Monday, January 14, 2008

A Winter Weekend

Once again my server hosts were having issues on Saturday evening which made Chatters a kind of revolving-door comedy/catastrophe.  I’m sorry for the annoyance folks.  We’ll try it again next Saturday - hopefully the server will behave itself!

We are having a snowstorm today :) The weather critters have been predicting anything from 8 - 14”.  We’ll probably wind up somewhere in the middle but it’s a bit of a shock after the week or so of 40-50ºF weather we’ve been enjoying.  Still, it was a great excuse to make scones this morning - nothing like bad weather outside to improve the flavor of home-made anything!





Butch and Sundance seem to be making themselves at home.  They are a mischievous pair though :) Late yesterday afternoon, we discovered that one of them had bitten a hole in the water bottle which resulted in all the water draining from the bottle to the bottom of their tank.  Perhaps they just wanted a sea-side condo - who knows?  Anyway, this necessitated an emergency cleaning session and a new water bottle :)

Let me tell you, for all it’s political correctness, modern attitudes and profoundly liberal outlook, Massachusetts is a puritan at heart which means, among other things, that stores close early on Sundays.  So I had to get going immediately if I wanted to replace that bottle.

See the above picture - the fuzzy one with all the snow in it?  The store was a madhouse and the parking lot was jammed.  I practically had to park in the next county and hike in :) But fortunately, Wal-Mart had water bottles, the right size and everything and they were half the price of the same item at the pet store.  Heh… Problem solved!

I completed the first panel of the blanket with the exception of decoration.  I had wanted to add embroidery to things to fancy it up a bit but the yarn I wanted to use proved to be unworkable.  All it had in its favor were gorgeous colors.  But it was also slippery, delicate and inelastic - all of which really make it unsuitable.  So, for now, I’m keeping my eye open for a copper/rose/plum colorway in a worsted weight wool.  And I guess if I can’t find one, maybe I’ll try dyeing one :)





I did dye more yarn for the blanket, more Raspberry Fields Forever.  I believe this (despite identical procedure, dye and proportions) came out a bit lighter than the first batch.  I’ll have to compare them more closely when it’s fully dry.  Certainly not a problem for me - more an amusement than anything else :)





And I started another pair of gauntlets.  As much as I love the colors in these, I find the yarn too rough against the insides of my wrists.  Perhaps merino would be a better way to go in the future - for fingering weight yarn to dye.  Oddly, both Knitpicks worsted and bulky weight “Bare” yarns are very nice, soft and comfortable.  But this fingering weight felt like I was wearing steel wool.

These new ones are mostly baby alpaca with a soupçon of cashmere - no question about softness there!  I’m following the same “recipe” as with the previous gauntlets, though I may arrange the beads differently - just for fun :) I know, I know, the red beads don’t really harmonize well with the lovely, soft mulled wine color of the yarn.  But this is my second attempt to find beads for this yarn and if I keep putting off making the gloves, I won’t have them this winter!  And I want them for this winter :)

I will be starting chemotherapy (for the 4th time!) tomorrow so things may get a bit erratic here on the blog.  I’ll keep up as best I can and, at least for now, God willing and the server plays nice, Chatters will remain, as always, open on Saturday nights :)

Have a great week everyone!

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1. Well, just to let you know, I think the red looks just fine with that colour of wool. I took a good look over at The Dye Pot last week and you’ve given me some real inspiration for the new obsession I’m about to dive into. My spinning wheel has just arrived and I can’t wait so start making and dying my own yarn.

   I hope things go well with your treatment. I’ve made a lot of chemo caps this year (most of them have been the Pinwheel Hat you have posted on your site). Take good care of yourself and post when you can. I look forward to your continuing quest for “the right colour” and appreciate your meticulous efforts in keeping track of your dye pot experiments.

   Jennifer

   Posted by Jennifer in Ottawa  on  01/14  at  12:14 PM
   Location : Ottawa



2. Jennifer - Thanks for your opinions on the beads.  These will be funky for sure, but perhaps not unattractive.

   Just wait until you start dywing your own material - it is insanely addictive but it’s so easy and fun that there’s really no down side.  And I always feel there are subtle blessings involved in adding more color to the world :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  01/14  at  01:40 PM
   Location : Digging out from under the snow...



3. Those two adorable critters are naughty? Nah! Lol they LOOK innocent.

   Lovely yarn as usual.

   I hope your chemo goes well and you have minimal or no bad side effects. Sorry I missed chatters. Duh! I completely forgot! I will try to come next time if your health and your server cooperate.

   Posted by Lisa  on  01/14  at  07:23 PM
   Location :



4. Lisa - I’m getting the feeling that the more innocent an animal looks the more likely it is to be involved in mischief somehow :)

   I saw the movie Carousel this week and thought of your daughter :)

   Posted by Robbyn  on  01/14  at  08:19 PM
   Location : Digging out from under the snow...



5. Best of luck with this round of chemo.

   LOVE your snow pic - send some this way, OK?

   Posted by Bron  on  01/15  at  10:02 AM
   Location :



6. Best of luck with this round of chemo—here’s hoping for few side effects and good results.  Love the blankie!

   Posted by Rob  on  01/15  at  11:20 AM
   Location : on the couch



7. Raspberry Fiels Forever is just gorgeous! Can’t wait to see it knit up.

   I hope chemo goes well. I’ll be rooting for you. *hugs*

   Posted by Opal  on  01/15  at  02:58 PM
   Location : Honolulu, HI



8. Bron - Thanks :) I’ll do what I can about the snow but once it’s gotten to New England, it’s a little tough to send it back.  ‘Course, maybe the stuff that comes up the coast could be persuaded to take a “whilrind” tour!

   Posted by Robbyn  on  01/15  at  03:11 PM
   Location : Digging out from under the snow...



9. Rob - Thanks :) I’m kind of loving the blanket myself.  It’s moving, although a bit slowly because I have to due each color as I go along, not quite knowing what I’m going to need as yet.  It’s a great cold-weather project.

   Posted by Robbyn  on  01/15  at  03:12 PM
   Location : Digging out from under the snow...



10. Opal - Many thanks :) The Raspberry Fields is being used in the blanket. In fact, unless I stumble onto a perfect trim yarn at a reasonable price, I will probably be dying the yarn for the whole blanket.

    Posted by Robbyn  on  01/15  at  03:14 PM
    Location : Digging out from under the snow...

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