Real Rain At Last

It was so lovely to wake up to the sound of rain yesterday morning. (Yes, remind me it’s so lovely when we’ve had about 4 straight months of it come winter, will you?) I would have had to do a major watering job if it hadn’t. Things are so dry around here! It also seems rather dark but I don’t really mind it for a change.

The rain didn’t dampen our spirits but rather invigorated Thom & I into walking downtown to go see the movie “Guardians of the Galaxy”. Yes, we totally loved it! I thought it was a Star Wars for the 21st Century, it was that good. Great characters, a plausible story line and excellent and very believable 3D special effects, based on a rather obscure Marvel comic series. As you might know if you’ve read this blog for any length of time, I love sci-fi and fantasy. Our son owns a comic book shop. (I’m sure he was influenced by us in his childhood!) Our daughter plays in the Society for Creative Anachronism. They all game too, whether board or online. We don’t – but we get it. Most of my friends and family would rather read biographies or regular fiction or mysteries and look at me funny if I chime in with my fave reads. I don’t care. I love it when someone creates a movie that captures the feel of a good sci-fi romp. Doesn’t happen often really. Can’t wait for the next one. Of course there’ll be a sequel. They even tell you that in the movie credits! And next up I’m waiting for the last instalment of The Hobbit. Not until Christmas again though. Sigh. Seriously though, if it wasn’t for the giant 3D screen and surround sound I would love to be able to avoid movie theatres entirely. The girl next to me had stinky perfume on and the man next to Thom smelled like stale tobacco. Ugh. At least the popcorn was fresh.

OK, enough of that. Back to the crafty stuff. On Tuesday two of my buddies and I had an Ai Day and played with most of the last of my Japanese indigo. It was pretty successful though I left quite a few of the plants alone that have already started to flower for me. We got a pretty reasonable blue even though some of the leaves were pretty tough and old and some were quite young and small. I only had one item to dye so I dipped my lovely yellow sock yarn that had previously been dyed in gardenia pods. Before the dipping:

Now it looks mostly green:

But I’m thinking it needs yet another dip in something else. Perhaps the walnuts that we keep chucking into the city green bin (aka compost pick-up) after the squirrels chop them off the tree before they’re ripe and don’t always eat them. I’ll need to collect a few and soak them for awhile. This yarn hasn’t been mordanted so unless I want to do that first, I need a substantive dye like walnut. I just want to darken one section of my skein to make it a bit more interesting! I don’t want to ruin it though.

BTW, I found out the gardenia dye is Gardenia jasminoides, aka common gardenia or cape jasmine and it’s in the Rubiaceae family. They are subtropical and need heat, bright but not direct sunlight and acid soil to survive so they won’t grow here except as a fussy house plant. The portion with the dye is the dried fruit or seed pod and it’s traditionally used as a dyestuff, a food dye and a medicinal. The latter use is why it was available from the Chinese herbalist.

You can see the yellow of the fresh pod in the photo I found. Dried ones look brown. It seems to dye protein fibres best and brightest as a substantive dye. It will colour cellulose fibres with an alum mordant but it doesn’t give nearly as bright a yellow as we found out. The cotton ties in my wool skeins didn’t take any yellow at all! And the bamboo yarn was very pale but the wool and silk took the dye quite well. But then superwash wool and nylon yarn dyes very well in almost any dyestuff. The shade as you can see in the top photo is a lovely warm yellow.

I also finished spinning my 2-ply nearly-black merino wool worsted-weight yarn:

At least I thought it was merino but it might actually be Shetland now that I think of it since it wasn’t labelled. (Of course I’m going to remember, right? Right??) It’s quite nice anyway. I made quite a lot more than I really need for the sweater that I want to make but I can always knit another Bandana Cowl if there’s enough left. I have about 220 yards or so and I only need enough for the neck edge. More on this when I get to working on it.

On another subject entirely, it’s just under 3 weeks now until we go on our annual month’s vacation. I have yet to actually figure out our route but so far I do know we’re heading south this time. Hopefully we can combine desert and rocks with seashore on the way back. That’s my job today – working my Google-fu on the big computer to plan and gather information. I’m so looking forward to getting away for awhile. I love home (so much that it’s sometimes hard to get me out of it!) but I also love getting a different perspective occasionally. Anyway I’ve packed my knitting already! Too many projects for the time available but that’s just fine. Always nice to have alternatives just in case something doesn’t work as planned. I hope we can find wifi while we’re gone so I can post while we’re gone. It’s not easy or always possible but I like to think it’s becoming more and more common everywhere. I’ll be truly happy when I can get online with a fast clean and preferably free connection anywhere anytime. I know I’m not the only one with this wish.

The weather promises to be a little cooler and damper for the next while so maybe I can even get some sewing done. I have a couple of things I’d like to take with me. We’ll see. I keep thinking I need to do a bunch of garden and house tidying before I go away but so much of it just needs doing again when we get back that it’s hard to get motivated. I usually tend to go into a bit of a frenzy before we leave and I’d rather skip that if I can help it. Thom calls it my “packing mode”. I’ll try to get around to everything that really matters but I’m not going to bust a gasket! Last year was rather more seriously major because of the length of time we’d be away so we worked like crazy for the last few weeks of July. At least this year we’re only going for one month, not two. So this time I’m trying to be somewhat proactive without going nuts. Wish me luck.

More soon.

Speed Post

Oh hello! Unlike most people this time of year, it hasn’t been particularly busy in Damselfly’s Pond. I just haven’t had anything very interesting to report! I figured that I’d better say something though or you might think I’ve gone AWOL. So here in no particular order are my items du jour.

I’ve been working a little in the studio sewing my vest/tunic version of Marcy Tilton’s V8876 in taupe wool/lycra. It’s coming along quite nicely but I’m having difficulty figuring out how to hem it without it looking tacky. The original version has a huge hem band and facing but mine leaves that off. The fabric is a little too thick to turn up smoothly where the fabric is doubled at the front facings. I’ll figure it out somehow. I just have to be fresh before I tackle it again.

As always, I’m knitting socks. Two pairs are on the go this time and I’m squeaking down the feet on the Retro Ribs. As long as I can see what I’m doing they’re going much better than the top parts. Only the instep is in pattern so I can cruise in stockinette on the soles.

The second pair is just a plain pair for T. I’ve noticed that my Blackthorn carbon fibre dpns are now much less “skritchy” than they used to be. I’ve knit quite a few pairs with them and it seems to have smoothed out the surface. However using them has also blunted the nice sharp points. See for yourself:

I prefer pointy points but the more rounded ones seem to be working fine for plain knitting. I really wouldn’t have thought that they would reshape themselves so dramatically with use! Just a head’s up if you were considering these rather pricey sticks. They certainly don’t bend or break easily so they are very durable in that sense. I could sharpen them up again but I think I’ll just leave them alone for now. Unless they get too blunt.

What else? Oh yeah, I had to get a new power cord/adapter/charger thingie for my poor little netbook computer, Bluet. The old one has been flaky for at least a year as a wire was breaking right near the plug that goes into the jack. It finally kicked the proverbial bucket and I was forced to find a universal system to replace my old one. It included 13 different tips out of which I (of course!) only needed one. At least it works and now I’m back in business. And I’m hanging on to the other tips since I can pretty much guarantee that it will last longer than the elderly computer it’s plugged into.

Then yesterday we walked downtown and went to see the Hobbit movie. Excellent as expected! Smaug was particularly awesome. However I do get a little annoyed when the action veers off into crazy videogame territory. I prefer it when at least some of the natural laws like gravity, temperature and speed aren’t so blatantly ignored in favour of upping the excitement level. I do like a tad more verisimilitude even in my fantasies. On the other hand I have no problem with changes in the story line from the book. Adding a kickass elf maiden was a welcome idea. Tolkien was very remiss in the strong female character department. Go Tauriel! Now I’m just sad that I have to wait Another Whole Year for the rest of the story. Pooh.

The weather is lovely today, sunny and not very cold at all. We’ll be going for another walk. I’m desperate for a haircut! Then it’s off to find a Christmas tree for the Larger Grandbeasties. Their daddy has been ill and their mom doesn’t drive so they still don’t have one. It’ll be fun to help set it up. Apart from putting up lights we never got around to decorating here. I think it takes a few excited kids to get into the Holiday mood, doncha think?

More anon.

Hello?

Yup, we’re still here. So much for ancient predictions, huh? What I think is hilarious are all the people who actually take these things seriously! I mean really. A calendar date is just a human construct. It’s really just another day. On the other hand, in the Real World we’ve just passed the solstice and we’re on our way towards more light. Yeah I know. Only a few seconds a day at first. But it’s a positive move and I’ll take it! There’s enough doom and gloom to go with the false sparkle of this time of year. I even saw the sun for a few minutes yesterday. It was lovely! However we didn’t go to the lantern parade last evening. The walking around here is still awfully slushy and cold. Maybe next year.

I finished some knitting:

Leafy Nikolai Scarf

Begun: November 10, 2012

Completed: December 19, 2012

Yarn: Newton's Yarn Country Happy Feet, green multi, 100% superwash wool, 1800 ypp, leftovers from several projects, used approximately 325 yds.

Pattern: Nikolai by Marysia Nodzykowska, reversible scarflet, free pattern on Ravelry.

Comments: This was a replacement scarf for the Many Mosques Shawl which never worked out properly because it curled unacceptably. I liked this one a lot! It was easy to memorize and easy to knit. Even though I prefer stockinette the results are quite attractive and reversible which makes it easy to wear. Success! Now I have to get up the nerve to frog the MM shawl. Phooey.

The craziness begins! We’ll be running around to various family members’ houses in the next few days. I have a few foodstuffs to contribute so I’d better make sure I have the wherewithal to make them. Probably everyone and their great aunt will be at the shops today so I hope I don’t need much. We’re heading first to the Winter Farmer’s Market on a hunt for more red kuri squashes. T-Man and I cooked our last one yesterday for dinner. Soooo yum!

Ooh. Did I mention we went to see the Hobbit movie? Fantastic. I didn’t think the beginning was at all too slow as others have complained. I loved the detail. On the other hand, I thought the more exciting bits were too much like a video game and took me out of the reality. I kept thinking “But they’d never survive a fall like that without at least a few broken bones”! I’m such a mom. I guess if they make it more realistic everyone would complain that it was boring, right? Sheesh. In the end, I was a little disappointed that I have to wait another year for the next part of the story but at the same time I’m glad there’s more to look forward to.

Cowboys & Headaches

I have a nasty migraine today. Could it perhaps have something to do with eating popcorn for dinner (while at the movies watching Cowboys & Aliens) and finishing up at home with a glass and a half of cheap commercial wine (because we’re out of the homemade vintage until the next batch is ready)? I always think there is something different with commercial wines than the yummy stuff T-Man makes but this one is a Headache-In-A-Glass! Bleh. Need more Ibuprofen…

So pre-movie I somehow managed to get lost in my study yesterday while sorting out knitting patterns and attaching possible yarns to the next few in the queue. OK, more than a few. So many knits; so little time to knit them! There’s some gorgeous shawls and I have lots of naturally-dyed lace yarns to knit them with. There’s also a number of sweaters, socks, gloves and hats I want to make. One can never have too many of any of these wooly items – though it’s hard to remember this in the depths of summer. Assuming one has a summer to be in the depths thereof. Before I can begin anything new though I have to finish at least one of my current knitting projects.

I also was able to get T to pick out which pattern he wanted out of the three candidates and he went with the Brownstone by Jared Flood. I’ve already started teasing the fleece while listening to podcasts. It’s rather mindless work. I’d like to pick at least a couple of batts worth before I start carding.

So to distract you from the lack of photos in this post, I was wandering around the blogs and saw that Lynette (Dustbunnies Under My Loom) has been using my old self-published booklet to knit a bunch of little beaded bags. Go see how cute they are! And Judy from Australia (Fibres of Being) has a really good tutorial on weaving bead leno with helpful photos. I’ve always wanted to try this technique but didn’t quite understand the instructions. Need to experiment. Need more time in a day. Need several lifetimes.

After we got home from the movie I finally buckled down and finished winding the rest of my sample skeins for dyeing tomorrow. Then I got them scoured and in the mordant pot (5% alum acetate) to simmer – until bedtime made me turn the heat off and there they remain. I’ll probably fish them out tomorrow morning, give them a quick rinse and take them along wet to the Spectrum meeting. Saves wetting them out there anyhow. Lazy dyer. Now to figure out what to make for potluck with a huge bag of snow peas from the garden. Need sesame seeds…

BTW Cowboys & Aliens was a fun romp. I love well-done sci-fi and grew up watching cowboy TV shows. (Lone Ranger, anyone? How about Roy Rogers? Gunsmoke? Bonanza? Am I showing my age? LOL!) This one is a lovely mashup of genres and a little unpredictable which is always nice. Somewhat overly violent but you kind of expect that in a blockbuster summer movie, don’t you? If it helps, half of the blood is green! Daniel Craig wasn’t my idea of a cowboy but he’s…um…perfect.

Bronchitis 10: Damselfly 0

I had a bad night. And that’s all I’m going to say on that subject. Don’t know about you, dear readers, but I’m boring me to death with the litany of complaints!

So lets talk about something completely different, ’kay? I managed to drag walk the 3 blocks with T-Man to the movie theatre yesterday. Popcorn for dinner! Yum! We saw “Inception” with Leo DiCaprio and I have to say that it was pretty good. Unique concept but some people must have very bad dreams! (Not anything like mine at all!) Also a very long movie at about 2-1/2 hours but you are so busy trying to figure out what’s going on that you don’t notice. I tried hard not to cough at the quiet parts, which were of course few and far between! I don’t much like watching movies in the theatre. Can’t put my feet up. Can’t pause the action for more tea and a pee. Can’t babble incessantly to my seat-mate. The action is bigger and the sound is louder though which I guess is the draw for those poor souls who don’t have a 50” flat-screen, surround-sound and Blu-Ray. Ummm…kind of like us?

So. On to another review: the new Interweave KnitScene Fall 2010 issue is out. Some cute things in there to knit. If I could knit. (Shut-UP, damselfly!) I particularly like the Brit Knit Vest by Mathew Gnagy. It’s got all the close shaping in the back with only wide ribs on the front to hug the body there. That suits my figure just fine. The Brise Soleil Cardigan by Debbie O’Neill is cute too but the asymmetry isn’t quite enough for my taste. Either do or do not, but if you’re going to do it, do it big! If it’s too subtle it just looks like a mistake instead of deliberate.

I would love a pair of Connie Chang Chinchio’s Blume Gloves, given my love of all things fingered. The hat is adorable too but it wouldn’t suit me. I’d drown in it’s slouchiness! Lots of other wearable functional pieces here, nothing too out-there or too trendy. You don’t want something you’ve paid a pretty penny for the materials and slaved over for weeks or months to be passé the second it’s off the needles! Though Interweave tries to slant KnitScene for the younger crowd, I don’t really see an age-appropriateness to most of these styles. Perhaps slightly simpler construction and stitch techniques.

Interestingly, the last issue (KnitScene Winter 09/Spring 10) was totally sold out in what seemed like seconds and is now only available in digital form. I never even saw a single copy at any of my favourite haunts. I’ve spotted this current issue in large heaps at several outlets so far. Maybe Interweave got the memo to print and distribute a more reasonable number of copies?

I’d show you how my flour-paste cloth finally turned out but it was…ummmm…kind of a disaster. One of the fabric paints that I used for quite a large section of each piece washed out entirely. Boo-hoo! I think it was too old and had been diluted with water ages ago which broke it down. Anyhow, I’m very disappointed with the fact that most of my effects disappeared in the wash. I will use them for backings for the 4 pieces I did previously that actually turned out ok. Note to self: throw out old paint before it ruins your hard work!

Sorry about the lack of pictures in this post. I’m not getting out of bed to go take any. You’ll have to live with the boringness of all these words.

Windy Has Stormy Eyes

Old ‘60’s songs by long-defunct bands aside, it’s warm and raining and super-windy here today. Our electronic clocks were out due to a power outage sometime in the middle of the night and I had to reboot my crashed computer that had been only sleeping, not shut down properly. (That’ll teach me!) The ferries that cross to Vancouver Island were cancelled for a few hours, the Lions Gate Bridge and the entry to the University of British Columbia were both closed by trees down, trolley-wires down and busses rerouted around them, and lots of folks are still without power. The wind and rain are supposed to subside later but I’m glad I’m not going anywhere today. Severe weather warning in effect.

I forgot to mention that on Friday afternoon we finally went to see “Avatar” (aka Blue Ferngully or Dances With Dragons). I have to say it was much better than I’d been led to believe. The 3D didn’t give me too much of a problem except for the fact that I had to hold my head at the correct angle so I could see through the top (distance) section of my glasses with the 3D glasses perched in front. I didn’t touch them for the rest of the movie! The filming technique was incredible and the colours gorgeous. Quite over-the-top in all respects. However the story line was just as simplistic as I suspected. If only it was that easy to tell the Good from the Bad in the real world. (Though David Suzuki gives it a thumbs-up and says he wants one of those dragon-thingies for himself!) It would be nice to live so comfortably without actually having to make anything except body ornaments – and a few weapons (for self-defence). Perfect temperature, food and water available anywhere, a sentient planet that cures most of your ills, nothing to do but run around leaping and climbing. You can’t even hurt yourself falling out of a giant tree. Just watch out for the grouchy wildlife!

Of course it definitely left itself open to a sequel. Greedy miners meekly going home and leaving all that floating whatever-it-is mineral behind? That would be equivalent to stopping the horrible devastation of the Alberta tar sands! But I digress. Mark my words – those guys will be back with more fire-power. Especially if Cameron wins more awards to go with his Golden Globe last night. Personally, I would like to see that fantastic filming technique used for a really well-written story, with real 3D characters to go with the amazing 3D world. Some natural dialog would be nice too. I’d volunteer some of my favourite sci-fi/fantasy for consideration but I’m pretty sure I’d be disappointed with the results. Go ahead. Prove me wrong.

In crafty news, I’ve resorted to drying T-Man’s slippers on the rack in the dryer. They were still very damp even after 2 days. I wanted to finish them so he could wear them when he gets home today. The felt is dry so I can cut out the innersoles. I already have T’s footprint ready to trace.

I’m also knitting on Stargazer’s socks. For kids socks, I like continuing the leg in ribbing right down to the heel flap. They have skinny ankles and the ribbing holds up the socks better. It’s also stretchy so there’s some growth room. At least that’s the theory.

Change Is Life

No, nothing drastic. Just musing on this notion that was a favourite of T-Man’s grandfather. He actually became more easy-going and tolerant as he got older. When he died of a sudden brain aneurism at 80 he had driven himself to California in his little red sports car to visit his daughter. Things change and you only have just so much control over any of it. So get used to it!

I was trying to figure out how I personally deal with change. Some things don’t bother me at all but other things I would prefer if they remained the way they are. As I age, I can see differences in my own body. I’m stronger than I have been in the past decade but the greying hair and sagging skin over odd bulges are revealing my true vintage. Can’t be helped. I refuse to fall for all the “rejuvenation” make-over business. I’ll settle for trying to keep my body healthy and my brain flexible. The rest can do what it will.

One gradual change that I’ve noticed lately is that the YahooGroups that I used to spend so much time on have pretty much dried up. Most of the spinning, dyeing, crochet and, of course, knitting have gone over to Ravelry. It’s so much better there in some ways but I have to be proactive to keep up with any groups; i.e. go read them instead of them coming to me. I joined a bunch but really only check my local group with any regularity. I seem to be entertained enough without all the extraneous chat. I love love love Ravelry’s pattern search. Sigh. So many projects to tempt me.

I do try to keep up with some of the blogs though, especially the really popular ones and those of all my friends. Unfortunately it’s a losing battle because there’s just too much to read and it takes up a lot of time. I would like to actually accomplish something real occasionally. Really! How do those folks who have Facebook or Twitter or iPhones or Blackberries or whatever get anything done? Don’t we all have the same 24 hours? I need to sleep at least 9 of them too.

Speaking of Facebook and Twitter and the like, pundits have been predicting that blogging is going to go away because of the more immediate “social networking”. I’m not so sure. It’s quicker to just post a couple of sentences but it’s so superficial. No deep thoughts or insights. No complete stories. Long tutorials with accompanying photos. Of course I could just be blowing smoke. I’ve never checked those things out. I’ve already got enough to occupy me times ten! And I’m luckily “retired” with no for-pay job. How do the working folks cope with the information overload? Pick and choose only what’s important or interesting to them, I’m certain. Probably too little sleep as well.

Anyway, the upshot of these musings today is that I don’t want to become one of those older people who are always complaining about “that’s not like it used to be” or “it’s not as good as it was before”. Some things aren’t as good. Some things are better. It is what it is. Complaining isn’t going to help. Just makes you unpleasant to be with.

Moving right along. I’ve finished the socks for Milord Son-In-Law so now I only have a gazillion things on the go instead of a kabillion. I’m not concerned. At least I’m never bored.

One last thing – have you seen the Tin Man 3-part miniseries that just played on the Space Channel? It’s been out for nearly 2 years but this is the first time it’s been seen in Canada even though it was made here in BC and most of the supporting cast are local actors. It is so well done! A modern and darker take-off on the Wizard of Oz with Zooey Deschanel, Neal McDonough and Alan Cumming. I’m such a sci-fi/fantasy geek. But extremely fussy. The characters have to be well-drawn and the story has to be plausible and interesting. This one has it in spades! Wish they would make it into a regular series.

On The Case

I really thought I was making an extra large pencil case, one that would hold all my PITT pens, scissors, glue stick, pencils (not my pencil crayons – they need a separate case), small ruler, eraser, xacto knife and a paintbrush or two. Perhaps I have Too Much Stuff. I filled up my new case so that hardly another thing will fit!

Art Case


Begun: January 13, 2009
Completed: February 3, 2009

Finished Size: 11" long x 5" high

Materials:
Fabrics - cotton samples from Spectrum Study Group play times. Black: broadcloth with woodblock rubbings using Shiva paintsticks; Rose: unbleached muslin with clamp resisted iron stains on alizarin dye and some monoprinting with fabric paint; Cream: muslin with rubber stamps and woodblock prints with fabric paint; Green: broadcloth with fern leaf sunprints using fabric paint. Cotton quilt batting. Heavy non-woven fusible interfacing. Steam-a-Seam II fusible.
Threads – cotton/poly sewing thread. Variegated rayon embroidery thread: red/black/gold.
Zipper – 11" heavy-duty, black with bronze coloured metal teeth, closed end.
Velcro – 1-1/4" piece, black.

Pattern: My own. Outside: 12" square of batting and pieced top to size. 11-5/8" after free-motion quilting. Inner pocket: pieced and covered 11-5/8" x 10" piece of the fusible interfacing and wrapped to back, last seam topstitched on the fold. Free-motion quilted the pocket sandwich. Lining: covered 11-5/8" square Rose fabric with Steam-a-Seam and peeled off second paper. Layered Outside (batting side up), Lining (fusible side down) and Pocket (inside up) and stitched together through the middle where the bottom crease of the case would be. Folded so the Outside was right sides together and the Lining enclosed the Pocket with the seamline just stitched holding the two sections together. Stitched each sides of Lining/Pocket and Outside in one long 1/4" seam each side. Folded the Outside up over the Lining/Pocket and poked out corners. Stitched zipper to top opening being careful not to catch Lining. Slip-stitched lining over zipper tape on inside. Pressed with steam to flatten seams and adhere lining to batting. Stitched a small piece of Velcro to hold inside pocket closed.

Comments: I would have stitched the Velcro on earlier in the procedure but didn’t realize I needed it until I’d finished stitching. Luckily it wasn’t hard to apply. The zipper was a bit of a PITA because the pull is so big I had trouble getting around it. I was glad to be able to use some of the sample pieces that I’d made over the last few years using different dyeing and surfaced design techniques. Didn’t think they’d go together so well! I’m quite happy with how this turned out but I think the zipper needs a fancy zipper pull of some sort. Maybe later.

Meanwhile, I’ve been enjoying the fact that T-Man has gone back to a more normal work shift. Though we’ve both had a bit of trouble with our sleep patterns this week. I’m having trouble going to sleep even though it’s pretty much the same time as usual and T is wakeful in the middle of the night so that he’s tired when it’s actually time to get up. I don’t mind as long as he’s quiet and not squiggling around but if he is, I wake up also. Last night our room was filled with skunk smell too so that didn’t help. Yuck. I figure we’ll settle down when we get more used to being back to what passes for normal around here. At least we’re both getting up earlier and getting more accomplished.

I’m halfway down the foot of the Sea Monkey Socks and finding it an easy pattern. I modified it slightly by using my usual heel flap instead of Cookie’s version and plan to do the toe my usual way also. They only differ slightly from the pattern anyway. I think I’ll make another pair soon because I like how easy it is to knit and the results are pleasing.

I’ve spun some more of the silk/wool but haven’t got enough to ply yet. I want lots rather than be worried I’m going to run out. After I dye this stuff there won’t be any chance of matching it again so better to have too much. It’s a bit fiddly to spin as fine as I’m doing and needs some concentration but it’s not difficult. Though I do think that sometimes the silk spins out first and leaves the short wool for later giving a kind of blotchy blend. But so far you can’t really tell in the results. We’ll see if it shows up after dyeing however. It doesn’t really bother me much since I figure unevenness is a sign of handwork rather than machine.

The weather has been alternating sunny and cloudy for the last couple of days. There’s a bit more warmth in the afternoons than there has been and I notice that some people have been using the time to good advantage in the garden. Maybe we’ll do some work outside when T gets home today. Yesterday he dragged me off to rent a movie instead. BTW “The Secret Life of Bees” is really good. I was just about Lily’s age at the same time as the film takes place. Totally different life experiences though! Thank goodness. Don’t think I would have been able to handle her father with such understanding. Even though I’m very sensitive to bee stings (and wasp stings send me to the hospital), I would have been far more afraid of him than the bees. Bees are fascinating. But unfortunately I don’t much like honey.

Hibernating

I had a whole bunch of stuff I was going to do today but none of it is happening. T-Man is off work from now until Dec 29 so we will have a very relaxing holiday – starting today. It’s somewhere around -6 C. and slippery outside so there’s no walkies today. We’re hanging out under the covers in bed! We even had both breakfast and lunch in here. Talk about your lazy bones, eh?

So it’s not all just sittin’. There’s been some knittin’ going on as well. Here’s the pair of socks I finished and will give to Nana (T’s mom) tomorrow at our Solstice party at Milady Daughter’s. Yeah, I know I don’t give Christmas presents. It’s a Yule gift, ok? Her feet are probably cold. Mine are even with 2 pairs of socks plus felted slippers on.

Kaffe’s Pool Socks

For: Nana
Begun: December 13, 2008
Completed: December 18, 2008

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett, 50 g/210 m, 1.2 skeins = 276.0 yards (252.4m), 4453 Exotic Pool, from Nestucca Bay Yarns in Lincoln City, OR.
Needles: Clover Takumi bamboo dpns, 2mm

Pattern: Damselfly’s Plain Socks on 64 sts, 6” to heel flap, 6.25” to toe dec, dec to 24 sts, dog-ear reduction.

Comments: Pretty yarn colours designed by Kaffe Fassett. I like the way some colours dash into the next one. Has a very long repeat though – only about 3 times per sock. I have some left and will find out if she wants matching fingerless mitts.

We haven’t just been snuggled in bed. We actually went out last evening to a movie which is a rare event for us, though this time the theatre was only a few blocks away from home. We saw “Australia”, which is an excellent movie. Entertaining in all ways even if the characters and storyline were somewhat stereotypical. Like an old western only in WWII-era northern Australia. The cinematography was fabulous and the little boy perfectly cast and the most natural actor in the whole movie. We nearly froze in the theatre though. There were only a few people there so no extra body heat to share. Luckily we were dressed for the weather and just kept our coats on. I took off my hat but put my gloves back on halfway through. It’s a very long movie. At least watching hunky Hugh Jackman for 3 hours plus was worth freezing my feet for.

A Very Full Day

Yesterday T-Man and I decided to go on one of our “walks”. These are actually marathons of our own making and this one was even longer than usual. But with some relaxing breaks which made it quite fun. We walked downtown, checked the book store (no new magazines), had lunch at the restaurant with the floating sushi boats, continued on down to English Bay, sat in the shade and watched the people, touched the water (because it was there), walked back up to the downtown centre, got tickets for the new Harry Potter movie, crossed the street and sat out on the sidewalk patio and had a drink (me: English-style cider, him: cream ale), people-watched some more, then went back into the movie complex, bought popcorn, saw the movie (excellent!), and ultimately walked all the way home. Are you tired yet? I’m tired just typing it! No idea how far we actually walked because T forgot the pedometer. More than 10 k though, I’m pretty sure. Of course we could have taken the bus home but we both found a second wind, enough to get us over the bridge and up the hill anyway. By the time we got that far it wasn’t worth the bus fare to go the rest of the way. Felt pretty good to get my boots off and put my feet up in the shade on our deck while we celebrated with a glass of wine.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” was great but it was definitely the middle of the story. You needed to remember a lot of what came before and it helped to have read the book because details were either left out or shown but not explained. We both felt the editing was a bit too choppy in some places too. The feeling of the book was retained though and it had great special effects. It’s amazing how the Grimauld Place house looks exactly as I pictured it and I’m glad JK Rowling insisted on including Kreacher the house elf even though he doesn’t further the story. Yet. Ok, yes, I’m a geek. Not quite as geeky as some, but pretty bad. Remember I’ve always been a fantasy reader and would have been a huge fan of this series if it had come out when I was a child. So what if I’m somewhat older than that now? Heh!

So what else crafty have I done recently? Well, I wound all the blanket yarn into cakes:


I used to call them “balls” but “cakes” is definitely more descriptive. Unfortunately I had to finish winding the cakes indoors which was a definitely fuzz hazard, see?


That’s the area near my ball winder (cake winder?) when I was done and I had to get out the vacuum for the lint on the floor and all over the place. Now I need to start winding the warp from these. I’ll probably start that tomorrow. 11 yards and 324 ends should keep me busy for awhile. What else? I got this far on the Hepburn sleeves:


About up to my elbow maybe. It’s a fun challenge to knit, especially while increasing in the right places at the same time, but aren’t the cables and lace purty? It was definitely a good idea to work both sleeves at once or they would never have matched at all. Slow going though. I need to concentrate a lot on what I’m doing and there is much manipulation of stitches in every row. NO “resting” rows. I found out that I do “cabling without a cable needle” very differently than what has been written about in other blogs. I’ll have to do a photo tutorial on my methods in case somebody likes them better. They’re not particularly easy to manipulate but they work for me on these simple 2/2 front or back crossed cables. I helps that I have sharp points on my Addi Lace needles and I knit somewhat loosely.

I’m also well down the feet and heading for the toes on both of T’s latest pair of socks. Soon I need to go hunting in the stash for the fibres to spin for the Icelandic Shawl KAL. And I need to come up with a suitable present for my granddaughter’s third birthday. Her party is next Sunday. Never a dull moment around Damselfly’s pond, eh?

Yahoo Is Making Me Crazy

For the last couple of days YahooGroups has been sending messages up to 10 times each. I’m on a lot of groups so it’s pretty annoying to fish through the hundreds of copies for the ones I haven’t read yet. Argghhh…Hope they fix it soon! Or I’ll go on No-Mail until they sort it out. There is nothing more disconcerting than finding about 400 emails in your Inbox. Yikes.

And I’m already crazy from all the banging and crashing and hammering next door. I had to ask them to remove some boards from my flower garden where they were flattening my poppies. I was polite and the guy I asked jumped to fix the problem quickly. However, the fence (belonging to their side luckily) is broken in about 4 places now and bricks are lying on our side of the divide between the houses. See the view through my basement window?

Some of this is inevitable but I hope they don’t trample everything in an effort to remove the debris. I’m not encouraged to worry much about the gardens on the west side of our property this summer. I’ll be happy if we get away with minimal damage. Meanwhile it’s encouraging me to either work in my studio on the opposite side of the house with earphones on my head or to go out for several hours during the day. Today I plan to do both.

I’ve finished my granddaughter’s bright blue overtunic for the wedding and I have to say it turned out very cute. I’m almost finished the sunny yellow undertunic and hope to be done that today before I go out this afternoon. Tomorrow I will concentrate on cutting out my DIL’s outfit. She wants a bit of a train on the overtunic so that should be fun to figure out. Good thing these are fairly simple shapes and I have a lot of sewing experience. (Got my first sewing machine when I was 8 but I won’t tell you what goofy things I made on it! I’m sure you can imagine.) It’s a matter of making it up as I go along, drafting the pattern directly on the fabric and sewing without a model to try it on constantly as I go. They’ll be over next week for us to babysit though so I’ll have a chance to get some preliminary fitting.

I’m turning the heels on the T-Man ribby socks. I should learn not to knit while watching a very exciting movie though. I had to fix a fairly large mistake this morning. We watched Children of Men and WOW! is that ever a great movie! Very thought provoking as well as superbly acted and amazingly filmed. It’s like a documentary and the people act very much as anyone would in such a tough situation. Clive Owen’s character is very much a hero but not in the usual kick-ass sense. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend this movie. Just don’t knit while you’re watching it.

I’m heading over to my friend’s house this afternoon to meet with some of the members of our Spectrum Study Group. Several of us missed the last meeting so we’re trying to catch up on our felted jewelry. I used some acrylic medium last night to stiffen my felt leaf-shapes and I realized that there’s a learning curve here and I need to experiment more. I have about 4 different kinds of acrylic medium and the one I used is a matte varnish. It worked fine to stiffen but dulled the colours just a bit (especially the black) and left some little plasticky bits on the back where it pooled while drying. I need to make sure it gets squeezed out more carefully so there isn’t any excess medium. Maybe matte wasn’t a great choice either because it probably contributed to the dulling effect. Next time I’ll try the gloss version. The leaves will definitely hold their shape well for a necklace though.

My smaller Christmas cactus thinks it's an Easter cactus. Don't think I'm going to argue with it — it's so pretty.