EZ does it

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

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Sweatbox

No, I haven't been swept away in the floods. I really didn't even get very wet at all -- when it rained, I stayed inside!

However, that was then, and this is now. It's changed. Well, if you live here, you know it changes -- frequently -- all in one day! So the rain stopped, and then it got warm. Really warm. We even hit 30 degrees C (about 86 for you 'Muricans) which is pretty hot around here. Most years, we only get to 30 a couple days a year, and I don't mind that. I can't take the heat very well, so it's a good thing I live here.

This year, however, it's not the same. Well, actually, no year is the same as any other here. It's always something different. Keeps us on our toes! But when it got warm, it kept on getting warmer and warmer. We got some really hot air coming over the mountains from BC, and we went up to 35C -- which is pretty damned hot.

Now, normally, we tell everyone: "Yes, but its a dry heat." Yah, sure. It isn't so this time around -- we had a lot of rain earlier, remember? And there is a lot of water around in the ground, and in the rivers, and in the air too! So it's hot and humid too -- and that makes for a really muggy New York kind of sticky days! Not good.

The Stampede Parade was on July 6 this year. It's always the first week of July. This starts the 10 days of the Stampede Exhibition, "the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" as it's billed. I suppose there may be some debate on that title, but we will leave that alone. Most of the 'natives' from this city try to get out of town during this time of the year, and I've usually quite enjoyed the relaxed and fun Western themes. However, I've been here for a number of years, and it does get tired after the first few times. Now I understand why they want to leave!

And so I did myself. Yes, for the first time ever, I left town just as the parade was about to start. I took off for Saskatchewan, the province to the east. I used the excuse of having to go attend a family function, which was true. My uncle, the last of my father's brothers, celebrated his 50th wedding anniversary. I wasn't about to miss this one! And I'm glad I did. We had a really good time, it was all very tastefully done, very casual, very enjoyable. I finally got to meet some of my cousins that I haven't seen for many years; we usually only meet at weddings or funerals, and lately, there haven't been many of those. We all grew up, left home to seek our fortunes in the vast world, and then forgot to come home again.

Let me tell you something: people change. Yes, it's true -- when you don't see anyone for many years, you notice how much older they have become! After all, two of my cousins have retired already (they were just a few years ahead of me at school) and my younger brother retired this year. I'm not sure I'm ready for that!! But they have all aged quite a lot too -- I noticed that during this visit. Oddly, I haven't aged at all! LOL

I got to spend some time with Mom, we did a few things around the house, we visited her 91 year old sister (who is still living on her own and doing very well), and her 67 year old sister too (the youngest) and got to see how much the land has changed too in the time I have been gone. Nothing stays the same. But it was all over too fast, and I was forced to come back to this hectic city and to the job. Some things never change!

The heat has steadily increased and it was about 34 the other day. And in the evening, there is usually a thunder storm with some lightening, sometimes some rain, sometimes some hail! It normally cools off at night, but not that much this week. Now, you understand, I'm not complaining! I'd never do that -- however, I suppose I would like to even it out a bit... you know, like we do with this strange concept of "daylight saving", which I don't understand at all. If only we could "save" some of this heat to release during those long cold winters; now that I could support. Maybe we should talk to the shrub and get him to sign some bill before he leaves his office.

There hasn't been much on the spinning front. Still doing some of the same thing as always; I did take my spindle on the trip and did some spinning while at Mom's. I finished a hat I was knitting-- it was fun, and I started another one tonight. I am still looking for some patterns for something different to make, but haven't made a choice yet. I thought I might do the Mystery Stole 3, but I'm very far behind now but would like to do this one. Too many projects, not enough time!

There's no pictures in this entry. As you remember, I had some computer issues previously. I did get myself a new camera, but it doesn't get along with my computer (I don't understand these things myself) so they are stuck on that little card. I'll keep working on that. But when I get it to cooperate, I'll show you pics of the hat. In the meantime, stay cool!