38 years ago John and I got married by a small lake in California complete with ducks. Our kids took us on fabulous adventures. We had lots of fun along the way. There was some hard stuff too, but we got through it as a team. I can still manage to surprise him too. So a very Happy Anniversary to my taller half. Yes I was wearing 2 inch heels in the picture.
I want to send a really Big Thank You to the Google Docs Team. I have been using it for a few day and I never had to go to my personal technology support team. This is pretty good for an artist. I am typing up a new knitting pattern. Things went much more smoothly than on the other word processing app that I had been using since the kids were in elementary school and we still had dial up on A.O.L. Yeah, that long ago. I still have to get help with that one sometimes.
I really like the light / dark contrast. It was very easy to see. Now I have to admit that I did the engineering thing and jumped in without reading the directions. I was able to find most everything I needed with just a little looking around. I will look around to see if I can adjust the pica on the finished pattern. I write patterns for knitters with learning disabilities and things like post stroke. A larger font size is mandatory especially for my older eyes.
I have not gotten use to making edits with my pen straight on to my iPad Air yet. So I printed out the pattern and got my blue pen ready. I made the edit’s on paper and then went back to the pattern to make the corrections. You do have to understand that it is easier to hold a pen, knitting and writing then holding knitting and typing. In my humble opinion that is not bad for someone who learned to type on an Underwood typewriter built in the 1940,s.
Thank you again for a job well done.
It was time to wash couch pillows today. The only hitch was that after a decade the liner of one pillow exploded in the washing machine. Yes, it was a tall persons job to clean up. Unless I am in at least 2 inch heals or standing on a step stool,I can not reach the bottom on the washer. These new high capacity washing machines are not made for short people. So tomorrow I get to go to Joann’s, I will be fully masked. I will be getting a new pillow liner. Maybe even some leather to fix my swift.
Aside from that it was grocery shopping day. At least the people who were not wearing masks did not snicker today. I also got a nap this afternoon. I was so tired that I did not move the entire time I was asleep. I woke up in the same exact position I fell asleep in.
The numbers for today.
The 4th day of 2022 over 100f in Tucson.. it’s going to be a long hot summer.
The 20th day in a row that I walked 5,000 steps or more I am beginning to feel better on most days
Version 1.0 of my fingerless gloves has failed. I now know why designers tend to go very short on the fingers it takes a lot of shaping to make it fit right. The good news is I know how to do that. The good news is that the pattern until the thumb is a perfect fit.
So now I am in the process of typing up the pattern and will make the changes to the pattern as I go. My daughter suggested the Google writing application. I am somewhat nervous about trying new things. That being said we raised a very smart daughter and she is generally right about stuff like this because she uses it more. She and her dad are new technology all the way. Where as fiber arts by it’s very nature seems to be old technology even if I use a 3D printed drop spindle. By the way there are still a few of John’s drop spindle designs at Grandmas Spinning Wheel here in Tucson is you want to get one. They are the only place that they are sold. They can also be special ordered in a color to match your Knitty Noddy.
Sorry I squirrel on you. I have found away to knit with my right arm pretty straight so I will start the redesign tomorrow. Below is the failed glove. See if you can find the design errors. I know of at least 6. Can you find more?
I had a rare quiet day at home. So before breakfast I ran the foot and calf massager. Then over breakfast I made my to do list in hopes that the Tylenol would kick in so I could try and finish my list. I worked on it till exhaustion caught up with me. I then crashed and took a nap. I don’t care what anyone says, adults need naps. I got a few more things done after my nap. When John got home I took another break and watched one of my shows.
I did not make 10,000 steps today but will settle for 6,000.
Today is the 1st day since I got sick in November that I walked over 10,000 steps. I also picked out and ordered 2 pairs of new glasses. Seriously it took less than an hour to choose both pair. Got my 4th COVID19 booster. Was not tired most of the day. Walked up hill without having to stop to catch my breath.
What more could I want except being able to knit again.
Today I felt like I did when the kids were little. I had 2 doctors appointment’s, did 2 errands and was so tired that I skipped the last 2 errands of the day. I was too tired to cook dinner, so John took us out to Cafe Ole for their wonderful Chicken and rice soup with a salad.
After dinner we took a walk to LeeLee’s and found some duck eggs. The perfect end to a busy day.
I packed up the last bag of hand spun yarn, even some of my art yarn today. It is heading to the Flagstaff Wool and Fiber Festival, which is the first weekend in June. Merino y Vino will have it in her booth. This is a rare opportunity to get some of my hand spun yarn. Most are one of a kind. Combined with Merino y Vino’s yarn you can knit, spin, crochet or weave a one of a kind creation.
There are going to be a lot of classes and demonstrations. A lot of local crafts people and fiber artist. For more information go to the website for Flagstaff Wool and Fiber Festival. This will have something for everyone.
Of course if you can’t wait Merino y Vino has a shop on Etsy where you can find her small batch dyed yarn. She can work with you on special orders and customize yarn. Merino y Vino is the dyer of my Square Dance scarf pattern on Raverly. If there are no kits in the shop she can make one for you in the color of your choice, please allow extra time for dyeing the special order yarn.
Thank you for supporting local hand made items.
I had an early Mother’s Day. It was nice sharing brunch with the adult kids over face time. Happy Mother’s Day to all he mothers out there. I had a great day.
Package B that was supposed to arrive on Monday arrived tonight. Package A that was supposed to be delivered today will arrive tomorrow. So my Mothers Day present from John will arrive on time.
In other news my body and I are not on speaking terms today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.
If you recall I had a problem with a ChaioGoo knitting needle. My local yarn store owner let me know that ChaioGoo guarantees their product. All you need to do is bring it in to where you bought it and they will replace it. On a very busy local yarn shop day Vicky exchange the needle for me. This is the first time that that has ever happened with a knitting needle in 22 years of knitting. I do tend to wear out knitting needles with high usage. I was very surprised and grateful. A special thank you goes out to Vicky of Grandma’s Spinning Wheel here in Tucson.
This week we decided to clean out under each sink in the house. 5 cabinets in all. So Tuesday I emptied all of them into laundry baskets. 2 baskets for the kitchen and one for each of the other cabinets. I think this should be done more often than I currently do it. I found empty containers, half filled bottles and boxes, and more than a few cleaning rags. This afternoon we put everything back. John volunteered to do the kitchen,By the way he is great at organizing things. We each did 2 cabinets. That leaves the 5th cabinet. While emptying the cabinet out I discovered that the towels felt crunchy, like they were put away wet. Not in this house. Then the towels started sticking to the wood. Not a good sign. Then I got to the bottom of the cabinet and they were hard to pull out. Underneath all the towels was discolored wood. Apparently the sink had been leaking and we did not notice because of the almost 2 foot layer of towels. Being one to divide up chores I took washing the 3 loads of towels with bleach and hot water. Then I got to fold them. I know that I could probably pin point the leak and try to fix it myself, but not this week. So John it going to tackle the leak and clean off the wood. Then I can put everything back together.
As of Monday afternoon I am on a temporary knitting hiatus again. My right elbow is giving me trouble. Next week will involve a test to see where we go from here. Because of all the cleaning of the past 2 days I have not gone through knitting withdrawal yet. I have been too busy. I did however ask John if he was really sure if he wanted me to passenger without my knitting. He was very brave to let me in the car without my knitting.
I am trying coloring in a coloring book to keep me distracted when I want to knit. I am doing really well with my left hand. I am staying in the lines. Playing with colors. Dropping a few colored pencils under the couch. I will pick them up when I have dropped a few more so I have plenty of colors to play with. I am going for abstract in the picture I an currently working on.
Well it has been a long week and it’s only Wednesday. So I am calling it an early night.
After a bad morning dealing with getting older and still feeling very trapped by COVID19. I resorted to binge cleaning after lunch. I did a pretty good job. I filled the green rollout recycling bin 1/2 way full and added one trash bag to the garbage rollout. That made me feel a little better.
After dinner I finished the same gloves I made a few months ago in pink. The picture is below. This time I kept copious notes and they were 1/2 inch too short. So doing my thing, I will rewrite the pattern to suit my needs. If they turn out good, I will type the pattern up. Wish me luck.
Yesterday afternoon John and I went on a nearly impossible quest. To find tennis shoes that I could put on by myself without help. It involved going to 3 different shoe stores and buying something I was not expecting to get. I was expecting to buy another pair of Finn Comfort shoes. Or something similar.
The first 2 stores were a total wash out. I was ready to go home and take a nap. Thank goodness John was driving because the next shoe store was on the east side of Tucson. We went to a locally owned shoe store called Alan’s Shoes on Speedway. I first tried on the Finn Comfort shoes and found out for closed toed shoes you have to go up one size which they did not have. Apparently in Tucson these shoes are considered fall / winter shoes only.
So I explained to the very knowledgeable sales woman that the arthritis was getting worse in my hands and I really wanted a pair of tennis shoes that I could put on by myself. She asked if I had any objections to New Balance Shoes and I said no. So she went to the back and found a pair of shoes she thought would work.
She came out with the New Balance shoes pictured below. They are model WW813HWT Walking Shoes. As you can see they have a long strap made with Velcro. Don’t cut the strap as it will make it easier to put the shoes on. The secret to putting them on is to open them as wide as possible. Slip my foot in then tilt my foot towards the heel of the shoes to make sure I am are all the way back. Then just pull the straps starting with the toe strap first.
I can put them on by myself I wore them shopping today. They did not exactly go with my dress . They were comfortable although a higher arch support would be nice. That however is a tiny problem
If you can’t get them at your local store Alan’s shoes has a website. I used it during the pandemic and they were fast and efficient. Alan’s Shoes is a link to their website.
The day was spent doing a little cleaning, laundry,and knitting. A lot of time was spent Zenning. We also went to a store that claimed that they just got a shipment of Tilly hats and had one in John’s size. A knock of is not a Tilly hat with proper ventilation. A tiring but productive day.
I am about to start my next project. I had to steal a pro owl from my weaving supplies because the skein of yarn is so big. Updates to follow.
The picture of Grandma’s Summer Shawl in yarn I spun. Fiber from Cloudlover in 50 % merino and 50% silk. I also won yarn chicken. The tiny ball in the center is all the yarn I have left. The pattern is available on Raverly and Love Crafts dot com.
I finished the shawlette at 9pm tonight. Alas it was to dark to take pictures. I also won yarn chicken. I did not even have enough yarn left over for an extra row.
I also did something I have not done since March of 2020. I went to Starbucks, ordered a tea. Yes I sat on the lovely patio in the shade. I had the patio to myself. I listened to my book and got a whole lot of knitting done. I also got to the post office and gas station. The gas was down to $4.79 a gallon. Then it was time to go home and do a couple of loads of laundry. A little picking up too.
There is an old adage in knitting circles. When a project looks almost finished. When someone asks how much more knitting do you have to go? The response is always holding up the last of the yarn and saying this much. Well tonight is my this much moment on Grandmas Summer Shawl in my own hand spun yarn. Ooo’s and awe’s welcome. Tomorrow morning I will finish it and block it.
Last nights dinner did not sit well on my tummy. So instead of errands I relaxed and knit. You can see progress on the shawl. I am about to add the last skein of hand span yarn to this project. I did manage to make a color change on the 5 foot long scarf. So very visible progress there.
I am going to call it an early night.
These are my current couch works in progress. These are the projects that I work on at night while watching television. One wash cloth, One drop spinning project. One shawl in the Indigodragonfly bag that I am making with hand spun yarn. One scarf destined to be 60 inches long, yes I have a bit to go.
I delivered this completed baby blanket to the mom to be today. Just 2 weeks before the baby is due.
I had an incredibly bad night, followed by a BBD with a pain level of crying. I still managed to sew 2 pillows to be filled and filled 2. This leaves me with one pillow to add my yarn scraps to. The pillows are loaded in the back of my car. Yes this is the 3rd charity trip in the last 7 days. I am on a roll. I thought I would be able to make more pillows but the green one is very large. There is just no comparison on the sizes. Off to the shelter they go tomorrow.
