Monday, December 31, 2007

Magazine Arrivals....Visiting WEBS.....Spin Group Meet up

First, my back issues of Interweave Knits arrived along with my new issue of Spin Off. Lots of good pleasure reading ahead of me.

Second, On Saturday, I went with Marva and Jean to RI Handspun, owned by Sue DiNola, in Chepachet, RI. There were several other members of the guild as well as a few people I didn't know also there. Sue is a very nice person who makes you feel like you've always been visiting here for years. Of course, the fiber called to me. I bought two 6 ounce balls in two colors. One is a purple blend merino and the other is a Colonial wool in a blue blend. These are to have for the Spinning Retreat in February. The girls laughed and told me I definitely need more than that for 3 days. Along with the fiber, I bought some pencil roving and sock yarn, both for spinning. Sandi and Marva had a dye session earlier this week and showed us their finished products. When Sandi gets ready for the next dye session, I'll be there. She was nice enough to take my dye products with her so I won't lose them at home. Could happen in this fiber pile. lol
I can't wait to go back next month, hopefully with permission from the doctor to spin.

After the sit and spin session, which I was told was the largest to date, (about 15 people), Sandi, Emily, Jean, Marva and myself all headed up the road to Wright's Chicken Farm for supper. OOOOOOOOh it was so tasty. I hadn't been there in about 22 years and it was still just as good as I remembered.

Third, Sunday, yesterday, I went to the yarn mecca of Massachusetts, and possibly New England. WEBS. I didn't think I was going because I waited for a friend to call me regarding the trip. Then Pat was busy with the car and then we had to run an errand. We got back around 1:30 so I figured that's it, no trip. He said get ready so we could go. Around 2:30 we left and arrived there about 4:15 leaving me 45 minutes to shop. He napped in the car while I was inside. I scanned the store to get my bearings and an idea of what I wanted to head for first. The back room. I only walked through and looked this time. I decided to save this for the next trip here.

I really was good. I bought some Merino roving, 3 color blend balls at a pound each. Cranberry, Baltic Blue, and Rose Quartz. Also I did buy some Lorna's Laces and ShiBu, and artyarns for socks. I went for lace weight cones and to check out the drum carders. The drum carders were out of stock and I decided to save the cones for the next visit when I looked in my basket. I didn't want to scare my husband when I came back to the car with my goodies. I left the fiber in the car with the ones from Saturday. These will travel with me in a few weeks to the retreat along with some of my Romney fleece, hand carders, and wheel. I'm already planning to go back for more yarns, fibers and goodies in the near future.

A very fun, fibery weekend, indeed......

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Pooh All Grown Up...Sort Of


Pooh One Year Old
Pooh at 1 year old. He never stops running around. He's a bundle of energy and very loud with his demands for constant attention at times. What can I say. He's spoiled.


Pooh  and his new toy
Here's Pooh with his new toy a few days before Christmas. He punctured the old one, so got this one a bit early. He loves this thing. If I say "bippie" he runs and gets it for me to play with him.
My Special Bear.....



This is the bear I received from my friend, Bella, as a retirement gift. She knows I'm a knitter and have cats. I think its adorable.


My Clapotis is At It's New Home.....

This is my first Clapotis which was given to Aunt Barbara as a Christmas gift. She loves pink, so this was perfect for her. The yarn is Cascade 220Heather in Pink.. I had enough left over to make matching mittens. As soon as my wrist is healed, and I have permission to knit again,the thumbs will be finished.

Clapotis 1

Clapotis 2

Saturday, December 22, 2007

I've Got Progress Bars!!!!!!!!!

Thanks to Casey at Ravelry I now have progress bars for this blog. Thanks to Kimberly, they are installed. I just couldn't figure out how to get them to work.

I just got home from a great day spent at Sakonnet Purls in Tiverton where I met SlothKnits and her MIL. Also, Katrinkles, her mom, Beetsie, and her dad were there. It was nice to see them again. Since I can't knit, I shopped. There was a new sock yarn from Reynolds that was so nice, I had to buy 4 colorways. Well, in all honesty, as soon as the wrist heals, I will be knitting and spinning much more than before now I'm a lady of leisure. Upon leaving Sakonnet Purls, Kimberly and I stopped at Panera for a relaxing lunch by the fire. My turkey sandwich and French Onion Soup were delicious.

I stopped by the Post Office, but they already closed. This means I have to wait until Monday morning to pick up the 2 packages waiting for me. I didn't realize they close at 12 on Saturdays at this particular branch. Maybe Santa will be nice and deliver my other packages from Amazon on Monday too. I ordered an ottoman which came with a free small one. The big one is also able to be used for storage, most likely for yarn or my collection of books near the desk. Either way, it will de-clutter the desk area quite a bit. Then there is the rest of my book order yet to arrive..........

Off to the store to finsh gift shopping for the DH........

Friday, December 21, 2007

Happy Retirement to Me!!!! .... Yarn Arrivals.....

O.K. The clock is on the final countdown to Midnight. I have about a half hour until it's official. I am retired after 28 years on the job!!. Yippee!! Don't get me wrong. I loved my job as far as the patients and most staff were concerned. You know the old adage "It only takes one to spoil it". Well, this was very true. I worked with several people who were very nice and great to be around. And then there were the ones who played favorites and kissed ass to get their way. Sorry I don't kiss ass for any one. My feelings are everyone should be treated with respect and courtesy in their workplace ~ not snapped and screamed at by the boss like I was the last few weeks of my job. I think that was partly due to other situations, such as lay offs, that have been going on. These people have my heartfelt sympathy. Part of it also could have been jealousy that I am in the position to leave now and not worry about my future and she's not. I hope some day she realizes the world doesn't center around her. I truly won't miss the stress from work, just some of the people.

My blood pressure, blood sugar, and weight are all down in the three weeks I've been home with the wrist. Also I only had a small headache tonight. That was because I hadn't eaten enough and it was getting late. No stress ..... that's why everything is better.

The doctor said still no knitting or spinning until at least the next visit on Jan. 3rd. Earlier tonight, I managed to tip my chair over with me in it. It was so stupid. I had taken my shoes and socks off. When I bent over to pick up the socks so Tiger wouldn't attack them (they're hand knit and he has a yarn fetish), the chair rolled out from under me. I landed belly down with the wrist against my chest so I don't think I did any more damage to it than it already had. Hope not.

Now for the good news............ Yarn arrivals today! There are three skeins from DkKnits and I love the colors. One, "Whoozle's Whiskers",looks like my cat, Megan, with the orange, white, black and brown. Another, "Kaleigh's Kalico Komet", looks like my other cat, Tiffany, who went to kitty heaven a few years ago. It's white, gray, and a soft, creamy orange-rust color of her fur. The third is "Mauvic Monday" in a nice Mauve shade..... She always has such nice colors and the yarn smells so yummy too. Hmmm ~ makes me want candy.

The other item was one of the packages from Miss Violet's de-stash sale. It has a skein of Fleece Artist yarn called "stone" and several batts of fiber in greens/blues and some in pink for my spinning pleasure.

Last night, I went to Lace Wings to give my friend her gift. She loved the custom dyed yarns from Skein Queen. I'm so glad. She gave me Brooks Farms yarn is a delicious colorway. I snuggled it for a while last night. And yes, Tiger tried to confiscate it. lol While at the shop, I also bought one skein of boot sock yarn just to calm the yarn/knitting craving a bit.......... Yeah. Right.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Sakonnet Purls in Tiverton. Even though I can't knit I can touch fiber and enjoy watching others knit. Several others are going to be there, so it will be fun.

O.K. Time for bed. Good night all.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Yippee!!!!...Interweave Press Called and My Magazine is Coming!!

I've been on a search for a couple of patterns ~ Swallowtail Shawl and Flower Basket Shawl ~ for quite a while now. Yesterday, I ordered the Fall 2006 issue from the back issues section of their website. In the comments section I asked if Fall 2004 was still available or if there was a chance the Flower Basket Shawl would be re-issued as a separate pattern.

I just got off the phone with a very nice person from Interweave Press who informed me they have only 2 or 3 copies of Fall 2004 available and wanted to know if I wanted to purchase one. Yes!! Yes!!

It is to be shipped with the other magazine. Yippee!!
Still No Knitting or Spinning Allowed.....Shopping........

My wrist still hurts and my thumb feels "funny" sometimes - gets numb every now and then. I need to tell the doctor that on Thursday when I see him. The brace is much better than the cast, though. I'm not having anxiety attacks and am sleeping much better now.

Just because I can't play with fiber/yarn, doesn't mean I can't shop for it.

Saturday was the sale/party at Yarns at Lace Wings in Warwick. I went, enjoyed it, and only bought 2 skeins of yarn. One was another skein of Tofutsies in a blue colorway and the other was a skein of Lamb's Pride in cream. Recently, when I saw Kimberly, she was wearing a cute hat she had felted. I found the pattern online and plan to use a skein of LP in pink I already have along with the cream to make it.

Ravelry is great for shopping. Several people are de-stashing yarns and fiber. Some fiber called my name and is now on it's way to me as well as the second order of yarns from the first person.

Amazon.com is another shopping spot I have found I like. I just bought some spinning and knitting books there as well.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Ravelry meet up, Yarn fun, and Retirement......

Last Sunday was the brunch for Ravelry members and "want to be's" which was held at Eva's Yarn Shop in Fairhaven, MA. It was great to see some familiar people and meet new ones as well. Much chatting, eating, shopping, and knitting was going on. This is a very nice shop with a diversified choice of yarns. There's a nice sitting area in the front near the door, as well as a table with chairs for relaxing, knitting, and visiting. The owner, Eva, is very helpful and friendly. The other ladies who work there also were nice and polite. There's a coffee pot which makes individual cups, so you can choose to partake of a coffee, tea, or chocolate of your choice. I was good and only bought one skein of J.Knits yarn in the color "Tampa" to make socks with eventually.

I've also been busy buying yarns from someone on Ravelry. This person, has decided to downsize her stash and the end result is some great buys for everyone else. For the first order, I picked up some Misty Mountain Jubilee in "Mossy Hollow", Apple Lane in "English Garden", and, Claudia in "Walk in the Woods". The second order was for a skein of Cherry Tree Merino in "Monet", Cherry Tree Potluck in "Water" and "Paradise", and Gypsy Girl Creations in "Watermelon" and "Crocus Way". This was two orders because she is constantly updating her de-stash. With all this great stuff she's getting rid of, I wonder what she's keeping.

My gift package arrived so now I can put the rest of it together. I hope my friend likes it as much I do.....

On Friday I couldn't take the cast anymore and had to go back to the doctor's. He wasn't there, but the person who puts casts on, Jose, was. He explained my problem was because I'm claustrophobic, I was having issues with the cast. He took me out of it to check my hand. After I saw how easy it was to remove, I felt better. Of course, since the doctor was not there, he had to put a new one back on me. After, I had an appointment to come back yesterday, Tuesday. As soon as my doc was told about my issues, he took me out of the cast, did a new X-ray, and put me in a brace instead. He told me I should have told him I was claustrophobic, but who knew a cast would cause so much anxiety???

So now I have a nice new brace, and another appointment on December 20. Hopefully I will be healed soon and can get back to knitting and spinning. Not to mention typing with two hands better than I have been lately.

As far as retirement, I've noticed my blood pressure is better as well as my blood sugar levels. Being home has no stress, obviously. Even with the wrist problem, I love being home now......

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Meet ups, yarn shopping, and broken bones......

I hope everyone had a great Turkey day. Mine was the usual quiet one at home day. The exception was Pooh barking all day at my brother-in-law.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was a great day for meeting new people. I went to Mystic River Yarns in Mystic, CT. There were 7 of us present for the get together. The shop owner was very nice and helpful, and, gave us each a mug with the shop logo as we left. I definitely plan to visit this shop again. The layout is easy to navigate, yarns arranged in a pleasant display and very easy to locate by weight or desired project. Selection is good in most weights I looked at. I did end up with some alpaca I hadn't planned on. Just couldn't resist. I also found the Tofutsies I need for a test knit pattern.

Last Wednesday evening was Craft Night at Panera and it was fun to see everyone there again.

Most of my Christmas shopping is done. I just need to get a couple of more items. One gift is not in yet, but should be arriving at the post office soon.

Unfortunately, I can't finish my mittens to accompany the Clapotis because I broke my wrist last Thursday night. Originally, I thought it was sprained. After having it checked out at the treatment center, I was shocked it was broke. The doctor put me in a brace and sent me on my way.

I decided to call my orthopedic doctor because it's my hand. I stopped by Jonne's and he told me not to even think of spinning or knitting because it will not heal properly. This would lead to me not being able to spin properly or possibly at all. My visit to the ortho resulted in a pretty light blue cast instead of the brace. It's my first one in my life and I am having issues with it. My hand is constantly sweaty. I'm claustrophobic and don't like the confinement feeling. My follow up appointment is on the 19Th, but I think I will try to get in early to get it off ahead of time. Maybe next Wednesday, which would be half way between when it was put on and my follow up. Don't mean to be whiny, but, I really don't like the way the hand feels in the cast. The good thing about this is, Retirement starts NOW!!!!!

Saturday was the Spinning Guild meeting and Christmas party. Even though I couldn't spin, I went and had a great time. Everyone brought an ornament and we exchanged them by drawing numbers and matching them to the ornaments.

Last night I went to Border's and met Sarah and Kimberly, who were knitting.

On Ravelry, I started a group for Peke lovers. Other dog breeds had groups, but I couldn't find anything for my little ones, so started one.