Monday, June 23, 2008

blocking knits

I'm only irritated because this post was already written and then there was some technical blip and it didn't post.  Here goes again.

Yesterday at church there was a little accident and my Estonian Wrap got spit up on by a baby.  Oh well, no big deal, just wash it and reblock it.  The only problem with that is that the first time I blocked it I used the mattress in the spare room.  Well said spare room and mattress are now being used by my mom so I had to figure out an alternative place to block.

I went to Michaels today and bought 4 pieces of 20 x 30 x 1/2 inch foam board.  I taped two pieces together end to end and did the same to the other two pieces.  I didn't tape them all together because this way I can reconfigure if I need to block something that's wider and not a thousand miles long.  The above picture is of the wrap wired and pinned out and the picture below is a corner of one of the pieces I bought.

If you want to find it it's in the art section (near canvases in my store) It just says that it's foam board and it's by Elmer's.  I can get the sku if anyone needs it.  This seemed to be the cheapest solution with the easiest storage ability for what I needed.

I hope that wrap dries before bed time.  I like to sleep in my own bed. Yep, there is a fan running in that room.


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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Home again

I'm home from retreat at IWannaKnit.  It was so much fun.  I forgot to take pictures, but that's not surprising.  I always forget to take pictures.  I bought some lovely yarn while I was there The aquamarine is Hempathy and is destined to be a summer top for me.  I'm thinking like a lacey T with maybe a touch of beading at the yoke.  I'll let you know if I get it worked out.  The red is Spiderweb by Interlacements and is destined to be a shawl (also for me).  Pacific Northwest by Evelyn A. Clark I think.  I'll update here or on Ravelry (Momof4) as I make a final decision and start work.

Well, Army Wives is coming on and I need to pull up my favorite seat for watching.

God bless and I'll check in soon. (ok, sooner or later)

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

And Life Goes On

Wow, It's been a while since I checked in.  It feels like life has gotten in the way lately of the things I want to keep up with. Why Knot Knit  is now closing (nothing to do with my visit).

A couple of weeks ago I went to Petal, MS to visit  The Yarn Basket and meet up with a grooup of Mississippi Ravelry http://www.ravelry.com knitters.  We had a great afternoon of shopping, knitting, chatting, and then an early dinner at Brownstone's http://www.brownstones.com in Hattiesburg for some lovely Cajun cuisine.  I didn't get a single picture.  I did buy sone sock yarn (Happy Feet by Plymouth in colors 8 <a rainbow of deep colors that will go with 4 <red>, and for the loving husband 1 < olive>) that I don't have pictures of yet because DH has my camera in Japan on a business trip and I can't make myself buy another camera.

I leave next Monday for my annual trip to the IWannaKnit Retreat in Shipshewana IN, sponsored by Knitting Today http://www.knittingtoday.com.  The retreat is actually the following weekend and there are still slots open at this point in time.  It is something that I like to do every year although it doesn't work out that way.  This will be my 5th time to go and I'm sorry to say might be my last.  Don't get me wrong, I love the retreat but it's a long way from south MS to north IN and fuel prices are cutting into my life just like everyone else's.  Elmer says I'll still be able to go, but I'm not going to hold my breath. 

It's always a time to learn things, visit with old friends, and make new friends.  There are classes for hand and machine knitting.  I'm carrying my LK150 this year and taking four classes.  I'm hoping to learn a lot of techniques and sharpen my skills in others.  If you've never been you should check it out.

I will post my shopping results when I get home from retreat.  I always buy something. One year it was the LK that I'm taking with me this year.

I'm still working on washcloths, soap sacks, and the Estonian Garden Wrap.  I've finished an EZ Baby Surprise Jacket and started on another one and I've done nothing at all on my Great American Aran Afghan in months.  My Monkey socks are finished.Maybe I need less projects on needles.  No, what am I saying, that makes no sense.  I'll just have to give up cooking and cleaning.  That should free up some time.

On a totally unrelated note, I am down to 157 pounds from my personal high of 173.  I was down to 154, but when I went to Atlanta I blew it and now I'm trying to jump start the loss again.  I'm watching what I eat, walking with the Leslie Sansone dvd's and using Sparkpeople http://www.sparkpeople.com to help with this.  It's a slow process, but it's working.

My garden is in.  It's not large, but I may be keeping the whole extended family supplied with tomatoes.  Nothing else seems to be quite so prolific, but everything is growing and producing.  I have tomatoes, cucumbers, bell and jalapeno peppers, sugar snap peas, carrots, green onions, okra and eggplant.  The cauliflower is done and the brocolli is almost done.

happy knitting everyone