Imbolc

Yesterday was Imbolc and for the return of the light I lit a candle, made some incense and let the dog in / out of the yard a hundred times (well, 2). I resisted buying another rabbit, although they were very soft and on sale.

Progress continues on the Vernal Equinox shawl; at this rate I will have it done by then! I love the yarn so much that I may switch to it for every future project.

Finished another book, this time _American Gods_ by Neil Gaiman. It is a little difficult to describe, but was absolutely absorbing. If you like weird, Neil's your man.

Soapy Sales and More

So as you may know, Mandy and I have a soap business and, as it is the holiday soap-gifting season, we set up shop at the Downtown Festival of the Lights and at the Knit N Stitch open house this weekend. It was a good time, and we have plenty of holiday soap left for your stocking stuffer selections. In addition to the regular inventory, we made up special holiday scents including: Gingerbread, Peppermint, Eggnog, Mulled Cider, Applejack, Creme Brulee and Chocolate Mint (that one is so good that someone took and ate the tester for it last night). We have peppermint snowflake guest soaps and gingerbread men soaps. They are just too cute. We also have adorable Christmas / Holiday cards from Ruth at The Dizzy Ewe. And if you buy four soaps, you get a free guinea pig!

In other news, I am still feeling OK about life and Mr. Fixit. I still miss many things (and don't miss some others), but I don't beat myself up about it or take it personally anymore. Watching a lot of "House, MD" helps, as does snuggling under the covers and sleeping in. In between episodes of "House" I did quite a lot of sock handwashing - I found pairs that I forgot I knit. You might think that means I have too many, but I think it means I just need to keep them clean and in the sock drawer in a more organized fashion. Or grow more feet.

I knit very diligently on the blue scarf at the KNS open house and that evening at the soap booth (until I couldn't feel my fingers), and it is nearly, nearly done. Maybe I can churn out the last few rows today at lunch. Next on the list is a full-scale attack on Mandy's sweater. She is going to be able to wear it at Christmas dinner if it kills me.

I had a nice visit and Thai lunch with Rose on Saturday. Petsitting gifts were delivered, and general catching up was accomplished. It is nice to enjoy being around people / my friends again.

I took some time one evening this weekend and browsed around the Mission Galleria, seeing what I could see. I picked up a CD of "Pictures at an Exhibition" and "The Firebird" for $2 which totally made my day, and I found some small stocking stuffer items. They had one spinning wheel, but upon close examination it turned out to be a decoration piece only - the knob to adjust the mother of all is merely stuck on (not an actual wooden screw) and the flyer did not have the hollow bit where the yarn goes through - it was a solid piece of metal. Otherwise it was a very handsome saxony style wheel. Someone with a metal shop, who also doesn't care about adjusting their tension, might enjoy fixing it up. I saw a gift Mr. Fixit would have liked, but I don't think he deserves anything nice from me. So there.

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!

Missed You and Happy Mabon

It seems as if I have been offline forever! There was some excitement this weekend in Mr. Fixit's neighborhood that resulted in a total lack of electric, gas, telephone and cable. We still had water and cell phones though. We went out to the Haute Cakes Cafe in Costa Mesa for breakfast, did some visiting with friends, knitted, and did some maintenence on the cars.

There was a bunch of crafting progress over the weekend. I finished the Saffron socks on Saturday and have less than 2 yards of yarn left - just what I intended. I went to my Hedgehog Lacers meeting and worked on my bobbin lace project - a moon in burgundy, salmon, and gold. I made good progress and worked on it Sunday when the power was out. I set up shop in the driveway. Luckily the sun was out. I worked on Secret Gift #1, which really isn't a secret anymore. It is Mandy's birthday sweater. I am still in denial about Secret Gift #2, which is still a secret and for which the challenge of finding fabric is still giving me nightmares. I hereby resolve to work on the sweater exclusively until the first of October and then work on SG#2. I also found some time to work on the Rum Runner socks. I finished the heel of sock #1 yesterday and started the leg pattern. It is slow going with with teeny yarn and size 0 needles, but it is my comfort knitting when I just need something to do and not think too hard about. Yesterday I visited with the pets and even worked on my inkle loom project - a woven drawstring / strap that I began maybe 5 years ago? Geez. I thought about ditching it, but got out the lint roller and have resurrected it. My weaving skills have really deteriorated. But it is fun, it got easier as I went along, and it got me into the bird room to enjoy their company.

I totally love the fact that it is fall now. Fina-freaking-lly. It rained Friday and Saturday (both drizzling and pouring) and it made me ecstatic. We left the window open and fell asleep listening to the music it made. Mr. Fixit made me cocoa (with milk, even! I shall never again doubt that I am loved), pumpkins are everywhere, I broke out my fall jewelry, and soon the lone maple tree by my work will change color. I am ready to hunker down at home and get snowed in. Too bad I have to go to my day job still. Something is messing with my mood, though, making me hyper sensitive when anything does not go my way. I hope it is a short-lived phase. But I have lots of fun things to look forward too - Coronado with Mr. Fixit, Las Vegas Ren Faire, the Soap Plantation's first annual trip to Maui, Halloween / Samhain, Lace Day, the Fall Into Knitting Retreat, Thanksgiving dinner, the trip to Mexico, and Yule / Christmas. Must focus on the positive!

Secret Gift #1, day 2

Ah, the wide open feeling of starting a new project. Everything has a bit of a rosy haze to it. The knitting will proceed swiftly, I will not run out of yarn nor have so much left over that I am annoyed, the cats will not "help" with the knitting, and I will not balk at the making up.

I chose an easy place to start. It will be a good warm up for The Serious Knitting and might even enable me to take A Knitting Shortcut later (please please please please please). Progress is swift when the rows are short.

Secret Gift #2, day -1:

Still need fabric. Sigh. I can order it online and be done with it, but will it be the right color? And I will have to wait for weeks. The other option is driving all over creation with the pattern in hand, trying to find a shop that stocks it and then praying to find the right color. Meanwhile, I can get the other materials. If I rememer to take the pattern with me to the other shop. This is the one I panic about getting finished on time. I got the cold chills when I realized it will have to go to a secondary crafter after me for the finishing up - adding 2-3 weeks to the finish time.

Must not stress out over Secret Gifts. Must craft with patience and love. I can always buy gift cards at the last minute.

Other Knitting - progress on the saffron socks continues. I think I will be able to knit until I use up every darn inch of the yarn. The rum runner socks are on hold until I finish the saffron socks - I am so close!