One Crazy Fiber Lady

We (the folks, the monkeys and yours truly) are off for a ten day cruise to the Caribbean. See you in 10 days! Ahoy!

I spent the better part of this weekend with spinning wheels.  I gave in to something I’ve wanted now for a couple of years.  Back when I bought the Vermont Wheel, I’d been looking seriously at buying a Canadian Production Wheel.  I’ve always loved the way they look, especially the Borduas wheels with the cast iron treadle.  And to spin with a humongous 30″ drive wheel?  Oo la la!

Anyway, I wound up buying the Vermont wheel then, which it turns out was modeled after the Paradis style CPW.  I still love that wheel and she is divine to spin with.  Not to mention, she’s a gorgeous cherry with the inlaid gold.  What’s there not to love.   But the cast iron treadle has been calling to me.   I joined the Rav CPW group and drooled.  And while enabling someone into a wheel, I finally got enabled myself when a “nest of wheels” appeared.

She arrived in a humongous box on Saturday…a F.B. wheel!  Cast iron treadle and all.  She was in some sad and dirty shape when I unpacked her…

The twins and I spent some time and elbow grease with Wood Beams cleaning and moisturizing here.  Still needs some work but you can see the rich color of the wood now..

(Please to ignore the hideous couch and 70s fugtastic shag carpet.)  Still needs some work (and further cleaning.  Can you tell which end of the bench Alex was working on?).  The drive wheel is a tad warped and she needs new bearings in the uprights, not to mention flyer repair.  It had cracked clear through.  I glued it and its drying on dad’s work bench now.  I need to hobble down there and check to see if the glue has held.  It also needs a new set of hooks on the flyer.  The “nails” are in the wrong orientation, overly bent or just plain missing.   I did get to do a quick test spin.  She is FAST.

Now that the urge to spin was a burning need, I went to the Matchless to finally finish up the red merino I’d been spinning on it forever.  Anyone who has seen me out and about with the Matchless in the last year and a half has seen this project in one state or another.  It started with bags of fiber from Little Barn at MDSW in 2008, having been inspired by Zarzuela’s Toney Road sweater.  I started spinning the fiber shortly after buying it in May 2008.  The mixed red was followed by solid red that I distinctly remember being very bored with at WOOL this summer and indulging in fiber that my fellow attendees brought.  Well Saturday night, I finished the last of it.

Yesterday I pulled out the Womack electric and got busy plying.  I’m not quite finished yet, but have jam packed 5 bobbins worth of two ply.  Three have been skeined up and measured approx 1190 yds.  I’m getting on average 400yds per bobbin.  Whew.

I still have 2 bobbins worth of plying to do.  I’m sooo happy to not have this hanging over my head and tying up the Matchless anymore.  I’m thinking maybe one of the sweaters in A Fine Fleece.  Need to check the gauge, but I’d love Fylingdales in that rich red color (picture is a little too bright.  The real color is a deeper more brick red).

Craft on!

Every other week, we have a big planning meeting at the office.   These meetings can be marathon as we discuss the previous iteration (two week development/testing cycle), touching on the highs and lows of it.  Touching might be an understatement.  Some meetings there is blood.  After that fun, we detail what needs to be done over the next iteration, breaking down each item on the schedule into the component tasks that are necessary to make it happen.  Each item then gets a time estimate for how long we think it would take to accomplish.

These meetings can go on and on.  Today’s started at 9:30 and because there was little to show for the last iteration, there were no highs.  Only lows.  We didn’t finish the meeting until after 1.

There is an up side to these meetings.  Anything that can help you pay better attention during the meeting is allowed.  This means knitting (and spindle spinning) have been condoned.   Of course, this was somewhat moot as I was working remotely, but still, I wasn’t doing anything at home that wouldn’t be legal at the office.

I would say it was a productive meeting!

I really like the pattern.  It is essentially a 3×1 rib with one 4st cable running towards the outside of the foot.  I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of the yarn though.  I don’t like the thick/thin aspects of the Noro.  The texture is not my favorite either, especially in the thinner spots.  Ouch.

Time to enjoy the American Idol auditions and knit some lace.

Craft on!

Well today was an interesting one.  Since there’s still pain in my foot, especially at the base of the big toe, Dr. S sent me for x-rays prior to an office visit today.   He left a Rx at the imaging center down the block from his office.  I called them first thing this morning that I needed an x-ray and they directed me to come in anytime.

So mom and I dropped the twins at school at headed to the imaging center.  We got there right around 9AM.  After filling out the paper work, I was directed to take a seat.  I started doing a little sock knitting (utter failure but that’s another story) and watched Hoarders on the TV in the waiting room.  At 10AM, mom notices that everyone who was there before us had gone, as well as lots of people who’d come after.  She went to ask the receptionist how much longer it might be.

“We don’t know.”  Was the answer.  Why you ask?  They didn’t have an x-ray tech and didn’t know when one would show up.  Could be an hour, two, three, or not at all today.  Joy.

I pulled out the trusty iPhone and surfed through the provider list for United Healthcare for another radiology center in the area.  I made a phone call and was told to come on over.  I got my Rx and headed out.  At 11AM, I was having both feet x-rayed at the radiology department at Mountainview Hospital.  Took half and hour to get copies of the films.

I finally get to see Dr. S and there’s no fracture in my foot at all.  He had shots of both feet for comparison.  Soft tissue damage.  Big toe is weak and the focus of the pain at present.  He put on a compression bandage that reminds me of casting material, though it doesn’t harden.  I then put my fancy boot back on.  If its not better in a week, I get to go for a MRI.  Oh yay!

I’ll be working remotely again this week.  I might work a longer day remotely, but there are upsides.

1. I get to sleep later.  Alarm is at 7:15 rather than 6
2. Don’t have to buy lunch!  (big money saver)
3. Shorter commuter

I did get some spinning this weekend.  Was tough using the foot that has been avoiding spinning as the primary treadler.  But I was able to do it.  YAY!  Filled up another bobbin on the Vermont wheel while watching UP with the boy.  Someday the CVM roving bag will be empty and I can start plying.  I’m up to 11 bobbin’s worth of singles and the bag barely looks touched.  Sigh.  Magic fleece bag it is.

I have fought the lace bug (and single project bug) for as long as I could.  I’ve been hearing the siren’s call of lace for a while now.  The WRS has been especially loud as I see new and exciting lace patterns appear.  I remember that sweetie sitting and waiting for me.  I could withstand it no longer.  I pulled WRS out of her slumber and got back to work on her yesterday.  I’m now through the first repeat.  Woot.  I think there are 13 more to go.

I hadn’t quite finished the first repeat when I took this picture but have since.

I also realized that I don’t have a purse project.  I grabbed some yarn and needles to take with me this morning.  But it was handspun, right off the bobbin.  It was overtwisted.  Maybe.  Whatever it was, it needed a good soaking and was producing a biased sock.   I pulled the needle out and spent from 10AM this morning onwards with no knitting project.  I KNOW.  It was hard.  I did have my iPhone with the Kindle app so I didn’t need to chew my foot off.

So as to avoid this happening again, time for a real sock project.  I picked the yarn and the pattern.  Getting there

I’ll be using this brightly colored Noro Kureyon Sock and US1 to knit So Simple Silk Gardens. (Rav link) by Glenna.

Time to get the monkeys ready for bed.

Craft on!

No real progress to report on the foot.  I’m able to put a bit of weight on it.  And as usual, I push it too far and hurt like hell by bed time.    I’ve been working at home which means a longer day.  I get to my computer some mornings almost an hour before I’d hit my desk at the office.  Lunch time has been a much shorter break as many days Mom brings me lunch and I eat at the computer.  And then it doesn’t end until well after I would have left the office to commute home.  Not really complaining here as I’m fortunate to have this option, but just stating a fact.

Here is a shot of my festive footwear…

It is a good solid supportive boot.  I remove it to go to sleep.  The rubber sole gives me a good foundation to step on.

And another fact?  The touchpad on my Acer laptop (no not the netbook – mom has that now – I bought a new full sized windows laptop last fall) is making me nuts.  It does this weird thing that makes me curse at it.  I think I’ll take a break from it and use the MacBook tomorrow  Options are always nice!

Anyway, enough griping.  Sitting around has brought more knitting and Sims time.  I’ve hit the 10″ mark on Redhook.

It makes for some awesome Sims knitting.  Or TV watching knitting.  I’m going to go back to it as soon as this post is done.  I’m enjoying the best part of American Idol.  These auditions are entertaining!

Finally, I haven’t posted a shot of everyone’s favorite monkeys in a while…

The Sunday of Christmas weekend, dad had the brilliant idea to bring the kids into the city to see the tree at Rock Center.  I think everyone else in the tri-state area had the same idea.  The city was PACKED.  There was no getting near the tree.  Heck we had trouble getting to the Lincoln Tunnel to get into the city.  We wound up driving to Hoboken, taking the PATH train to 33rd street and walking up town.  The above shot was taken right in front of the NY Public Library.  The monkeys kept asking if they could climb on the lions.  Sigh.

Time to go back to knitting.

Craft on!

After almost a week of no difference, my foot is finally feeling better.  It wasn’t so much the ankle that was damaged this go around but foot itself.  I essentially stood en pointe with no training or preparation for that matter, on a dead asleep foot.  I wouldn’t recommend it.  But finally on Thursday, it started feeling a little better.  I can move my toes much better and have regained a great deal of strength.  The outside edge of my foot still has a sore spot but my friendly podiatrist doesn’t think there’s a break, but more of a contusion.   Another week or so and I should be almost back to normal.  Good thing too, we leave in 4 weeks for a 10 day Caribbean cruise!

Knitting has been reduced this week as I’m back to work, even if it is remotely.  I did have my bi-weekly work planning meeting and knit while chatting over the speaker phone.  I’ve made decent progress on Redhook, getting past the 5″ of ribbing at the hem and into the plain knit body.

It is knit in one piece to the armholes.  I like this kind of knitting!

Dad is going to take the monkeys shopping this afternoon so I’ll be making more progress on this sweater.  I need to install the recent patch to the Sims 3 and I’ll have the perfect accompaniment to this project.  Maybe I can get the next generation of my legacy family off the ground.  Which reminds me, I never did set up the Sims blog on the new host.  Should I?

Craft on!

I’m still off my foot but I’m getting way better with the crutches

All photos courtesy of the iPhone as the other cameras are still across the room.

I consider it fortuitous that I switched that Jenny Lund armchair in my bedroom for the Poang chair and ottoman that it had once replaced.  I realized over Christmas weekend that I couldn’t spin in the Jenny Lund any better than I could in the Poang.  So I swapped them, putting the Poang back in my room and the armchair into the den.  So at least I’ve been comfy the last few days.    As a plus, I found I can attach my ballwinder to the arm of the Poang!  Came in handy…

Yesterday, after knitting incessantly on the Red Tweed sweater, I found the darn thing was far too big.  My gauge was off.  Instead of the 6st/in that I initially got, I measured 5.5st/in.  Turned my 38″ sweater into something that I could felt or frog…

Felting Rowan Felted Tweed didn’t seem right.  So I frogged.

I cast on for Redhook with the same yarn.  I did a huge gauge swatch for this one and am getting the requisite 5.5 st/in

Two finished objects to show off now.  Not too long ago, Alex requested hand knit socks.  That is a request that this knitting mama could seriously oblige.  I went stash diving and came up with a skein of Opal Rainforest in blues.  While I had the first one half done during a work planning meeting, and finished shortly thereafter, the project has languished while I finished up the gift knitting and a variety of other things.  I pulled it out yesterday after deciding the red tweed was DOA.  I knit the second sock yesterday.  Just in time too, it is FREEZING out there.  Boy wore them to school this morning.

Fraternal twins.  My favorite!  They are toe-up, 12 st turkish cast on, increased to 48 stitches on a US0.

Way back at the Garden State fiber festival, the twins each picked a braid of BFL from SeeKay.  I intended to make this year’s hats from the spun fiber.  I spun up the blue/yellow/green braid (Sunshine Day) that Alex picked way back in November.   Its been finished for ages now.  This morning I started a hat for him,  Hurricane Hat.

I finished it about an hour ago while watching season 1 disk 3 of Big Bang Theory (OMG that show is so frakkin’ funny! )  Today was a planned day off, using up my last day from 2009 so I tried to make the most of it.  The pattern is an easy one and I cranked it out in about 3 hours.  Maybe less.  Hope boy likes it.

Happy New Year everyone!

Thank you all for your warm wishes regarding my injured ankle.    I guess I need to explain how it happened.  I was working at my desk, moving my blog from one host to another well into the evening on Tuesday.  By 12:45 AM Wednesday, I decided it was time for bed.  Unfortunately, I’d been sitting on my foot and it was well asleep when I stood up.  I figured if I was careful, I’d be okay.  I slowly made my way across my bedroom when about 2 steps from my goal, I apparently caught my big toe on the area carpet.  I then stepped down on the dead foot, folding it.  I heard an audible crunch and even though the foot was asleep, felt it sharply.   Ouch.

So that’s the story.  I did a stoopid thing and now I know better.  The ER doctor directed me to follow up with a podiatrist within 3 days.  Fortunately, a friend of mine’s husband is just that.  The stars aligned on Wednesday as it was holiday SnB at Panera, Tami was going and since she sprained her ankle a few weeks ago, her podiatrist husband was bringing her again this week.  I had called her as a fellow left ankle sprain buddy as I left the ER.  She contacted her hubby and he said he’d see me that night if I could make it there.   Not one to miss a SnB for something minor like a sprained ankle, I made it there with much help from mom.

A thorough exam in the corner of Panera (the weirdest location I’ve even been in and I’m now sporting a serious boot and have a script for an NSAID.  We’re in the stay off it and let it rest phase now.  Might need an MRI in a week or so to see how bad the muscle damage is.  I have seriously reduced strength in my foot and can barely move my toes up or down.  There’s also some ligament damage and IIRC an entrapped nerve.  Hey, if you’re going to do it, you do it right

This has given me some bonus knitting time though!  Recently all my knitting time has been on the train.  Home time was spinning time.  Not so much right now, though it is a good thing I have all those single treadle spinning wheels!  So I’ve been knitting.  I’m working on a top down raglan using Rowan Felted Tweed.  I started it a week ago.  I put the sleeve stitches on waste yarn while sitting in the ER waiting for the Doctor to read my X-rays.  At last measure, during the first period of the Winter Classic, I was 2.5″ from starting the ribbing at the hem.

Sorry for the craptastic picture but the real camera is across the room.  The iPhone was far closer  I dearly love this yarn.  It is my favorite shade and I’m really enjoying working with it.

I have other projects, knitting and weaving to show, all finished, but the shots haven’t been downloaded out of the big camera yet, so they’ll have to wait as well.  Suffice it to say that while I haven’t been blogging, I have still been busy.  I split teacher gifts between knitted and woven this year.   I finally got my floor loom out of storage, replaced the metal heddles with texsolv ones and even warped it.  I’ve used my Schacht Flip Rigid Heddle a couple of times.  So yes, I keep myself occupied.

OK, the family is off at Kohl’s doing a little shopping.  I’m going to return to this sweater and the remainder of the Winter Classic.

Craft on!

I know I owe a real post. You’ll get one. Eventually. In the meantime, there’s this.

I did it again. Not the bad ankle, but the “good” one. Xrays this morning say no break. Just a sprain.

Word to the wise, never walk around on a very asleep foot. OUCH!

Why yes, I did knit in the ER

Happy New Year!

moving stuff around… testing