Wow, it’s been awhile. September kicked my butt, what with being sick and all. I’ll need to go back and see what week we’re actually on, but I don’t have time today. So, I thought I’d check in at least. I think I might be able to start exercising again. I’ve been so weak from being sick. With the weather changing, I’m not sure how I’m going to get that exercise, but pretty soon here, I’ll start up with the calorie counting and exercise again. My pants are snug.

How has it been going for you all?

YetAnotherAmy suggested yesterday that I could use less silk in my batts to save $$$. That spurred a discussion/disagreement between Nate and I. We really don’t disagree much, so it was amusing. I had said that although I am an artist, and are therefore not interested in saving $$$, I was interested to see what less silk would do to the batt.

Nate argued that I’m a commercial artist, and therefore should be VERY interested in saving $$$.

I don’t think I’m a commercial artist, and I’m sure that Cassandra Barney, who sells her art for a living, doesn’t scrimp on paint to save a little $$$.

He said he figures she doesn’t scrimp on paint, but if she could buy her favorite boards somewhere cheaper, she would.

I said that was a completely different matter, because in the end, she’s still working with the same product.

He got frustrated and said he wasn’t trying to pick a fight.

I laughed at (I mean with) him.

So anyway, I made up a tan batt with half the silk of the blue batt. And I really like it.

In the skein at least, it’s much tidier. And extremely beautiful. Additionally, I’m quite proud of the spinning. It’s so even and smooth…

(There’s twice as much yarn in the tan skein than there is in the blue one).

I’m interested to see how they compare knit up. I think I have enough of each color, once the second blue batt is spun, to knit a pair of fingerless mitts from each.

Thanks YetAnotherAmy for the suggestion. It was a nudge that I think I needed, saving $$$ or not :-).

Also, to answer Anna’s question yesterday, my elbows are still very slowly getting better. They hurt when I play guitar, so I have to limit my practice sessions to about 30 minutes. They hurt occasionally when I pick up something that’s both small and heavy. And I need to be cognizant of my arm position when I knit. However, I can tell that they’re getting better. Thanks for asking.

Yesterday was full of laundry (shudder. It was taking over the house), the usual, never ending clean up, a long phone conversation with my sister, spinning the tan batt, and at about 10:30 last night, I started another book.

I got to sleep at around 2 am and am over 2/3 through House of Many Ways. I’m not enjoying it as much as the first two, but now that Howl, Calcifer and Sophie have shown up, it’s getting pretty good.

I finished the back to Clark’s sweater this morning.

My understanding was that if you knit two together on the last bind off instead of just binding it off, it helps to reduce the “stair stepping” effect. Well, I still see stairs. Maybe I’m doing it wrong? Anyone know? I don’t usually care, because the stairs seam up just fine, but since this is a saddle shoulder sweater, that seam is going to be on the front (well, in this case the back) of the shoulder and quite visible, so a smoother edge to seam seemed like a good idea.

Yesterday, I went to my LYS to buy the new Debbie Bliss magazine. It’s the first issue, and I love Debbie Bliss. Her designs and color choices are so elegant. She seems to balance interesting with “wearable” very well, as in her designs manage to be both not boring and not weird. Talent indeed. I also bought her Tweed book in which, as it turns out, most of the patterns are also in the magazine. Oh well.

I’m very annoyed her magazine doesn’t offer subscriptions. How insane is that? When I first heard of the magazine, before even seeing it, I immediately went online to try to subscribe. No luck. So I went to the LYS and bought the issue (actually, I called on Saturday, had them put one of the last 3 issues they had on HOLD for me, and bought it yesterday by which time it was sold out). When I came home, I fanned the pages to look for those pesky subscription cards that are usually supplied in abundance with every magazine I’ve ever bought.

I found what I thought was one, solitary card. I cheered.

It was a postcard.

No subscriptions.

In the future, I’ll have to keep an eye out for release dates, and make sure I get into the store before they sell out.

Lame.

Seriously lame.

Yesterday was also a Cross Country meet for the girls. I took a bunch of pictures. The first few amuse me. Our PE teacher is fantastically fun. Everyone loves him. He’s extremely energetic and charismatic and has a very positive and fun personality. This exact description also applies to our half day kindergarten teacher. These two men head up the various after school sports programs sponsored by the school district throughout the year, as well as a very involved dance held yearly in late fall. It was clear to me the effect this has on the kids when I saw the teams lined up on the bank waiting for the meet to start.

Our school-

Their schools-

The school with the purple shirts weren’t assembled yet, but they were about the same size.

I’m so glad we have those teachers to inspire and encourage our kids. They’re very lucky. And hearing Mr. H screaming and cheering as he sees each of the kids run by, calling them by name… it makes me tear up a little.

Maybe I should knit him something.

So, while waiting for the running to start, I took some cutie pictures of Clark on the playground.

And then, of course, they ran. Abby’s in the pink shorts.

It was a good day.

I think it might be a good one! Though, this an entirely impossible time of day to get a picture with accurate color, natural light or no.

It’s still not perfect. I want to have strands of mulberry silk top in there, but we’re off to a good start. I’ve spun it, I’ll wash it, I have one more to spin, and then I’ll knit them into fingerless mitts for Liv to see how it looks worked up.

I’m thinking that despite what the sample on the dyecard looks like, I’m not going to be able to use mahogany silk in Nate’s sweater. It’s entirely too pinkish as opposed to the dark, burgundy red it’s supposed to be. However, it’s beautiful.

Aside from carding and spinning a quick batt, I didn’t get much done with fiber yesterday. Didn’t knit a stitch on Clark’s sweater. I got sucked into a book. On Saturday, I read Howl’s Moving Castle and yesterday, I read Castle in the Air. They’re both children’s literature by Diana Wynne Jones. She’s very softly funny. Intelligently funny. They’re enjoyable to read.

Nate is a huge reader, and much of the female side of his family (mom, sisters, sisters-in-law) are also. I’m not much of a reader, but I think I could become one. (This is both exciting and distressing to me. There’s only so much time… and reading, while tremendous fun, doesn’t feel productive).

Anyway, when I said I wanted to read Howl’s Moving Castle after seeing the movie and wanting more information on the characters, Nate took me out and we bought it. I read it in a day, and showed interest in the follow up and it’s sequel. Yesterday, he came home with four books, one for him by Neil Gaiman, and three for me. He’s also brought up a book from his extensive library downstairs that he’s sure I’ll like called Mad Kestrel by Misty Massey.

I’m not lacking for encouragement, that much is certain.

And I’m still intrigued by the Outlander series Carrie recommended to me, that I’ve heard referenced several times since in various conversations.

Bah! There are far too many interesting things to spend time on.

I cast on Sunday and am 2 rows away from armhole shaping.

My sister recently reminded me that I cast on left handed, and as I look at the bottom of my ribbing, you can totally tell. The cast on on the inside of the sweater or “wrong” side looks much nicer then on the outside. I need to try to re-learn my cast on.

As of right now, it looks like I’ll have enough yarn. The sweater shrinks up quite a bit, being ribbed, but stretches out to where it needs to be easily. I hope that’s good enough. Clark seems to know it’s his already.

It’s so pretty, I can’t stop petting it.

Deep breath.

Close eyes.

Mental calming exercises.

I tried carding the silks into the tan wool and alpaca. Although the colors of silk were really pretty, they weren’t vibrant enough. I carded one batt and spun a little strip of it. I didn’t even bother to ply it, I just let the single twist back onto itself in little, 3-ply pieces.

It (on the left), admittedly has more color and warmth to it than the skein on the right, which is the same wool and alpaca carded with straight, undyed tussuh silk. (Seemed like a good idea. Wrong. The color of the wool and alpaca completely flattened into a drab nothing).

So, I’m re-dying the silk with more color.

I can see in my head what I want. What I’m going for. I just don’t know how to get there, and I don’t want to settle. But I’m starting to think that there’s a reason I haven’t seen anybody producing what I’m trying to produce. Either it simply can’t exist in our physical world outside of my imagination, or it’s REALLY FREAKING HARD and no one else cares as much as I do about getting it.

I dyed Clark’s yarn yesterday. It didn’t come out as blue as the swatch, but I half expected that.

After consulting with Nate, we decided that I’ll knit the sweater as is, and if I don’t like it, I’ll dye the sweater to add more blue. But the color of the yarn is pretty cool. It’s neutral-ish, with hopefully enough blue to pick up Clark’s eyes, which is what I wanted (to bring out the color in his eyes).

That’s where I’m at.

Well, I’m doing it. I’m dyeing my 800 + yards of handspun wool/alpaca for Clark’s sweater. It’s soaking at the moment.

Once dyed and dried, I’m going to knit it! I need to make something. It’s been too long. I’m thinking a saddle shoulder sweater. I haven’t made one before, and it could be cute, with a 4×4 cable running up the sleeve into the neck with the 2×2 cable rib I swatched for the body (see previous post).

So, crewneck or V neck? Clark’s main use for this sweater will be church, probably over collared shirts.

And I’m going to card up the other stuff I dyed and make fingerless mitts for the girls with it. That seems like an excellent test to see how the yarn holds up, if I get horrid pilling, etc. Plus, they’ve been whining for fingerless mitts, and it’s getting cold. About a month earlier than it’s supposed to.

Bye bye short summer.

I’m still tired. Big surprise. Oh and by the way, the Beef, Tomatoes, and Noodles dish I mentioned last time was really, really, really good. I used 2 pounds of stew beef, browned it, like I mentioned, and added 2 cans of sliced stewed tomatoes. The tomatoes were Nate’s favorite part. I had the leftovers for lunch yesterday and today.

I’m glad my recipe recommendations have been helpful to some of you. And the disposable crockpot liner suggestion from Kate sounds intriguing. Thanks.

I am feeling better, I have more energy, tho’ I still fatigue quicker than normal. But for whatever reason, posting has seemed overwhelming to me. Which is bizarre, I’ve been blogging for nearly 5 years.

So, the crockpot meals have been great. In response to Katie’s comment the other day, I soak it all night long and wash it out in the morning. It cleans up easily.

I only had one dud which happened to be on the same night that Carol brought me soup, so that worked out nicely. It was the ham and potatoes. I think the recipe could be altered and saved, but last Wednesday, the only edible part of the dish was the scary looking, mushy bit at the bottom of the crockpot.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m using the Fix It And Forget It cookbook. Whenever I make a recipe from this book, I make notes, highlight the good ones, or write in suggestions for how to make it better on the next try. It can be a very overwhelming thing, looking through 15 stew recipes in one book, so it’s nice to see what I’ve already done and liked/disliked.

The favorite discovery this past week? Taco Soup with Black Beans, pg 36.

YUM!

Everyone liked it.

The Tater Tot Casserole went over very well, pg 116. Chicken in a Pot has been a favorite for years, pg 168. I add 3 sliced potatoes and make biscuits with it, thicken the juices into gravy… Mmmmmm. Aromatic Chicken, pg 185 was pretty good. I think it’d be better converted into a thai curry by adding the curry paste at the beginning, and the bamboo shoots, bell peppers the last 5 minutes, basil at the end.

On the list that I’ve made in the past, but haven’t got to yet is the Hamburger Soup with Barley, pg 34. This is so amazingly good. I always use ground turkey in place of ground beef in these and all recipes (except for hamburgers themselves) because gr beef grosses me out. For the barley soup, I use 2 cartons of Swanson’s organic beef broth and crushed tomatoes in heavy puree. And the Chicken Curry (indian style) on page 187 is fantabulous IF the sweet potatoes you get are good. With flavorless sweet potatoes, it’s pretty lame. We’re going to try that again, and I’m hoping my sweet potatoes are good. I don’t know how to tell before I’m committed and they’re actually cooked.

Tonight, we’re having Beef, Tomatoes, and Noodles on page 78. I haven’t made this before, but it seemed like a good idea to brown the beef instead of just coating it with flour and tossing it in. So I did.

Anyway, having dinner done in the morning when I still have energy has been wonderful. Such a load off my mind. The only downside is, being home most of the day as I am, I anticipate eating dinner all. day. long. Makes for a long day sometimes.

So, I’ve done a little more dyeing.

This is bits of gray fleece, white fleece, and brown alpaca dyed tan.

This is silk noil I was trying to do different colors of cream, beige, mahogany, and dark brown that I was hoping would bleed into each other a little bit. It didn’t quite work for a number of reasons. The blue bit was supposed to be the dark brown. I don’t know WHAT’S up with that. I still think it’ll look pretty carded into the brown. At least the more colorful parts.

This is some blue on gray fleece and alpaca top, white fleece and alpaca top, that I messed up the measurement on. I was looking at the wrong manufacturer’s directions and added too much dye. I had to take the fiber out well before the dyebath was exhausted. I haven’t washed it out yet, it’s still wet from the dyebath Saturday.

I had thrown one of Clark’s sweater swatches in the blue dye along with the other fibers.

It has a little bit of a greenish tint to it, but not as bad as what shows up in the picture. I think I’m going to dye his yarn with this dye. I’d wanted it to be a lightish sort of blue, as light as it could be, being dyed over brown yarn, to pick up the blue in his eyes. With his fair skin and hair, I thought it’d look really good. I’m not sure if it’s exactly the right shade of blue, but I do like it.

I’m wanting to dye my light gray fleece tan and blue to make a tan sweater for Nate and a blue sweater for me, with the same colors of noil blended into both. I think it’d be neat looking if I can get the colors right. I need to try the blue again in the right amount. It’s supposed to be lighter.

Finally, the girls had their first Cross Country meet on Wednesday. I’m so proud of them.

I’m still incredibly weak from being sick. After canceling most everything I could last week to rest, I was hoping I’d be good to go this week. Not so. I MUST do laundry today. I think I might be able to. There was no way, earlier in the week.

On Monday, I spent an hour or so in the Fix It And Forget It cookbook and came up with a week’s worth of crockpot dinners, ventured out to the grocery store, and that wiped me out for the day. On the plus side, I have a week’s worth of crockpot dinners taken care of. I’ll let you know how it goes. Last night was a yummy taco soup. Tonight, we’re having ham and potatoes. There’s Velveeta in it. I’ve never used Velveeta. Ever, that I can recall. Nate was somewhat horrified to find it in the refrigerator, but I figured I’d give it a try. There isn’t a LOT of Velveeta in the recipe.

Yesterday, I worked in Veronica’s class and had my first guitar lesson since June. It was great to be back, and I must once again say how incredibly cool my teacher is. Nate bought Speed Racer on DVD yesterday. It’s a really fun, stilly-stupid movie with some good eye candy. I recommend it.

Anyway, I’m alive. Exhausted and feeling totally pathetic. My dye isn’t here yet. And so help me, I’m going to do laundry and hope it doesn’t kill me.