Mum On The Move

Still no pictures ... I suck.

It has been a horrendous two days. Yesterday morning at the ungodly hour of 8am I drove into the parking lot of the hospital to be greeted by 3 fire trucks, 2 ambulances and an assortment of police vehicles. It would appear that someone was brought into the ER and put into isolation. This person did not want to be in isolation so they decided to try and burn down the hospital. Hello and welcome to Canada.

Last night my brother's brain went snap crackle pop and he started shouting at me in my Mum's room that the only reason I came home was to take all her money. And that if I really cared about her I would have come home a year ago. Not to mention that I'm a horrible, selfish person who doesn't give a rat's ass about anyone but herself.

I hate to point out the obvious but my Mum was little upset.

So today was spent entirely at the hospital reassuring her that my brother hadn't scared me off and that I would be hanging around. We're moving her to the hospice tomorrow so she's a little unsettled about that as well.

Then my brother showed up at dinner when my Mum was asleep, apologized all over himself, started crying and left.

Having a great time, wish you were here.

Mum Update

No pictures again today. No computer as a matter of fact. I'm sitting in the local Kinkos paying good money to access the Internet. The things one will do to get online. Mum's ISP can't seem to find the Internet so here I am.

Mum is being moved to a hospice this week. Which is really outstanding news. It's run by the Salvation Army and they only charge $40 a day for a private room. Mum's Canada Pension will more than cover the cost. They have 24/7 medical staff, counsellors (did I spell that right? I'm too lazy too look it up), pretty much everything my Mum will need to live out her remaining months ... years ... we really don't know. I have a meeting with my Mum's GP tomorrow to get an update on her prognosis. Then a meeting with the Social Worker who's handling the transistion.

I'm mulling over the idea of moving back to Canada if it turns out that Mum will be around for a while. I'll just take over the lease on her suite which is much, much nicer than my apartment. Except all the walls are painted pale lavender. ALL the walls. Why would someone paint an entire suite purple? And there are mirrors EVERYWHERE. Mirrors are not my friend. Mirrors yell, "Hey, April, do you really need another pastry?" Perhaps I could cover them with towels.

Re: my yarn posting from yesterday. As lovely as Needful Yarns "Piccadilly" is to look at, only someone with a death wish would attempt lace with a yarn that's actually three strands wound to look like one but that instantly fling themselves apart as soon as you start knitting. I'm sure someone will love it as a garter stitch scarf.

When In Canada

... one should buy Canadian yarn. Or at least yarn imported by a Canadian distributor.

Yes, I brought my camera to Canada. No, my Mother does not have a card reader. I'm off to investigate the local Kinko's tomorrow to see if I can somehow get my photos uploaded. In the interim I'm stealing other people's pictures.

This is Needful Yarns "Piccadilly." It is 54% nylon, 24% acrylic, 20% mohair and 2% lurex. Not the most natural of yarns but I really like it. My Mother happens to live down the street from a yarn shop called "Wool And Wicker." It is a delightful little shop but it's also one of those places that have the yarn stuffed into bins. You know, the kind where if you pull out one ball, the rest of the bin falls out? Yeah, one of those. And their yarns are arranged by color.

But after spending the morning at the hospital with my Mom, I was in need of some yarn therapy. I brought two projects with me to work on but they're both relatively easy. I needed something to get lost in.

This is Fiber Trends "Streaming Leaves Lace" scarf. I'm going to make it in the green colorway of the Piccadilly, number 307 on the thinger card above. I hope it all comes together.

In other news, my brother is leasing me his cat while I'm here. Her name is Lola and she's a roly poly calico with the sweetest personality. Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.

Signs You're In Canada

Everyone is driving slower than you'd like.

The speed limit signs are in kilometres.

Two hours after crossing the border you're in the pub.

More tomorrow.

April, eh.

Lace Land

I'm participating in a lace swap that is very cool. Basically you send your swap pal the yarn AND the pattern to make something lovely. And you can throw in whatever else you feel like. Well today I got my package and I am THRILLED.

This is 1,533 yards of Grignasco Merino Silk. I think this may very well be the ultimate lace yarn. It is so soft and I think it's going to drape beautifully. I am quite in love with it. And the color is much nicer than my crappy picture shows. The composition is 75% Merino Extrafine and 25% silk. And this is the pattern which came with it ...

Here we are looking at Fiddlestick's Paisley Long Shawl, or as I now refer to it, my life's work. Is it not gorgeous? This is truly something to aspire to. And I am DYING to start it. But I'm thinking I might need a little more lace practice. Considering I've done ... one lace scarf and half of a pair of lace socks. But maybe I could just do the gauge swatch to *see* what it'll look like.

Is it too early to think about Christmas? So I can set up my tree and put these darling ornaments on it? In case it's not obvious, it's a measuring cup and a hand beater. Because I like to bake and all.

These are my two new best friends. In a startling burst of originality I have named them "Knit" and "Purl." Andy thinks they're cat toys. If I could make things like these two little guys I'd die a happy woman. Aren't they adorable? They're going to keep me company on my drive back to Canada. I love them, I want some more! My Pal also sent me some lemon drops and orange drops which are safely stowed in the car for consumption on the Big Trip Home.

And where did all these wonderful gifts come from? My Lace Swap Pal Extraordinaire, Rosanna. Who, ironically, lives in Canada. So basically everything she sent me, except for the ornaments, is going back from whence it came.

THANK YOU, ROSANNA !!!!

I've lost count, is this my sixth trek bag or my seventh?

Regardless, I do believe it's my favorite. And check out those wonderful stitch markers (well, if you can) at the top of the bag. They are the PERFECT size for sock needles. PERFECT. I'd swap just for the stitch markers. That trek ... she's a genius.

Homeward Bound

Summers at the lake. Where three room cabins, named after birds, held my family and the families of my parent’s friends. Somehow we always ended up in “Swallow”, the last one in the row. I would share a room with my younger brother, Kenny. The cabins were so close to the lake you could hear the waves at night.

We drove to the lake in my Dad’s ’65 Rambler. I would sit in the back seat and throw up most of the way. When you’re only eight years old, 350 miles by car is quite the journey.

My family is gearing up for another journey. This time though there won’t be any need for air mattresses or bug repellent. It’s doubtful that anyone will be snapping pictures of sun burnt children fishing off the end of a dock. I’m not planning on buying any marshmallows or boxes of Aunt Jemima pancake mix.

Instead, on Saturday, I’m going to get in my car and drive 1,200 miles North back to Canada. My Mum has cancer and it’s time to trade positions. Instead of her waiting on me hand and foot, as she has for the last 46 years, I’ll be the one making the tea and cooking ham steaks with mashed potatoes and peas. I’ll make sure she has clean clothes and that the bathroom is just as pristine as it always was.

She brought me into this world and now it’s time for me to help her out of it.

Ha! No Knitting Here!

Well I did have a few knitting related pictures to post. I got some of the new sock yarn from Knit Picks today, the 100% Merino in the "Yukon" colorway. But my memory card seems to have forgotten the picture because it's not there and I'm too lazy tonight to retake it. I also took a picture of the dishcloth I knit yesterday for my co-worker, Iris. Iris collects anything that has a lighthouse on it. I found this lovely pattern at knittingpatterncentral.com and worked it up for her in Sugar 'N Cream's "Hot Blue." Think turquoise, there was nothing hot about it. However, the motif did not show up in the picture I took. What point would there be in posting a picture of a blue dishcloth? I mean ... really.

So what have I got instead? Recycled quilting pictures!!! Yay, recycled quilting pictures!!! I'm sure someone out there hasn't seen these before. If you have, just shush and go read the Yarn Harlot.

I made this for my Mum's cat. It was only my second or third quilt so I figured if I said it was for a cat it wouldn't matter if I screwed it up royally. The purple fabric has little grey mice and hunks of cheese on it. The white fabric has black paw prints on it. I kinda wish I'd kept it for myself. But Sofa Bubby loves it and that's what matters most.

This is a charity quilt I made for a neonatal unit in Michigan. I don't know anyone in Michigan and I'm not even sure of the name of the hospital it went to. Fascinating, eh? But some lady posted a request for quilts on a forum I belonged to so I thought what the heck. Blah, blah, blah. Why yes, I do like rail fence quilts, how'd ya know?

This is a quilt that's still in progress after 3 years. I obviously underestimated the time that it would take me to cut out 573 rectangles. Not to mention the focus it would require. That's Sam, who was closely supervising the activity that day. As you can see, his crunchy bowl is within paw's reach so he doesn't need to leave his post. Sam went to kitty heaven last year after 17 years of being a goofball. But a most loved goofball.

Maybe we'll have knitting pictures tomorrow. If not, well there's always MORE RECYCLED QUILTING PICTURES.

Speechless Times Two

How is it possible to blog one week about the need for a swift and then have one show up on your doorstep the next week? What magical person could make this happen? Of course you've all guessed by now, I'm sure. It's the work of my Other No Longer Secret Pal, Valerie!!! Yes, I'm quite sure you'd all like me to introduce you to her so you could convince her that you too need an Other Secret Pal but forget it! She's mine! This woman's generosity is beyond comprehension. I'm quite sure I've never met anyone like her before. But for heaven's sake, Valerie, you need to STOP now. The swap is OVER. However, I'm sure my gratitude for all the wonderful gifts you've bestowed on me will never be over. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything.

Here's what you can make with a super fantastic swift like mine. Perfect little yarn cakes, not too loose, not too tight. Am I the only one who's overly particular about how tight their yarn cakes are wound? Probably.

This is item # 2 which left me speechless today ...

Have you EVER seen yarn saturated with so much color? Is this some amazing stuff or what? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Dave is the Monet Of Yarn. Obviously I liked these two skeins when I saw them on his website, I did order them after all. But when I opened the box today I couldn't believe my eyes. I am simply in love with both of them. I think the yellow looks like liquid sunshine. It's 50% silk and 50% wool. If you're in a position to treat yourself, I can't recommend this blend highly enough. Next to baby alpaca, I've never felt yarn so soft and silky. The coral on the left is 100% merino and feels terrific as well. I love the varigation in this and it's got a really tight twist. Fabulous stuff! Thank you, Dave, for making such beautiful yarn!

Sock designing software, how cool is this? So many times I've seen interesting stitch patterns and wished I'd had socks with that pattern. With this software all you do is plunk in the pattern, choose your heel and toe and what kind of needles you want to use and it spits out the instructions for making the socks. I don't really think of that as "designing" per se. I mean, doesn't the term "design" imply it's something new you thought up all by yourself? Regardless, I think it'll be fun. And we can always use more fun around here.

Bread

Today's rant is brought to you by the staff of life, aka bread. I like bread. I like bread even more than cake, believe it or not. I particularly like bread that doesn't taste like it's been processed sixteen times. You know the kind, a real hearty wheat bread, maybe it's got some weird seeds or oats thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately I live in the Bay Area. Apparently there's some kind of weird law that the only bread you can get in the Bay Area is this crap.

Sourdough. I hate sourdough. I don't care if it is the "State Bread." Well ... I don't know if we have a State bread but if we did it would be sourdough. This bread is CHEWY. Bread is not meant to be chewy. Gummi bears are chewy. Licorice is chewy. Bread, bread is not meant to be chewy. Or sour for that matter. It's called sourdough for a reason you know. I'm telling you, it is IMPOSSIBLE to make a decent peanut butter and banana sandwich with sourdough bread. Or any of those other "artisan" breads. We have a *lot* of artisan breads in California. Do you have artisan breads where you live? Artisan means you can charge $3.50 for a loaf of bread that is not only chewy, but will start growing mold two days after you buy it. And you buy it in a paper and cellophane bag which guarantees you will not just have moldy bread but stale bread too.

So I went online tonight to see if I could get some decent bread that way. I googled "bread online" and the first website was The Daily Bread. Great, I thought, they probably ship every day. Hello? A daily devotional? I want bread, for Pete's sake, not religion. God may have created peanut butter and bananas but he's not likely to make me a sandwich. I checked a bunch of other sites but really, I don't want to buy six loaves at once. Do you have good bread where you live? Would you send me a loaf?

In knitting news ...

The sock continues to grow.

I continue to buy yarn.

This is Stacey Charles "Ritratto." Uh, mohair, nylon and something else. I love the colors, they make me think of maple leaves. Something lacey maybe. It's a DK weight, about 190 yards a ball. So two balls should be enough for a little scarf. I would really like to make a cardigan from this as well. If I was rich, that is.

Beaded knitting needles - what will they think of next? They're from Growingzoe.com; I originally saw them in the Fall issue of Vogue Knitting. These needles are a size 13 but her website says she's happy to make them in whatever size you'd like. I wonder if the beads are heavy enough to throw your gauge off though?

Ick, someone's been in the litter box. Bye.

Color Me Amazed

Last week I posted a mini-tirade about a new employee at one of my favorite yarn stores. The gist of the post was that this individual could use some serious improvement in her customer service skills. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt because I myself can be *ahem* difficult to deal with at times. But this woman had just rubbed me the wrong way too many times. Could I be the only one she annoyed? I didn't think so. And this yarn store has the best selection of Koigu anywhere, they HAVE to stay in business. Plus everyone else that works there is capital D delightful.

I had the day off from work today so of course I went back to the yarn store to see if there was anything new I needed to own. I know that one or two of the other ladies that work there read my blog. I wasn't too sure if I was going to be poked to death with knitting needles or not. I couldn't have been more wrong. As it turned out, my little rant was the icing on the cake (cake? did someone say CAKE?). Miss Unpleasant is no longer an employee at my Koigu haven. And (you'd better sit down for this part) the owner of the store presented me with a VERY generous gift certificate for taking the time to bring this issue to their attention. Did I say VERY generous? I meant VERY VERY generous. As in, when I opened the envelope the first words out of my mouth were, "Holy shit."

So dear readers, it would appear that we do have a voice when it comes to our LYS. If someone could use some remedial customer service training, it's up to you to speak up. In this day and age of online shopping the real advantage your LYS has is in the service they provide. Without our feedback, the snippy snot behind the cash register will continue to stuff eight balls of yarn into a two inch bag and throw your change at you. All while chatting with her best friend on the phone.

Now on to much happier subjects. She struck AGAIN !!!

My Other Secret Pal, who is no longer secret (Hi, Valerie!) has done it again. She's a crazy woman, she is. What we have here, from left to right, is a 9" X 5" loaf pan made from silicone (can it REALLY go in the oven?), a postcard of a pig fountain and mmmmm lemon curd. I am a citrus-aholic and could eat this stuff with a spoon right out of the jar. But that makes my tummy not very happy. You can use it as a spread or as pseudo-icing for .... lemon bread! See the connection? Lemon bread - loaf pan - lemon curd. That Valerie, she's a smart one. And not just because she has the letters p, h and d after her name.

THANK YOU OTHER NO LONGER SECRET PAL !!!

Finally, something new from Regia. I bought some bamboo yarn a few months back from South West Trading Company and HATED it. So I was a little reluctant to even touch this stuff. But once I did ... oh my. This yarn is ultra soft and destined to be a pair of socks. It's made from 45% bamboo, 40% superwash wool and 15% polyamid from the polyamid sheep. Be on the look out for this, it's nummy.

98% Animal, 2% Kid

I had hoped to have the first of the Yukon Leaves sock done by tonight. I may have underestimated a wee bit. I also did virtually no knitting yesterday because my shoulder was being stupid. But when knitting starts to make your back spasm it's time to put down the needles. In lieu of knitting pictures, we have the old standby ... horses, kids and a dog.

Savannah, who when asked if she wanted to come live with me, got a very serious look on her face and inquired, "Is your house dirty or clean?" And later in the day demanded we do a complete inspection of my car in case there "might be some presents in there." I don't remember being quite so outspoken when I was four. Of course, that was when dinosaurs walked the earth.

Markie, Cailie, and Red

Sophie

General

My very favorite horse at the barn, General. He's also the youngest. Frightening, no? He's only three, so he'll continue growing for the next two years. Let's not think about how big he's going to be. He's not even broke to ride and already he towers over all the other horses in the barn. But sweet? Oh my God, he's like an oversized puppy.

"Carrots?"

Here's Savannah's sister, Alexandra, off for her lesson. Damn kid rides better than I do. I swear, kids have NO fear when it comes to horses. I jump on a horse and the first thing I think of is how far down it is. I'm going to try and catch up with Alexandra so I'm starting lessons this week. I hope they have Internet access at the hospital.

Oh, I do have kntting news. Well yarn news anyways. Sort of. Dave has stocked his Cabin Cove Mercantile with a ton of new and wonderful yarns. Go over and check them out but leave some for ME. I'm serious, if that store is sold out by payday all you'll see on this blog for the next week are pictures of horse poop. Don't even think about suggesting that that would be an improvement ...

98% Cat, 2% Knitting

I need a smaller digital camera. One that will fit in my purse so that I can take fascinating pictures throughout the course of the day. Pictures that will amaze and delight you. But the camera upgrade has to wait for payday, just like everything else. So instead you get pictures of my stupid cats and a sock.

The Supermodel

Miss Hiss

Mr. Yes I'm Really As Stupid As I Look

And the sock. Which is now ready to have heel flappage start. What is it about lace that's so dang addicting? I mean the thrill should wear off after the first completed pattern repeat, right? Not in my world. I don't know what I'm expecting this sock to do. Sing? Dance? Unravel magically on it's own and then re-knit itself? Turn into the sheep it came from? I can't put the stupid thing down. And you can't even really see the pattern. It just looks like a pile of lumpy yarn.

In other news, I've joined "Socks For Soldiers." Since I don't want to turn this blog into a pro war or anti war statement I will simply say that I think it's for a good cause. No one should have cold feet so I am going to knit Big Black Socks. I have my Department of Defense approved pattern and my Department of Defense approved yarn and I'm all ready to start knitting black socks that are ... 14 ... inches ... long. In stockinette stitch. On US size 1's.

AHAHAHAHAHAHA !!!.

I will be increasing my medication accordingly.

The Long And Winding Road

I need a swift ...

I don't want to wind any of these skeins into a ball. Usually I'm pretty good about winding yarn as soon as I get it but I seem to have gotten a bit behind here. So now it seems like a very daunting task to get all these wound up and then make them into neat little yarn cakes. I think a swift is definitely in order. Please disregard the messy end of my Harlot's Mums (second skein from the left) - the furry paws of mayhem got his claws into it.

One of my favorite yarn stores has hired an incompetent ditz. Why do I say she's incompetent? Well two weeks ago she wound a ball of yarn for me into a little yarn cake. After she gave it to me, I asked her, "Where's the end?" She looked rather condescendingly at me and replied, "In the middle." Now I don't know about you but one of the joys of having your yarn wound into a yarn cake is so that you can easily find the end. She then added, "Do you need me to FIND it for you?" I handed it back to her. After about 5 minutes she returned the ball to me with about 10 yards of yarn vomit pulled from the center, warning me not to complain about the vomit because after all, she had wound it correctly and it was my fault because I couldn't find the end. After I had knit my way through the yarn vomit I had to forcibly pull the yarn from the center because the ball was wound so tight.

Tonight I asked her if the store carried "Oat Couture" patterns. "What?" she answered. "Oat Couture, I think you carry their patterns. Do you know where they are?" I asked again. "I have no idea," the helpful clerk replied. She then returned to the store's Sweater Wizard where she was printing out a pattern for a customer. "How many stitches do I cast on?" wondered the newbie customer, holding a ball of chunky weight in her hand. "156 stitches," the clerk answered. The customer looked at me, somewhat confused. I looked at the clerk and asked, "Is she knitting the body in one piece on circular needles?" "No," snipped the clerk, "156 stitches on a straight for the back." In chunky weight. You may be thinking at this time that this had to be one particularly large customer but she wasn't. Turns out Miss Delightful had inadvertently doubled the measurement the customer gave her. Hello? Even if all you did was plug in the numbers, wouldn't you question the reasonableness of knitting 156 stitches of chunky weight for the back of a sweater?

Since the skein I need for the second Baby Cable Rib sock is one that needs to be wound, I decided to start another sock. This is the Yukon Leaves pattern by Lela Conrad. Yes, I know you can't see the pattern in the picture. So go here to see a particularly drool worthy rendition. I am using ... Koiguuuuuuuuuu on size US 1. I like the Koigu on the 1's. It's firm but still has a bit of give.

Finally, the moment the entire world has been waiting for. The winner of today's mini contest is that baaaaaad girl herself, Sheepish Annie. Please to send snail mail info to Sakkasie@hotmail.com . Gracias, no queso por favor.

Yo, It's A Mini-Contest

Blah, blah, blah, I have no knitting content tonight. Why? Stupid horses. As God is my witness, as well as all the people in the blogsphere, I will never complain about cleaning a litter box again. Because cleaning a litter box pales in comparison to cleaning a stall. And I'm not even horse sitting any more. But I was at the barn and busy hands are happy hands. Cleaning stalls isn't really difficult. The difficult part is when you have a horse that wants to help. Sniff, sniff. "Is this MY poop?" Sniff, sniff. "Is this rake edible?" Sniff, sniff. "Are there treats in your pocket?" Nibble, nibble. "Mmm, this is one tasty t-shirt you've got on." Sniff, sniff. "Is this really MY poop?" Lick, lick. "I think there's something edible in your ear." Pfffffttttt. "Oh, excuse me, it's the alfalfa."

So let's have a little contest, eh? No massive prize baskets or thousand dollar gift certificates to Yarnmarket. Nope, just one lonely little ball of yarn.

Lana Grossa, 80% superwash wool, 20% polyamid and enough to make a pair of sockies. Would probably make a lovely pair of fall socks. Or Christmas. Give it as a gift at Christmas! Use it instead of twist ties on your garbage bags. Whatever your muse tells you to do. How do you win this lonely little ball of yarn? Leave a comment. Doesn't really matter what you say. "April, you run sucky contests." "April, enough with the Koigu promotions." "April, we're sick of hearing about horses." "April, you are the most wonderful person in Blogland." At 11pm PST tomorrow night (after Law & Order) I'll pull a name out of a really ugly crocheted hat. That hideous blue thing I made with the fun fur fringe. Yes, really. And someone will win this little ol' ball of yarn. I may throw something else in the package like say .... Andy! So enter. It'll be fun. More fun than a barrel of Andys.

In the mail yesterday ...

Another ORIGINAL trek sock bag! Tres elegant wouldn't you say? This would be an appropriate bag for knitting at the symphony. This puts my current collection at 4 "on hand" sock bags and 1 "missing" sock bag (thank you, Andy). And rumor has it, work has begun on the Garden Gnome bags. I hope I remembered to pre-order. Since I know trek's snail mail address by heart and all.

One Of Two

Well here's half a pair of socks. A day over "my sock #1 completion plan" but that's OK. As mentioned before, this is Koiguuuu which was sent to me by the world's greatest secret pal. On US 2's using the Baby Cable Rib pattern from Charlotte Schurch's "Sensational Knitted Socks." In retrospect, I wish I had used 1's and continued the cable rib pattern down through the instep. Once sock #2 is done, I'll take a better close-up picture.

In the mail today, from Scout's Hand Painted Swag we have Harlot's Mums. An interesting colorway, wouldn't you agree? I was going to do something lacey with this but I think the colors are too strong. If anyone has any fabulous ideas as to what this should become please let me know.

Get Yer Drool On

Is. this. not. gorgeous? Oh my word. This came in the mail on Thursday and I finally Lysol-ed the counter enough so that I could place this work of art on it to take a picture. You think I'm kidding don't you? I'm not. This yarn terrifies me. It is so beautiful and feels so wonderful that I'm afraid to touch it. It's 50% silk and 50% merino wool and has a sheen that seems to come from within. This is from Dave's shop, Cabin Cove Mercantile. If you haven't checked out his yarn, you MUST. This young man is the Monet of Yarn. I'm thinking of framing the skein.

Scooping horse poop is seriously impeding the progress on the Baby Cable Rib sock. Did you know that the average horse poops 35 pounds of manure PER DAY? I cleaned six stalls last night, that's 210 pounds of poop. Is it any wonder I need to have a nap every time I come home from the barn? Anyway, I'm finished with the gusset decreases and just need to do the footie and the toesies. My original plan was to have the first sock done this weekend. We can only hope.

I am not exactly what you would call a "child expert." I have no nieces or nephews and very few of my friends have children. Which means I pretty much talk to children like I talk to adults, except with the cuss word filter firmly in place. So when Savannah, my BEST FRIEND, asked me today, "Able, where does the wind come from?" I told her "God has gas." Now how was I to know that she would promptly run screaming the length of the barn, "Mommy, the leaves are blowin' cuz God ate beans!"

Note: Apparently "April" is a hard word to wrap your mouth around when you're only 4. So my new name is now "Able."

Horsin' Around

It may come as a surprise, perhaps even a shock, to some of you to find that I don't spend ALL my free time at the yarn store. I know, I know, I find it surprising too. But there are some things in life capable of dragging me out of the air conditioned comfort of my LYS. Such as ...

Ashkii

My good friend Rod has gone to Los Angeles this weekend for a rodeo. Rod has three horses but was only taking two so he needed someone to look after horse #3. April to the rescue. Here's Ashkii tonight after I groomed him. He's a three year old quarter horse/draft cross with the personality of a puppy dog. Ashkii's favorite thing to do is eat. "What's this sticking out of the back of your head? A pony tail? Is it edible?" Is there anything as attractive as hair that smells like horse spit?

General

Also looking for something to eat is General, another three year old. General is a Percheron/Suffolk cross. The basic translation of that is that he's going to be huge if he ever stops growing. If I thought he'd fit in the back seat of my car, I'd steal him in a minute.

Savannah

This is Savannah, who isn't a horse. She's my BEST FRIEND. Ask her, she'll confirm it. Savannah is four years old and likes to help me scoop poop. She's the daughter of my friend, Traci, who owns ...

Honey

Honey is a quarter horse and is actually a boy. But that's what happens when you let your seven year old daughter name the horse. I'm helping Traci with Honey because she knows absolutely nothing about horses. I'm not what you'd call a horse trainer but I know enough to get him started with his ground manners.

But horses aren't all we have up at ol' Chapparal Ranch. Heck we've got your Thanksgiving dinner right here.

Wild Turkeys

This bunch usually cuts through the ranch every night about 7 o'clock on their way to the hills behind us. There are also deer, jack rabbits and ugh, rattlesnakes, up there as well. And yes, turkeys actually do say "gobble gobble." Another type of bird that hangs out at the ranch ...

A bath? A drink of water? I wasn't really sure what this guy was looking for but he was quite fascinated by the wash tub. Hard to believe that this is no more than 15 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley, eh?

All's Quiet On The Western Front

There's been some miscellaneous knitting happening here at Chez Insanity. The gusset has been started on the Baby Cable Rib sock.

The heel flap for this sock has a garter stitch border on either side. It was a LOT easier to pick up stitches for the gusset that way. I was going to continue the cable rib on the instep stitches but I'm tired of doing ribbing so it'll be a plain stockinette footy.

I've also been working on the Climbing Vines Lace Scarf which is a project I started last night. But the lace pattern is so simple I'm debating whether or not I want to do it after all. The pattern calls for US size 10 needles. That's not knitting lace, that's knitting a scarf with strategically placed big holes. I'm also using Rowan's Summer Tweed for it and I'm not crazy about it either. Maybe I'll post a pic tomorrow and have a vote. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Hurry Mr. Postman!

I am the uninspired knitter. And, apparently, the uninspired blogger. However, there is light at the end of No Inspiration Tunnel. Here we see one of the lights ...

This lovely yarn was designed by Scout (aka Jamie) for the Yarn Harlot's visit to Albuquerque. It's called Harlot's Mums. Appropriate, no? And worshipping at the altar of the Harlot as I do, it's imperative that I own anything related to the Harlot. Well, not like her children or something like that, I'm not gonna go off and steal her children. Sheesh, you people are REEDICKULOUS.

What will this yarn become, the Yarn Gods willing? This.

This, my little pretties, is the Dragon Scale Scarf from The Knitting Zone. I have a thing about dragons.

There is also yarn scheduled to arrive from the artistic genius known as Dave. Which will be transformed, the Yarn Gods willing, into this.

Cat's Cradle Long-Ways Scarf

I may also have purchased a few downloadable sock patterns but I think we've seen enough patterns for now. And for those of you who might be wondering whether I come to work just to use the printer, you would be wrong. I come to pick up my mail too.

Albuquerque. What the hell kind of word is Albuquerque?