Ode to the BoyToy

So how's the BoyToy doing?? Well, he had a nasty blow-out in one of the arteries in his brain which could've killed him because it took two days to get him to the hospital. By the time we actually got him there, it was trying to heal itself. Lucky for him, lucky for his family!! You don't get too many of these breaks in life. He will have some permanent damage but the medical staff say it'll be minimal - whatever that means. He has no paralysis & his speech is good but he still hasn't located his left arm & leg in space. They're still about 4 inches from where he thinks they are - they used to be about 8" away so I guess this is progress too. His eyes are still not working together properly - they both see & focus but not together in the same place. He can read & understand the big letters but not the small print. His recall is sometimes goofy. But he can pass most of the tests the physio gives him but the big one - he isn't walking yet. His hand is better than his leg. A bunch of his pals hauled him out this weekend for beer & pizza. He's on the mend if he can go out for beer & pizza!!! He's extremely nasty & cranky - sick man syndrome?, wants to escape the hospital at any cost & just wants to go home NOW. And he can't wait to go back to work. So I guess life returns to almost normal.

And how am I?? Well, relieved, angry, resentful, stressed, restless, carrying on as I always do. At least the cat's always happy to see me when I come home - she rushes out to the car to give me shit for being gone so long!!! When I'm really angry & resentful, I try to remember how I'd feel if it were ME laying there not being able to make my own decisions, being poked, prodded, isolated, no privacy or hot shower. I'd be screaming long & loud too. I hate hospitals. I hate the smells, the sounds, the people & the whole industry. And I generally avoid them at all cost! LOL Its funny - the staff say they don't like patients who just want to stay in the Hospital Hotel. But heh, they really don't like the ones who want to get up & check out quickly!

I HAVE been getting some knitting done though. Wheeling those damned wonky chairs, the emotional distress & the change in the weather has kind of crippled my hands. I can't even spin right now. I can barely write never mind knit! But, I've been slowly working on my "Boomer" projects. I still have to find three buttons for the shoulder of the bottom up sweater in the wild colors - yellow, lemon, orange & beige AND I've got a EZ Tomten on the needles in plum - haven't decided what color the arms will be but I wish I had Celery colored yarn. This is the first time I've made the Tomten & I thought it would be fun although garter stitch really seems to go on & on & on. I might try the Baby Surprise Jacket too - it'll be much bigger in the yarn I've been given but I'm not sure how much bigger! I think chunky yarn is much harder to knit with than good old sock yarn when you have sore fingers but I'm doing a little here & there. The day is so dark & grey today that my camera won't even take a good picture . . . .

Another Day, Another Visit


I'm getting pretty good at wheeling wheelchairs around hospital corridors. The only thing I'm NOT good at is making my way up & down hills with a loaded one. I think the staff on the BoyToy's ward hate us. Two days in a row we've had wonky wheelchairs. They go where they desire. They stop suddenly when we hit a mat or veer off into a wall when we try to go straight! It's not easy wheeling a 230 pound man up a hill but it's impossible when all four wheels are going in different directions!! I just about dumped the poor man into the roadway over a 4" drop yesterday . . . . I don't need to go to the gym because I'm getting a terrific workout at the hospital!

I'm doing a fair bit of knitting. My pals & I have dropped everything for a couple of weeks to knit for the "Boomer" project which sends knitted hats & sweaters for small children to Afghanistan to be distributed by Canadian troops. The girls must have a dozen or more hats between them while I've finished one sweater & am onto the second which is EZ's Tomten sweater. I might even get a Baby Surprise Jacket done in this chunky wild yarn. I'm enjoying the knitting - just stocking stitch or garter but I've got 12 different colors to work with!! LOL And I've found that I've forgotten what size a small child actually is . . . . This is a pic of the first sweater in progress. The second sleeve is now finished & I have to sew three buttons on the shoulder!! The Tomten jacket is already on the needles & will be in purples & grey.

In the Blink of an Eye


My best bud had a stroke Sunday night. We both thought he had the flu & didn't actually do anything about his condition till Tuesday afternoon. With hindsight, we should've done something on Monday but neither of us would acknowledge what we both suspected. Who really wants to think they're having a stroke at 50??? Not the guy having one, that's for sure. My pal Karen tells me he has a good chance at a full recovery - I certainly hope so. I mean, what's life without a BoyToy??

So you get to thinking about YOUR chances. About 5 years ago, while sitting at my computer late one evening, I had a TIA. My right hand went all numbish & tingly & the right side of my mouth went all tingly. I thought, OH SHIT, I'm having a stroke. I immediately went & took two regular aspirin with a hot drink & tried to relax. The tingling went away. I went to the nearest clinic in the morning since it was a Friday night on Welfare & Pension week. Welfare week means the emerg is backed up outside the door & it would be tomorrow before anyone saw me anyway!!! I was lucky - my blood pressure was sky high but I had no visible damage once the pressure went down. But I could've had a stroke. The BoyToy has been bitching at me periodically ever since. Did I really heed the warning?? Somewhat. Got my pressure under control. Changed my diet a little. But my weight is the same & I don't exercise. Guess this is a wake up call for both of us . . . .

Summer has left the Room

I guess I have to recognize that Fall is here in all its glory. What happened to Summer?? At least I have wool. It's funny, in the Summer, I hardly took the spinner outside on those few glorious evenings to spin at all. Now that Fall is officially here - well, all I want to do is spin wool. Silky, warm, lovely wool. And I want to knit with it too, of course.

I think Fall is probably my favorite time of the year. I love the long, warm days with the sharp, cool nights. It's great to cuddle under the flannelet covered quilt & listen to the story CD or read a great mystery. I love the colors of the trees as they start to go dormant - too bad they have to lose that showy color. And I love the Fall produce - berries, new apples, nectarines & all the bright root veggies to throw into the slow cooker for soups & stews. The bright fall colors remind me that the cold, dampness of winter is right around the corner & I haven't finished a sweater for ME yet. I'm a great starter but a lousy finisher. Sooooo many projects & sooooo little time . . . . . Arvik isn't yet finished & I want a sweater the color of the new Red Rome apples this year. Can you believe that? Hmmmmm - well, maybe I could overdye some of Arvik with a rich red & knit another sweater???


Speaking of Fall - I've finished the Spirogyra fingerless gloves from Knitty. I had some old grey handspun - some of the Dorset roving I think - so I whipped up a pair to wear in my warehouse jobs. I don't want something delicate or fancy for work - I just want something WARM. The wind kind of blows through those old single glazed windows onto the front computer where I work & I FREEZE. Arvik will be for work too - it's light but really warm & won't show the dirt. IF I EVER GET THE POOR THING FINISHED!


I finished the latest Garn Studio socks. I love the colors so these ones are going straight into MY basket. I may not wear them till the spring when I'll need short socks again but they're all MINE.

I've been sorting through my left-overs since it's also time to knit for my Bum Bags. I'm thinking Frankensocks this year - I've got about four bags of left-overs which I've sorted into Blues, Reds, Pinks/Purples & Everthing Else. Black & Red solids pretty well work with any color in the sock world although Grey is good too. I use the solids for the ribbing, toes & solid stripes between colors. I have to admit that Black is pretty spectacular at showcasing all the jewel colors in the stripes like these ones I knit a couple of years ago.
I've found that a lot of the Black yarns feel much thinner than the colored ones. Why is that??? Is it just my imagination???? Oh well - I got black, several browns & greys to work with for the folks who don't like colors.

And on the spinner - well, I bought some SuperWash wool from Lynne at Knitopia at the Spring Retreat hosted by the Langley Spinner's & Weaver's Guild in February. The bright colors called to me across the room & I had to have it even before it was unpacked & priced. Silly me. Like I need more roving to spin!! And especially more pink or purple . . . . I see a trend here - too much pink & purple in my wardrobe of yarns! And now I want rich burgandy & dark red for fall. Ooooops - maybe it's time to swap some of the pinks & purples I have hoarded away.

How the time flies . . . .

I can't believe that two weeks have passed since I updated this blog! But, then, I've been doing late tax returns like crazy - oh yes Virginia, I suspect even Santa has occasionally filed late !!

I get an audio book playing on the desktop & spend days & days with receipts & the calculator BEFORE I get to do the actual return. In the last couple of months, I've worked my way thru Ben Bova's 'Grand Tour' series & am now working on Kathy Reichs' "Bones" books. I like her heroine, Temperance Brennan, a whole lot better than Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta. Both fictional women deal with dead bodies but Temperance studies the bones while the dour Kay, deals with bodies that're still dressed in their meat & skin. Both are good if you like the genre though.

But, I'm getting off the subject here . . I've been busy. But not too busy to finish the Black Funeral Socks. They actually went quite quickly for black socks but the Preface yarn really feels thin - I'll have to get a report back from the wearer to be. It may just be my imagination!! My Olympic SockPut socks have found a new home! My Doctor's new receptionist has an eating problem. She's so thin that I volunteered to donate fat to her any time she needs it!! She proudly announced yesterday that she's gained 2.5 pounds in the last three months!! I congratulated her & rewarded her hard work with the wild socks I knit for the Olympics - she was so proud of herself!! I hope she's gained another 2.5 when I come back in three months.

I also cast on some new short socks for ME in the Garn Studio sock yarn. I really like the Garn Studio yarn - not only does it come in some great colorways but it's thick & springy & quick to knit. It's a little more expensive - a buck or two - but feels great when you're knitting & nice ON! With all the warm weather out there these days, I NEED short socks.


My friend Gail came to Wednesday Nite Knitting with a pair of fingerless gloves. They were really nice! She knit them from a pattern on KNITTY - called SPIROGYRA. We love Knitty!!! Now, I remembered seeing the pattern & thought it was interesting for Sweet Young Things but hadn't thought about actually making them for myself. When Gail brought her gloves to the group, we all tried them on. Gail made hers long - almost to the elbow!! I loved them! Laura threatened to wear them home. So, I came home that nite, printed off the pattern & started knitting them out of some grey handspun I had laying around. I'd actually started a pair of plain fingerless gloves in the grey last spring - they were thick & warm but sooooo uninspiring. So I tore them back to the ribbing, adjusted the stitch count to a multiple of 6 for the pattern & spent the weekend knitting my own interpretation of Spirogyra. I also made them long - they're halfway to my elbow - so I'll be warm in the warehouses when I work this winter. I wasn't going to waste my time making LACEY gloves but I discovered that lace makes them much stretchier - a good thing when working with handspun on small sized needles!! There's a reason for everything in this life . . . .

My Carpenter finally showed his face at my door - I got his body & arm measurements & am now able to finish his Wonderful Wallaby! He's really looking forward to wearing it when he goes North to visit Mom for Thanksgiving. Apparently, I chose his favorite color. I'm not surprised. The Anniversary Blue is wonderful when knit up & will look great on him. I originally thought the Heritage was too scratchy for a cozy sweater that would touch skin but it's actually very nice to work with & really softens up as you knit with it. And yes, you have to pick out a little bit of straw here & there but I sure wouldn't have a problem wearing this wool as a cardigan.

I actually knit a few more rows on Arvik in the last couple of weeks too. I'm thinking I'll be wearing it to the Fall Retreat this year just to prove I can knit a sweater for ME! With my Spirogyra gloves on & Arvik on my back, I'll have to knit up one of those wild fluffy scarves in hot pink to go with them for a bit of color . . . .

Back to the Blog

I have two calendars in my house. One sits on the wall, in the hall, close to the kitchen where I record the hours worked for each client - the stuff I'm supposed to put in the DayTimer that sits with bills piled on top of it - appointments & Things I Must Remember. I actually turn the pages & record stuff that needs to be recorded. The other calendar hangs above my desk in the office, where the computer sits. It's still on July. It waits for summer to come back. Guess which calendar I use the most?? Yup, the one with the pages that never get turned. Well, today, I bit the bullet & turned the page to September. It's not raining but the sky is that paler shade of grey that tells you to get out the knitting needles & finish the sweater that you started last Fall.

Speaking of knitting, the Carpenter Wallaby is still languishing for want of some measurements. And I hear Arvik calling . . . . . . So, I'm thinking, I'll just pick her up & start knitting for ME again.
So - I dug out poor Arvik. And then I realized I'd stolen her needles - I have the Denise set so I can change out the ends quite easily - I guess I'm using them for the Wallaby. Or maybe I WAS going to use them for the Wallaby before I had to go down a couple of sizes . . . . . It pays to actually pin a note on the sweater when you're robbing it of it's needles so you can find out what size you were actually using!! Now there's a notion we could use - a tag with the needle numbers on it that can be pinned to the sweater whose needles you're stealing . . .

And then there's the Black Socks. I'm just about ready to do the toe shaping on one & mid foot on the other. These have gone much faster than the last pair - I suspect it's the Queen's heel shaping that saved the day! Another evening or two will see them finished & on their way to their new owner.

I really hate blogging without pictures!


The title says it all - I don't have any pictures. It's time to hit the hay because I have to be up, showered, fed & ready to go before 7 in the AM & it's now 11:49 in the PM but I don't feel sleepy. The BoyToy has taken My car to work since he's separated the cords in the steel belted tire on the front of His car & has to drive to Vancouver. I thought those tires were in better shape when I bought that car . . . . before we traded cars, that is. He he he, seems like I got the best of the deal. Oh well, I surely don't need My car on the Graveyard shift & he doesn't go anywhere on the Day shift so we'll share until one of my scrap buddies comes up with Cheap or Free - even better, tires that fit his car. If it isn't one damned thing, it's another . . . . Maybe I should actually check the tires on My car before I start laughing at his!

I've come to a standstill on the Briggs & Little Wallaby. My carpenter client needs to bring his skinny little bod over to be measured for length! I have the body & both arms knit & ready to attach to the yoke but I want it to be LONG enough. The little shit hasn't measured himself so I have to catch him & do it myself I guess . . . . MEN. I am learning a lot about the Wallaby though & I'll certainly knit another of these in the near future - they're fun!!

Black socks have their heels turned & I'm almost to the toe shaping. These ones have gone quite quickly - I think it's the Queen's heel that makes the difference.

I really have to take some photos . . . . .

It seems like a Dull November Day


And the Fall monsoons have started. Well, we could be saved by a nice long Indian Summer but it sure doesn't seem that way out there today. Or yesterday. Good thing I'm inside lost in gas-receipt hell. Gas-receipt hell??? That's what I call it when I have to add up FOUR year's worth of gas receipts for a truck driver's back taxes - AND he fills up daily!!! Good thing I've got soup simmering in the slow cooker & Ben Bova's MARS playing on my desktop player! I've become lost in Ben Bova's Grand Tour series. I listen while I work & it certainly makes the time go fast!
But this isn't knitting related, is it?? I didn't finish the Sweater Sprint - it was the Sweater Sprint I entered after all - event on the Ravelympics. I bit off more than I could chew - even in a size medium. A word of advice - never enter an untried pattern with an untried yarn in a timed event. I had to go down TWO needle sizes to get the correct gauge for my Wallaby. Then, part way thru the main body, I realized my gauge was off. I'm knitting 4 stitches to the inch instead of 4.5!! And what difference does half a stitch make, you ask?? Well, I'm thinking my medium sweater is now a large. The sleeve was ridiculous so I tore it back to the ribbing, ignored the "add 10 stitches" after the ribbing & just added a couple of stitches to the underarm every 4 rows until I added 8 more stitches overall instead of 18. I figure I'm about right for a slightly snug sleeve - after all, this is a WORKING Wallaby & the guy doesn't want huge arms to catch on things!!! My tension is waaaaaaay looser when I knit in the round! This won't be a bad thing when I want to make MY wallaby though. I should be able to knit the largest size to fit me - it should wind up two sizes larger. I'll just make it a little longer to elongate my body & keep my bum warm!!

And on the home front - well, I sent three pairs of socks off to new homes as birthday presents last week!! So now I have an excuse to start on the Christmas gift socks. I'm thinking of making Frankensocks - they're socks knit out of related leftovers with solid bands of blue or black or red for example, to bind them together. I often use black with stripes of yarns that have red bits in them or maybe a bunch that have blues in them. What fun to knit. Here's a pair I knit for Laura's daughter waaaay back in the beginning when Laura joined the Wednesday Nite Niters - we told Laura she'd have to learn to knit her own socks if she wanted any more of them!!! And then there's all those squares the girls knit. I intend to crochet them together into blankets this year & maybe knit some strips to make others if I can get the time.

Ravelympics Alert


My Sockput entry is finished!! And, why wouldn't it be??? I can knit socks in my sleep these days. Not only have I finished the Sisu Fantasy socks but I've got a pair of - drum roll please - BLACK SOCKS on the needles too. The BT's elderly dad asked if I would knit him a pair of black dress socks - what could I say . . . . I'm just quickly knitting a very plain pair in Preface which is made by the same mill that puts out the Confetti yarns I like so much. I've obviously been knitting with Regia & Opal yarns a whole lot lately because this Preface sure feels thin - oh I know it thickens up when the sizing is washed out!!! It just feels funny . . . . but the socks are just about to the start of the heel gusset shaping so they aren't going to take long to knit.


So, after socks, I entered the Freestyle thingamaboppie in the Ravelympics - you know you're getting old & weird when you can't even remember the damned events you sign up for!!!!! I was going to knit the Wonderful Wallaby in Purple Marble yarn. Well, I decided knitting a Wallaby for Moi for the first time was going to be just too much for such a short event. I mean, I have to compute the sizing, figure out the bust short rows etc . . . . so I thought I'd knit one for the BT. Well, even his size is a bit of a stretch with the LONG body & belly short rows!!! So my skinny little carpenter client dropped by with payroll info in hand & HE ordered a Wallaby when he saw what I was doing. He's a nice ordinary size MEDIUM with no belly. AHA!! A snap to make HIM a Hoodie. And I think the medium will be a bit big on him. I do so love to knit for kids!!!!!

The Carpenter Wallaby is being constructed - hehe - with Briggs & Little "Heritage" yarn in the Anniversary Twist colorway. The Anniversary Twist is light blue & denim twisted barber-pole style worsted wool produced for their 150th Anniversary last year. I loved the color & figured the boys would too. I had to go down a needle size to a US 5 & 7 to get the gauge called for for the Wallaby but so far it looks good. Although I thought Heritage would be too scratchy, it sure softens up as you knit with it! And, this will be a working hoodie!!! I think the Heritage wool will be perfect for this application. I'm thinking a chunky style wool would also be great for the Wallaby too - I'd just have to do some calculations for the gauge & go down a couple of sizes for a true WINTER Wallaby.

And I'm Off!!!

I have to admit, the Sockput is a riot. I really wanted to start these socks - I can't resist a new yarn!!! And I was dying to find out what kind of pattern I'd get. Sooooooooooooo . . . . . Tada, my entry. I'm up to the gusset shaping for the heel on both of them already. Sunday nite is my favorite nite on the boob-tube with the Antiques Roadshow on PBS & then Rosemary & Thyme & whatever British Detective series is running on Knowledge. So I end up knitting for at least three hours!!!

Haven't started on the Wonderful Wallaby yet in the beautiful purple Marble yarn but I'm thinking I might just change to the blue Eton Ornaghifilati yarn I bought for the BT. The Eton yarn is 50% wool & 50% acrylic so it can be washed in cool water & laid flat to dry. I think it'll work out nicely for the Wallaby!! He's long wanted a sweater but he wouldn't let me knit one till his son moved out. The kid used to 'borrow' dad's stuff & then just throw it all into the wash . . . . I mediated a couple of battles over what belonged to who. And, I learned to buy everything in doubles but in different sizes, LOL. So, the kid's been gone for about 4 years & maybe it's time to knit him something. I'm doing this in self defense you know, I want to be able to FINISH in time!!!!!

The August Manly birthday socks have been finished! They were actually finished a while ago but I hadn't tucked in the ends . . . I think that's the worst part of any project!! So, I have the perfect "manly" socks & the "wild" socks for the BT's parents who include me as one of the "kids". I'm the 'good' influence on the wildest kid. hahahaha

So, I joined the Ravelympics


My spinning & knitting pal Gail was making me feel guilty for not joining the Ravelympics. It wasn't that she said a whole lot but she's a mother. She has that mother way of making you feel guilty without saying anything - you know the look. So I went in & took a look . . . I figured I'd just join one of the sock events - I mean, hey, I can knock out a pair of socks in a couple or three days without breaking a sweat!! And I just bought some great new Sisu Fantasy to knit myself another pair anyway. So I joined the Sockput. I cast on this morning while watching Peter Fallico decorate on the Home & Garden channel - my morning addiction - & I've finished the cuff on both socks already. I did consider short socks but I get more use out of the longer ones so these will be above the ankle socks.


Since I was already signed up for one event at Ravelry, I figured I might as well sign up for another one while I was there. I should've signed on for the UFO project but it's waaaay too hot to knit a large wool sweater when half of it's laying in your lap! So I signed on to knit the Wonderful Wallaby in the purple Marble yarn I bought at Knitopia. I absolutely fell in love with Marble even though it IS acrylic. It's a lovely acrylic with great colors & I may just buy more of it before I'm through. I've lusted after the Wonderful Wallaby ever since I saw one on the back of a fellow guild member, Doris who has several of them!! I've already done the swatch with the pocket shaping & attachment so I'm ready to go!! I'm still debating whether to make the Wallaby as written or turn it into a zipped front with two kangaroo pockets. Sooooo many decisions, so little time - 17 days, isn't it???

Paper, Paper, Everywhere!!!


So, I've spent the last three days on the computer from early morning to suppertime. Nope, not playing the latest game but doing data entry for a company that digs big holes with big toys. The boys are not good at paperwork so I got them to stuff it in a big box & I got to sort it into years while I watched the Home & Garden channel . . . . . Now I get to throw it on the computer. There are some compensations though - I've been listening to several of Ben Bova's novels. He slams the world into the Greenhouse Cliff - his version of the Greenhouse effect gone into overdrive that causes a sudden catastrophic meltdown of ice caps, a huge rise in sea levels, the drowning of all coastal cities, a total change of weather patterns & a massive shifting of the ocean currents. A whole series of books spin off with the development of the settlements on the Moon, mining of the Asteroids & exploration of the other planets. I like the multiple voices that act out the books too. I suppose if you have to beat on the keyboard all day, every day, you might as well have some good entertainment!! I started out with The Empire Builders & went on to the Asteroid Wars series. I highly recommend these books if you like realistic SciFi.

I have done some knitting in the evenings too. I finished the turquoise Garn Studio socks for the BT's mom!! I like them. This yarn is a little thicker than some of the other yarns I've used but I like the feel of it & made them a little longer than I normally do for her so they'll make good winter socks. She normally prefers short socks but I've convinced her to have so longer ones for those days when its really cold outside.

I decided to knit a couple of pairs of short socks for myself to wear in my sneakers - I have some in cotton but my darned feet get wet!! So, I hauled out a ball of OPAL in wild colors. I figure I'll get a couple pairs out of one ball. Don't you just love those little Teddy Bear stitch markers???? Handcrafted by none other than Karen, our friendly spinner/knitter/quilter. Not quite finished my Opals but I am down to the toe shaping. I'll have these ones off the needles tonite since it's Wednesday Nite Knitting tonite!!

Arvik has been on hold during the heat wave. It's been too hot to have a wool sweater draped across my knees while I knit!! It's bad enough knitting in the heat but to have half a sweater covering you is just too much!!!

So I haven't been too Wordy lately

Keeping up a blog is a pain in the ass sometimes - especially in the summer when the days go by at supersonic speed!! I've been working on Sundays lately, opening the UBrew for the old faithful client who can't bottle any other day . . . . it's okay with me since I work the rest of the day by myself in peace & quiet while I listen to my latest audio book. I've been listening to the Friday Night Knitting Club & have become embroiled in the comings & goings of Walker & Daughter!! A fun listen so far!!

Still knitting on the Arvik sweater although it's big enough so that it's also too hot to work on it! I love the fabric though & will definitely spin more yarn with projects in mind in the future. I'm guilty of producing YARN with no purpose other than to decorate my living room. Baaaaaad Sharon. I've turned the heels on my Garn Studio socks - the Parents Who Have Everything will be pleased when their birthdays arrive next month! The male half is getting shades-of-brown for his birthday while Her Nibs will be getting the turquoise jobs in the photo on the last edition of this blog.

I considered joining the Tour de Fleece but decided not to. I've got enough on my plate this year!! But in it's honor, I've been hauling the Indian Spinner outside in the morning when it's cool to spin for a half hour or so. I'm really enjoying it with my morning tea . . . . I get to see the squirrels running along the fences while the crows dive bomb them! The cat lays in the old chair & mewls at the little birds landing on the steps while I work.

Last nite, the boys who brought me the 150 pound pot of bamboo arrived with hacksaws & box cutter to cut a piece off for the new patio planter one of them bought. I was happy to let them since I wanted a smaller bamboo to stuff into the new pot I bought for it. I got the biggest plastic outdoor pot that Revy had. It was too small. The bamboo had to get a root cut. After an hour of almost constant chopping, cutting & jumping - they took turns!! & I dug out a folding camp shovel that doubled as an adze - the boys finally hacked off a piece big enough to stuff in their planter!! The bamboo was mostly intact but had lost about a third of its roots, 40 pounds of rock & a little dry dust in the middle of the pot. The poor thing had grown around the rocks in its bottom so that they were almost engulfed by wood. All the pounding, jumping & laughter drew it's fair share of curious neighbors to gauck of course. But, it's now snug in it's new pot with mushroom manure & topsoil after soaking in water all nite. I think it looks happier! Anyone want a piece????

That's about it except for all the late tax returns I've been doing. Maybe I'll finally get mine done one of these days.

So it's July already

I'm not sure what I've been doing lately but the time sure has slipped away. I remember my Grandmother talking about how time speeds up as you age. I thought she was nuts at the time! I guess I've joined the nutty generation.

But, I have been knitting. My Ginny sweater in recycled purple yarn is almost finished. I've got a little piece of one sleeve to do. And then I have to figure out what kind of edging I'm going to do - maybe just a couple of rows of single crochet??? I wonder how it would look to edge it in dark plum on a light purple sweater??? Hmmmmm?? Remember, I'm no photographer & the purple is actually darker while the light pink is actually a lavender color!


Arvik - the handspun shetland wool - is down past the armholes & into the body! I'm edging it with seed stitch instead of garter or ribbing - I'm soooooo tired of ribbing!! Isn't it neat the way the natural colors of the fleece make a nice stripey effect??? Not sure if I'll put on pockets yet - they only bag & sag anyway, so maybe it's not a good idea. I intend to finish off the bottom in seed stitch as well as the cuffs too. Or the arm banding. Depends on whether this sweater gets long sleeves or three quarter sleeves. Still haven't decided. This is my very FIRST handspun sweater! The girls sure were mad at me when I frogged it the first time . . . . . I promised to keep this one intact so I have something for Show & Tell at the Fall Retreat!

I couldn't help it but there's another pair of socks on the needles! These are in a Garn Studio yarn that's kind of stiff & scratchy but I'm hoping that's just the sizing they put in it when they spin it. I'm up to the heel shaping at the moment. There are times when you really NEED a smaller project to pack around with you . . .


Got out the Indian Spinner & have been spinning early in the morning when it's cool. I sit outside & spin while watching the squirrels run across the wires & down the fences with peanuts in their mouths. I found a whole Hershey bar buried in my hanging basket of succulents one day! The squirrel got to it off the stairs & kicked out some of the succulents to make room for the candy bar. I'm not sure what that damned squirrel thought it would do with a candy bar, but like a dog with a fresh bone, it buried it. This is certainly the weather to hang freshly washed & dyed skeins outside to dry. I got the itch to dye something but I have to spin the wool first. Mmmmm - now that I think about it, I could dye some of those Brown Sheep mill ends & then spin them . . . . . I wonder how that 'egg' shaped lump would come out????

I'm not much of a Finisher


I've got all these great projects running around in my brain. I've got some great patterns in my ring binder. And I've even got some started . . . . . But I have a problem with finishing. For over 20 years my best friend & I worked on projects together. She could never get anything started without my bright ideas & I could never get anything finished without her. We made a great team. Only problem is - we enabled each other. Like two drunks with one bottle, I started it for her & she finished it for me! Now that I'm on my own, I have no problem coming up with my usual bright ideas, money making schemes & great projects but I never seem to finish anything bigger than a sock.

Like the Moss Stitch Blazer from Dawn French. I spent a couple of years buying up the yarn - I couldn't afford it all at once!! I planned the sweater, I bought the yarn, I dreamed about a RASPBERRY wool blazer. I knit the pattern in raspberry acrylic to make sure I'd like it!! I wore that acrylic sweater long beyond it's natural lifetime. I got compliments wherever I went. And people would stop me & ask where I got it. I loved the color & the pattern even though the acrylic stretched all out of shape over time. I couldn't wait to start it in wool. I finished the back, one front & half of the other & it's been in the bag for at least three years . . . . . .

And then there's the Heartbeat Sweater started a couple of summers ago. In Lavender. I have most of the front knit up - good thing the sleeves & fronts are knit together. This sweater did have a legitimate problem with the pattern. It was a knit-a-long on one of my Internet Groups because it was multi-sized & very attractive. We couldn't wait to get into this one. The pattern wasn't well written for larger sizes though. This created a big problem with the neck & shoulders but a couple of members came up with creative solutions. A lot of members gave up on the pattern but I figure it will work out if I knit the front & back as for a 44 or 46" width & get the additional width in the garter stitch panels at the sides which have no shaping. It IS an attractive sweater & worth fiddling with.

I started the Fly Away Free Jacket from Just One More Row. I bought some varriegated pink microfibre & had to start knitting right away. I have the back, one front & half of the other knit up . . . . . sound familiar?? I was disappointed in this one because I ran out of the yarn I bought for it. I did buy extra but the yarn is discontinued & I may have to take this one apart.

So, I'm working really hard on not starting anything until the Arvik sweater is done. I'm almost down to the armhole where I'll put the sleeve stitches on a holder & work on the body alone. I've put a seed stitch border down the front & will probably do it on the bottom as well as the cuffs. I'd contemplated making 3/4 sleeves & may yet do it - who knows?? I'll wait till the body is done & then worry about the length of the sleeves. I was going to put LadyBug buttons on it but I think they'll be too heavy for this light-weight wool. I probably won't button it up anyway, so why bother.

There are days when I wish I were a size 0 so that the projects would just go faster & be done sooner. I think that's the worst part about projects for larger bodies. They take so long to do! But you know, I suppose even a size 0 has finishing problems.

It's been a Hellova couple of weeks


My doctor changed my blood pressure medication. And gave me samples of allergy medication that wouldn't conflict with the BP meds. Well, the allergy stuff may not conflict with the BP stuff but the package lied about the "non-drowsy" part!! I've been utterly exhausted. I've been able to go back to bed TWO hours after getting up . . . . and sleep soundly for another 3 or 4 hours!! If I don't take the allergy stuff, I cough up a lung - but, in the end, I found something else that lets me breathe without putting me to sleep. Allegra is the winner. What a time I've had!!!

So now that I can stay awake long enough to knit, roll the drums, clash the cymbals, ARVIK is back on the needles!! It's been such a cold spring - what Spring??? - that I decided I had to have some WOOL around me to keep me warm! From the three balls above, I intend to reknit Arvik! Of course, Arvik is a little bigger than this photo at the moment, I think I'm now up to 5 triple increases called Legal Loopholes, invented by Medrith Glover. Legal Loopholes add extra width in the front & back without increasing the sleeve width. This means a raglan sweater for a larger body or bigger bust can be adjusted to add width where it's needed without getting armholes that drop to the waist!!! In the end, Arvik will have seed stitch borders, cuffs & bottom. I'm not sure if I'll put on a seed collar on it or not yet so I just did a few rows of ribbing ,which will be hidden under the collar, if I knit one, to start it off. I'm still planning on using my ladybug buttons on the front but I suspect they'll just be for decoration.

My Danish Working Shawl is DONE!! I even wore it to work last week in the cold warehouse. Worked like a charm. The ends are so long, I didn't even have to put ties on them to tie them in back. I may crochet short ones just to make it easier to untie when I want to take it off. Cozy as it is though, I think I'm still a sweater person in my heart. So, I'm seriously thinking of spinning up some more of this delicious wool - Black Sheep mill ends from The Sheep Shed - dyeing it with my 'Mother Mackenzie's' Dye Kit in Magenta & Cyan & knitting up one of the Kimonos in the "Knitted Kimonos" book that I just had to buy last year. There's some lovely kimono style jackets in there & two that I really want to make. No, Gail, I'm not into long flowing sleeves but the textured kimonos really turn me on, especially the red lacy one on the cover of the book.


And I've finished the Baby Surprise Jacket. As I said before, I wish I'd made one before making this one for someone else. But I finished it & now just have to crochet the trim & sleeves. I thought about knitting up a bonnet to match but the colors are in such long blocks that I'm afraid the bonnet will look silly in only one or two of the colors. But, I'll knit it up anyway just to see what it looks like.

I was considering knitting up the Adult Surprise Jacket for myself but I saw a couple of other options that interest me a little more while still showing off wildly colored leftover yarns. I decided I must have a sweatshirt of some kind to throw into the car for those cool evenings so the Purple Wonderful Wallaby is also still on my list to Things To Do.

Is it ME?? or Is It Chilly Outside???


Just a little greenery to cheer everyone up. No flowers, no pollen, no fruiting bodies, Just green. I couldn't keep anything alive in this coconut fibre lined basket so I planted a hen & chicks with a little Sedum to keep her company a few years ago. Since then, the Sedum has crawled into everything & Mom has repopulated the whole back yard! They never die. You can't over or under water them. They survive flood, snow, hail storm, heat wave & wind storm. This one hangs in her basket under the stairs, beside the door to my basement suite, next to the wind chimes. She's a great place to lay my socks when I shoot them.

I've been coughing up half a lung in the mornings lately - nope, ain't a smoker - I suspect it's probably a combination of allergies, new BP meds, dust mites, mold & the new yarn I've been playing with. I notice my nose runs, I sneeze a lot & wheeze when I'm knitting with the Kauni yarn. It has a lovely blend of colors but it's a little rustic & puts tiny fibres into the air as you work with it. I have the same problem with other "rustic" yarns, linen, hemp, some dyes too, anything over processed or plant based except for cottons. No problems with fleece, silks, minimally processed or smooth yarns. Kind of weird, eh?? Remember Phentex??? My nose seizes up at the memory . . .And Yeah, I was the kid, with hay fever so bad my eyes were almost closed, who insisted on driving the haymow anyway because I loved the smell . . .
So, I've been working on the infamous Baby Surprise Jacket designed by EZ herself. What a neat bit of architecture it is! What a pain in the *#% it's been! Stupid me, I didn't look closely enough at the yarn before I began. It's a little thick & thin in places which doesn't look so good when you're striving for perfection in the wrong needle size! I started off with my 3.75mm Denise needles - just because I love them. Didn't like the overall texture - I had thin spots which I didn't like very much. So I frogged it. And went down a size or two to 3.25mm needles - liked it much better overall. Was almost to the neck shaping & contemplating adding a hood to it when I realized one of my increase rows looked odd. Bloody hell!! I'd moved over a stitch when I did increases on one side so I frogged it back almost halfway . . . . . So, now it's straightened out & I'm carefully making my way back to the neck. Grrrrrrrr . . . . .

And I'm finally on the last ball of handspun for Danish Working Shawl!! Looking forward to the end & finally being able to wear it! I love the color and the texture. I really like the yarn I spun out of the ovoid mill ends from The Sheep Shed. This wool is NOT over processed. It's smooth, silky & just spins itself. After washing, the yarn is springy with a spongey feel that makes you want to wrap yourself up in it like a big hug. I think I'd love a garter stitch jacket in this wool.

And waddayuknow??? Not a sock to be seen. Nothing on the sock needles! Nadda. Zilch. Zip. Not even a baby sock. It must be the end of the world.