Happy Spring

After being away from work for a week, it takes me a long time to get caught up on e-mails and what has happened.  Someone on my team turned in her notice just before my trip.  When I returned I didn't have a lot of time to make sure her transition went as it should.  I've learned not to fret about that kind of stuff.  Things always manage to work out in the end. 

I didn't get much knitting done.  Here is the blanket I am making for my personal trainer.  The color is bright in the photo below.  It isn't that shocking in real life.  His wedding is about 7 weeks away.  I need to get into crunch mode for this.   I need to get one repeat of the pattern done each week if I'm going to make it.  I know I have plenty of yarn.  I might even have enough to make a throw pillow to match.  Time will dictate if that happens.  I'm anxious to get this done because he and his fiance just purchased a house.

I finished spinning the pink/purple roving.  I wound it off into a ball with the intention of pulling from both the center and the outside to make 2-ply.  Unfortunately, when I pulled it off the ball winder, I lost the center thread.  If I try pulling it out I'll end up with a pile of yarn barf.  Plan B is to chain ply, making it 3-ply.  I'll think about it before I decide.

I started spinning the Blue Faced Leicester roving.  It is a dream to spin with.  The white and the black are blending nicely.  There is a lot to spin so I'll have a long time to decide what to make with it.  Right now I am thinking about this.

It looks like it is going to be a beautiful spring day today.  There robins are out in the front yard hunting for worms.  A long walk in the sunshine is in order.

Happy Spring!

Honey, I'm home!

Sorry to have been away awhile.  Things have been hectic the past few weeks.  I have had a fair amount of traveling and a home project that has disrupted my routines.  

We've taken Trisha on a couple college visits.  One weekend we took her to Ohio University (Ed's Alma Mater) and then University of Cincinnati the following week.  She loved OU but wasn't as thrilled with UC.  She has a couple more places on her list.  Ed plans to take her on those this spring.

A couple weeks ago Ed decided it was time to rip out the carpeting from the dining room and put down hardwood.  It was a noisy project.  The air compressor was bad enough, but Ed's occasional swearing added to the festivities.  This is the third room that he has redone.  It did not go as smoothly as the first two because the walls are not straight.  I have the job now of dusting the furniture and replacing all the nick-nacks.  It may be time to declutter a bit.  

One thing I learned from this project is that people will buy anything.  I was floored when Ed told me he was posting the carpet on Craig's List.  I told him that no one would buy that nasty carpet.  In less than 24 hours I was proven wrong.  A couple renting a town home bought it to put in the basement.  They even took the padding.  I'm happy it found a new home instead of going to the landfill, but I am still amazed.

When emptying the room in preparation for the flooring project, I found the remains of some roving I bought when I first got my drop spindle.  I quickly spun it up on my wheel.  It has been sitting for over a week now.  This weekend I will wind it into a ball and then make 2-ply out of it.  

This past week I had been in Denver for a conference.  Both flights were direct, about 3 hours each.  My plans were to finish the Taize shawl I started over 3 years ago.  My grand plan was to finish it on the way out and then use it at the conference since convention centers are usually quite chilly.  That didn't happen.  I got a fair amount done on the flight out, but not enough to finish.  Plan B was to work on it each night in my hotel room.  That didn't happen either.  I traveled with three men from work and each evening involved dinner plans for the group.  By the time I got back to my hotel room, I was too tired to pull out the project.  I just read a book instead until I fell asleep. I did manage about 8 rows while at the airport waiting for our return flight.  Once on the plane, though, I couldn't knit because there wasn't enough light in the cabin.

The pattern is an easy to remember 8 row repeat.  It creates a waffle texture.  The picture above is a good representation of the color.  It is now about 5 feet long with approximately 50 repeats of the pattern finished.  The pattern calls for 60 repeats.  I'll assess how much yarn I have left when I get to that point and how anxious I am to finish this project.  If I have enough yarn and patience, I may add a few more repeats to use  up the yarn.

Speaking of the flight home, it was very bumpy.  While in Denver, a front moved through.  On Monday it was 70 deg F.  Monday night rain moved in, which quickly changed to snow.  It was blizzard like while we walked back to our hotels from the pub where we went for dinner and to watch the NCAA basketball championship game.  Walking to the convention center on Tuesday morning was an adventure.  The sidewalks were covered with ice and snow.  By Wednesday morning the sidewalks were clear, but Denver tied a record low that morning of 7 degrees.  I remembered to pack gloves and a scarf, but one of the guys I was with only had his sport coat.  The storm system that hit Denver moved east and it was what made our flight home an adventure.  I've been on bumpier flights, but it is always disconcerting to me to be tossed around at 30,000 feet.

I'm taking the day off work today since the conference was Sunday through Thursday.  Also, one of the men that had been with me is the CIO of the company. As we retrieved our luggage from baggage claim he said "See you all Monday!"  If my boss says anything to me about not showing up on Friday, I'll just tell him I was following the chief's orders.

Coming home after a long trip is always nice.  I walked into a quiet, dark house at 1:00 am.  After dumping my luggage in the laundry room, I went up and gave the kids and Ed hugs and kisses.  It was the best feeling in the world.

The front that moved across the country has done a number on my daffodils.  They are definitely not as pretty this year as they have been in the past.  Poor things are hanging their heads in the cold.

I still think they are a pretty sight.  They are the promise at the start of spring.

As The World Spins

My life has been spinning lately.

Back in February (I think) I bought 4 ounces of wool roving from a LYS.  It was a mix of red, black and white.  I spun it up into 2 skeins.  Each skein is about 65 yards.  It is about 7 wpi.  I haven't swatched it yet.

It turned out lovelier than I expected.  The roving was coarse, but the final yarn is fairly soft.  It will work for a hat or mitts.  It might be a little too coarse for a cowl.  The shop was marketing the roving as Ohio State colors.  It has too much black in it for OSU.  If I am to make something collegiate with it, it will probably be for someone who attended/attends University of Cincinnati. 

 Below is 24 ounces of Blue-Faced Leicester roving I purchased from Webs.  It is from Ashland Bay and is a mix of natural and brown wool.  It is very soft.

It was a bit of an impulse buy.  When I saw the pattern Buttonbox in the latest edition of Knitty, I knew I wanted to make it.  Since it is a pattern for homespun, I thought I'd give it a try.  I'm probably being too ambitious.  I am still a novice spinner.  

While I'm showing roving, here is some black alpaca I bought last year.  I have 12 ounces of it.  I started spinning this on one of my drop spindles.  I don't know if I'll continue on the spindle or not.  I might transition this over to the wheel.

Now I have to pack up all of these goodies and clear out my dining room.  Ed is going to tear up the carpeting and install hardwood.  I'm hoping I can fit a walk outside into the day.  Today is forecasted to be nice but another winter storm is predicted for tomorrow.

Handy Dandy Project Bag

Kristin was home last weekend for midterm break.  It was her first time back this semester.  Her experience at her new university is totally different than her first semester at the other school.  She is involved in a lot of activities, isn't stressing as much about her classes and, like a typical college kid, doesn't call home much.  It was nice to have her home.  She sent me a of meals to cook for her.  I fulfilled her request except for one dish.  I substituted something I had been wanting to try.  I had this pasta dish at a local restaurant and wanted to try to recreate it.  If I say so myself, it was a huge hit.  It made a lot, so I think I'll cut the recipe in half next time.

Sunday afternoon we took a family drive and took her back to school.  With an hour of sitting in the car, I figured I'd work on my current prayer shawl.   I think I added about 8 inches to it during the ride.

Before leaving I grabbed this bag to stow the yarn in the car.  It turned out to be quite a handy project bag.  The bag is from a pair of shoes I recently bought.  Puma is using these bags instead of shoe boxes.  I think it was a great idea.  The only problem I see is that if all the shoe companies do that, school kids will have trouble finding boxes for their dioramas.

I started working on a blanket for my personal trainer.  He is getting married in June.  This should be a quick knit on US 11 needles.  It is my watching TV project.  It will quickly become too large to transport anywhere.

I knit up a little of my homespun.  It works out to about 4 1/2 stitches per inch on US 7 needles.  I have about 320 yards.  Not sure what I'm going to make out of it yet.  I wish I had more because I would make this vest from the latest Knitty.  In the photo below, I knit the bottom section on US 7s and the top on US 8s.  I like the density of the bottom.  The top is just a bit too loose for me.

Here's my latest spinning.  It is a ball of red/black/white roving I got from a LYS.  I think there is about 8 ounces.  It is coarser than the wool I spun first.  I am see that it is less prone to breaking while I spin it, but it is harder to draft.  I hope it softens up after it is plied and takes a swim with some baby shampoo.

The weathermen are saying it is going to reach 50 deg F today.  Time to sign off now and take a long walk outside and get some Vitamin D.  My doctor tells me that I am deficient, so I better follow her orders.