Day 6

It's been a busy week what with starting a new job and back to school open houses and now the actual start of school. The orchid somehow continues to flourish:


I'm thinking about taking it into work to brighten up my office space and keep the exploring fingers away from it.

Thank you, Secret Pal!

I received a really cool surprise package in the mail today from my Secret Pal:

Inside were two great books, the Harlot's newest edition and another on dyeing yarns which looks really interesting! Also in the package was a really yummy chocolate bar and some geodes for the kids. Now I have seen geodes in museums and such, but I did not know that you could buy what looks like rocks and smash them to pieces and get such beautiful wonders in your own yard! The kids sure enjoyed them! (please excuse the princess, she was not in picture taking mood)

One of the rocks revealed a clear crystal, the next a black one, and the third white. They are all so beautiful and unique. A great reminder of the natural beauty that is Earth.

A big heartfelt thank you goes out to my Secret Pal 8 for arranging this package. I know that life has been challenging of late, and I appreciate you remembering me!

Day 2

Still alive...


Phal Taisuco Carol x Phal Taisuco Peace
Definitely an orchid.

So long...

...but not good-bye. Who would have thunk that a job - especially a temporary one - would reward you with two three (sorry Zoboo) new really good friends?



You guys were so much fun to pass the time with. From funny Fridays to adorable art to zany Zoboomafoo, I had such a great time. You all keep in touch, ya here?

It's done!

The shadow knitting sweater is done!


And the Dublin Bay sock from yesterday, frogged. The back of the ankle was way too baggy, and Sam showed me her beautiful Dublin Bay sock with ribbing up the back of the leg, and I was just too disgusted to fix the dang thing. I hate it when everyone knows about a problem and a great solution, except me.

Tonight I need to cast on for a new project. It will have to be a quick one, though, as I signed up for two new knitswaps:

The sockret pal is like a secret pal exchange, except you have to knit a pair of socks for your pal. I absolutely love the socks from my Sockapaloooza swap, and therefore thought I would enjoy another sock swap. If you want to sign up, hurry along to the website (click the button). They are only taking 100 swappers to keep the list manageable, and I was #50!


The second swap I signed up for is the International Scarf Exchange 3. This is their third time around, but the first time I have joined. I have a lot of scarves on my want-to-knit list from the Scarf Style book, and this sounds like a great motivator to finally get this started!

Picture heavy post

...because life continues to happen even when you forget to blog.

Last week zoomed by because the guys spent most of their time doing this:


My favorite picture:


I've been trying to capture a Saturday sky, but let's face it, most summer evenings are really beautiful in the PNW:

During the summer, we can usually see 2 or 3 sight seeing balloons float directly over our house, which is very near a wine district. I think we enjoy the view as much as the tourists do.

Tomorrow is my last day at work. I spent most of last week interviewing, and this week cleaning out my desk. The team I have been working with for the past year is really a great team, and I will miss the comraderie. But I have a lot of faith in the new company as well. The team had a little farewell party for me today, as many of them are off tomorrow. They gave me this flower. I think it is an orchid.

I think the team is trying to have the last laugh, as they know I can't keep any plants alive. We will call this Day 1, and we'll keep track through the blog of how long it takes me to kill this one.

And for those blog readers who have actually been in my house (about 90% of you), yes, there is something new.

Since this is my blog, I am going to shout out "I TOLD YOU SO" to my DH who hardly ever reads the blog and kept insisting that a larger table would fit. NOT. I just knew in my mind's eye that a small round pedastal table that could fit 5-6 chairs would be the perfect table for us.

And since you think this is a knitting blog, I leave you with a picture of a SIP. This is Ryan's Dublin Bay (pdf) sock, which I started right after she posted it, maybe a year ago?

edited to add: the copyright says 2004. Make that two years ago.

And finally, the shadow knitting sweater still needs one sleeve and side seamed:

Bountiful Harvest

6 yellow beans. Divided by 3. They were happy :-)

Bean mustache.

Spinning adventures

Barb was kind enough to lend me use of her Schacht Matchless Single Treadle spinning wheel for a few days this week so I could see if it wanted to have a new home with me. The Schacht styling is very unique and aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Look at the way the frame arches around the wheel - just beautiful!

I spun up a bit of corriedale pencil roving from CMF that I had picked up at Madrona this winter.

The color is called Pueblo.
I only had loan of the wheel for a few days, so I spun 1 oz of fiber on each of two bobbins, and then plyed them together. Bagel was not in the mood for a photo shoot,
so I tried with the newest additions to the family They seemed much more interested.
And one final view:
The skein is corkscrewing on itself, so I think that I was a bit zealous when I plyed. I'll see if it relaxes some in a warm water bath (who wouldn't!) It doesn't really matter, as this was an experiment in trying out a new wheel. I have a lot more of the roving to make a kid a sweater (maybe The Ungrateful will like it?)

Life Path

I took a whole bunch of photos last night to share with you the new spinning project that I have been working on. I left the camera at home. So instead, I will share a little about me with you. I came across this Life Path generator on Marguerite's blog. You put in your birthdate and it generates a life path. This is mine:

Your Life Path Number is 6

Your purpose in life is to help others You are very compassionate, and you offer comfort to those around you. It pains you to see other people hurting, and you do all in your power to help them. You take on responsibility, and don't mind personal sacrifice. You are the ultimate giver. In love, you offer warmth and protection to your partner. You often give too much of yourself, and you rarely put your own needs first. Emotions tend to rule your decisions too much, especially when it comes to love. And while taking care of people is great, make sure to give them room to grow on their own.

What Is Your Life Path Number?

I think this is an interesting analysis, and I would say that it was true about 10 years ago. Today, not so much. It's amazing how much today's society takes advantage of givers. One thing DH has taught me over the years is to stand up for myself and my rights. It is still a difficult task, but one that I am having to take on in many aspects of my life at the moment. It's also why I have been spinning a lot, to ease the stress. So maybe you will get some spinning photos tomorrow.

Hiding

There was something hidden in my mailbox, probably all weekend.



These are glass circular knitting needles made by the very talented folks over at Glasspens, Sheila and Michael Ernst. Sheila is a very talented knitter, and listened closely to our feedback about what kind of needle tips and cable joins we wanted. I am so excited to have these needles, now I need to cast on for a project that needs a size 5 needle! Maybe some lace...

Now that the DFBB is done,



I've been wanting to start on the Placket Neck Sweater that everyone is knitting for babes. I borrowed the book from the library and made a working copy of the pattern, and now I can't remember which book it is. One Skein? Knitted Gifts? (and it seemed like everyone was knitting this sweater, but now that I am looking for it, I can't find any links!) Anyway, my youngest, for whom I want to knit the Mystery sweater, doesn't want it. He doesn't want a black sweater with really cute red baseball guy head buttons. I just don't get it.

So instead of casting on for The Ungrateful, I picked up another UFO:

For some reason, all of the kids want this one. One sleeve down, one to go.

Knitting with handspun

My good friend Barb just finished knitting her version of the Port Orford in handspun. Yep, yarn she spun HERSELF. You gotta see it to believe it.

Happy Birthday, Baby

Q: What kind of cake can you make with 1 3/4 cup flour?

A: A jelly roll.

It's a luck that the kid liked it! Otherwise, I would have had these scarey guys after me: