Twice a month!

Hmmmm, twice a month seems to be all I can mange to post these days.  Every day I tell myself I’m going to write a blog post and then life starts and before I know it, it’s after dark and I’m worn out.

What you may ask is wearing me out?   Well, I’ve started each day the last week checking on the baby Angora bunnies!

We started with 7 in the litter, but lost 2 in the first 2 days.  The remaining ones are doing great now, although you can see the little pink skinned one at the front is the runt (and we almost lost it 2 days ago).  Of course now I’m a little nervous about it’s health, so I’m checking multiple times a day.  I can’t wait until they open their eyes!

 

And there’s the garden to tend.  We’re getting strawberries out of it now:

The broiler chickens are growing (and yes, they are much stinkier than laying hens):

 

Speaking of laying hens, we’re getting a relatively consistent 7 eggs a day now:

Of course, on top of these regular daily chores, there’s still that thing called work.  LOL  Funny how that always pops up and needs done!  But I’ve done a little bit of sewing of my own.  This quilt top (still not finished) is for Lake Norman Quilters Red and White Challenge for the show this summer (LINK TO INFO HERE)

But the latest development is our pool.  It’s not supposed to look like this:

That’s not algae!  After taking a sample to the pool place today and having the tests run, there’s not a smidgeon of algae in it.  That’s the result of excess Iron and Copper in the water.  The poolman tells me that if I follow the treatment schedule they’re outlined (that takes 3 days to complete), I should have clear sparkly water by Sunday or Monday.  I am, at this point, hopeful but skeptical.

 

sigh…..and LOOK at that yard!  It needs mowed again!  Maybe tomorrow, or Friday, or Saturday at the latest………….

 

Perhaps I’ll do better than twice a month with the blog as well, but I’m making no promises.  I’m still trying to figure out how the clock moves from 6a.m. to 10 p.m. so very quickly each day!

 

Knitters Periodic Table of Fibers

Knitters Periodic Table of Fibers

After finding this via a Ravelry link in a forum post over a year ago, and then losing the link, and then finding the printout today while cleaning (gasp!) the design room, I decided to post a link to the website I found this on.

 

This is for my own future, unorganized, lost the paper but need the info use.  If it helps another fiber-holic along the way, thanks for the chart should go to the blogger I found this from, Packbasket Designs.

 

So, how many of these fibers have you spun or knit with?  The only fibers I haven’t found on the chart but have spun or knitted with are Angora Rabbit and Yak.   Yes, YAK!  It’s so soft! 

Grooming Frodo

Poor Frodo, he was loaded with fur this morning and with the temps in the last few days getting so warm it had to be uncomfortable for him, so I decided today was the day.  He was getting groomed.  Here’s what he looked like last week when I brushed him out:

Just a big huge puffball!

So we started around 9 a.m. with him being anxious and friendly to be groomed:

And a little while later, when I finally figured out how to effectively hold the scissors (at an angle away from the skin), we started making progress:

 

Of course Frodo, being Frodo, can not sit still!  He’s one of my two best bunnies for handling (loves to be handled), but sitting still is an impossibility for him:

Continue clipping and eventually he looks (according to DH) like he has a Cocker Spaniel cut:

At this point I’ve collected 2/3 of a basket of loose fur and he’s starting to get restless and squirmy:

 

Finally done, around 10:30 (an hour and a half for one bunny!), and he’s back in his cage awaiting his good bunny treats (dried papaya chunks):

 

All in all, he’s a little choppy looking but it’s amazing how much these little critters can squirm.  And I collected 4.1 ounces of angora fiber from him, most of which is in the 3″ length.  He’ll be cooler in the heat and less likely to develop wool block now, which makes for a happier bunny and a happier me.

 

Another day I’ll work on Samwise, he’s my least happy bunny to be handled and his fur doesn’t grow as fast or as thick as Frodo’s does.  And I’m contemplating a pair of clippers rather than scissors for the majority of the clipping.  Gwennie and Arwyn are pluckers so they’re easy to collect from, although I get more quantity at one time with my German boys!

Ready, set, POOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, not the swimming type of pool, we aren’t quite ready for that here yet.  But rather a Pooling Sock Yarn Challenge.   Judy at Patchwork Times has issued a “Pooling Sock Yarn Challenge” and now that I FINALLY have my blue socks off the needles I’m ready to play along!

 

The blue striped socks took forever and a day to finish, but that’s because I knit the legs extra long for warmth, and I also did a 2″ ribbing on the top rather than my normal 1″.  I can tell already I like the taller socks with the longer rib, but hopefully this next pair won’t take me “forever” to finish as well.

 

I chose this red/white/pink  yarn as I truly think it is going to pool the colors with the stitch count and size needles I use.  62 stitches on size 0 needles for the feet, 64 stitches on size 0 needles for the leg section so I get a nice 2×2 rib is my standard go-to vanilla sock pattern.  I really like the 2×2 rib, but those extra 2 stitches on the foot make socks just a wee bit too loose.  And for handknit socks, I have found if they’re knit too loose, they tend to wear quicker for me.

 

So, ready………………..

set…………………..

CAST ON!!!!!!!!!!!

 

On the Needles March 22, 2013

Another weekend starting and it’s time for an “On the Needles” post.  I’m really enjoying this as I can track my progress on my projects easily.

 

This week I’m far enough along in my Top Down Icelandic sweater that I think I’m going to quit working the body, add on the sleeves and then continue the body.  That way I’ll be sure to have enough yarn for both sleeves the length I want and the body can continue on until I’m close to out of yarn or feel it’s long enough.

 

And I’ve made some progress on my Misty Meadow Mystery KAL.  I’m hoping that the final clue (to be released on March 29th will be a lace border for this, but right now it’s still moving along in basic stripes.

No matter what the final clue is, I hope it’s going to out of the lighter green as I’m almost out of this skein of the dark contrast color!

 

My final show for this post is of some actual BLOCKING being done.   I have a terrible habit of postponing the blocking part and on so many knitted items it’s a definite necessary.  You can see here what my Sunset Shawl looked like pre-blocking.  It had curled under edges and didn’t hang pretty at all.  But now that it’s in the blocking stages I can see the pattern more clearly, including how the ruffle is going to lay, and I LOVE IT!

 

I was going to leave this post with a gratuitous puppy pic, but they were a bundle of energy this morning, all blurs of motion……

 

Looking for more “On the Needles” posts, stop on over at Patchwork Times  later today and check out what other yarn people have done this week.  And maybe get in on her Pooling Challenge!  I’ve already got my yarn picked for that one, I just need to finish up the socks that are on the needles right now (and were not shown today as there has been NO progress on them at all).

 

This and that projects

It seems I am making a small amount of progress on various projects, despite the antics of my troublemaker (a.k.a. Snowy)

Doesn’t he look all innocent?  Yeah, well…… ummm…..he has his moments, or days, or in this case week!  Yeah!  Hmmph.  Lucky for him he’s well loved!

 

But on to the progress part of this post.  I’ve made progress thinking about  Lake Norman Quilters quilt show this summer.  Or at least I’ve made progress to the point of pulling quilts and trying to decide which ones I want to quilt/finish for the show.

NO, I won’t be finishing ALL of those, but I am narrowing down my choices quite a bit.

And I’ve made some progress on my latest quilt design:

It’s going to be a gorgeous design when it’s done, but as it is all ON THE BIAS, it’s taking a wee bit longer in the piecing sessions than I anticipated.

And my Misty Meadow Shawl is progressing along slowly.  I’m still working on Clue 3 DURING Clue 3 week, so I’m not behind yet:

But my interest has been sidetracked by progress on my Top Down Icelandic Sweater.  Now that I’m working the body section, I really want to get that and the sleeves done so I can STEEK it!  Yes, I’m actually getting excited about cutting my knitting!  LOL

 

And there’s the usual spring projects, cleaning flower beds, turning the garden, and the daily tending the chickens, rabbits and dogs, along with working and some customer quilting.

All in all I’m making some progress as we turn the season from winter into spring.

 

Electronic Time Eater………….

Lately I’ve been noticing a few things.   How much less I get accomplished in one day compared to what I used to get done.  And while some of that can be explained by aging and a few injuries, the majority of it seems to be that time just disappears.   One minute it’s 7:30 a.m. and the next it’s pushing 10 a.m.!  How does this happen?

 

So, I’ve been trying to pay more attention to those “little things” meant to enhance our quality of life that actually suck the time right out of the day and I’ve found my biggest time leak.  Social Media (a.k.a. Twitter and Facebook).  Yep those supposedly wonderful sites that are supposed to help up connect with people and be more aware of what is going on in the world around us.

 

Now I’ll agree, social media can be a catalyst for change worldwide, but in my own little world, I find the main thing it’s changing is my perception of time and the ability to actually live my life to the fullest moment to moment.  To that end, I have decided to delete my Twitter account.  Seriously, it seems to be a site for people to throw things out into the world with no communication between people value at all.  You may like Twitter, I find it to be a big waste of time.  If I say something, I enjoy the back and forth of conversation.  If I just want to hear myself talk, I’ll talk to the dogs thank you very much.

 

And, in the interest of recapturing they style of life I had when I was most productive and enjoying the days most, I’ll be making some changes to my Facebook account.  There are only about two dozen people I actually interact with on Facebook.  The rest appear to be lurkers or advertisers only.  And while there are PAGES I enjoy looking at, it’s personal COMMUNICATION I’m interested in.

So, what does this all mean in the long run?   Well, I recommend you subscribe to this blog if you want to see what I’m up to on a daily basis.  And don’t be offended when I start trimming that 900 and some odd “friends” list down to those few people who truly are either friends or family.

 

You may be asking “why blog” if I’m looking to decrease my electronic time?  Well, I find blogging, when done regularly, to be much less time invasive than Facebook.  And while I don’t receive, nor expect, the volume of comments that I can get on Facebook, a blog is my own journal of my life on a daily basis.  The part of it I’m willing to share that is.  The part I’m not willing to share, well that’s written somewhere else, never to be seen in the light of day until some year, way into the future, after my earthly demise.   WAY, WAY, WAY into the future.  LOL  I’ve got a lot I want to do, which is the whole point of locating the Electronic Time Eaters in my life and reducing or elminating them..