Total Slacker

Okay, I am apparently a total slacker. I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted to my blog until today. I wonder if I should just take it down and give it up or if I just need more discipline in my writing.
I have been knitting. I finished my Hey Teach and love it.

I haven't had a chance to wear it yet, but maybe on Sunday for church I can. It's been too warm really for a sweater for the last week or so and when it was cool enough I was climbing around under the house and it just didn't seem like a good place for it.
I also finished my Demeter's Shawlette.

I have proceeded to rip back the edging and add some rows to the shawl to make full use of my handspun. I'm ready to put the edging back on. This is my first beaded project and I enjoyed the whole process from the knitting to picking out the beads I wanted to use.
Then I added two more bears to the collection before they went off to Mother Bear.

Added to that I am still working on my 10 stitch blanket and the Beekeepers Quilt and I started a baby sweater or two.
I'm still considering what my next weaving project will be and thinking about my next monster and sweater for myself and I started spinning some Mountain Colors BFL top in the Peppergrass colorway.
Other than the fiber stuff, I have been getting out garden ready for the spring. I have two tiny little peaches on one of the peach trees we planted earlier this year. I had blossoms on one of the apple trees, but the deer ate them. Oops. The blueberries and the huckleberries are blooming and the strawberries are coming on. The broccoli won't give up so I am still cutting broccoli on a regular basis. I have tomatoes and peppers inching their way up to transplant size to go outside and we are discussing adding more beds to the garden. If we keep going I will have to learn to can some of these veggies. I also need to figure out a trellis for the wild grapes on the property and I'm watching the blackberries bloom. Those blooms make me think of blackberry cobbler and that makes me start drooling.
I'm back on my exercise regimen and hoping to make some progress on that front as the weather warms.

One Month In

Today is the last day of the first month of the new year and it's time to check on what I've done so far this year.
On the knitting front, I have completed a total of four bears for The Mother Bear Project.

I've added almost a full round to my 10 stitch afghan (that top left hand corner is where I started the year),

added about half a dozen puffs to my collection for the Beekeeper's Quilt, (I looked back and only had a dozen in September.)

and I'm working on the first sleeve of my Hey Teach.

That's not bad progress so far.
In the gardening part of my life I'm also making some progress. We added two beds to our garden area this month.

The strawberries are starting to bloom.

I have a blossom on one of my peach trees. (I tried to tell it that it's still too early, but it didn't listen.)

The huckleberry is getting it's new leaves too.

Everything else is starting to show buds, but hasn't done more than pop out a couple of leaves. There are quite a few patches of a little white flower that I am trying to figure out. I have no clue what it is.

I also got a picture of a tiny bit of the creek that runs through part of our property. The creek gets high with the rain, but almost disappears when it gets dry around here.

We've been feeding the birds and the deer (and rabbits, squirrels and other assorted wildlife that hits the deer corn.)
I'm also preparing for my daughter's wedding. I finally found what I'll wear and if I could magically lose 20 to 30 pounds before the wedding I would be jumping up and down. I put on weight while nursing my husband last year and I'm just beginning the process of taking it back off. It will be a slow process and I don't think that it will be complete by April.
Not much more going on around here at the moment. I've spent some quality "baby time" in the past few weeks and enjoyed it. I'm also enjoying being able to give them back.

A Look in Both Directions (Behind and Ahead)

I just counted the number of completed projects on my Ravelry page and there were 32 listed projects. I know for sure that I completed 43 because one of those projects is actually a group of projects. I'm pretty happy with that since I am pretty sure that there were some things completed that never got the love of a Rav project page.
This year, so far, I have completed two bears for the Mother Bear Project. That is already one thing completed on my Mission Possible 2012 list.
The list is
1. Ten Stitch Afghan
2. Two woven scarves for granddaughters
3. Something with handspun
Those are the carryovers from last year and then:
4. Hey Teach sweater (started already)
5. February Lady sweater
6. Twelve hats for MT25
7. Dot the Dress UP Box Monster
8. Gabby the Garden Monster
9. Mother Bear Project Bear


10. Hermione's Everyday Socks
11. Spin 4 oz braid
12. Beekeeper's Quilt
13.Dishcloth
14. Hat
15. To Be Decided
I know that there are fifteen things on the list, but since three of them are carryovers I decided to add three to the list so that I would have twelve new projects to aim for too.

Just before Christmas I became a great-grandmother and just after New year's I became a great-aunt. That means we have two new people for me to knit for. That will be fun. I picked up the yarn to do at least two sweaters that are not on the list above. I only have thirteen of the fourteen items to go so surely I can fit two more little sweaters in there. (Why yes, there is a small chance that I am delusional about the amount of knitting I can accomplish. Why do you ask?)

We are planning to expand our garden this year and have started that process by planting two apple trees, two peach trees, and two pecan trees. I'm considering an asparagus bed, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort since there are only two of us in my family that will eat it. Of course, I could make that a reason to have a smaller bed of asparagus. I'll have to think about it.

I have already begun Hey Teach and it's about halfway complete. My gauge was different and my yarn was different and I'm making a size that is two sizes too big according to the pattern, but should work with my gauge. It looks right and the size is still what I was expecting so that's good news so far. I already have the yarn for the February Lady Sweater and am trying to patiently finish something already on the needles before beginning something new. I have spinning on the go, two hats on the needles, the Hey Teach, and a hat on the machine. I've been deciding on yarn for my next woven project and bought beads to do Demeter's Shawlette with my handspun.

I hope to post more frequently this year. I guess we will see how many of my goals for the year I manage in my life.

Wow, where did October go? It was a busy month around here and I did accomplish some things. My garden is growing. We've added cauliflower to the mix as well as garlic. I transplanted three pepper plants and three small volunteer tomatoes into a garden bed with a pop-up greenhouse over it. I hope that they make it through the winter and we get some more peppers from the plants.
We are making steady progress at getting the huge pile of deadwood taken care of so that I can put a couple of pecan trees in the yard in January or February.
I've also been knitting. I've finished the Mairi Tam

and Bobble Gloves

from Wendy D. Johnson's book Wendy Knits Lace. They were both enjoyable and I am planning to make at least two more of the tams for two more granddaughters.
I also finished the sweater for the new great grandbaby who is due at the beginning of January.

I have booties and a bonnet to finish before the shower, but they are to the seaming and blocking point so they are moving right along. The pattern for the set is called Perfectly Pink and comes from the Leisure Arts Sweet Layettes to Knit booklet which has four layettes in it.
There is also a finished woven scarf that came off the Cricket Loom finally.

I have also almost finished a monster from The Big Book of Knitted Monsters by Rebecca Danger. They are so cute and the one I've been working on is easy. I see more monsters in my future.
In case anyone is wondering the photos were taken out at the garden. There are peas and carrots growing with the scarf, broccoli growing with the tam and gloves and cabbage under the baby sweater.
I did finish my secret knitting. The recipient hasn't gotten it yet so I still can't post a picture. If they post one, I will direct you to it then.
Let's get the needles going for Christmas everyone.

Autumn update

I've been knitting. I hope that's not news to anyone who might read this. I have been working on several things lately. I've made some progress on a baby sweater that is for my great granddaughter who is due in January.


I've also done some work on my 10 stitch blanket since the end of Stash Dash and made a little progress. (The stitch marker on the left side is where I left off at the end of Stash Dash and the needles are where I am now.)


I got sucked in to the Beekeepers Quilt and have about a dozen little hexagons made and gathering in a bag. I finished another one today who didn't make it into the photo op.


I've been working on a project that I can't show pictures of and have been having a time with that one and gauge. I have restarted different parts of this project two or three times each. Some of it was just that the parts of the project are small enough to be swatches themselves so I haven't been swatching. That means I have been ripping back and starting over. I'm really good at that part.
I finished the Monkey Mitts for my granddaughter. Word is that she loves them. I certainly hope so.


We got 17 3/4" of rain during Lee. My back yard was a lake. It's not a lake at the moment. The hawk sat on the start of a burn pile and scoped out breakfast. There are several bunnies that live around our property. I didn't see one become breakfast, but the hawk was awe inspiring.

The pile below is from when our property was cleared. We are taking care of it a little at a time. I wanted to use a chipper on most of it, but that isn't feasible. In our area they cost about $450 to rent for a weekend and that pile is taller than I am and part of it is too thick to go into a chipper anyway so part is getting burnt and we are thinking of buying a chipper in the future.

We have been building new raised garden beds and planting in them. We have onions, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, and sugar snap peas in the beds now.

I'm getting ready to transplant the strawberries to a different bed so that I can put plastic under all the beds. When we moved out here we did a quick job of moving our beds from the other place and it is time to start organizing the garden and getting it ready for a big year next spring. Although we are getting peppers from the garden I think this year was a fail in that regard. Peppers and cantaloupes are all we've gotten.

My citrus trees survived being put into the ground and the two lemons that I had on one of the trees are starting to turn. Looking forward to more citrus next year.

Rain, rain, go away

We are geared up for the busiest time of the Hurricane season here. Historically, September is the height of the season and we have a depression sitting in the gulf that isn't moving at the moment. It seems that unless something changes that it will be a rainmaker more than anything. If that's the case I can't help wishing that it would go in to Texas where the whole state is in a serious drought. Here in my little corner of the world we could use the rain, but not 10 to 20 inches in 72 hours. It cannot soak in or drain that fast and will cause flash floods. That's not good for anyone.
I feel so badly for those in the northeast who have had to deal with Irene and the aftermath of that storm. I know how they feel.
I have been knitting and crocheting since my last post. I've made a pair of Monkey Mitts for one of my granddaughters and am crocheting some simple scarves for the granddaughters too.
I also got caught on the slippery slope that is the Beekeepers Quilt by Tiny Owl Knits. I looked at it and thought that it was pretty and interesting and that I should turn around and walk away immediately. Then I wondered if I could figure out how to make those tiny little hexagons and if I was as crazy as I thought I was since I had already played that game with the Sock Yarn Blankie by Shelley Kang. So I did. I walked away. No, really, I did. What got me was wondering if I could figure it out without the pattern. Now I think the pattern is lovely and if it was in my budget I would have bought it, tucked it away, and left it be for the foreseeable future. Now although I am not scrounging pennies for gas and milk (been there, done that), since my husband is currently on disability until he recovers from surgery, I do not have the cash for patterns. Especially patterns that I have no intention of making. But to use my mind to see if I can figure it out on my own is a worthy challenge. I now have two and a half of those lovely little hexagons in a bag in my craft room. They don't take a lot of yarn and they are a change from the Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown that I am also working on a little at a time.
Like I said, slippery slope.
On the home front I will be battling Morning Glory vines. They are along the side of our property and have found their way to my roses and my raised garden beds. There will be much pulling of vines so they don't take over. They are pretty, but I don't want the yard filled with them.
I also found some Cypress Vines that the butterflies love and something that I'm not sure what it is that the bees love.

The rain has started and it's coming down steady. I will update later with how much we have. It's now time for a cup of coffee.

I really did it

I actually got through 5K of knitting and spinning for the Stash Dash. I was surprised to say the least. I finished a baby sweater, two pair of socks for the husband, a shawlette, a pi shawl, 6 bunnies, my first Clapotis, a Josephine cloche, and about 800 yards of spinning. I feel lucky that Tour De Fleece and the Stash Dash overlapped.



I have been working in the yard too and learned how to take the mower deck off the Deere and put it back on. Not a big deal unless you have never done it before.
There is actually a pomegranate on my bush. I was amazed. I just wasn't sure if it would produce or not. My yard is beginning to come together. We heard the other day that the sewer system is getting ready to come through our area. We knew it was coming, but had been told that it would be anywhere from two to seven years. The county health department wanted us to put in a $10,000 septic system instead of the $5,000 one that we did put in. Now they say that they will start hookups in November of this year. I would have been seriously upset if we had paid $10,000 for a system we would use for less than a year. They have mandated that if you live in this area you have to be hooked up to the system. The only surprise for me has been that they said there will be no hook up fee if you let them do the hook up when they come through with it.

Elmer had surgery again on Monday and we are hoping that they fixed the problem this time. I am tired of spending time in the hospital and I'm sure he is too.

I'm also teaching my granddaughter to knit on my Bond knitting machine. So far she loves it. She is eleven and I'm not sure how long her fascination will last, but it will be a skill she can come back to later if she wants. As for me, I'm still hand knitting almost exclusively lately. It's just so much more portable than my machines are. I'm still spinning on my spindle and I have a couple of scarves in the planning stages for my weaving looms. I just can't seem to get motivated to spend any time in front of my knitting machines. Ah well, it will come back. It always does.

They"re multiplying like, well, rabbits

It's been busy around here. We are still working on the yard.
There is a lot still to be done. I have plants to get in the ground and trees to trim up and poison ivy to get rid of.
We got to watch a hawk land in one of our trees the other day. Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera he had left. Maybe next time.








I've been making more bunnies. I have three complete now and another one on the needles.
It is an easy pattern and will be useful tomorrow while I'm in the waiting room at the hospital.












I'm about half way with my stash dash 5 K, but I don't think I will make it to the goal by August 15. There is still a lot of yardage to go.
I've completed my goal for the Tour de Fleece. I didn't really think I could do four ounces on my spindle in the time allowed. I was wrong. I have about 200 yards of a very pretty (I think) 3-ply yarn. It still needs a bath and I need to see what the WPI (wraps per inch) is so I can see what I have. I think it's about a sport weight.














I'm going to be a great-grandma in January. There are baby things to be made before then and it also explains the beginning of the bunny craze. Once I made bunnies for the two babies we are expecting in our family, I got asked for several more. They are definitely multiplying.

The temperatures here are in the mid to upper 90's with heat indexes in the 110 range. It's hot here and in a lot of the rest of the country too I know. It definitely makes you wonder about how people managed before air conditioning. I know that it's a matter of what we are used to and I for one am thankful for the AC.

We have Power

I'm doing the happy dance that we are back on commercial power. I periodically jump up and do a little dance singing "We have Power, we have power." This is not really a big deal unless you have been living for two weeks on a generator and in the middle of that time your husband has surgery. As for the surgery, well, the device failed. We have an appointment tomorrow and will see what it next on the list for what to do to hopefully make him healthy again. He's not really unhealthy, but the issue is with his colon and it needs to be taken care of.
The house is moved. The code office passed us. The power company put in the meter and we start work on the yard this weekend. Up til now we have been doing what is needed to pass the inspection and keep the code office off our backs. now we are done with them and can work on making this our home.
In the meantime, I have been knitting to keep my sanity. I finished a pair of socks for Elmer,













then finished a baby sweater,













and a Wendy Johnson shawlette














and topped it off by finishing the spinning and plying of some fiber I got while I was in Texas way back in October.













I have plans to use my Kundert spindle to play during Tour de Fleece in July. I have plans for some Abstract Fibers roving in the Knitmore Girls colorway. The plan is to spin up all four ounces of this fiber.
I'm also playing in the Stash Dash 5 K with the Knitgirllls on Ravelry. So far I'm at 938 yards. That is nowhere what I need to have done, but when I finish Blueberry Pi I will add another 1500 to 1600 yards to my total. After that I plan to do a little weaving and work on my 10 stitch afghan to make up some yardage. I need to do 5K by August 15th. Can I do it? Who knows. I do know that the spinning counts too and if I knit what I spin during the challenge then I get to count it twice. Sweet. And a good reason to knit with some of my own handspun.
Back to the knitting, spinning, and yard work now.

Moving still going on

I haven't posted in what seems like forever. It's been a little crazy making around here. The move is, well, moving along slowly. We live in a mobile home (at least it was when we bought it, but I think now the term is manufactured home) that is in a trailer park. It's ours; well, it's ours and the mortgage company's for a while longer. We bought a piece of property and cleared part of it. That's when the fun began. I knew nothing about prices of things like the use of a track hoe or dirt or wash out (the stuff they wash out of concrete trucks). I also didn't know how much fun it is to deal with the code office, the zoning office, the environmental health department, and all the other things that need to be done. Every time one or both of us have been to the code office they say we need something else. Every time. Shouldn't there be a list that they hand you with what you need? Why yes, and there is. The problem is that they keep adding to the list. Apparently, it depends on who you get at the code office. I went yesterday, having everything that was on the list I had, and they informed me I needed something else. This was after they informed E. last week that we would have to have a different type of foundation "Stacked block foundation isn't allowed. You will have to have a permanent foundation with concrete, concrete filled blocks and re-bar." And they couldn't have told us this earlier? Ugh. This, of course, makes the move more expensive, time consuming, aggravating, and a host of other words that aren't all nice.
I could live with this except for two tiny little things. E is out of town most of the time for his job so most of this falls on me. On top of that we heard that E needs surgery again. I have about hit my limit on what I can handle.
I have been knitting to keep my sanity. I'm holding my own. I have a Pi shawl on the needles still. I'm working on a baby sweater and socks and will soon have a shawlette on the needles too. My 10 stitch blanket is not making any progress at all at the moment and my knitting machines are sitting idle and waiting to be packed for safety for the move.
Time to go do something semi- productive.

And the work goes on

It's been a very busy week around here, but not a lot of knitting has gone on. Instead I have looked at the Huckleberry bushes on our new property and seen the little huckleberries growing.















I've also built some 4 x 4 foot garden beds for the new garden and filled them with soil from the old beds that we took down at the current rental property. I built these from the decking of our old porch. It's not pressure treated and we can't reuse it for the new porch because it won't be covered at the beginning, but it makes nice little beds after I play with the saw and the drill. There are little volunteers in one of the beds already. One is a cucumber for sure and the other one we think is either squash or cantaloupe. Either one works for me. I have tomatoes and peppers that will go in the beds as soon as we get moved.














I also started making rain barrels to water the garden with. I just don't see the sense in wasting perfectly good free water. In this picture they are sitting next to my little garden shed and they aren't complete. I need to set up a gutter with downspout, put the lids back on with a way for the water to get in, connect them together with an overflow valve, and set up two more.






I have been knitting some. I'm still working on the Pi shawl and have many stitches per round, but not as many as there will be before it's done. I'm looking forward to sitting in a swing knitting and looking at my garden when we get moved.
Since I've never done this before I didn't know how many county government departments I'd have to go to or how much it would cost at each of these places. It's getting done one step at a time. Hopefully, I will have more knitting time soon.

The loss of knitting time

I've not made much progress on my knitting in the last two weeks. I had to rip out Blueberry Pi and start over again. That was no fun and I haven't even made it back to where I was when I ripped. I have two pair of socks on the needles, but not making much progress on them right now. There are too many other things I need to get done.

I've torn down my little makeshift greenhouse that has served me well over the last five years or so and I'm emptying the raised garden beds so that I can tear them down too. There is some
progress being made on the property front. It has gone from being overgrown like this...













to looking more like this. This is a picture of where we intend to put our mobile home. It will go behind that live oak with the curving branches in the picture.

This is kind of a sideways view of the property. I'm standing on the edge of the driveway looking toward the southern end of the property. It goes to past that pile of brush in the middle of the picture. There is more property behind where I am standing. About a third the length that is in this picture. There's a lot to do so I'm off to do some of it.