I HAVE A WHEEL!

In case you haven't read Catie's blog today or had any questions about it, I have bought her wheel.



It's an Ashford traditional. Catie, being the good enabler that she is, also threw in some roving and a lesson.

Armed with all three of those, my drop spindle "experience", and two books (the most helpful being Hands on Spinning which was recommended to me by Robin) I started spinning.

I'll save you the gory details. But I will share the yarn. I got impatient and plied up a couple of not quite full bobbins (which is really easy to get when you're spinning massively fat blotchey singles!):



I set the twist last night and it's probably dry by now but I don't have any pictures of it. I do promise to love it as my first yarn and will bring it with me to knit/spin group on Thursday.

I suppose I should add that I picked it up Saturday morning, don't want y'all to think I did all of this after I got home tonight. I just didn't blog about it (very hard BTW) so I wouldn't spoil Catie's surprise of a new wheel.

And no, other than a little dishcloth knitting, I didn't do anything else this weekend :)

who knew?

Who knew 8 inch squares could be so damn difficult? I certainly didn't. Apparently, my needles and my yarn don't want to make one. So instead helping Mosaic with their efforts on blankets. I'm going to be knitting for Virginia Tech. I know I can make hats and such. I'd like to ideally make a hat or two and some wrist warmers. It really depends on what I can get out of the yarn I bought yesterday:



While at the LYS I just happened to notice (this does occur when you're just standing there in front of the walls staring at every single skien of yarn) that they're carrying a new brand or two.

Which means I also bought this:



They're going to be a really cute felted purse for me. The colors in this line are Gorgeous! It's Universal Yarn Deluxe Worseted LP. I got the 100% wool but they did have superwash there too. And their sock yarn, Ditto. Please note the instructions on the ball band: "Knit. Relax. Smile. Repeat."

They also had Tofutsies. I would like to see how this works up and holds up before I buy any. There was also one lonely skein of Austermann Step. I have hope they'll be getting more in. The lady did tell me that they were expecting another shipment of Orange and Maroon yarn (both Cascade and Encore) this week if anyone is in need of those colors.

I'd also like to thank everyone who weighed in with their cat foods. Especially Dave. Pepper got some Fancy Feast yesterday and is very happy now. Bartholamew, who doesn't usually show any interest in wet food even ate some.

All in all, it was a great day here at my house.

cat food

Well, as I'm sure everyone has heard there was this little recall. Thankfully, our dry food wasn't recalled and well, honestly, our wet food wasn't either. BUT since Bartholamew only eats dry food and Pepper doesn't only eat wet food, I've been very resistant to giving her ANY wet food. I broke down and bought some Friskies, I think but I can't bring myself to open it and give it to her (it has wheat gluten in it if that makes you think I'm a tad less paranoid).

Has anyone been giving their cats wet food? Are you comfortable with it? And furthermore, because Pepper is Very Southern and REALLY likes her gravy (as in won't eat wet food if it isn't chunky with gravy) is your wet food the kind with gravy in it?

It makes me sad that I can't give her wet food and that she doesn't understand why I'm not dishing out the good stuff like I used to, but it makes me sadder to think of risking their health.



Won't you please help my momma find me some wet food? (I know, she doesn't look so pathetic but you don't hear her little mews...)

Good Things

This a post of random good things so please forgive the lack of segway between items.

While stopped at a light on the way home tonight I saw something that really made me smile. A young man in his late teens, early twenties got out of his car to let the person in front of them know their tail light was out. Or at least that's what I think he told them. He got out and went to the car in front of him and pointed in the direction of the lights and got back in his car. He didn't have to do that. But he did.

I have silly friends at work:



OK. So I have silly friends who aren't at work to but the picture is from work.

May 5th I'll be here. It's been a while since I cooked chili on a regular basis and even longer since I've had to go to a cook off by myself (I miss cooking with you, Dad!). I'm a tad nervous and really excited. A friend is coming later in the morning to be my moral support and general go-fer. It did seem a little silly for her to get up at pre-dawn to sit around and be bored in what is typically a cool and dreary morning. But by mid morning it usually clears up nicely and turns in to a gorgeous day! If you're going to be in the area, come on down! There's also a nearby Strawberry festival. See why I need a general go-fer? Someone needs to bring me stawberries and cream while I'm slaving over a hot stove.

completed but not finished

Usually, when you finish a project you're happy with it. I'm not entirely happy with the drawstring pouch I was knitting. First my needles were too long making the stitches look weird in the bottom half. Secondly, I read the directions wrong. I knit the thing about 4 inches too short.



I'm so unhappy with the way it looks, I'm not even going to knit the icord tie.

But I do have happier news for you.

We had a big fat ground hog outside the other day:



And today we had b-b-b-birds outside the window:



Now what to cast on next?

Today, we are all Hokies!

Today is Hokie Hope Day. The Governor delcared a statewide day of mourning and everyone was encouraged to wear maroon and orange. I've known this all along, but today I KNEW it was all going to get better. I still cried today but mostly because things touched my heart. Like a friend at work's daughters school. They posted a picture on the school's website of all the kids.

Tanya has organized Project Hokie Hope. This means I get to show the families in a personal way that their loss is our loss too. On a lighter note, this also means I have to buy yarn. I haven't decided what I'm going to knit yet but when I do, I'll share.

Random thoughts

My brain is still unable to come up with the words for the Virginia Tech tragedy. Robin and Tanya both have posts on this topic and good comments. I just don't know what to say.

I know I can only listen to or watch the news for short periods of time so with that in mind, I bring you a short distraction. You may laugh at me. It's OK.

You know those old NASCAR commercials "How bad have you got it?" Well, apparently, I've got it bad enough I'm taking pictures of gas pumps.



The only Sunoco in my area (that I know of). It happens to be on the way to Bedford, so I stopped. Then (because I didn't want to get yelled at for calling too early) I texted my sister. She understood. And laughed.

A very Sad day in Virginia

As I'm sure by now everyone has heard there was a horrific tragedy at Virginia Tech. This is the most recent article I've seen.

Thankfully, my two cousins who are at school there are safe. Sadly, many families can't say that. Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers.

I'm a spinner, too!

Well, apparently, I'm not just one crazy (addicted) knitter who'll drive an hour in the cold rain to buy some yarn but a spinner as well.

At Sedalia I took the spinning with a drop spindle class. Apparently, I'm also a spinner. I'm not a GREAT spinner but I made yarn. Some of it was even decently even yarn.



The black roving is alpaca and the white a wool.

Robin (who I met there with her very brave and nice hubby) suggested I try some Cottswold as beginner roving. I got a big ball (bigger than a softball) but I don't think it's enough!! And in hindsite, it was just 3 1/2 oz but it looked like a lot! Really...

When I first got there I met up with Robin and Dianne and some of her friends (I"m sorry I can't remember their names!)

Knitnana was there with her bags (you really should go check them out!).

After class and around lunch time I ran into Nancy, Laura and Tanya. Fortunately, the rain had tapered off and it wasn't all bad all day. I did hit rain on the way home but it wasn't too awful bad.

I had an absolutely wonderful time! Oh, I did buy a few other things too... (see, I had such a good time, I forgot about my other purchases!)

Two little sheep, one for me and one for Mom:



Some beautiful alpaca (50% off no less!) for a scarf for a friend:



some sock yarn and needles:



When I got home Bartholamew and Pepper were most excited to check out all this weird smelling stuff:



A good day overall.

I'm off to Sedalia!

OK. Well, not QUITE yet but very soon. It's cool and rainy out so I'm getting together all my cool and rainy gear. This includes my rain coat with the flannel lining (I love that coat! and it's bright yellow too... everyone needs a bright rain slicker!), my bag to carry all my purchases, an extra pair of shoes so I can have warm dry toes for the drive home, a couple of those hand warmers hunters use (I got them after a very cold race in Darlington that my sister and I went to because they were on sale and well, I've used them so it was worth it!) and my camera and money!

Ok, so the last two aren't really cool and rainy gear but I need them anyways...

Also, I discovered today, that I'm not the best mom before 8 on the weekends. I was getting in the shower and there was this bizarre fuzzy feeling on my ankle. No, it wasn't a cat (they're quite capable of escaping the shower on their own. But it was one of Bartholamew's favorite toys. Hopefully when it dries he'll still like it. Recently I washed one of his other favorite toys and apparently laundry detergent deactivates catnip.

Talking about shoes, I forgot to say, Dad bought Crocs. He got the same chocolate brown pair that I have and wear most of the time. These would be the shoes I'm taking with me to wear home... it'd be great if I could wear them but I'm not so big on getting my feet that wet and muddy. Those holes can be great in the summer but early spring? In the rain? Not so much.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Friday the 13th

I finished my STR socks. I love them... except the second one I cast off too tightly. I can't get it over my heel. I'm going to have to rip a row out and recast off. I'm not happy about this. But it's not Friday the 13th's fault. I finished them Wednesday.



Tomorrow's festival at Sedalia is looking like it's going to be a little wet. Ok, so maybe really wet but that's OK. I have a rain coat and sturdy bag for purchases.

And since today is Friday the 13th. I leave you with 2 pictures of my little "evil" heathen...

A Confession

Today at lunch I went to the library and checked out Last Minute Gifts. Like Knitnana I'm a little behind on this book. I haven't really had a chance to sit down and really look at it yet. I flipped through it at Barnes and Noble but that's about it. She also has pictures of our last spin/knit group.

This Saturday is the Sedalia Fiber Festival. It's an hourish away and I'm really looking foward to going. I must admit this is my first Fiber Festival. I'm Really Excited! So far the weatherman is saying it's not going to be bitterly cold and/or pouring down rain so it should be a good time!

Now, I must go knit on a sock. I'm at that point where it's SO close to being done, it's just killing me that it's not, ya know?

Monday already?

Wow, I had such a great weekend, I don't even know where to begin.

We had a great 90th birthday party for my Grandmother:



I'll spare you the shots I got of here where I was getting a death look for taking the pictures. There were about 25 people there that I did get pictures of but we were having so much fun chatting we didn't get around to opening presents till it was just a handful of us left.

This is all of my immediate family except my step-Dad. He was feeling poorly and didn't come to the party:



that's Dad, my sister, Mom, Me, and Pat. Not a splendid picture of us individually, but overall it's great. To me at least and well, honestly, that's all that matters.

Saturday, while Dad and his sister were out buying all the food and other party goods, I sat at the hotel with Pat and knit. We solved a lot of worldly issues that day. OK, so maybe we didn't but damn if we didn't have fun.

I cast on this sock at spin/knit group and this is the status of it now:



I'll spare you all the details of us going to lunch and dinner and all. But we had a great visit. I'm always sad when Dad and Pat leave though.

Which made it harder to go to work today. Which made it that much lovelier a Monday. But as typical at this time of day, I'm in my pajamas. Pizza man is on the way and I'm going to do my best to make some more progess on that sock.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

edited to add: Darn! Forgot to add one of the things that did make this a good Monday. I did talk to my pregnant friend, Amy and about a week or two after she found out she's pregnant, her brother and his wife found out they're pregnant, too!

Snow?!?!

No, really, it snowed last night!



Note the time and date stamp on the pictures. This is not a joke (unlike someone I know who played a right funny April Fool's on her readers.) I was shocked! Well, shocked may be a strong word but surprised. Dad had called me from Joe's house last night around 9 because it was snowing there but it wasn't snowing at my house - really odd thing is, they're not 5 min away from me!

Also, I forgot to share my finished STR Sock:

I heart my family

Well, despite my honest efforts, I got no knitting done Wednesday night.



Someone wanted, no, needed to snuggle. Sorry for the crappy picture but it's kinda hard to take a picture with a phone (not a skill I'm good at anyways!) and not wake a sleeping baby.

Luckily, last night was our spin/knit group night! Hmm, although, I'm not really sure I got a lot done there either! But I had a great time. Chichi and Squiggy got to meet and a friend loaned me some baby pattern books to look through for my pregnant friend.

Today I left work at noon (woo hoo!!), met my mom for lunch and came home to change clothes. Dad and Pat picked me up and we went over to my Uncle's house to visit. My Aunt had just arrived in town and we all sat around and visited for hours. I just really do love my family. I'm not going to pretend we're all normal and all but we do get along and have fun together.

Judy, Dad, Pat and I went to visit my Grandmother a bit before dinner. Her place is starting to look like a florists!



This is only half of the flowers! (BTW, see the one on the far left, that's the bunch Mom, my sister and I sent.)

Tomorrow will be more party prep and my cousin and sister coming into town.

The coolest/strangest part of today? I learned that one of my aunt's best friends who we all have decided is part of the family and call him Uncle Ken, may actually be related to us! Now, it goes back like 3-4 generations and they're still working on all the details so it'd be like WAY distant, but still!

Tomorrow, I hope to get Dad into a pair of Crocs. I've got his feet (well, I've got the "family" feet) and Judy and I love ours and think he'd be happy in them too.

Oh, and the other really cool thing about tonight, my Grandmother, who's knit for who knows how long but I can't ever remember seeing her knit anything... was thoroughly impressed with the fact that I could knit socks.

I heart my family...

100th post!

Woo hoo!! This is my 100th post!

Sadly, I don't have anything really exciting to tell you.

I did rename Chichi - it did only seem right. I named him Squiggy. I'm taking him to meet the original Chichi tomorrow night. I can't wait to see their differences and all.

I'm zooming right along on the baby blanket. It's a very easy pattern that I'm still not convined that I love but I figure since I can't make up my mind while I'm knitting it, I'm going to keep knitting it. Much to my delight, knitted blankies don't usually require edgings like crocheted ones. I do realize, some do, but this one doesn't so that makes me happy.



I need to finish my socks. They're not getting a lot of knit time in since I've not been a good girl and am going out some at lunch time. I started the ribbing on the first one though so the end is near. Then I'll cast on for the second sock.

A friend I usually email with in the evenings is on vacation so I have some more knitting time. Maybe I'll work on my sock before Lost comes on.

My grandmother's 90th birthday was yesterday and family is coming in this weekend for a big party so I'm not sure how much knitting time I'll have this weekend. I need to get some knitting in ya know?

the birth of a pig

I previously showed you the knitted piggy parts so I'll skip ahead to the felting.

I ran the hot water:



Drank some beer:



checked the progress:



Threw in some baking soda because it was taking a long time:



Ate some pizza:



Used our specially designated felting tongs:



To check the progress again:



I finally decided it was done enough. No. Chichi's not "properly" felted but he's dern cute. (this is also why you shouldn't leave me alone in the basement with a camera...)

Today, it was time to sew him up.

I did take pictures along the way but will spare you all but one:



Should you ever need a pattern for a bizarre looking alien blob, I would recommend a modified Chichi.

the Finished Pig:



All in all, I had a great time making Chichi. I think next one I make I'll use larger needles to aid the felting a little and sew on all of the parts before felting. And maybe actually make her piggy colored. Oh, and I'll keep in mind that I still need to sew up the stuffing hole so maybe I'll get the parts sewn on a little more evenly.