MIA

Dear Mom,
I haven't really gone Missing In Action.
I have a new job!  A second job!  A second job that I wasn't too sure about but that I now LOVE!!!
I have been working over 40 hours each week between my two jobs.
And still a wife.
A mom.
A friend.

I am gently easing into this new chapter of my life.  But I have been baking---birthday cakes mostly!  My oldest and my youngest celebrated a new year. 

I am going to start the cookie of the week month again soon!

I'm not really MIA.

Love,
Wendy

Sock of the week and a tired dog

Dear Mom,
A few days late, but the sock of the week, #11, was finished last night while watching New Moon with The Young Lady.

I started sock #12, and if I don't allow myself to be distracted by other knitting or spinning, I should be able to finish it by Wednesday and be back on my self-imposed schedule.

On Friday afternoon, Bumper, Patsy and I met CarolWhoseHouseGotStruckbyLightning and her dog Fergus for a play date.

The goal was to wear this one out.

It worked. A few hours later, this is how I found Patsy asleep on the couch.

You will notice that the couch is now covered in a quilt. I have given up trying to keep it free of dog hair and now have a variety of quilts that I can swap out and are much easier to wash. Before you hyper-ventilate, these are store bought quilts. Not hand pieced and quilted. 

It didn't take long for her to fully recharge.

Love,

Kim

p.s. We used Golda's Enormous Egg in our waffle mix this morning.

No Golden nugget.

Oof! She did it again

Dear Mom,
This afternoon, Bonnie Jo and I met in the library parking lot to Accomplish a Mission. As we have been trained to do, multiple tasks were accomplished in addition to the main mission. We each had things that needed exchanging.

Bonnie Jo brought me a fresh egg sampler, and the second of Golda's Giant Eggs.

I brought Bonnie a special chicken measuring tape so she can start recording the size of Golda's eggs.

I thought it was the cutest tape measure, with an egg at the end.

I also hunted down the book we three all read at sometime. I know this because we have all written our names on the cover. Wendy had to double claim the book as her own by adding her name and the words "if lost, Please Return of call ###-####" on an inside page to which my Young Lady added the same words but our current phone number. I don't think The Young Lady ever finished reading  it though, because there is a bookmark in it on page156.

I wanted Bonnie Jo to see this artifact from the 1970's.

It is in pretty good shape for a book that may be 40 years old and cost 50 cents. The cover has been taped on, and the yellowed, dried up tape has been reinforced by packaging tape, but all the pages are intact.

I hope I don't find a dinosaur inside this egg, like the boy in the story. I am hoping for a gold nugget like the Million Dollar Duck's.

Love,
Kim

First Hand Spun Yarn Knitted Shawl thing

Dear Mom,
After blocking the living daylights out of the Boneyard Shawl, I can show you the results.

I think I love it! And I am pretty excited that that is my hand spun yarn. Remember that scene in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when he flies because Clarise told him she thought he was cute and he shouted in his stuffed nose voice, "I'm cute, I'm cute, she thinks I'm cute!" ? ( or I'b cyoood, I'b cyood, she thinks I'b cyood!") Well, that is how I felt when I released the shawl from the blocking wires. I wanted to dance through the house with the shawl around my shoulders saying "It's good, it's good, it's really good!" I didn't though. Patsy would have thought it a great game and grabbed the shawl off my shoulders to play tug.

Blocking something like this can dramatically change the way it looks. I should have taken a 'before blocking' photo, because I believe the shawl was about half this size when it came off the needles. After thoroughly wetting it, I stretched the shawl out and pinned it to the floor in the guest room.

This is not difficult. It just takes a bit of time. The hardest part of this process was keeping Patsy off of it while I was trying to pin it down.

For thirty years I have used these pins to block my knitting.

They were given to me by one of the ladies I worked with at The Carmel Apple when I was in High School. I learned a lot about a lot of different kinds of needlework on my Saturdays working there. I also learned how NOT to treat sales people.

There are blocking wires out there made specifically for blocking knitting projects. They significantly reduce the amount of pins needed, especially if it is lace knitting. I could never convince myself to buy them because they are a little pricey and I would rather spend my yarn money on yarn. A few summers ago I was participating in a Mystery Lace Shawl knit-a-long and read about an alternative to the costly blocking wires.

The answer? Stainless Steel Tig wires from the welding supply. Well! I knew right where the welding supply place was and drove straight there. Yes, I was a fish out of water, but I didn't care. I knew I was gonna give those welding guys something to laugh about when I left, but as long as I left with the goods, I was fine with that. After giving a brief explanation to the guy, he showed me what I was asking for and it that was what I really wanted. YEP. They would work. I took a bit of sand paper to the tips just to rid them of any tiny barbs and for a fraction of the cost, I have blocking wires.

They make it easier to pull and stretch large pieces of knitting, and to hold edges straight while it dries. I still use the pins to hold the wires in place, but the process and results are faster when I use the wires too.

As much as I love this shawl, I hope it will be many months before I wear it. I want to think that the weather will stay warm and that the murmurs I am hearing about snow on Monday are wrong.

I am also thinking that this won't be my last hand spun shawl.

Love,

Kim

Golda's Giant Egg Part II

Dear Mom,

I was a little bit disappointed to see that Golda's egg did not contain a double yolk, although it was so large it nearly filled an 8-inch pan!

I had a fabulous egg sandwich for breakfast this morning!

Thanks for breakfast, Golda!

Love, Bonnie Jo

Golda's Giant Egg Part I

Dear Mom,

I don't know whether to say "Holy Cow!" or "Holy Chicken!"  Look at this HUGE egg!

Golda hasn't laid an egg for two days.  This one looks like two eggs put together!  Stay tuned to see what's inside.  I will probably crack it open tomorrow.  Maybe its a double-yolker (twins)!!

Love, Bonnie Jo

Stitches

Dear Mom,
I think the weekend was so uneventful that I barely remember any of it. I spent the cold rainy days getting mostly caught up on laundry, listening to some good books, and knitting. I did not knit one stitch on the next sock, nor did I work on The Green Sweater. Instead I got the fever to start a shawl with some of my first handspun, and nearly have it finished.

I am using the Boneyard Shawl pattern, #10 needles, and I have no idea what my gauge is. The beauty of this sort of shawl pattern is that gauge really does not matter. The shawl starts at the neck edge, center back and works out. You stop when you are ready to stop, or when you run out of yarn. It is perfect for using up yarn- on this one I'll knit until I am almost out of yarn, do some garter stitch at the lower edge and bind off. I should be able to get this off the needles today and block it. I'll have Elle model the shawl once it has finished blocking.

And, except for weaving in the yarn ends, the scarf I knit for the Superbowl 2012 Project is finished.

I really, really, really  like this scarf. The pattern is simple but interesting and addicting. Adapting this pattern, which was written for fingering weight yarn and using Cascade 220 was easy enough.  I got the book  I ordered, The Fine Line by Grace Anna Farrow, who designed this scarf, and I feel a shawl frenzy coming on. Which probably explains why I needed to knit that Boneyard Shawl.

Busy afternoon- The Young Man has golf team tryouts and The Young Lady, inspired by the Olympics, is starting ice skating lessons. Before you make the leap to double toe loops, stop.  She wants to be a speed skater. ( I think my admiration for Apolo Ohno has rubbed off.) The thing is, I think she could do it if she really wants to. I'll let you know....

Love,

Kim

The Sweet Life

Dear Mom,

With two beekeeping seminars behind me and still a lot to learn, I've decided to just do it--beekeeping!  I ordered my bees from Wildflower Ridge Honey Farm in Anderson last week.  I will pick them up there on April 24. 

Photo of an Italian honeybee from Wikipedia

"How will I get them home?", you ask.  Um, I'm not quite sure how that part works yet.  But I can tell you that the bee colony is in California right now, pollinating the almond trees there.  When they come back to Wildflower Ridge Honey Farm, the colony will be split.  A new Italian queen will be added to the split, and the bee colony will become Italian!  Volare!  

The Italians (bees, that is) are less defensive, very clean, and make good honey supplies.  Michelle from Ohio, whom I met at one of the seminars said, "Italians are lovers, not fighters!" 

Here is a sneak peek at the "Bee-Ginner's" kit I am ordering.  The hive is an English garden style from Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, Inc.

La dolce vita!

Love, Bonnie Jo

Loved and Remembered

Dear Mom,

Meg was the sweetest little chicken!

 

  She was a friend to Darwin the orphan duckling...

...and she helped him learn how to fly!

She was the flock leader when the new kids came along...

...and she was still the flock leader after they grew three times her size!

She was a beautiful Belgian Bearded D'Uccle hen.

 

And she was loved.

Meg will be dearly missed.

Love, Bonnie Jo

Socks

Dear Mom,
It is warm and breezy and sunshiny enough that I pegged some socks out on the clothesline to dry.

Can you spot sock #10?

 It's the one with the needles still in it, waiting to have the toes kitchener stitched together.

Vesper Sock yarn "Candy Swirl"

Love,
Kim

The Clicker

Dear Mom,
I am happy to report that the new puppy class went well for Patsy. As I suspected, she is a playful girl who is eager to please. She is also growing fast, and we need to get a handle on some bad habits before it is too late.
Here you see Patsy, with her lunch box full of dog treats, ready to go to class.

The Young Lady and I found this mini lunch box at CVS in the post Valentine's Day clearance. It was filled with heart shaped dog treats. We decided that every girl needs a cute lunch box for school.

This class uses a "clicker" as a training tool. Based on Pavlov's dog, Patsy gets a treat every time she hears the clicker. Good behavior? Click, then treat. In theory, eventually the clicker will be enough.

This is the harmless clicker. For Patsy, this is a good thing. One click and I have that dog's undivided attention.

Unfortunately, this thing has struck Bumper with unprecedented fear. As I post this, he is hiding out upstairs in our bedroom. I found him trembling in the back yard yesterday. We have tried desensitizing him to the clicker by bribing him with really good treats every time we clicked. We even used STRING CHEESE. Still, the dog hides.  So as I get Patsy sorted out, I may be needing to find a therapist for Bumper.

With the warmer temps and sunshine, I was able to prop the back door open, giving the dogs access to the screened porch and doggie door. Yippee! They both spent most of the day outside. Hurray!! It was very good. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that Bumper's clicker issue became obvious.  Until then the napping in the sunshine (Bumper) and running hard in wild circles and chewing on sticks (Patsydoodles) made this Mom very content. And hopeful.

On the knitting front, sock #10 is more than halfway done, and the green sweater has about 4 inches. I thought I would be farther along with Green, especially since it is knitting in the round and I can go pretty fast when I get in the zone, but I guess all that fresh air yesterday wore me out and I was too tired to knit much and went to bed early. I've also found more things I want to knit. This sweater ( yes, I have yarn for it in my stash) and this scarf, which I think I can adjust and make for the 2012 Superbowl Scarf Project. I also saw this book, thanks to the Mason Dixon blog, and ordered it. There are some beautiful shawls in there. Which reminds me of the shawl I started four years ago and have only about 20 more rows to finish but haven't.

So, I have knitting that I want to do, ironing that I need to do and I dog that has emotional issues that I had better go check on because he may have wedged himself under my bed by now.

Love,
Kim

8 and 9

yes! that is GREEN grass!

Dear Mom,
I'm back on track. Socks 8 and 9 are finished!
Last night I started a new project, The Green Sweater, an Elizabeth Zimmermann design. The sweater has an interesting story behind it, which you can find here (scroll down) and here and here, too. I worked up my gauge swatch and cast on last night, only getting this far before admitting to myself that "one more row" would put me way past my bedtime.

Except for the chicken sweaters, it has been awhile since I last worked on a sweater design that was not my own. It felt good to sit down and have the math already figured out, and once the gauge was worked out, to be able to cast on and knit away. The yarn I am using is Quebecoise from Schoolhouse Press. I ordered the pattern and yarn at Thanksgiving, I think. After a desperately needed re-organization and straightening of the guest/knitting/sewing room, I feel a renewed commitment to knit my way through the stashed yarns and patterns that have been patiently waiting their turns. Not too long ago, GinaWhoCanParallelPark and I combined our efforts and placed an order for some yarn that was deeply discounted. The price was too good to pass up and we went for it. Last week I saw this sweater on this blog and went hunting for the pattern. Thanks to the wonder that is ravelry, I was able to purchase the pattern booklet from another knitter who was "de-stashing". I realized after reading the pattern instructions that the discounted yarn we purchased will be perfect for this project. I love it when stuff like that happens. And now I know what I'll be knitting when The Green Sweater is finished.  

Today the sun is shining, the air is warm, and I could walk the dogs wearing just a windbreaker over my wool sweater. No hat, no mittens. Robins were spotted in the neighborhood a couple of days ago. We may even see daffodils poking out of the ground soon!

Love,
Kim

Meg's Sweater

Dear Mom,
Meg, it turns out, is a sweater fitting challenge. The petite version I knit for her, with buttons to match her feathers, was the right length for her body, but the wing holes were too small. And sadly, at this point she was too frail to support the weight of the sweater when she tried it on. Out of respect for Meg's dignity, we did not take any photos.
I think I should be knitting her a prayer shawl.
Love,
Kim

Dressing a Chicken

Dear Mom,
I didn't plan on knitting a sweater for a chicken. Ever. But when Bonnie Jo sent me this story, and knowing that Meg has been feeling peckish, I didn't stop to think. I had to cast on.
I used yarn from the abundant stash and the Young Lady raided her collection for the perfect buttons.

Not being intimately familiar with the anatomy of a live chicken, I wasn't sure exactly how this little jumper was going to fit on the actual bird. The directions were not perfectly clear about fronts and backs and head openings and hen sizing. It is a 'one size fits most' kind of pattern. Knowing that Meg is a petite little chick, I cast on with a smaller needle size, but otherwise followed the directions. I kept the faith, kept on knitting, and then went back to the website to really study the photos of chickens wearing sweaters so I could figure out what in the name of chicken feathers I was knitting.

It was quick project and the Young Lady and I were eager to deliver it to Meg, hoping it would boost her spirits.

Here is Meg, modeling her sweater. It is much, much too big for her little frame. Bonnie Jo had to roll up the bottom a bit to keep it from catching on Meg's feet.

Marge has been missing Meg out there in the coop, so she was allowed in for a quick visit, and Meg graciously allowed Marge to try on the sweater.

It fit Marge perfectly, and really suited her coloring. Meg decided to let Marge keep the sweater, and I promised Meg I would make her one that fit better. I finished it last night, but still need to block it and sew on the buttons.

Marge went back out into the snow and cold, wearing her sweater and showing it off to Golda and Gloria. I raided the stash again when I got back home and found complimentary yarns to make sweaters for them.

Knitting for chickens was not the only thing I did over the weekend. On Saturday, 3 of my knitting friends and I loaded ourselves into the car and took a mini road trip up to exotic Kokomo, Indiana for their annual Winter Woolen. Quilting, knitting, tatting, spinning, weaving, needle punch, cross stitch and rug hooking were all represented by vendors selling supplies and hand made items, and by guild members and experts teaching and demonstrating their respective arts. Such was my inspiration and sensory overload that I neglected to take any blog-worthy photos of the day. I did manage to buy some roving to spin, a pair of super warm mittens made of recycled felted sweaters, and some home made soaps. Not knowing exactly what to expect, I think we were all pleased with the event, although we all agreed that knitting could have been better represented. Fortunately for each of us, our fiber interests don't stop with knitting and there was plenty there to enchant us. We spent our afternoon enjoying a long lunch, and as the restaurant was not busy, we lingered with our knitting. Our Saturday together was a desperately needed boost in what has been a looooong, snowy, grey winter.

Love,

Kim