Uncle Leona's Day Camp

Spring Cleaning

After battling with a computer at work that had at least 8 viruses on it (despite the rantings of the gal that uses it exclusively that she didn't do anything wrong) for the better part of three hours this afternoon, I came home to do a little cleaning. You see, my brother and his family are coming over to stay this weekend, and I haven't used a vacuum cleaner on the house for a while.

Perhaps since the Reagan Administration.

So, I started putting some things away and tossing old magazines and whatnot. I get to the part about cleaning up my living room, and this is looking at me:

It's pleading....mommy, please card me so I look like this:

It's a great deal of corriedale that I scored off eBay a while back before I learned that my hands don't like hand carders. That box'o'fluff was created over the last two nights. I'm hoping to finish the rest of the wool up in the next few days. Of course, that's only if other projects don't scream out for me. Like this one:

What would a trip out west be for me if I didn't bring home a quilt pattern with Kokopelli on it? This one is really wild color-wise; the photo doesn't even begin to show off how neon this thing is going to be. It'll look great on the purple walls of my boudoir. Not like anyone but me is going to see it, of course...

I also blew through one of the 4 oz. globs of fiber I got at The Fiber Factory in Mesa. This is the 50/50 wool/merino blend:

This is up close, but the color is better in the first photo:

This stuff is so cool--the tencel makes it so nice to spin. And no, I have no clue what it'll end up becoming. I have a few ideas, but nothing set in stone as yet.

Needless to say, the knitting has, well, languished.

That would be about a half inch of ribbing for the front of the Pearls Pullover. Hey, it's supposed to snow again this weekend. I've got plenty of time. I figure this sweater will be at best a June debut.

Oh, yeah, by the way, I've thrown a link over on the right for anything I have up on eBay. There has been a bit of a stash reduction of late, with some more possibly to come. Feel free to check it out--bargains galore! This statement brought to you by Leona's PayPal Enrichment Society (mama needs a new wool carder!).

Reality blows

Well, I'm ready to head straight back to Arizona. Not only has it been godawful cold for late March, it has snowed and rained all week long. I left rain and 68 degrees out west. I returned to rain and 38 degrees.

I'll take the 68, thank you very much.

Add to this my patients' parents, who tend to be overstressed any time I leave town, who managed to keep my office's phone lines lit all week. What do you get?

A doc who is looking forward to a three day weekend.

I realized that I left such a vapor trail off to the west that I never posted the finished Pansy yarn:

It really is far more purple than blue, but my camera has an aversion to purple. There's still a little more to spin--there's going to be close to 600 yards of this stuff eventually.

(all together now) I don't have any idea what I'm going to do with it yet.

To fart in the general direction of Mother Nature, I started a spring v-neck this week. It's done in Cascade Pearls, a slubby DK weight cotton/viscose blend. The back just got done:

The criss cross patterning in the ribbing just happened. I'm hoping I'll get the same for the front. Up close, you can see the slubbiness:

The fabric is amazingly soft and light. It will be perfect for summer. That is, if we ever see spring. Yes, I'm cranky. You would be, too, if you had to deal with the color gray for 6 months.

All good things must come to an end...damn the luck

Well, I'm back from the Arizona desert. Poorer, a little more tan, and relaxed. Damn, but that's a beautiful area of the country. Here's a good look at my photo journalistic efforts:

This is the front entrance for the Carefree Resort and Villa. The really big cactus is a 165 year old Saguaro. These things were everywhere in Arizona.

Artsy cacti photo. Cute, huh?

This is a photo from my seat at Spring Training (Giants/Rangers...I could care less about either team, but the bratwurst and beer were tasty, as was the sunshine).

This is my personal favorite road sign of all time, I believe:

Of course, it wasn't all driving and cacti. I did manage to get some shopping done. I found The Fiber Factory in Mesa; a combined knitting and spinning place. Great spot, but I couldn't stand the smell. I walked in just as someone had microwaved their lunch: it was something Italian, and not very appetizing to the nasal cavities. So, the power shopping genes took over, and this is what I found:

The gray stuff is merino and silk, the red stuff is merino and tencel. I could have easily got into a lot more trouble, but Fiber Factory was only my second stop on the day. I needed cash for the Prickly Pear Margarita...and the regular margarita....and the chimichanga...and the microbrew chasers. Yeah, I overdid it a little on day one.

Here's the rest of the booty:

Sorry, I'm just feeling too lazy right now to sort it out. Suffice it to say there's some cool yarn and quilting stuff in there.

I'm going to need to go back to work to pay for this vacation. Sucks to be me.

Next Tuesday can't come too soon

Here it is, March 10th, and the weather pundits are getting giddy over the possibility of this winter's snow total breaking the all-time record, perhaps as early as this weekend. I have two words for their giddiness:

@#$*&! you.

I've had it. Every year, I'm promised global warming, and every year, I'm sporting a parka in April. Highs in the greater Carefree, Arizona area are projected in the 70's next week. I may just bring the swimsuit.

Nah. No need to punish the good people of Arizona with that sight. They'll just have to be happy with shaved legs.

I would post a photo of the Confetti sweater pieces, but...

There's one more sleeve to be done, then it's construction time. If I can get inspired, it could feasibly be done this weekend. However, I may have other things to do. Case in point:

The Pansy Rhapsody wool has not lost one iota of intensity with spinning. It's awesome. I'm going to attempt (big emphasis on "attempt") to create a striped yarn. We'll see. Whatever happens, this stuff is amazing.

I realized I've been remiss about posting any "in progress" sock photos of late. It's not like I haven't had one or two on the needles. The latest "home" project (versus the "work" project) is my Miami University socks:

OK, so some of you out there would refer to this as a candy cane sock. Candy cane = Christmas = winter = snow = me in a bad mood. Red and white means Miami, and that's that. These socks are from the Lorna's Laces sock yarn I got at Knit Fest in Toledo last fall. The stripe in the ribbing is from the color change. It's not nearly as obnoxious in the body of the sock. Big deal. It's on my feet, which no one really likes to view as it is. Except maybe Kato.

Is it just me, or is this entry really sounding like I need a vacation? Lord help the security folks if they try to swipe my double points at the gate. I may just poke them with one.

The sun is shining for the third straight day. Alert the media.

It's a beautiful day here in Snowville. No clouds, sun is blazing, and, at 33 degrees, it's closing in on shorts weather.

I know, I need to stop drinking so early in the morning. Just trying to soak in all of this sunshine while I can. The next blast of winter is a day away, according to the pundits (who were about two days off on the last blast). 10 days until Arizona. 9 days until I shave my legs with a machete.

Well, the decision was made to go the full Earth Mother route and knit a sweater fully out of handspun. Remember, the Clown Vest did have a good portion of Kureyon. I'm taking the Confetti Fiber and turning it into a simple set-in sleeve pullover (this stuff is just too busy to try to pattern it into anything). Here's last night's work:

And the obligate close-up of the stuff:

I'm liking this a lot. Lots and lots of colors, but the natural I plied with it just sets it off perfectly. Like I knew what I was doing or something.

(There's a blind squirrel and nuts story there somewhere, but I'll refrain)

My only fear right now is that I'm going to run out of wool. So far, it looks like there will be plenty of fiber, but you know how that goes. The ongoing saga continues.

Paradise Fibers (which I love, by the way) shipped the last part of my order last week after they got back from Stitches West. Check this stuff out:

Wow. The colors are beyond brilliant. Again, no real plans for it as of yet, but I am beginning to formulate a project for using some of these fibers I've spun. It's all in my head right now, but perhaps it will come to fruition some day.

That day may be in 2012...

It's official

I may now feel free in starting a new sweater. Granted, I've never needed a reason in the past, but having projects hanging over my head as the stash grew was beginning to get to me. I was also getting a little nervous that a certain sweater that will never be able to be worn in temperatures above 30 degrees would wind up being finished in June. So, may I present the finally completed Floor Finder Pullover:

This thing has to weigh about five pounds. It's like a wool/alpaca blanket. Good thing that Mother Nature has decided that March had to come in like a really frigid lion this year. It will be worn tomorrow.

I'll try to find a thinnish turtleneck. I'm quite unappealing when I sweat.

Last night, after finishing the first sleeve of the Floor Finder, I spun up a skein of the cooler shaded Kool-Aid mohair roving.

It's truly amazing how much the color muted up from the original shade in the microwave. It's going to need a little bath in Eucalan, however. Not only does it smell like a grape/apple/berry/lemon/cherry combo, but there were clearly some colors on my fingers after the spinning that weren't there when I started.

And the fingers tasted like unsweetened fruit drink. Yum.

So, what's next? Stay tuned. I'm not quite sure myself...