Friday, September 24, 2010

Friday Updates!

Yes, this is Friday. A day that is unlike any other day this week. Just when I think I am getting ahead, I am reminded that I am behind.

Plus this Blogger goof is constantly editing itself. I lost one whole paragraph when I hit the space bar.

I finally finished the stupid linen stitch scarf of 450 stitches across and knitted long-wise. I tried 4 different bind-offs and I do not like a single one of them. I was told at the Knit Group that a standard bind-off is fine, and that when washed and blocked it all works out somehow. Well, I did not like that chained effect that conflicted so harshly with the cast-on stitches.

This morning I finished the bind-off, and I hate it. I tried my 4th one, and said to Hell with it. I am just going to finish this thing. I hate it. I am afraid it did not "work out" in the wash and block. Right now it is pinned and drying. I do not know what to do with the thing now that it is finished, and not to my liking at all.

I am on the home stretch with fingerless mitt #1. I decided to do something easy and fast to make up for the scarf debacle. I am using some fat merino yarn gifted to me, and #7 needles. Works up FAST!

I have been contemplating what knitting to take with me to Taos next week. I know I will take the feather/fan scarf, and what else? Actually I thought of not taking any knitting and giving my hands a break for a while. So what I will probably do is take the scarf, and not work on it much. That would give my hands a bit of a break. My arthritis is screaming today (we had rain this a.m.) and I have a sore tendon in my L thumb.

Our sock group meets on Sunday. CJE is coming over early so we can catch up on news. A lot of people are still busy, so it will be a small group.

Patty has certainly taken macro-steps this week. She has discovered the hunting and catching and gumming to death of grasshoppers! It is so totally gross, and I will not go into any details to anyone. But this has made her want to go out on her very own, and I have left the back door open for that purpose. Anything to encourage her independence. She is so intense with the hunting thing. I see her looking into bushes and plants. She pounces on them. It is funny to watch, until I see the legs sticking out, etc.

The babysitter for Patty and Noodles is coming tomorrow evening to get her key and to meet the animals and get the routine down. Yeah! for babysitters!

I am getting really excited about leaving on this trip. For the longest time I really dreaded the whole idea of packing up and driving and all the hassles. But the more I think about the cooler weather, the energy from all the fiber folks, and just being in Taos again, the more excited I get.
Just to be around people who speak the same language helps.

Well, Happy Weekend! Stay cool and remember it is never too early to knit for Christmas!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Is It Really the Middle of September?

My gosh! I looked at the calendar just now, and yes, I will be in Taos in two weeks! Wow! Two weeks! I better get high behind and get this piddling knitting done and get something portable on the needles and get ready.



I am sorely tempted when I go onto blogs or etsy sites to buy something woolly, but I am holding myself back for the wool festival. I know that I will find something really nice there. I mean-who wouldn't find something nice there?



I also will make my regular trip to LaLana Wools and to Rachel Brown's store. I don't really have an agenda this time. I just want to go. I just want to be away. I just want to smell the sage and chimisa and all the desert plants. I want to have some different scenery.



I did get my car serviced this a.m. bright and early. They even washed it and vacuumed out the interior! I can strike that off the list.



I am really tired of the knitting I am doing right now. I want it over and done with. I have really found out that I am a process knitter. Once I have figured out the pattern and casted on and knitting is going smoothly, I am bored. I think that is why I like colorwork knitting. Lace is good too, but I get distracted easily and I don't always know how to read the knitting to figure out where I am on the chart.

I am disgusted with myself over the handspun sweater. I started decreasing for the armholes-no problem. I started with the lace pattern, and I thought it was no problem. Then somewhere about 2 inches into the lace pattern did I remember that one has to mark off the repeats so it lines up right as I decrease the armhole. Duh! How stupid! So now I have to unknit all that and start that over again. SIGH! Some days I could just scream at myself!

My friend's kitty that was sick did not die! Whew! She is eating again and is doing so much better! I am so relieved.

I did get a call from a long-distance friend that her mother had passed away yesterday. She has been in hospice for three months, and she passed in her sleep around 12:30 a.m. without pain or anymore suffering.

The weather is in that in between state of coolish mornings and 80's in the afternoon. Just now I could hear the woodpeckers calling. So it is getting close to time to put out the birdfeeder. I noticed that the finches are turning colors, too, into their winter time plumage. They are still eating on the sunflowers that are left. I made sure the manure tea has plenty of water and will age some more over the winter.

I had a huge garden spider in the compost bin for quite a long time. The biggest storm we had lately made her lose her web. I did notice another one attached to the shed wall and the comfrey stalks. I don't know if this is the same one or another one since I didn't get her name when I tried to put compost into the compost bin. When I was a little girl I called them letter-writing spiders.

Patty is wanting to go outside, so I guess I will walk out with her. Have a good weekend.

Friday, September 10, 2010

Weird Friday-Random Thoughts!

Yes, the weather is changing. I read other bloggers and many up further north of this state are actually have coolish nights. Enough to actually be unsure about plants outside. We still have one more solid month before we begin to worry about plants outside.

The blackbirds are migrating. I toyed with the idea of putting out the birdfeeder so the finches would have enough seed to molt and fatten up for winter. But when I looked out and saw birds on the power lines like in the Hitchcock movie, I thought the birdfeeder can wait. If one of those pesty birds gets an inkling there is choice feed, all the birds will come around.

The light is changing. Normally I wake up around 6 a.m. and stay in bed as long as I can before Patty realizes I am awake. Lately I have been waking up around 7 a.m. instead, and I am always surprised that it is later than I think when I look out the window.

I am listening to a Deepak Chopra tape-The New Physics of Healing-while I am spinning. I decided to blend the two dabs of wool that I dyed with the brazilwood. So this yarn will be 50% romney, 25% merino, and 25% angora. The bunny is almost greasy feeling-certainly harder to spin than other fine fibers.

I am now decreasing for the armholes on the sweater. I haven't been knitting as much this week. My arms ache, and I decided to give it a rest. Last night was Knit Night at HandHeld.

Our sock club will begin again in a coupla weeks. That will be a nice intimate group of knitters, and I like that smaller group better. It seems we can share and talk about things better than a big group of people all knitting different things and talking about everything under the sun.

One of my knitter friends has a sick kitty, and it makes me sick to my stomach. It sounds just like how Baby got towards the end, and it makes me cry more. I know she is really hurting and trying to do everything for her kitty, and I can only hope the best. It is so difficult to lose one's fur child.

I finally made up my mind to go to Taos to the wool festival. I signed up for a class on Saturday morning, and that will be fun. I made reservations last February for a B & B downtown near the Plaza. Everything will be within walking distance, and I can just park my car. I found a sitter that will take care of Patty, and that's a relief. It will be very difficult to leave her, but it is not feasible to take her. If I was just traveling around, I would take her along. But since I am parking and not traveling for a few days, I can't take her along. I feel guilty, but I know I will get over it by the time I get through Tulsa. That sounds awful, but it will be good to be away for a while.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of 9/11, and it seems a lot of people are working themselves up into a tizzy. I just shake my head, and wonder what is wrong with people?

This morning at 3:30 am Noodles got in a big cat fight with someone traveling through. I ran out to the deck, quickly assessed the situation, and threw a big bucket towards them. It broke up the fight, but the intruder still had a hard time getting away. Now I just hope Noodles doesn't get sick from something he might get from the fight.

I think everyone is beginning to feel the need to knit sweaters and other garments since the weather finally broke. I am thinking about socks lately, but I have too many projects going right now. I kinda like the new group on Ravelry called Frankensocks. I have been using my leftover yarn for a lot of projects.

Have a great weekend. Get out and enjoy the weather while it is nice. I know Fall sports are starting, and don't forget to take your knitting with you to the game. We can root for our kids in all their games and still knit.

Don't forget that it is getting close to Fall chores in the yard, too, before the Frost. And don't forget to have your lawn mowers serviced at the end of the season.

Keep knitting and have fun!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Whew! The Drought Broke!

Yes! It is Pre-Fall! We have had some rain, a little thunder-booming last night, and a cool front blew in with a lot of north wind! It is one of those glorious days of listening to the wind chimes and bells, and letting the wind blow in through the open windows and doors.
I boiled up some marigolds that were stashed in the freezer and made a wonderful dye. Although the color looks washed out in this photo, it really was a golden mustard yellow. Really nice! So nice that one of my little friends decided to visit. I had to wait until it left before bringing in this skein. I didn't want to disturb him/her.
I am having a hard time concentrating today. I just want to do stuff. I guess I just hunkered down waiting for the weather to break during the whole month of August.
Yesterday I took Patty with me to Knit Night. The LYS has some really gorgeous yarns in right now. A sure sign that Fall is coming soon. It was really noisy at some point, and I just packed up and came on home.
I am in the mood to sew right now. Don't know why, but I am. I haven't actually cleaned up that room since I did the floors way back in the Spring. I still have stuff just stashed in there, and I really need to clean it out. That seems to be the one room Noodles likes the best; I guess because there is less traffic through there than the others.
Speaking of Noodles, he is on one big ole rat-killing spree. Every night he tries to bring one into the house. So far I have managed to way-lay him and keep them out. I found one decapitated on the back doormat, and a whole one on the front doormat the other day. These are field rats-like pocket rats-not those ugly big ole Norwegian sewer rats. They are not too repulsive. At least he has laid off the birds for a little while.
Speaking of birds, the hummingbirds have slowed down. Maybe they are going to migrate soon. I have noticed a change in light lately, so maybe they will take off. The earth is rotating again. Another season is approaching.
I did get out and repair and remake my post birdfeeder. It seems the bottom was totally not savable. With Noodles and the raccoons jumping up on it, it had finally decided to give up. Noodles will jump up and hook his arm onto the feeder and swipe out to catch the bird. It is quite a feat, but doable for him. I put a new bottom on and got it all ready for birdfeeding season.
So stay focused and enjoy this glorious weekend. It is wonderful weather again for a little while. So enjoy!