Upstairs Downstairs Upgrades

We have two and a half baths in our house; one full bath upstairs and one and a half baths downstairs.  Most of the time, overnight guests use the upstairs bathroom, where the guest bedroom is. When people come over for dinner, they use the downstairs half bath, just off the kitchen.  Since we've been updating things around the house this year, the time has come to tackle these particular bathrooms and I am so glad to have one "under the belt" so to speak.  The upstairs bath has been repainted and the light fixture and towel bar upgraded. Woo hoo!!
Today we're working on the downstairs half bath, having already taped and cut-in the corners and edges for painting with a small paint brush.  Last night we bought the upgraded light fixture, t.p. holder and towel ring.  My dear husband has his work cut out for him! 

My dear husband (he looks shorter in this toolbelt)

 We're working quickly since this is the bath my father in law uses.  He moved in with us a year and a half ago, and lots of places around the house bear his mark.  This little bath has all his what-nots on the counter, and the bathroom has become less and less a guest, powder room, and more and more a pharmaceutical display.  Hopefully, as we update the little room, it will return to its former state.  :-)

Budget updates for the bathroom!

KNITTING
After starting the cute little hat for my daughter, knit in the round from an angora blend yarn in my stash, I found it to be really large and loose.  I realize my daughter has a head full of lovely blonde hair, but I doubt it will ever fill up this beret!  Maybe if her hair were in curlers, like back in the 70's......

Finishing the top of the angora hat!

Frogged  2x2 ribbing - yikes!

 So, anyway, I picked up a row of live stitches just above the ribbing, and frogged the lower portion.
For a while I felt like I was undoing knots from a fishing net.  What a mess I made! 
But now, I've got things semi under control, and will check with her before I re-knit the band.  With significant decreases this time. 

SEWING
Last week I pulled out the cutting board and made an attempt at sewing a crib sheet for my granddaughter. She's three months old now, and extra crib sheets are always handy.  We have several barely used sheet sets from my father in law's previous home, and I thought they'd be the perfect re-purpose project.  Its a fitted sheet and they are always tricky to fold, but thanks to Pinterest, I've got it covered!

Know when to fold 'em!

Simpatico - agreeable, likable

Now that winter is in full swing, the obvious thing to do is think about spring. Right?  I mean, we all long for cooler weather when its warm, wish for snow at Christmas, but once January is here, we grab the only bits of daylight available and dream of warm, sunny weather.  

I just remembered that my salmon colored tulips on the hill will be blooming soon enough, and the soil will need enrichment before you know it.  That excites me!  I love spending time on the patio, cooking out on the grill and walking around the back yard, checking out all my plants. I guess we all  must look to magazines and seed catalogs to get our fix until its warm enough to go outside and play again.

This morning I went to a friend's house.  She is a shepherdess, and she raises Shetland sheep.  She also keeps French Angora rabbits. I went by to purchase some of her angora, for spinning, and while I was there I saw she had one lone bag of cashmere wool.  Last year, one of my few spinning goals, and the only one I did not keep, was to spin some cashmere. 

How cool was that, to walk into her parlor and see that bag sitting in the box of Angora bags?  It practically had my name written on it!! 

French angora and cashmere - heavenly!

But I was determined to buy some angora and could not afford to spend all my money on the cashmere, so I asked if I could buy half a bag, or about 1.5 ounces.  She reluctantly said yes, and told me that the one bag was entire year's supply from one animal.  A whole year for only 3 oz. of usable fiber! Of course it had to be combed (dehaired) which was very laborious.  I can't tell you how precious this little bit of goodness is to me! 
I also bought about 4 oz of Shetland/angora blend blue roving. I feel like I've been to the fair and come home with one of those huge Teddy Bears!  Wow. 

The Color of Money

After blending this beautiful green roving a couple of weeks ago, I have spun almost the whole *sample* on my Louet spindle.  Its a little heavy, and towards the end, the spinning became somewhat laborious, as spinning goes. :-) Anyway, the roving looked like the leaves of a dried money plant and when it was plied, it was the same green as a dollar bill, don't you think?

This color is right on the money! (I had to say it)

This pic is way too green!

top of my Louet spindle

I finished this scarf, too late for a Christmas gift, but nice anyway.  Simple, easy rib pattern from Jacob fleece.

Long John Scarf

Long John in progress

I'm starting to spin this lovely mohair/Angelina blend on my Kromski wheel.  It really sticks to my pants and sleeves, so I'm thinking of getting a little apron to wear while spinning it.  Love, love, love the soft creamy look and feel. Its gonna be gorgeous!  Perfect for a shawl, later in the spring maybe!!

My New Years resolutions are pretty much set up, so here we go:
There seems to be a theme, that I mentioned in my last post.  I feel like "Off The Grid" says it well.  I'll start with spinning since that's been more obvious in recent blog posts.
 Spinning for 2013 will consist of carding any and all existing fleeces that I possess.  And I mean it this time!  I will do my best to spin at least half of the time on spindles, but plying will most likely take place on a wheel.  I'd really like to spin half of all existing wool, etc. That's a goal, mind you.  But I'm all over it, like white on rice!

Knitting shall consist of learning to steek.  I will say it again. I will learn to steek this year.  Look it up, if you don't know what that means.  Its a technical term, fyi, and again, I'm all over it.  White on rice, you know.

Reading is a bit more tricky for 2013.  I've started to read through the Matthew Henry commentary on a daily basis.  I don't, in my wildest dreams, anticipate finishing it this year. The book is almost 2,000 pages long and I am only reading a couple of pages a day.  Its more of a Bible study, and his writing is very rich.  Its deep and confrontational, in a good sort of way.
I intend to read at least 6 biographies this year, most likely about women, and I hope them to be about First Ladies of the United States.  I will also read a few Agatha Christie books and a couple more of my favorite authors, whose new works I missed out on in 2012, due to last year's resolution. (to not buy or read new books)

Personally I plan to do my nails every Sunday night.  No biggie there.  I have no weight loss or exercise goals.  I am, however, determined to eat more for fun.  I want to try new wines (Wednesdays, maybe?) and experience some decadent foods that I've never tried before.  But not in excess.
Lastly, I am looking at meeting with friends much more than I did last year.  Last year was a tough year, and I really feel like I was isolated and prone to melancholy at times.  This year will be different.  I have made the connection and plan to not let it happen, if I can help it.

I pray that your new year will be blessed and joyful.  I pray that you will experience no less than the best life has to offer, and that you'll give back in equal amounts, if not more!
Happy New Year, ya'll!!

Secundum Artem - paper or plastic?

   When I was a kid, the bag boy in the grocery store always grabbed a paper bag and shook it hard to open it up. He would set it on a little board at the end of the grocery check out stand and fill it with whatever groceries my mom had just bought.  If we were in the A & P, there might be a coffee grinder at the end of the conveyer belt where your Eight O'clock coffee was ground. (what a great smell that was!)

   Today the general rule of thumb is for the checkout girl or bag boy (at Kroger) to grab a flimsy plastic bag and start to fill it with whatever comes off the conveyer belt. Occasionally they will ask if you prefer paper or plastic, but that has really become a thing of the past.
   When I'm choosing things for my home or personal use, I almost always choose natural products over plastic.  Wood or paper or fiber or leather.  I have wondered if it was this early attachment to paper grocery bags that makes me so inclined toward the natural.

Study in contrasts!

   It has occurred to me lately, especially in light of recent violence in the news, that we are far from home as a country and really, the world at large.  We not only seem bent on violence and selfishness, but we are determined to find our end, it seems.  We have no "big picture" any more.  People seem to exist to find momentary pleasure and satisfaction, but with no thought of the repercussions of our choices.  The ripple effect, if you will.
   So, as I do every year, I am contemplating what kind of New Year's resolutions I want to take on.  I really love this time of year, because it means I get all kinds of do-overs.  Lots of chances to try-again; lots of opportunities to make things better.

Spindle spun wool 

   With that in mind, the phrase "off the grid" has been hanging around in my thoughts.  I'm not advocating anything weird or anti-social.  In fact, just the opposite.  I want to find Center.  I want to go back to a more simple point of view and make real true strides at what is really, truly important and valuable.  What really makes a difference in the world.  And of course, I can only start with Me.  No one else.  But maybe my ripple effect will be positive.  I hope.
    So far the list of resolutions is pretty vague, apart from some home improvements and one reading goal and one knitting goal.  They may not even be fully ready to start on for another week, but I'm okay with that.  Until then, I finally got this book and I've been completely immersed in it.  Oh, and I started a hat for my daughter. A hat that should have been made by Christmas!  Sorry Betsy!

Respect the Spindle!

  

A Tisket a Tasket

On our way to babysit Charlotte last night, we stopped by my friend Carolyn's house to pick up a stash of baskets. I know Carolyn from my spinning guild, and she offered all these baskets to me for free.

A world of baskets!

They are all beautiful, and I admit to not knowing a thing about basketry, except that I love baskets.  My dad took a basket weaving class in college, but I've never seen any of his work.  And I believe my friend made some of these baskets! I especially like the one in the back left corner that has a lid - so unique.

They will do nicely for keeping my spindle projects in the coming year, I'm sure.  I love the way baskets make everything look more earthy and approachable.  Very tactile and inviting. Who doesn't love a pretty basket?

recreational vehicles

I started a golf club cover for my son in law, hoping to apply this fleur de lis pattern, which may turn out to be a disaster.  You never know how weird some well intentioned knitting pattern will end up.  I only hope it doesn't look like some obscene hand gesture.

Fleur de lis for golf club covers

While listening to a podcast this week about a KAL, I commented about a phrase I'd heard and my DH remarked that some people need to get a life. We both laughed out loud and realized how much we love not "living in the fast lane".  He plays the guitar and I spin and knit.  We love coffee and reading and the odd TV program.  That's about it.  Plain and simple. Ecclesiastes 3:22

Money plant and matching wool

So what else is new?

• Well, I'm listening to an audio book by Georgette Heyer called The Reluctant Widow.
• I just watched the movie Larry Crowne and loved it! So cute.  
• I've been reading Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie.
•  I'm formulating my new year's resolutions, bit by bit.  
• I finished the gingerbread village.  Not a work of art, but not bad if I do say so myself.  
• Updated my Ravely projects list and joined a new group (Spindlers)

Thomas the Train in the hood

Life is pretty good, all in all.  I am appreciating the small stuff more and more.  Doing things light lighting a fire in the fireplace.  Sitting down and doing nothing for a few minutes is really hard for me, but I'm working on it!
I've got a lot to be thankful for, and it takes concentrated effort sometimes, to make the connection between the subconscious and the conscious.

Scarf-lette O'hara

The Long and Winding Yarn

A few months ago I got several new-to-me drop spindles.  These are different than the few spindles I already had. These are called bottom whorl spindles and none of them had the little hooks at the top which I was accustomed to using when spinning.

Spindles with hooks at the top

Instead they use a method of catching the yarn called a half hitch, where you make a little slip knot thingy (pictured below).

Half hitched

The spindles are so simple and earthy looking but I could never seem to get the hang of it (no pun intended) when it came to actually spinning.  Well, this week I did it!

After I got back from my trip down south to see my sister, I came home home inspired to spin. While there, we had taken some walks on the beach looking for sea shells, one of which I would use as a diz when combing wool.

Perfect seashell for a DIZ

 Once I got home with all these sea shells, I had to try them out, finding one which really suited me, although it was not polished and shiny. It was dull and had lots of wiggly lines in the surface from its life in the sea. But the key ingredient was a little hole right in the center of the shell. This is where you pull the wool through, right off your wool combs.

Sea shell collection

The perfect diz

Now that I've got all this great wool, in roving form, I HAD to spin it.  So I grabbed one of the spindles from my new collection and gave it a whirl.  (once again, no pun intended)

I had seen on a youtube video that when using the bottom whorl method of spinning, you had to catch the yarn below the whorl, then bring it up above the whorl to the top and use the half hitch.  This seems like such a little thing, but I'm telling you, it was a EUREKA moment for me!!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

By all accounts, the holiday season is upon us. All stores are fully stocked with things red and green and sparkly.  Social media is full of photos of homes decorated and Christmas trees lit up.  We are here!
For me, last year marked a sort of new beginning with at least one holiday tradition, I think.

Christmas 2011

I made a gingerbread house with my daughter and it was so fun, maybe even the most fun of the whole holiday, that I've decided to do another one this year.  While we were shopping last night, I happened upon this little kit. It seems to have everything you'd need to make a little gingerbread village, and I have a little train set that I think will go perfectly with it.

Gingerbread village kit

KNITTING
I knitted another pair of gloves that my husband immediately took a likin' to.  Very "Old Navy-ish" in color, and very organic in their origin.  The wool is very coarse, bulky yarn I made years ago.  It's dyed green or "jade" on the dye package.  The needles used were bamboo double point needles in size 6.  They took about a week to make, and would have been finished much sooner, were I not busy with some special family visits.

I started another pair of gloves with some yarn I bought a few years ago.  The yarn is man made cotton novelty yarn but is really soft and washable.  I tried a new thumb on the last pair of gloves (gusset) and will probably do the same with this pair.  The gusset is knitted as-you-go rather than afterthought style with picked up stitches. What a pain!

BOOKS
My book world has a very short shelf life, pun intended.  I've been hooked lately with ebooks and audio books from my library.  Last year I made a resolution to not buy ANY new books.  I kept that resolution and the only new book for me was obtained with a gift card. 

I've read and/or listened to books all year long from alternate resources, and I'm amazed at the variety of books I've found.  This was one of my better resolutions, if I do say so myself.  Books were supposed to come from my shelf.  Books that I'd never finished or never even started.  Well there's a reason why they never got read, and I found that out after just a couple of months.  They weren't any good!  That's why I never finished them, at least some of them. So I had to resort to the library and my Kindle account where I discovered authors I never would have read otherwise.

PERSONAL
My mom and dad came for a quick visit this week to meet their new great granddaughter.  We went over to her house on Tuesday to babysit while my son went to a quick business meeting.  My parents immediately fell in love with her, just like I did when I met her.

This coming year I've already started to make a mental list of resolutions I'd like to try.  One for knitting would be steeking. One for my inspirational life is to study more in depth some books of the Bible.  I've read through the Bible many times, and this year I did it again.  VERY worth it, if you've never done it. 

Today  wraps up a week long second honeymoon of sorts.  My husband and I are caregivers for his father who lives with us.  My father in law spent this past week with his other son a few hours away and we had a little stay-cation.  It was marvelous, and that's all I will say.  Tomorrow things go back to normal.
On Monday I'm driving to see my sister who I haven't seen since 2009.  I am super excited.  Seeing her was another one of my new years resolutions!

My house is decorated for Christmas, and tonight we get to babysit  you-know-who.  I need to come up with a cute nickname or acronym for her. I'll keep you posted!

Christmas 2012

Signs of the Times

Yesterday afternoon, my daughter and her husband joined us for lunch, and brought a little Christmas DVD they'd picked up at the store.  We turned it on and after just a little while, we were all in the Christmas spirit, thinking about trees, decorations and cooking for the holidays.

I have fired up some scents in the house to keep the mood going; balsam fir candle in the kitchen and holiday spice candle in the master bathroom.  I made myself a double shot of espresso just now, and found the filter to look a lot like a snowflake or Star of David.

Cleaning the house and getting out all the recipes for Thanksgiving dinner, I remember meals from the past, both good and bad.  The worst will always be the spinach casserole with potato chip topping made by my grandmother, that I later lost while "calling Ralph on the big white phone" if you know what I mean.

I remember drinking a whole glass of my uncle's strawberry wine, thinking it was Coke (it was in a red Dixie cup). I remember it being a lot warmer going down that Coke usually was.

Nowadays, Thanksgiving means cooking all day, eating for 30 minutes and cleaning the kitchen for a couple of hours. And this year I hear all the stores are opening up Thanksgiving Day evening, as opposed to waiting for Black Friday.  Not sure what to think of that! HO Ho ho!

Either way, I'm looking forward to the holiday season, and even more so, now that we have a little granddaughter to share it with.  I definitely feel blessed, and am recognizing all the wonderful things I already have. 

I love this brass colored yarn I've been spinning - I think its the perfect fall color!

And I finished the prayer shawl, blocked it and photographed it. From blocking, to packing it up for the postman, here is the Baby Blue Mohair Swallowtail Shawl!

Soaking

ready to be pinned

pinning and blocking

full size and drying

Swallowtail unpinned and soft as a feather

finished edges

center point

folded once

ready for shipping!

Did you think I wasn't coming back?

I know its been a long, long time since I've posted in this-here blog, but I have a very good reason!  I have been knitting voraciously (can that apply to knitting?) on a lovely shawl that I've dubbed a prayer shawl.  Its for a friend and I will tell you that while its not been hard to knit, it has taken some intentional knitting time to get it finished.  When I realized I was through with the body of the shawl, and was about to start the last 10 rows, I was elated!  Then I calculated that 10 rows of 200 stitches means 2,000 stitches for the edging alone. I said out loud the other night, how proud of myself I was, for staying with the project to the very end.  My tired fingers are thankful its done.  Now to block it and take some photos. I promise those will be in the next post!

As a diversion, I started a pair of men's gloves, using yarn I bought several weeks ago at Joy of Knitting in Franklin, TN.  They are soft and cushy, and are a joy to knit, as a matter of fact!  Size 7 bamboo DPNs and sport/worsted weight yarn.  Easy-peezy!  Love it!

We've spent quite a lot of time lately with our lovely new granddaughter, babysitting, giving a bath and shopping.  It is probably obvious that I am not ashamed at all of being a grandmother.

 I am 47 years old and proud of it!  I feel as though I've earned every wrinkle, gray hair and moment of memory loss!  There's a lot of stuff under the bridge of my life!  Being a grandmother is like a great reward for a job well done!  I'm thankful, actually, for all the ups and downs of a full life. It makes me appreciate the little things way more than a young person could.  It takes time to live a full life, like investing in a collection of precious items.  Every valuable moment of my life is important, even if I didn't realize it at the time it was happening.

Today, I am who I am.  Older, but wiser and hopefully I don't get too bogged down with the things that don't matter.  Today I realize how short life is, and plan on making the most of every last ounce of it!