The girls are going to be home from school in 20 minutes or so, and I’m not ready. But I promised I’d show up today, and with the weather being what it is around here, having made national news and such, I didn’t want to worry anyone.

First of all, we’re all fine.

Secondly, I went to the fabric store today to buy fabric for a craft with the girls that you’ll undoubtedly see later, if it makes it out of the bag and we actually do it. I also bought some fabric for a new tree skirt, because mine totally gets on my nerves. (It’s entirely the wrong red). As it turns out, I didn’t buy enough of one of the fabrics. I forgot that most fabric doesn’t come as wide as felt does, and I was basing my tree skirt construction on my recent experience with poodle skirts.

So, I either need to go back to the store (no, no, no) or be creative with what I’ve got. I’m voting for creative.

Initially, it was my intent to make a two sided skirt. The fancy brocade on one side and the funky flannel that reminds me of our early ’70s kitchen carpet on the other. Both look great with the shag carpet-ish trim. BUT, I don’t have enough of the brocade. So I’m toying with the idea of combining them. Another option would be to use the leftover gold cotton from my funky tablecloth as a filler somehow. I’m liking the brocade and flannel idea, tho’ it sounds absolutely wrong when you say (or type, as the case may be) it out loud.

Flannel and brocade? Together??? What’s up with that?

And holy cow, look at this.

It’s my early anniversary gift from Nate! And it’s in my house! I’m ecstatic, and need to get my fleece dyed so I can play with it.

I wish there were music notes on a keyboard so you’d know that I’m quoting a song.

I love Christmas. I love December. I love to get out the boxes of Christmas stuff and be reminded of things I inevitably forget about that make me all sentimental and happy. I love decorating the house… not just for me, but for hearing the squeals of delight and excitement it brings to my girls. And this year, I get to see Clark’s face fill with wonder as he sees the lights and bright, colorful things fill the house.

He joined right in with the girls last night, playing with golden bead garlands while I wrapped ribbon through the tree. (I should have got a picture of that. Dangit).

The tree is now ribboned and beaded and ready for ornaments.

The countdown is well under way

As is the advent calendar

Now, I need to make lists.

It’s crazy here, weather-wise. Roads are closed everywhere. It took Nate an hour + to get home from the early morning religion class that he teaches. It’s usually an 8 minute drive. There’s water everywhere. Nate said that when he was on the road, the oncoming cars were hitting puddles that sprayed water over the top of his car. It’s supposed to rain heavily until Wednesday, and there’s already flooding all around us. We’re on a hill, so the only thing we have to worry about is our garage, which is at the bottom of our steep driveway. And if we were responsible homeowners, and had our gutters cleaned out, we wouldn’t even need to worry about that.

I have a lot to tell/show, but I’m ready to get on with my day, so I’ll see you all again tomorrow.

Happy Christmas season!

Well.

I haven’t gone an entire month without posting Health Group since Health Group began 3 1/2 years ago. I hang my head before you today.

So, as I’m sure you can imagine, I haven’t been doing much in the way of exercising. We went out of town the first weekend in November, then I had a kidney infection, and it seems like I’ve been mildly sick ever since. SO, my goal for this week is to drink a lot of water (I think I’m a bit dehydrated), eat lots of vegetables, and do my core strengthening exercises at least twice.

I don’t feel up to the treadmill yet, and my hip has been bothering me. I don’t want to exacerbate anything.

How has your month/week been?

On Friday, the girls and I went to the Weaving Works to pick up some needle felting kits and Christmas colored rovings to do this.

I saw a picture in a magazine of using cookie cutters as molds to felt shapes, and knew the girls would love it. And they do.

Yesterday, I went back to the Weaving Works to try out their drum carder. They carry a Pat Green carder, but not one that’s on their website, however it looks like the Deb’s Deluxe.

I liked it. I had time to make three batts. The first was romney, silk noil, and silk top. The second was romney and alpaca. Third, I did a batt of dyed kid mohair and silk top.

They’re all lovely.

I finished spinning the wool and mohair roving I bought with my fleece a month or so ago. This is the last skein.

And I got a better picture of the scarf.

I spun the yarn woolen with just enough twist in the single to hold it together, then I plied it as heavy as I could without making it rough. The resulting yarn is light as a feather, and squishy as the most luxurious sponge you could imagine. It’s not a soft wool, but I think the scarf feels fantastic.

Clark threw up all over himself last night, but didn’t wake up. I have a tremendous mess to clean up today and while I’m at it, I might as well do the rest of the laundry.

Sigh.

Sometimes.

And he’s only 19 1/2 months!

I’ve been spinning up a wool/mohair blended roving the past few days. I have a little left to do, but four skeins are done and washed already. We cleared off the coat racks in our entryway for Thanksgiving guests to use, and I was happy to see them when wandering the house with four wet skeins Sunday night, looking for a place to dry them.

I’ll have to remember that. You’re only seeing two of the three racks. I could dry a lot of yarn there…

Anyway, I’m knitting a cabled scarf with it.

The colors are quite washed out in the photo, but it’s really pretty, and soft and squishy. I like it a lot.

I wish I had enough to knit a vest or something. If you recall, I railed quite passionately against vests a couple years ago, but I’ve changed my mind. Vests can be very cool. Hayden has shown me the light.

So, while I haven’t been much of a scarf knitter in the past, I’m suddenly turning my handspun into scarves. I need to try something else.

Now, I’m going to make turkey soup. And my post is incredibly boring. Can you hear the malaise? I’m done here.

So, Nate and I went out of town for his birthday. We went to the Olympic Peninsula to stay in a little cabin on the ocean in La Push, which is an indian reservation, and to visit Forks and the rain forest.

(Forks is the town where those vampire books I’ve been talking about were set).

On the way out there, we stopped in Port Angeles to eat dinner at the Bella Italia, (the restaurant in the book), which was very, very good. Nate refused to give me a decent smile, (he really hates having his picture taken) so you get a picture of an empty booth.

There were four women at the table next to us that came from Canada and were asking for Mushroom Ravioli, breadsticks, and Coke (what Bella ate in the book). The restaurant didn’t have mushroom ravioli, and Nate and I were dying, trying not to laugh as the very enthusiastic Twilight fans were geeking out all over the waitress.

After dinner, we made the famed night drive from Port Angeles to Forks, tho’ we obeyed the speed limit.

Our cabin in La Push was great. Very cute and right on the ocean.

And it had the biggest bathtub I’ve ever seen.

You seriously could have fit four people in there.

In the morning, we went to Forks for breakfast

and went grocery shopping.

I bought a hat.

The visitor’s center was great.

It was decked out with Twilight posters and banners and such. The guy working there got all excited when we said we’d read the books, and gave us a map of sights to see, along with an envelope full of stuff including a Twilight Trivia test and a baggie of First Beach Sand.

When we got back to the cabin, Nate did some reading

and I knit for awhile

before we went for an hour long walk on the beach. Our cabin was right on First Beach, and it was gorgeous.

We came back to dry out

The next morning, it was sunny and gorgeous, and we got a few pictures before heading to the rain forest, which you saw a week or so ago in my hat post.

So much to do, and I’m completely behind in every imaginable way. Except for the grocery shopping.

I was supposed to clean my house and do laundry on Monday.

I was supposed to make gingerbread turkeys and pumpkin pies yesterday.

I am supposed to make 6 dozen crescent rolls today.

And as it turns out, I’m doing ALL of those things today. And there will probably be some carryover into tomorrow.

Dangit. Dangit. Dangit.

BUT, the laundry is well under way. I’ve cleaned my counter and reloaded it with the necessities for pumpkin pie.

The boy is SO going down for a nap as soon as this post is finished. I am eating healthy food and drinking lots of water to maintain my energy.

I WILL PREVAIL!!!!

I will. I will. I will.

I bought yet another large container of Band Aids this week. We have a serious case of Band Aid abuse in this house. I made rules. I wrote them on the box. It amused me. I took a picture.

I went to a spinning guild’s fiber sale last night (I made the decision to go last week, thinking I’d deserve a break from all the Thanksgiving work I’d be doing, which clearly hasn’t been happening. I went anyway). I almost came home with a loom. Nate is thrilled that I didn’t, which probably explains why he seemed so pleased when I showed him these.

A pound + to spin,

And a pound to dye.

And then spin.

And I’m stuck baking.

Dangit. Dangit. Dangit.

I wanted to get a better picture, or at least a new one, but that’s probably not going to happen, so I’m just posting this as is.

These are some fabulous fingerless mitts I designed in the style of the Uptown Boot Socks from the Winter 2003 issue of Interweave Knits Magazine.

Size 7 double pointed needles

Gauge- 13 stitches over 3 inches of stockinette

2 skeins Elsebeth Lavold Angora

Cable Pattern-

(C4F means place 2 stitches on a cable needle, hold cable needle in front while knitting the next 2 stitches, then return and knit the two stitches from the cable needle).

Round 1: knit
Round 2: knit
Round 3: (C4F, knit 4) around, end with C4F
Round 4: knit
Round 5: knit
Round 6: knit
Round 7: (knit 4, C4F) around, end with knit 4
Round 8: knit

Cuff-

Cast on 36 stitches, 12 per needle

Join into round, knit 20 rows of 2×2 ribbing

Hand-

(knit 8, work 20 stitches in cable pattern, knit 8 ) for 28 rounds

round 29- knit 8, work 20 stitches in cable pattern, place next 7 stitches on waste yarn or stitch holder, cast on 7 stitches before knitting remaining 5 stitches to complete the round. This is now your right handed mitt.

Continue working hand stitches as before, until you have completed 43 rounds of the cable pattern.

Knit 5 rounds of 2×2 ribbing, bind off in rib pattern.

Thumb-

Put 7 held stitches back on a needle.

Pick up 8 stitches along the cast on edge behind the 7 held stitches.

With right side facing, begin knitting the 15 thumb stitches in stockinette stitch in the round, for 6 rounds.

On the first of the next 5 ribbing rounds, either decrease by 3 or increase by 1 stitch to get the 12 or 16 stitches you’d need to knit 2×2 ribbing.

Knit 5 rounds of 2×2 ribbing, bind off in rib pattern.

Weave in ends.

Repeat for the left glove working the thumb on the opposite side.

I was straightening up yesterday. Bustling through the house, tidying up, my mind in far off places as I went through the motions of housework when……

…when I picked my shoalwater shawl up off the back of my computer chair. I’ve been using the shawl a lot recently around the house, as it’s gotten colder. I lifted it, spread it, and that’s when I saw it.

And once I started breathing again, I took pictures.

You probably can’t see it there, but it’s a cool picture. My modern couch is instantly “grandma-fied”. It cracked me up.

How ’bout now?

And finally,

What the heck? My only asumption is that because Noro Kureyon isn’t the strongest of yarns, I happened to end up with a particularly weak spot in a stress point, and it snapped.

In the absolute dead center of my shawl.

I didn’t know how I was going to fuse the yarn together once I had it fixed, but I figured I’d start in on it and deal with each problem as I encountered it. Fortunately, Kureyon is a felted yarn, very sticky, so it hadn’t run too far or gotten out of hand. So I re-threaded it. It didn’t look right. I did it again. Bingo.

In the end, I pulled as much length through as I could and spit and spliced it. I hope it holds. I really didn’t know what else to do.

To celebrate, I finished washing my second romney fleece.

Is it really that neurotic of me to spend hours picking through the locks to remove all second cuts and roughage, arranging them parallel to each other by length (generally speaking), and washing them in small batches?

I think it must be, but wow! When it’s washed and dry and all tidy like that, my heart just flutters.

I’m going out today to pick up my serger, and to do something else that I’ve forgotten already. I’m hosting Thanksgiving again this year. Dinner will be significantly smaller than last year, I think we’re feeding about 22, but we’ll be back up to 38 or so for dessert.

I’m making lists and assigning days to tasks. I can’t figure out exactly why I love to host big parties. But I really, really do.