Dawn Brocco's Life and Design Blog

Oh, Rippitt Again!
Yup, did the body of that pullover a second time, and ripped back down. Third time's a charm, right!? Darn well better be.

The first time I had to rip back, my shaping was too sharp. So, what went wrong this time? That dreaded Gauge. I measured and measured and kept getting the Gauge I needed, but when I got to the underarms and slipped half the sts to another ndl to lay it flat, bam, I was hit with 2 extra inches I did NOT need, nor want. And I measured Gauge again across several places and still had my 17 sts/4" Gauge. Then *why* was it 2" too large around. I had the right # of increases, the right # of sts, but Gauge had somehow pulled a fast one on me. So, fine she said exasperatedly, if Gauge wants to be like that, rip, rip, rip.

Yes, even experienced designers struggle with that occasionally elusive Gauge! But one has to be willing to Rip it out, or else evermore live with something too small or too large and every time you put the thing on, you're reminded of how Gauge got the better of you!

Showings Lull
It's going to be rainy and very windy later, so I doubt anyone's gonna call to see the house today (they'd be crazy to, but then again, we live near Woodstock, am listed with a Woodstock agency, so crazy, or rather, off the beaten track, is common), and no-one's come since Sunday. Tomorrow's Friday, though, so it'll be clean-through-the-house-again-day. I thought I was sick of painting everything in sight, now I'm sick of constantly cleaning everything in sight. I like a clean house, but a dozen rooms and 3 bathrooms every 3 days is getting to be a bit much.

Cleaning Again
Well, it's Tuesday, and I last cleaned through this place on Friday, and need to be prepared in case anyone coming up for the Woodstock Film Festival will also be house hunting, as the agent said, so, it's cleaning day, once again. Once this headache abates and the coffee goes down. Festival begins tomorrow. The Hudson Valley is not lacking in homes owned by those in the film industry. It's just a beautiful area, yet close enough to NYC.

Rippit, Setesdals, Weaving Drafts
I was about 8" past the twisted rib on the new pullover design by early last evening. I then put half onto another ckn, so could try it on. Promptly took it off, and ripped out those 8". I hear the gasps of horror, but it's just stockinette and at 50 sts/minute (I timed myself twice), it won't take long to redo it.

I ended up changing the design a bit - shortening it so the rib is just past the waist, with not quite 2" between the rib and the waist, then (and this is where I'm at now) the long, slow increase to full body circ. by the time I reach 1" from the underarms. I think those circa 1940's photos in Annemor Sundbo's "Everyday Knitting - Treasures from a ragpile" has crept into my subconscious.

I have her other book, as well, "Setesdal Sweaters - The History of the Norwegian Lice Pattern". EK is more interesting though, to me, anyway. Less timeline history, more examples of everyday knitting expression. Both have their place in understanding Norwegian knitting.

I've been meaning, for a long time now, to make a Norwegian Setesdal cardigan, ala Elizabeth Zimmermann's pale-ish blue and white example in her "Knitting Around". Though typical Norwegian colors seem to be navy, red and white, I like modern color interpretations better than the harsh contrast of deep colors with white. And blue and white is wonderful. Love it. Sky and clouds, water with frothy waves. It's so fresh and clean a color combo.

The closest I've come to a traditional Setesdal design is my Roses and Cloverleaf Cardigan. When one looks at it, once may not see realistic roses and cloverleafs. That's because the R&C design motif is from an antique (circa 1700's) weaving draft or draught, as they were called back then.

I love weaving designs. 4 harness, 8 harness, summer and winter, overshot, krokbragd. Now, krokbragd is interesting. 3 colors are running across each "row" if one was interpret it in knitting. It is a 3 harness point weave (twill). And I will one day. I saved a clipping from an old weaving mag. I think a combination of stranding and slip stitch would do it. Here's an example, though rather dull in coloring. The rug clipping I have is solid color (no white) and brighter, much more interesting.

But I think I love overshot designs the most - Cat Track & Snail Trail and Whig Rose are among my favs and I've long ago charted them out for knitting, crochet, hooking or needlepoint use. One of these years, I'm gonna make an area rug and chair pads in the Whig Rose, either in needlepoint (cross stitch I think) or hooked. Hooking will be softer, less defined than the cross stitch, so it will depend on how swatches in both styles look. And hooked certainly would be different and unexpected - right up my alley!

Showing #6
Had a noon showing yesterday, so hubby, I and Pickles drove to the nearby grammar school and hung out in the parking lot whilst the agents and client toured the house. Showing #6 out of 8 appointments made since Sept. 8th.

The agent called back a few hours later with feedback - seems this guy didn't want a house near the road, KNEW the house was near the road, as his agent drove by the day before (I saw her car slowly go past the house - we get a lot of that lately), and told her client about it and he made the appointment *anyway* wasting his agent's time, my agent's time and our time. She said he went through the house so fast she could hardly keep up. What a putz. She said he looked miserable and grumpy and so did his daughter, who was with him - yeah, *I'd* be happy spending a weekend with a grumpy dad - not.

It's definitely autumnal out aided by damp and drippy. Got the rad on in the kitchen, but nowhere else yet - NOT ready for that cost yet! On the list for what'll be in the next house - a fireplace or 2. This Is An Absolute. Won't buy without it. On chilly days like this, a fireplace is the perfect chill chaser when it's too early to be turning on all the rads.

Hubby's been working on the mud room gutting and redoing all weekend and is now getting the new storm door in after having to re-frame the wall it sat on. Not a moment too soon - a rainstorm with winds will be coming through today.

Pullover in Progress
Have the 3" twisted rib done on the pullover and am making my way up from the waist shaping section. Pre-washing the yarn (Peace Fleece) makes SUCH a difference in the enjoyment level of knitting with this yarn. It is SO, no, let me say that again, SO much softer and pleasing after a good overnight soak in detergent and warm to very warm water, rinsed, then hung to dry. Naturally, I added a few loose ties around each hank, beforehand, to ensure the hank wouldn't get tangled in the washing.

I'd like to get the pullover done in a week, if my week allows it. Also need to get going on the 2 wrist and neck warmer patterns and CO for another one, in bulky yarn, to see if 100 yds of bulky to super bulky will do a neck warmer or wrist warmer set. That's my idea for the next series of designs - things that use just 100 yards of yarn.

More Crappy Nights
It was improving - I had a half crappy night on Thursday. I took a melatonin and 2 hydroxytryptophans before bed, which got me a half night's pain free sleep. But the same combo last night did nothing. I'd take something stronger, but MVP is not as good as CDPHP (but we had no choice but to accept the change in health coverage plan), so by the time they allow the prescription through, I won't need them. Actually, I wouldn't mind trying acupuncture, but so much of our and Pickles' medical needs are on hold until after we move - no time and no money for these things yet. We've got a list going. It looks like we'll be spending a few days a week in a number of doctor's, dentist's, chiropractor's and veterinarian's offices for quite awhile after we settle in.

Designing
The 2nd capelet sample is done and is soaking. And I finally CO the raglan pullover. I decided on 1 x 1 twisted rib for the edges, as it holds together so much nicer than regular rib, which can get stretched out and sloppy looking.

But, here I was on the 1st row of rib, trying to complicate the design. I'm thinking it needs a stitch pattern, and how will I incorporate the stitch pattern into the waist shaping. Then I told myself to shut up. This happens with every sweater I design. It's like I can't possibly just CO and knit a stockinette sweater, as if it wouldn't be good enough, just in stockinette. But, says the other *I*, there's nothing wrong with a stockinette sweater. We all need them, we all wear them, and as long as the details and/or construction are interesting or engaging enough, it will be a good beginner / advanced beginner sweater pattern.

So, between the twisted rib, the waist shaping, the sleeves in the round, the raglan shaping of the entire thing, then the v-neck *whilst* doing the raglan shaping, yeah, I think it's enough to keep anyone busy, so the fabric can be simple. And the yarn is so lovely (the Peace Fleece Zarya Fog), it won't look like a store-bought sweater, which I think is my design fear. As much as I'll *wear* plain store-bought sweaters, I don't want my designs to *look like* plain store-bought sweaters.

Although I admire Elizabeth Zimmermann to bits, she was happy to knit stockinette sweaters. Innovative construction methods, but plain knits, not counting the Arans and Norwegian styles she made. But, between the 60's and 70's, when she made the majority of those sweaters, and today, we've become more more sophisticated in our design sense. A plain garment with interesting construction just doesn't turn us on much. Unless it's in handpainted yarns, which are perfectly at home in stockinette. But that wild riot of unharnessed color does nothing for me, and I wouldn't be caught dead wearing any of it (yes, very strong aversion here). I'm a person of order and harmony and those yarns are unharmonious, to me. *I* want to be in control of what color goes where, not have the yarn dictate it for me.

So, I'm going to fight the urge to add cables or colorwork or stitchwork to this pullover. I think what might get me through it is if I also do a cardigan version (steeked, of course - everyone run for the smelling salts!), and do some colorwork in the yoke. Yes. No colorwork at the lower edge, as that horizontal line across most of our hips is NOT a good thing, but, at the yoke is perfect - drawing the eye towards the neck and face.

Another crappy night, hardly any sleep. But 3 ibuprofen before coffee this morning and I felt human again. So, as it's Thursday, I thought I'd clean through this house again. I cleaned the kitchen cupboards, vacuumed 3 rooms, the entire small end of the basement, the parlor rug, hall rug and hall stair runner, then did a load of laundry and some hand washing, swept the 65' long front porch, and watered the begonias. I dusted floors yesterday, so that should hold until Sat. morning or tomorrow night might be better. Saturdays can be hectic enough. Then only to clean those 3 bathrooms tomorrow, as well.

I should be able to finish up the 2nd capelet sample shortly, but I'm not ready to sit at the computer to do the patterns that are piling up. My neck won't be able to take it for long. Next week will be better.

So, I'll recheck my #'s for the raglan pullover I want to make and get that CO. I'm thinking 39" in the heavy worsted wt. Peace Fleece should do it. I have a dk wt. Old Navy sweater at 36" which I can squeeeeze a thin top under. Then there's another sport wt. Old Navy sweater, 40", that has plenty of room for a thicker top underneath. I don't want it swimming, nor too snug, so the 39" seemed a good solution.

I went through my clothing and tossed all the really ragged stuff. It's not my norm. I hold onto things until I have replacements, but sometimes, you just gotta throw it out.

As much as I'm not a fan of non-biodegradable fibers, the one pair of pajama pants I wear the most around the house are my bright-ish blue Snoopy and Woodstock thick fleece pants (thanks Mom! They are indestructible and warm!). I'm almost always cold, unless I'm cleaning or doing other physical activity, or fresh out of a hot shower!, at which point, I tend to get overheated way too fast. I change clothes innumerable times during the day, depending on whether I'm sitting or moving about (and some days are a constant back and forth between sitting then moving about), or going to the mailbox to get mail (the Snoopy pants don't go to the mailbox!).

I really prefer wool for tops - lightweight wool tops, like that Mossimo pullover I got at Targay several years ago or the Old Navy ones that are on their last legs, and thicker wool sweaters, which I happily knit myself. I've tried fleece tops and tend to get way too warm and have to change even more often. Wool breathes, as we all know, and I find that's more crucial for my upper bod. I'd love to buy wool slacks, but why on earth do they have to line them! Cold nylon against the legs = achoo-ville, not warm and cozy-ville. Yeah, I know, it's for those that think wool is itchy-ville. I really gotta find me some good vintage clothing shops, where things haven't been stored in mothballs or (not really) washed in perchloroethylene. Yeah, right!

I received a late night small order from Unicorn Books and Crafts for my newest book, Curvaceous Cables Collection. So, today I printed the few extra I needed to fill the order and they'll be shipped tomorrow. And I have a new shop interested in my designs, which is always nice.

I've been working on the 2nd capelet sample in Peace Fleece's Georgia Rose (a beautiful heather color) and Negotiation Grey. Negotiating can feel like the color grey, can't it! This is my *off* week, so I'm not only not feeling energetic, I'm not feeling well. That black cloud of incessant headache, can't sleep with my head screaming week. So, I'm not getting a whole heck of a lot done. I managed to get through Tuesday's rush cleaning to show the house, and believe me, *rushing* is the kiss of death during hormone-withdrawal week.

I wore the capelet in the house the other day, as it was cool, and I'm always colder than anyone around me, It stayed nicely on my shoulders, even though I haven't put the pewter clasp on it yet. I think it can serve a few purposes - bed jacket and mini shawl for inside or outside.

I've never gotten *into* either knitting or crocheting shawls. I've made a few, usually in heavier weight yarns than the typical lace weight or jumper weight yarns, as for me, anything thinner is downright impractical. All those hours of knitting to have a garment that couldn't keep a flea warm! And no, in case you haven't guessed (!), I don't do things *just* for the process. Process is fine as long as something useful comes out at the end. I'm definitely product oriented. And the more practical and useful, the better! But that's enough of a challenge - creating good designs that are easy on the eye, comfortable to wear and warm.

And speaking of warm - some of my 3, or is it 4, year old Old Navy sweaters are biting the dust. Those 6 hanks of Peace Fleece in that steely grey blue (Zarya Fog) whose photo I posted a coupla weeks ago are saying "Get with it woman and make me into a fitted raglan pullover, with shaped waist." I keep telling them I'm going as fast as I can manage at the moment - don't know if they're listening. They may be tuning me out.

I'm beginning to tune out myself, so I should say adieu for today and go plop into the comfy chair ("Fetch the Comfy Chair!" comes to mind - Monty Python?).

Out of Breath
I love having to rush around like a madman - not!

The agent and I have worked out a solution to the house-too-close-to-the-road no-shows. And I got a call late morning for an afternoon showing - aack - where did my 24-hours' notice go to?!

So, I ran around cleaning as much as I could and putting every last thing away. The app't was for 3:30 but they came early, went through the house twice and lingered in the driveway afterwards - good signs. The Garlic Festival is this weekend - we gets *hoards* of people coming to Saugerties for this thing. Hubby thinks we'll be booked solid with showings - we'll see.

Spinning?
I'd like to get to see the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival this year, but I doubt it. I thought I'd try some wheels out.

I've been googling for spinning wheels again. I used to have a Country Craftsman, but at a 3 oz bobbin and only a 13:1 ratio, it was no production wheel. I used to ogle the Timbertop wheels - such beauty, such speed. They're no longer retailing? They are nowhere to be seen. How depressing.

I'm disgruntled by the apparent lack of aran wt Bluefaced Leicester wool yarn, BUT, the easy availability of prepared BFL top to spin. Do I really need to spin it myself, if I'm gonna have it for designing with? Do I really want to spend yet less time designing because now I'll need to spend time spinning?

I think that, before, I go down *that* road again, I'll try Ashland Bay's DK BFL yarn. It's 1320 yds/lb, which is 82.5 yds/oz. Doubled is 41.25 yds/oz. It may be a tad thick for the typical 4.5 st/1" heavy worsted gauge. Doubled yarns don't behave the same as a thicker, single strand of yarn.

The thing is, I don't need a whole pound of the stuff to swatch for gauge and that's how it's sold. So, if anyone has even just 1/2 an ounce of it lying about (plain white preferred, but I'll put up with the hand-dyed - it's just harder to measure gauge), I'd be glad to pay for it.

I've posted below 2 photos of all the vests and the sweater I made for CIC. They're boxed up and ready to ship.


5 knit vests and 1 knit sweater


5 crocheted vests

In 4 strands yarn on size 11 or 13 ndls, 1 vest a day can be made, in between life's duties, though I usually took a bit more than a day. I have no patterns, I just winged each one as I went. Not rocket science - just keep to the 12 / 13-14" total length, 24 / 26" circ., and 5.5 / 6" armhole depth for child size 2 / 4. The crochet ones are heavier than the knit ones, naturally, but I didn't weight them, nor the yarns before making each. I'd allot about 8-12 ozs wool yarn per knit vest. If your yarn is leaning towards the lower wt amount, make the size 2.

more house work
Yesterday was quiet. It was raining on and off, so there were no scheduled house showings. Today's a beautiful day, so, and I was hoping it would be different today, but no-one's called. So, hubby has been working on the mudroom and I painted 4 of the 6 porch-facing front window wells, mullions and the mullions around the ruby glass panels that flank the front door.

CIC, frogging, designing
I have 10 vests and 1 sweater done for CIC so far. I think I'm gonna have to stop there, for now. I've only got drips of my odds and ends of wool yarns left.

I have enough Plotulopi, I think, to make some mittens for Christmas gifts. DD and her BF live in a cold, windy, and very snowy city. One really needs a few pairs of mittens to get through such winters, not to mention warm hats and scarves and, and...

Maybe I could do them double-layered, as EZ used to do. Lopi on the outside and something soft on the inside. That would be practical, very warm and not scratchy. Hmmm. And it would make a good pattern. And I think doubled up (not doubled *over*!) mittens would suit northern USers and Canadians alike.

I have some natural white Bluefaced Leicester/alpaca blend yarn from Webs, which i may use for the inner mittens. It's thin enough (thinner than Lopi!). I had begun a cardigan eons ago (well, it feels like eons ago, but was just a few months - before the rush to finish the house), so I frogged it today and rewound the yarn.

I also frogged a DK wt cashmere undershirt I began back then, as well. I was hoping to get it out of 1, 200 yard hank - yeah right! The yarn is actually lace weight - 400 yds/2 ozs, but I doubled it to give 200 yards or 100 yds/oz. Maybe bed socks? Maybe in lace? Or a ribbed lace?

The last thing today that's in the middle of the frog pond was a nearly finished cardigan, again, begun before all this house work necessary for selling the place. It was a good idea, but too small. I thought I'd like it cropped and snug, but I don't, I want a bit more ease. It's in Peace Fleece, so I'll rewind the yarn into hanks and soak overnight, spin out in the washer, then hang outside tomorrow to dry. I have another capelet sample that needs making up so I can get the pattern done so this frogged yarn will go to good use.

I *was* gonna use black yarn and black beads, but what the heck, I'll do a solid color that will actually photograph well, and skip the beads. The few beaded designs I have are *not* selling well. I don't know why - beaded knitting is NOT hard to do. But if knitters don't want them, I shouldn't waste my time. Pulling out this cardigan awaits, and I want to catch some of Morse and the rest of the murder mysteries on the History Channel. It's the highlight of my Sundays!

It Finally Rained
It hasn't rained in about 2 weeks, maybe more. It finally rained yesterday afternoon and last night.

I love the rain, always did. I love the earthy smell, that cool smell of soaked wood and soil and the green of life, and the mist hanging in distant trees. I can stare at the lawns and trees forever after a good rain. The scene sends me back, to far off places and times, little echos of lives past. A doorway in time, as if one could walk through the mist and be somewhere else, someone else.

Fans!
Cori, The Knitting Economist, has written a post about Peace Fleece yarn and my designs.

Of course, I'm not used to such effusiveness! I mean, I'm not Lily Chin, Norah Gaughan or any of the other really big-name knitting designers, who probably have their own fan clubs, and if not, *should*! I know I'm a big fan of Norah's! Her cabled designs are wonderfully creative.

Does one ever get used to it, though? I hope not. Such appreciation for one's work should never be taken for granted. It is always a gift. And I am always grateful. So, I thought I should publicly thank Cori - thank you!! (Your words are still making me smile!)

House
As it's Friday, I'm cleaning through this house again. Didn't I just do this on Tuesday? Yup, sure did, but I gotta be prepared in case we get house showings on the weekend.

Showings
The 12:30 appointment yesterday cancelled at the last minute. Well, actually, they were technically a no-show. 15 minutes after the appointed time, the listing office called me to cancel the app't. But the 1 pm showing came.

I'm sure it was the house-is-too-close-to-the-road problem with the first app't, but how inconsiderate is that? At least when we ran the B&B, no-shows lost their deposits, so my effort and time wasn't for naught. We had a no-show on Sunday, and if one of the buyers on Saturday had driven past the house prior to the app't, she would have cancelled, as it was too close to the road for her, as well.

So, buying an antique house, then, is not the main consideration. Buying seclusion is. Realistically, they shouldn't be looking at antique houses. Because, guess what? 200 years ago, houses were built close to roads. They were practical back then, roads in small country towns like this were far less travelled than now, and people didn't have issues with escape-the-City-for-the-weekend-only-seclusion. And we're not right on the road, as I've seen with many old houses, we're about 40' back. But 40' back isn't 500' back where ya can't even see that there's a house there!

Unless one is plopping down several mil for an historic mansion, which usually *are* secluded and private, it should be a duh! moment for both the prospective buyers and their agents. I wish people would think. But I could write a book listing examples of the non-thinking going on. Like the B&B guest who asked why we bricked up the parlor fireplace. That section of the house is 150 years old. Do I look like I'm 150 years old? No, of course not. So it means, that, Yes!, *other* people have owned this house and someone *else* may have bricked (and indeed *did* brick) up the fireplace. That wasn't even a consideration in her mind. Not thinking.

Am I feeling sarcastic? You betcha. I have a low tolerance for certain human behaviors. Ohmmmmm.

On other fronts, I've been thinking about where we will be moving to, and am trying to get a grip on what a complete change of environment it will be for me, and why it's an issue for me and not for hubby.

Cogitations about the Sea
I'm an Aries, a mountain goat. I never did have a happy relationship with the sea. I don't *do* water, heck, I hack and choke in the shower if I breathe at the wrong time, and I'm always breathing at the wrong time. I can only doggie paddle and never venture into water where I can't stand on the bottom, and if there's waves, I stand even further back from that *edge*.

There was the queasiness the one time we kids were on my uncle's boat. There was Dad's toss-them-into-the-water at Jones Beach and they'll learn to swim! There were those horrid jellyfish, too, all the time, at the beach. Then there was the slice my foot open on a piece of jagged shell, whilst playing ball on the beach, not 2 weeks after I gashed my foot trying to climb over the wrought iron fence surrounding the park near where we lived in Brooklyn. (And I'm not the climb fences or trees kind of girl.)

But I find myself, at midlife, actually being involved in moving towards the sea. My hubby is a Pisces, those 2 fish. He's never lived by the sea and needs it. We don't consider that the boroughs in NY City, where we both grew up, which have either the Hudson River or the ocean bracing it, were sea-oriented environments, as the sea and the river weren't accessible.

Sure, one could go watch Macy's Fireworks over NY harbor on the 4th of July, and there were places on Staten Island and Brooklyn where you could get close enough to see the water, but, ya'd never want to swim in it, even if you could. And I've taken the SI Ferry innumerable times, from Staten Island to Manhattan, both for school and for work. One could take a boat ride up the Hudson, but unless one owned one of the private estates on the Hudson, one didn't get to be up close and personal with the River.

It's one thing to be surrounded by water, it's another that the water be accessible, not indomitable. Impressive, but untouchable. That's what NY harbor feels like - untouchable. Then there's a place where there's sandy beaches a mile or 2 from one's home, no matter where that home is - completely different.

So, 2 nights ago, as I lie in bed, waiting for sleep to come, I began thinking about my connection, or lack thereof, to the sea.

What triggered it was my recent use of Lopi yarn for CIC vests. I've used Lopi before, and every time I come back to a yarn or a nation's design archive, particularly a yarn with a history or connection to a particular country or region, like Lopi, I re-involve myself in that country, its culture and natural surroundings.

Now, Iceland, in and off itself is not exciting, at least not to me. It's rather barren in appearance, both from a lack of structures and trees or other plant life. The air may be pure, the light wonderful and all those natural hot springs must be heaven to soak in, but live there, I don't think so. I love the wool, though. It is one of their natural resources - Icelandic wool. And it's perfect for fisherman or sea-goers to wear.

When I delve into Swedish and Norwegian yarns or patterns, I do the same thing - I pull out all my Nordic books and Google and wander online, trying to immerse myself in being Norwegian or Swedish, living in their landscape and in their weather, and wearing their knits. And both these countries are sea-oriented.

Then there's Ireland and Scotland, complete with the Aran and Shetland isles. As I'm part Irish with a smidge of Scottish, amongst other things, the sea is in my blood. I love aran knits and sturdy aran yarns. I love Scottish Fair isles and Shetland wool, even if I've never knit a true Fair Isle in jumper weight Shetland wool. And I just go ga-ga over their thatched cottages!

So, it became obvious to me that I'm drawn to the textiles of countries that face the sea. The land-locked countries that interest me are the ones that appeal to my mountain goat nature - Germany and Austria. I love France, too, but not for the textiles or the cheese, for the language, for Paris, for the countryside! And Italy, for the food, of course, for Venice, for Umbria, for Tuscany.

So, I began thinking that maybe, just maybe, moving to a place where there's plenty of sea and beaches, might awaken my sea-faring roots and effect some positive growth upon my designer's eye. It's a different world there, but different isn't bad. I just hope we'll find a small antique house we'll both love and I'm sure we'll have a ball exploring a new place (we've explored this one out).

More Showings
It's a good thing I cleaned through the entire house yesterday. By afternoon, a showing was scheduled, and by evening, another one was scheduled. That'll make 6 showings since Saturday.

I worked on another crochet CIC vest yesterday (#3 crochet = 7 vests total so far), this one in reds, browns, creams. The first one was in greens and blues, the 2nd was in pinks and purples.

Wanting to Toss Laptop out Window
But a *large* part of yesterday was spent fighting with my G3 laptop. It usually doesn't gives me probs, but when it does, it's a Microslop issue, Internet Exploder, to be specific, and even more specific, my Java wouldn't work properly.

I just wanted to load to the video tour they finally put online of our house. Would it? no. Did it work just a few days ago? yup. What happened between then and now? I downloaded real player (I think it was called - shoulda been called *death to your computer*) to play a Louis Armstrong song tidbit. It did a crash bango, twice, so then I said screw it, and deleted all of its files. But after that, IE just wouldn't behave nice.

I ran Disk Warrior several times, I tried reinstalling new IE files, I tried using Icab. I even tried Netscape (and I hate Netscape). Delete, delete, delete. I tried upgrading the MRJ files, no go. I then reinstalled some system software, more no go. These are the times I want to throw the thing out the window, except my expectation, that I can fix the bugger, won't let me.

So, this morning I tackled the problem anew. I googled for Java runtime error info, and got a lot of developer info, which is useless to users. So, I re-downloaded the updated MRJ files, and, here's the key, left them alone after they downloaded (I tend to go in and delete files I think are unnecessary - silly me, but am trying not to fill up this 4 gig HD). Well, it worked, and pleased as punch am I. In case anyone's looking for a nice large Greek Revival farmhouse on 6 quiet acres!

CIC vests
I'm now on the 2nd crocheted CIC vest, which makes this the 6th vest total so far and 1 sweater. I should have enough yarn bits for 2 more crochet vests.

Spent part of yesterday morning catching up with entering customer orders into my database. Not done yet, but made a dent at least. Then filled the rest of the day working on the vests and handsewing the steeks, cutting them and doing the edges.

I coulda dragged out the sewing machine, wound a bobbin and whizzed them all up, but the lazies got me, and I decided to just stay put and hand sew them. I sewed one steek with my good Mettler cotton quilting thread. It's unwaxed. I love it and use it to sew *everything*, as it's sturdy. I find the poly mix threads are as weak as my nails. (Yes, the term usually is "hard as nails", but my nails have never hard. Just call me flexy bendo!)

But then I thought, the thread was rather inorganic to the icelandic wool fabric. So, took 1 strand of the unpsun icelandic and twirled it until it was tight enough to twist back on itself. This made a sturdy yarn and I sewed 1 steek this way. But it was too thick. The doubled back plies made a near worsted wt yarn.

So then I tried it with just 1 of the unspun strands, twirling it, then inserting it into the fabric, then twirling it some more. I sewed 1 steek this way. And thought, what a pain to have to twirl all this yarn.

So, then, finally, my brain started working and I looked through my few small bags of yarn stash to find a ball of taupe-ish colored fingering wt wool sock yarn. Ah, said I, strength, and thinness, with no twirling needed!

I have been sewing the remainder of the steeks (at 3 per vest) with the sock yarn. I then pick up and knit or crochet the edgings, then tack down the steeks with the same sock yarn on the WS. I forget how much extra time it takes to handle the steeks, when hand sewing them. But I had nothing else pressing to do yesterday.

Icelandic Plotulopi
With a few cool autumn days under our belt so far, I've been thinking about Icelandic wool yarns. Plotulopi, in particular, as Schoolhouse Press sells, or as one can buy direct from Iceland. I like colors, though, and SP doesn't offer the dyed plotulopi, just the natural shades. I love that word, Plotulopi.

Think plate lopi, as it comes in what they call plates or wheels and you take a strand from the inside for lace knitting, or inside and outside, for Dk-worsted wt knitting, or 3 strands (2 wheels) for regular Lopi weight garments (as the Icelanders use) or 4 strands for jackets and thick woolie wear. I am imagining a cranberry or garnet red winter coat in 4 strands of the Plotulopi knit in an even-more thickening stitch pattern. I see some swatching coming my way.

I may see about getting in some of the dyed Plotulopi from Iceland. They don't have purples though. They have reds, roses, blues, earthy colors, but no purple. They do have a yarn called Kambgarn, thin, about 90 yards to the ounce, but doubled, is 45 yards to the oz which is heavy worsted wt - *my* preferred yarn weight. So, when finances allow, I'm gonna order some of their dyed Plotulopi, some Kambgarn and a skein of their Hosuband - their thick sock yarn with nylon added.

The Kambgard comes in a nice range of colors, including purples, but I'll try mixing some of the blue and rose Plotulopi strands together and see whether a purplish hue arises, or just a blue and rose marl/ragg look. I think it's gonna be ragg-y, which isn't what I want.

I was also thinking I could dye the unspun lopi, but not in my HUGE (6+ gallon) canning/lobster pot, as I do regular yarns. Yeah, this pot is so big, it needs to straddle 2 burners. The unspun is delicate and so lying flat in the microwave would be the way to dye it without having it felt to each other. But, again, not until we move. Then I'll abscond with this huge old (circa 1980's) microwave we've had for *eons* (thanks Mom! this appliance has never given us a day's trouble!), and get a new small one for kitchen use. We don't microwave meals much, as we prefer cooking. It's great for defrosting and quickie baked potatoes and heating up the heat pack for our necks, so we really don't need a large one for the kitchen.

OK, enough yammering from me, I should get off my duff and go dust and vacuum through the house and clean a few toitees.

House Showings
One of the agents that came through with the RE caravan this Wednesday said she had someone to show the house to, and, indeed, she called Friday afternoon for an 11 am showing yesterday. The videos *still* aren't up on their site though - seems their system is giving them trouble. When we came back, we found a message for a 4 pm showing yesterday and a 2 pm showing today, with 1 more showing in the works for this weekend.

It may be more than that, as when we returned to the house to pull into the driveway, a black Mercedes (not the agent and prospective buyer) was sitting in the driveway. They pulled up next to our car, asked if this was our house and said they were watching the road to see how much traffic it got. This road doesn't get much traffic, as it's a scenic road, not a road anyone need take to go from point A to point B. So, yet more interested buyers.

(And yes, at 10:30 this morning, the agent called with another app't for 1:30. 4 showings this weekend so far!)

CIC
Finished CIC vest #3 and began and finished vest #4 yesterday. Well, not *finished*. BO after neck shaping, still need to sew and cut steeks and do the edgings. My pointy finger is feeling a bit sore, though, from the large-sized ckn I've been using, so, I started vest #5, but in double crochet.

I have 2 bags, a pound or 2 each, of odds and ends, so I bundled up all the blues and greens odds and ends and am working irregular stripes. Approx. 2 strands in worsted wt with a K hook. Some are 3 strands DK, some are 2 strands sport with 1 strand worsted. I'm just keeping the overall yarn thickness the same. I'll see if I've got enough of other color families to do a couple other vests, in this manner.

House:
The video guy took 7 house videos yesterday, and I'm waiting for it to go up. Agent comes back today to take still shots for the print advertising, though in our technological and time-squeezed lives, it's the web and video tours that attracts buyers to houses, not a still shot in a real estate newspaper insert.

There's a nice glossy pub here, though, put out by Luminary Publishing, called Upstate House. They publish Chronogram, as well. Chronogram is the alternative life and health pub of the area. There's New Paltz, 45 minutes south, and Woodstock, 10 minutes west, so we're in a large alternative living zone. Not that everyone in the other small towns or in Kingston are into alternative. It runs the gamut. Yes, NY is nothing if not interesting.

Upstate House covers Lower, Middle and Upper Hudson Valley homes, from both sides of the river. He says that the NY City buyers will take home a copy of Upstate House, as they're already taking the Chronogram, as both pubs really are marketed to them. And its style sure beats the newspaper RE inserts!

Non-house - CIC and steeking:
I began vest #3 for CIC last night, after winding the Icelandic wool wheels into balls having 4 strands. This one will be steeked, as well. I like odd rows counts in stripes, 3/1, 5/2. This makes it a pain, when working the front and back flat from the armholes to the shoulders, as one can't carry up that unused color, Ya gotta break it off and weave in the ends. OK on a long row, but in these small sizes and large gauge, the neck to shoulders have 7 sts in a row. By the time I've woven in the ends, the row ends and I need to rejoin a color, weaving in *more* ends on the next row. A pain. But working in the rnd means I can carry that unused color up and not have to break and weave in yarns nearly as often.

Now steeks can give many knitters the willies. Steeking's been done for many, *many* years, so it's a time-honored technique, well worth overcoming any fears about. My fav method (and there are many) is to machine sew the steek sts. Tiny sts, go slowly, do 2 rows of stitching on each side, then cut up the center. I like using purled steek sts, as, after they are cut, the purled sts fold to the WS, *where one wants them to go anyway*. So, when I'm ready to sew and cut, I turn the garment inside out, so the purled steek sts are now knit sts facing me. This makes it easier to sew straight lines.

The *only* 2 drawbacks to steeking, as I see it are:
1) Having 1 row lengths of yarn, if you decide to rip it out after you've cut the steeks. Best not to make this decision THAT late in the game!, and
2) There is that bit of bulk from the steek sts lying on the WS.

To alleviate this, I've tried the wrap yarn around ndl at steek juncture method. This must have been in Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting, as I'm not recalling seeing it in any other of the books I have. It does make a slightly less bulky steek area, BUT, as all the the loose strands from each row get cut, one must weave in each strand on each row on each side of the steek! Tedious. Give me my sewing machine and 3 minutes of time!

Well, cleaning awaits, to keep the house in ship shape for showing (say that fast 3 times!)

non-house: Unicorn has my new book (Curvaceous Cables Collection) up in their Sept. 7th new book listings!:

I've worked on that 2nd CIC vest last night, this one will be in the round, with steeks. Even though there's no color or stitchwork, I do like NOT having to turn and purl across! I can do a few this way, then sew and cut open the steeks all at once, then do all their edgings.

house: took reams of photos, am posting some below. This shows just some of the 11 years of work we've put into this house, not counting the grounds:


front of main house section. freshly painted as of 4 days ago!


entire house front


front hall, ruby glass sidelights


dining room


parlor


parlor


kitchen


kitchen


bedroom #1


bedroom #2


bedroom #3


bedroom #4


full bath #1


full bath #2 with a 42" size tub! (took me months to find)


full bath #3

There's also a small library or den, the back room and another bathroom, both in gutting stage, the pantry, my 2 work/office rooms and the family room. And 2 attics and 2 basement sections.

The weeding I had to do the other day gave me posion ivy again. I never recognize the stuff, I just madly go through plucking everything and suffer later! Agent came by today to put up the sign and his video guy took 7 videos of the house and grounds, which should be up on their site soon.

back to non-house: more book printing to do today, and had to order a new maintenance kit and more solid ink. 40,000 pages sure do go fast. I have just about 400 left on this kit. The printer protects itself. Once the kit runs out, it won't let you print unless there's a new kit in. So, then I'll work on that CIC vest and see about getting back to the 2 wrist and neck warmer designs I put on hold to handle all this house madness. I'm also waiting on the new Sweet Grass yarn colors - I have a capelet design on hold, for *ages*. One sample was in Peace Fleece, but this second sample I want to do in a soft black wool with black beads, for evening. Back to printing...

house: Waited on the agents to come and once they did, it was a 10 minute whirlwind! But one agent definitely has someone to show the house too, one said this house is a no-brainer to sell and some had commented that they'd always loved this house (as many local people do - it's just sited so well on the property and just around a bend in the road and up a knoll, and has a warm farmhouse appeal). They loved that it was large and comfortable, with those nooks and crannies that make it interesting to live in. So, positive feedback, good. Should be, we've been working our behinds off!

I didn't get to take photos last night. I've begun taking them today, but it may not be until tomorrow until I can do all the adjusting, cropping and upload them, as I'm busy printing another! pattern order for Bartlettyarns and copies of my new Curvaceous Cables Collection book, to have ready for any orders Unicorn Books and Crafts will have. They called today and said they'll be uploading the book into their site soon, so I'll keep checking!

non-house: I finished that Lopi vest last night and will CO another one today in 2 strands lt. grey unspun Icelandic wool with 2 strands dk. grey, for a marled or ragg look. I have some of the fuchsia mix alpaca boucle left over from the sweater, which I'll probably use for the edgings.

The first vest was made with size 11 ckns. 66 sts, 2.75 sts/1" for a 24" (size 2) vest. The sweater also was a size 2, round neckline, long straight sleeves with ribbed cuffs. So this one will be a size 4, 66 sts on a size 13 ckn at 2.5 sts/1".

I know the CIC group is CIC-knit, but I'm thinking I'll crochet a few vests, as well. I can use the odds and ends of Lamb's Pride Worsted I have with probably an H or I hook and get a good fabric, not stiff. Yeah, I think the I hook will be better.

I will post photos when they are all made and washed, as I usually do with my batches of CIC garments, and as I'm winging it with each garment, and not keeping notes, there won't be patterns posted. These are basic garments, easily mathed out, based on typical garment dimensions, so patterns really aren't necessary.

Tomorrow, the real estate caravan comes through with the 20 Coldwell Banker agents. So today is the last get-it-all-ready day.

It's just 2 pm and I've already repainted the front door and the threshold, cleaned 3 bathrooms, put all the kitchen paraphernalia away, cleared out and swept the mudroom, organized the back room holding hubby's tools etc, put in a load of laundry and rag rugs, hand washed grippy rug mats, resealed some wallpaper seams in one bedroom, moved the planted urns onto the porch, hauled the 7' long front door mat from behind the garage to the porch, and dusted through the house. My brain is numb from all this rushing and work, but the house finally looks decent.

All that's left for today is to vacuum 3 rooms, dust all the floors, and get the laundry folded and away. Later, I'll take photos and try to post some.

non-house: I began a striped CIC vest last night in the earthy-toned Icelandic Lopi and some coral pink wool. I can't even think about designing yet. So I may spend the rest of the day working on that vest.

I completely missed the posting of "2 days and counting". Was too busy at yesterday's start and too darn tired by yesterday's end! Though I didn't piss away the evening doing nothing - so, I finished the first size 2 sweater for the September CIC challenge. I used 2 strands alpaca boucle in a bright fuchsia/orange mix. I then began balling up 4 strands of Icelandic Lopi in the wheel form, so to be able to start a CIC vest. I have 3 wheels (each about 3.5 ozs) in earth tones and 4 wheels in grey tones. My stash of bright yarn colors is pitiful, but maybe I can scrape up just enough for edgings, we'll see.

I hauled slabs of bluestone off and several wheelbarrows full of bricks, stone and odd lumber parts to pile neatly behind the garage.

I finished spreading the 16 bags of cedar mulch into the 90' total length x 2.5' wide front beds.

Walked around chopping off any low-lying limbs that the RE agents or buyers would walk into, if they weren't looking where they were going, and hauled them off - an overflowing wheelbarrow full.

Plucked more weeds, dead headed the peonies, and cut apart and broke up the 3 teuteurs I made for the peas, years ago, and put them into the barrels with other stuff to be burned.

Bleached our bedroom door frame, which had gotten mildewy, as we have an AC in the bedroom for those hot humid days, bit the outside hall is hot and humid and so where the 2 climates meet = mucko.

Scrubbed the upstairs bath.

Swept the 65' long front porch and all the stone walkways out front.

Hauled 2 heavy bags of soil and soilless mix over to sit by the basement door, waiting for me to wheel barrow it to the front for planting the urns today.

Today I need to sweep the porch again, so I can shellac the replacement boards hubby put in yesterday, then roll on 2 coats of deck paint.

Also gotta paint the second doorway's hall floor.

Help clear hubby's repair stuff out of the mudroom and pantry.

Plant the 2 urns we bought with the 2 flats of geraniums.

Touch up the paint on the front door.

Sweep the walk outside the basement entrance.

Polish all the brass in the house again, as the polish I used last week musta been old, it hardly did anything.

We ate Chnese take-out the last 2 evenings, as weve been too sore and tired to cook, and we almost never eat take out. We always cook our meals from scratch, but the time / work crunch means something has to go. Today he's barbequing chicken, tho, as he needs real meals to take for lunch to work.

Me? I live on water, yogurt, small salads in the summer, more water, tuna sandwiches, and bowls of vegetables, more water, sometimes some pasta. It's what keeps me from gaining weight. Food, though delicious when well prepared, has never been my raison d'etre. Nor my escape nor my comfort. Food is food. It's there to give energy so that I can work, accomplish, create. It's a means to an end, not the end itself. So, if it means I have to eat something boring and plain, as that's all there is the house, it's no big deal. Which is why I don't see the big deal in eating out. Yeah, it's nice once every blue moon, but I'd just as soon spend the money on something that will be an experience. On going somewhere to see something, like museums, art galleries, natural sites of beauty, etc. Heck even an armload of books would excite me more than dinner out. At least after spending that $60-$100, the books will still be here and you won't still be hungry 6 hours later.

Enough yammering from me, work is waiting.

The second load of gravel that was possibly going to come yesterday, if the guy had time, came this morning. Hubby is now doing grocery shopping, then will spread the gravel with the garden tractor. Now, I gotta go find a razor blade to scrape some of the windows where the paint got stuck.

In the planning stages for painting the house, hubby and I discussed the order of the work - window trim, windows, house body etc, and our need for something to cover the windows that, when pulled off, wouldn't take the paint with it! So, I looked online and found a window protection tape at Uline.

It's not a tape, but a roll of window film, that sticks to glass really well. You lay it over the window - in our case, the storm windows which we removed from the frames temporarily so to do this. And you press it in place and trim to fit with a knife. Then put storms back up, so that when the painters sprayed, the over-spray would land on the film, which peels off the glass later, leaving no mess. Yes, we DO like coming up with innovative ways to solve problems, been doing it a long time! So, there's just a bit of paint in some corners where the spray on the window frame then the adjoining film made a seal of sorts and the film got stuck - no biggee.

Then we go to Kingston with the truck and get reams of building and garden supplies. Then I can wood chip the front beds and plant the tall urns I'll hopefully find. If energy prevails, I'll work on shellacing the parlor floor, after I move the furniture and dust the floor.

non-house: Last night, it dawned on me, that, although I haven't the time and mental acuity to work on designs late in the evenings, with all this house prep work to do every day, I could be knitting CIC things. So, as the August sock challenge is over (and we came in at just under 600 pairs!), September is the vest and sweater challenge.

I have a bag of doubled up Plymouth Yarn Alpaca Boucle in a bright fuchsia/orange mix. I had almost finished a design sample, then ripped it all out and balled up the yarn. So, I should be able to get 2 sweaters, about toddler size 2, from the yarn.

I've been wanting to try their new Galway Chunky. I have an afghan sample from a published design, in Knitting Digest, I think (long ago!) that I made with doubled strands of their regular worsted weight Galway. The yarn is nice. I always liked it and its range of colors, BUT, it was a true worsted, necessitating 5 sts/1" and I prefer working in heavy worsted at 4.5 sts/1". And I don't like sleazy fabrics, so I won't knit it at 4.5 sts/1". But, a chunky weight!

Now they say 3.5 sts/1", but I know myself, I'd probably do 3.75 or maybe even 4 sts/1", particularly in a garment. Thicker yarns make heavier garments, which can hang more out of shape, if not made at a good gauge. Unless it was cropped. And I think that would be neat too - cropped bulky wt. jackets. Not very practical for Fargo, I know!, but over a longer wool sweater, it might make an interesting and hip "twin set" for younger wearers.

I have bits and ends of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted still hanging around as well, but that takes more thought and planning, to coordinate colors for stripes etc, unless I do a hodgepodge stripe, just run colors together, as if it was handpainted yarn?

I also have 7 wheels, each 3.5 ozs, of Schoolhouse Press's Unspun Icelandic wool. I had been hoping to do mitten designs with it, but other designs keep pushing their way to the head of the queue. That would make either 4 vests or 2 more sweaters. The colors are natural sheep colors - greys and browns, so I'll need to spice them up with another yarn.

Well, work awaits!

The second load of gravel that was possibly going to come yesterday, if the guy had time, came this morning. Hubby is now doing grocery shopping, then will spread the gravel with the garden tractor. Now, I gotta go find a razor blade to scrape some of the windows where the paint got stuck.

In the planning stages for painting the house, hubby and I discussed the order of the work - window trim, windows, house body etc, and our need for something to cover the windows with that, when pulled off, would take the paint with it! So, I looked online and found a window protection tape at Uline.

It's not a tape, but a roll of window film, that sticks to glass really well. You lay it over the window - in our case, the storm windows which we removed from the frames temporarily so to do this. And you press it in place and trim to fit with a knife. Then put storms back up, so that when the painters sprayed, the over-spray would land on the film, which peels off the glass later, leaving no mess. Yes, we DO like coming up with innovative ways to solve problems, been doing it a long time! So, there's just a bit of paint in some corners where the spray on the window frame then the adjoining film made a seal of sorts and the film got stuck - no biggee.

Then we go to Kingston with the truck and get reams of building and garden supplies. Then I can wood chip the front beds and plant the tall urns I'll hopefully find. If energy prevails, I'll work on shellacing the parlor floor, after I move the furniture and dust the floor.

non-house: Last night, it dawned on me, that, although I haven't the time and mental acuity to work on designs late in the evenings, with all this house prep work to do every day, I could be knitting CIC things. So, as the August sock challenge is over (and we came in at just under 600 pairs!), September is the vest and sweater challenge.

I have a bag of doubled up Plymouth Yarn Alpaca Boucle in a bright fuchsia/orange mix. I had almost finished a design sample, then ripped it all out and balled up the yarn. So, I should be able to get 2 sweaters, about toddler size 2, from the yarn.

I've been wanting to try their new Galway Chunky. I have an afghan sample from a published design, in Knitting Digest, I think (long ago!) that I made with doubled strands of their regular worsted weight Galway. The yarn is nice. I always liked it and its range of colors, BUT, it was a true worsted, necessitating 5 sts/1" and I prefer working in heavy worsted at 4.5 sts/1". And I don't like sleazy fabrics, so I won't knit it at 4.5 sts/1". But, a chunky weight!

Now they say 3.5 sts/1", but I know myself, I'd probably do 3.75 or maybe even 4 sts/1", particularly in a garment. Thicker yarns make heavier garments, which can hang more out of shape, if not made at a good gauge. Unless it was cropped. And I think that would be neat too - cropped bulky wt. jackets. Not very practical for Fargo, I know!, but over a longer wool sweater, it might make an interesting and hip "twin set" for younger wearers.

I have bits and ends of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted still hanging around as well, but that takes more thought and planning, to coordinate colors for stripes etc, unless I do a hodgepodge stripe, just run colors together, as if it was handpainted yarn?

I also have 7 wheels, each 3.5 ozs, of Schoolhouse Press's Unspun Icelandic wool. I had been hoping to do mitten designs with it, but other designs keep pushing their way to the head of the queue. That would make either 4 vests or 2 more sweaters. The colors are natural sheep colors - greys and browns, so I'll need to spice them up with another yarn.

Well, work awaits!

The second load of gravel that was possibly going to come yesterday, if the guy had time, came this morning. Hubby is now doing grocery shopping, then will spread the gravel with the garden tractor. Now, I gotta go find a razor blade to scrape some of the windows where the paint got stuck.

In the planning stages for painting the house, hubby and I discussed the order of the work - window trim, windows, house body etc, and our need for something to cover the windows with that, when pulled off, would take the paint with it! So, I looked online and found a window protection tape at Uline.

It's not a tape, but a roll of window film, that sticks to glass really well. You lay it over the window - in our case, the storm windows which we removed from the frames temporarily so to do this. And you press it in place and trim to fit with a knife. Then put storms back up, so that when the painters sprayed, the over-spray would land on the film, which peels off the glass later, leaving no mess. Yes, we DO like coming up with innovative ways to solve problems, been doing it a long time! So, there's just a bit of paint in some corners where the spray on the window frame then the adjoining film made a seal of sorts and the film got stuck - no biggee.

Then we go to Kingston with the truck and get reams of building and garden supplies. Then I can wood chip the front beds and plant the tall urns I'll hopefully find. If energy prevails, I'll work on shellacing the parlor floor, after I move the furniture and dust the floor.

non-house: Last night, it dawned on me, that, although I haven't the time and mental acuity to work on designs late in the evenings, with all this house prep work to do every day, I could be knitting CIC things. So, as the August sock challenge is over (and we came in at just under 600 pairs!), September is the vest and sweater challenge.

I have a bag of doubled up Plymouth Yarn Alpaca Boucle in a bright fuchsia/orange mix. I had almost finished a design sample, then ripped it all out and balled up the yarn. So, I should be able to get 2 sweaters, about toddler size 2, from the yarn.

I've been wanting to try their new Galway Chunky. I have an afghan sample from a published design, in Knitting Digest, I think (long ago!) that I made with doubled strands of their regular worsted weight Galway. The yarn is nice. I always liked it and its range of colors, BUT, it was a true worsted, necessitating 5 sts/1" and I prefer working in heavy worsted at 4.5 sts/1". And I don't like sleazy fabrics, so I won't knit it at 4.5 sts/1". But, a chunky weight!

Now they say 3.5 sts/1", but I know myself, I'd probably do 3.75 or maybe even 4 sts/1", particularly in a garment. Thicker yarns make heavier garments, which can hang more out of shape, if not made at a good gauge. Unless it was cropped. And I think that would be neat too - cropped bulky wt. jackets. Not very practical for Fargo, I know!, but over a longer wool sweater, it might make an interesting and hip "twin set" for younger wearers.

I have bits and ends of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted still hanging around as well, but that takes more thought and planning, to coordinate colors for stripes etc, unless I do a hodgepodge stripe, just run colors together, as if it was handpainted yarn?

I also have 7 wheels, each 3.5 ozs, of Schoolhouse Press's Unspun Icelandic wool. I had been hoping to do mitten designs with it, but other designs keep pushing their way to the head of the queue. That would make either 4 vests or 2 more sweaters. The colors are natural sheep colors - greys and browns, so I'll need to spice them up with another yarn.

Well, work awaits!

The front hall came out nicely! I need to re-shellac some spots to bring the color up more, but otherwise it looks 200% better. Now, of course, it makes the flanking dining room and parlor floors look poor by comparison. So, add that to my list for this (holiday!) weekend. And I might as well do the upstairs hall too. There's a gallon, and it only takes very little to do the job.

The previous owners had a runner down the hall, and had shellaced *around* the runner, so there's a deeper depth of color at the edges than in the middle, as the first thing I did when we moved in was to haul out, single-handedly, very old musty carpets and carpeting padding from the year of the flood that were in nearly every room.

non-house: I decided to take a photo of the Peace Fleece Zarya Fog yarn I posted about earlier:

Painter called early this morning, and will be here shortly to work on the last large house side. Dump truck with 3 yards of 3/4 bluestone gravel for the driveway is outside as I write dumping small piles to be raked out. But, Not by me! I'm still aching from all this painting - 3 hours spent mostly squatting edging the foundation, then the quickie part - 40 minutes of rolling, then all the washing up, then weeded one driveway bed and racked those darn pine needles and willow branches off the driveway, and plucked the weeds that will grow anywhere, apparently.

My flat feet are still aching, one leg cramped me in the middle of the night, and don't even ask how my wings and shoulders feel! But the 3 yards doesn't look to be enough. Hubby says we did 13 yards for the driveway when we first moved here, then more when we put in the parking area for the B&B, but doesn't remember how many yards that was exactly. I think another 3 yards should do it.

Hubby sanded the second hallway floor yesterday then discovered the floor wasn't shellaced but was painted the same pumpkin color as the adjoining stairs to the small attic. Really old paint, may even be milk paint. But the floor is so worn and discolored, we can't leave it, so it's gets painted as soon as he picks up the porch and floor enamel.

Today he's lightly sanding the entire front hall, 17' long, 7' wide at start and 3.5' wide at back, which I will be spending a good part of today on. As this house had been divided up into apartments (how I hate when they do that), there were a LOT of people in and out of the front door, and the old wide pine boards look it. Not just nicely and evenly worn in logical places, but worn in odd places, so it looks terrible. So, I need to layer the shellac on, first in several layers on the worn-bare areas to bring the color depth up to the surrounding wood, then do the entire floor to make it as even as possible. Oh yeah, this will be fun.

non-house: In my optimism and longing to just sit and knit!, I washed 6 hanks of Peace Fleece worsted wt in a lovely heather color called Zarya (sunrise) fog. At a distance, it has a steely blue-grey look, but close up, there's grey, turquoise, fuchsia, and gold. Sounds bright, but isn't, They're all well-blended, but tiny bits of the original colors peek through.

I don't usually do one-color sweaters (my recent one, Working Cables, I also made in Peace Fleece and wear it all the time in autumn and winter), but I thought another, simpler sweater would be nice too, as I wear the Working Cables sweater out, but not inside. So, a sweater for inside OR outside would be good. But I still want it shaped, maybe beginning at the waist or just below it with a few inches seed stitch, then shaped up to the armholes, and a raglan. I haven't done a raglan in ages, yet I find them comfortable to wear. Round neckline, seed stitch borders, or maybe all the edges in ribbing, I don't know yet. But this is all still in my head, I'm not gonna have time to begin a project for awhile, at least until after the rush (!) of house showings are over.

I've also been wanting to get back to dyeing yarn. I want to add colors to the wool and cashmere colors I have and get in Briggs and Little Tuffy to dye. They have such masculine colors, though I like the yarn. I don't DO superwash and nylon sock yarns, so the fact that this is REAL wool blended with nylon is a major plus for me, and it's a good weight - heavy worsted. Thin socks are only great for summer (for me). Once it dips below 70 degrees, I need thicker socks, so I never knit fingering wt or sport wt socks. Why bother? I'll wear cotton ones all summer, then immediately don wool ones once the temps dip.

But dyeing is on the same back burner as knitting and designing. It's not that I couldn't squeeze it in. By 8 or 9 pm, I am usually done with the manual labor for the day, so I could do some knitting or design work until bed at near midnight, but I've been too tired and sore to do more than stare at the ball of yarn and neck warmer sitting on the coffee table.

Well, the day is waiting for me to get off my tucas. Maybe I could hot glue myself to this chair and not have to get up! Hahahaha! Desperate measures.

Have I ever said how much I dislike shellac? Well, I'm saying it now. I don't like shellac. Now, I love the *color* of shellac on wood floors, which we have. But there's also shellac primer, which is what I've been using a lot lately. It seals wallpaper, knots, stains, you name it. So, it's much better than a regular primer, when prepping bare wood and papered walls, so that you can paint them.

Why don't I like it? It's alcohol based. Full stomach or empty stomach, it doesn't matter - it makes me queasy. Long after I've left the area I was shellacing, the smell remains in the nose and I can feel the burn in my stomach. The things we have to do.

Yes, I'd much rather be knitting and designing! But the work ain't gonna do itself. Today it's finally cooler, breezier and actually DRY! Yippee! I am going outside momentarily to wire brush and paint the several large sections of foundation wall. Then weed the driveway-flanking beds, as I couldn't for these past many humid days with the mosquitos wanting to dine on me.

Just heard from the RE agent, the caravan is till on for the 7th, and the video guy is coming the 8th. That's what neat about the local Coldwell Banker office, they put video tours of all their listings. This does make it easier for out of town buyers to weed through prospective homes. I wish they all did that, but in shopping online for our next home, I'm finding I'm lucky if they post several photos of a house and actually include the inside! Sometimes there will be 7 shots of the outside and not one of the inside - makes you wonder how bad the inside actually looks like, if they didn't want to show it off.

non-house: I have another new shop account, Nancy's Quilt Shop in Las Vegas. She hosts knitting classes and needed a dozen each of 4 of my sock designs for some of the classes. It's my first shop in Nevada. For those looking for a local shop that carries my designs, see my Shops and Mail Order page. If you visit a listed shop and they haven't got the selection of designs or books you're looking for, just tell the owner which designs you'd like and ask her or him to carry them. Shops can't really know what their knitting customers want unless knitters tell them!

And Patternworks called this morning to ask if they could hold onto the garment samples for my Love Collection book to display in the shop. Of course, said I. The book is in their Fall catalog, coming out soon!