St. Nicholas Day!

Yes, I have a sock on my tree.  Doesn't everyone do this?

 Yes, I have a bear on my tree, too!

 And yes, of course, I have sheep!  Somehow the picture of the spinning wheels didn't happen here.  But I have spinning wheels, too.  My angel is made out of sheeps wool.  What can I say?

Last weekend we went to Hot Springs for the Arkansas Fiber Extravaganza.  I know several folks wonder at the marvelous decor here.  Instead of a bottle tree, we have a plastic flower tree.  These are just sticks stuck in the fence, and covered with plastic flowers. And we are talking the whole length of the fence.  We didn't tarry long in front, just long enough to take photos.

I did not take any photos of the event until at the last moment I took three awful photos of folks lingering around outside the vendor space.  There wasn't a lot of seating, so people do what people do, we rearrance the whole place to make nests or pods for our visiting.

And finally-this was what my yard looked like last Thursday.  Of course that is mostly weeds-or pasture plants-but green anyway.

 This was early morning today.  OUR FIRST SNOW of the season!  I know it isn't much, but it is the first of what will come.  It is time to hunker down and do some serious knitting!

Happy St. Nicholas Day!  I hope you get something in your shoes tonight!  Remember to leave something for his horse-carrots are always good!

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.