Zenning and More

 Even before breakfast I started cleaning and decluttering.   My goal was to add 5 books to the Bookman’s bag, I add 6.  Not on the agenda was gathering all my art yarn thread in one place.  That was sort of an organic happening. Now from three different places all my art yarn thread is in two boxes below my knitting table. I even have some empty cupboard space which is a bonus. My next goal was to get my sewing machine out. To do that I had to clean off first one table and organize and put everything away. Then I had to move stuff from my sewing table to my other sewing table or put it away. My sewing machine is now on the table, but not set up. That will wait until after lunch. Not bad for a cleaning spree with a pain level of eight out of 10.

I am very hyper this week.

 I am on a roll today. I managed to finish 2 scarfs and 1 washcloth today. 5 total projects this week.  I also cast on 2 new charity scarfs and a pair of mittens for myself.  

For some unknown reason just getting rid of 60% of my yarn and fiber stash made me more excited to start knitting again.  It has also set off a reorganizing the house binge too.  John is doing the very smart thing and staying out of my way unless I ask for help.  I am excited to see where this takes me beyond sore muscles and extreme fatigue.  

My pile so far this week.  Once the pictures are taken of each individual hand knit items with the exception of the washcloth, they are going into the charity bag for the drop off before Thanksgiving.  The earrings that are in the back of the picture are my own designs.  

On The Fifth Day

 Today is day 5 in a row of my massive fiber and yarn de stashing binge. Thank goodness it is the last day of going through every single fiber in the house.  Today was spinning fiber of which there is a whole lot less. Just about a closet full.  It took all morning.  I even found some yarn that needed to leave the house with the yarn mixed in with the fluff. 

I managed to fill a massive shipping bag full of roving that I will never spin because I just don’t like the colors.  I am also a better artist than a sales person.  This is why I am sending this huge bag to a person who is an artist and a great sales person.  

In going through all the fluff, I found one storage bag that was falling apart.  So the fluff got moved to other storage bags.  All the remaining fluff has been put away.  There is a lot more room in the closet including a 2 foot wide section on the top shelf.  2 containers were also freed up.  One went for yarn storage and the other went into art yarn supplies.  

I am officially too tired to move. My legs and back hurt.  My Fitbit gave me 59 minutes of in zone exercise.  So instead of mailing the fluff today, I will spend the afternoon resting.  Along with some Tunisian crochet or knitting.  I feel pretty good about all the work I have done in the past 5 days.  By the way the yarn that left the house this morning filled 1/2 of the back of a friend’s pickup truck.  Not a bad effort.  

Now is the hard part organizing my work spaces.  That is definitely for another day. 

This is a picture of the bag of fluff leaving the house.  I double bagged it, just because the bag is so thin. 

25 Years of Yarn

 I have just finished a massive 9 month project. 

I learned to knit when I turned 40. I thought that it was going to be good for 5 years of learning new things.  I am one of those people who need to constantly learn new things and techniques.  Even reading science journal articles. However; knitting turned into a rabbit hole for me.  First I learned to knit.  I was learning new things weekly in the beginning. I met great friends and developed friendships.  

I met Kathy Withers who was a great influence in my fiber art life. Kathy taught me spin on a drop spindle.  That lead to a whole new world.  More things to learn.  I learned all about fiber animals. I also learned that the younger the fiber animals the softer the fiber will be.  I learned the difference between different types of shepherds and the different philosophies about the animals.  What a carder was and how I could make one of a kind batts. That would in turn make one of a kind yarns.  Even though I don’t dye my own fiber I learned that when fiber is being dyed it’s best not to touch it or push the fiber under the dye. This will result in felted fiber which is very hard to spin. Kathy also taught me about weaving and the concept of neuro felting, although I was much too busy with family issues to take the time to learn. 

Another important influence in my knitting and fiber life is Vicky Konecky the Grandma of Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson. I started going to Grandma’s Spinning Wheel when Kathy moved her farm lock, stock and barrel to the east coast.  I have learned so much from Vicky and the various staff members and customers over the years.  I learned to spin on a spinning wheel and weave on a ridged heddle loom.  I learned about industry standards of yarns.  I was introduced to other fibers. I especially like the BFL, camel, silk and flax. I have determined that there are very few fibers that I dislike. It is always a comfortable place to sit and knit.  New yarn and fiber show up all the time. 

This is where I was at the beginning of the year.  I had yarn problems.  I had yarn beyond my life expectancy.  I had yarn hidden and in plain sight from one end of the house to the other.  In the garage the yarn was stacked in bins from floor to ceiling in big bins.  It was very overwhelming to me.  It was a creative anchor.  In the beginning of the year I gave yarn to friends and people across the country who could not afford to buy yarn. When they became overwhelmed I felt the anchor grip me tighter.  Then at the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild meeting it was suggested that we donate our excess yarn to the guild to raise money to cover expenses.  It was a big aha moment for me.  I started off in the house going through everything and found 4 kitchen size trash bags full of yarn to go.  Then I moved to the garage.  I limited myself to no more than 5 bins a day to go through.  The bags of yarn started to pile up.  So John moved them behind the couch.  I kept going.  Today I went through the last box in the garage.  I also looked at all my usual hiding places.  I filled another couple of bags.  

This picture is from the garage after I finished today.  Look at all those bins that John can use in the storage room.  We have give some empty bins this year too. This is so he can see inside every single box.  The bottom picture are the bags of yarn leaving the house tomorrow.  The boxes on the left are the only boxes of fiber left in the garage.  A little bit of fiber that needs to be carded and almost all my Sugar n Cream yarn.  I am sorry I don’t have a before picture, but imagine the boxes on the right with 2 more boxes on top, all the way across.  That is an awful lot of yarn that has left the house this year.  I feel lighter.  I feel more creative.  I hope this will give me more energy to create.  Most of all I am really sore from sorting through all the yarn.  My hands are really dry too.  It will take a couple of days of lotion for my hands to recover. The entire family is also happy.  What more could I ask for?  

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.  

Stash Beyond Lifetime Expectancy

 Do we really need a stash of yarn, fabric, jewelry, making supplies or any other supplies for our crafts that will last longer than we are expected to live? I have found that I don’t. I have lost count of the number of times that I have done de stashes this year. Each time sending yarn or fabric out to different people and charities. I am in the middle of another de stash that will take me several days to finish. I am going through every single box and project bag. I am currently at the end of day two And I have almost  Six kitchen trash bags full of yarn. I also know that I said that I would donate 4 bags of yarn.  I really hope they take all of my de stash. I know this is all going to a good cause. Our knitting Guild in Tucson is having a stash sale in January so I decided it was time to pair down my yarn stash again.

How many shawls, sweaters, pairs of socks or any other items do we really need in our closet? How many quilts can you put on one bed? How many pairs of earrings can you wear at once?  How much is too much? I want to preface this by saying if the items are going to charity please feel free to ignore this post. Do keep in mind that you need to make a very high-quality project because the recipients do not have the funds to replace them. If you would not give an item to your child or wear it yourself, you should probably not be giving it to other people.

Who started this whole idea that we need to fill every single nook and corner in our houses with crafting supplies? That we need to fill the garage or rent a storage space for all the supplies? How much can you realistically create in a given year.  Is it really necessary to buy supplies that we only marginally like because it’s a good price? Even if  the craft item is at a good price would we use it? If we just buy what we need and use on a regular basis we would not have a space problem. We might even have a few extra dollars to go out to lunch with friends. Perhaps actually take a weekend away or do a fun activity with our families. Have moremoney for retirement.  Perhaps even have more time to create.

This would also eliminate the clutter problem which does stifle creativity.  Clutter can in my case cause an under current of anxiety. The less clutter means that I will not risk misplacing an item I really want to make and use. I found 4 misplaced projects today.  

Also what happens to this incredible collection that you have amassed? Will your family know what to do with it? Will the resort to filling up baskets with crafting supplies and give them away at your services? Will it land up in the landfill? Will it overwhelm your local charity when your family calls them to pick everything up?  

After 40 years of trying to collect a stash of crafting supplies that will last beyond my lifetime, I have said enough is enough.  I am going through everything that is currently in residence in various parts of my home.  I am only keeping a very carefully created and curated collection of supplies.  

The reality is that I don’t have the spoons to start a small business to sell everything that I don’t need to keep or send to charity.  This has not been a stellar year for my health.  Even in the last 24 hours my body and I are not exactly on speaking terms. I am hopeful that by giving away most of my stash that it will help relieve my stress.  Don’t worry, some of it is staying.  I will have enough to keep me busy for a few years still. Also, guess what? If I run out of supplies, I know where to go and get more.  If I find something that I truly love, I will still probably buy it.  

What I will not have is crafting supplies from one end of the house to the other end.  John will have most of the garage back.  I am saying this because I still reserve the right to keep the clothes line and my car in the garage. I am going with the concept that less will be more.  Will you join me in this endeavor?   Let me know. 

Making a Big Mess

 I find it simply amazing how much mess that I can make when I go about decluttering and reorganizing the house.  Today I tackled my yarn beyond life expectancy problem.  I know you have read it here many times before.  This time even though I have less yarn, I plan on cutting my stash of yarn by another 25 to 50 percent.  

Today was the start of the project.  I spent the entire afternoon doing this.  I filled 4 kitchen trash bags full of yarn. Back when I could knit up to 20 hours a day, that would have taken me 4 months to knit.  I knit much slower now and a maximum of 2 hours a day, less if my hands are tired. So any yarn  that wanted a U.S. size 1 or 2 knitting needle I did not give a second thought to.  My over abundance of hand spun yarn 50% is gone.  Most of the fingering weight yarn is gone too.  Projects that I did not want to knit, I kept the bags but the yarn is gone.  Even if I loved the yarn and color and texture, it was gone too. 

I only have 2 more bags in the sewing room to go through.  Then it’s the garage.  My goal is not to have any more boxes of yarn in front of John’s car.  I have a very sizable collection of empty storage bags and 3 boxes.  At least 2 of the boxes will be holding more yarn.  

Did I mention that I found a lot of silk yarn that I can use to make art yarn? I found misplaced projects that I knew I bought and have wanted to knit up.  I threw away a basket that was falling apart. I found a new home or a place of residence for the things in the basket. So all in all it was a very productive afternoon.  I have bits and pieces of more room. 

Just don’t go into the knitting or sewing room right now.  They are still a mess.  I have a small pile of yarn to cake up and put in the scarf box.  Yes, I have a box of yarn for scarfs and hats too do I just have to reach in and grab a skein for my next project. I have a new box for my spinning accessories, crochet hooks and Tunisian crochet hooks too. The box that held those things is now full of yarn. A much better use for a big drawer. 

By the way the yarn will be going to the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild for the big yarn sale.  Hopefully my decluttering efforts will help the guild balance the budget.  I will give out the date and place as it gets closer.  

A little peek at the empty bags and the 4 bags full of yarn.  

 

Finding Balance

 Today I think I found balance between cleaning, organizing, shopping and resting   Yes, today did include a 2 1/2 hour nap.  Trips to 3 different stores and I got everything I needed for the up coming task’s for the rest of the week. 

I finished my first Tunisian Crocheted Scarf.  I did not use a pattern for the scarf.  I just did 15 stitches across and the basic Tunisian stitch for the entire scarf. I found a bright cheerful verigated yellow and orange color way to offset the dark brown for the edges. It is the perfect size for a younger child. It was too late to take a picture tonight. So you can see it tomorrow. Yes I had one skein of the yarn left and I started a second scarf tonight. I am teaching some friends next week and we will start with a washcloth.  

Now that I have recovered from the latest surgery and the multiple year sinus infection I seem to have a lot more energy.  I also have the need to create.  I am finishing projects as fast as I can.  I am also into organizing things beyond Recognition.  I even have a Dedicated drawer for small spinning items, crochet, and Tunisian crochet hooks, and Miscellaneous knitting items.  Maybe when I’m done I will take a few pictures. Although that is not guaranteed.

Now that my scarf yarn drawer is almost empty, I will have John pull down a box so I can add more yarn for charity projects.  I like to just pull out a dozen or so projects at a time from my stash.  I will also be knitting about 4 pairs of mittens for me.  I lost most of my mittens to the overwhelming scent of the hand lotion fiasco last winter.  The scent of the lotion would  not wash out of the yarn.  I even tried Dawn which I use on raw fleece. After 3 unsuccessful tries, I just threw them out.  

TTFN. My aspirational list for tomorrow as long..

The Boomerang Effect

 I have to admit it has been a very hard year for me.  I need to learn to reset my days activities and plan accordingly. To use my spoons more wisely. Wednesday and Thursday I really over did it.  Today was my wake up call. I have been sore and tired all day.  I have to remember that I am not 30 anymore.  I bounce back much slower.  

That being said, I still have a hard time sitting still.  I like to give the energizer bunny, a run for his money.  I am starting to think this is currently not a good plan. I will have to build back up to that level. It took me months to get out of shape. It will take time  to get back in shape and I am not a very big fan of being patient.  

To that end I picked out a small multi day project to start today.  I made very good progress. Tomorrow I will buy some supplies to finish the job. It should be done by Monday or maybe not. Only time will tell.  

My aspirational list

 This morning I was tired of the endless to do list that I have been making for decades. I also have been failing to complete them most days which I find quite discouraging.  So today it became my aspirational list. These are the things that I aspire to do during the day. If I don’t get everything done oh well, no harm done. I did manage to complete 80% of my aspirational list today which made me feel pretty good. My dad always said it’s not what you say, but how you say it that matters.  Words do make a difference. Now I just have to get rid of all the list that say to do, and convince people to make aspirational lists instead. 

I was very busy for most of the day. I can’t remember a day recently that I did six full loads of laundry since the end of 2019.  Now to be truthful, two of them were hand wash. But that’s still six loads of laundry. Except for the clothes drying on the clothesline everything is put away too. I haven’t done that in a long time.

I even found time to knit and spin today.  I also managed to get in 10 minutes of Zenning by partly cleaning out a drawer and filling a trash can halfway.  Plus get over 6000 steps just by cleaning house today. So all in all it was a busy day and I’m really tired. I haven’t done this much work since at least the beginning of February so I’d say I’m well on the road to recovery.

TTFN

A Very Geeky Day

 Today was one of those incredible geeky days for me.  I figured out that if I went over international yarn standards and deviations in my head it would relax me enough to fall asleep.  Things like how many knots are actually allowed in a standard ball of yarn.  The answer is 3.  If you would like no knots in your yarn I would suggest using an independent yarn dyer because even though you pay more, you generally do not get knots in your skeins of yarn.  The knots in yarn are actually what helps keep mass market yarns on the less expensive side. Say $3 to 10 USD versus $25 dollars or more for a small batch skein.  Yes, you get what you pay for.  Yes, there is a large place in the market for mass market skeins.  Think beginning knitters or crocheters. Young kids art projects.  Charity projects.  Table decorations etc….

The day did get even more geeky, yes that is possible.  At knitting guild I explained that each country had its own yarn standards that are different from the international standards.   I did not go into details, but basically before mass yarn manufacturers. There are currently 5 that dominate the world market. All yarn was manufactured in each individual country. Weights and needle sizes were most likely determined by local weather conditions.  Thus an Aran weight yarn could be different in different countries.  Thicker in colder climates and thinner in warmer climates.  That account for the variation of size on knitting needles with the same numbers but the millimeters are different. The current yarn standards make international shopping much easier with numbers for the weight. Each yarn distributor can then label to their country standard. 

The last geeky event of the day was a knitting in public kind of thing.  I was working on a right handed knitting project. The comment made was I don’t knit like that.  With a little discussion I figured out she was a left handed knitter. So I put the project I was working on down. I picked up a left handed knitting project and started knitting left handed. Yes, that is how she knit. A person across the table looked at me and was probably wondering what kind of person brings both left and right handed knitting projects. Also how does she keep track or could use both hands to do the same thing a different way.  After all aren’t all people either right or left handed?  The simple answer is a definite no.  So of us are lucky enough to be able to use our hands interchangeably.  They call that being ambidextrous.  I am sure it bothers a lot of people, even my own family.  I have been know to switch hands in the middle of something as mundane as a meal.  It came in handy when the kids were younger.  I would feed them with my right hand and myself with my left hand.  It did make meals go faster. Also I made special stitch markers for just that reason. I made L and R stitch markers.  Each project is marked.  You would want to ask my friend Louise why that is necessary.  

I hope your day was less geeky.  

A Very Busy Day

After an early morning doctor’s appointment, where everything was fine and healed nicely. There is also no visible sign of infection or inflammation. My sinuses are finally working again.  I am very happy with that.  

I accomplished knitting and grocery shopping today after my doctor’s appointment.  I finished hat number 7 for the year. Then of course started hat number 8.  I did not want the stitch markers getting lonely.  After lunch it was nap time.  

Also the clouds got in the way of the lunar eclipse tonight.  Not many good pictures.  I did do some spinning while watching the eclipse tonight.  I can spin in semi darkness.  That is my new superpower. 

Things For Sale

 In an effort to de stash some more things around the house I am making a foray into eBay and Etsy.  Today I started with listing 5 things on eBay.  Things like collector issues of knitting magazines like Vouge Knitting  20th anniversary of the European magazine and 1st issues of magazines.  These are things that local resellers will not take.  So here is your chance to help me de clutter my knitting room and keep things out of the landfill.  While getting an out of print issue of a magazine  

I will continue with magazines and books on eBay.  Then my curated knitting kits with my patterns, hand spun yarn and stitch markers on Etsy. I will put the highlights on my blog post and the usual social media sites.  I also have a bespoke shawl that is going to be listed on Etsy.  I made it a little too large for my current size.  

So keep an eye out for what I have listed.  

Spinning.

 I think that I have finally gotten rid of the sinus infection that lasted over a year and caused so much grief in our lives.  It feels wonderful not to be in pain all the time.  I am slowly getting my energy back.

  Today I worked on a spinning project for me.  It will be a shawl. I think I finally got the knack of plying on my e-spinner. I just thought what do I do on my wheels.  It worked.  The 3 skeins on top are from today.  The red is the next spin.  Each bag is its own spin.  I only open one bag at a time.  I am plying it with a llama and silk blend yarn.  This is truly going to be a bespoke project.  

First Sample Is Finished.

 I made the first of two sample washcloths for a class I am teaching next week.  I like to start with smaller projects for a first pass on a new skill. I like to keep the supplies as inexpensive as possible.  This should come in under $15.00 for 2 different washcloths.  This will be 1 skein of yarn and 2 different crochet hooks  

As a teacher I really hate to see students spend almost $150 USD for a beginner project that they might not like.  So if they don’t like Tunisian Crochet not a lot of money is down the drain. If they like it they have 2 new washcloths to use themselves or give as gifts. If they don’t like it they have 2 different washcloths to show for their efforts. If after making the 2 washcloths they still want to make the expensive shawl we can move forward with the project.  

The next washcloth will be in the same stitch that they want to use for the 3 skein designer shawl pattern.  That I will do tomorrow. In the meantime this is the basic Tunisian Crochet stitch in washcloth form.  I do believe that the picture is sideways.  Do turn you mobile Device 1/4 turn and it will be right side up.

I managed to craft today.

 I am spinning some yarn for myself.  The samples are on the smaller side, so I am plying the wool with a llama silk blend yarn  that I bought for a weaving project that will never happen. This will give me twice as much finished yarn.   I have to use the yarn for something. It might as well be me. Hopefully this will give me enough yarn to make a small shawlet.  I am in the middle of plying the third mini skein.  I have a great rhythm going. First I spin the singles for three bobbins. Then I ply those three bobbins.  I will use my 1 yard knitty noddy to skein them.  Yes, they are very small skeins, but not small enough for the knitty noddy that I use for my drop spindles. 

After I finished spinning and plying the entire set, I will divide them up by color ways and wash them in small batches using Soak Wash.  

There will be no pictures tonight because the antibiotic for my sinus infection has hit my tummy very hard today. I spent most of the day resting. I am half way through a 14 day prescription.  Therefore my knitting/ spinning room is very unorganized.  

Also my knitting hit awesome tonight. I found 2 dropped stitches in a black section of a shawl that I am knitting. I was able to fix both dropped stitches so that I can’t find the repair work at 12 inches. I have come so far in my knitting   I used to rip out something like that  now I just go to the row and fix it without have to rip out hundreds of stitches.  

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  

Wow, Just Wow

 It’s 5:00 am where I live. I know it’s a little bit early to write a blog post.  Today has started off weird, not the bad kind of weird, but the good kind. I have had a continuous sinus infection for over a year. It has caused an array of health issues. The sinus infection has been going on so long that I don’t remember when it started exactly.  Today I woke up very early being able to breathe freely. My face does not hurt anymore.   My body does not know what to make of it. I have a sudden burst of spoons.  I will try to not overdo it today. I am just going with this is a good thing.  

It has been a very long journey to get here.  It involved 2 new to me doctors.  Lots of lab work and x-rays.  A surgery.  Surgery recovery. My current round of antibiotics.  By the way the antibiotics are messing with my tummy, I am totally ok with that for this result.  

I am really hoping that this is a sign of things to come.  I hope that after I finish the antibiotics, I will have more spoons and less inflammation. That a few weeks after I finish my antibiotics, I will be able to get my fall seasonal vaccines. I can dream about that now.  

In the meantime I will enjoy this new sensation of peace and tranquility until it’s breakfast time.  

Have a wonderful day. 

Bigger Steps

 Today I managed to do 2 loads of laundry without John. Empty the dishwasher.  Then pick up around the house.  Yes, it required a nap that was over 2 hours long, but I accomplished all of this on my own.  So I consider this progress.  Just a few weeks ago, I required a 2 hour nap after sitting and eating a meal.  Now if I could just build up my core muscles a little faster.  

After all the chores around the house I did not have the spoons to knit or spin.  Everything has a different priority on different days.  Just in case you were wondering. My to do list was only half finished. The top priority items all got finished.  

Where Does Your Loyalty Belong?

 I am finally being to feel better.  I have had the same sinus infection for over a year. It has caused major health issues this year for me.  This year it has caused a major health crisis.  A surgery.  Months of required resting. Just recently I have been cleared to begin to get my body back in shape.  I am taking baby steps. 

I have had constant sinus issues since the 1960’s.  Until Covid19 hit. I never had trouble getting the help or antibiotics that I needed.  COVID19 changed a lot of people including some medical professionals.  A small number of people became irrational in respects to healthcare. Sometimes medical science was just thrown out the window. Conspiracy theories are currently the rage in some circles.  

If you find yourself in the situation where you can’t get the same level of care from your current health care provider that you got before COVID19 hit, I urge you if at all possible to find a newer and younger healthcare provider.  

Now that my sinus infection is responding to the new antibiotic, here are a few things that I have noticed.  My blood sugar levels are generally lower. They were pretty good in recent months, but are even lower which is good. I am in less pain.  Remember infections cause inflammation which results in pain and higher blood sugar levels. I have more energy.  Inflammation can make me tired.  My creative energy is back.  Yes, inflammation can mess with my creative mojo.  I am getting things done.  Last week I finished 1 spinning project and 2 charity beanies.  I am also finding it a little easier to get things done around the house.  

Now to the question at the top of the blog.  Just where does your loyalty belong.  First and foremost it belongs to you and your family.  If your provider is continuing to provide a good level of care, by all means stay with them.  If, however you find your level of care is getting a little bit wonky, just remember that you are buying a service from them.  You are under no obligation to continue to purchase care from them if they don’t meet your expectations.  By staying you are telling them that everything is perfectly ok. This can put your health in jeopardy.  This in turn puts stress on your loved ones.  

Please take care of yourself and your family.  TTFN..

Recovery Is Exhausting

 I find it just amazing how little it takes right now to tire me out.  This morning I emptied the dishwasher. Knit with friends for an hour before I started falling asleep.  Spent less than $75.00 at the store and put the groceries away.  

I was too tired to eat lunch instead I slept for about 3 hours.  My head hit the pillow and I was out for the count.  I woke up just in time to talk to John and tell him what I forgot to pick up at the store today.  

I started to ply 2 eight ounce bobbins into a DK weight yarn  I am wondering how many bobbins I will fill.

By dinner time I had a pounding headache. After dinner a cuppa helped get rid of the pounding headache.  

My goal tonight is to try to get a good nights sleep.  

More Baby Steps

 Today I started with 3 pound weights.  I did a number of upper body exercises plus some stretching. We walked again after dinner. We went a little further without stopping. This is what progress looks like after months of being a couch potato.  

A little bit of knitting happened.  I have to say that after the little bit of exercises that I did, resulted in long naps.  

This seems to be a recurring pattern these last 4 years.  Get in shape and my body makes a bad decision.  Then rest followed by trying to get back in shape.  The good news is that I never stop trying to slowly get back in shape.  

Baby Steps

 I have been given the medical clearance to start exercising again.  I am going very very slowly.  It’s been 6 1/2 months of just resting.  Being a couch potato is not good for me.  I am doing repetitions of 5 or 10 depending on the core exercises that I am doing.  I can really feel it.  My goal is not to exercise until I can’t move, but to stop when I can feel it in my muscles.  Right now that takes all of 5 minutes. 

I have resumed outdoor walking.  The very first walk I had to stop and catch my breath.  Tonight on the same walk I did not have to stop to catch my breath.  That is progress. Remember the baby steps I was talking about. I don’t think I will increase my distance this week.  I will just try and build up my strength.  

The good news is that I tried my balance exercises today and that is one area that I have not lost ground in.  I can also do those daily.  

I am not sure if I should do chair yoga or Wii Fit yoga. I think building flexibility is a must.  

I might scan the internet to see if there are any programs already set up for reconditioning.  I think I am on the right track regardless of what I find on the internet.  

Hindsight is 20/20

 I am really frustrated.  The sinus infection from hell has reared its ugly head again.  I was up at 2am dealing with the sinus infection. The decongestant took 2 hours to kick in so I could go back to sleep. It has caused me so much grief over the last year or so.  Not even the nasal surgery got rid of it.  I am currently waiting for the lab to figure out what bacteria this is so we can knock this thing out of my body for good.  

My advice to all my readers with chronic medical conditions is to ditch your doctor if they don’t take you seriously or refuse to treat a chronic condition.  If I had really not trusted my previous doctor so much and listened to my family this whole year or so from hell could have been avoided.  They had been trying to get me to switch doctors for a couple of years. 

I finally switched doctors and a lot of stuff that should have been part of my regular and routine care is getting done. The difference between my old doctor and new doctor is light years apart.  My new doctor may not have all the answers, but is willing to send me to the other doctors who do.  

Making Progress

 I got the all clear to resume normal activity at my post op appointment today.  So the first things I did was start a load of laundry and the dishwasher.  The dishwasher got emptied. The laundry is still waiting for me in the dryer.  It apparently was not the day to fold 2 loads of laundry.  

I also did a 5 minute Zenning project in the kitchen.  I pared down my measuring cups.  I have lost a lot of measuring cups over the years.  So I kept 1 metal and 1 plastic set of measuring cups.  The excess cups are headed to Goodwill.  I also have a set of glass bowls that have not been used for at least 10 years.  I had to face the fact that I just don’t bake as much as I use too. This might have something to do with kids growing up and moving out. So why waste the space.  My husband immediately put extra tea and coffee cups in the space.  So this is a massive win for 5 minutes of work.  The extra cups are no longer on the counter and the measuring cups are not falling down when I open the cupboard.  

The last of my Tour de Fleece yarn from Hilltop Clouds was washed and thwack.  It is now drying in the garage.  It will take a couple of days to dry due to high humidity.  My current plan for the yarn includes 3 different shawls.  One shawl for each stage.  Pictures once the yarn is dry.  

One Week Out

 I am 1 week out from surgery last Friday and am being to feel better.  I am taking less Tylenol. I am sleeping better.  My daily numbers are down.  Apparently pain and the stress that the pain causes make all numbers go up.  I feel like my old self joking around with my husband.  I am getting faster with my zingers. 

So as much as the first week after surgery was difficult for me, in the end run it was very good to get the repair work done.  Yes, I do for the most part consider surgery repair work.  I still have 1 week of resting to do.  And my 1st post op next week.  I am hoping that things are healing to plan.  

Today I managed to finish plying the last third of my Tour de Fleece yarn.  I even managed to work out chain plying on my Hanson e-spinner, I just wish my arms were longer.  I am almost finished with the brim on the hat that I started yesterday. This one will be a planed scrappy hat.  

At this time blogger is having trouble uploading pictures. I will post the hat to instagram.

Still Exhausted

 I am so over this recovery period.  The supplies that I thought would last for 2 weeks are almost gone.  I am using my last nasal spray. I have ordered another 6 pack which will arrive on Saturday.  I have lost my appetite and finding it hard to hit 20 grams of protein per meal. Not to mention eating my vegetables.  I am also tired of being exhausted.  

To end on a positive note. I completed one charity hat which is very bright and colorful tonight.  I cast on another hat tonight too.  I am only a few rows into the brim.  I am putting the shawl aside until I feel a little better.   I need quick fun projects so hats do fit the bill.  Also the clothing bank I knit for has promised they will find a head for every hat that I knit.  Today’s hat will show up in  tomorrows blog.  You have been forewarned that it is bright and colorful.  

The 5 Minute Rule

 I strongly believe in the 5 minute rule for doing larger cleaning projects. Since my surgery last Friday and my very obviously diminished supply of spoons, I have come up with a very effective variation of the five minute rule. 

It goes as follows. If I manage to get up from my very important job of resting I try to put a few things away.  While my tea is brewing, I put things away around the kitchen.  If I need to go to the back of the house for any reason, I try to return things to the back of the house.  If there is nothing to bring forward, I stop and try to un clutter an area for a few minutes. I find it amazing how much I can get cleaned up in 5 minutes.  

As usual the recovery is taking longer than I think it should.  Although it is going according to the doctor’s recovery plan.  As you know I hate the recovery period. 5 days in 9 to go for the hard core recovery. Then I will start to increase my activity.  

I have also started a new shawl. Hopefully I will finish the entire 100 grams of wool before I complete my recovery.  I am using a Zauerball. I find the Zauerball’s very fun to knit with. My husband thinks that I should choose a brighter color for the next one. 

Recovering Again.

 Going to through the lastest round of surgery recovery. I will be out of commission for 2 weeks.  So the usual restrictions.  Lift nothing over 10 pounds.  No bending over.  So it’s knitting, spinning and reading.  Resting as much as possible.  

The Streak - Day 2

 I am currently working through a weird streak.  Yesterday as you recall, I broke our coffee maker. According to Costco that model broke a lot. We did not even have to explain. Just show the paperwork work for the refund. 

Today was quite different.  While bending down to pick out my shoes for the day a closet clothing rack fell on my head. At least the clothes were soft. But the hangers did do a little bit of scratching.  So I cleaned off a couch. Then moved all the clothes to the couch.  Then I vacuumed up the mess. Cleaned my self up. Did my hair.  Had a very quick lunch. Started a load of laundry. Added water to the pool. Then went to have back to back lab studies done.  Then went to the grocery store where my discount card failed yet again.  I have signed up for that account at least 10 times.  But it’s always someone else’s fault that their discount card does not work as promised.  I re registered the dam app.  I think if it does not work this time I will send a note to the state attorney general’s office and complain about false advertising.  

The good part is that I found time to spin and relax.  After dinner I did some knitting   

Wish me luck that tomorrow will be a better day.  

A Busy Day

 Today was a day to get things out of the house.  We started out by dropping off 2 cubic feet of socks, hats and scarfs at Flowing Wells School District for their students.  The it was off to Costco to drop of a 4 month old coffee maker that died yesterday.  That was another cubic foot out of the house.  

Now on to the good stuff. We picked up 16 duck eggs from Lee Lee’s grocery store. If you are allergic to chicken eggs I would highly recommend trying duck or quail eggs. They might just surprise you.  We did one more pick up.  I left my husband to put everything away.  While I took a nap.  

Then after lunch I went through my piles of mail and packages that had to be sent out. I will have at least another cubic foot of mail leaving the house tomorrow.  

We are reclaiming space left and right.  Then Tuesday another 2 cubic feet will leave the house unless I can manage to get more stuff done and ready to leave the house. 

All of this would not have been possible without my husband doing all the driving.  If I use myspoons wisely I can get a lot done if I ask for help and take naps. 

I also had to add an extension to my current knitting project.  I also managed to get some spinning done too. 

A Healthy Dessert

 This healthy, two ingredient dessert was a childhood favorite of mine. It is simple to make. It tastes wonderful. Yes, and kids are sure to like it.  

Peanut Butter Kisses

1 small banana cut into slices.  You may substitute any fruit you like, just cut them into bite sized pieces. 

1 skippy peanut butter squeeze tube.  Or your favorite brand of peanut butter. You can even substitute with almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.

1 dessert plate 

1 knife

I like to peel my Banana from the bottom, not the top stem. This makes it easier to peel. After peeling the banana. Cut the banana in slices. Arrange the banana slices on the plate. Squeeze a small dollop of peanut butter on each banana piece. Grab your fork and enjoy your dessert. 

This recipe is vegan. Can be made nut free. Is a very satisfying snack. It’s like eating candy, but healthier this serves O.N.E. adult or two children. Tell me what you think. 

This is an off-the-cuff blog tonight. So the plate is not very clean. It’s covered with peanut butter, but darn it was good. As you can see the dollops don’t have to be perfect., Yes, I do have the skills to make it very pretty. In a previous life, I taught cake decorating and was a professional cake decorator. However, I did not feel like making a pastry bag or finding a pastry tip to make them very pretty, I just wanted a quick bedtime snack. 

A Bumpy Day

 I made a very short to do list today by my spoonie standards.  I got half my list done by lunchtime.  After a small salad for lunch I thought it would be nice to close my eyes for 15 minutes.  Three hours later I woke up still feeling very tired. I made scrambled eggs for dinner  along with vegetables and honeydew melon.

I guess shopping at 2 stores and doing the driving in one morning is too much for me right now. I guess I still need help with the driving . Just when I thought I was finally getting my energy back.  My body decided it was in charge not my mind.  

In other news my dresses decided to get longer all on their own.  I see some hemming in my future.  

The Road to Recovery

 The road to recovery can be very bumpy.  This morning I was feeling very good. So I packed my car with shopping bags.  My first stop was Walmart where I picked up some Rit dye remover to try to fix one of my husband’s shirt that got some bleed over dye in the wash.  Yes, I had a fully saturated color catcher in the wash.  It is the first time in over a decade that the dye catcher did not pick up all the stray dye in the wash. 

Then it was off to Whole Foods to get some fresh fruit and goat milk yogurt. I got a treat for lunch too.  My husband graciously carried in the heavy bags and put the groceries away.   Then we had lunch.  I had planned to do paperwork and spin after lunch. Instead I spent the next 3 hours resting.  The morning activity had worn me out.  

I still do not have the stamina I had before I got sick in mid February.  Just walking around two stores and the house I managed to get 100 minutes in the Zone of moderate to vigorous exercise.  I have really got to figure out how to get back into shape so it is actually exercise instead of  just walking that causes an exercise heart rate. 

I am getting very tired of not being able to do much.  I am not a happy person right now.  My mind feels that I should be able to do more.  My body says no.  

Kitchen Confusion

 I think there is a lot of kitchen confusion in our local restaurants lately.  In the past 2 months I have had to send food back about 80% of the time.  The confusion seems to be what exactly is milk and what products contain milk.  So I thought I might try to clarify this for restaurants.  

Milk is Obviously milk, cheese, butter, cream, sour cream, yogurt and anything that contain those ingredients.   Your kitchen needs to know what contains milk.  Item that can contain milk are breads, coated French fries, almost all desserts.  Here is my plug to put fresh fruit on the menu for dessert. 

Milk is not mayonnaise, yes it is white but mayonnaise it is an emulsion of eggs and oil. 

For those of us allergic to milk we get tired of sending our food back.  Various reasons that I have sent food back.  My meal was coated with cheese, this is very common. Sour cream was covering my meal.  Butter was liberally applied to a milk free bun, not my meal.  My dry potato with chives on the side was covered with cheese and sour cream. My salad was covered with cheese and or sour cream.  

Now I always say I have a milk allergy and request that milk items be left off. I even go so far as to call them out.  I have done my part. Now it is time you do yours.   I even go to restaurant websites to see what is allergy friendly.  So I know what to order.  

By making my order right the first time saves you money.  It leaves me less frustrated.  You can also turn your table faster.  This all adds to your bottom line in a very tight economy.  

Breaking Things

 I thought I was only good with breaking electronics.  Well tonight I thought I broke the pantry door.  It just stopped opening and closing for me.  So it turns out my husband who just lays hands on electronics to fix them can also troubleshoot and fix pantry doors too.  No laying of hands though.  

First I checked all the hinges and they seemed to be in place.  So I could tell the door was not falling off the hinges. That hit my limit of door fixing. I can handle hinges. This was definitely not a hinge problem. So hat in hand I went to tell my husband that I had broken the pantry door. I told him that it was not the hinges. 

So he came out and double checked the hinges and said they looked fine.  He sent me for screw drivers and he got the flashlight because something on the floor looked odd. 

It turns out that a thumb tack landed on the floor earlier today and went missing.  I can tell you exactly where that stupid little thumb tack went.  Straight to the middle of the pantry door. Just in the right place to give a solid jam.  So with the screw driver he managed to get the thumb tack out. Other than the tile getting scratched everything is working and fine. 

The husband is a keeper.  I really wanted to throw the thumb tack out.  Since the thumb tack only annoyed us. Since we did not step on it, the thumb tack went back on the cork board. 

So how was your evening?

The Stasher Hat - Part 2

 The Stasher Bag hat was finally finished this morning. Boy were there a lot of end to weave in. That is to be expected with a scrappy hat. However I got the hat finished in time to make it to my dentist appointment on time.  I was very surprised that I had no cavities, I had a lot of jaw pain earlier this year for a health issue, so I assumed that I would have a lot of cavities.  

To celebrate, I went straight to the grocery store to buy some fresh fruit, a roasted chicken and purple potatoes for dinner.  Well I did buy 2 packages of cut up watermelon, of which one did not make it to the fridge. It was a light very late lunch.  It was my treat for the day.  I was debating between a cherry turnover or watermelon. The healthy choice won out.  

This was also my most active day since the beginning of February. If I can repeat this for a couple more weeks I would be elated.  

Tour De Fleece Part 2

 My spin for the second third of the Tour de Fleece is complete.  I finished plying and skeining the last 3 skeins tonight.  The last skein is chain plyed.  I am still not very good at chain plying.  I do however feel that it is passable.  In case you are wondering the chain plyed skein is the one on the left   I used a 1 yard knitty noddy on it   

Tomorrow I start the last section of the spinning.  With the daily spins compressed. This means that I will open more than one packet a day.  

Without further ado here is the second section of spun yarn.  I am getting a little more finished yarn than I thought that I would do so a shawl might be out of the question.  Or maybe multiple shawls is the best answer.  

The Stasher Hat

 The hand knit hat below was knit entirely with scraps of yarn that I put in the Stasher bag.  I started keeping the Stasher bag in my hat knitting bag.  Before I started using the Stasher bag I just dropped the tiny scraps of yarn in the of my bag.  With the yarn in the bottom of the bag I found it hard to find the right combination of colors for a hat like this.  

With the yarn in the Stasher bag, it holds a little more than enough for a hat.  It also has the advantage over disposable bags, in that it won’t fall apart and make an unintended mess.  Once this hat is finished I will start another hat and start refilling the bags with the next batch of bits and pieces.  

I bought this Stasher Bag. I am not receiving compensation for this post   

First Day Back

 Today was my very first day back at exercise since I got sick in mid February.  I did my elliptical for 20 minutes.  I did the elliptical until I got tired.  That took all of 20 minutes.  Then I took a 2 hour nap.  It’s a start.  

Life Choices

 The thought occurred to me this morning that every single person in the Saturday spinning group had a vastly different childhood than mine. My childhood tormenter is near the end.  Which made me wonder what it must have been like if I was not waiting for my next misstep and the ensuing battle royal while growing up.  Even if I did not do a misstep and took the unwarranted blame and punishment for a siblings actions. 

Would I be more sure of myself and my choices in life? Would I have the courage to say no when I really wanted to? Would I still be so insecure about my whole life?  Would I have a stupid autoimmune disease that has been blamed on childhood trauma? 

What I do know is despite everything, I have tried to change the trajectory of my life. Sometimes with overwhelming success and other times with abject failures.  I did my best to be the complete opposite of my tormentor.  Sometimes being a little bit too ridged in hindsight.  I prayed everyday that I could get it right. Some days were better than others.  I also know that if my life had been different, I would not have a stupid scar on my left hand 63 years after a punishment.  I can’t even think about why anyone would do that to a toddler.  

I don’t know if I will ever get rid of my insecurities caused by my childhood.  Even the feeling that I will be all alone because my tormenter called me a bad person and their life and the world would be better without me. As an adult I know that this is totally out of bounds remark that I heard at least once a day.  

I hope and pray everyday that I am worthy enough to be part of my husband and children’s lives.  That my friends can accept my foibles brought about by my less than desirable childhood.  That I can make the world a better place.  That I am a much better parent and human being than my tormenter ever was.  

That the statement that childhood abuse lasts a life time is so true.  Ask me how I know? Many details have been left out to protect the guilty at the end of life.

Please make the effort to treat all children with the respect that they deserve. Please remember that “All G’d’s children are special all the time. “

My First Plying

 Ok I have the first 3 plys done for Tour de Fleece 2024.  As you can tell by the 3 skeins of yarn the first plying attempt was not as good as the second or third.  I find that’s the great thing about being an artist, everything is not set in stone except marble sculptures.  

So instead of going from the top down on a shawl with my Tour de Fleece spinning, I have a new game plan.  The first skein of yarn will go into a one of a kind scarf for a child who utilizes the Flowing Well’s School District Clothing Bank. Since the yarn is way too bumpy to knit.  The yarn will add a unique texture to the scarf.  Nothing goes to waste.  Everything in art has a purpose.  

I will continue with my Tour de Fleece spin and come up with a game plan for the rest of the yarn.  The pictures below are pre snd post washing and thwacking.  

This and That

 As I write this blog post we have had over an inch of rain since dinner time.  There were a lot of micro bursts that broke a lot of power poles.  This time we feel very lucky not to be in the red or pink zones without power.  This storm came in hard and fast  enough to trigger a weather related headache. It is supposed to rain for 2 more hours. I hope that by dawns early light the storm damage will be minimal.

I am almost done with the first  of 3 sections of my Tour de Fleece spin.  Hopefully that will be finished soon.  

I got overheated last Wednesday morning and my body just ground to a halt.  So most of the week has be spent resting.  I use to find the summer heat energizing because I hurt less.  Somehow this summer even dashing between the store and my car is very draining.  I just can’t figure it out yet.  I hope it is only temporary. Only time will tell.  

Testing My Limits

 As a spinner, I always like to test my limits on how full I can fill a bobbin or drop spindle.  My new Hansen mini pro e-spinner is no exception.  While plying my first bobbin of Tour de Fleece 2024 I got to within 1/8 of an inch of the flyer.  I was plying a worsted weight yarn.  I had o problem at all getting the bobbin filled with my first 7 stages plus a coordinating color.  I am spinning up the rest of the coordinating color to use as a break between the stages for knitting my new shawl.

I am still experimenting on where I want the bobbins that I am plying to be. I think I have ruled out having the bobbins adjacent To the e- Spinner, it is just too awkward to pull the yarn out smoothly from the bobbins. Right now I am experimenting with having the bobbins on a step stool which is about 12 inches off the floor. This seems to be working because I am not using my spinning chair. I am using a regular office chair. This seems to be a good distance and an easier plying experience. I also think the yarn looks better. I will have a better idea after washing the yarn to set the twist. 

I am projecting that I will not finish all the stages on time.  This is my current priority spin so I can get the shawl knit up.  I am not sure if I will use an existing pattern or design a new one.  It all depends on the yarn and what it wants to be.  

Books and More Books

 I have turned into a book dragon.  Collecting books faster than I have been reading them.  It may have been pointed out that the books exceed my current shelf space.  So there is only one solution that I am on board with. I will take 30 minutes a day to read the books until the piles are depleted.  I know that this will take longer than the other suggestions that I have received and rejected.  

As I finish the books, I will give you the title and author with a thumbs up or down.  Then if they are not autographed copies which I intend to keep, I have developed a plan of action.  

1. Try Bookman’s first. This is because I can take the exchange credit and trade for new socks for a local children’s clothing bank  that I like to support, this is a win-win for me.

2. One of the tiny free libraries around Tucson.  If by chance I finish a book while traveling, I will try to find a tiny library to leave it at or a coffee shop with a bookshelf.  

If you have any other ideas please let me know in the comment section.  

Things That Make Me Grumpy

 There are some things that make me super grumpy.  Take my ResMed CPAP machine.  Apparently they either have a manufacturing issue or a redesign boo-boo.  Either way I just installed power supply box number 3 for the year 2024.  Please understand that I am a fiber artist not an engineer.  I am not an expert. This is not my field of study, expertise or work area.  However this is July 19th and that means a power supply is lasting a little over 2 months each. I personally think that they should last much longer. Maybe even a year or 2.

I would like to point out that this is not a way to build customer satisfaction.  It is also bad for the environment.  E waste is hard to dispose of properly, many people do not have the knowledge or resources to dispose of e waste, so most land up in landfills.  It is definitely not the way to increase your bottom line. ResMed you have to do better. 

Another thing that makes me really grumpy is when a super big corporation buys a health food store then a few years down the line a new CEO takes over.  The new CEO decides that there are too many items that the store carries.  He looks at his labor cost and eliminates a very large portion of the healthy and vegan food, only to replace it with junk foods.  Yes, the “food” you replace the healthy food with is junk food. The employees are instructed to send the customers to the frozen food section for the items that we used to get made in house. The things do not taste as good.  Also cutting back the number of dairy free alternatives that taste good and not like cardboard is a mistake. I personally don’t consider soda to be a healthy choice.  Yes, Amazon and Whole Foods this is you. 

You have also turned a good portion of the front end into an Amazon return hub.  Eliminating indoor seating in the middle of the desert. You have cut off the restaurant hours to 2 days a week, instead of 7.  You have also cut the quality of the prepared food to go. Yes, people have noticed.  I am now buying my fruit at different grocery stores.  Safeway has a nice selection of cut up fruit at a better price.  Sprouts has a better selection of fresh fruit at a lower cost too. Trader Joe’s has a limited but good selection of fresh fruits and vegetables at a lower price.  

The specialty sector of the food industry requires knowledge of the food industry is a very hard market to do well in. It requires someone with a food industry background and experience. The food sector typically has a lower profit margin. That is usually made up with volume. Maybe it’s time to hire someone with experience in the field to run Whole Foods  

The last thing that is making me grumpy right now is my body and its inability to handle the heat. I was in a warm room for 3 hours on Wednesday morning.  It is Saturday morning and I am still dealing with the aftermath.  My spoons are low. I am aching almost every where.  I want my 30 something body back.  

This blog post was written over 2 days.  

TTFN

Spinning in the Dark

 Last night we had a rather wicked monsoon storm.  Over 32,000 homes and businesses in Tucson lost power.  A special thank you needs to go out to all he crews and staff of Tucson Electric Power Company who cut their weekend short to work through the night to get the power restored to the greater Pima County area.  There were still pockets of power outages this morning.  However the vast majority of businesses and homes had their power restored.  

Now it’s the turn of the cable companies, phone companies and data processors to fix their end of their share of the damage so businesses can run smoothly again.  I know that this will involve replacing some electronic equipment and rebooting other equipment.  This always takes longer.  

What we were doing during all of this.  We were out to dinner when the storm hit.  I just watched the very heavy rains while eating dinner.  It was not until we got closer to home that we saw and had to drive around tree branches that had snapped off of the trees. When we got to the house we realized we had lost power when we couldn’t open the garage door.  

John got all the flashlights ready.  He even had one that was powered off a drill battery.  It was too dark to knit because all of my projects are currently using dark yarn.  So I took my flashlight and grabbed a bowl of spinning.  We moved to the back yard to cool off.  The backyard was cooler than the house. I managed to spin almost 3 rolags in the dark.  I was using one of my Golding drop spindles.  I would highly recommend this spindle for spinning in the dark. The grove can be felt by finger tip. It’s very well balanced. The hook is very easily managed in the dark. Below is a picture of last nights spinning.  For a very low light spin, I am happy with the results.

4 Hours

 Between last night, this morning and afternoon I spent 4 hours beginning to organize my knitting room.  I went through every basket, plastic box and drawer on 2 sides of the room.  The net result so far is 5, yes five kitchen size trash bags full of yarn.  These will go with a friend up to Northern Arizona when she visits her family next time.  

The knitting room is down one rolling cart which will be for sale at the next Old Pueblo Knitting Guild meeting which is themed Christmas in July.  If you are in Tucson this coming Wednesday July 17th join us at St. Phillips Church at the corner of River Road and Campbell Avenue at 9:30am.  I will also have some of my hand spun yarn packed into kits that will include the yarn, a pattern and stitch markers.  I will price the yarn at hand dyed prices, instead of hand spun prices.  Now I have to spend the weekend pricing everything. 

I have also come to the realization that I have about 20 years worth of shawls for me to knit.  While I was busy clothing the community with winter hats and scarfs, I totally forgot about my needs.  I also have a few sweaters that will be knit after I make a dent in the shawls.  I have also come up with a brilliant idea for a lot of little skeins of sock yarn.  I will set up that bag after I finish all the pricing.  

So I have been talking about what is leaving the knitting room today.  Here is a visual for you.  

Tour de Fleece Spinning

 The picture of the bobbins tell the next chapter in my spinning journey.  I have gotten much more comfortable with my new Hansen mini pro e-spinner.  I still occasionally turn the speed dial to off when changing to the next bobbin. Then wondering why it won’t start. I am getting much better at remembering to put the break back on after changing the bobbins.  I have found that with my arthritis using pearl cotton as the leader is much easier to see and for my hands to get the fiber settled into than sewing thread.  I might be sacrificing a few inches of yarn, but that’s OK with me. 

In the past 2 weeks, I have upped my spinning skills with the e-spinner.  The bobbin in the front left is the first bag of pencil roving for my older sister.  This bobbin is just shy of 8 ounces.  So the bobbins hold a lot of fiber.  There is one more bag of that color to be spun on a second bobbin.  I will ply them onto a third bobbin until full and then refill the bobbin until I run out of yarn. 

 The bobbin in the front right is the second third ( stages 8 to 14),of the Tour de Fleece spin from Hilltop Cloud in Mallwyd, Wales. Katie is a fabulous curator and dyer of fiber.  It is also faster to get something from Wales than from some parts of the United States. The bobbin in back is the first third of the spin of Tour de Fleece.  Stages 1 to 7. Today I received the extra fiber I ordered from the first day of the spin for the purpose of plying with stages 1 to 7.  I will show that off when I am finished plying it.  Yes, I must spin it first and fast, as I am running out of bobbins. 

For all those who are curious about my other spinning wheels, I still have not gotten the clearance from the doctor to start using them again.  I am hopeful that it will be soon; however, I am prepared to pivot if necessary. So change might be necessary. I really did not think that would happen at all. I have bought and tried 2 e-spinners that did not work well with me.  This time I tried before I bought it. E-spinners are like drop spindles and spinning wheels. There are many different types and there is a right one for each person.  You just might have to try a few to get the right fit.  

It was a wonderful way to spend part of the day. Even though it was cooler with a high of only 107 Fahrenheit or 41.66 Celsius.  Verses yesterday’s 112 Fahrenheit or 44.44 degrees Celsius. This is summer in Tucson.  Although as the population grows, I think Tucson is turning into a heat island with too many paved surfaces and buildings. With not enough desert landscape. The nights are not cooling down much either and I worry about our cactus. That is my personal opinion and as of yet has not been back up by the science people. 

Still Working on My Summer Shawl

 I have got to love my long time knitting friends. When I complained today that my current shawl project was taking much too long to finish.  I am on the third section of four sections. Today they gently pointed out that if I am using lace weight yarn with U.S. size 4 or 2.5mm knitting needles it is going to take forever.  Below is my current progress on the shawl.  The pattern is 2 of 3 A Shawl Study, one of my knitting patterns, using 2 skeins of  Zooey by Juniper Moon Farm.  I divided each skein in approximately half.  It is a cotton / linen blend.  The yardage is approximately 568 yards for both skeins together. 

You might notice that I did not use the yarn called for in the pattern.  I always like encourage people to use what ever yarn they like. All you have to do is use the knitting needles that the yarn calls for.  Then follow the pattern. The size of the finished project and the gauge will not match the pattern, but that’s ok it’s your creation. 

The pattern 2 of 3 A Shawl Study by Sheri Karobonik Designs is available on Ravelry.com, Love Knitting.com or your local yarn store.  If you buy my pattern, I will get a share of the purchase price.  

I Need A Do Over on Monday

 My body was not particularly useful today.  I started off the day by dropping and spilling half a bottle of Excedrin.  The bottle just slipped out of my hands.  All I was left with was the cap in my hand and a huge mess on the floor. First I tried the Dyson stick vacuum. That only broke up the pills and sent the debris flying all over the place. So, I do not recommend the stick vacuum for spilled pills.  Then I got the big vacuum out.  I used the hand held wand which did a pretty good job.  John was very kind and reassembled the larger vacuum for me. We followed up with the robotic vacuum to get the broken bits that flew across 2 rooms.  I really don’t recommend dropping a bottle of aspirin on the floor first thing in the morning.  It just gives off bad vibes for hours.  Not to mention that it delayed my breakfast.

Next I went to package yarn for the Christmas in July event at you guessed it, the July Old Pueblo Knitting Guild meeting.  My electronic scale needed to be changed. It took me 30 minutes to find the charging parts.  The converter was in the silverware drawer with the soup spoons.  The charging cord was in the towel drawer near the bottom of the drawer.  I could have sworn that I stored all 3 items together to make things easier to find.  So the scale is now charged and waiting for me to find some time.  This I really can’t blame on my body.  

I tried to nap but could not get comfortable in the cooler rooms of the house.  It was 112F today in Tucson.  Which brings up the question of why my sinuses have not cleared up for summer. Usually 3 days of 100+ degree weather is enough to give me a few months of relief.  I am still waiting for that to happen.  

I did start my older sister’s spinning project.  The first package of pencil roving is almost finished.  I will spin the second package and ply them together.  Then I will go on to the next thing in the basket.  We sometimes trade off different craft projects.  

TTFN