Happy Easter 1965

Ready for Easter, a photo by chaimann on Flickr.

It may have been raining this day. Our Easter finery pictures usually were taken outside, facing into the sun, and invariably involved me squinting.

Welcome 2009!

Here's to a year in which some of the things that are broken get fixed. (Insert your own list of broken things that need fixin'.)

Last night, I managed to stay up until midnight, barely. The clock said 12:00 when I got into bed.

I am resolutely trying to avoid resolutions, although in my heart I have some. In my heart. Don't go looking for the list here.

I did commit to write some Backyard Astronomy articles for The Piker Press this year, in honor of the International Year of Astronomy 2009. The introductory article went up this week, and I'm planning to write them more or less every other week.

I also got a Twitter account for Backyard Astronomy. You can see the feed over there on the sidebar. The account is BackyardAstro. This introverted geezer doesn't quite know what to make of this social media stuff, but new year, new beginnings, what the heck, give it a whirl. At the very least, I can report when new articles go up.

Early Christmas

T and I pretty much pick out and buy our own presents, so there won't be much surprise when Christmas rolls around. I did get a couple of gifts I wasn't expecting, though.

My knitting friend Nancy gave me this cute little bumblebee tape measure from Lantern Moon.

Yesterday, I bugged out of work early and joined Margie and Amy at a 50% off sale at a local yarn shop. I looked and looked, not seeing much I had to have, and then I saw this:

It's a Jordana Paige satchel, the same style Carin and I armwrestled over when she visited last summer. And it was the last one in the store, and it was half off! *swoon*

Obviously, it became my little gift to myself.

It holds a ton o' stuff. In this picture, it has two socks, two scarves, and a shawl, and it still has room for more.

After realizing yesterday that I haven't finished any knitting projects in ages, I decided to suck it up today and finish the i-cord handle for the Blue Jeans Purse.

I'm going to add a lining to it, but knitting-wise, it is done. And darned cute, if I say so myself.

Go elf yourself

Go. See.

Spinning 101

Since the last time I tried spinning, I have acquired a couple of books about spindle spinning, and another spindle, once again courtesy of my friend Amy. She had a "learn to spin" kit with a some luscious teal roving, and had decided she was not going to learn to spin with it.

The roving is SO my color, that I knew I needed to get much better at spinning before I attempted it.

I bought a hunk of "ugly" roving to practice with when the KnitWits went to Minneapolis a couple of years ago.

This is a fairly compact little rope of fiber. It needs to be loosened up so fibers can slide past each other easily. The process of stretching out the amount of fiber that will be spun is called drafting. Loosening and stretching the fiber before you start to spin is predrafting.

Everything I read about spindle spinning, in books and on message boards, suggested that you can't predraft the fiber too much. I started by loosening the rope laterally, until it was a flat, thin sheet. (At the bottom of the picture, you can see the ropey part for comparison.)

(Sorry, no photos of the rest of the process. I was home alone.)

Then I pulled off a section about two inches wide and started tugging it gently lengthwise to start the fiber slippage. When I had an long airy tube of fiber, I attached it to the spindle and started spinning.

I used the "park and draft" method, which gives newbies a little more control. I spun the spindle to build up twist in the yarn, then stopped it with my knees or on the floor while I fed more fiber out. The excess twist travels up the new fiber. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until the strand of yarn gets too long, then wind it onto the spindle and do it all again.

One of the fun things about dyed fiber is that it's really hard to predict how it will look when it is spun. As I said, I wasn't crazy about this roving, but the yarn is sort of pretty.

The learning curve of spinning is learning how to make the yarn the same thickness and with the same amount of twist. I'm not there yet, but at least some parts of it look like I want them to look.

I shall keep working on it.

I spent Thanksgiving with my two roommates, for whom I am truly thankful. Also, we managed to cook a modest sized meal, for which I am also thankful.

The Haul

When KnightStar started asking for birthday gift suggestions, I handed him the Knit Picks catalog. He did good:

Three books, and the Options needle set, plus chocolates from Chocolaterie Stam. I made a circular needle from the needle set and used them to finish a square for the Greensburg afghan project.
Nice, nice needles. I am very impressed.

When I got home from work, I had a package from my friend Hope.

Last weekend, the KnitWits went to Omaha for a quick yarn shopping excursion. With the help of Alcariel, I added to my stash of Koigu, with the goal of making a Keepsake Shawl at some point. (Or maybe something else. Who knows?) This is the old stuff mixed in with the new:

I though we did pretty good, considering we were trying to coordinate with a bunch of yarn I couldn't describe.

T and I had an early birthday dinner last night, since he had to work today. Today after work, I went to an art opening with some co-workers (free drinks!) and T brought home a piece of cheesecake he nicked from a buffet at his office. Tomorrow, I think the work day will end with more co-workers and more drinks, and then the big KnitWits birthday extravaganza. Amy's birthday is two days after mine, so we get to celebrate together. Felix & Oscar's, stand by!

Turn off the lights

That was my Valentine's Day gift from KnightStar. It's without a doubt the cutest bar of dark chocolate I have ever seen.

The sun came out today, which was enough to initiate some melting of snow. We didn't do a darned thing worthwhile all day, unless you consider knitting and hanging out at bookstores to be worthwhile. We took our cue from Katie, who found a sunny spot on the kitchen counter this morning and plopped herself down in it.

Happy Valentine's Day, y'all

To those who stop by faithfully, and to those who just check in once in awhile - thank you. It tickles me to see the same folks showing up on the hit counter time and time again.

To those who come looking for more information about Cesar Rodney, I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but I wish you luck in your search.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you.

(Heart courtesy of http://www.cryptogram.com/hearts/ )

Time to give thanks

Today is Thanksgiving. T and I had a potluck with a couple of the KnitWits, which was nice and easygoing. I'm from a small family, and we didn't live near our extended families, so four people for dinner seems just about right to me.

As always, I am thankful that I have everything I need, and a few of the things I want, and good people to share my life with. This year, I am also thankful for the doctors of Iowa Health System, who told me several times during the year, "This should fix you right up." So far, they have been correct. *knock wood*

My wish for you is that you will also find reasons to be thankful, today and every day.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have 1667 words to write.