Rambling Warps

Still no pictures but

our air conditioner is working again...it was mostly the fuses which probably went out when the unit got wet, possibly from a leak, possibly from excessive humidity... I guess we'll have to spend a little time to see if we can prevent it from happening again. The big fan that Gary uses in the shop cooled the place nicely, but it was icky during the day.

Gary is making limited number of paperback looms in a new size: I mentioned that we made a loom in a special size for someone on a couple of my email lists and the next thing I knew, several people emailed me privately about that size, so now he's going to make a bunch of extra long paperback looms... it's the same width as the regular paperback, but about as long as the bookmark loom. If you want to know more, take a look at the website: at http://tornadowood.com/paperback.html and http://tornadowood.com/bookmark.html or you could go right to the website's main page: http://tornadowood.com and click on the links for both pages...

This all got me thinking about a prototype loom that Gary made several years ago... it's about 12" wide and 18" long.. I put some of the handpainted yarn on for warp and think I may make 2 or 3 pieces and join them to make a scarf.

It doesn't have a flat back like the paperback and bookmark looms have, but has an open back. I think Gary put that loom on the back burner.... needle weaving that width is going to be interesting.. I put a dowel in the shed so that the pass from left to right will be an easy pass and I'm still working out how to do the right to left weaving... may use the Navajo method for that...

Then it'll be back to working on the doily or the socks. Didn't get to do any of it this morning because I went into town to pick up some fuses and then went to Walmart with Evan. When we got there, there was a table in the front of the store with kids having Yu-Gi-Oh duels. I let Evan duel for a while. The lady running it said that she works for the company (Yu-Gi-Oh) and that they're going to be having these duels every 4th Saturday, so I guess this is something we're going to be doing once a month now!

Still need to ask neighbors about mechanics... I wanted to back up the car and exit the gas station from a different way but it didn't really want to go backwards, so something needs to be done. When I got home and parked the car, backing up was no problem... so it's intermittent..but it IS a problem. Ugh... is this a Ford Windstar problem, a van problem or what... and what is the opposite of star?? Flop? Windflop? Actually it's not a bad car and it fits our whole family with 1 friend...

lace knitting for a change

Yesterday when I pulled out my little lace doily, I decided to go ahead & finish it. I was up to approximately round 25 and had some problems, ended up doing a bit of tinking (un-knitting) a few rounds and now I'm up to round 29... should be done with it the next time I work on the pattern. When I'm done with this doily (flacon, which is one of Nurhanne's translated patterns, found on http://nurhanne.com/patterns/patterns.html, I'll have a bunch of needles ready to try socks with my hand painted yarn. Haven't tried doing anything with the bamboo skewers yet.

Our air conditioner is having problems: hopefully it's only a simple fix, but we'll see... luckily it's been on the cool side, though it's warm in the house now, ugh... you do NOT want a broken air conditioner in Texas. Gary was working in the shop late last night so isn't up yet...

Hopefully it won't be an expensive fix: I'd LIKE to be able to take the boys to swimming lessons (but that also depends on whether or not the car transmission is in trouble...)

Pictures of the doily and high school sock and updated Aran square, etc. another time.

blank pages, lines and other stuff

I haven't written because even though I've been working on different things, I really don't have a lot to say about them and no photos at the moment...

I'm mostly trying to get better at drawing & such and also have been browsing through books and the ebsqart.com website...

Complicated Cables

I'm almost done with my cashmere square for Hunt Valley Cashmere... this square designed by Patt Tanton-Hewitt is somewhat labor intensive in some of the rows: 1 row has just 1 bobble, another has 2 another has 4 and one of the rows has 4 bobbles and a complicated cable involving 3 dpns... for the simpler cables, I don't use a dpn or cable needle but when they say "slip 2 to dpn, slip 2 to second dpn and hold in back of first dpn, slip 1 to cn and hold in front, slip 2 to 2nd cn, knit 2 holding dpn's in back and cn in front" stuff like that, I don't think this could be done without a cable needle unless you want to take a chance at breaking the yarn..these type of cables would require strong yarn anyway even with dpns/cable needles...

I only have 8 more pattern rows to go, the decrease row and the 3 ridges of garter and the cast off row and it's done... the pattern rows would probably take me about another hour or two, if that...

Socks (and the quest for My Perfect Sock)

I found a (favorite!!) knee sock that I loved to wear in high school... too bad that I can't find the other one, though the one I have looks like the heel may be wearing out, need to see how it looks after washing (and I'll take a photo of it alongside the hand knit socks)... the striping pattern looks VERY much like the handpainted socks that I'm working on but they are a bit looser & more comfortable... I think I'm working a bit too tightly, or using too few stitches...

I'm working with the grey (2.5mm) pony pearl DPNs, might try moving up to the pink (2.75) ones and see if I like the fabric better... I'm getting some 3mm pony pearls pretty soon, and was thinking of using those after I finish the heel section...

I don't know if the pattern would change a bit if I increase the number of stitches and use a slightly larger needle... I like snug, but I don't like chokingly snug, and in a way these are a bit too tight, so I will try the pink needles for my 2nd sock and if I like the way it comes out, I'll frog the first and start it over...

I'm still working on what would be a perfect comfy sock for me.. my black & white DK Marl socks were great, but I need to re-do the foot..holes galore... I needlefelted some wool onto the holes, but the whole mess really needs a brand new foot...I'll save thinking about this for another time...

My pink needles are tied up in the flacon lace doily pattern that I haven't worked on in ages... I'll look at it and decide whether to finish the pattern, cast off or put a string in the stitches and finish later so I can Have The Needles.. never can have enough needles in any given size! (Though this size may be what bamboo skewers would be if fixed up as DPNs...)

For the toe, I'm going to experiment with getting a seamless toe and then increase the sides: on my cityline socks, I think I used the figure 8 cast on, and then increased at the sides... I don't think I care for the short row toe very much, though it is fun to do and fun to see how it works, I don't like the way it looks in the end... eventually I will come up with what I think is MY perfect sock! :) everyone should have a perfect sock...

I'll try to post more often, but I then I get busy with all sorts of other stuff...

The weather is gorgeous out: I think we got a cold front and the temperature is about 10 degrees cooler than normal: low to mid 80s... might go outside and do some drawing... wish my Crafters Choice book would get here...I ordered "Painting Zoo Animals on Rocks" by Lin Wellford... once this books arrives, I will have fulfilled my Crafters Choice commitment...not sure if I'll continue getting books from CC or not...

Pictures speak louder than words

I had typed up info about each picture and then managed to lose the entire entry... will keep it brief this time and let the pics speak:

The word Happy was made with whipped cream with too much cocoa added... the word "birthday" was done with chocolate chips and "Reuven" was done with slivered chocolate-almond candy bar...

Rug hooking

The one on the left is the image as you're supposed to see it and the one on the right is reversed for punch needle rug hooking, which is worked from the back. The reversed pattern is stretched onto a frame ready to punch!

A couple of pictures of our pond:

I took these yesterday.. the water is pretty high after last week's rain...

The beginning of a storm (taken a bit over a week ago):

Our Gumby cat:

And our fully recovered Yoda:

Don't mind the eyes... I took this photo this morning, and there really wasn't a good way to edit the eyes... and I had to upload the photos before I could take any more as I was out of memory on the camera!

"How old are you" "I Reuven"

That's the answer Reuven gives when you ask him how old he is... We'll he's 3 today and I no longer have to type ALMOST 3, which I've been doing for approximately the last 3 months... even as recently as a couple of days ago, I wondered if I could say "3" and be done with it, but it didn't feel right, so "almost 3" worked...

3 years ago today I had all this weird appraratus hooked up to me after his birth... we didn't know I had placenta previa, found out around 3 am... I hollered for Gary when I saw the evidence and he called 911 and the ambulance was here about 15 minutes later and Reuven was born about an hour or 2 after that by emergency c-section...

Now, I think c-sections are overdone in this country, etc., but I have absolutely NO argument about the c-section I had when Reuven was born... without it, I might not have been here, nor would he... so I'm thankful that they are available, but I do wish doctors would do them a lot less frequently... but we are a litigious society, so I don't know if fewer c-sections are possible or not... perhaps if women/couples had more support and information and such, there would be fewer surgical births..

In any case, I'm glad they're available and glad that Reuven is here and that I have this time to watch all my kids grow up and such...

Now that Reuven is 3, Harrison is 6 and the twins are 9, I'm missing their younger days... toddler twins are another ball of wax compared to toddler singletons... E&M did a bunch of things together when they were little and even had a bit of their own language.. now, to look at them, you might not even know that they're brothers, let alone twins... they are so different... but since Evan is watching over my shoulder and giggling his silly head off, I won't go into any more details...

Socks... toe up

I've been working on my sample socks from my hand painted yarn and am not entirely sure that I like the hourglass heel that is in the Twisted Sisters and Simple Socks (by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts)... I suspect that I'm doing the yarn overs wrong, but I'm trying the short-row wrap and turn method in the hope that it gives a neater shaping line... something about knitting and purling 3 stitches together forms a little bit of a hole or something bulky, so we'll see...I'm trying the wrap and turn method on my 2nd cityline sock and if I like that short row method better, I'll use it instead of the yarn over method and re-do the 1st sock as well as the first handpainted sock...

Another thing: I'm not entirely convinced that the depth of the hourglass heel is enough...I'd love to hear from others who have used a short row heel, especially if you modified it so that the heel is a little bit deeper...

(And Evan is STILL looking over my shoulder, I guess he thinks my knitting adventures are fascinating, LOL...sure beats watching TV and mushing up his brain...)

As far as the toe: I wish I remembered exactly how I did the toe for the cityline sock, it is perfect... I THINK I used the figure 8 method, but the toe itself is seamless... remember these are toe up socks. I THINK I cast on 12 figure 8s, and then I know I increased every other row until I had the right amount of stitches for the foot...I don't like the short row toe very much...

(Wow, Evan is REALLLLLY fascinated, he went and got another folding chair so he could sit and watch me type...)

And it's probably not a bad idea to do your entire heel in one sitting, unless you are not using slippery knitting needles... the Pony Pearl heels can be put down, but not Addi Turbos... (I'm doing the cityline socks on a long Addi Turbo needle).. however, the slipped and wrapped stitches went back on the needle easily enough.

Yu-Gi-Oh

Does anyone have kids who like Yu-Gi-Oh who might be interested in an email penpal or two? Age 9...

No photos today... there are a few in the camera that I hope come out good.. some cat photos, some photos that I took outside, etc... maybe tomorrow! :)

Thursday

Just did a bit of blog template updating: On my sidebar, I now have a blog button that was made by LouLou "Proud Mama of Boys Who Knit" Evan & Micah both knit and Harrison kind of has the basics, but can't knit on his own yet..

Yesterday we had some more thundery weather come through: Gary took some pictures of the clouds, and if they come out good, I'll try to remember to post them in a day or two.

Yoda, the miracle cat

Yoda got pretty sick over the weekend...we think she either had a stroke or an ear infection or something like that... we gave her fluids subcutaneously and antibiotics and on Tuesday night, she started looking a little better, but still would not eat...(in case anyone is wondering about bathroom issues: we had a very low box wrapped in plastic and put a blanket over that...Yoda was not doing much moving around, so we just had to check the blanket often and change if necessary)...

It looks like the antibiotics helped because she's doing a LOT better now... how much she'll recover still remains to be seen...

Yesterday she started trying to walk (albeit VERY wobbly, she kept falling on her side) and even ate a little bit of chicken & whenever I'm in the bedroom, she would wallpaper herself to me or Gary or one of the older kids, and purr as hard as she could. She's still very wobbly, but is doing a ton better... on Monday we thought for sure that we were going to lose her...

Originally I thought that she was having a really clumsy day on Friday or Saturday of last week and possibly hurt herself, but on hindsight, I think that whatever was wrong with her (infection or stroke) was affecting her and causing her to be clumsy.. on Saturday or Sunday morning, Gary told me she wasn't doing well and was hiding behind something... I brought her into the bedroom and kept her there... hopefully she'll continue improving... and now I'm trying to shake off the mentality that we might lose her and focus on the positive... as long as she seems to be happy, we'll do what we can for her.

A little history: about a year ago (February 2003), something happened to her, we're not sure if she may have had some sort of accident outside or a stroke, I found her looking rather poorly on our porch when coming back from shopping...
she was quiet and sick for a few days, but didn't stop eating then... whatever happened left its mark on her and she never was the same cat she was... she earned the nickname "Crooked Kitty" because of how she held her head. it was obvious that she was quite happy and healthy, but her reflexes are not what they should be. Who knows how this latest episode will affect her: time will tell...

The most beautiful rainbow

I think that I shall never know a
poem lovely as a rainbow
across the massive sky it goes
shimmery colors as the wind blows

Apologies to Joyce Kilmer who wrote a poem that goes "I think that I shall never see... a poem lovely as a tree"... forgive me... and thanks to Poetic who corrected me: it was Joyce Kilmer and NOT Robert Frost who wrote the poem I borrowed from!

Earlier this evening (it's not Wednesday for me until I've gone to bed) we saw the Most Amazing Rainbow...I got out of the store to find a few raindrops falling from the sky, the clouds were grey and ominous in one direction and in another direction, the sky was clear and sunny. We drove home and as we drove, we alternated between a deep grey sky and clear blue sky with white cotton clouds... shortly after turning to go south, we saw it: the rainbow... it was huge...with a shadow rainbow alongside it (Gary said it was a double rainbow, I think shadow rainbow or even rainbow and ghost shadow is more accurate since the one on the edge was lighter & less clear...

We followed it all the way home... literally! At one point, it seemed like I was being blinded by a white light on one side with incredible rich pastel rainbow colors of the rainbow on the other... I asked Harrison if we were still on the planet earth. I was both terrified and amazed at the same time... I've seen rainbows before but this one was Right In Our Faces, no other way to explain it... as we drove home, it seemed like the other end of it had to be right on our house... in some places (where the land was open and clear) we were able to see the whole thing: the rainbow and its ghost shadow.

Something about this image reminded me of the image I saw right after Reuven was born... I had lost a lot of blood from placenta previa and was hallucinating a bit seeing bright white with lots of small images...

I was also reminded of Hebrew blessings: there is one where you thank G-d for the miracle of a rainbow...even if I had my camera with me, I probably would not have stopped to take a picture because I wanted to make sure that Gary & the other boys got to see it as well. They did. The wind had blown to make the antenna point in the wrong direction, so when Gary went outside, the other boys went out with him & they saw the rainbow...

Handpainted Yarns

I did some more handpainted yarns over the last couple of days... I'm calling it the Melon Rainbow colorway. The colors are reminiscent of cantelope and honeydew melons melding into one another with splashes of blueberry yogurt on some of the skeins:

There are more photos on the handpainted yarn page at http://weavingrainbow.com click on "yarns" then "WR handpainted yarns" and an order button. I started a pair of socks with one of the test (sport weight) yarns I did the other day:

I'm workng toe up from Priscilla Gibson-Roberts' pattern...it's going fast. I won't wear them until it cools off a LOT though!

rug hooking pattern

After talking to a couple of rug hookers, I came to the conclusion that 11 by 14 inches is a little on the small side considering the detail for rug hooking, but it would be a good size for a needlepoint design. Please email me with your thoughts, or post a comment... how would 16 by 22 inches be for a rug hooking pattern I'd love to hear from you about this!

Gonna go to sleep now... I put the webpage for the handpainted yarns together this evening and Gary fixed up my shabby HTML...