Narnia Redux

I took the camera with me when the dogs and I went for a walk on Thursday.  I've been taking them for a walk whenever it got up close to freezing.  We haven't had snow in weeks but the temps just haven't let it melt.

The road can be a little slick in spots and I have slipped a couple of times but its' really not too bad as long as I bundle up good.  It's good to get out of the house.

The high desert is pretty in its own stark way.   The phone call I've been waiting for came yesterday.  I'm finally getting trained on the new school district library catalog and my first day to sub will be Tuesday.  I'll be at North Valleys High School all day - no more cabin fever for me.

Meanwhile, I've been working on the lap robe for our grandson's Waldorf school fundraiser later this spring.  We're going to San Francisco for "grandparents day" in March and I'd like to have this finished before then.

I finished the yarn bomb for our gate but I can't sew it on until it gets warmer.  My fingers don't work when they're that cold.  I will have it on the gate by Superbowl Sunday, no matter what.

Today it's 40 degrees, warm enough to melt snow finally, but the ground is frozen so there's no where for it to go and no more walking until this stage passes.  The dogs don't like it.  I don't like it.

My sister-in-law just shipped Alexia's toys that got left behind at New Years.  She brought along a tote of My Littlest Pet Shops and generously shared them with the other children, which kept them entertained and us grateful.  I never knew you could get Campbell tartan packing tape.  I want some!

And aren't these little paper packing "peanuts" interesting.  I'm wondering how they could be used in a craft project.  They're just too interesting to throw away.  Anyone seen these?  Anyone know what to do with them??

Narnia

These are what have become known as sock loopers.  They're manu-
facturers waste, the part of the sock attached to the sock loom and then cut off.  They've found a use among weavers and other crafters.

I'm looping them together and using them to weave a bathmat.  I bought these loopers for Alexia to weave potholders with but she's lost interest and I have just been storing them.  They've become part of my stash reduction program as well as a useful item.  We need a new bathmat.  Another motive is keeping warm.  This is the warmest room in the house.


I sorted through the box of yarns, then separated and bagged the yarns by color and returned the box to the garage. I have selected these for my first sweater.  I'm sure there have to be five more sweaters of yarn in the box.  I've decided to go mild on the first one but to use everything, I'm going to have to go wild.

I was going to throw these bits of yarn away that I found in the bottom of the box.  Then I realized that all those colors together would make a good yarn bomb and I decided who the perfect recipient would be.  Me!

I waited until it warmed up to 18 degrees and then bundled up so I could take some measurements at the gate.  We're going to have a Superbowl Party and I want it to be done and installed by then.

The dogs were really disap-
pointed at the brevity of our "walk."  They had been dancing all around me because it's been two weeks at least since I've walked them.  That's how long it's been below freezing and some mornings, below zero.

It's beautiful but so cold.  The air hurts to breathe and to think that my parents lived in Fairbanks when I was born.  Because I had asthma and bronchitis, they eventually moved to San Diego.  I wanted to live in a place that has four seasons, but I didn't expect to live in Narnia, where it's always winter but never Christmas.  We're going to warm up soon and then I'll be back to complain about the mud.

International Yarn Bomb Day

Melissa is installing the bombs on the first tree of the River Walk - we had selected three trees to bomb.

This is the finished tree.

I'm tying on the finishing flowers of the second tree.
This is the finished tree. If you click for big you see that the top one says Mom, but it's facing off to the left and I forgot to get an enlargement of it.
This is the third tree, also the largest. I realized that the strips I was knitting wouldn't fit around it but only had time to make this one before today. I think with the crocheted flowers that it is very effective - just wish I had taken the time to make more flowers. It took a surprising amount of time for each one.
Two teenage boys came along, quite loaded, but one was so curious that he struck up a conversation and ended up taking this picture of us. He asked if we had done all of them and then made a sweeping motion. Apparently there were many in the park. We had already seen a small one.
I didn't have time to look around - I had just enough time to scoot out to St. Michael's in Stead to set up our booth. That's a local joke. Someone says, I live in Stead, and someone else asks, Instead of where? This was a first year event with 30 booths, this is the one I shared with Carol and Kerry. We didn't do well but we had a great time. Homemade tamales were on sale for $1.00 and we each ended up eating three! When Carol knew that I was going to church tomorrow and went to place a order - I did too. I've never gone to Spanish mass, but I've always wanted to. Tomorrow is the day.
Afterwards I met DD Chris and Alexia for dinner at a Mexican restaurant in Stead. I had missed Alexia's dance at the studio recital, for I felt very sorry, but Chrissie said it was over in three minutes and ended with Alexia sobbing because of something that happened at the end. I got the best part of the deal. The girl in her gown. She does cute very well.

Oddly, when I pulled up to the house and opened the gate, the Mexican ranch just west of us was having a riding event and I could hear their Tex-Mex music all the way up to the gate. Ironic.

First Day of Spring

I've finished spinning the first skeins from Sven, a Shetland wether and a gift from Kathy Lefevre at Sheep Thrills Farms in Flagstaff last year. His fleece is lovely and black, so I emailed her and reserved his fleece for next year. This years fleece is taken.
I also got the Cascade 220 yarn wound today for my trip knitting. We leave a week from Friday for the Pacific Northwest, a visit with my sister-in-law on the Columbia River, camping in Florence with Amy, Black Sheep Gathering and a week with DS and family in Bend. It's coming up so fast.
My new lavendar soap starting in its three-week cure cycle. I called the Soap Saloon in Sacramento yesterday to place an order - I've bought supplies from them for at least ten years. MJ the owner answered the phone and we ended up chatting for quite a while. I hung up with so many ideas.
I've decided to try a lemon bar next time so I asked Ian to get me some lemonade with pulp and some lemons. He didn't find lemonade with pulp so I made lemon zest with these and will juice them into the liquid. It might be a good idea. I might be a terrible idea. I'll let you know either way.
I had planned to install my yarn bombs on the River Walk Saturday for International Yarn Bomb Day, but now I've obligated myself for a craft fair. My in-town day is Wednesday so I've decided I'm just going to have to leave here early and put them up tomorrow. I should be able to get them up in an hour. I'm more worried about being challenged by authorities so am getting my lies, I mean my stories in order.

It was absolutely lovely today. We got up to 66.6 for a high and were finally able to open the windows and let the woodstove die down - our firewood is nearly depleted. The house got so warm that we still have a couple of windows open this evening. It's been a treat to hear the birds and breeze. It's not been a treat to have the Scotch broom suddenly in the house with attendant sneezing.

I thought you might enjoy a little humor from Lake Tahoe.

Life is Good

First of all, I want to say that I contacted the artist and I ordered this print last night, which will come signed. I reasoned that I sold yarn last week and had disposable income. I would never remember how I spent that money but if I spend it on this print, I will never forget it, and I have $2 left to the good. I have a wonderful watercolor in the bedroom that I bought from the year I won the basketball pool. It cost considerably more to frame it. I suspect I'm doing to run into that here.
I have gone to ground, i.e., sitting on the sofa, so my activities are knitting and reading until the strain in my back improves. I made it worse because I wouldn't give in that first day, but finally this morning the swelling was down and Ian found the nerve lumps and worked them loose. OUCH. So I knitted this hat while sitting. I need to know anyway what yardage to use for crimpy yarns in hat kits. This is Targhee and it doesn't get much crimpier than that!
I cannot face knitting on a winter sweater so I turned my attention to making my yarn bombs. International Yarn Bomb day is just a month away - June 11th. I had targeted three trees but realize I can probably only do one very well and two pretty well.

I had checked out a book from the library a month ago on crocheted flowers - it was display in the new books area. I got the idea a couple of days ago of filling in between my yarn bombs with crocheted flowers. This was the simple flower - I can do simple. I used up a lot of yarn from my bag of handspun but moth eaten yarns. Then I got the idea of adding a button in the middle. The one on the bottom left is an Eddie Bauer button - pretty funny. I think the whole cast is going to be pretty funny.

Here's where my friend Linda Lu is coming from Washington for the Jennifer Moore weaving workshop and I won't be back online until next week. I'm not going to the workshop, but I get to hear her opening lecture and I get Linda - for a week! Life is good.

Ian and I watched Sweetgrass tonight on Netflix. It's a documentary about the last sheep drive, high into the Beartooth Mountains of Montana for summer pasture, and the end of a way of life as shepherds no longer have have access to public lands for grazing. We were fascinated to watch the drive and then the two men and their many dogs who stayed with the bands of sheep for the summer, deliberately moving thousands of sheep over mountainous terrain and keeping them safe from predators like bears - no small deal. I'm left with wondering what the next chapter will be for large flocks of American sheep, if there will be a next chapter for large flocks.

Catching Up

My Fisher Price Little People came today. I have been shopping for some ever since grandson Noah was here and complained for the second visit that we didn't have any. Buster ate ours when he was a puppy and the grandkids have limped along on two not-too-badly chewed ones. But it upsets Noah. I did the shop-local thing and couldn't find any, so shopped online and did no better, so went to eBay as a last resort. I saw a number of attractive auctions but the shipping and handling was between $15-$20 dollars. I know when I'm being had. Then I found this lady. I won the auction for $5.50 and paid $7.00 for shipping. She is now a favorite vendor with me!
Alexia left this behind from her last visit. As you can see, she was doing her best to play, but you really need people. She cobbled together some Lego pieces to fill in. I'm feeling like a totally remiss grandma.
It has also been hard for her that her fluffy bunny has no right eye. Buster also ate that. She put a Logo wheel in his eye hole last visit and so I decided to find something to fill the space.

I couldn't find a craft eye to sew on so I chose a star button instead. I figure the kids see stranger body pieces with cartoon Animae, so a star should be just the ticket.
I finished a bomb this week and have the perfect place to install it, but it's pouring rain and has been pouring all day, with the forecast continuing through tomorrow. I had planned to install it in the morning but now am hoping for better conditions Saturday morning.

My computer has been dragging downwards for the last week or two - not sure as it just got slowly worse. Ian and I spent hours on it and today spent time on the internet looking up key words. The culprit seems to have been a toolbar that installed in a browser update. I appear to have dodged serious malware, but will be on the alert for future browser "improvements." No thanks. I'm trying to cut down.

I Choose Cuddly

Little Sharon had a project to work on while they were here, just as she did last February. Noah attends Waldorf School and this is when the classrooms create fundraisers for tuition. Last year Sharon was knitting for a farmyard. This year the project is a rug braided from roving.
She got a helper she hadn't bargained on. Sir Charles had to be manually removed - behind closed doors. He became very stimulated by the movements on this project.
I made this bomb while the kids were here and sent it home with them. I asked Little Sharon to install it somewhere in her neighborhood and then send me a picture.
Meanwhile, I got this one up. All the while I was sewing, an occasional bank of snow would slide from the roof. I'm thrilled we all survived. I hope my bomb survives this hibernation period because no one will see it until it's warm enough to go outdoors.


And the forecasters prediction for another foot and a half of snow which I have been in total denial about? I choose cuddly, as being happy by the woodstove. I won't look outside and see that there's already an inch of snow on the deck. It's just an inch - it won't be joined by another 11" just like it, surely.

Valentine's Day Guerilla Knitting

And here it is.

Lotsa Color

After I walked the dogs this morning, I decided to tackle the loom and at least get the warp tied on and the hem stitch done. I guess I was making a lot of noise because Charlie left his bed in the sun and decided to check up on me.
I've added a new piece of equip-
ment. Can you see what it is, and no, it's not my New York Yankees water glass. That's a very expensive plastic glass. I paid $10 to have it filled with Bud Light at the game. I probably would have paid that for the glass. Anyway, it's the USPS box on the floor. I've discovered that it's perfect for yarn balls that I want to wind onto bobbins. The balls stay in the box and don't bounce all over the carpet collecting cat hair. (I have a special vacuum for that.)
It's nice to have enough shuttles for all my colors. Theresa said the last time I made this blanket that it represented a lot of ends. It still does. But this time I have Laura's mother's shuttles and don't have to shuffle bobbins.
This baby boy will be born in May in California, and more speci-
fically, Laker country. Two important colors here are University of Nevada Wolfpak blue and Laker gold. All other colors are secondary - I had to work around those two.
As always, I had an error, but this was my first time to need a string heddle. Can you see it? The gold vertical line? This was the absolute easiest warp I have ever had, thanks to Lisa's suggestion that I tie the tops of crosses with one color and the bottoms with another. Had I not caught a killer cold from, could it be Satan? (think Dana Carvey), this would have been done by now. I'm in love with this new trick and almost wrenched my shoulder patting my back at my successful heddle repair.
I asked Ian to pick up some new potatoes from Trader Joe's - the union office is nearby. We have gone through all of ours and I wanted them to go with broiled fish fillets. I love the package - allow me to digress: "Hi. I'm a bag of Trader Joe's gold potatoes. My best friends are cream, butter, and gravy. I dig hot places, family meals and long walks on the beach." I steamed them and yes, we had them with butter.
I realized tonight that once I "release this into the wild" I may never see it again. It's not like gifting a sweater or scarf. It might be stolen, desecrated and certainly damaged by the weather. The only memories I will have are the pictures I take. I could just put it in my own tree, but that's not the point. I dreamed about installing yarn bombs all night last night, and today I realize this isn't going to be as easy as I had thought.

Meanwhile, Alettte asked me what I meant by yarn bombs. I meant to answer her on her blog but I can't read Norwegian, though I do understand her photos of knitting. You can read about yarn bombs at Wiki here though it's an incomplete report. Walnut Creek, California removed a yarn bomb, saying no one can decorate public property without permission. It's meant as public art, but there's always that component of government in the middle. Allison tells me that this is her local level participation in Knit for Peace. I'm still thinking and hoping that my local government is nice but yarn bombs are a leap of faith. I realize that I have to be content in knowing that my work might be destroyed. Lots to think about here.