This is Not About Knitting

I am currently driving my second Voyager/Caravan. In case you don't know, they're 
identical except for the emblem on the steering wheel. And the wheels may be different sizes on some models but overall, they're the same. My old Caravan had a sliding door on the passenger side only while my Voyager has a sliding door on both sides - I love this by the way. Sure makes my life easier for loading when the passenger side is parked against the fence, next to a wall or too close to other autos.

Now my cars are always old even when new to me. I've never been able to stomach the depreciation you get in the first year of owning a new car. Must be the bookkeeper in me! And I never cared enough to want another monthly payment or to triple my insurance either. I take good care of the working parts but I don't really care what the outside looks like. If I won a huge amount of money??? I'd still drive an old junque car.

My current Baby developed a problem with the driver's window in the summer. It just wouldn't go down without a fight any more & told me so with a squeal. The headlights were already  sandblasted when I got it & recently, I broke the driver's seat back adjustment switch when it jammed & I tried to make it work.  With a really wide tire behind the seat to hold the back upright like I wanted, I put out the call to my Scrapper friends about a new seat.

I was so excited when I got a call about a van going to the crusher with good seats inside. My buddy said my seat was held in with only four bolts & he could change it out in 10 minutes. So, while he was doing that, I checked out the lovely clear headlight assemblies on the front of it. Oh yeah!!! I was quoted $500 for new ones. And after I eyeballed them - same lights. One bolt, two screws. Everything matched nicely. Except the side wouldn't snap in. Mine had a round hole & the new ones had a slot. Well, dammit all anyway.  Apparently this is what grinders are for. A little trim here & a little trim there - why lookee here, it fits. And just because we were there, we took off the master window module - two screws & a plug - Holy Picture Window Batman, we have windows that work without a complaint.

All in all, not a bad couple of hours of scrounging. I probably saved myself $1000 in parts - you almost always have to buy headlight assemblies & window master modules new 'cause they're worn out in scrap cars too - the labor was already paid for by a previous favor. I smiled all the way home. No knitting got done. I didn't even think abut knitting. But my Baby's back & everything works again. Wooohooo

Wasn't that a Rainfall??

I had to go out yesterday since I ran out of milk on Wednesday. I can drink my tea without milk although I prefer it with, but I just can't eat oatmeal made with water!!  I love my oatmeal. I like Old Fashioned Oats which are just oats mashed flat. They take longer to cook but have nothing added or removed. I use oats, a quarter cup of raisins or craisins & milk. Cook it in the microwave for 7 minutes in my big 8 cup measuring cup. Let stand for 5. And eat. Sometimes I eat it with sugar, sometimes with cinnamon or jam. But I just can't eat the damn stuff without milk.
So, I had to go out. In the middle of the Rainfall Warning. OMG. Bad enough driving in the stuff but running - or in my case, hobbling - from the car to the store was awful. Not only did I get soaked going but carrying groceries BACK, unlocking a car, loading bags & self. Lets just say, I should've just brought soap & called it a shower.

I didn't do a couple of the things yesterday that called for running hobbling from car to store. Thinking I would do them today when the storm was over, I was sure mistaken. It's still coming down and there's still a red RAINFALL WARNING flashing on my computer. To hell with it, I guess I can just stay home & wash dishes instead.

In the meantime, I have been picking away at the current pair of socks trying to finish them off even though the fingers are sore. My thumbs are somewhat better than they were but still painful. The sticky salve works a whole lot better on the knee which means I can walk more without pain or wobbling. It doesn't work as well on the painful thumbs but it sure makes the skin soft. I can knit a few rows if I knit slower & take a break on every commercial if I'm watching the tube. I knew commercials were good for something. And a couple of the kids I know have asked for small items.

Jennifer asked for Boot Warmers. I'm on the Lion Brand e-list & the last email offer included a Free Knitting Pattern for - Cabled Heart Boot Cuffs - just in time for Valentine's & just in time for Jennifer. The pattern is written for "Vanna's Choice" which is a worsted weight & size 5.5 & 6mm needles. I wish I had Red for them but Jennifer prefers any shade of black. Yuk.
Max, on the other hand, wants a tuque in any shade of Blue. He says he'll even wear Royal or Robin's Egg but likes Black too. I told him it won't be Black. He likes to roll his tuques up & wear them like a Beanie with his hair tucked under at work. I think a nice Royal Blue Antler would be good for him. The pattern is from 'Tin Can Knits' and is free on Ravelry.

Oh to be Useful Again

I'll tell you, having a job again really makes me feel better. There's a reason to get up in the morning. It's like the brain turns on the 'Git up & Go' hormone when you have something to do other than cater to your own needs. I sleep better, feel more rested & actually look forward to pounding on the old keyboard once more. I put the word out that I was back in business in the Home Office a few months ago & it seems people have finally got off their asses. It's a month before Tax Season of course, but I suppose it's better late than never. And I'm loving it. I think my sight & hearing have even sharpened up a little too. Stop laughing out there - just wait until you've been written off as 'No Longer Needed' 'But you're almost 64, why do you want a job' or my favorite 'Retire, you deserve it.' Yeah, Okay. But, I've worked all my life & am not ready to quit just yet!! And I still NEED the money.

To celebrate, I visited my doctor about my painful thumbs. I wanted information on & samples of medicinal cremes that I could rub in instead of taking more & stronger pills. I worry about my Liver. In the past, I tried a couple of them but wasn't impressed. And I just don't have the money to spend on sampling. I was told not to bother. Apparently the over-the-counter analgesic cremes don't have enough of the analgesic for anything other than minor aches but he could give me a prescription for one to be made up. And the cost would be about the same as the one on the shelf.

I should've known better. I ended up with a nice large tub of beige muck, the look & consistency of axle grease. It doesn't smell, thank gawd, but it takes forever to rub in - sort of like rubbing heavy Vaseline into your skin. The Pharmacist assured me that it mostly penetrates the skin but may take several applications before it's effective. I must apply it twice a day.

Let me tell you, you don't just dip a finger in, rub it on & go about your business. It's get a cup of tea, sit down, rub it in for 15 minutes per spot until it's gone, drink the tea & then go about your business after you wipe or wash the remainder from between your fingers. I must've spent at least an hour that first day rubbing it in!!! But you know, the darned stuff works. It takes a while but it works so well that I rubbed it into my whole knee - both sides & below & had the first painless knee since I tore that cartilage!! I'm still working on the thumbs.

And this is why I have no knitting to show & no projects to discuss. Instead, I'm reading Sylvia Olsen's book - Working with Wool. It's an extremely interesting history of the Native women who gathered the fibres, wove the blankets & knitted the sweaters that kept their families warm & fed over the years on the Coast of B.C.  It's a History book & a Sociology book & a Story book about the Women who work with wool.

Frustration

I've been so frustrated the past couple of days that I could send my foot through the Internet & up the backsides of everyone at Google. For some strange reason Google decided to GOBBLE up my blog & my business G-mail account. No comment, no warning, no nothing. It's sort of like when you're typing in the Blog & the type-face suddenly changes in mid word. It's taken a couple of days to actually figure out what happened & then get it all straightened out. Why can't they leave well enough alone????

Haven't knit much lately since I've been pounding on the keyboard with a new project & filing GST reports. Trying to get as much done as  possible before it's time to do T4s & jump into Tax Returns again. And I have to bone up on all the changes this year - nice of the Tax Man to spread a few goodies around for the Working families for a change instead of giving tax breaks to the wealthy & rebates to the poor. Did you know the biggest percentage of tax is paid by the Middle Class Worker???

But, now that you're terrified by Taxes & Google changes, here's a picture of something warm & wooly that I'm finishing up. The mate is on the needles & almost ready to have the heel turned. It's my favorite Kroy again but in the 3ply - no wonder it went further. Other than finishing a pair of Arrow Lace socks already on the needles, I'll be concentrating on finally finishing a sweater for myself - yeah, the Poncho Pullover is still on the needles but it is advancing down the body rapidly!!! 

And I think I'll knit CONIC from Cookie A's book 'Knitwear Volume 1 - Shapes & Form' that I bought in December. I was chatting with another large woman in Ravelry who knit it for herself & she says it's a fairly quick knit even in fingering. She says she loves how it feels & drapes even though she sized it UP a few sizes. I love the back panel & those crazy sleeves. It seems to do what I need - covers the back, shoulders, sides & sleeves to the elbow & makes a great office sweater to kill the chill.

REALITY

Back to pounding on the Home Office computer for a living. This wasn't what I had planned but in some ways, it's kinda nice being back. I can commute in my fleece PJs, I can do the laundry while working & I can cook dinner while working & doing the laundry in my PJs. What a life!!
The only real problem is being cut off from the world. I can go for days without talking to anyone & it's easy to let your days become all tangled up with your nights & end up sleeping & working opposite of everyone else. That only adds to the loneliness of course. So, starting this week, I've set my alarm for 7:30 & plan on heading to bed before midnight to get my days & nights back on track. I have a big job of data entry, filing GST & Corporate Tax returns over the next couple of weeks.

I've become a complete TV addict while unemployed. PBS offers TEA TIME programming for adults during the day. From 3 to 5, they offer British drama & Antiques Roadshow. I like to take a late lunch at 3 & watch. A nice perk for the AT HOME worker. It also gives me time to work on the latest sock or my Poncho which is eating up yarn at tremendous rates. Since the weather has brightened up, I may be able to take a photo for a change too. It was so gloomy the other day that when I woke up at 7:30, I got that disoriented moment where you wonder if it's day or night. Looking forward to getting up really early again in the spring, drinking tea on the patio & watching the birds. I'm always happier when the days are lighter for longer.

Working on the second sock in another pair of KROY 4ply socks for myself. Since I had three balls of this color, I thought I'd make a pair of L_O_N_G socks for a change.

This must be an older Kroy colorway because I was able to make one long sock out of one ball. My orange/brown socks HAD to be shorter because of the yardage in the ball. Expecting the same yardage, I was able to make my new Red/Blue socks 4 inches longer & still use only one ball per sock.

                             
                          Just Knitting in the New Year

Survived the Holidays

Yup, I survived the Holiday - well, the worst of them - one more time. I survive them quite nicely now that I'm old.  I don't mind being ALONE. Some folks do. Some folks spend too much time alone & some folks have nothing but alone time but I have so much to do that a few days alone doesn't matter at all. Between the knitting & spinning projects, I never have to worry!!

I meant to have a nice rotisserie chicken for Christmas dinner this year with Cole slaw & real Mandarin oranges for dessert. I thought about cheese bagels for hummus & chicken sandwiches for later.  Of course, I waited till Christmas Eve afternoon to go to Safeway since I wanted that chicken to be fresh. Why Safeway??? The one I go to has a bank machine, groceries & Starbucks. I wanted to hit all three. And I wanted one stop shopping. Brother, did I make a mistake.

I should've known when my left hand turn lane was backed up for a couple of blocks .  .  .  .  but sometimes that happens when a truck needs to turn & blocks the thru lane because he can't fit into the short left turn lane. So I got in line. It took several light changes to be able to turn.  All roads around Safeway were standing still. Cars trying to turn were blocked by cars trying to get through the intersection IN BOTH DIRECTIONS. Instead of waiting until the intersection cleared, people were rushing into any little space while blocking everyone still in the intersection. People fought to get into Safeway while others fought to get out. People sat in cars blocking aisles to others while waiting for other people to return to their cars & pull out. Knowing about the Handicap parking in the far corner - not a good place for anyone to park - I was able to park. That corner is not popular.  It floods, it's dark at night, it has two ledges to try to get over, there's no buggy return & the cross walk is on the opposite side of the parking lot!! But it was empty. I realized, as I limped across the roadway, that I'd forgotten about the liquor store across the parking lot. No wonder the place was a zoo!!!
All the chickens were sold out before noon. The Deli gal said people were lined up outside at 7 when they opened. I shook my head. Bought meatloaf in the end. And found myself a comfy spot at a corner table to read, drink a large dark roast coffee & eat a slice of banana bread. I got to watch all the parking lot action in comfort until it thinned out & let me head for home.

Christmas was terrific. I knit almost a whole sock while I watched the Tudor Christmas, The Victorian Christmas & the War Time Christmas with Historian Ruth & Archeologists Peter, Tom & Alex.

It's been an odd couple of days around the old Hacienda. The damned teenagers upstairs all seem to shower one after another leaving me with no hot water in the mornings. Who wants to get dressed, hang about for a few hours & then get undressed to have a shower mid afternoon??? I guess I have to get up earlier & beat the buggers to it or stay in my jammies until lunch time. Other than the shortage of hot water, it's so quiet in the house that it's like no one but me lives here. Except for the skunk. I caught him peering in the window a couple of times. He comes up the back stairs & looks in when I'm working at night. And last night, he decided to perfume my back door. Deeelightful.

I finished up the second pair of socks for my Fat Ankled customer who suddenly decided he was paying too much for them. I was really annoyed because I stopped working on my sweater to make him socks when his feet & ankles blew up like balloons. I actually took pity on him, against my better judgement. Luckily for me, I hadn't delivered the second pair yet & needed a little thank you gift for the nice fellow who drops off a loaf or two of lovely rustic bread every week. I hope my Bread Man wears those socks the very next time he visits Mr Fat Ankles.!!!

My buddy & I tried to go to Tim Horton's for a coffee yesterday around 3:30 in the PM. Bad decision .  .  .  .  It may not be IN the mall but it's close enough that we still couldn't get near the place. Not a parking spot to be found!!!  Okay, okay, I'm tired of all this Christmas fuss already!!!! We sat on the far side of the mall, next to the street & watched the Tim's. It took a bit but people suddenly got up & the whole place cleared out. We rushed in to an empty coffee shop, grabbed our coffees & got our favorite seats. Within 20 minutes, the place was packed again. We've decided that we'll stay home till January.

The Madness Around Us

It's the month of gift giving & receiving. And while I'd rather stab myself in the thigh with a knitting needle before I'd darken the doors of a mall, I do like some of the seasonal goodies floating around out there. I love the fact that the grocery store carries a more extensive selection of cheese this time of year. I'm a big fan of Lancashire & Cheshire cheeses. I also love the Mango bath & body products that the Body Shop only gets at Christmas nowadays - I was a HUGE fan of Mango perfumed oil in the old days, sigh. But, if I have to shop this time of year, I keep to grocery & on-line shops. I just can't cope with parking Vultures. You know who you are!! You're the people who circle the parking lots for HOURS trying to park at the door. You idle in 'Handicap' spots to scan for 'back-up' lights. And you sit & wait for people to return to their cars while blocking the entrance/exit for everyone else.

I spend a lot of time reading through my list of Blogs now that I'm not commuting to work on a daily basis. I start my mornings with Food in Jars & the Yarn Harlot while I drool over all the goodies they write about. One of my blogs sent me to the Sweet Georgia blog to read about the new pattern collection called 'Tempest' by Holli Yeoh. I was given a peek & fell head over heels in love with 'Haven', the poncho/wrap. Knit with  two strands of Sweet Georgia Cashluxe fine in some of my favorite colors - Mulberry, Wisteria, Deep Cove & Basil. It's my first choice to knit out of all the patterns in the book. I commented on 'Haven' & told them how much I loved it. They must have loved my comment because they sent me the book as a download!!! Whoopie. I suggested 'Haven' would be a great pattern to use up all the shades of pink & purple handspun in my skein collection. I wouldn't have to buy a thing .  .  .  .

I actually remembered to take a photo of the latest Fat Ankle Socks. They're ordinary, plain, manly men's socks in my usual pattern. I use the cable cast-on to cast on 72sts loosely on 2.75mm needles. I knit one row & then drop down to my favorite Chiagoo 2.25mm circs for the rest of the sock. I do a 2" K2P2 rib on a stocking stitch body. Since I can't SEE any more after dusk, I make my heels by knitting a gusset BESIDE the heel flap as I go before short rowing the gusset to close it after turning the heel. This makes a nice, deep heel with a loosely ribbed top which is easy to get on & off swollen ankles/feet. It's also easier to get on when your knees don't bend as far as they used to.

Drip, Drip, Drip

I can't believe how fast the time goes by. It's been almost a week since I even looked at this blog. Whew. Haven't accomplished a whole lot in the last few days except produce a giant pile of used Kleenex! I've had the nasal drip from Hell. A constant drip. All I've done is wipe my tearing eyes, blow my dripping nose & sleep. Didn't feel bad but the darned drip wouldn't stop & I couldn't keep my eyes open for two days. As the nose dried up, the throat got sore. What is going on?????

I did manage to finish the second pair of Fat Ankle Socks though & now have the time to finish my Poncho Pullover. Hopefully, I'll be wearing it by Christmas. And speaking of Christmas, I bought myself a present. Anyone who knits socks knows Cookie A & her multitude of gorgeous sock patterns, but I guess I'm the only one who didn't know that she also has other patterns out there. Someone in one of my Ravelry forums mentioned a sweater designed by Cookie A. I had to take a look & was astonished by how much I loved it. She puts ordinary shapes together in a very unexpected way that really appealed to me. I was hooked. And I bought the download. I am now the possessor of Cookie A's Knitwear Volume 1 - Shapes & Form book. I have a niece that loves weird stuff & a couple of those sweaters would make her little heart sing! Sigh. Just another project to finish before I die!!! Now, if only I could win the Lotto or find a rich relative willing to die & leave me money .  .  .  .  

The Fat Ankle socks are just about finished, thank gawd! All this damp, windy weather has taken it's toll on my hands - especially my thumbs! I have to take a side trip to my favorite Chinese supermarket & get some Chili Plasters. They're sheets, impregnated with hot peppers, that you can cut into any size or shape & apply to your skin for pain control.  I know they heat up & stick wherever you apply them. They can get TOO hot if left on too long but my Ex swears by them. I intend to apply a small patch to the base of each thumb to see if they help because I have a ton of knitting to do, a year's worth of painted Spinning Club rovings to spin & all that data entry I've just taken on  .   .   .   .   my hands have to work!!!!                                           

Time to get back to my Poncho Pullover too. I've only managed to knit a few more rows with the condition of my thumbs. Gotta finish winding off all the singles yarn on my Indian spinner as well. Much as I love that big bobbin, I really do hate winding off all that yarn. It takes forever. But, if I want to get it ready for dyeing, it has to come off. It's  been earmarked for a sweater from the Knit Kimono book. To keep the color fairly consistent, I have to dye it all at the same time. I must have 15 large skeins tucked away in a bin already & when I wind off what's on the bobbin, I should have more than enough of the lovely stuff for the sweater. I believe I still have about 8 of the 'knots' of roving left to spin before I dye it all. The unnamed wool is from a 15 pound 'Grab Bag' of Brown Sheep mill ends I bought from Sheep Shed Studios so very long ago so. The knots are soft & quite spongy which made me love them immediately. So before I get any older or stiffer, it's time to get to it.

Fat Ankle Socks

Sometimes I don't know why I bother but I've been knitting as fast as I can on a pair of socks for Our Fat Ankled Hero. I tracked him down yesterday in the Neighborhood Pub having a nosh & a pint or two with all his noisy pals. He found the blue socks I made for him last Christmas - his girlfriend talked me into it - & decided he only needs a couple more pairs. I guess this is the old 'one on the feet, one in the wash & one in reserve' routine men like to play. If they don't feel like doing the wash, they wear the current article until they do! Don't mind a whole lot - knitting dark socks is a pain in the butt. I was trying to knit while watching the tube but it's dark enough now that I'm splitting the yarn because it's hard to see dark yarn. I may have to turn the light up & put a white towel in my lap as I go.

This sock is a little bit longer than shown now - about mid foot - so I broke the yarn & started the second sock. I'm using a 2.25mm needle & started with 72 stitches cast-on loosely with a 2.75mm needle. It's my usual K2,P2 ribbing for an inch or two & then plain old stocking stitch to the heel shaping. I love the K1,Slip1 heel flap which I've carried on to the bottom of the heel & stopped where the instep starts. This gives a nice 'cushy' heel. Since I can't see to pick up stitches along the heel flap anymore, I cast-on my gusset stitches on either side of the flap as I go. I've made the heel nice & deep by increasing by 15 gusset stitches on either side & short rowed to bring me back to my original 72 stitches.

The yarn is something called Mega Boots Softcolor with a barber pole of lighter & darker indigo yarns. It changes color a little from slightly lighter to darker as you work down the sock but you have to really look to see it. I have one other ball in Grey. Obviously, I bought this to make manly socks. It's a nice color but the yarn splits. I had a tough time knitting the ribbing - guess it was the combination of dark day, dark yarn & barber pole twist that made me crazy!! I had a hellova time getting the whole stitch every time. Grrrrr. It's not so bad now that I'm past the ribbing but I found it tough to knit the flap & turn the heel too. No wonder I like the tight, bright yarns that most companies produce for socks - I can knit them without looking & whiz along. This stuff is slower to use & I'll be glad to finish off these two balls.

A Beautilous Day

When it rains in the Vancouver area, it's damp, grey, gloomy, miserable & it rains a lot. People are grouchy, mean to each other & suffer a lot from Road Rage.  When the sun shines upon us, the whole atmosphere changes. People throw off their coats & mittens, they unhunch their shoulders, get out of their cars & suddenly, the world is a happy place. Surprisingly, some people even put their shorts back on. Everyone sits outside at the coffee shops & strangers are greeted with smiles. Today I got up to one of those days!!!  What a beautiful day. 

With the change in the weather comes a change in my joints. Nothing really hurts today. My thumbs are working correctly & the damned knee is not clicking or shooting pain arrows into my lower leg. It's a good day to walk somewhere, get a coffee & knit.  

And speaking of knitting, I've had a plea for socks from a guy with Diabetes who's having ankle swelling problems. Seems the dastardly guy pinched the two pairs of hand knit summer socks I gave to his lady friend because he couldn't get any of his OWN socks on his feet. I made those for myself but the ribbing was a little too tight to get over my heel. Since my knee injury, I often have difficulty bending that damned knee far enough to put on socks. I've learned to make them a little longer, the heel depth a little deeper & the ribbing looser so I can get them over my heel with the aid of a folding step stool. Some mornings I could do a half hour comedy session with a sock & that stool .  .  .  .  As a result, I've given a lot of my socks away to friends who love them. Mr Fat Ankles was not one of them!!

I'm not overly sympathetic with Our Fat Ankled Hero since his ankle problem is related to his dietary misbehavior but, my friend would like to keep her socks for her own feet. She says He says he'll pay any price I want & will wear any color I choose to knit. Sounds like desperation to me. LOL

Nothing to do with Knitting

I'm always doing tax returns for trade with people with little or no money. I did just such a trade about 30 years ago for a portable JVC, 14" color TV. It could run on AC or DC which made the trade even sweeter. I brought it with me when I moved because it was supposedly portable - it actually weighed a ton but had lovely color & a really sharp picture.  It's lived ever since on the top of an old wooden dresser that I painted red, in the corner of my living space. I can't say I turned it on every day but I've watched it more & more since I damaged my knee & spent more time knitting last winter. 

I noticed about a year ago that I couldn't read the print at the bottom of the screen when something was translated any more. It IS 14" after all & I DO watch it from across the room, then I wrecked my knee .  .  .   Well, I recently noticed my eyes were getting really tired when I watched TV. When I watch it, look down at my knitting & then up again, I have trouble refocusing. It HAS been several years since I changed my glasses .  .  .  guess it's time. And then the other day, while watering the plants on the window sill close to the TV, I noticed that the picture on the tube was a bit fuzzy. Oh yeah, when did that happen???

A buddy of mine said he'd come & haul it away for me - it weighs a ton!!! And offered an old 36" TV in it's place since I don't have the money to buy a new one. What a monster!! It feels like a Big Screen after my 14 incher. And Holy Eyeballs Batman, I can actually read all the lettering on the TV screen from across the room!! 

Baby it's Damned Chilly Out There

Wow - it suddenly - for us - got cold. The Landlord even showed up at my door carrying a furnace filter for me to install!! And then he turned on the heat. I think a lot of people suddenly turned on the heat over the last couple of days! It's not that we're cheap, well maybe we are cheap, but that damned Hydro bill just keeps going up every year. Even as a renter, I try to keep things turned off & down low. As I age, my previously damaged parts really feel the temperature & barometric changes. My knees hate being cold so much that my new wardrobe contains a lot of thick, fleece lined sweats to go with the handmade wool socks & the electric lap blanket. 

This sudden decrease in temperature caused me to remember most of my house plants on the covered patio yesterday but it seems I forgot a couple .  .  .  oops. They're tucked in the corner, under my patio table & hopefully survived near freezing. The Jade is 15 years old & used to being quite cold but not sure about last night .  .  .  .  I tucked my Rosemary into the fern box against the back wall of my covered patio for the winter. It needs a little protection & the ferns do a good job. They're good for things like fuchsias that you want to save for next year.

I've been knitting like mad on tuques again for street people. I've been knitting them for years. I said I was tired of them. I said my hands & fingers were too sore. But here I am, again. Street people like dark colors that blend into the darkness so that's what I make. My buddy Bryan hands them out on the street to folks who don't have a hat in the winter. Sometimes I take them down to a small industrial spot by the Pattullo Bridge where I used to hand out Bum Bags at Christmas time. There's always a bare head needing coverage there. I still have a few balls of this & that which have been popular in the past. But I have a few balls of "Craft" yarn that've been hanging around for eons. Stuff the street people shy away from. I wondered what to do with it until the other day. 

I hauled out my Denise interchangeables - I love them. I cast on 100 stitches on a size 6mm or US10 with a 10" cord so I can knit a circular hat. Idid the usual K2,P2 ribbing which I may just carry all the way up the hat. I'm not a fan of the color but it will be warm & comfy. I may even wear it myself.
This yarn is some sort of fancy Italian yarn made up of wool, acrylic & nylon. Not sure how it will wear or how warm it will be but it certainly will be better than nothing at all. It can be hand washed & air dried so what the heck. If worse comes to worse, I'll overdye it with Koolaid.

Lest We Forget

It All Goes So Quickly

I was a little horrified to see my first Christmas commercial of the year this week - yeah, I know there were a couple of hints in the last couple of weeks but it seems they go whole hog around the US Thanksgiving. I'm not even gonna comment on the 'Christmas in July' thing. So here we are again, entering the Silly Season. The only other thing that drives me crazy is that new commercial for CUBA. It seems to be running every 9 minutes on the Home & Garden channel. Yeah, I admit it, I DO like some things on the Home & Garden channel. I love Leave it to Bryan. I also love Income Property. I'm a little tired of Holmes but really like the Timber Kings. Their amazing log structures take my breath away. But this isn't a bloggy commercial for a TV station!! In the end, the never ending commercial for CUBA made me turn off the TV part way through a show!!! Ain't nooooooo commercials when you listen to an Audio Book.

Finished my latest Kroy 4ply socks. I just loved this colorway, couldn't wait to knit them & ran into a problem in one ball before I finished them. My friend Karen found a single ball of yarn that was similar in color & I managed to finish them. Another lovely, thick pair of winter socks to keep my old dawgs happy. Aren't they great??? The color is bang on for a change - could be because I opened the door to take this picture when the sun actually peeped out between the continuous rain clouds. I guess we're paying for that long, dry, hot summer we had this year with all these wind & rain storms coming in from the Pacific.

A Little Bit of Warmth

It was so dark & dreary this morning that when I woke up I had to check to see if it was morning or still night. I was cold all weekend with icy hands & frozen feet. It isn't even winter yet & I'm cold. It's not that the landlord doesn't turn on the furnace  - he will if I call him - but we're in that weird place where it's not cold enough to crank up the thermostat but it's too cool not to. Now, I've always preferred a cool house - I still open the window in the bedroom at night because I think you sleep better in fresh air. But what the heck do you do when your personal thermostat is wonky??? I guess I've finally made the transition from Power Surges to Low Simmer .  .  . 

So I dug out my thick winter socks - thank gawd for Kroy 4ply!! And then the light bulb came on & I looked for yarn to make some wrist warmers to keep my hands warm. 
I found a 50gm ball of Berroco Merino. It's 100% extra fine Aran weight - a very cushy & squishable yarn with a gauge of 18 stitches & 24 rows to 4 inches on 5mm needles. 
I cast on 40 stitches on 4mm needles & knit the first row. I knit 2 & purled 2 on the following row. I continued these two rows for 30 rows & did a purl cast off. Nice. Warm.

Soggy & Cool

There's nothing like another soggy day in late fall. You'd think Old Mother Nature would give us some of those lovely, long, Indian Summer days to celebrate but NOOOOOO, we get more water. Was I just imagining those crisp days when we were younger & rolled in piles of crunchy leaves??? These days, the only crunchy leaves around here are the ones that fall off the indoor plants I forget to water.

One thing about wet windy days, it keeps the marauding teenagers from blowing up the local trash bins to celebrate Hallowe'en. And I'll bet that makes the local law enforcement very happy too.

Wind & wet do tend to encourage knitting though. When everything is cold - except for Hillary with a power surge - wool & buddies alpaca, angora & silk whisper sweet nothings in my ears. My feet are warm & toasty in their Kroy socks - I'm using a lot of 4ply for winter socks. I really like the thick, cozy fabric it makes & still fits into my orthopedic sneakers. Mind you, the WINTER sneakers are old but still good. I'll save the new ones for the Spring & lighter socks.

Failed to find a ball of matching yarn to finish my latest Kroy socks. So, I'm going to use up every scrap of what I have & finish with a barber pole ball in a light tan color. It will be inside the shoe/boot so it won't matter - but, too bad, I really, really liked that colorway. I'm not going to be too unhappy since thanks to Karen, I have enough Kroy 4 ply to knit at least 4 more pairs in other colors!

The Poncho Pullover is coming along. I've added a couple more inches onto the yoke,  taken off stitches for the arms again & am moving rapidly down the body. I want to be wearing  it in another week or so if my sore fingers hold up. Damned weather makes my fingers ache & gets into the base of my thumbs. Too much knitting or keyboarding makes it difficult to pick things up without a big handle. Good thing I found oversized mugs & two big 8 cup, plastic measuring cups to use instead of regular dishes & bowls when things get really sore. 

I couldn't afford to go to any of the Fibre Shows or Retreats this year but one of my Pals brought me back a souvenir. It's SuperWash Merino & Nylon from Smith & Ewe - good for socks, tuques & gloves - and is much lighter & brighter than I was able to show with my camera!!  It's almost a NEON Apple with Grass Green!! Made me think of GLOVES when I first set eyes on it. I have two light fleece jackets - one in Plum & one in Cherry Red. They'll definitely see me coming if I decide on gloves.

I haven't quite decided yet although I was also thinking about spinning it finely & combining it with one of the other braids I have that need brightening. I joined a Roving of the Month group last year & have several that aren't quite to my taste. Mind you, I haven't spun them up yet so they may change in the spinning. Have to see what happens. It might be a very good year to get snowed in for a week with nothing else to do .  .  .  . Haha