it's getting there...

A bunch of stuff has happened since last time.

Our area suffered a HUGE fire. Almost 45,000 acres. It was pretty scary. Lots of homes lost- lots of perspective gained though. More on that later.

Health issues- but surgery this week should leave Mark right as rain. Some perspective was gained there as well...

On a more topical note I've been cleaning and decluttering a lot. A LOT. Which started before all the fire stuff and the health stuff. I'm so inspired by simple living and minimalism. Since I've started getting rid of stuff and letting go my stress and anxiety has been greatly improved. Evacuation due to fire- I'm cool with that. House burnt down? (it didn't...) I'm cool with that too. Because I have everything I need. My family is so much stronger now that June has happened. "June" was just one major event. But a cleansing one. And I'm grateful for the lessons learned and that we are all safe and sound.

This simplicity started several years ago. Slowly weeding out the unnecessary... but still bringing in tons more than we needed. I replaced several toxic cleaning products. I got rid of as much plastic and synthetic stuff as I could. Learning about gardening and sustainability...  It will continue to be a process. I'm ok with that. I know firsthand that cold turkey doesn't work well for me in most cases. Lately I've been upping the game though. I have a great urge to finally get where I want to go. It is not so easy with Ng and Mark in the same house. We don't have identical philosophies. Mark seems more sentimental than me. One weekend with my parents RUINS Ng. Well, maybe not ruins, but her wardrobe and toy stash increases. So frustrating.

I think my lesson in this is to focus on myself though. I've started a cleaning schedule based on the FlyLady system and it is really working for me. I've noticed that Ng doesn't have to be asked to clean- or at least not begged to pick up her stuff! Mark has always chipped in a bit- so that wasn't much of an issue. My issues with him have quieted down- like the bathroom mirror, counter and the pee that guys get everywhere even when they say they don't... well, not so much of an issue since I'm cleaning it off everyday and it doesn't build up. So I'm finding a peace inside of me. I'm making peace inside of me! A lot less martyrdom- which runs in my family, I think... heh.

Honestly, I would just get rid of it all and wash my hands of this stuff, but that's not an option. So I'll keep moving along and maybe someday Mark will throw out more crap that doesn't matter and Ng will only keep what she really plays with and maybe my parents will stop trying to buy her love... maybe. Maybe we will all agree on a 'no-spend' month (or 12!) and cut out all the sugar... even ice cream, MARK.

Until then, it's been a great ride. Even if I'm the only one who knows we are on it.

moving on...

Tour de Fleece started yesterday! For those who don't know, basically you just spin fiber everyday during the Tour de France. I could honestly care less about the actual race. And the challenge of spinning everyday doesn't really matter either because I do it everyday anyway (therapy!!)

This is what I'm working on now... it is Polwarth/silk from Two if by Hand. drool...

Resting on the bobbins are two plies of Spunky Eclectic Romney (Beans) and Gotland (Robin Red Breast) to make a three ply sock yarn for Mark.

This whole yarn thing is ruining my minimalism. I can deal with the fiber and the handspun. I think it stays true to my goals, but the commercial yarn I own is out of control. Hmmm.... maybe Mark will clean out under the bed if I get rid of my yarn... one can dream. It would be a small price to pay. Lol. Maybe not.

I have some thinking to do.

Love to you all!

I finished the socks!! Hooray!

It was a pretty fun construction. I will be doing it again- totally. Except backwards- like cuffs at both ends.

So I made this long tube with the toe decreases along both ends (used magic cast on and then kitchener stitch at the other end.)

Then I blocked the heck out of the tube. I used my lace wires along the edges to get them nice and straight. Or mean and straight. But not crooked. (Ok, maybe a little. It's handspun. There is always crookedness!)

Then I marked the middle and where the heels go (two inches short of total foot length from cast on/bind off)

and I CUT.

I didn't cry. I thought I would freak out, but it was pretty easy. I took a lot of care to thread the waste yarn in correctly, so the stitches didn't come undone.

Then I used some leftover Trekking XXL for the cuffs and heels. Piece o' cake. I used a length of the handspun in the cast off to make it a little bigger so it wouldn't be so tight. It didn't really live up to expectations, but it is still a nice cuff.

And he likes them. And totally deserves them after the week he had. He's getting some bright green, blue and purple ones next. They will be my summer 'knitting-at-the-movies-in-the-dark' project. And yes, cuff to cuff...

The yarn? Well, I'm glad you asked. It was from FiberFancy on Etsy. The colorway was Garlic and Herbs. She has a similar braid called Mustard and Herbs on BFL right now. I'm sitting on my hands, but I will totally enable you to go buy it. It was really nice to work with.

Before:

After: supa thin single, n-plied for awesomeness.

Up next? I don't know. Ngaio and Mark have taken over my wheel. I haven't gone this long without spinning since I got the wheel. Maybe I will just rest up for Tour de Fleece? Hah. I don't think I can last much longer. $50 says I start something tonight.

Knitting- yeah. I have a lot going on there. We will leave it at that.

Lace and socks. What else is there, really?

Sheesh...

You'd think I would give up on this whole blogging thing. Maybe you think I HAVE given up already... NOPE!

I just forget. I forget a lot of stuff. Even the really important stuff like birthdays. And names. And due dates (both human gestation and library books. It's all fair game!)

I could make some mega post featuring all the stuff I've been doing, but that's just nuts and it makes my brain hurt. So I'll just share a few things.

It's all topical today. Nothing deep or profound. No wisdom. No secrets.

But SILK! YAY!

So I spun this yarn, like, a year ago. It is some mulberry silk something or other with noil in it. It was HARD to spin. Silk is rough on your hands and catchy enough to remind you how rough your hands were in the first place- before its deceptive strength wears down grooves in your joints and makes you bleed.

But it was a fun spin... really.

I think I ended up with almost 900 yards of the stuff, which is pretty awesome. I knew I wouldn't make a MASSIVE shawl again or anything using over 800 yards or so- so I decided that only using one of the skeins wouldn't be a total waste. I just can't do the HUGE lace stuff any more. It gets boring and those last rows with 2000 gazillion stitches make me want to cry. Or give up knitting. And I didn't want to do either.

So about half got me this little shawl. The pattern is Ysolda Teague's Damson, which is a favorite of mine. I haven't totally decided who it needs to go home with yet... but Ngaio sure looks pretty in it! She begged to keep it until I reminded her that she asked for a pink one. Stupid me, now I have to make a pink shawl.

I have another Ysolda project on the needles now. It is Barley Sugar, a brioche stitch oversized cowl which I will be using Alina Shea Creations Fairy Dust lace yarn for. I promise photos- as soon as there is anything more to take a picture of. Right now it is a weird looking provisional cast-on and some funky rows. I'm also working on a pair of socks for Mark. They are a different construction than usual- I've been taking progress pics so I can walk you through them when I finish up completely. You know, don't count your chickens... they may not work out. But so far, so good!

I've also finished spinning some more lace weight- It is still drying a bit, but I got a quick pic! Ngaio has claimed this yarn too. Notice how little pink there is- the girl shows no discretion! Once again, I've spun a TON more than I will use at once. But that's ok. The two braids belonged together and they just naturally made thin yarn, so I went with it. 4oz each of BFL/silk blend from NaturallyKnitty and Shadawyn Fiber Arts.

Pretty, huh?

Yeah, so that's it for today.

Ok. I gotta go cook dinner or something. Ugh.

bags and strings...

Another fantastic mail day!


I know retail therapy is against everything I'm trying to build for my life. And I'm aware that buying things when I'm depressed, stressed or grumpy doesn't really help anything- HOWEVER, look at all this YUMMMMM!

My awesome friend Andi posted this messenger bag in her shop a while back and I sat on my hands like a good little girl and winced everytime someone else mentioned it. Then I caved. And I don't regret it one little bit. It is the PERFECT size for all the things I need to cart around. And the blue fabric has little TARDISes all over it! (tardises? tardi?) AND it's perfectly made and just badass.

I also bought a little project bag from my friend Allena over at Starknits with gnomes and mushrooms all over it. The inside has two pockets and it is beautifully sewn. Seriously, I'm so freaking happy with it! She has some little gnome stitch markers in her shop still that I'm drooling over- and have very little resistance for. She has one other gnome bag left in her shop- it is a 'scratch and dent' one, but I can only imagine it is just as awesome!

Next up is a sparkly green fingering weight yarn from BadAmy. I've been wanting her self striping yarn for ages now and I've never gotten to her updates in time, so I was thrilled to snag this skein! It's so pretty and you really can't go wrong with green- right? It matches the gnome bag so well, I might have to cast something on right away just so I can show this stuff off!

Last, and certainly not least, is a GORGEOUS skein of DK Merino from Alina Shea Creations. I've mentioned her yarn club before, you you may already know how much I love her and her wares... but I'll say it again. This stuff is so pretty it hurts. And sooooo soft. Pictured beside the yarn is a matching silk hankie. Which I never knew I needed until this moment. It is exquisite!

I will be back shortly to share some FO's and other nonsense later. Love you all...

Making Stuff- but not with yarn!

Most of my crafting involves fiber of some sort- knitting, spinning dyeing. I'm not writing about that today (well, no promises...)

Recently we bought Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen's awesome books Making It and The Urban Homestead. We've done a few of the projects they've mentioned and everything has worked (except the Altoids. I just can't figure out candy making!)

My favorite has been making lip balm and I've pretty much rocked it. Next up will be soap! I'll let you know how that goes. I'm sure it will be comical or horrifying enough to earn it's own post.

Anywho- I have been trying to find affordable ingredients like coconut oil and essential oils etc. Slim pickings in this tiny town. I try to buy local, but I got a killer deal at Vitacost.com today so I guess I better drop some dollars at the local yarn store... hehehe. Today, Vitacost has free shipping (2/22/2012) and some really good prices on other things I need (need? really?) like castor oil and some essential oils... and a HUGE tub of coconut oil.

Ngaio talked me into making her a dress. Sigh. I used to enjoy sewing but something happened along the way that makes me want to take a sledgehammer to the damn machine. The romance is gone. But I'm forever putting my daughter's whims ahead of my sanity so she'll get a little dress. I picked the easiest pattern I could find. Like, silly easy. Like, elastic at the neck, arms and waist easy. My mini-hippie doesn't mind at all- she thinks it's all impressive and showers me with thanks and praise- so mama-hippie doesn't mind too much either!

Ok, I'm getting totally distracted so I'm leaving this for today. Maybe I'll get that dress finished and post pics tomorrow. Maybe I'll finish blocking the 500 knitting projects I've finished and show pics... maybe I'll get the dirty poopy sheep fleece cleaned up and dry for a photo shoot. Maybe I'll focus on any one thing and actually FINISH.

Or maybe not, and then you will know that all is normal around here. I have to get my drama from somewhere and the dirty sheep is about all I can handle...

Here is a coupon and link to Vitacost- because I gotta enable a little bit, right?

And a pic of some handspun- Masham and Wenseydale laceweight, 570 yards.
See, I've done something...

Fibertastic Part 1

Today was Sarah's birthday.

When you are an only child you can do this. Ngaio decided the birth dates of all her dolls and we wrote them on a calendar. Tomorrow is Tippy's but being so close to Sarah's was unintentional. See, I had already written Sarah's in ink and then Ng produced Tippy's birth certificate thingy. Lucky for Tippy- I saved her some cupcakes.

I'm trying to decide what to knit next. I have a baby gift on the needles now that I won't share- just in case... but it's a good traveling project so I put it aside. I started spinning this masham fiber that I dyed last year.

I'm feeling a little kooky, so I might ply it with this Wensleydale. I did NOT dye it but I wished I had. So pretty...

I got more stuff in the mail today. hangs head in shame, but not really...

These two braids are from Gherkin's Bucket over on Etsy. Both fibers are a Polwarth/Silk blend and they give me shivers. I totally averted disaster by telling Mark it was for the business. Shhhh.... don't tell him.

I just took a really crappy pic but I think I will insert the shop's photos instead because they are both so pretty and I want to do them justice.

Wake Me

Is It Sweet

I hope to get to these braids soon but I can tell you right now they are crazy soft and will be awesome to spin.  

We will see what Mark says about the raw Clun Forest fiber coming in tomorrow. I'm really wanting to find a source for lesser known breeds in the shop, so research research research...

I love my job.

I will leave you with a photo Ngaio took of herself. I let her take my camera all afternoon the other day. It has some interesting pics. She's an interesting girl.

The missing teeth are the best part.

Just in time...

I don't even remember when I didn't panic on the last day of the month to hurry-up-finish-the-knitting/spinning/whatever-to-turn-in-for-silly-Hogwarts-knitting-game.

It's changed my knitting. Not really for the better I'm starting to think... I say this every month. Every stinking Hogwarts term I complain about timelines and deadlines and blah blah blah. I won't change. I'll still base my knitting on classes and OWLs and I'll still bitch about it.

Moving on. Sorta.

Here is what I'm most proud of this month:

 This yarn was just washed and set tonight. It's really wet still- hence the towel. But I love it and I'm kicking ass with my n-plying. I just love stripy yarn. Which leads me to this little project-

I dyed, spun and knit these socks all relatively quickly, like, within two weeks. I love the socks. They are thick and squishy and being invested in every twist and turn makes them so much more special.

Mark brought home some metal shelves and I revamped my studio/office/mess. You can't see the stuff hidden on top, the right side and the other unit on a totally different wall, but here is pretty much all of it. It gave me panic attacks for a few days but now it's kind nice. I hope to get all the fiber yummstuff crammed into here by the end of the year. It could happen... stop laughing.

Just a little blurb for tonight. I'm really tired. If anyone has advice on dealing with an overly emotional and lonely girl please let me know so I can get some sleep. She has sobbed hysterically most of the evening over a stray dog that she thinks doesn't love her as much as she loves it.

Men love women, women love children, children love hamsters.   ~Ogden Nash


So unbelievably true. It's almost heartbreaking.