Neverending love

I've got a never ending love for you
From now on, that's all I want to do
From the first time we met I knew
I'd have a never ending love for you

~ ~ ~

There has been one staple in my hobby list; one that I will always resort to when I'm stressed and when I'm happy.  Knitting.  I picked up the needles tonight after not touching these socks for a while now, and felt instant gratification.  Everybody has one of those things that just make you feel better immediately, when you make the contact.

I'm so blessed to have found a hobby that I really love.  I have a friend who told me recently that she doesn't really have any hobbies like that.  I realize that some people thrive on social interaction or activity.  Others take longs walks alone in nature.  Some like sports, etc. - you know what I mean.  But for me, there's a little world that makes me feel better when I go there.

This week flew by and this whole month, actually.  I guess that's a good sign, that I'm enjoying these days.  I like my job a lot.  I'm a part of a pretty stable community and I love my family.  And of course the weather is just beautiful this time of year.  I love the fall in particular and we've got at least another month of this according to the calendar.  Times are pretty good, I'd say, even with all the rest of the world in tatters.  If you can find contentment where you are, your are very lucky indeed.  Blessed, I would say!

The things we do for love

Sometimes we are asked to do things we may not want to do; go the extra mile, take one for the team, stand in the gap, however you want to say it.  If you are reading this blog ( a knitting blog) then you are very likely one of those people who go the extra mile.  Usually the only reward for "going the extra mile" is a simple thank you or a wink or at least an appreciative smile.  The thing that makes most people shrink back from doing this again, is the inevitable "taking for granted that you'll do it again, cause you did last time."

I haven't quite figured out yet, how to say a big fat NO.  We all want to say no, don't we? And yet we hope that somewhere there's just got to be a payoff for doing your best no matter what, right?
Well, today I heard some good things about my daughter who's been taking it on the chin, so to speak, for a while now.  She works hard.

She and her hubby were blessed twice this week.  First with a free pair of concert tickets, and then today, dinner for two at a pricey restaurant, compliments of someone who noticed.  Yeah!  That's what I'm talking about!  And have I mentioned that her hubby recently snagged an internship with the District Attorney's office in their county for his last semester of school? Good work!

Now my son's wife, who has been waiting and praying patiently for a job in her field, was interviewed and hired on the spot last week, and she started her new job Monday!

  

And my son, by the way, has been getting some very good attention at his college for his songwriting skills   He's meeting some pretty influential people and only the Lord knows what good things are in store there as well.  He's an accomplished musician, just like his dad.
So you can see, I'm one proud mom, and will take any chance I can get to brag on my kids.  Oh the things we do for our loved ones!  Like knitting sweaters and socks for Christmas!   (You knew I would take this back to knitting somehow, didn't you?)

So I'm casting off the Seraphine scarf that I started in October, and will go back to the Pebble Beach socks for my daughter in law.  Now that just means one thing.  What will be my next project?!
  I'm tossing around a couple of ideas, but I won't say yet, since I haven't decided, but it's sure to be a little something for someone I love!!

Mashed potatoes, meatloaf, red wine and knitting

I was listening to a recent spinning podcast, and heard someone remark that knitting had really made a comeback after Sept. 11, 2001.  A woman from New York was attending a fiber festival later that year and told a vendor in CA that back in NYC people were all about mashed potatoes, meatloaf, red wine and knitting.  I can imagine why!  I loved that I was listening to this podcast as I was taking part in one of my own comfort rituals: dyeing wool.  The weather today is outstanding, for the record.  Breezy, sunny, and just a little cool. Perfect for a me/fiber day.

Picking and carding on You Tube will get you to a new kind of picker (for all you spinners!) that is not as lethal as the one you're picturing.  Instead of a guillotine kind of motion, this one is a small wooden box that sits on the table and allows you to process your wool in it's early stages for under two hundred dollars. Since I don't have one, I took my hot little hands to the garage and began picking and carding some wool and mohair for a sample.

That always inspires me to dye, if the weather permits, so I got out a couple of bags of fleece, some pots and packs of dye and went for it.
Here are two different fleeces with very different staples - the one on the right has a lot more crimp.

The colors I chose are bronze (looks green to me) and terra cotta (blood red?).  Either way, they are beautiful and keep my creative juices flowing.

As I was doing my thing this morning, it occurred to me how different the choices are that my husband and I make. He is always wheelin' and dealin' to acquire what he wants, gadget wise.  Sold an amp on Ebay, bought and iPad.  I go to the garage and grab some wool, dye it on the stove and spin it on my wheel.  See what I mean?  But to each his own, as they say.  So long as a person's hobbies and interests keep them happy, that's all that counts.
When I heard the comment on the podcast today about meatloaf and mashed potatoes, I understood, but thought it could also be a meal of black eye peas, corn bread and iced tea to make one feel comforted. To each his own, as they say!!

And just in case you're interested in some good podcast recommendations, here are a few.
Belle of the Ball
Sassy Sheep
Yarnspinners Tales

If you could hear me now

One of the things I've learned to live with, being married to a musician, is the constant steady background of sound.  My light fixtures frequently rattle and vibrate, like now for instance, as guitar chords echo until they die, so that the whole note is captured in a home studio upstairs.  Lines of songs are repeated over and over through a soundboard, with a metronome in sync with my cuckoo clock, like now for instance.
My husband has always made music and it's a part of our life, like TV is for most people.

I, on the other hand, did not come up making music.  I sang in the school chorus for a bit, but later switched to cheerleading and by my senior year of high school I was involved in a civic organization that served our city. Sponsored by the Junior League, it was similar to a pageant but without the swimsuit or evening gown competition.  The year was spent wearing an antebellum costume to public events, sort of like a minute man might wear to an historic event in New England.

We greeted visitors to our city and smiled at strangers all day long, for hours at a time in a very uncomfortable get-up.  It was an honor and a privilege that changed my life.

Last week I was reminded of all this when I spoke with a young lady who had been in the same organization just a few years ago.  The regulations and events have changed quite a bit, but the experience she shared was all too familiar.  One thing we discussed was the awkwardness of wearing a hoop skirt in a car.

Liability issues no longer permit the girls to wear their costume to an appearance; too many wrecks. But I shared with my friend how I was able to flip the back of the hoop skirt over the bucket seat of my little car.  It looked funny, but it worked!  I climbed ladders in that dress, went below deck in a submarine, and even graced the ladies room.

We curtsied and waved, floated down stairs and up streets in parades.

We traveled by Greyhound bus when out of town, and stayed in motel rooms, four girls to a room.  One bathroom, mind you.  Close quarters required that each of us set up a little station where we'd do our make up and hair.

Circuits were frequently blown, due to multiple hair dryers and hot rollers.  We had a blast and met some of the most interesting people.

I may not have played power chords on a guitar or sang in a microphone, but I sure did make some lasting memories.

These days I am driving around an equally interesting city, but with less flair.  I am glad to come home each night to my knitting basket and catch up with as many rows as possible.

  I decided to 'kick in' with the Seraphine scarf, and knock it out before going back to the Pebble Beach sock. The holidays are fast approaching and I gotta get busy!!

Das Bootie

When knitting a sock, one must, I repeat must make the foot long enough.  There is nothing more irritating than to put on a sock and have it feel funny.  You know exactly what I'm talking about.  You pull on it, you twist it, and no matter what you do, it feels funny.  Old school football socks (tube socks) had no heel and I remember wearing them in the 70s, and they never did feel right.  So, here is the answer.

A proper heel of course.  One that's not too snug (short) and not too long (bunches up outside of your shoe).  My little bootie socks that I wear with my tennis shoes are just a tad bit smaller than my husband's but they look very similar. His are the kind that aren't supposed to show when wearing your Chuck Taylors. Low ankle.  He put my socks on the other day and was just about to go out the door when he said they weren't right.  He discovered they were mine! Too short.

 Now for the remedy! Permit me to show you how this works.

Here is the heel with the short rows completed.  I haven't done anything but straight back and forth knitting on the end of the heel flap.

Now I need to pick up stitches on either side of the flap while maintaining the needle that's on the end of the flap.  So I divide the stitches onto two needles.

Then I pick up about 10 stitches on either side.

Lastly I will knit in the round and  then re-distribute the stitches onto 3 needles, having knitted in the remaining 'top of foot' stitches on the little string.  (That was a stitch holder for coming back to later.)

 If you're wearing socks right now, you'll notice that they form a right angle in the direction of the knitting.  The little "arrows" point down the leg then take a right turn and point toward the toes. 
It all seems so complicated but when taken one step at a time, it's actually rather easy.  After doing it many, many times, I can in fact say that.

Now since it's election day, I feel I must say something about the occasion.  I did not vote today.  I know you are shouting at me, "Get OUT", "No Way!", but its true as the sky is blue.  I went to work in a hurry, realizing that I had the time wrong and barely made it.  I got no lunch hour, although my boss brought me lunch - it was a long busy day and I barely kept track of the time until everyone started leaving for the day.  When I finally drug my old bones to the car, turned the key and joined the revelry of evening-bumper-to-bumper traffic, I was having a hard time staying focused on the road.  When I had gone past the local church, where I should have voted, I wondered why they were having services on a Tuesday night.  Then it all started to dawn on me.  Everyone was voting.  And all I could think about was a hot shower and food.  I was exhausted and already trying to mentally schedule my dentist appointment tomorrow.  So there - confession is good for the soul.  I failed today as a citizen.  Please forgive me, George Washington. 

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.