It's crazy

It is crazy how fast the time goes whizzing right on by sometimes.  whew!

Holidays are over for 2011 and 2012 is here.  And people thought the end of the world was going to be 12 years ago?  doh

The job is still taking up most of my time and will until later this year.  This is a contract job even though they give full benefits and I won't know exactly how long I will be working this many hours (or maybe even more) until the job is finished.  I am sure I will get another job after this one.  And, for my sanity and energy level, I hope a 40 hours per week job.  Or maybe part time.  hmmm.   I will be on Medicare this year.  yay.  I won't have to worry so much about insurance anyway.  So part time might be perfect.

I have pictures.................  Ready?

Remember this project?  It's all knitted and ready for seams and buttons.  This is closer to the real color as well, the above picture was so yellow and pink and I give up trying to figure out cameras for color anyway.

I hope to do that soon.  Seems attainable, but I really can't tell when I will grab the pile of blocked pieces and do it.  Maybe this week?

In the mean time, a new project happened.  I have had this bag of yarn and the pattern ready for way too long.  It's fun to knit so now that I am started, it will finally get done.  The sweater is for me.  I also am still working on the sweater shawl sweater and quilting.

This is a new block of the month that I am working on.  It's called Kansas City Star and will be totally pieced.  The fabrics are similar each month, this one is called Posie.  Don't you also love my ironing board cover?

I also am working on the 2011/12 Civil War Revival quilt top and we are almost done with that one.  I will get some pics of that soon.

The Whimsical Garden blocks continue:

I am almost halfway done with the blocks!  They are so much fun and easy to make.

I have joined two new blocks-of the month groups.  This one starting soon:

Sarah's Revival 

And this beauty starting in April:

Baltimore Beauty 

I put together my one of the quilting swap projects that I did a very long time ago.  Chickens.  It's wonderful and will take a picture of it very soon.

Today, I am preparing the header cloths for my Grace Quilting Frame.  I gave myself an upgrade to the metal carriage for Christmas, so now it's a go for the whole thing.  Pictures will happen as soon as I get the first quilt ready to work on.  yippee

An engineer that I was chatting with at work asked me what I was possibly going to do when I retire.  hahahahahahahahahahahahaaha
J

It's Almost Here!

My 4 days off.  Oh, yay!!

I will be fixing the man and I's Thanksgiving dinner this year.  The turkey is thawing and I only have to go to the store right after work.  I am sure that won't be much fun, but I need orange juice for the cranberry bread.

I got my birthday present from myself today.  A Kindle Fire.  It's really cool.  It's everything but a phone to me.  I don't use my cell phone very much, so this will be fun.  I already have a ton of books from Audible, music from iTunes and will have to see how the video thingy works too.  I can access my email via WiFi along with the web really, so it will be great to carry around for entertainment during the day instead of hitting the internet a little during the day at work when we really aren't really supposed to be using it a lot.  I can't check my email from there and some other sites as well.

No pics today, but I promise later this weekend.  :>)  The gray handspun sweater grows every day.

Happy Holiday
J

Ok then

I can't believe I am starting my 4th week at work.  Time flies during the week.  Somehow though, my weekend days seem longer.  On those weekday evenings, I get home, eat, watch a bit of tv and then off to bed.  Up at 6am, to work by 7 and then drive home in the dark at 5:30.  sheesh  The cat velcros herself to me more.  She was way used to having me home all the time.  She doesn't know what to get me to do first when I am home.  I will have 4 days off for Thanksgiving.  That will seem like a huge vacation!

I have been knitting a bit though, now that the shock of working is over.  I finished the first front of the long gray sweater and have a few more inches on the flax colored sweater.  And,  I am also just finishing up another bird block for the Whimsical Garden quilt.  I will post a pic of that for sure when I get it done.

We have definate fall here.  The tree in the front yard dropped most of it's leaves yesterday.  But, it's raining and snowing today, so raking is out.  <sigh>

So, done for now, more later...
J

The Calm Before the Storm

The man and I travelled to Bryce Canyon for a few days.  We did actually drive through the park and took a short hike to see the Bristle cone pines.

It's easy to see for 40 miles to the Paria Plateau.  Every picture I took is beautiful, there's more:

Coming to the end of the trail.  Live bristle cone pines.  Some weren't so lucky to make it for more than a few hundred years:

The one above had rings that were almost touching.  Probably a couple hundred of them.  This stump is about 2 feet across and had grown around a branch.

This is a natural bridge about halfway to the point which is around 20 miles from Ruby's Inn where we stayed.

That new project has been progressing nicely.  Fatter yarn makes for faster projects.  This sweater is very long, but it's still fun to knit.  I have the back done and am 2/3 of the way up the right front.  Sorry for the blurry picture.  I need to find a way to take pictures of it with more contrast.  Maybe take it from a lower angle and to the side so the flash will make shadows?  The bottom of the sweater is to the left.  The pretty Celtic pattern is at the waist.

Alas, I won't have so much time to knit from now on.  I am back to a real job tomorrow.  10 hour days, 5 days a week.  Yup, 50 hours a week, includes 10 hours of overtime at time and a half.   I have a feeling that this will kill me for awhile but hopefully will make me stronger in the long run.  :>)  It's doing my favorite thing, document control and a big enough company that I am getting paid very well indeed.  woohoo!!

later, friends
J

Ut oh, another new project

This is the last fleece that I spent time spinning.  It's Romney-Corriedale from Knowltons Farm.  It's soft and warm and this sweater pattern will keep my butt warm this winter.  I love sweaters that do that.

It's knitting up fast and the pattern is very easy to understand.  I did add more rows of garter stitch on the beginning edge to help it hang better than shown in the picture on the pattern.

The sweater shawl continues finally.  I have to be very careful when I crochet.  I did so much around 20 years ago that I started having carpel tunnel problems and tendonitis in my thumb.  Having a death grip on the hook really aggravates this problem so have to think about holding the hook like a little bird.  Nice and loose and relax!

You can see the first sleeve taking shape at the top of the picture.  I haven't sewn beads on the crochet yet.

Our weather is changing today.  Snow forecast for the mountains above 7000 ft.  Rain down here.  We received a wonderful downpour yesterday for about 10 minutes.  Love that.  The sun will be back this weekend so can get one lawn mowed and start cleaning up my perennials around the yard.  Yarrow will be cut and moved and especially cut back the Jupiter's Beard.  These plants got really tall this year with all the rain and are now blocking all of the walkways.  It's very annoying.

I will stay busy today inside and most of tomorrow, gloom outside gets me down sometimes so working on colorful stuff in here will help with that.  :>)
J

Too much to do and not enough play time

No pics today.  I know, I know, bummer.  I have been bored silly and finally made a list of things that I really need to get done and that fixed that boredom.

I have been production sewing my spinning wheel bags to get orders finished.  This week I am working on the last 4 orders that I have.  I will finish one today, whew!

The soft orangey/purpley sweater that I have been working on is sitting here staring at me.  I ran out of yarn and this is the beauty of spinning my own yarns.  I am spinning more.  Gotta love that.  I knew on some level that if I made the longer tunic length, I might run out of yarn.  I did.  Thanks, little voice.  I do love spinning the Blue Face Leister and did have some left over after Great Basin.  I might spin more than I need to.  :>)

I received the new set of Drops patterns the other day and one or two in the same issue grabbed me and fast.  They don't name their patterns so here are the numbers, 134-1 and 134-55.  Oh!  Maybe I can find pics on the web to post here.  Hang on....

Ok:

Is that not a wonderful pattern?  This is 134-1.  I have a bunch of gray handspun that will work very well for this sweater, in fact, I have it all set up in a bag already.

Here's 134-55:

And, I just happen to have some brown handspun that will be perfect for this pattern.  hmmmm.  It's that not enough time thing slapping me in the face again.  Just gotta knit faster.
J

Two not just one!

Fun huh?  I do say that a lot too.  The next one won't be so fast to do.  Another blue bird, yay!!

So, that's pretty much all I have been doing.  I did finish the front of the San Fran shirttail though.  Now I am on to the sleeves.  I will do those first before I put the whole thing together.  I am going to love wearing this one just like I love wearing the other one that I made.

The next spinning project that I have lined up is to spin some custom thrums that I had carded a bunch of years ago.  After that, a brown Knowltons fleece.  mmmmmmmmmmmm

Tomorrow the man and I are off to the Gem Faire.  Neither one of us have anything in mind.  ha!  He gets sucked in to the chunks of fabulous stone and who knows what will grab me.  There is this guy who sells bronze chains and findings and charms oh my.
J