New Bathroom Shots.

Class was cancelled last night. Bummer. I drove all the way to school, dragged the wheel almost all the way to class and met someone in the hall who said there was no teacher. Grr.

I still don't have good enough light to take a photo of the new sweater I'm working on.

So, I'll show off the bathroom. Before (I know you've seen this one, bear with me.) Notice the crappy lighting on top and the corner of the pink vanity. Yes, even that was pink.

And now: New mirror, new lights, new vanity, new sink, new fixtures...I could go on for days with the new stuff. You get the idea though. New shower curtain coming soon, along with an actual window sill and curtain.

Before- notice the crappy tp holder. And the overall pink.

Now: We have a new tp holder and a new towel holder.

We still need to paint the radiator. All in good time. It's coming along though. I'm happy with it. Today Hubs is putting together the closet, with new doors and maybe get the molding up around the top of the room and bottom. Who knows how far he'll get. We'll see...

The Dust Settles.

Well, mostly I should say.

My house is still a bit of a mess from the demo work on the bathroom. I've washed my floors repeatedly and they still have a fine layer of white stuff.

My fiber closet is coming along. I ordered this and this. As much as I love disorganization, I crave everything to be in order. Yep, I'm a Gemini through and through. The first one will hold fiber on top and regular skeins on the bottom. The second will hold mostly skeins. I'm still looking for something to hold my needles and accessories. My wheel will fit under the second one and a small rubbermaid container will fit (hopefully) under the first.

I'm excited about this. I think Hubs was depressed to see the office such a mess after having the house torn up for so long. But I'm happy. I'm also downsizing my needle collection and maybe (gulp) some of my stash. (OMG, I can not believe that I just wrote that outloud.)

I have 2 big boxes of paperback books that need a new home. But I hate giving them away. I'm an avid reader, to say the least, and I dream of someday having a library in my home. So, down in the basement they go.

Mid term tonight in my public speaking class. I'm dragging the wheel in along with some samples of stuff I've spun. The more I travel with the wheel, the more I kick myself for not ordering the folding model. It would have made my life so much easier. I want to make a travel bag for my wheel, but I have no idea how to even go about starting something like that. And, the treadle makes it impossible.

More photos of the bathroom tomorrow and a new project I started. Yippee!

Enough With The Spiders Already!

This is my future fiber area.

It's a mess, I know. We don't go in there ever, except as a last resort. Meaning- if we can't find something, we look in the office closet.

So today I decided I needed a break from the bathroom and I'm smoking too much crack. So I started to clean out the closet. We still have a dumpster in my parking space so I can easily throw things out.

I have a fear of spiders.

Appearantly my closet didn't get the memo.

They are teeny tiny ones. But it doesn't matter. I'm totally freaked out.

But all the crap is out of the closet. Now to find a new home for it all.

Dumpsters are my friends.

Sanity Savers.

I'm sometimes amazed at the kindness of strangers.

The man behind me at the grocery store checkout line, who gave me fifty some-odd cents when I was short changed a couple of months ago. The Boy waved "bye-bye" to him and he told me that alone was worth the money.

The person who let me in during rush hour traffic, even though I know they were probably late for work.

And Sachi.

I should be sending her stuff. lol

Instead I get this in the mail...

It's a mixed bag of different fibers to spin!! This is perfect! I've wanted to try new stuff. It has a bit of everything- bamboo (heaven), a few ounces of the most gorgeous blue silk, icelandic wool(so soft! must.get.more.) and there's more!

Woman, I have no idea what I'm going to do for you...but it will be fibery, fuzzy and good. Trust me.

I have a finished baby sweater:

And a new hat.

You know, for not really knitting all that much, I sure am getting alot done.

Anyone know a good colorwork book? Although the front of the hat is perfect, the back where the strands connect looks like a war zone. I want to do fair isle. I want to do color stranding work. A hat was supposed to make me want to do more... Not so much.

And the biggest news!!

Are you sitting down??

My bathroom went from this...

To this!

Flying Girl

My friend Melissa A. Robinson is an artist.

Her paintings are honest, beautiful, calm, colorful...and, well, take a look.

www.flyinggirl.com

Melissa is having a rough time. She's faced some challenges over the last few months healthwise and is having trouble making ends meet. She's at a low point in her life. We've all been there, haven't we? She bravely reached out last week to her internet friends. She sent us an honest email and asked for help.

So, with her permission I decided to share her work with my friends.

She needs to move some of her work. Her art sells on ebay. Her mini art is precious, isn't it?

Take a look, will you? Buy something that speaks to your soul. Save the link and come back later. Tell others to visit her. Send her an email telling her to keep her chin up.

At the very least, can you think of her, please?




Tales of a bathroom destruction tomorrow.

Confession...

I have something really embarrassing to say. It makes me hide my head in shame. It makes me want to not shower. It's not funny. I have a pink bathroom. Not a fun, happy pink color. Oh no, this thing is bubble gum, knock your socks off, 1960's flower power pink. Look at the photo from a few days ago, when Hubs was putting the new window in. Bet ya didn't notice it then, did ya?? Well, all you have to do is glance into the actual room and the color slaps you on the face like only bubble gum pink can. So, Hubs and I have been saving up for a demo job and rebuild. The bathroom was demo'ed yesterday. This weekend I'm hiding...nay, taking refuge at the in-laws. I will put up photos of the before and after when all is said and done. Wish Hubs some luck this weekend, will you? He needs all the good rebuilding thoughts that he can get.

Can I Voice An Opinion?

It's my opinion and mine alone. (maybe, maybe not.)

So at the beginning of the year someone came up with the idea of "Knit from your stash." There's rules, of course. It's supposed to last for 9 months and granted, you can change whatever rules you need. All you have to do is google it and you'll see that there's a ton of knitters doing this.

It gives me a heart ache.

In the last 2 weeks I've heard about 2 lys in my state closing their doors forever.

Ugh.

There's been times when I've had to go on a yarn diet. I understand not having the money or room for new yarn. I get that. But these stores have a hard enough time trying to keep their doors open even when we knitters support them fully.

Give yarn shops a break. Take a good look at your stash, take a good look at your bank account.

Then by all means, go shopping.

New Hat, New Stash, New Window, New Roving.

New hat:
New stash:

New window:

New roving:

More later....the in-laws should be here in less than an hour and a half- gulp.

Friends, I Need Advice.

This is pretty important.

Ok, my cousin is getting married. I'm excited for them. It's the first cousin to get married. He's been with his fiance for years and years. I know they are happy. Anyways, his fiance is great and I really want to make something for her wedding.

A shawl is the best idea that I can think of. They are getting married on a Friday night in July and the reception is on the beach. Perfect shawl weather, if you ask me.

I asked my aunt(not his mother) and grandmother what they thought of a shawl. Both of them thought it was an awful idea. They came up with a bunch of reasons- that no one wears shawls, she wouldn't appreciate it, it wouldn't go with her dress, etc.

I asked his mother and her eyes lit up. She thought it would make a beautiful heirloom. My aunt said she wouldn't be picky and to do whatever I thought would look good with the dress.

So, I ask, do I do all the work of a lace shawl and take the chance that she won't like it? I have no problem with her not wearing the day of her wedding. I've been a bride and I know first hand what it's like to have something given to you that you love, but it doesn't go with your vision of your day. I'm ok with that. What I don't want is for her to tell me that she loves it and throw it away.

Should I ruin the surprise and call her and ask her about it??

And, what about color? Her dress is ivory. I can't find ivory fingering weight yarn that comes in larger size skeins. Ideas? I need something that isn't too expensive, as I want to give them a "real" gift too.

What's your opinion? Any stories that would help me make my decision??

Thanks.

Things I Know.

1. When you are used to knitting 4-6 hours a day and then suddenly stop, you go crazy.

2. Psych class isn't going to be what I had hoped. I'm still waiting/hoping to enjoy it.

3. People in my online writing class are nice, leaving sweet comments about my metaphor paragraph.

4. Resting your wrist is difficult and I don't like it. The sympathy/practicality ratio is not working out in my favor.

5. There's never enough time to get housework done, even without knitting.

6. I have a finished hat waiting to show off, but the camera won't take a good photo of it.

7. When I friend calls saying that she was sick and needed to go to the er I dropped everything. I'm thankful for my health, family, and wealth (We don't have much within the standards of "wealth", but I see how much we have after that situation.)

8. I am officially announcing that I am going to Maryland Sheep and Wool in May. And I'm going to part-tay like a rockstar. Ok, like a knitter. Sachi, you know M always wanted to see Maryland....you know he has. Heeehee.

Who else is planning on coming?

Say Hello To My Little Friend...

After waking up repeatedly all night for a couple (or maybe more) with shooting pain and numbness (at the same time) along my elbow, down my arm, and into my fingers, I decided to buy this joyful thing.

My wrist feels better already. I haven't knitted much in the past couple of days. I've finished the pink hat and started Hubs' V-day gift.

I have stories to tell of male knit-bloggers from afar, but it does hurt to type and I do have an online class that I need to save the wrist for...

So, more later- whenever that may be.

And, the silky wool isn't for Hourglass- I'd need 2 more skeins or more. It's for a Elsbeth Lavold design. Not sure which just yet.

Super Bowl o' Sales!

And this is all I walked out with. Actually, I bought the Silky Wool at the sale and the Mystik at another store.

My LYS had their annual Super Bowl Sunday sale- 41% off all yarns. Somehow I managed to spend less than 36 bucks. Depressing.

Anyone else have annual arguements with their signifigant others, or is it just me? Every year on Super Bowl Sunday (and on July 4th) Hubs and I argue. We don't typically disagree about things, so when we do argue it's painful. Every year when these days approach I tell myself the same things- I'm not going to argue, I'm not going to disagree, I'm going to be the good wife...and it always explodes in my face. This year was no different. I'm upset with the way last night went. I'm upset by some of the things I overheard, how I was treated at the party we went to and how I'm being treated today.

Remind me to breathe, ok?

Regine- Done!

I thought I would never finish my first 2007 project.

But I have!

Regine is done. I started her around January 10th and had about 95% of her done in less than 2 weeks. It took me almost 2 weeks to get the guts to do the neckline. Not guts. Um, energy?? Yeah, it took that long to get the energy to do the neckline. I know this sweater will never fit me. It's huge. The neck has pulled the sweater together and it will look lovely on someone else. Not me.

So, I just got the energy up yesterday to do the neckline. It looks good.

If I thought of it more, I would have been in a panic, seeing as this:

Is all I ended up with.

*Gulp*

Look Ma, No Cable Needle!

Last Sunday I overheard someone say that she knows how to knit without a cable needle. I asked her to show me sometime and while perusing knitting books, she quickly gave me a rundown on how to do it.

I finally had the guts to give it a try.

Look- I'm doing it!!

This hat is being done by me learning something- almost in passing! No expensive class, no teacher that doesn't talk loud enough for me to hear...just a little advice and some practice.

Now Lilith, what do you know about fair isle??

(And only 3 days until I enjoy all the local yarn sales! Yipee! I love football now. Although I think the sales should be Monday. That way, if your husband or signifigant other is a bone head during the game, you can get back at him by buying a bunch of yarn, lol.)

*I'm also feeling a bit better too. My PMS symptoms and periods have become increasingly more uncomfortable with each passing month...tmi, I'm sure...but I have to decide if we're trying having another kid in the next 6 months or if I'm going back on the pill. Ah, the joy of womanhood....