Summer stuff

Other than winning a zillion $$ lottery, having three weeks off in the summer and a new LYS opening soon (if not today) is right up there under PERFECTION!

I finished spinning the yarn for my Ribwarmer for the Knitting Olympics. Whee! I'm hoping that I will have enough yarn for it. *cross fingers & toes*



It was a last minute decision as to what "event" I was going to do. My first thought was the shawl but realistically, I knew it was not going to be likely. I completely lost track of my days & thought the Olympics started 2 Fridays ago & thought I missed it. It turned out that it was only last Friday. With the yarn finally spun, I can cast on today. A few days after the Opening but better late than never, right? Despite the rough start, I think I might have a chance in finishing.

No plans for my vacation except to knit, spin, weave, & play WoW. I'm a little glad we don't have any set plans. Originally, we thought about going back east to the land of giant mosquitoes. Attending a school reunion with a bunch of people I've never met or will ever see again. And the worse part of it is CAMPING. That's the reunion. Honestly, I am just not the camping type. Been once (and I was told it wasn't real camping) and I almost had to kill people.

World of Warcrack

Somehow, I managed to get a co-worker hooked on WoW. Heh! Honestly, it really didn't take any convincing at all. I just mentioned that I play and she said oh? next thing you know, she's on a trial account & signed up a week later.

:D

The next step will be to get her knitting.

BBWWAAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!

DPNS

Did I mentioned that I started a little Rogue on WoW? A little tiny Gnome Rogue named DPNS. My son nicely informed me that it's supposed to be DPS (Damage Per Second) but I said no, it's a knitting thing...Double Pointed NeedleS. Appropraite in so many ways as the Rogue will be dual welding and specializing in swords and daggers.

Figures in Silk

Last week, I picked up Figures in Silk and read it through in one sitting. I wasn't expecting to like the book. Historical fiction is usually not my first choice for a book but it did say SILK WEAVING on the cover. I was expecting it to be badly written, along the lines of Maggie Sefton's books. There were a few weak spots but overall, really enjoyed the book and will defintely read it again.

Over the weekend, I finished plying the first skein of the BFL from Yummy Yarns and started spinning the second skein. It was nice spinning in the morning because it was still cool enough that the fibres didn't stick to my sweaty fingers. As far as weekend goes, it was perfect. The mornings were nice and cool so I got a fair bit of fibre stuff done. The afternoons & evenings were spent with family & friends, bbq'ing & relaxing.

How I spent my Friday night...

I'm at work...I'm actually hiding in my office. We have an event happening and I'm waiting for my family who are here to watch the event. I'm going to get some food, put on some music, and finish my sock. I will have 3 hours of uninterupted knitting time.

I was just thinking it's too bad I can't load up WoW on my work computer.

Silk

Hand-dyed silk tussah ~ 100 gms (give or take with all the fluff sticking on clothes) and no idea on the yardage. I lost count somewhere past 100 wraps on the the niddy noddy. Again, Navajo plyed. I love Navajo plying. I love the results.

It's hot today...~ 29 deg here. Not complaining but it would have been perfect if the change was a bit more gradual. Nothing like going from heavy winter clothes to summer tank tops in 3 days or less. Tried to do a bit more spinning but the silk kept sticking to my fingers.

Sunshine!

Ok, sunshine can hide a multiple of faults. The skein doesn't look too bad...at least I can tuck the faults inside. It's Navajo plyed to keep the colour blocks a bit more together. There were a bit of barber poling but not too bad. It still needs to be set and whacked.

Didn't get around to do any dyeing today. It was too nice to work that hard on a day off. I did finish spinning the silk I've been working on FOREVER and even started plying it. A little silk really does go a long way. It's going to take a while to ply all this.

Pst! Angela, can't remember the name. Do you know where T&T is in Chinatown? The restraunt is in the Tinseltown mall, upstairs near the food court. They have a dinner buffet too (haven't tried it but heard it's good too) with lots more selection and lots more seafood.

All you can eat Sushi

...is a bad idea for lunch. It's scary how much one can really eat at an "all you can eat" place. Good sushi, good selection, good service...all for $9.99. That's a lot of sushi.

I feel like crawling under my desk for a nap now.

Woohoo!! Long weekend!

Technically, next Tuesday is the Stat Holiday. July 1st is Canada Day. As much as I wish I was taking Monday off to make it a super long weekend, I'm ok with just taking Friday off and making it a normal long weekend. Monday will be fairly quiet and hopefully the rest of the week will be uneventful. <--wishful thinking on my part with the upcoming game happening on July 4th.

As usual, no big plans for the weekend. I was thinking of dyeing some fibre on Friday. Sunday morning is the Fibre Party at the Farmer's market. I needed to pick up fresh veggies anyway...and hubby is going kayaking so I don't have to worry about him.

BTW, just finished plying the Yummy Yarn fibre last night. I won't bother with pictures. It does reinforce my thought that I need more practice spinning wool again. I've been spinning so much everything else that I can' remember when I spun any wool last. BFL is REALLY easy to spin and there will be fibre for sale there on Sunday. (I know...I know...it's not like I don't have any wool...it's just that I don't have any handdyed BFL fibre.)

I've been trying to figure out if I have enough heddles on my loom to weave the huck lace project. Counting up how many heddles I'll need on each shaft, I'm short. I've ordered extra heddles but wondered if it would be a good idea to dress the loom and add the extra heddles when they arrive? Ok, after reading this over, even I can see it's not a good idea. I'll have to be patient and wait.

WoW content...
It's the Fire Festival on WoW right now. That has been a lot of fun, running around putting out fires...you get really good xp for just doing that. Hit 60 and got my super fast mount! Man! It really is fast! It's a bit nerve-wreaking to think that I'm getting up there...almost high enough to play with the big kids soon. I do need to do more battlegrounds for practice and honor points but I just can't bring myself to do that yet. Thanks to Drop Bears and my son, my druid is ready gear-wise but I'm not sure I have enough experience yet. I keep telling myself a few more Outland quests and I'll do battlegrounds.

International Knit In Public Day

...was a big success. Knitters all over the world got together & knit in public. Locally, we had groups meeting up on the Skytrain, beaches, & community centres to knit. A lot of the information got out word-of-mouth through Ravelry, an online knitting forum.

*photo courtesy of Inara

Yup, knitters come in all sizes and colour and there are girls on the internet.

Highlight of the event was me winning the draw from Yummy Yarns.

It's being spun up right now.

Thankful for:
1. A few hours of sunshine today.
2. Roses are blooming.
3. It's summer!

A Very Full Weekend

It was our 21st wedding anniversary, Internation Knit In Public day, Father's Day, and my son's high school graduation. Luckily, the weather was nice.

I wish I could say I was organized enough to bring my camera to the Knit In Public but I didn't. Forgot I had my cell phone camera with me. It was so much fun! Lots of local knitters came by. Some of us brought our spinning wheels and we have a new wheel convert now.

(Sorry Maryhanna...it was just a matter of time, you know. Did I mention that the Little Gem is a great accessory for your new Suzie?)

For a knitting function, I got very little knitting done. Lots of talking and socializing happened. And Yummy Yarns did a prize draw at the end and I got new fibre for my stash. :)

The commencement ceremony went well. The kids all had a great time and it was a little sad to see them all so grown-up looking.

Thankful for:
1. My son for turning out so well despite having a crazy woman as his mother.
2. My understanding hubby who puts up with my obbessions.
3. Everyone at the Knit In for all the fun.

Oh Dear!

Last night, after playing many hours of WoW, I stayed up later than usual knitting...just so I wouldn't dream of killing giant spiders all night long. Top that off with a very full lunch and your eye lids will droop in the middle of the day. I have two very long and boring meetings this afternoon and I'm not sure I'll survive.

Help!

Better go get another coffee...

The new shafts are here! Picked them up Saturday. It was a busy day but I had to insist that we make a stop at Rusty's place to pick up the stuff. It was hard waiting until I had time to put it all together though. Finally, on Monday it was done!

It was pretty straightforward. One thing I didn't think of was to order extra heddles so I don't have to move them around. I'm lazy that way. :)

Everything works and everything looks great. The only problem I ran into was removing the old rod from the treadles. It has a locking washer on both ends which the instructions say to pound one end of the rod with an hammer. Not a good idea as it mashed the end so the treadles can't slide out. I ended up using pliers to pull off the washer on the other end and everything slid out.

No warp on the loom yet.

Sometimes my husband surprises me. I was looking at the apron on the table loom, wondering if I should move it the floor loom. He looked at it and said that it's just a piece of cloth so can't you just make one?

Light bulb moment. I have canvas...lots of it.

The rest of the day was spent quietly spinning & knitting, with few rounds of WoW in between.

Leveling up on World of Warcraft is going slower now. I've been playing "tourist" and exploring a bit more. For me, the game is not all about getting to level 70 as fast as you can. It's a fun game with so much going on that you want to take the time to play and poke into corners and buildings to see what's there.

Thankful for:
1. Rain - I love how lush everything is.
2. A week off - no explanation needed.
3. New toys. :D

Two more LONG days!!

I am really looking forward to having next week off!! No set plans yet as to what we're going to do. So far, we've changed our minds 4 times. I would be perfectly happy staying home vegging in the backyard and knitting or spinning.

The silk I'm currently spinning is going fast. I'm using one of the lace bobbins with the very narrow core and it's still filling up fast. I've almost filled one bobbin. No idea what this will be yet. This will probably end up in a basket with all the other single skeins of silk & whatnots.

Thankful for:
1. Vancouver is a great city to live.
2. Feeling very blessed.
3. All the things that goes well but you don't want to say out loud because you're superstitious and don't want to jinx things.

What did you do this weekend?

Me and a friend thought we would just hang out at the bottom of the Sunken Temple.

Silk: The Spice of Life

Dyed silk always looks like something the cat threw up. Silk is absolute magic! You take your silk and "pop" it and it turns into a shiny cloud of softness. I can't remember when I dyed this but it was done with the starter Procion H from Maiwa.



It's not like I don't have other spinning projects on the go or I'm out of things to do...I decided to start spinning this silk today. Just because it's Saturday and it's sunny, I guess. Reasons enough to do whatever you feel like.

Silk is my favourite fibre to spin...not that I would give up all my other fibres but silk is the best. :D

Thankful for:
1. Cool breeze coming in the house.
2. Laundry is done and folded.
3. Going out for dinner so no cooking.

It's not raining!

I just didn't think of it but this long weekend would have been perfect for blocking my grey cardie. Someday, it will be done.



Finished the Monkey Socks and the heels match! The temp yesterday was 24 degC. Today is looking a bit cooler but still not sock weather. But I'm ready.

Next OTN will be another pair of Elfine Socks. Not only is it a great pattern but I love the book reference.

The Spirogyra are well on the way. The right hand is done except for the thumbs and I'm up ~1/3 on the left hand. I spend too much time on WoW.

It's going to be a strange day today. My son's grad is this evening so from 4pm onwards, I'll be a basket case. As hard as it is, you gotta let go sometime.

Thankful for:
1. Beautiful weather and shady backyards.
2. A fantastic kid for a son.
3. Fibre distractions.

Priorities...

This morning, at work, we are getting ready for a MAJOR PRESS CONFERENCE. It's a big deal. Those of you who knows me IRL and have read the daily newspaper probably know what I'm talking about.

Exciting stuff but I'm more excited that I just put in my order for another 4 shaft for my Minerva loom. I am SO excited I can hardly type!!! I've been planning my next project & now wondering if I should wait. No, I think I would like to get something on my loom. It looks lonely when it's empty.

I'm also excited because it's Friday before a long weekend and it's sunny. And I'm also excited because I found a nice guild of players on WoW. I had been thinking of transferring my toon over to Draenor so I could play with the other Ravelry people when I met up with Drop Bears but I rather stay here. They're a fun group with a good semi-serious/casual attitude. It's amazing how serious some people take this game.

Thankful for:
1. Friday before a long weekend
2. Knitters and fibre freinds online and IRL
3. Magnolia tree is blooming

Testing, testing

Not the best picture in the world but I wanted to try uploading pictures from my cell phone camera. At only 2 megapix, it's not terrible. The blurriness could be contributed by me having too many cups of coffee tonight.

At the very last minute today, I asked if I can have Friday off. Usually, the Boss is not big on last minute requests but he was in a good mood. I have the day off tomorrow. It's supposed to be nice so the plan will be to sit outside & spin. If it's not nice, sit inside & spin.

Bah! Monkey!

As much as I was hoping that WoW and knitting would somehow mesh together, it's probably not a good thing. Monkey socks are done but the second heel is shorter than the first. It bothered me so it will be frogged. Bah! That's what happens when you knit heels while playing on the computer.

I started the Spirogyra with one of the Trekking yarn but decided it would be better as socks. I'm using the yarn we (Twisted by Choice) used as mop-up yarn when we did the sock yarn dyeing. I've done three repeats of the pattern and but haven't decided if I'm going to keep going for the long version. I like to think that I'm a pretty fast knitter but it's kinda scary how much knitting I got done this weekend while playing WoW. It's those long flights.