Spread a bit thin… July 20, 2009

…this week.  This is the week of my summer open house, and though I feel like things are pretty much under control, there are always things I’d like to do that I never get around to, necklaces and such.

To that end, there won’t be much of a post this week, but I’m working on an earring giveaway coming soon…to be explained later.

To make me just a bit more insane, this week  is also the first week of Bugbug’s Shakespeare Camp which requires 20 minutes of driving each way for some blessed 4 hour bits in the middle. Don’t get me wrong, she’s no trouble. But she does have a knack for interrupting me in the midst of any bright ideas I might get–though they are spaced as far apart as the closure on my jeans–before they are fleshed out.

Hmm. I sense a disturbing trend in my choice of words in this post. Thin, recalcitrant jeans, fleshed out.

I think I’d better go walk on the treadmill. A lot. Come to think of it, I’d like to be spread thin.

Actually, this week is starting to make my head spin and me sound silly, so I’ll be back in a bit, when all this is past…:)

Happy Friday! July 17, 2009

I love Friday.

I love the idea of Friday, the potential for fun that could be in the weekend ahead.

And this weekend, I’m having a bit of fun that I don’t normally ever have. I’m going out for a much-needed cocktail with a girlfriend of mine. I never ever do that.  Ever. Coffee, yes. Cocktails, never. The last time was 2.5 years ago. I am not kidding.

I’m gonna put on my favorite jeans, a top that makes me feel grown up and voluptuous (which, I suppose to those who know me up close and personal, not a big deal, since every top makes me look voluptuous anyway because I am…), and an awesome pair of high heel sandals that I just picked up at TJ Maxx. Oh yes, and Makeup. Makeup with eyeshadow and liner.

Whee.

You know, we’re just going to talk about our husbands and kids and school and hot flashes and trying to lose weight. That’s a given. But to watch us talk, you’d think we were talking about something juicy and naughty. We laugh a lot. And whisper. 

I actually flatter myself to think we’re even a bit entertaining.

The last time we got together, it was for coffee, and the guy sitting adjacent to us never once looked up from his computer, but I could tell from the way he was smiling, that he was listening. And we were funny. I suppose we were. I don’t recall if he was married or not, but I hope he was, because after listening to us, he might’ve had a change of heart.

We could be considered “mouthed and dangerous.”

Perhaps I should consider staying home to knit.

Naw.

Slow and steady July 10, 2009

“Slowly, but surely,” that’s what I keep trying to tell myself. I’m making progress on my “list” of things to do over the next few weeks.

A bit more on my Something Rum Raisin sweater. Didn’t get as far as I’d planned on the bottom of the ribbing. I suspect that has something to do with the fact that I’d increased a humongo bunch of stitches, as well as the fact that my family needs to eat, and that they look to me to take care of that little thing for them.

Personally, I like the Yarn Harlot’s brilliant strategy ( I may have already mentioned this, but something this brilliant bears repeating) of “find your own food Friday” to keep the hungry people one lives with, busy. 

Well, no such luck here, I guess. You’d think they were blind and a bit dim (which is certainly the furthest thing from the truth–they’re both geniuses): “What is there to eat around here?” This question is usually accompanied by pantry and fridge doors banging open and closed repeatedly, and generally asked while I’m in the midst of some delicate wire-wrapping or stitch-picking-up  operation.

And what do they expect I will I tell them? “Oh yes, there’s Beef Wellington in the oven, an assortment of sushi in the fridge, a giant bag of potato chips and homemade triple chocolate brownies in the pantry.” Instead, I usually have to ask, “Sweet, savory, creamy, salty, snacky-size or meal?”  I have no idea what they want. Actually, I do.

They want a mind-reading personal chef.

But I digress.

At least the sweater looks like I’m making progress–always a good thing, for the ole’ stick-to-it function in my (lately) easily discouraged brain. I actually have about 18 to 20 more rows to go to get it to the specified length, and then decide if I want to make it any longer. Twenty more rows should take me a couple of days if I stick to it.

Well, they should, anyway.

Jewelry-making has had its ups and downs, mainly  due to little technical malfunctions. I’ll be darned, but if I draw it, it should work out. Not necessarily, at least not right now.

But as long as I focus on what’s in front of me, stick to it, and use my crock pot liberally, I should make it through the next few weeks. Hahaha.

That puddle on the floor, there…it’s just me. 🙂  Set a gin and tonic down next to me and I’ll be fine.

Um…did I say I liked being busy? July 5, 2009

Then I should be thrilled…should be walking around with an ear-to-ear grin for the next few weeks. We shall see.

What is that they say? Oh yes. Careful what you wish for.

Just yesterday, I said somewhat absently to myself, “I wish–” and the Bug finished my sentence with, “there were 36 hours in a day?” I guess she listens to me better than I thought she did. Hmm.

My two girlies

This morning I started making a little ‘ole list of projects I want to accomplish over the next few weeks and through the end of the summer. I think my problem is, perhaps you could call me a Pollyanna who only sees the potential fun ahead. “Of course there’s plenty of  time to make the wonderful Amy Butler purse I fell in love with–oh yes,5 different versions in 5 different fabrics, as well as 3 vintage aprons, 2 dresses for Bug to wear to weddings, 3 knitting projects, and all those new jewelry designs and getting ready for my upcoming open house. I should have no trouble fitting those things in between laundry and shopping and meals and taking/picking up Bug and her pal Zen to their daily Shakespeare camp in a town a half hour away and–”

I’m in trouble. Optimism has got me over a barrel, and is pointing and laughing.

I see where Optimism has gotten me. I see it in the accumulations of yarn and beads and fabric tucked into and under every empty spot in this little house. Oh, the yarn. I seriously wonder lately if the acronym SABLE (Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy, though if you’re reading this, you surely know what it means…) is something I need to own. I don’t think I’m that far gone yet. However, to be honest, I probably have yarn for enough projects to last over the next 3 years. Truly.

Oh well. It’s not like I went and killed anyone, after all. It’s yarn, and yarn is love. And since most of that yarn is waiting to be made into gifties, I really don’t feel it’s terrible to have it all. In fact, the yarn itself makes wonderful gifties for my pals who knit.

Well, enough of my justification. Time to get some sleep so I can tackle that mountain of stuff my Optimism has waiting for me.

Rich, ripe, raw. July 1, 2009

First, let me say on this lovely July 1st, “Bunny, bunny. Rabbit, rabbit.”
I’ve got a memory of a dear old work buddy, Ann, who insisted on saying “bunny, bunny; rabbit, rabbit” on the first day of every month before you got out of bed. Insisted that doing so would bring the speaker good luck.
Well I don’t know about you, but I need all the good luck I can wrap my grubby fists around. I have a jewelry show coming up, very little time, and lots of designs I’d lilke to bring to fruition, including some really fun pieces I designed specifically for fellow fiber fiends. More on that on another post.

My life has been very full lately (which is how I like it, of course) and here are a few things I’ve been doing…

Picking Olallieberries with BugBug!

At Swanton Berry Farm

After 2 days of 96+ heat in our little Eichler home with no A/C, a trip to the Swanton Berry Farm on the Pacific coast between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz was a most welcome respite! We went with some dear friends and new friends. Now I’ve never been berry-picking before, so this was a specially fun treat.  According to our friends, this year’s crop wasn’t like previous years, but to me, it was a nice way to be outside in nice, cool 63 degree weather, and just steadily searching for the ripe berries hidden under the leaves had a rather zen-like sensibility to it. Plus, I got to hang with the Bug.

Wikipedia tells us “The olallieberry (pronounced oh-la-leh, sometimes spelled ollalieberry, olallaberry, olalliberry, ollalaberry or ollaliberry) is a cross between the loganberry and the youngberry, each of which is itself a cross between blackberry and another berry (raspberry and dewberry, respectively).”

The black ones are the ripe ones.

All I can say is “Yummy.” I’m going to use the 8 or so pounds I gathered for jam, and maybe a pie or tart, or even ice cream!

Here’s a link to Swanton Berry Farm’s recipes:  http://www.swantonberryfarm.com/pages/recipes.html

Next on the docket of “stuff” I’ve been doing, is my new necklace, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” Here she is:

Before oxidizingWith crushed eggshells to oxidize...

 

Finished!

Finished!

The gemmy labradorite in this necklace has the most outrageous shiller! Yikes! I wish I could capture it. They’re from a strand I’ve been loathe to cut into. I have a hard time cutting strands to begin with. It seems that I love to just pick them up and wrap them around my wrist, or neck, or just hold them up and admire them. Once I cut into the wire that holds them, they’re to be used. Although, I suppose they get turned into luscious jewels, there’s something about rich ripe raw strands that makes me feel a bit like a pirate…

Another little thing on my list of stuff I’ve got going on is my “Something Rum Raisin” Cardigan:

So I just finished the 2nd (last) row of increases in the ribbing. Actually, I just did so for the second time. You see, I suffered a minor setback of sorts after I noticed that the increases in the ribbing really showed up, even though I did my favorite “nearly impossible to see,” knitting into the row below increase. (Forgive me, but at 12:30 am I was simply not lucid enough to think of taking a picture of this unhappy situation.) So, I took a deep breath and calmly (aren’t you proud of me, dear friends? I was calm.) ripped back about 8 rows of ribbing (okay, I realize 8 rows is nothing, but I despise ripping anything!!) and then contemplated what kind of increases would look best. After staring and staring at this project, I had a sudden brainstorm. It occurred to me that Wendy Bernard was an Elizabeth Zimmerman fan of sorts, and that the M1s in this sweater were probably EZ style, so I changed them all to that, and wowie what a difference. You can still see a little of a line there (see my arrow), but many of the ones on Ravelry have the same line, or worse.

You can still see a little of the increase on the business side...

Have about 7 inches of the body left to go. With any luck, I’ll get the body done and the sleeves started over the holiday weekend!

Happy Independence Day to All!!