Busy, busy

I've been keeping myself pretty darned busy the last couple of weeks. I've been spinning and dying yarn, writing my romance story and sewing a camping tunic for Bayard the Turner. He and his daughter have been great additions to our shire. In turn he's making me some drop spindles. Did I mention that he's a wood turner? A camping tunic should be made of a nice natural fiber so it breathes better in the heat. This is a 55% linen, 45%cotton. It's an ugly but very period color. I'm calling it baby pooh green. I couldn't find any store bought ribbon or trim in my stash so instead I did a bit of simple embroidery with wool yarn around the neck and wrists. That was a littel more work than I had planned to do for a simple camping tunic. but what the heck. This will work great for camping events and some demos.

As I said I've also been doing some spinning and dying. Here are a couple of the skeins of yarn I made. The top one I'm keeping for me, but green one I'm sending off to my Slytherin Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap partner. Strangely, I have not been doing any knitting lately. On Tuesday July 1 the local baseball league game is going to be themed Stitch aand Pitch. I have tickets, one for me and one for a friend. I don't know how much knitting I'll actually get done, but I'm saving the foot of Lusche's sock for Tuesday night. Good old plain stockingette is what you want to take to the ball game, right? Something small like a sock is perfect. And now that i'm down to the foot there's no counting, no purling, just plain knitting.

Calling 911

At about 11:20 tonight I heard the neighbors fighting. There were several loud crashes, like someone being shoved into a wall or something breaking against the wall. Or slamming doors. My whole was apartment jarred by it. It sounded like a man and a woman fighting. I couldn't distinguish words. At the end of this episode I heard a woman's voice shout loudly "Help!" I debated a few seconds and decided to call 911. I wasn't about to go down the hall toward what might be a violent fight in my nightgown. But I didn't want to cause extra work for the police if this was nothing. The police arrived in about 5 minutes and they went to the apartment I had indicated and found only 2 men there. Hm. They knocked on my door to get clarification and to tell me they had found nothing next door. They said they would check out the apartments below me and above me and I haven't heard from them since. Either they found nothing or they found something and took care of it.

I know I didn't imagine or misunderstand the word "Help!" There has been no further disturbance. I hope those people the police questioned don't hold a grudge against me. Everytime I hear a loud noise I get a scared feeling in my stomach. I was going to say it brings me back to my childhood except that as much as mom and dad fought they never got physically violent. So what's my problem? What is the chance that whoever it is would want to get revenge on me?

Anytime a woman asks for help she should get it . Actually, anytime anyone of either gender calls for help they should get it. Did I do the right thing? Or did I stick my nose into something that is none of my business?

Hats! My New Favorite Project!

My first knitting love is socks. They are the perfect project. Small enough to go anywhere, with a vast range of yarns and patterns. Socks can be super easy and mindless, like plain vanilla stockinette, or intricately challenging like lace or colorwork.They can be made in any weight yarn. And as a gift you can't beat socks. No one has too many socks.

But I just finished a hat and it made me fall in love with hats. Almost everything I said about socks goes for hats too. And they have one wonderful advantage over socks: you only have to make one!

Here's a hat I finished today for my friend Tarik. I know he would love the pattern. There's only one small problem with it: somehow it turned into the size that would fit a ten year old boy. Sigh. Sorry, Tarik.

Let There be Yarn!

I spun that blue/purple/lavender/black roving I bought at the Fiber Fest on May 10 and I gave it to my Secret Sister at the Loopy Ladies Secret Sisters' Exchange on May 18. I was shooting for a worsted weight, but I think it was a bit heavier. I did a two ply yarn. It wasn't the easiest stuff to spin. the black kept clumping, so there are some slubs in there. It came out to approximately 180 yards. There should be enough there to make a hat, which is one of the things she loves to knit.

Oh! And we're going to have Fiber Festival right in my backyard! (Figuratively speaking, Bonanzaville is in my backyard) It's going to be on July 26-27. It's going to be called the Bonanzaville First Annual Fiber Arts Festival. That means there may be more each year. I suppose that means I'll be spending money I can't afford on more fiber. :) At least I won't have to rent a car to get there.

Shepherd's Harvest Wool Festival

Wow! What a great weekend. After I got over the idea that I had to rent a car to be able to get there it was really wonderful. It's true that I did have about $70.00 less to spend on yarn, but hey, that's how it goes. Petting the yarn was really nice, but I was focussed mostly on the fleece. I bought 4 ounces of a nice purple/blue/teal roving with sparkly angelina fiber in it. Very soft and nifty. I also bought 5 ounces of a striking purple/blue/lavender/black romney roving. Romney is one of my favorite breeds to spin. The cat really likes to spin it too. See?

I picked up a nice two-toned spindle. It doesn't have as nice a balance as I would like, but it was only $12.50, so I can't really complain. I looked longlingly at the fancy $50.00 ones but decided that I couldn't afford one of those.The most expensive thing I got was a new niddy noddy, in lovely maple wood, which was needed, since I have only a home made PVC one. probably the thing I'm most excited about is the half pound of the cleanest most gorgeous cormo fleece I've ever petted. It's so clean you would think it has already been washed. The crimp is nice and the color is a nice creamy white. I can't wait to spin it. But first I have to spin the the stuff in the pic so I can have yarn to give my secret sister in my local knitting group.

I had a really wonderful time visiting with friends. Me, Giulia, Sete and Giovanna spent most of Saturday either shopping for yarn or knitting. It was a great weekend. I hated to have to miss the event, especially since friends I don't see very often were there, but I had never actually been to a Fiber Fest before. Boy, was it great!

I'm in!

I am so proud and happy to be able to anounce tht i have been accepted to Hogwarts and sorted into House Ravenclaw! This is going to be a WONDERFUL swap!! To find out more, go to Main HSKS Site.

Hogwarts Sock Kit Swap 5

I've signed up to be part of this swap again. I took part in it the first time it was held. That time was a bit confusing. It was the very first swap I had ever taken part in and tho I got my package off in time my partner had been delayed in getting things together and sending my package due to her pregnancy. So at that point I had decided that swaps were not for me. Then a couple months ago I joined the Hogwarts Sock Swap 3, and I got hooked again. I saw that the Sock Kit Swap was still going strong and that now the headmistress was encouraging swap pals to contact each other on a regular basis to prevent anyone not getting a package.

I hope there are spots left. i registered as a new student, since it had been a year since I took part in this swap. Crossing my fingers!

Hogwarts Sock Swap package arrived!

Look at all the great stuff I got as part of the Hogwarts Sock Swap! Not all the stuff is even in the picture, like the strips of film that have images from the movies of Mad Eye Moody and Dumbledore, and the bag of hard candies made from maple syrup. My swap pal is from Canada so I got nummy Canadian candy. I got Soak, the wool wash, and a bar of heavenly scented soap (mango, from the Bosy Shop) and a Hufflepuff lapel pin, a 40" Addi circular needle, a pendant yarn cutter and stitch markers. I am SO looking forward to using all this good stuff.

The socks themselves are marvelous. Bright and bold stripes of yellow and black for Hufflepuff. They are the Back to Basic socks from Knitty.com found here http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall07/PATTbacktobasics.html. It is a Cat Bordhi type architectural sock pattern, where the shaping is at the top of the foot and along the top of the ankle. Have you seen the new Cat Bordhi book called New Pathways for Sock Knitters? The socks are so cool. I've been wanting to try a pattern like that but I'm just plain too intimidated. So now I get to have a pair of these without the work!

Hogwarts Sock Swap Package Mailed!

It's done! I had a goal of Sunday April 13th for the socks to be done, and Wednesday the 15th for the little gifties to be finished and I made it. Between getting settled in the new place, making stitch markers and the Harry Potter box, and getting ready for Coronation this weekend I was really pressed for time. But it's done, and done well, if I do say so myself. I mailed the package on Thursday on the way home from work. I put in a skein of hand painted merino wool sock yarn, a 40" circular addi turbo needle, a pattern I downloaded from the internet and some stitch markers I had made. I'm so glad to be done with it because now I can knit for me!! On The Needles: a camisole tank top in Knitpicks Shine Sport. Yay!

Hogwarts Socks Swap 3

OK, I'm excited. A little nervous, but excited, about taking part in the Hogwarts Sock Swap 3. I did a sock kit swap last year, but this time I'm going to make a pair of socks in my pals House colors. i took the quiz three times at two different sites, but I'm ALWAYS a Hufflepuff. Sigh. I know there's nothing wrong with that, but honestly, they sound so BORING! The only redeeming thing is that the House colors are Black and Gold, the same as Northshield. At least my assigned name is kinda fun. Chrysta the Cursed. Has a nice ring, doesn't it?

What I Got For Christmas

In my family we've given up giving big gifts. This year we reduced it even further, to only stocking stuffers. Still, I got some very nice things.

My brother and Carla gave me a tea kettle with apples painted on it. I think that was probably a little bit more than a stocking stuffer, but maybe they were figuring that if each of them had given a $6.00 item it would have made up to that. Anyway, I really like it, since apples are the motif in my kitchen. They also gave me a bottle of their home made wine.

My brother Ross gave me a set of very nice salad spoons from Ikea.

My brother Robb gave me a really good quality can opener. He was over for Thanksgiving and had had to use my crappy can opener. Next time he can use this good one! He also added a few nifty $1.00 sewing toys.

My mom gave me an insulated lunch bag. And a box of flavored herbal tea. And a pair of socks. And $30.00 to buy something I wanted.

I took that money and bought a cute Christmas tea pot (on sale 75% off) and everything I needed to make myself a rag rug for my livingroom.

That's a list of things I got. Material things. The real gifts were the hours I spent with Ross wandering around downtown Fargo looking at the cute shops that have started down there. It's the relief that all the family members got along for 6 hours. It's being sad that Gina, Bill and Abbey, and our nephew Joshua couldn't come because of bad roads in the Cities, but happiness that they were able to get back home safely after nearly going in the ditch several times. It's watching the old home movies from thje 50s and 60s and hearing my mom say "Oh, that's your Cousin Sophie" and "Do you remember your dad's Uncle Joe?" Stange, look how young and attractive my parents were before they had 6 kids. It's the look of interest and appreciation on Carla's face when the kitchen cordial book was unwrapped. Why is it that the least expensive gift is always the favorite? I had debated whether or not to give that little book, since I had picked it up for 99 cents in Canada. Same thing happened a couple years ago when I gave Ross a 25 cent cup with a goat on it. It just goes to show that it's not how much money was spent that makes a gift special. It's how well it matches the recipient.

Happy Dance!

This morning I got an email from SallieMae, the folks who have my school loans, that my last payment would be Jan of 08. Wow, isn't that great? My monthly payments weren't all that high, but even $85.00 a month makes a big difference when the budget is squeaking. Now I can afford a two bedroom apartment. And put a little away each month for a down payment on a new (used) car. My current vehicle, Harvey the Miracle, has 149,880 miles on him. Thanks to the guys at the Car Care Clinic at church Harvey is still going strong. I'd like Harvey to make it for another two years. Then I will have another loan paid off and I'll be able to afford car payments.

Another good piece of news is that I was given an additional $100 bonus at work for the overtime I've put in during the year. So I'm splurging and buying myself a yarn swift and a warping board. Merry Christmas!

A-Ha! Success!!

I've been working along on my brother's socks, becoming more and more fretful as I drew nearer the end of the yarn. I've searched for the exact yarn online, with no luck, for about a week. I checked eBay on Saturday, and Sunday, but no. I looked at Little Knits, Webs, Royal Yarns, and a ton more online yarn shops, but even if they carried the JaWoll, they didn't carry the JaWoll sport weight, and if they did have the sport weight they didn't have my color, #50. I was frantically wondering if I could use a matching red or blue and have a very long contrasting toe. But today I finally found a perfect match. On eBay. Even the dye lot is the same! I should have it in 10 days or so.

That's the kind of day I've been having. Usually when I use those words there's a heavy depressed sigh at the end. But this kind of day is a GOOD day. Two claims in my desk at work finalized today. After 5 months of figuring and trying to fool the computer system into wanting to let them pay correctly they finally worked. There are going to be some happy Medicare Beneficiaries in a few days when their checks arrive in time for Christmas. And then around 1pm I was able to smell that someone had burned popcorn in the lunch room! And then I was able to complete a task that I've been trying to get to for about 9 weeks! And, then while I was daydreaming on my break it came to me how to write a certain scene in the story I've been playing with.

See? It was that kind of day! Thank you Lord, and could I please have some more like this?

Knit News

Well, my sense of smell is slowly coming back. Sometimes I can smell a little something, faintly, and sometimes I smell nothing. Hopefully in a few days it will be here and strong. I know it's just a temporary reprieve but I'll enjoy it while I can.

I've been busy knitting the past week. I've finished Ceri's shawl. I used Lion Brand Homespun, in a dark rich purple, which is one of Ceri's favorite colors. It's a really easy pattern, just half a dishrag, so it was super easy to make. I really like it. After the holidays I might just make one for myself.

I also got started on a pair of socks for my brother Ross. He chose the yarn himself, a sport weight JaWoll in black with random stripes of red, blue and yellow. I only bought two skeins, which for me would have been plenty for a pair of socks. So I need to hunt up another skein. If I can't match it I might have contrasting toes (actually, half a foot) I bought this yarn in the Cities, and I called the store to see if they had another skein. They don't. So I'll check the Ravelry folks to see if anyone has one to sell or trade, and then I'll try ebay.

The kitties are getting along great. Magic and Masuka have really hit it off.

They are best buds. Poor Merry is getting left out sometimes. But aren't the two of them cute together. And sometimes all three curl up together. I'm a lucky woman.

I Can Smell!

Sure, it's not really there yet. I only got a brief whiff of my hand lotion. But I got a kenalog shot on Thursday, and the other 2 times I got kenalog it took about 2 weeks for it to really kick in, so I figure I'm good. And I hope to be able to smell (and feel pretty good) until the end of january. So 3 cheers for kenalog.

Autumn Carolinas Finished!

Look! I finished the socks for Mairghread! Ain't they great? Made of Cashmere and Merino Wool from JoJoland called Quartette. So soft and snuggly that I want a pair for myself. The pattern is from Socktopia. It's called Carolina, the last Queen of Naples (long name for a fun and easy pattern than makes waves. The colors are very autumn-ish, and the zigzags make me think of falling leaves spinning around in the wind) These are in gratitude for the time I went to Fina's house exhausted and crabby and the minute i walked in the door there was Mai, jumping up from her comfy place on the floor pillow to make me my favorite non alcoholic Cosmopolitan. These will be off to her soon, just in time for cold Minnesota winter weather.

A Whole, Glorious Week Off

I am off of work this week. Happy Sigh. I have my time off all planned out. I'll start each morning with hot coffee and a scone and an hour of leisurely knitting.

Monday I am going to clean my apartment and then meet friends to check out the new yarn store in Fargo. I'll go through my fabric stash to find just the right stuff for my new Italian Renaissance dress. Something fairly casual, not court fancy. I wonder how much of that blue linen I have? In the evening I'll hug the kitties and watch all my favorite shows.

Tuesday I have to vacate my apartment while they spray so I'm off to the library, the coffee shop and mom's house, knitting in tow. Maybe read a book? I'll spend the evening finding out which other wonderful dancer they'll kick off of Dancing With the Stars and petting the kitties.

Wednesday I plan to cut out and begin sewing the plain Italian Renn dress. In the afternnon I'm meeting friends to knit. Then we're having a special service at church that I really want to go to. 6 people are being baptised, including my friend Callie. I really wish my SCA meeting wasn't on Wednesday nights too. But in this case there is no contest. I'm going to church. After I get home I'll set the logwood and Brazilwood to soaking. Then I'll play with the cats.

Thursday I'm dyeing some wool fleece with the brazilwood and logwood dyes. First I have to go thru my fiber stash to see what odds and ends I can throw in the dye pots besides the fleece from that poor sheep I butchered trying to shear it last spring. I thought I'd toss in some silk and some cotton too, to see how the color differs. But I'm not sure I have enough tannin to mordant the cotton. Then I'll work some more on the Italian Ren dress. And in the evening I'll chase the cats around.

Friday is set aside for making another chemise to go with the Italian Ren dress. By the time all that's done I'll need to clean the apartment again. Maybe I can sit and read a book. And cuddle with the kitties, of course.

I wonder how closely I'll stick to that schedule?

Breathing -- Is It Too Much To Ask For?

I have some fairly serious sinus troubles. I have had 4 sinus surgeries for my nasal polyps. It's a painful business and to add insult to injury, surgery gives only temporary relief. My last surgery was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN on June 1, 2006.

I was doing pretty well until the middle of September, even though I lost my sense of smell last summer. At first I thought my misery was allergy related. Although I'm not really allergic to anything except mold and cats, it was a bad allergy season and my ENT once told me that I was probably sensitive to various things. In October I was using my albuterol inhaler 4 or 5 times a day. I was coughing loud enough to wake the dead. My nasal passages are swollen shut. Every now and then I blow a large, dark thick wad of something disgusting out. What fun. My head hurt. My throat was sore. Well, when I called my GP to make an appointment I found out she is going to another clinic and won't be seeing anyone there until the 1st week of November. So I went to another doctor at the clinic and she said it didn't look like a sinus infection. I asked for a Kenalog shot and she said she didn't give out steroids for any reason. She perscribed Singulair for my wheezing. Well, that was really good. I don't wheeze much anymore. But it cost a lot and did nothing for anything else. Now my gums ache and I just want to be able to breathe through my nose. Really, I'm pretty sure it's a sinus infection. After 15 years and $75,000 I consider myself an expert. I called my ENT for an appointment. The earliest opening is Dember 13. Good grief.

So next payday, when I can afford it, I'm going to see if I can get in to see my regular doctor and get taken care of. She'll give me a kenalog shot and some antibiotics that might help.

Sometimes life just sucks, ya know?

Autumn Carolina

I just LOVE this knitting pattern. It looks so intricate, but it's so easy! This is from the Socktopia page, and the pattern is called Carolina, the last Queen of Naples. I'm using JoJoLand Quartette, a merino and cashmere blend, and boy, can you say soft? These are yummy! I hope to have these done by the end of the month. But I have signed up for yet another project which will demand overtime. I'm not going crazy this time. I'm limiting myself to only 4-5 hours a week. And only one saturday a month. I won;t be beginning this until next week. This morning at work I started having a scratchy throat and a headache. When I got home I took my temperature and it's up a little over 100. So I'm cancelling my plans to attend the japanese event in Minneapolis and will stay home and rest. Fortunately I'm not too sick to be able to knit.

Oh, and hey, look! Masuka and Magic are getting along pretty well now!

I've Been Busy!

I know, that's no excuse for not posting for over a month. But really, I've been busy! I finished knitting the hat for my Castel Rouge friend's niece, so I was finally able to start knitting the socks I've been dying to make. (of course, I still have Landra's baby sweater to finish, plus my mom's sweater, and the socks for Susan and the shawl for myself. Oh, and I have the purple yarn to start Ceri's shawl too, but these socks must be started now!) These are called "Carolina, the Last Queen of Naples" and the pattern was designed by the gal at Socktopia. Since my grandmother was born just outside Naples, I figured I had a direct connection to this pattern. The yarn is a lovely cashmere blend by JoJoland called Quartette that I received as part of a swap. At first I had planned this yarn for Lusche. The colors are perfect for her. But she said she wanted thick, warm socks. These will probably be warm, but the yarn is fingering weight, so they will probably be too thin for her. So instead these will go to Mairghead. I've just barely finished the cuff, so you can't tell what the pattern will be but I promise to post another photo soon, so you can see if the yarn will show off the pattern or hide it.

Another thing I've been really busy with is my new friend. Her name is Koneko no Masuku. It means (maybe) the Masked Kitten. I don't actually speak japanese, but a friend who went to college there told me that was how it would be said. I call her Masuka, although it has begun to be shortened to Sukey. One of her parents may have been Siamese. Her ears and tail are darker than the rest of her. But she has a white blaze right over her nose and mouth. It seperates the dark mask on her face so that she looks like a raccoon or like she's wearing a mask. She's very striking in appearance. She's probably about 10 weeks old now. She and 3 siblings were rescued from a state park about 70 miles east of here and brought to a pet rescue group called PAAWS. I went to volunteer to pet the kitties and help socialize them one day and took her home a week later. I fell in love with her. She's very shy with me, but it's funny the way she won't let Merry and Magic boss her around. She's cautious with them, but still does what she wants. I brought her home 3 days ago and they're already beginning to tolerate each other.

I had to put all my yarn safely away in rubbermaid tubs. It's frustrating not to be able to just reach into the hanging netted containers I used to have, but almost certainly not as frustating as it would be to come home from work and find the yarn all over the floor, unravelled and shredded buy tiny kitten claws.

I've been pretty sick the last month or so. I was hoping to get another Kenalog shot, but my doctor has left Fargo to practice in Whapeton. So I have a new doctor and she doen't give out steroids in any form unless it's absolutely necessary. So tonight I'm going to start Singulair. I hope it works. I'm awfully tired of wheezing and not being able to breathe through my nose...

And I had some friends crash with me on their way from Winnipeg to Crown and one of them had a nasty cold, and I think I'm getting it. I only worked for 3.5 hours today instead of the 8 I needed to make up time because I felt so miserable. But now that I've finished my to-do list i can go sit down with a cup of hot peppermint tea and go back to knitting. yay!