Feeding the fiber addiction and a rambling we go

DH came home last night with the other two heddles for my loom and a rather glazed look from having been in the weaving store. He's a dear though since we don't have one near me and he took the time to go to one in Dallas where he was working to get what I needed. This after buying me the loom I wanted for Christmas so I could try out this "weaving" thing that I'd been thinking about for several years.
If you could see me in my "office" as he calls it, you would see me turning from one machine to another. 15 to 20 minutes on the loom, turn to the Bond and knit 15 to 20 minutes on a hat or two, then turn to the LK150 and work on the cardigan a little. I'm in the process of relatching ribbing on the cardigan so that is why it's up for short periods of time. I love the machine and hand manipulating the stitches, but I'm working on tension 4 with a very dark purple cotton using 3 strands and it's hard on the eyes after a few minutes and on the back even with my chair lowered to it's lowest setting.
I'm looking around at the stash of acrylic yarn I have and deciding what to do with it. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against acrylic. I've used lots of it and used it at times when it was all I could do to afford even that. When I had $5.00 in my pocket and needed gas, bread and milk and needed to do laundry and didn't have a washer or dryer. Acrylic saved my sanity on more than one occasion. These days I am lucky that I can afford more expensive yarns at least some of the time, but this acrylic was given to me and will make wonderful blankets, hats, scarves, and mittens for the homeless in my area or children in our local schools who don't have enough. It's a tough time in this economy and I can help in some small way to make someone's life a little better. Or at least I hope I can. The fact that I get immense joy from playing with the fiber is a bonus.
I don't know if you've checked the Yarn Harlot's site today, but when I checked a few minutes ago the total for Doctors Without Borders was up to $913 711. That's a lot of knitters saying "Hey, I can help a little." and that little adds up. I donated $20.00 myself. It wasn't much. It was what I had at the time that wasn't already allocated to someone else who wanted my money. Oddly, the mortgage company, phone company, and electric company wanted the money we owed them even though there were people who needed it more. So, I paid the bills, set some aside for groceries (cuz I like to eat, I really like to eat and my hips will vouch for me.) and checked to see how much I had that I could give. I've never not had a roof over my head, although it's been close a couple of times and I've never not had clean water to drink (even after Katrina we had water because we had prepared early for the situation), but there have been times in my life that I lived on mac and cheese and potted meat (won't touch the stuff now because of that time in my life) with the occasional can of tuna thrown in and whatever little bit I could get to grow in the little space I had where I could stick a 5 gallon bucket.
Wow, let's get off that train now. yikes! On to better things. I finished Bella's socks last night and started Aiden's. I have three inches done on the Einstein Coat. I'm ready to cast on another hat for MT25 and I'm giving thought to Heather's socks and looking longingly at the yarn for the Landscape Shawl. If I were an octopus, I'd be much further along than I am. I'm thinking about what to warp next on my Cricket. ( I still want to call it Jiminy even though I know it's rather a cliche) I still have money to spend from my gift certificate at my LYS and have no clue what I want to get with it. I've been stalking Webs for weaving fiber and made myself back away. I know that that would not help sort and use what I already have so I closed the browser and didn't save anything in my wish list.
Off to some knitting and to decide what I want to do for the Ravelympics. I think I'm going to work on some WIP's and see if I can get them closer to completion. If I can just keep myself from casting on something else I'll be good to go.

Mission Possible?

So, I joined the Mission Possible group on Ravelry and had to make a list of 12 things I wanted to complete this year. And the list is:

1. Momof4’s Black and White on the loom now.completed 1/20/2010
2. Momof4’s Everlasting Blanket over 500 squares so about 2/3 done.
3. Bella’s socks. not listed on my project page yet, but have started second sock
4. Momof4’s Scraps no More barely started.
5. Momof4’s MT25 hats I want to get at least 12 done this year. I’m on #6 so that one’s good to go.
6. Einstein coat from the yarn I got for Christmas
7. Landscape Shawl also from yarn for Christmas
8. Aiden’s socks
9. Heather’s socks
10. Dishcloth Baby Blanket
11. 2 Woven scarves
12. Dishcloth

This looks even more ambitious typed up. Yikes!

I don't know if I'm crazy or what. Uh, okay so votes would be taken and people who know me would just laugh and say "Yeah, you're nuts."

Picture of Black and White completed (woven scarf).

The Everlasting Blanket at 593 squares.

I am casting on the Einstein Coat today. It's almost 70 degrees here and I'm happy to see it because I'm a southern girl and really am not happy when I'm cold. Will it make sense to be knitting something heavy and out of wool when it warms up for the season? (this temperature right now is just to remind us why we live in the south.) No, it won't make sense, but we've already established that I'm crazy. I"m still working on The Everlasting Blanket which is at a whopping 593 squares right now. I probably only have another 300 squares and the edging left to do. At approximately 30 minutes per square that is about 9000 minutes or 150 hours or 6.25 24-hour days. Since I don't knit 24 hours a day and don't knit on only one thing during the course of a day I figure it will take me until September at the rate I'm going and that doesn't count the edging.

I have to finish Bella's socks and make Aiden's so they can go in the mail sometime in February so those can't be pushed back. Heather pointed out that I haven't made her a pair yet so they really need to be done by May so she can have them for Mother's Day. Her birthday is next week so they have to be for something else as there's not enough time in my day to finish them by the 25th. I could put the Einstein Coat and the Landscape Shawl on the back burner for a while I guess, but I'd really like to work on something for myself. Luckily, the MT25 hats are done on my machine (Bond USM) so those go quickly and I can whip a dozen out in a week or so including the seaming. The Scraps no More Blanket is not urgent and is barely begun so it can be put aside and the other things on the list are not on the needles yet so they can be pushed back too. I might make it through most of the twelve this year if there are no emergencies that take me away from my knitting and weaving for very long.

On the gardening front, I have started some lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers this week. The lettuce is peeking up and will be ready to go out in the garden in a couple of weeks. Hopefully, the spinach won't be far behind. I'm hoping the tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers are ready for the garden sometime between my birthday in March and Easter. I want some broccoli and cauliflower to go in early, but haven't found any yet.

It looks like my desktop computer is about to bite it. Odd noises and curious glitches abound. Since DH and I both have laptops I have decided not to replace it when it goes. I will re-purpose the computer desk and move it into the craft room or as DH calls it my office. I've already been thinking out how to position the knitting machines, desk and storage cubbies that hold my yarn and other supplies. Maybe by the end of the year I will have made enough room to actually put the luggage in a closet. Not holding my breath though.

Off to cast on the Einstein, knit on Bella's socks and decide on the yarn for Aiden's socks.

Back to the knitting machine

I have been busy dealing with my husband's recovery from surgery for the last couple of months so the only thing I've been knitting on my machines has been the hats that I do for my church's mission group. Last night I finally went back to a project that I started way back on June 26. It's a twinset in a deep purple cotton. I got the shell off the machine last night (still needs seaming) and started the cardigan. No pictures yet. Finally. I'm looking forward to wearing it in the spring and spring cannot come soon enough for me. I am a "southern girl" and don't really like the cold and really sweats are not that attractive on anyone.
I don't know what my next project on the machine will be. I've not taken stock and laid out a plan for the year. I always have something on the hand knitting needles and now I have the small weaving loom to play with too and am trying to figure out how I want to rearrange my knitting room (or office as my husband calls it). Right now both my laptop and my loom are on tv trays so that I can slide them out of the way when needed, but I don't like this idea for the long term. My desktop is acting like it's getting ready to go to computer heaven (or hell. It has less than a gig of ram and the other dead computers are going to make fun of it when it dies.) It has a nice corner desk in the living room that we got back when we had teens at home that we wanted to oversee while they were on the computer and that desk will fit in my knitting room. I think the desk will move into the room and the laptop will have a place of it's own and have it's printer on the same desk. Hey, if all the cords are together does that mean I won't have to search for the cord to my camera or my ipod? Not sure I'd know what to do.
I heard last night that my niece doesn't have a scarf that she's willing to wear so my next weaving project will be a black and white plaid scarf for her.
I do have to finish the dishcloths and dishtowels that are currently on the loom first though. They are pretty much a practice piece with peaches and creme cotton so that I have something useful while I'm practicing on the loom. Really, how "good" do dishcloths have to be to be useful?

I plan to get the 10 and 12 dent reeds for my Cricket for my birthday in March. I hope I can hold out that long. This might be as addictive as knitting is. Yikes. I've already caught myself looking at wider looms. No floor looms as those just take too much space that I don't have since I have 3 knitting machines set up already, but maybe a Flip with a stand in maybe the 20" or 25" size. Oh, how quickly we fall down that rabbit hole.
I am also back to my walking routine. I do the Leslie Sansone Walk at home DVDs and try to do at least 30 to 45 minutes five days a week. I'd gotten out of the habit while my husband was recovering and getting back in the habit is a work in progress. I eventually want to get a treadmill so I can push myself harder. These 20 lbs have got to go. It really should be more than 20, but we have to start somewhere don't we? I don't have the stamina I used to have and there are health concerns in my family that I don't want to have myself and losing some weight will help with that. One step at a time.
I'm going to try to get more regular with my posting here and remember to get pictures, but in the meantime my Ravelry page is Momof4. Talk to you soon.

Resolutions, gifts and hobbies

Wow, it's been a while since I posted.
I have a new hobby that is taking up some time. I got a Schacht Cricket loom for Christmas. I've been looking at looms for a while and thought it would be nice to get for my birthday. DH bought one for me for Christmas instead. Awesome! I'm on my third scarf with it and loving using it. It's small enough that once it's warped I can sit in the bed with DH and watch a movie and still weave.

I haven't given up my knitting by any means. I have a pair of socks and a sweater on needles now as well as plans for several more pair of socks and a couple more sweaters. I'm also still working on the Everlasting Blanket although it's moving much more slowly now. I completed a pair of Serpentine Mitts that I love and there is another pair in my future since someone saw mine and loved them.


My "Resolutions" for 2010 are coming in to the light.

• drop 15 to 20 lbs
• organize craft room
• use 100 skeins of yarn from stash this year (that's about 22 lbs at 3.5 oz per skein)
  
• buy only yarn I love

• have 20 hats done for charity before next winter sets in

I added 10 lbs back after DH came home on temp disability. I really have about 30 to lose, but that sounds like so much that I think taking it in smaller steps is in order. plan to go back to exercising at least 4 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour. I really miss it, but it's been tough with DH at home. He goes back to work soon so I go back to working out.
My craft room isn't organized since DD moved home and then back out and needs some work. Using the yarn from stash will also help with the organizing as there will be less to organize.
I've been cooking and baking up a storm during this Christmas season. I love to cook and bought myself a Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker. It's great for in the oven and in the microwave too. I have a few other things on my list to get too. They have some really amazing knives that I'm going to get one at a time.
Off to knit or weave while hanging out with my husband. I'll try to do better on the blogging, but even I find it boring to read. I'm sure that somewhere inside me is a funny person just waiting to get out.

My very own yarn crawl

So, being in the Dallas area I had to visit a yarn store or two. I'd already been to Yarn Heaven in Arlington last weekend. Yesterday DH spent the day driving me around the area and visiting yarn shops. I did a little shopping at The Shabby Sheep and thoroughly enjoyed the shop. From there we went north to Plano and had a visit to The Woolie Ewe where I did a little more shopping and was overwhelmed by the shop and the friendliness of the people in the store. It was very busy as they had classes beginning to start. I will go back when I visit the area again. We also made a stop at Yarn and Stitches on our way back to the hotel. I got sock yarn at all three shops yesterday and will have busy hands for a while. I got Cascade Sassy Stripes in shade 714 and 761 at Yarn and Stitches, a skein of OnLine Linie 2 in color 109, Malabrigo sock in color 857 (light of love), and Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 in Ronda at Shabby Sheep and then some Regia Flusi das Sockenmonster in colorways 1801 and 1802 and some Elsebeth Lavold Cable Cotton in color 19 at the Woolie Ewe. The Cable Cotton was on sale for $1.00 a ball and I couldn't pass it up.
I might have to make another Krista out of the Cable Cotton. The Sassy Stripes is for socks for the DH and the Malabrigo is for my daughter. (Shh, don't tell her.) Part of the Regia is for socks for a granddaughter and to go into The Everlasting Blanket. The Fleece Artist is either for another daughter or for myself. I haven't decided yet. It was a fun and exhausting day yesterday.
This morning we went to a Kaboom playground build. We didn't stay for the whole thing because DH had surgery not long ago and shouldn't be lifting anything heavy. I was filthy. It's been raining here for days and the site was a mud pit after all that rain. I hope to drive by and see it after it's finished. I'm sure it will be much nicer when it's all together.
Time for some rest for DH and then a trip to replace the sneakers that got destroyed during the build this morning.

Out of town

I didn't realize how ling it had been since I blogged anything. I've been busy, but not so much with my knitting as with the rest of my life. Some days it feels like the universe is laughing and laughing hard when it looks down on me. There has been one thing after another going on and even when the things aren't big they just seem to take a toll on you after a while. The biggest thing was emergency surgery for the DH. It came out of the blue. I had only about 1 day's notice and I think he only had 2 days and really neither of us expected there to be surgery involved. Other than the surgery it's just been things that take me away from my routine and my knitting.
I'm in Arlington, TX right now. Taking two weeks to spend with my husband and got to visit with my middle daughter a little. I might get to visit with her some more, but I refuse to drive in this city (the DFW metro area). I am a small town/country girl at heart and the way that people drive in big cities just makes me crazy. Back in the dark ages when I took my driver's test the rule was that you needed one car length for every ten miles and hour you were driving between you and the car ahead of you. ( I understand the rule because I had my master cylinder go out on me while I was pregnant and letme just say that it's scary not to have any brakes when you had them 30 seconds ago when you turned the corner.) That is apparently not the case in a city on a freeway. If you leave a car length someone is getting in there. Never mind the number of people who go from the left hand lane across six lanes of traffic to get off on an exit that is on the right and do so in the last 200 yards before the exit. Can you tell why I'm not good at cities? It's not just the Dallas area. I've seen it in Atlanta and Houston and Nashville. No, I haven't seen the traffic in Los Angeles. I haven't been there since I was a kid and have no immediate plans to go back.
On the knitting front, I am still working on my mitered square sock yarn blanket. I have two pair of socks on the needles and I brought my Ultimate Sweater Machine with me to make hats for my church's homeless ministry. I have seven which just need seaming and I can do those in an evening or two. I have yarn with me to make maybe 3 or 4 more.
I realized how spoiled I am by my LK150 and by claw weights. I forgot to bring claw weights with me and I'm having to use the weighted hem that came with my machine. It's not hard, but I had to re-teach myself how to work with it. I've got it now though and things are moving along.
I've visited one knitting store while here so far. I went to Yarn Heaven here in Arlington the other day (DH drove, why do you ask?) It was a nice store, but didn't make my heart sing. Maybe it was because the store was quiet. I only saw one other knitter there other than the lady working. There were some lovely yarns ( I bought two skeins of sock yarn, Sockin Sox and Lorna's Laces) and the lady there was cordial. The dog wasn't overly friendly and the cat wanted to make friends with me. Ah well, they can't all be My stores and I do like to visit when I"m out of town.
It's time for some lunch now. I've been doing pretty good at not over eating since I've been here and I am making use of the fitness room in the hotel.
I hear tell that I'm helping build a playground on Saturday. I hope I don't get blisters. I didn't plan for it when I packed for this trip.
Happy Knitting everyone!

A lovely August day

It's a lovely day here. It's 2 pm and about 84 degrees here. That's about 10 degrees less than normal for this time of the year. I cut the grass yesterday evening and ran the weedeater this morning and then washed the car, filled the bird feeders and I'm sitting on my back porch with my knitting. The Everlasting Blanket is on square 387. Wow, that seems quick. It must be because it's so addictive.


I'm making no progress on my shell. It's still hanging on the machine. Maybe tomorrow I can make some progress on that end. Or later tonight... yeah right, who am I kidding?
Tomorrow I have some more yard work to do and then I can hide in the knitting room and maybe make some progress. The main issue is that I'm on the band and there is latching up to be done. I get bored. Maybe I need to put on a knitting podcast and just latch until the podcast is over. That would give me a set amount of time to work on it and I would make some progress without feeling like I was tied to it. We'll see how it goes.
The plant I got for my birthday has grown. Let's do a comparison.

I got the plant in March and took a picture of it most recently in the middle of August. I think it's happy there, don't you? I had to buy a larger trellis for it to grow on. It's grown since this picture was taken too. It's wrapping itself around the top cross of the trellis now.
Off to knit.