Where the Antelope Roam (Really)

Yesterday was a fun day at the Knit N Stitch open house. There were knitters, movies, snacks, spinning and the wall o' sheep. We are going to have private spinning lessons at Knit N Stitch, so I was trying to do a little interest-raising with the demo. Darling Cheryl and I made up the RiverSpinners contingent. I made some progress on the Red Fish roving - it is about half done now. I finally decided to spin it all up and then chain (Navajo) ply it. The colors naturally blend due to the way it was dyed, and I think 3 separate singles will dull it too much. Chain plying will allow the colors to sort of stay together. There is no plan yet for a finished object... I tend to get 200 - 700 yards out of 4oz of roving, which is not enough for the shawls I have patterns for, nor a sweater, but too much for a pair of socks.

Progress is good on the MS4 stole. I am about halfway done with clue #2 and the beading is going faster. I just bought more beads and I think I will need more before I see the end. Guesses on the theme (on the Yahoo group and on Ravelry) are all over the board - aliens? genies? roses? geisha? cards? My personal guess right now is sperm, but I don't think it will hold up. I am still working just one side a time, both to keep on schedule and to maximize stole length before I have to restock yarn and beads.

Someone *finally* was murdered in "The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers", but I am giving up on it anyway. Sorry, Lillian. I have moved on to "The City of Fallen Angels" which is set in Venice, but hopes are not high at this time.

I actually attended yoga this week (slow deep stretch), which was nice. However, I was still a nervous wreck afterward. Apparently I am wound more tightly than I knew! I will head off to another class this afternoon. The teacher training program starts in October and I hope to be in it. We will have pilates at the yoga studio soon - I may have to give that a whirl. I really need to be more active - knitting is fun but not full of cardio.

Weaving has been taking a back seat this last couple of weeks, which means I am not finishing things that will bring income to my little house. I have some tension and guilt about that. I suppose it would be alleviated if I sat. and. wove. After yoga, I think. The problem is that I would always rather be knitting! I have a blanket commission waiting in the wings and the silk for the scarves is sitting around looking longingly at me.

I had a little bit of a sad / frustrated morning. I hate it when my opionin / input is solicited and then mocked. Sigh. And then something made me think of Mr. Fixit which always brings a little twinge - although the rate of twinging has been reduced to once a month or so. I realized a few weeks ago that I no longer think about what I would do if he wanted to come back.... not that I don't miss being in a relationship but I suppose I have fully accepted that he won't be coming back so I don't have to imagine dealing with the scenario. It just takes me a long time to get over things. I am still not ready to deal with looking for / dating / getting to know / starting to trust anyone new, but I kinda miss having someone to go out and do things with.

It might be time for another week in Wyoming.

Spin Span Spun

Last night was very productive in the spinning department - finished the last 1.3 oz of "Ophelia" and made a nice 3 ply yarn from it. I was alarmed when finally went to bed and it was... 3 am. Geez. Anyway, it was transformed from this:To this:Project specs are: 4 oz Optim in the "Ophelia" colorway from Chameleon Colorworks. Transformed into 277 yards of a sport (?) weight 3 ply. I wish the deep green made more of a statement in the finished yarn, but overall I am pretty happy with it. It was a pleasant spin.

Next up on the spinning queue (on my Majacraft Millie) is this fiber from Red Fish Dyeworks. It is 4 oz of a silk / superfine merino blend. I love the boldness of the colors, but am in a dither about whether to make it a 2 ply, 3 ply, chained 3 ply, or ???? I don't want the colors to muddy. It is beautifully dyed, but not in clear sections that will spin up one after the other like "ophelia" was.Lucky the Mouseling is still happy. Here he is, later on in the day he was the cats' plaything(they have no interest in him now that he is in jail).And this afternoon, attempting a prison break. Maybe I should rename him Steve (McQueen) McMouse. He eats everything in sight and used my hand as a jungle gym for a while. No wild mouse, this. Latest on the Netflix front - I finally got to see "Death in Holy Orders" all the way through. It is a PBS / BBC adaptation of a P.D. James book. I had seen the first 2/3 twice over the 5 years it has been out, but never the end. Interestingly, Jesse Spencer (Chase on "House") is one of the central characters. Small acting world. This show is sometimes mentioned (somewhat obliquely) in spinning discussions, as one of the murder-ees was staged to have died of a heart attack while knitting, but another woman realized that she was not wearing the right glasses and it proved the key to that mystery.

Tomorrow is the open house over at Knit N Stitch. I have to spiff up my Ashford Traditional and find something (!) to spin as a demo. Oh, the challenges I face....

Mousy Me

I am a softie. A sucker. A pushover. I get called a hardass but it is all a lie.


Yesterday the cats managed to corner a mouse behind the desk. "Don't let it die back there, you guys" I adominished. How it was going to brave its way out I did not want to contemplate. I left, steeped in denial, to run my Wednesday errands. When I came home, they were playing with it (in the dogs' food dish, interestingly) and it was looking a bit woozy. Rhiannon grabbed it and started to run off, but I got her to drop it, scooped it up, and set up house in an old cage I was just about to get rid of. Shavings, water, food... and a wish for the best. Off I galivanted again, with no idea what I would come home to.


Imagine my surprise when I returned and said little guy was... fine. Just fine. Bouncy bouncy, bright eyed and bushy tailed (as it were). All his appendages were intact and fur unruffled. I think he was even nibbling on a mouse munchie. He has been christened "Lucky" and is the newest resident of Chez Jackson. (Insert picture here - the picture is on the phone and I left it in the car). The oddest thing is - he is a white mouse and perfectly friendly. He comes to me when I put my hand in the cage instead of running away. He loves his little mouse house but does not cower in it. Where on earth did my cats scare up a pet mouse? Did they walk to the pet store? Is some 6 year old on my block very sad? Should I put up "found mouse" posters? If it had been a wild mouse, I would have released it over in the cemetery or something. Kindness does have limits. And what does it say about my felines that 4 of them together could not kill and eat one little mouse after a whole day?


In other news, I have finished Clue 1 of the MS4 project. Just in time too, as Clue 2 will be released in the morning. I will need to knit another one for the other end of the stole, but will put it off for a while. I need to order a second skein of yarn but am having a cash flow issue, so want to get as far as I can with skein one.


Good progress has also been made on That Scottish Shawl. I am about 2/3 of the way through the first repeat of the right hand side (I will need 3 total - on each side). This project bigamy really does let me see progress!


The new audiobook of the week is "The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers" by Lillian Jackson Braun. So far the only mystery is "when is there going to be a mystery?". But it is a good listen and easy to spin / knit to, so I will muddle through.

Lady Luck

I had to halt progress on the MS4 project this morning when I just could not find the last little tiny box of beads I picked up last week. Twice through the knitting bag, four times through the car, and yet nothing. I stopped by Knit n Stitch to see if I left them there last night... and found the box of beads (slightly smashed) in the parking lot right where my car was yesterday. Yesterday! None are broken, the box is intact - none escaped. I am pleased and amazed. And then when I was in saying Hi, the other store called back to say that the beads they had on order (and which I had reserved at 10:05 this morning) arrived later that morning and I can come get them any time. It is a grand day!

I made some progress, meanwhile, on That Scottish Shawl. It keeps me on my toes.

But the best best best news of today? I went to the grocery store. I am now up to my ears in bananas, strawberries, ceral and pb&j makings. Life is good again.

Knitting the Night Away

Thank you for the kind words about little Bindi-bunny. I tried to do right by him, and he is missed. Here is a picture of him the day he came home. Toothpaste included for scale. He had gro-o-o-o-o-wn since then. Bindi is the Hindu word for the dot some people wear on their third eye (between the eyebrows), and he had a teeny one in exactly the right place (and a white smudge on his nose). Fran helped me finish my first piece of Hungarian tape lace (a kind of bobbin lace). It took about 16 hours from start to finish. We watched a lot of "Law and Order". The design is by Louise Colgan and I used #50 DMC Cordonnet in Ecru. There are 3 more pieces in the series and we will start #2 next week when she returns from the bobbin lace cruise.

Here is an in-progress shot of That Scottish Shawl . It shows the last bit of the center section and the first bit of the right hand side. I added another 4 rows tonight at the knitting store... every little bit counts. The yarn is a beautiful dusty green, which did not photograph very well.Firsa tried to help with the photo shoot by subduing the rampaging knitting needle. Silly girl.I am making progress on the MS4 Stole. I am off to the bead store tomorrow for a refill. The yarn is the same type as the one above. The beads are 6/0 mill hill, and either a shiny gray or actual hematite (the jury is out). They sort of blend in and they sort of stand out. I am about midway through clue one (which we will knit twice). And closer...I also made it to the library today for more audiobooks. I already knew the first rule of lace knitting - don't watch a movie in Chinese with the subtitles on. This weekend I learned the corollary - don't watch a silent movie. I had to watch intently to get the few words and could not depend on chatter to guide me. Geez.

All righty - off to do some more knitting!

Good News, Bad News

Welcome Lime & Violet visitors! Thanks for taking the time to click over. I try to remember to post about knitting in between life rants :)

Speaking of which, the MS4 is coming along swimmingly. I think I am on row 15 of 29 of clue 1 or something. I will also be out of beads by the end of the first clue, so I will have to hit the bricks and find some more. It is a really pretty pattern, I like the yarn and I like the beads. I swore I would take a picture, but life got in the way.

The new "blank" combed top is in and ready for a big dye session this week. There will be merino/tencel, blue faced leicester and yak/silk to choose from.

I had an unexpected trip to the vet today and had to put one of the bunnies to sleep. He had a major injury that needed surgery which I could not afford and which he might not survive. I feel pretty bad. Really bad.

Under the Covers

Why do people leave mean comments?

Need infusion of ice cream.

I Should Have Known...

...that it was in the blood. Remember the picture of the shack from a few days ago? Check out this comment from my aunt: Did you know that the chicken coop was also a goat shed? Or also held sheep, since Great-grandpa also had sheep. The stanchions are still in place. I am SOOOOOO moving there and running sheep. I only need 3 or so. Let's see... a Finn for wool, milk and lambs, a romney for wool and a cormo for wool. And maybe a shetland (moorit of course) to keep everyone else on their feet. And the best part? Now I have an excuse to get an Anatolian Shepherd dog. Bwah ha ha.

The first MS4 clue comes out tomorrow. I am excited. I also have no yarn and no beads. Timely I am not. Oh, I have some stash laceweight, but it is all earmarked for other projects or there is not enough yardage. DUH! *smacks forehead* I have an entire cone of 8/2 silk... nope. That belongs to the business and is set aside for weaving. Forget I said anything. I keep eyeing that Cormo roving though...



I finished listening to "Memoirs of a Geisha" this morning and enjoyed it thoroughly. The ending was very happy and tidy (almost too much so). I will swing by the library tomorrow to see what other gems they have. I also have a couple of netflix to watch, although it is difficult to read subtitles and knit lace at the same time. It is OK for spinning, though. I watch so many movies in Chinese that I sometimes think I don't have to read the subtitles, but it is never really true. I hate overdubbing in English (with the solitary exception of "Steamboy" which is about a japanese boy in London).

I also finished the center section of That Scottish Shawl this morning and embarked on the right hand side. It now requires my full attention (good luck), but is a satisfying knit. I love the yarn and the color (Alpaca With a Twist "fino" and Sea Glass). It has been a week of project monogamy, which is quite nice. Who woulda thunk?

Well, I am literally the only customer left at the coffeeshop at 9pm on a Thursday. How wierd is that? I should flit from table to table.

Thought for today: They always look like angels when they are sleeping.

MS4 PT2

It's not like I don't have 3 shawls in the works right now and one more that needs to be test-knit immediately.

It's not like I have 3 sweaters in progress, one of which is maybe an hour from being done and then delivered to the recipient.

It's not like I have 4 pairs of socks in various stages of disarray spread around in yarn totes all over the house.

I don't even have any idea what the MS4 will look like (duh). But I. Must. Start. It. on Friday when the first portion is released. I have no yarn, no beads, no plan. But knitting must occur. Luckily (Cheryl are you paying attention?) I can download the portions of the pattern and then knit them at my "leisure", whatever that is. There is no award that I know of for finishing on time, except that I would have a new shawl in time for autumn.

Well, I guess I have a little bit of a plan - I can finish spinning the "Ophelia" roving I got at the bead show, ply it off the bobbin and then start spinning some lacewieght yarn out of all that Cormo I bought last November at Torrance and then this July at Lambtown. I have an idea of the colorway I want (I did not buy it from The Loopy Ewe. Yet). Where beads will come from is another question entirely. Maybe I will make the foray into Tustin to check out the selection at ... the place next to Kragen, or maybe I will swing by Redlands to see if The Enchanted Unicorn has any (yes. I will call ahead).

I have been knitting like the wind on "That Scottish Shawl" while listening to "Memoirs of a Geisha" on cd. It is, like, totally engrossing. Audiobooks make a far better accompaniment to knitting than TV does. I also feel like my brain is working more by imagining the scenes. I am now only a couple hours away from starting the next section. I mean to take pictures, but the shawl lives in the bedroom while the camera hangs out with the laptop in the trunk of the car. (Don't rob me).

Maybe I will get all of those projects done by Friday.

Mystery Stole 4

Go. Go Now.

Patterns

*edit to remove whining*

**************

Otherwise, I have have attempted to have a nice calm weekend. I don't know that it is working out as planned. Saturday I worked and then watched movies and knit on That Scottish Shawl. I am getting close to done with the center panel and look forward to the next chart. I am also enjoying the project monagamy. The movies were "Hollywoodland" (about the guy who played Superman), and "The Pianist" (who knew it was a real story? must read the book), which both starred Adrien Brody. What a coincidence! The third movie was "Perfume: the story of a murderer" which was a lot wierd but pretty good overall. It is also from a book. It tells the story of a guy who wants to learn how to preserve scent, and hijinks ensue. Starring Professor Snape, Dustin Hoffman, and Ben Whishaw.

Sunday I didn't work but spent so much time discussing whether or not we should work that I just should have ponied up. Then I went to Fran's house and made lace. Her grandkids were visiting and, while they are cute, polite and fun, was a BIG change for me from having cats and dogs around. Eleventy-seven pets are WAY less work than even one kid, I suspect. The lace went swimmingly and I made great progress (one entire repeat out of the 6 required).

Today has been work and then maybe some lace (but it is getting kind of late). I also want to make a stab at going to bellydance tonight.

The big news from last week is that I combined Mr Whiskers and Seamus McCavy into one pen and they did not kill each other. Of course they have the rabbit to referee (he even has a black and white "uniform"). Things are going well so far, especially when I bribe them with banana and blueberries. Here is a bad picture of the truce:

But right this minute I need some lunch. My oatmeal has worn off. And it was a pretty big bowl!

Pattern Release & Lazy Saturday

It's here! It's here! The Mermaid Scarf pattern is finished and ready for purchase. It will be up on The Soap Plantation website shortly or it can be found at Knit N Stitch. It is a simple little scarf suitable for beginning lace knitters and will take about 300 yards of any laceweight yarn. This is the first little pattern I am sending out into the world and I hope you like it as much as I do. in other news, it has been hot and humid for the past two days. Blah. I have been watering the garden but it is getting to the end of the season and everything is looking a bit scraggly. I found some seeds for Coreopsis Tinctura or Dyer's Coreopsis when I was clearing out a cupboard and think I will put it in before "winter". I also need to suck it up and dig out all the sad sad rose stumps. I wonder when the right time is to put in new ones?

I have been weaving like a woman possessed by the need to make her hobby into a career and it is going well. I can actually weave and let my mind wander at the same time now. I can even weave and listen to NPR! And either my cotton spinning has improved or I found a better way to load it on the bobbin, because the thread has been breaking far less.

I am missing Wyoming and the fresh air (my skin never looked so good), the open spaces and the scenery. Here is the old chicken coop:

And I will leave you with a picture of some sunflowers. Who doesn't love sunflowers?

Haiku Thursday

"Tea Towels"

Spin and weave cotton,
Advance the warp - wind up cloth,
Too nice to dry dishes.

"Housekeeping"
I hear Grandma:"Don't
put it down, put it away".
I find the house nicer.

"Gardening"
It grows, but each week
The gardener whacks away
My little chive plant.

"Blogging"
Fodder thin today,
No pictures no updates. Sigh.
Must play "Diner Dash".

Wide Open Spaces

I am back from Wyoming and in one piece (one anti-social piece, but that is a post for another day). The rosary / funeral / burial were sad, but the rest of the weekend was nice. There was visiting with family and lots of eating. Several of us had never met before. We talked, walked, played games and I knit like the wind. Seriously, Mandy's sweater needs about 5 rows on the collar and the sleeves sewn in. I ran out of yarn in the Denver airport or it would have been done by now.

Three generations: Do you see what I see? Over a barrel... Sometimes a post is just a post...
The homestead. Grandma designed it and Grandpa built it. It took 5 years.
Thistle poppy - the fried egg plant. I saw antelope, but they were far away and very fast.

The trip home was exciting - take a car to Ft Collins, change cars to Denver, wait for my plane (forever), bus to Union Station, train from LA to Riverside, then the bus to my neighborhood, then a mile walk home. Whew. I can hardly believe I made all those connections. It is good to be home but I miss the emptiness of WY. I am suffering from closed-in-itis right now. It is hard to imagine why I couldn't just stay there. Sigh.

Life's Ups and Downs

First the bad news - my grandpa died Monday. I will be in Wyoming this weekend (for the services) and will try to post if there is access. He was my oldest grandparent (born in '18 I believe) and a rugged guy. He was a miner and then built the family home (which my grandma designed, as she was an architecture major) in the evenings after his shift. He spent the last two years in a home, with Alzheimer's. I am sad that I never managed to get out to visit. I think the last time I saw him was at the family reunion when I was in college ('95?). I am bad with the living but always manage to make it to funerals. How wierd is that? Anyway, my Aunt Margaret send the notice on Sunday morning that he had been failing for a few days and I got to spend all day Sunday and Monday thinking about / remembering him before I got the note that he passed. It was peaceful and full of morphine and there was family around him, which is really the best of all worlds.

I really didn't mean to be away this long. Somehow time just... gets away. I have been keeping busy! We had the knitting Olympics at Knit N Stitch last on the 9th and it was great fun. I registered Mandy's unfinished birthday sweater as my Olympic Challenge project (can I finish it by this Saturday, the end of the Games?). Last weekend was pretty quiet. Mostly I stayed home weaving and enjoying the weather. I finally broke the windows open where the painters painted them shut (or open, depending) *cough* 2 1/2 years ago *cough*. The cats enjoy laying on the windowsills and I enjoy squirting them with the water bottle. The weaving is progressing nicely and the cotton spinning is a nice change when I get tired of the weaving part. You can see the 5 or so tea towels that are already done filling up the cloth beam. Here Dozer is filling in as a footwarmer. I am still spinning on the wheel - I finished the "Yule" yarn and plied it up and found time to spin some bulky alpaca and some green/ navy /burgundy merino that has been marinating in the stash for a while (quarters included for scale). I guess both of those bits of roving were about 5 years old now. Geez. I also went through the box of finished yarns (stored in ziplocks) and have been washing / setting the twist on all of those this weekend. It is a great feeling to look and see skeins and skeins of possibilities instead of piles and piles of stash that is begging to be spun. Friday I went to the Pasadena Bead and Design show. Stash was enhanced! I went to pick up some cotton sliver, but there was none to be found. I did pick up some 60/2 laceweight (cobweb really) yarn from RedFish Dyeworks and some beautiful merino & silk roving too (it is a little washed out in the pictures). I grabbed that one straight off and did not let it go.

From Nancy at Chameleon Colorworks I acquired some Optim (stretched merino) in the "Ophelia" colorway. It is very soft and shiny and a real pleasure to spin. I am one bobbin into it already - the plan is to make a 3 ply (non chained). At Carolina Homespun I snapped up some yak & silk roving (words cannot describe the yum factor here) and some regular silk roving (not exciting enough for a blog picture).I even bought a bead for Emily's baby shower this weekend. It is all hush-hush though.

Well, I had better scamper off and start some laundry so I have something to pack. Does anyone think I can get a laptop, my knitting and 4 days worth of clothes into one carry-on bag?

My Life in Pictures

There are rovings for sale! This is "Blueberry Squishy" and it is a blend of Merino and Silk. There are 2 available at $24 (4oz each). Extremely soft and has a luster due to the silk. This is "Coral Beauty" and it is Blue Faced Leicester. This is a great beginner's wool. There is one available for $20 (4oz).
More BFL in the "Mango Mango" colorway. There is one available at $20 (40z)
There are others too, in BFL and a Merino / Tencel blend. I need to find some better light for the rest of the pictures.

This one I kept for myself! More Merino / Silk in the "Yule" colorway. The skein is 2 oz (half of the original amount) and there are 366 yards. I chain (navajo) plied it to keep the color changes very clear, and it came out to a fingering weight. I wish I had had a quarter to include for scale.
And close up you can see the shimmer.
See? I do spin! Last night I even got out the book charkha and attacked the pile of cotton. I need to get back to work on the dishcloth project so that I can get them off the loom, up for sale, and warp up some silk for scarves.

Sunny Skies

Things are looking up today. The most I have to complain about is the dog (mine) that barks incessantly. At something, at nothing, when hungry, when full, when outside, when in. At 4am I finally had to get her away from the door, to see a truck backing out of our parking lot. 4am!?! Maybe I will try walking her. The other dog plays fetch, but Sunny just... barks. You know what they say; "a tired dog is a good dog".

I put my spinning wheel in the car today and plan on toodling over to the knit shop to be distraction-free. Tonight is also movie / pizza night (come over and bring $10) and I think I am supposed to bring "Casablanca". If I can get the merino / silk off the bobbin, I can go back to spinning for sale. The distractions at home are endless; tv, dishes, knitting, cross-stitch, shushing the dog, napping. It is such a hard life.

No new pictures (sorry), but some knitting has occurred. The Rainbow Sherbet socks are in the car and they go with me to the therapist, knitting night and while waiting for the train. The Berroco socks (did I name them? I forget) are into the twill pattern. I am having some problems with it, mostly when i try to reverse the twill. Also, I have a feeling the pattern is not going to be stretchy enough. I will have to knit another inch or so before I will know for sure. I added a row to Icarus the other night and then promptly dropped a stitch and had to rip out that row and the one before. Note to self: do not knit lace during reality tv.

I actually made it to yoga last night (by accident, really) and it was nice. I apparently have forgotten how to breathe and how to relax, so I will have to keep going back if I expect any change. Such a sacrifice. We did get to do my favorite asana, which I can never remember the name of. An internet search isn't helping. Anyway, it is the one asana that I can do really well and looks fancy. I am sure pride isn't the point of a yoga practice, but believe me there is little self confidence in several of the other postures!

Knitting Floats

Even though I am *super* excited about the retreat, I have been feeling a little down this last couple of days. I think I will just have to pick up the needles and push through it. And have chocolate. I should be in yoga class, but this here is a knitting blog, so let's get to it!

On the needles:

• The Rainbow Sherbet socks. Sockotta sock yarn in a lovely colorway of green, yellow, pink, white, red and raspberry. This is a self striping / faux isle yarn that is a little stiff to work with, but I think it will soften up after washing. I also am making sock #1 on one circular needle, which is a real pain (I think my circ is too long). It is good "taking places" sock, as it will live its life in plain stockinette to show off the colors.
• The Twill Socks. These are really socks with no name (yet). This is Berroco's new (cheap) sock yarn in a mild self striping colorway with lots of tweedy green, brown, gold and red. I am up to the leg of sock #1 (on DPNs *yay*) and will use a twill type pattern for the leg... I hope to figure out how to change the direction of the twill each time a new block of color begins.
• Mandy's purple sweater. The guilt is getting to me. It might be easier to just finish it than to keep worrying about it and hoping she forgets. I tried the "I only promised to knit you a sweater, not deliver you a sweater" tactic, but she saw right through me.
• Icarus (the green one). I am really, really, really ready for this to be off the needles. It seems like I have been working on it forever. I am on chart 3 of 4 and when it is done it can go on to its next life as a shop sample.

There are other items in a holding pattern, but these are the things I reach for (or should be reaching for) each day. I was not able to satisfy some start-itis last night, as the wrong yarn for the Irtfa'a shawl was in the box. Lovely sock yarn, but not the laceweight silk I was looking for. I was even moved to pick up a lonely cross stitch project and put in a few stitches the other day. Since I started spinning (2001) my poor cross stitch projects have languished. It would be nice to finish some things and get them framed and up on the wall. I think I can manage to get the ones for Halloween and Yule up this year if I drop them off at the framer's sometime soon. The Yule one only (!) needs a dozen or so beads attached to finish off the snowflakes.

Right now it is off to the grocery store. How exciting. I think part of my low mood is that I have just not been eating enough (and certainly not well) this week, as there is not enough food in the house to make any sort of complete meal. You know how it is - I have spaghetti but no sauce, milk but no cereal, bread but nothing to put on it. And eggs. A lot of eggs.

While I am off, perhaps you would enjoy a trip down Flickr lane. There are some finished sock pictures, a cat picture or two (this is a knitting blog, it seems to be compulsory), and more of the pictures-that-I-took-in-Hawaii-and-never-posted.

Retreat! Retreat!

I figure it is time for another Big Announcement...

Lacy Lazy Days of Fall Retreat
September 18 - 21, 2008
Featuring Miriam Felton of MimKnits

Come join us September 18-21 at Carole's Bed and Breakfast in sunny San Diego for four days of relaxation and instruction in learning and designing knitted lace. Participants will learn the basic techniques for knitting lace, a history of lace, and have an introduction to designing your own lace projects. Celebrate autumn and take some time to relax and pamper yourself before the holidays.

Our teacher will be the lovely and talented Miriam Felton. She has designed many of our favorite shawl patterns, including the Icarus shawl, the Seraphim shawl, the Hidcote Garden Shawl, and the Juno Regina wrap. Her designs have been published in Interweave Knits and Knitty.com. You can see more of her work on her blog at http://www.mimknits.com/wordpress. Miriam started playing with fiber, yarn and thread as soon as she could hold a needle. Ten years ago, she began knitting. Designing knitwear followed soon after. While many of her designs focus on lace patterns, all of her work features textural details, and exploring positive and negative space with the use of knitted stitches to create lyrical and strikingly visual patterns. Miriam has had designs published in Interweave Press magazines and books, the on-line Knitty magazine, the book Sensual Knits, as well as self-publishing patterns via her website at http://www.mimknits.com/. When not knitting, Miriam can be found frequenting various Salt Lake City coffee shops and bookstores while wearing her tiara.

In addition to our knitting class, we will be taking a walking tour of Balboa Park and enjoying afternoon English Tea at a local tea shop. Not to mention hours of knitting, chatting and general merriment.

Due to the close-knit nature of this retreat, attendance is limited to 14 students. A deposit of 50% is due by August 15th, with the balance due by September 4th. There will be a $50 cancellation fee after September 4th.

Retreat pricing includes: class fees, 3 nights lodging, walking tour, 5 meals plus tea, and goodie bag. Pattern and materials list will be available separately.

$495.00 for a shared queen bed or $750.00 for solo queen bed.
Please call (951) 347-6572 or email thesoapplantation@earthlink.net to book your place today.

Spin Span Spun

I take it back. The "Yule" colorway has been embezzled. 4 oz of 50/50 Merino & Bombyx silk is mine, all mine, and spinning up like a dream. It is bright blue, white, gray and bluegray and looks like the arctic. Or the moon on snow (sorry southern Californians). It is spinning up very fine and very easily. I thought long and hard about how to ply it... 2 ply? 3 ply (3 bobbins)? Line up the colors or not? I decided that mixing up the colors might tone it down too much and am going to Navajo (chain) ply it to keep the colors bright and distinct. The Merino / Tencel roving was the best seller at Lambtown (thanks everyone!) but the people who passed over the Merino / Silk really missed out on something special. There will always be next time.

I love spinning. I love petting the wool. I love dyeing the wool. I do not love rinsing the wool. I love watching it drying and packing it up. I love fluffing it up and deciding how to spin it. Wide sections of color? Small strips that create small bits of color? Plying with another yarn? Spinning it bulky, sport, sock or laceweight? Then there is the satisfaction of feeling the yarn take shape right under my fingertips. It is a magic spot where it changes from loose fiber to smooth, strong yarn. I love watching the streaks of color line up on my bobbin, love moving the thread guide to keep the yarn evenly layered. How can people not spin? How can they think it is "too hard" or they will have time after they retire? Does no one sit for 5, 10, 15 minutes at a time anymore?

We (Mandy and I) are working diligently on finalizing our Lace Knitting Retreat in the fall, but after this rant, I am motivated to have a beginning spinning intensive in the spring. Or the winter. Can you imagine being holed up in the mountains, surrounded by snow and pines, while we are snug inside with cocoa and a riot of spring and summer colors? The smells and textures of happy sheep and happy wool grown over the spring and summer, bringing light and energy into our cold winter days?

Pants on Fire

What a Lambtown! I was negligent in the photo department (some did get taken, but now my power cord is missing), but I was happy to be busy helping people choose fiber and soap. There is a little fiber left (even some in the new colorways) for a photo shoot tonight. There is "Blueberry Squishy", "Yule", "Lilac" and "Princess" in roving and several new colors in yarn.

I had a lovely drive north to Dixon. The first sheep sighting was at 9:05 this year (they were silhouetted against the sunset) as I got a very last start leaving town. The moon was spectacular - bright orange. It even make an orange halo. Wow. The day of the show (Saturday) I was pleased to see many returning vendors and friends, and at least one friend who was a vendor for the first time. She brought the most adorable Texel guinea pig for socializing. I never touched the knitting, but I did get about 20 minutes of spinning in around 6pm. I knew I brought the wheel for a reason!

I made a little detour on Sunday to visit a friend and we had a nice relaxing day. There were stories to tell, dogs to pat, yummy dinner to eat, the dancing chickens to goggle at, and just a smidge of "Law and Order". It's nice when things are... nice.

I tried a new way home (via Hwy 198 thru Priest Valley) and it was gorgeous. Far too dangerous to sightsee, much less take pictures, but I recommend it to everyone. Golden fields, spots of green oak trees, blue sky, black cows and a ribbon of highway. Ahhhhh.

It was good to get away, but it is good to be home too.

Dyed and Gone to Lambtown

I am here! Wheeeee! I am also running late due to an alarm clock error. I will take pictures and post tonight.

OMG I Got Out of the House

It is a beautiful day here today. I went to yoga this morning - Ashtanga - which leaves me happy, but sore and exhausted. I went to the grocery store and then made breakfast... mmmm. I haven't been cooking much lately (just throwing things together, mostly) and it felt good just to scramble up some eggs and toast some toast. Now I am at the coffee shop and listening to Jim Croce. I feel like I am 6 again.

Yesterday the angora rabbit got groomed and today it was the dog's turn (above). She did not shed out her entire winter coat and it started to mat when I wasn't looking. She was not excited about being perched on the washing machine, but I managed to get her somewhat brushed out.

Yesterday was also our monthy Riverspinners meeting / annual pool party, and it was a smashing success. There were new people and returning people, and I think everyone had a great time. There was knitting, spinning, crocheting and bobbin lace and Cheryl had a finished quilting project that was just lovely. There was quite a lot of splashing in the pool, and Julia showed me some synchronized swimming tips. I am constantly amazed at all the fun hobbies out there that I have no idea about.

In the evening I went out the coffee shop and saw a bluegrass concert - This Just In was the opening act and they were pretty darn good in a traditional way. Then the headline band came on - Cliff Wagner & the Old No. 7. They were amazing. Spectacular. Out of this world. I was so enthralled that I had to - get this - put down my knitting. It was fantastic. Go see them if you can.

To finish up, here is that picture of me in my Very Fine Hat* at the Renaissance Faire in Irwindale this past spring. I got to hold the owl. I was very, very still and very, very excited. Sorry about the glare on my glasses. I never remember to tip my head.

*Firefly pilot episode "Serenity". Apologies to Joss and Tim.

It's a Mystery

Yesterday I started (and finished) a book I received over the holidays, Three Bags Full. It was pretty interesting and a fun read. I have to say that I was mildly annoyed about one flock having 4 rams and no wethers, but I am not a sheep-grower. All in all I give it one hoof up.

Today I browsed through (Denise's copy of) Hand Woolcombing and Spinning. He is extremely detailed. Extremely. It might be a fun challenge to try and be as precise and see the difference it makes in my spinning. I need to return the book and invest in one of my own.

In other news, I am one sock down of the "Bejeweled" pair that I am working for Mandy. There is nothing better to knit in the world than a pair of ankle socks. No kidding. They knit up in a snap. Big fluffy Mountain Colors yarn on size 2 needles doesn't hurt either. The colorway is just gorgeous (I have misplaced the ball band) and I think I will make a secret s-c-a-r-f out of the remainder.

The garden is growing, tomatoes are ripening, bell peppers have been eaten, and lettuce is giving up the ghost. The last two weeks of searing afternoons tried to burn everything to a crisp and nearly succeeded. Today has been warm and overcast (=humid) but rather cooler than the last two weeks.

Off to pizza night at the yarn store!

Picky Picky Picky

The Painted Desert Socks are done (started last year). They were waiting for a trip to the frog pond. The waiting took 8 months and the reknitting took one week. Geez. The Peppermint Mocha socks are done. Note the adorable picot hem.
The Stripey Socks for Courtney are done. In 2 days. After waiting for 18 months in a ball-of-yarn status. Both of these ankle socks came from one 50g ball and I have another ball left over if anyone would like to buy it.
The Swamp Socks are done. Never again shall we speak of the hell that was the knitting - ripping - reknitting - knitting - knitting - knitting. I won't k2p2 for a long time to come.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh

New laptop - check. WOW installed - check. Raspberry Peach iced tea - check. Other fab things: the first tomato turned red yesterday and I received my fancy pants new phone. It even takes pictures. And they paid me to buy it after I added up all the discounts and rebates.

Cloudy Day

I have a bunch of pictures stored on the camera for your blogging pleasure. The down side is that the uploading / downloading program is on the dead computer. I will get them posted as soon as I can. It stinks finally having pictures and no way to post them.

Off to see the shrink this morning - they filled my regular appointment time on Fridays and I have been moved to Wednesdays. Blah. I hope the puppy is there to make up for it :) At least the chocolate bin is always full.

I have been a good girl this week and went to yoga twice on Sunday, to bellydancing on Monday, and bellydancing AND yoga yesterday. Whew. I feel good, though. Mostly I no longer feel like a complete moron in bellydancing class. There is still a looooong way to go.

On the needles... I have been chipping away at the swamp socks. It just has not been knitting weather recently (and I never thought I would say that!). I am still working on the new sample of the Mermaid scarf for my knitting class at Knit N Stitch, and for pictures and publication someday soon. I have started doodling for the new project, something with leaves and flowers is my plan.

Revelations

I'm it, thanks to Rose. I suspect she is more interesting than I am, but I will do my best.
The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves.

1) What was I doing ten years ago? I was working at Sav-On drugs and Newark Paperboard. I also moved from San Bernardino into my current house. I still did cross stitch as my primary recreation as this was the pre-spinning, pre-knitting and pre-weaving era.

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today? Check with the computer folks to see how bad the news is about the laptop. Teach knitting class at 2. Go to bellydancing tonight at 6. Mail my unemployment form. Put gas in the car (done).

3) Snacks I enjoy. Those pink and white circus animal cookies. Has anyone ever identified which animals they are supposed to be? Stouffer's french bread pizza. Apricots (fresh or dried). Trader Joe's peanut butter filled pretzel puffs. Toast.

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire. Buy a house, get some sheep. And chickens. I love chickens. Spiff up the Altima - maybe a racing stripe. Fund season 2-27 of "Firefly". Travel. Get a restored Sunbeam Tiger. Keep $2 M of the leftovers and live off the interest. The rest is up for grabs.

5) Places I have lived: (in order) Victorville CA, Las Vegas NV, Spanaway WA, Spakenberg NL, Moreno Valley CA, Northampton MA, San Bernardino CA, Riverside CA. Does the summer in Tustin with Mr. Fixit count?

6) Jobs I have had: Air Force dental office assistant, bookstore, pet shop, other pet shop, several manufacturing and assembly gigs, several HR and office assistant gigs, Permit Agent for Extra-Legal loads, and then the last 4 years at the Bad Place.

Incommunicado

My poor computer is dying. It went to the doctor this week and he sent me to a specialist. Anyone interested in selling their old laptop?

The Doldrums

The problem with having start-itis is that, at some point, I have to work on all the things I start. This is not the fun part for me. I seem to be in a place this week where I look all around and see only half-finished (sometimes half-started) projects. The garden is on autopilot. Helping at the yoga studio is settling into a routine. It is too hot to knit, and anyway I am surrounded by socks, sweaters and shawls in progress. My Netflix pile is boring. The loom is waiting for some spinning to get done and the spinning is waiting for a part to return from being missing. We have planned the soap show season and now the soap needs to be made.

Now, in the abstract, I like doing all these things. I am good at them. They make me happy. But when I look at my "to do" list and see what needs my attention - what I have gotten myself into - I heave a heavy sigh and look for time in my day to go play WOW. Part of it is brain chemistry and I have been feeling overwhelmed, irritable and frustrated this past couple of weeks. I think the trick is to tell myself that I get to do all these things instead of I have to do all these things.

In other news (and there are pictures to prove it) I had a great time last weekend. There was a good amount of planning things and then saying "I don't wanna" and making myself do them anyway. And the surprise? I had a great time at all of them and am richer for the experiences. Friday we had a kirtan here at the yoga studio with Dave Stringer. *swooon* He and the band were nice and the music was fantastic. Many cds came home with me since I can't afford to go to the next concert - in Bali. Saturday we had a soap show at the Old Riverside Foundation Restoration Fair. People with restored historic houses put them on a tour and then at the headquarters there is a vendor fair and the final house tour. It was a little quieter than last year, but we managed to have a good time. We had the world premier of our new soaps with the Riverside Raincross on them and everyone thought they were quite handsome. You should buy some. Saturday evening with hosted a second kirtan, this one with Keshavacharya Das. I was wiped out from sitting in the hot soap booth all day, but I wanted to support the artist and went. While the crowd was smaller, the company and the music were second to none. We are so fortunate to have these performers come from all over the country to join us at Inland Yoga. (*thud* off soapbox) Sunday all I wanted was to stay home, but it was off to the Renaissance Faire in Irwindale for the day. I did not get all dressed up, but did remember to apply sunscreen. I had a great time. I bought a floppy straw hat (yay shade!), perused all the booths, said hi to the gang at St. Cuthbert's, had a gyro and a guiness, saw an acquaintance from tatting/ bobbin lace events, and saw part of a couple shows. There was some "I ran out of tip money" guilt and therefore did not watch the all the shows. It was sunny, dusty, hot, dusty, bright, dusty, loud and dusty - all the things that make up faire. I like the new site well enough - there is a little lake that is nice to look at, lots of trees for shade and the occasional water fountain for water bottle refilling. The bath water was pretty black when I freshened up that evening! I filled out the day with a little WOW and all in all it was a pretty perfect weekend.

Wanted: Blog Fodder

The garden is growing. I have had a half dozen extremely flavorful strawberries already. The tomatoes are coming right along. I have been harvesting lettuce leaves every week and have a crisperful now. I hope the lettuces last until the tomatoes are ready! The roses are about done, but they had a good run.

While I have been thinking about / doing yoga office stuff all week, I have been lazy about actually going to class. In fact I am playing hookey right this moment. Tomorrow for sure. I spend a lot of time each day telling everyone how they should come to yoga and about all the different classes and events we have going on in May. I went to slow deep stretch this week, though, and the spot in my back / sacrum that has been bothering me for a YEAR finally popped into place. It was quite a noise, but it feels better now.

I have been playing (far too much) WOW this week and had forgotten how fun it is. Unless I am dying, which was the case this afternoon. Geez, that is frustrating. Mostly playing WOW at the coffee shop makes me long for an internet connection at home. Not until the cat feels better and the job situation is more stable. Or at least until the cat feels better. She has been losing weight over the last couple months and the vet found some elevated levels of bad stuff in her bloodwork, so she got a sub-q shot of cortisone and is on some antibiotics. I have a few choice words for whoever invented giving gritty, cold, nasty tasting fluids to cats. She gets all suspicious when I head for the refrigerator now.

Knitting progress has been slow - mostly I am working on finalizing the "Mermaid" pattern for my lace knitting class. It is in my head and on the notepaper, but not graphed up all nice and neat. Interest in making this project is growing and I look forward to sharing it. Maybe I will even get all fancy and figure out how to make it a download-for-sale. I managed to knit 2 inches too far on both sleeves of the Mirepoix bodice and have ripped them back to the place where the increases were supposed to begin in the first place. I never thought I would love 2x2 ribbing this much. I like the yarn quite a lot - Louet gems sport superwash merino. Especially the superwash part. It makes good tv knitting.

Speaking of which, I have been chipping away at the netflix queue. This week is "The Ferrari Experience" (would have been better on fast forward and mute but did have shiny cars) and "Le Mans" (which I tried to watch with Mr. Fixit once, but I fell asleep pretty early on. Not a lot of talking in that movie). Then there was "The Water's Edge" with Nathan Fillion ("Firefly", "Serenity"). If ever you want to holler at the tv, this is the movie for you. Couple with issues moves to scary run down cabin bordering a lake and in the backwoods. Not really drama, not really horror, not really good. Nathan's character is an idiot, but he himself is dreamy. Also in the pile of movies is "Oklahoma" and "7 Brides for 7 Brothers".

Lisa, ver. 29.4

My very, very favorite episode of "The Simpsons" is the one where Homer goes into a mental institution, meets Michael Jackson and brings him home. He and Bart write Lisa a birthday song ("Lisa, it's your birthday, happy birthday Lisa"). My second favorite episode is the one where Lisa is training for the spelling bee. Nationals, I believe.

I only follow one horse race a year (big guess which one) and was totally bummed to miss it this weekend due to sheer forgetfulness. Linda at KNS and I realized it at the same time, tuned in to hear "Big Brown won" and switched it off. This means we missed the announcement of the tragic end of 8 Bells, the only filly in the field. She broke both front legs and was euthanized on the track after finishing 2nd place. It reminds me of the story of Ruffian, another filly who broke both legs during a match race and was put down (in the mid-70s). So sad.

But I had a great time at the knit night / birthday party on Friday, a great time at the veggie potluck on Saturday, and spent Sunday playing WOW. Yes, I mean all of Sunday. It was great. Today (the actual Special Day) I have no plans except to go to bellydancing tonight.

I received yarn for my birthday and promptly cast on for the Mirepoix Bodice from Fall 2007 Interweave Knits. Then I set it aside out of guilt and worked on Mandy's purple sweater. The end is within sight. With a telescope.

It is good to be Lisa, version 29.4

WOW - Whee!

I left the 'puter on all night and it obediently installed 5 hours worth of WOW patches. Then I got to play for a few hours this morning and was happy as a clam (until I started dying). Ahhhh.

Everyone is invited to the Knit Night at Knit 'n' Stitch tomorrow night (see sidebar for address). There will be pizza, salad, drinky-poos, and I heard a rumor about birthday cupcakes*. Bring your crafy project (knitting, crochet, whatever) or just come browse the yarns and find some to add to your stash. They have some lovely sock yarn from Mountain Colors. We will also have "Brigadoon" playing. Every knit night they play a different musical and it is finally my turn to pick again. They ask nicely for a $10 contribution. The fun starts at 6pm!

This week's netflix movies were "Woyzeck" by Werner Herzog and "Crash" (which I have not finished yet). I am not amazingly impressed by either one. Time to watch some more "Weeds: Season 2".

*I may actually have started this rumor.

On The Road

Here I am, at 1:25 am, installed in the hotel room near LAX and I am wide awake. Martena leaves for India in the morning (yay!sob!) and we went over some work and then I will take the car to pick up some LA Yoga magazines and return the car to the house. I had a coffee before we left and a soda on the road (so bad) and have not been this awake in recent memory. Maybe the guy at the mini mart slipped some meth into it. Wait, I made the coffee at home. Dang.

Today was a wicked busy day - by the end my brain felt totally full. When I realized I totally forgot to go to a meeting I knew it was overflowing and important things were leaking out. I had some fun today, though. I went for my first manicure (extra basic) and pedicure this morning. My toes are now Idaho red. It was scary at first and then really fun as soon as I put my feetsies in the massaging footbath. I will have to add it to my list of "special things to do once in a while", along with going to the movies and getting a haircut. I swang (?) by Tar-jhay and found a cute sweatshirt/hoodie with crows on it that I just had to have. Luckily it was drizzly and cool most of the day, so I had an excuse to get it. How can it be 100 degrees yesterday and raining today? Maybe the weather goddess needs some of my mood stabilizers.

As I type the Blizzard patch is downloading so that I will be able to play WOW again someday. The taskbar says I have 4 hours to go. This is better than the 12 hours it said it would take at the library. Here at the Holiday Inn I can just leave it on all night. I do miss playing WOW and if I am going to pay for the subscription I should play the game. I wish (OK not really) that I could spin, weave, knit, play WOW, watch netflix and read all at the same time. And check email. This might be an ambitious goal.

The kitty cat has a date with the vet on Friday. She has been losing weight (but not condition or energy or affection) the last several months and I am starting to worry. I am feeding her wet food on the sly - although the other cats are starting to catch on. I hope she just has something simple like a hurt tooth. Simple = cheap.

What the ****?

A week? A week? What is the deal? Well, if I have been lax, at least the garden has been growing. An epi blossom:

An iris from my Aunt Anne's garden, taken while I was in Arizona for the Handweaver's convention. Who says Phoenix is only a desert? Half of my little garden, up against the house. The tomatoes are much bigger now, and in their little cages. None big enough to eat yet, but lots of little blossoms. There is a "cherokee purple" and a "Juliet" roma plant.
The purple trumpet vine on the side of the porch. For one week a year it is a mass of purple blooms and the rest of the time it is a wild and wooly green monster.
Knitting progress has been limited to the second swamp sock, out of the frog pond and ready to turn the heel, and work on That Scottish Shawl, which is my TV knitting. Not necessarily the best plan, as it has a complicated chart. It is a particularly poor knitting choice for movies with subtitles. Frogging (and frog pond), by the way, comes from the sound you make when tearing out your knitted progress: "rip it, rip it". When you undo one stitch at a time it is called "tinking", as tink is knit backwards.

I did put in some good weaving time this week, but am hamstrung at the moment by being out of white singles and the accelerator band of my charkha being AWOL. I remember finding it loose and putting it "somewhere safe". Famous last words.

All else is good but ho-hum. Knitting class on Wednesdays, yoga work every day, yoga class when I can make it, netflix, reading and petting the pets. I read a great book by Dan Simmons on Saturday - "Darwin's Blade". It was an action-packed thriller about an accident reconstructionist who gets in over his head. The accident reconstructions in the book are all examples that I remember from the Darwin Award books, which cracked me up.

I am adding 2 lace knitting classes over at Knit N Stitch; Tuesdays and Saturdays at 2. I finally washed and blocked the "Mermaid" scarf and that is the pattern we will be using. Of course I have no picuture ready for you *sigh* Fewer copyright issues if I just use my own design :) Come on over!

Shiny

My big adventure to bellydancing was quite adventurous. I was terrible at it. I did keep trying, I did not leave early, and I will do the homework. I expect to be able to do things perfectly the first time (!) and my awkwardness and embarassment was an unpleasant reminder of being singled out in high school. Ick. But I think I had more fun than frustration and will keep with it. I used a whole new set of muscles that yoga doesn't even touch, that's for sure! One of the women from the advanced class came along as my moral support and it made me feel reassured. I think she is on the chocolate chip cookie list :)

This afternoon I met up with Anne for lunch at The Falconer in Riverside. I had the infamous fish & chips and it was well worth it. Mmmmm. The apple tart was excellent (but not $7 excellent - that is a dessert for splitting from now on). Apparently I have been conditioned to insist on pie after a fun meal out. It is a couple hours later now and I am still stuffed.

Progress on the Swamp Socks is good. I finally frogged them all the way and restarted on 4 dpns. I was getting a significantly different gauge when I was working on 1 circular, and sock 2 bore little resemblance to sock 1 in the size category. Now they are my "computer is warming up" knitting and that is soothing. Progress on That Scottish Shawl is also good, even though I had to tink 2 rows last night. Bleh.

In the garden, the first strawberry of the season will be ready for a photoshoot in the next few days. Maybe I should pickle it for posterity?

Alas, I have to run, as the meter is about to expire and there is weaving calling my name back at the house.