Sunday Meltdown

Ah, Sunday! A day with so much promise. Today dawned so beautiful that I almost thought I woke up in another state.....but no...it's another beautiful summer day in the Northwest! After staying up till nearly midnight watching a movie and spinning on the new wheel (and playing with the new ball winder!) , I promised myself I'd get some work done. Yeah, right. I played on the wheel until 10 am then got to work. lol I had plans on working in the yard. Good plan considering there is still a stack of dead sod in the front yard, the "garden area" still looks like it has for the last several year---meaning...no garden lol-- and the dandelions are in bloom again. But alas, by the time I got the indoor stuff done, it was the heat of the day and way to hot out there to lug sod, mow lawn or use a weed burner! So the little dog got his much anticiapated bath instead and I watched the end of the Nascar race while doing so. (Bandit loves baths and grooming! It's very funny to watch him sleep on his back while I trim nails and hair. Next time I'll have Don take pics to share.) The whole time I'm feeling pulled back to the fiber though. I'm thinking of the fleece that needs to be washed, the washed fleece that needs to be carded.....all so I can spin more. lol I did get 6# of washed and dryed fleece packaged up for storage until later use. I kept out plenty to use for the Melissa's Slippers project and even managed to get some carded up. I had to quit packaging it up for the day as I was running out of bags for the Food Saver.

Last night I managed to get two yarns plied that I've had in a holding pattern waiting for the ball winder. I had two unequal spools each of green and blue and wanted to ply them both up without wasting any. Well let me tell you.....it took until the last half of the second skein before I picked up on a method of plying from the center pull ball. The rest of the time it was tangle city! Next time I'll hold the blasted thing in one hand for better control while I ply with the other hand. Or......I'll wind off onto my skein winder to determine I have the same lenghts before plying....or something else! Anyhoo, it all came out ok and both skeins are soaking right now in prep for drying. I'm going to try to get them back on the skein winder (better have a drink first I think, and wish me luck!) to block while they dry. Both are over plied as this is a skill I really really need to work on. ;)

On the Eris sweater front... I paid for and downloaded the pattern. I need to pick out my yarn now. I really don't forsee any progress on this until fall/winter as I too many projects to complete first. I know I really should dye and spin the yarn myself....but I'm not that confident in my ability to produce even enough yarn in that quantity yet. Who knows, I may jump in that sea yet. That would be my style anyway. Why make it easy? lol

I havn't been knitting in the last few days......new wheel, and other such toys have taken up my time. I've a premonition that this sock is not going to fit and I'm going to have to frog it and start over, so I'm putting off working on it. I need to get a couple of more inches done so I can try it on and see if it fits so I'll have to make myself do it soon. Oh well... if I do have to frog it, I'll use the ball winder on the yarn before starting over again! Bonus!

On another completely different topic....I am on day 5 of non-smoking. I have quit before and have no doubts that I'll do it again. (last time I stopped for 14 months.) Last Wednesday I started using the patch to quit smoking. I really am not having too bad a time of it this go around, but I think that is because I've had such wonderful distractions with the wheel and drum carder showing up.

Well I'm in to knit and make the hubby change the channel on the TV from the news in the Middle East. I've heard about all I can take for the night. That combined with a gruesome murder in the area are setting my nerves on edge. I just wish the uglies would go away sometimes. ;) But...I am smart enough to know that they don't always go away.

I leave you with this pic of Abbie. She makes taking a nap look so good sometimes! Oh, to be a cat!