One Crazy Fiber Lady

I always seem to have a hard time getting started on Monday morning’s post.  I have a hard time knowing where to start.  Today is no easier.  It was a busy, productive and fun weekend.  I have oodles of pictures to choose from and lots to recount.  Maybe I should consider weekend posts.  Yeah. 

Anyway…

Friday was a nice afternoon off, except for the 10000% humidity that we were having.  I was so hot and tired by the time I got home that I really didn’t want to do anything.  I was going to pack up them boxes and get them off, but I just couldn’t force myself to.  I did manage to park on the couch and do some spinning.  Wait for it.  With a spindle!  I pulled out the tiny Hatchtown spindle that I bought in Maryland and the Dark Cherry merino/angora roving from Kim and started spinning a nice laceweight single.  Having tucked the spindle and roving in the nice little spindle bag from Journey Wheel (Cummington Acquisition), I did a fair amount of spinning Friday.

I picked the twins up from daycare a little after 5.  They were so tired and cranky that I put them in for a little before dinner nap.  I went about making dinner, a nice light tuna pasta salad, and figured we’d have a happy family meal.  Best laid plans. 

6:30PM they were still asleep. 
7:00PM too. 
7:30PM I considered waking them, but remembered last weekend doing so and regretting it. 
8:00PM I finally had some dinner myself. 
10:00PM I decided I better get to sleep because they’d be up at 0-Dark:30. 
4:30AM I heard Alex.
6:00AM Alex and I had breakfast
7:30AM Kat finally slept enough.

So much for a quick before dinner nap.  They were rather pleasant, but the day was going to be thoroughly off.  Especially as Alex kept falling asleep in the car, first to Kohls at 8:30 and then to ShopRite for the weekly grocery pick up.  After a mid-morning nap and lunch, how did we spend the afternoon?

We visited Deb and Chappy!  The ankle had recovered sufficiently for us to finally go to Nonna’s Yarn Cafe.  I have to agree with Deb’s scouting report on the store.  It has potential and is a project in progress.  The people are very nice, the store is bright and airy and the cafe in the back is cute.  Deb treated to coffee and the most delicious carrot cake.  Thanks Deb!  A bit much of designer yarn for my tastes, and not nearly enough sock yarn (only a few different colors of Sockotta), I was able to come up with a decent purchase.  More on that later.  We returned to Deb’s house for some romping around with Chappy.  Initially nervous around the noisy creature, by the time we were ready to go, the twins were teaming up on Chappy and chasing him around the deck.  They enjoyed watching him play fetch, as did I!  Check Deb’s description of that process, it is a hoot.

Now, back to the purchase.  I posted on Friday that I was going to put Rogue on hold and do Eris instead in the Araucania.  Things never really seem to work as I plan them.  Would you believe that I didn’t have enough of the darn yarn to do Eris?  Sounds vaguely familiar.  I’m not entirely sure what I will do with all that Araucania, but I’m sure it will ripen in stash for something.  I found the perfect yarn at Nonna’s.  Galway Highland Heather from Plymouth in #747.  I can’t find reference to that color number anywhere but I swear, I read it off the ball band this morning. Its a darkgreen/brown heather that reads differently in different lights.  Hell my camera is picking up colors my eyes have yet to see on it!  I actually swatched like crazy to get the two different stitch gauges that are necessary for this sweater.  The collar has one 5.5st/8 rows and 5st/7row for the body.

I’m using the Denise’s in 7 for the body and my Addi Naturas in a 4 for the collar.  The combination of the gauge and the cabling is making for a pretty dense collar.  I love how it is coming out so far.  The picture of the WIP is on top of Yeti’s cage last yesterday afternoon.  I had either been close or reached the end of the second chart by this point and am now well into the third.  Love it.  Love the deep dark hunter greeny color of the yarn.  It holds up nicely to the cabling and really is a good basic yarn.  I’m going to do the cardigan version of the sweater as I just can’t imagine pulling this thing over, in the 40" size.  The cables, while intricate, are not overly difficult and I really do like them.  I’m ever so glad that I’ve gotten over my fear of cables.  Thank you Irish Hiking Scarf.  Thank you Hatmione!

Between naps and knitting, I had the twins outside for a good part of the weekend.  They spent the afternoon yesterday frolicking in the water:

We hit another milestone this weekend.  Kat threw our first throw yourself on the floor tantrum.  My that was fun.  Figured she would be the first.  Stubborn little independent thing.  She was having a fit over not being allowed to wander around with a PopTart.  I know, mean mom.  I was trying to force her into conformity by eating it while seated at the table.  After congratulating her for being the first to throw herself on the floor, I ignored her and went back to cleaning up Alex.  I’m pretty darn sure this won’t be the last.

Last but not least, we have some finished objects to report.  While I can’t show anything yet, the SSSBG is now complete.  I do want to toss it in the wash (tonight) and get it wrapped and gifted.  I do have pictures taken, just ain’t going to post yet.  Hopefully soon.  I can show this though:

Trellis is finit.

Full project details can be found here.  I’m very pleased with how it came out.  Its a very pleasant little sweater to knit and my first really go with a cabled sweater (Big Sack and Mondo notwithstanding).  I finished seaming and sewed on the little buttons yesterday during morning nap.  I got some odd looks from the neighbors as I laid a towel down on the sidewalk for a sunshiney finished picture for you all.  This will be winging its way to New Orleans shortly for my cousins impending baby boy.