A little trip to the Mail Box

I don't check the Box every day but I do try to empty out the junk mail on a weekly basis to get rid of the catalogs & other crap that shows up unsolicited. Yesterday I got a nice surprise!! A squishy soft parcel with two months of my Roving of the Month!!

I sure don't need any more roving - I could probably spin for the next 10 years & still have roving left over - but the colors & the fibre made me do it. I just couldn't NOT join the Roving of the Month club. Aren't the colors lovely?? I love anything purple or hot pink. Add a little turquoise to the mix & well, it's an addiction! I'm drawn to the patterns in hot pink even if they don't fit or aren't suitable. And I have so many pairs of socks in purples, pinks or both that I'm branching out into reds & just a little acid green.

My package also included a sample of painted silk hankies in - now what did you expect?? - why pinks & purples, of course. I really like silk hankies because they don't have to be spun to be used in a project. I've stretched & pulled silk hankies into yarn & knitted them into a baby's cap without spinning. Silk is so strong & beautiful. This sample matches a couple of ROM's from last year if I want to combine them into a project. I have quite a collection of silk hankies & the remains of two bricks of tussah silk from 1973 - I spun & crocheted a gorgeous shawl without setting the spin  .  .  .  I was a newbie at the time!! But I learned my lesson well. It sure was nice finding that silk shawl 40 years later when I couldn't afford to buy silk & take it all apart though.

 And in the bottom of the bag I also found a skein of painted sock yarn that I won in a draw! I've been concentrating on knitting short summer socks for my sneakers since I only have a couple of pairs. This lovely skein should make a wonderful pair in some of my favorite colors.

Taking it Easy

The sun is out & the grass is riz .  .  .  . 

It's summertime & the living is supposed to be easy. Tax time is over & the heavy duty data entry jobs are raising their ugly heads. There's nothing like a rent dead line looming to get yer ass in gear.  Good thing I have a library of audio books to keep me entertained. Stuart MacBride is narrating his own book, Blind Eye, as I write this. I've come to love the Aberdeen accents & slang of the Police as they go about solving crimes with the craziest characters I've ever run into. I just laughed out loud at DCI Steele's attempts to get DI Logan - main character - to donate a sperm sample so her wife can have a baby. Between getting shot at, blown up, beat up & chased down by DCI Steele, Our Hero leads a busy life. Sure makes the data entry go by quickly.

And what's going on when I'm not on the keyboard??? Why, knitting Summer Socks, of course. I have two pairs on the go at the moment. I found only one skein of DCS Confetti in a pink, yellow & grey self-patterning yarn. Confetti has really good yardage per 50gm ball but not enough to knit ME a pair of short socks with a nice deep heel. I found a light grey & a dark grey but nothing that really matched. But, most of the sock will be buried in a shoe so I decided to knit the ribbing to the heel in Confetti & picked the dark grey to finish the foot. The other pair are in leftover thin blues. The car knitting bag contains Crafter cotton remnants that will become very large face cloths the next time I'm in the parking lot waiting on the Ex husband.

Pat, I miss you

I've heard the snickers behind my back every time I suggest starting a new sweater project. I know they're my pals & I know they laugh but I've always been a great Starter & a lousy finisher. All my life, I've been the one with the 'Great Ideas' or the 'Money Making Project' every Fall to fund those Christmas gifts we needed to buy when we were broke. For 26 years my closest friend Pat was my finisher. Pat was a detail oriented person.
When we went to a fashion show once - I saw the shape & color of the clothes while she noticed the trims, the buttons, the gussets & the shoes! She remembered the kind of glass eyes that expensive Stuffie had that we couldn't afford. She's the one who found the perfectly matched hat or lipsticks but she couldn't come up with a project idea to save her life. She'd dither over the colors, shapes, findings & patterns forever until I would point to the project that I'd already chosen in my head. I saw the Big Picture & the Bottom Line. She saw all the Steps & Details. I was often impatient while  she was overwhelmed but together, we made beautiful things.

I'd often go shopping for the supplies before she even decided to participate. I had to. And she was always finishing up the hems, buttons, pockets, eyes etc because I'd lost interest & was on to the next thing. I miss her. Without her, my sweaters don't get finished. They get halfway there or three quarters of the way & I lose interest & start a new one. It's a terrible character flaw, I know. If I was a size 0, I'm sure I'd finish something but when you're a size Barn, it takes forever. Do they have 12 step programs for people like me??? Maybe they should if they don't. Or I need a new Pat. Sigh . . . . .  maybe I'm just condemned to knit socks.

And speaking of socks - I've finished the latest Frankensocks in blues - above. I got bored with all that blue & added a teeny tiny pink stripe & that was my downfall. They're mostly Blue & the 20 somethings will fight over them as they are, LOL. And then I finished a pair of Pink Lace Socks. The yarn has a lot of elastic so they stretch a lot. They came with some yarn donations a couple of years ago - they even had the Kollage square DPs still in them. One sock was finished while the other was almost done when the knitter ran out of yarn .  .  .  . I understand, really I do!
I merely shortened the finished sock & got enough yarn to finish the toes on both. They stretch so much that they'll fit a couple of sizes & will make a teen-aged heart somewhere go pitty patt!!

Happy Victoria Day

The Almanac says you must have your garden planted by Victoria Day if you want to

harvest before the first frost. My mother told me there was no longer any danger of frost by the middle of May and that's why this particular day was chosen. I'll bet there's more than a few people in Canada who wouldn't necessarily agree this year.
Yesterday, I noticed my clematis - Jackmani - was covered with big furry buds & two flowers were finally out. Usually, this clematis blooms in early spring before the leaves come out!!! Last year it didn't bloom at all. The last time it looked like this was back in 2011 when I took this pic. Looks just like this again this year with two big flowers & all the fat buds. Could it be the rotted chicken manure I plopped in there???

Being in southern BC, on the coast, with Vancouver Island to block the Pacific gales, we often plant things early & leave them out growing late. My Christmas & Easter cacti could tell tales of patio neglect in that category!! They're usually out from early April to late October under the patio table where they get filtered sun & bake the afternoon away since it faces west. Last fall, they got dragged in by a friend after I damaged my knee & they haven't gone out yet since that knee doesn't quite bend far enough to let me place them on the ground. And one has to be transplanted, the poor thing. They don't get watered enough inside. I neglect them dreadfully. But they do bloom & bloom & bloom every year .  .  .  . 

I have a cedar box 5 feet long & 3 feet off the ground against the house at the back of my patio which is overflowing with ferns - wish I had a bunch more just like it!!  Was, that is. It, too, got neglected sadly when I hurt myself but most of it came back. I decided to stuff spider plants into the holes this year since they've been living in water in jars all winter. They'll have a short life but a good life out there all summer & fall. And I'll have a greener space to spin. I want to spin out there all summer long.

I've decided to spin in the Tour de Fleece with Team Canada & Sunset Fibers. We're talking about spinning Stash this year. It's amazing how fast it builds up when you're busy & I have a whole 6 month membership's worth of sample Rovings of the Month from Sunset Fibers to spin in mine. There's also a couple extras that I ordered & one I got for my birthday - thank you Gail - because I just love Polworth. So, off the

top of my head, I have 9 - yes 9, 4oz bags of hand painted rovings to spin from Sunset Fibers. And this morning when I looked, I have 3, 4oz rovings in Magenta, 3 in Puau & 2 in Purple from Aurelia Fibres that were purchased several years ago.
My first spin will be Blue Jeans on the left. The original bag shocked me with it's nasty white roving & nastier beige drier fluff mixed with lovely dyed blue wool. I tentatively talked to the Vendor & she told me to just spin it up. It's 'Designer Yarn' she said. I grumbled but did it. And washed it. OMG. It's wonderful, yummy, scrunchy, textured & soooo petable. I loved it so much that I bought another bag.

We aren't even going to mention that big bag of Coopworth or the remains of my Grab Bag of mill ends from the Sheep Shed that have been aging for a decade.

I tried to work two jobs the last few years & had no time or energy by the time I got home to do much other than knit socks & touques. I'm still shocked at how much day I have to myself now that I'm back in the Home Office .  .  .  . 
If I had enough income, I think I'd almost welcome Retirement & just enjoy knitting, spinning & Volunteer work. If I could only remember to buy that damned lottery ticket!!!

Frankensocks & Itchy Ears

The Goopy ear is all better - more or less - but now Itchy Ear season is upon us. You know those gorgeous flowering ornamental fruit trees that every Downtown area seems to have?? They make me sneeze & itch. I love their dainty ballerina colors of pink, purple & white but I start sneezing a block away .  .  .  .  14 sneezes later & I'm a road hazard. Haven't been arrested yet but I figure it's coming.

I look forward to the end of tax season every year - well, the frantic part of the season, that is - because people are still calling & dropping them off all summer. This year, I'm formally selfemployed, but managing to make enough in casual jobs to get by nicely. When you don't drink, smoke, party, shop the mall or gamble, you don't need much to get by. I intended to spend more time with my patio garden, dyes & spinning wheel out there in the mornings. So far, I'm still commuting to the office in the morning in my jammies & doing income tax in the mornings!!  But it's not all bad. I'm listening to Jurassic Park as I compute. I have a giant mug of milky tea in my fist & I can go to my favorite cafe for Friday lunch around 1:00. And, I've already done three returns today.

I've been spending a lot of time in cars lately too. Just spent two half days taking the Ex to his eye appointments. He's getting to hate driving in traffic, when they mess with his eyes he can't see to drive anyway & it's easier than dealing with him if he has an accident. I just find a shady spot, pop in the ear buds & knit. The sock on the left is one half of the current Frankensocks in thicker leftover yarns. I have a couple of 20 somethings who fight over any Frankensocks that might become available.

This little sock here - next to Dotty's Chicken Bag - will be in lightweight DGS Confetti yarn for me for summer. Since I only have the one ball, they'll be finished with a nice light grey after I turn the heel. I have several balls of this thinner Confetti yarn - all in different colors of course - but they'll all work out nicely with solids for half of the foot. I mean, who's gonna see the part inside the sneaker anyway?? Right???

Socks & Goopy Ears

I've been a hellova mess the past few days with a nasty ear infection. Isn't it crazy, since I've been a kid, my right ear is the one that gives me all the problems. And it's the one that hears the best. It's the one that's sensitive to nickel & reacts within minutes, it's the one that itches when I'm allergic, it's the one that seizes up if I have a cold & the one that developed eczema. The itch drives me nutz. So, of course, my fingers are dirty from all this paper at tax time, I scratch & scratch without even being aware & BOOM. My ear blows up. This time part of my face & throat joined in. Sigh. Spent a couple of days in bed with a good book on my Kobo & the hot grain bag under my face & ear. I read 5 books, slept a lot, the swelling has come down & my ear is safely draining. No knitting got done. But I thought about it a lot .  .  .  .  I should be grateful I guess. This year I didn't come down with the scourge of papershufflers everywhere, Pink Eye.

I did play a little with different ways to start a sock from my Cast On Bind Off book by Leslie Ann Bestor. I thought the picot cast on would be fun on a pair of summer socks. It's okaaaaay but no matter what I did, it rolled & flopped. I guess I need more practice. Not the kind of start I want on my summer socks! Maybe I'll try a lace pattern .  .  .

Now, when I make summer socks, I make them the same as winter socks only shorter & use lighter weight yarns!! Mostly, I make them just above the ankle bone so they not only cover the foot in the sneaker but also cushion the ankle from the opening of the shoe. You also don't get sand or dirt in your socks when you walk on loose material.

I also hate socks that slide into your shoes when you walk so I make the same nice, deep heel with the same cushioning on the back & under the heel. If you have to wear socks, they might as well be comfy. Right???

Although I'm sure barefoot is better, most of the summer I flop around the house & patio in my ancient thongs that I'm not supposed to wear. LOL

All over but the tears .  .  .  .  another year, another tax season finished. This one was so busy I can't believe it. Having the Tax Man's computer down for a week was great but OMG, the last three days have been hell. Thank you to Ron, who showed up yesterday with his tax stuff, two bags of salad & two loaves of Cobbs bread otherwise I don't know what I would've eaten!!!! And my ex-boss who also showed up with THREE tax returns that needed doing who offered to make a run to Timmies for me .  .  .  bribes help. I made the final run to Revenue Canada's Big Blue Box last night around 11:30 with the ones that I couldn't efile.  Holy Crap. It's over.  I won't even think about the late ones & the small business returns that dribble in over the next three months .  .  .   The Sheep?? Oh just look at that cute wooly face .  .  .  .

So, I haven't done much of anything crafty. Thought about summer socks a lot though. I'd love to wear thongs & sandals all summer but I pronate big time which means I'm stuck in my orthopedic sneakers most of the time. And if you're in sneakers, well, you have to wear socks!! I could wear those little bitty cotton ones but they keep my feet wet all summer. It's what cotton does - keeps moisture next to your body to keep you cool. So it has to be wool or silk.

I have lots of yarn to make short, summer socks. I was thinking about all the single balls of crazy patterned Confetti I have laying about. And all the solid shades for heels & toes as well. Confetti has great yardage & there should be no problem getting a pair of short socks out of one ball but I could put a solid colored toe on them for insurance. 
Summer socks are also a good way to use up all the leftovers too - if you're gonna wear socks all summer, let them be Frankensocks!!
Or, I could knit some of the lace patterns into my summer socks to make them special.

I've surfaced from under the mountain of paper on my desk, in my office, under my keyboard & in front of my monitor. This is my favorite time of the year but also my worst time of the year. I eat take-out. I long for salads & anything green until I find the next bag of Sour Gummies under the paper .  .  .  .  I drink incessant cups of milky overheated tea & wonder what day it is. Tis the time of year when I stumble to my bed for a nap because I'm falling asleep at the keyboard & can't remember if it's still today or tomorrow morning when I wake up. Sometimes I just go down for a teeny tiny nap - just for an hour - & wake up tomorrow. It's sad but true, I'm just another Tax Mole. We're like Programmers in a way, we get our Mojo all fired up & we just can't stop until someone unplugs the computer or we're forced to take a bathroom break. I walked 681 steps yesterday - all between my keyboard, the tea machine & the bathroom!!! We eat anything that falls on our keyboards. And my 64 oz Big Bubba mug is always full of tea. Never mind, there's May & June to relax & plant the garden .  .  . 

But, I digress, I DO come up for air to watch my favorite British tv shows on Knowledge or PBS. At 8:00 every evening my alarm rings & I migrate to the tube to watch the Midwives, Heartbeat or New Tricks which I love. I stay for A Touch of Frost, the Bletchley Circle, Midsommer Murders & several other series. And while I'm catching up with my favorites, I've been knitting. Yeah, still working on that Odd Ball sweater. I almost frogged a large portion of it - should've carried on with the darker balls & gradually introduced the lighter ones - but, I knew if I did, I wouldn't finish it. It's only to keep warm in my office after all so I guess it won't matter much. I just think it might've looked better without the big light space in the middle of the front.
As you can see, I think it would've looked nicer with the darker yarns slowly lightening up or the sleeves being lighter with small stripes of color but, hey, it's done now & I don't really want to tear it out. The colors are browner in real life - I'm not much of a picture taker, that's for sure, but you get the gist of the problem. The yarn is soooo soft & nice. My only wish is that it was in colors that really suit me but, this is what I had in the bag so this is what I used to knit the sweater. It's going to be an office sweater to keep me warm on those cool days when the landlord tries to save a buck by turning down the furnace during the day when everyone but me is out. I got a heater for my office but it blows the fuse in the box which is not in my suite so sweaters are the way to go.

It appears that I've now recovered from the shock of my 63rd birthday and have become normal - for me - once again. I was quite annoyed by the whole event since it meant another year had passed without anything significant happening in my life. Well, except for interesting injuries and the loss of the job I had hoped would slide me into retirement .  .  .  .  I guess we can't have everything.

It was also knitting night with the girls on my birthday so I got to spend my cranky evening with the girls who cheered my up totally. And my pal Gail - has a mind like a steel trap for important dates & things we love - presented me with a bag full of hand-painted roving to go with last month's Roving of the Month. I got both of last month's rovings because they suited me - she's a Fall sort who loves blues, greens, brown & rust & got both October rovings in fall colors. So I've ended up with three related rovings in Easter Egg colors!!! The middle fat one is the birthday roving. So, now I get to figure out what they want to become. I like to spin singles yarns. Most of my singles are loosely spun as well so they don't bias as you knit.  People tell me I spin backwards - so when I knit, I tighten up those loose singles just a little more. So I know it will be spun in soft singles but what weight?? I'm not the shawl type - I could NOT see myself in an Easter Egg colored shawl anyway!!! LOL  L-o-n-g fingerless lace mitts would be terrific, something above the elbow, oh yes, yes, yes! But would they be practical?? No, no, no! The roving is too soft for socks & I have enough socks. That's what Lincoln & Coopworth are for. I wonder if there's enough for a light lacy bed jacket???  Or one of those cowls that fit over the shoulders like my pattern for Reds, Rounds & Ridges????? Decisions, decisions .  .  .  .

It's my goddam birthday

Got up this morning bright and early and decided if it was my goddam birthday, I was going out for a goddam breakfast! Boy, were they surprised in my favorite coffee shop when I trotted in. I'm more the 'last customer who  orders the same chicken sandwich, reads the paper till an hour after they close and rings in my own bill on the debit card machine' person they know and love. They make Broccoli Cheeze soup every Friday because they KNOW  I'll be there for it. But today's my goddam birthday and I'll make the goddam rules. What is it about birthdays anyway?? I mean, it's just another day in your life until wham, you can give consent and sign contracts today?? One day you can't drink legally but the next you can? It's like when you used to turn 65 and suddenly - after you eat the cake - you aren't part of the workforce anymore . Yesterday, you were just a grunt with a paycheck and now, BOOM, you're gone. I suppose I'll just be happy instead - Starbucks gave me a free Skinny Caramel Latte for my goddam birthday.


The Blue Frankensocks are riding in the car these days so there's not too much progress to announce. So far, no one's sat on any of the needles and I've turned one heel. They're gonna be mostly blue. That first sock was looking a little dull and I just couldn't help myself, I gave it just a very teeny, tiny, hot pink stripe. Pictures next time. 

The biggest accomplishment this week is my OddBall Sweater. I had this giant Zip-Lock bag of odd balls standing in the corner of my living room. They were all the stuff deemed un-useable for charity hats because they have to be hand washed. No one out there on the street or in single rooms in old hotels hand washes much laundry. IF you have a sink in your room with running water to wash things and a radiator to dry things, you're lucky. Most people go to the Drop-in centre for showers and laundry so acrylic is the yarn most desired. The Zip-Lock bag has passed some yarn on to other people but over half of it

sat there. Most of it wool with alpaca in it but sadly, none of it machine washable. There were a couple of skeins that I loved but not enough of anything to make much. But, while sorting through it once more last weekend, I had a flash of inspiration. How about a top-down, odd ball cardi??? Something to wear in my office to keep warm or to throw on for a Starbucks run??? And get that lovely expensive yarn USED for something. Got out my Denise needles and my Cabin Fever book 'Need an Ample Cardigan?' and waded in .  .  .  .

I believe it's just about Spring

While the rest of the country is just starting to thaw, we, on the Wet Coast were wearing shorts on Monday. Today isn't that bad neither. I know for sure about Monday because I was out in it in my heavy sweat pants & wooly socks. It was cold in the morning when I started out but boy, by noon, it was Summer. The kids from the high school were scootin' down the sidewalks everywhere in shorts & light sweaters. People had their tops down & windows open. I was cooking in the sweats but luckily wore a light tee shirt with them. Since my right knee was injured, it just doesn't like to be cold. It creaks & cracks - not only can I hear the noise but I can FEEL it too. Like fingernails on a blackboard, it drives me crazy! So I try to keep it warm so it's less likely to complain. Hence, the sweat pants. Bring on Summer, dammit.

Out on my poor patio - it's a mess. I can't quite bend down far enough to pick up all the trash left by the kids passing through or the dead stuff that needs to be tidied up. I suspect my ferns have mostly died since I couldn't get out to water them last fall.  All my grasses have spread seed into all my flower pots!!! I notice Blue Fescue mixed with Comfrey & Flamingo Grass in with the strawberries. I'll be home this summer so maybe I'll plant a new jungle & string it up in macrame so I can reach it. I'll want a nice cozy spot to spend my time spinning for a change this year since I'll be working from  home all the time.

I have a handmade wooden skein rack to mount on the wall somewhere so I can display all the lovely skeins of 'Art Yarn' I've created in the past. I want an outdoor rack where I can hang the skeins I have yet to dye. My giant, one pound, Indian Spinner bobbin is full of Brown Sheep mill ends spun up into sport weight singles yarn that waits to be wound off into fat skeins. I have a sweater box full of skeins spun on the same machine waiting for dyeing & only a few more egg shaped knots of fibre left to spin out of that 15 pound bag. I had my eye on a Kimono pattern from Knit Kimono that I was spinning it all up for. I wanted to dye all the skeins at the same time so they'll at least be related enough to work together. Now that I'm not working full time, I should have the time. I also fell in love with ZEN Squared which deserves to be knit in hand spun if I can get my butt in gear. I have a whole light grey fleece in a bag that would make a wonderful sweater .  .  .  . 
What is it about sunshine that makes you line up 10 years worth of work to do in one summer???

I love Tax Season

Yeah baby, it's Tax Season again!! I like this time of year. I make the annual rounds of all my shut-ins & elderly folks - I've been doing some of their taxes for 30 years - to see what's going on in their lives & letting them know about mine. I really DO enjoy the tax thing. I like the puzzle of it all because an expense is not necessarily what it appears to be, it's what you CALL it that counts. I know I'm a little odd but I truly like the tax stuff. It's the data entry that I'm not really fond of but that's where the bread & butter work is most of the time.  

I like working out of my home office. I've been pounding away till 5 AM most weekends & sleeping in till noon. Not a bad schedule when the weather's bad & you don't want to commute anyway. But as soon as it starts getting light at 5 AM, I'll be sleeping at night & getting up earlier. Now that I'm back in the home office, I can plan on spinning in the early morning all summer this year for a change. I think it's the best time of the day when it's light outside, the hanging baskets are all planted & the birds are raising families. It's the worst time of day when it's dark & cold. According to some mystics, the hours between 3 & 5 AM are  the lowest part of the bodily cycle & the time when the spirit goes wandering. I wonder .  .  .  .  .

 The Chicken project bag above was sewed by a knitting friend named Dotty. I won it in a draw a couple of years ago. Isn't it great??? It's lined with barbed wire fabric & easily holds a sock project.

Meanwhile, in the Chicken bag - I have one sock finished & the next one started in the 4ply Kroy. They've been traveling in my bag lately so I only work on them

while I'm out & about waiting somewhere. They're nothing too spectacular in color but they are thick & warm. They're going to a new home of a commuter who stands at SkyTrain freezing her feet on a daily basis. She won a pair of my hand knit socks in the office draw & has worn them to & from work ever since. I'm taking pity on her frozen feet by supplying a second pair before the first wear out.

There's even an order for new Frankensocks that I want to get out of the way quickly. These ones are to be in Blues. I have a lot of blue leftovers in the box & the bag. And I'm sure there's another damned box around here somewhere but it's buried under something I guess. I have several old yarn end balls
located already & will probably find more as I go  .  .  .  Luckily for me, these socks will be a ladies large so I won't be knitting for weeks on end. I found several different solid colors in the bottom of the box as well. In the olden days, I used to knit men's socks in the wonderful blue & grey speckled Confetti yarns & put solid toes on every pair so that they could be matched up more easily. I had great fun putting wild colored toes on each & every pair. When the owner wore them to work, everyone in the office had to see which color the toes were THIS time around. I just can't stand a plain sock!!!!

Is it spring yet??

I'm not as exciting as I used to be. I used to be able to sing & roller-skate & play tennis at 5:30 in the morning. I ran everywhere I could & hiked for miles when I was young. My mother used to beg me to slow down because I walked too fast everywhere we went. I wanted to do everything NOW. Well, almost everything. I was in no hurry to have a husband & kids. As the oldest of 3, I became the oldest of 6 at 13. I loved my little brothers - I helped pick them out - but everywhere I went for the next year, I had a baby on my hip. My mother & I shared their upbringing. And I discovered how much I like part time parenting. I think we should practice part time parenting a whole lot more than we do. I don't see why two or even three people can't share the raising of common children. I'm not advocating plural marriage here, just sharing kids. Mind you, plural marriage has it's advantages too BUT, if I'm gonna do it, I want multiple wives & husbands. Not one guy hogging several wives!! Why not Line Marriage?? Add a spouse of either sex now & then. Have you read Heinlein?? "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" talks about Line Marriage & it's advantages. Some of us like babies, some of us don't. I prefer them when they can walk & talk but before they rant & swear. Stuff them into a barrel at 15!!! I like teaching independence & life skills at an early age. And I love them when they're still not too big to cuddle or climb into your lap in the big chair when they're tired.

I was flirting with a little guy about 3 yesterday while I tried to catch up with my Botony homework at Starbucks. I may not be too exciting but, damn, I can still pick up the little boys .  .  .  . 

And what am I working on these days??? Kroy socks of course. The current ones are a little dull but they're thick & warm & will keep my old dawgs comfy in my cold basement office. Even though the sun is now beaming in the window, the cement floor is icy & I need a wool sweater & wool socks to keep me warm as I work. I just love this 4ply Kroy which I knit up with two Chiagoo 2.75mm circs. My favorite 2.25 ones are just a tad too small for 4ply but perfect for the 3ply. This picture is a little old since I'm now decreasing for the toe. But, it's the best your gonna get right now.

I Finally Did It

Yes, by gawd, I finally did it. I finished those socks. You know the ones, they're for the Dental Assistant with the big feet. And the only one, other than the Dentist himself, who doesn't give me galvanic shocks when I'm in the Dental Chair. Now, most of us aren't too happy to be in that chair in the first place but just try it out when you get shocks from everything they shove in your mouth. So, I'm very fond of my Dental Assistant despite the time she overfilled the impression tray with pink gunk & choked me with semi-solid goop. But, I still like her a lot.

The socks are Frankensocks - made up of leftovers from other socks. Lara wanted PINK socks but I didn't have enough in one color to make her size so I thought I'd haul out the box of leftovers to see what I could do. And tada - here they are. You know?? They kind of remind me of Spring & flowers just bursting into bloom.

The Next Day

Well! The test turned out to be as simple & boring as an X-ray in the end. Stripped to the waist, got TWO gowns too small - they only come in two sizes, too big or too small - & climbed onto an apparatus that looked like a counter attached to a huge hair drier. The Technician was a whiz at inserting IVs & zipped it into the back of my hand like she'd done 10,000 of them before mine. She probably had!!! I never even got to say anything other than "WOW, you're a Pro." So, if anyone tells you horror stories about the CAT Scan, throw your arms in the air &
laugh out loud. I never felt anything other than the tiny prick of the IV. Never noticed the dye other than a faint feeling of heat in my groin. And that might've been my imagination. I did my deep breathing & hummed my Ohmmmms softly as it banged away. The only real problem I had was a muscle spasm between my shoulder blades from the hard, flat surface when I sat up. Hopefully the results will be as uninteresting as the test .  .  .  .  Mind you, I wouldn't say NO to being able to sing along to my radio once more.

One More Test

Tomorrow I head to the hospital for the next test in the series to find out why one of my vocal chords is paralyzed. I've never had a CAT scan before & I understand I get to shove my head & upper chest into a medical contraption that's supposed to reveal all the secrets of my inner workings in that area. I'm secretly scared to death - I hate needles - I understand they're gonna shoot me full of some dye that will make me want to throw up & pee my pants at the same time. What a thrill .  .  .  .  I suppose its time I got some of those services I've been paying for all my life but I'd rather be looking over someone else's shoulder while they get the needle full of dye, thank you. I'd donate to somebody else right about now. I'm supposed to be drinking tons of fluid to plump up my veins for tapping but they've already decided to send the fluid directly to my bladder instead. All I've done all day is pee. It should be fun tomorrow. By the time I get there, I'll be in a sweat, the blood vessels will shrink down to nothing & I'll spend all my time in the washroom, peeing. Sigh. I'd rather be knitting.

I'm taking the latest sock with me. I only have a toe to finish & then it's done. My Dental Assistant Lara will be thrilled with her new socks. And I'll make sure I take one last photo before she gets them. It's usually the part I forget.

And it's tax season folks. Get your paperwork out & get it in gear. Don't be like the fellow who's taxes I worked on all day yesterday - he hadn't filed in 7 years. And you can just imagine what his bill is like today. I wish I could get a wool deduction - wouldn't that be grand??? If & when it happens, I'll let you all know.

Suddenly it's March

I woke up the other morning & discovered it was March. Working from a Home Office has that effect on you when you don't commute or see people from day to day. Sometimes I don't turn on the radio or television for days because I'm working a job with a lot of data entry & I get lost in audio books instead. This week I've listened to Dana Stabenow's first two books in the Liam Campbell series. Alaska again, but from a white State Trooper's view. Entertaining, still the world of Kate Shugak - I love that series -  but from the Townie perspective instead of the Homesteader. Shhhh, I snuck in a Star Wars novel just for fun, a new Han Solo offshoot called 'Scoundrels' where he's young, single & still dodging Jabba the Hutt. And I just bought a new addition to the "Private" series by James Patterson. Private is where you go when no one else can help you. It's a combination of Detective/Spy/Mission Impossible/security in a chain of establishments that seem to have popped up in all major cities of the world .  .  .  .

As a result, I haven't done a lot of knitting although I finished the Hoodies & sent them on their way. I forgot to take a photo but will ask for one of the two boys in their new hoodies. Apparently they look cute, fit just fine & are already loved by both boys. Not bad for never having seen the boys!!!  Now the big brothers want hoodies too but in solid colors. I don't mind - sewing in all those ends in the striped sleeves was a real pain in the ass.

The Dental Frankensocks are almost finished. Since they've become car knitting, I don't get a lot of time to work on them. But the first one is done & I just have to finish the toe decreases on the second to finish them off .  .  .  .  well, there are all those ends to sew in. But, Pink is definitely the dominant color. I should knit a few more pairs of Frankensocks while I'm at it because the leftovers box grew by 50% when I organized them all & put them in one spot. I'm really not interested in a blanket of any sort so maybe it's time to knit gloves for next winter instead.

All that Snow

I didn't go out on Saturday morning as planned because it was snowing like mad. The Weatherman promised - crossed his heart - that we'd only get flurries which would soon turn to rain. Since this was my first snow since the knee crapped out, I was a little leery about going out when it might be slippery. Well, the Weatherman lied & it kept on snowing & snowing & snowing .  .  .  Not unusual for this time of year but a pain in the ass, just the same when Safeway had milk & eggs & raspberries on sale. Grrrrr

Today I got up to the sound of snow shovels in the alley. One of my friends came over & shoveled my drive, swept the van off & even unclogged the drain. Free again!! Now if someone would come on over & clean my house, I'd be thrilled.

The Wallabies got almost finished for the Ravellenics. I did try my hardest to get them both done but I'm still working on the hood for #2. I did finish it but didn't like the garter stitch hood so I tore it all out & am now doing a stockinet hood instead. #2 Wallaby has been knit twice except for the bottom ribbing which should've been torn out too. But, I am NOT going to do it now. I think the boys will enjoy wearing these & probably need them now. So the hood will get finished tonight & they can go to their new home tomorrow. I think the little boys will love them. It's so much fun knitting for small children.

A Faster Clop

I was feeling a bit sorry for myself in the last few weeks. It seemed that no matter what I did, how much I rested, whether or not I took medication or where I went, I was in pain enough that I couldn't sit, stand or lean comfortably. It was like the Monostat commercials, I kept changing positions & moving chairs until it got so bad I didn't want to go anywhere with anyone. I was just too damned miserable.

I started thinking about what might be causing all the pain. I've been trying to increase my steps to strengthen my right knee - nothing like not being able to go places that makes you want to go there. Most of the pain was in my shins, the inner knees & right hip. My injured knee got wobbly from the pain & my left wrist ached constantly.
I thought about shoes. I pronate or roll to the inside of my foot when I walk. My expensive shoes help with that problem. They're about 7 months old but for most of that time, I wasn't walking much at all.
And then there's that cane, which I hate, that might be changing my gait. Figuring it might be cheaper to leave the cane in the car than buy new shoes, I started by leaving the cane in the car for the short walks. Most of my trips are short walks. Go to the coffee shop. Go to the bank. Go to the drug store, you get my drift. Going to Safeway is different. It's a much longer walk from parking to buggy. I prefer to park by the buggy returns even though I have a parking pass & sometimes they're empty. But, I left the damned cane in the car. And guess what?? Friday, I had a whole list of errands to do & went to 4 different places where I walked without the cane. I came home a little wobbly & sore & had to have a nap because I was so tired from the unaccustomed activity. I was a little stiff the next day & my injured knee ached a little but nothing else hurt, not even the hip.  I think I solved the problem.

Some days I feel old & used up

It's been 4 months since I turned right & my right knee didn't. Four months of hobbling, leaning on things & not being able to walk where, when & as fast or slow as I want. Four months of checking the weather, the parking & access before I and the damned cane, head out the door! And I'm sick to death of it.  My left wrist - the one that holds the cane - is sore from being used so much & weak from being dislocated in a fall on black ice two years ago. And now the muscles around my knees & down into my shins are complaining in the damp weather .  .  .   I wish it would all stop hurting, dammit. Someone said "it takes guts to get old". They weren't kidding.
This isn't how I planned to spend MY golden years .  .  .

It's a good thing I have my knitting. It makes me feel like I can still do some things like I used to. The first Wallaby is done except for tucking in the ends & sewing the stitches under the arms. Wallaby #2 is already on the needles & I'm just about ready to pick up the stitches for the pouch. The Pink Frankensocks are still in the bag unfinished. Pictures later.

Almost a Week In

So, the projects are coming along quite nicely. It's been a while since I knitted a Wonderful Wallaby but it's a very short Learning Curve. Gotta keep the 'little grey cells' working - as Poirot so often points out. My 'little grey cells' have been laying stagnant for the last couple of months but are now back in full gear. Not only am I taking an on-line E-course in Botany, but it's tax season, I'm knitting like a fiend for the Ravellenics & doing masses of data entry while I listen to Linda Fairstein's Alex Cooper audio books. Yeah, I'm addicted. I don't know what I'd do without my Audio Books when I'm pounding on the computer so much. I've become a Murder/Thriller listener but will admit to downloading a new book in the Star Wars genre. Han Solo is young again - Harrison Ford will always be Han Solo - and he's off to new adventures after blowing up the Deathstar. He still owes money to Jabba the Hutt & is still running from the bounty hunters with Chewbacca. I believe the series is called Scoundrels & there will be several books. Just a fun change from death, detectives & destruction .  .  .


My Wonderful Wallabies are coming along nicely but they may be too big for the little boys. I know they'll grow but it's nice to have something fit NOW too. I'm hoping they're just too long. You can always fold up the sleeves & wear it too long. It's a Hoodie after all.

It was like Christmas last night at my knitting night. I traded sock yarn that had lost it's bloom for sock yarn that brightens my day. She was happy with my old stuff & I have more of my favorite Kroy Sock. It's thicker than a lot of sock yarn out there but when it's cold in my basement, it's the only sock yarn I want. Love the stuff.

The Pink Frankensocks are moving right along too. I found a little more yarn with some pink in it plus a lovely lavender leftover to add to the mix. My dental Assistant is gonna glow in the dark when she puts these suckers on! I can't wait to go to the Dentist again.

Let The Games Begin

The Ravellenics(the knitting & crochet version of the Olympics) began this A.M. with the Opening Ceremonies in Sochi.  I Cast On a little later in the day. I slept in since had a really, really busy day yesterday. I had my first appointment with the Specialist about my lack of voice & my first test at the hospital. And of course, the fight with the parking machine that wouldn't take my credit card - either of them - and the phone call to the head office to complain, which ended up with a recorded message giving me an 'incident number' which I couldn't write down since I didn't know I was getting one . .  .  .  all standing in the -9 weather with the wind blowing through my double seed stitch sweater. I am not equipped to be standing outside in very cold - for the wet coast that is a record setting temperature - windy weather with a cane, a limp & a bag.  By the time I got home from 4 appointments, I was done.

Thank Gawd for the internet. I was able to look at all the outfits that everyone wore. The colors are definitely wilder this time around & I'll bet they glow in the dark too. Someone else got the Silly Medal this year for their outfits. And I was so glad to see our Athletes look a lot classier in 2014.

I'm competing in the Ravellenics again this year. Hopefully, I'll actually get my Arvik sweater finished & on my back this time around. It's been hanging on the door to my office for a year & is on it's third re-knit. As some of my friends have said, that wool will be worn out long before I get to wear it if I don't watch out. But look at all the fun I've had. You can't buy that with money .  .  .  .  Yeah, WIP Wrestling. That's the category for people like me with projects like that. And we get a medal if we finish too. Wooo hooo.

I'm also knitting two little Wonderful Wallabies. Size 2 & 4. They'll be entered in the Sweaterboard Cross as a single entry. They're going to have stripey arms with a plain navy body since I don't think I have enough navy yarn to finish both sweaters if I don't. They'll be cute enough for two small boys to roll around in, that's for sure. This is the amount I managed to knit today on Day 1 of the Ravellenics. I've got 4" on the body of the size 2 Wallaby & I'm getting ready to pick up the stitches for the pouch in front. But that's  a project for tomorrow. I think this one will get the variegated blue sleeves since I only have one ball. Or maybe I'll alternate the blue with the buff to stretch it out a little. An extra long cuff that can fold back for now will give a little kid a little more growing room.

Where Did January Go??

I was doing something on the computer yesterday & found out it was February.  What happened to January??

I've been busy. Busy working on my course. Busy doing data entry on late year ends & late tax returns. I even filed my own late return, haha. And I've been choosing my projects for the Ravelenics. This was the knitting/crochet version of the Olympics until the IOC sent a letter to Ravelry telling us we couldn't use the Olympic name. The event was renamed & we'll cast-on during the Opening Ceremonies & lay our projects down during the Closing. We challenge ourselves with techniques, projects, unfamiliar materials etc. Team Canada - my team - has been planning to Cast-on as a group, with Canadian Cider - we keep on discussing flavors that most of us haven't tried - and whatever project each of us have chosen for the duration. It's beginning to look like most of us should be doing the W.I.P. (Work in Progress) Dancing category since we have so many on the go .  .  .  and I can be counted among them. I don't even want to think about most of them but there is that afghan I started about 5 years ago for the BoyToy that remains in the bin, unfinished, unwanted & unloved. I should probably frog it but I've often thought about just adding a fat RED stripe to it's blue & grey sameness.

One of my clients asked if I'd knit sweaters for his two little boys a while ago. They're almost two & almost three. After digging through my stash for something machine washable & dryable for the little guys, I found an odd collection of balls in navy, black, two shades of yellow & one variegated blue. They're 100 gm balls of worsted Markoma  Pittsburgh yarn. I thought I'd knit a Wonderful Wallaby with a solid blue body with yellow & blue striped arms for each of them. A perfect project for the Olympic Cast-on. I can knit two of them in less than two weeks! And if I finish, well, maybe I'll finally add that Red stripe to the blue & grey crocheted afghan.

And on my sock needles?? The Pink Dental Frankensocks are on the go. It's amazing how much yarn I have that doesn't contain PINK. I have two small boxes full of leftovers that don't contain Pink. I thought I was a lover of Pink but it seems I have mostly Purple leftovers or Red leftovers or a lot of Blue leftovers but hardly a Pink one. Sigh, so they're taking a little longer than anticipated. Do you know how much Pink you need to cover size 12 ladyfeet???

Back Again

There's a couple of Blogs that I follow with regularity. Oh, I don't check them daily but I do pop in at least a couple of times a week just to see what they're working on or to check on an on-going project. I really hate bloggers that get you all excited & then disappear for weeks or months. And here I am, joining their ranks .  .  .  .  I can't believe how fast the days go when you have no fixed schedule.

It seems like I've been cleaning out this damned dead fridge for weeks. The apartment was almost empty when it came in & now it's filled to the brim. Not only do I have to move it but I have to move half the kitchen & living room to get it OUT. My knee is being bossy about all this extra exercise and wobbles. And aches. And then there's ALL that work I have to do sitting in boxes in my office  .  .  .  What's a person to do??  Why, KNIT of course.


My Dental Assistant wants Pink socks for her size 12 feet. She's the only person other than the male Dentist in the office who can work on me with metal tools. I get galvanic shocks from everyone else in the office when they touch my teeth. It's a mystery & it's painful. The female Dentist gets annoyed. My theory is that it's the nylon in their undies & panty hose that builds up the static electricity - like you scuffing your feet on carpet before touching the dog's nose - which zaps me when they touch me. Every time they touch me. I'm sensitive to that electricity. The freezer doors at Safeway zap me. My front door knob zaps me. Sometimes my car zaps me. But, Lara wears cotton undies & rubber soled shoes so we can react nicely. She deserves socks just for that. But she's also a nice girl & I try to give her a pair every year. This year I asked what color she wanted, she said PINK. Great, the one color I don't have!! And that's why I'm knitting Frankensocks in all the leftover yarns that have pink in them. I'm just starting to turn the heel on the first sock.

I've been working on my sweater. I'm using Briggs & Little Heritage for this one. It started out to be a Wonderful Wallaby but they're knit from the bottom up which is tough to fit on my body. I decided to work it top down using the Cabin Fever book - Need an Ample Cardigan? - instead. I didn't plan to put a hood or pouch on it but I wanted the 'hoodie' shape. I'm using Peacock
blue for the yoke & the Anniversary Twist for the body.

I Changed My Mind

I have a great deal of difficulty knitting sweaters for myself. They either turn out too big - the usual or too small. Oh yeah, I knit swatches - BIG swatches & do the math & measure but some Gremlin comes in the night, rips out everything I've done & knits it to a bigger size! That's how it must happen because I can't figure out any other way. And I've knit a lot of sweaters over the years - especially for somebody else - and THEY fit properly. Maybe it's a body image thing. Do I see myself BIGGER than I am?? Does my brain automatically compute for a bigger size?

I've had more success with Top-Down sweaters - the ones you can fit as you go. Mainly, because, well, you can TRY it on as you go. Menopause has turned me from an apple shape with big boobs to a cantaloupe with smaller boobs. I came to the realization in my teens at 155 pounds, that I would never have a defined waist or flat stomach unless I was dead. And I had those boobs, four sizes bigger than my butt. I knit sweaters to fit the boobs, but what fit the boobs didn't fit anything else. Maybe that's still the problem. I'm trying to fit the boobs when I should be fitting the belly.


I really want a Wallaby. I like the comfort of a sweatshirt when I'm working in my home office. I've started the darned thing twice - first time around it was based on bust measurement & gauge. At about 8 inches, it looked HUGE.  Put it on a long cord & tried it on. It WAS huge. Frogged it all & cast on again less 30 stitches!! Did I mention, the Wallaby is knit bottom up in one piece to the armhole .  .  .  Second time around, it still looks too big. 

Backup Plan. Dug out the Cabin Fever book "Need a Plus Sized Cardigan?" and decided to work it from the Top Down with a V-neck which I'll cross over - good style for me - and knit down to the hem. I've learned how to do short rows to add fullness for the bust that has decreased with age & the belly that has expanded. I really want to avoid ribbing at the bottom - it just emphasizes the belly. I want a nice fat edge in seed stitch with an open vent at each side edged in seed as well. I really would like to take that bottom over there on the left & attach it to that top on the right. Here we go again.

Pink Frankensocks in the Sunshine

It almost looks like summer out there again today! Hardly a cloud in the sky & it looks like folks are wearing shorts!! Actually, some never take them off around here in the winter, they just wear heavier materials, longer socks & a jacket.
I missed most of yesterday's sunshine while I pounded on my keyboard but today, I'm taking my latest Frankensock project with me to Starbucks & soaking up some sunshine.  I promised PINK socks to my lovely Dental Assistant just before Christmas. Pink is her favorite color. After looking through my stash, I find I don't have anything in Pink except leftovers. I have a big pile of leftovers with Pink in them because I like patterns with pink & purple as you can see. Frankensocks would be a good option here because that darned girl has very long, large feet. Even though I know she'd be thrilled with pink LACE socks - lace never comes in size 12 unless you knit them yourself - Frankensocks, it will have to be this time. I could even add some black or dark grey to really make the pink pop, too. And while I really hate knitting size 12 socks, I guess it's better than owing size 12 feet!

Nothing like a little Sunburn

Today I woke to glorious sunshine & managed to haul three containers of garbage out to the cans all by myself. I hear you all laughing. This is the first time since I tore the cartilage in my right knee that I've been able to get there on my own. I have to walk around the house, through uncut grass & hidden potholes to get there so today's adventure is no mean feat. It now means I can do this job myself instead of waiting for someone else to do it. It also means I can also clean out the fridge which died some time in the last couple of days. If it isn't one bloody thing, it's another.

I took myself down to Starbucks around noon & sat outside in my shirt sleeves & read the paper while I baked in the sunshine. Most people - except the smokers - stayed inside with their coffees. I laughed out loud & soaked up every stray ray I could absorb for two whole hours. Yeah baby, this is what Vancouver's all about. It might rain most of the winter, spring & fall but when the sun shines, it's really glorious. The only thing wrong with today was no knitting.

But, I have been knitting at home. My Wonderful Wallaby is coming right along. I decided to use a seed stitch border instead of ribbing on the bottom. I also built in a side vent, 8" deep on either side. And I left off the pouch which would just bring more attention to my post menopausal belly. Several short rows were also built in to give my belly a little more room & help the hem to fall where it should.

Happy New Year Everyone