That would be me. My parents were visiting for the week, I spun and plied a whole bobbin of beautiful corriedale from Knitted Wit (bringing my total to 4.19 miles for the year, by the way), I finished up two more premie caps for Aunties in Stitches, got a new washer and dryer installed and a ton of laundry washed and dried, we laid out one heck of a Thanksgiving feast, had the kids and a friend for Thanksgiving day, I cranked out a lace scarf from a skein of hand spun for Mom to take home with her, and I added 40 more rows to the Queen Anne's Lace shawl. And I didn't take any pictures. Not one.
But we had a great visit with my parents; we caught up on what's going on back home, what's been going on here, ate some good food, watched some good movies, and enjoyed being together again.
Mom is planning to come back next fall with some friends from home to attend Oregon Flock and Fiber. Maybe I'll remember to take pictures.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
They're Coming!
My parents, that is; for Thanksgiving. So the family has been given a little extra "spit and polish." Meaning, I straighted up the fiber corner and we chased out the dust rhinos.
The dining table has been polished.
The larder has been filled and the turkey has been approved by Inspector 37.
What does it say about our family that the refrigerator holds Half-and-Half, Milwaukee's Best, and Activia?
In preparation for the first overnight guests in quite a while, the guest room got an extra dusting and straightening up. Meaning, I folded up the blocking board and made room in the closet.
I also stripped off the sheets and threw them in the washer.
Only to hear ToolMan cursing a few minutes later. Seems the seal has gone out on the washer and water was running all over the floor. Sound familiar?
Of course, this happened when I have two laundry hampers full of dirty clothes, company coming, and now every towel in the house is wet. So, first we went off to Home Depot; there are some really cool (read "expensive") washers and dryer on the market now. Mom and Dad arrive on Tuesday and the new washer and dryer on Wednesday, so next it was off to find a laundromat. I had no idea how scarce those had become. And I had forgotten how icky they are; thankfully ToolMan was with me. Minimal laundry was done and hauled home and the floors dried out. We're ready for company for the holiday.
The dining table has been polished.
The larder has been filled and the turkey has been approved by Inspector 37.
What does it say about our family that the refrigerator holds Half-and-Half, Milwaukee's Best, and Activia?
In preparation for the first overnight guests in quite a while, the guest room got an extra dusting and straightening up. Meaning, I folded up the blocking board and made room in the closet.
I also stripped off the sheets and threw them in the washer.
Only to hear ToolMan cursing a few minutes later. Seems the seal has gone out on the washer and water was running all over the floor. Sound familiar?
Of course, this happened when I have two laundry hampers full of dirty clothes, company coming, and now every towel in the house is wet. So, first we went off to Home Depot; there are some really cool (read "expensive") washers and dryer on the market now. Mom and Dad arrive on Tuesday and the new washer and dryer on Wednesday, so next it was off to find a laundromat. I had no idea how scarce those had become. And I had forgotten how icky they are; thankfully ToolMan was with me. Minimal laundry was done and hauled home and the floors dried out. We're ready for company for the holiday.
Friday, November 21, 2008
I want a pony.
I drink Red Rose Tea. Lots of it. No, really, a LOT. I drink at least one cup in the morning before work, then usually several tall glasses iced when I come home, and sometimes another cup or two hot after dinner.
Red Rose has been putting little Wade Porcelain figurines from England in each box for years. It's like the little prize in Cracker Jacks, only not cheap plastic. The figurines are in series; the idea being to collect 'em all. Right now, the series is "Pet Shop." Mine are sitting on the ledge right above the kitchen sink.
Like I said, I drink a LOT of this tea. Now, where's my pony?
Red Rose has been putting little Wade Porcelain figurines from England in each box for years. It's like the little prize in Cracker Jacks, only not cheap plastic. The figurines are in series; the idea being to collect 'em all. Right now, the series is "Pet Shop." Mine are sitting on the ledge right above the kitchen sink.
Like I said, I drink a LOT of this tea. Now, where's my pony?
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Birds of a feather flock together
Saturday was the first meeting of the new group, Portland Spinnerati. We gathered for the first time at Portland Central Library. I had reserved the US Bank Meeting Room in the Central Library, and as you can see from the pictures, it is a perfect space for us; lots of room, lots of chairs, carpet to keep wheels from sliding around, and most importantly there are huge windows for natural light.
Because of the PDX Knit Bloggers, I feel like I know so many fiber-crazed people in Portland, but I was surprised how many new faces were there for the first meeting.
And surprisingly, I don't think any two spinners had the same kind of wheel! There was a Journey Wheel, several different MajaCraft, a Mach I, two different Lendrums, Ashfords, Kromskis, some one-of-a-kind wheels, and a couple of drop spindlers as well.
After settling in to our circle, we made introductions all around, telling how long we had been spinning, how we got started, and what we wanted to learn. Then it was time to see what everyone was spinning, share stories, and compare fibers. All too soon, the 2 1/2 hours had flown by and our time was up! We are all excited about getting together next month.
Gail was particularly excited about the meeting; not only is she a spinning fanatic, but Saturday was her birthday. Rachel gave her a birthday card, and
a pair of hand-knit socks.
I don't think that's exactly what Gail had in mind when she requested red socks to match her hair!
I debated over what fiber to take to Spinnerati; I didn't want anything that I would have to concentrate on. That meant nothing slick like bamboo, or with short fibers like camel or yak, nothing hard on the hands like silk. No, this required something that I could spin without looking, something that I could do entirely by feel; something like wool. So I pulled out that candy-colored Corriedale I bought from Knitted Wit at OFFF.
I waited until too late to use natural light, so this isn't really a good picture, and the colors are over saturated. Actually, the colors are very soft, almost pastels. I'm spinning it in a very thin single; I'm planning on doing a 2-ply to get a lace weight. I have 4 ounces of this and I think the soft colors will make a very nice Ice Queen.
On the knitting front, I finished up the Star Doily Blanket for Baby Love. This was a fast, fun knit; Paton's' Shetland Chunky on size 10 needles; five days from cast on to cast off.
Andy Rooney posed with the blankie; he wanted to show off his new "do." He went to the groomer's (referred to in his presence as "the doggie spa") for a shampoo, haircut, and pedicure. The hair is growing back on his head where he scalped himself and the groomer managed to get it blended in pretty well. And they shaved a spot on between his shoulders so we can give him his insulin shots easily.
And I made three premie hats for Aunties In Stitches this week while commuting; all in baby blue Oh, My! on size 9 dpns. Two were bottom up and one was top down; but I can't remember which was which.
After all that big yarn, I had a hankering for something light weight. So I tossed the stash and came up with four balls of Paton's Beehive in white. Just the thing for a shawl I've been wanting to try; Queen Anne's Lace.
I'm on row 41; only 118 to go.
Because of the PDX Knit Bloggers, I feel like I know so many fiber-crazed people in Portland, but I was surprised how many new faces were there for the first meeting.
And surprisingly, I don't think any two spinners had the same kind of wheel! There was a Journey Wheel, several different MajaCraft, a Mach I, two different Lendrums, Ashfords, Kromskis, some one-of-a-kind wheels, and a couple of drop spindlers as well.
After settling in to our circle, we made introductions all around, telling how long we had been spinning, how we got started, and what we wanted to learn. Then it was time to see what everyone was spinning, share stories, and compare fibers. All too soon, the 2 1/2 hours had flown by and our time was up! We are all excited about getting together next month.
Gail was particularly excited about the meeting; not only is she a spinning fanatic, but Saturday was her birthday. Rachel gave her a birthday card, and
a pair of hand-knit socks.
I don't think that's exactly what Gail had in mind when she requested red socks to match her hair!
I debated over what fiber to take to Spinnerati; I didn't want anything that I would have to concentrate on. That meant nothing slick like bamboo, or with short fibers like camel or yak, nothing hard on the hands like silk. No, this required something that I could spin without looking, something that I could do entirely by feel; something like wool. So I pulled out that candy-colored Corriedale I bought from Knitted Wit at OFFF.
I waited until too late to use natural light, so this isn't really a good picture, and the colors are over saturated. Actually, the colors are very soft, almost pastels. I'm spinning it in a very thin single; I'm planning on doing a 2-ply to get a lace weight. I have 4 ounces of this and I think the soft colors will make a very nice Ice Queen.
On the knitting front, I finished up the Star Doily Blanket for Baby Love. This was a fast, fun knit; Paton's' Shetland Chunky on size 10 needles; five days from cast on to cast off.
Andy Rooney posed with the blankie; he wanted to show off his new "do." He went to the groomer's (referred to in his presence as "the doggie spa") for a shampoo, haircut, and pedicure. The hair is growing back on his head where he scalped himself and the groomer managed to get it blended in pretty well. And they shaved a spot on between his shoulders so we can give him his insulin shots easily.
And I made three premie hats for Aunties In Stitches this week while commuting; all in baby blue Oh, My! on size 9 dpns. Two were bottom up and one was top down; but I can't remember which was which.
After all that big yarn, I had a hankering for something light weight. So I tossed the stash and came up with four balls of Paton's Beehive in white. Just the thing for a shawl I've been wanting to try; Queen Anne's Lace.
I'm on row 41; only 118 to go.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Bah, Bah, Black Sheep
He's not exactly black, but here's my sheep scarf! His body is garter stitch worked in Poof by Crystal Palace. The details are worked in leftovers of black acrylic left over from the #@!*% Golf Club Covers. You can't really see in the photo, but his ears are folded and he has a black button nose.
He had his debut at Westside Wednesday, where it was agreed he needs front feet a few inches behind the face. He gets longer every time I wear him, so I may have to throw him in the washer and dryer to shrink back up to a manageable length. But he's very soft and warm, not to mention fun to wear!
I did get that "On the Vine" from StitchJones finished. It's not knitted up, but it's been skeined, washed, whacked, and dried.
It'll go temporarily into the hand spun stash; it's intended for a Christmas present, but I've been temporarily distracted by charity knitting.
This is a fast knit; I did that much in just a couple of hours last night. I'm already well into the second ball; I think I'll continue the pattern through the third ball and then use the forth to work an edging of some kind. It's mostly stockinette now, but it's too big to be commute knitting so I can only work on it at home, but I should be able to finish it in the next week.
Baby Love is a project of Willow Birth is a 2 month long, charity knit-along (October through December) where fiber workers in the Portland, Oregon (and beyond) will knit, crochet and quilt blankets for newborns in need. On the last week of December, they pick up the blankets from drop sites, wrap them and deliver them in the first week of January, when donations take a sharp decline.
And that other yarn that got rewound? It's in a bag with some dpns to be my commute knitting for the next couple of weeks. It'll become some teeny, tiny premie hats for Aunties In Stitches.
If you're in the Portland area and would make a donation to either of these charities, please leave me a comment and I'll give you the details on how to donate items. Of course, if you would like to donate yarn, we'll take that, too! If you're not in the Portland area, please consider donating at least one knitted or crocheted item to a children's charity this season. Even a small blanket, hat, or sweater can make a difference.
He had his debut at Westside Wednesday, where it was agreed he needs front feet a few inches behind the face. He gets longer every time I wear him, so I may have to throw him in the washer and dryer to shrink back up to a manageable length. But he's very soft and warm, not to mention fun to wear!
I did get that "On the Vine" from StitchJones finished. It's not knitted up, but it's been skeined, washed, whacked, and dried.
It'll go temporarily into the hand spun stash; it's intended for a Christmas present, but I've been temporarily distracted by charity knitting.
I started a blanket for Baby Love, but ran short of yarn; it's been rewound and will eventually be used for another charity. In the meantime, I grabbed four balls of Patons Chunky Shetland in a soft yellow called "Butter", searched Ravelry for a suitable pattern, and cast on for the Star-Doily-Blanket.
This is a fast knit; I did that much in just a couple of hours last night. I'm already well into the second ball; I think I'll continue the pattern through the third ball and then use the forth to work an edging of some kind. It's mostly stockinette now, but it's too big to be commute knitting so I can only work on it at home, but I should be able to finish it in the next week.
Baby Love is a project of Willow Birth is a 2 month long, charity knit-along (October through December) where fiber workers in the Portland, Oregon (and beyond) will knit, crochet and quilt blankets for newborns in need. On the last week of December, they pick up the blankets from drop sites, wrap them and deliver them in the first week of January, when donations take a sharp decline.
And that other yarn that got rewound? It's in a bag with some dpns to be my commute knitting for the next couple of weeks. It'll become some teeny, tiny premie hats for Aunties In Stitches.
If you're in the Portland area and would make a donation to either of these charities, please leave me a comment and I'll give you the details on how to donate items. Of course, if you would like to donate yarn, we'll take that, too! If you're not in the Portland area, please consider donating at least one knitted or crocheted item to a children's charity this season. Even a small blanket, hat, or sweater can make a difference.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Autumn Leaves
The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.
Emily Dickinson
Unlike Emily, I didn't wear any trinkets; in fact, I stayed in my fleece jammies all day. But I did enjoy looking at all the colorful trees in my neighborhood today.
I gazed on these lovelies while I sorted, washed, dried, folded, and hung up laundry this morning. Those stunning scarlet beauties are willows, the brilliant orange in the background are poplars, and the yellowy-green in the bottom right corner is the snowbell in our front yard.
And then this afternoon, I just couldn't keep my eyes off the maple in the back yard.
All of the houses in our row have maples in the back; while ours is the smallest, it is by far the most brilliant in fall. Just look at how much brighter red ours is than the neighbor over to the right. With the contorted black locust to the left and the trumpet vine on the fence are both turning chartreuse and yellow, we have more color in the backyard now than we did all summer!
The crisp fall air even has Andy Rooney feeling chipper! ToolMan took him for a walk this afternoon; they ran into saw a neighbor walking her shih tzu, Jake. Andy instigated a short bout of wrestling and was bouncing like a young pup! I want to thank everyone for their concern about him; I relayed every single hug, chin scritch, ear rub, and head pat to him. I'm pretty sure he understood every best wish he got, except maybe the one from Gail. Gail is sure he could knit if he only had thumbs; he already got 5 toes on each foot, so he's pretty sure he doesn't need thumbs, too!
I didn't spend my whole days leaf peeping, though! I did finish a scarf for myself, but I'm not going to post pictures of it until it debuts at Westside Wednesday. They saw me cast off a scarf last week of the coziest, squishiest yarn; but that didn't mean it was finished! No, sirree; I had further plans. But you'll just have to wait to see it.
And I finished a Christmas present that I can actually post pictures of, since I'm pretty sure the recipient doesn't read this blog. For Brother-In-Law Jim, I finished the Big Black Things:
Those #@!*% Golf Club Covers. I gotta tell ya; knitting those big honkin' things in black acrylic was not fun. The duplicate stitch actually went pretty quick, though. I think he'll get a kick out of these.
And I finished up another spool of yarn.
From StitchJones, 4 ounces of corriedale, in her "On The Vine" colorway. From the moment I laid eyes on this roving, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.
I split this roving in half lengthwise, then one half I split again lengthwise; that gave me a 2-ounce strip and 2 1-ounce strips. I spun all of the singles (1 2-ounce and 2 1-ounce singles) to the same diameter. Then I Navajo plied them using first a 1-ounce, then a 2-ounce, and last the other 1-ounce. This gave me a self-striping yarn that will knit up into narrow stripes on each end, with wider stripes in the center. Now, I just have to get it knitted up in time to go into the Christmas gift box!
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.
Emily Dickinson
Unlike Emily, I didn't wear any trinkets; in fact, I stayed in my fleece jammies all day. But I did enjoy looking at all the colorful trees in my neighborhood today.
I gazed on these lovelies while I sorted, washed, dried, folded, and hung up laundry this morning. Those stunning scarlet beauties are willows, the brilliant orange in the background are poplars, and the yellowy-green in the bottom right corner is the snowbell in our front yard.
And then this afternoon, I just couldn't keep my eyes off the maple in the back yard.
All of the houses in our row have maples in the back; while ours is the smallest, it is by far the most brilliant in fall. Just look at how much brighter red ours is than the neighbor over to the right. With the contorted black locust to the left and the trumpet vine on the fence are both turning chartreuse and yellow, we have more color in the backyard now than we did all summer!
The crisp fall air even has Andy Rooney feeling chipper! ToolMan took him for a walk this afternoon; they ran into saw a neighbor walking her shih tzu, Jake. Andy instigated a short bout of wrestling and was bouncing like a young pup! I want to thank everyone for their concern about him; I relayed every single hug, chin scritch, ear rub, and head pat to him. I'm pretty sure he understood every best wish he got, except maybe the one from Gail. Gail is sure he could knit if he only had thumbs; he already got 5 toes on each foot, so he's pretty sure he doesn't need thumbs, too!
I didn't spend my whole days leaf peeping, though! I did finish a scarf for myself, but I'm not going to post pictures of it until it debuts at Westside Wednesday. They saw me cast off a scarf last week of the coziest, squishiest yarn; but that didn't mean it was finished! No, sirree; I had further plans. But you'll just have to wait to see it.
And I finished a Christmas present that I can actually post pictures of, since I'm pretty sure the recipient doesn't read this blog. For Brother-In-Law Jim, I finished the Big Black Things:
Those #@!*% Golf Club Covers. I gotta tell ya; knitting those big honkin' things in black acrylic was not fun. The duplicate stitch actually went pretty quick, though. I think he'll get a kick out of these.
And I finished up another spool of yarn.
From StitchJones, 4 ounces of corriedale, in her "On The Vine" colorway. From the moment I laid eyes on this roving, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.
I split this roving in half lengthwise, then one half I split again lengthwise; that gave me a 2-ounce strip and 2 1-ounce strips. I spun all of the singles (1 2-ounce and 2 1-ounce singles) to the same diameter. Then I Navajo plied them using first a 1-ounce, then a 2-ounce, and last the other 1-ounce. This gave me a self-striping yarn that will knit up into narrow stripes on each end, with wider stripes in the center. Now, I just have to get it knitted up in time to go into the Christmas gift box!
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