Work In Progress (or WIP for short)

After a wonderful day hanging out with my daughter and her hubby at a local Pumpkin Festival, I am home making chili for tomorrow's lunch and doing the calculations for the heel flap and instep, etc. for the Pebble Beach socks.

It's always better not to wing it, and I have learned the hard way.  We've all seen the jokes on TV about knitted Christmas gifts: sweaters with arms long enough for orangutans, hats that would fit an elephant, and baby booties that are large enough for a five year old.  I know, I know.  So that's why I'm doing my math, like a good girl!

Stitches per inch, rows per inch, and the right size needles all mean a lot when you're knitting socks.

The heel flap is the first important thing after determining the number of stitches to cast on.
The heel flap is the part that comes down from your Achilles' tendon to the point where your heel meets the floor.

The heel flap consists of half the number of stitches around the ankle (60 divided by 2 equals 30).  Then you knit the heel flap until it's half as long as it is wide.

 So 30 stitches across is 4 inches and I knit the flap 2 inches long.  Now it's time to begin the short rows!

This is by far the thing that keeps a novice knitter from becoming an advanced knitter.  Fear. Fear of short rows.  (And tomorrow is Halloween; how scary can it get?)

So I've made my chili for tomorrow's lunch.  We'll eat at my son's apartment after church and then head over to the fall festival for the afternoon.  I'm volunteering at the mini-golf booth.  Rory McIlroy I'm not!

Oh the weather outside is frightful

Today has been a nail biter kind of day.  Weather reports of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. Dark cloudy skies and wind that blows the few colorful leaves off the trees.  Yikes. But now, the storms have passed and the temps have dropped considerably.  Thank goodness! ( Driving into a storm can be a courage building exercise. )

While I hunkered down in the house this afternoon, I knit a little more on the Pebble Beach sock #1.

It's looking good and I'm considering making the heel and toe of a contrasting yarn, just to be sure I don't run out of yarn.  I only have the one ball you know! Better safe than sorry, the weatherman just happened to say today.  I placed it next to these cabled socks so you can see how far I've got to go.

I have also worked on the wavy scarf at night, when I could.  It feels so good to knit and I'm looking forward to finishing it.  There's a ways to go, but it will be quick since the deadline is looming.

I caught up with someone from my old job this week and got the latest news.  One new grand baby, one wife who's expecting, one aging parent who's being cared for,  one kid changed schools, two kids off to college, and a new large client in the bag.   So goes office work - what always seems to matter is family, not the work.  I'm glad of that.  I love my family and cherish any and all time I spend with them.  It's important to set an example for the younger generation as well.  They need to see how it's done; family traditions and all.  I look forward to our holiday traditions and getting together with all my loved ones.  We are already filling up the plate so I'm making plans now before they get gobbled up (no pun intended)!

Nothing but rim!

I don't think I ever posted the pictures of the Macy's Gray throw in its finished form. The blocking really helped and I was able to do it a few days ago; the temps have been perfect lately with a little breeze, low humidity and lots of sunshine.

After laying it on the patio table for at least a day, it kept it's shape without any pins and has a real natural look.  I'm so glad since it IS hand spun, undyed natural sheep's wool, raised and sheared locally.  The most organic kind of blanket you could own!

On the other side of the planet, so to speak, my husband and I've been in a video chat with my daughter and son in law in Memphis.  We realized that we could set up an account and talk with our computers and it was like they were here in our house (or us at theirs)!!  How fun - technology has come a long way.  They did not have a video camera in their laptop computer, but they got a small web-cam and installed it tonight so we could chat.  Again, it was so fun!

I have lots of friends who are foreign missionaries and they all have some kind of program like Skype to keep up with their family and friends 'back in the States'.  We've come a long way baby.  I remember as a little girl at church we would write letters to missionaries, encouraging them and we even had a special offering just for missionaries.  Now they can blog, tweet and IM.  Who knew?

Love Machine

When I got my new spinning wheel, I knew it was a good wheel, but I wasn't sure if it would truly replace my Ashford Traveller as "the" wheel for spinning.

Well, it has.  I love my Traveller for plying but I cannot seem to get the refined tension that I have become used to with my new Kromski Symphony.  It still feels new because my old wheel is an antique and I got my Kromski last Christmas.  I would probably spin every night if I had roving to spin, but I don't so I carded a little batt of mix and match wool earlier so that I could spin tonight.  It's funny how the most random colors blended together can make a very pretty yarn.

I think batt has the feel of a Burberry plaid.  A little brown, a little blue and some beige.  This is a lesson in color blending. I love the way the single looks.

When I sat down to knit on the couch, my little Pebble Beach sock was waiting for me.  Patiently with open arms (4 double pointed needles). I great relaxer since I had a headache when I started.  Pain killers aren't doing much good, but I have a feeling its more muscle pain and not head pain.
I've been working with all my muscle groups lately.  For about the last five months, I have moved into a whole new realm of 'work'.  Before, I sat in a cushy chair for approx. 8 hours a day in front of a computer screen, talking on the phone and typing.  Very little movement.
Now I'm doing some general housekeeping with a company that specializes in doing all the errands and 'stuff' that most people don't have time for.
This week I helped someone pack and purge closets as they are putting their house on the market.  I also cleaned up sheet rock dust from a new home under construction.  I have done some babysitting recently  and and waited for a delivery with a cute little puppy! But the thing that makes my new work so interesting is the people that we help.
I can't really say much, in fact pretty much nothing specific at all, except that they are all high end homes/clients with some degree of celebrity or notoriety.   Almost all are very, very nice and my boss is extremely attentive to her clients and employees.  I may not be doing this forever, but it has been an eye opening experience that I will never forget.  People who work in the service industry are some of the most hard working folks I've ever met.  Very little worldly applause, high expectations, and mediocre financial reward.  But the people I've been around lately are likely going to be the ones sitting next to the Lord when I go through the pearly gates. Extremely humble, gracious, kind.  I've come to really respect painters, electricians, contractors, "personal assistants" and groundskeepers.  :-)

Wool in sheep's clothing

Whenever I knit, I think about where the yarn came from; whether it's llama or wool or cotton or silk. Each one comes from a distinctly different source.   Today I spent some of my time washing a sheep's fleece and picking some lovely mohair to blend later and spin.

The fleece is going to be really pretty - the staple is short and fine and full of tiny crimps .  I don't know the micron count, but it's better than a lot that I've spun before.

The mohair is very close to the color of a mare.  It's a warm reddish brown with a lot of shine.  Very touchable.

I have a short window of time when I can reasonably card in the garage.  Summer is way too hot out there and winter is way too cold.  Fall and Spring are just right, said Goldilocks. 

I've been keeping up with everyone's plans this fall regarding Rhinebeck and SOAR .  It's sounds so wonderful every year, and every year I swear I'm going to go next year!  Maybe that should be one of my new goals: to finally go to SOAR or NY Sheep & Wool.  Shall we?

My husband made it safely back from his trip out west.  I'm glad he's back, safe and sound, although he went straight to work this morning and won't be home till later this evening.  I, of course, am headed out the door first thing in the morning myself.  It's so hard for us to get on the same page, schedule wise.  We hardly ever have the same day off.  But we do see each other at night and in the morning. That will just have to do.

I did spend some time with my son and his lovely wife yesterday.  They served me lunch at their place (my first time to dine in their new apartment!) and we took a little trip to the local Old Time Pottery.  You may not have one where you live, but it's worth finding one if you can.  Very large warehouse type of store with housewares and dishes and baskets and flowers and decorations.  And they even have a cafe like IKEA. Wouldn't want  you to leave, now, just because you're hungry!  So, anyway, I got my fix for the coming holiday season.  I looked at Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations and then made myself walk out empty handed - promising not to buy anything till after Halloween.  

Pebble Beach

I took some time last night while watching football, to knit a little while on what I intend to call the Pebble Beach socks.  The yarn is a nice little brown variegated cotton, and it comes from Sockotta; I got it in a yarn-trade at spinning meeting last year.

It is a breeze to knit with my Inox DPNs and the pattern is 3x3 rib, with a cast on of 60. Perfect number for 3 working needles and 60 stitches.

The cotton yarn is a nice change from wool, which is what I spin almost exclusively.  I need to do some more carding.  I haven't spun much lately because I have nothing carded.  Several fleeces out there, mind you.  But almost all of it needs to be picked and carded.  ( If I could only afford to send it off to Ohio Valley to have it done professionally. Maybe that would be a good Christmas present for me.....)

My husband is coming home tonight and I really miss him. He has been in California for a few days on business and it seems like weeks. I was absolutely lost without him at church yesterday!  We are one of the few couples left in the world that really enjoy staying married.  I am blessed to have a kind, thoughtful man who would never ever do anything to embarrass or dishonor me. He is loving and romantic. He is genuine and honest, trustworthy and gutsy. He truly loves people and it shows.  If there was a boy scout merit badge for being a good husband, he deserves one!

In the hole

The lace scarf has become a staple on the couch where I sit in the living room.  Three balls of yarn, one circular needle, and the WIP.  My eyes are drawn to the little holes formed, row after row, by the yarn overs.  When done three at a time, it makes a pattern and in this case, the holes form waves.

I'm knitting four rows of each color and not cutting the thread each time but carrying it all the way to the top.

I've also swatched for my next project;  a Christmas gift for my DIL.  They will be socks made of yarn that she picked out, yarn I had in my stash.   I am really considering doing two socks on circulars, just to be quick or maybe even try the Magic Loop method.

This method can end up being a real pain in the neck if you can't keep the loop just right.  Here's a stock photo of one sock using  Magic Loop.  (kind of looks like a diagram from 10th grade biology!)

Now if you're wondering why my photos look so blurry, (or maybe you've just had too much to drink today)  it's because I took the top two pictures with my cell phone.  DH is on his way out west and has the big camera with him.  It's actually his camera, so I'll let it slide this time! But then you'll have to forgive my poor photo quality.
Deal?

When I got this phone, the guy bragged about what great pictures it would take. Its super handy to have a camera with you at all times, don't get me wrong.  But I think my older camera got much, much better picture quality.  This camera though, is a smart phone.  It can make dinner for four in half an hour, it can cure most diseases, if diagnosed in time, and has been known to cause world peace for literally seconds at a time. Probably its the smartest phone I've ever had! And I'm sure I'm even smarter than most  folks, just because I have this phone in my pocket.

Ready or Not

Having several days off in a row has led me to do the unthinkable.  Yes, I'm afraid it's all too true - I'm cleaning off some of the bookshelves in my office.  I really don't want to do the whole thing, but in dusting, I've found myself re-shelving, moving pictures and books about and generally getting nothing productive done whatsoever. 
I have seen the show Hoarders, and I recognize my tendency to hoard books.  For no reason in particular, I just like keeping them around.  But sometimes you have to purge at least a few, so as not to give the impression that you are in fact a hoarder (which I am, I'm afraid).  So I'm working on it.

In the process of all this, and while sorting and filing a few other tidbits, I've been taken back in time about five years.  I have been there all day.  2005-2006
And I've concluded that I am a totally boring person.  I can't believe how dull I am, and yet it never occurred to me how far below the bar I'd sunk.  I found a job description that my old boss put together when hiring my replacement and I thought, wow, I sure did a lot of stuff.  And then I read some blog posts from my old blog, and thought how much stuff I did that just did not seem to amount to very much.  In the midst of my bookshelf-purge, I am now fully aware of my descent into no-where-ville.  I am about through with Laura Bush's autobiography and saw where in 2005 I had finished Marie Antoinette's life story.  Both are remarkable women of history.
I told my husband the other day that I'm setting some new goals.  I've pretty much reached all the ones I set in high school so it's time to re-evaluate and 'get with it'!  You may not see a billboard announcing them, but beware, they're coming.

Which brings me to my scant but worthy progress on the Seraphine scarf.  It's super easy, at this point. I've got the pattern memorized, I've got the yarn twisting down (changing colors) and I have a miraculous gadget (ziploc bag) to keep it all in.  The second half of the scarf had better get moving, cause I've got more Christmas gifts to make.  The leaves are changing outside so I am fully aware of the fact that time's a wastin'!

This is the day

Today is the kind of day we dream about in the scorching heat of the summer and the dead of winter.  A beautiful sunny day with birds chirping and families doing things together and no grass to cut.  (At least no grass to cut here in Tennessee. Its been very dry rainfall wise!)

I am pretty sure that the first day God created the earth was kind of like today.  I realized something this week.  What a wonder it was that God made the earth self-sustaining (rain, sun and moon), the plants and animals could repopulate (seeds and baby critters) and yet even the animals maintained overpopulation by the food chain.
What a wonder this all is to behold, especially on a day like today.

I finished the gradient blues from several posts ago.  Here they are.

Lots of pictures but I felt like being generous.  My week went pretty well and I'm working through some issues there and otherwise.

Vermeer-ish

I think this color is so pretty and the light and sheen that the white mohair adds to the coral is so subtle, but present.  This sample is definitely an inspiration.

Light is always associated with discussions on Vermeer paintings.  I saw a special on the Ovation channel about Vermeer last night.  He is my all time favorite painter. My kids were always getting some kind of art lessons growing up (along with all the language, science, math and history classes).  Both my children are excellent artists today and each has a natural eye for beauty.

I loved British Literature when I was in high school and don't think I ever took an actual art class.  I liked to sketch back then and have a little folder of my sketches somewhere (I think).  My older sister was always taking art classes in college and even studied in Paris for a while.  Her gifts to our family always have an artistic flair.  My brother is a professional furniture restorer and his wife does beautiful upholstery work.  My mom loves flowers and flower arranging and my dad apparently took basket-weaving in college and does woodworking.  I guess I never really noticed how much the arts have played a part in my life. (And to brag, I did play the clarinet in 5th grade and sang in the school chorus for several years; plus a year of piano as an adult. Don't be jealous.)

Anyway, here is the last of the gradient color blends.  It's way more blended than the other three and should be easy to ply tomorrow afternoon.

I have to work some tomorrow morning but have the afternoon off so I'd really like to get back to my knitting;  spinning this blue has been a distraction for sure!

You never know

Life is like a mail box. You never know what you're gonna get. Isn't that the truth?  Some days start out with you thinking things are going one way.  And the day ends with unexpected news that makes you stop and think about things differently.  Even the grocery shopping this afternoon was different than what I'd planned on.  Who knew?

So I've been knitting like a fiend on this little Seraphine scarf.  It's going so much better now that I've switched to this tiny, itsy-bitsy, little bamboo circular needle.

My daughter bought it for me when she and I went to a festival in NC years ago.  It's a size 5 and the whole thing is only 15 inches long.  You'd think it would be perfect for sock-knitting, but I really like it as a small, purse size circ.

With a few football games over the weekend to keep me seated on the couch long enough to knit, I made great progress with this fingering weight yarn.   When the scarf is blocked and pressed, it will be about 8 inches wide.

   My husband will be going to California in a couple of weeks and he is in search of those airline approved, travel sized liquid containers.  We have a few odd ones around but he is looking for something in particular.  It's funny how you can get fixed on something like that, only to be surprised that you can't find it.

  Often I anticipate a different outcome than I get with certain circumstances. And even though I'm not a mind reader,  I tend to think other folks think like me in most situations.  Uh-uh. They don't!   -- I'm surprised again and again at the way people interpret and deal with things.   I have a long, long, long way to go. 

The Garden of Eden

What a beautiful day.  Absolutely beautiful. I've been hoeing in the flower beds, getting them ready for winter.  The number of leaves are greater than the number of weeds and that's probably because of the low amounts of rainfall this summer.  Either way, the flower bed is a haven for me.  It's a tranquil place where no one criticizes me or asks me to do more than I want to do.  No wonder Jesus retreated to a garden. No wonder the first thing God did with His yard was make the Garden of Eden. 

It inspires me to spin lovely colors and knit with them.  I have this little scarf project, Seraphine, and it's colors are so reminiscent of the early fall. Greens turning to brown and  faint yellows.

And I've been spinning this pretty blue wool whose colors are somewhere between the water and the sky.

The far left skein is the darkest, then a lighter skein, even lighter batch on the bobbin, waiting to be plied, and finally the lightest batch carded and ready to be spun. 
And I've also carded a trial batch of shiny white mohair and the coral wool I dyed earlier in the month.  So pretty!

This week started off just fine, but Wednesday and Thursday were not as good.  I had to do some big-girl stuff that I didn't enjoy very much.   I've been listening to Laura Bush's autobiography and her grace and restraint are incredible to me.  When all the world was a real life, Mad Men, she turned out really well.  Leaving behind the cocktail world and choosing fidelity, honor and quiet dignity.  She really inspired me this week to say as little as possible, when I really wanted to 'let her rip', and only confront the most necessary of my battles.   Oh to grow up and be like her!