A Bad Case of Start-itis

I'm not sure why, but I have a bad case of Start-itis. Thankfully, it isn't usually contagious. Currently, my "Evenstar" shawl has been sharing knitting time with my "Ditto" sweater, "Legolas" kerchief/scarf, and all the Tour de Fleece spinning. There also is the "Spruce" scarf I need to finish before December. That all changed over the last few days.

Before TdF I had done some solar dyeing with a sport weight yarn. Plans were to make another pair of "Rocky Butte" socks with this yarn. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I needed 2 skeins for socks. The yardage just isn't enough in one skein. Instead, they are to be knit in my other Fiesta Baby Boom yarn. That's one addition to the project basket.

Today another project joined the pack. A nice bright pink skein of Socks That Rock in "Lovers Leap" will become "Rosebud" socks by Wendy Johnson. The pattern in in her latest book "Toe-Up Socks for Everybody".

"Skuld" and "Verdandi" shawls, both by Anna Dalvi a/k/a knitandknag, are also in the pile to be done.

That's eight projects! I hope I'm cured of Start-itis soon. The only cure I know of at this time is Finish-itis.

The Gremlins Attack Again

Yesterday was the Challenge Day for Tour de Fleece. I've been busy spinning my "Junebug" Coopworth fleece. A few other batts were spun or plied in between just to break up spinning the same project.
My decision, at the beginning of TdF, was to ply my Coop singles with my jumbo flyer on my Sonata wheel. After searching for two days, I had decided the Gremlins had hidden it on me. Bins and tote bags were looked in over and over again. I know I looked in a certain bin and it wasn't there. Then I happened to look over at this bin and there it was right at the top.

The flyer is on my wheel and I'm going to ply now. The plan is to ply as many of the 8 bobbins as I can tonight. There are only tonight, Saturday, and Sunday left for me to finish them in.

Memories of a Grill

When I mentioned cooking supper on the grill, I was reminded of a story about a grill.

In 1979 I went to work for the state of Rhode Island. I was a CNA at what was then known as The Medical Center - General Hospital. Now, it's called Eleanor Slater Hospital. Every summer the union put on a summer cookout for the members. There were also raffle tickets sold with some very nice prizes. The summer of 1980 was my first one working there. I bought a ticket, never thinking to win anything. Well, I won the second place prize - a grill.

This grill was cooked on every summer until 1988 when my boyfriend at the time decided to buy me a new "fancier" model. The still working grill was passed on to someone who passed it on to her boyfriend when she decided to re-locate out of state.

Many years go by and in 1999 I met the man I would eventually marry. One night we had to stop by his house. He called me into the back yard to show me something. It was a complete shock to me to see my old grill still in use. He was the former boyfriend of the person I had given it to 11 years earlier.

Well, the end of the tale is this: The grill is now 30 years old and I've been cooking on it again since 2000.

Here's the latest food I cooked on it tonight. Italian Sausage Shish Kabobs. The left picture is as they were put on the grill and the right is off the skewer on my dinner plate. The juice is from the veggies and the dab of margarine I put on my potato.












While I was cooking supper, Tipper the cat was cooling his belly in the hall.

Uh Oh! Pickle Jars On the Loose!!

The two large pickle jars are at it again. The sun bathing started about 2 hours ago. These jars have no shame. They are out their in all their naked glory just soaking up that sun.

This time, it's 6 ounces of BFL fiber in each one. The KoolAid is Cherry and Grape, which is used in both jars. I'm trying for a two toned fiber with some blended color. If it works, I have 12 ounces to spin into something nice.

Pictures will be added as soon as I take them. It's time to make supper on the grill, so I will try to take them while out there. BTW, since it's so hot, supper is shish kabobs tonight.

Our Neighbors At the Fair

I forgot to mention the wonderful neighbors we had next to us at the fair. These lovely ladies and gentlemen were very entertaining.

They won 3 ribbons. :)

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's Off to the Fair I Go!!!

(Warning: Picture heavy post.)

I just spent three wonderful, fun filled days participating at the North Stonington Fair with the Happy Hands Fiber Arts group. We did a demo that included wheel and spindle spinning, tri-loom weaving, drum and hand carding, and knitting. The shawl in the pictures was a group effort. At last year's fair, Sandi had set up some roving for the children to dye with Kool Aid. Members of HHFA help spin the yarn from this roving and everyone who was part of the demo this year did some weaving on the shawl. I might see one of these looms in my future. :)

There was also a very educational display in the sheep judging part of the barn. The fleece and info in the display are complements of Alder Brook Farm which is owned by Sylvia Murray and David Pringle. The fleece is from a Romney named Martha. There is a nice picture of this fleece on the website under the "Fleece for Sale" section. It was very hard for me to resist buying this beauty. Happily, two of my friends bought her and I will get to see her after she is processed into roving.

Here are some pictures of our demo:

These pictures are of some our bobbins we were spinning during the demo. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of all the bobbins or the spindles from everyone.