Dawn Brocco's Life & Design Blog

make like new
The motor in our ancient washer finally went kapootski on Tuesday. Hubby filled the washer with his work uniforms. The water filled up and then it stopped. He managed to get it to run enough to do the load, rinse and drain the water, with much prodding of the motor. Then he called everyone local and not so local, looking for a replacement motor, but it was my Googling that found not only a really good priced motor, but with only $6.80 in shipping costs, AND it arrived via Fedex yesterday. Not bad for something that weighs 17.5 lbs without the shipping box!

CIC plans
Claudia of Countrywool has begun a CIC sweater knit-a-long, so I thought I'd hold off my more generic CIC knit-a-long for awhile.

I'm also not ready to begin CIC knitting yet. I want to get to the Salvation Army and see if there aren't wool sweaters I could buy to full, then add new ribbings and some embroidery. I just don't have that kind of free time to knit CIC sweaters. When I did knit CIC garments, I did size 2 and 4 vests in superbulky yarn gauges. But larger kids' (size 6-16) sweaters and socks are desired for this challenge (bigger kids, ages 6 to 16, socks, vests, sweaters, mailing date - March 31.) So, I thought the fulled and embroidered sweater idea might be do-able. We should be getting to Kingston this weekend, as hubby wants to get new hoses for the washer, as well. He can keep things working almost forever!

I prefer to knit socks for CIC anyway, and have been looking online for good wool yarn bargains, and I think I've found some. Webs has Bulky Lopi for $4.25/100 gram skein, NFD (no further discount). And they have their own Berkshire yarn (85% wool, 15% alpaca) at $4.99, BUT, when ya spend $60, ya get 20% off = $3.99/skein. If I wait and get yarn for the next design at the same time, I'm sure I can reach the 25% discount, so each skein would be $3.74. And then I'll double the Berkshire or use the Bulky Lopi singly for really thick slipper socks for the kids.

Or maybe I'll get lucky and find some wool yarn at the Salvation Army - though I haven't in the past.

In the meantime, still knitting on new design and began triple thick socks for self. I have 2 similar pairs - very cozy, to the point that I'm not wearing my other thick wool socks unless desperate (as in the 2 cushy pairs are soaking). So, more triple thick pairs are apparently needed! This pair is in 2 strands Victorian Pink Lamb's Pride Worsted and 1 strand Cestari 2-ply wool, natural white, all used together, size 10 ndls (6 mm), 28 sts - talk about quick!

I bought that Cestari to see how its softness had supposedly improved. It's OK, but fer the money, I'll take other wool yarns.

Been needing new rag rugs, but no loom means no weaving them, as I prefer to do. Maybe the SA will have some rugs as well. I'll need to make a list of things to look for, lest I forget!

Onward.