A Stitch In Time

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I talk about my various and sundry hobbies here as well as my life in general. The primary focus of this blog is my spinning and my knitting but you can find just about anything covered if you hang out long enough.

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Guanco on the Russo - done

Firesong Green and Purple roving 8oz done - Susie

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Siv from Viking Patterns for Knitting - from my handspun Back done front not on needles

Oregon Cardigan Autumn Colorways by Alice Starmore started 12/6/08

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Asian fabrics quilt. 75% done

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Melba - Shetland - Black

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Bronchitis and Phlebitis

I’ve been a bit out of pocket lately. Remember I sounded kinda crappy at MDS&W Risa, Kim, Jess, Vee and Vicky? Well, turns out I had Bronchitis and a sinus infection brewing. I’ve been horribly sick ever since and am only now starting to feel human and able to string more than 2 sentences together without wanting a nap.

Ok, fast forward to last Sunday morning. My sweetie (who was informed on Friday night that he had to go back to El Salvador again and had to leave on Monday morning at 5:30am no less) woke up and told me that he thought it was time to go to the hospital. Umm. WHAT??? He showed me his arm and he had an angry red line going from about midway up the inside of his forearm up past the elbow to about halfway to his shoulder. It was as thick as my pinky and it was hard to the touch. NOT good. If this had been a normal weekend he would have gone to the DR first thing Monday morning, but since he was leaving the country the next morning we thought we should get it checked out. It also hurt him like hell. Fast forward a few hours and we found out that it was Phlebitis. Yeah, better than deep vein thrombosis which would have been not only life threatening but would make it impossible for him to fly the next day. I didn’t know what phlebitis was until they said that’s what he had! So in case some of tyou don’t know either, here’s a little info.
Phlebitis (fle-BYE-tis) means inflammation of a vein. Superficial phlebitis affects veins on the skin surface. The condition is rarely serious and, with proper care, usually resolves rapidly. Sometimes people with superficial phlebitis also get deep vein thrombophlebitis, so a medical evaluation is necessary.

SO after a rigorous course of antibiotics including IV doseage at the hospital, I sent my sweetie off to Central America again. He’s supposed to be home on Friday night/Saturday Morning at 2:00am. Supposed to be. He told me yesterday that it was looking more like he’ll be there until the middle of next week. I’m not thrilled to say the least since this is Memorial Day weekend, and I would have enjoyed spending at least some of the holiday weekend with my sweetie. But I look at it as an opportunity to maybe start that second Celtic Dreams sleeve and finish it once and for all. Not sure If I can accomplish it by the end of the weekend, but we’ll see.

I have not knit a stich or spun an inch of yarn for over a week. I have been reading and playing Catan on XBox Live though and having a great time doing so. I haven’t had the mental ability to do cables, entrelac or lace lately so my on the needles projects have been put aside for now. I’m feeling the desire to knit though so we will see if I can muster the energy to do so this weekend since I will be done with the antibiotics and ready to take on the world.

Have a great weekend all!

Posted by Lizzy B on 05/24 at 12:54 PM
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Thursday, May 17, 2007

Spinning

I’m taking this one from Kristi since she asked us our answers! It’s also totally up my alley as I am a total spinning nut!

The directions are the same as those book memes and the more recent knitting one. Bold those things you have done, italicize those you wish to do, and leave plain the ones that are of no interest to you.

FIBERS SPUN

Fine Wools (i.e. Merino, Cormo, Rambouillet, Polwarth, CVM, etc)
Longwool & Crossbreed Wools (i.e. BFL, Cotswold, Lincoln, Romney, Coopworth, Teeswater, etc.)
Down-type Wool (i.e. Black Welsh Mountain, Dorset, Cheviot, Shetland, etc.)
Double Coated Wool (i.e. Icelandic, Navajo-Churro, Karakul, etc.)
Mohair - even though I am VERY allergic.
Cashmere
Angora
Alpaca
Llama - again even though I am very allergic…
Camel
Vicuna - I have a sample
Guanaco - Not on the list but I have spun it and it is very similar if not identical to Vicuna.
Bison/Buffalo - I have some but haven’t spun it yet
Yak
Quiviut - Have some haven’t spun it yet
Dog - doesn’t appeal to me much

Cat - Umm. I seriously considered it and even tried a little of my cat’s fur but it was too short.

Silk Caps/Bells/Hankies - have some haven’t spun yet
Silk Sliver - have some haven’t spun yet
Linen
Hemp
Cotton (prepared)
Cotton from the Boll
Engineered Fibers (Rayon, Bamboo, Soysilk, Ingeo, Ecopoly, etc.)
Recycled Fibers (Sari Silk, Jeans, Garnetted, etc.) - I have some Jeans cotton that I haven’t spun yet. The others don’t interest me.
Holographic Fibers (Angelina, etc.)
Commercially Combed Top
Commercially Carded Roving
Hand Combed Top
Hand Carded Rollags
Hand Drum Carded Batts

FIBER TOOLS USED

Flicker
Hand Cards
Mini-Combs
English Combs
Hackle
Diz
Distaff
Drum Carder
Nostepinne
Niddy Noddy
Yarn Meter
Skeiner
WPI Tool
McMorran Balance
Top Whorl Spindle
Mid-Whorl Spindle
Bottom Whorl Spindle (includes Turkish)
Supported Spindle (Navajo, Tahkli, etc.)
Castle Wheel
Saxony Wheel
Great Wheel
Portable Wheel (Little Gem, Joy, Lendrum, Hitchiker, etc.)
Electric Spinner
Charka
Tensioned Lazy Kate

SPINNING TECHNIQUES & YARN TYPES SPUN

Worsted Spun
Woolen Spun
Long Draw
Short-Forward Draw
Double Drafting - it doesn’t make yarn that I like to use, so I have not done it.
Singles
Energized Singles
Andean Plied 2-Ply (Wheel or Spindle?)
Center-Pull Ball 2-Ply (Wheel or Spindle?) - Both
2-Ply from Bobbins/Cops
3-Ply from Bobbins/Cops
Navajo Ply 3-Ply (Chained Singles)
4+ Ply from Bobbins/Cops
Bulky/Super Bulky Weight - I don’t use it so no point in spinning it
Worsted Weight
DK Weight
Sport Weight
Fingering Weight
Lace Weight
Cabled Yarns
Fulled Yarns
Slub Yarn
Marled Yarn (Barber-Poled Colors)
Seed Yarn (1 Thick and Soft Ply, 1 Firm and Thin)
Wrapped Spiral Yarn
Flame Yarn (Like Seed Yarn, but with Slubs)
Turkish Knot Yarn
Boucle Yarn
Beaded Yarn
Coiled Yarn
Encased Yarn (Fabric, Flower, Feather, etc. Captured Between Plies)

OTHER RELATED ACTIVITIES

Buy a Fleece
Wash a Fleece
Blend Fiber Types (Combed or Carded)
Blend Colors (Combed or Carded)
Dye Handspun Yarn
Dye Prepared Roving/Top
Dye Locks
Solar-Dye Fiber
Kool-Aid/Food Coloring Dye Fiber
Natural Dye Fiber
Commercial Dye Fiber (Gaywool, Jacquard, etc.)
Attend a Wool Festival
Take a Spinning Class
Take a Dyeing Class
Spin in Public
Teach Children to Spin
Teach Adults to Spin
Knit with Your Handspun
Crochet with Your Handspun
Weave with Your Handspun
Design a Project to Match Your Handspun - Japanese Feathers scarf
Design a Project from Fiber to FO - Fair Isle exotics sampler hat
Spin Yarn to Match a Commercial Pattern
Make Socks from Handspun
Make a Scarf from Handspun
Make a Felted Project from Handspun
Make a Large Project from Handspun (Shawl, Adult Sweater, etc. >1000 yds)
Keep a Spinning Journal - I kind of use my blog for that…
Use A Reference Card to Aid Consistency - Not a card but a piece of finished yarn…
Spin Yarn for Pay
Dye Fiber for Pay
Write a Book on Spinning
Write an Article on Spinning
Make DIY Spinning Tools (PVC Niddy Noddy, Lazy Kate, CD Spindle, Hackle, Wrist Distaff, etc.) - dog and cat grooming tools used for fiber

Whew. That’s quite a list! I’m happy with what I have done on it. I am fairly picky about what I spin and how I spin. I’ve tried a number of different techniques, but I find that I like Worsted spinning best of all. While Woolen is fine, I just don’t knit with Woolen yarns. They don’t appeal to me so I am unlikely to produce yarn like that.

Lately my passion has been spinning some of my fleeces from the locks. CVM is especially beautiful done this way. It allows the variegation in each lock to show through in a lovely way. I’ll give photos later!

Posted by Lizzy B on 05/17 at 08:41 AM
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Thursday, May 10, 2007

It’s all Risa’s, no, Juno’s fault!

Ok, so you probably already know about this if you read Risa’s blog. It’s true, I bought ANOTHER wheel. But oh, the beauty the grace, the elegance and joy that is this wheel. Ok, confession time. Many of my readers can attest to the fact that I am rarely speachless. When I spun on Risa’s Vermont Wheel on Saturday night, I was speachless. I was in love. But it was a forbidden love. I couldn’t possibly abscond with Risa’s beautiful wheel, as that would be, well, not a nice thing to do to one’s friends. I asked her all the particulars about it. Where it came from, how she got it, where to locate the vendor in the main barn, how much, how in the world did you find out about this man? You know, the whole enchilada. That’s when Risa told me about her run in with Juno and how she wouldn’t have ever known about Pat Russo’s Vermont Wheels without her. I have Juno to thank for my Passionate love of my Russo Wheel. When I arrived at his booth he had 3 wheels left, but only one was still for sale. Funny enough, the one for sale was the one I liked best upon looking at the offerings. I was tickled and told him immediately that I wanted it. I also told him about Risa and Juno. I met Juno very briefly at Rhinebeck at the vast blogger gathering, and I remember her because she was so tall! (I’m very short so tall women tend to stick out in my mind a bit.) I wanted to give proper credit to Juno you see so when I mentioned her to Pat, he was tickled that he got so much word of mouth business this year! He only makes 12 wheels a year and I am lucky enough to own one. I LOVE IT. THANK YOU JUNO & RISA!!!! I can’t stop smiling because of it. I think it is one of the most beautiful wheels ever. See?

Ok, now that I have that off my chest, I can go back in time to Fridy night. Before the festival. Risa called me and i came over to hang out with her and Kat who was feeling under the weather. We had Applebee’s for dinner and started to talk spinning and knitting. Kim was staying in the same hotel and she came up to hang out with us. We chatted and laughed and talked and laughed some more. I played with Kim’s Poppy sweater which is stunning on her! Yes, it’s true that I did snatch it from her so I could weave in ends and do some mattress stitching the last few inches of seam. I love finishing work and Kim wanted to wear the sweater the next day and our giggling was a bit umm, distracting so I just sat and had a great time with the gals and the lone young man Liam, Kim’s son. What a great night! Here are a couple photos of Kim and Risa and Kat. And the counterpart to Risa’s Blogger meet blogger photo.

Kim is wearing her gorgeous Poppy in the photos. Isn’t it fab?
I went home very happy on Friday night and spent Saturday doing well, not a whole lot. Mostly household chores. When Risa called me Saturday night I went over and hung out with her and Jess. Kat was feeling much better today and we all went out to Applebee’s and Kat got a hot fudge sundae and a yellow baloon from our waiter Nick who was fabulous. After dinner we went back to Risa’s room. On the way I saw Mary for a brief moment and said hello as I was carrying the drive wheel of Risa’s Russo up to her room. When we got there I went to open the window since it was lovely outside. I always open windows using a lot of force because my windows at home take a lot of strength to open. Add to that the fact that I grabbed the far right and left sides of the top of the window, and the fact that the hotel uses a metal stop bracket to limit how far the window would open and the result was that I crunched the middle finger of my right hand. This is the first day i have been able to type without excruciating pain. I took a photo of the offending finger this morning. It looks SO much better. I also had a tetanus shot on Tuesday afternoon because I hadn’t had one since 1979. (A little longer than the every 10 years recommendation. I’m thumbnailing this so you can get the full effect if you want to.
finger.jpg

Jess’ sweater was GORGEOUS and oh so soft! I loved it! Jess was wonderful helping me to ice my finger and take some ibuprofen to help the swelling. What you can’t see in that photo is that my finger is still twice the size it should be. Fast forward a while and Risa set up her new Russo wheel and started to spin. I had brought my Susie over to play with. Kim came up for a promised spinning lesson. Since I was playing injured I offered to give the lesson. That and I confess that I really enjoy teaching spinning both technique and refinement. Kim is a natural and is a wonderful student. One of the first things we wnet over was pre-drafting. An essential part of learning to spin with less frustration.
After we pre-drafted a few peices of roving we got to work with treadling. I had Kim treadle for a while as I explained a few things. Then I treadled on her wheel and let her treadle the Susie while I made adjustments to the Kiwi to make it easier to spin on. The brake tensioning was set really tight making it hard to treadle and the pull from the draw in was extreme. After we fixed that I let Kinm sit down at the wheel again and it made a world of difference. After that spinning was a snap for Kim. If I do a lot more spinning training in my future I hope all of my students are as patient and fun and joyful and as talented as Kim. Thank you for letting me show you a whole new world of fun Kim! Spinning is my true passion and I am thrilled to know that you enjoy it too!

Jess was spinning beautiful merino and Risa was spinning from a Grafton fibers batt. Risa let me try her Russo and I was completely lovestruck. Thank you ladies for spending a great bit of your weekend with me. I loved meeting you Kim and Jess. Next time I come up to NJ I hope I can see you guys too!

Ok, I know this post is getting seriously long. I have spent time working on getting familiar with my new beloved wheel. I’ve spun a total of 3 skeins that have also been plied on the wheel. I’m very happy with them so far. The first 2 are the domestic roving that I dyed with Shelley back last summer with Wilton’s cake dyes. The last skein is from my CVM fleece Sidney that I spun from the lock on the Russo. I LOVE the tweedy look of the yarn!

On Sunday at the festival I got to see and spend time with some of my favorite people in the world. Vee and Vicki, and I got to see Beth and a few other folks I know from Spinning.
Thanks for reading and thank you again to Risa, Kim, Jess and Kat. I love the Vermont Wheel and I loved spending time with you ladies and you too Mark and Larry… You made MDS&W very special for me this year. Ok, time to rest the hand. My finger is protesting.

Posted by Lizzy B on 05/10 at 02:30 PM
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Thursday, May 03, 2007

One Down, One to Go

Woo Hoo! I finished the first sleeve of Celtic Dreams on Tuesday night. I also finished watching the last 3 episodes of this season of Battlestar Gallactica on Tuesday night as well. It was good BSG knitting, except for the screwing it up that I did in the last half of the season finale… Ummm. Yeah. Very Very interesting. If you watch BSG, and want to chat about the implications of the last 10 minutes of the season finale, I would love to speculate with you. I have my own theories which may or may not be completely off. If you are like me and wanted to hold out before watching the last few episodes knowing that there won’t be any more until 2008, I won’t say a word to spoil anything. I will say that it left me speechless and spluttering. Ok, now on to other things…

Ok, a brief Dancing with the Stars interlude. John Ratzenburger and Heather Mills are gone. Heather last week, John this week. For teh first time, Billy Ray was in the Bottom 2. I’m guessing he’ll go this coming week. That leaves me with a serious quandry. I have some very strong feelings about the other 4 couples. If the finals were tomorrow, I would have to say Laila and Joey ought to be in them. But, here’s the thing. I don’t particularly like Joey Fatone. But I can’t deny that he can dance. I really love Apollo’s dancing and the chemistry he has with his partner. But they got ripped by the judges last week so the liklihood of them winning is small. And then there is Ian. Before this show I only had heard of Laila Ali, Apollo, John Ratzenberger, Billy Ray and Heather Mills. I had no idea who Ian, Joey, Paulina, Clyde, Leeza, and Shandy really were. I’d heard of Leeza Gibbons but wouldn’t have known who she was if she bumped into me on the street. I’m trying to stick solely with the dancing here not my person feelings. Here’s my take on what I think will be the final 4 couples.

Laila and Maksim - Wow. Of all 4 of these couples, only Laila has had a truly lackluster week in my opinion. There was one week when I just thought she was flat and not up to par. But, that being said, she has come back with a vengence. And the chemistry that her and Maksim seem to share on the dance floor is really impressive. I mean they make the Latin dances look HOT and Sexy more so than any of the other 3 couples in my opinion. I just think it’s amazing what she has done in these few weeks.

Joey and Kim - He has not delivered a bad performance yet. I actually like his non-gimicky dances best. He and his partner seem to have a really “fun” chemistry and he seems to be having a whole lot of fun. I love how he sings along with the songs too as he dances. I think he has true talent and I have seen him get better and better as the weeks have gone on. I think he’s really gifted but do I like him best? No. I had thought he lacked respect for the actual dances, but I might be mistaken in that. His Paso made me re-think him a lot. Since that week Joey has really made me take notice of him.

Apollo and Julianne - I am so amazed at his dancing talent. I don’t think they have put on a bad performance yet and the only gimicky thing you can even try to talk about was the chair, but they sold that dance so well as a whole story that I thought it was amazing. I love their chemistry together, and while it is a really young and vibrant feel, they still seem to approach each dance with respect. I think the judges are really hard on this couple because they have so much potential. Of all the dancers, I think Apolo and Joey have been really good week after week in their technique and charisma. I would like to see Apolo in the final, but I don’t know if they can come up with choreography that is stunning enough to really impress the judges. They’ve set the bar SO HIGH for those two it seems like they are trying to eliminate them.

Ian and Cheryl - This is tough. For the first week of the entire show, Ian actually seemed to be enjoying the dancing. There also seemed to be no chemistry between he and his partner until this week. There is no doubt that he is by far the prettiest guy left in the competition, but he hasn’t had much in the way of charisma to me until this last week. Is it enough to keep him into the final 2? I don’t think so. He was lackluster for so many weeks, while technically good, he just seemed flat to me. Nothing about his dances with Cheryl really stood out. But then I said that about Joey until his Paso. This might be Ian’s breakout week but can we all just forget the bland performances of the past?

So, for my 2 cents, I think Laila and Apollo would be a wonderful top 2 couples, but I would be just as happy to see Joey and Apollo in the final 2. Those 2 are the only ones of the 2 couples that I think haven’t had at least one “bad” week. Seriously, voting is going to get HARD!

Now, something that some of you might have been waiting for. The winner of my birthday contest. I’ve thought about this a lot. I have decided the winner and a runner up. The runner up will get another prize of my choosing. I have yet to decide 100% what it will be but I have a really good idea.

So, without further ado:
The winner of the Golding Spindle is: The Knitting Nurse! Congratulations! The Cardiac nurse with the Purpleheart spindle was too much for me to resist! And you even serenaded me for my birthday in a foreign language no less! Send me your snail mail address and I will send it and maybe a little extra something out.
My runner up is Nerd Knits because she shares a birthday with one of the most awful people in history. You see, she’s born on the 20th of April which was Hitler’s birthday. But it is alsothe birthday of some pretty amazing people too. Commander Sulu from Star Trek, and the Prophet Muhammed who has to be one of the most influential people in history. So for enduring a birthday shared with a mad man, you get a prize. But I have been having trouble gettingto your blog as of late. Send me your snail mail address and I will send you something lovely.

Thank you to everyone who participated, it was difficult to make a choice amongst so many worthy entries.

Tonight I will probably start the 2nd Celtic Dreams sleeve. I can really feel the finish line coming in to focus. I am really starting to get excited about the finished sweater now. I promise to snap a photo or 2 in the near future.

Posted by Lizzy B on 05/03 at 09:58 AM
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Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Sleeve Destination

I am ready to do the cuff on the first sleeve of Celtic Dreams. I’ve beeen plodding along on this sleeve for a while. It’s largely my own laziness that has caused this to drag on. I’ve been doing all sorts of other stuff over the last week and a half. Much of it has involved me not being home. But the other side of what I have been doing is watching the amazing series Planet Earth which means that I am not doing any cable knitting. It is a ccompletely visual and lovely show.

So my birthday was lovely. My parents sent me flowers that were beautiful.

Max and Ivan were slightly non-plussed by the whole birthday thing.

My actual Birthday was quite a day. It was beautiful weather, my hubby made me waffles for breakfast and I mowed the lawn. I then came into the house, took some benedryl (I’m allergic to grass) and took a nap. It was interrupted by a nice flower delivery man bringing me that lovely basket. I had an uneventful afternoon that consisted of a trip to the yarn shop to replace my ladybug tape measure. I also picked up 2 skeins of the Bamboo Regia to try out. My sweetie told my that dinner with friends was our big plans for the day. I didn’t know where we were going, just that I had to dress nicely. I was getting dressed and we got a phone call from our neighbor R. R is a confirmed bachelor who doesn’t really have any family in the area. He’s a nice guy and we have had him over for the last 2 Christmas dinners. He called the houseand I answered while Kirk was in the shower.

R’s first words were: “Hi Liz, can I ask a big favor of you?“ Of course I said, sure. His next words left me stunned. He asked if I could pick him up at Shock Trauma. He had been in a motorcycle accident and had been helicoptered there. Turns out his helmet saved him as he didn’t even have a concussion! He had a lot of cuts and scrapes on his face though as he fell face first onto the pavement. Needless to say, I told Kirk to change the reservations and I drove up to Baltimore city in my long dress without makeup or my hair being done. I was definitely not looking my best. I probably had a frantic look that showed my apprehension about our friend’s health. I’m also sure that the folks at the hospital are used to seeing that look. I went in and asked directions to the Shock Trauma ward and was directed to an elevator that I couldn’t see. It was behind a solid closed door. I started going the wrong way and someone yelled out to me “other way” and so I found it because someone else was coming out of the elevator alcove. Not very nice hiding elevators in a hospital. I went to the right floor and was face to face with a cafeteria and no signs to Shock Trauma… I asked some nice gentlemen (nurses and a few ambulance drivers) if I was actually on the right floor and they said yes and pointed me in the right direction. I think they felt sorry for the somewhat frazzled looking woman because as I was leaving one called out “You look nice in your dress.“ I continued down the hallway and Ron was walking toward me in hospital garb. He told me they cut all of his clothes off so they gave him scrubs (or something that looked like them) to wear home. I got him home and ran into the house and finished getting ready for dinner. We postponed our meal for an hour and everything worked out beautifully. It was such a fun night and we spent it with L & J two of our dear friends. But let me just say that I needed to decompress after that whirlwind day! We went to an amazing Italian place called Alberto’s near our home. Kirk and I hadn’t been there since the day we got engaged. It’s a wonderful atmosphere and very European in that you book a table and you pretty much have it for the entire evening. We were not rushed and our meal all 4 courses took over 2 hours. It was wonderful. Best of all after eating all of the food in each course, none of us felt over stuffed because it was paced perfectly. The piano player ever sang Happy Birthday to me in Italian! And I gave him a super big tip for saying I turned 21! Yes, Flattery will get you everywhere! Oh, and in case you are wondering what age I DID turn, it was 35.

Posted by Lizzy B on 05/01 at 05:59 AM
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