One Crazy Fiber Lady

I can’t believe it has been a full week since my last posting. ¬†I’d been going at a pretty decent clip too. ¬†Oh well. Where have I been? ¬†Well, as if I needed another time suck, I fell for this one, pretty hard too.

Yes, I pretty much lost the last week playing The Sims 2 and the various expansion packs 😉 ¬†I’d played the first one years ago, on a machine that just couldn’t handle it and got frustrated early on. I don’t think I started it up more than once. ¬†One of the regular blogs I read, Redshirt Knitting has the occasional posting on the Sims which piqued my interest, as well as tickling my funny bone. ¬†So I bought it. ¬†Put it on my netbook, and I’ve been a goner since. ¬†Loves it! ¬†Last week, to further the addiction, Amazon had a couple of the expansion packs on sale (price is back up again) so I picked up a few. ¬† As my little netbook doesn’t have a kickass video card, I have the graphics tuned down to minimal levels, but it is so very playable and does look good. ¬†Sims 3 is out of the question 😉 ¬†I did consider getting the Mac version, but opted for the PC so I can tote it about with me. ¬†This is how I commute now:

The knitting? ¬†That’s the beginning of Rhinebeck (ravelry link). I have to fess up to messing up a few rows thanks to the distraction. I’ve ripped back, and playing the right group of Sims, I can knit at the same time. Glorious! ¬†I’m using ¬†Lavold Classic AL in Russet which I might have mentioned my last post (and I’m too lazy to look).

The other night, for whatever reason, the monkeys decided they wanted to have a slumber party. ¬†They both started out on the floor in Kat’s room on top of blankets spread out. ¬†A while later, as I yelled at them once again to go to sleep, I found them on her bed. ¬†Next they moved to Alex’s room where they finally went to sleep.

 

Puppy Pile - twin style

I love when they get along so very well. ¬†I’m pretty sure I have another picture of them sleeping, with one’s hand in the other’s face though they were quite a bit younger.

I really have been knitting. ¬†I joined a Travelling Scarf group over on Ravelry, the Red Sox Knitter’s Swap. ¬†The yarn I ordered from Webs has been backordered (don’t get me started on how pissed I am at Webs for taking well over a week to tell me that), so I went stash diving. ¬†I turned up 5 skeins of Cascade 220 in a deep red. ¬†A quick bit of web surfing turned up a double sided stitch pattern that makes diamonds. ¬†How perfect is that? ¬†I need to get my bit out in the mail to the next knitter by Thursday. ¬†I’m halfway to the requisite 10″ after starting yesterday before dinner so I shouldn’t have a problem. ¬†We need to take pictures of the scarf in progress, so here’s mine with the Seaport, Wavertree and Brooklyn Bridge in the background. ¬†

Speaking of dinner, the eagle eyed among you might have noticed the weight loss ticker in the right sidebar. ¬†I decided that while I don’t do full scale resolutions, 2009 is going to be the year I finally lose the rest of the baby weight (and use more stash than I buy). ¬†The twins are 5 after all. ¬†I joined Weight Watchers to that end and have resurrected my Wii Fit. ¬†So far, so good. ¬†I’m feeling good and finding the diet an easier one to live with. ¬†Jessalu has been a big help there!

That’s about it for today. ¬†Hopefully my next post won’t be a full week away.

Craft on!

Happy New Year! I did indeed spend much of the last weekend at the loom, including a goodly 4 hours on Saturday. I have 6″ more to weave before I can call this scarf done. I don’t have any good photos of the scarf now, but I did take this one right after I had finished sampling, inserted cards to act as a spacer (and give fringe later) and started the real thing.

Over and Under

I likes it! ¬†I’m weaving a 2×2 twill pattern.

Someone else likes the loom too:

Weaving Helper

I have a supervisor helper. ¬†This would be the downside of a table loom with a narrow weaving on it. ¬†She sneaks between the warp and the edge and lays down. ¬† She took an hour nap shortly after this picture was taken. ¬†I was busy doing something else so it wasn’t a big deal. ¬†Weird cat.

Just so you don’t think it is all weaving-all the time around Chez CFL, I finished the hat for my father (picture tomorrow). ¬†Saturday night I started Mr. Greenjeans in the Lavold Classic AL while I watched a movie on demand. ¬†By the time Brokeback Mountain ended, I had finished 4 repeats of the 6 rows. ¬†I checked my gauge again (and yes I did my standard quicky swatch which had measured out to the correct stitch count), and I was off. ¬†Instead of 4.5 I was getting 5. ¬†Not a huge problem if I had chosen the larger size of the sweater to knit. ¬†Instead I picked the smaller one. ¬†My measurement is 36. ¬†So I figured I’d go for the 36.5 as the sweater doesn’t close at the bust, but below it. ¬†Not to mention that I started a diet and exercise for the New Year so the girls might go the rest of the way back to pre-babyhood. ¬†And yes, I figured the 40″ would be huge. ¬†I could have moved up a needle size, but I liked the feel of the fabric at the 5/”. ¬†So I ripped it. ¬†No biggie, only a movie’s worth of knitting. ¬†Better now than much later on when the freakin thing wouldn’t come close to closing 😉

In my continuing quest to knit everything in A Fine Fleece, I went flipping through the book Sunday morning. I found the project I liked that had the right gauge (5/”) and that I had sufficient yardage for. — Rhinebeck(a Ravelry link). ¬†I initially bought the yarn to do Celtic Dreams again, but would rather a cardi. ¬†I cast on this morning on the train.

 

Rhinebeck

The yarn is the Russet colorway. ¬†Go figure. ¬†I need another red-orange cardigan right? 🙂 ¬†Has a good chance of getting finished that way!

Craft on!