S to Z or Z to S

In spinning there are 2 ways to spin and ply the yarn.  I was taught S to Z and find it very easy.  I decided to try Z to S. After spinning and plying 5 skeins, just about a pound of roving, of Z to S, I think I will go back to S to Z.  I just find it easier to spin. My hands and fingers just want to work that way.  My yarn is just a little smoother. So here are the pictures as they were washing.  

 

Progress

I started the first of 2 baby blankets this morning.  As of right now I am 25% done with the first blanket.  Eric was a big help. He held on to the yarn while I was knitting.  Here is my progress so far.

I also managed to spin a little and get the laundry finished today. Eric is feeling better, but still not 100%. 

Laundry Overload

I know I have hit laundry overload when I start dreaming about laundry. Last night I hit overload. I was up with the eyrpy boy until 3:30 a.m.. I was trying to keep up with the eyrpy laundry, but I had to finish the laundry I put in the washer and dryer before bed. The dryer was my sore spot last night, it took forever in my very humble and tired opinion to dry anything.

Well I finally got to get a nap around 3:30 a.m. I dreamt that I was pulling an old fashion 2 wheel shopping cart, the kind women of my grandmothers generation used to use when they went shopping and had to walk or take the bus home with their groceries. The cart was pretty empty when I started out. As the dream progressed it kept getting fuller and fuller. The more I walked the fuller it got.  I could not find any place to wash the pile of laundry no matter how much it grew and was stuffed down in the basket.

When I woke up at 5:30 a.m. I went right back to doing laundry. With great hope on my part, I have what I think is the last load of laundry for the day in the dryer as I write this. Wish me luck. Eric is still a little eyrpy.  Now of course this does not include the yarn that I am plying right now on the spinning wheel.

Hand Tired

I had a pretty busy day today.  Overall it was pretty good, but tiring. By 5:30 pm my hands were to tired to move.  So the knitting and spinning I wanted to get done are still UFO's.  Also this is a very short blog so my hands can rest.  

I Step Back

I landed up having to rewash all of the white roving. I did not get enough lanlion off the fiber.  It looks much better now.  The wool will spend tomorrow drying.  Then I will go to the next fleece on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.  Hopefully that will be the last fleece that I find in the storage room.  

Next on the line up are a few dog pillows for my spinning groups dogs. There are a few new puppy's.  I also want to start my next design this week.  There is just so much to do. I will get more accomplished if Eric does a good job of sleeping. 

Play Time

Eric was home sick today. Since he spent much of he day sleeping I took the time to play. I managed to wash about 2 pounds of wool and 9 ounces of alpaca.  I found time to spin and knit 2 hats with a total of 63 rows toward the 1 million row challenge. When John got home I even managed a 3 hour nap.  Also on the plus side Eric is feeling better. 

A Busy Sunday

I managed to get all 5 loads of laundry done today despite my very late start. I did not get the first load in until 7:30 a.m. which is quite late for summer.  I usually stop the washing machine when it hits 100 out side and then wait until it cools down to 100 again. if I am very lucky I can keep things running until 11:00 a.m. or so and then restart everything back up after dinner. This is what I mean by giving the appliances the afternoon off.

The great part about living in Tucson in the summer is that the grocery stores tend to be pretty empty when it is over 100. So today I went in the middle of the day. I got everything I needed without getting bumped by a bunch of carts. This was a good thing today. My Safeway has gone through another upgrade. I am not sure if this is do to the merger with Albertson's or that a brand new Whole Foods will open up across the street in a few months. This meant that I had to go up and down all the aisles. Everything was in a new place, this makes it hard to do a quick trip in and out.  I noticed that quite a few things were gone and a lot of upgraded stuff was brought in. They have also added a lot of "organics" gluten free and "health food" along with bins full for all kinds of things including teas, pasta, grains and specialty items.

I managed to do a bunch of odds and ends but no big projects got finished. Yesterday I tried to cut back on caffeine and today I got the headache in return. I guess I will try that at a later date. I am waiting for Eric to settle down for the night, but it might be a while.

Morning Glory

The second pattern that was released on Thursday is called Morning Glory. John came up with the name. This shawl and pattern can be found at Kiwi Knitting Company here in Tucson. By a remarkable coincidence You can get this pattern and yarn exclusively at Kiwi Knitting Company here in Tucson. You will find the yarn in the sock section of the store along with the shawl. Stop buy to get the pattern and yarn. Join the group at the knitting table and start your project.

The Kiwi Knitting Company
2540 E. 6th Street
Tucson AZ
(520) 881-1319

On line the The Kiwi Knitting Company can be found here.  The normal store hours are Monday through Saturday 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.  If Tucson is part of your summer travels please keep in mind that The Kiwi Knitting Company will be closed from June 30th to July 11, 2014.

The pattern is a beginning one skein wonder. The yarn is Regina Fluormania Color by Schachenmayr. Perfect for the slight chill in the air on summer evenings, with a very nice drape.  It is done in garter stitch. The only skills needed to knit this shawl are the ability to do yarn overs, and knit2together.

Grandmas Summer Shawl

This is the first of 2  of my brand new patterns that were released yesterday. The name was chosen by Vicky the owner of Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson. By a remarkable coincidence You can get this pattern and yarn exclusively at Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson. Stop buy to get the pattern and yarn. Join the group at the knitting table and start your project. Depending on when you stop by you just might find me knitting or spinning.

Grandmas Spinning Wheel
6455 East Tanque Verde
Tucson AZ 85715
(520) 290-3738

You can also find Grandmas Spinning Wheel on line.

The pattern is an advanced beginner one skein wonder. The yarn is Calbuco by Araucania.  Perfect for the slight chill in the air on summer evenings, with a very nice drape.  It is done in garter stitch. The only skills needed to knit this shawl are the ability to do yarn overs, knit into the front and back of the same stitch, and purl.

A Great Day

Today was a busy day. It started out with therapy for Eric. Followed by errands. Followed by a luncheon where my 2 new patterns were released. Followed by knitting. Followed by more errands. Followed by finishing one hat. I am a little tired. 

Tomorrow I will post the pictures and how to get a hold of each of the patterns. 

Food and Moms

Like all good moms, I left Teri with a little home cooking. Tonight after dinner I made Teri a turkey breast with home made stuffing.  This means that she will have 5 home cooked meals for the comming weeks. I also made sure she ate well for the entire weekend.  

Today we made it to the beach which was really fun. We also had a very unsecceusfull shopping trip.  No matter how much we looked we could not add any money to the California economy.  The weekend ended much to soon. As I set off for the drive home Teri will head back to work. TTFN

Teri Time

I had a great day with Teri. I also finished another UFO which makes 2 finished objects in 2 days. 

Monday

Today did not start off great, so I ingnored  my body and went through my to do list.  I think I need to remember  to use the to do list in the future.  All I had to do was 1 item at a time. With this method I got a lot done.  I managed to get through have the list today. I might even try it on good body days. 

On the craft front all I can show you is the spinning that got done today. I just have to spin the white so I can ply the yarn. 

The Designs Are Done

After spending all afternoon knitting. Yes it was well over 100 rows. I finished the second project. I also finished off the rest of the Drop Dead Diva episodes on the DVR for this season.  As of 5 pm today both designs are done. As of 5:30 pm both are photographed. Now all I need to do is type up the patterns. This is not as simple as it sounds if you have had a look at my notes. So I now have until the 19th of June to type them up and set the pictures in place.

Then I have to decide if I am going to the printers or printing them at home. I guess it depends on how many copies I need to print. I think it is time to take a few hours off of knitting and do a little spinning.  

Human Nature an Money

 This is just my random thoughts about people and money.  Sometimes people and money can totally deify logic. Sometimes be transparent can back fire big time.  Let me explain.

I have planned a luncheon. In the past I have taken the cost of the meal, tax and added the 18% tip plus 5 or 10 dollars rounded up to the nearest 5 or 10 dollar mark for the fund raiser portion and people did not blink.  No one complained.  

In a group I belong to money has been an issue all year. Plus the place we are having the luncheon has a nice discount for those over 65, which is most of the membership. If I had paid for all the meals at once, I would have had to pay the under 65 price plus a drink which is higher. So I naively thought that everyone would like to save a little money, since a lot of people I know drink water with meals they would also save the cost of a drink. So I asked for a 5 dollar reservation fee to cover miscellaneous costs of the luncheon with the balance going into the nonprofits bank account, and everyone could choose their own options when they arrived. In this case trying to save people money, a fundraiser and being transparent has turned into a big mess. A lot of hurt feelings and talk about unjust fees. That I am being greedy, please note that the $5.00 will be going into the non-profits bank account. That I don't know the value of money and so on. The funny thing here is that if they take the over 65 price with no drink that would cover most of the $5.00 reservation fee.

My take away on this whole fiasco is too skip the options and being nice. In the future all planned luncheons will be a single price even if it cost people more money. All luncheons will include the cost of the meal, drink, 18% tip and the fund raiser portion rolled into one price. No options on cost. Only main course options from a very limited menu.