"Is This Cable Plying?" Aka- Long Post Full o' Photos and Fun.

I have no idea where to begin.

The CT Sheep and Wool fest is tiny, but packed with fun goodies.

I hung out with friends. L to R: Rebecca, Suzy, and blogless Emily:

There were animals:

Yes, these are indeed oxen. And they are foaming at the mouth. Wouldn't you let your kid get up close to them??? No, me neither.

We saw sheeps:

And purchased yarn that I've been yearning for:

(Jagger Spun Zephyr in Admiral. *drool*)

I purchased some merino/silk and merino/tencil roving:

And a bump from the blessed Grafton Fibers (soooo buying more next weekend):

Rebecca and I brought our wheels to a plying workshop. That's where the quote above comes in. My wheel was giving me "lip". Nothing like being a new spinner and having your wheel give you trouble while 12 people look on. Once I took a few seconds to breathe, I remembered that I haven't oiled my wheel in a couple of weeks. Mental note for next time: my wheel likes oil. So we start the plying class. The teacher hands me a ball of spun roving and says to ply it. This is what I get:
I have so much twist on it that it curled up on itself and made a mess. Once I got that done it looked beautiful.

I also learned how to navajo ply. Oddly enough, I picked that up like it was nothing. This is what I ended up with:
The teacher and Rebecca were patient and sweet to me. I love that about spinners.

We came home and I found these waiting in my mailbox. Yeah, more yarn. Thank god Hubs didn't find it, lol. From Mystical Creation Yarns:

It's the same yarn that I made Nickie's shawl out of and I had to have some of my own. Get some too. It's luscious. Embarrassingly enough, the colorways aren't noted and I have to email them and ask because I don't know what's what. One should be tencil and one should be merino and silk. Or one should be silk and the other merino and tencil. I don't know. That's bad.

Sunday I helped my mom at her booth at the Meriden Daffodil Festival. I saw people that I haven't seen in years. I saw an exboyfriend sing a few songs. Best of all, my mom sent me home with soap! Check out her site: Lovely Lathers.com

I also made a promise to myself that I would spin 20 minutes a day. So yesterday I spun mystery wool:

And my Lotus Blossom Tank is done. It fits beautifully. I will totally make this again.


I have some good news. With the help of the ever-so-creative Lilith Parker, I've opened a cafepress store. I'll be adding a couple of new designs, but for now check out the one that's up.

http://www.cafepress.com/sffknits

Please keep in mind that it's in the beginning stages of opening. Lilith and I will keep working to get it looking better.


The money made from the cafepress store will go towards more yarn. And yarn-like trips. Maybe a spinning retreat. I dunno.

Buy a shirt, will ya?

Or at the very least, you can tell me (and Lilith) that you like the design.

Thanks

What A Weekend.

I'm tired.

Bone tired. The kind of bone tired that it even makes me more bone tired to blink.

I have news.

Good news.

And I have new wool.

Wool that's going to make you green with envy. Wool so soft that I want to sleep with it next to me in bed so I can pet it all night long.

And I learned how to ply.

But I have one more paper due in 23 hours and my bestest friend that I haven't seen since November in town tomorrow.

I. CAN'T. WAIT!

Good night for now. Tomorrow I will try to update, with photos and a very special link. ;)

What's The Opposite Of

Being able to concentrate?

'Cause right now, that's me.

I should be studying for my psych final. Or doing one of two papers.

Instead I'm on the net, eating my second round of Peeps.

And that's after taking the longest, hottest shower in history.

And blocking my Lotus Blossom Tank:

And re-blocking it when I actually took my head out of the clouds and saw how crooked the first block was (it looks crooked on the second photo too. I know. It's fixed but I don't want to drag the camera out.)

And spending too much time ordering gifts for Mother's Day.

And not enough time cleaning my house or doing school work.

So tomorrow when I'm on my messy bed in a ball crying that I can't possibly take an exam under such pressure...

Just tell me to shut up and take the damn test already.

What's Next?

After completing each project I go through a day or two (or three) of sadness. I work so hard on each item and when it's over, I feel like a mother who just sent her kid off to his first day of college. Silly, I know. But it happens each time. Lotus Blossom Tank is almost complete and I'm not ready for it to be over yet.

So, what's next? I have a shawl pattern burning a hole in my knitter's pocket. I'm waiting on 2 skeins from Mystical Creation Yarns for that though. I'm dying to make something for Tanya, my best friend who's home in a couple days for a visit from Japan. I'm itching for the new green Cascade 220 I bought (you knew that was going to happen, didn't you?) and I need to finish a baby blanket for my niece. I'm going to Maryland Sheep and Wool in a few days so I need to start something basic and easy for that. I want to make a sweater for a special birthday girl in October. I found my Spring 2007 IK magazine and found a couple of summery tops I'd like to make from that....the list goes on.

So, what are you itching to get your hands on? What project do you drool over each time you see the pattern? Any new knitting books that you've gotten recently that I shouldn't miss??

Maybe I should work on some spinning....how long has it been since I've spun? Saturday I'm taking a plying workshop at CT's Wool Fest. That helps.

Quick school update: I got an A on my final in public speaking. I'm happy.

Things I Know.

Going to the park on a warm spring day means a lot of kids and alot of kids means a lot of noise.

Don't go to the park on a warm spring day if you want a relaxing afternoon at the park with your (sometimes) quiet and easy-to-overwhelm child.

I'm counting the days until CT and Maryland Sheep and Wool fests.

And until my best friend comes home from Japan for a visit.

I'm almost done with Lotus Blossom Tank. It's gorgeous.

And, last but not least, the final days of each semester are always overwhelming. Not going to post much in the next few, but keep checking in, ok?

Hear Me Roar

I just went downstairs to do laundry and there's more water on the floor. Instead of wet vac-ing it up, I ran upstairs, grabbed some peanut butter eggs and started blogging.

I am woman, hear me roar.

(Hi Hubs, I'll clean it when I'm done- promise)

Here's the latest of Lotus Blossom Tank:

The colors are washed completely out. Sorry 'bout that.

Here's some flood photos. This is looking down into my basement. Notice the fine looking reflection of the window and the light bulb in the water.

Hubs pushing water around:

Notice the wave action??

And this is the most heartbreaking loss:

Hubs loves wine. He collects it. The bottles were unscathed, but the wine racks may not be. Hubs made these for himself a couple of years ago. He's kinda being nonchalant about it, but I ache for him. All that work...

Bumming Over The Goodyear Pimps.

So since my basement flooding issues need to be repaired and the repairs are not going to be cheap, I can not go to Chicago and see one of my favorite bands ever, The Goodyear Pimps play live.

I'm bummed beyond belief.

How is it that my husband got to take off for a week, had a relaxing time drinking, sitting on the beach, eating, and playing golf with his friends while I sat at my inlaws with a miserably sick child, yet all hell breaks loose when I want to take a weekend away?

I guess it's just one more thing to add to the "someday" list.

Rain

Yesterday was an immensely overwhelming day for me. We noticed water in our basement on Sunday and we're were unsure of what we'd find when we woke on Monday. After a restless night's sleep we woke to a few inches of water. Some things were destroyed-nothing of large monetary or sentimental value, but it was hard work for Hubs to get the basement dry.

I had to do some running around, mostly driving to the MIL's house for a de-humidifer and errands. Roads everywhere had been flooded, detours took me to new places. Although I couldn't really stop to take in the view, there were beautiful cascading waterfalls in places that were typically dry as a bone.

I passed by multimillion dollar homes, which normally had gentle bubbling brooks running through their properties. Yesterday it looked like the homes were being overrun with murky, brown flood water.

The rain is going to continue for the rest of the week.

As a child I hated the rain. It meant that I was stuck inside. I wanted to be out in the fresh air, playing with the neighborhood kids.

I remember mentioning that to a teacher once who replied that the rain is just nature's way of giving the Earth a bath, a method of cleansing herself.

After all the running around I had school. I was late from the detours and traffic. I walked into school to an eerie quiet. Usually there's people talking and yelling, telling stories and trading greetings.

I'm sure by now everyone's heard of the shootings in VA. It leaves me scared for this country, the children specifically and society in general.

I'm positive that there's no emergency plan in place at my college or if there is one, I have no idea what it is or how it's implimented.

I watched Henry Rollins' tour/talk in Israel a few days ago. He commented how the midwest is cushioned and protected by their own ignorance. Is that bad? It is bad that I don't want to watch the news each night, because when I do it makes me that much more frightened to leave my house?

I have no idea what drives a person to get a gun and shoot other people. Is it depression? Is is a psychotic disorder? Is it just them acting out?

Without going into my whole sob story, I've been though a lot in my life. I had a tough childhood, and the scars still remain. But I knew I wanted a better life for myself. I knew I didn't want to be similar to the people who hurt me. I got an education, a job, therapy, a stable life. I would never raise my hand to hurt another.

Why can't the rest of the world do the same?

I don't want The Boy to ever see the violence that I've seen. He will, I know. It is unavoidable in today's society. And with all honesty, it's getting worse.

Sometimes I think Mother Nature is no longer producing rain for cleansing, but crying tears of pain.

Bloggaversary!

On April 11th of last year, I posted for the first time here.

To celebrate, I bought myself a gift today. Using the last of the holiday gift certificates, I purchased these:

Cascade "The Heathers" 220, color 9448- enough for a sweater for the bloggaversary girl! With it being April and all, I doubt that you'll be seeing them again for a few months, but you never know.

And a thanks to you, my readers. No one is more suprised that I've kept up this blog than me. I may not get 10,000 readers daily, but the few that I do get, I consider friends.

I'll have a update on the stinky purse (trying one of the posted ideas now! Thanks for all of them!) and photos of the tank top tomorrow or Monday...if the Nor'easter doesn't carry my family away.

Onward.

I started a new project. I was going to wear Liv for Easter, then Maryland Sheep and Wool. The sweater is too big, I missed the Easter deadline, and I realized that the gawd awful 38 degree weather isn't going to last forever.

So I'm using the leftovers from Liv to make the Lotus Blossom Tank from Interweave Knits. Almost done with 1.5 repeats already.

And I need to switch gears for a minute.

A couple of years ago I decided to make an expensive purchase on a knitter's handbag. I loved the look of it, the idea of it, the style of it. I hemmed and hawed over the price, which seemed astronomical to me. Not being one for fashion or accessories, I had no idea what designer purses went for. I looked on line to see if I could find something comparable. I didn't. I bought the purse.

I loved this purse. I was happy with my purchase. It was roomy, held all my knitterly crap, I loved it.

Flash ahead a year and a half. The Boy is born, he grows, he has baby needs that as his mother I need to provide for. I used this bag as a diaper bag when the other bag was too bulky to carry- say, when we were travelling and the diaper bag was packed and we'd go into a restaurant-then, I'd put some of his stuff in my bag, leave the diaper bag in the car.

So, one day, I have formula in my bag. It's sealed, or so I think. We sit down, I smell something funny and realize the formula has spilled in my bag. Soy formula, black knitting bag. Ew.

I run to the bathroom, empty out the purse (no knitting was harmed, just a half-eaten chocolate bar and some tampons, not a big deal) and clean, to the best of my ability, out my purse.

It still smelled like dying fish pooh.

I email the designer of the purse. She kindly emailed me back to do exactly what I did.

I emailed back thanking her for a quick and kind response, but it still smells and now what.

It's been almost a month and no response.

I paid $80 bucks for a Jordana Paige knitting purse that is ruined.

I'm heartbroken.

So I bought a new purse, on sale for 20 bucks at Target. Works just as well. Looks just as good.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to accomplish with this post. I don't like that a very expensive purse can not be cleaned, other than spot cleaned with water.

And I certainly don't like being ignored by retailers when I have an issue.

Liv = Done

Elsebeth Lavold is an amazing designer. I've adored her viking and cabled sweaters since I could barely purl.

Liv is done. It was late for Easter, but who's racing here, right?

Am I happy with it, yes. Can I admit something though?

I feel like a tank in it.

Maybe it's pms, maybe it's the finishing job I did, I dunno. The sleeves are long, but I can live with that. I just don't feel pretty in it.

Here's the cables:

And scrunched up on the bathroom counter:

On the floor with no flash(shows the cables):

And with a flash:

Next up: baby blanket for my niece!

Liv's Taking A Bath.

I wanted this sweater done for Easter. It didn't happen. I'll have it done tomorrow. It's cold enough here in the Northeast that I can still get some use of out if this year. And trust me when I say October comes soon enough.

So, the front and back are taking a bath. The sleeves bathed yesterday and are pinned down. They look good, if I do say so myself.

This past weekend was a busy one. Went to see the NY Yankees on Friday night, Saturday night was a bus trip to see the Boston Bruins and Sunday was Easter.

I'm exhausted. I did get some "me time" in on Saturday. Nothing is more heavenly than a quiet house with nothing to do when you are a mom.

Answers...

Here's the answers to the ask me anything post. Sorry it's late, I forgot about it.

Sachi said...
How much do you love me? I love ya like ice cream. ;)

Seriously though, how's the spinning going? Um, spinning has been put on the back burner for awhile now. I rocked out the orange/red plied yarn and then...stopped. I was away for a week and life gets busy.

soozies said...
Please explain quantum physics, specifically string theory or entanglement.

Um, ok. But it will have to happen over PB&J at my house. Roger (Suzy's 5 yr old) will explain.

jennsquared said...
Anything huh? Can you help me on my business? We talked about this last night. Sorry....

Baby Beth said...
How do you deal with a crazy family? I need help... Do you want my cousin Vito to take care of it? No seriously, I'm sure it will work out. Just keep breathing and don't take anything your sister (why do I have a hunch that it's about her?) personally.

Anyone else?

Embarrassingly Late

As some of you know, last week Hubs was away on vacation.

So, I packed up The Boy and off we trekked to the inlaws.

I got a little, um... tweaky after missing a few days of my local knitting group but lucky for me, there was one the next town over from where I was staying.

I was excited to meet new people but then I got worried. What if they didn't like newbies? What if they didn't like me?? What if they had some strange prejudice against lace knitters? Or moms? Or people over 30? Or under 60? Or people who drank while knitting? (they meet in the bar area of an Irish restaurant and they had Magners ON TAP! SWEEEET)

My understanding, godsend of a MIL told me to go and that I looked cute and like a good knitter and friendly and to stop fidgeting and to go go go.

So I went and had a lovely time with 4 women who I now consider friends.

Thanks to Laura, Sarah, Mary, and Annie of the Hat City Scissor Squad for a great time.

You girls rock! Thanks for making me laugh, telling me my shawl looked beautiful and listening to the stories of my kid.

And sorry that I'm so embarrassingly late on this thank you. ;)

Intro...

This is Nickie. She is the bride to be, engaged to my cousin, Jon. Her shower was today and even with all of the 80 (yes, 8*0*) people in attendance looking for her attention, she was the gracious enough to pose for photos. The front:

and back.

And to the person who told me my table runner was a beautiful gift, thanks. I'm amazed that I kept a straight face during our conversation.