fuzzywool

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2011-11-22T08:34:00.001-06:00

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2011-11-20T11:48:00.003-06:00

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Watch This Space

2010-01-08T09:06:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was Fern's birthday and I am now the proud owner of a nine year old girl. She sure is getting grown up! Her favorite present was a pair of fuzzy green pajamas.
She managed to spell her way into the yearly spelling bee again...I know she'll do even better this year. You know what sounds good? Leftover birthday cake for breakfast...

Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T09:01:00.002-06:00

I've been thinking on and off about deleting this blog cause I never seem to have the time or inclination to "post". But something about it being not only a new year, but a new DECADE, makes me feel hopeful. One of my mother's favorite sayings has always been, As long as there's life, there's hope. And I find I'm still alive! Yahoo! All our bad times started in March of 2005, about 5 days after I started this blog, so me being the stupidstitious type, I naturally assumed it was jinxed! But since everything that was "circling the bowl" finally got flushed (not that I'm saying my life was a big ole steaming pile o' crap, but...!), I feel I have been through the worst of it now. I know a lot of people love to blog their pain for all the world to see, but that ain't me...
It's really thanks to all my friends that I haven't lost my mind! And please no comments from anyone that knows me...)

Knittin' Fun in February

2009-02-07T17:36:00.003-06:00

Well, I have been out and about so much I almost don't have time to knit! Horrors! I am just going to consider this a new beginning - and From Now On I do not give a damn (well, more or less) what anyone thinks about me, so I will post whatever the hell I feel like talking about, so I don't feel like time is passing me by with nothing to show for it. At least it will speed up my typing. I have had it up to my ass with that sorry excuse for a husband, and trying to hide it for years - I'm done!
We split up mid-November, but I didn't want to mention it and ruin everyone's Christmas holidays, but now I am letting the cat out of the bag, and let the chips fall where they may. (And if I think of any more cliches to add, I'll let you know!) I don't think there's anything more stressful than trying to act happy when you're miserable.
Fern was in the 2nd grade spelling bee on Jan. 31, it was fun, and she ranked in the top ten even if she didn't win. All the kids were getting kind of glassy-eyed after 2 hours. She misspelled "traffic", she spelled it t-r-a-f-i-c. Then she was upset and mad at herself, but she got over it. I took (and passed) the test for the Census job (with a perfect score, if you must know), now if they will just call me for an interview, I may be able to get some work. I am just trying to get used to the idea of going back to work after being at home with a buttload of kids for so long! I have told nearly everyone that I am getting a divorce, and so help me, if I can get $99.00 together, I'll do it! I have been hanging out a LOT at Ravelry, whenever I have a minute, so probably I could get more done if I stop checking for messages from the forums. But it's so fun!
At knitting we are currently working on friendship squares for an afghan for Jeanne's 90th birthday, and we need to hurry up, because we are having a party for her on the 13th of March. Her real birthday is the 20th, but her whole family is coming to Texas and she said they were not the type to come to a knitting party, whatever that means. (I think she is referring to the fact that they are from Connecticut, which means they are inherently snooty.)
Also we are working on legwarmers for a friend (Carol) to give to all the girls who go to school with her daughter. She had given her daughter some for Christmas, and all the other girls said they wished they had somebody to knit for them. Awwwww....so when we heard, of course we volunteered to help. One lady (Dot) is a machine knitter, so she is making the "tubes" on the machine, and the rest of us are knitting the ribbings on by hand. Just like making a few sock tops...
As for my personal private knitting, I am working on the Must Have Cardigan, in Patons Classic Merino Wool, natural mix color. (Made popular by the yarn harlot) It is addictive if you like cabling, which I do, I just so happen not to have done any in awhile.
Fern is back now, from going to see Coraline with her father. Him, taking his child out to a movie? Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles...
Whoops, gotta go, I do some of my best knitting watching Frasier on Lifetime.
bye for now!

Does everything really need a title?

2008-08-11T12:44:00.006-05:00

Well, I am a real Ravelympian! My chosen event is "WIPs Wrestling", and I had plenty to choose from, believe me. I decided to concentrate my efforts on Rosedale. I started this back when it first came out, but...somewhere up around the yoke decreases, I realized it was going to be a little too large and I lost my za-za-zu about it. It languished in a project bag in the back of the closet, until one day, somebody at knitting was talking about how they had fulled a jacket in the washer to shrink it "a bit". Eureka! I think this is just the impetus my lazy bottom needed! I wasn't interested in finishing cause, you know, I didn't think I'd want to wear it, but now...! I am whipping through those decreases. I am also going to seam up Fern's Party Girl, my friend Nell made a few of these as gifts for her grandchildren, and they are super-cute!
Here's what I did so far today - some baking

(banana bread)

(blueberry muffins)

and Fern is needle felting!

Le Plonge!

2008-07-09T17:11:00.004-05:00

J'adore la langue francais! Well, I will try to make a stab at a proper post, the one I did yesterday didn't show up right, so I deleted it. And yes, I am aware that I hardly ever even bother with posting at all, but I happen to feel like it, so I am sitting at the computer, with mon verre du vin, et la musique de Francis Cabrel. (I am entirely unsure if he is French ou Canadien, but it is a c.d. from mon ami Genevieve, so I am giving it a listen. He's fine, but he's no Bernard Tapie!)
I think he is singing something about God having a blond beard, but my French lessons having lapsed, I wouldn't bet money on it. Aaaaanyway...this is the first time in a long time (trop long) that I have been all by myself tout seule at home. Rob took Fern out to rollerskate in the park, and Gemma and Courtney are at WORK! Color me happy! (also une petite drunky! whee!) I am having the fine time, bien sur!
Lessee...how bout some pitchers? I mean, pic-tures...
When Genevieve's grand-daughter Maya was here visiting from Florida, we took a trip out to the country to see our friend Dori, who raises the cutest angora goaties...

Aren't they cute?

Here's me with a little baby girl goat...

Here is Fern, Maya, and Genevieve and kid mohair on the hoof!

Then we went to a blueberry picking farm, and Genevieve's husband Bob got into the act...
They are cute, n'est pas?
Well, that's enough for now, I return you to your regularly scheduled life. Besides, I need a refill!
bye for now

Yay!

2007-10-18T21:41:00.001-05:00

I finally got on Ravelry! Now, my only problem is, I can't seem to get off Ravelry. It's so great, it's just crack for knitters, I swear! You can list a project you want to do, and see the 4,983 other people who also either want to/have made/or are making it, and the yarns! THE YARNS! I can just sit and browse Noro patterns to my hearts content! *bliss*
That's really the best thing that happened to me all week, although nothing really bad happened, but it was just ...meh...
But tomorrow, thank god indeed, is Friday! I will be sitting and knitting at Barnes and Noble, sucking down caffe and cocoa, and maybe even finding a new magazine or two...I hear the Holiday Vogue issue is a goodie! And we will be having lunch in honor of Genevieve's birthday! Zut alors a vous, mon amie!

Do Not Adjust Your Television...This Is Only A Test!

2007-10-10T09:23:00.000-05:00

Just trying to update everything, Lord knows it needs it badly! You know, sometimes you just can't really tell what's going on, I don't mean tell as in "don't know", I mean tell as in "say", and you need to take a breath, and just say it...my husband is officially a jackass. Anyway, enough about that. I'm going to start over...so here goes.
Well, last night was Texas Against Crime night, the apartments put on one heck of a party, and I won not one, not two, but three candles! Not just any candles, but super smelly candles...raffle prizes, you know! Fern won one of the prizes for the poster contest, a Toys-R-Us gift card, so guess where I get to go after school. (grimace)
On the bright side, it's also library day!

Happy Valentines Day...one year later!

2007-02-14T09:48:00.000-06:00

Whoa, that's really bad blogging, even for me! I think all my bad luck started right after I started this blog, like, ten days after, so I unconsciously associate it with bad news. Poor little ignored blog! I will no longer hold you responsible for bad karma, I promise. Right now, I'd just like to wish everybody a Happy Valentine's Day, which shall be to all people, not just couples. My husband is still in Flagstaff, and I have moved back to Big T with the girls, and even though it's cold here too, it's great to be back in Texas! I am getting to go to the infamous Wildflower Fiber Retreat on March 16-18, and this year, the focus is silk. There will be blending and spinning of silk, silk fusion paper, and the fabulous Michael "wormspit" guy will give a talk on home-rearing of silkworms. *bliss*
I am really looking forward to it, and I am enjoying being where I can see my son, Max, and daughter-in-law, Deidra, and my one-and-only grandbaby, Abby! Also all my friends at knitting, at the weaving store, Rosepath, and my dad, oh, who else, just everybody! Must take pictures...
bye for now!

We are experiencing technical difficulties...we appreciate your understanding!

2006-06-14T13:34:00.001-05:00

Well, I had my little spring break trip to Texas, it was great seeing everyone. As soon as I got back, though, all hell breaks loose. My son Max was sick while we were visiting with what he thought were allergies, but it was actually a sinus infection that needed antibiotics to cure. So I unknowingly contracted this horrible flu-like cold, and had to stay in bed about a week after I got back. Just as I thought I was getting better, the cold went IN MY EYE!!! I had a large poofy red ping-pong eyeball that took two trips to the Eye Dr. and two months of antibiotic eye-goop to cure. Thankfully, I am feeling pretty much my old self again. I guess sometimes you need things like that to make you appreciate the little things in life (like being able to see!) Then my computer caught a virus too, and we have had nothing but trouble with it since. It's very hit or miss, I never know from one day to the next if it's gonna work when I turn it on in the morning. So to those who e-mail and don't hear back from me right away, that's why! Also, for reasons unclear to me, the box with all the computer cd's is in Texas, so I am unable to use my digital camera, my Palm pilot, and other assorted and necessary goodies...so no pictures unless I feel like trying to work Gemma's...
Well, the girls are done with school for this year, Gemma did great as usual. She made the "Who's Who Among High School Students". Yay! She pretty much hates the school she was at though, so she is trying to find out about graduating early, or attending a "charter" school, whatever that means, or maybe doing Foreign Exchange. Courtney is looking at going to an Art Academy they have here, and also she excelled in Drama this year, with her portrayal of Princess Popplepea! Yay for her too!
As for me, I have made it my mission to finish every single unfinished project I have going. (A bold statement, I know!) This is even incuding sewing, cross-stitch pictures, quilts, and etc., not just the knitting ones. There's nothing like having to pack up all your stuff to make you realize you have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF! So anything in progress that I don't finish this year, I am downsizing right out of my house. I might even conduct a New Year's Eve burning ceremony. (But don't hold me to it. I talk big now cause it's only June. I might be feeling differently later on.)
Anyway, here is something fun to do: my movie.

My Wanderin' Foot Is Itchin' Up A Storm

2006-03-16T10:55:00.000-06:00

Well, as usual I'm a little spotty with posting - however, suffice it to say, we are still here. The girls are getting spring break starting Friday, March 17, yes that would be St. Paddy's Day! We are leaving the minute they get out of school, and I promise not to drink any green beer while I'm driving. We can't wait to get there and see all our family and friends (and yarn!) that we left behind almost three months ago. We are starting to get the hang of this whole desert/mountain living thing. However, I will admit to being TOTALLY unprepared for the amount of snow we got last weekend. Four feet! Yikes! (I will do pics later cause Photobucket seems to be having a problem.) It's been five days and it still hasn't melted, and we are supposed to get some more Sat./Sun.
Also, I did not even realize that I have been blogging (*snort*) for one entire year! Yes, the infamous fuzzywool all started on March 5, 2005! Huzzah!

Lately, I have been e-baying my little heart out - I managed to snag some books on Navajo weaving I had been trying to find. Working With the Wool and Designing With the Wool by Noel Bennet and Tiana Bighorse. I have become completely obsessed with Navajo weaving as a technique, and as a style. They are truly beautiful and different from any other style of weaving. The equipment is so simple, just poles and string, really, and had to be easily broken down and transported, so the results they managed to achieve are even more astounding. I have been drawing up plans for a small loom for the hubby to make for me. Aren't I thoughtful? To provide him with a project not of his own design or use, which will require whatever spare time he can find after he gets home at 9:30 at night! Ah, the joys of having a fiber-obsessed mate! They WILL take up all your time and money, but if you're lucky, you'll get a nice pair of socks! Oh, that lucky man!

Happy Valiumtimes Day!

2006-02-14T09:49:00.000-06:00

Well, that's a good description for the amount of stress it seems to cause anyway! I'm not sure what all the hype is about - I have always bought the most valentines and candy for my kids, who are the true loves of my life! I mean, I feel like, it's cute for teeny-boppers in high school to be all "sweetheart-y", but my husband is nice to me everyday. He has always brought home flowers, even if they are just "dollar roses" (it's a Tyler thing) from the gas station, or will bring home a candy bar just because I love chocolate. One time he brought home my favorite tea! (A friend of mine was there, and I still worry this is what caused her to go out and look for a boyfriend, and then divorce her husband. Yeah, he was pretty much a jerk, anyway.) Just the other day, I overheard Gemma on the phone to one of her friends, say,"Oh goody! Valentines Day! That means candy from Mom!" However, if you happen to be a "singleton", without even any Liddle Kiddles around, you can always go out and whoop it up with your other single gal pals. (You know that's what all us old married ladies think - our single friends are going at it "Sex In The City" style! Woo hoo!)
Well, I feel like we are all well now from the Mouse Doo Flu* or whatever it was we all had. I did manage to get my Moebius cast on, which was a little weird, but it works! It is zoomin' along, still because it's all curled up, it's a little hard to judge what size it's gonna be.

I have done about 20 more rows, as they are looooong rows. See, you are knitting the inside and the outside at the same time, so you just knit around and around and you get stockinette on top and reverse stockinette on the bottom. It's so cool. Ooooooo, I feel a mania coming on! I am already reading ahead to all the felted basket patterns, even Fern wants a moebius bag! Yay for the Knitter Olympics! Yay for Cat Bordhi!

*aka Hanta Virus in these parts. This is what everybody catches here. I am not worried about "Bird Flu" anymore, I can tell you that! Not enough people, not enough birds!

Happy one month anniversary to us!

2006-02-01T14:14:00.001-06:00

No, I'm not a newlywed! (I don't think I can even remember that far back!) The anniversary of which I speak is our one-month anniversary of living here. O frabjous day! Dang, this calls for a big ole jumbo Diet D.P.! Oh what the heck, make it a regular!
Here is some online fun, which is the only kind I seem to have nowadays!

Make a word cloud!
I finished my "shadow socks" that I was knitting while moving (and that ain't easy, lemme tell ya!) I really love this Six Sox Group

The latest pattern is a beaded lace sock, created by Laura Andersson. I am sure you have seen her patterns all over the internet and select magazines - so why not join up over at Yahoo and you can get the patterns too!
And a big shout-out to all my knitting buds, thanks for all the e-mails! I miss you guys! Whoops! I meant Y'all, y'all!

Howdy do, caribou!

2006-01-31T10:00:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it to Phoenix and back in one piece, although I did not have the stamina to make it to the Fiber Factory. Where did we go? With 14 and 15 year old girls? The mall, of course! When we first hit the north side of town, we drove around the same five blocks over and over, trying to find the hotel my husband is at, while talking to him on the phone at the same time, so of course it was impossible. The conversation went something like this:
"Are you on 28th?"
"Yes!"
"Go down to 25th, and take a left."
"By the mall?"
"No, go the other way!"
"Under the overpass? Take a left?"
"It only goes LEFT!"
"But then I'll be on the highway again! Listen, I'm at the light, and you can go right, left, and forward!"
"Where are you?"
"At 25th!!"
"Oh, I thought you were coming the OTHER direction. I'm on 31st."
"Arrrgghhh!"
So completely aggravating. But we were so happy to be warm, we didn't care! It was in the upper 60's, the palm trees were swaying, flowers were blooming, everywhere we looked were orange trees, and birds singing, and it was completely springlike. Such a change for only being 150 miles south of us. (Well, and about 6500 ft. lower elevation, too. Our ears were popping the whole way down!) Phoenix looked to be a very large city, not quite a metropolis, but it's getting there. But Rob had some sort of headache and didn't care anything about going to the mall, so he took a nap at the hotel. I took the girls shopping. Is there anything more fun than watching teen age girls try on jeans and complain the whole time about the size of their rear ends? They were totally worn out and wanted to go home instead of stay at the hotel. So we got back in the car, and drove 150 miles back home! Jeeze Louise! Next time, they can stay home and babysit their little sister, and Daddy and I will have some fun!
Gemma seems to have some sort of cold, she was running a fever and had a cough, so she stayed home from school on Monday. Everything is back to normal today though, or what passes for normal around here! Me and Fernie Mac are going to get out before we get cabin fever. Bye for now!

Whoopee dingbat

2006-01-26T10:04:00.000-06:00

Yes, it snowed here again. Oh well, the kids seem to enjoy it.
One of my resolutions for this year was to write more and keep up the blog, otherwise, WHAT'S THE POINT? (I actually didn't write in it last year because all my bad luck started right after I began blogging, and as I am a stupidstitious ole lady, I decided the blog had put the gris gris on me.) But it seems silly to bother writing,"Guess what? It snowed last night!"
I mean, your basic day is your basic day, right? I get up, make the coffee, wake up the kids (which ain't easy, considering how anti-morning they are, and school here starts at 7:40!), drag 'em to school, come back home, drink the coffee, and check all the blogs I like, which that takes a lot of my time right there, think about getting dressed, and then decide if I'd rather knit, spin, or weave while I watch HGTV. YAWN!!!
It's boring even to me, and I'm doing it! I can well imagine how boring it is to read about it! I mean, I love having time for the hobbies and all, but ...I need PEOPLE, people! I used to spend all morning being interrupted by the phone, talking to various and sundry family/friends (oh yes, they will all testify as to my talking abilities!), deciding who to see, and what to do, and where to go to lunch! Which was easy, cause there is lots of stuff close by when you live in Big T. Here, however...I guess I will have to make an effort to get out and find some friends, as they don't appear to be beating down my door. So far, everyone I've met seems really quiet, and kind of subdued personality-wise, compared to the loud and rowdy kind of people I am used to. I mean, the women I know in Texas make the men here seem downright prissy! Well, on my end of town, anyway. The other end is Northern Arizona University, just a lot of twenty-something college kids, and they seem to pride themselves on looking as much like birkenstock-wearing, organic-eating, backpack-carrying hippies as is humanly possible. They hang out in the cafes, and play folky-sounding guitar music in the afternoons. So, most everyone here is from somewhere else, unless they are an Indian. (That's what they call themselves, not "Native Americans".) And they all seem to be from Michigan, which seems kind of strange to me, cause that's even farther away than Texas is. However the climate is probably more familiar to them than it is to me. (SNOW?!? In January?!? What the...?!?)
Yes, I really miss my knitting buds! If you've never had that kind of group to hang with, you won't know what I'm talking about, but those of you who do, know full well that knitting becomes your social outlet as well as a creative one. When you are doing your own thing all by yourself, you really miss being inspired by and learning from what everyone else is doing. For instance, I got an e-mail from a friend to let me know that one of our members (Hi Dot!) is doing the Warm-Up America (squares? rectangles) charity thing, something I had heard of, but I just never got around to doing. Now, the gauntlet's been thrown down, and mark my words, everyone will try to outdo each other to see who can contibute the most/fastest/prettiest/biggest bunch of squares, and you can just bet a yarn shopping expedition and potluck luncheon will be involved. Oh yes, the food is very important for any group gathering when you're in Texas! And there's no jealous guarding of recipes, either. They're yours for the asking. In fact, ladies in Texas are insulted if you DON'T ask for the recipe for Great Aunt Fanny's Frito Pie. I find Northerners to be the opposite, but that may just be because they're not used to anyone asking for their nasty lil ole recipes! (This may not be technically correct, to call Flagstaff "north", but it sure FEELS like north!) Everybody always knows who's known for what dish, and you don't bring someone else's recipe to pot luck. Patterns are also freely and gladly shared among friends, cause nobody would knowingly copy another's bag/hat/sweater, etc., exactly.
But, inspiration IS the sincerest form of flattery! That's what I say.

Deep in the Heart of....ARIZONA?!?!?

2006-01-24T11:55:00.000-06:00

Actually, I'm up at the top of Arizona. Well, due to the fact that 2005 was the year from Satan's ass (I read that on somebody's blog and would like to give full credit, but the name escapes me!), I gave up even trying to blog. We had so many problems...suffice it to say, I am just happy to be here! We made it to Flagstaff, Arizona, and are trying to get settled in. It's okay, but it sure ain't home! It's mountain-y cold goodness as far as the eye can see! To all my friends and family back in Big T, I just hope you appreciate how good you've got it!
For Lord's sake would somebody send me some pecans, I can't even make a decent pie to go with my coffee! (They run about 13.99/lb here, and I ain't about to pay for something I used to pick up out of the yard! Hmph!)
I am still spinnin' and knittin'...currently, i am joining in the Knitter Olympics! I just finished my Standing In The Shadow of Love socks, which I would show you a picture if I could find my stupid camera, which I think is back in Texas somewhere next to my box of spinning wheel parts that was supposed to be on the truck here, but somehow ended up in storage! RATS! Oh, nevermind...
Anyway, I am planning on doing the thrummed moebius as my Olympic event! I got my Cat Bordhi book yesterday at Unravel, which is now my LYS! (I'm sure it's just me, but I really can't figure out where to park. I took my chances yesterday, and just ran in 'n' out so I wouldn't get towed away!)
Workwise, my husband likes it here pretty well, and is busy making new friends. He's working in Phoenix this week, which is the BIG town in AZ. I may get to go visit on the weekend, and if I do, here's where I'm goin'! It looks too good to pass up!
Schoolwise, the girls like it okay, but right now are too busy grieving the loss of their old friends to make any new ones. (Exception: they will talk to cute boys, if they happen to come across any.) As for me, I would gladly take up with any knitters here if I could find some! I am hoping to join (or start, if I have to) a knitting group like my hometown Tyler knitters. They are just the neatest bunch of gals ever, and I miss them all!

I'm baaa-aaaack!

2005-08-13T15:55:00.000-05:00

Not that I've been anywhere, but I've been somewhere, if you catch my drift! Like hanging around the Dairy Queen, sippin' Moo-lattes, in this August-in-Texas 100 degree heat. Bleah. Having lots of indoor fun, though, what with knitting, spinning, and still thinkin' about dyeing some fabric. I just need to get a round TUIT. Actually, no I don't, it's more fun to think about it than to actually do it, in this weather. Anyhoo, here's what I HAVE been doing lately: taking yarn inventory, and putting it on my palm.

Yikes! I seem to have a lot of yarn, books, patterns, mags, needles, etc., cause I am still at it after about a month!
Also, I have been hanging out with my dad a lot. (Can you say,"Let's go to lunch!"?)

We took a trip to Big D to get some Raclette cheese. Yum!

We went to the Whole Foods Market on Preston, also we went to Half-Price books on Northwest Hwy and Central, where I got the following:

I've been making a knock-off of this cute purse:

Here's a bad picture!

I'll show it again when I'm done.
Is anybody looking for a good gift for their husband?!?

We have been going to the Farmer's Market for the veggies, and straying over to the Flea Market. Now is a great time to go, because all the vendors are trying to get their stuff cleared out by the end of this month, for the FAIR! whee! I am going to enter some stuff this year, I really am!
Last Friday, at knitting, most everybody was gone to knitting camp, and Karen was one of the few (like me and Jeanne and Barbara) who did not go. She brought her granddaughter Bethany, who showed us a really cute t-shirt she got. It is covered very thickly with embroidery, which I would characterize as the "colcha" style, a typical mexican-indian craft. I may try my hand at some embroidery now...
Bethany! Look out!!

There's a spinning day on the 20th at Able Oaks Farm in Rusk, and I just can't decide if I want to go. It will be so hot, and a long drive for me, and I WANT to want to go, but somehow...this time of year. Did I mention it's hot here?

My garden is really petering out, but I will keep on with the tomatoes until the bitter end!
Well, I think that about wraps it up for now, school starts in ONE week, (sound of angels singing) and I will have a little piece of quiet!
Well when you get tired of reading blogs, what could be more fun than a little quiz?

You are Mohair.
You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.

What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Go on, you know you want to!

Spinning at Sally's

2005-06-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

I really, really, REALLY have been doing a lot of good fibery stuff, I am just not so good at the blogging thing. Blog-reading, I can do. Blog-writing, ehhhhh....
We went over to Longview on Saturday for a spinning day (complete with buffet) and a trip to Stitches 'N' Stuff. Midge, our intrepid leader, did the driving, so I got to knit! Here are my completed Trekking socks:

I haven't decided whether to weave in those pesky ends, or just make a tassel and call 'em turkish!
Anyhoo, we had a lot of fun! Here's the evidence:

Here's Judy Pritchett showing her quilt, this is her own hand-dyed cotton fabric. She says it's done by stuffing a fat quarter in a jar with dye and leaving it for 24 hours. This gives it the uneven, crinkly look of batik. Very pretty! I would really like to try this.

Our fabulous host, Sally Larue, Donna i'm-sorry-i-don't-remember-your-last-name, and Genevieve Giugovaz.
Now, in my own defense, (who said, the man who represents himself has a fool for a client?) the only reason I can't remember Donna's last name, is cause we have So Many Donnas!! Donna Hawke, Donna Coates, And Donna Sheik-Hussein spring to mind, all fabulous, talented, and creative. Is it something about the name Donna?

Stephanie is on the Babe, Karen at the red-painted Ashford traditional, and Donna has a Kromski.

Ouijan on her Lendrum, with Liz in her "uptown girl" look!

Michelle has a cool new Kromski, Judy's beside her, then there's Pixie! (the lady in the blue, I don't know her name, but she was busy handcarding!)

And here's me! I got Steph to quit Navajo-plying long enough to take a pic for me. I don't think she was happy about it, cause I am actually much more beautiful than this picture would lead you to believe! HA!

Sally is also a tatting and lace expert. Here she is straightening out Midge's tatting for her. Midge found out she was doing it backward, but she said that's okay, she always does everything backward! You wouldn't know it to see her work, though, everything she does looks like an heirloom to me!
By afternoon, I was in a pie induced coma. (I swear I ate my weight in Key Lime Pie!)
Every one of these ladies is also an excellent cook.

Scooter came by today, and Courtney says she will beat me to death with this here Blues Clues if I take her picture! Just for that, I will do it! (Ugh, 14 year-olds! Ya gotta love 'em!)
I did get the Charlotte all fixed up, thanks to my good buddy, Michelle, but I don't have any pics yet. I am working on the teddy bear gansey, the inkle loom, and the table loom all at the same time, so I don't have a lot of spare time! Of course, it's all self-inflicted! And I deserve it.I am going to try and get over to Rose Path and get another weaving lesson soon.

This episode of fuzzywool brought to you by Gemma! Please ignore messy computer desk!
I am going to do some dyeing soon if at all possible.

The Post Office called...your Sea Monkies Died!

2005-06-01T08:43:00.000-05:00

Oh well.
Yes I am absolutely the world's worst blogger! That is a heckuva long time to go all "no post" on you. And especially since I had so many exciting things happen that I could have blogged.
Oh well.
In knitting news...
Did you ever finish a project and feel sort of sad and wistful that it was all over? Something that was a constant companion in your life for months just up and left?? Like your touchstone had disappeared?!? Like you lost your best friend?!?!
Nah, me neither.
I finished my Charlotte's Web, finally. The colors are absolutely gor-jay-us! However, there was a nasty blocking incident, and I will post a pic as soon as I fix the hole. (The lesson learned is this: in lace making, you should always change yarns at the end of a row, never in the middle of a yarn over. *well duh* Nuff said?)
I am at the toe end of a sock for me, made of the loverly Trekking number 100, a beautiful rainbow that stripes, but with a subtle blended look. I love them! And I have started the little gansey pattern from Beth Brown-Reinsel's book, it is really fun and actually easier than I thought, so far.
Also, we had the grand opening of a fabulous new store, Rose Path Weaving! She does have some nice yarns, but the main purpose of the store is lessons in weaving, knitting, crocheting, etc. I have already been, and got a big ole bag of a very nice fleece, a Corriedale X, and have been wearing my arm out, drumcarding. This was CLEAN, washed, ready-to-go wool, packed in a cute cotton bag, with a picture of the sheepie (named Jessie BTW), 2 pounds for the low low price of $12.00 American. I am going to go back and get some more probably. I got some lease sticks for my table loom, a belt shuttle, and three cones of pearl cotton (3/2, I believe), and some dowels that you clamp to the table and wind your warp on. And a Jim Hockett spindle, made of bloodwood, just because it was pretty. I need to make a little sock-spindling back-pack a la Twisted Sisters. The best part is how super friendly the ladies there are, they have munchies put out and everything. In fact I think I will go over there today to get a lesson!
In personal news, we have had all the wonderful end-of-year school festitivities! Now they are all home and fighting like cats in a bag. No, actually, the kids get along great. It's me that needs some space. Gemma has changed her hair color twice, in three days, no less. Courtney is trying to break a world's record for longest video watching without a break. Fern yells,"Mama?!?" every three seconds, afraid I might get to go pee without her.
We just had a fabulous barbecue for Memorial Day weekend, but we had to have it in the garage. It started raining that Saturday, and it hasn't quit yet. As soon as we have a hot sunny day, though, I am going to do some dyeing. Fern is big enough to get a kick out of dyeing with Kool-Aid in canning jars, and this is fun to do in the sun.
That's all for now. Hopefully, in the future, I will blog a little more, and better. That's mo' better, as we like to say around these parts!

i'm nauseous, i'm nauseous, i'm nauseous.........i'm better.

2005-04-28T08:39:00.000-05:00

My poor baby! She got sick on Saturday and is still recuperating. It started with a high fever and puking every hour on the hour...still reading? Now it is mostly a snotty nose and cough-y chest. Oh and she says her ear "is asleep" this morning. I think that means it's stopped up. So anyway...that's the reason why I have not posted with any regularity. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I have no earthly idea how people can manage to actually do this every day. I'm beginning to suspect Wendy actually has a team of knitters in the closet she employs to get her amazing amount of knitting done, and Morey Amsterdam hiding under the bed blogging every day for her. I mean, she actually has a Real Job. Of course, she has no kids, either, just Lucy (the cat), who honestly looks pretty self-sufficient. Speaking of Wendy, have you seen her Dagmar? Well, here's my Dagmar, complete with Pink Chibi!

Still and all, I've been knitting on my Charlotte

for A While Now. I am still four or so rows away from being done. I decided the problems I was having with dropping stitches were due to the fact that I kept putting it down mid-row, cause those last rows are So Blasted Long! I started a sock out of some gorgeous Trekking, and wound up frogging the whole thing, because for the first time in...oh...EVER...72 stitches on a size 1 are Too Big. Hanh?!? What gives? So I am starting over, I have decided to use less stitches and size 0's and see what happens then. It actually may be the yarn though, cause this particular Trekking seems even thinner than sock weight. Extremely thread-y.
Aaaah, Good News! Fern has announced her ear is Awake! Yay!
In Other News...
I have been RAOK'ed! Sweet Romy of purlknit sent me a really cute postcard, with what my husband has dubbed "The Pig Shepherdess". (I tried and tried to take a pic, but it is really hard to get a good picture of something with such a shiny surface. So forget it.)
bye for now,
Angie

GeezLouise, I wish I could think of a title...

2005-04-21T23:48:00.000-05:00

Or even think period. So help me, if I ever call ANYONE'S blog lame ever again, I hope God strikes me dead with a fully-loaded-runaway-Greyhound-Charter-bus, that's on fire yet! But I don't wanna be one of those bloggers who never manage to post without kvetching the whole time about how sad and sorry their life is, so...
Yep, I guess that's it for now! I'm having a case of the Mean Reds, if you know what I mean.
In the Knitting Knews...
I put down the Charlotte for a little break. I was zoomin' along, rather complacently (uh-oh), when all of a sudden, I became one of the few...the proud...the Stitch Droppers! And on a Charlotte, well, let's just say that involves lots of loud invectives, like,"OH BIDDELY CHEESE!" and hurling it across the room with one hand, while shaking my fist at the ceiling with the other. Lots of crying, ("Oh MAN! I don't BELIEVE it!") begging, ("PLEASE just get back on the needles!") and threatening the darn thing ("I'll just RIP YOU OUT and start ALL OVER!!!") while gingerly picking at the inscrutable lace pattern, to no avail. Then came the "Let's kiss and make up" routine, whereby I carefully tinked several rows, and seeing these are my LAST blankety-blank rows, they are around 300 stitches or so, and so an entire week passed before I was finally back where I was LAST Friday. So Charlotte is resting comfortably in her little plastic Woolie Ewe drawstring sac, and I started a sock instead, out of Trekking, one of my all-time favorite sock yarns. Color number 100, and boy is it ever pretty! All rainbow-y, and I love me some rainbow yarn!! All stockinette, and no-it-is-NOT-boring, it is a Relief! Cheers me right up.
Somehow, this week I also managed to wash a butt-load of wool. And I mean some stinky-nasty-reeky-greasy-fleecy stuff that takes at least three detergent washes and five rinses to get clean. Why would I do this, you ask? Good question, and I do have a good answer: fleas. SHRIEK! I found a flea on my ankle, and I suspect it came out of a fleece, since we have no pets, and no carpet, due to allergies.
This was after I found the rat in the birdhouse. SHUDDER! I'm not even going there.
Today I spent all day hoeing and weeding, in anticipation of going plant shopping tomorrow, and then I broke my toe! At least it feels like I broke it, and its all purple and bruised on the end. I rammed my foot into a baby high chair on my way running into the bathroom to check the water level in Fern's bath which I had told Courtney to do. Which it turns out, she did. ("See Mom, if you just trusted me, this would have never happened.") Well, at least my husband is good for a laugh. He says to me, he says,"You are such a nimrod." So I says to him, I says,"And what are you?" (great comeback, huh?) and he says to me, after peering up under his eyebrows for a second, "Uhhhh...a dorfus?" At which I burst out laughing, because he has obviously created a new hybrid of "dork" and "doofus", which truthfully, does sound a lot like him.
Well, tomorrow is my knitting day, and I'm gonna go early and try to get a good seat. After the article about us in the paper, we had NINE new women show up, and there are already too many of us to all go at once. (More than twenty-five came one time!) We used to have about six or eight of us die-hards, and that is a good number, you can really get a chance to talk to everybody, and see their show and tell objects, and discuss new patterns, and the like. Any more than that, and it devolves rapidly into a big group of women from all over East Texas gettin' together in one place for a "giggle and gossip". Not that I don't just LOVE to drink coffee and talk (a LOT), but I don't get a lot of knittin' done that way.
I will try to have a few pics next time, and hopefully not an entire week from now!
bye for now,
Angie

It's nice to have a circle of friends!

2005-04-13T23:20:00.000-05:00

This is a "circle of sox" from the Wildflower Fiber Retreat in March. We had sooo much fun; spinning, knitting, felting, abusing our digestive systems...

These are BIG stitch markers from the lovely Cindy at http://sauvageblue.blogspot.com
The neat thing about RAOK's is they truly come as a surprise!

Hey look, we're (in)famous!

2005-04-06T11:09:00.000-05:00

We got a write-up in the local rag! One of our ladies, Mary Claire, writes the gardening column, so she talked them into sending a reporter over to, um, report on us.
The photographer took a lot of pictures, but they only used a few. This only shows one small end of our group, a lot of people are missing, plus they got Sally's last name wrong! But all-in-all, it was nice of them to notice us!
Here is the link.(Hopefully, this works. I haven't tested it yet, so please forgive me if it doesn't work right.)
http://www.tylerpaper.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14278772&BRD=1994&PAG=461&dept_id=226369&rfi=8

In other news, as you can see by the ring button on the side, I am a proud new member of RAOK, the "random acts of kindness" group. This is a SUPER active group, and I don't know if I can keep up, but I'll give it my best shot. (Usually my acts of kindness are planned well in advance, ha ha!) I have to download something or other, you know me, computer-ese always sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, WAH-Wah, wah wah WAH, WAHwahwah!

I am almost to the end of my sweet sweet Charlotte! I may have to do another one, it's a fun knit, once you get the pattern down. I have started a Koigu virus at my knitting group too, you know that stuff is contagious! Not only that, I found Yarn Harlots book, At Knit's End, on the shelf and brought it over to read. We were all fixin' to bust a gut laughin', I recommend it most highly! If she gets within ear-shot of Big D, we would definitely be field trippin'!
You guys wanna see something funny? Go to http://www.knittingcurmudgeon.com/archives/2005_03_01_archive.html and if you don't get it, you might need to check this out http://wendyknits.net/archives/2005_03.html
and scroll down to March 24. A real Hatfields-and-McCoys feud, why I don't know, but it's sure fun to watch!
bye for now,
Angie

Wildflower Fiber Retreat Pictures

2005-03-29T08:25:00.000-06:00

What a wonderful time we had! I really thought this whole thing would be easier to do, but I just keep finding out more and more I have to learn. I'm talking about blogging, of course, not just spinning and knitting! Ha!
I'm beginning to wonder if it's worth bothering with. Blogging, I mean. Who's going to bother reading what I have to say, especially since I'm totally a-political (I generally just agree with whoever's in the room, to keep the peace), I have no cats to take cute pictures of (my daughter is allergic), and I'm not even gay! *sigh* (well, come to think of it, I haven't tried that yet, who knows...) Anyway...
My husband and kids have been home a lot, what with spring break, Easter, etc., etc., ad nauseum. That is what really makes it hard for me to get to the computer. I do have one on dial-up in the bedroom, but it runs on Win98, so sloooooooooow, and it's old, not really worth upgrading. I wish I could get my hands on a laptop, but so far, it ain't happenin'! Now, today, I am going to post some retreat pictures, and try to sign up for the RAOK ring, which I was invited to by my friend Steph, who I had read before online, and then met In Real Life at the retreat! Fun! We were total "wool pigs"! Yessir, yessir, three bags full, and all that.
bye for now!

2005-03-12T11:19:00.000-06:00

Karen is another multi-talented friend who not only knits, spins, weaves, dyes, etc, etc, etc, she is always bringing us some home-baked goodies! Yum!

2005-03-12T11:16:00.000-06:00

Karen and Faith look like they are up to something! What'd I miss?!?

2005-03-12T11:14:00.000-06:00

Here is my buddy Liz, who has a secret! (The magazine she's holding is a hint!) hmmmm....

2005-03-12T11:11:00.000-06:00

Here is Dot, a new gal and F.O.D. (friend of Dagmar!), Maridean, another newcomer to our group, and I see Marilyn in the back, laughing with Jeanne!

2005-03-12T11:08:00.000-06:00

Jeanne (in the corner wearing purple) is our oldest member, and proud of it. Sitting next to her is Barbara, and Dagmar is in the forefront. She has a fancy schmancy pattern holder that opens to store all her necessary "knit-knacks" such as stitch markers, row counter, line magnifier, etc. She does very fine work, and I mean the gauge and the quality!

2005-03-12T11:04:00.000-06:00

Dori is our mohair connection. She raises a large herd of Angora goaties, and can always be found making something hairy!

2005-03-12T11:01:00.000-06:00

Midge looks on as Faith crochets a "granny"!

2005-03-12T10:59:00.000-06:00

Joanne is working on a fancy sock, and Gloria is making something hot pink and fuzzy!

2005-03-12T10:57:00.000-06:00

Sorry this one is blurry! Olivia is our littlest knitter. Isn't she cute? She's making a cellphone holder for her dad. Marilyn is in the pink, and Genevieve is our new Canadian transplant, and we practice our terrible French on her!

2005-03-12T10:55:00.000-06:00

Here is the gang!

Lord Help Me!

2005-03-12T10:46:00.000-06:00

This is SOOOOOOOOOOO much harder than it looks! I have messed around all last night and today (wasting valuable knitting time, I might add!) (WORSE! valuable shopping time-I could be at the yarn store!) trying to edit my links, add some pictures complete with captions, and it just keeps coming out wrong! So I have decided just to get 'em on here, and dispense with the cute running commentary. I can write posts, and I can publish pics, but for the life of me, I can not get them to coexist peacefully! So I am putting up the pictures of all my friendly knit buds from Friday a.m. at the Barnes and Noble (Knit) Cafe!
I would like say HI! to Sally, Mary Claire, Dympsey, and my good friend Michelle! Sorry you didn't make it to the picture party! Hope to see you soon.

2005-03-10T19:26:00.000-06:00

Fern Louise (I did it!)

Not throwing in the towel!

2005-03-08T13:10:00.000-06:00

Even if I have no idea what the heck I'm doin'! I really want to figure out how to add pictures and stuff, and I can NOT find one single place on Blogger's help pages to tell me how! Grrr...
Anyhoo, I will tell a little bore *whoops* I mean more about myself!
I am a married woman, with (god help me it's true) five children! The oldest two are my boys, Max and Adam (a.k.a. Scooter), both out of the house, then I have two teen daughters at home, Gemma and Courtney (feeling sorry for me yet?) then to cap it all we have a four year old baby girl, Fern Louise. Yes, I know those are grandma names but they absolutely fit her personality. Her grandpa calls her "the warhorse". She gets rather a lot of her own way. My husband works for the phone company, I am what is called a "Bell widow". He works a lot and may be called on to travel at a moments notice, so I have learned to entertain myself.
My favorite hobbies are knitting and spinning. I am just starting to learn to weave, but it ain't goin' so hot. I may have to break down and take actual lessons.
I really like to read the popular (and some not so popular) knitblogs. I would like to put a list of some of my faves in the sidebar, but so far... okay, so being a computer geek is NOT one of my hobbies. My daughter Courtney is pretty good at html though so maybe she will take pity on me and help refurbish this poor pitiful pictureless blog! *sob*
bye for now,
Angie

Hello world, here I am!

2005-03-05T13:04:00.000-06:00

Since everybody and their dog (or cat, as the case may be) has a knittin' blog these days, why not me? *gulp* here goes nothin'-

First, a little backgound about me -
I may be new to blogging, but not to knittin' and spinnin'! I taught myself to knit (not the easiest way to learn, by the way) in 1995, when my husband's job took us to Dallas. I was hanging around all day, surfing the net, which was a brand new deal to me. But lo and behold, there were oodles and gobs of knitters, just itchin' to convert the uninitiated! For the first two years, I was purling wrong and of course I didn't know it. I found some "real" yarn stores, and pretty soon I was all straightened out. Of course, living in Texas does not require a large knit wardrobe, quite the opposite in fact. Well, sometime in the fall of 1999, I discovered a group called ... Socknitters! Yay! Something knitted I could actually use!

Well, we wound up back in our home town of Tyler, TX. I accidentally started a knitting group, by knitting in public (or KIPing, as it's sometimes called.) Me and a friend were in the local Barnes and Noble cafe, enjoying our socks and coffee, when a friend who works there spied us and came over to say, "But I thought knitting was done on TWO needles?!?" Well she dragged the manager over to see, and before I knew it, I had been talked into giving a sock-knitting class, once a week for a month. (At Barnes & Noble?! I can hear you now. But yes, our town is small and our bookstore is cool.) I dubbed it the F.E.E.T. group (First Ever East Texas Socknitters). Lo and behold, people came! And when our four weeks were up, everybody said,
"Let's keep going!" So we did- we meet every Friday morning from 10:00 to 12:00. It's been three years now, and I counted 17 people squeezed in around the table last Friday!
So I decided to finally dip my toe in the water and see if I like blogging. Everyone makes it seem so fun, but I'm beginning to suspect there may be a little work involved.
As soon as I can figure out how (re: get someone to show me!) I will post pictures, links, and other assorted goodies!
bye for now,
Angie