April 24, 2005 I'm experimenting with a new blog site; my new address is

                                 http://cindyknits.blogspot.com/
 

                                       Be sure to bookmark it!

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pril 18, 2005 Knitting 911 is a phrase my daughter coined ( or was it John's phrase) this year. I had to use it this morning. I called Judy who is vacationing or dare I say tilling the land in Vermont. You see.... I had a problem with the Flower Basket shawl ,and Judy has made at least two of them. Judy came to the rescue LOL...it appears that when I made a copy of the shawl, it failed to show the red repeat lines so I was in a quandary as to what to do with the extra stitches. Now I know....thanks Judy!!!

After the 911 episode I took to the driveway with gloves and gardening tools to tackle the garden. What a joy to discover that last year's bargain perennials and herbs are back :). I did have trouble identifying a plant when I accidently brushed against it and it revealed what it was......mountain mint.....a lovely scent.

Yesterday while driving home from my Mom's I had a wonderful view of a bird eating bread for about 35 seconds which gave birth to this piece:

Manna from Heaven

Rolling to a stop for a red light in the concrete jungle on a fine spring day,
I spied a lone sparrow at the corner of South Main and Smith
Where a wheelchair beggar was wont to beg for money.
He ate rapidly with staccato pecks
Perched atop a brick-like loaf of bread
Torn apart in the blinding sunshine of two o’clock.
He heatedly chirped and hopped around his crusty dinner eyeing his surroundings
Not quite sure it was his alone.
Surreptitiously, he darted to the hedge facing St John’s church and back
Perhaps thinking this bounty would soon be food for so many
Like the fishes and loaves.

The light turned green when I left him wondering about the fate of man and bird
Alike in the midst of so much plenty.

 April 17,2005
 

I better start the laundry... .

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April 17, 2005                   Caught in the Act !!!!

As you can see Sandy and I were indeed caught with more fiber than we needed to spin. We couldn't help ourselves. Thanks to Barbara T's Open Barn we did what all fiber addicts do. The eggplant, teal and burgundy colors called to us....spin me!!!!!

Of course, Barbara T  (top row left)had done some shopping via Lucy Neatby!!!! Check out her catch......She's a mighty happy woman with her chicken bag. Carol R (bottom row center) had to discuss this bag as well. I love the lamb with the two color ears (top row center). I was able to get up close to Thelma, Louise (middle row right) and Fred (middle row center)

Marisa and John have been busy knitting especially since they've got a wedding date (May 13, 2006). Here's their work......

Marisa is working on the hood of John's sweater:

Here's John's sweater back for Marisa knitted in Debbie Bliss Merino from Webs. He tells me he really likes working with this yarn:

Talk about a picture day!!!!

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April 15, 2005 The weekend looks incredibly wonderful as does the following week!!!! Mild weather means plant shopping.....Here's a peak at my Myrtle:

I've finally finished one sock ( see below) which is pretty good because I am simultaneously knitting another pair for DH. Add to that the Flower Basket Shawl and the Old Shale linen shawl and you can see I'm more productive then it would appear. On the spinning front there are two projects: Purple mohair with a tinge of orange and the creamy wool...oops I forgot I'm also filling two spindles too!!!!! I am doing a lot...huh :)

I look forward to Barbara T's Open Barn this Saturday...hope to see some of you there.

Lastly...if you are reading my blog, let me know by writing a comment. I'm curious about how many readers are out there.

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April 14, 2005 Bummer....this is the second time I am posting. I accidentally deleted my first post and lost it. Arghhhhhhh......

My first Opal sock is almost done....

My Flower Basket shawl is started using Judy's Merlot. Check out her other yarns.....

I've also started my 4th Skein of creamy mystery fiber on my Country craftsman!!!

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April 13, 2005  Do I love to procrastinate:

1. Dawdling over breakfast and the newspaper.
2. Thinking about exercising.
3. Playing with knit, spin, dye ideas.
4.Deciding what errands I need to do or want to do.

Today I got up at 7 am and still haven't done anything of real consequence except writing this blog entry. It's now 9:28 and I'm still not moving along :)

I did start continue working on a flower basket shawl with Judy's Merlot. I'm loving it's soft feel and lovely colorway.I do have to pay attention so I will not knit it in company.

I did not procrastinate last night....I went to Sue's to knit and found Helane there with her basket of incredible sock designs and Paula with her collection of new must have books like Not Just Socks and The Opinionated Knitter which are must haves in my knitting library. Paula continues to work a a beautiful aran for a lucky friend. I worked on two different pairs of socks. Sue was working on her rug hooked snow man that is adorable. Judy was knitting a great scarf with her Election Day Blue wool/silk yarn in the free pattern at Knitty.com.

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April 11, 2005 What a glorious weekend!!! As John Gihorse says both days were a ten! Ahhhh basking in sunshine walking South Main Street and poking around the gardens around my house. Who could ask for better?Well I did....I had to have some of Judy's Merlot yarn...to make a shawlette....hmmmm which one?

I went to the Spin Guild meeting and knit a bit finishing up one Opal sock and helping Harriet  with pom poms for some baby socks. This led to me to perusing her baby knitting book and of course I had to buy it at Amazon:

And I had to have

and

I love Paglia's work and this is a must read for me......

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April 8, 2005 I am on a roll with blogging this week. I've been reading them, writing them and thinking about them. I may after all  try giving Typepad a go. There are drawbacks as Judy tells me, but there are advantages....faster loading, picture enlargements, connection to other bloggers via Bloglines. So it may happen soon.

My knitting has taken second place these past few days since I am reading the The Dogs of Babel . It's a rather different read. It centers around  a story that recounts the death of a man's wife whose only witness is her loving dog. I think it's worth your time.

It's socks, socks and more socks. Here is my work so far with socks. I resurrected  some wonderful Koigu and Lana Grossa yarn from my sock stash this morning. I'm loving the tight gauge I'm getting with size 0 Bernat aluminum sock needles....

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April 7, 2005 DST is catching up with me as I type bleary-eyed and almost ready to go to work at 8:15am. Just wanted to post a little something for those enquiring minds :)

I did turn the heel of my lovely Opal socks, but that is all. I spent my time walking through the woods and came upon a budding sign of spring. Can you guess what it is?

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April 6, 2005 Another beautiful day unfolds!!! Perhaps we will see 60 degrees today....no snow or rain in sight!!!!

As usual the knitting crew assembled at R I Handspun last night. I'm hoping with DST to see more of our knit buds this spring. Sue is needle felting another cat...this time with wonderful striping. Patty displayed two knitted baby hats in a rayon cotton that are delightful. Judy continued work on her golden stole with beads and her sea shell beaded scarf that anticipates the summer season in its beach theme. Barbara is knitting a pair of socks in a blue yellow colorway that incorporates a dark blue mohair that adds a wonderful softness.  Carol R arrived with a touching baby quilt in purples and pinks for Allyson. It is so beautiful!!!! She also worked on the Maggie/Disturbed Opal socks while she told us about her fascinating Pilates class.

I found two great links for Applied I-Cord that some of you may find worth bookmarking. Here's another.

BTW I witnessed a beautiful sunset and I heard the peepers last night....

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April 5, 2005 Ever notice how as the week of DST progresses you feel more and more tired. I really had trouble getting up this morning. I'll need two cups of tea to start this day.
 

Yesterday I plied that singles I showed you in the last entry. I am very pleased with the skein....

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April 4, 2005 Thank goodness it's Monday! I finally have time to do what I want today. I began the day with a hot cup of Jane's Tea from Harney, a lovely gift from John. This tea is made with rosebuds and Bancha which is a Japanese green tea. I brewed the tea using my blue teapot also a gift from Judy. What a way to start the day. The tea will help me wake from the sleep loss due to DST.

I continue knitting Ralph's socks and the new Opal socks. I'm using size 0 Bernat steel  needles for the Opal socks and I'm getting a nice tight knit.

Last night I spun two kinds of fiber...the creamy merino type yarn and some mystery fiber I bought from Zeilingers last year. A lovely purple and rust color ... some of the second bobbin is darker than the first. I guess I'll ply the two to balance the color.

I need some ideas as to what to make with this yarn. I only have 3/4 of a pound of fiber, and the yarn seems to be a Romney mohair blend  although I'm not positive about the fiber content. Any ideas out there? I'll create a two ply yarn so it will probably be a DK weight.

Ralph had fun with daylight savings time yesterday. Being the clock nut he is. .... he always has to set every clock and wristwatch in the house to the new time. He had trouble with his new watch. Poor guy he really had to work at setting it since it has a million modes. He still needs to set the world time mode. I think he's going to need John's help on this :)

Link of the Day
Miniature Knitting...check out the Sanquhar sweater when you scrool down the page! What size needles are they using for these sweaters?

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April 1, 2005 Today is April Fool's day. So I think I just might fool around with my yarn and fiber!!!

Last night I filled almost another bobbin of the creamy singles which means I'll have three skeins done soon. I also began another pair of socks this time in a new Opal design called Rodeo.  I picked up at Sue's RI Handspun. It's a great colorway consisting of blues and orange almost reminiscent of Opal Tiger.

I began the new pair of socks because I forgot my other socks for DH at my mom's this week....good excuse, huh. Notice the lovely sheep Marisa and John gave me for Easter.

I think I'll have to get a hummingbird feeder after reading Judy's blog. I'm having no luck with bird feeders..er...squirrel feeders in my yard. I did manage to see two Chickadees and one female Cardinal. I love Cardinals. Dang squirrels are eating all the seed :(. DH warned me!!!  I may have to get a Yankee Flipper to feed my cardinals.

If I get some hummingbird feeders, I probably won't have to deal with squirrels...is that true ,Judy?

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March 30, 2005 I'm back!!!! Today is Van Gogh's birthday!!

This week and last week were hectic, but I did manage to knit and spin. I now have two skeins of creamy yarn to show. I'm thinking about making an aran sweater in this yarn...

Last night we had a great time at Sue's Knit In. Patty was working on a very lovely sweater that features cabling on the shoulders. Sue was working on a pair of Shaker booties for her granddaughter in some light turquoise Dreambaby yarn. Paula was working on a  very colorful flowers shawl with her own handspun yarn. Marie continues to work on her sweater in a beautiful shade of blue. Judy's feather and fan shawl is coming along so nicely as well as a new creative endeavor she is designing with shells and beads. Even Muriel was there!!! She's finishing a great felted bag and a lovely mohair sweater knit from the top down. I continued to knit my feather and fan shawl in cranberry linen.

Marisa and John made a trip to Webs last weekend and found some Chunky Debbie Bliss. John plans to make her a sweater soon.

Easter is never complete without my Lily pic.....

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March 17, 2005  Happy St Patty's Day !!!! At least my type is green :) If you haven't heard RA in Warwick is having a 30% off sale as I write. I'm trying to resist a trip :)

I know...I know. I've been lax about writing....perhaps it's because my blog buddy's been cut out of Cyberspace :( . But she's back. Last night Judy and I finally had a chance to write to each other on AIM. She was able to get a 28.8 dial up connection and I happened to be online just before I hit the hay last night. Have a great day today, Judy. Enjoy your water taxi ride!!!!

I am so excited about the birth of Sue's granddaughter!!! She's gorgeous and doing well!!!

Well..... I finally got the spinning bug. Spun up some creamy singles on my Country Craftsman  wheel after I had to deal with a very noisy bobbin. Sue, it turned out that it was the bobbin after all. I changed that baby and she purrs so nicely now. Carol R will like the singles since they seem to match her creamy singles spun on her Ashford.

Here's a look at John's finished tube socks. Notice they are just the same size. I hear he's on the hunt for bulky yarn to make Marisa a sweater!
 

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March 9, 2005 I've been remiss about posting lately. One thing or another has been happening, and my dear uncle died so we've been consumed with family and the funeral. He was a very special uncle to me, and he will be missed.

 My tribute to him was small but meaningful. I printed this photo of him wearing his favorite denim vest and pork pie hat that read " Gorgeous Hunk" on the front. I gave it to my aunt last night at his wake, and she  placed it prominently next to him.

The next event was our trip home from the wake last night....the weather was ferocious!!! The wind was cranking at 55mph and we could hardly see because the windshield wipers kept freezing up even though we had warmed the cars. We had blizzard conditions to drive in. Today will be bone chilling for the funeral. We will remember Uncle Al well.

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March  4, 2005 At least my dental visit went well on Wednesday. I had the whole day to play!!! Speaking of which....I continued to work on my mystery baby project. I also knitted a row of my sock while waiting at the dentist.

I received a new no carb drink in the mail on Wednesday. It's tastes like orange juice, but contains protein so it is filling. I need something new to keep the diet rolling.

I decided to take some shots at sunrise outside my second floor window. I love the sun peeking through the trees....

Well I'm off to work.....

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