Ringing in February

My Change Ringing (Plain Bob Minor) Scarf is about half done. I feel like I have been knitting forever!  But it has only been about 3 weeks.

Empty Nesting

I sold two cockatiels today.  I know they are going to a good home, I know I had too many and it was getting overwhelming, but I miss them already.  It was very hard to unload their cage to a stranger in a parking lot and drive off.  They went to a friend of a friend, so updates might be forthcoming, but it was still sad to hear them calling out for me as we drove away.

Good luck, little birds. 

Vacation

I took last week off and did a lot of relaxing.

I finally hit level 90 in World of Warcraft (4 months after release) and am quite excited. Now I am raising a cloud serpent to be a flying mount. He is so cute.

I crocheted a potholder which sees use daily - no more grabbing the teakettle with an old sock.  I also crocheted a spinning wheel bobbin for my Quidditch project for the Harry Potter themed knitting group. I have also been knitting on a cabled scarf and a glove # 1 of a pair.  I have finger and the thumb to go.

Holly (the new dog) went to the vet and got shots, spayed, dental cleaning and a microchip.  Her recovery has been smooth and we are taking walks again.  This morning I stopped by the car to grab a hat and she took a running leap right into the passenger seat!  Before, she was shy about getting in the car and had to be forcibly removed from the driver's seat. I guess going to the "spa" (vet) for the day really agreed with her.

Fritti (the 15 1/2 year old cat) also went to the vet and got a new prescription for some antibiotics; they must be working because his sneezing seems much reduced.  Kiwi the parrot passed away, I miss her a lot but we had a great last month together and her passing was very quiet and peaceful.

Yesterday afternoon I finally made it back to archery and had a really great time.  No one else came out, so I was able to look dumb & practice & get good tips from the hosts.  I left feeling much more confident and will be back again soon.

Last night I found all the equipment and materials for my OWL and BROOM projects (HP knitting group again) and swatched so I could submit my proposals by the deadline. I  am making laceweight yarn from some cormo roving that is wonderful and soft.  I found three bags of it, but when I got them together, they are clearly all different shades of white (see below).  However, I made my swatch and I think that I have plenty of fiber in each color, so I think I will use the one in the front (bright white) for the project. Overdyeing would also be an option, but I have my heart set on a white shawl.

Holly photobombing my spinning picture

Closet Clean Out

Closet stash diving day 2: found 3 bobbins for my Majacraft wheel, although the yarn on them was an almost total loss. I think I can salvage some of the pure angora, though.  Underneath the brown romney on one bobbin was some wool / soy silk that I had been sampling. Pleasantly, I found the matching roving over the weekend. Good to know I have a bobbin already started.

Found the bag of cormo I was looking for, it has some moth damage but should be about 80% salvageable.  When I put it with the bag I have set aside, there should be plenty for my winter OWL.  I think there is another bag of it somewhere... I will leave that stash dive until tomorrow.

Big surprise, found four missing skeins of finished yarn in perfect condition. Two are matching yellow ingeo. One is a dove colored merino & silk blend and one is a graduated gray to purple 3 ply in blue faced leicester that I designed, dyed, spun & plied. That one I had been thinking of recently; I think it will look well as the center of a circular shawl.  I just need to find one where I can bind off when I run out of yarn without any buckling. There is no skein tag, but I think there is about 400 yards.

Also found a crap ton of red heart acrylic and 6 cents as well as the pink silk sliver I was looking for and some green & yellow dyed merino top I had forgotten about. The pink silk was an experiment in dyeing from a workshop many years ago.  I had relegated it to "purely ornamental status" but I think I can use it in a class this term.  It will be interesting to spin and see what I get anyway.  The green / yellow / blue merino is actually from a different dyeing class (with Nancy Finn) and my inspiration was Kiwi, my indian ringneck parrot. She is still with me and the top isn't getting any younger; I may have to spin that up too.  Maybe into a parrot hat.

And I found *another* half pound of cotton sliver.  Will it ever end?  I am trying to get it all into one location, but continue to find so much I will need a bigger box quite soon.

New Year's Beach Party

I love my new WoW guild (I love my old guild as well).  I plowed forward in the face of apathy and we had a really fun beach party.  Not everyone came, but those who did were really into it. Thank you, Midnight Forerunners!

Pictures are blurry because, well, my character was drunk.

The End Already?

Wow, time really got away from me. After Dozer passed away I then lost the African Grey parrot (Stormy) to a seizure and the next week one of the parakeets died (Skye).  What a crappy month.

Right now everyone is hale.  The indian ringneck (Kiwi) has been moved out to the computer desk & the play cage and I am trying to stuff her with food as she is thinner than I would like.  It is fun to visit with her, although I miss Stormy calling me "HEY! Girl! HEY!" all the time.   I also moved Wavey the parakeet in with Opal the parakeet and they seem to have come to a room mate agreement.  It is too early to say if they like each other, but the nitpicking has lessened. 

This year I read some books, knit some things and played some World of Warcraft.  I went to gardening every week I was supposed to.  I watched some movies, took an online class and adopted a dog that was pound-bound.

Next year?  Maybe finally apply for a new job, maybe go back to making soap, maybe get serious about honing my German language skills, maybe knit some things, read some books & play some more WoW.  Walk the dog more and do the dishes more as well. 

And blog more.

Moving Forward

I'm making it through each day, getting up, going to work, checking FaceBook & Ravelry and finding things to smile about. 

I'm taking pleasure in showing more attention to some of the other pets (Kiwi parrot particularly) to remind them that I love them and to remind myself all is not lost.  Kiwi is looking thin, but I am making mixed veggies and keeping the dish extra full and hope to see a positive improvement soon.  She has been a good bird for almost 10 years now and deserves to be spoiled.

Finished reading "The Hobbit" during a lazy Sunday in bed this morning; soon I plan to go see the new movie. 

The new term of the Harry Potter knitting group (soar, Ravenclaw!) starts on Jan 1 and I have spent a lot of time on the forums visiting, reminiscing and planning projects for the next term.  I have some lofty goals and a lot of yarn at my disposal.

Hope you are all well out there in internet land.

Sad

I just got back from the vet. I put my darling Dozer to sleep today.  I am so sad. I loved this dog so much. In addition, this is the third dog I had to euthanize this year and it does not get any easier. He has been my companion for more than 10 years and we went on so many adventures together.  He got his tooth stuck in a chainlink fence, he tried to get kicked by horses, sheep, donkeys and goats, he was a dog friendly dog who liked walks, overnight visits and the dogpark.  He was my rock through some difficult times these last few years and I would not have made it without his calm presence.

I do have some dog overlap; I got Holly a couple months ago so Dozer could teach her all his bad habits. She was a quick study.  Of course, I haven't told anyone about her so it is another whole issue to figure out how to present her to everyone. 

But none will ever replace Dozer; he was a gem of a dog and the last thing the vet said to him was "well Dozer there sure wasn't anything wrong with your heart" while he was listening at the end.  True words. I miss you, buddy.

Precocious

... and semiprecious.

Presenting the semiprecious scarf.

Very Cordial

The spinning wheel is fixed and I am finishing up some merino tencel roving in my own "cherry cordial" colorway.  It is smooth, shiny and gorgeous.  No in progress photos yet (Beaker chewed my camera cord), but here is the fiber I started with. 

I don't usually use colors this bright, so I have no idea what it will become (maybe socks), but it sure is pretty. 

Up & Running

Monday I finally had the motivation to get my spinning wheel up and running.  It has been a dustcatcher ever since the drive band snapped 3 years ago.  I bought a new one last November, but progress did not... progress. 

Monday was a lovely warm day - one of the last of the season, I suspect - and I collected a rag, the drive band, a screwdriver and gave it a good going over.  It took only about 30 minutes, including repairing the scotch tension which I didn't even know was broken! 

Now it is good as new and I have been spinning some lovely pink / red / purple merino/tencel blend at a laceweight.  I am thinking of using it just as a singles yarn & not plying, but might have to do some experiments first. 

I forgot how much I enjoy spinning.  While I did do some spinning on a drop spindle in the intermission, it was not the same.  I love the treadling, the drafting, watching the bobbin fill up with lovely fine yarn. 

It feels good to have it fixed. I may have to fix some other stuff soon. 

Tired Hand, Warm Neck

The Ophelia scarf is all done and is extremely soft. 

New scarf in the same pattern cast on and knitting away.

Soapy Monday

Making soap.  Eucalyptus and pumpkin tonight, and maybe some vanilla sheep for variety.  Then it will be time to work on my scarf - it must be done, photographed & posted before midnight on the 31st. 

Off to stir the pot!

There is Pansies, That's for Thoughts

I am knitting away on the Ophelia yarn - can it really be 4 years since I spun it?  The time has flown.  The scarf is The Prismatic Scarf and is going well. I fear it will be too short, but if it worse comes to worst, I can add buttons & I cord and call it a cowl. 

Morning Mumbles

I've had a good couple of weeks. Work has become fun again, now that we have a couple more people trained up on problem files (my specialty) and because it is a slower time of the month.  It will pick up again at month end later this week, but I am enjoying the respite.

I am still knitting for my Harry Potter / Ravenclaw house knitting group on Ravelry.  I finished some fingerless mittens, some crocheted butterflies, a couple washcloths and am working on a scarf.  There is more I want to finish this month, but am pretty satisfied so far.

The pets are still falling apart: Fritti is sneezing again, Galen has a gross toe, Dozer's lump isn't getting better, Carrie has escaped & I haven't seen her in days and the dogs think Lizzie is a chase & bark toy, which is the most obnoxious problem.

Hopefully I will catch up with picture taking and make some more visual posts later in the week.  

Stash Thursday

Some beautiful blue merino roving / top I picked up at Lambtown last year.  Not a fantastic picture, but the fiber is really lovely. 

Hopefully at some point I will stop posting about stash fiber & start working with stash fiber!

Stash Monday

Today is the last day of vacation. Maybe I will finally  take an hour and get the spinning wheel back in working order.  There is stash to be spun! 

This is some yak roving that I got at Lambtown last fall.  It is grey-brown and amazingly soft.   I suspect I was thinking I could spin it on my charka, but a featherweight spindle would work well too. 

Vacation: Day 1

Yesterday had a definite knitting & TV theme to it, as most everything I did was knit and watch Hulu plus. I found a great show called Circus and watched the first few episodes.  It is heartwarming, fascinating, funny and poignant in turns.

I knit an Acorn for Quidditch. It was a fast and easy knit and I think I will make a bunch of them.  The pattern is so easy I can memorize it and make acorns every time I need to fill a little time with knitting or have a small amount of yarn.  I bet they would make great cat toys.

I also knit a Corgi washcloth for Muggle Studies class.  It is a washcloth for people which sports a corgi, not a washcloth for washing  your corgi.  Sorry.  It went surprisingly quickly (although not as quickly as my regular diamond shaped ones) and I bet I can finish the coordinating one (for Potions) today.

In the morning I finished Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire and it was a fun read.  Starting book 5 on Sunday!

Having a day where I didn't have to go anywhere was wonderful; I can't remember the last one.   I haven't had a Monday off in a while and I work on Sundays so it seems like I have to be "up and at ' em" every single day.  Today I think a dogwalk is in order if it stays cool. 

Stash Thursday - Quidditch Hat

Pictures are here!

Stash Thursday

I love naturally colored wool and I love superfine fleece. Cormo  wool is the best of both worlds. This is 5 oz white & 2.5 oz natural grey roving from Cormo Sheep & Wool Farm (blog here)  It is certainly not enough for sweater, but would make a nice vest or hats or shawls or mittens.