic of my skeins after plying and just hanging there waiting their turn to be washed. I always wash the skeins after plying, and they are ready to be knit after that. You will note that they are very tightly plied. In fact, my teacher would say they are way over-plied. See all those kinks as they twist back on themselves? If it were not for my ties, I would have a major tangled mess!! However, after the soak in soapy hot water, and rinsing, I roll them up in a towel to soak up most of the water and then hang them up. No weights, just the damp skein hung to dry. You will notice that there isn't any of those kinks that were there before. I don't understand the physics of this, and don't worry about it. I know that the resulting yarn is what I want, and that is it. I know that in order to get to this point, I need to do this and this and this, and I do. After all, it's the final product that will get the winning marks.

So I have lots of these skeins spun, plied, washed and waiting to be made into something. When? well, ....

Christmas 2009

2009-12-23T10:53:00.000-08:00

My mother used to tell me that the days just go by faster as you got older. I never believed that, but I think she may be right. Now that I am getting older, I find I just don't quite have enough time to do everything I need to. Is it that the days are shorter, or that I'm doing too much? Am I just moving much slower?!

I don't get into all the hustle of the Christmas season. I don't shop, I don't bake, I don't decorate my place. I am very much a Scrooge! I don't think I can handle all the fuss and bother for one little quick burst of activity. When I get around to it, I'll do it!

I will be going back home (even though I haven't lived there for umpteen years, I still refer to it as "home") during the Christmas week. I hate travelling at the best of times, but now with all the people pushing their way through, in the bad weather, when I am too tired to think makes it much worse. I'd rather just stay in my bed, pull the covers over my head and stay there until it's all over. But I don't get to see the family that often, and Mom is older, so I need to go. I do enjoy the visits (and all the good eats), but don't like the idea of getting there, and then getting back, just in time to get back to work. But that's how it goes.

I knit this last month, or was it earlier? It's called a Colonnade by Stephen West. I liked the design, and decided I wanted to try something simple for mindless knitting. Let me tell you, you can lose your mind on this one! It's way too simple to do, and because of the repetitive design, which is the major feature of this, I found it really hard to enjoy doing this one. I like the finished product, and have already made many design changes as I was working on this one, but need to do something that is more interesting. I do think it is most practical as you cover the part of the neck that is exposed - the front of the throat, and it fits quite well. I used a finer yarn, and for the next one, I'd use a worsted-spun heavier weight yarn for something with more bulk to be warmer.

Any spare time I have when I am sitting watching movies, or waiting for something, I grab my spindle and keep busy. So I have spun up a lot more skeins of wool, and added them to the rest of the rather substantial stash. I have just finished a couple of skeins that are destined for some socks. I spun them tighter than normal, and I only did a 2-ply this time. I'll see how they knit up. I think a 3-ply or more will wear better, but I'll give these a try.

Before I run off for a hectic week, I do want to wish you all a safe and joyful Christmas season. May this Christmas find you surrounded by those you love and those who love you. For 2010, I wish you Health so you may enjoy each day in comfort. I wish you the Love of friends and family and Peace within your heart. I wish you the Beauty of nature that you may enjoy the work of God. I wish you Wisdom to choose priorities for those things that really matter in life. I wish you Generousity so you may share all good things that come to you. I wish you Happiness and Joy and Blessings for the New Year. I wish you the best of everything that you so well deserve.

Desert Colours, Part 2

2009-11-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been a month since I posted! I keep meaning to get here every day, but by the time I get any time, I don't think I have anything to say just yet.

But I wanted to show you what happened with my plying. Yes, I did that long ago, and just didn't get a pic to you yet. This is some of my plied skeins; one is a little darker than the other because I used a darker single with that one. I spun up a more solid colour in the rusts, in the hopes that I would somehow tie in all the other colours. I did get some barber poling happening, but I'm not entirely displeased with it.

I dyed more this week, and have been spinning it as well. I enjoy the spinning more than anything, and that is the first thing I pick up rather than some knitting, or plying, or planning another project.

Here are is what I have dyed, with some of the old stuff from weeks ago, and the current spinning.

I am not really sure what I will do with this yet, but something will come to me! I have lots of projects that need getting done -- just to actually sit down and cast on. I find once I get the stitches on the needle, then I'm alright. Next time, some of my recent knitting.

Desert colours

2009-10-26T17:23:00.000-07:00

Some time ago, I was able to get some nice Corridale rovings. You may have read about my troubles in dyeing it. That has now been done, but there is still more roving that I will dye later.

I have been spinning up some of it, and I really like the way it is coming out. Some of the sections are quite short in the roving, but because I am spinning so fine (of course), I can get good separation of colours. There is a lot of blending as well, and it's really exciting to see what shade I am going to get next. It's all really fun!
Now comes the time to ply. I am having some problems here with deciding what to do. It is fine, so I was thinking I may have to do a 3-ply. I was only hoping to do a 2-ply, but I see some difficulties already.

I like the way the colours show up now, in the singles. But when I ply, I am going to get that barber-pole effect, which I definitely do not like! I've seen many others post pics in their blogs of the barber poles they have created, and everyone says how wonderful the colours look -- and they clearly are not. But that is only my opinion, so I will keep it to myself.
I have thought about using the major rusty shade that is more prevalent and using that as a single with which I can ply these other colours. I was able to separate most of that shade and spin up a couple cops. I am hoping that will sort of tie it all together, so it appears to be one cohesive whole. But I will be getting some barber poling (is that a word?) when I come to the pale shades or the green. And that may be alright too.

I have also thought of doing some Navajo plying as a way to preserve some of the distinct colouring. That certainly would do it, and I would have a lot more control of how the colours blend together. It also means I am not going to get as much yardage this way, and that may be alright too.

Really, I liked the colours as they are in the roving. I guess I should dye the finished yarn instead, and then I won't have to worry about any barber pole happening then! Hm....

Thanksgiving dyeing

2009-10-12T22:14:00.000-07:00

So this is the Thanskgiving long weekend around here, and I don't have to go to work! In fact, I don't have to do anything at all. But I do have some roving that has been waiting to be dyed, so today is as good a day as any other.

This is some undyed Corriedale pencil roving that I have. I haven't played around with any dyes for a long time, so it was good to get back into it. I had to dig out my pots and dyes... ran out and got some Kool-Aid and food colouring too. Just to play around a bit, you know.

But there is a problem. Here is the undyed roving:

And here is the roving after I dyed it. I got some pretty good colours; I might want to change it just a bit, the next time. But I don't quite like the way it has come out -- the roving, I mean.
When it was undyed, it was nice and fluffy and easy to draft. But when it was wet-processed, it seems to have flattened out to almost nothing. I would almost swear there isn't as much fibres as there was before! I did open up some roving, fluffed it up, and I really don't think there is as much wool as there was! Could some of it wash away? I don't get it. I didn't weigh it after, but it just doesn't seem as if there is all the roving that I started with. Oh, well. I did spin some of it already on the spindle, but this sure does puzzle me.

I wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you may be. There is much to be thankful for, despite my complaining, and we need to keep that in mind. I had a good day, and I wish the same for all of you.

It's here!

2009-10-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today, at about 1 pm local time, it arrived. I knew it had to come, and I kept denying it was going to be this soon. But eventually I have to admit that I can't keep it away, and I have to deal with it.

I am having an extremely difficult time handling this change. It happens every year at about this time, and I've been around for a long time so you would think I would know what to do next. I don't. I will never get used to it, no matter how many of these I go through. The trouble here is that I have to suffer through it several times a year -- it's not a one-time-only thing!

But rather than bemoan about how hard it is, let me just show you a pic, and leave it at that. The less said the better -- at least for now, while it is still fresh and raw and painful.

In the meantime, I've made this. It was for the Longest Llama Scarf project, which was at the UN this week. Obviously, mine didn't make it there! I have it sitting here with me, not knowing what to do with it. The yarn was donated to me to make a scarf, which I did. I was to return it to the appropriate people so that it could all be sent to join all the rest. Didn't make it. Oh, well.

It's a 2/2 rib, but with a twist. It's rather simple, and I don't know if I've seen it in any pattern book or not, and I can't really explain it. I called it the Wandering Rib, or the Twisted Drunken Rib. Maybe twisted rib. It was rather fun to do, and most difficult to explain! But I really enjoyed working with the yarn. It has a gorgeous feeling, and now that it is finished, the weight is something that can only be experienced. It's much like silk in the drape. I haven't worn it yet, but I think I may one day this week, seeing the present conditions.

Getting ripped off

2009-09-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

Every week, we get a flyer in the mailbox from a local drug store. They have specials that start on Saturday through to Friday. So I like to check it out and see if there is anything I need. Most of the time, I there's nothing of interest.

This shopper's drug mart (as they style themselves) has started selling more and more grocery items. That's because in recessionary times, food is always a good seller. People need to eat, so why not make a profit on what people have to buy?

They often will feature their own LifeBrand potato chips in a can for $0.99, which is a little less than their regular price. That is one thing I will buy. So early on Saturday morning, I trot off to the closest store and search for my chips. None to be found. I did find the shelf with the other brands, and a space where the LB should be... but it is empty. On the first day of the sale?

I ask one of the clerks wandering around if there is anymore. "Um... I'll see."

The manager comes over, an obnoxious little twerp that I've seen for many years, and he says they are sold out. They were very busy this morning. And walks away. I look around -- it is 10 am, there are about 5 people in the whole store, and they are sold out, on the first day of the sale? And there was nothing on the shelf the next day, or the rest of the week. Miraculously, the delivery truck arrived during Friday night, because early Saturday morning, the shelf was full -- at the regular price.

This is not the first time this has happened. I've been keeping an eye on them for a very long time. I can guarantee they will be "sold out" at every sale. They used to give rain checks, but that stopped a couple years ago. No wonder.

A friend tells me that she purchased something at WalMart that was on sale, but there was only one box on the shelf. A clerk conveniently went into the back and brought out more (as they should). As she was at the cashier, she noticed one was leaking and said she should get another one. The cashier said there aren't any more. My friend said yes, a whole skid was brought out from the back. The cashier blurted out "But they aren't allowed to sell that yet!"

And so there we are. While they advertise that items are on sale, they really aren't. There is "no stock available".. until after the sale, that is. Odd, isn't it? The name of the game is profit -- any way we can.

A little storm

2009-08-03T12:35:00.000-07:00

We had a bit of a storm here last night. It’s been unusually hot here over the last few days. It’s hit above 30 degrees, which is nice, but a bit warmer than we like and a lot more humid than we are used to. Luckily, it usually cools off at night, being so close to the mountains. It’s been very hot on the west coast so we are getting some of their heat and humidity.

But there is a cold front moving in from the north, and when you get a sudden clash like this, there is some fireworks! And there were last night. I was getting ready to shut down, and go to bed just after 1 am, when there was a sudden gust of wind through the apartment and things are flying all over. I have only a small window which was wide open trying to get a breeze moving through the place. This was more than I wanted!

And when shutting the window, I looked out to find some rain starting and a lot of lightening. A whole lot of lightening, along with the thunder too. It was quite a show!! I remember sitting with my grandfather on the farm watching these summer storms, but that always seemed to be at a safe distance. This was right overheard. It was fearsome. It lasted only a couple hours, and now they are cleaning up the mess left behind – a few trees uprooted and some lightening strikes.

This is part of the same front that caused the deadly storm that went through the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose on Saturday. These things are common in summer; I was in Edmonton when they had that killer tornado in 1987. It’s very sudden and fierce.

We had a lot of wind this Saturday evening, and a young 3 year old girl on the street was killed by some flying debris from a construction site nearby.

There was a storm last week in Edmonton knocked out the power for a short time. There are a couple of oil refineries there, being close to the oil wells. It now seems that it is taking some time to get all the machinery up and running again after they were suddenly shut down during the electrical failure. This past week, you would have noticed a number of gas stations were shut down because they had no gas.
And today, you will find a lot more. You would have to drive by about 5-6 stations before you can find one that has any gas.

This is something that I have been warning those that will listen was going to happen. We are so dependant of receiving what we require from far away. There isn’t a monopoly (as we know), but when one refinery closes, why are all the service stations suddenly dry? It just takes one little break in our supply line and we are out of luck.

I was told by someone in Washington state that with the recent rains they had, the main roads were closed due to flooding. The trucks delivering all the produce to their cities couldn’t come up from California. It doesn’t take long for the stores to have empty shelves. We also receive produce from California and there are a lot more miles to travel, with more bridges, and borders to cross. Anything can happen (natural or political) so that those trucks don’t reach us – what can we do? I’m quite in favour of the hundred mile diet, of buying locally.

When I was very young, living on the farm, we had to produce everything we needed. We simply didn’t have any money to go to town and buy what we needed. We raised chickens and turkeys, had pigs and cows, had a huge garden, picked wild berries and mushrooms that were available. We had to buy flour (made from our own wheat) and sugar. If we could afford it, we would be treated with a box of pears or plums.

That’s all changed now. No one raises chickens or has cows now. We can’t buy eggs or milk from the local farmers. Many don’t even plant gardens anymore! One day they will be sorry.

A good friend of mine has been cleaning out her basement, and found a bag of a washed fleece. She has no recollection where she got it or why. It appears to be felted somewhat and is probably not useable for much of anything. It is very nice wool, but will take far too long to salvage. I did find a few locks that were pretty free of matting, and was able to comb them and spin a bit. It’s nice stuff! But I don’t know it I want to go through all that work for a bit of yarn. Not sure what I will do with the rest of it.

This is a pic of some of the yarn I made from a lock. It was all spun and plied on my CD spindle. I use it for everything… that is the best tool I have! I really enjoy working with it. I have no idea what anyone would do with yarn like this. But it is fun to be able to do it.

Auspicious moment

2009-07-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

At this very moment, as I write, it is 5 minutes 6 seconds after 4 on July 8, 2009 (in my time zone). This moment in time will not happen again, when written this way: 4:05:06 07/08/09.

Well, I thought that was pretty neat.

My plying ball

2009-06-06T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a lot more spinning lately rather than knitting. I don’t know which to start first! I have many projects that I need to do, but don’t have the yarn, or am not in the mood for something like that. So I fall back to spinning, since it’s always here, and I can do it while watching a movie, or anything else.

But now it’s time to do some plying! I have a lot of these cops lying around, with the singles. I put all my singles on a quill (described previously) so they are ready to be used on the lazy kate (also described previously).

But one thing I like to do is a 3-ply yarn. I just like the roundness of it, gives it nice definition, and looks so much better when knit. Yes, it takes a little longer to spin, but I have lots of time! LOL

However, when I use high-twist yarn, it takes all my attention to keep the threads taut and even (without those little doubled-back twists sticking out). I can't watch how much twist I'm adding at the same time. Having three strands to keep even tension on is so much harder. So I break it into two steps.

I will wind the 3 strands of singles (or even two strands) around a felt ball, or a tennis ball will work just as well. The felt ball is because I can't start winding around two fingers or the ball of yarn will collapse as soon as I take my fingers out. So I wrap around something larger. I use felt because that's what I read about somewhere, but it makes sense - it's sticky enough that any yarn won't slide off it.

I wind the 3 strands evenly and with constant tension to take out any of those kinks. I try to wind in various patterns around the ball, but that is just me. It is not necessary to the success of the plying. I will place this rather large ball (since I will do a couple spindles worth at one time) into a large bowl, or even a plastic bag to keep it from rolling around all over the floor. It will roll around in the bowl or bag and release just what I need.

There are some kinks in it if you release the tension, but they are all in the same place, and you can then simply concentrate on the plying. Again, I can do this while watching ANOTHER movie! When my spindle is full, I then will wind into a skein, and put it away until I have enough to soak in the hot soapy bath.

Another alternative is to ply the strands onto my wheel with minimal twist. I just join them together and treadle them onto the bobbin in the plying direction, watching the tension very carefully. Some twist is added, but it's not much. Then I take that bobbin and put it on the lazy kate, and treadle it right back onto the wheel again, this time watching how much twist I add. It depends on how much yarn I'm making - whether it's easier to wind onto a ball or onto a wheel bobbin. It also depends on whether my wheel is with me!

This may or may not be of any assistance to anyone else, but I have found that it has saved my sanity a few times. Getting kinks in your singles while plying is frustrating, to say the least. I have my hands full and can’t easily stop and take out the kinks… so I dislike the whole operation. But using this plying ball is very “sane”, and it only takes a few moments – far less time than it does to try and untangle singles with one hand! It may not please everyone, but it does me!

It's a sign!

2009-05-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

All day today, the weatherman has been forcasting thunder storms. But it was wonderfully sunny at noon when I ran out briefly, and continued throughout the day. That dreaded thundershower didn't materialize.

It usually likes to rain for about 10 minutes around 4:10 in the afternoon every day, regular as clockwork. That was alright, since I had to work until 4:30 and I always stayed late, so by the time I left the building, it had stopped, the sun came out and it was great! Pity the poor girls that had to leave the office right on time! It was still sunny when I went home after 5 tonight.

Well, I was busy tonight, reading emails, looking at some new wheels (who doesn't like a little porn now and then?) and noticed eventually that the light was a beautiful pinkish gold light, which we only get rarely in the evenings here. I had to go take a better look. It's 9:17.

Well, it has rained -- finally! The streets were wet and it appeared the rain was short-lived and had stopped by now. But there was this most marvellous sight! I haven't seen a rainbow for so long. We used to love seeing them when we were kids, and I don't think we get them as often as we did then.

If you look closely, you will see the faint hint of a double rainbow. It just never quite made it. It lasted a long time, and I just couldn't get over the miracle of a little colour in our lives. It still makes me smile.
(And yes, it was on May 25 -- my camera refuses to believe it's already that late in the month!)

groan

2009-05-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's May 18, 2009 and 10:30 a.m. It's trying to snow.
I'm going back to bed.

Little things make me happy

2009-05-15T13:05:00.000-07:00

There are many things that I would really like to have. Things such as a much larger house, with a separate room just for my yarns, and another just for working with them, and a small space for the library. I would like to have a car -- no, a truck -- so I can take off here or there, on a moment's notice. I would like to have some time to do all of this!

But every day, as I go out the door, there is one thing that really makes me glad I have it. Only one thing that brightens up my day. Which is a great thing seeing as how the rest of it can be pretty uneventful and dismal. It is not much, but makes me smile every time I see it and every time I use it. I'm so glad I bought it for myself.

It's one of those things that we all need, I believe, but that no one thinks of giving as a gift. And if anyone would, I'm sure we would get looks of "wtf is this?? You call this a gift?" Well, some people would be like that, but not me. I like mine! I really appreciate it. And if anyone would have given me one, I'd be thinking of them each and every day. But I bought it myself, so I only think how happy I am that I did.

It sits there by the door, because that's where I need it the most, and it's always nearly the last thing I do before I leave the house. It's small, and unassuming, and so very quiet. It does not require any electricity (a bonus) and doesn't have to be wound up or recharged. It is just there. It is exactly the right size! It's the perfect thing to help me with my shoes, now that I'm finding it harder and harder to bend down so far. I should have had it long ago! I like it!

But wait -- I'll run home and take a pic of it, so you can see:

It's Spring ---

2009-04-22T11:25:00.000-07:00

We have had a really long winter. We got spoiled here, because of the Chinooks, and because winters have been rather short in the past. But this year was very odd... although most old-timers will tell you this is quite normal.

So the snow has finally all disappeared -- there was no run-off oddly. It just seemed to evaporate! I think a lot has soaked into the ground, which is a good thing. Our water table was quite low. We still need a lot of rain, and I suspect we will get that in May.

The last few days have been absolutely wonderful! Yesterday, it went up all the way to +21.4C -- which is pretty darned nice. I loved it! I had to go out at noon to warm up...it was colder inside than outside!

Of course, that was yesterday. Today is a different day, different story. It is +2C right now at noon. Oh, I am not going out for lunch today! And it is getting colder. They are expecting more of that white stuff this evening -- the weather-man is calling it "flurries". Oooh.. I don't like that word!
[Edit: This is a view out my window about 9 am]
Here is a pic of that same view at 4 pm today. Crazy, huh?

I've been spinning a lot lately, just to keep myself occupied. I take my spindle with me when I have some waiting to do, as I do often. And little by little, I have accumulated a lot of singles. So last week, I went on a plying binge, and plied up almost that was lying around. I could do that while watching movies so I didn't feel as if I was wasting my time!

So these skeins were piling up, and last night I decided I may as well wash them all and put them away. I always wash my yarns when I have plied them, before using them. I filled my tub (I had a lot) with hot soapy water, and then threw them all in, and walked away. It's very important to go away and resist the temptation to touch. I had some lunch, and then came back to see what they were doing. Well the water was fairly brown (I had a lot of brown this time) and the suds were all gone. I squeezed them all out (so many) and filled the tub for the rinse. Again I walked away for a few moments.

I squeezed them out, rolled them up in many towels (there were a lot) and then hung them up to dry. Whew! I counted 17 skeins. About 10 were all spindle spun and plied. The others were wheel-spun and plied. They were mostly dry this morning, but I will leave them until tonight. I will twist them up into skeins again, and put them into a box. I have some plans for all this brown, and I'll see how far I get with it. I have to take a look at all the browns I have, see what I can make with that combination. I'll have pics another time.

So I have not been idle. Just busy. I have great intentions about posting things here, but by the time I get home, I've forgotten that it was only written in my head! I need to learn how to download them from my brain to here. Anyone have the appropriate USB connection?

Fibre Day!

2009-03-05T01:25:00.000-08:00

This weekend, a good friend picked me up and we drove out into the countryside to spend most of the day with other good fibre friends for a good old-fashioned Fibre Day! This was just what I needed.

Spending so much time in the centre of a city, going to work and back again, really puts on the blinders. You tend to forget there is a whole world out there, with wide open spaces, where people work hard, and really enjoy their lives. They all seem to be doing such interesting things! I was amazed to see so much snow out in the country. What we had in the city has been cleaned up, and most of it has dried up by now. But there are wide open spaces out there, all covered with a clean white blanket. The sun was bright, and it all looked so very white and sparkling. The roads were clear and dry. It was a good trip.

It was so good to see friends from so far away. Most travelled an hour and a half from all directions, so we had good representation from everywhere. I'd forgotten how interesting people can be. How lucky I am to know such wonderful fibre friends!

I don't have any pics to post! I took my camera, but was so amazed to be seeing everyone and all the fantastic work they brought to show, that I completely forgot. I have to say that the dog sweater was really quite impressive. Not a sweater FOR a dog, but made OUT of dog fur. It is wonderfully soft, and very very warm.

I was quite taken by the cowboy boot bag. One of the girls had taken a pair of cowboy boots, cutting off the leg portion and making it into a small bag, complete with chain handle and snap closure. What a great idea! How resourceful!

Sandi is quite a remarkable person. A mother of the most well-behaved and contented little baby, she has written two books for her son. They reflect the life on the ranch, containing such rich photos of people and places that are important to them. What a remarkable treasure to give to a young person! I'm sure there will be more forthcoming from her as he gets older.

I have to give a special thanks to my driver. She made a special trip to pick me up, and then we were having so much fun that we were late in coming back. She drove me all the way home, only to hurry on to her home where her husband was waiting to take her out for her birthday! How can I ever repay her for doing that?! Happy Birthday, Judi! Thanks for the ride.

More of the same

2009-02-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

This week has been really outstanding. The weather has continued to be warm and windy with this Chinook sticking around for a long time. We had a lot of snow this year, and now all the piles are shrunken frozen lumps, and there is no running water anywhere. It is simply evaporating. IT feels like spring, but there isn't the mud and slush that I normally think of spring as having. I'm not complaining, and it looks like it's going to be around for most of next week, with slight cooling off coming by next weekend.

In 1988, when the Winter Olympics were held here (can it really be 21 years ago?), we also had a very similar winter. They were scrambling to find enough snow to make it look like winter, and the ski jumps had to be postponed for 2 days I recall (Eddy the Eagle had to wait for his day of glory) because of the high winds. However, it was just perfect to be out in the city and mingle with all the visitors and see everything that was happening during that time. The huge pin-trading tent was doing great business then! I think we all got caught up in trying to find that elusive pin that everyone wanted. I wonder what I can get for my pins now?

I've been working away slowly on the Merino/Tencel blend that I bought at a conference some time ago. I don't remember which one, but I don't think I went last year. I like to go if I get a ride to them, and look around for something nice to take home. This is just such a luscious colour! I tried to capture it in this photo, but you know what these cameras are like. The tencel is slightly lighter, and so you can see a wonderful richness in the purple giving it great depth of colour. I am spinning it quite fine (it just wanted to be like that!) and putting in quite a lot of twist. I like a firmly spun yarn and yet some softness so this is going to be really hard to get. I'm not sure yet if I will do a 2- or a 3-ply. I'll see how much I get -- I only have 200 gm so that won't go far. However, because it is so fine, I'm getting good yardage.

I have to say it is truly a pleasure to spin. In fact, it almost spins itself. All I need to do is treadle and I barely hold the sliver. I have been enjoying doing the long draw on this, and what fun I am having. I remember when my spinning teacher was showing us how to do this, and it just didn't work. But she made it look so easy! Now that I have this wonderfully prepared merino, it is doing it all by itself, and I'm realizing that the preparation means everything. We normally skip that step, wanting to get right to the making of yarn. Yet, I've learned this before, and forget it, that preparation of every step is so important in the success of the next. This applies to everything. My mother was right (again) that two wrongs do not make a right!

There is only a little bit of the sliver left, and I'm really sorry to see it come to an end. I know I will enjoy the plying, and later the knitting. I know it will be some lace, but haven't settled on what pattern yet. Depends how much I have! In the meantime, I'm getting a few other things lined up, and trying to finish some lace that I started over a year ago. But that is a story for next time.

It's a Chinook

2009-01-28T22:11:00.000-08:00

One of the unusual phenomena about living in this part of the country is our Chinooks. This is something that the rest of the world just hasn't experienced, and they have no concept of what it feels like.

Every winter, we (seasoned citizens) look forward to these infrequent events. It can simply be described as "relief". Winter seems to drag on and on here and any break in the constant cold and snow is so very welcome.

On Tuesday this week, it was -22C when I left for work. By evening, when I went to bed, it was -8C. And the next morning, it was 0, going up only to +4 in the afternoon. It wasn't quite the extremes some of our Chinooks have brought us, but it will do. We won't quibble!!

A Chinook happens when the winds come over the mountains from the west. As they come down the slopes, they pick up a lot of speed, and get quite hot. Quite suddenly, the temperatures will zoom up accompanied by a lot of wind. The snow seems to dry up so fast -- there is no melting -- but we will take this respite in any form it comes.

Some people have intense migraine headaches a day or so before it arrives. Most of us find the fluctuations in temperatures are a little hard on the body, and some of us suffer from a few colds at these times. But that is a small price to have a break in winter! When we see that beautiful Chinook Arch, we just can't help but smile. There is a noticeable bounce in everyone's step.

It only lasts a day or two, and then we return back into the deep freeze. Ah, well, it was nice while it lasted! There'll be another one soon enough.

Mom's socks

2009-01-09T20:00:00.000-08:00

All these years of knitting, I have not made anything for my mother. I did knit a lace shawl when she turned 65, which she said was very nice – to nice to use, so she put it away. I have no idea what she is saving it for!

I’ve wanted to knit her some socks, but because she is so far away, I didn’t know how to get her measurements without asking her so I can knit a pair for a surprise. When I would visit at Christmas, it was usually too busy a time to do much, and I would come back home, thinking that I didn’t get her size again!

This year, I spent over a week with her and we had a lot of time together to visit and talk. She was all alone, so she really appreciated me being there. It was bitterly cold so we didn’t do too much, and stayed in as much as possible. But once the hustle of Christmas was over, and I was sitting one night with her watching TV and spinning on my spindle, I remembered that I needed to start on some socks. I got some yarn, and the needles, and cast-on for a pair of toe-up socks.

Once I got it increased enough that it looked about the right size, I had to tell her that I wanted to try it on to see if it would fit her. And after that, I put together a simple lace design and knit away. In two days, I had one sock finished, and started on the second. I got to the heel, and had to leave – about one more day would have been enough to finish them. But at least, I did have one done, and it fit perfectly (of course) and she was so very pleased that she had a sock that was custom made to fit for her!

It was quite funny: she kept telling everyone that phoned that I was knitting a pair of very nice socks just for her, and making up the pattern right out of my head! I can just see her showing off to all her friends!

I finished the second sock, and re-did the ribbing on the cuff on the first one since I didn’t like the way I did it, and washed them. All I needed to do was get them photographed and ship them out to her. Only.

The batteries died in the camera. It’s been gloomy these past few days. And I’ve been really busy at work, where I usually do my photos. So I finally got the pics done, and had them stuffed into a flattened package to send them off to her. I’m waiting to hear what she thinks of them now. And especially what her friends think of them!

It's a simple chevron lace pattern. I used a gusset on the bottom of the foot for something different (because it was boring to knit most of this sock). I kind of liked it; I'll do another one like that. Special thanks to my model.

Up the tree

2008-11-27T17:11:00.000-08:00

A short time ago, someone sent me a link to some interesting socks. They were indeed really intriguing and the pattern was for sale. Of course, I can't purchase it. However, you know we always say "I can do that". Yes, sure.

With the help of a wonderful sockknitter, I was able to work out the method of creating the same pattern (or close to it), and I wanted to do them toe up (the original was cuff down). I had just been showing some women the provisional cast-on, and telling them how useful it was for toes on socks! Now was a good time to put that to use. I did.

There were a few little hiccups along the way. I wasn't sure how long to do the foot. I needed to look ahead to see how much length I would need to turn the heel, and how much more I needed for the gusset... but with some calculation, I came really close. As a matter of fact, the socks fit perfectly! I'm really pleased.

It was great fun to knit! I was so excited to see where the ribs were going to turn next, and looking forward to working the gusset, since the ribs had to take a different direction. The sole is more interesting to me than the top. I had it in my mind that I would put the heel on either side of the sock, and have the bottom showing on the top on one of them. But when I was setting up the heel, somehow I forgot that, and made them both the same! And you all know that I just will not rip it out. So I now have to do another sock... if I can find more yarn.

Here is a quick peek at it. It is really hard to show the bottom of a sock while wearing it -- and trying to get it all in focus. Maybe I need a sock model.

A New Beginning

2008-10-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

I am feeling much better. That was short-lived, but longer than it need be. I ate very little for a couple days, drank my fenugreek tea, and I was feeling much improved on Thursday, and fine by Friday. It's a lesson learned, I hope. We will see -- the next time I'm tempted to do something that silly.

But I do have some pics for you, since I finally did get the batteries into the camera after that adventure (see below). I spun up another skein of that blue, but much softer twist this time. It’s nice! But it all depends on what I will make with it. I had plans to knit a lace shawl, and it will work very well for that. However, I also find the softer twist makes for a weaker yarn. Can’t have it both ways, I guess.

But before I could get this pic, I needed to get some batteries for my camera. I only take a few pictures and then the batteries are dead! They are not cheap. I do have the rechargeable, but they are lost somewhere, along with the charger.

So one day at noon, I ran out to the drugstore down the street, where I remembered seeing a flyer that there was a sale on batteries. Of course, at noon, everyone else from the offices downtown are running around doing some quick shopping, so the store was quite full, and all the tills had line-ups at them, and it was quite difficult trying to weave my way inside.

I was going to enter through one of the aisles near the last cashier since it was empty. But I did see that there were some legs and equipment around the edge of the counter, so I guess some workmen were doing some repairs. Why now, of all times?

I made my way going against traffic through the people waiting for a cashier, and located the wall of batteries next to that last cashier. I was trying to decide which to get (the package of 8 or the 4?, generic or copper top?), when I heard a female voice coming from around the corner saying “Push, push!”

Well, now, I stopped a moment. Where have I heard this before? That sounded quite famil….. Oh, I know! But was it possible?

So I peered over the stand of potato chips to where the “workmen” were working to find a woman lying on the floor with her knees up, a man with SECURITY across his back tending to the head end, and a young female paramedic kneeling at the other end! Was I really seeing what I think I am seeing?

Well, yes, apparently it was true! I don’t know if she was in labour at that time, but it seemed to be. The paramedic kept telling her to keep her eyes open, to breath through the nose, not the mouth… “let me know if you feel the need to push”. (There are no pics because I didn’t have batteries in the camera yet!)

Well, now. This was most interesting. What was more fascinating was that all the other shoppers seemed oblivious to the wonder of the moment going on right there. They were intent on getting their precious purchases and running off. I wasn’t sure if I should stick around either, but I did want to know the outcome (so to speak). But I found a cashier, paid my money, and left hesitatingly , thinking I should look around the corner from this OTHER side to really get a good look. I decided I really didn’t want to see very much, and besides, I still hadn’t any lunch! Yes, I think that would be a better plan.

So I never did find out what happened, if she had it right there, whether an ambulance finally arrived to take her away, or did she just have some other problem. Imagine the story she would have to tell that kid!

The Mysteries continue

2008-10-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

One day last week, after spinning, I took a walk up to a house where a really nice lady used to live until she was 98 and she finally passed away. She never left her house for the last couple of years, feeling it was always to cold to go out. It was a shame, since she was a wonderful gardener, and had the most wonderful selection of flowers. She would root a long stem rose someone would give her and she had three beautiful bushes in front of her house -- a red, a white and a yellow. She also kept a lemon tree in her front entrance. It was about 25 years she said, and would produce huge lemons! She had to rig up hammocks for them, they were so heavy. She would get 1 and a quarter cups of juice out of one lemon. I wonder what happened to it.

I had gone by a few weeks ago, and noticed that the house looked empty. It's located on a main thoroughfare, so is in a great location. Her son is not well now either, so I don't know why they don't sell the house; they could have done very well last year. But I had noticed that there was a nice apple tree in the back yard, that no one was picking! So I went over to see if I can have a few for myself. They were huge! And so many on the ground; that was so sad to see. I picked a small bag and had to be satisfied with those. Of course, the nicest ones were at the top, as they like to be.

I made myself a nice apple crumble. I found a good recipe on the net (very simple to do) and baked a nice 8 inch pan full. It was delicious!! It was far too small -- because it all disappeared so very fast. I guess it shrunk a lot when it cooked, right?

You may recall a few years ago (September 23, 2005) that I was so sorry to see my pear tree vanish. I miss it still. But fortune was good to me, and offered me another one! Can you imagine? And it is just half a block away.. I don't know how the Universe manages to do these things. No one seems to know what it is, and all the pears have been falling off, only to be nibbled on by the squirrels. So I can't let them go to waste like that, now can I?

I made another apple crumble and this time I put in a couple pears as well. Ah, what a wonderful treat that is!! I'm a good cook.

Of course, I think the real trick to making the topping is butter. Now, I don't use butter at all, and haven't for many years. But I've been wanting to make cinnamon buns and am told that you really need butter and brown sugar. I saw that one store had butter at a special price, so bought two pounds of it. And I used about 1/4 cup, or a good slice of it in the topping. That seemed to make all the difference, and it turned out beautifully! I've always maintained that you need to use good quality materials to be successful in your work. That was mainly in spinning and knitting, but it seems to apply in cooking as well.

On Sunday morning, I woke up with a sore throat. Now, that is odd. I've been quite careful what I do, and I don't remember being near anyone that was sick. Never know. And by evening I was sniffling a lot! This again is very odd, since I have been watching myself quite well, since I can't afford to get sick! By Monday morning, it was quite a severe case of stuffed head and running nose. I didn't feel sick, no headache, just a really bad nose!!

It wasn't until the next day, when I was making something for supper, that I realized I had some tomato sauce with FOUR cheeses in it! I love cheese, it just doesn't love me. So I think I over did it a bit.

And then it was some time later (I'm rather slow these days) that I remembered that I used butter in my topping for the crumble! And a lot of butter. I ate the whole thing in one day... and another the next day. What was I doing to myself?! Of course I'm going to be sick!

Well, I've done this before, so I know what to do. It's a simple matter of not eating for a day or two, drink lots of water, and have several cups of fenugreek tea with a bit of mint. So that is what I've done, and today I'm much better.

Sometimes this old brain just is not thinking clearly. I never connected that what I was using in my cooking would somehow affect me. I just never learn.

The unsighting

2008-10-19T22:20:00.000-07:00

I forgot the really important news for October 14 -- I had it in my mind to include it as well as the election, but it fell out at the last moment. I seem to be losing a lot of things lately.

October 14, 2008 was to be a HUGE event -- earth-shattering. I eagerly awaited news... and Well, I should have known when I saw this announcement:

See what you think.
But I do like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HOAqNyRuaE

The more things change...

2008-10-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

We had a Federal election up here in Canada this week Oh, didn’t hear about it? Many of us didn’t either.

Nothing changed. It’s still the same play with the same cast of characters. There were a few extras that were changed, but no one noticed.

While the US has been in election campaign for years, in Canada an election can be called at any time. For a general election, the Governor General (at the request of the Prime Minister) dissolves Parliament, and the Governor in Council (the Governor General acting on the advice of Cabinet) sets the date of the election and the date by which returning officers must return the writs. A writ is a formal document directing a returning officer to conduct an election in his or her electoral district, and on which the returning officer writes the name of the winning candidate after election day. By law, the time between the issue of the writs and election day must be at least 36 days. In practice, general elections usually last 36 days. An exception was the 39th general election, which included the 2005 Christmas and New Year holiday period and lasted 55 days. The 2008 election lasted 37 days.

Although the present (and past) Prime Minister declared he would not call another election for 4 years (the twig trying to be as much as the shrub that he can), he suddenly felt the need to have one much earlier. With no change. It cost us over $300 million. Oh, well.

One of the good things about our system in Canada is that we can boot out an undesirable PM at any time – we don’t have to put up with an incompetent leader for 4 years! Sometimes, we’ve only kept our PM for 3 months, but that was a very special case.

It was difficult to know that there was an election here. If it wasn’t for the mandatory 396 minutes that each broadcaster must make available for political parties to purchase for advertising during the 2008 election campaign, there would have been nothing on the media at all. I never did see any posters, lawn signs, or billboards anywhere during these 37 days. It was all very subdued – very Canadian.

The rest of the population apparently didn’t know there was an election either, for there were less than 60% of the eligible voters that actually voted – the lowest ever in the history of Canada. And the governing party was only elected by 36.6% of the votes! The other 63.4% was divided up by all the other 6 parties… there’s just too many. At least in the US, you only have a choice between two – not very much of a choice, in reality. Does that mean that 21.6% of the voting population chose our government?!

So nothing has changed. Everything is still the same. *sigh*

I did some spinning and Navajo plying-on-the-go with my CD spindle today. It was fun!

Feeling Blue

2008-10-12T23:48:00.000-07:00

Immediately after my last post, I sat down and starting knitting a shawl I've been meaning to do for a long time. I feel that once I actually get a few stitches on needles, the rest just sort of happens by itself. Doesn't it?

Well, I did a provisional cast on, because of course, this one is done that way. I was just showing a few ladies the other day how to do the provisional cast on (there are several different ways) so it was all fresh in my mind. I did the required 92 stitches. I knit my 3 rows of garter. I started the pattern, with all the markers.

I don't like it. For some reason, the yarn doesn't feel nice. It looks ncie, but I don't think it is going to be a shawl. I don't know what it wants to be. It feels too hard. I did spin it with a lot of twist, because I like the look of the yarn when it is quite defined. But it's not feeling the way it should. I've already washed the yarn, so I don't think it will make it any better after knitting.

I've let that one sit for awhile, and I've started another "sample". This one is just a simple plain lace pattern: a few YOs, some decreases left and right, and that's it. It's not working. I keep losing a stitch someplace. How can that be? There are only 29 freaking stitches!! For some reason, I can't make the pattern work out. I think there is something wrong with the pattern, of course -- it can't be me!

I don't like the feeling of this piece either. I will do a bit more and wash it. If that doesn't make it any better, then all 6 skeins* will be designated for something else. Right now, I'm going to see if I can sleep on it for a bit, and see if it looks different in the morning light.

* just did a calculation: there appear to be about 300+ metres per 114 gm skein.

Oh, so Blue --

2008-10-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve just been told by a few people from different parts of the world that they read my blog quite regularly. I’m really flattered. The problem is that you come to read my blog more often than I do to post anything here for you to read!

It’s not as if I have forgotten all about it. I think about it several times a day. I have written so many entries, in my head, on the way to or from work. I write a few things while at work. I have actually put a few of them into text form. But there they sit, awaiting final editing. But once I’ve written it – either in my head or put it into text – I’m done with it. I don’t want to go back and re-hash it all again. It’s old news to me.

When I first started this blog, so long ago, it was for the purpose of having a place to let others know what was going on in my life, or a place to vent most often. But as I went along, I realized I was focusing more and more on fibre-related topics, and was actually stopping myself from posting anything different! Oh, I’ve got so many things to complain about, but do people want to hear me whine all the time? You’d think nothing goes right in my world, and all I do is complain, and bitch and am always grumpy and angry. Well, okay, so that might be pretty much accurate… I just don’t want everyone to know that!

Fall happened a few weeks ago. Of course, way up here, fall comes a whole lot earlier. I can feel it coming, and I have the urge to run away. I know when it’s time to leave! I don’t want to stay here – if I had wings, I’d be gone. However, I’m still here, and feeling much like the bears, and want to hibernate. I’d be quite happy to lock myself up the whole winter, and just be left alone. I’d spin and knit, and even pull out my loom – oh, I would need more than a cave for all this, wouldn’t I? Looks as if I have to curb some of my activities. And for some reason, everyone feels that I need to go to work. So I go, I sit, I go home. I could just as easily have done that right here, and been more productive doing something I enjoyed. But --- oh, well. (not complaining)

Let’s see what I’ve been doing. I am still spinning. I now have 5 skeins of this yarn. That’s more than I need for the lace scarf I will be knitting. I should start knitting it already. But it’s so much easier for me to sit down, and spin, and not think about what I’m doing. I would rather spin, and write articles in my head! Haha – I don’t have much to show you. Did you see this yarn yet? Oh, I guess not.

One more EZ turn

2008-09-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

This is the final result of all that knitting. It’s a strange procedure, although if you know anything about EZ’s patterns, that’s the way she does things. There usually are no seams, and is usually done all in garter stitch. There is only one seam (at shoulders/neck area) in this case. All the shaping is done with the short-rows, and the whole thing is just one continuous piece of knitting. It all comes together at the end, and you can finally see what it is. It is fun to do!

The sizing is done by using heavier weight yarns and larger needles. There are some adjustments that can be made by adding or decreasing some stitches where needed, but once you get the initial number set, the rest is just plain mindless knitting. I could finish it with some I-cord around the edges, but this one is only a "sample" and probably will be ripped out.

This was the “sample” and I really do like the look of it, so am planning on doing one in my size, with some of my handspun, once I decide on a colour!

EZ does it

2008-09-17T18:46:00.000-07:00

So now continuing on with this EZ project. Once you have an odd-shaped piece, as in the previous post, you make another! Because you had a provisional cast-on (those 5 little stitches), you start there, and knit a mirror-image of your first piece. Be careful to add the stitches on the correct side! And the short-rows need to be started on that side as well.

And you end up with this even odder piece of knitting!!

I will tell you that the one long straight side forms the front opening, when you bring them together. The needles are holding the stitches which will come together, at the back, and then you knit UP to the neck.

It's all very EZ, really! Right?

It's so EZ

2008-09-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

One of the EZ lists is working on the Ribwarmer KAL, and since I always liked the design of it, and needing some sort of mindless knitting to do, I joined in.

They start by doing the small teddy bear warmer, to get a feel for how the pattern works. It does look completely wonky when you read through it, as do all of her patterns. But you need faith!

So here is the first part of it. All in garter stitch, and short row. This was a good way to try out different ways of doing short rows, with wraps or not, and how to pick them up again. I think I found the one I like. This will be ripped out eventually – my very first thing I will rip out! – but I’m calling this a sample, so it is really not meant to last for long -- it's not a real piece of knitting! Haha

Okay, this is half of the front (it can be left or right… they are both the same!):

More to come --

In Spite of it all

2008-09-11T00:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I had to run up to see someone quite a distance away, but being a nice day, and having a lot of time, I took the bike and went for a long ride. I live in the valley in this city, and I forget that much of the rest of the city is "up there" somewhere. While I realize I have a rather large hill to climb, it doesn't strike me how large until I am at the bottom!

However, all hills can be climbed, and I did it too. I enjoyed the ride. I haven't been up to that part of the city for a long time, and they have been busy people over there! They have remodeled the main road and, as a result, other things have had to be reworked as well. It's almost unrecognizeable -- some of the buildings look the same, but they don't look quite the way they did. Interesting.

I did what I had to do and started on the way home, but of course, I never take the same road back. I have to see other parts of the city, and I wanted to go by a house of an old woman I used to visit a lot. She passed away several years ago, and I miss her a lot. She always had the most immaculate garden, with so many flowers! In her last few years (she was 98), she hardly left the house, so her garden wasn't tended quite as nicely. But she would root a rosebud that someone would give her so she had a white, a red, and a yellow outside her door. She had the most amazing lemon tree in her front entrance -- she got 1 and a quarter cup of juice out of one lemon!

The house appears to be empty now. Her grandson lived there for a short time, but I think he didn't look after it well, so he was asked to leave. The yard looks slightly neglected, and there aren't all the flowers in her yard. There is an apple tree in the back, and no one is picking the apples. Very sad.

I stopped at Betty's house, since I haven't seen her since earlier this year. I try to go over once a month to have a spinning day. Betty is in her early 80's and is the lovliest lady I know. She is losing her eyesight, which she finds particularly annoying. She can still knit a little if the light is strong enough, and she can't read as much as she would like. She still can spin somewhat, and enjoys that. Her grandson is living with her as he is going to university, so she is not alone.

She has had a gardener for a few years who looked after her yard. There were a few large trees that needed some trimming as they have become over-grown. Since Jim didn't have the necessary equipment to do it, she hired an arborist. They arrived with all the harness and truck and set to work very quickly. Jim arrived at that moment and said that he could have done that! Well, she didn't feel he was able to do it as efficiently as they could. Then he said, well, I'll trim the cherries.

Betty has two Nanking cherry trees in her front yard, up against the house. They really grow as shrubs, and can get quite unruly if not kept under control. They could have used a bit of a pruning.

Well, Jim trimmed them right down to the ground! Just for spite. Betty was horrified. I was shocked when I saw the stumps. They will come back, but there were no cherries this year, and there may be only a few next year. But I can't believe how anyone can be so cruel because someone else did something better than he could. Needless to say, Betty is looking for a gardener now.

I rode on my way back home, and had a pleasant outing for the afternoon. I am constantly amazed by the strange lot of humanity we have in this world. I don't understand it all.

Dead animals

2008-08-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

Most events that occur in Canada seem to stay here, and the rest of the world doesn’t know about it. But the recent food scare has probably leaked out into other countries. I won’t go into any details – you can read all about it here:listeria, cheese

This of course isn’t the first time that we’ve had a recall of some food product. Probably won’t be the last. However, the thing that really bothers me is that in this huge country, we have only ONE plant that processes meat products for all of us? This especially irks me living in the west – the land where we raise all that beef and have huge hog farms. Why do we ship all those animals to some plant in Toronto, where they do who knows what to it, and then they ship it back to us (at inflated prices)? Do we not know how to process our own animals here? Do we not have any meat plants here? Is fuel so cheap that it’s more cost efficient to ship all our produce all the way across the country, pollute it, and ship it back? I don’t understand it.

The release of this latest calamity also brought to light the fact that the same plant puts out a wide variety of products. When you were convinced that Brand A was so much better than Brand B, you finally realize it comes from the very same plant, is the very same product, only the packaging is different. I heard this many long years ago, when I learned that my favourite tomato soup was made in the same assembly line as the cheaper store brand soup. So we pay more for the label? Now we learn that those advertising campaigns telling us that this particular product is carefully selected, slow smoked, proudly presented -- it was all false. It all comes out of the same vat as that cheap no-name product!

This one event has again reinforced my opinion that we shouldn’t adulterate our food. What was wrong with just have plain ordinary meat? Why do we have to mash, pound, dye, mix all sort of alien products into it, and then package it in neat little slices and expect anyone to actually get any nourishment from it? It’s as far removed from real meat as is the “bread” you find in the stores. Do they really think they are fooling anyone? Probably are, considering that most of the population has never seen real bread or real beef. I pity them.

All this fuss and bother over a variety of contaminated meat products sure makes me glad that I am a vegetarian. I always believed there was a good reason why I was drawn away from animal products, and every time there is another recall of processed foodstuffs, I am thankful that I have no need for pieces of dead animals in my diet.

Now, if only I can find a little patch of earth in which to grow a few vegetables.

It's gone!

2008-08-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

I'm home.

Where was I? I went back home about a month ago now. "Home" is a funny word. It means different things, depending on how you use it.

The house that I grew up in was sold long, long ago. Mom and Dad build a new house, much larger now that we all had left home, in a little village several miles away. I've never gone back to that old place. And I don't want to.

But this year, finally, Mom sold that house. It was just too large for her, by herself, and there was a lot of work in maintaining it. She just couldn't manage it. But it's in a little village, with nothing really happening there, and it was hard to sell. She had lowered her price a lot, but eventually, when she doubled it, she had someone take interest, and sold it. She had an auction sale to sell off everything she couldn't take with her, and she moved away.

So now, there really is not "home" over there. We all used to go to Mom's house at Christmas and in summer, saying it was home, but I never really grew up there. And now I don't even have that anymore either. So I don't know where "home" is. I've lived in this city for over 25 years but I don't think of it as home. It's a place for me to stay until I determine where I want to go next. I'm still thinking. For now, "home" will be where Mom is living.

But this summer, we held another of our family reunions. Mom comes from a very large family, and when we include all the distant relatives, there are a whole bunch more. My great-grandparents arrived in this country with 5 children, and one was born here. From that small beginning, we have spread all over Canada, and into the States as well. But every now and then, on an irregular basis, we gather together to celebrate our ancestors, and to re-acquaint ourselves with each other.

This was a fun weekend. Relatives came all the way from Vancouver to Ontario. I really wanted to see my distant cousin (couple times removed, I dunno) from Nova Scotia, but she wasn't able to make it. It was so good to see cousins I haven't seen for years. Some have gotten so much grey hair! And also to meet their grown children which I have never met yet at all. We don't get together that often, apparently! I haven't been to a family wedding for a long time.

One of the things we wanted to do this year was to hold an auction of some of our handmade items. Many of us are very handy with our hands, making all sorts of things. There was such a nice collection of quilts, and blankets, and glass dishes, and jams and jellys. I wanted to do some spinning (no question there) since my grandmother was a spinner (wool and hemp on a spindle). I wanted to honour her very short life. But I couldn't just put in a skein of yarn, so I had to knit something, although she was also a weaver. This had to be something special, not too complicated, but had to look very intricate! I searched for a long time, and eventually found a lace that I liked, and it was a very easy knit. I was rather pleased with it. (see my earlier post about the whole story)

Well, my cousin from just south of my city won it! There were a lot of very sad faces. A couple of my aunts really wanted it, and so did some of my cousins, and my neices. I'm sorry I only made one! Here is a pic of my cousin Sharon showing off her new shawl:
I have plans to make a few more for my dear aunts. They are a very special bunch of women, and I love them dearly. But my mother had 8 sisters, so there are quite a few of them! Not to mention all my cousins, and my neices. So I have a bit of work ahead of me. I better not say anything more, just in case I tempt fate!

In the meantime, I'm spinning more of that blue. It's taking a very long time to fill up one bobbin, and I can't spin for very long because of my back. But a little every day makes me feel a bit more normal.

And It's Done!

2008-07-09T20:58:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited! It's done. All finsihed! And I like it.

What you ask? Why, the shawl, of course! The thing I've been working on for all these days. Actually I started knitting it about June 16 or 17 (it seems like so long ago), and I finished it on Monday night. I had only one more section to do on the border, but it was late on Sunday, and this section needed some concentration and planning, so I left it for Monday. Then I washed it, darned in the two ends I had (ran out yarn with one ball), and thought about blocking it.

The problem is that I don't have space in my place. It's very very crowded right now. I dont have enough space on the carpet (can't even SEE the carpet!) to stretch out a shawl. And where are all my pins anyway?

So I thought I would so it at work. I have lots of space there! Several of my people are away, so their offices are vacant, with plenty of floor space. I could lay down a sheet, pin it out, and by morning it would be dry, and I'd pick it up before anyone would see it. Except for the cleaning people. Maybe they will leave it alone.

I found a couple boxes of push-pins in the office, and tried to stick them into the carpeting. No good. The carpet is pretty thin, and the pins don't hold a thing. Okay, this won't work.

I then notice the dividers we use between desks. The one between me and the girl next door is very nice: tall and wide, and empty! But I don't want to use her side. My side has lots of posters and papers tacked to it... oh, that can come down.

So I find a clear spot and start to pin it up.. I suddenly realize this is not going to work either. The space is far too small!! Okay, so I then turn to the long wall, and start pinning it to that. And it works much better.

The funny part is that as I pin one section, a pin on the other side suddenly pings! and is flying across the room! I had all these sharp pins flying in all directions. I'd hear a pop, and there goes another one!

I wasn't sure what size I was going to get with this shawl. As I knit, I kept asking myself if it is large enough. I did put in one more round of repeats for one pattern; I wasn't sure if I should repeat the next one as well. And maybe I should put in a wider border?

But I was able to stretch that thing a great deal! I was quite amazed. I got almost 80 inches across the top, tip to tip. Not too bad. And probably about 34 inches for the middle point. It was quite easy to get it fairly square and balanced on both sides, and then I left it.

I was thinking I would go back later in the evening to take it down, but I may have to answer lots of questions about why I was there so late at night. I would go in early on Wednesday.

I was a bit late in the morning, but still early enough. As I get to the building, I realize I forgot my security pass! I can't even get into the building without it. Okay, turn around and go back home to get it. As if I needed this TODAY of all days.

I finally get to work; it's still there. The girl next door says she saw my shawl; someone had come around early in the morning looking for me (they know I don't start that early) and saw it, so of course they all had to look. They were impressed.

I took a few pics, in the light I had available, and then took it down before my supervisor would see it as well. She might not see things the same way I did.

So here is a pic of my shawl as it was tacked to the wall. I will get some pics of someone wearing it later on. But I just was so excited to show you all that I will post whatever I have.

And it's another good day.

There is knitting!

2008-07-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, during this miserable month, I have been knitting.

You may recall that I had been working on a shawl for our family auction later this fall. I couldn't find the right design that I wanted to knit! It had to look good, simple enough to wear, and yet to show off the yarn and my skills. Anything I looked at was either too simple, or didn't seem appropriate for the yarn.

I eventually found a design that I liked. It is a triangular shawl, from the neck down. I thought that I could make a few adjustments to make it larger or smaller, or to add a few designs, if needed.

I started knitting this in the middle of June. Somewhere I had a photo of it starting out, but with all the other complications I've had, I seem to have misplaced a number of my pictures! But I will include one that shows some of the knitting of the border. Yes, I am now doing the border, and have almost completed it. It looks a bit small at this point, although I know that it will stretch a lot when I block it. I think it will be a good size. The design is not complicated (but most lace is very simple to do) but does look good, I think. I expect I should have it finished and blocked sometime next week. I have to find a floor somewhere that I can use for the blocking!

Happy Birthday!

2008-07-01T22:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Canada! At 141 years, you're still a youngster, as far as countries go. And you're looking pretty good.

I can't believe it's 141 already! I remember the Centennial quite well, and it wasn't that long ago. Was it? It surely wasn't 41 years ago -- where did those years go? And I'm hardly even 41 myself-- how is that possible?!!

There is knitting! I finally started on the shawl about 2 weeks ago. It took me a very long time to find exactly what I wanted to make with the yarn I spun way back at the beginning of this year. I looked at so many patterns. I wanted a rectangular stole, with an interesting pattern to view and to knit. I thought I'd like to put in some beads either in the fringe or on the borders.

It all changed. I finally settled on a triangular shawl, knit from the neck down, in a fairly simple lace pattern. It does look good, I think, so far. I'm about to start on the border, but have been thinking of re-working the design of it. I don't know if the shawl will be long enough! I always have this problem -- why didn't I work out the math at the beginning so I would know for sure? That would be too simple!

There has been no knitting this weekend. I was rather busy, and it had to be put on hold. There is still time. I was on my feet for most of the weekend, the final being 32 hours straight. When I finally was able to sit down, I wasn't feeling too well -- oddly. But there was more to do, and I was able to lay down later in the day. I wasn't able to get to sleep right away, but eventually slept a little, and then a little more. Most fortunate, Tuesday was a holiday, and I didn't have to go to work. I was able to get some urgently needed rest. I did sleep late (which was such a pleasure!) and did precious little all day. I didn't do any knitting! I did some spinning though... that was mindless enough for today. I had a nap.

I had a few things to do today, but found a few aches and pains, which is to be expected. But the oddest was that it hurt to stand up! The bottom of my feet hurt... that has never happened before. I checked to see if I had any blisters; none yet, but they may have been starting to form, if I was on the feet for much longer. As it was, I stayed off my feet for most of the day, doing little, listening to some radio, checking emails, chatting with some friends, and generally taking it easy. It was a good day!

Pics will be forthcoming soon. I somehow have lost my card reader, and can't get the photos out of my camera! Technology! The border shouldn't take much longer now that I have a bit more time.

Best Wishes Canada, and many happy years to come!

Low on energy

2008-06-24T21:29:00.001-07:00

Everyone seems to be complaining about the energy crisis and how we need to conserve what we have. Crap! We have enough -- it's just not being equally distributed. Someone is hoarding!

I haven't posted here for ever so long. I didn't mean it this way. I had good intentions of posting more regularly. I had a whole series lined up.

Then LIFE happened, as it likes to do for me. Unexpected things got in the way, really messed up everything I had assumed was regular routine. Not anymore!

I've had a most horrendous month. There just has been too much. Too much of everything, and I was overloaded. I'll tell the story, one day, when I've settled down and can recall it all.

But I will tell you about one thing that happened last week. I was sitting at home in the evening, spinning and was downloading something from the net, and listening to the radio. That is the way I do things. I had just made myself a pot of some soup, and I had turned off the stove to let it sit for a few minutes. It was late, but I often have supper very late (depends on when I started it).

The sun sets very late now. It actually sets about 9:30, but stays daylight for about an hour after that. We have very long evenings... a really short night, and by 4, it's getting daylight again.

Suddenly, the lights went out, the radio went dead, and the computer shut down. Silence. Oh, damn! I blew a breaker --- but nothing was really on. And where the *** is the breaker box in this place?? I do a quick search... no, there isn't one! Maybe there is a main box in the hallway somewhere.... nope, it's all dark out there too. Ah, ha!! It wasn't me that blew it; the whole floor is out. Maybe the whole building. The whole block? I look out the window, trying to see if any place has lights. Yes, that building does, and that one, and the street lights are on. Well, okay, so maybe it's just my building.

Now, everything is dead in the place. Nothing is working. Luckily, I do have a battery operated clock. It is not even 10 pm. Now what?! I can spin a little -- it's still light enough through the window. Oh, I have some soup!

I ladle out a bowl, in the dark kitchen, and go sit by the window and enjoy it in the silence that is now my living space. That is an odd feeling when all is quiet. There is no sound inside... nothing is running. And I miss the noise! I want the radio on; I want some lights; I want to hear the fridge running; I want to make a cup of tea; there is nothing I can do.

I finish my soup. It's now too dark to spin, but not dark enough or early enough for me to go to bed. What to do? Can't listen to any music..no power. Can't read.. no lights. Can't really do anything!! So I go to bed.. and try to sleep, but that doesn't work either. And how will I get up at the proper time, if my electric clock-radio isn't working?? Now I am afraid to sleep!

In the morning, I am awake rather early since it is already bright daylight and I can't sleep. We still have no power. Good thing I still have a clock. I don't know what I would have done otherwise. I get ready for work... there is no lights in the windowless bathroom. Well, I will try for a dark shower -- that's not too hard, since I hardly open my eyes that early in the morning anyway. Can't do that either --- there is no hot water! Of course!! Nothing is working in the building!! We have cold water.. no hot. Can't even heat any up!!

Can you imagine what I had to do to shave (didn't do it over the weekend) in the dark without hot water? I do have to go to work, don't I? Maybe I don't. I find a shirt that didn't need ironing (can't do that either). I'm wondering now about things in my freezer... how long will they stay frozen, and how long will they still be cold?

So I run home at noon to check on things. Still nothing. There is a note saying they are working on it "since midnight" and will get it repaired soon. Thanks. I come home after work... still no lights!!! Now this is becoming really annoying!! The office has closed -- everyone has gone away. Of course. Still no hot water, no lights, no power to make supper. What do you do when nothing works? There is a note on the door that evening that they hope to get everything back by 8:O0 -- in the morning!! If you have any damages, contact your insurance company! What the ---?

I do go out and do a few things I needed to do outside of home, and I get a pizza. I go to bed.. still no power. There is still nothing working in the morning!! Now I'm getting quite angry. Other people in the building are crabby and grumpy. Don't talk to anyone!!

I run home at noon, and find that the power is back on, and everything is running again. The freezer has started getting cold again, but everything is sort of soft. Will it be safe to use? But it's good to be able to feel sort of normal again. And to have hot water!! It's been off for 37 hours.

We take so much for granted these days. Flip a switch, and there are lights. Turn a faucet, and there's hot water. But I don't like being at the mercy of some large company that can shut it all down whenever they like. This was a malfunction of some equipment, but the principle is the same: I have no control over my own comfort and survival. Some disaster can strike and I may not have any heat, water, or food. People in other parts of the world know this. We were fortunate that this was in the middle of summer, while there is still light, and it was warm. What would have happened in winter?

Now, I grew up on a farm, without electricity. So I know I can survive without all these things. But the fact is that I have no choice now. I don't have a large supply of food in the house -- I can run out to the store and get what I need very easily -- IF they are still open. I don't have a well for water -- I have to depend on the goodness of the municipal supply. I can't cook supper on a stove because we aren't allowed to burn wood anymore. I don't have lanterns for light because we've never needed them before. I have candles, but I don't even have matches in the house!

Sometimes I think I'd be better off living in the country or woods somewhere, without the modern conveniences, with a well, with a garden, with wood-burning stove. And someday, I fear we will have to do that!

But I would sure miss the internet!

Finished skein

2008-05-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

At the end of my spinning class for this year, the instructor was dividing up the fibres that were left over, and there was a small bag of some unknown breed of sheep, unwashed. I finally agreed to take it, not knowing why.

It wasn't terribly dirty-- greasy yes, with only a few little bits of grass seeds. I carded carefully since it was quite a fine fibre with good crimp, and made combed rovings of it all. There was a bit of waste of short fibres that really weren't useable at all. I then spun it with my trusty CD spindle, very fine, because that's what it wanted to do, and then made a 2-ply on the spindle as well. (I really love my spindle!)

Here's a pic of the small skein. I don't remember how much it weighed, but it was just over 5 gm. I haven't measured the yardage I got out of it, but there is quite a bit. I still have no idea what it will become, but it will be something nice and small. Or it may be incorporated into a larger project.

Twisted

2008-05-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

It's been a very strange spring so far. Early in April, it was very warm here. Much more unusual than is normal. It looked like spring was here a little early, even though the gardening people kept saying everything is very late. A couple of the trees actually put forth a few leaves -- and then WHAM!! We got hit by a spring snow storm!

We had enough white stuff to cover the ground, and for a time, it was a white-out, a real blizzard such as we never had all winter! AMazing!

But that was like two weeks ago. Today was freakingly hot. I really don't understand the way this weather thing works. I mean, first it's warm, then the snow, and then it's hot! What's up with all that? Makes one really confused.

I can't take the heat much at all. So if this is the start of summer, I am sure I will not be moving much at all in a month. It really drains me, and all I can do is lay down, and wait until it passes by.

Now, when I was in school (not that long ago), we were told that March 21 marks the mid-point of the sun's travel north, and that the day is equal in length to the night. That's not quite true this far north. Only today, I see that we have 15 hours 47 minutes of official daylight. By mid-summer, we will be up to about 18 hours. And of course, you know that further north, the sun never sets. What an amazing place that would be!

At the last spinning class, the teacher was giving away some of the left-over fibres, and there was a small bag of some raw wool. She didn't know the breed, or where it came from, and gave it to me. There really wasn't much, but it looked quite nice, and fairly clean, without much VM in it at all.

I finally decided to do something with it one night, so washed it. It came out very nice, and when it was dry, I wanted to spin it. But how? What to do with it? There really wasn't much to do anything substantial with it, so I decided to spin it on my CD spindle. I really get a lot of use from that thing!

I carded the wool, using my nifty new carders, and since there were very few short fibres, I combed it and then spun it worsted and really fine -- because I like to do it that way! You will notice that I use a quill with my spindle, since I really don't want to handle this fine yarn any more than I have to. I think it will be quite nice when plied (I'll do a 2-ply this time) and then I will decide what to do with it. I'll come up with something nice, I think. In the meantime, there is that lace I need to start knitting.

Disappointment

2008-05-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

In the fall, there was a bit of correspondence between Joan Schrouder and myself about the Year of Lace that a local shop was promoting. Several designers were creating new lace patterns of shawls and scarves and other items and these were being packaged with the yarns in a series of 6 kits throughout the year. I had seriously considered joinging this... and after talking it over with the shop owner, and not really getting any clear answers, I decided it was too expensive for me, and I really was too busy to start any new projects. However, I reported what I knew about the series to Joan and a few others, and left it at that.

About 2 weeks ago, I got an email from Joan saying that she was coming to do a couple of workshops AT THAT VERY SAME SHOP, and was hoping that we could meet. Well, of course, I couldn't wait! I called the shop to be sure of the day and time that she was at the shop so that I could say hello and visit with her a bit. The clerk told me she thought it was on Thursday, and she asked the owner and was told that it was indeed on Thursday night. So for the next 10 days, I was so excited about meeting Joan!!

I had a horrible week. Everything seemed to go wrong... there were appointments that got mixed up, there had to be some quick re-arranging of schedules, it snowed! But that didn't matter to me -- I was going to meet Joan on Thursday night, and nothing could detract from that! I told the ladies on the regular Thursday chat that I wasn't going to be there this week because I had to go visit with Joan. Oh, I was so excited!

I finished up work on time, and ran home to change, and made my way all the way out to the shop. I got there, finding only one lady knitting...and a clerk -- I guess I was early. That's okay. I told the clerk, who was very intent on her internet browser, that I was here to meet Joan. She asked if that was my wife, was I to meet her there? Huh?? There was no point in trying to explain -- I said I'll just wait.

Then she suddenly remembers who Joan is, and tells me that she had been there LAST night. WTF??!? But they told me specifically -- even the owner said so -- that she was going to be at the shop on Thursday!! And I made all the arrangements to be there on Thursday! I could have come on Wednesday... I didn't have anything to do that night anyway. But I was told definitely that it was on Thursday. So I came on Thursday. Only Joan was not there.

I was furious!! So that I wouldn't be arrested on criminal charges, I turned around and went back home! I was not in a good mood. I am still not in a good mood! Don't even mention the name of that shop around me! I am furious with them. They have no customer service at all. It's never been a very friendly place whenever I have visited the shop, looking for something specific. I rarely purchased anything there because they didn't have what I wanted, and everything is over-priced, but I did like to look around at some things that I would get "for something special". Not anymore!

I was just talking with someone the other day how you can never find any businesses that care about customers any longer. The clerks seem to be so arrogant, so uncaring about giving good service, so lacking in knowledge. The girls at this shop seem to be very attentive to women customers, but not to me. They obviously don't want me around, don't want my money, and they are not going to get it now! I won't miss them.

There is simply no excuse for that kind of behaviour.

But I won't get to meet Joan now. That is what makes me so very sad.

A Nice Punta

2008-04-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

For some reason, I keep feeling guilty that I’m not keeping up my blog. It’s not that I’ve forgotten all about it. I write all kinds of articles every day for it… but that’s while I’m walking to and from work, or while I am busy writing other things at work… and by the time I get to actually put something on paper (so to speak), I’ve forgotten what I was going to say!

But I do want to show you a skein of yarn I’ve spun up. This is made from something called Punta. I don’t know what it is… it says wool, but there is no breed called Punta. I’ve learned this is from a region in South America, but there are several areas called Punta, so I still don’t know what this is. It is really wonderful to spin! It’s very fine, quite soft, and quite shiny. I have loved spinning it. I had a pound of fibres, and I spun it all. This was not a quick spin!
You will recall in a previous post that I spun up some yarn for a project that I had in mind. But when I started knitting, I realized that it was a little too thick. So I went back and spun up this Punta… but much finer this time. I have three skeins now (didn’t measure the mileage I got out of it) but the little knitting I’ve started appears a little too fine now! Never win.

I haven’t yet found the pattern I want to use. I wanted a rectangular shawl, with perhaps a few beads on the ends. I considered a triangular shawl, and then I found a wonderful circular pattern that would look good. But I didn’t care how it looked in this fine yarn after knitting up a sample (it may still happen with a thicker yarn). Now I’m still looking for a rectangular scarf/stole/wrap kind of thing. I may have narrowed it down a bit now. Time is running short, so I need to get working on this real soon.

Several months ago, I moved to a new position. It’s still with the same employer (a very large corporation) but in another area. It’s a new building, and they are still going through some growing pains. Well, the workmen are still wandering around, but most of my floor is now finished, and we are fine tuning little things.

I have found a kindred spirit at work. I mean, she knits. What could be wrong with a knitter?? She is a lovely lady, has a very interesting life, and great stories to tell. She has worked as a fire tower person for several years, and this year, has published her recollections of her first three years on various towers. It’s quite an interesting life! There are days that I am really considering finding my own tower, and just spend all my days watching for smokes, spinning and knitting in complete solitude with no one else around for an entire 6 months!! I think I would really enjoy it.

However, I’m too set in my ways now, too insecure to leave the comforts of the big city, to live like that. For a few weeks, I think it would be so wonderful, but eventually, I think I’d like to hear some traffic noise, see lights all night, fight with people on the train -- you know, maybe I won’t miss it at all!

But she was on a temporary contract, and her final day was today. She starts her tour of duty in a week. She has already packed, and will leave in the morning to make her way to base camp, get all her groceries, and just wait to move in. She misses the tower very much. Spending these past 6 months in the city has not been a fun time. She did not enjoy her time in our office. Office politics being what they are, she just didn’t fit in. And that is so sad. She is a very capable, fun and intelligent woman. But someone felt threatened for some reason, and needed to feel powerful, so made her time with us miserable. The only thing that saved her was knowing that she only had a certain number of weeks to go, and then she was out of here.

I’m going to miss her.

Sunny Spring Days

2008-03-15T21:35:00.000-07:00

This winter has been quite unusual, for me at least. While I know that many of you have had far too much snow and cold this year, it has been incredibly mild here. Yes, there were a few days here and there where the temperature has dipped quite low, and we did have a little more snowfall than we have had in the last couple years, but it hasn’t stayed around for long. Whatever we did get has all disappeared by early March, and there have been many bright sunny days! There has been no run-off – the snow just has evaporated!

I don’t blog here that much, as Kenny has pointed out. When I started the blog a little over 3 years ago (has it been that long?), I had intended to post very regularly. But I found I didn’t have that much to say, and so a few days would go by, then a few weeks! That’s just how it is.

I’ve tried to stick to fibre items when I do post, but there have been times that I felt very strongly about another topic and have stated my views. That’s partly why I chose the name of my blog as I did – to allow me to go in any direction I wanted. After all, it is MY blog!

I had a blog previous to this one, and that was on a different theme. I have lost interest -- or it lost interest in me -- and there has been nothing posted there for many long months now. This one I still try to keep alive, but I won’t make any promise as to how often I post!

It’s not as if I’ve been sitting around, or lying around, doing nothing! Even on the beautiful sunny days, I have been inside looking out, and spinning. I had a large bag of some fine wool that I purchased last year sometime (part of that 12 lb package). This came in the most unusual form; I’ve never seen anything like it.

I have used silk caps before. In fact, in my last class, we made our own silk hankies and silk bells (from silk cocoons no less). I’ll try and get some pics for you next time. But this was a wool cap! And it was gigantic! I was tempted to put it on, and post a pic for you, but that would have been too silly. Instead, I have spun it all up and it’s now in about 6 hanks. It is a very fine wool, perhaps Merino with some mohair blended in with it, I’m sure. I got almost 500 gms of it. I was a little disappointed in that I wasn’t very consistent throughout; I have a few looser areas, and some thinner ones. Overall, I’m quite happy with them, and it was such fun to spin it.

I had intended to knit a lace shawl with it. We have a family reunion this summer, and they wanted some handmade items for an auction. Our family is quite diverse in the kinds of crafts we do, so there should be quite a variety of items. I thought I would knit something, and then why not spin the yarn as well, as my grandmother did. She did a lot of weaving with her yarns, which were usually wool and her own hemp.

However, when I tried to find some beads that I wanted to incorporate into the lace, and when I looked at my skeins, I decided it was a little too thick for the lace I wanted to knit. So I have set out to spin more! I have time! This time I’m using some Punta that I have, and am loving it even more than the wool caps. Because I’ve been spinning so much lately, and because this roving is so well prepared, I have been working on my long draw technique. I’m finding it such a joy to do, and really have to force myself to take a break for supper, or to go to bed. This isn’t the first time I’ve stayed up all night to spin, but I haven’t done this for a couple years. If only that job didn’t interfere with my life so much!

The new job is working out quite well, and overall I’m enjoying it there. I can walk to work in about 12 minutes, which is great since I don’t leave the house some days until 8 am. I have a great view of the mountains from the office, and the people are really nice to work with. This past week was just a mess, and things just went wrong one after another. I sure don’t want any more like that!

But the sun is shining, the days are much longer now, the air is warm and I have my spinning. What more do I want? This weekend, there has been a marathon of pre-Easter shows on http://www.radiooutofthepast.org/ -- go to the Old Time Radio conference room and sign in (no password required). Tomorrow, Sunday March 16, is another 12 hours of fantastic shows from when radio was king. They start at 9 am Pacific/1 pm Atlantic. I’ve been having a ball listening to them while I spin. Join us!

Education is great!

2008-02-17T17:31:00.000-08:00

Twenty years ago, in February of 1988, the Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta. It sure doesn't seem that long ago -- I'm only about 5-6 years older than I was then! -- but it must have been. Very oddly, as I recall, the weather was being typically Albertan: being very unpredictable and we didn't have any snow that winter! It was very windy, I remember, and the ski jumps had to be delayed about 2 days, since it was just too dangerous for them to come flying through the air.

It's been bitterly cold a few weeks here this year, but now that it's February, it's warmed up nicely! In fact, the greater-than-normal snow that we had this winter has all disappeared. It didn't really melt; there wasn't any running water in the streets. It just seems to evaporate. Which isn't really such a bad thing!

I've been staying inside this week (I know -- I just am not right in my head) and spinning. I'm doing a lot of spinning! I had a bag of some mysterious white wool that I purchased about a year ago (from that 12 pounds of stuff I got) and decided to do something with it. It's really nice stuff, but an unknown breed. There might be a bit of mohair in it as well.

I tend to spin rather fine, and it's taking a lot longer than I thought it would. I see only a little bit more room left on the bobbin so think I'll do another handful or two and be done with this one, and start something else. And then about 5 and a half hours later, I'm still trying to fill up the bobbin!! It's taking me about 2 full long days of nothing but spinning to get only one bobbin filled! I haven't even started plying yet. I want to do all the spinning first, and then the plying. It just seems that I am more consistent that way. I am not really sure what I will do with it, but a lace shawl is taking form in my mind. I think it's going to be a 2-ply, but I like a 3-ply better. It's white, and I'll leave that way. Although, dyeing is not out of the question. Shall see.

The other day, a friend down the street called to say that he is going to Safeway, and did I want to pick up a few things. Sure -- every time I have the opportunity to get a few heavier things and get a ride, I'll do it!

I picked up a few things I needed, that were on "special". The total came to $xx.87, and since I don't like carrying around too many coins, I try to give the clerk an amount so I get back a quarter or make it an even dollar. So I gave the clerk some bills and 12 cents, and watched her get all confused. It was so much fun!

I always check my till-tape when I am at the check-out, since invariably, they always over-charge. It's a little game we play: they try to get away with it, I catch them at it! I had picked up some canned tomatoes; they were 4 for $5. Okay, a bit higher than normal price, but what can you do? I foolishly took two different styles of tomatoes (same brand, same deal). She charged me $1.25 for some, $2.15 for the others.

I then went over to the Customer Service counter to ask about this difference (the check-out clerk doesn't know anything, and probably didn't speak English), and had to stand in line. The girl at the counter (probably mid-20s) was hollering over to one of the cashiers that she is going back to high-school (this not a good sign). I pointed out the items on my tape, and asked why the difference. She called over a runner to go and check on them... she went, and forgot to come back. I eventually went over to the aisle and looked myself (the runner was no where to be seen); yes, all items were 4/$5. The little girl eventually came back, said they were $1.25 each; that's what I already said! The girl behind the counter wasn't sure that ALL the items were the same price, so she had to go and check herself (again, taking far longer than she should have). She returned and agreed they should be $1.25 each.

Okay, I know it's only $1.80 difference, but by now, it was the principle of the thing. I kept waiting!

She did some quick calculation in her head -- "75 and 15...." and came up with a total, and gave me $1.70. I took a moment, to see what she did, and couldn't come to the same conclusion. Now, this was becoming a real test of my patience!

"I think this is not right."

"Yes, 75 and 15 is 85, times 2 is $1.70."

"No," I say, "75 plus 15 is not 85. Add it again."

"75 and 15 is 85. I don't know what you want."

"All I want is for you to add it up again. 75 plus 15 is __."

"It's 85!"

At this point, I simply gave up and walked away. I was afraid someone was going to get hurt. I really don't think the high school is going to help her much anyway.

Shortage of time

2008-02-04T20:26:00.000-08:00

You all know that you can take a huge amount of yarn or fibre, and with a little effort, compress all of it into a rather small space. We’ve all learned how to cram balls of yarn into otherwise unoccupied spaces, such as behind books on bookshelves, into unworn shoes, behind and under the couch, unused areas of the freezer, that kind of thing. And it’s hardly even noticeable!

Now, a friend of mine tells me that we are all given the same number of hours in a day. While intellectually, I understand what he is saying, I still think that there are ways to pack into one hour a lot more things than normally possible. What I mean is there are times that I have been able to take all those balls of yarn (the jobs needing to be done) and squish them all into tiny spaces (the hours in a day) with a great deal of efficiency. But there are times, I think, that these mounds of fibre just need to be fondled and admired and can’t be forced into tight confinement without destroying the beauty in them. Hence the realization that I just don’t have enough time.

Now, there may be some of you (so very few of you) that will tend to believe I am being laggard in performing my duties. Well, perhaps. But I think it’s really a matter of how you view what has priority.

For example, there is the matter of meals. While this is something that everyone must do, there are ways to make it as efficient as possible. One can simply go out to eat at a place that prepares meals for a business. It’s done many times a day by thousands of people. True, some may want to consider the financial implications, but let’s not look at that right now. One can purchase ready-made meals, and you can have them at home at your convenience. One can have someone prepare them for you, and it would be waiting for you when you got home. Or one can just skip them altogether now and then.

Of course, there is the other possibility of becoming organized, efficient, skilled at preparing meals for oneself, but that takes a lot of the fun out of it (and takes time). There is the tedious task of planning what you want, what you would require, checking your food stash, and preparing a list of what additional items you need (and there is always something you need). Then there is the actual shopping for these items; it’s not the same as shopping for yarn, where you can leisurely admire, touch, rub against your cheek and dream of what you can make with it – they don’t seem to like that in the grocery stores. Then you have to lug all your booty home (why is it all so heavy?), find places to put it away (there are usually pre-set storage spaces for these things) and then rest. Finally, you have to take time to pull out what you need, getting it all ready (much of it is unprepared, you see), putting it all together in different ways, and setting it to cook. Then you wait.

Ultimately, you then pull all these cooked items out of their over-heated spaces, place into serving dishes on the table and enjoy, if you have any energy left. It’s not all finished yet of course – no one seems to remember that after having your fill, there is the clean-up steps too. If there are any left-overs, you have to find places to put those away, and then remove all the dishes, and wash them up, and put them all away. This is a never-ending process! If you were to count up all the time spent just with preparation, eating, and cleaning up, you would find you could have a lot more knitting time!

There is also the requirement of covering this body. But that’s why we knit or weave! And there are prescribed things I have to wear at certain times of the day, or different places. It would be so much easier to just have ONE outfit I could wear everywhere. No, not enough variety, is there? Okay, that’s not a solution.

Because I have acquired so many different items of clothing for various activities, they need attention too. First, shopping for them (not one of my favourite activities), then finding places to store them as well, and then they also demand care and attention, repair and cleaning! Again, this is something else that requires more time, which is already in short supply. This also requires the investment of some equipment solely for the purposes of care of clothing, which also need a place to be stored when not being used!

This whole idea of having a large enough space to store all the stash of food, and clothing, plus all my fibres, and related equipment and instructional material for all of that is the biggest cost factor. This space also demands to be cared for and then you need specialized equipment for this task as well plus the space to store them! It’s a never-ending cycle!

One thing I do find really takes up a lot of time, besides eating, is this thing called a “job”. It really demands a majority of my day, and I’m not really sure I am using it best advantage. I mean, I know I’m supposed to have one, and it seems to provide me with the means to buy things like food and a place to store my stash, but what else is there to it? I have to spend a good portion of my precious time just getting to the place where they want me, and getting back again. It’s not as if I am performing some essential service or benefiting mankind in any significant way. I wonder if I couldn’t make better use of all that time in some other more enjoyable way, and still be able to get the things I need.

So I’m saying that it’s not that I don’t have enough time – I have as much as you do – but that I have a lot more to pack into that limited amount in the day than most of you do. By the time I go through the eating process, the clothing process, the storage space process, there just isn’t much time left at all. Add into that some of the other necessary activities, such as email and web-surfing, a little sleep, socializing, and what’s left for the real purpose for existence – the joy and exuberance of playing with fibres, and all that entails? As I get older, it seems I am not as energetic in finding creative ways to cram into that same space of time as much as I once was able to.

No, there is only one thing to do: something just has to be eliminated. I’ve cut down a lot on the eating process and kept it to a bare minimum, care of clothing is only as necessary, care and maintenance of the storage space has almost been eliminated, sleep has been reduced to only a couple of hours, and all these steps have helped immensely. There is only one more thing left to minimize – that thing they call a job. I’ve recently even increased my time devoted to it by one more day a week – what was I thinking! But, I’m working on correcting that!

Bling

2008-01-24T23:40:00.000-08:00

The long promised "Bling" is now ready for viewing. I started and finished knitting this many long weeks ago, but it only needed the button sewn on. Of course, it's never easy to find just the exact correct button to complete these things. I searched everywhere for just the right one, and finally decided I was going to have to make my own. I was lucky to find a ring that fit the hole I made, and covered it
with some of the yarn and the beads from the knitting (during a quiet moment at work), and now I had the perfect matching button to suit this scarf.

This was the project from a bead knitting class I took in the fall of last year. We strung the beads on the yarn first of all (all 175 of them) and then knit the pattern, pushing a bead into place when required. There were 3 different methods of placing the beads -- that is why we did them in three different patterns. It's all rather easy actually, and allowed us many design possibilities. After knitting the ribbing for around the neck (you don't want cold beads against your neck!) we had to break the yarn, and then string on another 50 more beads for the ending. I don't like joins in my work, so I estimated how much more yarn I would need, and THEN strung on the beads to that portion, and continued knitting. Of course, I was generous in my estimate, and had a lot left over. But that's a lot better than NOT
having enough!

There is, of course, the other method of placing beads ONTO the stitch, and that requires less prep work. You can design as you go that way, and allows for greater "free-form" patterns. I will do that on another project.

The really hard work comes in trying to photograph your work! In person, these beads have an iridescent quality, but if the light is just not right, it doesn't show up in the photos. And of course, you don't feel the weight of the beads on the scarf, which adds to the luxuriousness of the whole thing. In all, a fun project, and I will be doing more of them -- time permitting! Next: Why I'm running out of
time.

Miserable White

2007-11-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

The thing about living here is that the weather changes suddenly and drastically, and wholly unpredictably. There is no way the weather man can be accurate, and they pepper their forecasts with a little of everything – something HAS to be right!

Winter seemed to be taking its time getting here. Then one morning, it was here! Suddenly, without warning, it just arrived, and has no intention of leaving. One morning, as I awakened to the sounds of the daybreak show on the radio, I hear them talking about “the snow”. What’s that all about? I open the drapes… and then I know. Yup, it’s all nice and clean and white out there. Not the best thing to see when a body doesn’t even want to get out of bed, let alone venture forth into that miserable cold wind.

It’s well ensconced here now; the rest of the week is going to be much the same. Although the forecaster is trying so hard to be optimistic, it’s quite clear he hasn’t a hope of anything changing. So we just bear it. Amazing what we will put up with! And why do we insist on carrying on as if nothing is different? There is no good reason for going in to work – it’s not as if civilization as we know it will come apart at the seams if we just cancelled the day!

You can probably tell that this is not one of my favourite seasons. Winter is the dread that fall forebodes. And spring seems to just drag its feet, as if it didn’t want to come at all. Summer? Sometimes there’s a nice day or two.

So why do I still want to live here?

Meanwhile, here is a pic from last week, at sunrise, looking west from the elevator in my office.

Next time: Bling!

Dyeing Red Coats

2007-10-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Spinning classes have started again for my next level in the course. And since this is fall, we did some dyeing again, using natural dyes.

This time, we used only one dye-pot and with the addition of a couple mordants, and modifiers, we were able to get 25 different shades! Doesn't that just blow your mind? There are so many variables that can give you different results, so we wanted to explore all of them, and make note of the effects. This way, we can have a better idea of what we can obtain, should we follow a couple of steps. Quite fun!

We used cochineal, which is a pregnant bug. Honest!! These are already dead, and dried, and we just ground them up to make more of the dye available, and then cooked it for a bit to get all the colour out of them. We had pre-mordanted our small wool skeins in a couple of different mordants, and then dropped them all into the pot. After about an hour, we removed and rinsed them, and then dropped a few of them into other pots with a few different modifiers to get all these lovely colours.

I was told that cochineal was used to dye the red coats of the British forces during the British-American war. I was rather disappointed when I didn't get any red! The dye in the pot was a glorious rich red... and yet it didn't come out that way in the wool. Another lesson learned! The mordants and the modifiers each had their effect, and the result is a wide range of shades in the reddish-purple-maroon range. Nice, but not quite what I was expecting. Ah -- the joys of nature dyeing!

Here, you see the pre-mordanted skeins just before they went into the dye-pot. (some people will take a pic of anything, won't they?)

And here, I'll show you a few of the skeins I got, and once I get them all displayed properly, will show you them again, but more organized. These are all my handspun yarns, a 3-ply all done on my CD spindle.

The weather has been absolutely wonderful this week! Well, not quite. The weatherman had predicted +21 on Tuesday. Of course, he was wrong. But today was probably that high! The sun was shining, and it was too warm for a jacket at noon, or on the way home after work. I kind of like this fall weather, if it stays this way! However, Hallowe'en is next week, and we have had all that white stuff around in other years. Weather here can change in the wink of an eye, so I have no idea what we might yet get. Stay tuned!

Edit: Thursday 10:36 pm
I looked out the window. Remember that white fluffy stuff I mentioned earlier? Yep, it's here!

Wishes

2007-10-13T18:19:00.000-07:00

During all those years growing up, making wishes about what I wanted and not getting them, I realized that sometimes they come years and years later. There are no timelines in regards to promises by the universe! They don’t always come quite as expected.

One thing I’ve learned is that wishes normally do come true, but in a very literal sense. You have to be very careful what you wish for – because you will get just what you asked for! You have to be very specific in making your declarations. And so I’ve tried so very hard NOT to express any kind of wishes, for sometimes you get a whole lot more than you bargained for. Such as all the responsibilities that come with owning a dog, for example.

But sometime in the not-too-distant past, I made a slight slip of the tongue, and made a wish for something that I didn’t have a remotest chance of getting. But I did! The question now is do I have to accept it.

One thing that I was told some time back was that when the universe hands something to you, you are being given the opportunity to show that you can take responsibility and ownership of it, and make good use of it. If you refuse, you are showing that you are not worthy of anything at all, and you will not receive anything again. If you accept, you have to show that you are mature enough to handle all the pressures that come with it, and that you will share your fortune with others. That’s an awesome choice to make.

Now, I have to make choices every day -- difficult choices, requiring hours of examination of all the facts and all the outcomes -- choices that I must make in a matter of moments. Things like what tie to wear today, which street to take to work, where to go for lunch today. But that is all part of a day’s work, and I do them without too much agony.

However, there comes a time in every person’s life where a major decision must be made, a choice that will have life-changing consequences, and there is no way to know for sure what the final outcome is going to be. You can gather all the facts, follow it through several scenarios, you have to consider the pros and cons, weigh them all, and then make an informed choice. In my case, the scales always seem to be equally balanced! How do you make choice based on that? You can’t always rely on emotions, for they have led me astray before; and logic doesn’t seem to be enough to make the choice. What else can I go on?

So my friends, the question is: Do I or don’t I?

Knitted Winterwear

2007-10-03T19:03:00.000-07:00

Across the street from my office is a small grassy area. It's a small park, I guess, and I think it belongs to the office building at the other end of the block. At one time, this belonged to the local school board, and seemed to be very appropriate. In fact, the board used a depiction of this sculpture on their letterhead. But after they moved on to larger quarters, this place was taken over by a business, and so now the sculpture looks out of place. This sculpture, called Brotherhood of Mankind, was created by Mario Armegnol in 1967 for the Montreal Exposition and was donated to the city by a private firm about 1989.

There was quite a big controversy over this at the time since these statues were all naked! It represented the family of man, with male and female figures, some holding a child in their arms. They are all very tall and thin, but definitely naked.

However, a local artist recently decided to cover these poor creatures, and clothe them. So now I feel that I can post some pics of them here. I wouldn't be able to do it otherwise! hehe

They are only wearing leg-warmers, and that should help a bit in our cold, severe winters, and they aren't naked anymore. These were all knit or crocheted flat by Suzen Green and friends, and then seamed on the leg. The artist has said that it was too difficult to do them in another way. Not that it hasn’t been done! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33gMlGkw1xY

And with the cold winter arriving tonight perhaps, these certainly are well-appreciated by the recipients! See here:

The little mistake

2007-09-16T14:41:00.000-07:00

A little while back, one of the guys on a knitting list was having trouble with the Brioche stitch. It is a rather strange pattern, but he liked the results. However, he kept getting an extra stitch when he would come to the end of a row! It just didn't add up for him. So I set out to see why -- it seemed simple enough! haha

By following the pattern directions strictly, I was all confused, and was making mistakes. The directions were wrongly written. She would insert a yf and also a yo, which in my way of thinking, are both one and the same. By bringing the yarn forward, and then knitting a stitch, you can't help but make a YO. So putting the directions like that really was confusing! I had to re-write the directions (once I figured out what was going on) and it worked much better.

I first did the pattern with large needles, as suggested (section "a"), and it was quite interesting. I liked the result; there were possibilities here! Usually, it was used as a scarf and hat, but I can see this as a sweater as well.

I then switched to smaller needles, as I felt there was too much looseness in the fabric, and the back layer was showing through. I thought it would look better as a type of double layer fabric (section "b"). The results of that you see here:
After working this a number of times, I realized that I WAS working a double layer fabric anyway! So I switched the pattern just a little bit (not doing the YO) and I was doing plain double layer knitting!! (section "c") The word "brioche" comes from the French and means "mistake"... now I see what they mean! Someone was doing double knitting (or thinking they would) but made a slight mistake, and came up with a new pattern! That's how many of these things happen: you set out to go down one road, but things happen along the way and you get diverted and see something entirely new. Not all mistakes are bad; they are only not quite what you were expecting, that's all.

I think I would teach this by doing some double knitting first. Once you understood what was happening (bringing the yarn forward before slipping the back stitch, or after slipping the front stitch), you can see that by forgetting to take the yarn back again, you make a "mistake" or a "brioche" and have developed a new pattern technique.

There -- it's just that easy!

The Hat pattern

2007-08-24T21:46:00.000-07:00

Some have asked about the pattern for my hats. This was an over-sight! I had meant to give you the location of the pattern – it’s from the net, of course.

I had seen this a long time ago, made a note of it, and of course, lost all my bookmarks when the HD died. I had to re-install Windows XP (not a fun job) and, of course, I had to re-format my HD, and I lost everything! So I am starting all over again to collect my patterns, and bookmarks (making sure to make back-up copies this time!). I would think Uncle Bill could come up with a better way to re-install his system, since it does fail so often.

This pattern is called the Tychus hat from Knitty.com. I thought it looked so interesting, and yet was fairly simple to do. I also found a similar pattern called “zeebee” from schmeebot. This is a good site to go to: she has a pattern generator! You plug in your numbers from your gauge swatch (yah, I know) and there it is! Really slick!

I made a few changes to my hats. I didn’t like the way the wraps were done, so came up with my own version, which I like a lot better. After seeing the way Cat Bordhi does her wraps, I have to make another hat, and try it that way! LOL You can adjust the number of your cast-on to create longer or shorter hats (for that turned up brim), and by changing the number of ‘arrows’, you can adjust the size (circumference). I really like this pattern; it’s quite easy to do, and fits very well.

Early Sunday Sunrise

2007-08-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Most of you probably don’t know that I read a lot of blogs. In fact, my bookmarked list was so long that it would take 3 whole evenings of doing nothing but read blogs to catch up with what you’ve been writing!! That is a lot of hours!

Now, I don’t read everyone’s blogs every day! Some I look into once a week, some every couple weeks, and some only once a month or so since you don’t write anything that often – like me!

I was particularly impressed last week to see the beautiful photographs by David of the sunrise from his window. He takes really great photos, and has a great sense of colour and design. But after all, that is his life’s study!

So I look out my window in the morning, and this is what I see:

I don’t get the same great colour that Dave does; we have a lot more softer and pastel shades, being so much further north, I suppose, and are somewhat colder too (this was on a overcast morning). I don’t know what makes our skies so different. Now, of course, my scenery is not so great to look at either! That is the price we pay for “progress”; this is boom-time in this town. The bubble is about to burst, but you would never guess that by looking at all the cranes that are busily turning this way and that; I can count eight right now to the east of me. They don’t know what is going on, right under their noses! They start working at 7 a.m. sharp! And those lights you see?-- that shines right into my window!

We’ve gone through this before, you know. Back in the late 1970’s, when there was a big oil demand, we thought our party was never going to end. But it did… and suddenly. All these high-priced homes suddenly were an albatross around so many necks – and the only thing to do was walk away. They went back to wherever they came from, telling stories of great times, raucous parties, and fantastic hang-overs. They went home, and those of us left behind had clean up the mess.

There was another smaller splurge in later ‘80’s, and then the inevitable doldrums. You couldn’t find a crane anywhere on the skyline! There was never a blocked street due to construction, no one was hiring carpenters, apartments were vacant. What distant memories those are!!

So we are in another oil boom. The young people think it’s terrific, the world is rosy, we can have anything we want! They are buying, buying, buying. Not with cash, you understand, since they don’t have any, but with “potential earnings”. We all know how much substance is in that!! One day, very soon, they too will walk away from their over-priced homes, the latest model SUV, and all the newest toys and gadgets. Everything will be taken back for they own nothing!

I am very much like my Dad – he only purchased anything when he had the cash to pay for it, even a car or any other major purchase. I never thought I was much like him, but we do pick up little habits, don’t we! So when times were tough, I didn’t have to worry about outstanding loans or debts; and I’ve learned to manage quite well on very little. I don’t need that much, really. And by now, I’ve got most of what I need, but not quite all that I want! Hahaha One day, when the time is right, they will come my way.

In the meantime, I’m still spinning with the spindle, making up more skeins. Really, I have NO idea what I will do with it all, but again, one day, there will be something I really want to make, and will have just the right yarn for it. I had better have the yarn, for I have nearly every colour and weight anyone can ever want! I’m sure I have a larger collection than the yarn store down the street, but we won’t start making comparisons.

Meanwhile, I did do some work on the wheel. Here is a quick peek:

Some new hats

2007-07-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

I was able to get some pics taken of the hats I did this past month. These are all done with my handspun, 3-ply wool, spun and plied on my CD spindle. After having all these skeins, I thought I had better do something with them. I've always liked the design of these hats, and decided these colours would work well in them.The white one is the first I did, just to learn the technique. This is all in garter stitch, knit sideways, with short rows and then grafted at the end. First of all, I had to learn how to do those short rows -- I've never been pleased with the way they looked. So after trying a couple of different versions, I settled on the wrap and turn technique. I leave the wrap in; I don't knit the wrap as some instructions say. I like it better this way, on garter stitch. On stocking stitch, I believe it wouldn't work as well.The green hat (or is blue?) was done the same way, but by using the two colours, it shows off the short rows very nicely. By doing the wrap, it also makes a nice sharp point on the triangles and I think adds to the look of it. I did another one, in the same colours, but made it just slightly shorter. It is still waiting for the grafting. I wanted a short beany; you can turn up the brim on the longer one and it shows an interesting pattern on the reverse side.

This is a fun easy knit. It's all garter stitch. It has a couple of short rows, which go fast. The grafting at the end is easy to do as well. You should try them!