Fiberfest 2005

I went to the Lake FarmPark Fiberfest today. If I hadn't been taking a class I think I would have been disappointed at what they had. I did score some needle felting stuff that I've been wanting, but otherwise wasn't overly wowed with the selection. Maybe my rather large stash was weighing on my conscience.

The class I took rocked -- Beyond Stripes, Knitting with Variegated Yarns. I took it because it covered using more advanced techniques, not really for the yarn, but that was cool too. We had a 20 dollar material fee which was worth it since we got to use Lorna's Laces yarn. Yum, nice stuff. So some of the techniques I learned were entrelac, mitered squares, fair-isle, lattice stitch and two lace patterns. The only one that I was really glad I was at the class for was the entrelac. It just looked so wonky on my needles that I couldn't believe it would turn out ok. But overall the instructor's patterns/directions were excellent. A nice way to spend the day! I'm going to block them soon and then post picks.

Crappy Librarian Recommendation

Yesterday I had a lovely treat in that my girlfriend had little man for two hours in the morning and I got to go to the West Side SnB in the evening. I spent my morning out by hitting the library for a good fun read. Upon the librarian's recommendation I checked out Ben Elton's A Blast from the Past. The back of the book lists him as a comedian and he was recommended after I listed Christopher Moore as the style of book I was after. Ha! I obviously picked the one he wrote after recovering from a bad break-up. It ends with three deaths, one being one of the main characters. Elton has an interesting style, but this wasn't funny, witty or even enjoyable. A waste of my time lounging in the hammock.

The West Side SnB is certainly a rocking group. Maybe it's the availability of beer and coffee, but it's a very different atmosphere from the East Side bunch. I'm hoping to attend both at least a couple of times a month. I spent my time chatting with another mama and working on yet another baby hat.

This is the purse after felting. Pretty cute I think. I gave it to its intended recipient (my hairdresser) and she said she loved it. The Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride felts up very nicely. I think it is my favorite yarn. 

This is just a cute photo of the little man.

I finished two projects today. The first is a felted bag for my hairdresser. It is a larger version of my own purse. This is the pre-felting pic, it's currently blocking and then I'll post the after pic. It's very cute. I also finished a baby hat for my midwife. Her baby is due today. Well, I finished the knitting, I still have to assemble and block. Pic to come.

We just got back from hitting Tuesday Morning for some super cheap discontinued Lion's Brand yarn. I got some Cotton-ease and some micro-fleece. I'm not sure of the intended Cotton-ease outcome, but I'm hoping to make a bunting for Baby Cashew (little man's name for the baby in my belly) out of the micro-fleece.

Not Knitting Sucks

Before I started knitting I read voraciously. Ever since the knitting began I have fallen behind in my reading (well, except for knitting related books) but I haven't minded too too much because I've read a ton for years and doing something with my hands is a lot of fun. But now this dreaded CTS has got me not knitting and not web surfing and I don't have anything to read.

I re-read the Harry Potter series over the winter and am down to the last one but as it was not my favorite I'm not feeling the urge to dive in. I'll definitely get the new one when it comes out, but until the middle of July I am stuck. We have a ton of great books around here but none of them are appealing either. I even picked up Steppenwolf by Hesse one of my all time favorite books and am just going "Eh." as I read it. If someone one would like to suggest something funny (think Christopher Moore) I would love it.

I Finished a project

but forgot to take a picture. Damn. I do that about every other item, I give it away without taking a pic. Anyway, it was the cotton chenille washcloth. It turned out cute. I'm hoping it doesn't fall apart when washed or get all wormy.

My arm is still achey but seems to be doing a little better since I backed off on knitting. I did get about an inch done on the newest felted bag I'm working on last night. It's going to take a while at that rate. Hopefully I'll get in to the chiro next week and everything will be resolved. It's also cut down on my internet surfing which is probably a good thing. One thing I did find to get into was a Dharma Trading Co. co-op. I ordered a bunch of silks to dye and a tie-dye kit that a friend and I are going to do with our munchkins. Should be fun!

More Addictive Than Minesweeper

I found this game off of a Slate article. OMG -- too fun. http://www.sudoku.com/ For the logic nerd in everyone.

Slightly Obsessed

Slightly Obsessed

Now that I've calmed down I can finish my post for the day. I'm sure this will result in the munchkin waking up. It was a lovely mail delivery day -- I received some yummy Noro Kureyon for my secret pal over on MDC (I'm going to send it to her along with the Booga Bag pattern,) some note cards printed with my name for giving out whenever I knit up some stuff for sale, and a card and present from my secret pal. Munchkin man was thrilled to receive his own package that contained a toothbrush with a race-car on it. It must be pretty cool to be 2.5 years old!

Just now one of my neighbors from across the street came over to ask if I wanted some zoo tickets as her partner works there. How do you explain that you have ethical objections to zoos and feel icky every time you visit one? I've explained it to other mama friends I know (and gotten some raised eyebrows) but not to someone who is employed by a zoo itself. I just said "OK, thanks." and left it at that.

On a Blogger note, the spell-check works in the pop-up but not on the main interface. I'm guessing it's a Mozilla issue. I will have to (reluctantly) break out IE to test my hypothesis.

So my munchkin is currently taking a nap. Instead of napping along with him I drank a cup of coffee (instant hazlenut with Silk Very Vanilla soymilk). Wow. Just now (after writing the coffee sentence) I had to break up a fight on my tree-lawn. There were about 20 15-year olds there. The only thing that got them to move was threatening to bring out my dog (who would have barked like hell and strained to get to them so he could give them all kisses.) I got called a "white bitch". Nice. I can't remember what else I had to say. . .

So today I went for my first acupuncuturist appointment for general pregnancy wellness and relief of CTS. I'll know in a week or so if it's helping. In preperation for a happy wrist I hit the YARN SALE at the knitting shop 2 doors down from the acupuncturist. Very convenient! Nothing like 50% off to have me scouring for new projects.

I bought cotton chenille to make the flower washcloths in Weekend Knitting, 2 skeins of mohair to make some sort of wrap/shawl, and 5 skeins of a tweedy merino for a sweater for the new baby. :) I finished it up by buying a Thai Iced Tea at the farmer's market -- what a lovely way to spend a Saturday morning.

CTS has got me down

I had forgotten that one of the worst things for me about being pregnant is that my carpal tunnel syndrome in my right arm flares up. When I was pregnant with my son I was working as a programmer and it was horrific -- sharp pains would shoot up my neck during the night and it would randomly go numb. After undergoing a grueling armpit massage at my chiropractor (I was crying) it all went away.

So anyway, over the past week I am getting pains shooting up my forearm and into my shoulder. Not nearly as bad as last time, but bad enough to keep me away from knitting. I had even changed to Continental style a month ago to prevent any CTS isses, but it seems it doesn't matter. I am going to try accupuncture on Saturday in hopes of avoiding the dreaded lymph massage.

This is the bag I did for the MDC craft swap. The yarn is from the previously mentioned knitting mill sale. The colors remind me of easter eggs. 

Knitting Projects

For Mother's Day I bought myself a trunk from World Market to hold my yarn stash. Thanks to a Going out of Business sale by a local knitting mill it is over 3/4 full. I got about 10 lbs of un-dyed yarn for $12! A lot of it is knotty and dirty but I don't care! That takes up about half of the trunk the other half is filled with yarn for various projects. I'm sure this doesn't seem like much, but I've only been knitting for 5 months. And the sad thing is I'm compulsively stalking online yarn shops. I even go so far as to plan out yardage for projects and then add the yarn to the shopping cart. I currently have way more projects planned then I can possibly finish in the near future so I'm not sure what I'm thinking. Here's my list:

• Chris's Sweater (1/4 done)
  
• My Sweater (waiting on yarn from HPY co-op)
  
• JCC Sweater (3/4 done)
  
• Diaper Bag for Susan (needs by August)
  
• Purple Socks (have yarn, want to do the other socks first)
  
• Peace Fleece Stripey Socks (need size 4 dpns)
  
• My Vest (waiting on yarn from HPY co-op)
  
• Balaclava for Joe (for Xmas)
  
• Felted wine cozy for dad (for Father's Day)
  
• Booties/hat for Blayne (due in June)
  
• Soaker for SP (sometime soon)
  
• Gnome (whenever I feel like untangling my Cascade)
  
• Vest for Mom (by September)
• 5 more assorted baby gifts for expectant mamas

And did I mention I'm pregnant??? That's another munchkin to start making things for. I'm only 6 weeks along so I have plenty of time for that one.

So I went for my first haircut in many many months. I love the gal that cuts it but it isn't cheap. I was happily surprised when she asked if I'd like to trade this haircut for a bag like the one pictured. She also asked if I'd like to sell stuff in her shop. Pretty sweet! Now I just have to work display knitting in with my gift knitting.  

Getting Started

A beautiful picture to get this started. For some reason I feel the need to share pictures of my hobbies with the rest of the world.

I've been gardening for 6 years now. When we bought our house my husband was shocked that I wanted to garden. I had a horrible reputation for leading innocent houseplants to slaughter and he doubted that any plants would survive. For some reason outdoor plants are immune to my evil ways and thrive in my zone 6 space. Really I don't think their success has much to do with me, it should all go to the worms. More on them later. . .

Tree Peony