Stick A Fork In It-Part 2

I finished the plain socks-got a pic before washing and will get another one after wash.  Like them-they fit well-whew!  That's it for my socks this year.  Unless I get high behind and finish the giraffe socks!

And we will see about that.  I think that it is 8 pairs this year.  Maybe 9, but I think 8.

Stick A Fork In It-It's Done!

My handspun yarn from Crown Mountain Farms-100% merino.  I used 1197 yards of handspun on size 5 needles for the body-size 3 for ribbing.  It is Anne Hanson's pattern-Aztec Mazes.  I started in April and finished November 26.  I am calling it at 71/2 months.
Things I really liked about this sweater-
1- The softness of the merino yarn.
2- The neckline is perfect on me.
3- The armhole technique was unique. 

The pattern was challenging, but very, very well written.  I will sing the praises of this designer.  She obviously knows how to make things as if she were designing for clothing.  I know she has a background in fashion design and it shows.

I am quite proud of myself, and this year's sweater is done. 

Spiraling Dance of the Seasons

CJE and I got together and had another dye day.  She was so excited to have a new dyepot-a big ole turkey cooker like mine-and we had to try it out.  She got this lovely red stuff.  JE came over later and we dyed some of her stuff up too.  The blue is from the dye day two weeks ago.  I never did post pics for that.

We are gearing up to go to Hot Springs for the Arkansas Fiber Extravaganza.  I have been saving my money for that.  I have been really good to resist the impulsive buying of stuff online.  I have a bad habit of seeing something and getting it right then.  I am waiting until I can support the vendors at the show.

I heard a wonderful phrase yesterday that stuck in my mind-coupe de coeur.  It means something you fall in love with immediately-not necessarily an impulse, but close.    You just know it is the right thing immediately.

Tomorrow CF is coming into town to eat dinner with her daughter and grandsons.  But she decided she would spend the night with me.  That way she can relax and go to bed early.  She will be spending the day with the boys on Friday and half a day on Saturday before going home.  It exhausts her to spend so much time with young boys who wrestle and are interactive, but she loves them so much it hurts.

I am being my quiet self, working on my gratitude prayers, and happy to just sit and knit.  It has been so gloomy and rainy and chilly.  Today is sunny, warmer, and Spring again.  It is a good day to be outside more. 

I am about 1 inch from finishing the back of my sweater.  Yeah!  Today I can knock that out.  Then sew it up, put on the neck band, and voila! done, done, done.  Yeah!  I already have another one in line waiting to be cast on.  But it can wait until I catch up a little bit with some other projects.

I have been spinning yellow yarn.  It is so gorgeous.  I dyed it with goldenrod.  It is the creamiest butter yellow.  Gorgeous!

And today is a grooming day for Patty too.  I got her reservation for doggie day care while I am gone.  She has had her bordatella snort, and I am glad she will be well cared for.  She is so happy to see me when I pick her up it is well worth it. 

So Happy Thanksgiving.  Thank you for reading.  It is time to go outside and enjoy the sunshine.  Patty is ready to go for a walk.

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. ~Thornton Wilder

What Delightful Weather!

Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn. ~Elizabeth Lawrence

What weird and delightful weather this week has been. Yes, we have seen tornadoes, thunder storms, and other indications of Springtime in Autumn, and yes, there have been earthquakes in Oklahoma that were felt here. But it has been so warm that I have opened up the house to air it out. I have had time this week to clean the gutters, mow and mulch the leaves in the yard, and run all the gas out of the two lawnmowers. I have washed rugs and blankets and aired other things outside.

I think it is most important to know that this is only temporary, and that things will change. But I am enjoying the time I can outside.

Today I have spent most of the day out on the deck with one of my spinning wheels. It was lovely to sit in the warm sun and let the wind blow all around me. At one time I had two butterflies flit up to my wheel and stop to see if there was a flower there. The yarn is colorful, but not so tasty.

I am so very close to finishing the front yoke of my handspun sweater. I keep measuring, and as per normal knitting, it is not moving along fast enough. I picked up the giraffe sock the other day and did several more rows of that. I am so anxious to start my next project, but I am making myself finish up some of these projects.

I finished my order for the handspun yarn early last week. I was so happy to get that done. It was delivered on Saturday. Whew! I am not going to get behind again. I don't want it to be so much like work. So last night I spun up one bobbin of my goldenrod dyed BFL. I decided to spin up one more bobbin of my yarn for the sweater in progress. So today's spinning was to do that. Tonight I will ply it and tomorrow I can get it on the blocker.

I know that there are two days of rain this week. So I think I will knit during that time. I am just enjoying the warm outside while I can.

Last weekend CJE came over to overdye some yarn she wants to make AE a sweater. She bought some brown and cream barber-pole yarn, and he did not like it. She knit up a swatch to show him, and he still didn't care for it. So we got out the big dyepot, added some Gaywool, and it is gorgeous now. It is now a deep slate-gray blue and a lighter blue where the cream was. It is knitting up really nice, and he likes it. My motto is "If you don't like a yarn, just overdye it." It works most every time.

I am getting a little bit excited about the Fiber deal in Hot Springs the first weekend of December. I am not buying anything online, and I am saving my money. If I have any money left over after that weekend, I can buy stuff online. I am not too excited about Hot Springs. The only reason to go is to see people, and to be surrounded by fibery goodness. I love Fiber shows. It just gives me a chance to be with people who love the same things I do.

Noodles had his first anniversary of the broken leg. I am so thrilled he did not have any surgery, especially an amputation. The two big bones have fused into a weird bump, and occaisonally he limps. But he is killing things right and left, and still climbs trees. Not bad for an eleven-year-old kitty with a bum leg.

Patty is looking rather ragged without grooming. But I wanted her to have a longer coat for winter. I did get her down and trimmed her face, her nails, and some of longer hair. She likes colder weather, and she wants out all the time.

So we are just putzing around, getting things done before the cold sets in, and just enjoying the nice day. Noodles has gone out to the screened porch, and I am about to put some food in the oven for my evening meal.

Have a great week ahead.

Are You OCD?

This is just a little thought-are you OCD with your knitting? I am just going to give a few observations about people I watch knit.

I, personally, am OCD about details. I was taught by grandmothers and great-grandmothers that if you are making something, make it right. My great-grandmother that taught me to embroidery at age 5 would take my daily lesson and look at the back when I was finished. If it wasn't "right", she would take out the stitches and make me re-do the damn thing. I learned very quickly that it was best to do it "right" the first time.

Now 58 years later, I am not so meticulous about my embroidery. But I am finicky with my knitting or crochet. I want it "right". I may take something out several times until I am satisfied. When the shoulders didn't do "right" on the Jacob fleece sweater, I redid it twice. It drove me insane that I could never figure out how you do a sock gusset "in pattern" with the giraffe socks. Those darn Estonians-huh?

So today I am baking a cake, plying my yarn, and I just sat down for a quick sandwich. I then picked up my no-brainer scarf that is garter stitch. It is taking forever to get to 200 stitches. So just for fun-sies I decided to time myself knitted across 170 stitches with an increase at each end. 6 mins. I started to flag towards the end, because the dryer timer went off and I got distracted.

So this is a little extreme maybe. But not too bad an obsession. I just want things to be "right".
And that is my right, not anyone elses.

Now I have a friend who knits teeny lace, and occasionally big lace. But she can tell you exactly to the stitch how many stitches she has knit. And how many beads, etc. I don't have the math skills, and believe me, I have tried to think how one does calculate that.

I watched one friend fiddle around with tiny beads on a scarf she was knitting. Across the table another person was knitting the same scarf and not fiddling. There was a difference, but probably not to the average person. It is noticeable to some one who fiddles a lot.

And a couple weeks ago K at knit night was talking about how she didn't like the way the drop sleeve on her sweater was a little bit tight under the armpit. And that was the end of that discussion. I guess you know I wanted to rip it off her body and "fix" it. But I sighed and restrained myself.

So I am just curious how one becomes OCD with this stuff. Is it just a matter of training, or boredom, or what? I just know that I fudged one stitch on each side of my front and back yokes on the present sweater, and it is driving me nuts. But not enough to rip it out for the third time. In another year or so, I will forget that one stitch on both sides. There is an advantage to getting older.

Follow the Trail Marker

A little Charlie Brown Christmas tree. I think the drought and other conditions have stunted the poor thing.

I love the pattern of the worm trails on this dead tree.
Another dead tree adorned with lichens. I couldn't focus well on the fuzzy ones. But it was gorgeous!

I know you are not supposed to go off trail, but I did wander a little bit to get this photo of the lake from the trail. I have no clue what that streak of light is to the left of the golden brown tree in the middle.
All around the visitor's center they have planted a bunch of little trees. They were all red, while everything else, especially the indigenous trees, are yellows and browns. Sumac is deep blood red. There is a dogwood up close to the building, and it is a deep red color.

So why am I showing you all these photos? Is there a story here? I just wanted to explain a little bit.

Everyone is quite aware that this is the end of October. Monday is All Hallows Eve-Samhain for some- and for others, the night we are closest to spirits that wander. Tuesday is All Saints Day. The day to honor our ancestors and others who have passed on.

This is the season that we start to go into hibernation. We go deep into ourselves and we close up the house, and we get really quiet. We use up our stores.

We just had a New Moon cycle last week. With that cycle and the end of season cycle combined, I "went down into the well" We had two days of dark and gloomy and wet. I could see that winter was going to be a long time of dark and gloomy. I became dark and gloomy. I tried to do spinning-nyet! I tried to do knitting-nyet! So I watched mindless t.v. and slept a lot.

So to restore my balance and give me some new energy, I loaded up Patty today and headed to the woods. I did not care that it is the end of the cycle of colored leaves. There is still lots of color to see. I replenished my mental supplies with how the colors interacted together. As I drove to the destination, I observed how the yellows and brown and the greens melted together. I got ideas for dye combinations. I replenished!

And, yes, I got a confirmation last night that I have another order for yarn. And, yes, I needed to buckle down and spin today and finish the first bobbin of alpaca I started yesterday.

But I went to the woods. I needed to see the last day of glorious weather-maybe the last day. We never know. I just know it was perfect. A little windy, but warm and sunny and bright enough to put on sunglasses.

I observed what I needed to observe to replenish!

.

So now I can focus on what I need to do and finish the order. I can study the various yellows I have dyed and think about how to combine them into a yarn I might like.

I just took the banana bread out of the oven, and I think I will now go eat a bite of that.

Happy Halloween-Samhain-All Hallows Eve! Light a candle Tuesday for your ancestors to let them know that you are thinking of them.

I hope that you realize that this cycle is normal for everyone. It is not abnormal to be sad that the season is changing. Our culture just focuses on being young, happy, and thin. Just remember that your ancestors knew that this is the time to go deep inside yourself and find the balance that is needed to get you through the next cycle of seasons. Just remember to replenish your stores and you will get through the dark and gloomy times.

Is Knitting An Addiction?

Ten Key Signs of Having an Addiction
Whether it's drug use, sex or overspending, do you wonder if your behavior is crossing the line into addiction? Dr. Gary Stollman, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist who helps individuals overcome self-defeating patterns of behavior. He gives 10 key signs of having an addiction:


1) Recurrent failure (pattern) to resist impulses. 2) Frequently engaging in those behaviors to a greater extent or over a longer period of time than intended. 3) Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to stop, reduce or control those behaviors. 4) Inordinate amount of time spent in obtaining the object of addiction and/or engaging in or recovering from the behavior. 5) Preoccupation with the behavior or preparatory activities. 6) Frequently engaging in behavior when expected to fulfill occupational, academic, domestic or social obligations. 7) Continuation of the behavior despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent social, academic, financial, psychological or physical problem that is caused or exacerbated by the behavior. 8) Need to increase the intensity, frequency, number or risk of behaviors to achieve the desired effect, or diminished effect with continued behaviors at the same level of intensity, frequency, number or risk. 9) Giving up or limiting social, occupational or recreational activities because of the behavior. 10) Resorting to distress, anxiety, restlessness or violence if unable to engage in the behavior at times.

I got this off of Dr.Phil.com.

The reason I ask the question is because I am presently reading The Yarn Harlot's newest book. There is an essay about this very question. She only thought of it because one of her family members claimed she was a Yarn Addict. So she went to the library and looked up info in the DSM to see if this was true. As with any other addiction, she was able to explain it all away, and she didn't think she has a problem.

So today I am watching Dr. Phil while plying my current spinning project. As usual, it was about some whiny, spoiled little girl who was mad at her parents for their divorce and she is a drug addict. There was a line scrolled across the bottom that led you to go to Dr.Phil.com to find the ten signs of addiction.

So, okay, we can certainly find faults with ourselves, so I called a friend that attends AA regularly (like 4 times a week), and I ran this by him. He said he didn't think I had to worry too much. Whew!

I know I have an addiction personality. I was anorexic until my middle 20's, and I was told by my therapist that I have an addiction personality. If I am not consumed with eating problems, then I substitute something else. Luckily I don't gamble (unless you talk about bad pattern selection) and I don't drink and I don't smoke and I am too old to worry about sex any more. So I knit a LOT. And I spin, and I dye, and I spend my days filled with fiber goodness.

And as for #8-I think it is pretty safe to say that attempting to do more challenging stuff like fair isle, or lace, or intarsia is not harmful to my health.

And as for #9-my social life revolves around knitting. I go to Knit Night when I need to socialize. I don't think it is so awful to decline a social event because you can't take your knitting with you.

My sweater does not seem to be growing very much. I am at the point when I want it to be done. I want it to be time to separate the tops so I can knit the yoke. I keep measuring and it doesn't seem to be growing. Hopefully soon.

I spent the day Sunday with CJE and playing with fiber. We measured out all the yarn she has done with her spindle (Navajo plied) and wound them up into yarn cakes, and then I put them in plastic zip-locks with the measurements inside. They are ready for her to knit now.

Signs of Fall are abounding. The trees are turning rapidly. The fronts are coming in sooner than I want them to. We have had clouds all day with misty rain. Temperatures dropped all day. There will be rain tonight with the front. The birds are eating at the feeder now. The geese are migrating. And this weekend is the work weekend at Mirkwood.

And the ads on TV are advertising Lay-Away for Christmas and what are you doing for Thanksgiving? Yikes! It is only a month until Thanksgiving! Hard to believe.

I tried to rearrange the kitchen today, but I don't like the refrigerator and freezer sticking out into the space so much. So I just cleaned well behind things and swept the floor well. I guess the thought of closing up the house for the winter is getting to me. I have been cleaning a lot. Maybe I will rearrange the living room.

Patty really needs to go to the groomer, but I want her hair to grow out more. I trimmed her eyebrows and around her mouth. She is really energized by all the cooler weather. Noodles has been eating more rodents and staying in more. Another sign of a change.