Saturday, December 29, 2012

Christmas Holiday

Christmas this year had a different feel.  Last Christmas was shortly after my dad passed away.  All of my siblings and I, plus our families, were together.  It was, in a sense, a joyous time.  We were still in the mode of celebrating life and love.  It felt like Dad was with us.  This year was not that way.  Not everyone was able to be together.  The mood was more subdued.  It just felt like there was a void.  I wasn't the only one who noticed this.  One of my sisters said she felt it also.  Usually the party on Christmas night is quite lively with a lot of food and beverages consumed.  This was the year of moderation.  Even the basement where the kids (now mostly teenagers and early 20-somethings) didn't look like a bomb of games and wrapping paper exploded.  Who knows why it was this way?  This past year had more than it's share of grief and sorrow, both within our own lives and in the news. There are divisions in the family now that weren't apparent last year.  And, as I said, we weren't all together.  Another one of my sisters and her husband weren't able to travel to Ohio this year.  Don't get me wrong.  We all did enjoy ourselves and celebrated the birth of Jesus.  I guess they all can't feel the same.  Here are a few pictures.


I don't know why this one won't display portrait.




The kids and I are back at home now.  We woke up this morning to a thick blanket of snow.  It is very pretty outside.  Perfect day for snuggling on the couch, knitting and watching college football bowl games.


I'll be finishing up Trisha's scarf.  She is out of town today at a wrestling tournament.  She keeps the stats for the team.  This should be done by the time she comes home later tonight.


I used one of my Christmas presents.  The girls gave me a couple books, including this one. 


I used one of the decorative cast on methods for a cowl I'm making.  It was the Channel Island cast on.  I think it made a very pretty edge.  I'm going to try to do a bind off that mimics this.  I haven't decided if the cowl is for me or for a friend.  We'll see once I get it finished, which I hope will be this weekend.  I'm using two colors of Anny Blatt Lady Blatt.  I didn't think I had enough of either color to make the entire cowl, so I decided to edge it in the darker color.  It reminds me of hot chocolate with a melted marshmallow in it.  Perfect for a wintery day.


Saturday, December 22, 2012

Getting Things Done

Yesterday was my last day in the office until after the New Year.  It was a very good feeling to walk out of there knowing I wouldn't be back for a while.  This had been a very long week.  I've been putting in a lot of extra hours.  Sunday evening I had to go in about 5pm and didn't get home until 3am Monday morning.  I thought I'd be able to sleep in, but someone from work called me at 8am and said I was needed back in the office.  Needless to say, I was very cranky that day.  But now everything that is required of me before the end of the year is done and I am home.  Life's good.

A winter storm kicked off my holiday at home.  The snow was a welcome sight.  I know I am in the minority, but I really like winter as long as there is snow.  Last year was just grey and miserable.  I think we had one snowfall that melted within a day.  This snowfall may be gone by Christmas, but there is another storm predicted to hit a day or two after Christmas.  To go along with the wintery theme, I lit a fire in the fireplace and made a huge pot of ham and bean soup.  A great way to celebrate the start of winter and surviving the uproar over the Mayan calendar.

Here is my first skein of homespun from my spinning wheel.  I'm not sure of the yardage.  It wrapped 58 times around my knitty-knotty.  I think the knitty-knotty is 42 inches around, but I honestly don't remember.  I'll have to measure it.  So this is at least 58 yards of worsted-ish weight yarn.  I washed it in shampoo and hung it in my shower to dry.  It is now soft and smooshy.  There is some roving left.  I'll spin the rest of that up after Christmas.  I'll hang on to this for a while until I decide what it will become.


 This pile is a bunch of scarves I was knitting  up as Christmas gifts for my sisters.  However, my daughters spied them and now I'm not sure who the future owners will be.  Since big infinity scarves are all the rage now, the girls want the entire pile.  The scarves are being knit out of Tahki Yarns Montana.  It comes in natural colors and is really a dream to work with.  I'm not really following any pattern.  It's pretty mindless and great for in front of the television. I just case on 89 or 90 stitches onto US 19 needles, join into a loop and then start knitting.  The one I'm doing now is 89 stitches and is just K1, P1 as I go.  The grey one is also this pattern.  The other cream scarf was  K2, P2 for two rounds and then K all for a third round.  The side you see is the reverse side showing the all purl rows.  The black one has a diagonal pattern.  I started with 89 stitches and then did K2, P3 after I joined the round.  I then knit K3, P3 until I had a width that I liked.  I just knit on all of these until I got a width that I thought was fashionable and gave me enough to bind off with.  I'm accumulating the leftovers.  I might make a remnant scarf out of them if there looks to be enough. 


This is a hat for Kristin's boyfriend.  It's another very easy project.  I am actually redoing it a bit.  After I finished it last night, I tossed it to Kristin.  She put it on and said it wouldn't fit Alex.  The circumference is fine but she felt it should be longer.

 
So this morning I ripped out the decrease rows and loaded it back onto the needles.


Then I started knitting in the pattern again.  I figure I'll add 2 inches before starting the decrease rows again.  That should be enough to cover his big head.  As you can see in the picture below, I used a Russian join to connect back to the ball of yarn.  I absolutely love Russian joins!  Very easy, strong and virtually invisible.



Saturday, December 15, 2012

Frivolous Post

I've expressed my views about yesterday's tragedy elsewhere.  This post is completely frivolous and trivial.

Here is some of my first attempt at plying.  I am having trouble getting the wheel to spin a complete revolution.  I know the trouble is with me and not the wheel.  I just haven't figured out the right cadence for my feet and the correct tension settings.  Practice, practice, practice.


That's all I'm posting for today.  I'm signing off now to go hug my children and do more Christmas decorating.  May peace be with you and your family.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Moving On

My daughter moves out of her dorm today for winter break.  Actually, she is totally moving out because she decided to transfer to another university.  She'll be a little bit closer to home, but I'm sure that isn't her reason for switching.  She didn't fit in at her current university.  She made friends but she didn't like the social life that most of them engaged in on weekends.  She decided to transfer to her #2 university.  Fortunately, that school said they would honor the scholarship they offered her.  That was a huge relief for Ed and me.

On the spinning front, I spun a bobbin of wool and now I am trying to ply.  I only know how to chain ply.  It is not pretty.  I can't seem to get the wheel spinning easily for the plying.  I'll just keep practicing.  A lesson or two is definitely in my future.  Someone on Ravelry mentioned that she saved her first attempt at spinning and plying to use as a comparison of how far she's progressed.  I will definitely do that.

I'll post picture over the weekend.  It's time now to head on down the road to get my girl.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Meet Lina


Yippee!!!  My spinning wheel was delivered on Monday.   It is a Lendrum Single Treadle.  I bought the complete kit from The Woolery.  I've named the wheel Lina.  It is a bit of a pun, since the wheel tilts a bit.  Also, Lina was the Egyptian goddess for weaving.  Yeah, I know this is a spinning wheel and not a loom, but before a weaver could weave, the spinner had to spin.

Monday evening was busy, so I didn't get around to assembling it  until later in the evening.  The instructions that came with it only explained how to put the pieces together.  I had been hoping for a little more, such as how to attach the leader.  Fortunately, my sister was able to talk me through it and I was able to get started.


I had a bag of wool from the drop spindle class I took back in February.  I figured it was a good thing to start with.  I think I'm doing a pretty good job.  I haven't quite filled the bobbin.  I'm getting anxious to try plying. 

Learning how to draft for the drop spindle has helped.  The biggest issue I am having is keeping the wheel turning in the right direction.  I can't seem to get it to do one full revolution easily.  I'm sure it is just that I haven't trained my leg and foot to pedal with the right amount of force.  After the New Year, I want to call my LYS and take a spinning class so I can learn the intricacies of this new toy.

I have a few Christmas presents on the needles.  Trisha as spied one of them and has dropped a less than subtle hint that she wouldn't mind if Santa left it in her stocking.  She actually saved me the trouble of asking.  Now I only need to figure out which one to give to Kristin.