Back to Normal?

Things have been quite hectic around here lately. School started for my ds the day after Labor Day, so I was in a bit of a tizzy to get everything ready before then. I'll have to admit that I didn't quite get the classroom finished (I still have a couple of maps to hang), but enough to get the ball rolling. Last year Jay's least favorite subject was math (Algebra I, if you're interested). Well, so far this year, he has declared that his 2 favorite subjects are science (as always), and ... MATH! I couldn't be happier. We've also been blessed with the friendship of a math major, and he's willing to patiently answer all of Jay's questions and to discuss math with him for hours. Jay LOVES it. And our microscope is the favorite tool that we are using this year; it was well worth the investment, and I think every home should have at least one.

On the fiber front, I am spinning up some lovely maroon wool that I purchased at Tempe Yarn and Fiber. I'm not sure what type of wool it is, but it is fairly soft and spins quite easily. I'm aiming for a dk to worsted weight 3-ply, and so far that's what I'm getting.

I've finally finished knitting the Galveston Shawl, but haven't yet blocked it. It is large, lovely, and deserving of its own post, which it will get when I've blocked it.

A few of my friends have been busy having babies, so I've decided it's high time I got busy knitting something for them. I'm making the Cables and Textures Pullover from Leisure Arts #3325, Beautiful Baby out of Patons Beehive Baby in Baby Blue for the one that is almost 2-months-old. I'm making the 6 mo. size, figuring that he'll still be able to wear it when I'm done that way. I have a bit of a cushion for the rest of them since they aren't yet born, so when I've finished this one I'll cast on for the Cables and Checks pattern.

I'm also designing another pair of socks. I've not been able to settle on a name yet, but the texture reminds me of thermal underwear, so I've been calling them my Long Underwear Socks. We'll see if I can't come up with something better. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :)

I've also finally cast on the Alpine Lace Scarf from Victorian Lace Today. I love the yarn (Alpaca with a Twist's Fino), and the pattern is beautiful, but I think I must be a little laced out right now because I haven't gotten much beyond the first edging pattern repeat AND I haven't even had any desire to knit it. (Sigh). Maybe it's the weather.

The Fall issue of Knitty has come out, and I find myself quite enamored with the Girl Friday cardigan. I feel certain that I will have to have this be the next project I start. I'm just trying to decide whether to make it with SWTC's Craft or Love from their Vickie Howell Collection. What do you think?

Random

Making the handknits look good.

100% Bombyx silk in the "Abalone" colorway that I've spun very finely.

A refreshing drink of water at the dog park. Drinking out of bowls is SO last year.

10 of My Favorite Things (In No Particular Order)

1. Family
2. Friends
3. Gypsy
4. Knitting - especially with Knit Picks needles
5. Spinning on my wheel
6. Golfing - even if I now fully appreciate Mark Twain's golf quote
7. Book, books, and more books
8. Technology - which would also make my list of ten things that I don't like
9. Weekends
10. Autumn and winter


What are some of your favorite things?

As Promised

As promised in my last post... The felted clogs I've been working on. The pattern is the Fiber Trends Felted Clogs, the yarn is Patons Classic Wool. Though it doesn't show well in these pictures, the pink and gray are lovely heathered colors.

And now, the before and afters:

These are my slippers before:

And after:

Jordan's before:

And after:

After they were knitted, Jordan's were about 18" long, and mine were about 16".

Afterward they were about 12 1/2" and 10 1/2" respectively.


They are so comfortable and cozy, and they really keep feet warm. Sadly, that makes them almost impossible to wear during the summer, but they're surely a wonderful winter treat.

Boring

A new month has arrived, and I have nothing to say really.

Last Saturday, the Knitwits met at my LYS, which, though small, was very accommodating and has some Really Lovely Yarns. I picked up 2 balls of Noro Silk Garden in colorway 84, and 3 hanks of King Tut cotton in 329. I don't currently have plans for either beyond a swatch of the Noro, but they were too beautiful not to buy.

I've finished knitting up a new pair of felted clogs for J. He went through his last pair so quickly that I've had to let him know that this pair has to last for a while or he must learn to knit. I've also started, and am half finished, knitting another pair for myself. Mine are starting to get a bit ragged and worn through on the bottom, so it's time. I figure that I'll just felt them at the same time when I've finished knitting mine. Pictures of before and after next time.

I had been spinning up the most beautiful bombyx silk, but my dog got ahold of the roving, and, though I saved it, I just haven't had the desire to finish it. I'm sure I will though, as I've plans to turn it into a swallowtail shawl, and am eagerly anticipating the knitting.

Up!

Yesterday, Jordan and I went to see Up! Normally we don't go to the theater to watch movies being, instead, content to wait for them to come out on video. But it is summer, Jordan had been working hard and doing well with his responsibilities, it looked like a cute movie, and I had heard many good things about it, so I thought, "why not?'. Plus it had an adorable, animated, talking dog - who could resist that?

This was indeed a good movie. It's the story of a man and the love of his life, the great adventure they plan to take, and how life moves along more quickly than we ever plan on it doing. It's also about integrity and keeping promises made - a reminder our society can certainly use. Mostly, though, it's about not missing the adventure, and friendships, you already have while waiting on your big plans or looking to the past. For an especially good synopsis and review check out POParitaville.

At times poignant, funny, sweet, and just plain cute, it makes another winner for Disney/Pixar. I laughed out loud, I nearly cried, and left happy that I'd seen it. If you haven't yet seen it, check it out.

Cooking As Art

Therefore cooking as an art - 'Hidden Art', if you want to call it so - should be recognized and then developed in everyone who has to cook, wants to cook, or could cook! Cooking should not be thought of as a drudgery but as an art. Talent in this art form differs, of course, and would not be identical in each individual even if developed, but that is not the same thing as not recognizing it as an art form and not attempting to develop it.

The danger today, for both men and women cooks, is to take the short cut of using prepared and frozen foods all the time, using things from packages, bottles, tins and cans, rather than starting with fresh food, or food from one's own garden. I am not advocating that we never use anything pre-prepared, to save time for other things, and I realize that many - perhaps most - people do not have a garden; but one can at least try to get away from the 'plastic trend' in the area of cooking and it is healthy, in several meanings of that word, to try to do so.

~Edith Schaffer, from The Hidden Art of Homemaking