Laundry Room Detective

We have all been there.  We approach the laundry hamper with caution, like a crime scene.  Peeking down into the hamper, we see that all the contents have been dumped.  Every bit of the laundry is piled next to the hamper in a small mountain.  We know that technically the thing wasn't dumped, but plundered.
The obvious scenario is that a "favorite" item (shirt, top, jeans, shorts) that someone wanted was still in the hamper waiting to be washed.  The perpetrator came looking for their item, knowing exactly where it would be found and never gave the slightest hint of a complaint that I was.....Guilty As Charged: I waited too long to do the laundry! said while blushing with shame*

Back of sweater with one arm almost finished

KNITTING 
Instead of laundry, or housecleaning, or doing anything else productive around here, I've been knitting.  This awesome work of art is still in progress, but I can now finally see the barn door.  I'm knitting the last sleeve with my last skein.  When that skein is gone, I will be spinning the last of the carded wool/angora blend.
I hope that will be the end of it.
I hope that this will be the so-called 2 minute warning like they have in football.
The signal that we are approaching the STEEK part of this project.  (see previous posts)

PERSONAL
Fall is truly here in Tennessee, and while the leaves aren't turning, the air is decidedly cooler, and the humidity is low enough to open the windows at night.  Two nights in a row, and I'm sleeping like a baby.  Woo hoo!
So today, I'm trying to come up with ideas for fall decorating.

I have a wonderful glass and copper lantern that needed polishing; it will be the centerpiece for my fall table.  Between Pinterest and Hobby Lobby, I should be okay.  Still looking for ideas as I type. I'll keep you posted.

READING
I'm listening to an audio book that keeps me moving.  It's a book about a murder in an Amish community.  A big-city attorney goes to live among the plain-folk in order to solve the crime.  Industrious people make me feel guilty for sitting around. And Amish people are very industrious!

The actual paper back book I've been reading while knitting the sweater is about Ireland.  Between the two settings, I am itching to travel and experience Autumn like never before.  I LOVE the way books do that to you!

SPINNING
Although you may have heard news stories relating to the use of deadly force in some horrific circumstances, I have been making news of my own.  The biggest news story in the last month is that I finally got a Kuchulu spindle from Jenkins Yarn Tools.  The money was not in our budget, so my guitar playing husband sold a pedal online to buy it for me!  The company that makes the spindles keep their notices on FB to alert you when some become available.  Unexpectedly, a couple of weeks ago the notice came that Kuchulus would be available the very next day.  16 spindles were posted and all 16 were gone in 7 minutes!!! These are highly sought after and very desirable for avid spinners like me.  I LOVE this spindle and have taken it with me, almost everywhere I've been since it was delivered.

New spindle right out of the mail!

Spindle on our hike

Spindle in the back yard

The day it came was one day earlier than my tracking number indicated, so I was completely and wonderfully surprised when it arrived.  I was really having a bad day, and it could not have come at a better time!  Hallelujah, O happy day!  Isn't it just adorable? 

Spindle in the kitchen

Spindle on our way to the mall

Looking Forward to Fall!

KNITTING
Just a quick post to keep you updated on the Icelandic Sweater project, or "My Stab @ Steeking"

I do enjoy this process; the whole thing.  From carding and spinning the yarn, to learning about chart reading, and knitting the sweater itself.  I particularly like knitting in the round, rather than back and forth on straight needles.

Knitting in the round 1410

 The feel of this sweater is soft, and adding angora in the carding process makes it more lofty and less stiff.  So, here's my progress, which doesn't look like much!

Back of sweater with short rows added

Front of sweater with steek row

These little stars are a great diversion, especially as a take-along type of knitting. It makes me excited as we turn the corner toward fall, and the thought of Christmas knitting is inspiring me.  Woo hoo!!

Christmas ornaments from scrap yarn

PERSONAL
With the thought in mind that Fall is near, I've taken back my lax cooking habits, and am replacing them with a decided plan for meals in the coming weeks.  I love the Stephen Covey philosophy about being proactive with your life.  This is one of those areas that, for me, need attention: cooking.

Pinterest has tons of recipes scattered among the flat-abs pictures that make me suck in my tummy every time I look at one.  So I'm ignoring the exercise pictures and taking a cue from my maternal ancestors to cook and soothe my soul with some good old fashioned cooking.

My old day timer and Grandma's cookbook

I've got lots of sticky notes marking my favorite recipes, and menus jotted down in my old day-timer.  I am about fed up with all the digital tools we have that supposedly make our life easier.  Poppycock!  Smart phones are more like dumb-phones when it comes to wasting my time.  I am less efficient when I'm scanning emails and social updates.  I'm more efficient when my thoughts are written down physically, and even shopping is more efficient, if I've written down my list after studying my recipes/menu ideas. 
Proof of this method working - last night we had Shrimp Creole for dinner (my father in law's birthday) and the old fashioned recipe was a hit.  And it totally reminded me of my mom's Shrimp Creole.  Growing up on the Gulf Coast, we ate this dish as much as most people eat Spaghetti!