Not Loyal...

I know...so much for daily, weekly, or whatever, right?  Well, things have been incredibly busy lately...so I haven't had much time.  Anyway...

I started a blog for my local spinning guild.  I'm hosting the blog on WordPress, and I have to say that I like the platform a lot more than the Blogger platform!  Hmm...I will likely keep the blog here for now, but I am considering moving it to WordPress.  It's just easier to edit things, post stuff, etc.

Ok, back to cleaning up the house in preparation for my mom's visit next weekend.  Cleaning up the house = completely reorganizing my stash.  This involves making a huge mess just to get things cleaned up!

Done and done!! :)

That's right...one of the afghans that I needed to finish during football season is done, and it isn't even that far into football season!  My very first rag quilt, completed today!  And, even already through 2 cycles in the wash to get the ends to be all fringy! :)  I'm so incredibly proud of this because it is definitely the biggest sewing project I've ever done.  It was a bit tricky getting the rows together and stitching around the edge, but I did it!  Anyway, here it is!

And, of course, I finished some more handspun too.  This is from a Cosymakes subtle stripes kit.  It was a really fun spin! You get a 2 oz. braid of a semi-solid colorway (in this case purple) and 4 small 1/2 oz. balls of 4 other semi-solid colorways...in this case, blue, orange, green, white(sorta). You spin up one bobbin with the 2 oz. semi-solid, and the other bobbin with the 4 other 1/2 oz. bumps. Ply, and bada boom bada bing...subtle striping in any project you make from it!  I chose to split the orange into 2 quarter ounce pieces, and then spun them orange-green-white-blue-orange. So, in whatever I make from this, there will be two short orange stripes and 3 larger stripes of the other 3 colors.

I can sew!! ...well sorta...

So, at least a year and a half ago (maybe almost two years now), I bought fabric to make a rag quilt.  Mind you, I haven't sewn much at all...linings for a couple of purses, but that's been about the extent of it.  Anything beyond straight seams scares the crap out of me.  The rag quilt pattern at the local sewing shop consists of all straight seams (bonus!).  AND...they will die cut the squares and fringe the edges for you...HUGE bonus!  If you don't know what a rag quilt is, check out a picture of one here.  Basically, you sew together squares with a good-sized seam allowance and then fringe the seams.  You wash the quilt, and the fringe kind of gathers and bunches between the squares.  I'm too lazy to cut all the squares and too new to get them right, so paying the $12 to have the sewing store cut them and make the fringe ahead of time was totally worth it!

At any rate, I got some sort of stroke of motivation last week to finally assemble my rag quilt.  I've been sewing a bit each day, and I'm actually almost done!  I just have 7 rows to stitch together, and then it makes its trip to the washer.  The suggested fabric for said quilt is flannel...and when they cut it, they just leave the wrong sides together, so it ends up being double sided automatically with no work.  Anyway, because pics are fun...here are a couple of pics of the quilt in progress.  I'll take more when it's through the washer....

Stack of rows that have already been sewn...waiting to be sewn together

A few rows sewn together!

Outside of that, I attempted to do more on the "Football Afghan" and ended up having to rip out my work because I made a pentagon rather than a hexagon (doh!).  I will get back to that today...hubby has football to watch :)  The goal is to have the rag quilt from above AND the knitted afghan done by the end of football season.  I think I'm going to make it!

And, finally, I did get some spinning done this week as well...my first Wensleydale wool!  If you don't know anything about Wensleydale, they have really long locks that are very lustrous.  It's not what I would consider a soft wool such as merino, but it is soft in it's own right, has beautiful luster and halo, and is very strong.  The best part is that it takes dye incredibly well.  This one happened to be dyed by Juliespins in the Dark Petunia colorway.  It ended up being a fingering weight yarn, about 560 yds.  Spinning it was interesting...at first I wasn't sure about it, but it definitely grew on me, and I liked it.  I still had some issues with how much twist to put into it.  There was a fine line between too much twist and not enough to hold together.  That did create some challenges when winding the yarn off the bobbin onto my skein winder.  I spit-spliced some of it together, but it was already 10:30 p.m. when I was winding, and the last break I had was towards the end.  So, I did end up sacrificing about 20-30 yds just because I couldn't bear to try and get it to work again.  No matter...the yarn ended up beautiful, and I now have a better idea of what to do with Wensleydale!  No concrete plans for this yet, but perhaps a shawl??

Close-up of the yarn

Yarn plus a hint of my rag quilt in the background (the underside of it anyway)

So. Much. Progress!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm participating in a "spin from the bottom" spin-along (SAL) on Raverly.  I now have 3 more handspun skeins to share!

 First up, is ~330 yds (4.8 oz) of South African Fine wool, dyed by Pigeonroof Studios in the "Carnivale colorway.  This is a worsted weight 2-ply and is soft and squishy.  SAF was a pleasure to spin as well!

Next, is ~110 yds (2 oz.) of bulky weight woolen-spun "Flying Monkey Batt" from The Wicked Stitch.  My friend and fellow spinner, Erin gave me this batt.  It has wool, alpaca, silk, soy silk, angelina, and bamboo all blended in it.  This was the perfect chance to practice my woolen spinning technique.  The resulting yarn is super light and fluffy, and it became amazingly more consistent upon plying (all things typical of woolen spun yarns).

And, finally, I'm proud to present ~340 yds (4 oz) worsted weight organic merino, dyed by me (Doodlebug Dyeworks) at Yarn School this spring in colorway "Laughter."  (I know there is nothing in the etsy shop, and I hope to remedy that soon!).  This organic merino is soooo soft!  Like a kitten's belly!  Such fun to spin something I dyed myself :)

On top of that, I started my rag quilt today.  I have 3 of 11 rows sewn already.  I am going to have to consult some friends at work regarding seaming the rows together.  I tried, and it came out a bit wonky.  So, I ripped the seam out and will have to try again after a few more instructions.

And, last but not least, I'm so excited to report that I put on a pair of jeans today that fit perfectly!  One month ago, I couldn't even really button these jeans (or if I did, I couldn't breathe).  I haven't lost a lot poundage-wise, but those inches must be going away for stuff to start to fit differently.  Hurrah!

Nesting

Somehow, lately, I've felt the need to nest.  All I want to do is make my own stuff from scratch and have all handmade whatevers lying about my house.  I do this a lot with my spinning/knitting stuff, of course.

The latest incarnation of this is that I'm making an afghan from handspun yarn.  I spun the yarn earlier this year...2 lbs of handdyed BFL from Southern Cross Fibre and 1.2 lbs natural oatmal BFL from Spunky Eclectic.  The pattern is from Berroco and is called "Komb".  It's actually a rather easy pattern and is super clever in that you pick up stitches from your last hexagon to create the next one.  Thank goodness because seaming together 60 hexagons isn't my idea of a good time!  Anyway, DH and I are calling this afghan the "Football Afghan."  The goal is to finish the afghan by the time college football season is over.  I started it the first day of the season.  I don't really care about football that much, but DH really loves watching the college games.  So, to occupy myself while still being able to sit with him, I choose to spin or knit.  This year, I'll be working on my Komb during the football games and hopefully finish it!  I'm already 1/10 of the way done!  Hurrah!!  Here is the pic of my handspun yarns I'll be using:

Other than that, I've decided that I also want to finally get around to sewing up my rag quilt.  I bought the fabric ages ago (sometime last year).  Perhaps, I'll get both the afghan and the rag quilt (also pretty much afghan sized) before football is over.  That would probably be pushing it, but what the heck...I'll give it a whirl! :)  I seriously think I need to get better at sewing because I think it could be something I would really enjoy.  I have visions of making my own skirts out of fun prints and even bought a book recently that tells me how to make clothes that fit my body...big hurrah there too!

Also, after reading several blogs and seeing some amazing pics on flickr, I think I really want to learn how to do some canning.  DH bought me a fabulous cookbook on canning/preserving/recipes to use your canned stuff in for my birthday this year.  Now all I need is the equipment, some jars, and some veggies to get me going!  Hope to get that started soon too.

This all begs the question...when the heck do I have time to do all this?  No idea, but lately, I'm feeling so much better that somehow, I want to do everything!  So, watch out world...I'm out to conquer you!  hehe...just kidding! ;)

Should have been yesterday's blog post...

That's right...this post you are about to read should have been yesterday's blog post, but I didn't have a moment to post yesterday, so you get it today.

As some of you probably know, I have a Never Not Knitting Page-A-Day Calendar by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (a.k.a. The Yarn Harlot).  The Yarn Harlot writes humor books about knitting and for knitters as well as a very clever little calendar that gives you funny quips, quotes about knitting, quotes that should be about knitting, and other little tips.  I LOVE this calendar!  If you are a knitter, you NEED it!  Anyway...

Yesterday's "Wednesday Purls of Wisdom" was the fact that September 15th (yesterday) was Julia Child's birthday, arguably one of the most inspirational chefs in America.  That calendar page had two things I love in it...food and knitting.  I LOVE to cook and try new recipes, and I'm a big fan of Julia Child.  I'm embarrassed to admit that I don't own her cookbook, nor have I tried to make any of her recipes at home.  However, occasionally, on the weekends, I do catch a re-run of her show or a show that she did with Jacques Pepin on PBS.  All I have to say is that the woman makes even the most challenging recipes seem possible for anyone to do.  She didn't even care if she messed up while cooking on her show, and quite frankly, she just plain cracks me up!! :)  I could probably watch her all day and be perfectly entertained and totally inspired.  Have you seen the relatively recent movie, Julie and Julia?  I have, and I loved that as well.  It's kind of what got me on the whole Julia Child kick...more just got me interested in stopping channel surfing and watching when she's playing on PBS.  What a remarkable woman she was!

On top of all of that, Julia Child's mannerisms and personality remind me so much of my grandmother in so many ways.  Yes, the very same grandmother who called me "Doodlebug."  I remember being in my early teens and just laughing at my grandmother because she and her mannerisms were so darn cute!  Julia Child has that same effect on me.  My mother sometimes would tell me I shouldn't laugh at my grandmother, but my grandmother always said, "Laughter is the sign of pure and true love!" :)  She was so wise in so many ways.

So, after gushing about Julia Child being in my knitting calendar (perfect combo if you ask me!), I think I'm going to reiterate to my husband that the following is on my Christmas list this year as it was last year (in no particular order):

1. Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child 
2. Julie and Julia - the recent movie
3. Julia Child - The French Chef 1 and 2

Perhaps by this time next year, I'll have made Beef Bourguignon (said in best Julia Child accent)! :)

Lovin' the Ladies Lunch!

Today, I had the great pleasure of having lunch with one of my friends from my knitting group.  She was kind enough to go out and get lunch for us and have it waiting when I got to her house.  We spent the time gabbing (of course!), and I got to meet her new kitten (she thinks she's going to name her Chloe).  The kitten was beyond cute and would just run, jump, play, and explore.  Then, all of a sudden, she was just tuckered out...sooo cute!  I forget how tiny kittens/cats can be because we pretty much have a mountain lion at home (Moose, who lives up to his name).  Holding Chloe felt like no weight at all! :)

The other fun part of lunch...my friend, who enjoys quilting/sewing in addition to knitting is also going to sew a purse for me.  When I got to her house, she had her entire fabric stash laid out on the dining room table, so I could pick the fabric for my purse.  I was like a kid in a candy store!!  I basically chose two different color schemes and told her to pick one and surprise me.  I seriously cannot wait to see the finished purse!!

Having such a fun lunch with a wonderful friend really brightened my day and just made my afternoon go so much better.  If you have the chance, do yourself a favor and try to do a ladies lunch with a good friend(s) sometime soon!

A LOT Accomplished!

So, I know it's been a few days since I've been in the blogging world, but quite frankly I haven't had much time.  It's because I've been busy!  I even have some pictures to show for it!

I decided to join in on a Worldwide Shawl Exchange on Ravelry, where the goal was to create a shawl for someone else and send it by September 27, 2010.  You also receive a shawl from another person.  I have received my shawl, and it's gorgeous!! :)  And, this weekend, I finally finished the shawl for my partner and just blocked it tonight.  It will be on its way to New Zealand next week.  Here's a pic of the shawl I received, along with the goodies that came with it (yay, eye candy!!):

I decided to participate in the "Making Room SAL - Spin From the Bottom" Stash Down on the Spunky Club board on Ravelry.  The idea is to spin some of the oldest stuff in your stash and get it done before Rhinebeck.  I decided to finish whatever I have on the bobbins and choose a whole new pile of "older" fibers in my stash...one from just about every dyer.  So far, I've finished one skein, a 3-ply fingering/light sportweight spun from Hello Yarn.  It's Targhee wool in "Garland" colorway.  I'm soooo proud of this one!

And, here is the pile of the rest of the stuff I plan on spinning:

And probably the biggest accomplishment to date is that I started working with my personal trainer again.  She got me into these shakes called "Shakeology," where you replace 1 meal per day with shakes.  Along with that, you can do a 3-day cleanse, where basically you have 3 shakes per day and then a big salad for dinner with 4 oz. of lean meat.  I did that for the past 3 days, and I'm proud to say that in just 1 week, I have lost a total of 5.5 inches!!!!!! :-D  Hooray for jump-starting weight loss AND getting stronger all at the same time!  I'm excited to see the results continue and get back to the old me again! :)

Not quite daily

Well, 2 days into my self-imposed blog every day challenge, I miss one! Sheesh! Last night was too busy with the in-laws in town, and I couldn't post. Cest la vie! I'm posting today.

The good news is the in-laws are good, and we had fun visiting with them last night. Tonight the are making me a belated birthday dinner-crab legs, corn, some sort of salad, and German chocolate cake (my fave!!). Pretty excited! It won't be good for the diet, but one dinner won't be too bad.

More tomorrow...hopefully...

Something new

You are probably reading this going....2 blog posts in 2 days?  Is that even possible?  Melinda only updates her blog once every 6 months.  But, you are reading correctly, people!  It's another blog post.  I read on someone else's blog that they are challenging themselves to write a new blog post every day.  It happens to be a blog whose RSS feed I subscribe to.  So, I get an e-mail every day with the new blog post.  I really love reading a little snippet into her life, thoughts, whatever.  And, I have been totally inspired now to do it myself.  I can't promise I'll be able to blog every single day, but I'm going to try to most days of the week.  If you're curious who's blog I've been reading, it's The Harveyville Project by Nikol Lohr.  She is the creator of Yarn School, which I have had the great fortune of attending this past spring and will be attending again this fall!

A bit about said Yarn School...if you love to spin, knit, play with fiber, it is definitely your mecca!  Of course, you can read all the details on the Harveyville website, but here's a brief overview:  It's 4 days of nothing but fibery goodness...learning about different breeds of sheep and other animals that provide spinning fiber, how to wash/prepare a fleece for spinning, hand carding, drum carding, spinning (if you don't know how), dyeing wool, new spinning techniques you may not have considered (art yarns), etc., etc., etc.  It is set in an old rural school building, and you live right there at the school.  The classrooms have been converted into bedrooms.  Meals are served family style, and all the food is homemade with locally grown veggies, etc.  In a word, Yarn School is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  I'm super excited to get to go twice in one year, learn new techniques, meet new friends, and just have a grand time! :)

Other than that, I've been doing well with my food/exercise this week.  I'm proud to say that I'm keeping up!  My in-laws are coming in tomorrow, and on Friday, they plan on making me a belated "birthday dinner."  That will probably blow the calories for that day, but no matter...a girl is allowed a bit of freedom.  My husband also has plans of taking all of us to a fancy restaurant on Saturday that serves at least small portions but very rich food.  So, for a couple of dinners I probably won't be as on the ball as I have been, but believe you me, I will be jumping right back on that wagon.  Hopefully, I'll start seeing results sooner rather than later...I'm committed now! ;)

At any rate, I should get going for now...  Hubby just walked in the door with the healthy dinner for tonight...sushi!  More tomorrow (hopefully...if I can steal a moment away from the in-laws)...

And so it begins...

So, back in March, I started seeing an endocrinologist due to borderline thyroid issues.  After going through a lengthy process of being taken off of all medications, waiting, having more blood work done, etc., there is finally a diagnosis...5 months later.  A reason for being soooo tired for the last 2 years.  A reason for unexplained weight gain of over 50 lbs. in 2 1/2 years (yes, you read that correctly...5-0.  A reason why I didn't feel like me!  That reason is called Hashimoto's thyroiditis.  It is an autoimmune disease, where basically my immune system attacks my thyroid and causes hypothyroidism.  Hypothyroidism is when your thyroid doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone.  It causes (among other things):  fatigue, depression, weight gain, constipation, constantly being cold, and a whole host of other unpleasantness.

It came on very slowly for me.  I suspect that this has been going on for years now because it's always been difficult for me to lose weight, and I've always gained it back in lightening speed.  I got to the point where I felt like if I looked at a piece of cake, I'd gain 5 lbs.  Can you even imagine?

Hashimoto's is very treatable, although uncureable.  Basically, I will need to be on some sort of thyroid hormone replacement therapy for my entire life.  Unfortunately, identifying the best treatment can be a lengthy process (it's taken 2 yrs for me to get here!).  However, I'm proud to say that I think my endocrinologist has found what will work for me.  Now, we are to the tweaking the doseage stage to get me to a point where I can lose the weight I've gained relatively easily and feel like the vibrant 29 year old I should be.

I started my new thyroid treatment back in June, and I feel like a totally different person now!  I feel like the old me again!  The me I used to be in college.  I have energy to clean my house and spend time with my husband while I'm awake.  I have energy to write this blog post!  It's all really amazing!  As I mentioned, I went to the doctor last week, and he is now tweaking my dose because I still gained some weight.  Hopefully, the dose will get straightened out in the next 6 weeks.

The other thing I'm doing is proactively trying to lose weight.  I am working with a personal trainer/nutritionist to eat healthier and exercise.  She has given me a calendar of what to do each day for my workouts, so I don't have to think too much.  I also downloaded an app called "My Fitness Pal."  It's free on iTunes, and I can track my food, workouts, weight loss, and inches lost all from my phone!

I am well on my way to getting healthy and really feeling and looking like my old self again!  I will report back as this journey continues...

Olympic Sports I Could Do

Disclaimer:  After reading my friend Rhonda's blog, I've decided that I need to have more funny posts in my blog and also write about some of the things that cross my mind instead of purely fibery endeavors.  This is a first attempt.  I can't promise that it's funny, but I do promise that it's some thoughts ;)

So, I've been enjoying watching the Winter Olympics and all, but after watching them several times over the last week or so, I've decided that there are other things that should be considered Olympic sports. Since I'm not the most sports-oriented person, these are (I'm convinced) the only things I could win a gold medal in.  Here is my list:

1. Knitting - How would one judge this?  How fast?  Most finished objects?  Or my personal favorite...most Cast on objects :)  Most cast on objects...I'm pretty sure I could win at that ;)
2. Vacuuming - I hate doing it, but if someone were to offer to give me a gold medal for fastest vacuum time, I could be convinced that it's a lovely thing to do and do it faster.
3. Hauling Crap While Climbing Stairs - hands down, I would have the gold medal here.  Our TV is located in our loft upstairs.  We are non-traditional and don't usually sit down at the dining room table for meals...we prefer in front of the TV.  Therefore, we must haul plates of food, drinks, knitting bag, etc. upstairs.  I usually only want to make one trip.  Therefore, I haul all of the above-stated items at one time.  My husband and cat are usually awestruck by this feat of trying not to spill the drink or food or lose my fork.  Personally, I think it helps me burn off whatever calories I'm about to ingest by hauling more ;)
4. Hauling Groceries in the House - Right along with #3, I only want to make one trip from the car.  So...whenever I've gone grocery shopping, I try to take the entire load in one trip.  This means about 9 bags on each arm, the package of toilet paper being held only by my index finger in one hand (make a hole in the plastic for this and either a gallon of milk or case of Diet Coke in the other hand.  You think I'm exaggerating....actually, I'm not!

Umm..that's probably about it.  Signing out...your Hauling Crap While Climbing Stairs Gold Medalist...

It's been awhile!

I'm so bad about keeping up with my blog!  Ahhh well...what has happened since April??  I'll give the condensed version with some pics:

Spinning and knitting have over-taken our house, and hubby fed the frenzy by buying me a loom for my birthday in August.  So, I'm learning to weave too!

Here are some knitting/crocheting finished objects (FOs) over the last several months:

Baby Surprise Jacket for my brother and his wife (due Feb 2010), complete with Lego buttons

Beret in hobbledehoy handspun

Handspun socks, fiber from FLUFF Fibers, superwash merino, Tico

Koolhaas hat in Twisted Fiber Art Lotus, Warlock Evolution

Textured Shawl in Twisted Fiber Art Catnip, Netherfield Evolution

Kiila socks in Twisted Fiber Art Kabaam, Valkyrie Lightening

Handspun Mittens, fiber from Southern Cross Fibre, Polwarth, Hay Sunrise

And, of course, the pièce de résistance, a Girasole shawl for my mom for Christmas, made out of my handspun, fiber from Spunky Eclectic, superwash merino/tencel, Sherwood

Other than that, I have several projects on the needles, including a stocking, a sweater (or 2), socks, a scarf, and soon to be another large shawl.  I'm spinning away, as ever....learning new techniques and really enjoying all things fibery.

Life-wise, work is going well, and hubby is doing great.  We bought a new corvette in June and have been having fun with it ever since (well not now with the snow, but you get the point).  It's cyber metallic gray, and it's very fast and powerful!

Vacations in 2009 consisted of going to New England (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire) in May and Las Vegas in October.  Both were awesome in their own right, and we loved every minute of each vacation.  During the New England trip, I was especially excited about meeting Amy King (of Spunky Eclectic) and Adrian Bizilia (of Hello Yarn), arguably two of the most inspirational spinners/knitters out there.  In Vegas, we lived it up seeing shows and eating well, and I even came away with 2 pairs of Jimmy Choos and a pair of Stuart Weitzmans! :)  Yay shoes!

So, what kinds of resolutions have I made for 2010?

1. I'd like to give all of my lonely 1 sock pairs their mate this year by actually getting over second sock syndrome and finishing those.  I think I have 3-4 that need to be done.
2. I also want to make this afghan of my handspun yarn, which is going to be on its way soon...I already have the fiber!
3. At home, I'd like to get all of the closets in our house organized and simplify things by getting rid of that which we don't need.  I know there are things that we haven't looked at in 5 years in those closets.  No need to keep them!
4. I'm going to get a closet organizer system for our master closet as well.  We went to The Container Store over Christmas, and yeah, I'm pretty sure we need something like this, except a little smaller to fit our walk-in.  This means that I need to get honest with myself about clothing and shoes and what I actually need/wear (see #3).

Anyway, that's it for today.  Maybe I should add #5 to my list of keeping my blog better up-to-date.  Sometimes, I feel like no one is reading it, though! ;)