That’s more like it!

My SIL went home on Tuesday, to everyone’s relief.  We were a bit nervous that she would not be able to handle it, but so far, all is well.  Another ten days and she gets that cast off, and then, we hope, begins rehabbing her ankles with USE.

Since then, we have put the house back together, mostly, washed TONS of sheets, and every pillowcase we own, it seems.  We just have to return her bed to her spare room – it fits in the truck, but it keeps raining (a good thing, really!) so it stays in our spare room, and the regular furniture that goes there remains in our living room.

I learned a lot about myself this month.

It is good I am not a nurse.  It is good I am able to live in a house that provides me with enough space to have my OWN space where I can go be grumpy when people overwhelm me. It is good that knitting calms me.

I don’t like my routines disrupted.

I don’t like worrying about money.  I don’t like when plans get thrown out the window with no plans to replace them. I don’t like coming home to people who expect meals to get made immediately, and I don’t like coming home to tons of dirty dishes.  A tried her best, but it was a losing battle.  It is amazing how one more person in the house can create this chaos in our eating and cleaning routine!

In point of fact, I was quite a cranky bitch a good part of the last month.

Now, as things return to normal, I wonder what I can do to prevent reacting that way should this need for us to care give ever arises again.

I haven’t come up with anything just yet.

But I am extremely appreciative of what I do have.  And I am appreciative of the fact that A is now able to work on her own business as we planned she would a month ago (she had quit her job and was working out her notice when the accident happened.  So we had a few weeks of no income from her as she was not able to do her own work and take care of her sister.) She will have a rough few weeks working to hit some deadlines, but it can be done.

I even made lasagna yesterday, and am THRILLED that it will last for a couple of nights worth of meals!

I finished plying a big batch of the combo spin.  And I knit all sorts of little fiddly things.

That is more like it!

 

Sunday Suggestion

I am once again sharing something that feels important to me, directly helping someone in a meaningful way. Jen is a designer and blogger who lost her home and possessions in the California fires. But she didn’t lose everything. If you can, won’t you buy one of her patterns?

NothingButKnit

As I’m sure you are aware the world has been in a lot of turmoil lately. There have been hurricanes, floods, fires and shootings. Helping our fellow man becomes more important during these times. It is heartbreaking to see people suffer and difficult to know the best way to help.

One of our own has suffered a complete loss of all personal possessions in the fires in California. It’s hard to know how to help someone when they are thousands of miles away and really a stranger. Jensaid if anyone felt that they wanted to help her they could purchase one of her patterns on Ravelry. I thought this was a fabulous idea and did just that. I hope Jen is comforted knowing that she’s in my thoughts.

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Why, hello!

I haven’t seen you in a while! How have you been?

Me? Oh, I have been busy. Mostly doing boring things. You know, working, cooking, dishes. I have found time to kick out lots of hats, but other fiber fun has been slow going. As in three weekends, still plying the same singles. Haven’t had time to unpin the shawl I blocked last week. 

The caregiving is changing but still an ever-present thing in our lives. All three of us are working to make the best of it and can’t wait for it to end. There had been talk of L going home this weekend. A and L were both really counting on that, but it isn’t happening. There is a PT appointment Monday that will give us a better clue about things. A and L are planning the big move for Tuesday. I am not holding out hope for that, but am resigned to the November 8 cast removal date. Which will not stop me from measuring L’s interior doorways when I go get her mail today. I have a feeling the wheelchair won’t go through them. That means she has to get strong on the crutches or wait until the cast comes off. Hope I am wrong here…

I did have two unusual things happen this week.

The not so good one was that two mice moved into my car heating system and then died. That was smelly!! And meant I am was cold for two days until I could get it fixed. 

The reason it took two days is the the other thing. I was able to attend a writing workshop through work that was held in western Maine. The leaders were Stephanie Land, a freelance writer, and Greg Kaufmann, editor at Talkpoverty.org.  They were amazing! The format was pretty laid back, but we each got to have them review our writing we did there, and I heard some great pieces being read. I came away more inspired to do the writing I have to do at work than I have been in a long time.

Of course I got back to work to find a kazillion emails and mundane tasks to deal with. Oh well.
I am off this morning to get the truck serviced, pick up mail, measure doorways, and be back in time for whorls and purls this afternoon. So I had better get moving! 



Why, hello!

I haven’t seen you in a while! How have you been?

Me? Oh, I have been busy. Mostly doing boring things. You know, working, cooking, dishes. I have found time to kick out lots of hats, but other fiber fun has been slow going. As in three weekends, still plying the same singles. Haven’t had time to unpin the shawl I blocked last week. 

The caregiving is changing but still an ever-present thing in our lives. All three of us are working to make the best of it and can’t wait for it to end. There had been talk of L going home this weekend. A and L were both really counting on that, but it isn’t happening. There is a PT appointment Monday that will give us a better clue about things. A and L are planning the big move for Tuesday. I am not holding out hope for that, but am resigned to the November 8 cast removal date. Which will not stop me from measuring L’s interior doorways when I go get her mail today. I have a feeling the wheelchair won’t go through them. That means she has to get strong on the crutches or wait until the cast comes off. Hope I am wrong here…

I did have two unusual things happen this week.

The not so good one was that two mice moved into my car heating system and then died. That was smelly!! And meant I am was cold for two days until I could get it fixed. 

The reason it took two days is the the other thing. I was able to attend a writing workshop through work that was held in western Maine. The leaders were Stephanie Land, a freelance writer, and Greg Kaufmann, editor at Talkpoverty.org.  They were amazing! The format was pretty laid back, but we each got to have them review our writing we did there, and I heard some great pieces being read. I came away more inspired to do the writing I have to do at work than I have been in a long time.

Of course I got back to work to find a kazillion emails and mundane tasks to deal with. Oh well.
I am off this morning to get the truck serviced, pick up mail, measure doorways, and be back in time for whorls and purls this afternoon. So I had better get moving! 



ANOTHER secret fiber project

I am sorry about this, but I am going to blather on about fiber and not be able to show you anything for MONTHS.

I mentioned that some of us who get the Purple Fleece’s Roving of the month are participating in a challenge with the October fleece (which Debbie SO NICELY let us have early!)

The challenge is in two parts.

1.) Spin the 4 ounce braid with NOTHING ADDED in a way that is new to us, or that we haven’t done in a long time.  In other words, get out of our comfort zone. Do this without sharing until the big reveal (in January).

2.) Then, knit up something with the yarn, and keep that a secret, too, until the next big reveal, likely in April or May!

So, I have the fiber, and I love it.  It is a blend of targhee, silk, and bamboo.  Spinning this at all will be new to me, I haven’t spun with bamboo before!  Nor targhee, though I have some in stash.

Before I saw the braid, I was thinking of spinning it as a gradient, then chain plying it.  My chain plying still leaves a GREAT DEAL to be desired, so this would meet the challenge rules.

But now that I have seen it, and fallen in love with the gorgeous soft colors and silkiness of it, I think I won’t do either of those things. So what will I do?  Well, of course, I can’t tell you that.  But I can tell you that I spent the evening reading and rereading my two knitting books, Yarn-i-tec-ture and The Spinner’s Book of Yarn Designs. There are several yarns in there that I want to make, OF COURSE.  But for the first time, I was really thinking about the end product that I will reveal next spring.  I could spin a bunch of different yarns that would make good socks.  But do I want SILK and BAMBOO socks?  That does not seem the best use of this lovely fiber.  So (here’s a clue) no hawser for me yet. And probably not a 4 ply cable, though that also sounds fun, this doesn’t seem the right fiber for that.

And we can’t add anything, so I think this won’t be a boucle, though I do want to spin one someday. Maybe with the mohair I have in my stash…

I did narrow it down to a couple of possibilities, and so now I have to think about how I will handle the color.  Separate them so each ply is different?  Spin them end to end and see what happens?  Mix it up and make it random?  The possibilities are endless.

I do have a few ideas of the type of garment I want to knit, but until I see the final yarn, the weight and the yardage, I won’t really be able to decide, will I?

And you, poor folk, will have to wait so long, and read about me working on something I can’t share details or photos of.  I feel your pain.

Meanwhile, here is what I worked on over the past couple of weeks, and did get finished, mostly for the craft sale or to fill some orders.

I am feeling like I need color on my craft fair table table – I seem to have loads of neutral hats in inventory.   So this first one, I put in the Community Caring bin at the purple Fleece.  I really was just testing the pattern, and now I know how to do it, I will likely make some brighter ones to sell.

 

 

A nice long holiday weekend

And boy, are we looking forward to it!  We have few real plans, because we have to play so much of life by ear, but on my list to definitely do are:

• Whorls and Purls on Saturday.  Debbie is away and I have the key, so I am definitely going for the afternoon of knitting.
• Close up the pool.  I can’t believe I haven’t been forced into this sooner by the weather, but I think I might go for one last swim on Sunday (predicted muggy and warm weather) and then close it up.

Other than that, things that should happen include dirt moving and housecleaning.  Things that likely will happen include knitting, spinning, and cooking.

Three days.  I can’t wait.

Is it me?

Twice in the past month I have written posts that I thought I published, but then they appeared, unpublished, in my drafts folder.

 

What is up with that?  Is it me or is it WordPress?  Anyone else having that trouble?

 

Jeesh, you would think after all these years I could get that right!

A semblance of order

After the big bang, we have settled down into something of a routine, and we have managed to recapture bits of our old routine that we liked or needed.

The ankles seem to be doing well, a trip to the surgeon on today will confirm this, we all hope.  There is not much pain now, so boredom is setting in – fewer pain pills to help sleep the days and nights away!

A is doing the lion’s share of responding to beck and call, and that is diminishing as time goes on.  But none of the three of us can wait until she can use the walker by herself, so we don’t all need to attend every change of position or room, if you know what I mean.

I did feel like I could and should go to Whorls and Purls on Saturday, it was good for everyone involved, lol.  So I had a long afternoon of knitting and chatting and there was apple pie and chocolate.  Just what the doctor ordered for THIS patient.  🙂

I managed a little spinning early both weekend mornings.  Still plugging away on that 36 ounces of a spin I started in July.  I took about 6 weeks off, but now am back into it. I would like to get this set of bobbins done by Saturday, not sure I will make it, but it will be close.  Then I think I will only need to fill the bobbins one more time and it will be done.

My reason for wanting to clear this section off the wheel is that we are starting a spinning/knitting challenge at the Purple Fleece, and we get our fiber on Saturday, which is a few weeks earlier than I had planned.  🙂 The challenge is to take a 4 ounce braid of Purple Fleece Roving of the month for October, and spin it in a way that is new to us, or that we haven’t done in a while – ie, not our usual spin. Then, bring that yarn in January, and have it pose for a glamour shot. Next step is to then knit something with that yarn, and have that done by April for a big reveal.  There are no prizes, other than a new skill and something pretty all made up.  But we are doing it as a community, and one of the members will see if she can pull it all into an article that gets published.  So it will be sort of fun.  It was the idea of a different member as a challenge to us, and it rapidly grew from there.  It will be fun to see how it all comes out.

But to participate, I need to empty the wheel first.  🙂

Knitting wise, I feel like I have lots going on and not much got done this week.  🙂  I did knit almost all of a pair of booties, but lost at yarn chicken.  So I ripped them out and will start over.  At least now I know exactly the yardage I need for those. 😦  I have a hat and a shawl on the needles as well.  And I started the October sock (which will match the September sock.) I finished the Rainbow Warrior shawl – well, the knitting.  It hasn’t been blocked yet, but when I have time to do that I will, and will share it – it is really bright and cheerful!  But it will take a long time to pin out all the picots on the edge, and I am not sure when I will have that kind of time all in one chunk again. So loads of little projects on the needles to be picked up and dropped as necessary. And it is necessary. That quiet little voice could call for help at any time.