By Popular Demand

Petal is done! Dream in Color Classy yarn, colorway "Petal Shower", purchased at The Loopy Ewe. Pattern is "Perfect Sweater".

Snuffelupagus

I have been snuffly and sneezy all week - the last two days particularly. I am not quite sick enough to call off my life, but I am not so well that I feel like being amazingly active. So - not a lot of yoga this week. Tomorrow, though, I am going to Viniyoga in the morning and then two Ashtanga workshops in the afternoon. We'll see if I make it through alive.

The big project for today was picking out plants at the nursery and spending a couple hours this evening putting them in the ground. There are now tomatoes, strawberries, parsley, basil, lettuce, and pansies to add to the one garlic plant and the volunteer oregano. I spent under $30 for all of the plants, a 50# bag of gypsum to make a dent in my clay soil (that might be an oxymoron), and a tiny birdfeeder. I have seeds for some other things around the house somewhere - clary sage, cantaloupe, acorn squash and maybe some morning glory seeds. That can be next week's project.

I finally finished the Petal sweater and it was nippy enough to wear it this morning (it is also nippy this evening, but now it is just me and the petsitting pets, so I will wait until I have a human audience to wear it again). I even dragged out the iron and steamed it. I have no idea what is coming up next on the UFO list. I bet it will be Mandy's sweater. I guess that means I do have an idea. :)

I caught the opening of "The Thomas Crowne Affair (1999)" on the tv the other day, but had to leave for yoga before it was over. I put it on my Netflix queue and have watched it 3 times since Tueday. I think it is going on my (very short) 'movies worth purchasing' list. I have the original on my queue too, but I think I have a bigger crush on Pierce Brosnan than Steve McQueen. Mr. Fixit was forever talking about Mr. McQueen ("Men want to be him and women want to be with him"), but I just don't see the appeal.

Still Boring

I decided that my plan for yesterday was to slide down the porch steps and twist my ankle. Right before yoga and on the day of the hip workshop. Sigh. But I muddled through class and workshop with heavy modifications. It feels good today - but not good enough for Ashtanga this morning.

Petal is all done except for setting in the sleeves. It rained and hailed last night, which motivated me to wear it today. Now it is sunny and warming up. Sigh.

Today is wide open and I am taking it easy. Maybe I will finish sorthing the fleece with which I was gifted last Thursday. It was a pet sheep (boo) shorn by the owners (boo) and it is a naturally black / silver / brown (yay) finewool (yay). I am saving all I can for spinning and some for felting. Some is just trash. I will have to ask for next year's clip - I will even pay for a good shearer to come in. I forgot how much I love the feel of a fresh greasy fleece. It feels like sun and rain and happy sheep.

Coming Up For Air

This week is going better than last week, when I was in the maelstrom, but shiny happy it is not. Oh, I have a job, car, house, pets, knitting stash (and I am grateful), but I am just trudging through the days.

I actually picked up the blue scarf and knit on it for a while in the waiting room today, and that made me happy. It really needs to be finished and gifted away. Ditto with Mandy's sweater. Saturday is an open house at Knit N Stitch, and I plan on wandering over and getting in some good, focused knitting time. They had movie night last Friday ("White Christmas") and I had a lot of fun visiting and working on Petal.

Speaking of which, Petal's pieces are done and I just have to wash & block it, sew the bits together, and add the collar/ neckline hem. So close and yet so far!

Hidden Talents

I decided to cook this weekend. I spent $20 on groceries and no money at all on eating out. There was T-day cooking: roasted acorn squash, cheesey mashed neeps (turnips), pumpkin bread and cranberry sauce. There was regular eating cooking: scrambled eggs with swiss chard and mushrooms, teriyaki beef, rice, swiss chard and beets one night and salad with seasoned chicken the next. I tried to make potato pancakes out of the mashed turnips, but only got a mess, so I added an egg and called it Turnip Scramble. It could use some sausage, though. It is really fun to cook - I like the domestic feeling. I really like the fact that I get dishes done while things are simmering / baking / sizzling. I have no one to cook for, and that brings me down, but I smash the feeling back into my internal Box of Denial and move on.

I got some knitting done! I disciplined myself and cast on for the body of Mandy's birthday sweater (very overdue). I am translating the pattern for knitting in the round, and have my fingers crossed that the design will come out even. Body, sewing up, neckline. I can do this. Easy Peasy.

I also let myself work on Petal - finishing the body and casting on for the first sleeve. I would work the sleeves at the same time, except that I did not wind the yarn into balls. I am working from the skein, which is draped over a couple of S hooks on the bookcase. It is a fine arrangement for one skein, but I shudder to think what would happen if I were switching from one sleeve to the other and the ends got all twisted up. Bleh. While I finally invested in a ball winder, I was hoping to get a swift from Mr. Fixit for Christmas, and therefore did not get one myself. I guess it is back on the list of things to reward myself with.

I did NOT start any brand new projects, which is good. I also did NOT buy (or inherit) any yarn at the yarn store when I visited on Friday. I did find the yarn for the theoretical rug in the cabinet at home, so that is one hurdle down on that project. Next comes figuring out how much yardage I have and how much warp I need. I worked a little bit on the strap that has been on my inkle loom for... well, I am not exactly sure. Several years, I think. I like beating the weaving into place - it is a good stress release :)

The blue scarf is on hold until I can dig out the other ball of blue yarn, as I have finished ball #1. Hooray for the halfway point! I need to put it back at the top of the priority list and try to get it done before I leave for vacation on Saturday.

I did not work on my quilting homework, although I thought of it often, but I did watch several quilting shows on PBS this weekend. I also managed to watch a disc of "House, MD", one of "Love, Hina", watched some movies on the telly, and re-read all of "Angels and Demons" by Dan Brown (of "Da Vinci Code" fame). I even found my missing (and severely overdue) library book, so maybe I can power through that this week too. Maybe when I am knitting on the blue scarf!

I Like Knitting

I have been trucking away on the reward project (Petal) and it just keeps making me happy. I no longer worry that I will run out of yarn. Also, I discovered that it is fun and easy to knit up a hem as you go (well, as I go) when making a picot edging. One stitch mysteriously disappeared, but I am calling that a mistake-on-purpose so as not to offend the Knitting Faries. Fairies. Good thing the Spelling Fairies have the day off. I also picked up the blue scarf today and added some rows. I need to get back on track with that before it is Spring! I am looking forward to a LOT of knitting and tv watching this weekend. Perhaps I will install myself at Knit N Stitch on Saturday and work on Mandy's sweater. I like knitting, I like Mandy, it should be a snap.

I had my 2nd appointment with the new therapist today. I still like her quite a lot. I also like the 30-40 minute drive each way, which gives me some getting back to "work mode" time on the way back to the office. And it is right next to the Claim Jumper, so if things go badly I can always go get chocolate cake.

I continue to toodle around on Ravelry, adding projects to my queue and joining groups. I am pickyknitter75 if you want to visit me. I like adding virtual projects - no money to spend, no books to store. Perhaps this weekend will include a glut of picture-uploading. I have big plans (!) to spin yarn this fall / winter for several projects. Of course there are also the big plans to do more (some) weaving, to go back to school (starts 1/7/08!), and sell more soap.