Impromptu Improvement

 Today’s impromptu improvement is a COVID19 work at home issue.  John’s computer chair has seen better days.  The duck tape covered arm rests were becoming sticky.  So with a large fabric scrap and no pattern a solution was implemented.  

I took measurements and added a bit of wiggle room for seams.  Then elastic was pulled through, chinched and sewn.  Pulling the elastic through was the hardest part of the project. It really put my hands to the test with the upholstery fabric.  Pulling the elastic through also took the most time.  

John was surprised that I came up and implemented the solution so quickly.  Although I did not get it finished before his nap ended. He really likes the end result. Sorry the pictures are in the wrong order.  

An Empty Nest

 The best part about being an empty nester is that I can hang freshly spun yarn in the kids bathroom for as long as I want.  I get to look at the new skeins and decide what they should be. Even think about if I should stash dive for similar color ways to spin more for a bigger project. With absolutely no one saying that they need the shower, you have to move your yarn.

Ground Hog Day Perhaps

 The monotony of COVID19 has settled in.  Get up. Walk around the block.  Eat breakfast. Do chores. Knit a hat. Maybe spin some yarn. Eat lunch . Listen to a book and knit. Eat dinner. Go for a walk around the block. Also binge watching television shows, some from the last century. 3 months down about 18 months to go. Can I do this, that depends on the day. Really it does.  I am almost out of deep cleaning.  I am waiting for cooler temperatures to tackle the garage.  How is everyone one else doing?

Relaxing

 I spent the day relaxing.  I played chicken with a bobbin of yarn that I was plying and won.  I washed enough hand spun yarn for a nice woven shawl.  I spent a lot of time spinning.  I am thinking of using the lighter colors for a sweater, but do I start it now or when I reach the next size down?  I even found time to knit a little.  

Our big treat of the day was a trip to the post office to mail some letters.  When then drove around to see what was still open.  We lead such an exciting life.  

New Patterns

 I published 2 new knitting patterns this week. They are available on Raverly and LoveKnitting.com.  

The first is called Square Dance. Pictured below.  This is a scarf with 3 special yarns dyed by Lily of Merinoyvino on Etsy.  Only one skein is needed unless you want a longer scarf.  

The second is called Trisha’s Shawl. This started out as a table runner but morphed into a shawl for summer.  The yarn is called Anne and is available at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson, Arizona. If you don’t live locally in Tucson, Vicky will ship the yarn to you.  

These are fun and easy projects that would make great holiday gifts.  

 

Worn Out DPN’s

 Well it is that time again.  I have worn out another set of U.S. size 13 (9.0mm) rosewood double pointed knitting needles.  Because I knit so many hats a year my wooden knitting needles tend to wear out fairly quickly.   I like rosewood because they last longer than the much less expensive bamboo needles.  I usually can get 50 to 60 hats out of the bamboo knitting needles.  I can usually get a 2 to 3 of years out of the rosewood knitting needles.  

By worn out I really mean that the wood is splintering.   No amount of sanding or beeswax will fix them at this point.  I really hate splinters and I don’t want the kids to get them either.  So I pulled out my spares and will throw out the much loved double pointed knitting needles.  Then I will look for a good sale to replace my spares.  

Hats and More

 I am busy knitting scrappy hats for the kids. I decided not to pull a big tub out for the small leftover bits of yarn this year.  When I reached 2 project bags full of small balls of yarn it was scrappy hat time. I am almost 3/4 way through the first bag.  I finished my 75th hat for the year tonight and have 3 more in progress on the knitting needles.

I am also on a spinning binge. I am currently using the last of my Louet Victoria bobbins. I suggested to John that he make me a few more. He gently suggested that I ply and skein up the yarn to get more bobbin space. So after I finish filling my last bobbin, I will set up my Louet Victoria for plying.  

You all know that this will lead to more weaving of shawls and scarf's. I am not sure what I will do with most of them, as I do not see any art shows or gallery showings in my future.  Oh well, it's not like we have any travel plans in the near future.  I have got to keep myself busy.  Besides shawls, hats and scarfs take up less space than fiber or yarn.

Even More Hats

 The next 15 hats are finished.  This brings me up to 70 hand knit hats for the year, of which 65 go to the kids clothing bank. This batch is all cotton. 

More Hats

 I was not on my game today. So my solution was to knit and get up and walk every few hours to walk around the house.  The end result was three new hats for my favorite charity and 10,000 steps.  So I made the best of a bad body day.  

Bingeing Again

 Well I am bingeing on hats again. It was over 107f today.  What else can I knit in the heat? I am knitting at least one hat a day. I also have 3 hats currently in progress. One in the knitting room. 2 in the den. All the hats are being knit on different sized knitting needles with different yarn weights.  Which begs the question, do I have enough 16 inch knitting needles in enough sizes? Double pointed knitting needles are not a problem, I have 2 boxes full of them.  The answer might just be no.  

The Knitting Room is Back

 The knitting room is back. I knit hat number 58 of 2020 while listening to The Darwin Affair by Tim Mason on audiobook. This is a great summer read set in Victorian England. 

Waiting for Supplies

 I am spending about 2 1/2 hours a day cleaning up the mess I made by wanting a second shoe rack and storage boxes.  Today I organized my shawl collection, I really think I need to knit other things. I found a place on the shelf’s for my double pointed knitting needles. Put smaller project bags in a repurposed hanging shoe bag. 

In addition to cleaning, I filled up the back of my car with snacks for Eric’s old day program and dropped them off. After lunch John and I made a Goodwill run.  The the rest of the day was spent on laundry and knitting.  

All and all a good day.  

The Dangers of Shoe Racks

 If you give a mom a shoe rack.

She will find that not all of her shoes fit.

She will want another shoe rack.

So she will have to clean her closet to make room.

She will have to find a new home for her drop spindles. 

Then rearrange another closet before she can move things.

She will find enough stuff to fill three boxes for charity.

She will make the dad drop it off that very day.

Then she will have to organize two baskets full of fiber and a three drawer basket cart full of fiber.

She will find a missing Turkish Drop Spindle.

This will lead to a bedspread needing to be washed, but that's another story.

The cart fits where it is supposed to go. Happy dance!

But wait, there is a pile of stuff that needs new homes, both in and out of the house. 

After two and a half hours mom is too tired to move.

There is still not enough room in the closet for a shoe rack.

One room is clean.

One room is a big mess in progress, watch where you step and turn on the light before you enter.

Just who's idea was it to let mom have a new shoe rack anyway?

We might as well let mom have the second shoe rack.

Let's just wait and see what leaves the house to make room for the second shoe rack. 

More on The Dangers of Shoe Racks tomorrow. 

Zenning My Closet

 Today I tackled part of my closet and put a new and bigger shoe rack in.  The sad news is all my shoes did not fit. So tomorrow I will do another round of zenning to see if I can make room for another shoe rack.  In the meantime I have filled another box for Goodwill.  

My drop spindles have found a new home along side or rather above the computer  I really think I need to order some wood conditioner for them too, some are in need of a good polishing  

I am feeling a little better each day.  I have tweaked my diet again.  I think it is working, although I should really give it a solid month to know for sure. 

Doing Better

I am finally feeling better. This is the best day I’ve had since I got food poisoning last month. I spent the morning doing errands. I picked up my remaining scarfs from the art gallery because it is closing at the end of the month.  Although it’s still scares me to leave the confines of the house I did wear mask and gloves. This afternoon I spent doing some organizing and made a lot of progress. My new rolling cart for the craft room came today and John assembled it for me. I am now ready  to work again. 

I hope to have an even better day tomorrow. I’m calling it an early night.

Feeling Yucky

I am still feeling pookey and tired, but I managed to do a little cleaning and my 10,000 steps.  

Finally

We finally got rain today. The bulk of the rain fell in about a half an hour. In that half an hour we got an inch and a half of rain and by dinner time the total was 2 inches of rain. It was a little bit too muggy to do any knitting today. So I spent the morning vacuuming up the dust bunnies and doing some deep cleaning. A lot of Zenning was started. This afternoon I worked on organizing the craft/storage room. I found some yarn that I didn’t even know I had. I also found a couple of projects that I lost. I started a new load of stuff for Goodwill too.   I am sure that I have a volunteer to drop it off for me. Tomorrow I’ll get out the big loom and start a shawl.  

Spinning Wheel Problems

I feel screwed right now.  On top of going crazy being stuck at home due to COVID19, I have managed to break both of my spinning wheels.  On the Louet Victoria I broke the footman connector, it snapped right off. It broke into pieces.  The Lendrum has footman problems, the squeak so much it’s impossible to spin with John in the room.  It squeaks at the wrong frequency for him.  Nothing to do but wait for parts.  Sigh. 

Spinning Again

I feel out of shape.  My hands and shoulders are tired after only plying one bobbin of yarn.  It’s either the months long hiatus from spinning because my hands did not work followed by a long recovery.  It also might be the Sojourns flare up cased by food poisoning last weekend. All I know is that it is going to be an interesting journey with lots of pictures.  There also might be a few redesigns of yarn on the way.  The yarn I plyed tonight was supposed to be a fractal spin, but is was so long since I spun it, I plyed it with turquoise silk in a 2 / 20 weight instead.   It came out wonderful.   

Pictures tomorrow.  

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Last night we thought it might be a good idea to skip cooking for one night and help a local Tucson restaurant.  Although the food tasted great and we only ate a small portion of the food we bought, hours later both John and I were sick.  It might take a few days to recover.  So much for doing the right thing.  Sighs.  A day of napping. 

How Much is to Much?

How much knitting is to much right now for me. Apparently 3 hours.  Don’t get me wrong my hand did fine.  It just that my last arthritis flare up left me with some sore tendons in my right shoulder.  Spinning seemed to helpful, but I can not figure out why my Lendrum DT has squeaky treadles. I am wondering if I have worn out some parts. I may just have to Google that one.  Although if you have the answer please let me know.  Otherwise, I might have to spin in another room.  

More Deep Cleaning

Today I did what every empty Nester should be doing. I went through a box of old paperwork and got rid of it. Don’t tell John but I plan on using the empty box for fiber stuff.  I landed up filling five bags of recycling and getting it out of the house. If you are an empty Nester, I challenge you to get rid of all your old paperwork and shred it.  After all do you really need the donation letters from when the kids were in elementary school or high school?

I really couldn’t get into knitting or spinning today. So I guess deep cleaning was progress of some sort.

Wrapped in Love

I know it was 113f outside today. I was still cold and achy.  So I wrapped myself in the Virus Shawl that was made for me by my friend Inge and took a long nap.  I felt like I was wrapped up in love.  I felt better afterwards.  

I am still not at 100%, and flare ups have a way of making me tired and achy.  So having a couple of extra naps today was great.  

The Virus Shawl pattern is available on Raverly.  

The Arthritis Won Today

Sheri 0 - Arthritis 1.  To make a long story short by the numbers.  Laundry 2 loads. Naps 2. Steps 10,000.  Nothing else got done today.  

I Am in Better Shape

Today after our morning 2 mile walk, I had a glass of water and proceeded to clean house for an hour.  I had 8,300 steps by 10:30 am.  I finished the day with 14,396 steps which is 5.58 miles and 66 active minutes.  I don’t think I could have done that in March.  

The only down side was that by using my hands for cleaning the house, I could not knit today.  I am hoping that as my hand heals this will not be the case.   

Games

I might have lost it tonight. I was playing Ever Merge on my tablet and Harry Potter Wizards Unite on my cellphone.  I managed to make progress on both games.  They work well in tandem.  

Purging my closet and more

Today the stitches came out. My mouth feels better but is still sore. The next check up is in three weeks. The doctor says that it looks like it’s healing well.

I went through the shirts in my closet today. I made a basket full of clothes that were too big mostly shirts, They will be going to Goodwill as soon as I’m finished going through everything. Some of the shirts that I thought we’re gonna be too big actually look better now than when I bought them. Although some of them are 6 to 12 inches longer than they used to be. The skirts left my closet 2 weeks ago.  

I am still taking it slow to give my hand and mouth time to heal. So I am moving at the pace of a turtle. I’m getting plenty of rest, but not so much rest as to be bored out of my mind. I started working on a new pattern in positive and Negative. I did not realize how complicated doing just squares and rectangles could be when writing a pattern. This is something I used to do I was walking around the mall and not thinking about what I was knitting.  Now that I have to think about it all I can say is wow.

Feeling Better

I am starting to feel better after my dental surgery. Almost human again.  I have worked out a new pattern conundrum.  Listening to a book and still resting.  I am doing light chores. And still working on my hand physical therapy.  I even walk about 5,000 steps today. 

My Question of the Day is?

I have a very interesting question. I’ve been walking a long time to get in better shape. When my step goal was 8000 steps a day I struggled to make the 8000 steps a day. However, when I switch my step goal to 10,000 steps today I seem to be exceeding it almost every day. I am totally confused by this. Does anybody else have the same issue?

I Am Getting Restless

I still can’t knit following surgery.  My hand was too sore to do much spinning today, or any spinning for that matter. So I did a lot of pacing around the house and racked up 5 3/4 miles which is 13,652 steps.  I have to honestly say my hand is doing a lot better. I can do more, but no knitting yet.  Hopefully soon.  

Progress

I have made progress today, even though my stitches don’t come out till Wednesday. I managed to spin a half an ounce of fiber into yarn. I spun half a rolag from Mirla Fiber Arts. I did stop before I felt pain.  You can find her fibers on Instagram. Jenny does not always have her shop open. When it is open you can get beautifully blended rolags , batts and jewelry.  

Success

I don’t know if I’m the only one losing inches during this pandemic. I finally got up the courage to order some skirts that fit. Of course they are one size smaller than I wore before. I have to admit that I ordered one to see if it fit, then I ordered a few more from the same manufacture. I really had a hard time shopping online because I really like going into the stores and trying on the clothes before I buy them. Now I won’t have to wash clothes every few days.  It feels really good to have clothes that fit. The skirts sit on my waist instead of my rib cage. The next thing to tackle is a few pairs of shoes. This is really scary.

My hand is slowly healing.As predicted I am very bored without my knitting. I can’t do much until the stitches come out. I hope I can do physical therapy at home. It just scares me to go into the unknown to have my hand worked on. 

Well it’s time to call it a night so that John and I can go on early morning work tomorrow.Success

105f Today Or Hats by the Dozen

What do I do I knit when it’s 105f out? I knit winter hats. You all know that I don’t think summer is long enough.  Pretty soon it will be in the 70’s and the cold weather gear will come out. I am with in knitting distance of 4 dozen hats knit this year.  The earliest it has ever happened.  That means I only need to knit 16 more hats to make my minimum goal of 5 dozen hats. To me that means 60 heads will be warmer this winter.  I wonder if I will make it to a bakers dozen of hats this year. In case you were wondering a bakers dozen is 13 of any baked good.  So that is 12 x 13 or 156 hats which is my all time record.
Stay safe and have some home bound summer fun.

Monday’s Rollercoaster

Today was a roller coaster with some very good highs.  Seven bags made it into the recycling bin, I am hopeful it will squish down if necessary.  One additional bag of trash made it out of the house along with a broken piece of pool equipment from the pump area into the trash.

On the down sloop I started dropping stitch’s on a lace work pattern that I am working on and put it away for the day.  I have 3 hats in progress and could not seem to finish just one.  I meandered my way through the house doing a little throwing and putting things away.  Not much progress was made.

I will end on a good note of walking over 13,000 steps and over 5 miles today.  So goodnight and stay safe.

Number 50

My 50th project for 2020 was a charity hat and the 41st hat I knit this year. I have used about 75 skeins of yarn and have not made a dent in my yarn stash.  So I will keep knitting.

Knitting Scrappy Hats

I have finished six scrappy hats since May 15. It seems that the scrap yarn is multiplying. For every hat I make there just seems to be more yarn left to knit.  The yarn scraps are from other hats that didn’t require a full skein of yarn. I take all the partial skins and put them in one or two bags depending on the size of the skeins of yarn. This often leads to more than one hat being on the needles at a time. I currently have two scrappy hats in progress.

Maybe I shouldn’t of waited until the bags were overflowing before I started knitting the scrappy hats.  In the picture below you will see the two current hats in progress and the two bags of scraps. I really want to get to knitting other hats, but this will only lead to more partial skeins and more scrappy hats.  So I will trudge on and try to finish as many scrappy hats as I can.  I don’t think it will be more than a dozen more hats before the bags are empty. Then I will go back to knitting full skein hats until the bags fill up again. This seems to be my endless cycle.

This is how I am spending my COVID19 summer vacation. What interesting things are you doing?

3 for 3

Today was the third day in a row that we made charity drops.  Today we filled the back of my car to capacity with dog pillows for the animal shelter.  There were 9 in all plus a few odds and ends. Thank to new donation procedures we did not even have to get out of the car. We just popped the hatch and they took what would have been several trips for us. I did not even have to stop knitting. The result is a much cleaner craft room.  Although I still need to vacuum.

I also tried starting my day with a walk around the block, that seemed to help my mood. We also cleaned out part of the garage and put the new patio umbrella up.  All in all a good day.

Busy

Today was filled with grocery shopping, charity drop offs, knitting and celebrating.   I know a very odd combination but it worked.  I even managed to fill the back of my car with a charity donation.  Yeah for us, less stuff in the house and garage.  I need to see what other charities have curb side drop off.

In knitting, I finished one hat and started another.   Different colors though.

We also celebrated COVID19 style with curb side delivery and immediately put the food in a hot oven when we got home.

A good day was had by all.

BingingHave a great day.

I am currently binging on hats with my knitting. I started three hats and finished 2 today.  I am almost done with the next dozen hats. Only three more hats to go.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there, Have a great day.

Moving Forward

After resolving some issues in my mind last night. I was able to move forward today.  I made some crafting decisions like if I make rag rugs in the future, I will just order the supplies needed.  The reasoning behind this is takes an awful lot of work to turn old t-shirts into useable weaving fiber.  People love the idea of a recycled rag rug, but the don’t want to spend more than $20 or so one one.  Because I was using some recycled material they think that they should be able to pay less, but the warp alone usually runs about $20.  If I am going to work at a loss it has to be better than decorating someone else’s house cheaply.  So the t-shirts were torn up for dog pillows.   

I did manage to sew 2 face masks and start 3 dog pillows. I think I can get a few masks sew every day too.   I should be able to get at least 6 or 8 dog pillows done with this batch.  Yes, I called the Humane Society and they would love more of my pillows.  I don’t even have to go inside to drop them off.  I have also gathered enough yarn to make 2 cotton scrappy hats for the clothing bank.  The next hat has a rolled brim. 

I also think that it is time to create a spreadsheet for grocery shopping and what we have in the house.  I think the Excel Spread Sheet should work.  Well another busy day tomorrow.  Stay safe.  

Steps

I looked down at my steps and wondered how I got over 8,500 steps today. I goal alarm did not even go off. My day was filled with chores, knitting and taking to Teri.  A good dY all around.

Stay safe.  

The Big Reveal

As those of you that have been following my blog for a while, you know that my long term goal is to have less of me and to feel better.  I started out as a size 4X and with small changes such as giving up high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners and moving more. I have been tweaking my everything  since June 2009.  You can go back and see all the tweaks if you would like.

It has not been easy. There were set backs along the way. There is no fast fix.  I kept at it for over a decade.  Today is a really big day for me.  This is the first dress that I have worn since so last century that has not had an x before or after a number or letter.  I have finally gotten into a regular size large.   Yes this looks like an X-Large that I have been wearing for a few years. With COVID19 in all it’s, I don’t know. What I have not been able to do is celebrate properly by going out shopping.  So I headed to eBay and found a dress that I already had in my closet in a size smaller.  The only difference is the empire waist is in the right spot on the large dress and around my waist on the X-Large dress.

This is not the end of the journey. This is a milestone to be celebrated.  So celebrate with me as I show you my new to me dress.  Join me in my journey if you would like.  I have miles to walk and more inches to lose.  I would like to lose about 4 more inches around my rib cage and drop another few sizes and at least 50 more pounds. I say wish me luck, but there is no luck in longer term body reshaping, only hard work one day and one mile at a time.  

Knitting Hats by the Dozen

In order not to give everyone hat fatigue, I will only post 1 picture for every dozen hats. That means 10 more hats to knit before the next picture.  Also hats will only be knit in the den.  I have a better set up for patterns that I need to follow instructions on in the craft room. Next to my rocking chair, I have a music stand to hold my patterns.  It is wonderful.  I am wondering why this took me 20 years to figure out.

Anyway it’s late and we should all be asleep.  Stay safe.

Hats and More

Would you believe that 21 out of my 30 completed prior knitting projects this year were hats? If you know me the answer is is that all you’ve made so far? I am knitting hats like crazy and hoping that school will resume in the fall. Three of the 21 hats were gifts so that leaves so far 19 hats for the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank.  If school does not resume it is my hope that the wonderful superintendent Dr. Baker will be able to get the hats to the kids who need them. So I keep knitting. I also started the dozen bag today. This is the bag that keeps the clutter out of the den. When I have a dozen hats they go in to this bag and into a closet until school starts in the fall.

I also took the plunge and ordered some smaller clothing on line today.  I hope that they all fit.  For those keeping track, I have lost 8 inches off my rib cage and lots of inches in other places and 50ish pounds since 2009 when I started the make Sheri healthier project.  I have also gone from a 4x, I really don’t know how I let it go so far out of wack, to ordering a size large.  I know each store, designer and chain store have their own size scales.  This is crazy, right?   Today I ordered a size small (another division of the chain this would be a large or extra large) from one store and a regular larger from another.

Today was a relatively good day. Stay safe and stay 6 feet apart. Hat 21 is sideways.  

A Political Post

I don’t know how so many people shop on line for clothing.  I have only shopped for clothing on line after I tried it on in the store and wanted a second one or a different color.  With my clothing growing bigger every week and COVID-19, I might not have a choice.   The thought just scares me. What if I pick the wrong size or I just don’t like the way it looks.  What then?  The thought of shopping on line is panic attack worthy.

So here is what I need everyone to do.  Get out you magic wands or lucky rocks, and pray that the scientists find a vaccine for this scourge.  We need more people like Bill and Melinda Gates to step up, because Washington has become so patrician that the public be dammed.  I find it very sad that companies have to advise people not to follow what comes out at the daily press briefings because it will kill them as it has here In Arizona.  Can someone have the courage to say we are handing this off to the CDC, NIH and have Bill Gates be the point man.  This may add some calmness to this chaotic situation. It might not get things fixed any faster but the anxiety levels would be lower. It would also eliminate the anxiety that the ignorant man is spewing just to hear himself talk and get his ratings.  

The above rant has nothing to do with a poorly written set of instructions that left me so frustrated that the words I was using would make a sailor blush.  Or that I have been so tense that my back has been in spasms for almost a week. Or that my clothing is falling down or going on a growth spurt all on its own.  You can’t tell me that you clothes never got longer between wearings.

By the way the recipe will be added tomorrow.  Life happened today.

Waiting for Ice Break

It is not quite 3 a.m.m and I am waiting for my sinuses to drain. The Palo Verde Trees are in bloom and the grass pollen is very high too.   This is all because I wanted to take a walk last night to get outside for a bit.  Really dumb, but it was so nice.

This is where Ice Break in Tucson comes in.  Ice break is when it reaches 100 degrees for the first time of the year. Legend has it this is when the ice breaks on the Rilito River.  Then sand trout fishing begins for the first time of the year in question. After 3 days of 100 degree days the pollen count drops really fast.  Then I can go out on my evening walks again without worrying about waking up at 3a.m. Sneezing with an ear ache or 2..

I did not plan far enough in advance to get some hard candy to help relieve the congestion.  I was more concerned with getting the basics at Trader Joe’s then the things I would need in April.  Well I think things finally cleared up enough to go back to sleep.

It Had to Happen

It’s been needed for over a month. The dreaded to do list. I think I need a little more structure in my life right now. A lot of structure has been missing since late November 2019.  So tonight I made my first to do list of the year.  Not long, it fits on a Post-it Note.  Don’t get me wrong an awesome amount of cleaning and organizing has been going on around here. Yet I still can not find my second 16 x US size 8 knitting needle for hats. Don’t forget about knitting too.  I have planned my stash to last a long time without yarn shopping.  How many things can I finish?

I am loosely planning dinners around a shopping wish list.  I put down what we need and wish that we get most of it.   One thing that I cannot seem to find is Excedrin Extra Strength for my arthritis.  The plant that makes it, is currently closed. You can’t get it online and they won’t add it to curbside delivery. I know kind of lame.  Because of stress some days I am taking all I am supposed to be taking instead of 2/3 of what I should take. My normal amount. This means that I am using up my precious supply faster.  Tomorrow I will try driving up to the drive through pharmacies in the area to see if I can get some.  If not I hope they restart production before I run out.  It’s the little things in life I like, like not being in pain that I love. Not to mention a good sunset.

An Important Announcement

John and I will no longer be sheltering in place. Sheltering in place is drab and dreary. It fills me with unnecessary anxiety.  It bring unnecessary tension to our lives.

We have decided to share an Artist Retreat here in the beautiful Sonoran desert. We we’ll be surrounded by beautiful cactus. There is a large lizard guarding the walkway to discourage interruptions. We will also have a wonderful view of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The residence includes a kitchen and fully stocked pantry. Room for John’s 3-D Printing with plenty of filament. Also separate area for fiber arts. As a bonus there is as much fiber as I can use. There is also a full library of fiber arts books.

I will try to get a few new patterns published.  Of course Grandmas Spinning Wheel should have the supplies.

I Hate to Disappoint People

There is some dunderhead on Raverlry that has decided to name themselves the official judge of others people’s knitting. You know the type, the dreaded Knitting Police. You all know how I feel about these self appointed idiots.   Knitting is one of my own art forms and I like to push the boundaries as much as I can.  I like each piece of my work to be different and unique.  Seriously if I wanted conformity why both knitting at all? I would save the time, space and money and just get what ever cheap crap you can get at the dollar store. The kids in Tucson deserve much better than that.

The thing about this idiot,  is that they don’t know that my hats go to a clothing bank for kids.  These kids don’t have much, so getting something that no one else in school has is pretty special. I have heard stories from people who work with these kids how much they love their hats.  Not many know that I am the Hat Lady. I will not let one very insecure person stop me. They can give me as many ugh’s as they want. That won’t stop me.  They were too much of a coward to leave their name. How childish is that?

Which brings me to another point. I was raised with these quotes among many.  “ If you do not have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all.” Another that comes to mind “Silence is golden.” With everyone around the world dealing with the pandemic of COVID19, none of us need this. I knit to relax, have fun and escape. We all need to relax and chill for a while.

This is the hat that got the ugh.  I personally like how the blue and red swirl and mix.  I hope it will be going to a future University of Arizona Wild Cat.  Have a Great Weekend everyone and remember to social distance.

That Feeling

I am having that feeling today that I am stick in school in the classroom waiting for recess.  Knowing that something bad  happened and waiting for the other proverbial shoe to drop and I will never be able to go out to recess ever again.

This is what the COVID19 virus is making me feel like today.  Each new outbreak makes the feeling worse. If the president would just keep his nose out of things and let the well trained Doctors and other specialists do their job we would be in much better shape.

G’d will really understand why you are not jamming into his places of worship.  Even G’d is smart enough not to interfere with Mother Nature.  I am hoping that in the long run this will help the environment and our grasp of what we need to do to end global warming.

I really want to go to recess again. So just do me a favor if you can. Just stay home until this is over.