Spinning

Next Wednesday I will go to my first spinning class. I'm so excited! I hope I like it. I'm attending it at the Bahr Creek Llamas & Fiber Studio in Cedar Grove. I keep looking at spinning wheels and I'm just so clueless as to what I need that I'm really looking forward to learning all about them. Isn't this one pretty?




Description

This is our most popular wheel because it is so versatile. It's easy to use for learning, and you can then buy simple add-on kits that allow you to adapt the wheel to specific types of spinning as you begin to experiment more.

It is available in single or double drive, and if you are left handed we've created a version especially for you. 4 bobbins and Lazy Kate are included in the kit. As you can see, it is also a classically styled wheel made from beautiful New Zealand Silver beech, so it will look great in your home.

Specifications

Wheel diameter: 56cm (22")

Orifice: 1cm (3/8")

Bobbins Capacity: 100gm (3-4oz)

Ratios: 7.5, 10.1:1 & 14:1 bobbin lead

Weight: 8kg (17.5lb)

I have just barely the faintest glimmer of the idea of what all that means. Whee!

Baseball, Socks, and Mullet Man

Richard and I went to a Brewers game on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and we had great seats. I brought a book and a sock to work on. When the security guy scanned my purse with his flashlight, I said, "Got a book and some knitting - pretty exciting stuff!". He laughed and replied, "Well, I hope it's a better game than that!"

I worked on Richard's sock and got about 3 inches done while we were there. I took this pic before the game started, and before I started knitting on it.

THIS is the amazing and rarely-seen Mullet Man. He was wearing a Harley Davidson jacket and was sporting an absolutely breathtaking, fully gelled mullet. WHAM! was suddenly singing in my head, telling me to wake him up before I go-go'd. I captured both a rearview and a side view, but alas, I could never capture this captivating creature's face.

And these are the socks I'm wearing today. They are the spring ones I was working on a few posts back and are very, very lovely even though they look like K-Mart socks here.

I wonder if there's a Mullet website I could post my pics to? It's rare to see a full, gelled mullet in the wild nowadays without going back to a yearbook or old family pictures. Must investigate.

Bad Piggie.

I haven't posted in over a week and I never did get around to posting those mitten pics (although I did photograph them), so this one's for you, Donna. Don't tell Richard.

I wrote this when we first got the girls and I was feeling a wee bit overwhelmed. He and I have both had a hearty laugh over both the event and the written story by now, and all duties have been redistributed more than fairly, so it should be safe for blog publishing. Enjoy.

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Wife of the Year Award
by Muriel Taft

I would like to submit an anecdote as my entry submission for Wife of the Year 2008.

My routine has turned upside down since the children. Mornings now include getting two little humans ready for school and daycare and making sure they have everything they need. At night, homework must be checked, teeth are brushed, jammies chosen and donned, and tuck-ins. In between are the shuttling to and from daycare, organizing their schedules and visits with their grandma, scheduling respite care, calling doctors and dentists and caseworkers.

Richard has to set out two extra bowls of Cheerios in the morning.

Last Thursday night it got bitterly cold and we arrived home from Habitat volunteering at the children's bedtime. We all rushed into the house and I began getting the children ready for bed. Richard had to go out with the dog because the dog has better sense than to go out in this kind of cold alone. 10 minutes later, as I'm choosing the children's outfits for the next morning, and tucking them in, and making sure toothpaste doesn't splatter any further than the bathroom threshold, the girls perk up and say, what's that pounding? I tune into it for the first time myself and say, I don't know, but I'm going to go find Papa Richard for your goodnight hugs and kisses.

Reaching the living room, I see my husband pounding with both fists on our front windows. I go to let him in and he stomps off to the back door. He comes in gasping and angry that he's been pounding at different windows/doors all over the house. He locked himself out. He was worried about the dog freezing and he couldn't get my attention and oh my GOD didn't I hear him??

Well, no, I didn't.

I apologized and explained that I must have just tuned it out. He says, well, I guess I should have brought my keys with me. I guess I just have to remember EVERYTHING (and this with a defeated two-arm flap down to his sides).

Before continuing, I'd like to point out a few more facts to support my nomination. I'd like to point out that we have a key lockbox attached to the house for just such an occasion. The 4-digit combination is a number well-known to both of us, and chosen by Richard himself. When I asked him why he didn't use that, he said it wouldn't open. I assumed it was frozen shut. It turns out he got all flustered and couldn't remember the combination. That he chose.

Additionally, since we'd just gotten home a few minutes before, the unlocked car would have been a warm place to hide from the wind so the doggie didn't freeze. It would also have served as a nice place to really THINK about what that tricky combination could be.

So I'm sure you can imagine the deafening silence that met THAT statement. After closing my jaw, I simply said, we'll revisit that statement in a few minutes. For now, you need to go give the girls their hug and kiss goodnight.

He's still alive. Give me that trophy.

Mittens, Medicine, and Musings

I have been working on these mitered mittens by Elizabeth Zimmerman and got them done Monday night, but I forgot the memory card at home with the pictures on them. Oh well. I'll post them tonight.

FC1 has been sick the last couple of days with an asthma-related cough. Non-stop coughing until she gags and throws up. Richard took her to the doc yesterday and had to stop the car 3 times on the way home so she could lean out the door and toss the cookies. Poor baby. She's had to use the nebulizer for albuterol and a steroid every 6 hours or so. It's sad seeing such a tiny person with a plastic face mask over her mouth and nose, coloring in her coloring book she got free at the pharmacy. She was up coughing with me until after MY bedtime, 10:15 pm. Finally I gave her a swig of Vick's 44 Cough Relief. It tastes like death but it worked. Hallelujah. She slept like the dead until this morning. Richard put her right back on her nebulizer first thing. She is doing better but Richard's going to stay home with her again.

I was having a discussion with my friend Janice yesterday and mentioned how with foster kids, they don't represent you or your values the same way your biological children do. They may have a different sense of style, different hair and eyes, different mannerisms, different sensibilities. This is where a very specific type of detachment comes in handy. You have to completely let go of any vanity that may come to you through your children. At the same time, this frees you to see events in their history for what they are instead of becoming immersed in a family culture. You are also much more aware of your role as caretaker of someong else's family. It's all good.

Well, I suppose I should get back to work. Happy Wednesday.

Back from Vegas

A few pics from our trip.
At the top of the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel.
At the Grand Canyon.

Fabulous Las Vegas, Here We Come!

Vivaaaaa, Las Vegas! Richard and I head out early tomorrow morning. Wish us luck!!

New Haven Fleece Pics

I had to tweak the pics a little to get the colors to be true, but I finally got them photographed. Both the finished and the second one for FC2.

This is a close-up of the collar and buttons. I really like how the Jelli Beenz yarn looks with the purple and pink yarns. I used Encore's 75% acrylic, 25% superwash wool blend for the main colors and then Plymouth Jelli Beenz acrylic for the edging.

Below is the second New Haven Fleece, using just two colors of Encore 75/25. I really like how it's turning out! I'm going to take FC2 to pick out the buttons for it later this week. It's hot pink and vibrant purple. Again, I had to tweak the pics a bit to get the true colors.

I'm also working on the socks for myself, in Twisted's gorgeous Netherfield. I can't wait to slip these on once they're done.

I mean really, doesn't this just look like a rose garden just beginning to bloom in spring? This colorway just lifts my heart when I'm knitting it.

An Homage to My Husband

Dearest Richard,

Sometimes I think we get lost in the everyday. Weeks slip by and we kiss good morning and we kiss goodnight, and we kiss in between, and somehow forget how truly special we are together. Hopefully this little post will remind you how I see you, everyday.

You do the dishes in the morning. I never have to worry if there will be clean plates for dinner, or if there's a dishwasher full of dirty dishes. It's wonderful and I try my hardest to remember how wonderful that is every day.

Friday mornings you collect all the garbage in the house and get it out to the curb. I never have to worry about it. Ever!

Every morning I wake up to the smell of fresh coffee. Mmmmmagic.

Every morning, I know the girls will eat their bowl of Cheerios, because you woke them up and poured their cereal and made sure they had spoons. It warms my heart.

Every night when I get home I know you will be there. If you're not, I know where you are. You're never "at the bar", or "out, see you when I see you".

You carry your phone and even if you don't answer it, I know that it's not because you're avoiding me.

You go to work every day even though things may not be so great there.

You start my car for me on cold mornings, and brush off the snow. When I see your shoeprints in the snow it makes me smile and get a little misty, imagining you brushing off my car and caring about me.

You make sure my oil gets changed when it's due.

You try to call your mom every Thursday, because you've done that since college. I can't explain what that makes me feel, except that it brings tears to my eyes.

You mow our lawn and don't drown it in pesticides. You accept our lawn for who it is, and though you may throw a few handfuls of seed, you don't try to kill every weed. Weeds are just plants that don't sit at the popular lunch table.

You make sure our driveway is cleared of snow. You even clear a path down the old driveway for Bandit, so he has somewhere safe to walk with his bad hips.

You make and keep dentist and doctor appointments without me ever having to remind you.

You love our little binkies as much as I do, and are sad when one dies.

You try to read the books I recommend.

You read books on your own, to learn and to improve.

You are always striving to be a better person.

You understand how important it is to contribute to the community, and happily go overboard with me.

You talk me down from the ledge when I'm having a rough day, and being too hard on myself.

You've become a foster parent, with me, and co-created this unique, warm, loving life that we share.

You believe in God and love him as much as I do.

You can be silly with me, and have fun with me, and be serious with me, and are just my best friend ever.

There are about a million more reasons why you are the man I fell in love with, and married, and to whom I gave my heart unconditionally. How about we snuggle in bed tonight and I'll tell you 100 more before we go to sleep.

Love,
Muriel

New Haven Fleece is Done ... But Unphotographed!

I have yet to catch my breath from last weekend when I got the New Haven Fleece done for FC1, but I am determined to get it photographed this weekend. I want to take a photo using natural light because I'm sick of the washed-out utter CRAP photos I've posted lately. I'm going to have to start using Richard's eBay lightbox for photos of the small stuff because I'm just so unimpressed by my photos lately.

The whole time I've been knitting the NHF, FC1 has been trying it on. Before sleeves, after sleeves, after some of the finishing was done even. Absolutely delighted with the whole thing. I gave it to her on Saturday and fully expected her to put it on immediately. Instead, she beams up at me and says, "I'm going to save it for pajamas!" I said, noooo, I think you should wear it today when we go out for lunch. "Hmm. No. I want to save it for pajamas." It started to dawn on me that she didn't want to wear it. Perhaps ever. Vision slightly foggy around the edges, I asked, So are you embarassed to wear it? She nods. Why? "The sleeves make my arms look fat."

This from a 49-pound bobbleheaded waif.

After three weeks of knitting for the little nipper.

Oh, hell no. No, my dear little girl, you will wear the sweater and you will love it. You will cherish every stitch, because every stitch was knit with love and sometimes tinked and reknit several times.

After that little bump in the road I cast on something for me, all me, something I will love, cherish, and possibly go to my grave with. I'm working on a pair of socks using my lovely, lovely, completely scrumptious Twisted sock yarn, Netherfield.
And, because I'm a slow learner, I'm also knitting the second New Haven Fleece for FC2. I have already clarified with her that she will NOT be using it for pajamas, however. Ground rules are important.

Finger Puppets for Foster Poppets

I made these finger puppets last night for the girls for Valentine's Day while Richard made them cards. We put the puppets inside the cards and then put the cards in their room for them to find this morning. Thanks for modeling for me, Richard.

The girls weren't terribly impressed with them until we told them that I made the puppets and Richard made the cards. Then OH MY GOD YOU MADE THESE???? THESE ARE SO COOL!!!! They both took them into school with them so they could show everybody.

Suck on that, Made in China.