Knits and Notes

It’s SCATTERGORIES, and is harder than it looks! Thank you, JenLa:

Here are the rules:
~Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following.
~They MUST be real places, names, things…NOTHING made up!
~If you can’t think of anything, skip it.
~Try to use different answers if the person before you had the same 1st initial.
~You CAN’T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

Have fun!

Your Name: Fuzzarelly
1. Famous Singer/Band: Freddie Fender
2. 4 letter word: Frog
3. Street Name: Fourth Street
4. Color: Fuchsia
5. Gifts/Presents: Fingerless Gloves, French Perfume, Faberge Egg
6. Vehicle: Ford Fairlane
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: Figurine
8. Boy Name: Frank
9. Girl Name: Fredna (this is my aunt)
10. Movie Title: A Fish Called Wanda
11. Drink: Flaming Hurricane
12. Occupation: Fire fighter
13. Celebrity: Franklin (The Panopticon)
14. Magazine: Forbes
15. U.S. City: Ft. Wayne, IN
16. Pro Sports Teams: Falcons
18. Reason for Being Late for Work: Flat
19. Something You Throw Away: Fag end
20. Things You Shout: Futhermucker!
21. Cartoon Character: Fred Flintstone

Knits and Notes

The purple and white socks are at the heel flap, and I did dye the "over twisted and over plied," second-place merino a fire engine red and I'm using it for the heel and toe.




For the heel, I using what Nancy Bush calls the Shaped Common Heel because I am tired of the other heel methods. Why not live a little? This method knits the heel flap extra long and it is then folded in half and grafted together to fit under the heel. (The Shaped bit means that the middle/back edge is decreased slightly to achieve a rounded shape.) Stitches are then picked up along the sides and gussets are created by decreasing - just like a regular heel flap. I got tired of the Opal yarn, too, and that is why I put in that funky red line up the back.

I have solved my dilemma concerning how to dye the 1350 yards of lace weight merino several different colors/shades - I'm just going to skein it and cut it. I tried the Russian Joinwith this yarn and was well pleased with the technique. Life is too short to agonize. Only now, I have to agonize about what colors/shades to use. I don't know...maybe purple and fuchsia?

I knit in the continental style, and Norwegian Purl all the time. I thought some of you might be interested in a short You Tube video of the technique.

Let's have a moment of silence for

Iduma Best, 76, Elizabeth, died Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007, at Floyd Memorial Hospital and Health Services in New Albany. She was a retired burnisher at Bruce Fox in New Albany.

For me, the worst part of the colonoscopy (aka The Roto-Rooter Special) came the day before, when I had to drink 4 liters of a purgative, 8 ounces every 15 minutes until done. It didn't taste too awful, but it seemed heavy and thick and it was hard going sometime to get it down.

The second worst thing was having to be at the hospital at 7 damn o'clock. In the morning.

I remember being wheeled into the operating room, greeting the doctor, being told that I could watch the whole thing on the TV. Fade to black. Two hours later, the nurse is trying to get me to stay awake. "Honey," she said, "You're going to have to get up soon to go home." My reply was to snuggle deeper into the cot. Get me up, they did, though, and Sweetie drove me home. For a nap.

Nothing was painful, even though one polyp was found and removed. (Because of that, I get to go through this again in two years, not ten. Lucky me!) So, if you are due for this procedure, let me say that it is nothing to dread.

As if that wasn't enough for one day, we drove to the Kentucky State Fair grounds to pick up my entries. Actual ribbon count was 4 red/second, one white/third, and one pink/fourth. All of the skeins were critiqued, which was nice and I wish that were done for all entries. On every one of my skeins, though, my singles were said to be uneven although the plied yarn was balanced. The merino was spun and plied with too much twist, although it was "nicely balanced."

So. I see what I need to work on.

Sweetie goes back to work today after having a week and a half vacation. He also celebrated his 45th birthday last week. He's such a kid! It was a pleasure to have him home but I won't mind having my evenings to myself again.

I've begun a pair of socks out of Opal in an interesting purple and white print. The resulting pattern is a subtuttle swirl of solid purple and heathered purple. I had planned to make the heel and toe from some pink but now I'm thinking of using the overtwisted merino. Maybe dyeing it. Red?

Another day to explore the great indoors! The forecast high today is 98 degrees. Our "normal" temperature for this time of year is 85. So, I'm stayin' inside.

Had to venture forth yesterday to guitar lesson. Here is my cute gifted instructor, Chad.



Yours truly, getting that G chord thing goin'.



Wednesday, Sweetie and I finished painting the front living room. All except for the molding at the ceiling and the quarter round molding on the base boards. But first, we need to buy, paint and install said molding. We are getting there, though, and may well have it all complete by my birthday. In February.

I visited my archives for August 2006 and was surprised at how sick I was from my allergies. Almost every entry mentioned that I felt awful or had just gotten over feeling awful. I have been feeling pretty good this August. My allergies are under control and I am able to take the heat. Also, there was Murgatroyd at his most ornery and adorable. I miss that little guy.

But we have Heizen and Sheila as house bunnies now and neither one of them pees on the couch. Here is Sheila in the litter box. The tufts on her ears look ridiculous, don't they? Cute as all get out and ridiculous.




This is a picture of rain on the window. Yes, we got us some rain - three inches worth today! Not nearly enough, though. Most corn crops around here have fried in the field and soybeans are nice and green but with no beans. Also in the photo is dyed angora. I've dyed green, rusty red and navy.




Instead of spending two hours every day on Sudoku, I am now using that time to knit. Not lace, but simple hats out of handspun. The one in the lower right is a crocheted cloche. I am ready to start another pair of socks and I am researching lace shawl patterns.



I visited a yarn shop with a great name,Grinny Possum, last week and picked up two balls of sock yarn and some merino laceweight that I want to dye. Not space dyed, but rather dyed in long runs. I have an idea how to do that flopping around in my brain - skeining and tying off hundred yard sections that I don't cut apart. The trick will be not making a huge mess or tangle, but if each little skein is well secured I think it will work. I am also awaiting delivery of some cashmere and cashmere/silk laceweight. Yum.

I admit I was not happy to find that, although I received 5 ribbons at the state fair, not one was a blue ribbon. Both of the shawls and 2 hand spun skeins received second place ribbons, and one skien a third. My socks didn't even place. Sweetie says that I am going to have to actually try next year. He thought it was good for me to be brought down a peg, to not be able to merely coast to victory for once. The bastard. He's right.

My good friend Blue Acorn won first place for her beautiful woven wool rug. NancyNeverSwept received the blue ribbon for a pair of socks that she labored over for months, on size ones, battling hand pain.

The weather has broken, a little anyway. We are still in a severe drought, but the temperatures are no longer in the 100s. The overnight lows are in the 60s and the highs are in the low 90s. It's supposed to hot back up this week, though, but not to the mind fry-ingly one hundreds.

Sweetie is on vacation this week and we have made tentative plans for one or two day trips. He'd like to go see the museum dedicated to his favorite crazy general, George Patton. It's at Ft. Knox and not far from here. (Some nights, we can feel the ground rumble and see the sky flash from their artillery.) There's also the Wright Museum in Dayton, Ohio. We'd go canoeing, except that water levels are too low. I'd like to take him to Pleasant Hill, Kentucky to see Shakertown. If it gets too hot, though, we may just stay home.

For those of you who still have to work, give up.

This morning, as I made coffee, I let Buster outside to go pee. I looked out at him a little bit later and saw Ramsey following Buster around the yard and then down our little alley. It was so funny. She'd let him get ahead a few feet and then hop after him.

Certain house bunnies, however, are not so funny.

This is a doily I crocheted 20 years ago that I found on the floor yesterday, all chewed and ragged.



The heat here is intense and record breaking. I have clipt almost every bunny that had any length of fur on them. Nancy NeverSwept suggested frozen water bottles to keep them cool. I tried that first thing but the rabbits acted as if I had put a rat in their cages. A few hours later, the ice had melted and they were still keeping their distance. Silly rabbits. So I wet their ears. Actually, they are faring well. Like most animals, they are just hunkering down and getting through it. The coming week is expected to be more of the same.

Went to the Friendship Spinners monthly meeting yesterday and as usual, I had an excellent time. Didn't take my wheel because my hands hurt from spinning all day Friday, trying to finish my entries for the Kentucky State Fair.

Instead, I had my crochet hook and linen string and I began another shopping bag. I am writing down my instructions this time.



What I love about my friends in the spinning group is 1) their diversity of personalities and strengths, b) the intelligence and thoughtfulness of said people and III) the interesting conversations. I feel so at ease with these people, these weird and unusual people. I enjoy seeing what fiber they are spinning and what project they are working on.

I live amongst people of germanic descent. They are mostly Republican and conservative and church going. They express themselves by cleaning and mowing. It could be worse, but I don't exactly fit in.

I received an award from Yoshimi, but I couldn't get the button to load. Help? Actually, she says it is because of my bunny Yoshimi. And by the way, I didn't name her, and I don't know where the name is from. Help?

And lastly, Sweetie Simpsonized me this morning.

I shall indeed live to knit another day. Central Air has been out of commission since Friday night. The repair man just replaced the blown capacitor on the outside unit and I am inside, waiting for the magic. It's 85 in here, with a window ac running, but it's better than being outside.



The heat has worn Buster out.



I go to the barn every afternoon around four to wet the bunnies ears with cool water because bunnies don't sweat. They use their ears as radiators to get rid of excess heat. I worry about them, but they seem to be doing okay. Yes, listless during the day and somewhat off their feed but I don't feel that they are in danger. I am going to clip Spot and trim a couple of others whose fur is over an inch long because the forecast is calling for even hotter temps later this week. Ick.

Finally received tags for my Kentucky State Fair entries. It had been so long that I had forgotten what all I had signed up for. Which was:

Handspun designer yarn w/swatch
Wool blend handspun
Best handspun natural colored wool
Best handspun merino, natural or white
All wool plied handspun yarn
Hand knitted socks
Hand knitted stole shrug wrap shawl or poncho
Any article knitted using handspun yarn

I still need to spin the white merino and the all wool, at least two ounces worth of each, and knit the swatch for the designer yarn. Entries are to be delivered this weekend, so I reckon I have enough time. And no, I don't live in Kentucky but I am in the Greater Louisville Area and so, I qualify.

I have enough yarn spun to begin another shawl (hot pink), but I began crocheting a linen shopping bag instead. Knitty, the latest edition, has a knit hemp(?) bag but I hate knitting non-stretchy yarn. Crochet goes so fast! And isn't a bitch. Pictures next post, but I am almost done with it. I did complete the socks.



Had my somewhat yearly physical last week. Except for my weight, I'm doing pretty good according to all of the medical personnel that examined me. My bad cholesterol is a little elevated, but my good cholesterol is way high! So there! I have a mammogram scheduled for this week and a colonoscopy in the works. Such is the joy of having lived to be fifty.

All of my life, like most women, I have struggled with and worried about my weight. But not anymore. I do not worry about it. (Thank you, anti-anxiety medz!) I eat healthy foods - whole grains, fruits, vegetables - and sometimes I eat pizza and nachos. I use real butter and whole milk. I don't buy low fat or sugar-free anything. Sweetie still thinks I am shapely and I am not unhappy with how I look. I look just fine, thank you. And if I ever do feel unhappy, I go to WalMart, walk around, and I come home with a great self image.

I have photos, but Blogger is having issues, so come back.