Wednesday, February 27, 2008

updates galore

This makes me happy:

These are bubbles from my handmade soap. I have been using it for almost 2 weeks and I love it!!
The most exciting part was watching the soap bubble up--like real soap!

I bought a stick blender for cheap at the Walmart on Saturday and want to make more soap very soon.

Spinning:

I'm finally plying the Pumpkin Cappucino roving from CJKopec--it's dreamy.

It's my second ever attempt at a 3 ply and I like the way it's coming out.


I decided to try the mini sock blocker key-chain as a plying helper and I think it worked well.


Knitting:
Test knitting project is done--haven't heard back from the designer--so not sure when I can post photos.

Ribbi Cardi: sleeves are done and I'm about 2 inches into the back--I just cast on for that Monday afternoon and have only worked on it at craft night last night.

My friend Janna who learned to purl last week cast on for a hat last night!
I thought that an actual project would be fun--so with some Sean Sheep wool that I found at Walmart I taught her about circular knitting and ribbing and then she will get to learn decreases as well.
Too fun.

I finally got to the Dr and got some meds for my icky sickness from last week and am already feeling better. Yesterday I felt really weird and slept all morning--so hubby was home with the little man.
I am very tired of being sick--and not sure why it happens.
I eat well (fruits, veggies, meats, whole grains, yogurt) and try not to eat much junk at all.
I don't' drink much coffee, don't' drink pop often and drink lots of water, milk and juice.
I think it's sleep related but unless the kids spontaneously decide to both start sleeping through the night......then sleep will have to remain scattered.

Until then, there is Ravelry to keep me entertained at 5am when little man gets up :)

Today is a happy day--even Princess B's eggs were happy this morning:

(okay, it looked cuter before she "spread" the smile and the side got mushy--now he looks like he's got a creepy face)

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Knock Knock

Hello?
Is this thing on??

It's been a while since I posted.
I think I'm in the full out February blahs and am just feeling it everywhere.

Plus the month long colds and strep X 2 and other illnesses has put a damper on my sleep and my mood..

That being said, some happy stuff:
Craft night is chugging along with a nice turn out every Tuesday.
My friend that I taught to knit has finished one little piece, has learned to purl and is rocking out on her knitting mojo!

My sister and nephew visited all this week and we have had a great time knitting, tea drinking and having fun.
I taught her to spin Friday night and she did really well.
She ended up making 2 skeins of yarn--one a Romney blend and the other a Superwash Merino that I dyed.
(Pictures to follow in another catch up post)

I resurrected the Ribbi Cardi and have knit on it a couple of nights.
I told my sister that I was not allowed to start another pair of socks or project until I did something of worth on that sweater.
The sleeves are very very close to being finished.

We've had some good food this week which is not helping me with my attempt to focus on my food and my exercise levels for an weight accountability group that's a part of Craft night.
I don't really need to lose weight, but do need to take a look at what food I am eating and what exercise I am getting.
We did a few marathon walks with the kids into town and all around this week-so that's good.

I've had some minor health problems which is impacting my ability to exercise right now--but that should be clear up soon.

I have some fun pictures to share once I get them off the camera...that's for another post.

Just wanted to check in and dust this blog off and say hello to all those knit and blog friends out there.

:)

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Happy Love Day

I spent the morning at Princess B's school helping 17 Kindergarteners (word??) make cookies!
It was fun but I forgot the camera in the car, so no pictures.

Hubby gave me a card and chocolate and little Valentine's for the kids.
We are actually going out tomorrow night for the first time since the fall...

I haven't really been blogging much it seems.
I had the cold come back again which knocked me out the end of last week. I haven't been able to taste food for a week and have been generally stuffy, runny and sneezy (that sounds like the 7 dwarfs doesn't it?)

We met for our now weekly craft night on Tuesday and I taught another friend to knit!

Janna finished her test knitting and we found a creative use for it--seen here:


Sophie was a trouper and sat and knit on her dishcloth late into the night/early morning when we finally went home in a snow storm!


I have frogged and re-started the thrummed mittens after realizing my thrums were
too big and were going to look weird....I have the Yarn Harlot to thank herself, since she responded to my post on Ravelry.

The test knit project is coming along well--it's almost finished and then I can hopefully show you pictures soon.

These past few weeks have been a blur of illness, Little man misbehaving, feeling cooped up and the general blahs that come with February when everyone is tired of the snow and the grey and we are all ready for some warmer weather!
My sister and nephew are coming on the wekeend and staying for a few days--so there will be some more knitting, tea drinking and fun fun fun.

Happy Love Day to you all.
I leave you with this video.

I don't actually like Barry White--but I have a fond memory of being a Nanny one summer and the 6 y/old I watched used to love to sing along to Barry White's music--so his voice always makes me laugh.

<3>

Friday, February 08, 2008

Snow snow and more snow



That's what we've had in the past 2 days.

Wednesday we woke up to about a foot of snow. I dug the car out and went to my Spinning Guild Meeting--not many were there but I asked some questions and we had some good discussion about long-draw and spinning soy/wool (which we all got a sample of) and fibre prep etc.
I had been playing around with trying to spin laceweight, using some leftover merino that I dyed.


I spun it on the Lendrum (which sadly, I had to give back to the guild..sniff sniff) and I had fun.
I tried to ply it Wednesday but something funny happened.
I read a post on Ravelry about re-winding a center pull ball so that the ends are together (make sense?) for plying--but I think it ended up that as I was plying--one single was untwisting while the other was getting more twist--it looked funny.
Since it was just an experiment--I'm okay with that.

I finally finished spinning the Pumpkin Cappucino Roving I got from CJKopec seen here:
(it was on my own wheel which I had not been spinning with since last month)

I will ply it up soon and will use it for 3 ply sock yarn.

I bought this:


from Lise who owns the Yarn Source.....she had a ton of them and she knows that I like socks :)

One of the ladies in the guild thought it was a plying template--which I thought was awesome and almost tried...but I left early to pick up these babies:


After giving yarn money to the family account last month, hubby and I agreed that I could buy something for me...something that would be helping me in my fibrey adventures.

I'm so excited.
I have bunch of different coloured, different breed(s), different fibre wool/Heinz 57 mix that I got from Miss Violet a while back and will used to practice.

Thursday was deja-vu of Wednesday--woke up to another foot plus of snow and had to dig out again. Princess B was up coughing all night and didn't get much sleep so I was going to keep her home from school (buses were cancelled which would mean she'd only have a few kids in her class anyways)...she slept late but was so desperate to go to school that I took her.

Our sweet little neighbour helped blow out the bottom of the driveway (otherwise it would have taken me about 2 hours of shoveling)--took her over to school to find out there were only 25 kids in the whole Primary division (JK-Gr 3) so they all joined together for fun in the gym, stories, songs, colouring etc etc.
Princess B got to do her show and tell and made a pretty picture:



In knitting news--I started some thrummed mittens.
I was inspired since I have been shovelling and digging and being in the snow all week wtih only my fingerless mitts--it wasn't quite enough.
So I cast on last night and spent about an hour figuring out thrumming and knitting with thrums--good thing I have a stash of roving in my house!!
I'm using gifted Malabrigo in "Carrot" orange and some BFL that was broken into smaller bits when I got it, so it's not good enough for the store.

It looks like a muppet exploded--but it will be super warm!!

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Look what I've been doing

Actual knitting.
Okay, so I can't really show you the knitting.
It's a test knit for a blogger who has opened a pattern shop.
I can show you the colour though:

Pretty huh??

and I actually almost finished 1 whole piece while watching Pirates of the Carribbean last night...so I'm happy.

Thank you for those who wished me better--I feel 100%.
The kids--not so much.
Little man's cold that he has had for 3 weeks has turned into fever every other day and he broke out into a weird rash on the weekend which lead us back to the hospital.
Apparently it's nothing serious but he may have strep as well.
Princess B broke out in the rash yesterday and went to school anyways....
I'm tired of all the germy, sicky, yuckiness that visits us so frequently.

anyways.
Happy thoughts:
tomorrow is Spinning Guild Day
AND craft night
AND hubby emptied the dishwasher and did the dishes last night :)
AND I get to hang out with my old work buddy on Friday and have movies, eat bad for us food
and catch up on life....

Life is good!

Saturday, February 02, 2008

FINALLY






After months and months of knitting, frogging, mistakes--me forgetting how I made the toe--more frogging.
They are done and I love them.


That is all....