Oh, ya, I have a blog!

Ya, I never post anymore, huh?

So, George and I celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary on 9/25/08. We decided ten years was a pretty big deal, so we went to NH and spent a week at the cabin on the lake. It was SOOOO nice. We slept as late as we wanted to, did whatever we felt like doing. Took roads that we had no clue where they led. We had a good time :-) It rained for the last few days we were there, but that's fine. We had time on the lake and on the mountian before the rain hit. I had to admit though- I missed the kids like crazy & talked to them every day!!

More swapping

So since I finished the HHHH Swap, what's a girl to do? Join another swap of course! I'm doing another swap with a group on Ravelry, so I get to fiber shop all over again. I'll suffer through it :-) My HHHH package arrived in Vegas & was received by the person I was spoiling. She said she liked everything, so I'm happy about that! Of course I forgot to take pix of what I sent before I sent it out. Oh well. I DID however remember to take a few pix in Ohio, so here ya go!

Monkey Boy @ the playground:

Devin could NOT have her little brother climb to the top without her doing it too:
How cute is he in that hat?
And Missy Poo was trying out some new hair styles. I made the earings she's wearing in this picture using beads from a neclace that used to be my Grandma's. She also has a bracelet & necklace with the same beads:
And Juli with her Baby Belly. I know she said pix of her pregnant should be banned from the internet, but this is what I have to say to that: Tough Shit! LOL! Hey, if you didn't want a picture of you pegnant in your PJs on my Blog then why did you pose for it???
Notice the sheep on her night shirt? I have the same jammies :-) And the kids are pointing to her belly, incase you weren't sure where you should be looking!

I'm a Hooker!!!

OK, so the kids & I went to visit Juli in Ohio for a few days, where my wheel was hi-jacked by Ms. Pregnant Pants. Juli used the ugly green stuff to practice spinning:
Then spun up some nice 2-ply corriedale (like her shirt? I tie-dyed it :-) I think I made a coordinating onesie for Kaylee too!!): In Ohio I got some cotton & a crochet hook, purchased a pattern on line & started a market bag. Juli made me a few of these bags, but I don't have enough for an entire grocery shopping trip, so I decided that I'll make myself a few more. I haven't crocheted anything in YEARS!
And for my most recent spinning- here's 4oz of Girley Girl Batt spun into a 2-ply for Devin, and the other 4oz batt waiting to be spun:
And just for kicks, proof that my children CAN get along sometimes! Even if it is while they're playing video games!

Spinning video- take two

Spinning video

So, Juli & I made a video this morning, filmed by Devin :-) It's for the HHHH swap, and it's a contest to win 4oz of BEAUTIFUL fiber. You earn points for certain things, so we tried to put together as many points as we could! Here's the video:




Hopefully that works! Juli would like it pointed out that she is 34 weeks pregnant. She thinks she looks aweful, but she just looks pregnant! We're actually going to the Doc this afternoon to take a peek inside that belly. The kids and I are excited to take a look at little Kaylee B before she's born!

Also, to give credit where credit is due, the fiber I'm spinning is from Material Whirled and is a Roving Cluster. Basically it's strips of different colored fiber that I tore in helf then stripped into quarters. I then put them in a big bag that was behind my back while I spun the single. I reached back when I finished one strip and randomly grabbed another color to spin. Not sure what I'll do with the yarn when it's all spun up. Perhaps a give away if we ever podcast again?? The Hippie Goddess yarn is also from Material Whirled and was a batt. YUMMY to spin!! Seriously, my favorite yarn that I've spun! Also in the stash basket was some fiber from My Favorite Thing Etsy shop which is Meghan from the Stitch It! Podcast. The fiber Juli was spinning was purchased at a random craft fair or something when she lived in Virginia, she doesn't even know what kind of fiber it is. And the fiber for my hat was purchased from a random vendor at Rhinebeck two years ago.

And I think that's all the info you need.

Happy knitting & Spinning :-)

Sweater: DONE :-)

I finished the February Baby Sweater for my co-workers daughter. It's modeled here by Devin's My Twin doll. The baby it was made for is currently weighing in at slightly over 3 pounds, so it will be a little while before she actually fits into it.

I went with just three buttons on the top instead of doing them all the way down the front. I like the way it looks kinda open & swingey

And just for fun- my handspun and fiber stash. After taking the pic I realized that I had left things out, but this is most of it. I hardly have any fiber!!!!! Must. Buy. More.

Ouch!!!

I hurt my back and my neck. I think it's b/c of all the crap I carry around with me every day! On most days when I go into the office I have at least three bags with me: my laptop case, my purse and a third bag for random crap. Right now I'm putting together a quilt for a co-worker's newborn that I'm having everyone color a square for (it's a crayon quilt- see my very first post for an example) so I'm carrying a bag with all the crayons and quilt squares and whatnot. Then I also have a cup of coffee and usually my breakfast or lunch, depending when I go into the office. I think doing this for the past year and a half has killed my back and neck. I couldn't sleep at all last night :-( I took some Advil last night, but I could really go for a muscle relaxer. I think it's time to call my doctor.....

Anyway.... I sent my Little Critter package out:

It's just a little bunny, inspired by the bunnies that are all over my neighborhood all of a sudden. The yarn I used was a 100% aplaca that was handspun, but not by me! I had a bunch of yarn left over, so instead of just putting the goodies in the package I decided to make a magic yarn ball. Inside that ball of yarn are bunny buttons, a set of stich markers that I made, a row counter, a little sweater key chain, and I can't remember what else..... Oh, point protectors.... and that may be it. I hope my partner likes her package!! I mailed it out on the 9th & it needs to make it's way to Canada, so this could take a few more days.

I also ordered my fiber for the HHHH swap, and got myself some fiber while I was at it!! I've been eyeing the Hippie Goddess batt from Material Whirled so I finally caved and got it :-) I've never spun from a batt before, should be interesting. When it gets here I'll figure out how I want the colors to work & how I'll approach spinning it. I also got myself roving in the same colorway. I've been stalking Etsy shops lately for fiber & there is SOOOO much I want to try out! I think my knitting interest is fading and the spinning is taking over. I need to find a balance so I can USE the yarns I'm spinning!! I did start a scarf for Lil G with the Dinosaur yarn I spun from Spunky Eclectic so when there is progress on that I'll post a pic.

So, update on my co-worker that a new Daddy..... His wife was due on September 16 or something like that. A month ago her water broke and she was admitted to the hospital. They were able to get some steroids and antibiotics into her, and everyone was keeping thier fingers crossed that she would be able to stay pregnant long enough for some of the meds to work. She was able to stay pregnant for a MONTH!!!! The baby was just born on Thursday (7/10)!! She weighs 2 pounds 9 ounces and is 17 3/4 inches long. Both Mama and baby are doing great. The baby is in an isolette and from what I understand is on oxygen and a tube through the umbilical cord, and other than that no other interventions! I saw pictures of her yesterday, and she looks great. I'm so happy for them!!! I'm making the quilt as an office gift to them, and I'm also giving them a Baby Suprise jacket from me. I think I'll also knit up a few hats really quick for them to use in the hospital.

OK, time to get my day started. I haven't even had my coffee yet!!

I *heart* swaps

So, I participated in a Secret Pal swap and it didn't go so well, so I was kinda turned off to swaps.... Then Meghan from the Stitch It podcast had a "Little Critter Swap" and I decided- what the heck? and joined. It was fun! And I had a great swap partner that not only sent ME a little critter, but also thought of my KIDS! WooHoo!!! Of course I haven't mailed out MY package yet, but I have until tomorrow, so I'm not breaking the rules yet!!! I'll be in the ofice tomorrow & I work next to the Post Office, so I'm mailing it tomorrow :-)

This is the package I received in the mail:

Next, I joined the HHHH swap- it's a swap for spinners, becuase there's NO WAY another spinner is gunna screw me, right? Right! B/c my partner already contacted me!! Yeah!!! Definitely have a good feeling about this one :-) I'm a little nervous about spinning for someone else b/c I don't have mad spinning skillz, but I think it's gunna be fun!

So, HHHH Swap Partner.... I can't reply to the comment you left on my last post b/c it's Annon, so to answer you questions- If given the option I would pick an art yarn b/c I covet art yarns & don't know how to spin them, nor can I afford them when I'm trolling Etsy! LOL! As for the silk.... Would it be dyed by you? If so then I would definitely prefer dyed, otherwise it doesn't matter.

And speaking of spinning... here are my two latest skeins:

This is the June Club fiber for Spunky Eclectic, called Flowering Weeds and it's a Merino Mohair blend. this is about 1.5oz and I got 159 yards of a thick & thin single. I have another bobin of a more even single & another 3oz waiting to be spun:

This is also a Spunky fiber- Superwash Merino/Tencel in Mermaid. It was a test skein- approx 93 yards fingering weight navajo plyed. I still have the majority of the fiber left to spin & I'm hoping to get enough for socks or a lacey scarf.

Handspun Swap!

Here are the answers to my questionair:

1. How long have you been spinning?

I got my wheel in October 07, so less than a year on the wheel. I had a drop spindle for a year before that, but I think I only created like 2 skeins of yarn on it.

What skill level do you consider yourself?

Somewhere between beginner & intermediate. I don't get NEARLY as much spinning time as I would like!!

2. What kinds of yarn do you create (singles/2-ply/3-ply/art yarn)?

Mostly 2-ply. Every so often I try to navajo ply with limited success!! Hubby says he'll rig something up so I can try a 3-ply since I don't have a lazy kate.

3. What do you spin with (spindle/wheel/both)?

Mostly wheel- Ashford Joy. I very rarely (ok, never) use the spindle any more.

4. What are your favorite fibers to spin with? Anything you don't like?

I've liked everything so far! I haven't really had a huge amount of exposure to that many different fibers though. I've spun Alpaca (though I think it was a blend), Merino, Corriedale, BFL, Merino Soysilk blend, some random wool/mohair blend, and I'm currently spinning a Superwash Merino Tencel blend. I have no desire to spin cotton right now though, I hear it's really hard to get the hang of & I don't think up I'm to the challenge yet!

5. Who are your favorite crack dealers fiber sources (etsy or otherwise)?

I usually buy from random vendors at fiber festivals, but I've also purchased from Spunky Eclectic and Insubordiknit.

6. What kind of fiber do you want to try?

Bamboo, Camel, Silk, Ramboulet, anything!!!

7. Is there any techniques you would like to learn?

Yes!!!! All of them!!!!

8. Do you dye fiber? If not, would you like to learn?

Yup! Can't say I do a particulary good job of it, but I try!

9. Do you have fiber prep tools (and like to use them) or would you prefer ready to spin fiber?

I have hand cards, and like 20 pounds of nasty dirty wool to clean. I've never cleaned a fleece OR used the hand cards, so hopefully soon I'll get to learn some new skillz and get that fiber cleaned & prepped. I'll probably wind up bringing it to a friend's house to use her drum carder though once I get it washed. But, the answer is that I would prefer ready to spin fiber.

10. What do you do with your handspun? What projects have you completed?

I usually gift it! I don't get very far beyond swatching with my handspun before I give it away. I plan on changing that though! I love knitting with handspun, just haven't used MINE yet!

11. Are you in need of any spinning gadgets (WPI Gauge, threading hook, etc)?

I don't have any gadgets. The threading hook I use came with the wheel, but I covet the fancy beaded ones! A WPI gauge would certainly come in handy!

12. What colors "fall into your shopping basket"? Any colors you just can't stand?

Purple is by far my favorite color. I also love fall colors. I'm not one for super bright colors or even primary colors so much. I think I like darker colors and I definitely like natural colored fiber- like grey or brown alpaca and stuff like that.

13. What is on your wheel/spindle right now?

Superwash Merino/Tencel

14. What other crafts/hobbies do you have?

I attempt to tie dye and make beaded jewlery. Hubby & I are also trying to teach ourselves how to sail- we got a 35 foot sailboat that we're (read: he's) slowly fixing up.

15. Other than crafts, what are you passionate about?

My family, Vacations in NH, listening to music...

16. Do you have an online wishlist?

Yup! Amazon.com: here

17. Is there anything that you collect?

Other than yarn & fiber? Turtles

18. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What magazine subscriptions do you have?

I don't have any spinning or spin to knit books, but would like some. I subscribe to IK and Spin Off.

19. When is your birthday?

November 14

20. What book or movie character do you most resemble in personality?

Hmmmm.... I duuno!!!!

21. What is the climate like where you live around this time (need to know for careful shipments of anything meltable)?

Getting hot!

22. Tell us one weird fact about yourself!

I can touch my nose with my tounge. I'm a big hit at parties! LOL!

Also, I pierced my belly button myself when I was 16 (after my then-boyfriend- now hubby pierced it all crooked!)

Favorites

favorite painting/picture(link):

This is my very favorite:

But I also like this one:

Candy: Anything involving chocolate!!

Food: Eggplant (I'm a vegitarian), goat cheese, all sorts of stuff.

Drink: Rum & diet coke :-) But MAN the hangovers I get!! Non-alcohol drink- I like raspberry seltzer

Movie(s): 200 Cigerettes, Ocean's 11, Old School, the Bourne trilogy.... I could go on & on....

TV Show(s): Lost!!!! Also: Survivor, Project Runway, Amazing Race, Criminal Minds... I'm a bit of a TV junkie!!

Book(s): I don't read nearly enough, but Harry Potter, anything by Marian Keyes, Wicked...

Guilty Pleasure(s): Knitting & Spinning of course! Also sailing.

SQUEEE!!!!!!!!!!

I went to the book store to get this book tonight:


So that I could get it signed by this man:
He totally rocks :-) He was chatting it up with Georgie and shook everyone's hands.... There's a cute pic of him & Georgie together, but I have to figure out how to get it off the phone & onto the computer. For the record, I have no idea why I look 7-months pregnant in this pic, but OSCAR DELAHOYA is in the picture, so I can't complain, right? I'm not pregnant at all, but my shirt is really pretty funky looking there.... I was having issues regarding a button that fell off the shirt & was really making efforts not to flash the crowd!!! He was so nice & sweet & OMG.... HOT!!!!! Ya, totally my secret boyfriend!!! LOL!

Edit: I figured out why I look like that.... #1, my shirt is pulled all funky, and #2, I'm holding Georgie, so my back is arched & I'm sticking my belly out b/c his other leg is wrapped around my back!

Not too much new

I really have nothing to say, but I give Gloria a hard time when she doesn't update her blog, so I figured I should update mine! The end of the school year is coming up.... Not quite sure how that happened! Next thing you know I'll have a 2nd & 3rd grader! Devin starts a new school next year, and the bus is an hour later than it is this year, so I'm not entirely sure how we're gunna work that one out. I've been busy knitting for my neice to be. Juli will be home this weekend for her shower, and it's a good thing, b/c I would like to move on to other spinning & knitting projects! I feel like as long as there is time before the shower that I HAVE to fill it knitting for the baby! There are two babies due to co-workers in Sept & November, so I have to knit for them too, but not as much as for my neice.

Onto the pix:

I finished the Hemlock Ring Blanket & gifted it to my friend Missy for her wedding. I hope she liked it.

Mr. Shaggy Head before getting his hair buzzed. I SO wish he would keep his hair shaggy, but her likes it all nice & short. What am I gunna do with this kid?? Devin at her 2nd grade class picnic yesterday. I took the day off to go with her :-) Georgie has his on Tuesday. And some new roving I got in the mail. It's Spunky Eclectic Fiber Club- 8oz. It asked to be something for me. Perhaps a shawl. We shall see....

Parental Ponderings

When your 6-year-old son tells you that he's the "Captain of a group of boys that are so tough that no one wants to mess with them" how do you react? What do you then say when that same child tells you that "you're lucky my friends aren't here b/c they would teach you a lesson" after you tell him he can't have dessert b/c he didn't touch his dinner? Now what if said child was this cute: Ya, it's a tough one, isn't it?

And a picture of Devin doing the Tango with Papa, just for fun. They were up to the "dramatic dip" part.

Me & My BFF

Did I mention that I'm totally BFF with the Yarn Harlot? We met at Rhinebeck last year... she was TOTALLY following me around.... Every time I turned around, there she was! Then I went to Webs, and what do you know, she planned a trip out the Mass on the weekend I was going. She couldn't keep her hands off my sock. I bet she's gunna follow me to Rhinebeck next year too....
Onto the pix:
Here we are talking about the salking incident at Rhinebeck. I told her I was a little worried at first when I kept seeing her every where I went, but it's OK, I know she's not creepy or anything .

Then I let her sign my book, b/c you know, she's into that kinda thing. Makes her feel important.

And with my River Rapids sock that I made for my co-worker, Eleni. Eleni wasn't nearly as impressed as I thought she should be when I told her that Stephanie Peal-McPhee liked the colors of the yarn. She's a non-knitter, so I was able to forgive her on this. Mom & Gloria in the theater before the talk. Mom brought some sewing that it was too dark to do & Gloria brought the baby blanket. I was working on my socks. And Stephanie on stage. We were in the first row of the balcony. At first we sat on the main level, but it was too dark to knit down there, so we moved to the balcony where the light was better & we didn't have anyone's heads in front of us.

Juli said we should have told her that we do a podcast, since she tends to put the podcasters that see her on her blog, but with only 6 podcasts recorded & the last one like 2 months ago I'm sure she wouldn't have cared! LOL! There is a picture of Mom's arm on the blog.... The people in front of us brought a stack of dishcloths to show Stephanie. And if you use your immagination you can picture us in the first row of the balcony, just slightly right of center, in the crowd shots.

Oh, and just so no one thinks I'm a wacked out stalker, I'm completely aware that we're not BFF ;-) But I do suspect she wants to be..... LOL!

ETA: I forgot to say- the talk was great! So funny! And I keep quoting things she said to my co-workers and friends that I'm trying to convert to knitters. I'm also quoting her in trying to make a case for teaching our clients to knit! I did teach one to crochet... No small feat being that I don't crochet....

Mother's Day 2008

My Mother's Day was awesome. I asked for the kids & George to let me sleep late, then to get an egg sandwich and coffee in bed. Well, Lil G was busting at the seams and could not contain himself past 6:30 am, when he woke me up to give me the best gift EVER- a spindle that he made me!!! He said it can double as a bug smasher. How sweet, huh? LOL! Then I went back to sleep and about an hour later I was woken up again and presented with my eggs (egg white wrap on a whole wheat wrap with broccoli, onions and mushrooms- Yum!) and a nice big mug of coffee. I was also given some very funny cards and gifts the kids made in school. G got me season 3 of lost. When I got out of bed I finished up some tie dying that I had started the day before, did some spinning then some knitting. When I finally got around to showering we headed out to my Parents with a few bottles of Champaign for Mimosas. At my parents house I washed out my tie dye and hug out & knit all day while drinking my Mimosas, then we got Tex Mex take out for dinner. I was VERY happy with my Mother's Day. I hope everyone else had great days too!!!

Bloggity Blog

Time for another update, huh?

OK, so my secret projects were a TON of dishcloths!! I had two showers to go to & I made each bride a set of knit dish cloths and a set of coasters & trivets with pictures of their favorite flowers, sunflowers and calla lillies, which are also the flowers they're using in their weddings :-) You may recognize one of the sunflower pix from a post last year :-) The Calla Lillies were purchased special for the *Coaster photo shoot*, but the sunflower pix I had already taken. The coasters are just two pieces of glass with a picture between them sealed with copper tape.

Also completed are my Hubba Hubba Sox, AKA, George's socks. He's been wearing and washing them, but I just stuck them on my feet & took a pic just now. I think they're looking good :-) Behold the matchity match-ness of the stripes!!! That took Mad Skillz!!! OK, ok, so all I did was make a note of where in the color repeat I cast on the first stitch for the first sock & cast on my second sock in the same spot.... At leat give me credit for having the forethought to do that much!! LOL! They clearly don't fit my feet, but fit G's perfectly. He's already asking for another pair. Yeah!! I'm so glad he likes them!

And remember that yarn I dyed that looked suspiciously like vomit? Well, it turns out that I really like how it knits up! Even the speckles that I was so upset about add interest and depth to the knitted fabric :-) Hey, that's my story & I'm sticking to it! These are River Rapids Socks for a co-worked that helped me catch up on my work when I was having a complete and total breakdown. I'm almost through the leg on the 2nd sock. I'll definitely have enough yarn left over for another pair of socks.... It's a good thing I like the yarn now!

And last but not least.... Spinning!!!! I finished a skein of Alpaca (the stuff Juli got me for Christmas): 300 yard of lace weight that I'm pretty sure will be a Branching Out, but I can't say for sure. I am quite proud of this! Way more than I should be I'm sure! I'll be taking my first spinning class on Saturday, so hopfully I'll just get better from here :-)