Sochi 2014 Olympics

I started my Winter Olympics sweater and so far have gone about 6 inches into it. That's kind of where it is. I've never been able to knit a whole item during the Winter Olympics. If I had chosen socks - perhaps.

Changes.....

2013 was an interesting year. It was challenging in so many ways. There were a lot of personal issues to be dealt with, but I survived. 2014 will be challenging again, but it will bring out personal growth and I will be in a place that is much, much better. I don't know if I will blog as much as I'd like, but I will certainly try! So, dear readers (if I have any) - please don't give up on me!

The Final Cut

I think I've been spinning yarn colors for my Rams and Yowes blanket for at least 3 or 4 months now.   In total, I spun 15 (I think) colors and needed 9.   Here are the final 9 colors.  The original yarn called for was Jamieson and Smith Shetland Supreme.  The Fat Cat Knits colors I chose are listed followed by the Jamieson and Smith colors in parentheses.  Again, all yarn spun is Fat Cat Knits Semi-Solid Handpainted in Falkland fiber. 

Bottom row: Smoke (mooskit), Toasted Almond (sholmit), Specter (katmollet), Natural (white)

Middle row: Gandalf (yuglet), Dove (shaela), Black Walnut (black)

Top row: Columbian Roast (moorit), Light Taupe (gaulmogot)

Here are all of the browns I spun:


Top to Bottom:

Light Taupe

Ash Beige

Taupe

Toasted Almond

Sienna

Chestnut

Columbian Roast

Walnut

Black Walnut

Here are all the greys/browns and natural I spun:

Top to Bottom:

Natural

Specter

Dove

Smoke

Gandalf

Charcoal

The original design, by Kate Davies, is only 3 feet x 3 feet.  I want it much bigger, so I'm making it 6 feet x 6 feet, basically 4 times the size in the pattern.   I have no idea how many yards I'm going to need, so I will be keeping a tally as I go.  I don't have enough experience in spinning to know I will need X-amount.  So, this is a learn-as-I go experience, that's for sure.  I enjoy the fact that I can take my time with this.  Also, Ginny has been phenomenal.  I had originally chosen Taupe as one of the final colors but it just didn't quite fit in.  If only I could have had it lighter.... so I asked and she delivered .... and it is perfect!!

Next up is the Rams and Yowes swatch.  I'm going to wind off the yarn and see how many yards I have in each 2 oz skein.  Stay tuned!!

Of Butts and Tails

Once in a while the cats do some cute things.  Well, Meems always does cute stuff but the instant I get the camera out, she runs away.  I'm not kidding either.  So, sometimes it takes Poppy (aka Pinhead) to get her to come out of her shell and I get some good shots when they're playing.

While I prefer the other end of cat butt, this one was kinda cute.  Meems would be horrified if she knew that her back-side was now on the internet.

A Total Pick-Me-Up

There are very few things that can turn a crappy day into a happy day!  Here are a few of them!

Old Rose in Polwarth

The other end of Old Rose

Toasted Almond in Falkland

Brawny (top), Toasted Almond, and Black Walnut, all in Falkland

Black Walnut, Baby, Toasted Almond, Brawny - all in Falkland

Baby (oh Baby) - in Falkland.  Love this pink!

The Black Walnut, Toasted Almond, Brawn, and Baby in Falkland are the last of the colors for me to spin and will be amongst my pile to make a final decision in the colors I use for my Rams and Yowes Blanket.  The Old Rose was well, just because.  This girl can never get enough of pink!

Oh.  P.S.   I successfully picked up all 865 stitches on The Princess.  Now the rows are incredibly l-o-o-o-n-g!

Four Sons

While I may not agree with our politicians and the decisions they make, I am still proud to be an American.  I am thankful for all of our service men and women who have served our country.  My special thank you goes to the families whose loved ones didn't come home.

My grandparents had all four sons in the service at the same time.  Thankfully, they all came home.  I post this every year (click on the link below).  Marlowe was my father and I miss him so.

Memorial Day Post.

Eighty Five Princess Points

I feel I deserve way more than 85 points for these eighty five points.  If I have a chance to wear this, I better feel much more regal than a Princess, that's for sure.

I finished the eighty fifth point last night.  The ribs will take approximately 3 hours and what better time than to start picking up the stitches.  All eight hundred sixty five of them.  Yeah.  865.  I did this one point at a time. so I'll do it picking up 50 stitches at a time. 

I was curious how long this was.  Here she is, unstretched.  I laid this out being careful not to stretch it.  As anyone knows (who has knit lace) when you block it, it pretty much doubles in size.  Unblocked, unstretched, it measured 12 feet 2 inches.  Holy cow.

I was out in the back yard this morning and I decided my next yard project will be cleaning up and painting this little miniature bench.  I want to paint the metal black, and think the wood is best served by painting versus staining.  

I love the cats playing instruments in the back of the bench.  One is playing cymbals (or tamborine?), another is playing a drum, another a cello, and the one on the far right a violin.   So cute!

Where I Post About Other Things Besides Knitting and Spinning

This year I decided to take Jewel's gardening down a more aesthetically pleasing path.  I have lots of annuals growing and I'm having a lot of fun.  I do still have strawberries and I planted some baby beans from seeds and they have been doing quite well.  I noticed that something has been munching on the leaves and a few of them are missing the leaves entirely.   Little did I know what I would find outside in the garden:

The poor thing.  I had sprayed poison to kill the bugs and it ate some of the leaves after I sprayed.  I'm glad Kyle has graciously volunteered to dispose of it.  While we have 3 cats, you can't count on them for anything.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of some of the pretty colorful annuals.  I am also proud to announce I am the proud Mom of 4 baby pumpkins, two of which are shown here.   Just letting y'all know I do more things than spin and knit.  But not much.  :-)

Of Rams and Yowes

I know I have knitters and non-knitters alike reading my blog so the non-knitters may not relate to much all of this, but you just never know! 

As a knitter when I see something like this, it screams to me, "Drop everything you're doing and make me!"  When I saw the Rams and Yowes, I knew this had to be mine.  However, being a spinner I furthered the challenge within myself and decided to spin the yarn for this.  Of course, Fat Cat Knits was the only way to go with this.  I selected Falkland fiber base because of its texture and is perfect for this.  Then I realized, "Self... if you're going to make this.... go big or go home!"  I mean seriously - the original pattern is for only a 3' x 3' size and I mean really.... it would fit my right foot and maybe a cat.  So, I'm going to quadruple this and make it 6' x 6', or thereabout. 

Let's recap here.   I'm making Rams and Yowes, spinning the yarn, and making it 4 times the original size.  I'm also still plugging along on my Princess and I'm thrilled to state that I am on point #70 of 85.  15 to go! 

If I haven't hit certifiable insanity before, I'm there now.

Here are some photos of what I've spun so far.  Again, these are all in Falkland base and are each 2 ounces.  I am expecting four additional colors and that should round out all of the possibilities of colors I may want to use. 





Bottom row: Carbon, Specter, Gandalf, Dove, Natural.
Middle row: Chestnut, Sienna, Taupe, Ash Beige.
Top row: Smoke, Cameo, Columbian Roast





Sometimes Specter looked like natural in some of the photos, so here they are side by side for comparison: natural on the left, Specter on the right. Specter: For those times when a girl wants a bit of ghostly color. Sorry. :-)


Bottom row:  Specter, Gandalf, Dove
Top Row:  Sienna, Taupe, Ash Beige



Bottom row:  Taupe, Ash Beige

Top Row:  Cameo, Columbian Roast

Bottom row:  Carbon  Gandalf, Gandalf Dove, Natural, Specter

Top row: Taupe, Ash Beige.

Cameo is peeking out on top of Taupe.
Sorry for the error in the colors above.

So there you have my progress as of today.  I need 9 colors total.  I know which ones I will be using for sure, but I need to fill in the spectrum.  I have on order 4 more colors from FCK and I will post for all my knitting/spinning buddies.

Meanwhile.... the Princess awaits.  This is going to be a gorgeous shawl, destined for something very special some day. 

Being a Princess

I finally decided to take the plunge and knit Sharon Miller's Princess Shawl.   There are 85 points to knit along the bottom edge and then over 800 stitches are picked up and the shawl is then knit upwards.  I'm currently on point number 14.   This is definitely a test of my patience and I ran out of it before I could finish the first point.  sigh.

I hope to have this done in 12 to 18 months, but we shall see.   Here she is with 3 points being done.

Well, Hello There!

Yessiree.  It's been since May that I've posted anything.  Life has kept me busy!

I've been tackling the Knitting Room, or wanting to, for quite some time and today I made a huge step in the right direction.  Last Christmas I was given a gift card from a very generous friend and I finally spent it on something to help organize my tons of circular needles. 

So, today I put on my big girl panties and just sat down and did it.  It took all afternoon too.

Big Bag O'Needles



I started cataloging them in Ravelry and of course, I had a lot of help from a very helpful cat.  How would I ever have managed without him?

"What?"

I got out the labeler and finally finished it.  Not bad, eh?

Three little Namastes, all in a row!

What's next?  My pile of DPNs.  I have to turn them from a pile of sticks into something much more organized.  

Happy New Year everyone!  2012 is going to be a fab year for me!!

Busted!

He Said She Said The Giants Are Doing Great!

Have you ever tried to take your picture when you're talking?  Well, I'm cheering the Giants on at the same time as taking my picture.  That, in itself, is a huge accomplishment as most of the time I can't walk and chew gum.   But, I wanted to show off my He Said She Said hat and cowl by ChicKnits.   I used Cascade superwash yarn.  It's not the 220, but the chunkier kind.  This is my second set.  Earlier this year I made a red one.  It's packed away for winter, though.  These knit up really quickly and they're super warm.   Edited to add:  (I think the guy right over my shoulder is posing for the camera too.  ha ha)


The AT&T Stadium is outstanding.  Here it is outside the park at night.   Where else can you see palm trees wrapped in orange lights but San Francisco??! 

If Looks Could Kill

So, I finished Meems' Giants sweater.   She doesn't look terribly thrilled, does she?   I figure it's payback for all the 3 a.m. meowing and trying to get me up to play and feed her.

I consider this my swatch to see if I like the yarn enough to make a Giants sweater for myself.  The jury is still out.

Meems is a Giants Fan Too

Meems is getting a Giants sweater. She's a stylin kind of cat, yanno. This is my time to play around to figure out how I want my Giants sweater.

Moving Forward

Apparently I got caught in a time warp and life has brought me all this way since the last post.   Unbelievable!

Life has definitely kept me busy, but not too busy to knit.  Part of my lack of posting is the feeling of being overwhelmed of where to even begin.  I miss my online knitting buddies and the comraderie.  Last night I decided that I'm going to just start with where I am and bring up projects that I've done when I think of them.

I've also been busy working on the house and painting.   Since buying the house last June (gasp - has it been nearly a year??!!) I've painted one of the bedrooms, the entry/hall way, and the dining room.  We've had two major holidays in our dining room and many people have enjoyed the meals fixed over the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.  Again, pictures and tales to be told as I come across them.

I also bought a new laptop so all of my photos and files are still on my old one.  I've been busy going to the gym and I'm very happy to say I've lost a few pounds in the process.  I feel much better. 

The blog looks kind of like a mess right now, but I'll be getting that fixed, hopefully sooner than later.  Anyhoo  - just a quick post and more later.  Again, hopefully sooner than later.  :-)   

A Post From Meems

Hi everyone! I thought I'd let you guys know that my Mom is still alive and kicking. She's still knitting and sometimes I get a little upset that she doesn't pay more attention to me.

She's been busy painting the house getting it ready for our Thanksgiving guests. I didn't bother Mom much while she was painting but I thought my paw paint prints were cute on the hard wood floor. Mom didn't think so.

I think I overheard Mom saying that we would be locked in the office while the humans are having their Thanksgiving shenanigans. I am not pleased.

Sent from my iPhone

Beyond Bed Bath and Beyond

This weekend Alan's nephew is getting married.  They were registered at Bed Bath and Beyond so we went there.  We picked out two sets of dishes and then went to the register to pay.  Here is the conversation and what followed.

Cashier 1:  Because you purchased something from the registry, wrapping is free!
Me:  Oh that's great.  Thanks!

The cashier then pulled out two purple plastic bags.  I was thinking to myself how horribly ugly those were and that she wasn't going to use them for OUR wedding gift!  I was wrong.  I watched as she struggled to put the heavy box inside the hideous purple plastic bag. 

Me:  Oh, that's okay - I can wrap those at home.
Cashier 2:  No - no - it will look really nice.  I promise!
Me:  (thinking to myself - it's free) Oh, okay.

Alan then came to the counter and I told him that I was going to go to another store and that I'd meet him at the car.   He was pushing the cart to the car with these boxes wrapped in purple garbage bags that were tied at the top with purple ribbon.  We laughed all the way home. 

I can't believe that any store would consider this acceptable by any means! When I think of a wedding, I most certainly don't think of purple plastic garbage bags!  I went to the Hallmark store and bought proper wrapping paper and bows and here is the before and after.   Yes, we are still in boxes - so I apologize.

BEFORE

AFTER

Being the environmentally responsible person that I am, I found a use for the purple bags.  One was for the offerings that were left in the litterboxes and here is the other:

On the cat front we are continuing to have a huge problem with Pinhead.  We have been on poop alert as he doesn't think the litterboxes are meant for him.  We have confined him to the office and Meemers comes out for visitation.  Sometimes he tries to get a little "frisky" with her.  What followed after this picture was a hiss and a quick bite to Pinhead's ear.  Meems is such a good girl.

I have managed to finish the grey Hap Shawl.  I just need to find my tapestry needles to graft the edges together.  I know they're in one of these boxes, somewhere!

Happy Knitting everyone!

The Other Side

Well we're here.  Can't say much more than that.  This move was one giant mess.  It didn't matter how much time I spent planning and choreographing everything.  It was a huge clusterfuck.  But, it's over mostly.  Still have to go back to the old place on Saturday and vacuum and there are a few more things in the garage.

Moving the cats to the new house the morning of the move was comical.  We had them in carriers and Kyle sat by them.  It was a meowing trio.  It's funny because I couldn't see the cats because I was driving, but I knew each cat by their different meows, even though they were meowing in distress.

Here are some photos to finish out this post.  It's all I can do right now.  The WIP box is still MIA but it's somewhere here in this pile o'boxes in what is supposed to be the dining room.   Do you see the cat?  Find the cat.

Now do you see it?  Meems' kitty butt.   And because it's often Monkey See, Monkey Do around here.... You can just barely see Meemers' little kitty ears at the top.  Tippi is here passed out. 

And so I don't get accused of leaving anyone out, here is Pinhead Poppy sleeping in the sun after finding a nice box of cables to cuddle up with. 

Here he is in a sun-induced coma.

That's about it for now.  Maybe there will be knitting progress.  Some day.  But that some day is not today.

19 Years

I can't believe my baby is 19 today.  He was greeted this morning with his traditional birthday donuts.  No candles this year.  They're in a box somewhere and I wasn't digging around for them, nor was I going to buy more as it would require more packing.  He wanted a Honeybaked Ham for his birthday dinner and since it didn't require cooking or finding something to cook it in I very gladly accommodated!!

Kyle, June 1991

Happy Birthday, Kyle!!