I decided to work on the monkey last night; I finished his head and started down the neck. Of course, I then realized that his muzzle was too big, so I had to rip everything out and do it over. I'm now again finished with the muzzle, and starting on the neck. I'm really enjoying the colors I picked, and DP has given them his seal of approval.
Strangely, my arms don't feel any worse than they did before last night's marathon, so I guess bulldogging it worked! If I can just finish his body this weekend, I'll be happy.
I need to decide how I'm going to spin the Icelandic. It's a combo of the tog and thel, so it can be a bit rough. Though I'd love to make my own bohus-esque yarn, I don't really want to card it with my angora. I'd just mess up the nice preparation, and who knows what I'd end up with! I may do one ply of the icelandic and one of the silk/cashmere blend and see how it washes and works up. I spindle spun some of the icelandic and I have a partial bobbin of the silk/cashmere singles leftover from a weaving project, so I could theoretically just ply them when I get home today. Hmmm...maybe I'll do just that.
In other news, I'm a horrible friend. I forgot a co-worker's birthday yesterday; she's just a couple of years older than me, and the first "young" person I ever worked with. She said she didn't mind, but I feel like a complete loser. Argh.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Bulldog it
My mom, who works for a software company, gets a lot of junk from other software companies. This junk (hats, shirts, pens) usually has the donor's logo on it. One such company was Bulldog IT - which my husband and sister decided should be their new phrase to shout at sporting events :) It's now entered the family lexicon, and we use it for situations that call for slogging through something. Too tired to finish coding that program? Too bad - bulldog it! Don't feel like mowing the lawn? Bulldog it!
I've decided that's how I feel about my knitting. Arms too sore to knit? Who cares! Figure out how to knit without pain and just bulldog it. I really want to finish my cardigan, DP's socks and sil's sock monkey so that I can start a spring shawl. I absolutely will not start the shawl until at least one of those projects is done. They all use different sized needles, so I just need to see which kind my arms can take and go with it. I want to finish something. I guess I got spoiled by my Christmas knitting/crafting, when I was finishing projects left and right.
I realize that some people might think this is unhealthy, and that I shouldn't knit if knitting causes injuries. However, I have to go to work, carry my purse, move furniture, cook and wash dishes, so I might as well do something I want to do also.
Finishing the sock monkey is now even more important to me, since I found out that my sil was having some severe ppd last week. I can't go to her, since she's in MO, but I can show her I'm thinking about her. If only I could leave work early, go home and knit...hmmm.
I've decided that's how I feel about my knitting. Arms too sore to knit? Who cares! Figure out how to knit without pain and just bulldog it. I really want to finish my cardigan, DP's socks and sil's sock monkey so that I can start a spring shawl. I absolutely will not start the shawl until at least one of those projects is done. They all use different sized needles, so I just need to see which kind my arms can take and go with it. I want to finish something. I guess I got spoiled by my Christmas knitting/crafting, when I was finishing projects left and right.
I realize that some people might think this is unhealthy, and that I shouldn't knit if knitting causes injuries. However, I have to go to work, carry my purse, move furniture, cook and wash dishes, so I might as well do something I want to do also.
Finishing the sock monkey is now even more important to me, since I found out that my sil was having some severe ppd last week. I can't go to her, since she's in MO, but I can show her I'm thinking about her. If only I could leave work early, go home and knit...hmmm.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Our phone is dead
But our internet is alive. What the heck?! I'm hoping that it's something the phone company will be able to fix, and that they'll fix it when DP is home :)
I tried to swatch for the leavened raglan yesterday, but my left shoulder started to ache. I had this problem last year...or the year before...it's due to stress. I guess I carry stress in my shoulders, and when things get too crazy, they hurt terribly. Yesterday I got really upset right before going home. Would you ever go to a restaurant, order a meal, eat it, and then when the bill came say that the meal - while delicious and just what you wanted - shouldn't have cost that much and you wouldn't pay for it? That's pretty much what happened yesterday at 5:45. I don't care if you don't think that you should be charged for it...you ordered it and ate it!
I did manage to get a little bit of the sock monkey for my niece done. I'm working top down, and I got to about his eyes. I'm using cascade 220 in vashon, pumpkin spice and natural. I figure that I'll make him up and stuff him with old socks - clean, of course :) Then he'll be doubly a sock monkey. The eyes I'll embroider on, because I'm pretty sure anything else would get pulled off. I'm not sure about his tail (color-wise) or his hands and feet. I'll have to look at some other monkeys to compare. This fellow (along with Mr. Foster) has been my inspiration through the whole thing.
I tried to swatch for the leavened raglan yesterday, but my left shoulder started to ache. I had this problem last year...or the year before...it's due to stress. I guess I carry stress in my shoulders, and when things get too crazy, they hurt terribly. Yesterday I got really upset right before going home. Would you ever go to a restaurant, order a meal, eat it, and then when the bill came say that the meal - while delicious and just what you wanted - shouldn't have cost that much and you wouldn't pay for it? That's pretty much what happened yesterday at 5:45. I don't care if you don't think that you should be charged for it...you ordered it and ate it!
I did manage to get a little bit of the sock monkey for my niece done. I'm working top down, and I got to about his eyes. I'm using cascade 220 in vashon, pumpkin spice and natural. I figure that I'll make him up and stuff him with old socks - clean, of course :) Then he'll be doubly a sock monkey. The eyes I'll embroider on, because I'm pretty sure anything else would get pulled off. I'm not sure about his tail (color-wise) or his hands and feet. I'll have to look at some other monkeys to compare. This fellow (along with Mr. Foster) has been my inspiration through the whole thing.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Yargh
Sorry for the radio silence, but I've been fighting some stomach bug and haven't had the will to post.
I've been spinning - I spun up the mohair/wool into a 3-ply heavy fingering weight for some socks.
(That's the singles on the left and the plied on the right.)
I haven't done much knitting...my arm is still bothering me, and I can only do a few rows at a time.
I've decided to go with the Leavened Raglan for my mom's sweater. It will involve some finessing with gauge, but it seems to be what she wants. If only I could swatch! It's so frustrating not to be able to finish the projects on my needles or start anything new.
I've been spinning - I spun up the mohair/wool into a 3-ply heavy fingering weight for some socks.
(That's the singles on the left and the plied on the right.)
I haven't done much knitting...my arm is still bothering me, and I can only do a few rows at a time.
I've decided to go with the Leavened Raglan for my mom's sweater. It will involve some finessing with gauge, but it seems to be what she wants. If only I could swatch! It's so frustrating not to be able to finish the projects on my needles or start anything new.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Some pics
I took some pictures of my stuff from Sheep in the City...they're not the best, but I wanted to get the pictures so I could start working with the fiber!
The mohair/wool (amazingly silky):
The icelandic (much less silky...not sure exactly what to make of it):
The bamboo (I'm not generally a pastels person, but this is loverly):
The sock yarn (hoping I have enough for a man with LARGE feet):
I haven't done any knitting in days. Every time I try, my arm starts hurting bad (in fact, as soon as I typed that sentence, it started hurting again). I'm going to have to do something tonight, or go stir crazy. Maybe some spinning, or carding.
I was also pretty sick last night and this morning...some kind of stomach bug. People at work told me to go home, but there was so much to do that I had to stay. I just didn't eat or drink at work, so I was mostly okay after about 9. Blech.
Well, off to my drumcarder :)
The mohair/wool (amazingly silky):
The icelandic (much less silky...not sure exactly what to make of it):
The bamboo (I'm not generally a pastels person, but this is loverly):
The sock yarn (hoping I have enough for a man with LARGE feet):
I haven't done any knitting in days. Every time I try, my arm starts hurting bad (in fact, as soon as I typed that sentence, it started hurting again). I'm going to have to do something tonight, or go stir crazy. Maybe some spinning, or carding.
I was also pretty sick last night and this morning...some kind of stomach bug. People at work told me to go home, but there was so much to do that I had to stay. I just didn't eat or drink at work, so I was mostly okay after about 9. Blech.
Well, off to my drumcarder :)
Monday, March 2, 2009
Hot Sheep in the City
The Sheep in the City meetup was fun! There was a sheep to scarf competition, with the Madison spinners guild dressed in knitted chain mail and the Oak Creek guild dressed as Vikings (they even combed the wool rather than carding it). Once I get home, I can take some pictures of what I bought. I had a budget of $100 and ended up with $30 left over.
Fiberwise: I bought some amazing wine-colored mohair/wool roving, ostensibly to spin yarn for socks. I also bought some Icelandic roving, since I've never spun it before - shocking, I know :) I also got 4oz of bamboo, dyed in pearly sort of pinks and blues, to combine with the bison and cashmere that I already have. Yes, I read about Louet's Mooi and wanted to make my own version. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I ended up with a spindle (I'm not sure how many ounces) and a fun hairstick with dangling beads. I almost bought a sweet spider pendant, but I realized that spending $120 on a piece of jewelry would not look good in my budget.
My uncle's birthday party was fine - I don't like groups of people, so it's always tiring to go to parties, but my brother came along with, so it wasn't too bad. My uncle is pretty much the sweetest guy you'd ever want to meet.
The opera was...interesting. I told my mom at the first intermission that I wanted to stay, not because I liked it, but because I wanted to see what they would do next with the staging. Even though the name of the opera was Semele, the real star of the show was Juno. And, she was really the only one who could sing!
We got back home on Sunday afternoon to find that DP's sister had had the baby! 6lbs, 5oz, a full head of dark hair. My sil only was in labor for 3 hours, with 45 minutes of pushing. I'm happy for her - after 13 years of trying to get pregnant, she deserved a break. The only problem is that now I have to start that sock monkey tonight instead of spinning!
Fiberwise: I bought some amazing wine-colored mohair/wool roving, ostensibly to spin yarn for socks. I also bought some Icelandic roving, since I've never spun it before - shocking, I know :) I also got 4oz of bamboo, dyed in pearly sort of pinks and blues, to combine with the bison and cashmere that I already have. Yes, I read about Louet's Mooi and wanted to make my own version. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I ended up with a spindle (I'm not sure how many ounces) and a fun hairstick with dangling beads. I almost bought a sweet spider pendant, but I realized that spending $120 on a piece of jewelry would not look good in my budget.
My uncle's birthday party was fine - I don't like groups of people, so it's always tiring to go to parties, but my brother came along with, so it wasn't too bad. My uncle is pretty much the sweetest guy you'd ever want to meet.
The opera was...interesting. I told my mom at the first intermission that I wanted to stay, not because I liked it, but because I wanted to see what they would do next with the staging. Even though the name of the opera was Semele, the real star of the show was Juno. And, she was really the only one who could sing!
We got back home on Sunday afternoon to find that DP's sister had had the baby! 6lbs, 5oz, a full head of dark hair. My sil only was in labor for 3 hours, with 45 minutes of pushing. I'm happy for her - after 13 years of trying to get pregnant, she deserved a break. The only problem is that now I have to start that sock monkey tonight instead of spinning!
Friday, February 27, 2009
Choppin', yes indeed
When I got to work this morning, I found that the ice storm last night had put a huge sheet of ice on the sidewalk that runs from the parking lot to the entrance. I tried chopping it sans salt, but all that did was hurt my arms. So, I spread about 5 lbs of ice melt, waited 2 hours, and was able to chop it all away! Of course, it hurts like a ---; every strike runs up my arms and almost numbs them from the shoulders down. Oh ice.
I'm going to my parents' house tonight for a delicious meal of homemade pizza. Nummy. My mom makes sicilian style pizza, which is not DP's favorite, but I was raised on it, so I'm pretty excited. It'll be nice to be at my parents' house and just relax. At any rate, I'll need to rest up tonight for all the adventures tomorrow.
I'm going to my parents' house tonight for a delicious meal of homemade pizza. Nummy. My mom makes sicilian style pizza, which is not DP's favorite, but I was raised on it, so I'm pretty excited. It'll be nice to be at my parents' house and just relax. At any rate, I'll need to rest up tonight for all the adventures tomorrow.
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