The Joys of Homeschooling

In my ever, continuing battle against clutter, I bring you..... The Bottle Project. The DIY man does work for a little, ole dude out in Salem who built his house in a gully and raised his yard to street level by bringing in some sort of dirt. My kids have been excavating at the bottom of the gully, and I bring you......

Bottles. Who knows where they came from, or were used for what. They are ancient. Before the days of plastic. That blue one there is an old Vicks bottle. Thank God, I understand about compost, dirt, and God's clean up crew, aka: worms, bugs, and various other micro organisms. So, I know they are clean.

Folks. This is the joy of homeschooling (I'm being slightly sarcastic here). I am not *allowed* to throw that crap away. I will have 3 weeping and wailing kids on my hands. I have no earthly idea what they are doing with those bottles, but the kids are doing *something*.

Here are my projects lately:

BABY SURPRISE JACKET #2

FELTED CLUTCH

KNEE HIGH SOCK

YET, ANOTHER DECEMBER LIGHTS TAM

Welcome to the Twilight Zone.........

What? Me? As if!!!!!!

You're Dune!

by Frank Herbert

You have control over a great wealth of resources, but no one wants to
let you have them. You've decided to try to defend yourself, but it may take eons before
you really get back what you feel you deserve. Meanwhile you have a cult-like following
of minions waiting for your life to progress. This would all be even more exciting if you
could just get the sand out of your eyes.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Knitnana gets to be The Mists of Avalon. I am so jealous...............

Been Busy.

Been busy. Life has gotten the better of me, and this time, worse than usual. Is this normal? Is this what life is? One 'crisis' to the next? Thank God I can knit and spin. Besides my children, these are the pleasures I have on this earth that I cling to.

This is the lace wing moth section of the Fiore di Melanzana stole. Handspun from David Simpson. Robin helped me decide how many oz. I'd need. I am pretty sure that it is an uneven lace weight up to some sections sport weight yarn. Glad it is for lace and not a fitted garment.
Finished up Wallaby #2 for DD#1. Great pattern, but BORING! That is that huge pack of yarn from Knitters Knook. Forgot what it is called. I affectionately call it the 'Z-Pack', as it is from New Zealand. But wait? A Z-Pack if a type of antibiotic. Oh, well. Great yardage, cheap, and best of all wool to keep my kiddoes warm.

Oh, guess what? We are getting a wood stove next week. We have an oil furnace and radiators. Great heat. One problem. We only bought 1/2 a tank of oil and the price was INSANE! In 2 years, we will have saved enough money heating our house with wood to make up for the cost of the stove. Better for the environment too, just a little added bonus for me! Right now, on Oct. 3 at 9:16 am, my house is 65 deg. F. I REFUSE to turn the heat on with all the wool sweaters I have been knitting for my kids over the last 2 years, they are gonna have to actually wear them.

So, DH, is going to have another reason to support my knitting and spinning habit. The sock there is a knee high (I am so into knee highs right now) made with Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn. L-O-V-E T-H-A-T Y-A-R-N!

I am so grateful to God for so many things in this season of my life. I think I'll make a list. This is as much for me to remind myself of His goodness TODAY! Here goes:

• healthy children
• healthy self and husband
• distance between my crazy family and me. Oh, about 6 hours or so :)
• I have a spinning wheel
• I can knit so very, many cool things
• I have shelter
• there is a wood pile bigger than my mini-van in the driveway
• it is sunny today
• it is my favorite month today
• I am making pasta for dinner
• Andy still has a job!
• Andy is off next week
• Mom is safe, and secure, for now, in a nursing home
• I have all the advice I need to make a competent decision for mom's care
• dad had foresight to leave enough money to care for his wife after his death
• I have many, many friends
• I have high speed Internet
• I don't have a cell phone!
• I love this high pressure in the area now
• did I forget to mention my stash?

I could go on forever. I make this list to help resist the temptation of self-pity. This has been a hard month. But, life is good and I am looking for the positives today.

OK. nough of that, gonna go feed my kids breakfy.

My Favorite Knitting Tool!

Like all knitters, I like my tools. However..... after a few years knitting now, I have rediscovered an oldy but goody. You may think that I am going to say row counter, or Addy Turbos. And yes, I love those things. But I am thinking something older and better. A simple machine based on simple physics. Look at the following pictures:

My finished fair isle vest. Drat. The hem is rolling up AND it was 4 inches too short. What is a girl to do?
A closer look. Houston, I have a problem. Now. In the past, I might have actually *gasp* thrown it away, cuz guess what? Fair isle DON'T PICK OUT WELL. What a waste. What a shame. Well. I live in a new knitting paradigm. The paradigm of the SCISSORS!

Yes, Dear Reader! My favorite knitting tool is the commonplace, household/sewing scissors. So may knitting DISASTERS may be adverted with the judicious application of this simple machine! This is not for the faint of heart, but with a wee little bit of research, and some very careful planning (you MUST be very careful WHAT you cut, after all. Don't go crazy and hack away), you can fix a doomed project!

So...... I took a size 2 needle and picked up the left leg of the correct row for each stitch. Then, got out my tool of choice..... my serrated kitchen shears , and carefully cut off the offending roll. Then proceeded to knit again, in the opposite direction, in pattern for the correct amount of length. SUCCESS! Sorry, I'll have to post a finished picture later.

Then we have Mia's sweater: I took a pair of scissors to her EZ yoke sweater, cuz her Mama made the thing too small. Hmmm. It was cold earlier this summer and when I pulled it over her head, it was too tight. This time NO planning. Got same kitchen shears and helter skelter, cut up the middle, then sewed down the edges. Picked up some stitches, and knit on a button band, got some cool buttons... and the rest is history. She loves it and WEARS it now. Lesson learned. Kids don't like tight.

In non-scissor knitting news. Another tam:
Plums and greens, for me. Knitpicks. Love, love, love Knitpicks Palette. Completed the ensemble with fingerless gloves:
I have been doing many things. This stuff here is old news. Maybe, I'll be able to document what I am doing now, later. *sigh* Life is busy. Be well, Dear Friends. catie

Finished! Wonderful Wallaby # 1

WONDERFUL WALLABY

#1

This was fun knit. Got the yarn at Knitter's Knook during Becky's sale. Got another 1 on the needles for DD#1.
It's a little bit, but she'll grow. She is eating me out of house and home. You go girl!!!

If it's worth having, it's worth working for........

After my last discourse on my life, I thought I would count my blessings. I have so many. And you know what? The blessings in and of themselves, are also challenges. Believe it or not, my mother used to say, "If it is worth having it is worth working for." With that, I give you my other, current challenges in the knitting genre.

1st up: Briar Rose sock. Handspun, 3ply size 3 needles. Super wash Merino. Absolutely lovely, and smooshy (to quote dixigirl)! I couldn't find a pattern that I loved and I was sick of being tied to a pattern anyway..... so, I took my newly acquired know how from Cat Bhordi's book, cast on for a toe up , and increased until it would fit my foot. Risky, risky. But greatness is only achieved by risk. We'll see what happens when it comes to the heel. Gusset? Short row? Who knows.
2nd up: The Joe Basic Fair Isle Vest. Size 4 needles. Random colors from Knitpicks Palette. EZ pattern from Spin-off for the basic color changes. I'll tell you a secret. I got thru the corrugated ribbing and into the actual pattern, when I caught my mistake. I was on a size 2 needle. Well, rats. My stitch count was off and it was going to be way too small, even if I have lost some weight. So, instead of ripping it out..... I just changed up to a 4. Not after the ribbign either. Some where in the 1st blue zig zag. We'll see.
Obligatory close up of the actual colors and color changes.
3rd up: Maddy's Wonderful Wallaby. This was an actual challenge that I had set for myself for the beach. To begin and finish a child's sweater in a week. Granted, this is an extremely easy pattern on size 8 needles. But a week no less. I was so up for this challenge. Unfortunately, mom happened. The rest is history. Challenge failed. Oh, well. It's almost done anyway. How bout a child's sweater done in 2 weeks?

Last but not least. My most important challenge of all. Why don't the most important things not get all our attention. I think it is because they might not scream the loudest. My mother also used to say, "The squeaky wheel gets the grease." Well, I guess y'all all know how much she has squeaked lately.

So, I present you:

Maddy's snaggle tooth. I went after it today with dental floss. Trusting soul that she is, believed me that I wasn't really trying to get it out, and willingly let me play with it. Let me tell you, if I thought I could have gotten it, I would have. Same goes for my knitting. So there. ha

Oh yes. I worked off a lot of my angst by cooking up a storm. Homemade bread (no knead variety), rice, bean stew and roasted medley of root vegetables. Food helps so much!

Warning. This is a vent post. Do NOT read if you have an opinion. Note, I have also disabled comments. No offense intended. Thanks. the management

Dear Friends,

What a week. We are back and the week went well.... for the most part. I don't even know where to begin. I am drained as I haven't been in a while. To put it succinctly, mom had a psychotic break this week. She hasn't had one in 5 or so years.

Here are the pertinent details. She had lived with my brother (who is also bipolar) for about 4 years. Before that, she was in an assisted living facility in Las Vegas. (yeesh, I cringe to even tell y'all that). RGG (bro) thought it would be a good idea.... save her some money. Didn't matter that I knew THIS WAS A BIG, FAT, HAIRY MISTAKE. They didn't care what I thought.

I won't go into the gory details.... let's just say that the shyte hit the ceiling fan and I am up to bat. On vacation no less. What you don't know, is that my mother can time a psychotic event for when I have something else to do. She has done it. Many. Many. Many times. Think wedding day. Think departing the country for a job. Think my father's death. Think every year, when I HAVE to go to the beach with 11 other children and 15 other adults who are not my blood family.

I spent Tuesday thru Friday, all day, on the phone with so very many, many, many people. Trying not to listen to bro and sil vent, couldn't stop most of their venom, but some, at least. Social workers, nursing homes,..... you name it. Then, I am treated to the opinions of all my husbands family. Whom, have NEVER had to deal with anything like this.

So, I have got mom placed in an independent living facility with 4 hours/day of an aide coming in to wait on her hand and foot. This is going to drain her until there is nothing left. I am so frustrated because my dingbat bil, who is a lawyer, and thinks he knows it all, now is trying to advise me on money.....

Short list of stressers:

• mom's actual psychotic break
• brothers neediness
• traveling with 11 other children
• dealing with in-laws on an upclose and personal basis
• worrying about kids at beach
• dealing with dh's opinions on each of these matters
• worrying about money, mom's money
• making dinner for 5 people upon arrival at home

So, why am I telling the entire internet about this? I don't really know, except I know some of y'all really love me. And I love you right back. Many of you have become family that I have chosen. Thank you for that. I am sorry to unload something so STUPID when others in our little family have much worse problems.... like hurt children, or hurt husbands. What have I got to complain about? Nothing really. This is just my life, and this blog is a small piece that I can control. Just a small piece.

I have so many blessings. I think it is just easier to focus on the problems and neglect the truly beautiful things in life.

On the way home, I got to listen to some teachings on the book of Proverbs. The titles were, "The Healing of Anger", which by the way states that anger is good, just be slow getting to it; and "Healing of the Wounded Spirit". God really addressed me directly today. Not sugar sweetness either, but an antibiotic for my soul. His Presence. His direct address of my angst. That is the biggest blessing of all. I am not alone.

AT THE BEACH!

Ocean Isle Oct 2007 - 071, originally uploaded by Downtown Guy.

Pin Oak

1944-2008

All things are born to die. Even trees. This is the last shot of the pin oak my father played under, I played under, and several sets of grandchildren (including my own) have played under.
Cherry picker. Ethan is beside himself watching all the big equipment in his own yard. I am making him stay in the house as it is just not safe when a 70+ foot tree is being taken down. No margin for error, and as we all know, accidents DO happen.
The dozer.

The funny thing is, Andy, aka The DIY Man, is going to keep ALL the wood. The other funny thing is, we are leaving for the beach ..... on Saturday. Today is Thursday. There is no way the DIY Man can get a full trees wood, 70 yo worth, organized and put away.

I am stressed. I want to pack. I really NEED to knit to get settled. So, off I go to do something.

Later, catie

I CAME, I SAW, I .................................!

The kids got picked up today by grammy and grampy. I was supposed to be working on the school room, preparing for some hand-me-down desks from my aunt. Cleaning, sorting, rearranging etc. Instead, I took a nap and knit for an hour. Before long I had this:

Not much to look at. What you are seeing is a GORGEOUS, prime alpaca sweater (natural colored, of course). But wait. Catie.... there is a "small" problem there.

*gasp*
You are exactly right. I can't even fit my fist through the head opening. What is wrong? Off to my handy dandy sewing machine. Where I promptly broke a needle (I was a tad overzealous), learned how to dig out alpaca from a 20th century machine, change a needle and rethread the whole thing. Mind you, I have never worked that much with this appliance... and swiftly continued sewing.

A few snips. It went so quickly, and there you have it. A beautiful shot of my 30 something decolletage. No silly, my new v-neck sweater. Raglan. Fits nice. It was hot out there on the porch considering it is 85 and the alpaca.

I CAME, I SAW, I STEEKED!

Happy 4th of July!!!

The above picture is the 9 am view off my front porch from my favorite place to spin outside. Notice the haze. Land o' mercy, it's gonna be hot.
The view of my HUGE boxwood to my right. Hmm, what have we here?

It's on the wheel. Just a baby. My baby, ds who is 4 yo, saw him and gasped in wonder.
The tiniest preying mantis I have ever seen. Wait till September, he'll be monstrously huge, but for now, he's a little greaser. Just so you get an idea of how small the little dude is, that yarn right there is cobweb weight. I will ply it to make a 2ply lace weight for the Bee Stole.
I love the fact that I actually got the camera to focus on something that small!!!!! I marvel at God's workmanship. This little guy is so delicate, tiny..... He could be crushed by the tiniest touch. Yet, he is so full of personality. He kept jumping on my camera lens. His little head would cock from side to side as if he could commune with me. I feel blessed cuz he visited with me and my wheel for a few minutes before he disappeared into the boxwood cavern.

Gotta fly, guests coming! Later, catie

January 26, 2007

January 26, 2007, originally uploaded by Sabrina Tang.

Dear Gentle Reader,

I have a confession to make. I have been on a diet since Sept. of 2007. I have lost 25ish lbs (still have 8ish to go to get to the 1st goal weight). What's the problem you ask? Well....

Here goes:

I have broken..... badly..... over the last 2 days.

Yesterday, I ate at El Rodeo. I had Chile Verde, which is pork butt in tomatillo sauce. Sides of rice, beans, avocado salad and tortillas. The problem was, portion control.

Later, went to the Fresh Market and acquired 2 boxes of muffins and a cherry pie.

Today, I eschewed the leftover pork butt for lunch and had homemade mac and chee instead. It was whole wheat penne at least. Just now.... I dove into the pie. Not 1, but 2 large pieces. Oh, forgot to mention the cinnamon muffin I had for breakfast. There was NOTHING redeeming there!

I guess that's what you get for being into self-denial for 9 months. Well, I have denied myself NO yarn or fiber tho. I guess that's all that matters, eh?

NEW RESPECT

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.
Take this quiz!

One day, today actually..... I was trolling thru Ravelry when I happened upon this:

Swiffer Mop Cover, originally uploaded by smariek.

Another use for dishcloth cotton. I think I am going to have to rethink my snobbery about yarn and about myself. Maybe dishcloth cotton is fabulous, versatile, and a downright must have for my stash. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm , this bears some thought.

Here is the the best buy I got at Sedalia Fiber Festival. Natural 100% alpaca, brown and silver. Probably the prettiest, softest, most luxurious yarn I have ever knit with. It was a great buy as well. $22 for 660 yards. I got 3 skeins. More than enough to make a sweater and maybe some mittens, hat, and socks as well.

I like the way the stitches are. I am going to need a camisole or something underneath it. Very drapey, and just the tiniest bit see through.
I CO another sock. This time Marcelo's Seven-League Boots for DD #1. Leftover sport weight yarn. I have so much of this yarn, I can probably knit another pair of adult socks for a Christmas present.
My latest acquisition from CyberFyber, aka, David Simpson. Aura. It is going to be lace weight for my second attempt at the Bee Fields Shawl. I MADE SURE I had enough material for it this time. Almost 1.5lbs, more or less. These are the 1st 2 skeins of what I think will probably be 8-10 skeins.
This is what I call my 'found' alpaca. The lady from Riveranna Farms gave it to me. I had just made a small purchase and she said to take from her bags of 2nds..... as long as I didn't spin it.
Folks, giving me fiber and telling me not to attempt to spin it is ludicrous. I told her I was going to spin it. She said I could have it as long as I *wink, wink* promised not to spin it. Okey, dokey....*wink, wink* I won't spin it. There you see, I haven't *wink* spun it.

I had all kinds of funny things to tell you about, but, blogger failed me when the creative juices were flowing earlier. The dingbat pictures refused to upload. Lost all the fun stuff. So, the driest, knitting post ever. Hope to do better for you next time, Dear Reader.

Your Friend,

Catie

Been doing many things these last couple of days.
Setting twist and finishing yarn to knit.
Trying to figure out what to knit with 150 yards of orange, hand spun boucle. Ideas? Anyone? Anyone?
Finishing up sock #1 of An American in China sock. Sport weight yarn. Size 4 needles. Wool by David Simpson in Carnival colorway.
The closest yarn, that I have seen, to resemble this yarn is Alice Starmores from her Virtual Yarns website. The yarn is multi-faceted and complex. You can make it stripe, or better yet, let it spin as it would and it creates it's own heathered color.
The DIY Man socks. Again, David Simpsons fiber, 3ply, light fingering, size 1 needles. I really spun this yarn way too tight and it is quite ropey. BUT! I have learned that sock yarn should be spun tightly to help it wear longer! So, Andy gets rough socks. It might even wear the hair off his legs.

You know it's hot when.................

You know it's hot when:

• Your dog has drank so much water, it doesn't even realize it has to go and pees on your Aubusson rug.
• You forgot the dog probably needed to go out because you didn't want to open the sw facing door FOR ANY REASON.
  

• You also don't want to open the sw facing door to let kids play in the kiddy pool, for same aforementioned reason. They think any door is revolving and they must be able to have complete access to anywhere AT anytime, at ALL times. Regardless of Mom crying out that it is hotter than the blazes out there and MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
• DH thinks it is cold in the bedroom when it is 84 degrees.
• You can't sleep with DH because he is hot, snoring, and restless (he wasn't cold, what IS his problem).
• You sleep on the downstairs couch with window open and at 4:30am, the Siamese cat starts to meow at you from the other side, cuz the window is open and she can smell you. You are rather ripe after all.

• You know you need lots of H2O in heat like this, but this causes the post, have had 3 baby bladder to feel the need to pee.
• You barely get pants down in time, cuz they stick.
• You stick on the porcelain.
• Can barely pull them up, yet again, sticking. End up doing a 'happy dance' pulling them up, much to the entertainment of 4 yo son who has yet to leave you alone while you do any sort of personal business.
  

• You carry the Aubusson rug out the SW facing door to rinse it well with vinegar and water to kill the pee smell, which, if left unattended, would flow thru the house in a matter of hours.
• DH decides to vacuum under where the Aubusson rug was and made the entire downstairs at least 3-4 degrees hotter due to the exhaust.
  

• You are hungry, but, the idea of cooking makes eating a bad idea.
• Alas, you ARE hungry. You boil noodles and the steam kills the appetite of the entire family. Noodles you say? That was nuts. Well.... there was truly nothing else to eat and going to the store and walking across that hot pavement didn't bear pondering.
  

• You decide to do something relaxing, like knit. Good idea in theory, but the yarn refuses to slip thru your fingers due to excess hand moisture.
• You must give up on all projects but socks, as wool in the lap is intolerable.
• You break a sweat while blogging.

Current temp of upstairs: 88 deg F.

Current temp of downstairs: 85 deg F.

Mental status: sane, barely

Plans for tomorrow: made dental appts for kids so we could go somewhere with a/c

What are those pictures: Well, with no knitting to show, I thought I would flash some hand spun stash!