This and that.

 I caught the cold du jour, the fever, runny nose and sore throat.  The cold was gone by mid day, however my arthritis kicked in.  I slept for a lot of the day and am still tired.  My limbs did their best interpretation of 2 x 4 lumber.  My hands were to tired to knit or weave. So I will have a few more unplanned down days.  

We still do not have a roofer for the leaky roof and we are supposed to have another week of rain starting today.  The tarp is in place. The pan is strategically placed. We are hoping for the best.  The 8 inches of rain in July put us  just one notch above the worst drought conditions.  I wish there was a way to bring the excesses water from the east coast out west.  We could really use some help filling up our Reservoirs. A nice early snow pack on the Serria Neveda range would be nice too. Somewhere between 20 and 50 feet would be perfect.  Just as long as it was a slow snow melt come spring.   

Still Going Batty

 We did our usual Sunday chores today. I am also trying to add a clean a once in a blue moon items.  That way I can tackle the boring stuff a little bit at a time.  We also had a great call with the now grown up kids.  They are doing great.  

Then I went on a carding spree and made 11 mini batts this afternoon.  I am almost done with this round of carding.  I will have a lot of yarn to spin and weave.  I will also get some sewing projects done too.  

Going Batty

 This afternoon I carded over a dozen batts form bits and pieces of fiber. Some were just the leftovers from other spinning projects. Some were samples of various fibers. The only things that they will now have in common are they are one of a kind batts and once they are spun up they will be going into handwoven scarfs for the children’s clothing bank in the Flowing Wells School District here in Tucson.  

I am very thankful that Vicky from Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson was able to get me new drive bands for my Louet Victoria even though they were not in the catalog.  Vicky is simply amazing.  My Victoria is 2 years old and this will be the first drive band replacement.  Just remember when your drive band starts to get loose it’s time to replace them.  

Here is a very small sample of the mini batts. I think that this is box 2 or 3.  I used my Ashford Art Drum Carder.  Vicky carries those too and can ship to your house.   Another few days of carding and I will move on to spinning these.  The bits and pieces that are not relevant to any color way will go into a box to be carded later.  I will empty the last of 3 laundry baskets tomorrow. By the way a laundry basket can hold a lot of fiber.  This is a very small part of my deep cleaning projects. Make it useful or dump it.  

My Body Hates Me

 My body and I have not been in sync for a few days now. I really have been slowing down. I am doing a lot of reading and resting. Which is what my body wants.  My mind on the other hand wants to go and keeping things rolling at a moderate pace. I have about 3 really good hand hours a day, which is not to my liking. The pace of my crafting has slowed way down.  Also not to my liking.  Maybe it’s time to get some outside consultants to weigh in.  

Well it’s time for breakfast and to see what my body and I can negotiate today.  

The 3rd Time Was The Charm

 Let me start off by saying that I was having a very bad dyslexic day.   So starting a new pattern was not my best idea ever.  The words and numbers were jumping all around the page.   Somehow my mind translated “Size 9/5.5mm” into Size 11. Don’t ask, I would not be able to explain it.  So I started with U.S. size 11 and the knitting did not match the picture.  So I went down to U.S. size 10, but luckily I moved my pink marking tape over that one line, totally by accident.  I was able to save the second cast on and just replace the needle tips.  Luckily I was using my LYKKE interchangeable knitting needles.  

Because I was having such a hard day with numbers, I put a stitch marker after evert 10 cast on stitches until I got the right amount of stitches   I highly recommend this when adding more the 25 stitches to a project   

So now the next row is 5.   I love the pattern “Hermosa Tee” by Grace Akhrem.  The yarn I am using is Alumco in color 10 by Araucania Yarns. If your local yarn shop does not carry this yarn you can always use my favorite local yarn shop, Grandma’s Spinning Wheel. They have a new on line store too.  

My progress so far.  

P.S. I would like to make a personal recommendation to pattern designers and yarn companies with the fore knowledge that every Millimeter on the pattern page counts. By adding just two spaces you could make a pattern so much easier to read. For example instead of 9/5.5mm, try 9 / 5.5mm. You can see the correct knitting needle size right away. I know that this is a decades old industry standard most likely set up when print pages were set by typesetters.  Now that most everything is done electronically this should be very easy to accomplish.  This is my 2 cents worth on the subject.  Thank You for listening.  Have a wonderful day.  

An FYI

 Just so you can plan for it. This is my vain attempt at humor.  When a crown that is over 20 years old falls out, it will require a check for cavities and re shaping of the tooth. Lots of numbing medicine is required.  This then requires a new crown.  Then the rest of the day is spent cranky and tired.  I would recommend a nap.  Then in two weeks I get the new crown and hopefully it will fit. 

Tomorrow must be a better day.  

Just Another Summer Day At Home.

 My hand is a little better, but still wonky. I did manage to knit a little on U.S. size 11 knitting needles.  There is a scarf that I am knitting out of hand spun for a holiday present.  The rest of the day was taken up by chores, napping, carding batts, finishing a book and starting another book. We did get to talk to our darling daughter and she and her husband are doing well. Work is keeping them busy. 

It was a record breaking month for the monsoon rains in Tucson for July.  At least it has not rained for a few days.  The roof seems to be drying out a little.  John is busy interviewing roofers.  

The COVID19 rate is up in the county.  So for the most part even though I am vaccinated I will wear a mask in public.  Because the virus is more active in the afternoon, I need to finish my errands by noon.   I think I am going back to parking lot pick up for most groceries.  I am trying to make the best of things and may finish deep cleaning the house.  I moved another tub of yarn off the stacks in the garage and onto the shelf’s.  Progress by inches.