my work is done

I have spawned a knitter. A sock knitter. My work is done.

not a winner

I did not get into The Loopy Ewe sock club. Disappointing to say the least. So no sock clubs at all for me this year. I wonder if it will effect how many pairs I turn out? I wonder if I will miss the clubs, or feel free to make my own sock of the month club? Treating myself to a new and different yarn, and maybe a doo dad every month? That has potential.

All prescription pain medications have been stopped. They were freaking me out in so many ways. Yeah, it hurts like hell, but I would rather deal with the pain then the side effects of those meds. I start physical therapy on Tuesday. God I hope it helps.

Yesterday I did something scary and completely out of my comfort zone. I met a friend for coffee. (that is not the scary part) I love this person and our families work so well together. She is a Writer. The "has published many books and gets paid" kind of Writer. So, we were talking and she asked if I had ever thought about writing. I confessed that I had. She asked about my ideas and thought they were great. She then invited me to join her Writer's Group. My first reply was a polite maybe. But she is persuasive, and before I knew it I was asking what time I should be there, and saying yes to adding my name to the email list. So this is it. I have said my goal out load and stepped onto the path. OMG

i'm a winner

My Inbox contained a very happy email.



CONGRATULATIONS!

You have been chosen as one of the lucky 101 winners of Storey Publishing's Skein-of-the-Month Sweepstakes! You will receive one package each month of 2008, each with a free skein of yarn that has been carefully chosen by the experts at WEBS--America's Yarn Store.



I did a little happy dance. The club is not very expensive if you would like to join in the fun. There is even a Ravelry group.

dinnertime

Here is what is cooking for dinner this week.

MONDAY
Minestrone
w/ sauteed greens on the side

TUESDAY
Vegetable Cassoulet with Biscuits
This is a time intensive dish but so worth it.
I use whatever veggies are in the house and the biscuits bake on top of the stew.

WEDNESDAY
Big Salad
homemade bread
In our house a big salad is a large bowl of greens surrounded by many bowls of assorted vegetables, nuts, dried fruits, hard boiled eggs and avocados.

THURSDAY
Quiche
Fruit Salad
I substitute the pastry crust with sliced steam potatoes. The filling is eggs, smoked cheese, red peppers and a green vegetable. I think it will be peas this week.

FRIDAY
Lasagna, vegan style
1 pan plain, 1 plan with zucchini and sauteed greens
I LOVE my vegan lasagna!

This weekend I am off to camp and the family diet will go all to hell. There will be much bacon, hot wings and ice cream consumed. But it is OK, I do not have to cook or eat it.

If you want a specific recipe just ask and I will type it out.

patience is over rated

I could not wait to ply the singles

they turned out great. A little thicker than I intended. I can not seem to remember that the yarn is going to fluff up quite a bit after it goes for a soak. The colors are wonderful and I am very happy with the results. Maybe I can combine this with some commercial yarn and get socks? HHHMMMM, the wheels are turning.

round and round she goes

This is the current spinning project as seen on Thursday afternoon.

This is what it looks like Friday evening.

I love the colors and it spun up like a dream. Faulkland, I think.

It may be a few days before I am able to do the plying. I am not sure if I will have enough to make socks. I am hoping to use this fiber for my first pair of handspun socks. I am thinking Flower Power.

My plan for the weekend was to finish the Leaf/Sand Dollar Shawl. I had 8 rows of edging before the cast off. No. The chart for the Medallion/Sand Dollar pattern has an error. After much furrowing of the brow I thought I had figured it out. Turns out my fix was not quite right, after a couple of repeats I was unhappy with the result. So I ripped back about 25 rows. Considering that the rows are now about 400 stitches, this was a huge set back. I decided to ditch the medallions and the chart error and add ripples. I am now half way through one ripple repeat. I am also off by one stitch. After the first chart error I am not confident the new chart is correct. The mistake is very hard to see, at least before blocking, and this is a shawl for me, not a gift, so I think I will soldier on for a while longer. She says while crossing her fingers and wondering what sort of good luck talismans are in the house.

spindles

I just ordered a spindle from Butterfly Girls. I am in search of a new all purpose spindle and thought Etsy would be a good place to start. There is a lot of stuff on Etsy but this is the cream. Go, look, buy.