It's Electric!

How can it be Thursday already?  This week has sped by.  I thought I was going to post every day, but the best laid plans often do not come to fruition.  I have to tell you how excited I am that I have my old stove hooked up in the basement, thanks to Andrea's husband John.  This means that I can really expand the ways I dye.  It will no longer be limited to hand painting, and I am excited about the world of possibilities this is bringing my way.  It's a good thing too, because I keep buying fiber, so having more ways to dye that fiber will be very advantageous.

John also removed some light bulbs that had been stuck in light fixtures on the ceiling and replaced one of the fixtures.  It is hard to believe how happy it made me to know that I will have more light down there when I am dyeing.  It is a good thing that simple things bring me much joy.

Spring has finally arrived, I think, but I still find it hard to contemplate opening our pool.  Usually by now we will have had a few warm days to make one think that swimming might be a good idea, but that hasn't happened yet this year.  Here's what the pool will look like in a few short weeks.

Today has been rainy and extremely windy, but not as windy as it's been in other parts of the country recently.  Jessie, who is the creator of Phat Fiber Sample boxes was without electricity for several days this week, but they are still going to go ahead with the box sale this weekend.  Exciting!!!

Spring also makes me think about going to our camp on Cranberry Lake.  We usually all go on Memorial Day weekend to clean and rake and take care of all that has occurred over the winter.  This year though, I fear it may just be Conor and me, although I am hoping some family members will change their minds about coming.  Several years ago my sister started a garden of found objects outside the back door.  It's kind of cool, and a lot of the objects in the garden make me smile because they remind me of occasions or people that have played a part in the life of Camp Fi-Be-Gar.   The tricycle at the top of the picture was my brother James'.  I won't say how many years ago he would have ridden that little trike.

I finished two pairs of socks a week or so ago, and forgot to share the finished product.  These socks are made from Knitpicks Superwash Swish yarn in the Squirrel Heather colorway They are a replacement for a pair of socks I knit my brother Tim for Christmas, which were inadvertently felted.  I thought it was best to go with superwash this time. Shhh! Don't tell him.  They are going to be a Father's Day gift for him.

These sock are knit from one of my Moonlight and Laughter sock yarns and the colorway is called Island in the Sun. They are knit for a friend from New Jersey and were to be an Easter present for her.  I'd better hurry up and get them to her before the hot, humid summer arrives.

Almost time for the Real Housewives of New York City reunion show.  I missed it on Tuesday. I'm sure it will be fascinating.  Then Grey's Anatomy season finale is on. I have a feeling that they are killing off Izzy's character and that I will need a box of tissues next to me as I watch the show.

Dyeing Day

I spent the day dyeing,  and mixing dyes, and am planning to do the same tomorrow.  I believe I created some interesting colors and can't wait to see how the yarn and fiber come out.  I am very tired and must take myself to bed now.  I will share some pictures as soon as I have finished product.

I did take a break and go outside for a few minutes and sweep the leaves off the back porch.  What a beautiful day it was!  I poked under some leaves from the fall and saw some green popping up.  I am ecstatic and can't wait to get out in the garden and tell Conor what he has to do.  So I not only have the pleasure of gardening, but of ordering Conor around as well.  The thought makes me smile.

Today was the third Phat Fiber Box Sale and they sold out in something like 90 seconds.  It seems there were a lot of angry people who did not get boxes and took it out on Jessie, the woman who's brainchild it is, by sending her nasty e-mails.  I often really wonder what is wrong with people.  Nothing horrible will happen to these people if they don't receive a box.  I am hoping to get some sales from the box this month.  I didn't from the first month's box, so we'll see how this month goes.  

Must go to bed now.  I know it looks like I did two posts in one day, but the earlier post was actually finished at around 12:30 last night, so I consider that to be a Saturday post, even if it was officially posted on March 14th.

New Yarn and Fiber in My Etsy Shop

This will be a quick post.  I have to go to bed early because I am working an extra long day tomorrow.  I was supposed to work today and tomorrow, but I had to attend a funeral today, so was not able to work.  The funeral was  for my Aunt Dorothy, who was 93 and had been living in a nursing home for the last several years.  Even though it was a blessing, it is still sad.  

I came home and was going to add some yarn to my etsy shop.  My Internet connection kept failing, which was extremely frustrating, because it also means our telephone service fails.  It was also frustrating because I would get the listing almost done, and would lose all I had done.

It turns out that there is something wrong with our modem and we can't have a service call until next Wednesday.  Fortunately it is working right now and Conor can usually fix it by resetting the modem, but the technician was trying to blame the intermittent service on our cordless phone, which they said can interfere with our wireless device.  It makes no sense to me, since we have had the same phone for several months, and we have not had this issue, but who am I to argue with technical support?  Actually, I did argue a little, but it got me nowhere.  I was curious why Time Warner does not advertise the fact that one cannot have a certain strength of cordless phone without it interfering with their service.  Argh!!!

Here are pictures of the yarn and fiber I posted today.   This is a worsted weight yarn, but it does not have a name.  Any suggestions?

This yarn is called Lilacs in Bloom.  One of the skeins is reskeined and the other hasn't been reskeined yet.  One of the interesting things I have learned from dyeing is how the way a skein of yarn can change dramatically when reskeined.  There have been several times when I have dyed a skein of yarn that I really don't like when it is done, but reskeining it changes the whole look.  

I also added this hand carded batt to the shop.  I think it will spin up into some really pretty yarn.  It would also work wonderfully for a wet felted or needle felted project. I have decided not to name these batts because they are one of a kind, and will not be repeated.

I can't leave you without a cat picture.  I realize that I have posted a lot more pictures of Gerard than Seamus.  That is because Gerard is a more mischievous cat who tends to get himself in situations which beg to be photographed.  I was shocked when I came downstairs one morning to find them both sitting in the same chair, so had to take their picture.  I realized they were together because the chair was in a perfect spot to look out the front door, and it was one of the warm days we've had recently, so there was a lot of squirrel activity out there.  I think Gerard looks annoyed that I am taking Seamus' picture.  That may be because I woke Gerard up while taking the picture.

If It's March, Shouldn't It Be Warm?

There seems to be a recurring theme in my posts discussing cold and snow.  I am tired of being cold.  I don't mind the snow so much, but in order to have warmth, we must lose snow.  I think that by March 2, it should be at least a degree or two above freezing, but this morning it was 11 degrees when I drove Conor to school.  (He was late because I forgot to push the alarm button.  I did point out to Conor that maybe he should take a little responsibility for waking himself up.)  I have no new revelations on the matter.  I just wanted to share with you how tired I am of being cold.  I am hoping my mood will improve if it ever becomes warmer.  And I promise to never complain about the heat this summer.  I'll just crank down the AC or jump in the pool or go to Cranberry Lake.   Here's a picture of a sunset I might see sitting on the porch at camp, while I am cooling off.  We must have hundreds of pictures of sunsets taken by my parents and siblings over the years, but they are all a little bit unique.  

The phat fiber samples are done.  My problem is that the batts are so fluffy I don't have a box big enough to contain them.  I might be able to with some help.  I am sure Conor will be happy to help me before school tomorrow.

In a state of boredom late Saturday night I joined Facebook.  I am not quite sure why, or what I intend to do now that I am on it, but I have had several messages on my wall.  When I saw what the wall was, I must admit that I felt disappointment.  I had envisioned a brick backdrop with messages tacked on somehow.  It's nothing like that and I am sad.  I was very entertained by the thought of asking all of Conor's friends to be my friends.  However I decided against the plan, and only asked Conor to be my friend.  Now I can stalk him and find out what he is doing.

Did anyone do the quiz in yesterday's post?  I meant to write about it, but couldn't figure out how to add anything before or after it once it was posted.  I do have a serious love of books, so Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm fits, I guess.  I think I must have been an editor in a previous life, and I am very bothered by mistakes I find in print.

On the knitting front, at the Knit-In at the Potsdam Museum on Saturday, I started a pair of mittens from the book Favorite Mittens by Robin Hansen.  They are called Striped Mittens and I  have made several times in the past.  They are a lot of fun because the look of the mitten changes quite dramatically depending on what yarns are used.  I am using some of my handspun and Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in natural.  I am all done with one except for the thumb, and have finished the cuff on the second one, so it is a fast knit.   

Here are the happy knitters at our table at the Museum on Saturday.  Andrea is making her second pair of socks, and has started them over several times, but keeps on persevering and she is doing a great job.  We think it may be the wool which splits really easily that is the issue, not Andrea's knitting.  We are having spinning at her house on Wednesday, so we'll see how far she has progressed.

Definitely time for bed.  Tomorrow Conor gets the last part of his braces put on and I am not looking forward to the next few days.  The only positive thing is he really won't be able to eat, so I won't hear the question "What's for dinner?" for a few days, which will be a pleasant thing.

Sorry I've Been Absent for So Long

This is a quick post to say sorry I haven't written for a few days.  

Here is picture of my grandcat Sterling Battleship Sylvia.  Travis named her (she's Caitlin's cat) Sterling Sylvia, and a friend decided she should have a grey middle name as well, so he suggested Battleship.  Isn't she a clever cat lying in a box? I bet you've never seen a cat in a box before. She is a very energetic kitten-it's amazing she sat still long enough to snap this photo.

Samples for the phat fiber box are still a work in progress-they  have to be in by next Friday. Gerard was quite helpful while I was making the sample skeins of sock yarn.  He kept trying to steal them.  Bad cat! Now I have to get the fiber samples ready.  I think I am going to send in a few bracelets also. Here is a little hint of what may be appearing in my fiber samples.

The February Phat Fiber box arrived last Friday, and it was so much fun to open.  I spied it on my front porch when I arrived home from work.  Lots of pink and brown yarn and fiber, as the theme for February was Romance and Chocolate.    I would anticipate there being a plethora of green in the March box, in keeping with the Celtic theme.

 

There was a field trip to Burlington yesterday with Suzanne.  We left at the incredibly early hour of 7:30 (at least it was incredibly early for me).  We went to KaleidoscopeYarn, Northeast Fibers, Ben Franklin and Barnes and Noble.  I was quite good, and only bought a skein of Cascade 220 and a skein of Lambs Pride for my collection.  I love the colors in both types of yard, so each time I go to a yarn store I tend to buy a color I don't have for my stash.  OK, I also bought someMalabrigo worsted weight yarn.  It is one of my favorite yarns-so soft.  But also extremely feltable.  I made Caitlin two pairs of socks from Malabrigo yarn, and she now has socks that would make lovely Christmas tree decorations  I want to make a hat and some mittens from what I bought. I figure those articles of clothing aren't quite as likely to make their way into the washer and dryer. 

I hadn't been to Barnes and Noble in a long time and realized how much I miss visiting all those books.  When we lived in New Jersey we went to B&N at least once a week.  I think it is a good thing that I live far away-both for my wallet and my stuffed bookshelves.  Lately I have been wanting to read a Miss Marple mystery, so  I bought Murder at the Vicarage, the first book in which she is the main character.  I prefer her to Hercule Poirot as a sleuth, maybe because she sometimes knits in her books.

Wasn't it fabulous today when the temperature was above 40 degrees?...... I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of spring.  Delusional, I know, to think that it will be here anytime soon, but I can pretend.  Actually, it must be spring, we have a fly in the house.  Seamus is industriously trying to catch it, and making some strange noises in the process.  

Time for bed.  I will try to be a more regular blogger in the future, and my apologies to those who have been missing my posts.

I'll leave you with a picture of Gerard sleeping, and my feet adorned with a pair of my hand knit socks.  

Another Phat Fiber Sample Box

Do you like this colorway?  I just put it in my etsy shop.  I asked Conor for help in naming it, requesting a song title, because that is where I get most of my names for my colorways.  I told him the colors were blueberry, pumpkin and green and he suggested blueberry pie.  When asked what green and pumpkin colors had to do with blueberry pie, he said the pumpkin was the crust and it was in a green pie plate.  Instead, I decided on Blueberry Hill, since that is a song title.  I always think of Richie Cunningham singing Blueberry Hill on Happy Days when I think of that song.

I've been working to get things together to send samples in for the March Phat Fiber box.  The boxes sold out in something like two minutes this month.  It's awesome for independent dyers and fiber artists to be able to get samples of their work into the hands of people all over the world. Boxes went to Japan, Canada, Scotland, England and Norway this month.  I am truly appreciative that Jessie (the creator of Phat Fiber) invited me back in October to be a part of this group of fiber artists.  I was a contributor to last month's inaugural box and will be contributing next month too.  I took a month off to regroup and figure out exactly what samples I wanted to send in. However, I couldn't go a month without my Phat Fiber fix, so I purchased a box.  I can't wait to see what's in it.  I am hoping it will be here when I get home from work tomorrow, and I will share pictures of the fibery goodness contained within.  

Every month there is a theme.  Next month it is Celtic.  With the last name of O'Brien I had to participate.  I think I am going to send some bracelets in this month, along with some nice, fluffy batts of fiber.  I am having a wonderful time with my drum carder, creating the batts.  It's another fun way to play with color.  And thanks to the Yarn Harlot, I know that it is OK to put fiber in sideways, and it really does work better than putting the fiber in with the ends first. Who knew?

Tuesday night Trina and I went to Potsdam to Fields Coffee House to meet two other knitters for what is hoped will be a new knitting group.  We met Jody and Stacy and had a nice yarn filled time.  Jody was making her first sock, and Stacy is crocheting a baby blanket with Noah's Ark on it-very cute.  We discovered that the Coffee House has an open mic night on Tuesday, so we were treated to some music along with out knitting-quite a change from the library where we knit on Wednesday night.  Next week we thought we would try meeting at The Blackbird Cafe in Canton.  Any place with coffee and yarn and interesting people sounds good to me.

Here are a few more pictures from the parade on Saturday.  Only in the Adirondacks would there be a float with a deer head on the prow of a pirate ship, with a mountain coming out of the middle of the ship.  It was a little shady when this picture was taken, but I think you can see the concept of the float.

Look, there was fiber at the parade, in the form of some very large dredlocks.  I thought Travis' were long, but they can't compete with these.

And not only did the pirate have dreds, but so did the car that was following him.

This is a very tired puppy at the end of the parade.  She belongs to Travis and Caitlin's friend Jess.  Isn't she adorable?

Here is a rather blurry shot of the ice castle at night.  Pretty.

Time for bed.  Work again tomorrow.  I'm wearing a wool sweater-twas very cold today.  

Mr. Golden Sun

Mr. Golden Sun (Remember Raffi's song)came to visit Northern New York today. It made me so happy, despite the continuation of the stomach bug Conor gifted me with. And, of course, it was a short visit, because we now have a winter storm warning for the next 24 hours. It was nice while it lasted though.

I didn't get a chance to talk about the barter day we had at spinning. People brought things they no longer wanted to sell or trade. There were about 14 people there and I think everyone went home happy. I sold some fiber and yarn, so that made it a good day for me. I traded for some Cotswald fiber, white and black to spin. I have never spun Cotswald, so I am looking forward to it. But my biggest excitement was the purchase of a drum carder. I have been wanting one for quite some time, and was happy to hear that one of our members wanted to move one of hers on, and I was the lucky purchaser.


That is a picture of some of our group members and some of the bags of goodies. There were more hiding in the kitchen. You may notice the lack of spinning wheels. It was because there wasn't room for them with all the bartering goodies.

Judy spent the night after barter day. We also did a little bead shopping on the way home at Raw Treasures. That is always a fun activity. I was going to cook supper, but we were having such a fun time knitting and talking we decided to get pizza instead. I think Conor was happy with that decision. We must have been having a good time (I think the wine and chocolate helped with that) because we didn't go to bed until 1 a.m. Way past Judy's bedtime.


I am working on my January/February sweater here. I will be so happy when it is done and I no longer have to knit that yarn. This is the third sweater I've knit from this same yarn. It is not a color that I would normally buy, but I went through a brief period where I was trying to expand my color horizons. I think this purchase has made me realize that it really isn't necessary to expand one's horizons when it comes to yarn colors. It's OK if everything I make is green, really it is. I'm hoping that the third time knitting this yarn is a charm.


I have had a good time with the drum carder, despite not feeling very well. Dee gave me a bag of some alpaca and other fibers to practice with. I combined some brown alpaca with some glitzy, bright fiber I had bought at Rhinebeck and discovered I can make tweed yarn. Who knew? I spun up a little sample and was very pleased with the results.


I also carded some roving that I had dyed, and put in the tiniest bit of nylon for sparkle, and that is pretty fantastic too, if I do say so myself. I'm still learning, but it's so much fun to turn out fluffy, brightly colored batts, or brown, soft, tweedy batts.



Not the best picture, but it gives an idea of the fluffiness and brightness. It was fun. I can't wait to do more.

One of the reasons I wanted to start practicing making batts is that I am signed up to participate in the Phat Fiber Sampler box again in March and April and I would like to include some batts this time. March's theme is Celtic, so I've been pondering what I should do. Remember a while ago I mentioned that I am not the most detail oriented person? When I was preparing for the January Phat Fiber box I was totally unaware that the box had a theme, so the yarn, fiber and stitch markers I included did not match the theme. It makes it a little more fun to have a theme to work toward. I have loved seeing pictures people have taken of their boxes and seeing my Moonlight and Laughter tag in the photos.

The dryer just went off, which means my blankets are dry and I can go to bed. I wonder if I should wear my pajamas wrong side out to assure that it will snow and Conor will have a snow day tomorrow.

A Day tWhich Will Go Down in HIstory

I have spent today watching Barack Obama be inaugurated as our 44th President. I found it to be a very emotional experience for me, something I hadn't expected. For the first time in a long time when contemplating our future as a country I felt a sense of hope instead of fear. I realize that things are still in very bad shape, but think that if we can pull together and work together we can accomplish good things. I think that President Obama has an immense job ahead of him, but hope that Republicans and Democrats can pull together and work for the good of all, not their own political agenda.

I loved the poem that was read at the Inauguration:

Praise Song for the Day

Each day we go about our business,
walking past each other,

catching each other's eyes,
or not.
About to speak, or speaking.
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble,
thorn and din, each one of our ancestors
on our tongues.

Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in a uniform.
patching a tire.
Repairing the things in need of repair.
Someone is trying to make music somewhere
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum,
with cello, boom-box, harmonica, voice.
A woman and her son wait for the bus.
A farmer considers the changing sky.
A teacher says, "Take out your pencils.
Begin."

We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed.
Words to consider, reconsider.
We cross dirt roads and highways
that mark the will of someone
and then others who said,
"I need to see what's on the other side.
I know there's something better down the road.
We need to find a place where we are safe."
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain: That many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks,
raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce,
built, brick by brick, the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle.
Praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
the figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
Others by "First, do no harm,"
or "Take no more than you need."
What if the mightiest word
is love?
Love beyond marital, filial, national.
Love that casts a widening pool of light.
Love with no need to pre-empt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this
winter air, any thing can be made,
any sentence begun.
On the brink,
on the brim,
on the cusp,
praise song for walking forward in that light.

— Elizabeth Alexander

OK, I'm done with politics and poetry-now to spinning. I finished my January scarf, so it's onto planning next month's scarf. I'm planning to make the Starry Nite Scarf, designed by Lynne Vogel, for my February scarf, so I wanted to spin the fiber I dyed in Harrisville in August to use for the scarf. Here is the fiber, very bright, saturated colors. When I was choosing what colors to dye with, I chose colors I had not used before and blended other colors using five basic colors.


These colors were more bright than what I want for the scarf, because I am also planning to use some fiber I had spun in Harrisville that was dyed by Lynne, and I don't think these colors would blend well with what I already had spun. So I used some of the techniques I learned in class for pulling apart a roving and blending the colors. These are the singles I ended up with.


Trina was here knitting yesterday and said it was hard to believe this yarn was spun from the fiber she was looking at, so I knew I had accomplished what I was trying to do. Here is the yarn after it was plied.



I really enjoy the color blending that can be accomplished by pulling a roving apart and manipulating the colors. I hadn't done any of it since class, and was glad I remembered what to do.

Time for a cup of tea and bed. My Phat Fiber sampler box arrived today, and I am excited about opening it. It will be interesting to see what other people sent to advertise their wares.

It's Snowing

It has been snowing since last night. Conor was disappointed that school was not cancelled. He felt there could have at least been a delayed opening. No spinning for me because of the condition of the roads. I had intended to spin at home, but instead spent more time preparing the samples for the Phat Fiber box. It is all packed now and ready to go, if I can get out of my driveway in the morning, since the snow is expected to continue to fall through the night.

I have been feeling a strong urge to get down in the basement and dye some fiber and yarn. (I added the words fiber and yarn because my children have told me it sounds kind of creepy when I just say I am going to the basement to dye.) I have been dreaming of color combinations, now I need to see if I can bring those dreams to life. I have to work tomorrow, and I'm teaching a friend to knit socks on Friday, so I am scheduling dyeing for Saturday and Sunday. Stay posted to see what emerges from the dye pot.

Here's a snow picture for you.



I liked snow a lot better when I lived in New Jersey and it only came a few times a winter, stayed for a day and then was gone. I loved it when it snowed there, because it was as if the whole town had a snow day. Because it snowed so infrequently, there was a holiday feeling that emerged when it snowed. I could enjoy the beauty of the snow and the fact that we were all home snug and warm together (because if it snowed there, the children always had a snow day)

Now that I live in Massena, I don't have the same relationship with snow I had in New Jersey. I try to enjoy it for it's beauty, but it's there all the time, basically from November until March, so it's beauty is lost on me. I have been told I would enjoy snow more if I went snow shoeing or did cross country skiing. Well, I don't do either thing, and don't think those activities are in my future. So I have brilliantly concluded that I will follow the advice I always gave to my children . Since the only thing I can change about the situation is my attitude, I am going to start loving snow and being accepting of it and going for walks in it, and maybe I'll invite it in for a cup of coffee and get to know it better. So here is a picture of my new best friend snow.



The wind made pretty ripples in it, which remind me of sand at the shore where the waves have washed in. And look at the blueness of the light when it hits the snow. I am starting to fall in love with snow all over again.

Phat Fiber Sampler Box

I was asked to participate in a new venture called a Phat Farm Sampler Box. It is a way to advertise products on-line and I have known that I was participating since October. I have to send in samples of my yarn, fiber and stitch markers and anyone interested can order a sample box from www.phatfiber.com. In my usual procrastinating manner I have waited until today to get my samples together and they need to be in another state by Saturday. I believe this is one of the reasons Priority Mail was invented. Trina came over to help me decide what fiber and yarns to put in my samples, and to start getting the samples together. Conor helped by resizing my labels. He had to use Microsoft Paint which made him very crabby because it was difficult to do what he needed to do using the program. But he persevered and was able to accomplish what I needed done.

I bought a new cable so that I could download pictures from my camera, and then guess what I found when I was looking for stitch markers for the Sampler Box? That's right, the cable for the camera. I had tucked it away in a very safe spot (the box I keep stitch markers in) and it was such a safe spot that I totally forgot where I had put it. I'm sure it seemed like a logical place at the time I put it away, but now I can't quite figure out the connection between stitch markers and camera cables.



I promised a picture of the thrummed mittens I finished knitting a couple of nights ago, so here it is. They are made from my hand dyed roving and yarn. I am not a big fan of pink, but I had a request that I knit some pink legwarmers, which led me to dye this yarn. I am pleased with the pink that I created. I hope Becca likes the mittens. I am now making a much more subdued pair of navy blue mittens for her brother.

Tomorrow our spinning group is meeting, but I just checked the weather, and there is a winter storm warning in effect until Thursday afternoon. If the forecast holds true, I don't think I will be driving to spinning, since it is being held at a house about a half hour from here. I guess I will have to spin here by myself. How sad.

I'd better stop procrastinating and finish the packages to send to Phat Fiber.