Just Knitting

So, I spent the weekend knitting. On my old Ginny. I watched my favorite Saturday nite shows on PBS & Knowledge - the Antiques Roadshow, Heartbeat & New Tricks - while I knit on the Adult-sized Kyler's Kardigan. I thought about knitting the whole thing in one color but was afraid I wouldn't have enough - I DID buy this yarn over 30 years agol! It's Scheepsjawool Luzerne. I bought enough for three sweaters & have knit them up & worn them for years . . .

So, I decided I'd do the same as I did when I knit up the Ginny pattern. I'd do the wild stripey bodice with the darker plain bottom. A couple of times I had to tink it back a bit to overlap a thin spot but it's a simple, fast knit that should go quickly. As long as I can keep on knitting.

Just Hanging at Home


I spent most of the last week pounding on my computer to finish the tax stuff I promised to file on Friday. It isn't filed yet. But, the government works slowly & I'll just slip a couple of years into the big blue box by Sunday nite & by the time they get to the place they need to be, I'll have the rest in the box!! Friday is the same as Monday to those guys anyway cause no one works on the weekends . . .

I've had time to knit. I haven't finished the toes on the blue socks but I'll probably do that tonite in front of the tube. Notice in the picture how the yarn colors change just after the heel?? There was no knot in the yarn, it just changed color. I'm thinking there's a flaw in the yarn or, the colorway is really long. Who knows?? I just kept on knitting . . .

You know all that laundry I did last weekend?? Well, good thing I did it when I could. My sink's been backed up since the middle of the week. I have a giant hair/grease clog I guess. I destroyed a plunger trying to plunge the thing. Poured 64 ounces of some toxic gunk down the sink through the standing water - three treatments - to try to unclog it. Hot water goes thru like, well, a hot knife thru butter!! Too much water jams it up again. I can now wash dishes in small batches but the damned thing backs up again so I think I've only managed to move the clog a little further down the line . . . I thought about taking the trap off & getting at it THAT way with my handy dandy pipe wrench, but apparently, I don't have a trap that I can get at. My pipe goes straight down somewhere underground. Oh well, I'll plunge it a time or two & then borrow a snake. If THAT doesn't do the job, I'll have to call the plumber . . .

So, while I've been waiting for the sink to drain, I've been knitting. I was going to try to fix Ginny. You remember Ginny?? The multi-hued purple sweater I started eons ago that the cat decided to bed down on?? The one with the great long pull in the yoke of the TOP-DOWN sweater?? Well, I tore it all apart yesterday. I rewound the balls & looked for something else to knit since Ginny seems jinxed. The evenings are getting cooler & I'll soon NEED a sweater. In my search, I just couldn't find a simple, top-down, quick knit to use up all that purple yarn in three colors - until I found Kyler's Kardigan. I thought, wouldn't that little garter cardigan be great in adult size??? And then I found the Adult sizes in the back half of the book. I'd never actually read past the kids section! So I cast on immediately & started a simple, garter stitch cardigan in the purple yarn. I have lavender & dark plum as well as the single ball of wild cherry boucle with turquoise & hot pink bits in it for an accent. I thought I'd use all the colors in the yoke section & then just knit the bust down in the dark plum. And maybe it'll just be in the three former colors. I'll decide later. Kyler looks to be a fast knit - I have about three inches of the yoke done in a couple of hours & there's NO SEWING in this sweater!!! I'll probably rib the cuffs but leave the bottom in a plain garter finish. FAST & DIRTY, that's the plan anyway.

The Taxman Cometh

Updating the old blog again to pass the time while the printer catches up to my completed tax returns. I admit to still using the old 24 pin dot matrix machine in my office. And I intend to continue using it until the last box of expensive - I bought mine for $5 a box years ago because they were 'damaged' - paper is gone & the $18 ribbons are used up! Being cheap is what keeps my prices down!!

I meant to go spin at Karen's house on Sunday but laundry got in the way. I ran out of underpants. So I hooked the portable washer up to the sink & started doing laundry. Since it was a bright sunny day, I put out the folding rack & let everything dry in the sun. I love the smell of clothes that've dried outside . . . . that made me strip the bed so the sheets & pillow cases would smell wonderful when I went to bed. And then I thought I might as well do the bathmat & shower curtain since things were drying so quickly. Before I knew it, it was mid-afternoon, I still wasn't dressed & half the household was either washing, washed, waiting to be washed, outside drying or waiting to be outside drying! So much for spinning, We rescheduled for Tuesday.

On Monday, a client I've been talking to since last fall, dropped two boxes on me all in a panic. Seems the Taxman seized his bank account. NOW he has to file. I've been at my computer working on his stuff for a day & a half so far & I promised the Taxman I'd get all this filed by Friday if he loosened the strings on said client's bank. Boy, is he ever gonna pay . . . & I didn't get to spin again today.

Meanwhile, the blue socks not only have their heels turned but I'm just about to shape the toes. The yarn was quite interesting. It was almost like the yarn for two different socks was joined together so that half the sock was in one colorway & the other half in another colorway - if there was a knot in the yarn, I could understand it but???? Looks a little strange but most of the sock will be inside a sneaker so I guess it just won't matter.

A Murder Most Foul


Came home yesterday to half a bare trellis! I couldn't believe my eyes. I've been training a Butternut squash vine to climb up my trellis where the Clematis is supposed to be. The other squash vines are wandering down my drive & I thought it would be fun to have this end climb up the trellis instead. I planted Butternut - I love to puree it to use instead of cheese in Broccoli soup!! - I have a Hubbard & some other winter variety that I bought because it needed a home. I've been watching the Butternut fill the trellis with giant leaves & big yellow flowers. It only produced two squashes & I tucked them nicely into the trellis holes until one outgrew them. In the last week, that one grew amazingly!The nite before, I was thinking I should tie a knee high around it to give it more support . . . Well, somehow, in the middle of the day, that squash grew legs & jumped off the trellis taking the whole top of the vine & one of it's baby sisters with it. I found the wayward squash sitting happily in my spider plant while the vine lay dying around it. I took the perp into the house & slapped her on the scale - not quite 4 pounds of baby squash! No wonder the vine broke . . . I see this morning, that the little squash on the other end of the vine has perked up & grown since yesterday . . . seems big sis was taking all her food too.

I dug into the Blue box of yarn leftovers. Found two balls of something with blues, greys, rust, some green & thought I might as well start with that & see how far it goes . . . . short socks are so much fun!! I've turned the heels on both of them & it sort of looks like the balls will make the entire socks. I'm wondering if this is the stuff my pal Karen decided she didn't like & tossed into my leftovers box to get rid of it. We'll see . . . .

Ta Da

I decided the pink & green socks looked waaaay better without the grey yarn!! This was decided after knitting & ripping several rows & dropping a stitch that almost ran into the heel . . . .

So, now that I've knitted up the pink & green socks & the remnant ladybug socks, I'm looking around for another interesting combination. Found a whole IKEA box full of blues - I can't believe I've knitted so many blue socks for other people - so I think it's time for something in blue for me too.

Forgotten again


I can't believe I forgot to update the blog. Life does get in the way occasionally though . . . the cooler weather has been nice but my bones sure don't like the wet. Since I joined Curves, I can see the physical difference in my performance on wet days as opposed to dry ones - it's scarey. The computerized program clearly shows a difference in strength & endurance - hey, I simply ENDURE exercise in any form!! but I have noticed that my hands give me hell if I knit for too long or knit on something heavy - no more bulky White Buffalo sweaters for me!! Hey, can I have some of that estrogen back???? I've given away all the really big needles anyway!! I do love my nice light, Denice needles which I seem to use for everything but socks . . . . Maybe it's time to start on the purple Marble sweater!!

So now that my bones hurt, my teeth are getting loose & I can't even PRETEND I have any non-grey hairs left, what's a person to do? Well, I bought more yarn. Knitopia is having a moving sale. The woman who swore she loved Langley & would never to open another business in White Rock again, is moving back to White Rock. We're devastated. And in shock. The new shop is tiny. The hours are few. Our knitting group will be unable to shop on Thursday nites as we knit, chat & pass around Show & Tell. And everything that won't be sold in the tiny new shop, is on sale. Knitopia was our all time fav - we'll miss it - but most of us won't be making the trek all the way to White Rock since we'll have to take a day off to go there. I guess it's back to mail order, the yarn trek to everything in town a couple times a year & attending all the crafty events to see whats out there. The Floozies always seem to have stuff we haven't seen before so I guess we'll have to wander downtown to shop at THEIR store.

I've been making summer socks out of scraps. The latest project is leftover pink Fabel, lime Kroy & grey Lady Galt - you don't see too much of THAT around!! Laura from my Wednesday Nite Knitting group has hinted several times that she'd love them. Mmmmm, I'll have to finish them & decide. One thing about frankensocks, you can always make another pair!! I discovered another box full of blue leftovers in a box I thought was an empty!! I now have two shoe boxes, half a shopping bag & two IKEA book boxes full of leftovers - I should just buy another plastic see thru bin & put it all in there so I can see what I have . . . .

Rain Rain stay for a day


Some lovely rain is falling outside for a change & I hear this rain is putting out all the fires in the interior of our lovely Province. Apparently the combination of rain & cool humid air is wetting everything down nicely. And it'll take the concentrated pollution out of the air around here too. My garden is drinking in all that lovely free water & I think the Butternut squash has doubled in size since yesterday . . .

The latest summer socks are finished!! I can't wait to wear them. This pair uses up the last of the OPAL in the Ladybug colorway which I've loved & knit up into two pairs of regular socks, one pair of short summer socks & two pairs of infant socks - not bad!! To the left, are the four leftover balls which are to become the next pair of short socks in the new collection. Two leftover ends of Drops Fabel in pinks, some dark grey Lady Galt & some snotty green left over from Laura's socks - I think it's Kroy.
When these are finished, I have a couple of lacy sock patterns to try - yes, Virginia, I'll do something different for a change.

Evening Visitors


I keep an old kitty litter tray under the stand the fuchsia sits on in the very back of the short carport that I converted to a covered patio. I have a big cedar box about 4 feet long sitting on two big grey bricks against the back, next to the fuchsia, which contains ferns & rainbow colored Lobelia this year. The Christmas cacti sits under the patio table out of the sun just in front of the cedar box. The pan of water is to provide moisture & give the cat a drink when she's not using the toilet or the slow drip in the bathtub.

Since it's been very dry, I notice the squirrels sneak up for a drink too since this is probably the only open water source in the neighborhood. The other night, the cat came to attention at the open door & I heard snuffling outside. I got up to take a look & caught one of the resident skunks ambling over to have a drink out of the pan. We've had a family of skunks living under the neighbor's tarped car for the 11 years I've been here. We don't bother them & they don't bother us! The cat will run off other cats, squirrels & raccoons but I noticed she just sat there & watched when the skunk came visiting. You think she knows about the perfumed end of that critter???


I needed more short summer socks. After pawing thru my odds & ends bags, boxes & baskets - I seem to have more leftovers than full balls of sock yarn!! - I found the tail end of some OPAL & a couple of leftover Lady Galt solids in shades of grey. The socks have now had their heels turned & I'm halfway down the foot to the toe. this is so much fun that I think I'll knit a few more for my summer wardrobe! The OPAL & the Lady Galt blend together so well that it's hard to see where one ends & the other begins . . .

I spotted Gladys - our pooling stole expert Yarn Floozie who knits with us occasionally on Wednesday nites - in the Big Knit challenge at the Sock Summit! Over 1000 knitters gathered in one room to knit for 15 minutes on SPs to break the World's Record established by the Aussies! Apparently, they blew the record out of the water!!! Yahhhhh . . . Sock knitters!!!

Just sitting here


As the title says, I'm just sitting here. I'm waiting for the latest flock of tax returns to finish printing so I can collate them & fire them into the box! The printer is an old tractor-feed - yup, I'm using it until all the expensive boxed paper & hard-to-find ribbons are GONE. Will be sometime this year. I have two tractor-feed machines & they will be going to an office that still prints three-part invoices on machines such as these. I have a very old dinosaur laser printer that once cost some business $8000 waiting in the wings. It's fast, cheap to feed but weighs 70 pounds!! I can't help it if I'm cheap. I gotta save my money for fibre after all.

I was wandering about on Ravelry this morning whilst my printer chugged away & came upon the results of the Dye for Glory contest. Hey, I'd knit any of them into socks!! Yes, I would!!! I sort of wish I was going to the Sock Summit to see them in person, sigh, even if I don't like sleeping in strange beds. But, funds & lack of cat-sitter prevent me. Good thing the Yarn Floozies are going - they'll bring back half the Marketplace stock & some great stories!!
I wish I had more time to spend on Ravelry. I don't get in there very often any more & I wouldn't Twitter or Facebook etc if you paid me. I just don't care about stuff like that - hell, I don't even update this Blog all that often. When you work on the computer all day to make a living, you aren't really excited about spending free time on it too . . .

The Ex called yesterday morning to invite me to breakfast so I took his gift of socks & a funny birthday card along with me - so much for my surprising him today!! He loved the socks & even liked the colors! So, I guess I'm still in the Will! And, whaddya know?? I think I'm getting an order for socks from one of the customers in the cafe! I'll think about it . . . .

Went to Curves yesterday too. Haven't been there since July 19th & I sure knew it. My butt & one shoulder aches today but I think I'll survive. This is what I get for sitting in front of the computer & pounding on a keyboard all day instead of exercising - a sore butt!!

I decided I need more summer socks! Well, short socks - the kind you stuff in sneakers to go to exercise class. I found a partial ball of OPAL in the Ladybug colors of pinky red, black, white & pale grey. It's the exact same colors as Ladybug but doesn't make the pattern. I found some grey, black & some cherry red too which all should go with it & cast-on the OPAL for short socks. I figure I'll knit as far as the OPAL goes & then finish with stripes of grey, black & red. Scrappy socks are fun & usually there's more yarn there than you think. A couple of evenings & they'll be done & ready to wear! Fast, simple & uses up scraps. My kind of project. For fun. In between Wallabies that is.

Sweatbox Sunday

Spent Sunday in the UBrew warehouse. Opened the door at 6:45AM & got a blast from Saturday! The sun was beating in from the east & continued to beat in all day from the south as I did data entry & a corporate tax return! It was the kind of day where it's useless to shower because I was dripping wet constantly except when I went into the giant cooler to freeze the droplets clinging to my brow. Did my laundry in the back & wore the tee shirts fresh out of the washer till they dried . . . . AND then went back for another wet one! If it wasn't for the ice machine, the wet tee-shirts & the cooler, I'd've melted in the heat. I hear some people actually PAY money to sweat off the pounds . . . .

The Cat & I've been happier since it actually dropped a couple of degrees but the polution keeps my chest congested & my eyes & nose runny. Sort of like a summer cold but without the aches & misery. They say it's gonna rain later this week!! The last drop in temp - small as it was - helps in the knitting department too - it's comfortable to knit again - well, as long as it doesn't lay on my body & the fan is blowing directly on me!! I finished the ugly Birthday socks for my Ex. He thinks I'm laid up with a cold - hehe - but I'll take him out for a surprise lunch on Wednesday & present him with his socks!

Finished the hood on my latest Wallaby. The next is finished to the underarm & the first sleeve is on the needles. The new one is in deep plum - almost eggplant, dusty rose & a snotty green for interest. I have 2 balls each of the main colors & 1 of the green. I thought they'd work together to make something interesting!! I've been sitting outside late in the evening when its cool with Mars Revisited by Ben Bova on my headset & the Wallaby knitting in my hands. A tall, iced Pink Lemonade doesn't hurt neither!!! It's just too damned hot to drink beer . . . sorry Harlot.

Speaking of hoodies, I'd love to go back & work on my B&L jacket-in-progress but the very thought of all that wool laying in my lap makes me sweat faster . . .

I bought Modular Magic on sale at Knitopia a few weeks back, took it home & forgot about it. Came across it this morning as I was - wait for it - CLEANING UP! Sat down & looked thru it again - I want to stop everything & try out some of the ideas! I'm always the starter!! I had to put it down slowly & back away. I have Wallabies to knit instead right now . . . I promised Wallabies & have only half a bag of yarn left so I can't start anything but socks until the yarn is gone!!! Booohoooo . . .


So, it's back to the keyboard & paper. All is not lost though, I have Cemetary Dance by Lee Child playing on the desktop today.