"I don't need tiny cue cards"

Made it to knitting night tonight - first Friday movie & pizza. Beaker came, ate some pizza crust, didn't talk to anyone, and pooped on my shirt. Good times. The movie was "Easter Parade" and I made it for about an hour. Linda has some pretty new yarns. Might have to stop by tomorrow (parrot free) and visit for a bit. I put a few more rows onto the new sweater... I could finish it this weekend if I really apply myself. On the other hand, I have no real interest in any other projects-in-progress, so I sort of hate to finish it.

The chicks, aged 2 days and 1 day. Full crops, wiggly and full of cheep-cheep-cheep.

I spent some time looking for cockatiel genetics charts to predict what the little tykes will be, but didn't really grasp it. The yellow down means they will not be whitefaces, as far as I can tell. Hamlet is a Pearl Pied split for Cinnamon and Violet is a normal Whiteface. One is quite bald and t'other is only mostly bald. Fingers crossed they continue to thrive!

No work tomorrow (finally), and I don't need to go in on Monday until noon. Of course, I need to spend that time getting a smog check for the car, doing my taxes, geting my driver's license renewed and of course paying the rent, which I only just realized is due sometime, um, soon. Damn you payday, falling on the 7th. Other weekend plans include walking the dogs, doing chores / housekeeping, playing some WoW and plucking the rabbits. That little chore is way overdue and it is getting hot during the days. Mayhap I will even measure out some warp for a little weaving...

This beer sure tastes good, but I am short tempered, what with the 18 lb cat trying to lay on my lap (which is filled with, you know, a laptop). Time to drink a lot of water and maybe hit up the lemon sorbet in the freezer. I have "Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog" running on the other window. It really is my idea of a perfect film.

Simple Gifts

There was a second chick in the nestbox tonight, still a little damp. Chick # 1 is nice and fluffy and had a full crop. Later I heard Hamlet feeding them, so I have hope they will thrive.

Kiwi and Beaker got some snuggle time and playgym time. I love the way that Kiwi looks furious and Beaker is doing the avian equivalent of a kilt check.

Another average day. Work, lunch, knit, work, stress, laugh, sit in traffic, feed the cats. I think I am supposed to be in Naxx 10 but am just not feeling in the mood for WoW. I stayed up until 2:30 last night (this morning?) watching "The World's Fastest Indian" and it was as fun as I remembered. Right now "Defiance" is playing... it seems to be mostly in Russian, so I am getting every 5th word since I am too lazy to actually watch it and am playing with photos instead. Oh and I think it is time to switch the laundry and take out the trash.

A sunflower from Grandma's home in Wyoming. Sometimes I think about my simple life and wonder why I don't pack up and move out there.

New Beginnings

I found this little thing making noise in the nestbox when I got home from work tonight:

Hamlet and Violet's first chick after all these years. There are 2 more eggs in the box, pipping away. I sure hope they make it. I had given up hope that they would ever have fertile eggs. The parents will be getting massive quantities of millet and soft food for a while. I don't really have time for handfeeding!

I snuck a picture of my workstation:

My world is grey. Things have been really busy this week and I am getting pretty stressed out. However, I would still rather be stressed there than back at the Bad Place.

And I have been meaning to show you the pretty plants outside the office doors.

I don't know what they are, but I just love that color.

Photo journalism

The car the day of The Incident. The bumper is caved in, the trunk smushed in and the lights winged out. Sigh. I particularly like the curliness of the license plate. It hardly looks like $2,300 worth of damage from this angle.After a week at the body shop. New, shiny, freshly painted, and the license plate hammered flat. I guess I should have given them the pristine one that lives in the glovebox. They painted the rear bumper by mistake - it looks great! Too nice to put new bumperstickers on. A random picture from my trip to Maui a couple years ago. How many different shades of blue are there in the world? I think they are all in this photo.

Hangin' on

A beautiful day today: sunny; windy; warm; but not too much of any. Knit a few rows on the purple sweater. It might finally be time to measure soon. Did my best at work today but still had some pretty big errors... might be due to the nearly 60 hours I put in last week or maybe to the incessantly ringing phone & being behind. It was still my best.

Saw the most beautiful full moon this morning (at 5:30 am) - cream colored in a black sky and hanging low on the horizon.

Had some good Cheese time in WoW tonight - decided to fish & chat and not worry about tasks or dungeons or leveling or whatever. Of course right after that I was jealous as hell I wasn't invited to the ICC run. Pah. Much like laundry and doing my taxes, I want to run heroics until I puke when I am at work, but when I get home I lose all motivation.

Got in some good parrot snuggling time. Kiwi is good at flying to me from the swing and then back. Not so confident flying around the house (scary!). Showed Beaker how to crack a pine nut... I am not sure if he is hesitant or just not strong enough to crack them on his own. The tiels and budgies are looking good but probably want some walkabout time here pretty soon.

I think I forgot to eat dinner. Off to find a snack.

Winding Down

Two hours past bedtime; curse you, afternoon nap. Wandered by Borders and picked up "Monty Python & the Holy Grail" this evening, then got some groceries and dog food. I totally forgot that there is a movie theater right over there - maybe I will go see "Alice in Wonderland" this week.

Didn't get much done in chores-ville or bills-ville, but tried to catch up on some sleep at least. We will find out in 6 hours if I succeeded and get up on time.

The Ravel'd Sleeve of Care

Too tired to sleep. I hate that. *yawn* Nope, still awake. It is hard to sleep when the sun is out.

Stopped by the bird farm on the way home and picked up some treats for the flock. It turns out that I buy more stuff for them when I am hungry! Restocked the small hookbill mix and got a small bag each of peppers and pine nuts for the parrots to try. A bag of bermuda grass for the rabbits and cavies rounded out the shopping list. They had a very friendly DuCorps' Cockatoo for sale who wanted endless scratchies, and Beeper the Galah is still for sale, as is Clyde the white capped pionus (a cousin of Beaker the Maximillian's pionus). Clyde is just so beautiful. If I had a 'spare' $400 I would take him home.

Took Beaker outside to enjoy the fresh air on the porch this afternoon. The upside to flying like a potato is that you get outdoor privileges. He gave an apprehensive look at a rampaging balloon, but I promised to protect him. I've heard that running around on concrete works a charm for dulling sharp parrot toenails.

No knitting lately. No spinning or weaving either. I suppose I should see when Fair entries are due. Right after I evict the cats from the closet. It is amazing how small a gap in the door they can slide thru... even the tubby ones.

Shiny

The car is back ! So fresh and sparkly! It is nice to be home.

Worked from 5am to 8pm today. Exhausted but taking the time to check the blogroll. Tried to do a good job today - we were slammed but I did my best to be cheerful, patient, kind and understanding.

Have to sleep - back to work at 6. Dog is in her kennel, barking incessantly. Maybe I should toss her another cookie?

My feet hurt way too much for someone who sat on her ass all day.

Why does the neighbor have to run a power saw at this hour?

Frazz-licious

Wore comfy yoga pants today. Worked my buns off at work. No knitting today. Car ready tomorrow. Going to be at work at *gulp* 5am so I can take the time to go get it in the morning. Watching a few minutes of 'Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story' before bed.

Lessons

Time for another post of 'things I have learned at the new job'

• Being pretty is the most important thing. Everyone needs either more surgery, less surgery, to gain weight, to lose weight, to date above their level or to date below their level. Also, the closer you are to 'perfect', the smaller the imperfections upon which you will be judged.
• It is OK to have a prayer meeting and take communion right in the office during the work day. Bonus points if the phone is ringing.
• Bragging how you give a dollar to a homeless person - but only if they do not ask for it - but won't support social aid programs is hip.
• Saying 'Can you get that? Thanks' means that you don't have to answer the phone, no matter what you are or are not doing.
• By the time I drink enough coffee to wake up, it is time to curtail caffeine intake so that I can get to sleep later.
• When tanning, don't forget to hold your buttcheeks open so your crack will be tan too. Bonus points for slathering on tanning oil and roasting. However, if you put sunblock on your face, you won't get cancer.

In other news, my car might be fixed tomorrow! I am not entirely sure when I will be able to go get it, but it will be nice to have it back. Time to go bumper sticker shopping.

Dress Up, Dress Down

Today we had prospective clients in the office so it was Dress Up day. Pretty easy for me since I have so few clothes - changing my shoes switches between business and casual. The rest of the month is 'month end casual', time for yoga clothes and hoodie sweatshirts. Although I have so few clothes that right now I actually have more slacks in the clean pile than casual pants.

Came home, pulled some weeds, chatted with the neighbor, now making a mini pizza and headed to bed before 9am. Errr pm. Guess I am more tired than I thought. Added a few rows to the purple sweater... every little bit counts. At this rate it might be ready for Mabon.

Quickie

Home from work on time, but have to go in early tomorrow, so it is early bedtime for me tonight. Might make some dinner in a bit. Snuggled the parrots - Kiwi showed off *two* new whistles for me and Beaker went through his repetoire of whistles, birdcalls, mock phrases and the laugh that cracks me up.

Made some progress on the purple sweater today at lunch while relaxing to some Dave Stringer Kirtan music. It makes fantastic driving music (this disc at least) as it is very calming and meditative. He will be in concert Apr 3 in San Diego - I am planning on a road trip!

Choresday

Laundry? check
Dishes? check
Pets fed? check
Parrot snuggling? check
Birdseed for the goldfinches? check.

Ostara

Happy Spring! Maybe tonight or tomorrow I will have a little ritual, but so far today has been quiet. Work in the morning, home by noon, a little nap, walk to get groceries, eat said groceries, now some blogging and WoW. Glad I don't have anywhere to be, as the Bad Neighbor has blocked in my car with a gorram moving truck.

The new parakeet (Echo) seems to be settling in well, but he and Skye are not all snuggly yet. Violet and Hamlet are still brooding eggs in the nestbox, but no baby cockatiels. Beaker is chatting up a storm; he can say 'BeakerBeakerBeaker', 'Beeeeeeakerrrrr', and has several whistles. We are working on 'WOW' and 'Good Morning'. Graham and Pretty Bird are their usual adorable selves - he does one trick, and that is to 'help' me with breakfast time by pushing the food dish out of its slot.

Week's End

I actually got called in for overtime tomorrow, so it isn't the actual end, but close enough for me. Some pictures to entertain you....

Beaker being adorable at the local knitting store last month.

My new sweater project at my lunch break today. I finally decided to explore the park across the street

The very attractive commute home. I haven't even gotten on the freeway yet and there are cars as far as the eye can see.

GRRRRR

My internet seems to be down; 'borrowing' an unsecured signal from the neighborhood. I pay for the service, I should get the service. Can't it go down while I am away from the house? Perhaps it did.

8pm and finally getting settled in for the night. Enchiladas cooking, catboxes cleaned, internet borked. I was thinking about watching a movie and doing some knitting, I guess that is being decided for me.

I hate to pay to rent the car for the 2 days of the weekend so that it can sit in the driveway, but can't think of a good place to go for a day trip sans doggies. Maybe the Huntington? The estimate on the car repairs is up to almost $2,000. I am sure glad I have insurance! And that I was not at fault; fingers crossed the other driver's insurance will cover my deductible.

Moving along

Having a beer and jamming to some Kyuss on the cd player. Dropped the car off for repairs today and picked up a rental for the week. An okay day at work, and now some pet time and WoW time. Happy STP day!

Moving Right Along

Got a bunch of things crossed off the 'to-do' list today: Called the dmv and made an appt to renew my license, called the auto shop and made an appt to get the car repaired, picked up the accident report at the police station so I could finally have the other guy's insurance info, sent in my census form, bundled up a netflix and got checks ready to go into the bank. On the way home I picked up cat food, bought Skye (the budgie) a companion, made dinner - with vegetables- and snuggled Kiwi while washing some dishes. Felt like I was finally getting the hang of my new tasks at work and had a generally Good Day.

Monday

A quiet, pleasant day. Got up late, did some stuff around the house, got the mail, went to work, felt capable, came home, now watching some Eddie Izzard, eating a BBC (bagel, bacon and cheese sammich) and getting ready to grab a beer and play some WoW.

Discovered Netflix streaming (ooh must remember to change my atm card number) now carries one of my very favorite movies, "The Passion of Joan of Arc". Right now they just have the silent version, but I think if you get the dvd you can play the musical track. I assume it is the fabulous one by Richard Einhorn. I have seen this movie twice before - once at the world premiere in Northampton (thank you Gina for dragging me through the blizzard!) and once at a performance in Orange county. Each had a live choir and the composer in attendance. Very cool.

Goal for this week (well, forever really) is to not use disposable dishware / cutlery at work. No more iced tea on the way home, so sad. Using a travel cup, so rewarding!

Checking In

Wow it is a beautiful not-quite-spring day here today. The sky is blue, the sun is warm, the wind is howling, groceries have been procured and lettuces harvested from the garden. I bought real cream *gasp* for my coffee, so am feeling particularly pampered.

A baby picture of my darling Beaker


The trouble I have been instigating with the Cheese Vendors


Some knitting has been done, but no picture taking. The front of the purple blouse is done and work on the back continues. The sleeves are short, so it shouldn't be too long now.

That Knittin' Feeling

The Wallaby sweater, she is done. 1100 yards of handspun brown romney knitted into a warm hoodie. Next time I will add a bit of length to the body (between the top of the pocket and the bottom of the sleeves) and take away a smidgin of the length of the sleeves. I will also find a more subtle sleeve increase method. Otherwise, I am quite pleased. It was an easy knit, although the directions are SO. VERY. BAD. Half my time was spent trying to figure out a) what to do and b) why on earth they made it so difficult to understand.

There are some socks on the needles but I have not been feeling very sock-ish lately.

It is time for the Knitting Olympics and I think I am up to it. I just began a new blouse, so that is out, but I went exploring in the yarn stash and found the makings of Irtfa'a squirrelled away in a drawer. I have the yarn all wound up and ready to go - Claudia Handpaints in Black Walnut. I am pretty sure I can find some needles around here somewhere *eyeroll* 16 days is a pretty big challenge, but the cable guy comes tomorrow so maybe I can actually watch the Olympics while knitting.

Off to Knitting Night, new blouse yarn in tow. Then a quick stop to buy batteries (for the wireless mouse. what were you thinking?) and some groceries and life will be perfect. I think the Dickens festival is this weekend, so I may wander by. And the Cheesies have a raid/fondue party on Saturday. I hope it is done before the cable guy shows up. Otherwise it is a wave of the hand at the wall with the hookup and "can't talk, boss fight" for him.

Back in Stock!

The`'Mermaid' Scarf is back for your knitting pleasure!

Do What You Know

WoW

see more Funny Graphs

Bushwhacked

OOF I overdid it in the social arena today. It has been a great day, though! My new knitting student is stellar, my Wallaby is walking along, I am restocking the Mermaid Scarf pattern over at Knit N Stitch and itching to work up something new.

Time for some dinner, some catsitting and then begging off weaving class in favor of an extra early bedtime.

Progress

Knitting continues on the Wallaby. I managed to write the directions down wrong and had to rip out all of the pocket and re-do the decreases, but have re-knit it correctly and am well into new yarn now. I am really happy with it so far but almost wish it was some bright shiny color instead of natural brown. The next one, maybe. It was so much fun to sit and knit with Linda and the ladies at the store this afternoon. We talked about Movie Night, about having a holiday party / open house and about having a Winter Knitting Olympics.

Tomorrow I have a new knitting student. I am very excited to steer someone down this path. Now I just need to find my handbasket...

I had another interview today and hope to hear back next week. This position is exactly what I love to do and excel at. It is close to home and a relaxed environment. Fingers and knitting needles crossed.

Mama cat has finally decided (after 7 months) that pettings are good and that I distribute them. Now she follows me everywhere for snuggling and stroking. Luckily she is soft and floofy.

Still Awake

I am falling down tired, but waiting for the laundry to go into the dryer (smart laundry), and too excited for tomorrow to go to sleep. This is a recipe for waking up late and missing my appointment, but yet....

Managed some tidying today and moved some stuff into the garage. Yay space! My dream of emptying the closets, adding shelves and reorganizing is still a dream, but I am one step closer. Visited the catsitting cats and gave them all scritches. They are ready for their 'parents' to be home, and may finally be warming up to me in desperation :)

The Wallaby knitting is moving along - I am decreasing the pocket and will soon join it to the body and keep on going.

Not a thrilling post but better than a stick in the eye.

The full moon is so pretty tonight - amazingly bright and clear. My yard is all lit up like when the cops had the DUI checkpoint floodlights on. The kind of night that is best appreciated out in the country, not here in town with the streetlights vying for my attention, washing out the moonshine.

High Fiber Diet

Well, we carpooled to the SoCal Handweavers' show and sale today and had a great time. It seems like I saw every friend I have - I suppose that happens when you surround yourself with spinners. There were some new vendors with some very yummy roving and yarn, but I managed (barely) to contain myself to only spending my gift certificate. Picked up a back issue of Spin Off and some Finn roving (which is nigh on impossible to find) in white, of course. As usual, almost all the fiber and yarn that I loved beyond reason was natural colored (white / brown /gray). Gee, I have plenty of that! Anyway, the place was jam packed and the vendors were selling as fast as they could.

It was fun to talk knitting / spinning in the car on the way there; I didn't even think about working on my sweater during the ride. We talked about novelty yarns and then ran into John Pitblado who teaches a novelty yarn class - what luck! We will have to have him come out and teach a Riverspinners class. I think having a rigid heddle weaving class is also on the table. And a party. I am going through cream puff withdrawl.

Saturday will be the Lace Day - I will have to see about carpooling and maybe volunteering. I have been lace free since February (boy it seems like a hundred years ago) and it will be nice to dip my toes back in the pool.

Falling

Time to check in for a bit. It has been dry, windy and alternately warm and cool here, leading to a general feeling of ' am I sick or are these dust sniffles? '. All the lotion and hair conditioner has come out from storage, as well as the flannel jammies.

I am still working in weaving class, warping up for an overshot practice piece. One mistake in the warp became 2 and then 3... what a mess. I muddled thru and learned a lot about just doing things correctly in the first place! Threading has commenced and I should be ready to throw a shuttle in a couple more weeks. Home weaving has been on hold, although I have repaired the warping board and have a long list of things that need to be made up, and soon.

Mama and the kittens all got sterilized last week and are recovering nicely. The boys look a little... deflated. The girls got more of a Brazilian wax. Want one?

Knitting has recommenced after a long wool-free summer. The burgundy Icarus shawl has been dusted off and is looking good. I have also been threatening to have a Wallaby KAL for a couple years now and finally started one so that I will be able to help the class. The brown romney I was spinning last winter is just the thing and progress is swift.

Driving has been cut to a minimum until I can save up the $400 I need for the rest of the repairs it needs (my oil change ended up being $300 in repairs and that was just the things that would have killed me on the way home), but I think I can carpool to the Handweavers' show this weekend, so fun is still in my future!

The Happiest Time of the Year

Today is a good day. A great day. A day second only to 'get the space heater out of storage' Day. Today is......First Handknit Socks of the Season Day. My feet are all toasty warm now (that brown rock is Dozer with a walk-on role).

In other news, I spent a good chunk of yesterday warping and sampling for Martha's blanket. The sample is coming out beautifully, but the pets were not as happy.

Dozer wonders if he measures up. Tuppy has decided to appoint himself Master of Scissors. Perhaps he is showing me he knows he goes in for the snip this month? He really is a sweet cat... anyone want him?

Parade of Finished Objects

First, the upholstery fabric. I think it came out quite well. It softened after wet-finishing, but the blue did not pucker noticeably and the boucle bits in the white stripes became more prominent. It has a good weight and a dense enough texture to be approved for upholstery by my weaving class, so I call it a success. Now to find cheap pillow forms and some foam to make a weaving bench pad.

A wide shot of the cottolin fabric. This is the twill side, and you can barely, barely see the herringbone pattern through the textured, striped yarn. This picture is after wet-finishing, a trip through the dryer and having the holy hell ironed out of it. Measured shrinkage was minimal, although the cotton portion did fluff up considerably. The fabric has become much softer and more pliable. The tabby side also came out well, but the picture is not very interesting. "Yup, looks like cloth, Martha". A super-close up of the twill portion. Hopefully you can click to enlarge but I can see about setting up a weaving folder on my flickr account for better viewing. I really enjoyed working with the linen, broken warp threads notwithstanding.

I have also discovered that I am sick of using a dummy warp. It is meant to give extra length to the warp so that you can use every inch of your fashion fabric, which is valuable for dear yarns or handspun. I find that I lose more weaving time, and gain more stress, than I had in the weaving process in that last 6 inches. I will stick to tying a back apron rod onto the warp beam.

Next on the weaving plate? Overshot sampling in weaving class and cotton tea-towels (full size) at home. I also need to warp up for the gray blanket.

I Made Waffles!

First, the world's darkest picture of waffle weave. One weft portion is handspun cotton singles, the remainder is the 8/2 2-ply I used for warp. I just need to cut the washcloths apart and hem them. I remembered to leave an inch for hemming this time! I hope you can see that the squares, after washing, became much smaller and deeper. The fabric is very squashy.My new project - cotton / linen 2 ply for both the warp and the weft. Sett is 24 epi, threading is herringbone (style?) on 8 shafts. This is just a little 1 yard sample. I can see the twill reverse direction in this picture (it makes little waves), but it is nearly impossible to see in person. I will try some tabby weave later for comparison.I am learning about a sticky shed, about an in flexible yarn, and about working with flax in single-digit humidity. I think it will soften after washing. I will take it to my dressmaker friend and see if it will work for its intended purpose - a skirt. It is so nice and light though, she may approve a blouse.

Well, weaving is all I want to do today, but it is off to demo spinning and weaving at the fair. I will remember to bring my charkha this time and hopefully figure out something to pack as a lunch.

Autumn Preparations

Autumn will be here any minute, so it is time to start nesting, finish summer projects and insulate the house for the coming of autumn and then winter. Er... or something. I even picked up a golden-red chrystanthemum at the home store this morning for a spot of color in the garden. It is the season where I long to know how to can things. I want to be able to say 'oh yes, I put up some nectarines and apple butter this weekend'. In the meantime....The 9-Patch and White quilt has been dusted off and the top is pieced! I love the white sashing. If I had any more squares (or a queen bed), I would make it wider now that I have a queen bedframe, but twin size is nice too. No two patches are the same, but they are arranged randomly. A bit of organized chaos. A close up: My corners are getting much more square. The backing will be navy with little white stars, and I think I will use ties for this quilt instead of hand-quilting it. I can't think of a quilting pattern that would complement it and please me, and I have dozens of colors of DMC cotton floss that I think will work for ties that coordinate with each of the color families. Maybe a vine pattern along the white sashing if I get the urge to hand quilt it after all ... although the thread would show on the reverse. Uh oh. Apparently I took too long of a break from weaving to sew the quilt this afternoon... I have squatters. Gussie is in the upstairs apartment and Tubby - errr Tuppy - is downstairs. Want one?

Good Tidings

The handspun cotton is working out great (we will check in again after wet-finishing) and I rigged a bobbin winder out of my power drill, a bic pen and a hair tie.

But I may have to ask for one for Christmas.

Peer Pressure

Since the looms are apparently the best place to be, I thought I would get back to work. But I didn't want to disturb a sleeping Bingo, so I broke out the table loom and an audio book from the library (The Princes of Ireland by E. Rutherfurd) and got down to it.There was warp already on the loom, left over from the last batch of tea towels. I chose a basic waffle-weave as my next project and rethreaded the heddles and resleyed the reed. It only took about an hour for each - amazing how fast it goes when I sit and do it! I also thought and thought until I figured out a way to add more heddles to shafts that were already threaded. It worked out well, and the 2o minutes of thinking and the 20 minutes of fiddling were less than the hours it would have taken to put 12 string heddles on each of 4 shafts *shudder*. I am glad I ordered those extra heddles (way back when).I hope you can click to "embiggen" the pictures. Waffle weave makes little squares in the fabric just like, well, waffles. The treadling is a little more complicated than tabby or twill, but not terrible. I have to pay attention though, as I have threaded pattern repeats on shafts 1-4 and 5-8 so that I can use more ends.

I am also using the same yarn for warp and weft in this sample. I have quite a bit of handspun cotton set aside, so I may try sampling with some of that too. The handspun is thinner than the warp, however, and I wonder what it will do to the weave structure.

All right kitties, off the loom, it is time to get back to work!

Equilibrium

Thank you for your kind words about my spinning! I also saw that Pat V, Diane, and Josephine won a passel of ribbons for their fine knitting - I will try to email the pictures to Linda at Knit N Stitch... or stop in and show you!

Sunday we were demonstrating spinning and weaving at the Millard Sheets Gallery at the LA County fair. I brought a bag of malamute brushings and went to town. The result was a couple of skeins of soft fluffy yarn with a nice halo. One skein went back to the dog-owner today for examination and the other is safely locked away from the cats. I am back on track in quilting class and did my homework this morning, then set the machine aside. Fritti lost no time in getting snuggled up in the corner. I have to iron the strips, attach them to the blocks, add the edging, find some stuffing, add the back and it will be done. 3 sessions, perhaps.

Tonight is weaving class - I should be able to cut off my fabric tonight or next week. I suppose I should start thinking about my next project. Maybe some scarves out of the angora I spun this spring? Or learning the 'overshot' technique and working on a blanket? I use my class time to experiment and learn new things, and my home weaving time to do things I already know how to do.

LA County Fair Results

After much impatience and fingernail-nibbling, we went to check out our entries at the LA County Fair Tapestry competition. I am pretty glad that Denise needled me, and that I made the deadline... by 4 minutes.

Best in Show: "Hyacinth" hand dyed silk from Chasing Rainbows, spun fine and chain plied. This was the remnant yarn from the black and rainbow shawl... and I remember a lovely afternoon plying up a passel of half filled bobbins. Me at the spinning wheel and Kip with a blowtorch and a transmission *sigh*. You can see Denise's lovely bamboo singles off to the right, with a ribbon of its own.

First: Hand dyed wool of my own, spun very fine. It is much, much more orange in person: The lighting in the hall and in the display cases was horrendous. Down with flourescence!First: 'MacKenzie' wool / silk blend from Ashland Bay. Spun and plied to a nice fluffy DK weight, I believe. It is a beautiful, vibrant navy blue, not the funny gray it appears. Second: Naturally green cotton singles, spun on a charkha. This is the yarn I use for weaving discloths. Hmmm, and I need to get moving on that order before Martha sets her last one on fire.

Third: Natural colored yak/ silk blend singes, also to be used for weaving.

It seems that the judges had an eye to color, now that I think about it. There were many lovely naturally colored wool skeins that were sadly ribbon-free. I will keep that in mind for next year. I knew I made good yarn, but I am grateful for the outside validation. Now if only there were prizes.... even $7 to cover my potato at lunch would be nice.

Patterns

Just when you think they are your friends *bam* it's high school again and time to play ignore the one with glasses until she goes away. Fine. I am going. It will save me money on my subscription anyway. I just wanted to be accepted... and I got it... but only for a little while. It is never long enough.

Maybe if I stopped abandoning people it wouldn't happen to me.

A Fair Day

I went to the OC Fair yesterday and helped wrangle goats. Here are Vegas and Reno, who won their show. They are Boer goats, which is a meat breed. These two are does, and they went off with another farm to get bred this week. I guess these events really are a 'meet market' *yuk yuk*. At least it wasn't me hooking up with someone short, furry and funny smelling.It is harder to think of them as dinner when they are sleeping. Not so difficult when you are trying to wrangle them to the show ring or when you are mucking out the stall after 14 hours at the fair. But this is the kind of goat I want:It is an Alpine, which is a dairy breed. How can you say no to this face? I love the coloring and those sweet upright ears.

Knitting

I miss my knitting mojo. I re-read posts from the last two summers - I hardly remember all those projects! Maybe tonight I will put on the a/c and pick up the needles... I have been working on things - just not knitting.

None of my knitting projects made it into the LA Co fair but I did submit 5 handspun yarns. I am hoping for the best and will find out how they did when the fair opens in September. I know they are good, but worry that they will not place well. There are a lot of very talented spinners out here.

Weaving Class Info

The main website for Tri-community adult school in Covina.

A list of the summer term offerings is here (although the term just ended). I don't see the fall schedule up yet. The weaving class will be $25 + $10 registration for each 3 hour session when classes start again 9/7. Registration is on a 'just show up' basis, so get there about 20 minutes early. Looms are provided and there is *plenty* of free yarn to get you started. There is also yarn for purchase or you can bring your own. They also have a spinner's corner with equipment and fiber if you would prefer to learn to spin.

We meet at location two. It takes about 45 minutes from Riverside, but at least we are driving the opposite way of all the traffic!

There is no 'required' reading but you may want to get Handwoven, Learning to Weave (Chandler), A Weaver's Companion, or Mastering Weave Structures (Alderman).

Woolies and Weavings

The new weaving project in class: A close up:
The previous project. Woven half this size and unfolded. Pay no attention to the unfinished edges. Mr. Whiskers and Lola (she was a show pig):

Baby lionhead rabbits. Fuzz-licious!

Ow

I think rabbits are soft on the topside to distract one from the pointy bits on the underside.

Imagine

If anyone has seen my camera, can you send it home? It was supposed to come in when the streetlights came on. Haven't seen it in weeks, even though The Great Decluttering of 2009 continues.

Redlands Bowl season is here, so there is more knitting time in my week now. The first of the blue socks is nearly done and they might be fair-worthy. Opening night was packed with both people and good entertainment.

The first project from my weaving class is off the loom and wet-finished (imagine picture here). I need to figure out a good edging treatment and decide if it is a mat, towel or blanket. This project was my fist of double-wide double-weave, which gives a finished item twice as wide as the working width of the project. I think my fold line was pretty iffy, but the class and the teachers assure me it was pretty darn good. Wet finishing changed the texture significantly, so my first order of business in our next class is trying to find out why it changed, followed by how to avoid those changes and/ or how to duplicate them in a future project.

Someone came by the spinning demo booth at the farmers' market Friday and suggested we wander by the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum to see the weavers' barn. Denise was agreeable, so Saturday was filled with chili dogs, soft serve, tractors, weaving, looking for a water fountain, and contemplating the blacksmithing class. Then back at the ranch we admired the goats and sheeps and horses. A good day.

I am going to a wedding next weekend and am scrambling for a gift. Yarn, perhaps.

Being Lovely

Today is a good day because...

• it might rain
• yesterday was pizza night at the knitting store
• it might not rain
• I bought cat litter
• there is a cantaloupe growing in the garden
• I found a grown up bed that is so cheap it will fit even my budget
• I worked on my sock last night at knitting
• kittens are soft