Hiding the Evidence

I tore apart my living room yesterday to move furniture out. A large microwave cabinet has been parked next to the small freezer, slowly accumulating a mountain of STUFF for almost 4 years. It was supposed to go to the BT when he moved to his new place & got his boxes unpacked. But, he never unpacked. He's been banished for a year & a half now & the cabinet was still there, full of yarn & covered with crap. The Family sized Slow Cooker, still in the box, that the BT's son gave US for Christmas several years ago, ended up in MY living room next to the cabinet, covered with - you guessed it - crap.

One of my friends left her husband & started a new life recently. I donated a blender, a kettle, the slow cooker, the cabinet & the rocking chair - which I bought for myself & couldn't even use because I had no space in my damn living room!!! She borrowed the company van & we loaded up the furniture & it went away last nite!!! She also got a whole mess of spider plant babies sitting in a jug of water!! We decided the Family sized Slow Cooker will go to the Women's Centre just down the road from me where they offer meals along with other services. Its way too big for either of us alone.

I have a hellova mess in there but I now have empty space! And, since I have empty space, I can now move other things around - like that 800lb couch I don't use that the BT left me because he had nowhere to put it in his little bachelor next door. Oh, I nap on it a couple times a year but would rather have a recliner & storage. I can use that space to hide a couple of big bins of yarn under a nice afghan or lay a top on the bin & use it as a coffee table . . . . And since I'm moving the couch out, I think I'll move out the halogen lamp that just died, two printers that don't work, the office chair that needs replacing & three boxes of documents from clients that have died, moved or abandoned them. Holy crap!! It's a revolution!

And on the needles


I add a row every time I get a chance to sit in front of the boob tube! I can't wait to wear these ones even with the mistake because I just love the colors. And I sure do love wild socks . . . . And then I'm back to the three pairs of size 13WWW socks I promised to make for the Ex's big clod hoppers. I did start a pair in blue but the yarn is much finer than most of the other sock yarn so the socks-in-progress seem too small. I may just wind up with another pair of blue socks in the gift basket.

I'm down to the last few 'lumps' in the Brown Sheep mill end bag. I started spinning the lumps on my Indian Spinner & decided to finish spinning all of them on the same machine so all the skeins are the same. I may need all of them for the same project so I don't want any changes in the spinning style. When the weather really warms up later in the summer, I'll dye them all together too. Not sure what color they'll be yet - I may just experiment.

I still have a couple of pounds of the wool/mohair blend that came in the mill end bag. The wool/mohair is so smooth & silky it almost spins itself . . . I spun some of it on the Indian Spinner but just for a sample. I intentionally left it to spin on the new Majacraft & use it as a two strand yarn. Yeah, I know, I could ply it but I like spinning yarn to the thickness I need & knitting it as a thicker singles yarn. I don't tend to put a lot of spin into my yarn with the Indian Spinner, so I have no biasing when I knit - why spin everything three times to get the yarn you want when you can just spin it to the thickness you need??? Some people have told me I may have to change my ways with the new wheel though, since it spins so much faster than my old one. After all, I've spent over 30 years with an old farm truck & now have a zippy little race car to play with.

On the Road Again, I'm on the Road Again . . .

What was I thinking???

Just total weirdness! While I've been struggling to adapt to those pretty little wooden needles, I screwed up the basic product I've been trying to produce. I'm very new at the art of a little lace.
I've got the basic sock design & pattern so firmly annealed to the "little grey cells" as Poirot would say, that I need some new action. Since the girls are into lace, I thought I'd insert a little bit of interest into the current socks. Just a little K2 tog, YO to keep it simple but give it a little somethin somethin . . . the K2 tog, YO, also biases so I knit one sock that way & did YO, K2 tog, for the other sock so it would bias in the other direction. Clever, eh??? Apparently NOT. I noticed THIS last nite as I was starting the heel shaping for the second sock . . . .

The pattern I wanted is on the left!! And the other sock is finished to the heel turning & I really don't want to tear it ALL back to the ribbing. BooooooooHooooooooo

Love em & Hate em at the same time

So, I've been using those little tiny short needles to try to knit a pair of socks. Mind you, I've also inserted a little bit of simple lace which wouldn't bother anyone normally but on short needles where things are always threatening to fall off & where they're just a little too short for sore hands, well, it gets to you. Normally, I'd cast those suckers on & barely look at the sock again until the heel turning where I use the Queen Kahuna heel - from Crazy Heels & Toes - with twenty little rubber bands & two stitch markers on each sock! You have no choice, you have to keep an eye on the sock at THAT point! And once the heel is turned, I barely look again until the toe shaping . . . If I have a book on a stand, I can read & knit at the same time. I have to concentrate on these socks. Good thing I love the wild color or I'd've lost interest some time back. I have to report the first sock is firmly on 2 circs & is approaching the heel shaping while the second is barely below the ribbing - about 3 rounds into the lace insert - in a week. I should've finished them & been on the yoke of the Hoodie by now! I think I hate using these short needles as much as I love the color & feel of them . . . .

I just had to try out those tiny little needles. It's a bit of a stretch & I find it much slower than with my longer needles, that's for sure. I do like the FEEL & WARMTH of them though so I think I'll persevere a little longer. I thought I'd try a little YO & K2together quickie lace but the sock became too wide for those tiny needles . . . I had to switch to two circs! Maybe this is why these shorties come in 6s - you need 5 of them to keep the stitches on the needles if you're working a pattern??? I'll probably end up tinking the sock back to the ribbing since the quickie lace is rapidly becoming waaaaay too wide. Maybe it will work out a little better with solid ribs between every couple of YOs. I might just give it another try with a couple of panels of YO, K2tog down the front of the sock.


Another hoodie is on the needles too. I haven't knit any in the last few months since I've been so busy with tax season & the spinning Retreat. And trying to finish the purple top-down Kyler's Kardigan in the car-knitting bag for myself! Who has time to knit??? But, I have all that yarn & the pattern is burned into my brain cells by now. So, I dug out several balls in the same colorway & cast-on another one. Some of the colors are really a little strange and this one is no exception! yeah, it looks fairly okay but the colors are a little "OFF" when held up to regular shades. Sometimes I get lucky & can find a solid that works with the variegated yarns but not always - this is one of those that just won't work with anything I have - the red is not really red or pink & the grey isn't really grey or blue or black. So, I guess it's going to be all in the one strange color . . . .

I'm also trying to spin a little every day! Spun up another 'bump' yesterday while waiting for a client. I sat out in the sun on my little patio & listened to a murder while I spun! I have James Patterson's latest, The Ninth Judgment, on the mp3 player! It's pretty shocking but totally in character for Patterson. This is also the latest in the Women's Murder Club series. I figure I have another big fat skein & a half on that bobbin & probably should wind it off right now but I'm too lazy. There's still room on there for another couple of 'bumps' since my Indian Spinner holds up to 2 pounds of wool!! No Gail, I'm not spinning on my NEW Majacraft wheel these days. I'm refusing to start any other project until all the 'bumps' are spun & finished! My biggest problem is starting too many projects & never finishing ANYTHING. I am determined to finish spinning the rest of the Black Sheep 'bumps' so I can dye them this summer when it's nice & warm on the patio. I can't wait to see the expressions on my neighbors' faces when those skeins are hanging out in the sun!

Can you really be happy with 6.5" when you're used to 9.5???

You know it's going to be an interesting day when you have to put Bailey's in your tea because you ran out of milk.

The burning question of the day is - can you really be happy with 6.5 inches when you're used to 9.5??? I splurged on another little goodie for myself - it seems I do this a LOT these days!! I drooled & drooled over those wooden Knitpicks needles!! I never bought any because I'd bought a set of Denise needles. I like the Denise needles because they're so light! And I like linking the cables to make the size I like. And I don't want any more little pieces to lose. But, I look at those damned wooden needles every time I see the catalogue. I finally invested in a set of DPs for socks. And I got them last night. They're soooooo short! My favorite bamboo sock needles - I made them from skewers - are 9.5" long. I knit a lot of men's socks on these! And I have two sets of them so I can knit both socks at the same time - makes adjustments so easy as you go. Even my Brittany Birch needles are 8 inches long! Am I going to be able to knit with these???
But I have to admit, they sure are pretty.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch
Another pair of socks are on the L_O_N_G needles. I suspect these will end up on MY feet though. I'm using the Regia Jet Set line of yarn in a variegated blue. I cast on 72 stitches as usual for mens socks but these feel thin & small! Oh, they have a ton of stretch but feel very small for a sock that should cover a size 13WWW foot!! I've only got the ribbing & a couple of inches of stockinette done but I think these are only going to fit me. My pal Gail is using the same yarn in a different colorway & mentioned the same thing. She suggested there may be TWO weights in this yarn or is this a factory flaw???? Had I realized this in the beginning, I would've knit a slightly lacy sock pattern for a change. Who knows?? I may just do it yet . . . .

A red mug has been spotted somewhere in B.C.!

And here I thought only teen-aged kids did this sort of thing . . . .

I've lost my car cup!! My beautiful, red, - with Christmas motifs & a snowman inside - Starbucks cup that I leave in my car & take everywhere!!! Boooo hooooo - I think I left it at the Desert Mesa Retreat! I thought it was packed up somewhere & knew it was missing on Wednesday but hadn't had the time - tax season - to go through every single basket, bag & reach under the seats in the car until this morning. I had looked in the back seat but had not pulled all the 'stuff' out & really checked under seats & down wheel wells. Sigh. If anyone knows where my little cup is - puuuuuulllease send it home.

I've continued to spin a little each day - today, I spun a whole 'bump' while watching a David Suzuki special on China's forests. And, I didn't get dressed till mid afternoon today - I'm taking it easy for a day or two's rest after Tax Season & before jumping in to the "self employed" boxes!
And the Ex's feet are so much happier & warmer in the socks I gave him, they're all he's using right now. I rooted out some Regia "Jet Set" sock yarn in another grey pattern & a lovely dark blue to cast-on another couple of pairs. I figure I'd better get another couple knit up for him before he wears holes in the 4 pair he's got!!! I was going to knit a pair of Monkey socks but I'm not ready for size 13wwwws, so they'll just have to wait a while longer!