Goosewatch 2010 has officially begun.
Labels: wildlife
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Since this is actually a crafting blog, here's the good stuff at the top. Updates on life in general, the house, and cats are after the pics of the monster cats. Sorry for the less than ideal iPhone pics, my camera has gone into hiding so until I find it or buy a new camera, it will just have to do!
First I'm declaring myself as sidelined from the kitting olympics due to injury. The carpal is just not letting me working on Laminaria very long each day. I spent some time in the car with it and it is still in the transition chart stage.
I am still going to limp along on this project though. And am also planning to start the Evenstar Mystery Shawl at some point very soon....using Skacel Merino Lace. This one will truly be a challenge, a round lace shawl that measures about 5 feet across. Many knitters have already begun this mystery, and the knitting is truly lovely.
Luckily, my "oh shiny" crafting distractability can give me some other things to do while my hands heal up from my carpal flare-up.
My stitching mojo is definitely back! Went to the not-so-local shop today and picked up the missing color for one of my stitching projects. I am working on Mirabilia's "M" fairy. Upper body is completed, moving down her skirt and the "M". I also picked up a few goodies at the shop!
I will also have some stitchalongs starting soon. My EGA chapter will be doing a silk ribbon group correspondence course and we are also embarking on an intro brazilian embroidery project. Updates on this coming soon.
Spindle spinning is also becoming almost a daily activity. I turned a little bit of this Paigewood Fiber Puffs into this little length of navajo-plied yumminess.
I have a Damsel Monique spindle in my desk drawer for some breaktime spinning with some merino-silk blended beauty, but I am strongly considering putting these puffs in a bowl on my desk with my Hound spindle. It is not the easiest for spindle spinning or for plying on the spindle, but it is a lot of fun to look at and fondle.
To continue my Greensleeves Spindle addiction, I finally picked up the spindle that has been yelling at me at the shop for months - a Connie's Mjolinor. Yet another laceweight spindle. On it is a small sampling of the northern lights roving from louet. Now it is working through a merino/silk blend in a lovely blue. Pics on that later!
And now for the non-crafting component of the post. I truly want this to remain a crafting blog. But as you know, real life tends to interfere with all crafting all the time - so no blogging material. And while a lot of real life I want to leave unblogged, there are aspects that I want to share. So here's a (mostly) quick catch-up:
The "other busy season" at work begins next week. So I have been frantically running errands to stock up on essentials, catching up with friends, and trying to accomplish just a few more house projects.
My carpal continues to be a problem. After too much caffiene and regular knitting, my hands and wrists are not amused. I have taken pain killers and plan to break out the ice packs shortly.
The homefront....is still in flux...many projects this weekend and a post to follow involving geese, beavers, decluttering, and my ridiculously huge stash.
And now for the true butt-kicking component of the post.....I should know better than to be more than cautiously optimistic on the cat's progress. His check-up was less than positive, an infection has returned and his tumor has not shrunk further. In fact it appears to have grown, though the vet acknowledge that it may be related to the infection rather than the tumor. So we have another med added to the mix and a follow up in 3 weeks.
First I'm declaring myself as sidelined from the kitting olympics due to injury. The carpal is just not letting me working on Laminaria very long each day. I spent some time in the car with it and it is still in the transition chart stage.
I am still going to limp along on this project though. And am also planning to start the Evenstar Mystery Shawl at some point very soon....using Skacel Merino Lace. This one will truly be a challenge, a round lace shawl that measures about 5 feet across. Many knitters have already begun this mystery, and the knitting is truly lovely.
Luckily, my "oh shiny" crafting distractability can give me some other things to do while my hands heal up from my carpal flare-up.
My stitching mojo is definitely back! Went to the not-so-local shop today and picked up the missing color for one of my stitching projects. I am working on Mirabilia's "M" fairy. Upper body is completed, moving down her skirt and the "M". I also picked up a few goodies at the shop!
I will also have some stitchalongs starting soon. My EGA chapter will be doing a silk ribbon group correspondence course and we are also embarking on an intro brazilian embroidery project. Updates on this coming soon.
Spindle spinning is also becoming almost a daily activity. I turned a little bit of this Paigewood Fiber Puffs into this little length of navajo-plied yumminess.
I have a Damsel Monique spindle in my desk drawer for some breaktime spinning with some merino-silk blended beauty, but I am strongly considering putting these puffs in a bowl on my desk with my Hound spindle. It is not the easiest for spindle spinning or for plying on the spindle, but it is a lot of fun to look at and fondle.
To continue my Greensleeves Spindle addiction, I finally picked up the spindle that has been yelling at me at the shop for months - a Connie's Mjolinor. Yet another laceweight spindle. On it is a small sampling of the northern lights roving from louet. Now it is working through a merino/silk blend in a lovely blue. Pics on that later!
And now for the non-crafting component of the post. I truly want this to remain a crafting blog. But as you know, real life tends to interfere with all crafting all the time - so no blogging material. And while a lot of real life I want to leave unblogged, there are aspects that I want to share. So here's a (mostly) quick catch-up:
The "other busy season" at work begins next week. So I have been frantically running errands to stock up on essentials, catching up with friends, and trying to accomplish just a few more house projects.
My carpal continues to be a problem. After too much caffiene and regular knitting, my hands and wrists are not amused. I have taken pain killers and plan to break out the ice packs shortly.
The homefront....is still in flux...many projects this weekend and a post to follow involving geese, beavers, decluttering, and my ridiculously huge stash.
And now for the true butt-kicking component of the post.....I should know better than to be more than cautiously optimistic on the cat's progress. His check-up was less than positive, an infection has returned and his tumor has not shrunk further. In fact it appears to have grown, though the vet acknowledge that it may be related to the infection rather than the tumor. So we have another med added to the mix and a follow up in 3 weeks.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
No time or energy to blog this year.....Between daytrips to the out-of-town vet, work ramping up again, house stuff, and carpal flareups....I have been too tired to be much of a conversationalist....just ask my friends and family! So blogging has been very far down on the list.
While not a happy traveler, the monster cat has been fairly good traveler. His tumor has responded very well to the meds. His hair has still not grown back much, the shaved spots on his jaw and legs are covered in almost a fine down. But the abscess has healed up, he is acting and eating as normally as he ever has. His weight is back up over 13 lbs, so I think the oncologist will be pleased when she sees him at the end of this week (though needless to say he will be less than thrilled to see her).
The medication schedule is mostly manageable for me, though I need to give him a test run at my parents or find a sitter before I feel comfortable leaving town for anything. He is unpredictable with his willingness to take them and given his size, I'm not sure that even my mom can manage him. So I have pretty much written off going to Convergence this summer. After this check up, I plan to ship him off to mom for a test run.
For some insane reason, I decided to sign up for the knitting olympics and cast on Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman (ravelry link). I am making a shawlette of sorts using one skein of Handmaiden Mini Maiden. I seriously doubt I will finish it before the closing ceremonies, but we shall see! In the meantime, here's a bad picture.
While I like this yarn and the pattern so far, I am not totally loving this yarn. The single spun yarn tends to get a little shreddy, for lack of a better descriptor. Maybe I rub my hands too much on it, or my hands are just too warm, but there is a definite halo to this.
I think I have my stitching mojo back....I finished Iris Window Garden by Calico Crossroads today! This has been a longterm work in progress, which is sad given its small size. I worked this on linen using silk threads and a black metallic for the back-stitching.
I still need to date it and attach the charm, but it is essentially done! So I have picked up my Mirabilia initial project, when I should be working on my Olympic knitting project. But that's what I am in the mood for right now!
Hopefully more later this week....
While not a happy traveler, the monster cat has been fairly good traveler. His tumor has responded very well to the meds. His hair has still not grown back much, the shaved spots on his jaw and legs are covered in almost a fine down. But the abscess has healed up, he is acting and eating as normally as he ever has. His weight is back up over 13 lbs, so I think the oncologist will be pleased when she sees him at the end of this week (though needless to say he will be less than thrilled to see her).
The medication schedule is mostly manageable for me, though I need to give him a test run at my parents or find a sitter before I feel comfortable leaving town for anything. He is unpredictable with his willingness to take them and given his size, I'm not sure that even my mom can manage him. So I have pretty much written off going to Convergence this summer. After this check up, I plan to ship him off to mom for a test run.
For some insane reason, I decided to sign up for the knitting olympics and cast on Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman (ravelry link). I am making a shawlette of sorts using one skein of Handmaiden Mini Maiden. I seriously doubt I will finish it before the closing ceremonies, but we shall see! In the meantime, here's a bad picture.
While I like this yarn and the pattern so far, I am not totally loving this yarn. The single spun yarn tends to get a little shreddy, for lack of a better descriptor. Maybe I rub my hands too much on it, or my hands are just too warm, but there is a definite halo to this.
I think I have my stitching mojo back....I finished Iris Window Garden by Calico Crossroads today! This has been a longterm work in progress, which is sad given its small size. I worked this on linen using silk threads and a black metallic for the back-stitching.
I still need to date it and attach the charm, but it is essentially done! So I have picked up my Mirabilia initial project, when I should be working on my Olympic knitting project. But that's what I am in the mood for right now!
Hopefully more later this week....
