Today I made a lot of progress on the new shawl design. I am just about 880 yards in to a a 1320 yard design. All I can say is that the Dream in Color Yarn, Jilly with Cashmere is really dreamy. It is soft and cushy. I would like to say that I bought the yarn and am creating the original design on my own. It is not a commissioned design. I will publish it as soon as I have it test knit. Yes with this yarn I flunked my yarn diet. It's time to go knit some more.
A blog about my life, my fiber arts and pictures of my finished work. I will also throw in the very occasional recipe or shopping tip.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Is Today Over Yet?
It's been one of those days around here. I could not figure out if the new lunch spot we tried yesterday is to blame or I have a he crud du jour that is going around Eric's day program. It really does not matter. I spent most of the day sleeping. I am still tired.
Eric is not feeling good either. He is on he eyrpy side tonight. Sitting with Eric sometimes has its own harzards. Tonight diaper mountain fell on me or rather a dozen packages of diapers. It did not help my lack of Caffine fueled headache. Tomorrow diaper mountain will be restacked.
Meanwhile I set aside working on the new pattern while I am sitting with Eric. Instead I am trying to finish the second half of a charity knitting poncho. There is nothing like doing mindless garter stitch when I am sitting with Eric. Something that I can stop in mid row and not lose my place in the pattern.
Tuesday, February 9, 2016
Eric's Closet Part 2
All it took was 30 minutes. Nothing will fall on me for a while. Now after physical therapy I can spend the day doing a rare laundry day. I will also work on the new shawl. Thanks to the good folks at LG.
Monday, February 8, 2016
The Leaning Closet of Eric
Sometimes Eric's closet gets out of hand. After all it is easier to just dump everything on top no matter how many things are already out of place. I don't claim to have Martha Stewart tendencies, but when I pull something out of Eric's closet and I get hit with a pile of linens something has to happen. So tomorrow I will pull everything out and reorganize it. Nothing will be tied with ribbions or folded perfectlly. That is not the point. The point is not to have things fall on me and to be able to find things in a hurry.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Knitting and More
Eric is still sick and tommrow is up in the air. He is currently running a fever. I am hoping that Eric's fever breaks tonight and that he feels better tomorrow. I on the other hand feel much better. My back is finally starting to feel better after the December accident. I guess everything gets better In its own time.
On the knitting front my new design is coming out much better than I hoped. It has a lot of body and swish. I am really loving the Dream in Color Marino Cashmere blend. I also got 8 more inches knit today. This might just be the pattern that will be given at the March Old Pueblo Knitters luncheon and fashion show. I will include a link when the web site is updated. My plan is to add the second skein of yarn tomorrow. Don't worry this pattern will be suitable for a beginning knitting project.
Labels:
accident,
Dream in Color,
healing,
knitting,
new design,
Pattern,
sick boy,
Yarn
The Plague Du Jour
It has been a crazy few days around here. Just when I thought I had enough energy to get the creative juices flowing. The plague du jour has been going around the house. After being up all night with Eric on Tuesday I spent most of Wednesday sleeping and achy.
The new washer is great, I have only done 3 loads of laundry since Tuesday night. With the old washer that would have been closer to 10. So yes I am still in love with my new washing machine.
I think it is time for another nap.
The new washer is great, I have only done 3 loads of laundry since Tuesday night. With the old washer that would have been closer to 10. So yes I am still in love with my new washing machine.
I think it is time for another nap.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
An Update from Google
This is announcement from Google. If you follow any blogs including mine you will need a FREE G-Mail account from Google. They ways and where fores are below. Yes I did cut and paste the entire announcement.
We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers.
Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer"
"An update on Google Friend Connect
December 21, 2015
In 2011, we announced the retirement of Google Friend Connect for all non-Blogger sites. We made an exception for Blogger to give readers an easy way to follow blogs using a variety of accounts. Yet over time, we’ve seen that most people sign into Friend Connect with a Google Account. So, in an effort to streamline, in the next few weeks we’ll be making some changes that will eventually require readers to have a Google Account to sign into Friend Connect and follow blogs.
As part of this plan, starting the week of January 11, we’ll remove the ability for people with Twitter, Yahoo, Orkut or other OpenId providers to sign in to Google Friend Connect and follow blogs. At the same time, we’ll remove non-Google Account profiles so you may see a decrease in your blog follower count.
We encourage you to tell affected readers (perhaps via a blog post), that if they use a non-Google Account to follow your blog, they need to sign up for a Google Account, and re-follow your blog. With a Google Account, they’ll get blogs added to their Reading List, making it easier for them to see the latest posts and activity of the blogs they follow.
We know how important followers are to all bloggers, but we believe this change will improve the experience for both you and your readers.
Posted by Michael Goddard, Software Engineer"
This is more interesting than my day of napping and cleaning.
Labels:
blog access,
g-mail,
Google Friend Connect
Friday, January 29, 2016
24 Plus 3
Today 27 hand knit hats left the house for the Flowing Wells School District Clothing Bank. I really hope the kids like all the colors, I went kinda of crazy with this batch. So more stuff left the house. Yes I have more hats on the knitting needles.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
How to Lighten Your Wallet
I was going to write about Eric and his equine therapy today. About the 2 mintiure horses that competed with each other for Eric time by resting their heads on his lap, one was even licking him. The equine therapy director said she had never seen these miniature horses take to someone so fast and want to just hang around with someone that they just meet. Can my friends with farms please enlighten me on this?
Instead I will write about the clueless dude driving a mini van who almost hit Eric while he was in the ramp deployment zone of the Handicapped parking space. You have all seen them the large space right next to the Handicapped parking space marked Van Accessible with the hash lines painted in multiple places in the space. As I was about to open the passenger door to get my shopping bags, He actually pulled into the ramp deployment zone to park and missed running Eric over by less than 12 inches. I saw him out of the. corner of my eye and grabbed Eric. I ran him up the ramp into the store and made sure he was ok, before I went to get the bags and my purse. Then the dude decided to park some place else.
If the van driver had not been so clueless or lazy he would not have had a near miss. If you want to be a clueless or lazy driver any of the following could happen to you.
You will get a ticket for hitting a wheelchair in the loading zone. I am not sure what moving violations cost in your area, but it will lighten your wallet.
Depending on the judge and laws in your area you could lose your drivers license, that will lighten your wallet.
If you have auto insurance the premium will go up, that will lighten your wallet. If you choose to,drive with out insurance the cost of driving with out insurance will lighten your wallet.
Depending on the laws in your area you could face jail time. This will effect your income for the rest of your life. Oh, and did I mention the legal fees and cost to hire an attorney. In some areas you are even required to pay for your time in jail. You might as well hand over your wallet and forget about having one for a while.
So if you want to have a prosperous year and life, please don't be a clueless driver.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Cars, Cows and Planes
I have been very busy over the last few days being the 3rd driver. This was not my plan, John got sick so I left him home with the sick boy. Eric is better and at program and John needs a few days to recoup. My plan for the weekend was going to be spinning, knitting and possibly weaving if I fixed my loom. The the opening at the Domengis Art Gallery.
So Friday morning I left for San Diego to Teri's place. I stayed the night. The kids loaded the moving van. I was not allowed to help. I followed the kids, they were driving the u-haul truck and I drove Teri's car. We stopped for lunch at Brent's Deli in Northridge, California. If you are in the area and have not eaten there it is a must. With big eyes I ordered the chopped liver appitezier and a cup of mushroom bar.ey soup. After I finished the chopped liver and fresh rye bread I had no room for the soup and cancelled the order for it.
We decided we were too tired to drive, so being the worlds rudest sister I called my brother Glen and asked if we could stay the night at his place. We had a nice talk and caught up on things. I find my sister in law Marla so amazing, she not only runs her own graphic arts business but keeps up with the driving for my 2 active nieces. The girls have just grown so much since we last saw them. They are fantastic parents.
Sunday was the last day of driving to Northern California. We drove through what was once the most productive farm land in the country, too many fields sat empty covered with tumble weeds. Now if someone could figure out a way to get all those big piles of snow from back east and drop it on the Sierra's or in the almost dry lakes things might get a little better. We have a national highway system, why can't we have a national water system. Harris Ranch had lots of cows. Yes I said that there would be cows. We arrived at our destination and the kids unloaded the u-haul.
Monday I flew from the San Jose airport to San Diego. I then picked up my car and drove home getting in at about 8 pm. A very long day. At least I did not have to hit the ground running.
Labels:
Brent's Deli Northridge Ca,
driving,
family,
flying,
traveling
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Air Mattress and More
As I write this post from San Diego, I am eating leftover pizza from our dinner at my all time favorite pizza place, Project Pie. Last night I slept on an air mattress for the first time ever. While I found it very comfortable, after about 2 hours it became unbearably cold. So I got up and grabbed my coat to put over the blanket I already had on the mattress. That helped a bit. Needless to say my body really liked the hot shower this morning.
For those of you who think that I can not pack light, the Big Dog backpack on the bed is all that I packed for everything but knitting until Monday. If Teri can pack light so can I. Oh and the reason that I a in San Diego is that the kids needed a third driver.
Labels:
air mattress,
Project Pie,
traveling. Packing light
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Less is Better
I am doing a lot less laundry. Today was the 1st time in 3 days that I have had to do a load of whites. I used to do at least one load a day. Eric has been very concerned that he is not making enough laundry. We told him tonight that he did not have to make any more laundry. That it only means that I will have more time to spend with him. That we would listen to more books and watch more television together. Also that I would have more time to spin and knit, which will make me happy.
I wonder if doing less laundry will show up on our power and water bills. I currently hope so. Now to reboot my cleaning and tossing now that I can move better again.. I only have 2 major areas to finish.
Labels:
deep cleaning,
Family Time,
laundry,
less
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Tummy Bug and take backs
Last night was a very long night with Eric. The eyrpy tummy bug that is going around town has hit Eric with vengeance. At he peak of the mayhem Eric made a full basket of laundry in just 30 minutes. This lead to a couple of learning experiences with the new washer.
The first thing I want to say is never ever wash eyrpy laundry on the turbo cycle unless you want to wash the load twice. On low water machines use extra water and a longer wash cycle.
The second thing I learned was that there is a child lock on our washer. It was not on my list of needs, but I have it anyway by default. Reading the washing machine manual at 4:30 am looking for a code is not my idea of fun. The good news is that by 5 am I had figured it out by myself and did not have to wake John to solve the problem.
I guess that this is part of my learning curve on the new washer. Washing machines have changed a lot in the 25 years since I last got a new machine. When I looked at the manual, when it said heavily soiled, I assumed kids playing in mud and dirt. I think that it should have a different section dealing with sick, but that maybe just me because we deal with it a lot.
Oh by the way, Sears sent people out to level the washing machine, without a level. I have yet to do a load but we will see how they did. They still gave the self adjusting spiel. No that does not work. This crew added the self adjusting springs as well. Don't they know people do read the manuals that come with the machines? So I got out the level and pointed out that even I knew it was not level. It also made me uncomfortable when the delivery guys said how nice our TV was. I made sure to point out that it was 5 years old (therefore not worth stealing).
I am sure that with Eric home tomorrow he will help me knit a few more hats. I have a pile of 6 hats that need tags, with 2 more in progress. We just have to get rid of the fever that came with the eyrpyness before we can send Eric back to his day program.
I am positive that tomorrow will be a better day.
The first thing I want to say is never ever wash eyrpy laundry on the turbo cycle unless you want to wash the load twice. On low water machines use extra water and a longer wash cycle.
The second thing I learned was that there is a child lock on our washer. It was not on my list of needs, but I have it anyway by default. Reading the washing machine manual at 4:30 am looking for a code is not my idea of fun. The good news is that by 5 am I had figured it out by myself and did not have to wake John to solve the problem.
I guess that this is part of my learning curve on the new washer. Washing machines have changed a lot in the 25 years since I last got a new machine. When I looked at the manual, when it said heavily soiled, I assumed kids playing in mud and dirt. I think that it should have a different section dealing with sick, but that maybe just me because we deal with it a lot.
Oh by the way, Sears sent people out to level the washing machine, without a level. I have yet to do a load but we will see how they did. They still gave the self adjusting spiel. No that does not work. This crew added the self adjusting springs as well. Don't they know people do read the manuals that come with the machines? So I got out the level and pointed out that even I knew it was not level. It also made me uncomfortable when the delivery guys said how nice our TV was. I made sure to point out that it was 5 years old (therefore not worth stealing).
I am sure that with Eric home tomorrow he will help me knit a few more hats. I have a pile of 6 hats that need tags, with 2 more in progress. We just have to get rid of the fever that came with the eyrpyness before we can send Eric back to his day program.
I am positive that tomorrow will be a better day.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Rethinking Laundry
With the new larger wash tub, I think I will have to rethink the way I do laundry. This is for the better. Today I did the weekly towels, in the old washer it would have been 2 full loads. Today the towels filled a little less than 1/2 the tub. With the whites I saved 2 days of laundry ( this should read 2 loads in the old washer ) and used a little less than 2/3's of the tub. So I am going to try waiting for 3 days before I do the whites again. That is unless we have a laundry explosion. So I am thinking I will cut my current of 25 loads of laundry week down to 10 to 12 loads a week. Yes I will have the same amount of folding. I am thinking that unless the laundry is eyrpy that I will no longer be doing laundry in the middle of the night.
I am so grateful for the simply wonderful engineering from the LG Washer Group. Thank you so much.. I would also like to thank my wonderful husband for getting me such a wonderful washer. By the way Sears called back today and will check to make sure we are in perfect level. They said it should have been done on Saturday as part of the delivery.
On a different note when I am not wearing my usual 2 inch heals, I need Teri's step stool to reach in to the bottom of the tub. Teri don't expect to get your step stool back anytime soon.
I will have to figure out how all this will effect how much extra time I have for other things. I can see more knitting, weaving, spinning and sewing in my future. Maybe even a few more new patterns published.
Up date 11:40 pm, Eric must have heard that I was doing less laundry. Since I first posted this earlier tonight he has made a load of eyrpy laundry...and life goes on.
Labels:
extra time,
laundry,
LG Washing Machine,
step stool,
wonderful Husband
Saturday, January 16, 2016
Eric's New Washer
Our new washing machine arrived today. We got the LG model WT7700H*A. John did all the research and found the largest, most energy efficient top loader that LG makes. I would like to say that the washer held what use to be 2 loads in the old washer and did not even top out the new washer. The washer runs about 30 decibels quieter too, around 50 decibel's instead of 80 decibel's. Did I mention it uses less water too.
The second load I ran today would have been 1 full load and then some in the old washer. In the new washer it did not even make a dent in capacity. The new washer weighed the clothes and added just the right amount of water. Kudos go to the engineering team at the LG Washer Group.
The only downside of the whole day was the delivery made by Sears, where we bought the machine. John had asked the driver twice, if the machine needed to be leveled. The driver told John that is was self leveling,twice. The delivery man than ran the first wash. We noticed that the machine was noisier and shaking more than the reviews said it would. So John check the position of the tub. The tub was not level. So John used his level to verify the results. We called the delivery number and asked that they be sent back to level the new washer. Multiple call were ignored.
Meanwhile I did some research on the web and found that we could do serious harm to the washer if we used it unbalanced. This upset me to no end that Sears could not install a washing machine properly. I think that they sell a lot of them too.This made me long for the days of Circuit City, where we bought our last washer when the kids were little. They got the install done right at the time of delivery.
By the time I lost it, John figured out how to get the machine level. So how I would some up the day, good job marks go to LG for making a great machine and to John for getting the machine as level as he could. On the other hand Sears needs to make a cheat sheet for its delivery drivers that tells them what each install requires. They also need to be more responsive to its customers. Just in case you are wondering Sears did not respond to various tweets on Twitter either. I guess it is take the money and run.
Friday, January 15, 2016
A New Project
Last night I started a new project. I am actually knitting something for me. I am using Dream in Color. The blend is wool, cashmere and nylon. It is a lace weight yarn that I am knitting on US sized 11 needles. In a a nice verigated blue. I am hoping that 2 skeins will be enough.
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Busy, Busy, Sore
There have been a lot of late nights with Eric. Post viral asthma has struck with a vengence. That has lead to a lot of naps and not much getting done around here. This has also lead to a flare up for me, right now my elbows and ankles are not on friendly terms with me. I know things will get better when Eric feels better.
Sunday, January 10, 2016
Amish Shadows
The quilt is fiannly back on the wall after the remodel. I made this quilt in December of 1987. Even after a professional cleaning, I have been told by a reliable source that the quilt has lost that new quilt look. Not bad for an almost 30 year old quilt. Yes that is a Tucson made Bens Bell hanging from the side.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Yeah for Sleep
I managed to get 7 hours of sleep last night. Needless to say I had a better day. Today. I even got to the mall today with Lisa. Aside from laundry, shopping and knitting not much got done.
Friday, January 8, 2016
Time Warp
There comes a time in every moms lives called the time warp. I have entered the time warp. It comes when Eric gets into a cycle of getting sick, recovering some then going back to his program. Then I just begin to reset my routine, but have not fully recovered from the long nights and broken sleep. Then Eric gets sick again. After 2 or 3 cycles of this the time warp kicks in.
I am in the time warp right now. So that I have trouble sleeping more then 3 hours at a time. So I land up talking a lot of naps. My meal schedule is so off too, sometimes breakfast at 6 or 7 lunch at 3 pm and then I am not ready for dinner at 6pm so I have an appetizer for dinner. Then I tend to snack too much late at night.
I am hoping that this cold is the last one Eric will have for a while. I spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. I am still exhausted but am too hyper to sleep. So I tried spinning lace weight yarn before dinner. After dinner I finished knitting 2 hats and cast on one more so far. I am hoping that Eric will sleep tonight and that I can unwind to sleep. I really want to break this cycle. I am tired of being out of sync.
Labels:
out of sync,
sick kid,
Time warp,
tired mom
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Spinning and Winter
Today we had a fairly good winter storm. We got slightly over 1 inch of rain at the house. I drove home home from spinning through heavy rain and sleet. I can't believe the number of drivers that drove recklessly speeding and weaving in and out of traffic. The good news is that I made it home safely.
I left the spinning wheel in the car until it stops raining, it was hard to get the wheel into the car in the rain. I am hoping that the garage will not get to cold tonight for it. I am happy to be able to spin now. I had to stop spinning after the car accident on the 7th of last month. Physical therapy is still hard and progress is going in inches, but I will take my inches.
Labels:
Physical Therapy,
rain,
sleet,
snow,
Spinning,
Winter storm
Wednesday, January 6, 2016
The Rollercoaster
Eric is on the mend after being sick for a few days. What ever this bug was, it brought on a few late night/ very early morning asthma episodes. I am trying to unwind from the most recent one. For some reason in the middle of the night they take longer to get under control. This one took about 90 minutes to get under control. Then wave 2 of the series of El Niño inspired storms hit and that took a few more minutes to resettle Eric down.
It is now just past 2 am and I feel wide away and sleepy at the same time. I am too tired to knit or spin yet too wide awake to sleep. The physical therapy seems to be working, I was able to use the spinning wheel for the first time since the accident.
I think that I am finally unwinding and will try some more sleep. Later today I plan on working on my indoor todo list and then do errands once the rain slows down. Have a wonderful and productive day.
Sunday, January 3, 2016
A Slow Day
Today I did the unheard of, I slept in until after 11 am. I think that my body needed the sleep from all the broken nights of sleep with Eric. I think I might of slept longer if my back did not hurt so much. I did manage to get my whole pt routine done.
We went out shopping today for a new washing machine, we bought our current machine before we moved into this house so last century is on its last legs. All we can get are rebuilt parts which are not as good. We landed up putting the machine on order. John said that the machine was for me.. Eric is sure the machine is for him. So to clarify the new washing machine is going to be for me as an I love you present from John. Then Eric will be in charge of making the laundry so that I can use it more. My hope is that with a bigger washer will cut down the number of loads of laundry.
I also found out that it is not the best idea in the world to knit with black yarn at night. Now I have to Tink out a full round tomorrow when the light is better. See that strand of yarn, that is what I need to fix.
Labels:
knitting at night,
laundry,
PT,
shopping,
sleep,
tinking,
washing machine
Saturday, January 2, 2016
Day 2 2016
As I was guzzling a glass of luke warm tea after 5 pm tonight, I briefly thought of banning any one getting sick for the rest of the month. It is really putting a major crimp in my day having to start the laundry in the wee hours of the morning. Getting no more than 3 hours of sleep at a time. I am starting to fall behind on commitments.
Labels:
hand knit hats,
knitting,
lack of sleep,
laundry,
sick house,
tea
Friday, January 1, 2016
New Years Day 2016
Today was another early day with Eric. He had created 3 loads of laundry long before dawn. Since John and I managed to stay awake until midnight , the 3 hours of sleep was not enough. So today was spent napping instead of getting the display organized for the downtown Libaray. My first nap was from 4:30 am to 7 am. The second nap happened when I fell asleep during the Rose Parade. So after that nap I found the Rose Parade on another channel and took another nap. Then of course I fell asleep when I put my eye drops in.
So my take away from this is to pray that Eric sleeps through the night. Hope against all odds that he will not make 3 loads of laundry made in the wee hours of the morning. Yes I know that in this house 4 loads of laundry in one day is not too bad. Remember to TiVo the Rose Parade next year. I think even with the naps a solid night of sleep might be better.
I also finished and cast on another hat today. My total rows knit in the last 4 days was 326. I am also approaching the 50,000 rows knit. I have 18 hats ready to donate to the Flowing Wells Cloths Bank, but would like to knit 6 more before I bring them in so I can give them 2 dozen hats. I just have this quirk that I like to donate even dozens when hats and scarfs go in.
Labels:
hand knit hats,
knitting,
laundry,
naps,
Rose Parade
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