The lack of posting the past week is directly related to the amount of work that I have accomplished during that said same period of time.  To knit or not to knit, to blog or not to blog, to knit or to blog, to dye or to knit or to blog… to work.  Ahhh… work, there it is again.  We  do the best we can.  C has been working the farm, I’ve been working the business and when I’ve got a minute, I’ve been dyeing.  I’ll post pictures as soon as I can get the light and the time.

I began to wonder if one of the reasons that I have so many socks presently under construction might be that I just wasn’t treating them with the love and respect that they apparently need.  This idea comes from reading bloggers that treat their socks to vacations, enrichment trips, dinners, and what have you and somehow DO manage to complete PAIRS of socks.  (it could be that the same sock is shown over and over again in new and exciting settings, but… maybe it’s worth a try.) So, this weekend, the SOCK and I took a break and went sailing.  Proof:

  Thank goodness my friends are not too judgmental.. tho’ there was talk of hanging it out from the hook on the fishing pole.  After considering this for a second (only one, I promise.. I decided that fear should not be introduced to the SOCK)

and a closeup..

Despite drinking three cups (in rapid succession) of jolt juice the morning elixir, I find myself unable to clear my head, open my eyes without wanting to squint and, oh why go on… everyone has these mornings.  I’ll attribute this to one to way too many late nights spent working lately and WAAAY too little knitting.  I was absolutely determined to get yarn into the dye pot before *am this morning ( just because it would get things moving around here) and post.  That said, after the third cup, while drinking the fourth (oooh, this does not bode well for the rest of the day, hope I don’t meet anyone I know this morning), I dropped my new CD (see the side bar)into the changer, turned the volume up to what I could stand (not much) and got moving.  I’ll insert here that after the first color in the pot, I know that the coffee did NOT do the trick.  This is the first time in years where the dye pot did not clear, not even close.  It had so much left in it that a new pot had to be brought into service.  Dye is not wasted, it’s not tossed out. It is saved for the next round.. but it never happens… until this morning.  In defense, I am over dyeing a dark color and it is a new yarn that I have not dyed before.  New is fun.  hm mm…I’m starting to warm up.
The other day, while checking out a new yarn shop, I found that Bryspun has circular needles.

I love the little 5", or are they 4".. they are really short.. Bryspuns for socks.  These have the same great tips and the softest band I have ever seen.  It’s a pet peeve of mine, those stiff bands that loop around trying to smack you in the face or make newly discovered geometric forms from whatever is presently on the needles.  These don’t do it.  I hurried up and got the fronts of the Ribby Cardi to the point where I could put them onto the size 8 circ. I had bought, just to try it out.  NICE!   Do yourself a favor, look for them.  I don’t know about the join for stuff in the small sizes, but for say 5 and up… no problem. 

ps. I’ve just lit a fire in the fireplace.  I’ve caved.  My wearing
long pants, long sleeve shirt and wooly slippers.. soon with socks.
All this after 98F temps only a day or so ago.

pps. To My Secret Pal.. I’ve put my list on the 6/1/05 post.  Just in case ;))

Die hards don’t give up wool and / or knitting when the weather gets HOT, and DYE hards don’t either.  I’ve been very busy (and VERY HOT).  Here’s an over view.. 
In order to clear bobbins for the Alden Amos workshop last Sunday, I decided to ply up two bobbins worth of this really lovely wool / mohair that I’ve been slowly spinning.  I made one small bobbin of boucle with it and then these.  I liked it even more after plying.

I dyed some more of the wool / silk singles.  This is in the Aegean colorway.  I haven’t posted it for sale yet, but there are eight skeins, about 1280 yds. total. 

I finished the sleeves of the Ribby Cardi.  They look ridiculous, does anyone think that they look as if human arms might somehow encase themselves in these?? 

Here’s a story:
Years ago, I had a small business designing and exporting clothing made
in small villages by sewers in Guatemala.  I had a sleeveless jumper
sort of dress that had been cut and sewed repeatedly by the same
people for me, so I felt somewhat confident in asking them to make me a
sample with sleeves.. long sleeves.  We agreed upon a size and fabric
and I asked that they take the finished sample to a friend who would
bring it to me in another town a week later.  My eyes nearly popped out
of my head, I nearly died laughing ( and crying) when I finally
received the dress.  It made those knitted sleeves look wide and short,
very, very short.   Attached to the dress were long, SKINNY tubes.  I
began, at that moment, to consider was just how different we (the
gringas) looked to the smaller statured Mayans.  We appeared, were
proportioned, like Alice the Goon.  Remember that cartoon
figure?  So, go figure.

I have faith that the sweater will work out.
The sleeves and back are finished. Rather than do the logical thing, cast on for the fronts.. I rewarded myself by casting on yet another pair of socks.

  sad, but true… I won’t count..

Instead of going into detail on the Amos / Gaustad workshop, I’ll insert a couple links here: http://morseworld.blogspot.com/
http://community.webshots.com/album/368732649bWTqds
I learned a few tricks, saw some incredible wheels (and spinners) and had the best fish tacos I’ve ever eaten.  In spite of the fact that I haven’t seen a single picture on any site that will prove it, I was there.  The Fiber Arts Center is beautiful.  I was impressed that the smallish town of Amherst had such a wealth of fiber arts.

Top it off with 1400 newly planted pachysandra looking more like fresh hair transplnts than a new garden, that need to be watered twice daily until the heat breaks, piles of laundry (it does not dry well in this humidity but the dryer crapped out) and the interviewing of prospective new employees, office and the normal day to day, and you get the picture.  Have a good one!