The Next Step

 90 percent of the deep house cleaning is done.  It’s just things like the pantry, filing cabinet and curio cabinet that need my attention.  

So I am turning my attention to UFO’s problem. I currently have 4 baskets of UFO’s that need to be completed. UFO’s are projects that are in various stages of completion.  Last year I tried a log book to keep track of my UFO’s.  That was a terrible failure.  So I am going for a straight numbers thing.  For every 10 projects I completed, I have given myself permission to cast on another project.  The only exception to this rule will be charity knitting for the kids and some family members.  

To keep track of all this I plan on dropping a stitch marker in a jar for every completed project.  This should be totally doable for me.  It’s not like there is a shortage of stitch markers in this house.  I am also sure that I can find a see through jar or vase.  With a limited amount of hand time per day it will take longer than in the past. I have started this project today with a random project. I got 2 inches completed today.  Pictures for you of my progress when the items are completed. 

My goal is to get rid of my PhD in knitting. Projects half done.  Wish me luck.  

How to Fix a Leather Slipper

 Let’s face it, it has become common practice to repair anything useful again.  That includes leather slippers.  Things just don’t last like we think they should.  One scissor company has decided a lifetime warranty is now not my lifetime but 10 years. So that when a blade starts going wonky and I bought the scissors in 1984 they are not going to replace them. The cake slicing knife I bought in 1975 is out of its lifetime warranty because the company went through bankruptcy. But I digress. We are here to talk about slippers. The seeming work is not done as well as it used to be.  The knots are not made to stay in place.  The knots are put in wonky places. You are lucky to make it one whole season without the slipper falling apart.

This is where you have to get creative. You will probably need a darning needle, a needle threader, a smaller crochet hook, toothpick and either Fray Check or Krazy Glue.  For this repair they can be used interchangeably.  These are both under a registered trademark, but I do not know where the symbol is on my iPad keyboard also under registered trademark.

The first thing you will do is run the remaining thread, which was cut to short to tie off properly, through a hole with the darning needle to the outside of the slipper.   Then you will run it through a stitch a couple of times.  As you are running out of thread run the crochet hook through the wrap that you just made. Twice if you have enough thread.  For this repair I used Krazy Glue because the Fray Check is playing hide and seek in the knitting room.  I like to keep a four pack of Krazy Glue around.  That way it is always fresh when I need it.  With the toothpick gently dab the Krazy Glue on the repair being careful not to get any on your hands or the leather.   It is only for the thread. Let dry in a safe place over night to dry.  

As a word of caution.  Please don’t attempt to do this anywhere but at a table with good lighting.  Things like the darning needles and threaders like to play hide and seek.  They are very good at hiding.  Almost as good as the Fray Check in the knitting room. The person you send hunting for the hidden items will not be happy with you.  Below is a picture of my repair attempt.  It’s not perfect, but it is not going anywhere soon.  The dark brown spot is where the glue is drying   

Also I regularly purchase both Fray Check and Crazy Glue.  I have not been paid to endorse these products. They have been in our home repair kit for years. 

My Navajo Style Tapestry Weaving

 I have finally finished my Navajo style tapestry weaving class with a little bit of help.  Ok, a lot of help at the end.  That much sitting and weaving was very hard on my body. I usually do not weave for more than 1 hour in any 24 hour period. My hands were useless the day afterwards. I hurt down to the bone. My body is still not happy with me.  If I ever under took making a second one, it would take at least a few weeks.  

The reason I am calling it my Navajo Style Tapestry Weaving is that I am obviously not Navajo.  You have to be a registered member of the Navajo Nation to make a genuine Navajo Tapestry Rug. This skill is handed down through the generations.  The tapestries are definitely worth the price, with the amount of work that goes into even the smallest pieces.  If someone claims that you don’t have to be Navajo to weave a Navajo rug just don’t believe them and move on. I personally feel that it is not ethical to profit off of someone Else’s culture and heritage.

I would also like to clear up another misunderstanding about Navajo fiber arts.  The Navajo do not ply their yarn. That would add too much time to the project. They could also not compress the yarn as much as is required,  please believe me there is a lot of pounding the yarn to compact it well. Also when rugs were made for the trading posts for sale, they were paid by the pound for rugs.  It was a family affair with the children doing a lot of the carding of the fiber as per my friend Louise. They also took care of the sheep.  

That being said I really enjoyed taking a class with world class instructors.  I would recommend taking a class with Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete.  By the way they have 2 books on Amazon or at Barnes and Nobel that are worth reading. You should be in very good physical condition to do this class.  There are so many new skills that I learned.  I am very grateful  that Vicky and Michael Konecky of Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson Arizona made this class possible.  

I am also grateful that my daughter and son in law gave me a portable hand massager.  My hands would be much worse off.  At least I can do non intricate work with my hands today.  I even emptied the dishwasher without dropping any plates today.  I also folded 3 loads of laundry too.  Then it was seek, toss or put away.  This was followed by a gourmet dinner of a duck egg omelette with mixed vegetables and fresh fruit.  I even managed to flip a 4 egg omelette without breaking it to pieces.  

My tapestry is below.  Louise helped me pick the colors out.  I picked out the design from a deck  of patterns.  The Teller sisters helped with the technical difficulties. 

Navajo Tapestry Weaving

 I started my Navajo tapestry weaving class today.   This is just before my first color change.  I am having a wonderful time.  I am learning so much.  There is a small difference between each of the weaving styles that I have learned.  It is easier than I thought.  

Slowing Down

 I have been in high gear for a few weeks now.  Being the proud owner of a couple of autoimmune diseases does not always allow me to do what I want. When I want to do things.  

I really have enjoyed doing massive amounts of decluttering the house.  Filing up the recycling bin almost to the top. Sending huge boxes to Goodwill instead of having a garage sale.  Sharing extra fiber related things with my friends.  Emptying cabinets to the point of having not one but two empty shelves.  Leaving books in the little libraries around the neighborhood. 

Tonight my body gave me a stern warning.  Slow down right now or else.  So if I have enough spoons I will do one project a day.  Then rest by listening to books, spinning, knitting, weaving, Tunisian crochet and watching rom coms or documentaries on television.  Pay more attention to my body instead of wishful thinking that I am 30 again with only one autoimmune disease and all the energy in the world.  

My Shark Multi Functional Wasp Eliminator

 I feel that global warming is very real.  Why else would I have to have to use my Shark multi functional Wasp eliminator on this the 5th day of December, 2024?  I spotted the wasp on the window. By the time I got back the wasp was trying to hide in the dark brown carpet.  

I was prepared with my wasp eliminator and a fly swatter for a little extra protection.  How the wasp eliminator works is very simple.  Put the D shaped opening over the wasp and turn the wasp eliminator on.  Once the wasp is safely inside the Wasp Eliminator, you walk outside with the Wasp Eliminator still on.  Find a place very far away from the house.  Make sure the wasp is not moving, because they can be tricky.  Turn the wasp eliminator off. This is a must because you can’t open the elimination door with the machine on. Make sure you are away from foot traffic.  Open the trap door and shake out the machine.  Walk away very quickly.  

Everyone who is allergic to wasps should have one of these handy devices available at all times. Because sometimes our knight in shining armor is on a grocery run.  This machine allows me to be a self rescuing princess.  Albeit a very shaky self rescuing princess.  

I would like to thank the wonderful people at The Shark Corporation for making this wonderful Wasp Eliminator aka the Shark hand held vacuum.  The Shark hand held vacuum was a present from my husband.  No advertising has been accepted.  I also did not ask The Shark corporation for permission to write about or repurpose their hand held vacuum.

Just Wow

 Despite a very bad body day, I got a tremendous amount of things done today.  I started off the day at 3 am in crying pain with tears running down my cheeks.  Not the way I prefer to wake up any day.  I took aspirin at 3:30 am with a very eclectic breakfast. Followed by my first nap once the aspirin kicked in.  Then it was up again at 6 am, I was really stiff and had to move , so I started 2 loads of laundry. Then took my second nap of the day.  

I managed to put a few things away.  I organized things in 5 minute chunks followed by resting.  It’s amazing how much I can get done in 5 minutes. Hang a load of laundry. Open an Amazon box and put things away.  Bring stuff from one end of the house to the other end. 

I did do quite a bit of craft hopping today. I plyed 2 skeins of yarn. Then put them up in skeins to get the bobbins back.  Spun 1 1/2 bobbins of yarn.  Added a few more inches to a knitted scarf. Also worked on a Tunisian Crochet baby blanket.  Hopefully it will be finished before the baby arrives.  

My biggest accomplishment of the day was cooking and cleaning up dinner with very little help.  I have not been able to do that since mid February when I got sick.  It was wonderful.  

Just so you know that some things don’t change.  I left a load of dry laundry in the dryer to be folded later.  The laundry might just freak out if I fold it too soon.