Tuesday, November 29, 2005

This Scarf Brought To You By Vicodin!



Even while heavily medicated, I managed to knock out a neck-warmer for the holiday gift season. I'm also using this as the excuse for my incredibly messy kitchen. It's funny how you don't notice these things until they show up in a photograph. I'd dearly love to blame this on the pain-killers as well, but the simple fact of the matter is that I am a slob.

The sheep is still working with the crap-bag camera so the shots continue to be less than award-winning. The neck-warmer is done in Wool-Ease Chunky as a long strip then twisted and seamed up the back. I've added the buttons to ease my guilt over such a simple project. I will make sure that this one goes to a non-knitter so that they can marvel over my skills while I hang my head in shame in front of the knitters who started their crafting earlier and aren't frantically trying to finish up their gifts.

On that note, it seems like I should be signing off and getting back to work. I foolishly squandered an hour of my evening working out on the stupid Lateral Thigh Trainer and weights in order to compensate for my Thanksgiving respite from sweat. The pictures I saw from the family gathering were enough to make me realize that I needed to stick with my self-torture regiment. More on that another time!!!!!

Have a great evening,

SA

Back to school...

Well, the first day back in the classroom went well and it looks like the staff issues are resolving themselves. (Thanks to my innate ability to ignore anything remotely resembling an uncomfortable situation and pretend that all is fine. Denial is a beautiful thing...others just seem to follow suit) It looks like we're back in business. Still workin' on that resume, though!

Today was my first day Vicodan-free after last weeks nightmare root canal. 4 hits of novacaine and at least another 4 "locals" administered directly to the tooth and I still felt every rotation of the damn drill. The only good part was the medication...

Not much exciting of the needles right now. I'm working on a skinny scarf with Classic Elite's Commotion. My stylist stole mine the last time I went in for a trim so I figured I'd better make one just for her. She's in charge of my color and, quite frankly, a little scary to me. My next appointment is on Christmas Eve so it might be nice to have a gift in hand to ensure natural highlights.
Once again,the color is way off. This little number is actually in purple if you can believe it. The needles are a size 1 that I made using a Skacel double pointed set. I glued some polymer clay beads on the end and created just the right size needle. Been wondering what to do with all those frigging beads I made during the "polymer years."

This weekend, the baking starts for Christmas. I've gotten much better about amounts. In past years it just wouldn't be the holidays without millions of cookies taking up valuable freezer space better devoted to Lean Cuisine. Now I tend to stick to pumpkin bread for friends and yeast breads for the family. Easy to do, easy to clean, easy to act like I slaved over a hot stove. Image is everything in this business.

Stay Cool, (or warm depending on where you are!)
SA

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Third Time's The Charm!

Well, this looks a bit better! The first picture is the Lincoln/metallic blend that will soon be my winter cardigan. The color is way off (it's actually watermelon not cat-puke) but you can see the sparklies!
This here's my first shot at rug-hooking. It's a kit from Harrisville and worked up quickly...of course the whole thing's only 5x7 inches, but it still felt like an accomplishment!


OOOOOHHH! Christmas scarves! Not much, I realize. Still, when you give them to non-knitters they feel like they've been gifted by a true genius!


Next rug! OK, it's my first attempt at designing and it lacks what you might call "inspiration," but I'm fond of my little jumping sheepie! I simply had to include my new hook in the shot...love that Menos!!!

Whew! I'm now feeling like I've "shared" in the manner of a true blogger. I promise that, in the future, I shall refrain from multiple posts in single days. Oh, who cares...no one's really reading this at this point anyway :)

SA

Blog, day 2...are we fascinated yet?

Well, I'm starting to get the hang of this...I hope. I'm hanging out at home today, getting ready to go back to school after the Thanksgiving break. Not really looking forward to this as I'm having staff problems and need to fix some issues between now and the next holiday break. This is one of those jobs that I took on because I was at loose ends and Visa was strongly suggesting that I obtain gainful employment before it became necessary to send thugs to my home and break my legs in lieu of monetary contributions. Oh well, whaddaya gonna do? I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm putting together a killer resume!

On to happier things...fiber, fiber, fiber and all things crafty!!! I'm currently spinning up some Lincoln that I washed, carded and dyed over the summer. I've blended it with some metallic for a different look. I kinda like it. Pix included, but we're all going to have to forgive the quality. when you're working with the world's crappiest camera you have to live with what you get. I managed to leave the good one in the backseat of my brother's car following the family Thanksgiving.



Would love to show some of my holiday knitting, but you have to realize, I'm a simple girl with a penchant for simple projects. I'm doing scarves...just scarves. Not all that exciting when you compare them to the amazing projects others are putting out there! Maybe when my confidence level rises a bit...

My early rug-hooking attempts are going well, though! My Menos Trigger hook arrived this past week and I think I can continue this hobby without the looming specter of carpal tunnel peering over my shoulder! I mean "traditional" and "primitive" sound nice, but yeesh! A hobby shouldn't cripple ya!

OK, have you notice yet that there are no pictures? Did you think you had developed some selective sort of blindness? Were you concerned, perhaps calling in loved ones or your family physician? No fear, the problem is mine not yours. The photos just won't upload. So much for the "simple" directions...everyone lies to me! We'll keep working on this. I'm sure that it's all my fault; it usually is these days!

Think I'll take a break from this frustrating process and grab some lunch. Since my recent root canal gone horribly wrong this may also be a bit frustrating (not to mention painful) but I'm kind of hungry. I think I may be the only person in the continental U.S. to actually lose weight over the Thanksgiving holidays...turkey and the trimmings must be chewed and that's something I'm not doing too well right now!

SA

Pictures...take two!

The worst shot of a rug ever put on a blog:


Here's the Lincoln I mentioned in the earlier post. All that work for such a bad picture!
I'll keep working on this...
SA





Saturday, November 26, 2005

Well, the sheep has joined the herd and started her very own blog! After spending so much of my life living vicariously through the posts of others it seemed like it was time to give the world a chance to experience the joy that is me. Or to roll their eyes and tell all their friends about this foolish thing they stumbled across over the weekend. Don't lie...some of you out there will do this. It's all part of the blog experience.

I am a spinner and a knitter from Maine. I have also recently added traditional rug-hooking to my list of passions (read here: addictions). I have flirted with weaving several times over the years, but it never seems to hold my interest. Maybe when I grow up...

I am looking forward to developing this blog as part of my fiber experience. Please be patient as I work through the newness of it all. (notice how I write this as if I have thousands of readers, all of whom are clamoring for tidbits about my life and thoughts!) Would love to stay and write some more, but the cats are calling and I know better than to ignore them at dinner time. We "spin" -sters must adhere to certain schedules!

SA