the quacking fiber addict

Spent most of the morning and afternoon moving and unpacking, yes you guessed it, yet more boxes! I'm beginning to think they reproduce in the night. Or move themselves about. By 3:30 pm, I had cleared out the center of the garage, redeposited 3x my weight in boxes on the top shelves of two closets, and managed to finally strong-arm the shed in the back yarn open. Emm got to clean the house. Dad's down in Eugene prepping the old house for sale. And Mum was in bed, recovering from her spinal tap.

Oooh... fun.

By 4, Emm and I were dirty, sweaty, and dusty. He collapsed in front of his computer. Me, with of my spinning on the couch. I managed to fill my first quill this afternoon:




This little plot just may work. It would be nice to manage not to break the thread when plying every couple yards or so. I just hope I'm winding the quill right. Strange as it may sound, there is a science to this - shuttle bobbins for weaving have to be wound just so, as do cones of yarn for weaving or knitting. It'd be just my luck to wind it in exactly the wrong way.

After spinning for a bit, I got back to work on my cami. As it languishes in my knitting basket right now, it looks something like this:


The side seams, armscyes, and most of the ends are woven in. All that's left to knit is the neckline and to weave in the ends from the finishing. I had such a throbbing headache by 8 pm, I threw in the towel for the night. The family was so exhausted we actually ordered pizza for dinner.

Oy.

We have to go down to Eugene tomorrow to finish packing up Mum's artwork. Someone please kidnap rescue me in the night. I'll pay you in yarn...

Labels: handspun, knitting, The Move

One of the great resentments of my life is my clinical depression. Before it's onset in my early 20's, I had much more energy than I do now. I just did more. Now there are good days and bad days. Today wasn't the worst, but I felt completely useless for most of the day. I've taken two separate 1 hour naps to take the edge off. But, the few times I tried to get things done, they were disastrous. I broke one of my favourite earrings and my earring stand - forcing me to back away from finishing unpacking my room for the upteenth time.

Instead - between naps - I tried to help Mum unpack the kitchen, helped Dad with the finances (mostly by keeping him from throwing them across the room), and took Charlie for a long walk (with Mum) at Laurelhurst Park:


The park is quite impressive for it's size and location - in fact, it made me think of some of the choicer parts of Central Park. There's a large pond with ducks, geese, and a great blue heron that likes to fly around the lake and be admired. The park also has some off-leash areas, Charlie was pleased to discover.

I took a couple more shots of the flora and landscaping - the entire park is located in a bowl, almost a miniature valley, which is probably why it seems so intimate.



Otherwise? Not much else to report. No news from Journey Wheel, no news from the Peace Corps. No new FO's.

But, I have been spinning on my brand-new Spindlewood Co. mini-drop spindle and I loves it muchly. It spins forever and so evenly. St M mentioned to me that some spinners she knew had suggested placing straws on the shafts of her spindles - to make removing/ unwinding/ plying the yarn easier.

We'd both had problems with this concept. She couldn't find the right sized straw, so I decided to go the paper-quill route (Emmos generously donated a piece from her stationary on Saturday for me to make said quill). Unfortunately, the quill kept coming off:


So, this afternoon, I had a brainwave - a rubberband below the quill would hold it on as needed and could be removed easily (unlike double-sided tape, my other idea):


Which meant I got to go back to spinning without worrying about the yarn and quill sliding off of the spindle shaft at any moment. In case you're wondering - the spindle is made from Red Heart wood and a maple burl. The fiber (1 oz) is a Romeldale lamb/ tussah/ silk noil blend from Crosspatch fibers, called "Lily in the Starlight". It spins beautifully and makes for a very soft and lofty lace weight.

At the moment I am dreadfully far behind on my Bloglines subscripts - over 149 posts to catch up on, but I'm down from the 400+ count of three days ago. Going without internet for a couple of days = badness. Hopefully I'll catch up with them within the next couple of days. Of course, all y'all could make this easier on me and not update so frequently ;P

... Just a thought.

Labels: depression, handspun, Portland

Real internet! Yaaaaaaay. So, here's that picture of Portland from the top of Mt Tabor I've been promising:



The past two days I've been moving around a lot: Portland to Eugene to St Paul to Portland. In Eugene, we got ready for the Black Sheep Gathering and the Sheep-to-Shawl competition:

The Sinister Spinsters

St M, Emmos and I slaved away for the 12 hours after S-t-S trying to get a wraplan done for the baby of a friend (the shower was this afternoon)...





Possibly not the final version, though.

Anyway. Literally as Emmos ran out the door to deliver the wraplan, St M and I started getting ready for TheBon's wedding. I hate make-up and I hate panty-hose, it must be said. But I wore 'em both. Emmos got back from her errands and dashed into her closet. Literally 5 minutes later, we ran out the door and hit the road. We managed to just make it to The Oak Grove before the service. I took tons of pictures:

TheBon's wedding

The service was sweet and short (my favourite descriptives). Bonnie's dress was gorgeous, as was her lace shawl (a true wedding ring shawl). Everything was great. But now I'm home and tired, and I'm going to bed. St M and Emmos and Opus and I are going on a Portland yarn crawl tomorrow - I'm gonna need all the rest I can get.

Labels: BSG, handspun, insanity, Sheep-to-Shawl

I was so doozy last night that I didn't manage to post the other half of my evening. I am such a ditz. Yesterday, St M came over and had our "alternative" Seder with us, I received my Knit Picks Cotlin (snarl), and the geometry is kicking my ass (hence the title of last night's post).

How is the geometry kicking my ass?? Do you remember back to the days when A*2 + B*2 = C*2? I do. Trying to apply such logic to knitting (specifically the instep decreases on a sock) is futile, idiotic, and insane all at once. I was near tears by the time I decided that I was not going to look at the damn Spox pattern for another 24 hours.

Then, this morning, hahaha. I had the crazy I idea to try something different. No, I am not going to explain it. It would take too long, and it brings back painful memories.

Anyway, that's the condensed second half of last night's post.

Onto tonight's post. Here's tonight's quote:

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”
Oscar Wilde

The story of my life.

Moving on. Today I received my Handdyed Roving Swap parcel. Since I have too many photos, I'm going to direct you to the pictures on Flickr. After that (and battling the bloody Spox pattern) I went to Homework Club. Or so I thought. Apparently (although we hadn't been told) it was cancelled. Emmos took me, instead, to see her workplace. We then went on to dinner and the EWES. A local spinner we (the "babies", *snark*) all really like was this week's hostess. Here's Emmos, laughing, with her wheel:


(I spun the hand-dyed roving I received from girlbotgoods). I'd say C's first EWES hostessing gig went well, as Emmos and I didn't leave until after 10. We got there at 7. Twas lots of fun. Emmos offered to show me the "scenic" route home, and we proceeded to get lost. So, I got home at 11 pm after lots of star-gazing on some rural highway. I didn't care, it was fun.

Mum wanted to watch Casino Royale again, so I cast on a new project. I made it through the first 30 mins before I saw this:


I am very annoyed. I usually really like Knit Picks. I've been pleased with their lace and sock yarns. This, though, is really unacceptable. It's just awful, and I'm going to have to cut the entire mess out and weave in the ends. Joy.

It was as I stomped upstairs that I decided that, damn it, I needed to knit something for myself that required no shaping and yarn I knew wouldn't give me a headache. Mum's shawl is out of the question. The Queen of Cups nearly reduced me to tears. My silk pullover is beautiful but the yarn has slubs that I have to watch for (or else regret it eternally). The Spox, it turns out, are too big for me and are going to go to Mum.

So. I am casting on SOMETHING tomorrow with my Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace. I've wound it and know for CERTAIN that there are no knots, slubs, weird ends, or general ickyness.

This isn't Startitis. It's self-preservation.

Labels: designing, friends, handspun, idiocy, insanity, knitting

I bet you weren't expecting more yarn on this blog, were you? I'm just full of surprises. Here's the wool I bought at Creative Hands spun into singles on the bobbin:




Yarn specs (so I'll remember before trying to knit it):

• Fiber: Corriedale wool from a local breeder
  
• Amount: 2 oz
• Yardage: 110 yards

Now it IS time to go to sleep. Also, suggestions for what I can make with 110 yards of yarn are always appreciated...

Labels: handspun

but, oh my!, here's another picture of handspun yarn still on the bobbin:


Wow, I am so original.

Yep. More handspun. I'm getting in an hour or two every night (amazing to me). The top I'm working on right now is handpainted superwash merino/ silk (70/ 30) for sock yarn. I got it from Carolina Homespun at Oregon Flock and Fiber (yes, it's taken me 6 months to get started on it).

Other news: I packed up nearly all my Classical references/ primary sources today. I figured out the lace corner decrease for Mum's shawl and'll start on the border soon enough. I would have cast on for that, but St M called. So, we got the loom off to it's new home with St M instead. Erm... oh!, I'm past the armholes on the back of the peacock pullover! I'm soooo close to finishing it. Only 4 more inches of plain knitting and then the shoulder decreases. I'm thinking of doing a the sleeves next, to get them out of the way.

Sooo... yeah. Not much else to report. Back to my spinning, I think.


I saw this on Crimson's blog and just had to do it myself:

In the list of books below, bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you won’t touch with a ten-foot pole, put a cross (+) in front of the ones on your book shelf, and asterisk (*) the ones you’ve never heard of.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. +Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) (alright, we read excerpts from it in school, but I'm not counting it)
5. +The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. +The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. +The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L. M. Montgomery)
9. *Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. *A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. +Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. +Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. *A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. +Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. +Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. *Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King) (I didn't get past page 1)
19. +Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20.+ Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. +The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J. D. Salinger)
23. +Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. *The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel) (I keep meaning to read it...)
26. +The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. +Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) (Honestly, I don't know why I still have this on my shelf)
28. +The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) (Trying to finish this one)
34.+ 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. *I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. *The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (some, from class mostly)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. +The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. +Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. *She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. *The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. *The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. +Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) (uck)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger) (Working on it.)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview with the Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. *Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72.* Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. *The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. +Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. *Not Wanted On the Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. *Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. +Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. *The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. *Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. *Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. *In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) (I read this on the bus in Turkey.)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd) (maybe)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S. E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98.* A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. *The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Labels: handspun, meme, The Move

snark·y /ˈsnɑrki/ [snahr-kee]
–adjective, snark·i·er, snark·i·est. Chiefly British Slang.
testy or irritable; short.
[Origin: 1910–15; dial. snark to nag, find fault with (appar. identical with snark, snork to snort, snore, prob. D, LG snorken to snore) + -y1]

Since the Monday Night Knitters (aka Madame DeFarge's Knitters) have been kicked out of our previous venue, Perugino's, we've been a bit adrift. Many other venues were considered, but most have seating limitations, early hours, or other problems. This evening, we tried the 5th Street Market. Which turned out to be a bust, since everything closed at 7 pm. Joy. It was decided that we'd all move over to Cozmic Pizza, and try again there.

In all fairness, we had been warned that it was Open Mike Night at Cozmic Pizza. But, I think we were all expecting badly written (and performed) poetry, and not karaoke. At first, we were politely distasteful. Then we (well, about half of us, including St M and I) got really loud and really snarky. A couple of times we sang along, off-key, and others we critiqued the singers' skills, etc. And we laughed. A lot. And loudly.

At the time it was funny. Right now I'm worried about the damage we might have done to some of the "performers" egos. At one point, A asked if St M and I were drunk because we were laughing so hard. But, really, who wouldn't laugh when two teenagers are trying to since songs older than they are? (and not succeeding in the slightest, either)

We all left right about when the love songs started up. After getting home, I wound off last night's Aurora into a skein and plied the other bobbin-full. As of tonight, I have 6 skeins done:


I'm getting closer and closer to have a sweater's worth of yarn. Yay! Then I get to design a sweater... Hrm.

Well, that's about it. Not really. But I don't want to write any more. Quickly - I got some really gorgeous lace for the edge of "that Judaica thing" (rejoice!) and some matching blue braiding. It's gonna rock, I think. Hopefully my karma isn't in the negatives after tonight, and it'll work out.

Labels: friends, handspun, knitting, Monday Night Knitters

“Writing is the most fun you can have by yourself.”
Terry Pratchett

My main achievements today? Plying 3 bobbins worth of yarn. If we ignore the fact that I managed a Costco run, and got some cleaning done. Anyway, back to the yarn.

1 bobbin-full of vegan yarn for my Handspun/ Handcrafted Swap partner:


1 of baby alpaca/ silk waste for heaven knows who. (not pictured)

And 1 of Aurora (1/2 superwash, 1/2 baby alpaca), for myself:


I have another bobbin's worth of Aurora left to ply, but my shoulders and knees are tired. So, that's it for the night. As soon as there's enough hot water again, I'm claiming the bathtub.

Tomorrow, err, this morning, the workmen return (heaven help me) to sand the oak floors. Oy. I'm planning on escaping to TKS to visit St M before we go to Mdme DeFarge's. We've been kicked out of our long-standing venue, Perugino's, for gathering too large a crowd. Uh huh.

So, now we're trying another bar/ cafe. Should be cool. Maybe I'll even remember to bring my camera.

(don't count on it)

Labels: banana silk, handspun

I'll buy my love some flannel, I'll make my love a shroud
And every stitch I put in it, the tears they will pour down
With every stitch I put in it, how the tears will flow
Cruel fate has put an end to his growing
Anon/ traditional

I have no idea why, but this ballad appeals to me tonight.

Anyway. The Tea Cozy Hat is finished. TheBon kindly offered to photograph it for me, and the tiny bit of yarn that I had left once it was finished (eep!):





Can you tell which one was taken by me and the other by TheBon? I bet you can, her's doesn't suck ;D

And back to business. Lemme see, lemme see. Quick update:

• I still need to make that soup
• La Primavera stole is coming along nicely. Alas, I might need more yarn... Oy.
• An accord has been reached with the parents. The finally agree that the possibility of me not getting hired at MoC will not cause the Apocalypse. We have agreed that my tickets to SF WILL be bought tomorrow, come Hell or high water. Seriously. I don't care if I have to stand down Satan himself at this point.
• The Corset-A-Long starts tomorrow. We'll see how that goes.
• 22 participants in the Hogwarts Houses Swap
• I am a bad organizer, or was, for the Handspun Swap. I'm not nagging enough, I admit it.
• I just may have to strangle Bon's MIL
• Rome and Extras kick @ss this season
• The Guild is going to start meeting at Starbucks now, instead of on campus.
• And my foot is feeling much better now, thank you everyone, and hopefully I shall somehow manage to make it to 100 mi by April 1 despite my recent bipedal issues.

Nightnight.

Labels: finished object, friends, guild, handspun

Blemishes are hid by night and every fault forgiven; darkness makes any woman fair.
Ovid

Would that I could only show my face during the night, eh? I'm having an epic outbreak of just awful acne right now. It's really NOT fair, I tell you, since I never had any skin problems through my teens. The moment I hit twenty, my skin decided to go on strike.

Blech.

Anyway.

In happier news, I got my Winter Handspun Yarn Swap package from darlingbud today:


I'm madly in love with the merino (and would have loved to have kept the black, but that's another story). I'm trying to figure out what to do with the 140 yards I have now. Oh, and look!, a closeup:


Also, I finally found out that Crimson got my extremely and embarassingly late Christmas package today (Damn you, Bloglines! They actually deleted several of my fav blogs from my blogroll... so if I haven't commented in a while, that's why). Here's the pix, if you're bored enough to look at my terrible sewing skills. And I WANT that Snape shirt, OMG.

No mileage today. My ankle's still a little achy. But I have every confidence that I shall be able to start up on the challenge again tomorrow.

Umm, I've forgotten everything I was gonna write. Oops? Maybe I'll remember tomorrow night...

Labels: craft swaps, finished object, handspun

How cunningly nature hides every wrinkle of her inconceivable antiquity under roses and violets and morning dew!
Ralph Waldo Emerson

It's no secret that my favourite colour combination is pink and violet. Which might explain why I am completely pink and violet in the picture below:


I knit up a pair of mitts today, using some handspun yarn I've been battling ever since I started spinning it. It was too scratchy for a neck warmer, and I found out mid-hat that I didn't have enough for a hat. Mitts seemed to be the easiest solution. Thus, I ignored housework, swap projects, family presents and even eating to knit these up and finish them.

Clearly, I need a break from something.

If only I could figure out what.

Labels: finished object, handspun

It is better to busy one's self about the smallest thing in the world than to treat a half hour as worthless
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I'm staring at the screen currently, as I try and recall everything that has happened in the past 48 hours. Scanning back.

Oh, yes. At approximately 1400 hours Emmett arrived home. I went into the kitchen as he ran into his room to go onto WOW, and soon heard keening. Apparently his computer had died. He proceeded to rant and rave (and blame it on Dad) and try to convince me to help him fix it. I just stared at him, "Emm, you know I only work software."

Didn't matter. Somehow I ended up sitting under his desk pulling at wires and prodding sharp and shiny bits. He admitted that he might have short-circuited the harddrive when he cleaned it that morning. I sighed.

He went on ranting for a while, as I stared at the hopped-upped monstrosity that was his computer and wondered why he thought I could fix it. I never found that out.

I finally told him that I had errands to run and chores to complete.

So, at 16oo hours, I walked over to the post office (2 mi added onto my total) to mail Crimson's embarassingly late Christmas gifts, L's surprise and a thank-you skein of handspun yarn for another L. By the time I got back, the sun was setting and I desperately wanted to rest my aching feet.

When I arrived home, I was informed that Emm had built another computer (don't ask, just don't) and wanted me to look at it. Right-O. I finally escaped the Gaming Lair, as I am now calling it.

I sat down and got a ton of spinning done. All of my yarn for the Winter Handspun Yarn Swap is finished (I need to dip-dye one skein and make one gift), so I started on a quicky project. The fiber that TheBon and I had dyed last Sunday. It had felted horribly, so rather than fight it I just let it spin up the way it wanted:


Super bulky and uneven. I actually really like it. It reminds me rather forcefully of Manos. Only, since it's Navajo-Churro, it's incredibly scratchy and hairy. Hopefully, it shall become a crochet rug soon enough. I have 180 yards of super-duper bulky yarn (seriously, I'd knit this on 13's or 15's) and want to use it. (I actually finished the last half of this skein tonight)

Right about when I'd had enough of scratchy, scratchy wool and finicky Rambouillet - Charlie started wheezing. He then proceeded to throw up 4 or 5 times, while I scrubbed the carpet twice (I got him into the kitchen for the latter half of the fun) and tried to get him to just sit down and drink some water (the last thing I needed was for him to get dehydrated).

He spent the rest of the evening whining at me and following me everywhere I went. I finally decided that I wasn't going to get anything done and went to bed early. Because I am not as mean as I'd like to pretend I am, I actually went downstairs and slept in my parents' bed so Charlie wouldn't have to sleep alone (I have a loft-bed, remember). Thus proceeded one of the worst nights of sleep of my life.

How does a dog even snore??

Anyway. I was going to take Charlie on a loooong walk today, but it turns out that walking 2 mi in clogs isn't too good for your feet. I couldn't even put on my sneakers today and actually tried to apologize to the dog, who just gave me this look.

Bloody mongrel.

I took a nap at that point, got up and knit and spun a bit.

It is also worth mentioning that I have been battling Wordpress for the past 48 hours (off and on) and have decided that we have inreconcilable differences. It won't behave and I won't compromise. So, oh well. Blogger seems to be the only server that doesn't make me want tear my hair out.

Labels: handspun

The only thing that stops God from sending another flood is that the first one was useless.
Chamfort

If the temperature in Eugene had dropped below freezing, Mum and I had estimated that we would have gotten a very white Christmas, indeed. For, we have quite a lot of water about. Well, actually, "a lot" doesn't even cover it, really. Maybe Dad and I should start building an Ark...

Or a schooner. I'm fine with either.

Anyway. Mum and I, in absolute desperation, went out today hoping to find someplace open. We only found 3 places: a Thai restaurant, Rite Aid, and Starbucks. We ventured into none. Instead, I suggested to Mum that we drive over to Alton Baker park to take some "action" shots of my brand-new, soft and sumptuous, utterly lovely clapotis.

It was as we crossed the Ferry Street Bridge that I felt the stirrings of slight panic. I had looked down (yes, I know this was stupid of me).

And saw that the river was swollen. Really, really swollen. It had flooded onto the concrete paths of the park. The river was maybe 15 feet below the bridge (10 feet higher than normal, I'd guestimate). Mum refused to go into Alton Baker park until we did some recon.

There were, amazingly enough, other crazy people out and about the park. Mum agreed to park the new Honda and get out with me. It became immediately clear to me (just about as I hit the rain and cold air) that there was no bloody way I was going to take my coat off to model my clapotis. But, I had brung the digicam and was determined to use it.

If only to document the frighteningly high level of the river. In fact, as we walked over to the duck pond, we saw that the duck island was completely submerged. The ducks looked cold and wet and miserable. And immediately flocked over to me, wanting bread. I ignored them.

Okay, see that brown sliver behind that tree and going under the bridge?:


I had stepped up onto a concrete barrier to take the pic, and looked down to see the flock of geese and ducks had surrounded me and were grousing loudly at the fact that I hadn't fed them.


I apologized to them for my terrible faux pas and made my way to the river, ignoring my Mum's worried musings. She was worried about a flash flood. I replied that we were witnessing one, and kept going. I'm a terrible child, I know, but I love seeing things:


I looked back over to the duck pond (there was a very slim sliver of concrete running between the river and the duck pond, likely also submerged by now) and noticed that the man-made island in the center of the pond was also submerged and that the benches were also a bit damp...




I had to get pictures of this. It's so Eugenian. Hell, I might even have done the same thing - if my Mum hadn't been with me, cuz it'd have given her a heart attack (don't even ask about the Yellowstone geisers). I offered to photograph their endeavor and email them the pix later (I'm gonna do it, I promise). The family thought that would be cool.

Oh, and look!, ducks swam by the girl and her father as they waded (slowly through the current) to the island:


They both paused halfway to wave back at us (the Mum and son were standing on dry ground with Mum and I):


The girl and her father kept teasing her brother about not going in with them. He just shook his head and laughed and refused to go any further than ankle deep.


After a while, the duo started back (again slowly, and the water was rising at this point):


By the time they got back to land, they seemed soaked to the bone. I promised to mail them the pix as we all rushed to our cars (we were all cold and wet at this point). As we both jumped into the car, I looked up and saw that there was an emergency vehicle trying to drive down the bike path (or what was still left of it). I suggested that maybe they were trying to close the park.

At this, Mum and I gave up on any chance of walking around somewhere (that wasn't cold and wet) and just came home. I've never been so glad to see my sweats, that I can recall anyway.

Are you completely bored with my narrative? No? Okay, I've got more ^_^

For our Good Crafting News section, I'm glad to report that both Maura and Tamara have both recieved their wacky ducky prizes.


I have also been informed that my spindling foster student loved the roving I sent. I also finished L's "surprise" last night (I even sewed the buttons on and everything). This means that I only have three wacky ducky prizes left to make: one for TheBon, one for Penny, and one for Crimson (I'm also neglecting to mention that I bloody well need to finish Xa's Yule gift and Penny's Channukah gift, too).

I am soooooo close to finishing up my holiday December crafting! Just three people left (*glee*).

Because I didn't feel like spinning, sewing, or dyeing anything (picky, aren't I?) I got out my knitting. I'm so bad, I know. I cast on a lace stole that I designed whilst watching Love Actually this evening. I have no idea if it's going to work or not, and I kinda don't care. Experimentation is fuuuun. I also finished, um, 1/2 of something special and secret. No, I can't tell you what it is. I also made progress on my thrums scarf - a scarf I'm making with all my left-over blue, green, or purple thrums (such an original name, I know).

I also embroidered another Hebrew word onto "that Judaica thing" and knit another repeat of the lace border. I might be able to get it done in a week, if I can manage to keep working on it.

But, with a pink alpaca lace stole on the needles... well, what're the odds on that? Penny's in Vegas for the holidays, maybe she can tell us.

Labels: handspun, wacky ducky contest

Here's the pink panta I made today! It's my handspun - the Louet merino/ silk blend. I took the pattern I used yesterday and changed two of the ribs to cables. I really like this one! It's really soft and fitted. I'm def'ly wearing it to weaving tmrw. I've started a trend on Craftster - well, sorta... handspun pantas! I must make more!


ETA, on 7/10/07:
Now with the pattern...

One of my knitting students asked me months ago to write down my panta pattern. I had found a panta pattern online and adapted it to suit my needs during the colder months of the year. I agreed and promptly forgot. But she asked me again, and several other knitters have asked for it as well. So, here it is. I apologize for any mistakes in the math, abbreviations, etc.

Pantas are a traditional Finnish head covering and quite comfy to wear when it gets cold out. Over the past year, I have adapted the following pattern in many ways, but here are my 3 most popular (and easy to knit) versions. Please email me at fyberduck@gmail.com if you have any problems or questions. Happy knitting!

MATERIALS:

• 50 grams of DK – worsted weight yarn
• size 6 - 9 US needles, tapestry needle
• stitch markers if necessary – I recommend placing stitch markers on edge stitches to mark increase and decrease rows.

GAUGE:

4.5 – 5 sts/ inch

SIZE
to fit 20 – 24” head (stretchy)



Basic Pattern (seen here)

• CO 18 sts.
• Row 1: Sl 1 kw, k1, *p2, k2* across
• Row 2: Sl 1 pw, p1, *k2, p2* across
• Repeat these two rows until piece measures 3”

1st Increase:

• RS: Sl 1 kw, k1, *INC1, p2, k2* across
• Continue working 22 sts for another 2” (piece measures 5”) as follows:
• WS: Sl 1 pw, p1, *k3, p2 across
• RS: Sl 1 kw, k1, *p3, k2 across

2nd Increase:

• RS: Sl 1 kw, k1, *INC1, p3, k3* across
• Continue working 26 sts for another 2” (piece measures 7”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K4, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P4, k2* across

3rd Increase:

• RS: Sl1 kw, kl, **INC1, p4, k2* across
• Continue working 30 sts for another 2” (piece measures 9”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K5, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P5, k2* across

4th Increase:

• RS: Sl1 kw, kl, **INC1, p5, k2* across
• Continue working 34 sts for another 2” (piece measures 11”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K6, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P6, k2* across

1st Decrease:

• RS: Sl1 kw, kl, **p2tog, p4, k2* across
• Continue working 30 sts for another 2” (piece measures 13”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K5, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P5, k2* across

2nd Decrease:

• RS: Sl1 kw, kl, **p2tog, p3, k2* across
• Continue working 26 sts for another 2” (piece measures 15”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K4, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P4, k2* across

3rd Decrease:

• RS: Sl1 kw, kl, **p2tog, p2, k2* across
• Continue working 22 sts for another 2” (piece measures 17”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K3, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P3, k2* across

4th Decrease:

• RS: Sl1 kw, kl, **p2tog, p1, k2* across
• Continue working 18 sts for another 3” (piece measures 20”) as follows:
• WS: Sl1 pw, p1, *K2, p2* across
• RS: Sl1 kw, k1, *P2, k2* across

Once the panta is 20” long BO remaining 18 sts.
Finishing: block or steam panta before sewing ends together. Weave in remaining ends.

ALTERNATE VERSIONS

Cables and Ribs Panta: (seen above)
*Extra materials: cable needle*

• CO and work as for basic panta until 5th row:
• Row 5: Sl 1 kw, k1, p2, FC1, p2, k2, p2, FC1, p2, k2
• Row 6: Sl 1 pw, p1, *k2, p2* across
• Row 7: Sl 1 kw, k1, *p2, k2* across
• Row 8: Sl 1 pw, p1, *k2, p2* across
• Repeat these same 8 rows, adapted to fit panta increases, throughout pattern. Continue to follow basic pattern increases and decreases. Finish the same.

Left-Twist Panta: (seen here)

• CO and work as for basic panta until 3rd row:
• Row 3: Sl 1 kw, k1, *p2, LT* across
• Row 4: Sl 1 pw, p1, *k2, p2* across
• Row 5: Sl 1 kw, k1, *p2, k2* across
• Row 6: Sl 1 pw, p1, *k2, p2* across
• Repeat these 4 rows, adapted to fit panta increases, throughout pattern. Continue to follow basic pattern increases and decreases. Finish the same.
  

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Abbreviations:
CO: Cast on (I recommend the long-tail method)
FC1: Front cable 1; slip 1 stitch onto the cable needle, knit next stitch, knit stitch off of cable needle
INC: using right-hand needle, pick up the bar between stitches, twist it to the left before placing it on the needle, purl into front of stitch – creating a tight new stitch
K: Knit
KW: Knit-wise, see “Sl 1 kw”
LT: Left twist; of the next two stitches on the needle, knit the left/ second/ furthest-from-the-point stitch before the right/ first/ closer-to-needle-point stitch – creating a cable without a cable needle.
P: Purl
P2tog: Purl 2 together
PW: Purl-wise, see “Sl 1 pw”
RS: Right side of the piece
Sl 1 kw: Slip one stitch knit-wise; slip the “working” needle (right) into the st as if to knit, carrying the yarn in the back, and slide the st off of the "carrying" needle (left) without creating another st.
Sl 1 pw: Slip one stitch purl-wise; slip the working needle into the st as if to purl, carrying the yarn in the front, and slide the st off of the carrying needle w/o creating another st.
WS: Wrong side of the piece

Labels: handspun, panta, pattern