Knitting Books

I have got to really organize my knitting books by subject matter. I spent one and a half hours looking for Domino Knitting by  Vivian Hoxbro, for a class I am teaching tomorrow. I decided to take one more quick look before bed and found the book in the sock knitting section of my library.

This means that I really need help to sorta d organize my books.  I would trade this for duplicate books or hand spun yarn. I think I am down to about 10 feet of shelf space for knitting books.  I am not the best at organizing despite my best intentions.

On the bright side while I was looking for Domino Knitting,I managed to fill two bags with recycling. These things will never have to be dealt with again.  I also manage to get over 9,000 steps today. Then just like that it is almost 11:00 p.m.  so good night.

A New Pattern in Progress

My head is reeling. I have just spent 3 hours translating my knitting notes into a new pattern to be released later this week. Can anyone explain to me why it is so much easier to design and knit the prototype then it is to "just" type up my notes into a usable pattern. If you think the pictures are set in the pattern well all I can do is laugh and say how funny you are. That will take me another few hours. Then a few more to add it to Raverly.

When I started designing patterns nobody said anything about knowing graphic design. Even that your notes should be very copious, even if it does not get put into the pattern. Given all this I still enjoy the process of design. I hope you enjoy my patterns.

I thank Gd for Microsoft word. I can't imagine doing this on an Underwood or even a Selectric typewriter. So a very well earned Thank You to the software engineers at Microsoft.

Now to go figure out how not to lose my pictures in the computer or dinner. Whichever comes first.

Bye Bye

I am saying bye bye to more inches.  In the last 18 months I have lost 4 inches off my rib cage.  I know I am losing inches in other places too, I am just not measuring them.  You can tell by how often I need to buy smaller clothing. The most frustrating part for me is that the scale refuses to budge. I am building more muscle mass.  Muscle also weighs more than fat, but is much more compact.  This means that my exercise plan of house cleaning is working well.

Tomorrow is another busy day so I am calling it an early night.

A Hard Day

It’s been almost two months since we lost Eric. I needed to do Eric paperwork which in it self is not hard, but the emotions will over take me in a snap. I got through about half of what I needed to do.  Then it was time to find smiling pictures of Eric to remember the happier times. Eric had a smile that just lit up the whole room.

After that I went on a small cleaning spree.  I managed to get a lot in the recycling can. I also did 2 loads of laundry.  There seems to be a lot less laundry now. The loads are also smaller.

Before I knew it time had flown. It was time to reheat some stew for dinner. After dinner it was. I needed to figure out how I managed to get 6 eye lashes stuck in one eye. I still don’t know how I did it.  The skin around the eye is still a little tender.  My advice is not to get 6 eyelashes in your eye at one time.

It’s getting late so it’s time to call it a day.

Leaping Lizards

Have you heard the news? I am now showing my hand woven scarfs at the Leaping Lizards Gallery here in Tucson, Arizona. I am just one of many artists in all different mediums.  I would like to extend my personal invitation to you to visit the gallery located at:

Leaping Lizards Gallery
6530 East Tanque Verde Road
Tucson AZ 85715
520-722-1266

Located in the LaPlaza Shoppes

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Living Near a Fiber Artist

Sometimes I wonder what our neighbors that of me.  Living next door to a fiber artist must be weird at times.  What got me thinking about this is that I have woven 3 scarfs since the beginning of the year.  After I am finished weaving them, I soak them in a hot bath of *Soak Wash* and very hot tap water and rough them up a bit to help set the weave.  After the water cools I rinse the scarf out of the excess dye.  Then it is time for thwacking. To do this I take the soaking wet scarf to the back yard and swing it as hard as I can on to the patio table for a few minutes.  Then it goes into the garage to dry on the line.  The same thing happens to freshly hand spun yarn too.

At other times I have freshly washed fiber drying in the sun. Perhaps blocking mats laying outside when I have to block something. Sometimes it’s a freshly wash quilt hanging on the fence.  On a nice day I might take my spinning wheel out side to spin.  If a fleece has a lot of vegetable matter I might take the carder to the driveway or front porch to card so I don’t have to sweep and vacuum a mess in the house.  I might even sit outside and knit.

I have friends who hang freshly dyed yarn outside to dry.  Even decorate fences with fiber art.  I have friends who dye yarn in their back yards too. I also will dye yarn in the back yard at times.  When I waited for Eric’s bus I used to stand outside and knit scarfs.

Does this make me weird? Does it mean that I just know how to have a lot of fun? That I don’t know when to stop having fun?

* I have been using Soak Wash for a long time.  If your local yarn or lingerie shop does not carry Soak Wash you can get it directly from Soak Wash , Raverly or Amazon. The makers of Soak Wash did not pay for this endorsement. I have not received anything for the mention in the blog.  It is just my favorite wool and lingerie wash.  I always have at least a couple of spare bottles in the laundry room so that I don’t run out.  I also recommend it to wash all of my by hand created fine washables.

A Sneak Peak

Tonight I am giving you a sneak peak of part of the third scarf I am weaving this year. Yes I know it is only January 6th.   My creativity is running on high octane.  I am just trying to keep up. This section is woven with a 3 ply yarn. 1 ply merino and 2 plies of crochet thread. Just look at the lovely pattern it creates.  This scarf was started this afternoon.