Christmas socks

Sooo I am working on some socks as a Christmas gift and I have just turned the heel's (doing 2 at at time). It feels like they are going so darned slow...I have a feeling this will be another down to the wire project...I really hope to have them done so I don't have to present them 'on the needles.' 4 days...damn...ok gotta go knit. At some point I am going to have to start wrapping gifts and that is really gonna cut into the knitting time.

Crafty Stuff

Spent most of the weekend shopping for Christmas and we are almost done...Just 5 more people to cover...plus I need to finish the socks for someone (ok I need to start them. Yes I do know there are only 11 days until Christmas. I guess I better knit fast). On that note the mate for this sock:Is on hold until said pair are finished.

I made a really cute hat for Jake...I went sans pattern so it is a bit tight on his head but if I remember how I did it, Abby's will fit perfectly (I think I cast on 70). I may just make his Abbys since he really doesn't like to wear it (say it ain't so) and it fits her well (and it has a bit more purple than blue in it - didn't see that in the dim light of the shop).

On Saturday my friend Alexis met me at the craft shop and we bought stuff to make some handbags. They turned out really cute! Here is mine:

and you can see hers on her blog here. I actually finished mine on Sunday as we were running short on time and I am the one that keeps the sewing machine at the end of the day :)

On Thursday I finished filling the cop on my drop spindle so here is hank#3 of my Ring Around the Rosie yarn that will become some socks for me someday...Probably pair this yarn with some black and either use this pattern: or just to a simple sock with black cuff, heel and toe.

Sooo I am off to start a pair of socks...in parting I thought I'd show you the pic I was able to snap of Santa and his Reindeer:

A day in the life of...

...of well, Me. Nothing exciting but I thought it would be interesting (or totally boring depending on what your into) to post about some of the things my job entails...
This morning I had to shove over and hang my butt over the edge of the bed so Toddler The First could crawl in and get comfortable.
A couple of hours later I had to get up and turn on the light for said toddler so he could play with his train set...but the trains were missing and crying ensued. This crying woke up Toddler The Second and so brought her to bed with me and by this time Jake had found a firetruck (with lights and sirens, yipee!) to occupy himself with.
Next up...the hunt for the trains...after everyone was awake and downstairs (oh and I went and started hubby's truck for him in the lovely 16 degree warmth because I love him and he was running late) I went up and tried to find Jake's missing trains, after searching his room, his sisters room, the laundry room, the bathroom, the spare bedroom and my bathroom I found them under my cedar chest at the end of our bed...he has been playing with them most of the morning.
Later I went on a balloon rescue...our entryway goes all of the way up to the 2nd floor so when the balloon was released in that area it was not reachable...ended up grabbing the broom, standing on the stairs, holding onto the rail and leaning way over and swiping at the streamer until it moved over enough for me to reach it all the while being told "be careful mommy, don't break my balloon". 20 minutes it took for that stupid balloon and then he only played with it for 3 minutes...go figure.
I have rescued my daughter from 'certain death' 3x already this morning...she loves climbing up on and standing on tables...we may have to get rid of our 2 end tables all together since she won't stay off of them. And she is lightning quick - anyone out there with kids knows how it only takes the time for you to bend over and pull the cuff of your sock up before they are on top of the fridge.
I 'made' breakfast...we had Cheerios today since Jake requested them and Abby has a fit if she doesn't get what everyone else is having too. She is really bummed when we go for coffee or wine or beer since she (and obviously Jake too) don't get any no matter how much whining, crying and foot stomping there is.
I moved our leather sofa around to make a space for the Christmas tree and Jake loves the new space and had been running around in a 5ft circle exclaiming "I am having so much fun at the playground playing with my friends!" (Must be imaginary friends).
It is now almost 10 am so I am sure we are going to have tons more fun today...maybe I'll finally post a pic but for now I am making my to do list...
I have a couple of fun jobs on the list like cleaning out the diaper pail and the cat box...and I get to go out into the freezing ass cold and put the spigot covers on (better to be a bit cold then to have some broken pipes.) I am also going to check tree lights to see if I need more this year or not (may go to LED if I need to buy new ones)...that should be fun with two curious little ones...

On the bright side.

I am knitting socks as a Christmas gift for someone and having finished the first one have discovered that in addition to it being a color I would never normally pick out for myself but turn out to love, the darned things fit me perfectly and will be too small for their intended recipient.
I have decided to complete the pair for myself and start over for my gift reciever. Sooo Yay a new pair of socks for me. Bummer is I thought I was going to be totally done with these before I started my Christmas shopping. Oh well. I guess it is good practice for Sock Wars. I have learned I can churn out one whole sock in less than 3 days, including interruptions from things like feeding, bathing and general care of two toddlers and one husband (one of the fish was a casualty however, but I think that was because the cat is trying to scare them to death, and succeeded, not because I have neglected them (completely). The other fish is fine). I think sock #2 will go faster as I have the pattern memorized now too. I guess I should actually check guage before I start the gift socks again...

Just thinkin'

Sometimes I am so amazed at humanity and they way we are. It seems incredible that we can be so much the same in every aspect of things - we all eat, sleep, have emotions that are the same (though to varying degrees and yes I know there are exceptions to everything so lets not argue the small points shall we?) and yet we are all so uniquely individual also. You may look at a Van Gogh and see a beautiful night sky, and I may look at it and see globs of paint and wonder why the hell anyone would choose to arrange said paint in such a way. All of us are creative in some way or another whether we do so via artistic methods or not, it is there, it exists in all of us. So whatever your creative outlet is - be it artistic like painting, crafty like knitting or scrapbooking, or simply the way you arrange your extra toiletpaper rolls in the cubboard - keep doing it...there is and will only ever be one you in all of time. Express yourself and keep it coming don't worry about how good things are or if they hold any value - just express yourself for yourself.

Still here

Just been back into that feeling that I must have pics in order to blog and frankly I have not been taking many lately so there you go.
In other news I have been doing bunches of fiber prep and spinning and one of these days I am going to figure out how the heck I want to spin my fleece and go to town on it. For now I am just really pleased with the results I have been getting with the Indigo Hound wool combs I have been using - it's making a very nice roving. Oh and of course now that the wool is clean - it was still a bit of a bear when I was fighting the lanolin.
I'll post again after I have taken some pics of what I am spinning now, but not for a few days I am sure since we are hosting Turkey Day this year...Pies are cooling on the counter now and we are gonna whip that Turkey into shape tomorrow morning.

Catch Up

Ok so I finally finished my socks yesterday so I can blog now...plus I had to do that whole mom thing and keep the kids in food and clean clothes. The pic is a bit blurry but it's the best one I have right now: So last weekend we had Abby's 1st Birthday party. It was fun - lots of food and friends. Brian made some yummy meatballs and I made an artichoke dip that I love so much I might have to make it every week.

First we ate and then Abby opened presents (with a little help of course):

Then we gave her cake. Here is the cake before AbbyZilla:Here is AbbyZilla spotting the cake:Mmmmm this is yummy - now can I have a hug?Oh and we can't have cake without playing the 'tummy drums' And then there was the bath...let me tell you something, frosting is made with shortening, which means it's greasy and leaves a nice skin of oil on everything...had to bring the dish soap up to clean the tub when all was said and done.
The biggest hit of the party was the tea set that Brian picked out for Abby - mostly among the boys - the girls were off hammering on the tool bench and playing with trucks (ok they were really putting together a puzzle, but still).There is Jacob pouring a cup of tea for Caden.

Holy Holey socks Batman!

I have finished the first of my Monterey socks. Yes, they have holes in them, and I am positively giddy about it! These are probably the funnest socks I have ever knit! They knit up sideways. The only thing I don't like about them is that there is a whole lot of picking up of stitches (for the toe, heal and cuff) but I guess they will help me to improve my stitch picking up skills.

Anyway, here's a pic...

Now I am going to go cast on sock #2 - um yeah, maybe after Abby's b-day party this afternoon.

On that note, as of 10:57 am yesterday Abby is 1year old! Woo hoo! Here is a pic of her and her Daddy on her birthday in her brand new big girl carseat:

Old and New

I was taking pictures of something new to show ya'll and discovered some old pictures I forgot to show ya. So the 'old stuff' is that when we were packing up the bathroom at the old house, my friend says "what's in this drawer?" I say "what drawer?" he says "this one!" And pulls open a drawer I did not know existed for the last SIX YEARS! I have been livid over this ever since it's discovery. I could have been storing crap in there. Like bath towels and toilet paper. I am almost over it, but not quite. Here is the bathroom counter/cupboards/drawers:And here it is with the "invisible" drawer open:

I mean I could have kept enought tp in there for months of use! Or actually kept clean towels in there NOT stacked on the back of the toilet.

Anyway so there is the old stuff. The new stuff is that I knit up my Mohair yarn into a lace cowl and I absolutally love it. The yarn is so soft I knew I had to make something to wear next to the skin but there was very little of it to use. So I found a pattern on Ravelry and knit it up. It was a quick knit, very simple and easy to fix when I managed to screw it up (but really it's very simple, I was just not paying attention). Here it is on the table:

and here it is on:

New Yarn

Aside from unpacking and all of that fun stuff I have been getting some fiber prep and spinning done...I recently bought a set of combs and pulled out the fleece I bought at the fair and realized that it was really sticky with lanolin (natural oils) and needed to be rewashed. I washed it again in Dawn but that did nothing for it. Soooo I picked up some Woolite and that worked great. It is so much easier to comb when it's not clinging to the tines like syrup to fingers. So I have been slowly rewashing and drying that fleece in about 4oz batches and then combing as I have the time or the inclination. It's making some beautiful soft roving and I think it will spin like a dream.
The first thing I spun in my new home was some plain white BFL. I plied the singles with this silk: and got this yarn:I love it....I call it Fruit and Cream because of all of the yummy colors. It is certainly the softest yarn I have ever made and possibly the softest yarn I have ever felt. Don't know what I'm going to do with it yet but it will be something made to wear against the skin for sure.
After I finished plying the BFL with the silk I had quite a bit left over so I Navajo plied it and ended up with this plain white 3ply that I can dye later if I want:I am really proud of how consistent my spinning is getting. I am also pretty thrilled that I am spinning fine enough that I have a 3ply that is this fine (see penny for size refrence):After all of that white I needed some color so I spun up a small bag of very fine Mohair locks and got another super soft yarn. This stuff was more involved to spin since I needed to flick open the lock ends as I went (thank goodness for my little flick carder) but it was fun since I grabbed colors at random. I also Navajo plied it to preserve the colors.There are only about 70yards so I am not sure what I can make with it. I might be able to get a cowl or a baby hat from it but that might even be pushing it. We'll see. This one is about worsted weight as it was very difficult to spin fine because let me tell you, that mohair was slicker than snot.

Last but not least I tried my hand at 'art yarn.' I belong to the Ravelry group Fiber Friday where every Friday a word, phrase or topic is posted to be inspiration to spin from. This last Friday it was "Stormy Skies" so I used what I had on hand and spun some thick and thin singles and plied them together to get this:
I have no clue what I am going to do with it since there are only 20yds of yarn here, but it was an 'artsy fartsy' yarn made for the purpose of making it, not for the purpose of doing something with it. I guess I could knit up a mug cozy with it. It would felt fabulously also so I could do something with it that way too.
So there yall go, the yarn parade. Now what to spin next? What? Finish unpacking? nah, that's no fun...

Yippeee!

I just have to share with the world that we are free of our school loan payments as of 2 minutes ago!!! We are debt free except for our mortgage. Feels great.
It was a debate between putting the money down on the house or paying off the loans and we decided to pay off the loans now we have 4 less bills a month to pay (mind you our new mortgage is that much higher then some but we figured it would be worth it).

Reconnected

Well we finally have an internet connection again...I can't believe how much I used the internet until I didn't have it. Very happy to have it back.
Well I still have tons of unpacking to do so I am not going to post anything more today, but I'll be getting back around to it again soon.

Finally!

We finally have our move in day! One week from today on the 25th. woo hoo! Now I can get situated on how much to pack ahead and what not!

Stupid Van

So the van totally crapped out on me last Sunday. I was at Costco leaving the parking lot when it dies. Just the engine, not the whole shibang. I restart and off we go. Dies again. I called Andrew to come and rescue me (thank god I only had Jake with me and not both of the kids). He gets in to see the problem first hand and of course it goes just fine...we make it to Titus-Will and park it at the Service Dept. wich was closed for the holiday weekend. I put my key in the drop box while Andrew walked back to get is car. When he got back we transferred groceries and car seats and drove home.
So Tuesday rolls around and they are still working on it. Wednesday they tell me it's gonna be a part for like 435 plus the 96 for the diagnostic, and then there is labor costs too. He calls me back later - woops, looks like the problem is in the transmission, another 100 diagnostic charge for the seperate system. Thurday they finally find the problem and have to order a part. Friday it's fixed. When it's all said and done for parts labor and taxes we are out lik 775. Not as bad as initially quoted so that was a relief. I am so ready to get rid of this money pit of a van (still no a/c - not a vital part of the operating system) but we are of course buying a new house so that won't be happening for a while.

Yesterday with Andrew's help we dug the ditch for the electrician to lay the conduit from the house to the garage. That was a bit of a job considering we had to deal with a bunch of roots from the old apple tree - some so large I had to get the hatchet out and go to town on it - I have blisters on my hands :( but it's done :). We also went to a wedding, wich was one of the more enjoyable weddings I have been to in a while. Jacob and Abigail were very well behaved considering the hour (it was an evening wedding - we left early, about 9pm - they hadn't even cut cake yet).

Today I get busy with more packing...hopefully we will get the word back soon on how our appraisal goes and if we will be allowed to take early possession. Oh and contractors come Monday to get all of our stuff fixed for the buyers. Then we will be officially done with everything and just waiting for closing. Hopefully all goes smooth and by this time next week we are in our new home!

September 11

Just Remember.

Empty

My craft room is completely empty! I haven't seen it like this for 6 1/2 years. Now all of it's contents are boxed and stacked in the dining room. We have decided to pack the house one room at a time and stage everything in the dining room so on moving day we don't have to go up and down the stairs. One room at a time is more manageable than one whole house I think. I also plan on cleaning as I go so that once a room is done it's completely done. I still have to vacuum and sweep the walls and wash the windows in that room but the hard work is done.
The way I figure it I have to pack one room a day if we are to move on the 18th. We may not be moving that soon but that would be ok too as long as we DO move.
So, here's to getting it all done!

Started

Ok I have one box packed. I have 'started packing.' The real trick here is to keep going and actually 'finish packing.'

Moving Up

So my Realtor calls last night to let me know that they have schedule the appraisal of this house but also to let us know that we could potentially close as early as the 18th! Wow I guess I should get my but in gear with the packing! The current owners of the home we are buying are going to be gone by the 17th and so we can move in early if they ok it. That means that we can close early wich is great since the buyers of this house keep pushing for an earlier closing. Everyone will be happy if this happens so I say go ahead and move it up!

What I'm Working On

So...I made another spindle...I think I am done for a while now. I really do need to start packing, not making more of a mess around here.

This one is made out of a chopstick and another donut bead - looks like bone, I am not really sure what it's made of. Very light. I will only be able to spin very fine on this spindle - I think it's my favorite so far.

I finished spinning up the silk blend that I got at the County Fair when I participated in the Sheep to Shawl back in August (don't have pics from that, left my camera at home that trip). Right now it's singles but I think I might ply it with some a grey silk/alpaca blend.Next up are the socks I am working on. These are constructed sideways and I am loving the technique. Yes those are holes in my sock...just wait, you'll see when it's all done...I am giddy over these socks.And lastly I have started a lengthwise scarf out of some of my handspun yarn (guess I am on a sideways kick with the socks and now this...)This should just fly off the needles once I get it going. I can't wait to see this one all done too.In other news, Abby now has two teeth! Oh and I got to sleep ALL NIGHT last night (no I don't believe me either, but it happened!) both kids blessedly did not scream or wake up needing to poop all night. Jake usually wakes up and yells at me from his bed (he knows I can hear him through the monitor)...this morning he did what I have been telling him it's ok to do for several months now, just get up and come on down. It was a little weird to wake up to a little face popping up over the side of my bed saying "wake up mommy" but nice too.

Well, I guess its time for laundry and all that silly houseworky stuff.

I Think I'm Addicted

To making spindles that is. If you want to learn to spin, I can hook you up with a cheap yet highly functional spindle (Mine usually cost less than 5 bucks to make, some less than 3).

So, here are the two newest:

The top one is a piece of wood that I covered with fabric and sealed/hardened with Modge Podge. The pottom one is a pendant that I drilled a hole in the center and used the hole that one would hang it from as the spot to place my notch (aides in the spinning process).
I already have a neat idea for a couple more spindles and am going to have to try em out.
In other news the tree guys came today and cut down the apple tree and a couple of smallish maple trees that were pressing on the garage. It was pretty painless but I am a little sad about the apple tree. I am pretty sure it was as old as the house. It really did need to come down though as it was rotted out in a pretty serious way. Electrician coming back tomorrow to install new vent fan in the kitchen.
Next we get the house appraised (buyer's expense not ours - well actually it probably is coming out of our pockets as we have agreed to pay their closing costs). Then we are really done except for the sigining of closing documents, oh and that whole packing and moving thing...I'll start packing soon...

Crafty day

So I have been working on another pair of socks and got to the point that I needed to do some grafting. Problem is I lost my yarn needle (major bummer since I haven't been able to find one quite like it and I loved that needle). I went to Joanne to pick up a replacement and of course I wander when I go there. I saw something that inspired me while there and I picked it/them up... A couple of doughnut beads. I grabbed two of them, a couple of dowel packets and a packet of cup hooks. Oh and the sandpaper. I am so glad I remembered the sandpaper even though it meant getting out of line.

So I got home and started to assemble...you can do this too...all you need is:

-a donught bead with the most centered hole you can find or a wooden toy car wheel.

-a wooden dowel in the same diameter as the hole in your bead...just eye it, it will probably work.

-a small cup hook

-a thumbtack and/or drill with a small bit.

-sandpaper

-small saw

-pencil sharpener (the handheld kind with 2 size holes)

-superglue or other strong bonding agent.

Slide the bead onto the dowel. I buy the 99cent packets that come with 12 dowels that way I can find the best fit as they vary ever so slightly in size. It should be a pretty tight fit - you might have to wiggle the bead with a little pressure to get it to slide on.

Next I used the push pin to mark the center of the top of the dowel and pushed it in as deep as my cup hook. At this point you may drill a pilot hole for the cup hook but I found the push pin hole was enough for me to start screwing the hook in. Not too tight or the wood might split on ya. Even if you drill, use the pin to make a starting poing for your bit so it doesn't skip around on you. Also you are less likely to split the wood if you drill the hole first.

Now I saw the bottom of the dowel off so it is a length I am happy with - its subjective, you might like a longer shaft than I do, you might like a shorter one.

These next couple of steps are optional - I put the bottom of the dowel in the pencil sharpener and 'sharpen' it to get a tapered end (you don't want it pointy) Then I sand. I sand the tapered end so it's smooth and also the shaft and the top above the whorl (bead). I just smooth all the edges out.

You can totally be done at this point, however depending on how tight the bead/wheel fit on the shaft you might want to secure it. I slide the bead up, run a ring of glue around the shaft where I want the whorl to sit and then slide it back down. I hang it from the hook so the whorl is not skewed by laying on it's side. You can also stain and/or varnish or wax the dowel too for a more finished look. I choose not to do this last part but the beauty is I can always do it at a later time.

So, here they are!

Wood:

Amethyst:and Stone:

The other little project I have been working on for about a year (well I started it a year ago and put it down until last week) is a mini scrapbook about the little things I love that my son does. Nothing fancy just some pics, patterned paper, eyelets and a ring from the office store.Did not turn out exactly as I'd imagined, but it works.
So, there you go, a few crafty things I have been working on. Next up is probably some spinning or socks. Course I should really be packing...

The Hardest Part is Over.

At least it seems to be. We got our list of things to be done to the house and after all the fretting and worrying it looks like it will indeed be electrical issues, a couple of small plumbing items (gas and water) and removal of 3 trees. It will cost us about $1800. Tree guy comes Monday (decided to have a liscensed, bonded guy do it rather than my brother, who is quite capable but does not have liability insurance) and I am waiting to hear back from the other contractors for scheduling.
Now we have to start packing. Ok maybe the hardest part isn't over yet...I plan on weeding out and thinning down and totally decluttering as I pack. It will probably take the full 4 1/2 weeks I have left. (yes, really, I am a total pack rat and sentimental to boot. We have lived here for 6 years and managed to not really throw much away in that time).

Laundry List

Though nothing really to do with the laundry room. Mostly what they want fixed is electrical. A lot of it. Getting estimates.

The real stinkers are these - they want us to cut down a couple of trees. That is spendy. I got a guy though who will do it for not too much (that would be my brother for gas money. Gotta love family). The big one is that the inspector said the gas meter is too close to the electrical box. The thing is I think that only applies to new construction, it sure as hell didn't come up when we had this house inspected when we bought it. If we have to move it I think it will cost more than we have to spend.

So where we are at is that we are waiting for estimates and will go over the list of things and get back to them on what we think is realistic for us to cover.

I get to visit my new house on Thursday for the inspection. Very excited to see it again (remind me of this moment 5 years from now when I am totally over cleaning up after a 7 and 5 year old in it...)

Oh, and I have been doing a few crafty things...started a mini scrap book (actually started it about a year ago but finally am getting around to assembling). I also finished Jacob's socks:

Nerves A-Plenty

Don't know why I am all in knots over the house being inspected. I mean it's over and done with but still I am all wigged out. I guess my biggest fear is that they found enough wrong with the house that they won't want to buy it. Or they will ask for more repairs than we can afford. Now don't get me wrong, my house is not in disrepair, but it is 93 years old.
SOoooo here's to hoping they still want this old house. We should know by Saturday at the latest.

Oh yeah!

Well, we found the house we want to buy...put in the offer and are waiting to hear back...now we just need to get through the inspection on this house. That happens this Thursday. Wish us luck.

Mutual Acceptance

The buyers have agreed to our counter. We just have to get through the inspection now. We go house hunting bright and early tomorrow. Yay! The fun part!

Finally

This time last year I was 6+ months pregnant thinking we would sell the house in no time. Yes go ahead and laugh now. More than a year later we finally have an offer. We have put in a reasonable counter and expect to sign papers this evening, thus making ourselves homeless in less than 2 months. I guess we should start looking for a new house...

Little of This, Little of That

Just thought I'd touch basis with the blog world. I have not been up to a whole lot so I thought posting might be kinda boring for the two of you that read my blog...But didn't want you to think I fell of the face of the earth either.

So I have been doing a few small crafting projects. While I was on Orcas in July I got a little toy loom and had at it. I made a piece of cloth and folded it and sewed it up to make a little coin purse. On Friday I finally got the zipper put in:

I decided to knit up another fun little mini from Knitty: It's a little jug or vase. About 3 inches tall:

On Monday of last week Andrew came over and we felted some more soap...one for me and one for him:

Oh and I have made progress on Jake's socks too:

In other news, we are having a second showing of the house tonight to some folks that looked at it last Tuesday. The agent called me this morning and asked if she could show my house again this evening and said, "It's to the same people, they are very close to making an offer but wanted to see the house one more time." So fingers crossed we might be able to unpack our lives soon!

Itsy Bitsy

Alexis girl, this one's for you:I couldn't get the idea of a knit bikini out of my head after your comment, so I made a littly tiny one, here is a pic for scale with my cell phone as a guage (phone is 3.5 inches on the long side):So that was fun and took about 20 minutes. The other day I decided to do another fun quick project that also took about 20 minutes, I felted some soap. It's a fun way to gussy up the soap and it's like having a built in wash cloth that you can use as a tub cleaner once the soap gets used. This is a great one for kids - everyone can have their very own bar. If anyone wants instructions post in the comments and I'll put a pictoral tutorial together. It's softer than a nylon loofa but still does some exfoliating.

Too Hot

Almost too hot to knit. But I'm not letting it stop me. I am working on a new pair of socks for Jake. 2 days ago I was putting him down for a nap and he asked to put on socks. I told him it was too hot to wear socks. He cried for his handknit socks "a wons you make me mommy" It melted my heart but it was to hot to wear socks no matter how cute the request. I told him he could wear them another day but they were getting a little small. So he asked me to make him some more. I figured I'm not going to get a lot of years of requests for handknits so I am seizing the opportunity while it's here.

Other than the socks I have not really been working on anything. I still have some of my Rasputin roving on the wheel but I haven't touched that in several days.

Yesterday it was way hot - like 104 or thereabouts. Ick. I got smart and made dinner in the morning (boiled potatos and eggs for potato salad with sandwiches). I also have the house blacked out like it's WWII. It helps. It only got 89 in the house yesterday (we have a borrowed window a/c unit). I also bathed the kids in a cool bath before bed. In fact that was such a good idea Brian and I took a cold shower too (Yes together. No. It was too hot to even think about that- even in a cold shower, get your mind out of the gutter). That helped a bit. It stayed decently cool upstairs (a/c is upstairs) and I was able to put the kids to bed in their own room (I thought about sleeping on the floor up there because it was cooler than downstairs). Unfortunately the house only cooled off to about 80 last night so it might not be as cool in the house today even though it's supposed to not get as hot outside. I miss the rain.

8 Years

We have been married for 8 years today.
I love you more than ever Baby!

Quick fun project

I have been meaning to do this little project ever since I got my key chain sock blocker and I have finally found the perfect yellow to accomplish it.

First I spun up a small amount of yellow roving. These are tiny socks so you don't need much roving at all. I did the Navajo ply on the fly method so when I was done, I was done - no additional plying needed.

Then I just kept going with the black - you can cut them apart later...it's just a lot easier when spinning such small amounts to do it this way (In fact the yellow is attached to the current project I have going on the spindle but I wanted to whip this out quick so I just stopped the roving and started the yellow). The reason I was able to do it that way is because of the Navajo ply.Here are the wee finished 'skeins.' I guess you can't see how tiny and cute they are since I didn't have anything in the photo for reference.Here is my finished sock. I call him Charlie Brown.

I just made it on the yarn too. I had plenty of black but here is what I have left of the yellow:That's about 8 or 9 inches. Glad I spun just that little bit more! Seriously the whole project took less than 2 hours and you don't have to set the twist in the yarn if you don't want to since the garment will not be worn.