Crafty Doppelganger

My awesome sister-in-law and I had a great time at our family xmas party. She's also a knitter and spinner, and we had a crazy time drinking wine and fiber geeking. We have a lot in common, to the point that when I saw her nailpolish I had to rip my sock off to show I had the exact same color on my toes.We also share a happily similar taste in knitting projects and yarns. The first time I met her she was knitting socks with kool-aid dyed yarn. I grinned and pulled out my own kool-aid socks project. It seems every time we visit it ends in pattern swaps for what the other person is knitting. She's also incredibly enthusiastic, moreso even than me if you can believe it. It rubs off when we're together, which is yet another reason I wish we lived closer together. I might actually get some projects finished with her encouragement.

For a good part of the evening we sat together on the couch knitting and talking. I told her to knit on my 2-row Noro scarf (no it's not Noro yarn) a bit - a touchy thing since most knitters have subtle variations in knitting styles. So now when I look at my scarf I can see the inch she knit, too subtle of a difference for anyone else to notice, but a happy reminder of the evening. Things got a bit silly later in the evening, including some dangerous online shopping, and hilarity over my inability to match dye lots. Hey! When you dye your own yarn without measuring these things happen. Cool sock pattern, though. On a slightly unrelated note, I think yarn shops would be well served to hold wine tastings in the store. My local shop had a book signing party w/ wine one night and I think the owner made a killing off of tipsy yarn purchases. It's only extreme self control that keeps us all from going bonkers in yarn shops. A glass or 2 of wine destroys that, as my splurge on the current scarf yarn shows. She (and my brother) are coming for a visit in a couple weeks as a result of the online shopping that night. I can't wait to geek out with her again.

Finally, some cookie baking

About 3 years ago (must be that long ago, my hair was still too short to do anything with) my friend Jan & I got together to bake xmas cookies. We had a fantastic time, learned that 2 people adding ingredients to 1 recipe is a recipe for disaster, ended up with far too many cookies, and agreed to do it next year. Since then every time we plan to make cookies some crisis occurs that makes us cancel. Serious crises like detached retinas. But every year we make the plans. It's become a bit of a running joke. So we were a bit shocked and excited that we successfully got together to make cookies this year. Her son was home from college and agreed to help us. It was all going smoothly until we started cutting out the eggnog rollout cookies. There was a gingerbread man cutter and her son & I had a terrific time producing mangled and mutated cookies. Every dismemberment was accented with red sugar sprinkles. I remember doing the same type of thing as a kid, with the same reaction from the "mom" - quiet laughter and head shaking. Here's the final batch of freak men cooling. Can you find: Siamese twins, Tiny Tim, the one with Gangrene, the amputee, Antennapedia man (gotta love the drosophila genetics), the one with IBD, the vampire victim, The one who's boggling at the horror of it all, and the Frenchman? Brilliant!

Time on my hands is worth 2 in the bush.

Somehow I saved up enough leave time I have to take this week off work. We can only carry over so much time and any excess is "use it or lose it". We had last week off for the holidays, but most of that was taken up traveling so I didn't get anything done around the house. But now I have a whole long week of nothing staring me in the face. Ooh, how best to use this rare delightful thing?

I want to clean the house (really really clean). Bathrooms & Kitchen - ugh. Tidying my craft room, which currently has so many things piled up I can't just sit down and craft on anything. I need to finish repairing all the dog-chewed holes in our bedquilt. There's one decent hole left and a number of smaller ones to patch. Thankfully it seems to have stopped, because soon our quilt will be more patches than original material. I can see 6 patches in this photo and the offending dog. See that pretty tumbling blocks one she's nosing, and the watercolor one by her foot? Those pieces of the quilt were completely gone - batting, backing, all eaten.
I have a cute purple & white polka dot skirt that just needs a waistband sewn in. I have a cast iron bake kettle that needs seasoning. I have a dog that wants to go hiking. I have neverending laundry. I need to go to the gym. I need to work on a bellydance choreography, or at least pick out a song for it. I need to figure out how to use WinAmp to control my ipod because itunes has farked up my laptop. I need to read some articles about infectious diarrhea in patients who have chronic diarrhea. I need to mail my mom a bra to borrow for her birthday dress. I need to scan in photos. I need to paint my toenails blue. I need to eat breakfast.

I want to go shopping. I want to watch the Sex & the City movie I borrowed. I want to hang out with my friend spinning & watching more episodes of Crash. I want to make grapefruit marmalade. I want to sleep late (yeah right that's not going to happen). I don't want to waste any of my time this week.

I know there's enough time for all those things. I also know how easily time slips away. For instance, it's noon, I'm still in my PJs, and have only had a glass of grapefruit juice this morning. Well, better go fold that load of laundry that just buzzed, eat some brunch, and ... and... and...

Woolgathering & Rooing

Ok, this post is only halfway about fiber. Read on.

I know woolgathering as collecting fluff from bushes & fences where animals shed. According to the dictionary the main definition is fanciful daydreaming. Whatever. I know rooing as the long echoing howl our hound makes - aaarrrooorooroo, but knew deep down it has some fibery connotation as well. It's the gathering of fiber by plucking the shed parts from an animal directly.

I always gathered Katie's undercoat for spinning. It's so soft it rivals cashmere and is jet black. I spun the fiber and knit D. a hat and scarf from it. That is our special bow that has been reused on every present we give to each other for years. I still have a small bag of gathered fur to be spun. She was shedding a lot from a recent bath, and the house is currently drenched in dog fur. Normally I'd just vacuum it up and be happy with the clear carpet for a day. But I can't get any more fiber, all we have left is what's on the ground and furniture. So now I'm woolgathering. I'm using a comb and gleaning as much as I can from everywhere I see it. Every tuft is a few more inches of yarn. No, this isn't crazy, it's resourceful.

Year in review - blog style

An idea taken from a friend -- Post the first line from the first post of each month for the past year. Seemed a silly idea, but actually sums up the year pretty well. I made a mistake at first and was clipping the topmost post, which is actually the last from each month. I knew it was going to be good when it started out:

Are you effin' kidding me?

"Applewood smoked bacon, Alder wood smoked salt, 41% cacao".

Then I realized my mistake and started over with the correct posts. Too bad, it was on a good track in my opinion. Here's the corrected version:

What a tumultuous year.

What? Two political-based entries in a row?

Tonight is the first official night of "Man this would be a great night to be out camping" season.

I just flipped through my regular online life -- the series of email accounts, facebook, and friends' blogs that I normally stay current with.

Five years ago while I was in chemo, my oncology nurse suggested I try walking the Huckleberry Trail with the dog for some exercise.

I got my autumn leaf tattoo finished last night.

The wild berries are ripe--I think they're black raspberries, although they're a bit smaller like wineberries

For the locals - does Steppin Out seem a bit disappointing this year compared to prior years?

I know we all agree on the ridiculous nature of gasoline pricing.

I was flying back from a conference and killing time in the airport shops.

Living in a small town really has its advantages.

The weather has been most unusual lately.

See? Isn't that great? Oh sure some important things aren't mentioned, but overall my feeling is "Yep, that was 2008 for me".

Our Beautiful Katie

You know our sweet baby Katie. She just turned 9, and was looking forward to all the treats and present-opening on xmas. (She loved her pearl necklace and the extra attention it garnered). She'd been a little tired this weekend, but nothing concerning. On Wed. morning she didn't feel well, didn't want to eat or really get up. She was worse when I got home and we took her to the vet. She was so lethargic she barely lifted her head. They found splenic cancer with metastases to her liver and possibly lungs. Sitting there seeing the blood counts and xrays, hearing the options was horrifying - too close to home. Clinging to a hope she might be ok like I was.
Coming to terms that it wasn't an option. We spent 8 hours at the emergency vet, and left without our Katie. There really wasn't any hope to even extend her life without suffering. OMG I can't believe this happened. Until the day before she was perfectly healthy and happy. Chasing Windy and loving life. Once we decided, I went home to get Windy, and stopped to get some french fries, Katie's favorite. She ate a couple, then lay back down. Darin snuggled against her, the vet gave her the injection and Darin pet her and whispered in her ear until her last breath. It was really beautiful, she was so happy and peaceful and content. We should all be so lucky. It was so sudden and unexpected. One lousy day took away our Katie, when we should have had so many more with her. We love her so much, and always will.

I love this hotel

More photos from my recent trip. The sun started to rise while waiting at the gate to board on my way there. This picture is special for more than just the sunrise. For those of you who fly out of the same airport -- Look! A jetway! Can you believe it? Made me feel all high-dollar not having to go out on the tarmac to board. I always do an extensive yoga routine at the gate before boarding. It helps get the blood flowing and keep limber during many hours of sitting. I really wanted to get a photo in Warrior II (my fav. pose) at the gate but just couldn't bring myself to ask a stranger to take a pic. Esp. since most of them were staring at me surreptitiously over the rim of their coffee cups that early in the morning. Even knowing that no amount of embarrassment is worse than regret/failure, I still couldn't get the nerve to ask. Maybe next time.

The hotel is famous for its "View from the tub". It has plantation shutters that you can open to see into the room, and since my room overlooked the ocean it was possible to sit in the tub and see the water. Very cool, and I made sure to take a bath one day to experience it. Actually, the shutters were a great feature. I kept them open the whole time, and it made the room feel really big, plus kept the bathroom from steaming up. It was easy to keep my iPod dock on the ledge separating the rooms and access my music wherever I was.

Stepping out onto the balcony, this was the view:The rectangular pool bridged the lower one with waterfalls sheeting down on each side into the bottom pool. The "hole" in the middle is actually glass, so you could see people swimming in the other pool. It was fun to be in the bottom pool and have someone swim down to the glass from the top. The ocean was great too, warm enough so long as you stayed in the water. No waves though, which was disappointing. And the water wasn't nearly as salty as I had expected (my last ocean experience was the Pacific, which was really salty tasting). So many people went from the ocean to the heated hotel pools that the pool water was slightly salty instead of chlorine-tasting.

Stepping back into the room, you had to step over this 5" lip on the door frame. I don't know why it was so high, it's not like the floor had a flood hazard that high up. Now, given you knowledge of me, why do you think I'm including this in my post? Could it be that I tripped so mightily over the lip the first few min. in my room that I went almost 10 ft. before landing? See where the bed and my shoes are? That's where my shoulders impacted. I hoped the scuffs on the carpet from my fall would show in the photo, but alas they don't. And I neglected to take a photo of my carpet burned, bruised, slightly bloody knees. Though I'm sure they looked great the rest of the week with my skirts.

One final thing that was a nice touch. The in-room coffee maker was pretty neat. No steamed milk or froth, but far better than the dreck one normally gets as in-room coffee. Until next time...

Tasty foods from travels

I took all sorts of random photos from my trip to Southern FL. I figured it's the odd ones that make you smile later. Going through them when I got home, I apparently took a lot of photos of food. You already saw the steak pic, and I thought I'd share some others.

This Gingerbread house was actually the coffee shop in the lobby of the hotel. It was made out of real gingerbread and icing, and there was a continual parade of people mugging for the camera pretending to eat pieces. I probably would've done it too, but alas was by myself and too embarrassed to ask a stranger to take a picture of me doing it.They were giving out these juice drinks along with the sodas and water, and I picked up a couple to try. They are basically just pressed fruits and juice with no added ingredients, thick like a smoothie but not pulpy. Mixed really nicely with fizzy water. Very tasty and filling, made me wish I'd grabbed a couple more. Great to take the morning hunger edge off before getting down to the conference and your real breakfast.And for the piece de resistance - the scariest piece of sushi you'll ever eat. Sorry for the bad image quality, I took the pic with my phone. I'd never had a spider roll before, and wondered if there would really be legs hanging out. Boy it did not disappoint. It looked disturbingly like the face suckers from the Aliens movies, and I made it scrabble across the plate while making scary noises. I played with it for several minutes before getting up the courage to eat it. I bit the sushi part off, and was left with the legs, which I planted in a wad of wasabi at the prow of the serving boat. There was one other piece with slightly less scary legs, and later in the evening I ate it in one bite, feet first. It was damn tasty, and next time I'm at a good sushi restaurant I'm going to order it again. Although after doing a GIS for spider rolls, I think mine might be one of the scariest presentations I've seen. Hope I'm not disappointed in the future ones.

The terrorists won - here's proof

Just returned from a trip that included several airports. I've grown to accept the 3 oz. toiletries in their magic ziploc bag. Having to take off my shoes and go barefoot through security. The inability to bring a drink through. I do appreciate the airports that have the segregated lines for "black diamond" travelers who know what their doing. And being allowed to carry scissors and knitting needles again. Overall these "security measures" are pretty ridiculous and certainly don't make us any safer.

But having dinner during a layover I encountered the final straw. I ordered a steak at TGIFridays. I somehow never eat red meat on business trips, and usually by the end really crave it. See, I'm not really a vegetarian, I just play one on TV. A lot of meals are sponsored and usually chicken or veg., and we always seem to eat sushi as our late night supper. Anyway, I get my steak and silverware. Instead of the normal big steak knife I'm used to seeing, I get this instead:A cheap plastic picnic knife. Not even a high duty one, just the crap that would come with a fast food salad. It was a pretty thick steak cooked medium-rare. I almost called the server over about it, but then realized I was already through security and could have stolen my steak knife and done nefarious things with it on the plane. No point in complaining. I started cutting my steak. No, I started sawing at it, shredding the meat. Each stroke of the "knife" got through about a millimeter of it, and it made a horrid sound of muscle fibers tearing. It took almost a minute LITERALLY to cut off a couple pieces. I kept at it, rapidly losing my appetite and thinking this is the type of meal that makes me lean towards going veg. It wasn't long before my knife broke and I gave up.

So now, 7 years later, the response to the terror attacks are still far-reaching. The point of terrorists is to cause terror and disrupt normal life. And they've succeeded. They prevented a tired American traveler from enjoying a grilled steak as her last meal before heading home. And made her worry about using buzzwords like 'terrorist' in an innocuous blog post. Really, I have a slight nervous feeling, like the PATRIOT police are gonna come get me. Tsk tsk.

Lipstick on a pig

I'd never heard the phrase "lipstick on a pig" until the media furor over Obama's use of it after Palin's convention speech. Since then I've wondered how often it really gets used in daily conversation. I'm glad (sort of) to finally have a use for it. Last week I stayed at a hotel near the airport for an early am flight. Based on the chain name and online photos I was expecting to be pleasantly surprised by the quality and accomodations. Instead I arrive to find out it's a renovated Holiday Inn. No, wait, it's in the process of being renovated. Sure the bedding was updated (thank god no synthetic spongy under blankets) and the toiletries very nice, but underneath it was still a Holiday Inn. I was playing with the unstable bathroom faucet and thinking - you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig. Even with a high dollar veneer, I'm still stuck at a rickety holiday inn. Leaving the next morning clinched it for me, when I tripped rolling my luggage into the elevator because it had stopped several inches above the level of the floor.

Wormies

The weather has been most unusual lately. We've had a surprising number of snows already, though none last through the next day. The other day I let the dogs out and was pleased with the warm wet wind blowing instead of the biting cold dry wind we've had lately. The cars were covered in rainy dewdrops, and when I ran my fingers across the windshield I was shocked to discover it was ice. I swear it felt like it was in the 40s, and here I have to scrape my car. When I went back inside for the ice scraper, I looked down at the front stoop and was horrified to find countless tiny worms slowly dehydrating and freezing to death in front of my door. A few waved their little heads (or butts - never can tell), but most were stuck down to the cement. The dogs didn't like it, and took running leaps to get inside without getting worms in their toes. I looked at the neighbors and we're the only house graced by the wormie goodness. Blech.

Freakin' pattern idiots

There's a good reason I never use knitting patterns, and why I have yet to successfully knit a sweater for myself. Because most knitting patterns SUCK! I'm sorry, but if you're using a pattern published in Knitter's Magazine, the highest rated knitting mag in the US, it should not have so many errors that even an experienced knitter (with the full backing of the Ravelry community) can't follow it. Huge glaring errors, like telling you to start a design element at one spot, then several inches later (hours of knitting time) realizing there is no way that's correct. Yep, look at the photo right next to the pattern text and there is NO WAY AT ALL it is correct as written. Ravelers agree, and one even wrote the magazine for a list of errata without success.

So now I'm torn. I really really like this sweater and want to make and wear it. I have the perfect handspun yarn for it, and except for the chunks of errors it is relatively easy to knit. BUT, I'm already pissed and I'm only 1/3 through the front left piece, and the Ravelers warned the back is where all the frustrating problems are. I can keep working through it, hoping to avoid most errors by carefully reading, and tearing out hours of work when I do find yet another pattern mistake that's not visible immediately. Does not sound like fun. But it took me forever to find this pattern and I haven't seen any others that were as attractive to me. I'm pretty sure I definitely want something asymmetric or angled. Preferably a cardigan. My yarn is sport weight (size 3 needles) and fairly dark - so complex cables or such would be lost. Le sigh. I will frog this current craptastrophe back to the last correct row, then try again altering the pattern to match the photo. If I hit another major error after this one in the next couple days I probably will say something unladylike and find a new sweater to knit. Wish me luck.

Nature + Knitting = Inspiring blog

I've been following KnittingIris's blog for a while now. I wish I knew her in person, or at least could spend time in the same places she's always posting pics of. She does the coolest most inspiring thing - she takes a gorgeous photo of nature and then miraculously knits a pair of socks that perfectly reflect the colors of the photo. Her latest set was a photo of an old graying barn set against the mountains in a field of dried grass - and striped socks that pull all those elements together, even the blackness of the barn door opening. Looking at the 2 side by side, it really elevates knitting into the realm of art. Plus she has all sorts of cool nature crafts, like dried autumn leaves dipped in beeswax and hung in a window, or chestnut critters. So, if you're a knitter who likes nature (and I know a couple of you are) I hereby recommend her blog.

Slam books

Remember Slam Books? In my middle school they were always those marble composition notebooks, always anonymous, relatively benign questions that got passed around and everyone wrote their answers. Reading friends' blogs and some of the question memes they post makes me want to create a slam book of old. Seems like it'd be a fun idea, but then again I'm the sort of person who still thinks old-fashioned girly sleepover parties are great, and I'm kind of in the minority on that. Some interesting recent questions that would be neat to hear answers to --

Name a place that you've never been, yet feel inexplicably homesick for.
If you could have one vice without any negative repercussions, what would it be?
Name something you've never really liked to eat.
If you had to gain 10 lbs. what would you eat to do it?
How would you most enjoy spending $20?

Interesting. Definitely.

Puppy love

Last night we played with a baby boxer puppy who was available for adoption. We called him Fred, and he may be the best temperment puppy I've ever handled. He was boisterous and hopping around playing, living up to the name boxer batting at D's hands. I flipped him on his back and he just lay there, didn't squirm to right himself at all. When I picked him up and held him at arms length he again calmly accepted it. Not like Windy, who hates to even be pushed onto her side. We played with his pudgy cheeks, oh boxers are so adorably meat-headed, you just want to grab their pudge and kiss them. He was really really cute. This isn't him, but gives an idea of their cheeky pudginess and rumply forehead -- look at that chin, oh my goodness (ok I'm talking in baby talk at this point, glad you can't hear it).
Anway, after playing with him at talking a bit about it, we decided to leave -- without Fred. And now I'm so glad we didn't get a puppy. It's so nice to sleep through the night, and trust the dogs off lead, and not walk around every day trying to see what got chewed up when you weren't looking, and carpet cleaning during house breaking, and all that. I've been getting that feeling lately like I'd like another puppy, and I was surprised that when confronted with one I really liked, I easily decided against it right now. Besides, I really don't think Katie would like it.

What more can I say?

Small towns are teh coolz

Living in a small town really has its advantages. This afternoon I was at a birthday party for a friend, and after listening to her grandkids perform a breathtaking strings & piano concert (Bach, Chopin, etc) I was looking around to see if I knew anyone. I was thrilled to unexpectedly spot a friend I used to dance with but haven't seen in almost 2 years. We had a great time catching up,
sharing what's changed and our future plans. Also admiring the new tattoos we've each gotten since we last saw each other. It was uplifting to hear her plans and goals for the future, the kind of things that just make you smile with happiness for the other person. All around today has been yet another great B'burg Saturday. The only downsides were that it was too hot (69°) to be wearing jeans out with the dogs, and Katie deciding to douse herself with "eau de poop" cologne on our trek. Ah well, at least they'll be clean after their baths. Yeah, that's a silver lining to justify a half hour bent over the bathtub scrubbing beasts. Guess I better get crackin'

Damn those binges

Remember a while back I posted a line that was something like: Any story that starts with "so I was binge eating pickled beets" can't have a good ending?

Yep, it happened again. Thank goodness they were store bought and not my home-canned ones. The homemade ones are so dark red they remind me of deoxygenated blood. I may have a chance of cleaning this mess up. Not sure how, but I got it on my back too. And in my hair.

Startitis

After reading the Yarn Harlot's recent blog post about her wicked case of startitis, I realized I'm coming down with it too. It's still that early infection feeling, where you know you just don't feel right, but no symptoms have come out yet. Well, I did spend a couple hours completely reorganizing my yarn stash, finally moving all the handspun into easily accessed drawers instead of bins. Boy, I have a lot of handspun yarn. Some is already tagged with a project in mind - the dark brown-grey natural bluefaced leicester is going to be a cardigan or open-faced sweater in some nubbly stitch pattern with perhaps a complex cable running down the front. The laceweight royal blue shetland is destined for a (you guessed it) Shetland lace shawl. Ever since I started knitting I've wanted to make one. I also really want to make a faerose shawl, but don't have enough handspun in one type for that too. Of course that's not saying I don't have enough wool I could spin up, but startitis won't wait for that kind of thing. I'm almost freaking out excited at the thought of starting some of these big projects after so many socks and hats. Of course, I have to finish the pair of x-mas gift socks I'm knitting right now. And I do need to find another travel knitting project for my next business trip. I always do socks or a scarf since I can tuck it in my bag and knit during the workday too. Size-wise the shetland shawl is tempting to bring, but even a simple lace pattern can be dangerous knit in a dark color in ever-changing situations. Maybe I could bring along a sleeve for the sweater, that's kind of like a sock, right?

I was at the Farmer's Market this morning buying heirloom apples to can Apple Smash this afternoon - an ultra chunky form of applesauce more akin to apple pie filling. There was a cold misty precipitation (I can't really call it rain), and I was snuggly happy wrapped in my handspun wool shawl. I love the water-repellent nature of wool and its ability to trap body heat yet still breathe. Well, I better get to peeling apples if I want to get this canning started.

Autumn in the air

I love the fall, it's my favorite season by far. Right now we're at the height of it here in the mountains. Blazing color on the trees, enough fallen leaves to shuffle through. What is it about walking through dead leaves that makes *everyone* shuffle and kick their feet? I remember in college the leaves would pile up half a foot or more on the walkway edges, and nearly everyone veered to the edge so they were walking through the leaves. I'd like to be somewhere that had a proportionally big enough pile of leaves to jump in like we did as kids. They just cut the grass outside, and the sweet smell of freshly cut grass is layering delightfully with the more earthy smell of dry leaves. I'm going back out before the smell fades.

PSA

Does that acronym make you think of cancer screening? It does for me, but in this case I'm talking about a Public Service Announcement we saw on the city bus. Stark, clear-cut, very sad. Hopefully it also tugs at the heartstrings of the intended audience.

Obama Rocks

We attended the last minute Obama Rally in Roanoke today. We got there about 2 hours before the doors opened to wait in line. Of course the gorgeous fall weather we've been enjoying flipped to cold drizzling rain this morning, a perfect example of Virginia's mercurial weather. It wasn't too terrible, but the dampness made knitting difficult. You can see my consternation as I try to work on my damp barack-sock.Speaking of socks, there were tons of peddlers out selling everything you could imagine with Obama on it, including tube socks. Tube socks?? This guy below was pretty funny, hawking both "wet and dry t-shirts". He was stopped by a bike cop for his license, and the guy had the balls to ask the cop if he wanted to buy a t-shirt.
After a while it was just too cold to do anything but wonder when we were going to get in and wish someone was selling hot coffee. My lips & nailbeds started tinging blue, but D. said this photo is nowhere near as pale and blue as I looked in real life. My toes were so cold and numb it actually felt good when D. stepped his full weight on them, since I think it forced the blood to flow. But it was all worth it once we were in the doors. The Secret Service was phenomenal getting everyone through security. I've never seen such fast and efficient screening - they unzipped, emptied, and restored every pocket of my purse; checked my phone and camera; and passed all the contents of my pockets in the time it took me to walk through the metal detector. TSA eat your heart out! We were deciding where to sit when we learned the floor was still open. We had floor seats for the Metallica show in the same venue and I knew how close you can get if you're willing to stand for a few hours. And we weren't disappointed! We were only 10 people (about 25 feet) away, directly in front of the podium. Close enough to notice when Obama walked out he seemed to have something in his mouth. After a minute he said he needed a sip of water, since he was "chewing some almonds" offstage and Jim Webb finished his introduction sooner than he expected. There were a number of small personal touches - mentions of specific local businesses that have closed, direct comments to audience members, and a funny moment where he chastised a girl who was up on her boyfriend's shoulders. It was awesome to hear the crowd respond to Obama, and amazing to think we were that close to a President of the United States.

We watched MSNBC when we got home, and they were playing clips from the Virginia Rally. When they pan back from the podium you can see us down on the right of the screen. You can see my red-clad arms raised, and D. standing next to me in his beige hat. Vroot! We were on freakin national TV. hehe. If we had any doubts about McCain, the banner at the bottom of the news show helped clinch it.

What goes around...

So there's some horrid both-ends illness decimating where I work. I don't know why I felt confident I wouldn't catch it. And I'm not entirely sure I did, but I woke up feverish and nauseous, oh wait it's nauseated isn't it? Someone else would have to be up to think I was nauseous today. Anyway, if things at work were normal I'd just suck it up and go in, figuring I could leave early if needed. But when people who never take a day off are missing several, and those that have returned look like the living dead, and I know my day is planned for a location that would be most inconvenient if I suddenly feel bad - well, I'm thinking of not going in at all. Plus if I really do have it I don't need to be spreading it around. Even though I don't feel *that* bad yet, I kind of think I will, since the idea of staying home didn't spark a list of chores (like laundry) I could get done too. We'll see...

Lovely Saturday

Saturday was one of those great days. The only way it could've been better was if it was longer and I'd had time to do more stuff. Perfect crisp autumn weather, with the leaves changing and fallen ones scattered over the ground. I went out to the garden for some fall planting, beet harvesting, and general enjoyment of playing in the dirt without being drenched in sweat like this summer. After we (my garden-buddy Lawre and me) were satisfied with the garden we walked the edge of the property sampling the apples from the 5 varieties of trees growing. I chose 2 apples I particularly liked and we started picking--a tart crisp green one like an original apple granny smiths were cultivated from, and a dark-skinned red that is just a straight apple, maybe somewhat like a Rome? I climbed one tree and was picking apples and handing them down to Lawre. I haven't climbed a tree since I was a kid, and it was just as much fun. Given my irrational fear of falling, I worried about clambering around and particularly about getting down, but the tree was so solid and the apple picking so fun it didn't bother me at all. I have a bushel basket of apples waiting for pies, cranberry-apple butter, or whatever else I decide on.

Next stop was the wine shop for its weekly wine tasting. I chatted with one of the employees I know while waiting for the crowd surrounding the tasting table to die down - not surprising since it was one of the favorite guest pourers from another town. Actually I browsed the Belgian beer section and picked up a recommended ale I haven't tried yet (Delirium Tremens), a classic Hefe (Hoegaarden), and Victory Brewery's octoberfest beer (I've liked everything I've had from them). After the wine tasting, I teetered next door for mega-grocery shopping. We had no food at all in the h0use, and I grabbed every item we normally eat, and when I got home we needed all of it except one thing. Not bad for no list.

The weather was so nice D and I went bike riding, which we haven't in quite a while. It was great fun and the smell of falling leaves was overpowering at some points. Then I passed through an area rich with the smell of jasmine. I looked around at the plants but didn't see any, yet the scent was unmistakable. Jasmine has become one of those smells that always seems to be associated with wonderful memories and hence opens a little window into my heart. I breathed in as deeply as possible when we pedaled back through that section.

Next was the company's fall picnic party "Pooptoberfest". If you know who I work for, you know why it's named that. They had good beer, great variety of food, and everyone's dogs running around. Katie was like a shadow to me, and I had a laugh walking back and forth and seeing her spin to keep right next to me, esp. since she's not "my" dog. We put a glowstick bracelet on Windy's collar so we had a chance of finding her in the dark as she ran around. I figured we'd go for a bit and get some food, then head home. But we were all having a good time and stayed until close to 10.

So, it seems like my ideal Saturdays involve being outdoors most of the day, a touch of alcohol, and chatting with friends. Yep, that pretty much describes my camping experiences too.

5 months down the drain

I was flying back from a conference and killing time in the airport shops. Across the crowded food court I saw a sign that said LUSH, and beelined over to the quirky trendy bath products store. They are known for their handmade natural soaps, and solid bars of shampoo and conditioner. I chatted with the girl there, who had green hair and cat ears on, and no, it's not a costume. She gave me samples of shampoo and conditioner for curly hair, and with my current aversion to overly chemically skin care, I figured I'd give it a try. So yesterday morning I broke a 5 month streak and ...wait for it... Shampooed my hair. First off, this is the most grotesque product I've ever tried to use - it's like they finely grated a solid bar of soap and mixed in a bit of emulsifier. Tiny nubs of still-solid soap in a chunky gloppy base, add in the pink color and it almost looked like liposuction in a cup. I can't believe I scooped it up and started rubbing it into my hair. But damn it felt good once on my scalp. I forgot how good a freshly shampooed head feels. But now I'm not sure what to do with myself. I don't know that I want to go back to no shampoo at all, but I don't want to get addicted to needing to shampoo my hair (I really believe the commercial products do that to you). I may go to the natural foods store and browse their shampoos for something gentle. Maybe I'll go back to LUSH and get the solid bar of shampoo, it'd be great for traveling too.

Down to the wire

So my dance troupe has a performance (for a non-dancer audience!) coming up in 3 weeks, and as of yesterday only had 1/4 of the song choreographed. Freak out! We'd been trying to work on it when we can, sneaking practice sessions on our lunch breaks, but truthfully I'd been worried (near dreading) what would happen if we couldn't get it to come together. Thankfully we had probably our most productive dance session ever today. We got the entire song choreographed except for a few minor transitions. We also figured out our costume design and most importantly - got Excited about the dance! So now we have a full dance to practice, and can't wait to meet again to dance together. Hooray!

Gas is getting scary

I know we all agree on the ridiculous nature of gasoline pricing. Ever since Katrina it's been a continual contest to see how much they can gouge us at the pump. But what's happened surrounding Ike is freakin unbelievable. I bought gas last week, figuring I'd better get it before Ike nears the Gulf Coast refineries. That afternoon we went to fill up the truck and gas was 30 cents more per gallon. We saw the line of cars waiting to fill up and went back home. Yesterday it was up to $3.99/gallon. In Salem I saw a place at $4.34 for regular. I drove by Sheetz today (the biggest gas station nearby) and joked that their sign didn't even have prices up because they were changing too fast. No, it's because they were OUT OF GAS. I can't wait to see what price they charge once they get their tanks refilled. Un-effin-believable.

I think I love you

We all have those songs that are strongly associated with some specific time and place. You may not have heard the song for decades, but when you run across it you find you still know all the lyrics and sing along (and possibly dance) exactly the way you did back then. You still remember your favorite lines and feel the expectation when you unconsciously know they're coming. You remember the friends who also liked it, maybe even the clothes you wore at that time. I was watching TV and I heard one of those songs playing in the background on the show. Hearing it I perfectly remember freshman year of college, standing on my desk chair while my lilliputian friend Susan and I sang along full volume with the door open. My boyfriend (now husband) thought we were freakin idiots and hated the song. It's been a source of teasing since then, and I'm probably opening up a door best kept shut by posting this. But I had to share, so here's the youtube song: I think I love you. Now, I never saw the show, and it was Susan's song to start with. Ah, I should just give up, there's no way to justify it.

So did you listen to it? Is it stuck in your head? I can demolish that with another freshman year song! Ska was overly popular that year, particularly thanks to the guys on my husband's hall. I remember the back wall of the closets were the interior wall of the next room, and a couple guys removed theirs, so you could walk through their closet Narnia-style and end up in the next room for the party. This song really pushed people's tolerances for ska music, and after a while was practically forbidden at any gathering. I just listened to it, and all I can say is Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Go ahead and listen to the first chorus (until the end of the first minute). Mephiskapheles Bumblee Tuna. The lyrics are actually from a vintage commercial, which is even weirder than the ska version.

Who needs teflon?

I've made some fancy meals, or desserts that take a lot of manipulation, like baklava. But they don't give the same satisfaction as perfectly preparing a basic down-home recipe, the kind that everyone's grandma or mom makes better than anyone else. Tonight's conquest was sausage gravy cooked in my cast iron skillet. I'm sure you're thinking, what's the big deal? But really, it's one of those dishes that women around here have spent decades preparing, so when you get it right, it's a great thing. And my cast iron pan finally has that fantastic teflon-like coating to it. Check out how clean the pan bottom is where I dragged the spoon through it. (The color in the photo is a bit off because of the light we have over the stove.) A quick wipedown with hot water and it's ready for use again.

Speaking of cast iron, I need to season the bake kettle (dutch oven) I got for camping. It's got the little feet underneath and the raised rim on the lid for coals, and is wide enough to bake a pie in.
It was used, but I removed the years of gunky buildup (lye-based oven cleaner, spray and leave in a trashbag for 2-3 days) and now it's back to bare metal and ready for seasoning. Thankfully I have a half-pint of cooled bacon grease ready for the job. Hmm...I wonder how this is going to smell?

I'm Warped

No! I am not a weaver! I just borrowed a loom to use up some of the 4000 yards of cotton thread I seem to own. Yes, I do own a warping board, but it's normal duty is to hold boxing gloves and training mitts to help them air dry, or for winding huge skeins to dye self-striping yarn. Weavers have serious problems with yarn stashes, and bulky equipment that takes up way too much floor space. I'm technically reducing my yarn stash now, even though every square inch of floor space is currently occupied by this loom in my room. But once I'm done I'll have an extra square foot of shelf space! Here I am winding a warp while listening to Prairie Home Companion on my computer. It's wonderful background for a mundane but visually consuming project like warping.
This warp is for my stash consuming and very green project -- cotton napkins for daily use. If all goes well I might weave some linen cloth from my stash of 65 year old Irish linen yarn for some reenactment use before I give the loom back. Aren't the threads so pretty all neatly arranged like that? I can't wait to get it on the loom and feel the hypnotic rhythm of throwing the shuttle and beating the fabric. But no, I swear I'm not a weaver, and you can't make me be one.

Filler

Literally. I really want to post about hiking the A.T. with my friend and the dogs. Great hike, spectacular views, shocking wildlife encounters ending in fear, pain, and death (don't worry, we're all ok now). But I'm waiting to get the photos we took to use in the post, it just wouldn't be the same without them. So in the meantime I'm going to post something non-fiber related just so you don't think I've given up on my blog, and that I do more with my life than just knit and spin.

I made pickled beets, from beets we grew in the garden. I steamed them to help retain their color, then roughly chopped them, added the pickle (the vinegar solution used for pickling), and stuffed them in jars. Woot! I always hoped we'd grow enough beets to can them. Pickle is a funny word. I used a pickle to pickle some pickles. hahaha.

For those of you following my Facebook life, you know about my hysteria over the "Sense. This picture makes none" image. Every time I look at it I start laughing. Really look at it. Look at what he's doing, where he is, who he is. --- There I go, laughing out loud again.

Gotta Love KnitPicks

Apologies upfront for you non-fiber folks. For all the rest of you...

How many different reasons can you list why KnitPicks is the best yarn supplier in the world? Seriously, think about it for 30 seconds and get back to me...30...29...28...27... Hah! It didn't even take 3o seconds to think of half a dozen reasons, did it? The yarn quality, variety, PRICE, free shipping, dyeable yarns, great needles, free/cheap patterns, always educational podcasts, and stunning customer service. I emailed them because a needle of mine had a tiny chip in the finish that caught the yarn, and hoped I might exchange it. They replied that I should just chuck the needle because a new replacement was on its way. Wow! Didn't even have to give them my address, they just cross-referenced my email addy.

Then I ordered yarn and needles for 2 projects, and when the yarn arrived today I was was upset because they mixed up the yarn color and sent me this hideous skein instead of solid brown:

Brown, lemon-lime green, and fuschia. Gak. Even the name "Meadow Multi" doesn't make me like it any better. I was coming upstairs to email them about it when I really looked at the box, and realized they had included all the skeins I ordered. This one was extra, not listed on the packing list. My husband saw it and said maybe it's not selling even on clearance and they're throwing a skein in with every order as a joke. Maybe.

Anyway, even though it's not a yarn I'll ever use, it's still a nice surprise. One I'm willing to pass along. It's the superwash merino/nylon Essential yarn. Does a certain someone need it for their sock yarn scrap knitting project? Is someone in love with the colors? I apologize for bashing them, they just go far beyond my color comfort zone. Maybe they'd look better knit up in tiny squares or something.

Well, off to cast on for my next project (I haven't had anything to knit all week -- I had to break out the tatting shuttles for a travel project!)

Steppin Out and Down?

For the locals - does Steppin Out seem a bit disappointing this year compared to prior years? Sure the construction along College Ave doesn't help, but even so it feels like there are less vendors, and less exciting stuff to see. Several booths we were anticipating visiting weren't there, and the food was not to the level I was used to.

Still, we saw some awesome musicians, ran into people I haven't seen in a while, and had a generally fun time. We signed up at the Obama headquarters booth to volunteer this season. Ate a funnel cake with some organic Capri Sun-style juice box. Saw cool things that were out of our price range. We may head back tomorrow, though I don't know if the bigger crowds will be a pro or con.

Canine Yoga Helper?

Took Windy with me running this morning for the first time. It was great, her excited exploration pace is a bit faster than my running speed, and she wouldn't hear of slowing it down. Any time I felt tired I just had to look at her effortless stride and it helped keep me going. Once home I pulled out my yoga mat and started stretching. I was also using a tennis ball as part of one exercise. Windy came in to watch, and once I sat up and she spied the ball, she snatched it up and started tossing it around. For some reason she loves laying on my yoga mat, so during a practice I'm constantly shoving her aside. It's not really a problem, but now my exercise tennis ball is soggy and I have to find a new one. Still, she was so cute attacking the ball I can't really help but smile.

Braveharlot Inspired Me

I was talking with my fellow handspinner and gardener Lawre (maker of the famous "Stuff for your Fluff" custom bags and needle books) this weekend while pulling weeds in our garden. I said I haven't spun much in 2008, that I just don't have anything interesting worth spinning up in my pitiful stash. This is a sign that it's been TOO LONG since I've been to a fiber festival, and we immediately ran through the dates for the upcoming shows. Lawre said her stash had more than enough to go around, and we should dig through it once we were done digging in the dirt. She pulled out bin after bin of different fibers, and it was as much a revelation to her what was in the boxes as it was to me. I found several different bags I wanted to take home and just couldn't decide which to choose. I was delighted when she said I could have it all. Here's part of what I got:

This is a blend of mohair and border leicester. Not my colors normally, but something about it just grabbed me. I started spinning this as soon as I got home while rewatching Fellowship of the Ring (which I haven't seen in years). It glides out of the hands and is really dainty as yarn. There's not a lot in the bag, not sure if I'll ply it on itself, with wooly nylon to make a gimp (bumpity) yarn, or with a solid color wool for a stripey yarn to make it stretch further. It's just fun to be spinning again.

This next one is also mohair & border leicester. I learned to spin on a mohair wool blend and didn't like it at the time, but things are quite different now. The fiber has a particular smell that is very reminiscent of when I first learned to spin (egads, 11 years ago). I think this will make a really richly colored yarn when plied on itself. I think there's enough roving for something like a vest or cropped sweater. I've always wanted to knit a vest for myself, maybe this will be it. (God only knows why - I don't wear sweater vests, but it's an odd compulsion I think I should listen to).

Here's another small batch I got, very earthy and masculine. It would definitely be enough for a hat and maybe scarf or something. Also mohair/border leicester blend. Border Leicester is not usually one of my preferred wools, a bit too coarse for my snobby tastes. But this is really nice and soft, no scratchiness at all. All the photos look like they have white/lightly dyed sections, but that's just the flash reflecting off the lustrous mohair. All of these blends came from Kid Hollow Farm, and if I'm in the market for a mohair blend I will definitely see what they have up for sale next time.

All of this fiber is outside my normal realm of spinning. I normally work with naturally colored merino and blue-faced leicester wools. Color, luster, long staple length, mohair -- it's been so long since I dealt with these adjectives, it makes me feel like a new spinner again.

Phone calls -- a fun pain

The phone ringing always cuts through whatever I'm doing and fills me with a need to answer it. It's hard to ignore even though you logically know voicemail will handle it. I think that's why wake-up calls are so effective--no matter how poorly you slept in an unfamiliar place and how exhausted you are, the phone ringing will drag you awake. Do you ever answer the phone reflexively, even though you are busy or don't want to talk to the person on the other end?

I was driving home from a hike with the dogs, just pulled up to the scary-busy intersection, windows down, dogs panting so hard they're dripping drool all over me. My only thought is which one to bathe first, and how thirsty I am. Ok, I guess that's 2 thoughts, but they both involve water. My phone rings and I see it's my mom, who I know is out of town visiting extended family. I answer it without thinking, and before I can explain that it's not a good time to talk she hands the phone to my great aunt. I tell her that I'm driving but will call back in a few minutes. I call back and try to explain to mom that I have 2 filthy wet dogs to deal with, and I just walked in the door. I can tell she really wants to pass the phone around for everyone to talk to me. I'm afraid I got a little testy, but the dogs were eyeballing the couch, and I still wanted to get to a store that was closing in less than an hour.

So she called back a few hours later and started passing me around. It actually ended up being really enjoyable talking with everyone, and I think I spent about 20 minutes with each person. I particularly enjoyed talking with one cousin I haven't seen in probably a decade. We just clicked back then, and even moreso now. I'd love to visit in person, I think we could fill an entire evening chatting. I told everyone we'd be in Chi-town next may for business and were planning to take time to visit family. I think some other out-of-towners might try to come at the same time so we can have a bit of family reunion.

7 weeks without shampoo

You read that right, I haven't shampooed my hair in 7 weeks. I still "wash" it every day with water and conditioner, and use products to scrunch the curls. Two sources recommended this to make curls lusher, scalp healthier, and hair better overall. They warned the first week would be bad as your scalp adjusted to the new state but to struggle through it as the results are worth it. And they're right. My scalp feels so much better, my hair looks good, and always smells like fresh conditioner, never a dirty hair smell even after being out at a bar. I didn't believe it at first, but it really is the shampoo stripping natural hair oils that makes hair dirty and the scalp dry, and it's ok not to use any. Shocking? Horrifying? Thrilling? Give it a try!

1 hour sweat = 1 jar jelly

The wild berries are ripe--I think they're black raspberries, although they're a bit smaller like wineberries. There are briar patches all over town loaded with berries, but you have to be quick because by next weekend they'll all be done. So I set out the morning of the 4th with my wooden berry bucket to gather all I could. I was able to pick about 3 quarts of berries, which is half a grocery sack. They go bad within a couple days of picking, so today I made seedless jelly. Squeezing the juice from a cheesecloth sack of fruit is always oddly fun, with the dark red juice it looked like a giant heart bleeding. Ok, I have problems, I'll be the first to admit it. I used Pomona's Universal Pectin this time, which allows for any amount (or none) of sugar you want to use (Hooray!). It gelled really hard, which is difficult for non-sugared recipes normally, but I want to taste it before I totally jump on the bandwagon. After I was done I decided to put up corn relish too, since we've already gone through half the jars I made last week. I was looking at the jars of cooling jelly and realized that the number of jars was equal to the number of hours I spent out in the sun picking berries and standing over boiling pots of water making the jelly. I definitely am a process not a product person. I love trying to explain conversions like that to people who really don't get it.

Townies in town are awesome

I've had such an amazing day around town today (Saturday). I've done a ton of small things -- running, deck-building, gardening, erranding, wine-tasting, booze-run -- and at each one I've been overwhelmed with how genuinely nice and friendly people are. Everyone I encountered was so personable, happy to chat, and just enjoying their own day. It's kept a smile on my face the whole day.

It's hard to describe details, but some things do stick out. During deck-building we were also watering plants, and the kids had a waterfight with the hose that drenched everyone within reach; after which they made mudpies while we went back to work thankfully cooled off. It's great to see kids playing like we all used to. I swear, give a kid a stick and a bucket of water and send them outside -- there's no end to what they'll find to keep themselves occupied.

After my run I was stretching and met a woman gearing up to run. She wore a Fuel Belt (fancy-ie expensive-water bottle carrier belt), and I asked her how she liked it and expressed interest in getting one in the future. She reached in her car and handed me the top-line model to try on. It fit, and she told me to keep it. Now, it still had tags on it from the store, but she didn't want a penny for it. I'm thrilled, and definitely looking for ways to "pay it forward".

At the wine tasting I met another woman named Darcey (boy it's hard to write it like that) and really enjoyed the company during the tasting. Even the ABC employees were really friendly and helpful.

Who knows what else the evening will bring? However you look at it, today's been a great weekend day.

Tattoo Finished!

I got my autumn leaf tattoo finished last night. If you remember it had to be done in stages, and I got the initial part inked back in early April, which was the first 2 leaves and the outline of the 3rd.Shaun figured we could get it finished in one more sitting and we did, although it was a solid 4 hours of needlework with only a 10 min. break. I was at the shop for almost 5 straight hours. This was really too long of a session, and if I'd known what that last hour would feel like, I would've broken it into 2 sessions. For the most part I don't mind the coloring, it's just the outlining that hurts. And when the skin is already sensitive from hours of tattooing, it starts to really hurt. I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but this just never ended. A few times the skin/muscles contracted reflexively, and I had to focus on my breathing to try and relax and hold still. By the end I tried singing to myself as a distraction, but kept stumbling over the same few lines, unable to ignore the work being done. But I really believe all of this was due to the length of time it took and how sensitive (ticklish) the area was. A couple hours of work is done quick enough it doesn't really hurt much. Still, it's totally worth it. The tattoo is gorgeous, and it's exciting to have it finished.

Oh, would you like some pictures? Here's one of Shaun working on the 2nd of 4 leaves of the night. He just finished coloring in the white oak leaf and outlining the cottonwood. Now he's applying the base yellow to the cottonwood leaf.As each leaf was finished I'd get up and we'd stencil on the next one. For the final 2 leaves I was sitting on the bench hugging my knees, which is an oddly uncomfortable way to sit for hours, but gave the best canvas for Shaun to work. So here's the front view of the leaves. There's no way to get the whole tattoo in one photo. There's also no way to give a panned back view without an R rating.These are:
Sweetgum (liquidambar styraciflua)
Tulip tree (lyriodendron tulipifera)
White oak (Quercus alba)
Cottonwood (Populus deltoides)

The wind isn't actually red, once it heals it'll be just like the grey swirls around the first leaf. Here's the leaves on my back. They stop right at the edge of my spine, which looks really cool. Shaun did such an awesome job shading the leaves. I think the final one turning green to brown is my favorite. And there are nice details, like shadows where the leaves overlap, that don't really show in photos. He also left a small bit of the final leaf (the left point) unshaded, which I thought was fitting since I never seem to finish anything :)So after the yellow cottonwood leaf, these are:
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
Dogwood (Cornus florida)
Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)

Each leaf is from a tree special to me in some way, I'd be happy to go into details in person if you're interested. It's hard to believe these photos are pictures of me. It almost doesn't look real. This is the end of my tattoo adventures for a long long time. I have an ultimate plan of getting a tree of life on my upper back shoulder and continuing the leaves up to it, so it looks like the leaves are blowing down off the tree. But that's far in the future.

Coronado Bridge Run

While on a business trip to Cali last week I ran in my first official Run. The 22nd annual Coronado Bridge Run happened to fall the same weekend, and it looked like a fun opportunity. 8000 entrants ran the 4 miles from the convention center, over Coronado Bay, ending on Coronado Island in the smallest National Park on record. It was fun stretching at the starting line, watching all the conference attendees in their suits weave their way amongst us with odd looks. The bridge was intimidating, especially the incline. Here's part of the bridge from a distance, it curves around another quarter of its length off to the right. The pics are worth clicking on to get the full image. It was pretty hot in the sun, and I was worried about getting over the bridge, so ran at a fairly easy pace. By the end I was glad I did, it took more effort than I'd expected, but I was glad to have made it over without stopping. Here we are heading up the on-ramp to the bridge. Once on the bridge it was clear it wasn't the angle of the incline, but the length of the overall hill that was tough. Well, tough for me at least, my triathlete friend running with me didn't seem to have a bit of trouble, and was incredibly encouraging throughout. He even took this spiffy action photo of meThose tall buildings are the beginning of the convention center area, where I spent most of my week. The race results were a little jumbled, as my friend and I crossed the exact same second yet were listed 10 places apart, but officially I was 2169/8000. Don't know how much this says, since the winner did the 4 miles in 20 min. flat and the last person was an 82 year old woman. Still, I had a great time, learned some interesting ways to stay refreshed while running, and will definitely sign up for another run soon.

Prepping for travel -- knitting, that is

As some of you know, deciding what knitting project to bring on a trip is of the utmost importance. It has to be small but long-lasting, entertaining but not attention-requiring, and easy to drop and pick up at a moment's notice. Socks fit this perfectly. These socks kept me company on a prior trip, and I'm almost done with them. I knit them both separately, then put them on the needles together so they could be exactly the same length with no wasted yarn.

Thanks to Windy for holding the needles down so I could take this picture. She didn't want her photo taken but was willing to suffer for my picture. I have to get them finished very soon so I can use the needles for the next pair.



So on to the next sock project! A fabulous sock addicted friend who travels a lot herself hooked me up with the COOLEST sock pattern I've ever seen. It looks like a tree growing up around your foot and leg. It inspired me to dye some yarn for the socks, and I'm ready and excited to get traveling so I can start knitting them.

I like to protect my yarn ball so it doesn't get all smooshed and ravely being stuffed in bags and such. But the normal "yarn bra" always ends up compressing the ball in a messy way towards the end. Well, I had an epiphany, and put the bra on sideways and threaded the yarn through a hole in the mesh. The yarn is much more secure and I think will work very well. Here's the yarn I dyed for my next socks in the sideways yarn bra.