(UFO)lympic Training

Hi Cindy!

I was going through pictures earlier today looking for some from the Chiricahua Mountains. We've taken 3 trips down there over the years and are planning another camping trip in about a month. It is the 17th Anniversary of the first backpack trip DH and I took together. I had no luck finding any pictures but I did have a good time looking through the rest and came across this picture of a younger you when you visited and we went to the Grand Canyon. What a fun trip! Hopefully your family can come out to visit someday and we can take a similar trip. How about Zion or Bryce? The picture was only about 3 weeks after the aforementioned backpack trip.


I have decided that I will compete in the UFOlympics on Ravelry. Saturday is the last day to join the group and the last day to declare your chosen competition is next week Saturday. Training is allowed until that last day of declaration. I am going to work on the Cobblestone Sweater for DH. I started it several months ago and have worked on it occassionally since. I picked it up again this afternoon to do a little training and in the few hours I worked it tonight I finished another inch or two. I have about 8 inches done on the body with another 10 inches to go before it is time to start the sleeves. If I can get a good portion of the chest done before the rest period I stand a good chance of finishing. This is about the biggest item I've attempted. Wish me luck!

To finish off, here are two recent FO's. The first is a hair-drying hat I finished recently. You may recognize the yarn; it is the white cotton you sent for my birthday the first year I started knitting. I tripled the yarn and really love the texture of the hat. I need to add an additional button on the flap so I can tighten it so it will stay. I added the loop for hanging so it dries quickly when I'm done with it.

The second is a snood I made. It is in dark grey cotton ease (Lion Brand) using the same stitch pattern I've been stuck on for the last two months; YO-K2TOG one round, knit the next. It gives a great, simple lacy affect. CG at work thinks it looks a lot like crochet. What do you think?

Guess I'd better close this and head off to bed. Take care, more soon, A

Cat Sweaters Galore!

Hi Cindy,

Teddy is a little bummed. Crazy Aunt Purl announced the winners of the cat sweater contest today. Unfortunately we didn't win but if you take a look at all the sweaters submitted you'll get an idea of how much competition there was. Additionally she is having another contest, one of the prizes is a trip to California for two.

Thanksgiving preps are coming along well. We got a good bounty in the co-op basket this week. My turkey is already thawing. I work tomorrow and then have spinning class tomorrow night. I'm taking off the rest of the week. Wednesday will be for finishing off cleaning and starting cooking. Probably just pumpkin pie and some baked good for Friday morning breakfast. DH's parents are down Thursday morning and will stay at least over night.

We tied yet another record high temperature today, 88. It shouldn't be this warm this late in the year. But the record that today tied was just set last year so it isn't like this is something new. It was hot this week last year but cooled off right around Thanksgiving. We were doing field work in Wickenburg last year at the end of November and we had several days of freezing weather. One of the places we visited last year during field work had a fountain out front and it was still frozen over at 2 pm so you can imagine how cold it was. We are supposed to be cooling off toward the end of the week, just not that cold.

Peruse the sweaters and get a good laugh from them! Happy Thanksgiving!

A

DH's new instrument

Hi Cindy,

Hope your weekend was nice. Colors changing yet? We've been so happy to be under 100 for most of the last week, fall must be here ;)

As you can see the picture is not a spinning wheel. DH broke down on Thursday and had to buy a cheap, practice mandolin. It sounds pretty nice and he'd learning to play it pretty well. His fingers are sore from practice.

While I did not get a wheel before he got his mandolin, we did stop by the store right afterwards so that we could look at them. I have it narrowed down to either the Kromski Minstral or the Ashford Traveler. DH is promising one as soon as he gets his payout from the county, starts his new job and gets his first check. The debate now is whether to by it from Fiber Factory or buy it online. Prices are about the same, it just depends how quickly I want it and what each dealer offers (wool, niddy noddy, etc?).

I made a slight alteration to Margi's sweater the other day. I added about an inch of 2x2 ribbing on the bottom edge to make it lay flat. It now looks better, more like a sweater and less like a dress. Teddy decided to get in on the act. Actually we just put it on him and he rolled around in it, trying to get out of it and looking cute. Margi had to ask him if he was enjoying it.



I started a kitty pi bed the other day. It is based on the Pi Shawl by Elizabeth Zimmerman and can be found at Wendy Knits. It is one of the first patterns I found online when I started knitting. Can you believe it has only been 2 years this coming week-next Saturday I believe. Margi loves to sit in my lap in this chair, whether I'm knitting or reading (just started Deathly Hallows again). She curls up and purrs away. I am using a soy silk-wool blend by Patons. I believe it is called Cabbage Rose. I also have 2 skeins of a blue mix that I might use for one for Teddy.

Well, it's time to head to bed so I can get up for work tomorrow. DH was bugging me to stay home a few more days but there's projects that I have to get done this week.

Happy Knitting,
A

Cat Sweater and another FO

Hi Cindy,

Well, looks like we won't go anywhere this week. We've spent the last two days working on house stuff and there's plenty more that could keep us busy for weeks. Today we tackled the front yard a little and then tried to replace the shut-off valve on the master bath toilet. We ended up calling a plumber for that and he still had problems with it. The nut was seized so tight it ended up breaking off on him. The same guy showed up that fixed our slab leak back in February. He's really knowledgeable and helpful. He showed DH exactly what was wrong and how to fix it on the others.

As you may have figured out from the last brief post I finished the sweater over the weekend. We set up the photo shoot on the bed and got her all ready. It wasn't too hard to get it on, the head was big enough it just went over. It took her about 2 seconds to strip it off. She dropped and rolled. While rolling she brought a back foot up and just peeled off the sweater. It was hilarious to watch. We want to do it again but try to film it this time.

After she had it removed she had to express her opinion of the sweater by attacking it. You can tell by the demon-y eyes that she's possessed. Actually it was just a little bit of kitty frustration. It is amazing how when we mess with any of them they have to show the object that we put on them just who is boss.

I have another quick FO to show off. I knit it over the weekend and wanted to get it felted in time to take to work on Monday but no such luck. I felted it yesterday and it will have to go in with me when I go back on Monday. It is a business card holder. It is mostly the ramboulette that I spun up in class this summer. I started following a pattern for a small knit back but then added the increases along the edge to give it the scalloped effect. The last half round and the bind-off were in a little bit of Noro Silk Garden. There was enough wool in it (55%) to felt just fine. I'm thinking I might try a pencil holder next.

Guess I should close this up and get off to bed. We've got plenty more work to do tomorrow. My old boss is coming by to pick up an old stereo that DH's uncle bought in Viet Nam 35+ years ago.

Happy Knitting! A

A hint of things to come

Hi Cindy,

Just a teaser on the sweater. I finished it Saturday morning and Mags had to check it out.

More later, A

A Use for Fun Fur

Hi Cindy!

I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted. Guess time flies. Looks like you had a good time at the wool festival. I'm envious.

If you looked at my comment the other day and the associated blog you may have guessed that I'm working on a cat sweater. Crazy Aunt Purl is having a contest to celebrate the launch of her first book. Margi has agreed to be the guinea pig for this little experiment. I got her approval on my yarn selections. She really likes the wool blend that will be the body of the sweater and even appreciates the fun fur that will trim the neck and sleeves. She even agreed to early fittings and purred her head off the entire time.

I debated how to construct the sweater. Make it like a tube but with arm holes? That would mean a lot of back-and-forth knitting without being able to take advantage of the knitting in the round. So I decided to knit the arm area first rather like a key-hole scarf but with key holes at each end where the arms would be. I then used a three needle bind-off to close the tube and picked up first for the neck line and then for the lower body.

I am down to the last arm. I just started it but I should finish it tomorrow evening and then just have to weave in the ends. DH and I both think that she will actually like the sweater and may even wear it willingly. Every time I pull it out to work on she comes around to investigate, almost as if she knows it's for her.

On Sunday we went to the opening of the Tempe Center for the Arts. It is up at Tempe Town Lake. They had a free open house with short performances and such. It is located on the south back of the river at the west end of the lake, right near the dam. It is located right under the flight path for Sky Harbor so there are constantly planes over head. They had a specially designed roof system that actually blocks the noise of the planes. We were in the Lakeside room listening to a QA sessions with the architects and you could watch the planes flying overhead and not hear them at all. There is a small theater inside as well as a Gallery space and a Studio space. Each room is actually it's own small building and they are all clustered under a larger roof structure that helps cut the noise and keep the building cool. The roof line is actually designed to mimic the nearby mountain. On the lake side they have built a shallow reflecting pool with a negative edge. From inside the building it is just a clear vista out toward the lake (and the train bridge and the light rail bridge and the freeway....)

DH is counting the hours down until he is done with his current office. He is planning on working the rest of the week. Next week we may take a trip somewhere and then he'll take a few more days around the house. He starts his new job two weeks from tomorrow on the 27th.

Guess I should close this up. Next time maybe I'll have a FO to show you. And I've got a story about moths, churro wool and dying.

Take care, A