Marching along

The past couple of days we have had temperature ups and downs!  I believe today will be warmer side.

Amelie
From the movie character

Hortense
A favorite painting by
Edgar Degas

Yesterday I was happy to have Kathryn back in class.  She is so sweet and chose a wonderful cabled pattern out of "A Fine Fleece" to knit.  It is on page 114.  Kathy and I put together the Ashford Traditional wheel, which we started before class and finished up after class.  It is a lovely wheel.  In the meantime, a call came in from Louet.  My second wheel is on its way.  Yes, I said second.  The first one was apparently delivered to Kathy's prior address (she has not lived there for well over a year) and mysteriously disappeared.  Crikey!  Anyway, it should arrive early next week.  I am anxious because I would like to get out and spin.

Amelie Hortense

Speaking of spinning, I scored a book I never would have paid full price for--"Intertwined," by Lexi Boeger.  Some of the yarns are strictly art, but it is a good book for inspiration.  At a third of the bookstore price, it will be a nice addition to the fiber-brary.

Aranmor is at a slow point.  There is a lot going on (and that is news?) and I have a bit of stress, which zeroed into my lower back since Tuesday.  I started the other side and will decide which side I want to use for the back and which side I want to use for the front.
09.03.11  Snow day!  Last night I had a fun spindling class.  One student is a weaver, and the other a true fiber-lover.  Her young son is learning how to do wood turning, so she is hoping to have some lovely fiber tools, soon.

Happy birthday, Mom!

Mom had a fun 95th birthday yesterday.  We called my brother in Texas, we went out to lunch, and then had a little party back at her place.  I got a big cake, those of us that made Mardi Gras masks last week wore them, and after our snack we played a rousing game of Mardi Gras Hangman.
10.03.11  As you can see, there is a new addition at my house--Amelie Hortense arrived while I was teaching yesterday afternoon.  She weighs in at a little over 7.5 pounds and is 23-inches tall.  Louie and Wendolene are pleased with their little sister.  She came with her carry-bag/backpack and is just a delightful little spinner.  A half pound of Coopworth roving came with her, also.  I have almost a full bobbin already.

Little Amelie already has a bobbin full of Coopworth

Louie and Wendolene welcome their little sister.
She is very petite.

It's melting!

That is WATER!  You can hear the water dripping,
and the birds are singing!

Twisting the turns and turning the twists

Progress..

Now that I have slain most of the knitting demons, the Aranmor is going gangbusters.  I'm past the first diamond and onto the next.  I can see in the photo in the book that there appear to be 3 1/2 or 4 diamonds up the front.  This is an enjoyable project.  I love how the Rowan Scottish Tweed is knitting up.  The natural color will show off the cable work nicely.

Jim is finally home from Ohio.  He visited his Mom, sister, niece, and her boys.  Mom turned 88 on the 28th.  She had a nice birthday and I am glad he was able to see her.  It has been quite a while since he was there.  I have not been back since a couple of months after my sister's funeral.  Jim had dinner with a couple we have known since junior high/high school.  They had a nice time.  We all keep in touch on Facebook.

...is going well!  Spunny inspects my work.

Tomorrow is the last of the wheel spinning classes.  One of my previous students will be there to make up her last class.  I am very proud of her.  She is spinning yarn for a project from A Fine Fleece, which is a really nice book.  Oh dear, here I go again!

While Jim was in Ohio, I made a couple of warm blankets.  Normally I wouldn't go for these because I love natural fiber, but Polar Fleece is so nice and cozy.  We got the scout fabric from the Wood badge breakfast auction and I just couldn't resist the gnome fabric.  The scout one is larger, I just squared off the gnome fabric.  I might make a pillow cover to take along camping.  I might need the extra warmth when I go to Okpik this coming weekend!  Okpik in Inuit for Snowy Owl.

Boy Scout blanket

Happy Gnomes

To make a simple, smaller blanket:  Polar fleece runs 60" wide.  Buy enough to make a square of fabric of the main color and a backing color.  On a large surface, trim the selvedge edges of both the backing and main color.  Now lay the backing and main color with wrong sides together.  Cut a 4" to 5" square from each corner (this determines the length of the fringe).  Now cut the fringe about 1" wide and 4" to 5" long all around the blanket.  Next tie every other fringe with overhand knots on the right side (the backing color should show up on the front), and then turn the blanket over and do the same on the wrong side.  It makes the fringe look better.  That's it!  It has been so cold here and these  blankets are lightweight and easy-care. 

Cables, classes, and spreadsheets--oh my!

Eevee contemplating whether or not to venture out

I attended another class at the Apple Store this morning.  I created a spreadsheet for my classes and one for the Aranmor.  Rob was so helpful and it was nice to tweak on something I created.  After class I walked down to Caribou and enjoyed a cuppa Joe, a muffin, and some wi-fi time.  

Today is very sunny with a bit of wind kicking up.  The temperature is bottoming out by tomorrow.  Kathy and I will brave the cold and have our Friday coffee together.  I look forward to catching up and hopefully she will have on one of the sweaters she made recently.  

It's a big old egg outside!

23.01.11  Baby, it's cold outside!  It is very cold, but with a collection of sweaters and accessories, I always stay warm!
Progress on the Aranmor is coming along, but I seem to keep making mistake on row 17-18 of chart B.  Sigh...it seems that happens every so often in a project.   Working past a particular section can be frustrating.  It is not difficult, I was probably not paying attention (over confident) because the knitting was going too smoothly.

I love the texture!

We went to the Wood Badge Breakfast at Base Camp and it was such fun to see my patrol mates again.  We picked up some Scout stuff from the silent auction and Jim even had the winning bid on a cool chair that the Scouts (from the troop that Dennis and George started) made.  I heard a familiar voice bid, which surprised me.  Jim was upping the bid and didn't expect to have the winning bid!  All the money earned from the silent and live auctions helps fund Scouters that want to attend Wood Badge.  The upcoming WB course staffers were introduced and I found out that I may be a troop guide.  It was a surprise, but by 2012, I will have enough experience under my belt.  I will be away from my comfortable spot behind the camera!

Woody Bear came along
to decorate our table

Now to the front of the classroom...I will be condensing the Explore Color class and the Twists & Turns classes into one daytime class and one nighttime class.  It will be easier for both Kathy and for me!  The classes should be larger and it is always more interesting with larger groups.  So far it has been so much fun to see the progress of the colorful projects and the lovely cable projects students have chosen.   Today is the second session of three wheel spinning sessions.  I believe the antique wheel issues should be ironed out and the Babe wheel will cooperate with the students.  Ever faithful Louie always performs well for me!

Cable love

I'm past a big hurdle--the first cable section. I had a little problem with the center the other day and had to frog a few rows because I couldn't fix it the way I usually do, so now I'm on track again. I have a counter clipped in my notebook with the charts to keep track of my total rows and the one on my circular keeps track of the chart rows. It sounds putzy, but it works for me. I did a little number page for quick reference so I can keep track easily of which row I'm on for specific charts. There are five charts--a four-row, an eight row, and three 24-row charts. The three large charts have all the action going--lots of switchbacks! They are so gorgeous, as you can see by the photo. The DK weight yarn is nice. I forgot how much I like fine yarns. Working with it plays to my love of details.

In training

Pictured are two more sweaters in my wardrobe. I've been looking at red too long! I think I need to redo the cable photo--it's wonky. The one on the right I knitted with Fox Fiber. I changed the pattern from lace just at the chest to an all-over lace pattern. I love to wear this all year round.
Now's the time to find out if all my training will pay off. Midnight tonight is the deadline to tag projects for the Ravelympics. I found my Kori swatches on page 2 of the Vest Vault. I didn't find the Lopi cardigan in WIP Wrestling. There are 500 pages of those. I may add the cotton cardigan to that list, too. It'll force me to finish. THEN I'll be ready for St. B. I'm now on the left front of the cardigan--not enjoying switching skeins, but the end result will be worth the hassle.

V is for victory!

I've made it past the large cable in the back (while fighting off the knitting demons) and now the area splits into two cables (matching the front and side cables) with the center V of decorative K sts and P sts. It's easy to see any mistakes and I take the time to check each RS row.
It turns out that the bumps on the underside of my fingers are normal wear and tear from use or overuse (my guess is knitting because it's on my right hand--thank you Dora, for teaching me to knit English style). Great, it's called Dupuytren's Contracture, which can be inherited, and most often found in middle-aged people of northern European ancestry. The condition is painless (NOT!) and can eventually restrict movement so much that the fingers can't straighten. Gee, thanks ancestors! At least I know what it is and what will try not to trash my hands too much. Could be worse, like carpal tunnel. Anyway, that's that, and I won't get bent out of shape over it. (Humpf!)