Christmas Knitting

Well, so far I've finished two of the four sweaters on my Christmas knitting list. My nephew's and my niece's are both done. I posted pics of them on my MySpace. I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I also finished spinning and plying the Lisa Souza roving into sock yarn. It turned out lovely (even if I said so myself which I don't, every knitter/spinner I've shown it too has said so.) Now I have to hurry up and finish the second Sweetpea sock so I can start knitting socks from it. Katie's Celtic Icon Hoodie is coming along nicely but within the first seven lines I found two mistakes in the pattern. Now I have to check the Errata to see if there are anymore mistakes. Oh well. It's going to be a great sweater though. People keep asking me how I can stand to knit sweaters in the heat and it just boggles my mind....... I don't knit outside people. And quite frankly, because my husband works outside, our house is kept so very cold that a wool or alpaca sweater on my lap is very comfortable. Maybe I just have my knitting priorities backward but I base my projects on: 1) How much time I have to devote to them in relation to when they need to be done (if for a gift) and, 2) Whether or not school is in session. Example; right now I have loads of time to knit because school is not in session and therefore I can do larger projects like sweaters. Once school starts in September I will not have the time to devote to larger projects and my projects will also need to be easily taken from class to class. This is my time to knit Christmas sweaters so I can get as much done as humanly possible. Once school starts, so will my prime sock knitting season. Socks are perfect for me when I need a full project to satisfy me and I don't have a lot of time to devote. And they carry like a dream. Well, enough for now.

Okay, so it's been a very busy last two weeks. After getting the notice from WSU that I will not be joining the Nursing program this quarter, I met with CQ, my advisor and she and I worked out a plan. I'll be taking some more of my Nursing required classes and boosting up my GPA so that when I apply again in the winter they will have no choice but to grant me access based on my sterlingness. This mean really boosting the Christmas knitting over the next month b/c come school term Sept 4., I won't be able to knit as much. I'll need to focus on my classes. I love knitting and I love my family and want to bless them with lovely hand-knitted gifts but at the same time, I don't support my family by knitting and I've got a career ahead of me that will allow me to buy LOTs and LOTs of fabulous yarns for fabulous projects and LOTs and LOTs of fabulous fiber to spin and even allow me to purchase that Golding wheel I dream of owning, .....but I've got to get through school first and so I'm taking David Reidy's advice and letting the knitting time find me after the priorities have been met. Thanks David! There's always Christmas break to knit and, well, there's always next year!

Go Big or Stay Home

Has it really been almost three weeks since I posted? Wow. Well, I finished my nephew's Christmas sweater and I'll be posting pictures soon. I had perfect photographing weather on Saturday but alas, I was finishing the sweater that night. We haven't had good photo shoot weather since. It's been gray and yucky. But the sweater looks great if I do say so myself (why not, everyone else I've shown it too says it.) I've now started on my nieces Christmas sweater. It's from the same Cabin Fever book but it's the Twisted Cables Pullover. I'm using Alpaca With A Twist Baby Twist in Orchid. It's the first time I've knit with alpaca. I've got plenty of alpaca fiber to fondle and a couple skeins of Garnstudio alpaca, but I've not knit with it yet. I know they say you shouldn't make sweaters out of alpaca b/c they 'grow' d/t lack of elasticity and that it's too hot for a sweater but quite frankly, the kid never remembers to wear a jacket outside when it's cold so she needs all the help she can get, and also this pattern looks like it will hold pretty well as a sweater with all the twisting involved. We'll see. If nothing else, it is heavenly to knit and I'm enjoying myself. I just hope my sisters - in - law don't mind too much when I tell them to bring the sweaters to me to clean. God forbid I leave it to them. Aside from the kids sweaters I, of course, have socks OTNs. Sweetpeas from this months Knitty, with only a couple modifications. I omitted the ruffled cast-on and just did a plain k2p2 and I'm knitting with zeros so I upped the stitch count by another twenty. The yarn is Schaeffer Anne in a gorgeous blues and greens colorway that I was originally going to make Pomatomas' with but after working the Pomatomas almost halfway down the foot I decided that I really didn't like the socks so I frogged them and saved the yarn for a better pattern. I found the Sweetpeas the next day. I'm doing well on my Christmas(or so) knitting.The kids will have theirs and Katie will have hers. I'm hoping to get my brother's done as well but it may take a little longer than I have available. My brother wants a gansey or a fisherman but I have to find just the right pattern for him. I'll probably end up designing it myself. For my dad, his sweater will be a Christmas/birthday present b/c I hope to have it done by the end of March when he can still wear it. See, my dad's project is special. I'm going to spin the yarn from roving and then knit a sweater I design myself just for him. I'm excited but it's a little daunting. If I buy the roving now, I can work on the spinning during my regularly scheduled spinning time. Then just as soon as my brother's sweater is done I can finish up the spinning if there's any left to do and start the knitting. On a different note, I'm still waiting to hear if I start my nursing classes this term or if I have to wait. If I start this term it's my goal to have a new job in the next month. If I don't start classes this term, it's my goal to have a new job in the next month or two. Either way, I plan to have a new job by Ocotober. I'm feeling pretty puny today, I even went home from work early, so I'm gonna leave off here. But I'll be back in a couple of days with pictures of the nephew sweater, the Sweetpea socks in progress, and the Twisted Cables sweater in progress. As well as pictures of my Dutchess when she comes to visit over the next week.

There are some days in this life of mine that are just going to suck. Today was one of them. Now, yesterday was a bad day. I woke up with a headache and it steadily got worse as the day went on. It took two ibuprofen and two cups of Tension Tamer to even take the edge off. That was nothing compared to today. I pretty much spent all of today sniffling and crying quietly while going about my daily routine at the demonic playground I call my office. So far it's taken an hour of sock knitting on my lunch and an hour of hear and there hand spindling some merino/tencel to start to make me feel human again instead of like this dark creature with leathery black wings and snakes for hair. I'm not kidding, that place sucks all that is decent and good out of me. I start the day a happy, life loving gal and end it a monster with no goodness left in me and a desire to harm. Tonight my children and husband are watching the TATU at the air force base. They wanted me to go with them. I wanted to go with them. I just couldn't. I've spent the last hour getting my resume together and emailing people who I'd like to give me a reference should I need one. I have to leave that place. If I don't, there's no telling what will happen. I've been staying there out of loyalty and today that loyalty was betrayed. In a most cowardly and malicious way. I'm not a perfect christian, seriously I'm flying just above the fire, but I know when it's time to pray and that's what I've been doing all day and what I'll continue to do until such time as it is answered. Matthew 21:22 says it for me "And whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."

My Mother and Me

My relationship with my mother is complicated. My mother is a good person. She's very creative and much what they call a 'free spirit'. But my mother is my mother. And being my mother she has a tendency to piss me off more than anyone else can, with the exception of my husband. We were not very close while I was growing up. I was more of a "daddy's girl" and my brother more of "mom's boy". I've always loved her, that's never been an issue. I was fiercely defensive of her when people just didn't 'get' her or her very independent nature. I just wasn't very close to her. I didn't understand her or why she was the way that she was. I never felt that we had anything in common and that I was more like my dad. Then circumstances changed and I found myself relying on my mom a whole lot. Over the last eight years, I've gotten to know my mother a lot better. Some through actual conversation with her and some through just being a mom myself. You see, I've come to understand that the way she behaved quite often was just her being a mom. Not just my mom but A mom. Sometimes moms just have to be moms. And through talking with my mom I've gotten to know her a little better. But she still does some stuff that just irritates the crap out of me. Like automatically assuming that if I'm talking about something in an excited manner then that means that I'll be persuing it. Take for instance the possibility of my taking horse riding lessons. I was very excited about this possibility and my mom was the first person I called seeing as how a) she's my mom and, b) she used to ride and show. Her response was one of immediate dissaproval. Not of the idea itself, but of the cost given my current financial status. I was in a hurry when I called her and also got a little irritated with her so I had to end the call rather abruptly. She, of course, took this to mean I was furious with her and not going to listen to a word she said. So then I talked with my husband about it. He said that though the money looked like it would be available, it really wouldn't be given other expenses I had neglected to remember. *facepalm* Ok, well so much for THAT idea. No go. Maybe after nursing school? He agreed. But it was too late, mom was already pissed and that meant a long time of her being pissed and many future conversations with it being brought up. Then, the un-returned phone calls, and the side comments from my father about how "you've really pissed off your mom. I don't know what you did, but she's awfully upset about something." I just can't win. She's cool with my knitting as long as I'm not buying yarn. She's cool with my buying random ridiculous stuff for the boys as long as it's not for me. I love my mother. God only knows how much I love my mother. But sometimes I just want to kill her. I know the feeling is mutual and though it hurts me to say it, I'm a lot more like my mother than I will ever be willing to admit.

What does your life say about you?

Have you ever thought about what your life says about you? What do your house, your car, the clothes you wear or the songs you sing say about you? Do you have one face that you show to the world and one that you show when it's only you? Are you afraid to show who you really are? Do you have the 'perfect' job/spouse/look, etc., and yet you still aren't really happy? Why is that? Well, there are many psychological theories that say as human beings we need acceptance from the herd. Those that don't fit in are stigmatized and essentially cut off from the rest. Or.....are they? Is it wrong, or even really that bad to be cut off from a society that doesn't want you if you don't want to be just like everybody else? Since the first tribes roamed our lands there have been 'outsiders'. It's just part of our nature. We get comfortable with a certain way of life and anyone who doesn't fit the mold of that way of life makes us uncomfortable. Take Jesus for example. He made the leaders of Israel very uncomfortable. Here was this guy, claiming to be the son of God, just rocking their world. He hung out with thieves, hooker, and (yikes!) the IRS guys. Oh. No. This guy MUST be bad news. Well. We all know how that turned out in the end. So....maybe being different in actually.......better? Now let's take a look at ourselves. Do you get your kicks out of stigmatizing the outsiders? Are you one of those people who see someone walk through the door and are instantly assessing them head to toe and making mental (and verbal) note of everything wrong with them? Do you wear a cantaloupe colored shirt with teal socks and have the audacity to comment on your co-worker's decision to wear candy-apple red pumps with a dark red shirt? And do you bother to look at yourself before commenting on another person's physique? Are you looking at them with brotherly love and a desire to help or just feeding the demons within? Isn't it easier to talk about someone else than it is to stop and take a good look at oneself? Here's a thought, why don't you find someone you normally wouldn't think you'd be friends with and make it a point to break down the wall between you. Find someone that you may have ostracized in school or someone who maybe wasn't in the honors classes you were in. Find them and change the world before it's too late. Only when we break down the walls that keep us apart can we truly become the people we are meant to be. Take a look at your life and answer me this: What does YOUR life say about you?

Mindbabble

Tomorrow I'll be uploading some of the pictures I scanned in today from my photo portfolio. This thursday after work I'll be doing my orientation at Rosewood to use their darkroom. My plans for my first visit is to enlarge some of the medium format Holga pics I took at Cox Arboretum last summer and also some of the infrared I took the same day. I have some really pretty proofs that are going to make awesome prints. I'm finishing the first sleeve on Noahs sweater tonight and I'm almost to the heel flap on the lime and violet Traveler's. I'm so bored with both of these projects but I'm fighting the Cast-Onitis. I already planning the next sweater I'm doing. It's the Sam's Delight sweater from Cabin Fever. It's for my nephew Jayden. He wants a blue and green sweater which is so perfect for his skin color. He has skin the color of caramel macchiato. I wuv him. He calls me Auntie Bicky. He's only two. Off to the wool!

It's over! Oh. My. God. I thought it was never going to end! I got a "B" on the research paper of doom, an "A" on the final in the the demon's class, I'm probably going to get "B"s in the other two classes too so that'll keep my GPA pretty close to what it currently is and that is good. Now I just need to get my application to the College of Nursing turned in and we are like the crunchwrap supreme... good to go. Oh incidently, I would have gotten a "A" on the research paper but the demon said that since there were no pictures to illustrate the courthouses I was discussing, he didn't feel validated in assigning an "A". Because (and I quote), "If there's anything you should have learned in my class it's that you can't talk about buildings without plenty of photographs." What-ever. Who cares. It's over! To celebrate this momentous occasion I bought three new books: Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel (you know... Glampyre?), Family Knits by Debbie Bliss (omg I love this book, so many cute patterns!), and Natural Healing by Mark Evans. The one I'm most excited about it Natural Healing. I've always been into essential oils and aromatherapy but this book covers a LOT more. It covers Herbalism, Aromatherapy, Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Bodywork, Eastern approaches and lots more. This is one of the books I would want to have with me if I were ever to be thrust back in time through a circle of stones.(Did I mention btw, that I adore the Outlander series? I AM Claire Fraser!) Another would be my PDR on Herbs and Supplements and also my Essential Oils Handbook. Oh, and my Army Field surgery handbook and a suture set would be nice, ..... and a package of size 10 blades and various sized of catgut, and maybe one of those books about how to be self-sustaining (dude, for twenty bucks you can't NOT have one of these books. There are three different ones at B&N and they all pretty much cover the same stuff. We're talking everything form basic first aid to canning, to building your own home, to growing stuff to you name it , it's in there.) Anyway, I'm pretty pysched about all the time I've got now to knit and spin and, oh yes, LEARN TO RIDE AND TAKE OF HORSES!!!! As if it weren't magical enough (speaking of magic check out the latest issue of Faerie magazine it's got Candice Knight of Blackmore's Night on the cover in deep purple velvet and gorgeous gossamer wings!) I have a patient who is a horse trainer and I've spoken with her many times regarding my desire to learn how to ride and someday soon to purchase my first (of many) horse. We hit it off right from the start with her visit into the office (especially over a long discussion of 'slumber party syndrome' and the intricacies of raising three year old boys, which we both have) and she's never mentioned that she also trains people to ride the horses. That is until today. I was asking her about how much I could expect to pay for first-timer adult lessons and she said between sixty and eighty dollars. I was floored. Sixty to eighty dollars?! A week?! I was so depressed. There is no way on God's green earth that I can afford sixty dollars a week for lessons. Then she hands me her card and smiles, "Come see me. I'll train you and I'll provide all the gear and the horse. But if you continue with it, you'll have to eventually buy your own helmet." I asked how much. Thirty-five dollars. For private lessons! And she'll let me pay bi-weekly for my lessons.(I could pay weekly but I get paid bi-weekly so it's more convenient) She said she could do evening or weekend sessions since it would be just me and I could start whenever I wanted! I have to think about it but I've looked at the budget and with my working full hours again and not having to drive out to school all the time, the money is there for it! And if I go to her barn from either job it's only a fifteen minute drive! Do angels wear chaps and spurs or what! (Sorry Miss Violet, not that you read this, but I've always been a cowgirl, but I love you anyway!) Dude, I could be riding in two and a half weeks! Off to the wool!

Corona, Blood Red Sunsets, and Classical Guitar

Man, if I ever lose my sight the first thing I will do (after panicking) is to crack open a Corona Extra and fire up the iPod and hit my "Guitar" playlist. That's all I need to see the fiery Mexican sunsets streaking across the sky. A little Estaban and Armik and I'm good. And there is absolutely nothing like the sound of Flamenco to bring out the sexy in me. A few chords and I'm there. Dude, where is Antonio Banderas when you need him!

As this quarter comes to an end I am getting giddy with thoughts of all the free time I'll have again to knit and spin and run and read. Omg, I'm so excited. So far it looks like the ole GPA will see no detriment from this quarter although I will have to do a LOT of studying this weekend to make ready for the two tests on tuesday in Micro and Organic Chem and then the ridiculous Architecture class. But it will be so nice once it's all over and I have a nice pretty little GPA to show for it and acceptance into the College of Nursing and Health. Yay! "Alright, back to your knitting. This is going to be awkward enough without all you sots listening in." - a Weasley twin.

Soothing Stockinette

I have to knit a LOT of stockinette on the Stone sweater for Noah. Since it's only a size 8-10 it's not a whole lot of stockinette but it is. And i'm knitting and knitting and not stopping. It's so repetative that it's soothing. I don't know. Sometimes I get bored with it but mostly I just let my thoughts wander. I tend to work on stories in my mind while I'm knitting stockinette. Yet another stupid dream of mine I guess. Everbody's got to have one.
I've mentioned that I taught my crocheting mom how to knit and know she's a knitter who sometimes crochets. She started right out the gates knitting my dad a sweater. My mom has never been one to go gently into that good night. She is now wanting to knit socks b/c she's a big fan of the pairs I've made her. So we got her some pink and white heathered sock yarn, a couple of size 3 circs and we've made it to the first gusset decreases. She'll get this sock thing in no time.

Wild hairs are NOT to be left unattended to.

So last night I was washing the dishes (um, yeah, my dishwasher is my two hands), and I got this wild hair to start knitting Noah a sweater. I'd been planning on designing him one after working the sampler from The Sweater Workshop, but since I haven't had time to read it yet I decided that I could work on a design later and that designing one for Malachi would probably be a better idea seeing as he is smaller. So I remembered a sweater I'd seen in The Natural Knitter called the Stone Sweater and decided to start that one. I even liked the Wedgewood blue it was shown in and Noah had been asking that his next sweater be blue. So I put the next sink full in the hot, soapy water and set off for the only place open at ten o'clock on a Sunday night that carries good wool, Meijer. I bought four skeins of Patons Classic in New Denim. It looks very little like denim and very much like Wedgewood. In fact, it's the exact same shade as the one in the book. So I cast it on. I finished the dishes first though. I made it through the first five rows before realizing that I was eleven stitches short of the 128 I needed to make the 8-10 size. Now I already knit smaller than gauge, and I was counting on this b/c my kid is tall and skinny. I can always lengthen it but honestly, he swims in most stuff. His favorite accesory is belts, otherwise his pants would always be at his ankles. So I was counting on my usual tighter gauge to bring in the width a touch but eleven stitches equals a little over two inches too small and that would be a little too small. So, of course, I ripped it out and cast on again. It was one in the morning before I got back to the same place I'd been when I'd ripped. My hands hurt. My wrists hurt and my contacts were sticking to my eyeballs. I'd spent most of the day working on my Travelers socks (and realizing that the socks are Lime and Violet, how weird is that considering that I'd bought the yarn before I'd started listening to LnV?) Anyways, so now I'm working on the Stone Sweater and here's my current sweater cue in order of when to be knit:

• Noah
• Dad
• Sean
• Jayden
• Shawna
• Kate
• Chris
• Me

Yeah, I'm going to be making sweaters til Christmas, yeowch.

When I first was taught to spin, my spinning instructor, the almighty Arlene of Fiberworks, told me that it would be better for me to spin for just five or ten minutes every day than to spin for two hours once a week. I understood her logic and still do. The problem is that it's much easier for me to carve out an hour or two once a week than five to ten minutes every day. That is, until this semester is over. So tonight I'd had about all the separation from Ashley that I could stand and just had to spin. I pulled Ashley out, pulled out the Mardi Gras from Lisa Souza and set about continuing to fill my first bobbin with what is to be sock yarn. I've found that I have a knack for this spinning fine thang. Oh,wait, that's right, it's probably because I've been practicing. *duh* but in all seriousness, I love that when I test the twist it shows me an almost perfect sock yarn weight which means that it will untwist a little during plying and then fluff up a little during washing into perfect sock yarn! And then I've got lot's more fiber to spin. Some things I do need to remind myself though: when my back is practically spasming from the act of spinning it's time to take a break, walking away from the wheel is sometimes good for our working relationship and our friendship, and always remember to never fear what you have not yet attempted and never regret what you have already accomplished. Life is a journey so take the high road, it's not easy but you'll get where you need to go and the scenery is much better.

It's not the end of the tunnel, but I can see it from here.

The research paper of doom is now happily in the mailbox of my instructor. And I am NEVER going to take a course like this again. Only two more weeks and the whole quarter is over. Thank God!

Randomness

Well, tonight I will be working on the Research paper of doom and so right now I'm getting all the playing around done that I can. I've downloaded some more songs and played with my new myspace page a bit. It's been a relaxing, non-productive day and I'm okay with that. I'm only going to work on the paper a little b/c I have some spinning that I want to get done.
I posted on the LnV message boards about my new Different Kind of Yarn Diet. Instead of preventing myself from buying any more yarn, instead my plan is to reward my weight loss with yarn and projects. I'm making a list of the projects and yarns I want and as I reach specific goals I will purchase those yarns and projects. I plan to accomplish most of my loss over the course of the next year but I plan to squirrel away the money over the summer when my hours are at their highest and so I'll have a little extra to spare. My goal is not so much a certain amount of weight, although I do have an actual goal established, but more a specific body composition. Exercise is a big part of my plan. Well, off to the books.

Whining, and blubbering. Probably ought to turn away now.

Ever have those days when losing all sense of control and committing unspeakable acts of horror upon your co-workers seems like the swell thing to do? Me neither, just checking. But if I was to think about it today would be the day. I can't stand my office. I loathe my job and I despise my co-workers. Honestly if it weren't for the insane amount of loyalty shown to me by my boss, I would have left after the first week. I've been there two and a half years now. You'd think after two and a half years that the vipers I work with would have gotten tired of their insidious games. Nope, not these women. They are still at it. If I talk about school, I'm "pretentious and trying to sound smart/ make them sound stupid" ( like I'm physically forcing their vocal cords to spew out their ridiculousness), and if I mind my own business like I have been for the last month or so then I'm "pretentious, arrogant, and thinks she's too good to talk to us." My boss is so tired of their whining and she knows that it's pushing me to find another position sooner than we'd originally planned. She knows that once I start clinicals that I'll be working somewhere I can get on third shift or second shift. Probably back at one of the area hospitals, but this is making me re-evaluate my decision to wait to the end of summer.
What exactly is SO horrible about me that I can't seem to make friends with a majority of women? I have exactly 5 female friends that can truly be described as friends. I've asked them all and they have no clue. They think I'm an excellent friend. I've asked if I'm too bossy. The unanimous answer is no. Am I too smart? Again, no (but I do tend to use works they aren't accustomed to hearing on a regular basis). Am I ugly? Despite what my online pictures display, I'm actually not bad looking. OK then, what the hell is it? Too needy? Too distant? Too raunchy? Not raunchy enough? Too christian? Not christian enough? Too out-there? What!?!
Yeah, they couldn't help me. My husband says I'm just a "unique" personality. I know I'm stubborn, bull-headed, sarcastic, and some times I do boost my ego by using big words, but I'm also kind, patient, loving, always there to give hugs, and the kind of person who will stop what they're doing to come help you out of a jam. I frequently show my love with hand knitted items and baked goods. I cry all the time (especially around my cycle). I love every kind of creature there is and I try REALLY hard not to judge anyone, even after I get to know them. I adore people more creative than myself (hence my love/stalking of Lime and Violet) and I envy people who can just walk into a room light it up. I'm told that when I'm in a good mood I am super hilarious and I love to make people feel comfortable and welcome around me. I really are about my patients and I get really upset when my co-workers talk bad about them. I get irritated when people around me are judged by someone for the way they look or believe. I would never set myself apart from anyone because our views on politics or religion dissented. Overall I think I'm pretty decent. I know I can be bitchy and I'm sorry but for goodness sake, cut me some slack. I work two jobs and go to school full-time. I don't to see my kids, knit or spin even a tenth as much as I'd like too and all I want to do is my part to heal the wounded both physically and emotionally. Boy, it's a good thing nobody reads this blog because I'm seriously being a whiner. I know, I know, I'll suck it up.

Obligatorty Mindbabble by the Queen of Procrastination

So I skipped my architectural history class tonight in order to prepare for the research paper that I'll be writing over the next week. I was a good girl and went to the library and not the student union. And I got NOTHING done! I have, in true Lime and Violet fashion, named this paper the Research Paper of Dooooom. I have to write a ten page research paper,( not including cover page, pictures, footnotes or bibliography) about the history of Ohio's courthouses. That being said I think all will agree that my teacher is, in fact, one of the lesser demons of hell and out to destroy GPA. This is an ELECTIVE class! It's not required for ANY major! What the !@#$%. Ow, ow, ow, my head hurts.
Moving on, I finished my Jaywalkers in the Interlacements Tiny Toes Carbon Dioxide colorway and they are gorgeous! The pattern is nice but these would have rocked in a plain vanilla sock pattern. I love this yarn. I'll get pictures soon. I was a little dissappointed when I had a little bit of dye come out in the first wash (I did a gentle handwash with Kookaburra), but the color hasn't been too noticably affected. I'm now working on the Traveler's Stockings from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I'm using Jojoland in a pretty blue/green/purple colorway that I thought wasn't superwash but I found out that the Jojoland Melody colorways with a 'J' in front of the 'Y' of the color are actually superwashes. I'm still only going to handwash all my knitted socks but it's nice to know that if the husband accidentally gets ahold of them, they'll be okay. I've been doing a lot of spinning over the past few days after taking a brief hiatus d/t the folks being in town. I've been spinning the Mardis Gras Superfine/Superwash Merino from Lisa Souza and it's so pretty I can hardly wait to get it all spun and plied up. I'm spinning it pretty thin so it can be sock weight and I must say I'm impressing myself with how consistent it's spinning up, but then again when you start with a fantastic product you tend to get better results. Since I'm restricted from puchasing any new yarn or fiber until after school is out I'm lusting over quite a few now. As soon as I can I'm heading over to Happy Fuzzy Yarn and getting some of their BFL and then popping over to a great little spot called Kendig Cottage. I'm also going to try and score some Lime and Violet stuff if it's not sold out before my embargo is lifted. And as for yarn, Knitting Notions is my first stop. I met the owner at the Upper Valley Fiber Arts Festival two weeks ago and she is the sweetest gal. Catherine Harrison is her name and I would have purchased from her that day except she was the last booth I stopped by and, well, I was broke by then. But she had the PRETTIEST yarn! I asked about her dyeing technique and she gave me a tutorial on space dyeing right there and then! Now that's the kind of person I want to keep in buisness, someone who'd rather pass on the knowledge to keep the art alive rather that miser it away out of greed and fear of competition like some others I've asked about dyeing. So anyway that's about it. I'm doing a little reading now too. I bought the book America Knits awhile back and I'm reading through it one designer at a time. I also got the book The Natural Knitter about the same time and I'm slowly going through that as well. I've been told I should work as a knitting/spinning trendcaster because it seems to those around me in my fiber circles that I'm ahead of my time on picking up the books/yarns/projects that end up becoming popular. I told my mom this and she, of course, balked at the idea. "Medical school is where you're going, not Knitting school." I informed her that I was aware of this and in no way intending on discontinuing my medical studies to pursue a career in fibercasting, but that if I could make some money on the side to help pay for medical school, well, what would be the harm in that? She responded by picking up the sweater she's been knitting for dad and asked,"So, do you think this color was a good choice?"

Is there really anything better?

Every morning my little ones get up early and crawl into bed with me. They snuggle in close and we get to cuddle for about twenty minutes before I have to get up and get going. This is my favorite part of the day, yes I love it even more than knitting or spinning. I could live without my yarn, my needles, my fiber or even a handspindle, but without my babies life just isn't worth it. They really are what life is all about and those who do not hold them to the highest honors don't deserve them. Nuff said.

Brain is Mush, Send Yarn.

Ok.....took my first exam in History of Am.Architecture and now my brain is mush. Actually about halfway through the six short essay questions I had to answer, my brain started to cry and beg for mercy, by the end it was just a wimpering, quivering blob huddled in one corner of my head whispering things about Latrobe's biggest commission being the Capitol building and not "some church." I'm pretty sure it was also mumbling something about the Early Georgian and Federal styles being too similar and that it was a trick question. And now I'm trying to coax it into studying Organic Chemistry for my test tomorrow...... it just yelped and ran away. Damn! I've lost my mind now, now what am I going to do? Maybe a beer, or better yet, I've got Captain Morgans in the fridge. WooHoo! Good times. Oh...I made a mistake in the fiber content of the Rasberry Fudge from this weekend, it's angora not alpaca. I was filing away the receipt this morn and saw it. It's super fun anyways I can't wait to play with it. At the festival I was walking around with it in the booth before I bought it and, naturally, I was petting it. Some lady said I should make it my pet roving. Funny. I laughed so hard I didn't.

Testing

let's give it a try...holy mary it WORKED! I'm ecstatic! Wow, so we're back... at least for now right?
Cool, well for those that haven't made it over to As the Whorl Turns (and cue music) this weekend I went to the Upper Valley Fiber Arts Festival. I scored big. We're talking alpaca/silk/merino/polwarth blend in Rasberry Fudge, pure alpaca in wild colors, baby camel down/tussah silk that looks good enough to eat, and last but not least (since Monday of last week was my b-day and essentially the whole week sucked) an ounce of dove grey cashmere!!!!! .... And then I was promptly overcome with buyers remorse. OH, I also bought an additional bobbin for my Ashford Joy DT ( i only had the three that came with it and I want to try 3-plys) and a one ounce Ashford drop spindle to carry in my knitting bag. So now I'm not allowing myself to purchase any yarn or fiber (at least in very limited ) quantities until after school is out and I'm back to working forty hours b/c right now my budget is really tight and, well, you know what the Harlot says..... you can't eat cashmere!Along with the no-buying, i'm also limiting my knitting and spinning until I can get cought up with the schoolwork. I fell a little behind and now am cramming for two tests this week whilst trying to start churning out the draft on the ten page research paper on Courthouses in Ohio for my History of American Architecture class (I repeat Glenn Harper is a slave driver). And look at me, all excited and I've gone and spent too much time hear when I need to be studying the intricate differences btw Colonial/Georgian/Federal/Greek Revival/Egyptian Revival/Gothic/Victorian Gothic and Italianate Styles of architecture.(whatever)