Studio Color....

I've been lucky to spend a good deal of time in the studio since the last post. Granted, most of it has been this Spring-motivated urge to clean and purge (before it swallows me into a pile!) but there has been some fun stuff too.

The texture of knitting with varied yarns...oh so yummy. Can't get enough!

These fine little knit and felted hearts, pattern shared from Silke and waiting for little tiny embellishments to be sewn on. (to cover the holes where it didn't quite felt....these are a learning curve...)

And YARN! Noro YARN! 
It looks like Spring and the Summer flowerbeds and knits up soft and dreamy. A stash indulgence....but is it a *stash* item when things are getting knit from it? Hmmmmm......I wonder.....

Between cleaning and sorting, I allowed myself some creative time and this is what developed from moments well spent. I think I could enjoy a dozen cards like this. Dear Frida and the parakeet. Sweet Amor!

And this sight makes me happy! Six hats knit, and hopefully one more before next Wednesday, to take and share. Fun, funky, bright. Bringing life and light into dark corners.
Life is very, very good indeed!
Color in the studio and color in my heart~~hopefully yours too.
Let it overflow.


 Pax....

Knit One, Pearls Thru And Thru

This all started from having too much time on my hands and too much yarn in the ever-growing stash. (I hear you laughing...I really do....)
When going for chemo, I had noticed a bin where hats were donated, for patients to take~~free and to enjoy and provide warmth. I kept thinking, how cool that people do that!
I had wanted to learn entrelac knitting, so I started *A* hat. (as in one, singular)

And it turned out good so I thought, gee, I'll knit one to give away.

Then I decided that these were lovely, but guys might want something too....

And by then I was just enjoying the knitting and thought maybe something really simple would be good as well....

And since I had used an assortment of yarns, I suppose they really did need the care labels. So now they're all dressed up and ready to go!

It's been like finding the pearl in the oyster~~I enjoy making the product, the stash decreases ever so slightly, new goodies for folks who might need a pick me up.
It's all good.
The soul is warmed.
In giving, we receive more than we know.


Pax....

A Tidbit From The Studio.....

I've been busy. Probably a little *too* busy, as I am still in P.J.s and bunny slippers, getting my second wind back from a looooooong day yesterday.
But here is a bit of what's been going on at El Milagro.

This table WAS clean. It took me two minor projects to get it to this state. 
I know you remember seeing the heart collage/painting after the work was FINALLY returned from the gallery last Fall. I was so happy to get the work back, I just gave it a quick once over, then safely stashed it. 
Well, went to photograph the paintings for files, and what do I discover on this one? 
DOG CLAW MARKS.
Yes, you read that right; the art had been left where a dog could get to it.  Scarred the paper, removed color and took the varnish off. After a bout of cussing (it was a good one too) and a LOT of work, I finally got things repaired and filled with a couple of layers of heavy varnish. The two pieces in the background had to have clay pieces repaired and revarnished also.
Thank you so much Gallery Off Broadway for your PROFESSIONAL CARE of other artists work. Now pass the Excederin.....
Happier notes~~knitting.

This is from sari yarn, though not the type I've used before. It worked up into a nice piece and at the end of the day I was pleased. It's off with it's new owner, who loves it. :-)
I had promised a photo if I had something *crusty* from my new Michael DeMeng  class, and I am teasing you with a PEEK.....

That's all on it for now.....I'll need a day to put a good coherent post together! LOL!
And finally, to end a long and hard working day~~as I was ready to shut the lights down for the evening, I looked out the window, ran to the studio and grabbed my camera to capture THIS:

No color retouch, no adding; this was one of the most amazing sunsets we have had this winter. The salmon glow from the clouds was coming in the house.
I ran out with no coat or hat to try and capture a bit of the warmth.
It was grand!
So all in all, a good day.
A very very GOOD day.


Pax.... 

Scarf...(ahem)...Surgeon Follow Up

Hey everyone! This is a quickie as I am pooped from the day out for the appointment. We had (of course!) blowing snow this morning so it was a bit longer getting to Fort Wayne but overall the roads were good. I was nervous for this first follow up due to not knowing exactly where I stood.
Okay---pun intended!!!---laugh!
From the room next door I here my doc gently scolding a woman about exercise, etc and I'm thinking, Oh Lord, have I been GOOD???? Puh-leeeeeze!!! (I have to admit after the last hip adventure with Dr. Jackass involved, I did have some trepidation about the appointment today.)
I got to see the X-Rays of my hardware, which was pretty cool really, and when the Surgeon came in he was very happy with my gait and my ability to do the ballet-bend to pick things up off the floor. The leg has good ROM and.......LOOK OUT WORLD!!!.....
I Officially Can DRIVE!!!!
LOL! I did not tell him I had been practising....... <:-)
So I have to pace myself, keep doing what I am doing, and then next month, we'll see where we are. He did find humor in my keeping the biohazard container and spent sharps for art; he just laughed and shook his head. That's fine. Obviously, at some level, he gets it.
And, I wore the scarf---that huge monster was exceptionally warm wrapped a couple of times about my neck; it was windy and extra cold up there. And DH and I had a nice time.....
So, if I don't check in tomorrow morning, well, you got double of me in one day and what more could you ask for???
Double the brain drivel, double the fun!
Now I am off for feet up, hot tea and maybe even a snooze.
Oh, I did start a hat with the leftover yarn. There will still be enough for socks for centipedes......oy.
Many, many centipedes...........

Pax.


P.S.  Yes, this is the lazy way of *answering* comments......at least for today! If I totally missed something, let me know. It is quite possible.

This Is The Scarf That Never Ends........la la la la!!!!

Okay everyone.....sorry for that nasty little earworm, but I have to tell you, after finally finishing this monster, which comes in at around 100" in length and waaaaay too much weight, I feel like I have sang the song over...and over....and OVER.

Sunday night I finally finished the last few stitches, bound it off in a rush and of course blocked it completely wrong, but it is wearable and that's all that matters. I had set a goal of having it finished by the 25th of January, and made it!

I have to admit, when I came home from the hospital, I was barely strong enough to do more than a couple of rows a day, and I just plugged away at it. Trying to follow a chart like this with *medicine-brain* was both frustrating, hilarious and required a lot of pulling out stitches and bad words!!! (probably more of the last one mentioned.....if truth be known....)

I was sure, about 2/3rds of the way through that I would run out of four of the yarn colors, so ordered an extra ball of each.

Wrong-O.

I now have the leftovers from the scarf, and MORE than enough for matching socks and a hat.......not that the socks are happening and I don't think the hat is happening either.

The close up below shows the two patterns that switch back and forth in the length of the work. I did fine on the flower pattern; the scrollwork was another story. Yes, there are mistakes.

I do NOT CARE!!!!!

If the knitting police come to visit, they'd better be wearing armor or they shall find an assortment of my old needles stuck somewhere that is most direly unpleasant! LOL!!!

This was like running a marathon. It was a test of endurance. And as I sit watching the few snowflakes swirling about, I am glad it is wearable for this winter.

Because, my gentle readers, my short attention span would never, ever last that long. And then I'd have to throw a fit about money wasted.....yadda, yadda. Most ugly!

I'm glad that option did not come to pass!

And now I am back to appreciating the quickness of socks, even on size 1 or 0 needles!!!

Pax.

P.S. Thanks to my blog-grrrrls yesterday for their verbal support! Y'all ROCK!!!!  :-D

One step closer........

(obviously I am the colorful one on the left........SNARF!!!)

....to a day of normalcy! I should be *hopping along* soon, though the enigma of the sewing machine usage is still perplexing me.  That is going to require some reworking of the tables and a lot of extra thought, which it is receiving but with no results to date. And I still cannot move things, so there it all sits.

Yesterday I was able to cook, stay awake all day, and finally have a good night's sleep, eventhough I am up earlier than there is human need for. If I was able to go down to the wet studio, it might be a different tune I am singing but for the moment, I just wait and peck at the keyboard.

Soon enough I will be getting back to a more normal schedule and activities. Poor DH will be able to quit following me constantly to see what I am into.....he does have a tough job of it! Soon enough I will be sitting a bit more normally and painting and sewing and being an artist again instead of just existing in the ether here having much too much experience  of what limbo is like.

I have, however, been able to knit, thus the *Scarf-From-Hades* progressed a bit more and it is now so heavy (at least for my current less than Wonder Woman state of existance) that it may be relegated to a UFO pile temporarily. I never, I repeat NEVER, do that with knitting because sometimes the items don't escape the UFO pile; I have too much money and time tied up in this one. But in the interest of retaining what bit of sanity I have left (and pitiful muscle tone), and it's not much, I started a pair of arm warmer/mitts last evening and have the bulk of one knit and should start the other today.

Hopefully.

Crossing fingers.

When I can remember all the right combination of items---camera, scarf, arm warmers---in one place at one time, there will be photos. I seem to only manage to have one thing at a time, after I have plopped like a great whale into the chair and then the desire to get up and retrieve the other items is gone. Period.

So my gentle readers, be patient with your limping blog mistress and soon I will have photos of some sort of hand work.

The wet studio is still calling as I can do small things (I think) but I am waiting until I am sure I feel well enough to sit, or to rearrange everything to accomodate the right leg. Maybe tomorrow.......or New Years Day......a good way to start the new year.

As for this morning, after a good nights sleep, I am feeling somewhat back to myself and need to deal with a pile of e-mail and other assorted drudgeries of life. Which, after all is said and done, is rather nice.  ;-)

Have a good creative day, and.......

Pax.

Sunday Ramblings

Even after a *play day*, lazing on the couch and a good night's sleep, I still feel physically exhausted and non focused artistically. I tell you, finishing a large commission is like losing a job. Suddenly there is all this time on your hands and you don't know what to do.
So I chose a long nap yesterday afternoon and the beginning of a scarf kit I had ordered and been itching to knit.
Well.
After two shots at enlarging the Fair Isle grid to blind-old-fart size, I got about two inches knit last evening and since it is supposed to be around 76" long, I'm thinking I will be wearing it next year. I also am not crazy about one or two sections of color combinations, so I might switch things around, to further complicate the matter. Hey, if I run out of yarn, I'll buy another skein of something else. No big deal. But I did have moments when I wondered what screw in the head had finally popped completely loose to start that pattern.......
This morning I sit in the beautiful quiet of the country with only the sound of an occasional car on the road or the furnace kicking on, a cup of good coffee and my soul completely at rest. I'll be catching church service on the web later and have no pressure today. It is a nice but odd feeling. I am still decompressing from the banners, and as I have talked with other artists, they go through the same struggles I did with these. It is not that we hate our work, and we certainly don't hate being paid! Oh no!
But the striking individualism that makes us what we are makes it hard to lasso all that focus into one *something* when our brains are going elsewhere and the inner child is throwing a fit to go play. Sad but true...eh?  ;-)   I am, for the most part, fairly disciplined when I start work but that doesn't mean I don't want to say to heck with it and do something else. In fact, when I am not in serious crunch time, I usually have something going in the wet studio to be able to sneak down for a few minutes and then come back to the job at hand. I've found that works well.....when I have the time. I did not  with this last project, and I think that is why I am so discombobulated about what to do now. (I knit all winter, so that doesn't count......)
Yes, I worked on the felted sweater parts yesterday, and yes I enjoyed that but it requires a lot of heavy hand guidance so it is a project that will get attention as the body agrees to it.
I still want to paint or collage, but am at a loss.
Maybe tomorrow, when the banners are hanging in the church, when the photos are taken of them and I have put them up on here and feel completely done---completely---maybe then the path will open up. I have learned patience with the process, though I am most impatient to DO art.
Now.
Right now.
But I think I will wait, and refresh the coffee instead, and enjoy just sitting.....doing nothing....in the quiet.

Pax.

Still running and running.......

.......I sort of feel like the little red guy with the flames! ;-)
It's getting that time of year that I want to decorate for Halloween; haven't even thought of digging things out.
I did manage to get myself way too tired the other day on my work-a-thon and spent a good portion of Saturday snoozing on the couch. I'd like to say "watching TV and knitting" but the TV was on and I was holding the knitting and snoring......that doesn't count as either.
None the less, the rest seemed to help and let me head off to a great church service yesterday, then home to try and keep DH comfy and get him healthier.
I did have a chance to rip apart a cheap frame, paint it red and think I will do something orientally inspired, collage of course, while giving the hip, hands and back a rest from the sewing. I seemed to have forgotten that a whole day of it leaves me immobile the next.......I don't know the meaning of the word *moderation*.
No.
Not at all.
I have to find a good balance of sewing to standing time. (need to take a Sharpie and write that on the machine)
Today, if DH is at work, it's studio time. If he's home, it may be "go visit the doctor" time. And that leads me back to the title of the post.....the harder I try and sit still, the more I go. I'm remembering a science class....something about "A body in motion STAYS in motion"......I should have paid more attention! LOL!
Anyway, I'm hoping everyone's Monday is the start of a great week and a productive and fun one too, but take some time to smell the roses before they fade!

Pax.

Some things speak for themselves......

........just give me a big honking dose; DH now has exactly what I had/still have and Anne is not quite sure how much more of this sick room status she can take and muster a calm demeanor. I'm exhausted from simple tasks, am impatient to just SIT and KNIT, and absolutely have to find the strength to grocery shop or it's going to get reeeeeeeeally interesting in the eating department around here.

I so hoped that maybe Hubby could avoid this, but when he came downstairs yesterday and said, "How did you feel when you first started getting sick?" I thought someone had smacked me with a 2 x 4. So I put him on meds immediately and now in my moments of being up, am trying to cook so we can have something without trying to stand through a whole meal prep.

HE thinks he will be going to work all week. I am thinking otherwise. This should get interesting....any bets on who is right? ;-)

At any rate, I see no studio time in the crystal ball of my life, but I do see a lot of kleenex, jello, soup and dirty dishes.

I think it's time to take the sledgehammer to the crystal ball.

Or me.

And definitely, to the BUG.

Have a good one...make something...have fun...

I keep trying to tell myself this is all a bad dream, and I'll wake up working in the studio with the banners done. But that appears to be just plain mental illness. Again, maybe a dose of the above pictured chemical would help realistic thinking.......

Pax.

Red Knee Socks, or How I Spent My Convalescence

It's not like I am over the bug, but I did manage to get these socks knit and off the needles! And that calls for a big WHOOPEE in my book, because when you're as tall as I am, with a size 10 clodhopper and waaaaay too long from heel to knee, well, knee socks are a great investment of knitting time.

I have to apologize for the background but I knew I could not hoist my legs in the air against the usual black backdrop and make it look all nice and professional. I was doing good to get both legs off the ground for this shot! LOL!!! (and yes, there was some perspective adjustment so it would not look stranger than it does....)
I had snagged two balls of Lion Brand Yarn last year at a discount store, $1.50 per skein. It is not my favorite for socks because it pills and I like all wool, or at least mostly wool, but $3.00 for hand knit knee socks won out. Yes, it was thicker than what I like. Yes, it's really BRIGHT. But still, $3.00. So I knit.
And knit.
And knit.
And knit some more, tried them on (I do toe up so I can gauge if they are going to be knee socks or not) and discovered I had a long way to go. A very long way.
Knit, knit, knit. Knit......knit......knit........
They were beginning to look like they would serve adequately for an adult giraffe! So after one last try-on, I said to heck with it and bound off the ribbing. This is a basic lace pattern that was free online, I think it is Bell Lace and designed for the Lion Brand yarn, but I knit with about two needle sizes smaller because the first two pair I knit flopped and grew when washed.
They definitely would fit a giraffe, and they weren't even knee socks.
So now to my nice stash of merino and nylon, and the fern pattern that I have wanted to knit for a long time....except they are on size 2 needles and I'm not sure I can see what I'm doing right now.
And I'm knitting toe up, and changing a few things; they won't be the clog socks because they will have short row heels......
You know, they may look nothing like the picture I have so admired! Oh well, that is sock knitting season at Chateau Lockard! Surprises abound!
Have a safe and happy Labor Day and if you're grilling out, think of me. Oh, for a home grilled burger........ <:-( .......yum........

Pax.

P.S. Last evening I did get the toes knit for the fern pattern sock. On the size 2 needles. The knit seems looser than what I am accustomed to, so we might be going down a size. Or maybe I should wait till one row of the lace pattern and see what happens.....I don't want floppy socks, especially out of GOOD yarn!
And I still don't think it will be a studio day today, though if I have to endure one more day of TV I am sure I will lose what is left of this thing I call a mind..... ;-)

Morning....I'm Late......Not Enough Coffee.....

I finally have been released from the hellish grips of the Groundhog Day socks! Last night, I decided enough was enough and even though I had extra beige yarn, off the needles they went. This has been one of those knitting projects that I asked myself repeatedly "WHY?????" did I start them.

It was odd, because when they first began, they knit quickly, at least through the foot area. Even turning the heels went pretty quick, and that was considering I am not fond of short row heels (double wraps too). But then when I started the leg......oh dear. Obviously the Universe of Knitting decided I was being punished, and it went slower.......and slower....and slower....

One interesting thing on the yarn and pattern; on the sole of the sock, you can see what the basic stripe would be, which was okay but not overwhelming for me. Yes, I probably would have worn a sock with that stripe.

But with the addition of a very, very simple lace pattern without too many holes (for stability), the yarn coloring becomes transformed into something much more interesting! When I did the first couple of rows after the toes, I was struck with how pretty the coloring was, just because of the addition of a bit of wave.

I apologize for the quality of the photos but, hey---it's morning, I'm still trying to suck in enough coffee to get the internal organs functioning properly and NO, my
contact lens are not in yet......

Now, does anyone really NEED four pictures of their own foot on their blog? Probably not!!! However, after the murderous task of knitting these puppies, here they be.

I don't think they are particularly interesting photos, but perhaps it will be a visual reminder of why I should knit on larger needles, or knit shorter socks.....
Now if I just did not have such long legs to require such long socks, life would be easier, I suppose. :)

Absolutely delicious yarn......

This is yarn to fight over......check out Yarn Exhibitionist for a chance to WIN this skein! Now, if one of my gentle readers wins it, there will be a scuffle as I will *visit* and demand sharing...... ;) ......(ahem!)

Seriously, I love the color and texture and want, want, WANT this!!!

I guess, after art, my passion is knitting, or at least the one at the top of the list at the moment. I used to spin, but had to keep my numerous diversions somewhat under control. So I envy hand spun yarn. There is nothing like the feel of the fiber going between your fingers and thumb, being coaxed into a single ply before your eyes, and then the delight of plying a couple of colors! It's magic, and falls into the dyeing fabric catagory. If I got started I would get nothing else done.

So go over to Yarn Exhibitionist and check out the luscious fiber!

I order you.......now.....no excuses... ;)

And yes, last evening while Iwas taking a breather between projects and a nervous breakdown, I was knitting on the Groundhog Day socks as Leslie so aptly named them! They just go on and on and on and I get no where. Like I am in this sock-hell-loop or something, waiting to get it right. Go figure! Seriously---I knit and knit and knit and there is still yarn left---when will it stop???

And that's the pin-up for the day Kiddies! Drool at will! Just not over your electronic appliances......

Sock Update--or--Jack Sparrow Is Almost On My Feet!

Since HD works late this evening, I will be working in the studio all day sewing. I am quite disappointed in myself as I was hoping to have the Jack Sparrows done. I knit like a madwoman last evening and then, when I got to the point of the ribbing, I decided the sock needed something different. Would Captain Jack wear a sock with common ribbing? Wouldn't he have something a bit different? The whole discussion is ridiculous but I was remembering the extras on the DVD about the trouble they went through when designing the costume and that got me on the internet looking for a tutorial for a particular idea that flitted through the swiss-cheese-grey-matter.
I am by no means a knitting designer, because it requires too much math. But I do frequently change things midstream (needle size, stitch, toe construction, etc) so this little last minute quirk is normal for me.

I always like a long area of ribbing and I knew there wasn't enough black yarn left to do what I wanted. And the body color, well, there was enough of THAT already and I couldn't see Captain Jack with WHITE ribbing........yes, I was having a mental moment. ;)

SO! Hopefully tomorrow, I will have a photo to post of the socks on me, with the lovely ending and a good story to go along with it!

In the mean time I am posting a couple of shots of the detail work on the banners. As previously posted, they are loooooooooong, and the little bit of trim you see along the edge of the photo goes almost the full length of the work, and it is all sewn on BY HAND. Both sides. That's four long stitchings, BY HAND. Couldn't remember if I mentioned that. Yep, that's why I'm in the state I'm in......

(tiny trim, full of beads and sequins to catch your every thread....)

(tassel cluster which I only have to make a few of......thankfully!)

So it is sew-sew-sew today, and see how much of the other banner I can complete, and hopefully be limber enough to be doing some odd form of happy-dance this time tomorrow!

You don't want a picture of that......

And then, it is back to ART!!! WHOOOOO---HOOOOOO!!!!!

Allowing Yourself Time Off

Okay, I am for the most part, a work-a-holic. I never thought I was, but after talking to other people, I have come to the conclusion that I truly am. I don't take vacations, I seldom give myself a day away from here and yesterday, even though I had a business meeting and then an art date with a friend and then a long conversation with another friend who has his mom in a nursing home---that was a day off for me. It was a day off from the banners, which allowed things to stew in my head and make it clear what to DO with them today. I did manage to get a lot of work hammered out at the meeting and the small painting I had started is almost finished. Then there was more computer work, business e-mail, got into a grant writing class, so for what I considered a do nothing day, it was GOOD! I think I have a warped mind..........YOU, gentle readers who really know me, were aware of that a long time ago!

I am going to post a pic of the felted booties I knit simply because I was asked to. The grey wool in them was some I had spun years ago and never plied as I had gotten waaaaaaaay too much twist in it. But to knit with the brown yarn, to felt, it was excellent. As I recall, it was a mix of black Ramboulette (sp?) and the combings from a beautiful white Great Pyrenees. And it felted beautifully and added halo to the finished product. Those should be exceptionally warm slippers! I might have to try something like that for myself, after the Jack Sparrows are off the needles. (they are coming along nicely, though the yarn I substituted for the body of them does not stripe. I think of it as the waves on the shore and the fog and crests of waves at sea.....HA! well, it sounds good....) I am close to putting the heel in them, then the real work of doing the skull band of intarsia. Frankly, I'd like to repeat the band twice, but will have to see how much yarn it uses.

So I'm off to the banner table, to have a banner experience on a banner day.....BAD PUN!

I'll just shut up and go away quietly in my little dinghy.......

Light at the end of the tunnel..........

.....with the banners. Well, perhaps not light at the end of THIS particular tunnel, but I can definitely begin to see an end in sight! Whoooo-Hoooooo!!!!!
And that is today's work, along with some Co-Op paperwork. If I can just keep myself behind that sewing machine until vital parts begin to complain (back, hands, etc) I should be in good shape.
I cannot take any credit for this picture; it came to me in an e-mail from a friend, and where it came from before that, I don't know. But the minute I saw it I thought "Ah......for when there is a *bad-time-to-blog-day* and put it in my pending file.
It made me laugh, and hopefully will for you too!
By the way, the toes of the Jack Sparrow Socks are started (did that while waiting at the Doctor's yesterday), and I am just about ready to switch to the body color. And I got a pair of felted booties done for a friend--they just need a tie or elastic or something in that line. And I got a painting started, which in between banner sewing, may get some work today.
So I guess I have not been nonproductive.......just oddly productive in a somewhat scattered way!
Hope there is light at the end of YOUR tunnel.......heehee!!!! ;)

BANNER-A-GO-GO!

Yesterday's grueling work session.....all the gold laid in between the other stamps. Odd, it doesn't look like it should have taken that long or caused the amount of pain that it did! I had not originally planned to have *that many* of the gold images, but somehow on the second banner, I lost track of what went where, and then, well, you start filling in. I found it more interesting without a perfectly symmetrical repeat.
The problem was I could stamp one banner at a time, and then it had to dry so I could flop the end of the banner back on itself to work on the other one and was how things got off track.
That being said, it still looks good!
The other factor that makes it tough to do these is I cannot mix enough paint at one time even for ONE banner. It dries quickly as is, and with the addition of the dry gold pigment powder, that acts as an accelerator. So you slap the paint out and stamp like mad, hoping you get it used up before it dries up! Occasionally little dried flecks will embed in the wet paint and it adds to the older image---this is probably one of the few times I don't mind that happening. Normally that is a great big NO-NO.
So that's all for today---there are a million freshwater pearls to sew on now. Well, maybe not a million, but after about 20 or so, it feels like that many.


Tune in tomorrow; same Bat-Time, same Bat-Channel!!!

P.S. I am almost done with those Size O socks I've been knitting, like, FOR EVER. I'm thinking a big party is in line when they are off the needles......... >:)

In honor of the gods of Winter......

......I make this short post. We are AGAIN under the gun for crap weather---let me explain. SNOW---GOOD! ICE---BAD!!! And I have to run in to the neighboring town to deliver some hand knit felted slippers-cum-booties to a dear friend. (Lu, don't be reading this yet!) So this is a short boring post with a picture from the previous blast of arctic exasperation.

Take a guess at what this is? Grapes? Nope. And I think I will be a stinker and wait to reveal the secret.....or if someone guesses, you get added to the list of blogs I follow (Places to visit). WOW! What a prize! What an honor! (tongue firmly implanted in cheek!)

I am still working on some socks knit on I believe it is size 0 needles, and will probably have myself committed if I do that again. Of course, at some point, I will, but at the moment the slowness of the knitting is a bit discouraging. The light at the end of the tunnel is I will have a pair of superior socks when they are done; warm, gentle on the feet and a snazzy easy lace pattern. The reason I am anxious to get them off the needles is I found free on line a killer pattern for "Jack Sparrows Favorite Socks" and I'm sorry, but I am still clueless as to how to insert a hotlink into the text. So if you like skulls, you'll have to Google the name---it will be there. I splurged for the yarn, it came yesterday, and ....well....the call of new yarn is certainly a siren song! I was a good girl and hid it in the studio where it would be out of eye-range.......

Till later...I am off into the wilderness.

Print this post out if you suffer from insomnia; I am sure it could put ANYONE sound asleep......ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ......................