Monday, September 29, 2008

Happy Birthday.....to Me!

Last week was my fourty-mumphth birthday. We are not precise with numbers when we are taking about my age, pleeze!. Hubby was out of town, kids were at school, so it was me and the dogs. I spent the beginning of the week thinking of all the things I was going to do on my "ME Day." Shopping, wandering, lunching, knitting, maybe trying out the new kick spindle.....so what did I do? I knit little fishes! I know, what's up with that? But I was just hit with a big bag of entropy and all I could do was knit and watch the boob-tube all day.

It's not depression. It was just the joy (or absolute shock, I'm not sure which) of having a day where no one expected anything of me. Really, I should have done something active and enjoyable, but I just didn't want to.

I've been working on my Hey Teach Sweater pretty steadily. I just have the sleeve decreases and the button band to go and I'm done with that. I really want it done by the end of this week. I hope I'll make it. I always seem to slow to a snail's pace as I get to the end of a project - especially if that project is for me. But I picked up buttons for it last week, so when I'm done, I'll be done. No endless search for the perfect buttons.

In other knitting news......... I'm taking another stab at knitting toe-up socks. Actually the socks are much farther along than this now - considering I sat in the emergency room with my mom for much of the day today. She has another broken bone - the second one this year - the second one that will require major surgery to repair - the second one that will require a stint in rehab (a polite word for nursing home). Enough bitching about that. I have a rather large amount of emotions to process about this, and I'm not quite ready for it. Besides, I try to keep the griping down to a minimum here.....well, at least if I can't make fun of myself or my hubby at the same time.

I'm working on the heel of this sock. That's where the last attempt shot me down. I'm hoping I do a better job on this one.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Every Day is a Little Gift!

This week has been a goodie-filled one at my house. Fun Stuff that I ordered, and swapped for started arriving. A couple weeks ago, I discovered the concept of Kick Spindles. I look at a Kick Spindle as a logical step between a Drop Spindle and an all-out Spinning Wheel. I've had a hankering to learn to spin for a while, and even tried to learn to drop spindle. But I discovered I have a lingering rotator cuff injury that makes learning to drop spindle painfully illogical. Still, my desire to learn to spin has not waned. Tried to convince the DH that a nice traveling wheel would be a fine gift for me, but he saw it as just feeding my obsession with fiber. (OK, so the $1000 fly fishing trip - where he brings home NO FISH - and the $4000 hunting club membership don't feed HIS obsessions) But once I found the Kick Spindle, it seemed to solve a number of problems.....inexpensive (less than $60), compact, and the spinning method does not involve my right hand over shoulder-height for inordinate amounts of time. So.....thanks to the Internet, I located and ordered a Little Meggie, from Heavenlyhandknits.com.



I haven't had a chance to sit down and try this little sweetie out, but plan to soon. I have been watching Youtube Little Meggie instructional videos intently trying to suss out the mysteries of the Kick Spindle.

It was also a fun day when my copy of Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside The Lines came to my door through the kind auspices of Amazon.com and my friendly (he really is) neighborhood UPS man. The first M-D Knitting book was fun....this one....AWESOME and as my Ravelry friends say "Full of WIN!" There are at least four patterns in the new book that my life will not be complete without. Even better, I already have the yarn for some of them!!

And a couple of weeks ago, I swapped a copy of Favorite Socks with a Ravelry friend of mine who had lost almost her entire knitting book collection in a move (may the Gods curse moving men to wear machine knit socks their entire lives!). She in turn sent me a skein of recycled sari silk yarn. (PIC HERE) I have been coveting this yarn for quite a while, although I have never had guts enough to pick up a skein "just because." Now I have one lucious skein of the stuff. Probably only enough to do a scarf. But I will spend the next six months dreaming of the possibilities.

On the Knitting Front, I have been working deligently on my Hey Teach sweater. I'm hoping to have it done in time to wear to a professional thing on October 5th...hey and the Yarn Harlot's book signing the night before!. Only the right front and the (thankfully) short sleeves to go. I just may get it done. Keep your fingers crossed.

The professional thing I have to go to is a REALTOR's Education Conference. Two days of classes. Read that two days of blessed knitting time, while pretending to be learning something about the Real Estate Profession. Actually, I do pick up quite a bit knitting and listening to these classes. If I didn't have the knitting to keep me occupied, the blind screaming fidgets would kill me at these things. I plan on adding to my knitted hat and glove collection. I'm getting quite a collection going now. But between chairty donations, and Adopt-a-Crew donations, the hats and goodies will not go to waste. Here are a few I forgot to post before. A Fake Isle Hat made from Cascade 220 in Forest Green and a random skein of Noro Kureon.

And Cigar Gloves, made for one of #2 son's friends, bound for college in Montana (Go Montana State University!)

I haven't even begun to wrap my mind around Christmas knitting for this year. We're half-way through September and I haven't even given this a minute's thought.......I'm screwed!

One more thing.....just because I think it's cool. For those of you with a Post-It Note fixation......have fun!


EepyBird's Sticky Note experiment from Eepybird on Vimeo.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

News Update.......

The first day of Middle School was just fine for Son#3. He came home smiling, happy he did well on his summer reading quiz (all of Mom's nagging paid off!), and declaring that all his teachers were "way cool."

Another developmental milestone in the books!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Free At Last!

After an additional TWO WEEKS of summer vacation, my kids are headed back to the salt mi.....ah school, tomorrow! Thanks to the Bellevue Teacher's Strike, my kids have be underfoot, at each others throats, and workin' my last nerve for the last fourteen days!

The oldest has been back at college for three weeks at this point. His last year in college.....I should be sad. He's not my baby any more. But no. I've been excited to see how he will turn out as a person for quite a while now. The first real glimpses of the man he is becoming are just starting to show through. It's exciting.

Hey! maybe I'll try to get his high school graduation blanket done for his college graduation!

Number Two Son is starting his senior year of high school.......late, as usual. Can't pick on the kid, too much, though. He has been getting up to get to school an hour early for a special 6:30am welding class for more than a year. My boys love their welding! It's about the only thing the older boys would ever get up early for.

The Baby is starting his first day of middle school today. I thought he was cool with everything and then I heard some snuffling behind me. He's my emotional one.....my worrier....my nervous wreck! He'll be OK though. He doesn't realize, yet, that about a third of the kids there today are just as nervous as he is. And when he sees all the kids he already knows there (only one of his elementary school friends will be going to middle school with him), he'll calm right down. He has older friends there, sibs of some of his brothers' friends, baseball teammates. He'll be fine.........Still, I think I'll make sure I'm home when he gets home. Should I have brownies or rice krispie squares waiting for him?

On the knitting front, things have been getting done.....some little projects..... Hats.........and Fetching fingelesss mitts

I've also started a sweater for me......Hey Teach. No pics of my own, yet. My first experience with shaping lace in a garment. A bit challenging in spots, but I will survive. My hope is to have this done by the end of September, so I can wear it to a professional event at the beginning of October. Pushing it, I know, but I want something no one else will be wearing. I have a reputation for my hand-knits to uphold. There are also a couple pair of socks wandering around here, too. They get a few stitches when I get the chance.

Right now, I feel all adrift, suddenly. No kids arguing underfoot, my days are (kind of) my own again........OK, so NOW what do I do?