Please excuse me...

I just feel bad. You are all so wonderful about leaving comments and I never get around to emailing you back. Don't get me wrong. I really enjoy all the comments. I just want to tell you how much I appreciate them (and you) and to keep it up! Ok that off my chest...It was finally cool enough today to think about boiling pots of dye. Dyed 2 skeins of Bollicine Baby Night for my KSKS. It was the only thing missing from the kit. I used Gaywool Garnet, Gaywool Crabaple, a mix of the two, a drop of Wilton Copper and a pour of Wilton Brown. I was going for a cherry pie kind of look. It's outside drying right now. I used the jars of dye in the microwave method rather than my usual very controlled handpainted method. So cherry pie isn't as even between the two skeins as I would like it.

p.s. This is my Post Number 200!! I can't believe it!

Snake report

It is now 9:20 pm. Rufus has left his snake toy long enough to eat 6 or 7 times, help me cook dinner and use the kitty box. The rest of the evening he's been within a whiskers length of his new toy.

Lost another sock

All GB had to do was bat those big grey eyes at me and ask "are those for me?" and away they went. Good thing Speed Demon is machine washable. Important for those university guys. So how did I get this far since Thursday? The yarn isn't called Speed Demon for nothing. Knitting the socks on 2's.

Rufus loves crunchie toys. His last snake was degutted and tossed out 2 years ago. I found this replacement today when I was out shopping. He loves his crunchies! He's been guarding it and sleeping on it for 2 hours now. If anyone gets close, WHAM. Do not touch the snake. Don't even think about it.

2x2x2x2x2

I think I've settled on 2x2 rib. Like my new living room? Yeah I wish. The new Restoration Hardware catalog came to day and instead of showing you the vast wasteland we call our living room, I thought I'd use the cover as a backround. Mmm, maybe I can scan it and blow it up so it fills the living room doorway. Then if you glance over that way you see that great furniture!

I went on a bike ride this afternoon after work. Didn't look at the thermometer till I got home. 105. I can so not wait for winter.

My Husband Says I'm in a Rut

And his point is??? Just because I am only knitting socks right now. Jeesh. I told him it is some kind of seasonal affective disorder. Socks are small and in the summer heat I can almost stand to work with only that little amount of wool.

So last night, after I told myself it was time to head to bed, I did my gauge swatch for my next pair of socks. SweetGeorgia's Speed Demon Rusted. I think I am going to like the speed demon!! Cast on on 2's, very nice stitch definition in stockinette. This morning I did a few repeats of the Waffle Weave Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks. But you know, I think I am going to just stick with 2x2 or 4x2 rib to show off the very nice yarn.
Oh and guess what went in the trash can? The bumble bee tote I was making for Betsy. Things just weren't going well, I was getting disgusted, the pattern was like sewing a rubiks cube and then my sewing machine decided to tick me off. I had to take it apart (the machine) and pull wads of thread out of the bobbin area, the put all that back together. Sewed beautifully after that but I just couldn't stand to work on it any more. I kept thinking "why are they (Simplicity) making me sew this tote this way? This is stupid, I could have designed the construction better than this." I think only about $8 in fabric and some interfacing so I am not going to worry about it. Can't remember if the fabric was from JoAnns or Hancocks. I'll just do a regular bucket bag or simple tote. Good thing I found out that Betsy went to visit her cousin in Little Rock and won't be home for her birthday. Though since when do I ever get a birthday present shipped on time anyway?? I'd knit her socks but she has size zillion feet!

Before and After

Just thought I'd show you the picture from Cabin Cove Dave's site where I thought the yarn on the top left had potential. And look how nice it came out! I am not sure what the base yarn was that Dave handpainted but like I mentioned it is very soft and squishy. Not the smooth hand of say Louet, or the furry hand of Mountain Colors but yarn and socks that makes you want to gather it in your hands and give it a couple of good squishes cause it feels so good. Dave, were socks ever knit out of the yarn on the bottom right?

I do now have to vow not to knit any more socks in that color range though. I looked in my sock drawer and I have too many purple/pink/magenta pairs. I've knitted my Mom green socks and fall colored socks, GB got blue ones. My next socks will be from Sweet Georgia Speed Demon Rusted. My sock yarn stash beyond that are 2 or 3 from Jessie at A Piece of Vermont. One in copper, one in green, and I can't remember the third one!! I also have the ArtYarn in golds and purples, various Mountain Colors and I think I'll be getting some Claudia's Hand Painted in the Honey colorway.

Done

I'm done. And I bet you are all relieved. You were probably getting pretty tired of me talking about these socks for two months! Yes the same ones I started when we were headed to Santa Fe. The are so cushy soft I know I'll love wearing them when the temperatures drop say...50 degrees minimum! You like the cloud background? It was either that or the flash shining in the dining room window. Another classic summer view. This time a fire in Pasco. Minutes after i took this picture the clouds really exploded into the sky, I don't think this was very far from where we were knitting last night.

Monday Sky

If it wasn't for our sometimes great sunsets, and the fantastic bike trails that follow the rivers for miles and miles I wouldn't have considered accepting a job here 27 years ago. Of course the great sunsets are magenta, purple and pink like my socks below. The orange ones mean smoke and fire. SO I suspect tonight's sunset was brought to you by the West Richland Goat Poo fire.
Cassandra's Monday Knit Night was great. Snacks, knitting and good company. What more could you ask for? I am ready for the toe decreases!! Yeah!!! Ok there was wine but I was driving so I didn't have any. Even if it was Kiona's Vivacious Vicky White Wine. And I am so glad that I look nothing like Vivacious Vicky!! That girl needs some serious work outs.

Saturday Sky from 7/22/2006

Knitters Pot Luck

Tonight one of our FNKN group is hosting a Knitters Pot Luck at her home!!! I made a triple batch of Ambrosia salad last night for it. It was the coolest thing I could think of making when it was 112 out. I am just dreading seeing what our electricity bill is going to be. When I went to bed at 11 last night it was still 95 out.

I have about 2 inches until the toe decreases on sock 2. Hope I can get it finished tonight!

p.s. our outdoor thermometer is in the shade...

Down the home stretch

Not much going on. Too hot out to think. (weatherman predicts 108-111 today) Turned the heel and am knitting down the home stretch on the Cabin Cove Baby Cable Rib sock two. So the end is in sight. What, only taken me 2 months to get this far? Wishing for winter weather when if feels good to knit with a cat in my lap and a cuppa tea next to me.

She's going to put the rest of us out of business...

This cute little stuffie was made by my son's girlfriend's sister. The one that I made the tote bag for in late May. This quick shot was taken when I was already late for work. As usual, I need to replace it with a much better one. And one that doesn't show how dusty that table top is!

Saturday Sky from 7/15/2006

Stop all this foolishness

Rosemary here, Mom says I have to stop all this foolishness and copy catting around. But no I tell her, look at when you took this picture of me. It was yesterday. I am not coping Miss Lulu Kitty, I discovered cool fans all by myself. And yes I know the fan isn't on. I was trying to get Mom's attention while she was knitting. Yo Momma Turn ON the Fan!!

It's Too Late To Turn Back Now

Heck, I don't know about this. The bag body got smaller and the strap got longer???

Almost There

One more knit night should do it. Then the decision of whether or not to fell a little. Otherwise I may have to line the bag. Shape is a bit distorted due to the angle I took the picture. The narrow shoulder strap is 12 inches long, so is the body.

Last Post Rated "Ick"

Ok so maybe many of you agree with Trek and think the snake is icky??? But we like the snakes in the field next to us. In 20 years we've only had 2 mice get into the house, both dispatched quickly by one of the cats. The snakes and hawks have taken care of the rest before they ever get close to our place. So which is ickier? Snakes and raptors silently doing their job? Or field mice sneaking in to the house?

My Little Visitor

I went out on back porch to take a break from knitting and check out the semi-cool breeze. This little guy was escaping the wet lawn and sprinklers I think. I think he is a baby bull or gopher snake. He's so tiny I couldn't tell his markings very well in the dark. We've always had a snake up until about 2 years ago. When Graham was 3 he found a gopher snake in the back yard, brought him in and called him Bandit. We had him until we moved to Maryland for two years. When we got back, we got a very pretty cremesicle corn snake. She lived next to Graham's bed for 13.5 years before she slithered over the Rainbow Bridge.

Sock Progress (not mine - sigh)

Lookie what I found! It's the Face First in the Flower Garden yarn I dyed for my Dye-O-Rama sock yarn buddie. It's over at HopHopUsagi. I think they are coming out very very nice if I may say so myself.

Ok so Margaret Bourke-White I'm not

But I do enjoy photography. I love my Nikon D70 and my fun lenses, you've heard that before. But sometimes I just want to grab a quick snap and load it to my blogs. You've heard that before too. So a while back I bought that little Samsung digital P&S. And while I appreciated its pocketability, the quality of the images was POS. I put it up on ebay after a couple months as a "buy me now" and got about $5 less than I'd paid for it. So no loss.

So I had been looking again. I still love my D70 but do not want to just throw it under my scooter seat like I can a little point and shoot. Plus I have to change lenses to do macro work. Which is no problem if I am shooting my knitting at home and have the time to do it justice. I almost bought a Nikon L1 at one of the big box stores over the weekend. Cristina, weren't you looking at that one a while back? But I figured I might as well go the ebay way. The L1's on ebay were more than they were at the store... So then I figured I'd look at the Pentax models that Dave has and Graham has. Sure enough, the model that Dave has, and I like, was going for the price range that I was comfortable with. I was able to get the Pentax optio S5i for what I made selling two different and discontinued Microsoft OS disc and keys for this week. Yeah!! Score!!

So by Monday I will have a digital point and shoot again and can resume my knitting photography at remote sites. Bet you've missed those. Or maybe not...

Back to our regularly scheduled knitting blog

Crums, I ran out of Big Kureyon about half way through the second side of the Oat Couture bag. Phooey, then I thought no problem, I'd run over to Sheep's Clothing after work. That was until Kim reminded me tht they are not open on Mondays during the summer. Double crums. So I baked Huckleberry Oatmeal cookies tonight. I am finally cooling off! The cookies are wonderful. I replaced the usual raisins with sugar infused huckleberrys that Dave found in Wallace ID. Yum!

How many seconds of watching Steve McQueen in The Great Escape does it take for me to recognize what movie it is? All of about 2 seconds. Its on tonight and probably my favorite Steve McQueen movie.

This has absolutely nothing to do with knitting

http://www.bighappyfunhouse.com/ Where else can you find pictures like this one? I keep thinking I am going to run into photos of my family here.

Jessie, any relation?

You show me yours and I'll show you mine

OK Mom, what ever....just give me time for a little nap and then some warm ups.Oh yes, this IS the spot where I tore open the catnip toy!!!Flex, flex, flex and Pose!!

Saturday Sky

The vu tonight from my house.
(and why I was leary of aerial fireworks on the 4th. We are surrounded by cheat grass)

Is that a single dare or a double dare?

Miss Lulu is requesting a picture of grumpy girl's, I mean Rosemary's pink paw pads. And it's in the form of a dare. I might loose an arm or eye trying but somehow I will get a photo to post. Maybe I need to open up a bag of roving so she can wallow in it and snap!
Ok, most of you know that I do not carry a purse/handbag/thing on my arm that I carry things in. I haven't in like forever. I was one of the only people in my high school to ride my bike to school everyday with a backpack on and this was in the late '60's and early '70's. I'd dropped purse carrying way back then. SO what was I thinking when I picked up the Oat Couture pattern for the Shoulder Bag? I was thinking E-Z. Sure enough easy enough to mindlessly knit last night at Friday Night Knit Night and get an entire side done. I am knitting it in Big Kureyon in reds, blues and purples. I may felt it just a little. Photo here is from the Oat Couture website. When complete I will post a real photo. And then just hang is somewhere after FNKN show and tell since I don't use handbags.

Washington vs Oregon

Well this year's Romney I just finished plying has a different hand to it than last years. This years is from Oregon, last years from central Washington. I compared this years twist to last years batch and this years is spun a little tighter but not by much. I did my usual warm water soak with Suave hair conditioner and then the brick wall thwack but the yarn is not as yummy soft as last year's.

It'll be ok though since I carry along a mohair blend for contrast on my Zoe Stole. I have plenty of pictures I need to take when I get home. You can tell that I am not sneaking in photo time at work any more since I ride my scooter every day.

I am having fun with my iBook. Got my Photoshop Elements software yesterday in the mail. I didn't have a way to make photos smaller (file size) for blogging without going back to the desktop CPU. This iBook has iLife '04 so that is not up to date. I'll probably pickup a copy of '06 this weekend.

écheveau deux

Both skeins of romney are now drying outside on the line. Skein two came out to 135 yards, 2.8 oz, 80 gms. I still have singles left on one bobbin, I may ply it with a multi colored single I also need to get off a bobbin. I'm all plyed out for the night so some other time. I also ran three skeins from the swift to the ball winder tonight for Katrina. She'd bought some really y ummy handspun a few weekends ago, and I offered to put them into balls.

I cut out the fabric for Betsy's Bee Bag for her birthday. Think I can get it sewn and shipped by August 2?

Rosemary says "If you think I am going to show off my pink pads just because Ms Lulu did, think again Momma. And keep that freakin' flash out of my face."And just who are these people calling me GRUMPY and CRABBY????

Happy 4th

Ok I won't be able to sleep till the fireworks are over. It's 10:30 pm, been well over 100 degrees the entire past week, humidity under 20%, we live on the edge of a large grassy field and neighborhood kids are setting off illegal aerial fireworks. Most years we are out of town during this week so I don't see the possible fire hazard. Obviously the local constabulary and fire department must not be too worried!!

I dedicated the day to keeping cool, spinning and plying. 152 yds 83 gms of romney.

Happy Birthday Rosemary

Today is Rosemary's (seen below complaining about the pointy kittie stuffie) 14th birthday. Or at least this is the day we celebrate her birthday every year. We got her in February of 1993 at the Humane Society.Our very old Siamese cat Rachel had recently passed away and we wanted another cat to fill her place in our home. We went to the Humane Society to look at kittens. As we went from cage to cage to read the bios and pet the kittens, a black and white half grown tuxedo girl kept putting her paws throught the cage bars and trying to snag our son (he was about 5 1/2 at the time). She kept talking in a soft voice saying I know you are here for a kitten but boy, pick me pick me. We figured if the Tuxedo kitty wanted Boy that much it must be a great match.

We brought her home and took her to our vet. She said that Rosemary was probably born in July of 1992 so we picked the 4th of July for her records. The vet also said she had been very well taken care of and must have been an indoor cat that got out. She'd been found in an alley. We named her Rosemary because when we brought her home, the first night she walked all over the house singing, We named her after Rosemary Clooney!

Rosemary is the queen of the house and will let you know it. We call her circus girl because instead of jumping directly on to our bed, she jumps up onto an even higher blanket chest (filled with part of my husband's yarn stash) and then across 3 feet of open space to the bed. Her job every day from 1993 until our son went off to college last fall was to put him to bed, sleep with him nearly all night and try to make him sleep in rather than go to school in the morning. Now that our son is off at college she still sleeps on his bed most of the time.

Rosemary loves sheepie wool. When ever I bring a new batch of roving into the house, I open up the package and leave it out. She never destroys it. She loves just wallowing in it and rubbing it all over her head. She also loves to watch me spin. Knitting is boring to her and she leaves that to her sister Ruby.

She has been a wonderful member of our family and we are so lucky that she picked us out 13 years ago!

Mom, Make him stop!

Make him quit touching me, MOM!

House painting is done!

We had the outside painting contracted out but sure had to do a lot of prep work so they could do it. We'd had about 1.5 cords of fruit wood that had been stacked for years next to our garage. A couple different people hauled it away. Then I cleared that entire side of the house. It's so nice there now in the shade that I'm thinking of pouring a concrete pad and putting a shed there. GB meanwhile had the job of putting in 1 x 3's, all the way around the part of the house that has siding, screwing them all in and caulking them. We did that because our 30 year old siding is so crappy that the bottoms had started chipping off. Spent yesterday afternoon making the back patio look extra nice. Even bought a new BBQ gas grill. Our 25+ year old one was spitting flames out the side so I figured its time had come. No more rebuilding it every year.Anyway the out side of the house (not counting the crappy dead lumpy lawn) looks fantastic with its fresh coat of paint. Last year we had a medium grey roof put on, we have a red brick front, white trim and the rest of the house is a very pale silver grey. We need to replace the three front windows, and will with white vinyl clad. Then a new screen door and then maybe next year a new front door.

Last time I knitted was Friday night at FNKN (sock 2 of baby cable rib). Too hot to think about knitting this weekend. I'd pick up the socks, just look at them and put them back in their bag. Same with the wheel. I want to knit/spin but even with the air on, I just can't think about it. Graham has been keeping cool by sewing. He just about finished a Pointy Kitty last night. In wild Hawaiian print!! Photo will be posted as soon as the eyeballs are sewn on. Next he'll be making a Panda softie for his girlfriend. He's thinking the Anna Panda pattern but much larger like pillow sized.

On the computer front, the iBook came on Thursday. Very nice shape for being 2 years old. Just light scratches on the exterior case. You can tell it was owned by an adult rather than some kid. Tried all the different features but couldn't get it hooked up to our wireless network at home. I took it to Seattle with us and had my brother check it out. We were able to hook up to the Apple Store WiFi so he suggested we burb our router a few times at home. That did the trick! So fa the only thing that has been funky with the Mac has been Blogger.com. That is probably because I am accessing it through Safari. Tonight I am going to download FoxFire instead. iPhoto '04 just doesn't do what I need it to do so I have a copy of Photoshop Elements on its way and will probably be upgrading the iLife package soon.

Nice Visit

I had the most fantastic time visiting with my brother and sister in law yesterday. We took them to Zao's for lunch, shopped at the Apple Store, gave them a tour of Seattle U and then went gallery hopping down at Pioneer Square. They then went to a BBQ and to the Mariners game.
We'd stopped at the Elliott Bay Bookstore where I bought "Spinning in the Old Way" and then to the Kinokuniya Bookstore at Uwajimia where I bought "Machine Made Patchworks". Cristina, there are still 5 copies left if you don't already have the book!