It's been a week since I posted. I'm not sure where the week went. It certainly hasn't been an extraordinarily busy week but somehow the days just slipped through my fingers without me knowing.

This is Labor Day weekend here in the US. A long weekend that I made longer by taking off Thursday and Friday. Five days in a row. Bliss. Thursday afternoon, I dropped Pk off in the woods with his pack. He hiked a few miles to his favorite wilderness campsite (no running water and therefore no "facilities". I know, ewww) and set up camp for the night. He hiked into Batsto and Elanor and I went and picked him up Friday afternoon. He was tired but in fairly good shape. Now, after sitting for a while, he's getting stiff and somewhat sore. Old muscles protest a little more than young ones.

I carded some of the alpaca that we got at the Alpaca Fest in May. I haven't been able to find any information on this particular carder online so I'm winging it. So far, so good. The fluff is a deep caramel color and very soft. My low tech carder made it light and fluffy and now it feels like a cloud. I spun it into a single and then plied it with two plies of this blue merino called "denim" because it has the gold/brown color of the thread used for sewing jeans running through it. I thought it would look good with some of the brown alpaca and an alpaca/merino blend would be soft. I was right.

It turned into this yarn. The colors are good together and it's got a soft halo. Once it's washed and wacked it'll be a soft pleasure to knit with. I've enjoyed the slow peacefulness of spinning these materials. And I like the results.

My bayerische socks are coming along slowly. Very slowly. I had one and a half repeats done and then noticed a stitch dropped way back. How did I not notice? It had to be ripped back because with all of the cables and twisted stitches, there was no possible way to pick it up. I have been doing the cabling without a cable needle (a new skill learned) and I am now through two repeats of the 8 row charts and one of the 16 row one. I love them. They are killing my fingers because I knit very tightly and these are knit on size 2's but I am determined to keep at it. If knitting is something I do for relaxation then this is not the pattern for it. I notice that my jaw is clenched as I work the stitches and I have to make an effort to loosen it or I get a headache. They remind me of the knee socks I used to wear to school when I was a young girl. Back in the day when girls weren't allowed to wear pants to school.

And just a few inches and El's fls will be done. This afternoon. I promised myself.

Tomorrow we're planning a picnic for dinner. Em asked if she and Jim could come down for dinner so I decided fried chicken, potato salad and some cupcakes would be good. We'll go to our favorite place by the Delaware River where it is always cool no matter the weather. We'll listen to the barges on the river and smell the peculiar river smells (probably pollution but shhh, let's not spoil the mood) and enjoy each other's company. The weather is cooperating and it will be warm but not humid. A lovely last hurrah for summer.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and if you are celebrating, Happy Labor Day!

Peter Kevin's socks are finished. Wait, I'll be right back.

Ok. The sun came out and I wanted to get a photo before it went away again. The forecast is for mostly sunny for the next few days but it's been so rainy for so long that I'm insecure. Anyway, here's his finished socks. There's no pattern, just a cuff down, k3p1 ribbing, short row heel. The yarn is from the Art Walk Sock yarn club (again). The yarn is a bamboo wool mix and it's got a slight sheen to it. I love this mix. It's soft but has great stitch definition. When I joined this club, I promised myself that all of the yarns would be socks for me. So far, I've made gifts out of most of them. When this one came in the mail, Pk said, "that would make great socks for me". He doesn't say this often and really mean it but this time he was serious so I thought I'd oblige. He wears lots of khaki pants so these will get worn . And I'm glad they're finally done. They have been my totally mindless knitting for the past few months. Yes, months. I started them sometime in the spring but they got shunted to the side in favor of sweaters and such.


On Friday at work, Pk sent me an email (and I've got to say, when I see his name on an incoming email? It's like a little gift at work. My heart goes pitty pat) saying that there was an estate sale about 70 miles away and did I want to go on Sat? The hook? They had a spinning wheel. I was pretty sure the wheel would be gone but I figured where there's a wheel, there's accessories so I said Yes! We left the house at 7:30 on Sat morning in the rain and got there at a little after 9. It was a beautiful farmhouse on 12 acres of land that is being bulldozed for a small development of 11 houses on 1 acre each. I wanted to cry. There's nothing wrong with the house and I loved the style.

We went inside and the woman said that someone had called about the wheel and was coming down from Manhattan to buy it. I asked to see it and I wished I hadn't. It was an Ashford Traveller in really good shape and she only wanted 120 dollars for it. I told her if the woman didn't come, I wanted it. Of course I checked my phone all night last night but no call. That woman knew a bargain. Why didn't I think to call?





As a consolation prize, she sold me 2 niddy noddys, a ball winder in the box, and this. She went away and came back and said "I have this carder". I told her I'd take it although I've never seen one like this. I can't even find one like it online since the only information I have is that it's a Louet. Anyone recognize it? I took it to my favorite lys and asked if anyone had any ideas about it. They identified it as a carder. That's it. No one had seen one like it. We put a little wool on it and it works. It's hard but then as the yarn store employee reminded me, "carding is work". They enjoyed playing with it and then when we got home, Pk cleaned it up and Kate and I played with it for a while. I don't know how old it is but I'd be interested. The material holding the pins is leather.

I gave the ball winder and one of the niddy noddys to Kate. Not a bad haul. They had a household full of stuff down to the sinks and cabinets. The bulldozer is coming next week. We're probably going back because they're opening the garage where the tools live.


While we were at the yarn store, (Woolbearers in Mt. Holly, NJ) I got some yarn for the bayerishce socks. I started working on them late in the afternoon and it took me most of the evening to get the ribbing and 4 rows of the 4 charts done. There are four separate charts and they're not in sequence on the paper. I'm going to try to cut and paste and print myself a page that I won't keep reading wrong. I keep moving onto the next printed chart instead of the next one in sequence. Did I do this once, twice? No, over and over. Frustrating but very satisfying. I like a challenge sometimes. These will not become train knitting. I put a stitch marker in between each chart and my socks look like they're wearing a necklace! This is the color. It's Shibui knits red. No color name just a number. It's a pretty red and I don't have red socks. Pk picked it out. "Get something bright" he said. The color is a solid with some slight variations. I bought three skeins because they're small, only 175 yds each. I need about 230 for each sock.

After the grocery shopping gets done today, I'm going to finish the first sleeve on El's fls and then pick up the stitches for number 2. Kate has tentatively picked out her sweater. It's Road to Avalon. She likes hoods and it's a pretty sweater. Pk offered to make her wooden buttons that she can design and she took him up on the offer. I'll buy the pattern and the yarn sometime soon. At least we can look forward to some cooler, sweater-type weather soon.

So, that's my "fiber adventure" (Pk's description) weekend. In two weeks, it'll be time for the Garden State Sheep Breeder's show. We're looking forward to that and I'm saving my pennies.

I hope you're all having an adventurous weekend, too! (although, I don't think grocery shopping is much of an adventure. )

I finished my socks for my Aunt Joan. This is the Tidal Wave pattern put out by SWTC for use with their sock yarn. This yarn is a recent Art Walk Sock Yarn club selection. It's based on one of Georgia O'Keefe's Iris paintings. I love the colors. If you just said purple and emerald and white, I would have said Ewww. But this is beautiful. The yarn base is nice and soft. My aunt likes them and that's what really counts.

I'll make her another pair for Christmas. Something in rainbow colors. She'll like that. Funny thing is, her sister, my Aunt Elsie, only wears white socks. I guess I'll have to find some white sock yarn and make her a pair that she would enjoy. A nice thick pair of crew socks would be perfect.

Not a lot of knitting going on. Well, knitting is happening but it seems nothing is showing much progress. I am halfway down the foot of Pk's brown striped sock. I am feeling like starting a new pair and I want to get his done first. Then I'm still making the purple trainwreck socks for Kate. I'm just obsessive enough to be unhappy with them. One is purple with a blue toe and it looks like the second one will be blue with a purple toe. Kate likes them so it's all good. I've been scouting around for an interesting pair of socks to make. I'm thinking I'd like to try Bayerische. I love the cables and intricate design. I have to see if I have some plain sock yarn. That pattern would not work with a handpainted yarn. There are one or two other patterns I'm eyeing. I love looking at patterns! The endless possibilities.

And I'm still working away on El's FLS. It's been too hot to sit with it on my lap. Now that we've had a reprieve in the weather, it might get a bit of attention. I also feel like spinning. When the humidity is low, it doesn't feel so awful to put your hand into the bag of alpaca.

I know I don't have to eat yogurt. I have GERD (gastro-esophogeal reflux disease). Sometimes, it feels like someone has a fist around the end of my esophagus and squeezing. It's a strange pain. Yogurt helps. It sooths the irritated tissue and for some reason, the spasms are easier when I eat yogurt. So, I found some that I can get down without gagging. I don't like the greek yogurt we tried but I might take Louiz's idea and make some of my own. It wouldn't have to be as sweet that way. Milk also helps and I love milk.

I went to see my gyn last week for my annual exam. (A fun and exciting event). One of the things I learned is that the periodic insomnia I've been having is just that. Periodic. It's probably hormone driven. Pk was getting concerned because it seems like I am having more insomnia than I was before. It could be because of hormone fluctuations because of my age. And the frequent headaches? Same source. Boy, it's sure fun being a girl. And this could go on for years before true menopause sets in. Sigh. I have to have a trans-vaginal ultrasound to check things out (history of cysts). It's just what you'd imagine. I don't embarass easily. This test makes me feel a little embarassed. All I have to do is lie there but......

So, any plans for the weekend? Ours is calling for more rain. I wish we could send some of it to California where they have wildfires and would appreciate it.

Kate and I went to see Jule and Julia last night. I'll admit, I was reluctant. I am a huge fan of Julia Child and was a little nervous about seeing her portrayed on the screen.

I shouldn't have been. It was wonderful. I like to cook and it was fun to watch Amy Adams (who is so cute) whipping up these marvelous dishes. Ok, except for the aspics. Jelly made out of calf's feet does not float my boat. And I loved the insights into Julia and Pauls's lives. It's a fun movie.

Other than that, nothing much is happening. Pk and I are taking a long weekend over the Labor Day weekend (Sept 7 here in the US). He wants to go camping one night (I really don't) so I'm going to drop him and his backpack off in the woods on Thursday afternoon and then pick him up with a picnic dinner on Friday. Then we'll have three more days to just enjoy.

M1k1 (Jen) very generously sent me a small hank of malabrigo merino laceweight yarn. (I mentioned in a comment on someone's blog that I had never seen malabrigo in real life. Since then, my lys's newsletter says they are going to start stocking some in the fall!) It's leftover from a shawl/scarf she made for herself. It's called Emerald but as Jen says in her note, it looks more teal to me. It's soft and there's enough for maybe a small scarf. My non-knitting daughter said "oh that will make some nice socks." I laughed and said no, it wouldn't. They would wear out in the first wearing! Then I had to explain the concept of weight and why laceweight yarn is NOT used for socks. She'll eventually know more than she wants to about yarn.

In October, Pk and I will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary. I know. I was a child bride. Actually, I was 23 which seems awfully young to me now. I found a special train excursion on October 17 that is an all day ride on this train. (I borrowed the photo from The ConRail Historical Society's webpage) . It's a restored diesel engine from the 1950's and has passenger cars which have all been restored as well. It'll ride through the Susquehannah Valley and Lancaster and up to Harrisburg then pick up the express rails and zip back to Philadelphia. Pk is a lifelong lover of trains (and planes but not automobiles) and he is excited about this. I am too but more for the excitement he'll get out of it. And I do get to spend the day with my best friend. I hope the weather is fall-like and the leaves are changing.

So, that's what's happening. It's been a quiet summer. No complaints, here. I'm off to eat my yogurt and granola for lunch. I wish I liked yogurt.......

Wanna see what life on the edge of a hurricane looks like? If you embiggen this photo, you can see how hard it's raining. And it's been raining like this over and over all day. The weather people at NOAA (national oceanic and atmospheric administration) say this is not technically the edge of Hurricane Bill but that Bill is sitting off the coast and is not allowing this system to move away. It's stuck. So, we're stuck. It started around 1 in the morning when we were awakened by thunder and lightning and a downpour of biblical proportions. It lasted about an hour.

This morning the sky was light grey but the darkness rolled in and the lightning and thunder and then the rain came back. For about another hour.

Then the sun came out and although the temp has dropped about 10 degrees from yesterday's 93F, the heat of the sun made the air seem liquid in its humidity. There were two more ferocious bouts this afternoon and now it's thundering again. I'm starting to be thankful for Pk's woodworking abilities. We will be building our Ark soon.

Our house sits on the bottom of a hill and the clay around here can only absorb so much water before it just runs off. Our crawlspace is full of water so we got out the pump and are pumping it every hour or so to keep the water out of the house. It's more fun than you can shake a stick at!

See the blue swirl? That's Bill. He's finally moving off the coast and is headed to New England (watch out Annie and Amy!) and then on to Canada.

The upside of all of this? (come on, you knew I'd find one). We won't have to worry about drought conditions for a long, long time.

Wherever you are on this ahem, lovely, weekend, I hope you're dry and doing something fun.

It's the end of August. Traditionally, we think of September as the Bringer of the Cooler Temperatures. The calendar, however, says that we have another month of summer.

I like summer. I like hot, dry sunny days. I like picnics, days at the lake, days at the seashore, lazy summer days. I don't like August. August is our hardest- to- deal- with month. The humidity makes breathing hard and the sun is hot. Now, I know we have some nerve complaining when it was so cool and wet for most of the summer. But now, it feels like we're getting All Summer In Three Weeks (apologies to Mr Bradbury). With no time to acclimate ourselves, we're wilting. Ugh.

I finished the socks for my Aunt Joan but don't think I have a photo of them. I made them from Art Walk Sock Yarn club's Georgia O'Keefe "Iris" yarn. It's green and purple and white. The socks are gorgeous and my aunt will like them. That's two of four finished pairs. I'm on the foot of number 2 of Pk's brown striped socks and then working down the cuff of the Purple Trainwreck socks (#2) for Kate. I think I'll have enough to make a pair of footies for El out of it. She admired the colors of the yarn and I'd like to share it with her, too.

I have started/restarted and started over several different lace projects in the last two months. I haven't found one that sang to me. So, I went back to a previous, very ambitious plan. About a year ago, I bought some yarn called Chestnut (It's black and brown and beautiful) to make the Fir Cone Shawl in Folk Shawls. It's a big square shawl. I've never made a square shawl before and I really like this pattern. It's a little intimidating but I think I'm ready for a challenge. I'm still spinning the white merino for a lace shawl out of my own handspun but I wanted some lace on the needles. Sometimes I like the mindlessness of easy knitting but sometimes I want to have to concentrate.

And things at work are rocky right now so having something to concentrate on is a good idea. We are in the midst of a "reorganization". Often this is a euphemism for "lay offs". So far, no one has been laid off (that I know of) but my immediate supervisor (whom I like) has had her position eliminated. She will move to another job with less responsibility and I will get a different supervisor. I think they are trying to move all of us "old timers" out. This opinion is shared by a lot of folk. So, I'll keep my eyes and ears open and maybe a good opportunity will crop up and I'll move on. I'm lazy. I've been here for 15 years and get 5 weeks of time off each year. That may not sound like a lot but her in the US, it's almost unheard of. It's tough to move. But change can also be exhilarating and I am choosing to see it as that.

No extraordinary weekend plans here. Just the usual. I think it's supposed to thunderstorm on and off so an outdoor activity is probably not on the agenda. Have a good one. Stay cool!

So, about those buttons. I had finished the yoke of the fls for Elanor and we were going to Columbus for the flea market. To digress a moment: Pk wanted to go to the flea market. I told him he should go himself because I do not deal well with the heat. I'm not kidding. He knows this after almost 28 years of marriage and 34 years of being a couple. I reminded him more than once that I wilt in the heat and it was 90 degrees by 10 am.

Pk insisted it would be fine and he really wanted me to go. I said ok and off we went. We had to park way out in the middle of nowhere and walk to the fleamarket area. This is a huge area. On blacktop. With no shade. I made it down one aisle before I felt my brain grow stupid. And my feet were dragging and I felt lightheaded. I was drinking water and got under the shade but it was too late. I felt bad but I couldn't take it. We went back to the car and with the a/c turned up high, I revived.

On the way home, we stopped at Woolbearers. I wanted to get a pair of 3.5 mm dpns to send to catsmum (she can't find any locally) and I told El to look at the buttons. She found these. They were once a bracelet and are modeled on mah jong tiles. They will give the sweater a distinctive look. I was thinking of some nice wooden buttons but El chose these. I think she has good (if expensive) taste and they look great. I haven't put them on and won't until I wash and block the sweater. I have started one sleeve (already!). I think I would have made it a little longer but she wants it to hit just past her waist and once it's blocked, it'll be just about that length.

I've been home yesterday and today. I'm not sick but Pk is/was. Yesterday, I was feeling a bit woogy (I have an inner ear thing that makes me dizzy and sometimes the medicine takes a while to work) and stayed home. Pk said he was feeling really sick and was staying home. I'm so glad I did. He was tired and pale looking but the scary part came in the early afternoon when he started to shake so hard he couldn't put a glass to his mouth. He kept telling me, "I don't feel feverish" so I didn't think to check. Finally, I put a thermometer in his mouth and he came up with 103.8 F (98.6 is normal). Anything over 102 is cause for concern. I gave him some ibuprofen and he tried to rest. After about 45 mins the shaking stopped and the fever was down to 101. I called the doctor and they said to monitor it and if it went up again to bring him in. It stayed around 100 (where it is today) but he feels better. I think he "broke" the fever sometime late yesterday. I was afraid because he NEVER gets sick. A cold occasionally and he has back pain from an old injury and now he has a twisted ligament in his hip but not sick. I spent the day giving him ibuprofen and liquids. And today he is resting and looking and sounding more like his normal self.

And we finally put the a/c in the bedroom window. He needs to sleep and I can only change the sweaty sheets so often......It feels nice and cool in here right now. Cool enough to work on El's sweater. I'm glad we made it to the end of August. I think if he were not sick and we weren't home all day, we would have made it to the end of the summer. Although, right now, I'm wondering why we waited so long. (oh yeah, the electric bill. I remember now).