Annoying Comments

Although mine aren't personal, like Carolyn's, they are intrusive. Anyone know how to keep these bottom-feeders from filling up comments with ads? I've been deleting them and then banning the IP but it gets a little tedious. One overzealous jerk commented on every entry going back to my first MT post. For that I went into the database and sorted them by author then deleted them in chunks. I thought I read about something you can add to MT to allow you to delete right from the email notice you get - can't find the reference right now.

I really shouldn't be whining considering what could have happened to me today. I took the Asian American Club to Chinatown for a New Year's luncheon (a little late, but snow got in the way!). I was walking down Arch St. and something shiny caught my eye. I looked up and saw a humongous piece of ice plummeting to the ground. It had to be 5 feet long, maybe 15" wide and about that deep. It crashed about 4' in front of me. The kids were all about 20 feet in front of me, waiting on the corner for the buses. You should have seen the look on their faces! Good thing I was carrying 85 lucky red envelopes.

I Need Some Focus

Here it is a snow day and I have so many things rolling around in my brain that I don't know what to start on first. Of course, a nasty headcold might be adding to my befuddled feelings. Or it may be that I'm enjoying the view from my kitchen window. I think I need to take some time to figure out what projects I want to work on first and do a little prioritizing. Don't think I'm going to be a one project at a time person, but I was thinking more like one weaving, one spinning, one dyeing, one carding, oh and you really do need several knitting projects!

Well, before I get to that, look at the pretty yarn from one of Linda Diak's batts. The picture doesn't do it justice - since the little highlights of golden yellow just won't show up.


On another subject, I have a tablecloth that I love. I think it's huck, but I'm not sure. Any ideas? I was thinking of a runner and 4 place mats. Now that the family is downsizing, I need some new placemats (you know, not stained)

Gotta go straighten up my office and do some school work. Doesn't hurt that I can keep my eye on the front walk. I'm waiting for UPS to bring my Thunderbird order. Hmm, I guess I'm not really serious about focusing, am I?

It's All About Teasing Mom

'til they're freezing, then they want one of those fuzzy mohair hats. I must have made this hat 6 years ago. Basically you start with 12 stitches, increase until you have the size you want, knit until it's almost twice as deep as you want, then decrease until down to 12. Here's what it looks like when it's finished. The beauty is that it's four layers of mohair over your ears. I usually don't wear hats, but it's been so freaking cold that I pulled this out. That's when Laura decided it was now COOL! Luckily I had some purple/teal/navy variegated mohair so I went to work. I won't have quite enough, but I can finish it off with black, since it will be just the last few inches and it will be inside. Fast knitting, but working on 16" circulars is hard on my wrists. Too much tension, I guess.

We had an inch or so of snow this morning. After grading all last night and this morning, I'm heading into school to enter my midterms. The call is for 4-8" tomorrow night, then frozen rain and sleet for Monday. SNOW DAY! I just hope it comes late enough for me to get to spinning tomorrow. Dodie (the hostess) has promised to give me some advice and a peak at her bead stash! I'm taking the Fire Mountain catalogue and a bunch of post-it flags to mark everything I need. Last I heard the storm wasn't supposed to start until 5-6 PM so that should give me time.

Why I Weave

Carolyn's post about why she weaves had me thinking about why I enjoy it so much. Although I'm new to weaving - at least relative to how long I've been knitting - I think I like it so much because it encompasses everything I love about fiber. I get to sit down and calculate, in a rather formal way, how much warp I need, what sett do I use, what weave structure, etc. But then I still have to realize that no matter how much I plan there's an uncertainty about how the different yarns will react with the weave structure and with each other. How will the colors blend? Will I like it when it's finished? Add all of that to the feel of the fiber slipping through my fingers as I wind the warp and sley the reed and the rhythm of throwing the shuttle and pulling the beater and I have to wonder ---- how could you NOT want to weave!

I had a relaxing three day weekend. I spent most of my time spinning the silk and finishing up another Wallaby for a baby gift. I also finished Laura's mohair scarf. Now I can get back to finishing my sage mohair cardigan. My game plan for this week is to finish that sweater and plan my next weaving project.

Don't You Just Love It ...

when you find something that's almost finished, that has all the needles you were using, and your notes on what you were thinking, all together? I know I posted this sage mohair cardigan on my infamous UFO Wall of Shame, but I have the ability to forget anything I don't want to think about at the moment (or most anything I DO want to think about, but I don't want to think about that now!) I have about 2" left on the back and then the two fronts. I'm using big needles so it will be fast to finish.

I was playing around with my inkle but I'm still not getting nice edges. I also was playing around with trying for a softly spun yarn. I think I got a bit too soft :-) but that got me thinking. This yarn is so incredibly soft - is there a purpose for something this softly spun? I guess it would pill like crazy.

Too many thoughts going through my poor pressurized head. I'm going to take my newly found project to the living room and watch Bend It Like Beckham and knit away. That and some hot tea ought to make me feel better.

Smack Down

I guess I was more than bone tired! I ended up leaving school in the middle of the day Tuesday and not going back until Friday. Another sinus infection, only this one is taking its time leaving. The severe pain is gone, but I still have trouble sleeping and there's an awful lot of pressure. Well, enough of that.....

When I got up yesterday and saw the temperature was -2° I figured speedy spinning ought to warm me up. So I brought out the silk - dyed tussah from Shadeyside Farms in NY that I picked up at Creative Strands. I'm getting a little better. I plyed the first sample and it muddied the colors (which are already rather muted). I'm going to try Navajo plying later today then I'll take some pictures.

GEEK QUESTION: I set up a Netgear router for two desk tops a two years ago. Now my husband and daughter each have a lap top. The are four outlets so he just plugs in and drags the cable all over the family room. I ran another cable up to my office for my daughter, but now that we reorganized she has enough space in her bedroom for a big desk. So here's the question (I've been told I have trouble actually getting to that!) -- Can you mix wireless and wired connections? What would I look for? I can't seem to find wireless cards for a desk top, only notebooks.

Bone Tired

My first day back after a 10 day vacation and I'm exhausted. I was going to work on the second sleeve of my cardigan, but I don't think I can even do that. Luckily, my copy of Knitting in the Old Way came today, despite the claim that it wouldn't be available until February. So I think I'll put my feet up and thumb my way through it.

A Recital in My Front Yard

I was opening the curtains in my office this morning and saw the funniest thing. Luckily I had my camara on the desk, but I had to take the video through two layers of glass and a screen.

I Need some help!

I bought this loom from a friend who thought she might use it for tapestry. She bought it at Material Culture and didn't get a lot of information. It's one heavy sucker, we think it's elm. It's warped with heavy cotton and with heddles tied to a big stick. There seems to be a header woven with the same warping thread and tied to the sides of the loom.

The heddle stick sits in a groove in a block which is tied down now, but isn't really connected to the loom. The tension seems to be adjusted by this big threaded rod. But I can't quite figure out how.

So here are my questions: Do I just lean it up against a wall to weave? Once I take the string off the heddle bar and the block comes off, what do I do next? Assuming I figure out how to weave on it, how do I put a new warp on? I guess the main thing question is - does anyone know what kind of loom this is and how I use it. I was hoping that it would be appropriate for Navajo type rugs or wall hangings.