The Gloves WereTo Big

 When I wore my new gloves this week I was quite dismayed that they were about an inch too wide and let in a lot of cold air. The pattern said that they were meant for an adult hand. Apparently my hands are too small.  I do wish pattern designers would put the across the palm measurement for sizing.  So as you can see in the picture below I soaked them in hot water with a hot water rinse.  Careful not to agitate them.  I did not want them to felt.  Then I put them in a very hot garage to dry.  

If the easy method does not work, I will then have to steek them. I will put them on and put several marks where the seam will go.  Then I will baste them on the sewing machine, making sure I have a very secure seam.  Then it will be time for the surger.  I think the first run through will be without the blade.  I will cut them by hand. Wish me luck in this endeavor.  

Lost Gloves

 The only thing to do when I lose my hand knit fingerless gloves after 2 weeks of searching for them is to make a new pair.  To that end as of tonight I am 1 1/2 way through knitting a replacement pair. I know for a fact that the only way that they will come out of hiding is to have competition from a new pair of fingerless gloves.  

How is your weekend going?

Trying Something New

 I am trying something new and different.  In the past 25 years of knitting I have always had multiple projects going at the same time.  Currently I have at least 5 scarves, 2 hats, various shawls and mittens on the knitting needles. It can be so overwhelming at times I just start a new project for a change up.  

Today, I started to try something new.  For me it’s revolutionary.  I have never done this before, well really after my first scarf.  I really wanted to start a new shawl today.  I currently have 4 different shawls on knitting needles.  I decided to try to finish all the shawls on my knitting needles / crochet hooks before I wind yarn to start another shawl.  Most of my friends only have a couple of projects going at once.  Some even only buy more yarn when they finish a project, this will not happen for me for so many reasons.  

So instead of winding more yarn to start another project, I put the project bag back on the shelf.  I pulled out a shawl in progress.  With plans to finish it and several other shawl projects before I wind yarn into cakes for the next shawl.  

It’s probably not conducive to a neat house having 10 or more UFO’s on the fireplace waiting for my attention.  Not to mention a few baskets worth in the knitting room. This does include weaving projects that have not been completed.  

So wish me luck. I will try my best to finish most of the projects, before I start new a new one.  I am trying to see if it’s more efficient to only have one of anything going at once.  I might not make it. I will at least give it a trial run before I can pass judgment on the plan.  By August I should have enough data for a conclusion.  

The Sewing Room

 My sewing room has been dubbed the black hole for small mending jobs.  Today I started to remedy that situation.  It did require me to rethread the sewing machine for each repair job. This being said, I repaired 2 pairs of pants, 1 shirt. I decided to giveaway 1 shirt rather than trying to modify the neckline. I could have done it given enough time.  Did I want to spend the time? Definitely not.  

I was in the middle of modifying 1 of 2 skirts when I noticed that I had bought the wrong size elastic for the waistband.  I had 1 inch elastic instead of 1 1/2 inch elastic.  Since Joann’s closed it has been a different store for each item needed for the repair work.  Cathy’s Sewing and Vacuum for thread.  Believe it or not Walmart had the right size elastic that I needed for the 2 skirts.  Also the poly fill for the dog pillow that I have to finish.

While going to find the right colors of thread, I noticed that some polyester thread had made its way into my thread.  It took about 30 minutes to clear out the polyester thread.  John and I decided that it will be going with my friend when she visits her family in Northern Arizona.  As her family lives off the beaten path, it will be a nice surprise to get a whole lot of thread in a lot of colors.  Craft supplies are meant to be shared.  

Given a few weeks maybe the sewing room will no longer be a black hole.  I even cleared off the ironing board. I even know where the iron is stored. I also know where the distilled water is.  

Playing Catch Up

 I spent the day doing little things that have piled up around the house while I have not been feeling well.  I spent 10 minutes organizing the knitting room. Then 20 minutes knitting and listening to a book.  I also spent 20 minutes looking for the sewing machine brush so I could clean out the bobbin area so I could do a 20 minute repair on a pair of pants.

  I think that I should probably get a spare sewing machine brush too. Just in case it happens again.  An often overlooked chore is washing the sewing machine brush with a little Dawn and water. They work so much better when they are clean   

My taller half got into cleaning out too.  He decided he as not going to be wearing a bunch of pants any time soon. So I bagged them up to go to a new home.  He also tried to fix the broken kitchen sink faucet. Alas it was installed wrong, parts were broken. We might have to get a new kitchen faucet.  Sometimes the little annoying things in life just build up.  

They Are Gone

 These 6 scarfs have left the house.  In late October they will be delivered.  These are the final pictures of them.  In the top photo all 6 are laid out side by side on a California King Bed. In the bottom photo they are rolled up, which is how I store them.  Each scarf is knit in the round with multiple strands of yarn.  All are 6 feet 2 inches long plus or minus a few inches.  No two are ever alike.  They are fun to knit. They use up a lot of odd skeins of yarn.  As a bonus for me, I know that they will keep kids warm.  

UPDATE: Compression Gloves : UPDATE

 There is an important update on the compression gloves from The Mailo Design. The new design price is the price for one glove. So if you are a knitter or need the compression gloves for both hands you must order 2 gloves. The site does not specify that they are selling a single glove or a pair of gloves.  Since it is a crochet site I forgot to make the assumption that I would not be getting a pair of gloves.  I am truly sorry for making that mistake. Please accept my humblest of apologies for not making that clear in the first post. I did not realise my mistake until I opened my package from The Mailo Design that I received in today's mail. 

My rheumatologist has suggested wearing compression gloves when my hands are sore or when I am knitting. I bought the first version of compression gloves from The Milo Design. They are the most comfortable compression gloves that I have found.  They are made of nylon and are cooler to wear than other gloves that I have tried. Since I have ordered them they have gone through a design change that will make it easier for the yarn to flow through my fingers.  I will also be able to leave on my rings.  The picture below is of the original design.  The newest design is on the website.  As of today May 7th, 2025 they are on sale.  I don’t know how long the sale will last so act fast if you want the sale price.  Go to this link to access the site The Mailo Design.  They also have a coupon offer for 10% off your first order if you sign up for their email list.  

*****Disclosure: I have paid for the compression gloves myself and am not receiving any form of payment for my recommendation from Mailo Design. As I always recommend, please check with your medical professional to see if this is something that would benefit you. I am not giving medical advice. I am sharing my experience with The Mialo Design compression gloves..*****

Have a wonderful day.  

Yesterday

 Yesterday was a busy day.  I started out in the garden cutting back a bush that had gotten all branch very little green.  Then it was laundry and chores.  

The good news is that I have completed enough UFO’s to send a laundry basket back to the laundry room.  Yes I was seeing what I needed to finish and organized things as I went.  Thus the knitting room got a small reorganization.

Knitting waited until dinner time.  Then I finished 2 charity projects,  1 hat and 1 pounder scarf.   Then I cast on another pounder scarf and hat for my charity projects.  

Compression Gloves

 My rheumatologist has suggested wearing compression gloves when my hands are sore or when I am knitting. I bought the first version of compression gloves from The Milo Design. They are the most comfortable compression gloves that I have found.  They are made of nylon and are cooler to wear than other gloves that I have tried. Since I have ordered them they have gone through a design change that will make it easier for the yarn to flow through my fingers.  I will also be able to leave on my rings.  The picture below is of the original design.  The newest design is on the website.  As of today May 7th, 2025 they are on sale.  I don’t know how long the sale will last so act fast if you want the sale price.  Go to this link to access the site The Mailo Design.  They also have a coupon offer for 10% off your first order if you sign up for their email list.  

*****Disclosure: I have paid for the compression gloves myself and am not receiving any form of payment for my recommendation from Mailo Design. As I always recommend, please check with your medical professional to see if this is something that would benefit you. I am not giving medical advice. I am sharing my experience with The Mialo Design compression gloves..*****

Have a wonderful day. 

13

Thirteen. This is today’s total of bags of trash and recycling that left the house today. Both trash cans are almost full. I was not able to do my normal pantry cleaning last year so this today was a two year clean out. Since I have been low on spoons for over a year. There was a lot of cleaning to do. It took me 3 1/2 hours to get it all done in the end. I have a cleaner pantry. It looks less cluttered and I actually know what I have. As an added bonus. I even have one empty shelf.

Just with the heck of it, I did Three loads of laundry. There were two loads of hand wash, and one full load of dress clothes.

After all that, I thought I was going to have the energy to sit and knit or crochet all afternoon. After all, I do need to learn a new Tunisian crochet stitch. Instead, I rested, listening to a book and taking a nap. Not as productive as I wanted it to be today, but I did get a lot done.

Oh well there is always tomorrow.   

Unconscious decluttering

 I have lost something yet again. This lead to a 2 hour cleaning spree. Which lead to a giant pile of recycling for my husband to break down. More yarn being taken out of shopping bags and put into proper project bags. Which lead to more shopping bags no longer needed for yarn projects. Which lead to more laundry to do. It also added 3,800 steps to my day.  

Did I find the missing object? Of course not.  It will show up when and where I least expect it to.  

How is your day going?

Another one bites the dust.

 I have finished my fourth hat of the year. Of course it’s another charity hat. That means that I am at 71% of my goal of 24 finish projects this year. Depending on how I feel, I might even exceed my goal this year. I must knit faster winter is coming.

Pictures Taken

 

I have finally gotten around to taking pictures. In the above picture, there is one handwoven scarf, One crocheted scarf, and four knitted scarves. Also included our two of the three mud rugs that I have recently finished. They are now all logged in to ravelry so I have completed 16 out of 24 anticipated projects this year for 67% completed so far this year. They are all being put in the appropriate bags to leave the house.

I have had a lot of health issues this year, so I have not been doing much Crafting. I have mostly been resting this year, however, as I start to feel better, I’m starting to get things done and I’m going after my WIP’s So I can have a sense of accomplishment. I continue to empty the WIP basket. So this is a good start and as I get as I feel better, I’m hoping to accomplish more. 

All the above projects were stashed dive projects. So no new yarn was bought to complete them. Although  I still seem to be losing the stash war..

I still have good days and bad days. So some days, I don’t accomplish anything at all.

I hope everybody has a good holiday season and enjoy your friends and family.

*WIP is works in progress.  

Cooking More and other things

I have been feeling well enough to do more things like cooking. In the past 2 weeks I have cooked 5 times which resulted in 9 homemade dinners for my husband and myself.  The home cooking is great and some creative recipes have come into our dining rotation.  A new favorite is Scottish Loch Trout, which is similar in appearance to salmon but with an entirely different flavor and texture.  I am happy to report that the Scottish Loch Trout tasted even better the second night.  

You have guessed that there is a down side to all this cooking.  Yes, there is a downside. I plan my shopping trips early in the morning.  Then after the food is put away I take a 2 to 3 hour nap.  Wake up in time to start dinner and nap again while dinner is cooking.  

I am also working on a small shawl.  It has a 7 row repeat.  I find that since I am on the second skein of linen yarn I can only do 1 repeat of 7 rows a day.  That’s ok with me.  The shawl is slowly getting finished.  Any progress is good progress. 

As for house work it is all done in 5 to 10 minutes at a time followed by resting or a nap.  Sometimes I wonder if the old energizer bunny will ever return.  Other times I am grateful that I can get so much accomplished between my many rest and nap breaks throughout the day.  

A Fairly Good Day

 I managed to sprain my ankle yesterday.  Please don’t ask me how I did it.  I honestly don’t remember.  The good thing about the whole thing is that I managed to get my foot wrapped up all by myself.  This is the first time in years that I have been able to do that.  

I also managed to shop for and make dinner tonight. This is the second time this week.  We will eat the leftovers tomorrow night.  

Then the major accomplishment for the day was doing a Russian join on fingering weight linen yarn.  Even if I have to say so myself. The join came out fairly smooth and flat.  Once knit in I personally don’t think anyone will notice it especially from 5 feet away.  

The Trouble With Cooking Beef Stew

 I made a beef stew for dinner from scratch today.  Hours later the house still has the wonderful smell of beef stew.  It is making it hard to fall asleep.  The recipe I used is below.  

Beef Stew

1 pound of flank steak cubed

1 large onion peeled and diced

1 pound of carrots peeled and sliced. 

1 whole celery cleaned and sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil 

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound frozen mixed vegetables 

Water as needed

1 Le Creuset soup pot*

Heat the olive oil in the Le Creuset soup pot over a medium heat.  Add the flank steak, salt and pepper.  Brown the meat.  Add the diced onion.  Cook until the onion is translucent.  Add the carrots and celery. Cover with water and bring to a boil.  Turn the temperature down to medium low.  Simmer for 3 hours or longer if you have time.   Add the mixed frozen vegetables. Cook for an additional 30 minutes.  

Refrigerate the leftovers and you have a delicious meal for the next night.  

Makes 5 to 6 servings.  

*I used my Le Creuset soup pot for this recipe.  My husband bought it for me when we no longer need the 7 1/2 quart pot. I am not receiving any compensation from the Le Creuset company for my recommendation.  I just think it makes a better pot choice and I am less likely to burn the stew with a heavier pot. I also love the even heating.  

Feeling Better

 The new medication is amazing.  I am slowly, but faster than last time, feeling better.  I am slowly getting my energy back.  I am playing catch up right and left.  I can even drive myself to the store, do the shopping and still have enough energy to drive home.  Naps are less frequent, which is a good thing.  I am sleeping more at night.  

That being said I am still hopping from project to project.  I still have a very short attention span. Occasionally finishing one every few days.  Maybe this will actually help lower my UFO pile. I can at least hope that will be the case.  

TTFN, I have a sweater to pull out of the hand wash sink before bed.  

Another Project is Finished

 Another project bites the dust and goes into the storage bag until October or November when it will get delivered to the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.  This is the second completed scarf and the 7th completed item for the year.  I have less energy right now, so things are going very slowly.  

This came off the loom a few days ago, then it was wash and thwacked. Rinsed and hung to dry. Today I did the trimming  and took its picture.  It will probably go to a high school student. As you can probably tell it is another stash buster scarf.  

Spin Together 2025 Has Ended

 My total spinning for Spin Together 2025. 

8 ounces of plyed yarn.  I did not check my mileage before washing.  

1 ounce on a Navajo made bottom whorl spindle.  My first spin on a bottom whorl spindle.  

1/2 ounce on another bottom whorl spindle.  

I do think that I like bottom whorl spindles.  

Also after the yarn bath, my hand wash sink turned purple.  The only thing that got the excess dye off was Comet Cleanser with bleach.  Now I can wash an ecru linen shirt tomorrow.  

That is one full bobbin.  

The Next Bobbin

 Today I started the next bobbin for Spin Together 2025.  

Time to Pivot

 For Spin Together 2025, I had originally planned to master the supported spindle spinning.  My body however had very strong reservations on the subject. So today I did a major pivot and  looked in my fiber stash and choose 2 color coordinated roving’s that I bought at my favorite Local Yarn Store, Grandma’s Spinning Wheel . By the way I am on the Grandma’s Spinning Wheel team  for Spin Together 2025. 

I switched to my Hansen mini pro e-spinner. Since I was not planning to use my e-spinner this week, I spent the morning finishing up some quick plying and skeined in the yarn off the bobbins.  I do not have enough bobbins to cover unplanned projects. Of course the four skeins had to have a bath and are now drying in the garage. You can find Hansen Crafts at this link.  I do love my Hansen e-spinner.  One of the best things about it is that I can use it when I am in a flare up and can’t use my Louet Victoria or Lendrum DT.  It’s the whole bit that I must rest as much as possible during a flare up. But as long as I am not treadling I can still spin.  

I am a little over 1/3 of the way through my first roving.  This is my spin from this afternoon.