'Tis the Season

With the gift giving season fast approaching, I've abandoned socks as my travel knitting project of choice to focus on wash cloths. After all, it is none too early to do a little preemptive present preparation.

Why do I use the term "preemptive?" Because every year someone unexpectedly walks up to me with a gift in hand. This always leads to the "blush, stammer and lame excuse" syndrome. "Oh my, how sweet. Ummmm, I have a gift for you, too. But it's not with me . . . yeah, that's it, it's at . . . umm, home." (Unless you're at home, then your "not with me" excuse is not just lame but really, really, really lame.)

In order to avoid that rather painful experience (especially since I'm a dreadfully poor liar), I try to have a few extra items prewrapped and ready to go before the season begins. Then when the surprise gift appears - voila - I can state with perfect honesty that I do have a gift already prepared. If I'm especially on top of things, I keep a few of these little packages, with blank note cards in a box in the car, so when those gifts appear at church or the dance studio, I'm prepared.

These are the ubiquitous Ball Band Pattern from Mason Dixon Knitting in Peaches & Cream cotton. If this yarn looks familiar, it is. I bought monstrous quantities of these colors on sale for a project and then scrapped the original idea. I've been making bibs, burp cloths, toys, hats, water bottle holders and wash cloths out of it for a year now, just trying to use up my stash. Oy, what a lot of yarn I've gone through/have yet to go through. Let this be a lesson to everyone in sale yarn buying moderation.

Oh, and for those of you stealth gifters who get a twisted kick out of catching unsuspecting recipients unawares . . . just try to surprise me with an unexpected gift. You won't catch me napping this year. Mwahahaha!

Another Sewing Room Friday + a Friday FO

Another Friday, another sewing room update. As you can see, some sewing has happened in this oft neglected room - just not the kind I'd really like to be doing.

Here is evidence that a certain 14 yo boy has invaded my sanctuary. Being an airsoft enthusiast, Hockeyman has decided that he needs a Gilly suit to aid in his stealthy pursuits. HM learned to sew early on, taking a quilting class when he was 9. He was enthusiastic but only because there was machinery with dangerous, sharp, pokey things attached. Once he mastered the machine operation, he was done with quilting forever. Now, though, necessity compels him to dust off his rusty sewing skills and create again.

(On a side note, HM just found out I was blogging about his sewing prowess and he's trembling at the thought that one of his friends might find out that he crafting - so shhhhh, it's a secret.)

On my Big Board, there are subtle signs that I, too, have been at work in the room. You'll notice the empty seam ripper package and the cut out dress tags (but only if you look very closely). Yes, it is the costume alteration season. I had an emergency call this week to alter 3 dance costumes for a performance on Wednesday night. The safety pins are my way of pinning dance costumes during a fitting. The are far less accurate than straight pins but when you're dealing with skin-tight spandex costumes, straight pins are a liability. Besides the prick factor, you also have the problem of potential blood stains and pins that tend pop out of the seams when you try to remove the costume from the dancer. In addition, I had a quick pointe shoe ribbon sewing session as well. All in a day's work for a dancer mom, I guess.

Unfortunately, my quilt sits neglected in the corner, just waiting for a little stray attention to wander its way. Some day, my love, some day!

On the knitterly side, another FO has arrived. Nautie joined my gift pile yesterday. Not that this gift was a high priority. After all, the baby this little guy is going to won't be arriving until late spring. But I've got that restless feeling about knitting again. I'm flitting from project to project like a butterfly. I don't understand why I'm so resistant to focusing on one project and finishing it (especially Christmas gifts) but that is just my nature. I've come to the conclusion that there is too much stress in my life to put undue pressure and guilt on myself about the one passion that is supposed to bring me joy. So if I get some Christmas stuff done, great. If not, store gift cards are quick and easy to procure and rarely refused.

Right? Tell me I'm right, okay! Hello???

Drive by posting

It's another hurried day in the neighborhood, so just a quick post to reveal another pair of socks.

There was so much Dream in Color Smooshy left over, I decided to see if I could get a pair of anklets out of it. Needing a portable project for dance/hockey/waiting rooms, I cast on Saturday morning and finished by Monday night.

I have to admit that I don't like my picot hem at the top. I'm going to wash and block these to see if they tighten up. Would someone please tell me what I keep doing wrong? They are always so loose and flippy-downy. Uggggh!

Unfortunately, there may not be many FO photos in the near future. I'm busy at work on a large stealth project for the holidays, so much of what I'll be working on will be on the down low. Knitting on publishable works might just be more sporadic, thus decreasing the frequency of FO's. But ya'll love me enough to stick by me, right?

In the meantime, for a little pattern enabling . . .
my new copy of Interweave Knits just arrived. They've done it again. At least 4 projects on my wannado list.

The Tilting Cable Socks may be cast on yet tonight!!! After all, I still need that portable project, right?

Hockey Socks '07 Success

The Hockey Socks '07 were a rousing success at tonights scrimmage. The boys won decisively (8-0) and Hockeyman got 2 of the goals. Because we were down 4 players (deer hunting opener and a school trip to DC), the coaches move HM up to left wing and he scored the 2nd and 4th goals of the game. After that, the other team doubled up on him a bit, giving some of the other players a chance to score.

In knitting news, I had so much Smooshy left over, I cast on for some anklets. We'll see if I have enough to finish them or not. I just started the heel flap and it looks good - real good!

Well, DH needs to do his stats thing on the computer. So I'd better sign off for now.

Go, Bantams!

Wet Carpets, Insomnia and Other Snafus

In our house, my DH is the one who gets the Fall Housecleaning Frenzy. We have a very unusual family dynamic in the sense that DH and DancingDiva are both neatniks and Hockeyman and I are natural born slobs. Bubba and Peeps are too young to have revealed their genetic pre-disposition fully yet, but I suspect that Bubba will end up on the slob side of the equation and Peeps is showing strong indications of being on the neatnik side.

As a result of this usually well-balanced and offsetting cleanliness factor situation, there were a few fireworks in the household when DH brought home a carpet cleaner Friday night and announced that he'd be cleaning the carpets Saturday. Of course, he'd been talking about the possibility for a month but something always interfered and it was put off.

Now in my husband's very orderly and well-disciplined mind, the scenario should have been that the entire house was clean, all clutter was picked up and put away and the carpets were already vacuumed, so that he could simply move furniture and run the carpet cleaner. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that no matter how hard we tried, the pre-cleaned stage would never be reached. After all, 5 of us are here all day, every day and little obstacles to housecleaning exist, like schooling 4 children, cooking and eating 3 meals a day, mountains of laundry that are generated by a family of six. There is a limit to both my time and my energy and no matter how hard I work in one area of the house, another is getting trashed anyway. So the carpet cleaner came home, ready or not.

So, this is how it played out. DH cleaned and vacuumed the office, which is his domain is already kept in a very orderly manner, unless I happen to get get in there and mess things up. Then he started cleaning the carpets while DancingDiva cleaned and prepped the dining room, which is an easy room as well because it is rarely used and wasn't that messy anyway. Meanwhile, Bubba and Peeps scamper to pick up toys and other clutter in the remaining 2 carpeted rooms on the main level and transfer them to their respective designated spots.

While all this frantic activity is going on, I'm off shopping and picking up Hockeyman, who spent a rare overnight visit with a friend. When we get home and finish putting away groceries, the chaos ensues. DH, who is already exhausted and sore and exceedingly disappointed with how long it is actually taking to get the carpets cleaned in each room, asks HM to start helping - strenuously. HM, who didn't get much sleep at the sleepover and is starving (as usual), objects - strenuously.

FIREWORKS commence.

Now, I'm not making excuses for HM. His blatant defiance and disrespect were not to be tolerated. But I also had a sneaking sympathy with him. Cleaning is not easy for us, ever. And when we are tired and hungry and cranky, cleaning is the last thing on earth we want to have anything to do with.

What does Mom do? She starts cooking lunch. Sometimes a meal can soothe a tense situation. Raise the blood sugar and spend some quality time around the dinner table - that should have been a peace-making solution.

Nope - I underestimated how driven DH was and how over-tired HM was. DH didn't even stop to eat lunch, since the cleaner was rented and time costs money. HM had his grump on and gobbled his food and slammed off to move furniture from the next room on the list.

Then he and I head upstairs to finish cleaning our rooms. We spend all afternoon prepping the rooms for cleaning, with occasional breaks to fire another verbal volley and holler at one another. What the neighbors must have thought, to hear all the stomping, hollering and door slamming, in between the noise of the carpet cleaning machine. Oy!

The irony was that it took at least an hour to run the carpet cleaner in each room, longer in rooms where there is more traffic and stains. The house really didn't need to be fully prepared before we started because we had adequate time to clean ahead of the cleaner. By the end of the day, every room with carpet was picked up and vacuumed and we still ran out of time before the carpet cleaner needed to be returned. Both HM's and the little girls' rooms carpets didn't get cleaned because we had to return the machine. All those fireworks, hollerin' matches, slamming of doors and house-rattlin' stomps were pointless.

After some time at the hockey rink, sitting in the cold, DH calmed down from his frenzied cleaning state and made peace with HM. He also apologized to me for a few thoughtless comments made in the heat of the moment. So by the time bedtime rolled around, peace was restored, relationships were mended and life returned to normal.

Except all the carpets are wet, furniture is strewn throughout the house, where ever it would fit in non-carpeted areas and a fog of moisture is on every outside window.

And I can't sleep. Guess all that hollering and stamping around got my adrenaline up and now I'm wide awake in the wee sma' hours of the morning.

On a brighter note, the Hockey Socks '07 are off the needles and ready for today's hockey scrimmage. I'm especially happy with this pair of socks, since I managed to get the fit perfect and the stitch used adds the right amount of snugness without being inelastic.

I feel like I'm a broken record when I constantly state that this is yet another Widdershins remake but, honestly, when you get an awesome gusset and heel flap like this, why mess with a good thing. While I agree that everyone's feet are a bit different and what works for me might not work for someone else, this pattern is the ideal pattern for me. Having a high instep makes short-row heels too shallow for my feet. So, I'll just stick to my favorite sock pattern and if you get tired of hearing me sing the praises of the toe-up heel-flapped Widdershins formula . . .

Well, I guess I can always resort to FIREWORKS!

Sewing Room Friday - errrrr, hmmm?

Uhh, guess the well-laid plans of this particular mouse/man didn't get carried out. No sewing time, no cleaning time, no progress whatsoever to report for Sewing Room Friday. Picture deja vu?

Maybe next week . . .

In the meantime, knitting news: Lucky Hockey Socks '07 are nearing completion. A few hours of work and these babies will be on my feet for the next scrimmage on Sunday.

There is also an itchy, twitchy feelin' in the tips of my fingers. The sweater mojo may be on the loose, as I've developed a strong hankerin' to get a couple of these sweaters a goin' again. Don't know which one, yet, but as soon as LHS '07 are off the needles, I'll let the sweaters do the courtin' and tell me which one gets to jump to the head of the line. Or maybe I'll just play the field and fiddle around with all three. Whatever . . . I'm just glad to have that sweater mojo back in my life. (I'm feeling a little bit country today - hear the twang?)

I missed ya', darlin' mojo.

Hockey Tradition

There is something to be said for tradition. Ever since the 2002/2003 season for the Minnesota Wild, when they made it to the post season playoffs, I've been knitting socks. Not just any old socks but special "lucky" hockey socks. The beginning of the hockey season is always the signal to start a new pair of socks.

So, even though there are countless WIPs/UFOs hanging around my knitting stash, the need to finish the first official hockey socks of the season has forced me to; 1) break my official yarn fast to buy some Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn in Visual Purple; 2) somehow get my sock mojo flowing.

This as yet unnamed pattern is another Widdershins remix by moi, using a lacy crossover stitch pattern from a stitch dictionary I have hanging around the house.

In hockey news, Hockeyman has served out the end of his suspension and played in his first hockey scrimmage last week. The team has 3 wins/0 losses so far. So hopes are high for a very successful season.

Just think how well things will go when I've finished the "lucky" hockey socks. At least as far as keeping my feet warm at the rink.

Alas, another brief encounter

We're off and running for another fun filled evening of kids' events but a quick post to show that some knitting is getting done around here.

The finished balaclava for Hockeyman was a rousing hit. I started the project with some leftover Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran. It was clear early on it would not be enough. Unfortunately, they didn't have the same yarn in stock but a quick label check resulted in three classic camo shades of Classic Yarns Cashsoft DK, which had the almost identical fiber content. The ribbing around the face is a bit loose but the cap has not been washed and blocked yet, so I'm hoping a little soap and agitation will tighten that up nicely.

The leftovers are slated for some fingerless gloves for HM. And as you can see by the bareness of the trees in the background, these winter wear items are not going to be ready any too soon.

Feather & Fan

Busy day ahead but I had to make a quick post to answer a question about the newest sweater on the needles.

I chose a very simple Feather and Fan lace pattern and am making a simple sheath type sweater. The swatch turned out quite lovely and I'm hoping that once the sweater is off the somewhat short needle, the lace will block out and make a stunning holiday sweater.

This is a 16 stitch repeat. I am knitting this in the round, so if you choose to knit flat, I've noted the need to purl on the even rounds.

After casting on number of stitches needed and working 4 rows of garter stitch:

Round 1: *Yo, K1, Yo, K1, Yo, SSK, SSK, (Slip 2 stitches together knitwise, K1, P2sso), K2tog, K2tog, Yo, K1, Yo, K1, Yo, K1.* Repeat between *.
Round 2: Knit (Purl for flat knitting)
Round 3: Knit
Round 4: Knit (Purl for flat knitting)

That's all there is to the lace pattern. I'll keep you posted on this sweaters ability to keep the mojo home at nights.

Late Breaking News Report

This is Less Messy reporting to you from the Twin Cities. We have an unsubstantiated report that a missing mojo, gone for several weeks, as recently been spotted. While we cannot confirm that it has indeed returned home, evidence suggests that is in in the vicinity and may soon be reunited with it's worried owner. Stay tuned for further reports.

I can't say for sure that the mojo is back but I did spend several hours during school this morning starting this little beauty. I've wanted a dressy lace sweater for quite awhile and I've been letting this luscious yarn from my birthday last year simmer until I was ready to cast on.

So far, so good. I'm itching to sign off here and get my hands back on it, so all signs look good for the soon return of the missing mojo.

And if this doesn't work, I ordered some Dream in Color sock yarn today. Maybe a little package in the mail is all I need to signal poor mojo to come back in from the cold.

Oh, and yes, that is SUNLIGHT you see glinting off the stitch markers. It is a glorious fall day in Minnesota. If the new yarn doesn't lure mojo home, maybe the return to dry and sunny weather will.

You can take the girl out of the theater but . . .

but you just can't take the drama queen out of the girl.

We had a fun time at the first cast meeting for Beauty and the Beast this afternoon. This show promises to be a lot of fun to put together, with some awesome people cast in the lead roles. There was a lot of comedic moments, as each cast member introduced themselves and had a picture taken for posterity. What amazed me was the fact that the moment I stepped on stage, I automatically searched out the hot spot in the lights - like a sunflower turning to the sun. It's like the last 20 years just didn't take place because I was right back in drama geek mode.

The director gave us a few hints as to the direction he is hoping to take the show. There are going to be a few twists because, to quote Director Robert, "This won't be the Disney version. This will be the Chaska Valley Family Theater version of Disney's Beauty and the Beast." The ideas that were floating around were all fantastic and funny as all get out. All I can say is, if you're in the Twin Cities February 14, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23 or 24, come see the show. You won't be disappointed. I've added the link to my list of links and will keep everyone posted on more details as opening night gets closer.

On the missing mojo front . . . it's still missing. But not for a lack of sincere searching on my part. I've started yet another hat for myself, started swatching with the Knit Picks Shimmer yarn that I've had marinating in my stash for the past year and I've bought 3 new knitting magazines this week. All to no avail. I just don't feel like knitting right now. I sat through the Beauty and the Beast DVD and 2 musicals on TCM yesterday without knitting a stitch. I'm just in a holding pattern at the moment. And I've decided (with some sage counsel from some of you) that this is okay - even if the holiday knitting season is upon us. This year may be the Year of the Purchased Gifts. So be it.

Maybe I'll go do some vocal exercises. Mah, mah, maaaaaaah!

The sun will come out . . .

I awakened to the beautiful sound of the weatherman's voice this morning, ". . . change in the weather pattern. It will be sunny today, with a high near 70 degrees . . ."

Ahhhhh! That's so much better.

More sunshiny news - DancingDiva and I auditioned for a local production of Beauty and the Beast. The cast list came out last night and both of us are in the cast, DD as a dancing plate and myself as a crony/villager. While I'm not surprised DD made it (she was asked, along with her dance team, to audition by the choreographer), I was a little surprised to see my name on the cast list, instead of on a list of stagehands, with a nice typewritten note saying that my audition was such that they are proud and happy to announce my placement behind the scenes.

I haven't auditioned for a musical theater production since college umpteen years ago. While I was an all out drama geek in high school and college, the necessity of earning a living, marriage and raising kids kind of took center stage for awhile. I've sung in worship groups for years but even that has been on the back burner for the past 9 years. So auditioning for this production was kind of a fluke.

Because this theater group caters to families, the audition notices stated that preference would be given to people who auditioned as families. Now, since there is no way anyone else in the family would audition (Peeps wanted to but she was too young), I was elected. And, after some careful thought, I figured it would be a great encouragement to DD to see me audition along side her anyway, so I was game.

DD and I were early, so we picked up our applications and filled them out and picked up our numbers before most people had begun to arrive. We happened to be numbers 2 and 3 on the list. Our group of 10 was taken into the singing portion of the audition first. After a couple run throughs of the music, we took turns singing sections into a recording devise. While I was certainly okay, I deliberately didn't make a huge effort to shine in the vocal audition. It might have intimidated DD more, so I just sang the song as nicely as possible and moved on to the next audition.

Following the singing was the acting. The Producer and Director were there and they put us through a few acting exercises before handing out copies of the script. Given that our group was short a few men, I actually was asked to read for the Beast. WHAT A HOOT! I took my role seriously and growled and paced and snarled my way through the audition. Frankly, although I was reading a rather scary part, it must have been a scream to see a rather heavy-set middle-aged woman stalking about, pretending to be a Beast. I walked out chuckling and laughing all the way to the dance audition.

Yup - I had to dance. You thought I was laughing before . . . The Choreographer, who happens to be one of DD's dance instructors, taught all 10 of us a short dance routine. After a few practice runs, we performed it in groups of 3 or 4 to music. The Assistant to the Choreographer is a good friend of ours and she had a twinkle in her eye as my turn to audition arrived. To make matters even more ludicrous, DD was in my line and she nailed the routine next to my bumbling attempts to step, together, step, touch, kick ball change, chaine' turn . . . The contrast between us must have been hilarious, especially when you notice how alike DD and I are facially.

While DD shined as the best (only) true dancer in our dance audition group, what encouraged her the most was to see me fumble my way through the dance audition. It gave her confidence that her rather timid vocal audition wasn't so poor after all, at least when you compare it to my total incompetence in dance. We talked extensively about the fact that there are few people who excel at all three disciplines. There will always be weak areas for most musical theater performers.

Out of 220 people who auditioned, they cast about 100 performers. So DD and I are very proud to have been included. And also a little humbled. I happened to know a few of the other people who auditioned and didn't get parts. I know that some of them are far better singers and actors than I am.

My best guess is that the Director and Producer liked my chuzpah. Or saw some comedic potential in my goofy portrayal of the Beast and dance abilities. Anyway, it should be a grand adventure.

Who knows, maybe my drama geek mojo is on the rise.

Sewing Room Friday

Okay, folks! Hold onto your hats. Yet another opportunity for me to come clean (you'll note the irony of this phrase shortly, I'm sure) about my real life and personality.

In an effort to become more of a joiner and to find some external motivation to (a) clean up my sewing room and, (b) find the mojo necessary to finish up some quilting UFO's that have been languishing in the depths of my sewing lair, I've elected to participate in Sewing Room Friday, a little idea cooked up over at Wee Bit Wonky.

I promised to photograph my sewing room on Friday's, with no extra cleaning or preparation, beyond what takes place in the ordinary course of life. While I fully desired to get into the sewing room and set up my sewing machine and do a little quilting this week, that did not happen. I'm still hoping for a few hours this weekend to actually do some quilting but it remains to be seen if the dream actually does become a reality or not.

So, without further ado, here is the state of my sewing room, as of 6 am this morning.

You will notice that the sewing machine is not actually set up on the sewing table. Highly visible are some drips of a mystery substance down the face of the sewing machine cover. Best guess - coffee. Coned yarn, which has tumbled off the top of the table sits undisturbed on the floor and various bits of unidentified stuff appears on the edges of the photo.



Here is a shot of the current "Top of the Quilting UFO List," a master bedroom quilt I'm paper-piecing for my bedroom, sitting on my giant ironing surface. Also visible are signs that other crafters have been working in my little sewing corner. A bag of cheap craft felt and the case of embroidery thread were used by Dancing Diva for a school project. An empty cone that Peeps was using as a trumpet one day, along with a handmade bracelet made by the same 6 yo also adorn my ironing table, along with an unholy amount of clutter and junk.


This shameful shot is of the top of the actual sewing table. The crate contains Peeps' and Bubba's ragtime quilts and the stack of magazines are awaiting refiling on the bookshelf. The green fabric is a little outfit for Peeps that somehow got dumped out of the crate it was once neatly stacked in.

Obviously, I'm not looking for a miracle. I have little faith in my ability to reform myself in the neatness arena. I'm a Grade A, Certified (certifiable?) creative genius/talented artist/total slob.

But maybe if a few people mock me about my slovenly habits, maybe I can at least get this little corner cleaned up and reorganized.

Just for fun!

Your Vocabulary Score: A-

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

How's Your Vocabulary?

Ran across this over at Ginger's blog. How do you rate?

Has anyone seen my knitting mojo?

I just don't know what is wrong with me. After all the years of dedicated knitting, I've suddenly lost my mojo. In the past, there have been dry spells in the sock knitting department or times when sweaters just couldn't seem to get my creative juices flowing. I've been obsessed with one pattern (remember the Christmas 2006 slipperfest - 13 pairs for Pete's sake) for weeks on ends. I've had periods with 3 to 4 pairs of socks on the needles at once.

While I still fawn over Dickinson and fondle the completed back on a regular basis, I can't seem to find the motivation to continue knitting up the front. The complexities of the Diamond Motif Sweater still has me intrigued and the back was finished a little while back and the front is on the needles, it's not enough to keep me settled in and knitting for any length of time. And don't even get me started about the Red Dwarf socks that have been on the needles since our vacation in August. Thrummed mittens pair #4 sit in the bag in the car, lost and alone, while the companion balaclava is wondering why it's been abandoned.

I don't know if it is the change in temperature in Minnesota or the gloomy, rainy weather that seems to dominate this time of year. Or could it be the frantic pace our lives seem to be racing along, with no sign of relief in the near future. Perhaps it is the percolating of the long lost quilting mojo attempting to re-assert it's dominance in my heart.

I'm not sure why my motivation has departed but if you happen to see a rather forlorn little knitting mojo wandering around the neighborhood, would you please send it home? I really miss it.

No FO's and Nothing New to Say

I've been wondering what on earth to blog about the past few days. While a little bit of knitting has happened, it is certainly nothing photo worthy, much less decent blog fodder, worthy of more than "still knitting on (fill in the blank) and (fill in the blank).

I perused some old projects, perhaps to reflect the removal from storage certain warm hand-knitted garments that have logged a significant amount of wearing time over the past few frigid days. But is it really fair to re-blog on long-finished objects?

Hmmm. Nope, I got nothin' new to say.

So, in the eventuality that I may experience such a post less situation, I've tucked away a few meme's I've seen floating through the blog sphere. Unfortunately, I've neglected to note on the memes where I found them. Thus, this one must remain anonymous for now. Anyway, here is . . .

The Name Game

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car),
Buddy Villager

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie),
Chocolate Chunky Peanut Butter

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name),
L. Moo

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal),
Celedon Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born),
Dee Riverside

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first),
Moolo

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink),
The Periwinkle Smoothie

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers),
Billy Alvin

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy),
Lemon Dark Chocolate

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ),
Ruth Alvin

And a few more…

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter),
Kruse Kalamazoo

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower).
Autumn Rose

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Honey Crisp Sweatsie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Cinnamon Cereal Sugar Maple

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”),
The Anything Fiber Arts Snowstorm Tour

Thou shalt not covet . . .

Does that commandment apply to knitting magazines? 'Cause this little promo caught my eye and I have a serious case of the Jones . . . Guess I'll be stalking the LYS in the next couple weeks.

Now, for your knitting pleasure . . . Well, if you can call a poor photo in low light pleasurable. This incredibly amateur photo is of Dancing Diva's knitted hat, made from three colors of scraps from other mittens and hats.

Now that my yarn collection was getting pretty low, the striping on this hat had to be a bit more creative to make sure I had enough of each color left to finish. I did, but not by much.

Now I just have to finish the thrummed mittens for Hockeyboy and find some yarn to make a coordinating balaclava for him. Being a great outdoors man, he's been asking for something with a bit more coverage than a normal stocking cap.

And once the great winter wear marathon has come to an official end, then it will be the holiday gift knitting marathon season. Oy, my head is already spinning!

Maybe that new Holiday Knits magazine from IK will be just in time!

Another Monday

After last week, you'd better believe that I'm greeting this Monday with a bit more joy and significantly less blues than most Mondays seem to warrant.

The start of this weeks signals a return to a "regular" schedule. No more try outs, no more "first" anything, definitely more routine and regularity.

While we still have a few blips on our calendar, (Bubba is getting some teeth pulled, for orthodontic purposes; DancingDiva has extra rehearsals; I have an Awana convention on the weekend . . .) it's going to feel far more normal than usual.

Now, for the regularly (or not) scheduled knitting content of today's show blog. In the snippets of time over the past week, I knit a little here and knit a little there and worked up this little topper for Bubba. Again, the mitten leftovers and a full skein of a coordinating color were used to make a coordinating hat. The ability to get a little knitting done is another sign that life is returning to normal.

To celebrate a return to normalcy, I picked up a copy of Crazy Aunt Purls new book and read it over the weekend. Now, I'm not a literary critic, by any means. I'm generally not in agreement with most book reviewers. Books they hate, I love and vice versa. Same with movies - if it wins an Academy Award for best picture, I avoid it like the plague! And keep in mind that the book was read late at night, after an incredibly stressful week. And remember that most professional critics have the opposite opinion from mine and it's probably because I lack literary taste or something. All I'm saying is take what I say with a grain of salt and check the book out for yourself. You are more than welcome to disagree completely with my assessment because I have a history of being not quite in step with those in the know.

But I have to admit I was not as impressed with Laurie's book as I thought I would be. While I have perused her blog from time to time and enjoy her sense of humor, the book seemed like a bit too much of her writing style. It was as if she took some of her blog entries and edited out the extraneous material and distilled just the clever colloquialisms, sarcasm and wit into a book. Instead of those piquant touches of Southern charm and humor in the midst of her more down to earth writing, it became just too overwhelmingly "witty". It just seems to work too hard at being clever and humorous in every line.

I did like the progression of her personal development through the divorce and the symbolic use of the physical junk in her house to represent the emotional baggage she was shedding as she emerged from the depths of depression. Her stark honesty about the tremendous void she felt in her life was very poignant and compelling. While she showed her knitting hobby as a catalyst for change in her life, it wasn't over done and I think that makes this book more widely appealing than if she'd pushed the knitting further forward. A very smart balance, in my opinion.

Perhaps in a second, more deliberate read through, the subtle sense of her using humor as a shield and a weapon against the darkness will be a bit more evident and my perception of the over use of humor will be modified. I don't know. But for now, I was left just a little disappointed.

If I change my opinion on the second read through, I'll let you know. In the meantime, it's back to the Monday morning routine for me. Yay!

(Sigh of relief)

It's been an eventful week around Chaos Central. Between hockey tryouts, homeschool coop classes, a fun tour of a pottery center, Awana, a high school football game cut short by a phone call about a puking child at home and the 13th birthday of a certain Dancing Diva, we're just a little pooped around here.

All I can say is I'm glad it's over!

On the homeschool coop front, it was the second class this semester for my Beginning Knitting class. I only have two students this go around, which is very fun and far less stressful that teaching the 6 to 8 I normally get. It was a real blast to help the girls finish their first projects (headbands) and exit the classroom, all wearing our latest creations. These two girls are exceptionally gifted with hand/eye coordination, so I predict that they are going to just take off in their skills by the end of the semester. So much fun!

We spend Thursday afternoon touring the Northern Clay Center. The two older girls are taking a clay class in our homeschool coop and this tour was part of the class package. It was a fascinating place and made me want to take a few classes in pottery making myself. Not that I need another hobby . . . but still, watching an expert throw a pot on the wheel - wheeee! Looks like so much fun.

Our night at Awana was a wild one this week. Our club has grown to over 50 kids in the Truth & Training age group alone. Because of this unprecedented number and space considerations, we've had to revamp our entire system. It is an adventure trying to make everything flow like it should and I'm in for a challenge the next few weeks.

Yes, I mentioned a certain landmark birthday this week. Dancing Diva is officially a teenager (though she's been acting like one for years). As part of her birthday celebration, she was invited by her BFF, who attends a local Lutheran school, to the homecoming/youth group activities at the Lutheran High School, with a sleep over at our house to follow. I was tagged to chaperon this particular outing, since my DH remembers his experiences at H.S. football games and was not reassured by the fact that this was a Christian H.S. Alas, 15 minutes into the first period, word came that Bubba was not well (to quote Hockeyman, "She's throwing up all over the house!!!!") A quick phone call to BFF's parents verified that they indeed didn't want her exposed to a stomach virus. This required a radical shift in plans resulting in a transfer of sleep over location to BFF's house and my somewhat dubious assignment to carpet cleaning duties at home. Ugggh! And it was shaping up to be an exciting football game, too. Oh, well . . .

Are you all on tender hooks by now? Is the thought, "But what about hockey tryouts?" running through your heads? Is the suspense just killing you?

Well . . .

TA DA!

Hockeyman made the B1 team!!!

The level of rejoicing in Chaos Central has been of epic proportions (much to the fluffy knitting companion's obvious alarm and disgust). While Hockeyman was shooting for the A team, after the trials and tribulations of a rather inconsistent try out, he's extremely thrilled to have made B1.

I suspect that the sound of snoring at Chaos Central tonight will alarm both Koda and the neighbors, for it has been pretty quiet around here the past few nights, what with all the sleeplessness around here.

Oh, and on the knitting front - well, there hasn't been too much of that going on. Go figure!

New Hat for Peeps

It's a wacky week of wild ups and downs and lots of extra homeschooling stuff. So, I'll just check in for a quick post on the latest winter wear FO.

The leftover yarn from Peeps Thrum Mittens, mixed with one of the other colors of sale merino yarn, created a little coordinating hat. I cannot express how soft and NOT itchy this yarn happens to be. I can see many days of snowy enjoyment for Peeps with her new hat and thrummed mittens.

(BTW, no news on the hockey team placement yet. Try outs for Hockeyman are done but the teams won't be posted until late Saturday. Needless to say, it's a little hard knitting with crossed fingers but that's just the way it will be until the teams are announced.)

Honor has its own rewards

Hockeyboy is in the throes of tryouts for the regular season teams. It is a nerve-wracking time for him, the DH and myself. It is his last year of Bantam hockey and he has a desire to play on a higher level team this year. My heart is tender for a young man with high aspirations but is in an incredibly tough and competitive association with room for only 15 A team players.

In the midst of the stress and anxiety, though, there has been a bright, shining moment of joy. A few of you may remember the Match Penalty ejection that ended last year's season on a very sour note. Although many high ranking officials made an extraordinary effort to overturn what was deemed an unfairly harsh penalty, the appeal didn't pan out as we'd hoped. Although we did receive some unexpected support, which encouraged us immensely, we had resigned ourselves to the fact that this suspension would carry over into this year's season and Hockeyboy would need to sit out 2 more games before being reinstated.

We received word last night, however, that as a direct result of Hockeyboy's situation and his manly stand before the district officials, the Minnesota Hockey Association has changed the rules regarding kicking penalties. We haven't seen the official rules yet, as they have not been posted, but our Association President was present when the vote was taken. Furthermore, he has taken it upon himself to contact the district officials with one last appeal to overturn the match penalty and allow Hockeyboy to play the entire season this year.

I have no idea if the appeal will work or not. I have already accepted the fact that he'll likely sit out 2 games. But I am so thankful that as a result of our situation, the bad rule change was reversed and no one else will face such a patently unfair situation ever again. What is more, I am thrilled with our great hockey Association President, who didn't just give up on this but has worked in the off season to see that justice was served.

Most of all, I'm proud of my Hockeyboyman's courageous and honorable behavior in the face of adversity and that his maturity and integrity has changed the game of youth hockey for the better.

Now, if I can only survive try-outs . . . If you think of it, say a little prayer for Hockeyman - and his mom and dad!

Another thrum bites the dust . . .

Thrummed Mittens pair 3 goes into the FO pile, the fleece for Thrummed Mittens pair 4 is selected and awaiting the dreaded thrum-making process. You'll notice, that with DancingDiva's consent, a loop and knotted button were added to facilitate mitten maintenance and retrieval. Wasn't the color a dead-on match, too?

In the meanwhile, I'm getting some whimpery whiny indications from the ol' knitting bag that a certain relationship is being neglected. In an attempt to avoid a written communique, expressing said discontent, I've made a sincere promise to devote any available knitting time this weekend to reaffirming our commitment to one another.

With heart-wrenching honesty and sincerity, I've reiterated over and over again that those other projects meant nothing to me. They were meaningless, just ships passing in the night. My heart and hands belong to Dickinson, now and forever until it is finished.

Think Dickinson believes me?

I'm in, I'm in, I'm IN!

It's Awana night tonight, so I only have a moment to post but . . .

I MADE IT! I'm in with the in crowd! I'm part of the clique!

(insert mental image of happy dancing - just don't use my middle aged figure in the dance - use, oh say, Hannah Montana?)

I just got my invite to Ravelry in the mail. I can already tell it's going to be a big time commitment at some point in the near future but, for now, I'll deal with it in small, manageable bites.

I'm known as Lorraine there, so come befriend me, if you're so inclined.

Mitten Marathon Update

The Mitten Marathon is continuing here at Chaos Central. A weekend of stomach distress resulted in some unexpected knitting time, which brought the total to 5 completed mittens by last night.

This morning saw the start of mitten 6. By now, I've got the whole thrum manufacturing process down to a science and have modified the mitten pattern to include a thumb gusset and a slightly different way of knitting the thrums into the body of the fabric.
I have to admit that I'm much happier with the shape of the mitten with the gusseted thumb (the lavender mitten), although sacrifices of symmetry needed to be made. If you look closely, you will see that the thrums line up on the same wale up the thumb, instead of being staggered. However, I decided that since these mittens are completely utilitarian and meant to be used in the snow, the likelihood of anyone noticing the variation in thrum placement was remote. If they are paying that close of attention while my kids are building snowmen and throwing snowballs, I'm going to have to call the police, because that kind of behavior would be downright creepy.

I added cords to the mittens for the two younger girls. I've debated adding them to the older kids' mittens as well but fear an all out boycott of the mittens if I do. These teenagers of mine are a bit finicky (go figure). Then again, there is nothing worse than orphaned hand-knit mittens. Any other suggestions for preventing the loss of mittens that would meet with teen approval?

After all, the goal here is to keep the kidlet digits warm long enough for a decent winter recess - long enough for them to burn off excess energy . . . and to give Mommy a well-deserved coffee break.

Thrums, thrums and more thrums

The change in the weather has brought about a change in knitting priorities around here. The wild fluctuations in temperatures, including a fleeting flirtation with frost last weekend, has induced me to set aside the two sweaters for myself and start the winter mitten knitting marathon I've been putting off all summer.

I pulled this pattern from Interweave Knits, Winter 2006. I knitted a swatch from the pattern sometime last winter but never quite got around to making them. Mostly because the wool yarns I had on hand were a bit scratchy and not quite the right colors to please the three finicky females who reside in this domicile. I just didn't feel the impetus to make something for girls who might not wear them because they weren't the "right" color.

The new yarn, though, is a soft as the proverbial baby's bottom and the girls all picked their favorite color, as well as the fleece for the thrums. With adequate feminine approval and an internal sense of impending doom cold weather, I cast on yesterday morning.

I love how quick to knit the first mitten for little Peeps turned out to be. Making the thrums turned out to take nearly as long as the knitting itself. I made a big pile, counted them, then doubled the size of the pile. As I work on the second mitten, though, I am quickly running short of thrums and will need to make more before I can finish this pair. I intend to count the total number of thrums on the first pair in order to calculate more accurately how many I'll need for the next pair. Since I had to modify the pattern slightly to accommodate the miniature hands of pixie-sized Peepster, I'll have to make even more thrums for Bubba's mittens, since hers will be full-sized. Alas, I fear I'll be making thrums for days and days, since each pair of mittens will get larger, as I work my way up the child "size" ladder.

Beyond the time consuming nature of thrum making, I also have to admit that I am not fond of the afterthought thumb design on this pattern. While I concede that it is easier to maintain the thrum patterning without taking gusset increases into account, it just doesn't fit as nicely as I would like.

Needless to say, I will probably redesign the next pair of mittens to include a thumb gusset. I'll need to do some calculations to figure out the thrum placement but beyond that, I don't see any reason why it would be difficult to re-work the pattern to suit me.

Now, for some comment housekeeping:

Trek asked how large the Hemlock Ring Blanket measured. It is just over 3 feet in diameter. It wasn't quite as large as I'd hoped but when it is bunched up on a circular needle, it is kind of hard to figure out how large it will be. It was the full charted size of Brooklyn Tweed's pattern adaptation but my gauge was different. It is a nice size to toss around my shoulders while sitting in my knitting chair but too small to be an actual lap blanket. I'm even thinking it would make a great baby blanket for a little boy.

Guinifer asked what pattern I was using for my latest sweater project. It is from the latest Vogue Knitting Magazine. The pattern doesn't have a catchy name but is on page 144. I've been looking at a couple sweaters that have this unique construction technique and was anxious to give it a try. The ribbed background seem to be the most flattering style for my rather buxom physique, so I'm giving it a shot. I have no idea, really, how flattering this will be on me but the yarn was really cheap, so I might as well experiment. If it doesn't look good, all I've lost is my time and I will have gained a lot of understanding of this unusual garment construction technique.

Well, off to school my munchkins. The hamster wheel never stops around here. If the squeaking sound you hear stops with a noisy crash, that'll be me falling off. OY!

(edited to add: Rani, thrums are little tufts of unspun fiber. You start with a 6 or 8 inch long wisp of roving, fold both ends to the middle and roll between your fingers. I added a little moisture to semi-felt the center strand that was created. You end up with a 3-5 inch long "bow-tie" of thrum. You then knit these tufts into the mitten at pre-determined pattern, keeping the fluffy ends to the inside of the mitten. These tufts will insulate the mitten. You can see a detailed description here or here.)

Pictures - at last!

Just a quick post today. We have a hockey game in a little while, so my blogging time is limited.

Here is the new sweater in my life. The color of the yarn isn't quite accurate, as you can tell from the Vogue Knitting Magazine cover. But I wanted the cable and ribs to show up a little. That way, you can understand why I found this challenging pattern just too irresistible. More cabling without a cable needle, combined with knitting in the round - delectable.

If you look real close, you can see some ladybug stitch markers I whipped up a while back. I love them, although they are so heavy, I don't use all of them at one time.



Just to prove that I'm still paying some attention to the Dickinson Pullover, here is a current progress photo. I'm nearing the end of the raglan shoulder shaping of the back. This has become a great portable project because I've memorized the patterns involved and I only need the pattern for the shoulder shaping.

Finally, some clearance stash enhancements. These 100% wool yarns were just too yummy not to come home with me. Having 3 girls, we see a lot of pastel colors around here. Fortunately, Dancing Diva likes pink, Bubba loves lavender and Peeps adores every shade of green, so arguments are kept to a minimum. If I get a chance yet today, out will come the rovings and I'll spend some time preparing the thrums for some thrummed mittens.

Given the cold temps we've started logging at night around here, the girls may need these mittens sooner than I expected. Brrrr.

Random thoughts

It has been a very wild and woolly week - literally.

The school routine is just beginning to become just that - routine. We are still not getting all the subjects covered for the little girls yet but it is getting more streamlined every day and we should, with some luck and grace, start history and science next week. I have gotten so far that I actually had a little fiber time during the school day. Yay!

I dug out more wool and started a new project . . . yes, I know, yet another affair, while still carrying on with Dickinson. I am steadily working on Dickinson but it is becoming quite mindless and I was looking for a new challenge for those times when I was just plain bored with my first love. While I love the fact that this rather complex looking pattern was so easily memorized, it does leave me longing for something along the lines of "extreme knitting".

And to compound the increasing faithlessness, I picked up some wool yarn today on clearance at Joann's to start mittens for the girls. All the wool was very Spring/Easter/Pastel-ish, so Hockeyboy will not be getting anything out of this batch of yarn but the colors will look fabulous with thrums of brighter primary colored rovings that are languishing in the stash. Hockeyboy will have to settle for the charcoal grey yarn/black thrum combo that is also cluttering up the stash already. Stay tuned for photos in the next post.

And on a truly positive note, the DH and I went out on a date last night. A real, live date, don'cha know! We went out for Thai food, which we both love and then we wandered through an office supply store, looking for some storage and organization items to make school a little more manageable. It was so nice to have some grown-up conversation, without quarrelling kids and rampant environmental chaos. What a blessing!

To quote Hockeyboy's favorite catch phrase, "Good times, good times!"

Welcome to Chaos

Although I like to portray myself as the ultimate in Super-Momdom and frequently gloss over my numerous faults as a homemaker and mother, there comes a time when brutal honesty is absolutely mandatory.

My life is in utter shambles.

There, I said it. This whole juggling thing, which I truly thought I had mastered with incredible finesse and grace, has come crashing down around my ears.

On the homeschooling front, the advent of a new satellite dish from which we record the various and sundry classes our 4 children must take was supposed to the be ultimate in time-saving devices. Push a button to record the appropriate class, do a little presto-changeo editing and burn to DVD. Voila, a teaching assistant to free me from the sole responsibility of trying to teach 5 subjects to 4 different grade levels in the space of 6 hours (you do the math).

However, we have discovered that the process to set up the DVR to record all the different classes for all the kids takes about 4 hours of intense research and programming each quarter. That is, unless there is a black out because of weather conditions, which means that an additional recording session has to be scheduled and that increases the time significantly. Then there is the whole editing and burning process, which is currently taking 8 to 10 hours a week.

Then we have 4 kids who can't seem to figure out how to operate the DVD remotes and keep jumping forward or backward out of the current lesson and have to spend umpteen minutes fast forwarding and rewinding to find the spot where they should have hit the pause button instead of the skip button. Frequent bellows of, "MOM - I NEED HEEEELP!" can be heard by most of my neighbors on the block on a distressingly regular basis.

Add to this the fact that we have 3 televisions with DVD players and a portable DVD player, scattered throughout 3 floors of our home and I spend an inordinate amount of time running up and down stairs, in answer to the calls for help. Where I used to sit at the same table with all four kids, helping them on an individual basis, either doing chores or knitting/crafting in the quiet interludes between active teaching, while seat work was completed, now I am on the run from 8:30 to whenever everyone is done with their schoolwork. By that time, I am extraordinarily worn out and have no energy left for the household work that needs to get done to keep a family of six in clean clothing, home cooked meals and a semi-clean, healthful environment.

So, on the homemaker front, I'm chronically a load behind on dishes, 6 or more loads behind on laundry and I can't seem to get to the grocery store before we have run completely out of toilet paper or, worse yet, peanut butter every week. I cannot see my bedroom floor, for piles of clean laundry yet to be folded and put away and I don't even want to mention the scummy stuff that is appearing on every bathroom surface throughout the house.

On the blogging front, I've had no time to catch up on my favorite blogs, no time to work on projects for my own blog or to even answer the queries that have be posted in my comments.

Now, I am a big one for silver linings. Although it has been a bit more challenging than usual to find those glimmers of positives in the hard times, there are a few good things I see coming.

1) According to a friend experienced with the whole satellite/DVR thing, it will get faster and easier, especially since we won't need to re-record the classes we've already burned. When Dancing Diva hits 9th grade, all the DVDs will be done already and Bubba's 3rd grade DVDs will be available for Peeps in the future. By the time Peeps is ready for high school, all the DVDs will be done and ready for her.

2) The kids are all getting better at managing the DVD players and remotes and the time spent on each DVD is decreasing rapidly. Given that my older kids are already more technologically savvy than I am in other areas, this doesn't surprise me. In time, the DVDs will save me time and effort, if I can just survive the adjustment period.

3) All the running up and down the stairs has got to count as exercise. If it continues for awhile, I will have a great looking A**.

4) The utter lack of progress on basic house cleaning and maintenance has gotten so serious that my kids are starting to clean on their own, without being asked. While it is embarrassing to admit that the house is so dirty that my rather slovenly kids can't stand it, it is so exciting to see them take the initiative and help out more.

5) As far as the blogging, there just doesn't seem to be much positive about not having time to stay current with my friends. But, with time, perhaps that will mend itself, as the kids continue to get familiar with their new curriculum and continue take on more housework for me.

In the meantime, I haven't forgotten you and will do my best to get back into the routine again, soon.

Have I completely shattered all your illusions about me?

Infatuation

I am still in love. It is an enduring love that will see me through until the end of time I finish it. I have no doubts that the Dickinson Pullover will be completed and worn with pride.

But realistically, you all should have known that I wouldn't necessarily stay true to my first love. While I am an absolute believer in marital fidelity (adulterers should be shot), such faithfulness to one knitting project is just not in my nature. Were not the moniker "Yarn Harlot" already taken, it would be my alias, for, alas, that is what I am.

Therefore, while still in the throes of first passion with Dickinson, this little item caught my eye.
Brooklyn Tweed's Hemlock Ring Blanket.

Always up for a fling, I whipped out some coned Mary Lu's Schuss Plus wool from my stash and cast on. This was a short-lived affair, with cast on beginning on Friday and casting off beginning on Monday. However, due to the start of our school year, it took me several days of "a minute here, a minute there" knitting to complete the cast off process. After all, by the time you reach the last rows of this knit-in-the-round project, there are over 500 stitches on the needles. And the looped edge cast off, while fun and interesting to do, was very time consuming.

It is such a typical story - meet someone on Friday, spend a passionate weekend and then a rather messy, week long break-up to end the affair.

But at least I'll always have my memories. And a great throw.

Should I jump on the bandwagon?

Oh my goodness. I am so tired. Today was the first day back at a full homeschool schedule and I feel like that little puddle of goo left over after having a steam roller flatten you.

Since Sheepish Annie instituted the Bullet Point Wednesday when she was taking a night class, a few of her readers have started implementing their own versions of this brilliant blogging solution. I'm nothing if not a "joiner", so here goes my version of this stream-of-consciousness style, even though it is not Wednesday yet.

• I have a six year old whom I do not understand. This child spent the better part of 3 hours last night doing somersaults. I first observed this phenomenon in my bedroom, where I discovered my bed (completely stripped of pillows, blankets and sheets) being used as somersault central. Being somewhat amused (and knowing it was high time to change the sheets anyway), I sat down and just watched. This girl rolled from the top of the bed, to the bottom of the bed and then back flipped off the end of the bed onto the pile of pillows, blankets and sheets on the floor. Then she did it again . . . and again . . . and again. For 3 episodes of Suite Life of Zack and Cody on Disney Channel (it was a marathon), this repetitive motion occurred.
  

• A few hours later, after supper, I sat down in my favorite knitting chair and noticed that more somersaulting was taking place. This time a back flip over the arm of the love seat, a full backwards somersault across the length of the love seat, then a back flip over the other arm of the love seat, into a handstand and a quick flip to a 3-point landing. A quick rotation and another somersault over the footstool and onto the chair, then a back somersault back off of the footstool to another nailed landing. A double-time sprint to the end of the love seat and the ritual started again. Another 1.5 hours of flipping transpired, while various and sundry family members wandered in to watch in bemused awe this amazing display of perpetual motion.

• This almost obsessive-compulsive situation would alarm me more if she didn't have a mother who has similar tendencies regarding knitting and other fiber arts.

• I wonder if there is a way to harness such boundless energy and convert it to electricity. After all, our electric bill has been horrendous the past few months and we could use a cheap, inexhaustible source of energy around here.

• It is hot outside. I actually burned the soles of my feet running out to the mailbox this afternoon. Which is why our electric bill is so durned high.

• I'm so glad I don't have to teach in a school without air conditioning. Today would have been miserable, had I not had my luxurious, high-priced, air-conditioned "school house."

• Did I mention I'm tired?

• Someone asked where I learned to cable without the cable needle. I actually learned from an episode of Knitty Gritty with Annie Modesitt as the featured guest. I'm a total dive in there and learn from books, videos and internet person. I've never taken a knitting class in my life but am basically self-taught.

• In all honesty, a friend did show me how to do magic loop knitting but since I didn't pay her, does that count as a "class?" And I signed up for a sock knitting class years ago but it was cancelled, so that wouldn't count either, right?
  

• HGTV's schedule has changed and now Knitty Gritty will only be on once a week. I'm going to miss my morning ritual of knitting with Vickie Howell and friends.

• Golly, I'm so tired. Is anything remotely coherent coming out of my mind anymore?

For those of you who know me well may wonder at the complete lack of comments on fiber art production. Well, although there was significant progress on a brand new, never before blogged project over the weekend, I didn't manage to finish it before the start of our little homeschool today and it just won't photograph well in its current state. And there is the little issue that not one stitch of knitting, sewing, crocheting or even mending took place today. Between introducing a new curriculum to all four kids and doctoring a very sick Hockeyboy, there wasn't a minute to even pick up the needles. :-(

Alas, I hope this is NOT a sign of the year to come. I'm already suffering from fiber withdrawal symptoms and it's only been 24 hours.

Must. Fondle. Fiber. NOW!