show and tell (though it's more show than tell)

(note: internet problems mean this is a short post - one that has been attempted several times over the past two days.)

The fiber from the previous post (jar dyeing) - this isn't the best picture but it does show the range of colors that came out of the jar. It's spinning up beautifully.

Shawl progress as of Monday morning - it's up to 8 repeats of the first chart and I anticipate it'll be a late night. I'd be further along, but somehow I managed to leave the pattern (SwallowTail, Interweave Knits '06) at the doctor's office (long story...). Thanks to the kind soul who passed me their (well loved) copy so I could keep going - I'll pick up the IK tomorrow.

I have no idea if it'll actually be finished by Saturday morning and that's okay. The yarn is MamaCate's handspun cashmere (yarn #5, for those who have seen all of the other yarns) and the pattern is #4? #5? This whole project fell apart before it came together - much like my medical school experience.

This is the fleece that jumped off the table into my arms - it's a bit of a mutant as it's an icelandic/romney cross.

I thought it was worth $15.75 just to see what it looked like all laid out - there are parts with a double coat, parts that scream "Romney!" and other parts that aren't sure what they want to be when they grow up.
(these fleece bags were one of the best finds of the weekend - it's hard to see from this picture, but both ends tie, and it's big enough to line a top-opening washing machine. I'll add the website when I find the paperwork that came with it.)

The fleece is still at MamaCate's becuase I was afraid I'd be distracted by it. (that position has been filled with the above fiber and my Robin wheel....)

Late one night I saw Cate's cat pawing at the porch door - she was after a Luna Moth. It's been years since I last saw one, so I dug out the camera and shoo'd away the cat.

"Luna Moth" would make an excellent colorway.....

My home interent is nonfunctional right now, but if I hunch in one corner of the house I can borrow a signal from the neighbors. The hotel I'm staying at tomorrow night has wireless, and if nothing else I'll update the shawl picture. The only thing on my agenda tomorrow is "practice standing in alphabetical order and walking, sitting and standing on command." It shouldn't take all day, so I'll have time to knit, knit, knit.

eye candy Friday

The lilacs are just now blooming and leaving the windows open is an olfactory joy. Yesterday I had the pleasure of learning how to "jar dye" and the journey from vermillion to chartreuse was by way of eggplant and spruce.

I'm finishing up the things on my "to-do" list before I hit the familiar road to western MA. Cummington was the first fiber festival I attended and so it has a solid place in my heart. Not only was it was the first time I met Cate and family in person, but two years ago I bought my first spindle, and last year I purchased Lyle the Louet.

(three wheels in less than a year...who knew?)

Have a great weekend - wherever you are!

Cats and paint and sinks, oh my! (knitting content to follow)

Dianna tagged me for the 8 Random Things post, and I'm changing the rules a bit - below are 8 things about my cat and house. (if for no other reason than that I have pictures...)

I have been knitting - the graduation shawl/stole is coming along and I might get it done before I am gowned up for the ceremony. I don't have any pictures of it, but do promise to get some and will post them soon. It's taken a second seat to a few home, er, issues.


1. Beazlie is a Hemmingway Polydactyl - she has extra toes on her paws. It's more common to have extra toes on the front paws only, but she is an original and has extra toes on her back paws as well. Her paws are gigantic. (comparison picture is currently on my camera - will post it once I get it onto computer.)
2. Both cats often curl up together to sleep, and at night they sleep under whatever I am sleeping on; though they prefer to sleep under the bed, they will sleep under the futon if I'm downstairs. I had been awakened each morning with a wet-nose-on-the-cheek nudge of "feed me! feed me now!" but thanks to Dr. StitchyMcYarnpants, cat therapist, I've broken the habit and now they simply let me know they are awake and hungry before going right back to sleep.
3. They love sitting in the bathtub. If I can't find one of them they're in either of two places - hiding in a corner behind a chest, or huddled in the tub. When I take a bath they are horribly confused and often miaow at me with a concerned look on their faces/ears. Once the tub is drained, they love to roll around in the tub.
4. When I returned from NH sheep and wool (it was a spontaneous decision to go - it was fabulous) Beazlie stopped running around the house in a cat-nipped frenzy and dropped one of her favorite toys to sit on the wool. She purred. She kneaded. She almost drooled.

4 1/2. To answer a previous question, yes both cats have tatoos. Before I could bring them home from the shelter they had to be spayed, microchip'd and tatoo'd with a female symbol, indicating that they'd been spayed.

5. The den/library/office walls before the paint went on. The trim has been dark brown for 28 years (confirmed with some photo-album archives) because brown was the only thing that hid the red it was intially painted.

The first coat of Wedgewood Gray (still wet in the picture). I love it, and even though it looks good with the dark brown trim (better than I thought it would), the dark trim makes the room look small and boxed in - so it'll be painted too.

6. (Izabelle, out of order. I was going to change it and sneak it in with the other cat pictures, but it seems more Iz-like to leave it here. She's a bonafide princess with me - demanding, persistant and instistant that she get her way. Of the two cats, she is the one most likely to hide from new people, so only a few have actually seen the act she puts on.)

The inital contenders for new kitchen paint - they all lost for various Goldilocks-sounding reasons (too light, too pink, too beige, too funny sounding a name, etc).

7. This is an almost current picture of the kitchen - the walls are a cheery yellow right now and the painted samples appear, well, subdued in this picture (the flash washed everything out). I intially thought I wanted a red kitchen, but the hues of red that I loved were too dark for the (narrow) space. The winner is the third orange sample, a rich, warm shade called Harvest Moon.

(Robin is sitting on the floor in the window's reflection. I got her up and going again - it's good to have her back!)

8. I say "almost current" above because at this point in time, the kitchen sinks are stopped up and/or draining into a soup pot because the pvc pipe under the sink is dripping, and the bathroom sink and tub are stopped up (both now with pools of water in them). I have no idea what happened or where the problem is (my guess is further back in the system) and that means that I'm nearly at a loss of what to do about it. My dad is going to swing by on his way home from work and I'm going to give plunging the tub a try.

Is it crazy that I'm relieved this is my first trial as a homeowner? I keep thinking of things that could be so much worse, and having water that won't go anywhere seems better than no water at all.

happiness is.....

- the house: mine.

- my last day of rotations, and by default my fourth year of medical school: done.

- graduation: 28 days, 12 hours away

- me: exhausted. (and off to take a nap before I hit the road for the Berkshires - the workshop will be worth it, but without some sleep the drive will do me in.)

have a great weekend!

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