Purlewe

Let the mittens begin!

I know I haven't been posting much. No real reason except that nothing is really going on. Work. Home. Time with Sue. Knitting. Spinning. Yup, my life in a nutshell.

But I have been getting things done. I have a whole bunch of spinning ready for plying on my wheel. Once that is plyed I will post pics.. Until then.

CHRISTMAS!!! Yes, it is fast approaching. For someone like me who wants to give handmade gifts it is too soon.  And last yr all of the scarves were a big hit! So this yr it is all mittens all the time.

 

Here is my first Hedgerow Mitt. I am already to the increases on the 2nd. US1s, Happy Feet yarn. I am pleased as punch with this and I am glad it is my first official Xmas 2009 knitting.

 

Last nite I knew we would be going to knit outside and I needed a Garter St pattern. EZ to the rescue. Only thing.. like potato chips you just can't do one row. I got everything but the cuff done last nite. US 5s, my handspun. LOVE. IT. After a couple pairs of these I think I might move on to her mitred mitts.

More Hedgerows!

The Greatest Hedgerow Along On Earth is going on as a KAL thru both Ravelry and Knitter's Review.

You can get the pattern for the mitts here. And the pattern for the socks are here. I made the socks and so this time I am shooting for mitts. I really need to get a jump on my Xmas projects and so this is project #1: Mitts for Xmas.

done! and happy!

So I finished the blanket last weekend.. wove in the ends Monday nite, but didn't get a photo until last nite when the fiber folk came over.

 

Here is a full size shot that shows you the size as well as Sam who is being my Vanna White this evening.

 

It fits over my lap and goes from my waist to my feet. Yeah.. no real measurements for you, but it is warm and snuggly and I love it.

I used all handspun yarn. Generally worsted weight and size US10s. The pattern is EZs Garter Stitch Blanket. I upped it to 30 sts across to make it a wee bit bigger since I wasn't using bulky yarn.

And here is a sock I did a month ago. I started the mate this week.

 

Another guernsey sock in sundara yarn, size US1s. Sue loves it.

take the quiz!

So excited about Clara's new book. Take the quiz!

O hai, I said I was crazy...

I said I was crazy, and I meant it. I am.. in fact I think every person out there is a little bit of crazy about something. Without it you really are a dull person and I doubt we would get along.

But I love hearing about your special little crazy. What makes you want to talk for hours on end? I have my ears patiently waiting to hear you brand of 100% proof.

Mine is currently this:

 

this is the 2nd blanket to be. A sockweight version of the EZ garter st blanket I am currently making. (I am so close folks. I might even be sewing up the first blanket this weekend!!) But this is in sock yarn on size US2s. I am using the scraps we have around the house right now.. I suspect it will take more than scraps to make this blanket. Each block will be a tile of the larger whole. I don't expect to be done with this anytime soon, but I will always have it about to work on. AH lovely garter st.

Quarter was put in there for scale. I think it makes the quarter look dinky. one side of the L is 7 inches long.

So this week has been crazy.. and you?

I will say this week started off on a bad note. Sue had an accident. And while she is OK it certainly means we are a bit overwhelmed right now. She has a cane and I am helping all I can.

This means things like big projects aren't getting done. I need focus. I need small moments of zen. I need alot of garter st and some spinning.

 

Two balls of spunky eclectic plied together make something beautiful.

 

 

One ball had a bit more yardage, so I have a complimentary skein to go with the above, darker skein.

 

As you can see the cat is helping with the garter st blanket. Altho I guess it is not altruistic on her part. She wants it done so she can keep it for herself!!

best laid plans

So it has almost been a month since I stopped using shampoo. Yeah.. I know, hippee freak. But I was really starting to be unhappy with my hair now that it is going grey. I love grey hair. I think it looks hot on so many women.. but only having some grey on my head means that I have 2 types of hair that react differently to different products. Talk about having a split personality!

So I thought about it.. why was all of my grey hair standing up at the top of my head like they were trying to jump off a sinking ship? They were dry and needed more moisture than the rest of my head. The rest of my head of hair when it received this moisture tried to ooze down my head like an oil slick. And let me tell you, oil slicks are not sexy.

So I read up on the no shampoo culture. It made sense. I tried a few different tactics.. I tried the washing with conditioner instead of shamppo. But that only resulted in 1 nice hair day a week. I finally switched about 10 days ago to baking soda for washing my hair and lemon juice for conditioner. VIOLA! happy hair for me.

 

Sue was dubious at first, but she admits now my hair is clean and soft.. I expected it to be curlier (as my hair is curly) but really.. this is the hair I want.. the hair I always envied others having.. straightish with a bit of a wave. I love it.

feeling like a fish out of water

I know I have not updated this thing in a long time. I am sorry. I really never realized until this yr how many birthdays and anniversaries we have in May. I was trying to count them up and I finally stopped at 18 and decided to call it a wash. I have been working on things knitting wise but haven't had the time to take fotos of them to put on here. In fact I finally took a picture of only 1 of the things I have been working on. My goal this week is to take fotos of all 3-4 things as well as catch up on what is going on here in chez R-M.

this is starting to really take the look of a crazy quilt and I quite like that. I think I will accent it by putting the blanket st over it when I sew it together. I would like to just highlight the craziness of it all. I love it and it will be the perfect size for a lap blanket when I am done.

Happy Birthday dear Judy!

Judy Vest
Originally uploaded by purlewe

My Aunt's birthday is today. I spent the weekend with her helpign out at the farm, spending time with her, and sewing up her vest.

She loves it and it fits very nicely. I loved the color.. the soft brown was so luscious. The pin was hers and fits the vest nicely.

Happy Birthday to my wife

My sweety is 35 today. This means we celebrated this weekend with her parents and cake. It also means we get to go out for a fancy pants meal tonite of her choosing. She will be getting some smallish gifts as we have both committed ourselves to something extremely larger and well, more automotive as a means of transportation this yr.  So in honor of that I give you this list.

 

• For always wanting to go on adventure, even if that means we are just going to the grocery.
• For loving books as much as I do and not minding book fieldtrips, which happens whenever we go on vacation. (Shakespeare's house: check. Hemmingway's: check.)
• For loving travel and being a good travel partner.
• For humoring me on the yarn thing, and then the spinning wheel thing. When we met Sue only did cross stitch, now she knits socks.
• For being a complete goof when she is slightly tipsy, which is frankly really damn cute.
• For jumping on the bandwagon as a team about things we care about. Especially the whole CSA, local food thing.
• For being open minded about food. You would not believe me, but when we met Sue loved meat, potatoes, and green beans. Now she eats things like squash and scapes and I even got her to eat rhubarb (albeit as a bbq sauce).
• For being a good sport. I know I must have a short fuse too many some days and Sue takes it with good grace.
• For being a petite dainty flower. Which is frankly the opposite of me. I am more of a bull in a china shop.
• For her love of tea.
• For her sense of optimism, especially every new school year.
• For being completely loveable and making me laugh every day.
• For her saying yes to getting married. That was positively one of the best weekends of our lives. And one day we will do it again and do it legally. (fingers crossed)
• For liking brownies. B'c I think that is what cinched it.

 

I love you. And I wish you many many more happy birthdays.