I Can Taste It

This quilt is so close to being done I can taste it. See this photo? That's the border blocks waiting to be sewn!

I haven't shown you the side blocks yet, have I? Well, here's one set.

 And just for giggles, a shawl I finished. It's made of one skein of acrylic. Yes, I know the yarn snobs reading this are now horrified, but there's something to be said for machine wash and dry when your dogs like to snuggle in your lap and burrow under your shawls.

Stichin' Not Fishin'

One might think the thread embroidery on the house must be done since you're now seeing a picture of the thread embroidery having been started on the fish. Not so! I'm at the point wuth the house block where I'm using colors that are going to be on the fish. Thus, rather than switch thread colors a zillion times back and forth, I'm switching blocks back and forth as I switch colors. I'm a happy camper, though .The end really is in sight. I've been threatening to have it finished by Christmas even if staples and a hot glue gun are required. I don't think it's going to come to that though. Then again, I believe I've said. "by Christmas," before. We shall see.

A smaller household



Napoleon was my constant companion for almost 14 years. I'd brought him home when he was six weeks old.

Dogs, like humans, can get senile. Because his vision was pretty bad and his hearing was going, he had started to bite. He didn't mean to hurt anyone and he was mortified after the fact once he'd realized he'd bitten someONE and not someTHING. Regardless of intent, it meant he was no longer safe to have around just in case he got outside and around the neighbor's children.

This was the first time I'd had to put one of my pets down when it felt like it wasn't time yet for the animal. His quality of life was quite good as most days he was very happy. I've been involved with putting down dogs in rescue that weren't safe, but never a pet. Ending a partnership is such a horrible thing but it is the duty of a responsible pet owner.

Thus, "Obi-Wan" is gone and Diego has been promoted from "paduwan" to a "Jedi." I bet you'd never guess how he got the nickname Obi-Wan when you look at the above picture. I wish however, like Obi-Wan in the books and films, Napoleon could still visit with me. He will be missed.

We don't know if we're going to get a second dog. At times we think Diego would enjoy having a playmate, but at other times he seems so happy to be the only dog. I vacillate back and forth constantly but have decided that I am not going to make a decision until after Beast is done and delivered. I've been very grateful for this quilt as it's been something for me to throw myself into as I deal with my grief.

When I wrote my last post, I knew I would be putting Napoleon down soon but I couldn't write about it yet. I think I was still hoping that by some miracle, things would be ok and I wouldn't have to go through and do the deed. I'd always told him he'd have to make it to 20 years of age. I guess I should have been more specific and said, "Twenty years with no health issues, buddy! I mean it!" This is what Diego is now hearing.

Knitting


I finished a moebius for my little sister and like a dork, I didn't take a picture of it before giving it to her for her birthday. I've finished another moebius and have yet a third on the needles as we speak. Can you tell I like knitting them? The one that I am currently working on is for me, unlike the previous two.

If you like the looks of my moebius or you're interested in learning more about what the heck they are, go see Cat Bordhi's site. She's the author of many knitting books and two of them are all about the fun things you can make using a moebius, which is a loop that has only one side.



I also am working on my third pair of socks. The pattern is no different than the others I've made however the technique is different. I started these from the toe going up and I am also knitting two at a time. I also tried using the "magic loop" method but found I was constantly fiddling with the needle cable placement so I brought in a second circular needle and have enjoyed the process.

'Til we meet (or rather I write) again!

Sock Summit Was a Blast or Knitters Are Wonderful People

I managed to drag my fatigued carcass to the Sock Summit last weekend at the Portland Convention Center. I actually didn't start knitting 'til after class registration for the Summit was closed but I finagled my way in by volunteering.

I had mentioned on Ravelry that I was going to go, and asked if anyone wanted to meet for lunch since I'm a local yokel to Portland. After all, people from all over the world showed at the Summit. None of my friends were able to make it but an online buddy, Joanna, asked me if I'd take pictures and write something up for her to be posted at www.nerdabout.com. So I did. What I didn't expect was a link from the article to MY blog. Wow. Maybe I should update this thing more often!

Here's me with team Ravelry at the Summit. Note the finger puppet representation of Bob, Ravelry's boston terrier mascot. I saw them walking down the hallway of the Convention Center and dashed out from behind the desk to snag them so all of us volunteers could take pictures with them. They were very gracious about it.

As a general update, yes, The Beast, otherwise known as the Bass Quilt and/or commission quilt is still in progress. I'm taking a break from thread painting and am feeling like starting the Mariner's Compass sashing blocks this weekend is a good plan.

On the needles right now is my fourth sock, giving me a whopping two pair of handknit. I lucked out and spotted a copy of Knitting circles around socks knit two at a time on circular needles by Antje Gillingham at the library so I snatched it and ran to the self checkout machines. It seems rather elementary since I already use two circs to knit socks. Now I know a way to avoid having to seam or graft anything on a sock. Yay!

My plans have changed slightly for next year's ichthyosis conference. Quilts are lovely and people appreciate them but I think hand knit socks will be very treasured by folks with ichthyosis. Any of us who have it on the bottoms of our feet tend to have the skin crack and get raw during temperature extremes, though children have an especially rough time as often their skin cannot accomdate growth as quickly as it should so the feet and palms crack. My feet didn't stop cracking regularly 'til I reached my whopping final height of 5'1" around age 15. So, hand knit socks it is for the fundraiser raffle. I expect I'll be making strictly tube socks in generic man/woman/child sizes so they can fit anyone. But they'll still be more comfortable than store bought. Who knows, maybe I'll start a sock knitting revolution among the ichthyosis community.

Now this next tidbit is extremely important to me. Only once in my 37 years have I been somewhere amongst a large crowd of people for a significant amount of time and not had anyone stare at me or ask my about my skin. The first time was at the ichthyosis convention in Atlanta, GA in 2006. The second time was at the Sock Summit. I cannot express how marvelous it is to be able to walk through a crowd and have no one give me a second glance. I understand that for most people, seeing someone affected all over with ichthyosis is a rare occurence and it's natural to be curious. I however, am quite used to what ichthyosis looks and feels like but I'm not sure that I'll ever completley adjust to having people stare at me or unintentionally make me uncomfortable by asking personal questions about my medical issues. So. There it is. Knitters rock. Well, knitters, spinners, dyers, crocheters, designers, instructors, and all those other lovely folks that were at the Summit. Thank you so very much, you gave me a wonderful gift.

Now back to the Summit dishing.

I met some fantastic people, one of whom immediately comes to mind and that's Rita from Yarn Hollow. She noticed me drooling over one of the drop spindles and put some roving in my hands and that was it. I was a goner. I now have what I need to learn to spin yarn using a drop spindle. Wheee! By the way, the lusciously colored stuff you see in the photo to the far left is roving. It becomes yarn by using a spindle to rotate the fiber as you squeeze it down to the thickness you want. While it takes a bit of practice, it's not too difficult and yes, it is another lovely thing that one can do while sitting down. I really do need to stop acquiring more hobbies. Really! I can sort of blame this on Rita though, which I will happily do. I don't think she minds, though.

I did even get to meet Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the Yarn Harlot who is a knitter, author and all around nifty person. She probably thinks I'm a crazy stalker lady as I handed her a thank you card as I never would have discovered hand knit socks without reading her works. I also met Tina Newton, founder of Blue Moon Fiber arts and apparently Stephanie's partner in crime. Fun! On a side note, I seem to be magnetically drawn to Tina's yarn as when looking through my stash, it seems like a quarter of it is hers. Mine. Mine now at least but created by her and her marvelous assistants but now in my posession as I have purchased more in the past few months than I can really justify when going over the finances. It's worth it.

I got to meet some of the other wonderful folks at Blue Moon such as Debra and JoAnn. I met oodles and oodles of fantastic knitters and I was so pleased to meet a great number of male fiber artists. You know you're out there, we know you're out there but sometimes it's hard to find you because there are so many women crowded around. There's always more room for fiber fans. Really! Whether it's knitting or quilting or crochet or cross stitch, the more, the merrier is always true. Especially if you let me raid your stash.