Today Was All About Knitting

 I am currently designing 2 new knitting patterns.  The good news is that the elements for one pattern have come together. I will begin to type up the relevant information and instructions.  Taking pictures in 100 degrees Fahrenheit is not ideal for this pattern. So I’m going to have to come up with an alternative that’s indoors. 

The Bad news is that the second pattern on the third section will have to be tinked. I can say at this point having two out of three sections done is helpful. However, the last section is the largest section. Tinking will take place soon.   

I have finished the Maxi Fingerless Gloves for my daughter.  All I can say is that The yarn is scrumptious. It is an alpaca, silk blend from the Yarn Dragon in Seattle, Washington. It even came in a worsted weight which was needed for the pattern.  He has a beautiful on line shop. It is a luxurious fiber that I’m sure my daughter will love. And hopefully there won’t be any allergies involved. On gloves looks larger then the other because I just had to try them on. I might have to get a skein of this yarn for a pair of gloves for me. 

The Good News

 It was 107f today so I spent it going through more yarn boxes.  More yarn is leaving than staying.  I only have 7 more boxes to go through this weekend. I have more shelves to purge too. If it sounds like a seek and de clutter mission, you are absolutely correct.  

My pile of to go yarn was getting too overwhelming for me to look at until it is gone.  So John decided to hide the bags behind the couch where I can’t see them. He even carried most of the bags out for me.  As you can see from the picture below, which does not include all the bags there was a fairly large pile of bags.  

The even better news is that I found a couple of projects that I want to knit for myself. That will have to wait a few days right now I am using all my spoons cleaning and de cluttering the house. It has literally taken me 25 years to accumulate this much yarn so spending a week to purge a lot of what I don’t need anymore will take a few days more. Then it will be time to reorganize the areas that were cleaned out. Alas, I am getting ahead of myself. I need to finish one task before I start the next task. No cutting corners here. 

All of this yarn and more will be available for sale at the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild fundraiser in January. The details will follow.  If you are nearby or a couple of hour’s drive from Tucson this will be a great opportunity to add to your stash.  

A Fun Filled Fiber Day

 It was a busy day on the fiber front.  This morning I washed and thwacked one skein of yarn by 7 am.  The sad thing about this is it was so hot that the water was drying up as I went to hang the yarn.  I then plyed a second skein and put it in its hot wash.  Since it was even warmer when this one came out of its hot bath the water dried up even faster.  Yet the full skeins of yarn are still damp in the garage this evening.

I finally figured out a glitch in a new pattern design. It has taken months.  I did have an epiphany last night. So this afternoon I cast on and it’s exactly like I want it. Now just to do the math so I can finish writing the pattern and knitting the sample. This made me very happy. Yes I am currently working on 3 new pattern designs at the moment.  I think the heat has gotten to me.  All I really want to do is go to a coffee shop and have a cuppa tea and knit like in pre COVID19 times. Now it’s outdoor dining for me, so it’s kinda not an option, because it’s too hot to sit outside even with misters.  So I go from room to room to work on different projects.  That’s just like going to a coffee shop, right?

With the exception of 1 skein of yarn drying in the garage, I have all the yarn priced for the knitting guilds Christmas in July event.  I even priced it at a 30% discount in hopes that it does not come back home with me.  I am also debating whether to make more stitch markers or move back to dog pillows, then on to a new blanket for my daughter.  Then I did get the parts to fix my small ridged heddle, so there are scarfs to weave also.  

I did say it was a fiber filled day.  

TTFN

Busy Again

 I was busy today.  I finished 2 more dog pillows before breakfast. Went to lunch and knit with a friend.  Truth be told we brought our lunch back to the house, it was even too hot for a patio with misters.  Worked on a new pattern and got past the half way point and color change. Did some random cleaning. Grocery shopping. All this dispute my body and a heat wave.  Tucson peaked out at 110f today. 

I ran out of energy for spinning and tagging yarn.  I am now going to call it an early night.  

Winter is Coming

 After yesterday’s food debacle when the restaurant deemed that 11% fat was a low fat item, By the way my body says it’s not.  All I had the energy to do was 2 loads of hand wash and 2 washer and dryer loads.  Then it was a day of rehydration and knitting. 

 I am hoping to enough energy to spin some of my new mini batts tomorrow.  I would also like to do some more drum carding of fiber.  I also want to warp the loom and get some scarfs started.  As long as we stay home with the temperature heading upwards of 109, maybe higher. I will be staying inside. I hope I have enough energy for everything   

The hats pictured below are the 2 hats that I finished today.  Don’t worry the knitting needles are not lonely as I started another hat and a scarf   

Record Breaking Heat

Today we broke a heat record set when my dad was a kid. It was 111f. I also caught up on sleep. Because of the heat I picked Eric up early from his program. We watched the movie Home, which Eric wants to watch again. i finished spinning one roving from www.intothewhirled.com and started the second one of the same color way.

After 2 hours of spinning, it was time to finish another hand knit hat. So far this month I have finished 7 hats with a goal of 31. Making one hand knit hat every day in July. This will accomplish 3 things. First making a small dent in my odd balls of yarn. Second making me happy and productive. Last but not least it will give 31 kids who would not have warm hats next wimter a warm hat. If I excede my goal it would be very nice, but I need to get to 31 first. As usual I have one cotton and one wool hat on the needles.

116

Yes the tempature reached a record high of 116 at our house on Sunday. So I spent the day washing yarn, spinning yarn and hanging out with Eric. What I did not do at least before midnight wash laundry or run the dishwasher.  I gave my appliances the afternoon off.  I figured with a record breaking heat wave, I should not add any extra power draw to an already at capacity power system. Surprisingly the yarn that I washed this morning was not dry by dinner time.

John and I got to go to dinner and the James Taylor concert.  We had a great time. The music was wonderful, both the classics and the new songs. We made it home by 11:00 pm, which was our curfew.  When in 15 minutes of getting home Eric started eyrping.  He made 2 loads with in minutes, thank goodness it was finally under 100f so I went ahead and washed laundry all night.  By 3:30am I was exhausted and took a 4 hour nap. 

I was able to get Eric on pedilyte this morning. 

110

Today it reached ,you guessed it 110f tomorrow should be warmer.  So I got the laundry finished before 9:00 am. The grocery store was empty. It is nice shopping in summer. We just had a kick back day.  It is suppose to be warmer tomorrow.  So my plan is to wash a sink full of freshly spun yarn. Then hang it in the garage to dry. It will also keep the garage a little cooler and dry the yarn faster.  I might even warp the loom.  I ran out of energy today. 

Once Eric figured out that I was serious about not being able to knit, he let me bring in a spinning wheel to his room. I spun 2 single ply art yarns.  It was just about right for my hands today. I will wash them tomorrow too.