It's not fun to run out of yarn

This is a picture taken last night of the Bloomin' Feet socks. Was I wrong to be a little nervous!? The toes are now closed and after weaving in the yarn ends, I have 4 pieces of yarn left over - each about 6"-8" long. I am so glad I did not divide the skein in half as I would never have done it as closely as it needed to be divided. Instead, after winding the skein on the ball winder, I started one sock from the inside and one from the outside and knit both together. This is a fun pattern - it is Central Air from one of last year's STR club offerings. I'd definitely make it again, but maybe try it toe up so that I don't stress over running out of yarn.

Although, that does seem to be a common theme around here lately - check out this picture. Do you see what's wrong?

It's a bandanna and it's supposed to be a triangle. The pattern called for 1 skein of two different colors (one for the main color and one for a ruffly trim). I'm not quite sure what went wrong here (I even used the same yarn called for in the pattern), but I had to order another skein. It won't be the same dye lot, but hopefully it won't be too far off. Since I was placing an order anyway, I included one of the new Addi Lace circular needles - for this:

I decided I wanted my Moth to fly with large wings and after a discussion with my yarn consultant, we decided that I needed to go shopping for a yarn other than the Zephyr I was planning on using. This was also after deciding that there was absolutely nothing in the stash that would be appropriate. Carole did make a good point when she said how great this shawl is and that I really needed just the right yarn. I now have two choices - the Kid Silk Haze you see in the picture or Louet Kidlin Pixie (a linen/mohair yarn) in a cranberry color. I am leaning towards the orange because it makes me smile.

Something is blocking my wheel...

For some reason, the dog likes to lie right in front of my wheel. Did I show you what is on my wheel?

I am totally in love with pencil roving - specifically Corriedale pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms. This colourway is Berry Pie and that is exactly what it reminds me of - makes me think of blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries. Oh, my, I can't wait until berry picking season. And the pencil roving makes it so easy to spin. No predrafting required.

I finished dropping all the stitches on Clapotis. I ended up adding some stitches to make it wider and did an extra repeat in the length. The length, however, would have been plenty long without the extra repeat, but I'm glad I made it wider. I will show some pictures, but please keep in mind that I don't have a photographer that makes me look as great as this or this.

Instead you have to settle for these.

I think my next shawl will be Wing of the Moth in some Jaeggerspun Zephyr from the stash. If I run into problems, I know someone else who has made one or I think I could email Anne for help.

I'm not a slacker...

I didn't want Amanda to think I was slacking on my Bloomin' Feet socks. I have been primarily knitting on something else, but have done a little on the socks. We now have one leg ready to turn the heel and one leg which is about 1 inch away from starting the heel. I will be working on these now as my primary knitting project since I am almost done with this.

My Clapotis knit with Brooks Farm yarn that I purchased at Rhinebeck last fall. The knitting is finished but it is taking a while to drop the stitches probably due to the fuzziness of the yarn. This will be wrapped around me for comfort next Saturday during my Mom's memorial service. I haven't decided if I will be able to talk in front of everyone. Last night I was thinking I may just wing it as I can't really think of planning anything.

Thank you to everyone who shared some of their wild and crazy side. I really enjoyed reading all the comments. Some of them reminded me that we do some crazy things for love. I decided that I would choose random winners by simply picking names out of a bag - so the winner of the Spin to Knit book and some spinning fiber is

Carole Knits

The winner of sock yarn is

Yarn Collectors Anonymous

And Elaine (anonymous) gets to choose the pattern of her choice from knitspot. Elaine, you can check out her catalog here and let me know which one you choose and I will pay for it and have Anne send it directly to you.

I hope everyone enjoyed playing and sharing. My daughter informed me that today is Best Friend Day (not sure where she heard this, but it sounds good). So, take some time and play with your best friend today!

A Giveaway

Well, I think it's time for some sort of giveaway - in honor of my Mom who always thought of others before herself. She was a great person to make gifts for because she would wear or use everything you gave her. She used to say that she never understood why so many people would go to the stores and return their gifts after the holidays - and I can honestly say that she never returned any gift she received. She wore the scarves that my sister and I knit for her, the fleece coat I sewed, the felted hat I made, even the apron I made for her so very long ago that I doubt my sewing skills were that great. And so many other things. When she died, my sister said that the beaded Odessa hat I had given her last year was on the nightstand next to her bed. I always love making things for people that I know are going to use them.

So, let's give some stuff away. There will definitely be a book - "Spin to Knit" very nicely signed by the author, Shannon Okey. And there will probably be some fiber and/or yarn. Now, you ask, what do you need to do to possibly get such wonderful prizes? Please leave a comment and tell about something wild/crazy that you have done. It doesn't have to be the craziest thing but should be something a little out there. Here is my contribution. About ten years ago, I took a trip to New Zealand with my parents. My husband didn't want to go, but I figured this was a good chance to see a place I had always wanted to travel too. Plus, I'd get to spend some fun times with my Mom and Dad. One morning, we stopped at a place where there was the opportunity to bungy jump off of a bridge (it was run by AJ Hackett Bungy and it was at the Kawarau Bridge). Sometimes, I get this weird feeling when I am faced with something I know I will (most likely) never have the chance to do again. I think it is because I hate to think of saying "I wish I had...". So, I decided to jump. They give you the option of jumping with someone and I decided to go this route, because I knew I would never, voluntarily, dive head first off of a bridge. It was quite a wild feeling, bouncing up and down on a huge rubber band and then hanging upside down while they get you into the boat. And that jump - yeah, I would never have done it on my own. I remember grabbing very tightly to that girl who jumped with me. But, I'm glad I did it and will never have to say "I wish I had!".

OK - now it's your turn. Have fun with it!!

I Don't Have the Words

All I can say is THANK YOU!! Thank you for all the wonderful, caring comments and notes that have been sent my way. I can't tell you how much they have touched me. I have been trying to reply but if I haven't been able to find your email or your blog (Blogger is NO help whatsoever), please forgive me and know that I really appreciate your thoughts and hugs.

I have been knitting along on Ariann which, after ripping back to the ribbing in a decision to make her longer a la Cara's, is turning out to be the perfect knit. The pattern is so easy to memorize and if my thoughts wander, as they are apt to do, I can quickly find a mistake and fix it. And after seeing the beautiful new semi-solid rovings on Teyani's site, I decided I needed to spin up what was on my wheel so that I could, maybe, buy some of those beautiful colors. Teyani had written this in a recent email "I hope that spinning is helping to ease your heart." I had forgotten how calming it is to spin and the past few evenings have been spent with my wheel and some of Teyani's Sock Hop roving. It has been a very comforting time.

And last night I even enjoyed making dinner thanks to Carole and this recipe she posted the other day. I used ground turkey instead of the chicken and it was yummy. Thanks, Carole!

February 26, 2007

I'm not sure if I will be able to get through this post. Sometimes life can be so shitty - you know, when it gives you those moments that change your life forever. The ring of the doorbell or of the telephone bringing news that you don't want. I've had two such experiences. One when I was younger and a policeman came to the door to tell us that my brother had been killed in a car accident. He had been hitchhiking home for the Christmas holidays. As some of you know, my daughter and I had taken a vacation last week with my mom and dad, and my sister and her family. My daughter and I flew home on Sunday and everyone else was spending some extra time down in Florida. The phone rang Monday morning - it was my dad telling me that my mom had died sometime during the night. Life will never be the same. She was such a special person - so sweet, always making the best of everything. She had such a wonderful smile and always had a happy good morning. I can't believe she is gone and I will never get to hug her, laugh with her, look at her.


All week, I have felt so off balance, so sad. It's hard to listen to people telling me I should be thankful for the week we had together. I don't feel thankful - she didn't want to die. It happened so suddenly - you just feel ripped apart.


Anyway, the tears are coming again. I will post this picture of my mom and dad from last week. I love her so much. I miss her so much.



I can't bring myself to knit on the Bloomin' Feet socks. If I pick something up, I feel like it is something I will need to keep - something to knit my sorrows and memories into - something I will be able to wrap around me for comfort. I had been working on Ariann before the vacation but I'm not sure if that is the wrap around me kind of sweater I need. I do have the yarn for Flyingdales or maybe a shawl. I'm not sure I can handle a swatch - is there anyone with input on the Black Water Abbey yarn. Will the gauge change much after washing?

Everyone who reads this - please hug someone you care about and tell them how much you love them. It really is true that you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

Cruisin'

Just a quick note as Internet time is rather expensive from the ship. This is definitely a different type of vacation for me. We are nearing the end of a Western Caribbean cruise and it has been a fun time. There is an excellent children's program on board and I can honestly say that my daughter has been involved in more activities than I have been. It has been unusual to have time to myself but I have been enjoying just sitting and knitting on the socks that I brought - one pair for myself and the other for my Bloomin' Feet pal - sometimes sipping a Lemon Drop martini. I think of Margene as I sip this drink as she was the one who introduced me to it. We also did some snorkeling and have plans to see some Mayan ruins tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who sent good health vibes for my daughter before we left. It was a rather stressful time as I wasn't sure we were going on this trip almost up to the last minute. When we checked in at the ship, they handed me a health questionnaire with one question being if anyone has had a fever in the last two days. Of course, I didn't lie and we ended up waiting almost 2 hours to get cleared by the nurse. Believe me, there was quite a bit of time during that 2 hour wait that I wished I had lied. But all turned out well and we made it onto the ship. It will be hard to return to reality!

Oh, and by the way, CeCe has been a great cruising companion for this trip - going from casual to formal quite easily.