Happy New Year!

We never did have time to make Christmas cookies because of the power outage, so we passed the time this evening waiting for midnight, making cookies.


We've been watching a lot of Ice Age 2 - The Meltdown, so the acorn cookie cutter was a big hit. Tomorrow morning, we will be icing these babies!

It's 11:32pm and I have two kids yawning ar my side, and another quiet on the couch. I wonder if they will make it?

Happy New Year!

We hope you had a happy holiday

DD drew some really awesome pictures for Santa, so he was extra good to our family (grin).


DS2 actually stopped whining for a while.

Did I mention that I knit DS1 a hat while in MA?

DD loves all things pink.

Even the dog got in on the action.

What it was like

I'm going through the Christmas photos and found a bunch of pictures DH took from the aftermath of the windstorm that left us without power for 8 days. You can click on each to embiggen.

The streets were littered with branches and leaves:


Trees were down everywhere:


And what wasn't down, was laying atop a power line:


Roads were washed out:


Traffic lights were out, the city looked like a ghost town:


I hope it was empty:


What did we do to pass the time?
We ate out A LOT.
We found a McDonalds with the two P's: a playplace and power.
We visited with friends who let us stay for hours on end:


And we played A LOT of tic-tac-toe.


We made it through, and hope never to have to go through this again!

Catching up

Between the business travel and the power outage and the holiday, I am way behind on reading e-mails, reading blogs, and knitting. I still want to share with you a few completed objects from the business trip to Massachusetts:



These were knit on the flight cross country. I hope the hat fits, Dad!

FINALLY

DH just called to say the power has been restored. It may be a merry Christmas after all!

Still no power

Blogging from work, knitting by candlelight. Sure wish I had knit myself some of those fingerless gloves. :-(

Brrrrrrr....

A major storm hit the Pacific NorthWet late Thursday, and we have been without power ever since. Five long nights and five even longer days. It is so cold in our house that DH is allowing the dogs to come upstairs where we are all huddling by the heat of the gas fireplace in the evenings.

When you are without power, and heat, and decent light, you get a kick out of the strangest things. Last night it was the Dance of the Pillow, whereby the lab licked and rolled on my eldest son until he curled up in a fit of dog slobber, and the lab gained control of the pillow. DS slept hidden in his sleeping bag.

I am blogging from the Tully's at the bottom of the hill, which finally has power today. Maybe we will be next?

Please send warm, electric thoughts our way.

It's a big country...

especially to fly over. How big? One adult hat (reknit) and a Bathtime Blossoms washcloth. That's how big! Photos will have to wait until next week as I forgot the cable thingie.

Time flies...

...when you are having fun. And in the blink of an eye, bam, you are a year older. Thanks to all of my family and friends who sent birthday greetings and gifts. My SP9 sent a very special package with lots of goodies. Look at this lovely Schaeffer Anne:

My SP9 knows that I love the browns and pinks! I already sent you an email, SP9, but thank you again for thinking of me and sending such a nice birthday package!

Since I last posted, I knit a hat out of handspun merino/silk, and a scarf out of handspun biffle. They are not meant to match.

Each of these will be a holiday gift for someone special. The hat came out rather large, and I asked the recipient to do some special exercises to increase his brainage, but since that may not be feasible, I ripped the hat and re-cast on for something of normal size.

In the name of science

I supported a poor, starving grad student once. Heck, I was a poor starving grad student once. I was just lucky enough to not have to do a research project (I have my ways).

Support the efforts of a researcher in determining how fast a meme travels by creating a blog post linking to this one. You can read more about it here.

And where did I get this meme from? Emma.

Snow Days

When you live in the PNWet, you play in the snow as it falls. If you wait a half hour, it may turn to rain and slush and then you would have missed the snow.

May I present, "Sledding In The Dark".



It was only 4pm.

Once it got really dark out, dark enough so you cannot see through the reflection of the lights in the window, Old Man Winter got serious. We woke up to a gorgeous winter wonderland. Look at the background.



I love how crisp and clean everything looks after a fresh snowfall. The kids built a snowman, Bob. He is wearing the Lucky Duck scarf.

As always, clickety click to embiggen the pictures.

For a sockret pal

Wild and crazy Socks That Rock:





The yarn is crazy, wild, in a very fun loving way! I did check with my Sockret Pal to make sure that she was loving the wild and crazy socks and she confirmed. So I am a happy socker to have these off my plate. I'll be saving them to send along with a little holiday surprise because we all need more holiday surprises in our lives!

Thank you, Grandma

During the fiasco of the missing scarf, Grandma had been secretly knitting her own princess scarf. Lovely!

Spinning from Stash

I've been working away at the spinning stash, trying to spin up some of the great hand-dyed fibers I have picked up this year at various festivals. The current project - 8 oz Biffle (that's Blue Faced Leicester to the uninitiated). This fiber is hand-dyed by Angela at A Swell Yarn Shop. You may recognize it as a purchase from OFFF. It's the blue and brown one draped around Alex' neck.

I wanted to make a two-ply yarn, and try to keep the color patterns even so they would make sections of solid colored yarn when plying instead of the funky barberpole. I started out by splitting the roving lengthwise in two. I weighed the two sections, and was 10g off. There goes the plan ;-) How much is 10g anyway? Enough to make a difference.

Do you see that small ball of fiber on top of the wheel? That's how much was left over after plying from the two bobbins. I wound it into a center pull ball and plyed it back on itself.

Lovely yarn on a niddy noddy:


300 yards (230 + 70)

That 10g did make a difference!
Destiny = scarf.

Uno

You.
Can.
Only.
Type.
One.
Word.

No.
Explanations.

1. Yourself:
happy

2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse):
brilliant

3. Your hair:
flat

4. Your mother:
addicted

5. Your Father:
supportive

6. Your Favorite Item:
roving

7. Your dream last night:
sleep

8. Your Favorite drink:
drip

9. Your Dream Car:
fast

10. The room you are in:
favorite

11. Your Ex:
non-existent

12. Your fear:
windstorms

13. What you want to be in 10 years?
proud

14. Who you hung out with last night?
kids

15. What You’re Not?
thin

16. Muffins:
blueberry

17. One of Your Wish List Items:
stairmaster

18. Time:
flying

19. The Last Thing You Did:
laughed

20. What You Are Wearing:
jammies

21. Your Favorite Weather:
crisp

22. Your Favorite Book:
outlander

23. The Last Thing You Ate:
m&m's

24. Your Life:
complete

25. Your Mood:
content

26. Your best friend:
enabler

27. What are you thinking about right now?
spinning

28. Your car:
hot

29. What are you doing at the moment?
rejuvenizing

30. Your summer:
GONE

31. Your relationship status:
partners

32. What is on your TV?
dust

33. What is the weather like?
wet

34. When is the last time you laughed?
tonight

One lucky duck

clickety click to embiggen

Her brother found it, lost in the depths of the toy room. He's my hero!

Every ten years...

I get the urge to sew.


My mother just fell off her chair. We'll wait Mom, while you get back up. Need a sip of water? OK then. Yes, that is the foot pedal that was lost during move #2 AND I NEVER KNEW until you helped us unpack from move #3. LOL.

14 patches later...

He isn't kicked out of cub scouts (yet).

While I am at it, "HONEY, where's that sweater with the ginormous arms?"


First, you pick the seams.


Sew the excess.


Can you see the line?


Start trimming. Note to self, next time use contrasting thread.


That's a lot of excess.


Re-attach the arm.

One down, one to go. Maybe next decade, dear.
And that covers it for the next 10 years. Maybe I will cast on an aran now.

Lost

She had it for less than 12 hours. I think she lost it at pre-school. Grrrrrr.

A touch of sun

Well, not really sunshine, but at least a temporary abatement of the monsoon. DD and I skipped outside for a quick photo shoot:

clickety click to embiggen


clickety click to embiggen

Mistake stitch rib in handspun fiber from Blue Moon. She's happy, I'm happy.

The week in review

One of my favorite websites is the weekly photo essays featured on MSN.

I would like to present my own version of a week in review:

We had a princess (no surprise there), a green power ranger, and a dragon ninja. Between the Power Ranger and the Ninja, I knew my daughter was safe walking the streets in the dark.


Proof that you are never too big to be a lap dog. I had to check Tina's bag at the door to make sure she wasn't smuggling a pet home. I did offer to trade her a dog for a wheel....


And last but not least, a yummy package from my SP9! She sent lots of local goodies including a candle and candy from her town, plus the yarn, matching beads, needles and a crochet hook plus pattern to make a beaded scarf! Not only did she put together this package, but she had also knit the scarf herself and sent me a photo of her FO so I would get the idea of what the scarf looks like. I can tell that my SP put a lot of thought into this package, and I want her to know that I really appreciate all of the effort! Thanks SP!

Happy Halloween

THIS is why it is fun to knit for knitters

My husband couldn't believe that I was shipping off a scarf to a complete stranger, when he is in such desperate (not) need of a new handknit sweater. I explained to him that not only did I get to knit for someone who would appreciate the effort, but that I would also receive a scarf in return. When he is done knitting me two sweaters, I will be happy to start knitting for him again.

I was so thrilled to receive a box from my ISE3 pal, Deb, and show it off to my husband. "See", I said. "THIS is why I knit for knitters."

The Swallowtail Scarf pattern, knit in Lavold's Silky Wool, is a perfect addition to my wardobe.

A huge thank you to Deb for knitting me this very special scarf. And thank you for all of the goodies you sent us from MO. In the pretty box were assorted chocolates and teas, and honey sticks from a local farm. My daughter, the official photographer for the evening, insisted on having a tea party right away. There's also an adorable tape measure and a great postcard from Deb's state in the box.

Thank you again, Deb. The scarf is lovely!

Thank you, Sockret Pal

I received a surprise package in the mail yesterday, from my Sockret Pal!


See that skein of gorgeous red yarn? That's a skein of Lisa Souza Sock! Merino in garnet. Did I mention that she's my favorite color artist and a personal friend? SWEET!

The cute sheepie on top is a Pez! I heart Pez! I didn't know they were making cute stuffed keychains. I'll have to keep an eye out in the stores and pick some up for my kids. Because this one is all MINE, baby.

There was another key chain of sorts in the package - pictured on the far right. It's a mini sockblocker attached to a keychain, and instructions to knit a miniature sock! What a great use of all those teeny leftover skeins of sock yarn. Just think, one could have a keychain to match every outfit! LOL.

My Sockret pal also sent a small notebook which is going right into my purse, and a very pretty card introducing herself. It was such a nice surprise to receive this package, that it inspired me to wrap up the Halloween treats I have been collecting for my Sockret Pal. USPS, here I come!

Pines Farm Spin-in

Saturday, Sam, Barb and I spent the day at the Pines Farm spin-in. This was my first farm spin-in, and I didn't know quite what to expect.

There were sheep


And a mascot


It was cold, and wet. We jokingly asked for a fire. They obliged.


I tried to convince Sam to wrestle a sheep. She did not oblige.


The farm is mainly Romney sheep and angora goats. There was a manual apple press, and anyone with enough upper arm strength could make cider. And a barn full of fleece. And some dyed wool. And some hand cards. My wheel was empty, but not for long.