Man, Oh Man...
I SO want to catch up on blog stuff. I'm going to do it right now even though I didn't even come down stairs from putting the girls to bed till almost 10. And then I spent half an hour catching up with my husband. Some of these photos go back a ways...but at least I'm finally getting around to the knitting and spinning updates!
About a week or so ago, a rare thing happened - the girls both fell asleep in the car. It happened on the way home from the Mall of America - Julie was holding the bag with her new dress in it.
So I had Joe drive us through Starbucks, and we sat in the car for a few minutes and had a little mini-date. And I did some knitting.
Changing subjects, last Thursday we were at a playdate, and one of the girls found a cicada on the ground. One of those giant, creepy-looking bugs. It was a moment in which we were on the brink of having four little girls freak right the hell out. Instead, I leaned over and picked it up, told them a few little factoids about how they spend most of their lives underground and stuff, and before I knew it, Julie wanted a turn holding it.
And then Sophie wanted a turn, too.
Our little friends were a little more reticent about the giant bug, but at least nobody climbed the walls over it.
On to the spinning. I'm still working on the Sheep-to-Shoe kit from Blue Moon. Here's where it stood last week - half done, plus one finished spindle and a second spindle half full...
And here's the status as of last night - half of the yarn, finished in front, two full spindles and one empty spindle, one sixth of the roving left to go on it. That ball of roving looks a lot smaller in the picture than it does in real life. It really amazes me that such a large volume of wool can turn into such a relatively small volume of singles.
I'd really like to finish this spinning project this week. Because - um - I have an appointment for Saturday morning out at Detta's to try out new wheels. Detta sounded super-nice on the phone and I'm really looking forward to meeting her in person. She was all "You really have to sit down and try several out - it's like picking out puppies from a litter - you just know which one wants to follow you home when you play with it."
It sure would be nice to have the spindle project done before my new wheel follows me home on Saturday so that I can focus on the wheel guilt-free. Yay!
Oh, look - it's a finished object - those cotton socks are finally done. They look like crap all unblocked and just laying there in my semimostly-shaded backyard.
But they look pretty happy on my feet, and they're quite comfy. Yay!
I've got another pair of socks started at the moment, but I really don't want to talk about them just yet. If they turn out decently and I finish them in time, they might go to the Fair. Or maybe not. The clock's ticking on the entry deadline of August 13, and I really don't want to pressure myself on a silly ole pair of socks.
Finally, we can't ignore the diamond sweater. I have been working on the diamond sweater whenever I have some quality couch time in the evening with a DVD. That hasn't been happening very regularly, though, and even when I do get an hour or so, it's slow going.
Here's the big-picture view of the sleeves.
They kind of remind me of a giant, wooly jellyfish with their long tendrils of yarn tails. I continually waffle between winding the yarn up into nice little butterflies and just letting the tails run wild. It almost seems like the butterflies are harder to untangle than the unfettered strands.
The thing is, I am adding in new color chunks every few rows, so having to stop to splice more yarn onto an existing strand (usually the grey-purple background color) just pisses me off. So I usually splice in a pretty long chunk. Also, the weaving in of the ends takes for freakin' ever, and there are a lot of ends. Unlike with the mitered square blanket, there is no great place to put a lot of the ends, so I have to get creative.
Yeah, so it's creeping along. I think I need to add a few more rows to the body before it'll be ready for joining at the underarms as well. The sleeves are maybe 1/3 or so finished. I'm not betting on this one making it to the fair, but definitely I'll be wearing it this winter.
Wanna hear something funny? One of my readers messaged me and said
Which made me laugh out loud. I think the internal me is all about sexy librarian. HA! And by the way, I keep meaning to do a post about all the audio books I've been listening to. Does anyone care about audio books?
And finally, I've been having a neighbor kid come over and play with Sophie one or two mornings a week while Julie is in pre-school. J is really good with my girls, we've known him since we moved here a couple years ago, and he is the son of one of my fabulous favorite neighbors. He's only 12, but I'm around the house and available for any help they might need, and I check in on them regularly. Still, it gives me a chance to get a little cleaning or bill-paying done unassisted. Nice!
I snuck this picture through the kitchen window - they are playing with a tub of uncooked rice mixed with some beads that I keep around for digging in, measuring, and generally squishing. Best toy I ever bought! They got bored with the combination of sidewalk chalk, bubbles, bike, and water toys after about fifteen minutes - they played with the rice for more than half an hour!
Whew! That's it. I'm off to spin a little before bed.
About a week or so ago, a rare thing happened - the girls both fell asleep in the car. It happened on the way home from the Mall of America - Julie was holding the bag with her new dress in it.
So I had Joe drive us through Starbucks, and we sat in the car for a few minutes and had a little mini-date. And I did some knitting.
Changing subjects, last Thursday we were at a playdate, and one of the girls found a cicada on the ground. One of those giant, creepy-looking bugs. It was a moment in which we were on the brink of having four little girls freak right the hell out. Instead, I leaned over and picked it up, told them a few little factoids about how they spend most of their lives underground and stuff, and before I knew it, Julie wanted a turn holding it.
And then Sophie wanted a turn, too.
Our little friends were a little more reticent about the giant bug, but at least nobody climbed the walls over it.
On to the spinning. I'm still working on the Sheep-to-Shoe kit from Blue Moon. Here's where it stood last week - half done, plus one finished spindle and a second spindle half full...
And here's the status as of last night - half of the yarn, finished in front, two full spindles and one empty spindle, one sixth of the roving left to go on it. That ball of roving looks a lot smaller in the picture than it does in real life. It really amazes me that such a large volume of wool can turn into such a relatively small volume of singles.
I'd really like to finish this spinning project this week. Because - um - I have an appointment for Saturday morning out at Detta's to try out new wheels. Detta sounded super-nice on the phone and I'm really looking forward to meeting her in person. She was all "You really have to sit down and try several out - it's like picking out puppies from a litter - you just know which one wants to follow you home when you play with it."
It sure would be nice to have the spindle project done before my new wheel follows me home on Saturday so that I can focus on the wheel guilt-free. Yay!
Oh, look - it's a finished object - those cotton socks are finally done. They look like crap all unblocked and just laying there in my semimostly-shaded backyard.
But they look pretty happy on my feet, and they're quite comfy. Yay!
I've got another pair of socks started at the moment, but I really don't want to talk about them just yet. If they turn out decently and I finish them in time, they might go to the Fair. Or maybe not. The clock's ticking on the entry deadline of August 13, and I really don't want to pressure myself on a silly ole pair of socks.
Finally, we can't ignore the diamond sweater. I have been working on the diamond sweater whenever I have some quality couch time in the evening with a DVD. That hasn't been happening very regularly, though, and even when I do get an hour or so, it's slow going.
Here's the big-picture view of the sleeves.
They kind of remind me of a giant, wooly jellyfish with their long tendrils of yarn tails. I continually waffle between winding the yarn up into nice little butterflies and just letting the tails run wild. It almost seems like the butterflies are harder to untangle than the unfettered strands.
The thing is, I am adding in new color chunks every few rows, so having to stop to splice more yarn onto an existing strand (usually the grey-purple background color) just pisses me off. So I usually splice in a pretty long chunk. Also, the weaving in of the ends takes for freakin' ever, and there are a lot of ends. Unlike with the mitered square blanket, there is no great place to put a lot of the ends, so I have to get creative.
Yeah, so it's creeping along. I think I need to add a few more rows to the body before it'll be ready for joining at the underarms as well. The sleeves are maybe 1/3 or so finished. I'm not betting on this one making it to the fair, but definitely I'll be wearing it this winter.
Wanna hear something funny? One of my readers messaged me and said
Which made me laugh out loud. I think the internal me is all about sexy librarian. HA! And by the way, I keep meaning to do a post about all the audio books I've been listening to. Does anyone care about audio books?
And finally, I've been having a neighbor kid come over and play with Sophie one or two mornings a week while Julie is in pre-school. J is really good with my girls, we've known him since we moved here a couple years ago, and he is the son of one of my fabulous favorite neighbors. He's only 12, but I'm around the house and available for any help they might need, and I check in on them regularly. Still, it gives me a chance to get a little cleaning or bill-paying done unassisted. Nice!
I snuck this picture through the kitchen window - they are playing with a tub of uncooked rice mixed with some beads that I keep around for digging in, measuring, and generally squishing. Best toy I ever bought! They got bored with the combination of sidewalk chalk, bubbles, bike, and water toys after about fifteen minutes - they played with the rice for more than half an hour!
Whew! That's it. I'm off to spin a little before bed.
posted by Shelly Kang at 10:49 PM
9 Comments:
I love audio books. Get to "read" a book and do something else.
Look at the interest and concentration on those little faces. Good job, mama!
Smart mom, to take advantage of opportunities and teachable moments. That sweater is amazing.
love the Sophie's expression with the cicada! (I have a picture of my niece KISSING a cicada. yeah.)
you'll have fun at Detta's! (I was almost going to head out there Saturday too, but alas, I'll be in WI & a side trip to Chicago.)
I'm an audiobook fan, too!
I think I've said this before but you're a super mom. :)
I love audio books too. I'm open for suggestions of interesting, but smut-free books!
Yes, I'm doing audio books and knitting on the deck as many afternoons as I can manage. I have to use the "pause" button if I need to concentrate on the knitting. I just listened to Barbara Walters' book "Audition". I liked it, but WARNING, it's 21 CD's long...
How was Detta's? I've been there once to have help with a spindle issue. The shop was pretty messy but Detta was nice & very helpful. When I get a wheel, I'm definately going through her:)
The sweater is coming along gorgeous!
I'd love audiobook recommendations, I listen to them all the time.
I love the Artemis Fowl series, yes they are technically kids' books (like Harry Potter is) but my 32 yr old hubby and I (30) absolutely adore them, and the guy who reads them is fantastic.
The audiobook version of the Dark Materials series is phenomenal too because it is read by the author and every character has a unique actor doing the voice, so they got rid of the "he said"s and it sounds like you're listening to a play.
And if you like sci-fi...no one reads Douglas Adams better than Douglas Adams, and he reads his Hitchhiker's series.
p.s. LOL I'm glad you found my message funny, but something must be wrong on my end 'cus I can't see the quote part in your post.
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