Purlewe Knits

It is 4 am and I’m wide awake (added later – but that isn’t showing as the posted time and I’m not sure how to change that). Ok, maybe not wide awake, but awake enough to know that sleep isn’t going to come again in the next hour, so I should get up and do something constructive.

Dyan (the voice of reason) asked how I get my bobbins so even. I use the flyer hooks. That’s what they are there for, right? And I don’t ask that to be sarcastic, I don’t know enough about spinning to be sarcastic, just enough to be dangerous. I follow a V pattern down and across the hooks moving to the next one with some sort of semi-consistency, when I remember. Depending on how long my pre-drafted pieces are and where I am on the bobbin, I’ll move about every time I start a new piece.

I did do some spinning this weekend (while I was procrastinating on my homework). After seeing what the Biologist has recently done with her fun fibers, if reminded me that I had some fun fiber in the closet stash. Of course I can’t find a link to it from the store I got it from, but I believe the color is Calendula and it is superwash Bonkers from the Yarn Barn of Kansas. Here’s my newly started bobbin. I has so little yarn on it, poor bobbin!, but the point behind the picture is that my bobbins aren’t always even, at least that was meant to be the point. After looking at the picture, my bobbin looks fairly even.

And this is some of the fiber, pre-drafted and waiting patiently for me to get back to it – soon, I promise you fiber, soon. This picture shows the colors a bit better. Sorry, I’m too lazy to get the camera back out and photograph the roving.

I don’t have the full 4 oz bunch that this roving is sold in because this is the first roving I bought and I used some amount of it to play with. It seems that you need about 4 oz of fiber to make a pair of socks. I’m hoping I have enough to make a pair of ankle socks here. Maybe this is my first toe-up two at a time pair, you know, so I don’t run out of yarn.

As to why I’m awake at this hour (the voice of reason isn’t awake yet to squash my fears). I got a unexpected result from one of the doctor’s visits yesterday and today I go in for more tests. I just can’t help but worry until I know more, today is going to be a long day, but on the bright side, or getting closer to it, it is almost 5 now, one less hour to go. Maybe I should take the day off and just do fiber stuff …

If nothing else right now, I feel hip. I’m blogging on my Mac from a cute little coffee store (Caribou Coffee) mid-day. Wouldn’t I love to be this person every day! Maybe, I guess. I’m here though because I had two doctor’s appointments today and I’m blowing the rest of the work day off.

I haven’t done much knitting lately. I frogged something yesterday. The Lopi sweater. I decided I wasn’t that happy with the bottom edge and I tried it on and I wasn’t that happy with the fit either. 2 wrongs and I decided I’d rather be really happy with it ( ie knit it again) than make something else for myself that I am just semi-happy with. Maybe next winter … which is sad and put me in a horrendous mood last night – poor hubby. I also realized mid frog that this this is the second time I’ve ripped it down, could it be that third time will be the charm.

I have made progress on both sets of socks. I’m not going to take a picture now though, because although I do consider myself a fairly independent person I don’t think the strange looks from the other folks here would really make my day right now.

Here is a picture of me frogging a sleeve from Lopi.
Last night I thought this method was really brilliant, but I also thought I was brilliant when I thought up (completely on my own) grafting stitches (for whatever) together with a different color and then weaving the right color in on top of it while removing the scrap yarn. Little did I know that Lucy Neatby had already claimed this little bit of fame. So, point being, that I’m sure someone else has already done this too. Frogging directly from knitted item to ball winder. There on the left is my Lopi sleeve on top of my printer/copier toy (are fiber bits bad for printer copier toys?) in the back ground is the little bear Hubby got me for our anniversary (after he spend that week doped up in the hospital) and a vase that we got for our wedding that holds knitting and spinning misc items (I really don’t know what else to do with it) and on the left with a few other misc items is my ball winder complete with half a “sleeve” already wound on. If only knitting went as fast as frogging.

I am trying to like her, this girl in my Thursday night class, I am rEALLy trying. At this point though she has two strikes against her and frankly things aren’t looking good for her – not that I would think she cares – of course.

Strike 1. She talked the professor into have us read a 350 page book that the prof had decided to cut from the syllabus. Okay, I get it. This is higher education and we are supposed to want to learn and read. I get it, I am there and not at home knitting. Obviously, I get it. What I don’t get is why she feels it necessary to put her classmates through that extra torture. It was a history book (she’s from a history background) about the printing press, I thought it might have potential. I’m open to new ideas and this girl went on and on about how good the book was. I thought, huh – maybe I’ll like it too. Not so! Dry, dry, dry. I would only recommend this book to someone that hasn’t slept for a week and is desperate, DESPERATE for sleep. Only then would I reveal the name of the book and suggest a glance at the Table of Contents – because really folks that is all it would take put someone to sleep.

Strike 2. She is a stay at home mom with one child (one year old) and complains about not having enough time to get things done. For instance, in the three classes we’ve had she’s always come hungry. Class is from 5:30 to 8:10, in the range that most people have the third meal of the day. Plan for that! Really! Don’t start giving my sandwich sneaky looks at 7:00. I see you doing it! It isn’t my fault that I’ve taken the initiative to bring along some dinner and you haven’t. I’ve been at work for the past 9 hours. Meaning, I thought about my dinner before I even had breakfast. Maybe if you weren’t so busy trying to find another bone dry book for me to read you would of had time to make your own damn sandwich.

Hubby says I’m always to quick to judge so I am trying, really, to like this girl. I think that I’m not getting enough knitting/spinning time right now to really care. That “wonderful history book” took me about a socks worth of time to read. A whole sock!

Here’s a picture of the first sweater I ever made. I wore it today. It is bulky and too warm for most days, but it was perfect for today. I’m not crazy about the collar and am considering some revisions. Today though, it was good enough.

And here’s Kory, isn’t he the most adorable ever? He let me take his picture with my Mac, but there’s no way I could have gotten that close with the camera. He is an interesting boy.

Good night to all!  I’m going to bed before I fall asleep at the keys!

I’ve spent all the time (and more) that I was going to spend blogging trying to figure out the camera/photo software — again.

Why can’t the PC and the Mac software be more similar? I just don’t freaking get it!!! And I’ve decided that I hate, hate, HATE iPhoto – completely worthless! Other than that I love my Mac!
On the knitting front I haven’t been doing much. Pictures of both pair I stared last weekend. It is about an inch – or a little more – of each.
and now I’ve just learned that I didn’t even need the stupid thumbnails to post!

I do still need to resize the images though – our camera takes REALLY big pictures and I don’t want to bring someone to a crashing halt with some crazy large pictue. So not all my efforts
were in vain.
I don’t know who the blue stripey ones are for yet, kinda depends on how they turn out and the purple ones are knees socks for me!

And now I’ve screwed around long enough and I MUST do homework.

I started two pair of socks this weekend.  I told a fellow knitting this today and I think she thought I was crazy … as long as we are all in agreement.

I haven’t figured out the photo software on my Mac yet, so I can’t post pictures, not that I have anything, but sock starts, to show.
I didn’t get to knit all of last week because I was busy with school.  I should be doing homework now, but I’m tired so I’m going to bed.  Not much of a post, but at least now you know I’m still here.