Lace Weight Yarn

 I managed to spin lace weight yarn on something besides a drop spindle. I spun it on my Hansen Mini Pro e-spinner.  I got 493 yards out of 4 ounces of roving.  I am really proud of my accomplishment.  It’s not like I have not spun lace weight yarn before, but it has always been on a drop spindle.  

I spun 4 ounces of Targee Wool plyed with Ashford Caterpillar cotton.  It should have a definite artsy look when it is finished.  The roving was a fairly fun spin, but it took a long time. I also found that it was easier to sit on the left side of the e-spinner. With the e-spinner on my left side instead of the traditional way of being in front of the orifice. I set up the yarn in multiple skeins so it would dry faster.  

I also put so much plyed yarn on the first bobbin that the end popped off when I took the bobbin off.  Well there is a first time for everything.  Note to self: don’t over fill the bobbin ever again. 

Don’t worry. It is not being added to my yarn stash.  As soon as I give it a hot water bath.  Thwack it.  Then line dry it. It will be leaving the house with other yarn in a big box.  

So Many Projects

 I have so many projects that I want to work on: however, this little energizer bunny has run out of batteries. I spent the day resting.

That being said I decided to do something different for this year’s Spin Together event. A no pressure spinning project.  I decided that I am going to finally tackle the supported spindle.  I will gather my supported spindles in a basket and get a sampler of different fibers to try out.  At least from a Navajo spinning class that I took several years ago, I already know that I will spin to the left which means putting everything on the right, I think.  I will have to look that up. 

Still Exhausted

 Yesterday I started a new medication.  I am still exhausted. I spent a good part of the day sleeping.  I am, however in less pain. Which is wonderful.  

Just in case you are wondering about today’s race, the snail won by several yards.  Autoimmune diseases really are awful.  

My Creative Energy is Back

 I am starting to feel better after my bout with food poisoning.  I have got my creative energy back. Now I just need my body to catch up with my creativity.  I am on day two of winding yarn for various projects.  I also managed to find room in some bins for yarn.  That might have something to do with pulling out yarn for projects from the bins.

I have also found that if I sit to the left side of my espinner it has some definite advantages.  The first being no sun in my eyes during afternoon spinning sessions.  The second being that I get a smoother thinner yarn. I can also see the yarn at a better angle. Did I mention that is also easier to spin that way?  If it is written in stone that you must sit facing the orifice of the spinning wheel or espinner, I have just broken that silly stone.  However if you must really have it written in stone the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show is going on until February 14th. 

Just Reading

 With one hand out of commission due to tendinitis I spent the day reading.  I almost finished a book that I started in December 2008.  We will file this under no book should be finished before it’s time.  It’s a really good book.  Let’s just say I had a lot of distractions at the time, I am not mentioning any names, but that is a period in my life where sleep became a luxury.  If sleep was a luxury reading fell further down the list.

The book is called Deep Blue by Meir Uri Gottesman.  A little warning there are a lot of Yiddish phrases and transliterated Hebrew phrases.  So either keep a Yiddish to English dictionary on hand and use google translate.  

Two More Done

 So far I have completed 2 projects this week.  I will show you my spinning. It’s a huge skein.  It came out perfectly balanced too.  It is a wool for the first spin, plyed with a darker silk yarn.  This is a one of a kind spin, so I will not spin more of this.  I will show you the picture.  It is already in the box to mail out. Just one more skein to spin and ply before I mail it.  

The next one I will not show you because it is a new pattern.  I have two more to knit. Pictures to take and a pattern to type up before I send it to my test knitters. Whew, it sounds like a lot of work.  Since I am using larger knitting needles it goes fast.  

I have also made the decision that I will no longer knit with a double strand of worsted weight cotton  it is just to hard on my hands. 

I am a Book Dragon

 Let’s face it.  I am a book dragon.  I tend to collect books faster than I can read them.  Once read I hate to let them go.  This is the pile I have on my nightstand waiting to be read.  I find it a bit overwhelming and daunting at the same time.  

So with some clever organizing I was able to clear one bookshelf off by rehousing everything on the shelf.  John then graciously dusted the shelf and moved a shelf of books for me to the higher shelf.  He then dusted the lower shelf too.  

Then it was my turn to prioritize which books to leave on the nightstand and which books to move to the shelf.  Then I went and gathered books off my dresser and some from the knitting room.  The empty shelf is now almost full with knitting books on the left and smaller fiction and nonfiction books on the right.  With the taller knitting books on a different shelf.  It feels good to get more organized.  

One of the books that was waiting to be read got started tonight.  I really love the ease of reading in short bursts.  The book is very spot on about our hectic lives.  I would highly recommend reading this book.  “ I’m not too busy “ by Jodi Hills. No, this book will not be leaving the house when I am finished because I managed to snag an autographed copy. This book you will have to find on your own.  

TTFN

Life in the Slow Lane

 I am having trouble adjusting to a slower pace.  I am having trouble just sitting still and resting.  In this endeavor practice does not make perfect.  

Oopise

 Oopise. The pattern that went wrong in so many ways will be going to a kids clothing bank. This goes under waste not want not.  A child will have a one of a kind winter beanie for next Christmas. 

Repeat after me. 

 Never ever try to write a pattern during brain fog. 

Never ever try to knit a sample during a really good television show.  

It never turns out well.  

I started rewriting the pattern and making the new sample tonight.  I foresee many, many changes along the way. 

I am still counting this a a completed UFO. 

An Empty Project Bag

 I did not complete any projects today.  This is even better.  I emptied one project bag.  I can now transfer a work in progress to this empty bag.  I do think the project will easily fit inside.  It has a shoulder strap so I don’t have to leave it anywhere if I have to get up.  Even better, I can put my wallet, car keys and glasses in the bag too. Less stuff to carry. 

This is because of a recent incident.  Some went into my project bag while I stepped away from my seat and stole 1/3 of my projects yarn.  A friend said that I had to stop trusting people so much.  Stop giving everyone the benefit of the doubt that they will do what’s right.  I have heard from several other fiber artists and they have had the same experience.  So now I will never leave my project bag alone on a table again, unless it’s a charity project. I tend to use less expensive easy to replace yarn in charity projects. A cup maybe, those are easier to replace and will not put a project on hold. 

I really don’t know what to make of this 2 year old mentally in older women.  If they wanted white yarn so badly they could go to a local yarn shop or buy from an Indy dyer on line. It is not necessary to steal my yarn. Also there was a lot of white yarn on the stash table that day. So I am cutting them no slack. If I do find out who did this, I will demand that I be reimbursed for the cost of replacing the 2 skeins of yarn. I am really getting tired of the entitlement that some people think that they are owed. 

Low Hanging Fruit

 I managed to finish 2 projects today. I just did the easy work of finishing weaving in the ends on a wash cloth.  Then I pick up a hat that had been on the back burner for 2 years.  All that needed to be done is finishing the crown and weaving in the ends.  

I am also thankful for my for my Hanson Mini E-spinner pro.  I don’t think that I would be able to do much spinning without it right now.  

I know that I am making more Tunisian crochet washcloths than I need. I have been teaching Tunisian crochet to a group of friends.  So I keep starting new ones to show various aspects of the stitches.  

The Blanket Reveal

 Since the blank has been gifted, I think it’s ok to show the whole blanket now.  

Another Finished Project

 Project number 5 for the year.  A gradient spin with 5 different yarns from the same 8 ounces of roving.  This roving was thinner then pencil roving. Yes, it is possible.  It was a tricky spin until I got my rhythm down.  The biggest skein was a two ply of the yarn.  The 4 smaller skeins were plyed with commercially produced yarn. This will be off to a new home as soon as it is packed up. 

Finally

 I finally got 3 low hanging projects completed.  One project in each of the following categories: knitting, Tunisian crochet and quilting.  I added 3 more stitch markers to the counting vase.  Without further ado here they are.  The quilt is a present so I can’t show you the rest until the quilt is given.  The scarfs are a head start on next year’s holiday gifts.  

Projects by the Dozens.

 This is the year to complete as many UFO’s as possible.   Every where I look in the sewing and knitting rooms I  seem to find more UFO’s without even looking.  I just seem to be scattered trying to finish everything at once.  Right now I have one on the sewing machine with two more lined up, meaning under two hours to finish each project.  One on the espinner, a little over halfway done with the first spin, then plying, hot bath and thwack. Too many on Tunisian Crochet Hooks and knitting needles to count. 

Did I mention I still have to write the directions for a beginner weaving class on mudd rugs?  That will be two different pdf’s. 

Now if I could only be more organized.  Wait a minute, if I was more organized I would be able to complete one project before starting another project.  I don’t think that is going to happen anytime soon.  

Spinning Yarn Right Handed

 I did not realize how hard it is for people to spin right handed.  I started trying to spin right handed when my left hand started to get sore.  I am ambidextrous and try to learn everything with both hands. I have been spinning left handed for over 15 years. I guess by now the sensation of the spun yarn going through my left hand is ingrained. So it might take me a while to learn spinning right handed. 

On my e spinner I am currently working on a project for my sister.  The roving is thinner than pencil roving. If you can believe that.  The rolls are huge 270 meters per 100 grams plus or minus the industry standard of 5%.  Which translates into United States measurements as 295.276 yards and 3.527 ounces plus or minus 5%.  With any luck the first roll will fit on one bobbin. I am approximately half way through the first roll. As you can see from the bobbin this should ply into a Worsted or Aran weight yarn.  Once I finish spinning this roll and the second roll my sister will get 2 to 3 skeins of  plyed yarn. Since she has a skein winder at home I am going to give her huge skeins and not break it down to 100 yards per skein.

Time to Wash the Mittens

Hand knit woolens don’t have to be washed very often.  When mine do I use cool or cold water with some Soak Wash.. The soak label says that you don’t have to rinse, but I rinse anyway.  Today since it was nice and sunny I hung the mittens on the fence to dry so that they would be ready for bed time.  

After I brought them in I shaved off the little balls of yarn that happen with very frequent use.  My sleeping gloves are now ready for use again.  

The yarn is by Merino-y-Vino on Etsy.com.  She does a fabulous job. Her color combinations are delightful.  She is a one woman show. The gloves below are a little over a year old and are used nightly. 

The Soak Wash can be found in some local yarn shops or www.soakwash.com or www.soakwash.ca

The pattern is on www.ravelry.com under Sheri Karobonik. The pattern name is Maxi Fingerless Gloves.

*I do not make any commission from Merino-y-Vino or Soak Wash. I do however try to recoup some of the cost of the yarn for my designs from pattern sales.  

Happy New Year 2025

 I am wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.   Happy 2025.  

And It’s a Mixed Day

 I had a very good start to my day. I got a lot of work done.  Sadly I ran out of spoons before lunch and spent the rest of the day resting.   

Number One Finished

 My first finished UFO.  Now I only need to complete 9 more before I can start another project. I did find that my drop spindle from Ankerworks broke on the top of the whorl, but the 3D Turkish spindle that John made for held up.  The stitch marker has been put in the the small vase.  

This is a mini skein of wool yarn.  I spun the wool on the Turkish spindle starting with the pink then adding the green. I plyed them together.  It will be washed thwacked,then put in a box for coasters or embellishments.  

One Amazing Man

 My amazing husband can go from chopping the vegetables for tonight’s soup to heading to the workshop to trim down ridged heddles that were meant for a 20 inch loom and cut them down to fit my 15 inch loom.  

Now on to the less amazing part of my day.  Who would have thought that all the slippers in my size that I wanted would be sold out.  On the day after Christmas, no less.  Not available until next fall.  Seriously I was not ready to buy winter slippers when the outside temperature was still in the 100’s.  I am definitely not looking for warm and woolly slippers then.   Today it’s in the 60’s the perfect weather for warm woolly slippers.  I want to buy them now when they will be immediately useful.  Apparently it’s to much to ask for.

Now to finish the scarf on the loom so my husband can do his final check of the heddles.  

The Unintentional Gift

 I gave John the most unique gift for the holidays this year.  This morning I went through the desk shelves that I stored paper and other stationary.  I divided the items into four separate piles.  They were Goodwill, keep, donate and recycle.  By the time I was done there was a large pile for Goodwill and donate.  A bit for recycling and less than half was put back.  

There were duplicates and even triplicates of some items.  In my defense most of the duplicates and triplicates were at the very back of the shelves where I find it difficult to get to.  I then put back the keep stuff.  Had John move and pack up everything leaving the house. 

I then gave him a pile of John type stuff.  Not surprisingly most was recycled.  

After all that I told him I had a unique holiday gift for him.  I told him the bottom shelf was his, but he was responsible for dusting and polishing it.  He promptly took his 3D toolbox and put it on the shelf.  It fit perfectly.  Also added were two additional tools in their own boxes.  Apparently this was on of the best gifts that I have ever given him.   Who knew it could be this easy?  

I hope everyone is having a very happy holiday season.  

Random Thoughts

 The recovery from food poisoning has been very slow.  The good news is that I am able to eat again.   I am letting my body decide when it wants to eat. Also what it wants to eat.  So far so good.  I am also getting some energy back.

The real reason for this post is really random.  When I was younger and everyone seemed to smoke everywhere, the were always free books and boxes of matches.  I would take them if I wanted to remember the name of the restaurant. I kept them in a little fish bowl that still holds the matches to this day.  Today while getting ready for the holiday, I noticed that the bowl was starting to look a little bit empty.  Meaning that I have not picked up matchbooks in quite awhile.  

Which brought up the question of where does one get matchbooks and boxes in 2024.  I know that I will have a few more years to work this one out.  Since I don’t smoke, I can’t get them with purchase.  Are these businesses who use to give out free matchbooks still in business? Was it a really good form of advertising? Was it a liability issue for giving them out?  Did it just fall out of favor along with smoking? I could ask an AI chatbot, but the companies might get mad if I break their bots with such an irrelevant issue.  

Since there is no one else in this room, I think bringing up 6 relevant points is enough of a start.  If you have any other relevant points please let me know.  

With a blanket Happy Holidays to everyone, because there are just too many holidays and special occasions to keep track of in the next few months.  Before I forget Happy National Eggnog Day.  

Day 4

 I am on day 4 of recovering from food poisoning.  My best guess is it was either the chicken or the salad, since I have not heard of any recent outbreaks from pecans or dried cherries.  I am doing much better than Thursday or Friday.  My ribs are still sore from all the wild eyrping.  I am still on the bananas, rice, applesauce and toast diet. Although the rice hit very hard today so I am backing off for a bit.  

Is am not sure if this hit me so hard because it is the second time in a few months that I got food poisoning or that I got a stronger dose of the toxin.  

My 10 ounce Welly: cup is perfect for laying in bed and drinking.  No more drenching myself with a 30 ounce tumbler.  

I was able to do 2 very small chores today. This comes with a caveat of a rest was required after each chore.  I am also ignoring my Fitbit request that I move more. I have gone into snail mode.  

I am very sad that I am missing the Mercado Christmas Market this weekend.  I have been looking forward for this for a while.  

*my usual disclaimer.  I bought the Welly: cup.  I am not receiving and compensation for mentioning it.  I like it therefore it got a mentioned.  

The Next Step

 90 percent of the deep house cleaning is done.  It’s just things like the pantry, filing cabinet and curio cabinet that need my attention.  

So I am turning my attention to UFO’s problem. I currently have 4 baskets of UFO’s that need to be completed. UFO’s are projects that are in various stages of completion.  Last year I tried a log book to keep track of my UFO’s.  That was a terrible failure.  So I am going for a straight numbers thing.  For every 10 projects I completed, I have given myself permission to cast on another project.  The only exception to this rule will be charity knitting for the kids and some family members.  

To keep track of all this I plan on dropping a stitch marker in a jar for every completed project.  This should be totally doable for me.  It’s not like there is a shortage of stitch markers in this house.  I am also sure that I can find a see through jar or vase.  With a limited amount of hand time per day it will take longer than in the past. I have started this project today with a random project. I got 2 inches completed today.  Pictures for you of my progress when the items are completed. 

My goal is to get rid of my PhD in knitting. Projects half done.  Wish me luck.  

How to Fix a Leather Slipper

 Let’s face it, it has become common practice to repair anything useful again.  That includes leather slippers.  Things just don’t last like we think they should.  One scissor company has decided a lifetime warranty is now not my lifetime but 10 years. So that when a blade starts going wonky and I bought the scissors in 1984 they are not going to replace them. The cake slicing knife I bought in 1975 is out of its lifetime warranty because the company went through bankruptcy. But I digress. We are here to talk about slippers. The seeming work is not done as well as it used to be.  The knots are not made to stay in place.  The knots are put in wonky places. You are lucky to make it one whole season without the slipper falling apart.

This is where you have to get creative. You will probably need a darning needle, a needle threader, a smaller crochet hook, toothpick and either Fray Check or Krazy Glue.  For this repair they can be used interchangeably.  These are both under a registered trademark, but I do not know where the symbol is on my iPad keyboard also under registered trademark.

The first thing you will do is run the remaining thread, which was cut to short to tie off properly, through a hole with the darning needle to the outside of the slipper.   Then you will run it through a stitch a couple of times.  As you are running out of thread run the crochet hook through the wrap that you just made. Twice if you have enough thread.  For this repair I used Krazy Glue because the Fray Check is playing hide and seek in the knitting room.  I like to keep a four pack of Krazy Glue around.  That way it is always fresh when I need it.  With the toothpick gently dab the Krazy Glue on the repair being careful not to get any on your hands or the leather.   It is only for the thread. Let dry in a safe place over night to dry.  

As a word of caution.  Please don’t attempt to do this anywhere but at a table with good lighting.  Things like the darning needles and threaders like to play hide and seek.  They are very good at hiding.  Almost as good as the Fray Check in the knitting room. The person you send hunting for the hidden items will not be happy with you.  Below is a picture of my repair attempt.  It’s not perfect, but it is not going anywhere soon.  The dark brown spot is where the glue is drying   

Also I regularly purchase both Fray Check and Crazy Glue.  I have not been paid to endorse these products. They have been in our home repair kit for years. 

My Navajo Style Tapestry Weaving

 I have finally finished my Navajo style tapestry weaving class with a little bit of help.  Ok, a lot of help at the end.  That much sitting and weaving was very hard on my body. I usually do not weave for more than 1 hour in any 24 hour period. My hands were useless the day afterwards. I hurt down to the bone. My body is still not happy with me.  If I ever under took making a second one, it would take at least a few weeks.  

The reason I am calling it my Navajo Style Tapestry Weaving is that I am obviously not Navajo.  You have to be a registered member of the Navajo Nation to make a genuine Navajo Tapestry Rug. This skill is handed down through the generations.  The tapestries are definitely worth the price, with the amount of work that goes into even the smallest pieces.  If someone claims that you don’t have to be Navajo to weave a Navajo rug just don’t believe them and move on. I personally feel that it is not ethical to profit off of someone Else’s culture and heritage.

I would also like to clear up another misunderstanding about Navajo fiber arts.  The Navajo do not ply their yarn. That would add too much time to the project. They could also not compress the yarn as much as is required,  please believe me there is a lot of pounding the yarn to compact it well. Also when rugs were made for the trading posts for sale, they were paid by the pound for rugs.  It was a family affair with the children doing a lot of the carding of the fiber as per my friend Louise. They also took care of the sheep.  

That being said I really enjoyed taking a class with world class instructors.  I would recommend taking a class with Barbara Teller Ornelas and Lynda Teller Pete.  By the way they have 2 books on Amazon or at Barnes and Nobel that are worth reading. You should be in very good physical condition to do this class.  There are so many new skills that I learned.  I am very grateful  that Vicky and Michael Konecky of Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson Arizona made this class possible.  

I am also grateful that my daughter and son in law gave me a portable hand massager.  My hands would be much worse off.  At least I can do non intricate work with my hands today.  I even emptied the dishwasher without dropping any plates today.  I also folded 3 loads of laundry too.  Then it was seek, toss or put away.  This was followed by a gourmet dinner of a duck egg omelette with mixed vegetables and fresh fruit.  I even managed to flip a 4 egg omelette without breaking it to pieces.  

My tapestry is below.  Louise helped me pick the colors out.  I picked out the design from a deck  of patterns.  The Teller sisters helped with the technical difficulties. 

Navajo Tapestry Weaving

 I started my Navajo tapestry weaving class today.   This is just before my first color change.  I am having a wonderful time.  I am learning so much.  There is a small difference between each of the weaving styles that I have learned.  It is easier than I thought.  

Slowing Down

 I have been in high gear for a few weeks now.  Being the proud owner of a couple of autoimmune diseases does not always allow me to do what I want. When I want to do things.  

I really have enjoyed doing massive amounts of decluttering the house.  Filing up the recycling bin almost to the top. Sending huge boxes to Goodwill instead of having a garage sale.  Sharing extra fiber related things with my friends.  Emptying cabinets to the point of having not one but two empty shelves.  Leaving books in the little libraries around the neighborhood. 

Tonight my body gave me a stern warning.  Slow down right now or else.  So if I have enough spoons I will do one project a day.  Then rest by listening to books, spinning, knitting, weaving, Tunisian crochet and watching rom coms or documentaries on television.  Pay more attention to my body instead of wishful thinking that I am 30 again with only one autoimmune disease and all the energy in the world.  

My Shark Multi Functional Wasp Eliminator

 I feel that global warming is very real.  Why else would I have to have to use my Shark multi functional Wasp eliminator on this the 5th day of December, 2024?  I spotted the wasp on the window. By the time I got back the wasp was trying to hide in the dark brown carpet.  

I was prepared with my wasp eliminator and a fly swatter for a little extra protection.  How the wasp eliminator works is very simple.  Put the D shaped opening over the wasp and turn the wasp eliminator on.  Once the wasp is safely inside the Wasp Eliminator, you walk outside with the Wasp Eliminator still on.  Find a place very far away from the house.  Make sure the wasp is not moving, because they can be tricky.  Turn the wasp eliminator off. This is a must because you can’t open the elimination door with the machine on. Make sure you are away from foot traffic.  Open the trap door and shake out the machine.  Walk away very quickly.  

Everyone who is allergic to wasps should have one of these handy devices available at all times. Because sometimes our knight in shining armor is on a grocery run.  This machine allows me to be a self rescuing princess.  Albeit a very shaky self rescuing princess.  

I would like to thank the wonderful people at The Shark Corporation for making this wonderful Wasp Eliminator aka the Shark hand held vacuum.  The Shark hand held vacuum was a present from my husband.  No advertising has been accepted.  I also did not ask The Shark corporation for permission to write about or repurpose their hand held vacuum.

Just Wow

 Despite a very bad body day, I got a tremendous amount of things done today.  I started off the day at 3 am in crying pain with tears running down my cheeks.  Not the way I prefer to wake up any day.  I took aspirin at 3:30 am with a very eclectic breakfast. Followed by my first nap once the aspirin kicked in.  Then it was up again at 6 am, I was really stiff and had to move , so I started 2 loads of laundry. Then took my second nap of the day.  

I managed to put a few things away.  I organized things in 5 minute chunks followed by resting.  It’s amazing how much I can get done in 5 minutes. Hang a load of laundry. Open an Amazon box and put things away.  Bring stuff from one end of the house to the other end. 

I did do quite a bit of craft hopping today. I plyed 2 skeins of yarn. Then put them up in skeins to get the bobbins back.  Spun 1 1/2 bobbins of yarn.  Added a few more inches to a knitted scarf. Also worked on a Tunisian Crochet baby blanket.  Hopefully it will be finished before the baby arrives.  

My biggest accomplishment of the day was cooking and cleaning up dinner with very little help.  I have not been able to do that since mid February when I got sick.  It was wonderful.  

Just so you know that some things don’t change.  I left a load of dry laundry in the dryer to be folded later.  The laundry might just freak out if I fold it too soon.  

Priorities

 It has just occurred to me that when I spend my day shopping, doing laundry and Zenning the house I just don’t have the spoons left to knit, or crochet more than one row or do about 3 inches of weaving on a scarf.  I have really got to finish the Zenning of the house so I can play with yarn most of the day.  I really have to get my priorities straight.  

I have also figured out for the umpteenth time that the greater my pain level the less I want to move.  When the aspirin kicks in I am ready to go again. 

More stuff has to leave the house.  I am currently looking at book shelves thinking I need to go through them while also thinking it’s bed time.  It can wait a day or two.  

Thanksgiving

 We are back home after a brief visit with our daughter and son-in-law for Thanksgiving.  We had a delicious and delightful dinner with my son-in-laws extended family.  Many did not recognize me after a 50 pound weight loss and a few years between seeing them again.  

Speaking of weight loss. I am now in another smaller size. Right now my body is going through a let’s lose inches phase before the next round of weight loss.  I just can’t seem to lose inches and weight at the same time.  

I started unpacking and had had an early breakfast.  Right now I can’t decide whether to take a nap or finish unpacking and start the laundry. I also have to go shopping to restock fruits and vegetables.  Now that my tummy is full a nap seems more prudent right now.  

TTFN

Happy Holidays

 Wishing everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving today a wonderful day.  Just don’t over indulge. Take a break and take a walk to, weather permitting.  

The Amazing Shawl

 As you know, I have been doing a huge deep cleaning all over the house.  Currently I am working on the knitting room. I also store all my shawls in there too. So today’s project is to start going through all my shawls. I am happy to report that one of my favorite traveling shawls has grown over the winter. 

When I first bought this shawl it was just big enough to go around my shoulders. Over the last several years it has grown big enough to be used as a blanket.  I am definitely keeping this shawl. I am also going to have to plan a trip somewhere so that I can use my new traveling blanket/shawl. 

By the way this makes me very happy. Now to choose where to go. 

All Wound Up

 In preparation for my next doodling project, the first in Tunisian Crochet. I caked 24 mini skeins and one full skein from an advent yarn collection that I lost the pattern to.  To supplement the color palette I also caked up 3 more skeins from another yarn set that as you probably have already guessed, I have lost the pattern to.  

I am going to be following the sizing of my Count 1-2-3-4 pattern on Ravelry.  Not necessarily the pattern.  Mostly it’s going to be playing with colors and the Tunisian Simple Stitch. Since there will be 27 different color ways in play with a neutral color for the broader. There will also be only one stitch through out because of all the color changes.  They will alternate light and dark. 

Let the fun begin.  

Sleep

 Hopefully I will sleep well tonight. I got over 10,000 steps today.  Yes, I was very busy today.  

I Won the Trifecta

 No not the one where you win actual prizes.  I won the carrot trifecta.  I bought and ate carrots from 3 stores in my area.  This is before my wonderful daughter let me know about the carrot recall today.  

My body has been really weird the last week.  After I threw out all the carrots that were left.  Yes I ate a little over a pound.  What can I say I love carrots.  I went to look up the symptoms of E. coli.  Yes, it explained all my weird symptoms this week.  Down to the last detail.  

I am in recovery mode, yet again this year.   

Now here is my pitch to get rid of corporate farms.  We need to go back to smaller family run farms.  All I know is the more consolidated the food industry becomes, the more food recalls we have.  Can someone run a test on my hypothesis?  Pretty please with sugar on top.  

An Editorial

 Let’s face it. This has been a very rough election cycle.  A whole lot of us did not get what we were hoping for.  While the inflation numbers are down that does not mean prices are going down.  Unhinged craziness still abounds.  I know that I feel very unsettled.  A lot of people on social media and in my community are feeling the same way. That is why we must go back to some of our countries founding values.  

This country was not founded on 10 multi billionaires or hedge fund’s who own most of the world’s wealth.  It was founded by people like my dad. An immigrant to this country who ran a small family business.  It covered our families expenses and an employee or two. He paid taxes. He gave back to the community.  In essence he was living the American dream.  Don’t get me wrong the hours were very long at times. Money was tight at times and he bartered for his services.  Yes, he paid taxes on those bartered services.  We were like a lot of families in my youth.  Fellow community members supporting each other.  

During this time of uncertainty we must go back to those values.  We must support each other.  I am personally recommending that this holiday season we cut back on creating more personal debt.  That we avoid the crowded malls. We instead go to all our neighbors who run family businesses.  We support them and their families so they can pass the business to their children.  This Black Friday let’s make it about putting small businesses in the black.  Followed by Small Business Saturday where we continue the buying spree so that they have a lot less inventory to count at the end of the year.

  This will also give them more money to add some fresh inventory.  Right now a lot of small businesses are picking and choosing which items to restock. They can’t afford to order everything that they need all at once. This is causing all kinds of stress. 

If all of us that can afford to shop just spend $50.00 a month at our favorite family owned businesses this year and into next year it would go a long way in helping our country right itself.  

You can double your impact in other ways too.  Say for instance that you love to knit, but don’t have anyone to knit for.  Just go to your local family owned yarn store and buy some washable yarn.  Make your favorite hats, scarfs or sweaters. Bring them back to the yarn store next month. They have people and charities that they work with in your community.  Then buy more yarn and repeat this process monthly.  This will help keep this small business afloat.  This will also give much needed warm clothing to people in your community who can’t afford to buy warm clothing.  This will bring you the joy and relaxation of knitting. This is a win on so many levels.  

We are in this together.  We have two choices.  The first choice is to whine and stick our heads in the sand hoping everything will fix itself.  I really don’t recommend this approach. 

 The second is supporting each other. Making life better in our communities.  Doing small things that will add up to bigger things.  Become as active in your communities as you feel comfortable with. No more.  No less. Educated your neighbors on the issues you care about.  Be there for each other. Support the under served and those at high risk in a way you feel comfortable.  Most importantly be kind to each other.  Open doors for moms with strollers.  Say hi to each other.  Be kind to service workers.  As long as we have each other’s backs, we have got this.  

New pattern coming

 I have crocheted the new pattern enough times to feel very comfortable with it.  Now I am moving to the new expensive yarn and will keep copious amounts of notes and pictures.  

Number 10

 I have finally finished my 10th charity scarf for the year.  The picture is below.  

In other news, I think I have accidentally designed my next pattern.  I will make it a couple of more times in different weight yarns and different fibers.  Also in different color schemes.  I know it sounds really weird to accidentally design a pattern. I find it no less weird than waking up and scribbling down a new design.  

TTFN.  It has been a very long day.  I am extremely tired.  

Cleaning Out the Closet for Winter

 I took a break from reorganizing the knitting room to try on winter clothes. Twice a year I tend to see what fits or is too worn out to last another season.  Today 9 shirts were too big. The body length of the shirts were not the problem. The shirts had gotten so big that the sleeves were 2 to 4 inches too long. Apparently folding my sleeves up to mid forearm or elbow is not a fashion thing. So the rule of thumb was if my hands can’t be seen the shirt must go. The were all nice shirts so they will be going to Goodwill on our next charity run.  The funny thing about this was most of the shirts were black.  Usually it’s the lighter colors that have gone in the past.  

Before we headed out to lunch we stopped by J.Jills for their sale.  I replaced a few of the shirts and some of my pants.  The funny thing about it was that except for some pants, nothing was black.  Did I mention that everything I got was on sale. Also everything was smaller. I noticed that an extra large petite is equivalent to a large in the regular size clothing, just shorter. This is just in case you were curious.  

I might not have lost as much weight this year as last year, but the inches seem to be catching up with the weight loss. It seems that in the moment of the weight loss inches do not come off. In the moment of inches lost does not mean that the scale is moving.  I will take the inches lost as part of the process. 

At lunch I found that I really hated the jalapeño pepper hummus.  It was a definite not ever going to eat that awful stuff again.  I am usually a big hummus fan and will try different add ins.  But this being Tucson and snowbird season weird stuff like the jalapeño pepper hummus land on the menu for the snowbirds. You will not find odd combinations on the menu in the middle of summer.  

In the knitting room I matched patterns with bags of yarn to set up more projects that need to be completed.  I also realized that I need to take everything out of the rolling cart and reorganize the entire cart.  That will wait until next week.  

It’s getting late do TTFN.  

Did Anyone Say Playtime With Yarn?

 Another day of preparing the yarn for projects and organizing the yarn by colors.  Since I was hungry and had breakfast at 5 am., I  managed to get 3 hours of organizing done while the house was still quiet.  I got to play with a lots of colors.  I also found a very large basket with kits already made for charity scarfs. 

I am pulling all my shelf yarn out and organizing it. So the shelves are looking pretty empty and my floors are covered with baskets of yarn.  

After lunch out and a walk in the park I managed to do another hour before my body decided it was nap time.  

After dinner which I managed to cook 2 days in a row. I got to test a new prototype.  I can’t say what it is yet.  I can say that I absolutely love it.  It is one of the best designs that John has come up with.  I was not gentle with my testing.  I used yarn that required a U.S. size 6 knitting needle and it did not disappoint me.  I might just request an extra one just for Tunisian crochet.  

Prep Work

 Today was all about winding yarn into cakes to be used for my favorite 6 foot 2 inch scarfs for charity.  I combined colors and textures to make a 2 strand cake to be combined with a one strand single.  The resulting 3 strand yarn is just shy of bulky.  When knit in the round it provides excellent warmth for the young person who will receive it.  

Today I managed to cake enough yarn to fill a 2 gallon Ziplock bag.  I still have more yarn to wind.  I was also thinking that in order to make the knitting bags and baskets more portable, I would find a place to stack the full 2 gallon Ziplock bags. Then I would only need to carry a 1 gallon Ziplock bag with an assortment of yarn cakes to make it easier to transport.  Of course this would only work with the blue / green and  red/ purple and pink bag.  The black bag would never need this.  Yes, I do have more than one charity scarf going at a time.  Currently it is 3 different color ways of the 6 foot 2 inch scarfs, 2 other knit scarfs for warmer climates and 2 Tunisian crochet scarfs.  I also have at least 1 hat and 2 blankets in progress.  I really do finish projects, however some like long scarfs and blankets can take weeks to finish.  Sometimes I just need a quickie project to make me feel more productive.  Did a mention that I have 2 shawls in progress too?

As I tear the knitting room down, it’s looking messier than ever. I have Yarn scattered all over the place, but I am organizing it and when I’m finished, it will look wonderful. Also the bags that I like for the project have been discontinued so I have ordered at least six more so I have enough to complete the task. I initially thought it was a supply chain issue until I went to the companies website to see where I could locate some. They no longer show the bags I’m using on their website. I wish it was reflected on Google Search. Based on the search results I went to 2 different Walmarts and various other stores.  That took time and energy away from my project. I guess I will make a useful feedback comment.  

I feel like winding more yarn now, but will call it a day instead.  

Binge Organizing

 Today I meant to spend 30 minutes working on organizing the knitting room.  Somehow, 3 hours later I only stopped working when I ran out of the Ziplock XL Flexible Totes*. I checked out Target, Walmart and Ace Hardware to buy a couple more tote bags.  Even places where Google shopping said they were in stock there were none.  I am not sure if it is a supply chain issue or that they just don’t carry as many sku’s in the stores.  So I ordered them on line and they will be here Wednesday.  

I did manage to empty one basket and 2 canvas tote bags today.  Tomorrow I will work on winding yarn and putting odd skeins away.  The knitting room now looks worse than this morning, but I swear parts of the room are more organized.  Like skeins are gathered together.  I had more of some yarn than I thought I had.  John was not surprised like I was.  

I will have to prune a few more knitting books to get the books I found tucked in odd places put away. That will wait until I can get back to my knitting / spinning table.  

All the organizing and waking to find the Ziplock XL Flexible Totes gave me over 10,000 steps today. So all in all it was a good day.

*I like storing some of my yarn in the flexible totes.  I purchased them myself.  I am not receiving any compensation from the makers of the Ziplock XL Totes.  

Catching Up

 I honestly did not realize that getting rid of 60% of my yarn and about 30 % of my spinning fiber with cause so much backend work. Now all my spaces need to be re-organized. I am doing it in 15 minute increments. I still have not gotten back all my energy from earlier in the year. But I can definitely see progress.

This is also leading to more knitting and Tunisian crochet projects getting completed. I have finished more projects in the past month than I have finished in the previous four months.

Lemonade Anyone?

 My day is off to a rather disappointing start.  First after staying up way too late last night I found answers that made a lot of sense but were not the ones that I wanted to read.  Yesterday, I tried to teach myself how to crochet left handed. Try as hard as I could, I could not make my hand do the subtle movements necessary to move the crochet hook.  This is not to be.  Monster inflected damage 63 years ago means that my left hand is still damaged in a way to make the movements necessary to crochet are still impossible with my left hand.  My dream of being able to do everything with either hand is just not going to happen with this one thing.  

I woke up to muscles that felt like 2 x 4’s.  I spent an hour working on my muscles before getting out of bed.  I started off by stretching and kneading the muscles. That was not very successful.  Then it was trying to create muscle spasms to ease the stiffness. A little progress.  Then it was pressure points. A little more progress.  What I am left with are tired, sore and stiff muscles in my legs and hands.  My personal thoughts on this are that I am going to have the best day possible In spite of my muscles.  

After breakfast it will be time to conquer my day.  Make today the best possible day.  Get as much done from my aspiration list done.  The enjoy some couple time.  

I wish everyone a peaceful and productive day.  

Five

 Yes, I have finally finished 5 projects.  Need I say more? Well yes   Four charity scarfs and a washcloth for myself. The great thing about teaching people new fiber arts skills is that I always get a new washcloth out of it.  

The Word of the Day is….

 I spent a lot of time doing the very hard work of what I call organizing/cleaning.  This means that while I am throwing away old magazines and papers ( 3 recycling bags full today ), I am also putting things away and filling bags for Bookman’s ( 2 bags today ).  I also dusted some shelves.  Put books away in the bookcases to fill up the space created by books going to Bookman’s.  Also organizing the current space to make better use of the space at hand.  

I have more empty space in some areas and more clutter in other areas. I matched up newly found patterns with the yarn for knitting.  I wish it was in my nature to be more organized, that way I would not have found duplicate books in different areas of the house.  

Honestly I can only do so much of this type of cleaning before I want to cry from exhaustion.  I do know that a lot of progress was made today, but enough is enough cleaning in one day.  I am too tired to spin any new yarn.  I an also to tired to read.  I may find a quiet place to knit. 

The word of the day is exhaustion.  

A Recovery Day

 Today we did a recovery day.  Yesterday afternoon we got our annual Covid19 vaccination. My arm did not hurt until this morning.  Yesterday I caked 5 skeins of yarn which helped with the soreness. It was a lot of work considering 1 skein had to be done twice.  

My body has almost recovered from my big yarn de stash. Now I am going to be taking smaller steps with the reorganization of the knitting room.  Also I am no longer going to be making mass quantities of dog pillows. I have other things that I would like to spend my energy on.  So if you have been saving scrap wool for me consider using your scraps to make your own dog pillows to drop off at the animal shelter. I can share my pattern with you. 

If you would consider getting your Covid19 shot and about 3 weeks later the flu vaccine it would help make us all healthier this winter.