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Banker meeting this AM. Ms boss is back to her usual "we can't afford anything" bonus dance. :sigh: Last year, it was phone calls..this year? Clothing. :stupid: We work in a STRIP MALL. We have NO CONTACT with the public. We dress in pants (NOT jeans!), and shirts....and she HATES it. Now, anyway - it was perfectly fine last year. :sick:
Performed the footectomy last night...I had to go sit down afterwards. Had to cut the heel out - the slip-stitch patterning would NOT tink, no matter what I did. I'll try to start on the repair tonight...but I started another sock while sitting. :lol: LL's Shepherd Sock in the Liberty colorway, 64 stitches on size 2 DPNs in Feather and Fan. Am on the 4th repeat - looks good.
Goats are silly....more later.Current Mood:  busy |
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Since I did a quickie yesterday afternoon, I figured I could do a "proper" one now...but with pictures! ( Clicky here - LOTS of photos! )
In other news, the FF socks are DONE, and by done I mean done per the instructions. I was too tired last night to perform the footectomy...I'll try to do that tonight. Maybe - I brought my LL "Liberty" yarn with me today, some size 2 DPNs, and the Old Shale pattern. I need a new pair of easy socks.....
I really do. Most of my socks are 7 years old, and starting to wear. I gotta replace them, or I'll have no socks to wear (I only wear hand-made socks...yeah, I'm a sock-snob. That's why I knit! :lol:)
Photos of the socks, both pre- and post-surgery will be posted. Eventually....Current Mood:  tired |
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because, well......the goats arrived YESTERDAY, the barn was NOT finished (at least the fence was!!), and the Cowboys are playing.
So...yesterday. Supposed to meet the hayman at 8. Got everyone up at 6:30, headed outside to find a flat on the truck. I fed horses while Sweet Geek changed the tire, we hitched up, then hit Denny's for breakfast (MISTAKE!) Service was So. Slow.....we called the guy, he was cool, and we managed to meet him at 8:45. Loaded 30 bales, and headed home....to unload them again. :lol:
Sweet Geek decided the fence HAD to be done, so that's what we did. We had just finished tightening the last wire, and were trying to decide what to tackle on the barn first, when the phone rang.....the goats were loaded and would be here shortly. Insert Panic Attack.....we quickly finished the feeder and built a gate, so they'd stay in their part of the barn.
The rest of the daylight hours were spent discussing goat care.
This AM, got up, hit the grocery store, then started on the roof. The goats are settling in, but HATE the power tools. And our neighbor is shooting...something. :sigh:
We have the goat area almost completely roofed - but the game started, so.....:lol: It should be over at 3, which will give us about 2 hours of daylight to finish...at LEAST the goat area (needs a 4' piece, and it's DONE) will be done.
I need to go out and take a few more photos...I'll try to post 'em later.Current Mood: busy |
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helped co-worker bring home a large entertainment center last night, and I am exhausted. Didn't get home until 8:15, then couldn't sleep. :sigh: And it's RAINING again. :blargh:
Some people.....:sigh: I told co-worker a couple of years ago that I saw the $$ failing, and to get out of cash and into something tangible. So what did she do? She started collecting mass-produced ceramic gunk. :bangs head: (Hence the new entertainment center, to display all of 'em). I'm sorry, but when the dollar crashes (and it will), Lladro and Hummels aren't gonna be worth diddly.....but, whatever. I can only do so much. :sigh: (Let's not discuss how stoopid it is to spend OVER $8K on.....mass-produced stuff, OK? I'm not up to that right now. It's her money, and her choice..but.....I can't think like that.)
Sweet Geek is fencing today; we'll be loading (and UNloading) hay tomorrow and finishing the barn roof. Did I mention it's RAINING today? :shakes head:
Need to scavenge up some caffeine...I am beat.Current Mood: exhausted |
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and rain is forecasted. Of Course it is - we HAVE to get the fence up tomorrow, and finish roofing. Of COURSE it's supposed to rain!
No hay last night.....(this is funny). I called the guy yesterday morning, like he told me to. He said, "OK, what time tonight?". Bear in mind that we had DISCUSSED this already on Monday. I TOLD him where we worked, and what time we'd be getting there...and he said then it was NO PROBLEM. So...I said "Well, the earliest would be 5:30, but say 6:00 to be on the safe side." There was this long silence...then he busted out with "But it's DARK then!" I stifled my "No Shit, Sherlock!", because...well, that's just not lady-like. But, dude - I TOLD you Monday it would be late. :bangs head:
Upshot: we will meet him at 8 AM Saturday. :yawn: First time I've EVER had a problem giving someone almost $200 for something I need and they need to sell. :shakes head:
Fiber Festival sock #1 is DONE. (Except for the head. And, y'know, the surgery). The part I was dreading - the applied i-cord bind-off - was easy and fast. Now I'm working on sock #2...
(Brief digression) I went with this pattern because I wanted to challenge myself. I can knit socks all day long - they all follow the same "formula": Standard sock yarn at 8 stitches/inch on size 2s, CO 64 (or so), 2x2 rib for 1", knit for 5", flap-and-gusset heel, knit 'til the foot is the right length, then toe. I'll sometimes plug in a pattern, but, basically, that's it. All my socks are pretty much the same.
Tsocky's socks are all interesting. She uses interesting construction methods (one sock had you knit the heel first, pick up stiches and go from there (Seven Charkas, I'm looking at you!) - that one didn't interest me, so I don't know much about it, but it's interesting), and all of them are just off the beaten path enough that they are unique.
Fiber Festival has you start with a crocheted provisional cast on (I'd never done one!), peasant heel (ditto - and never will again, since it doesn't fit my foot), it uses slip-stitch patterning (ditto - it was fun, and I'm glad it's in my arsenal). When you're done, you unzip the CO, pick up stitches, and work the cuff UP (that's different!), and you use an applied i-cord to bind it off (Never done; it was easy and I can see many uses for it.) I *like* the socks, I'm glad I tried them, but I am going to rip out the heel and do a flap-and-gusset so I can actually, y'know, WEAR the socks. :lol:
I have her Vintage in the queue. I'm.....OK, it's toe-up (never done) with an inlaid leaf on the toe (should be...interesting). The heel.....I dunno about this one. I need to really study the pattern and see if I think it'll work. It's a "wine glass" heel, looks way-cool, and goes with the grapes over the instep. (Sounds cool, doesn't it? :lol:) I hazve to knit something like 60+ grape leaves (they attach to the cuff)....which will be different. (I'm thinking these are the perfect Shabbat socks...:lol:) It'll definately strech my knitting muscles!
I think my next pair of socks, though, will be one of my mindless-knitting ones. I need mindless after this go-round. And before I tackle Vintage. :lol:
Need to get back on my chullo, too - but I am SICK of these socks being unfinished, so they take priority. I do need a hat...it was 34* yesterday AM, and 46* this AM. Too cold to go without....:shudder:Current Mood: tired |
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Need to call to see if we can pick up hay today. It's funny - I have money, he has hay, but he doesn't want to get with me. (He's baling. I *get* that, it's just funny that we can't work out a mutually beneficial schedule so I can give him my $$, and he can give me his hay. :lol:)
FF Socks: The Loop Stitch is killing my hands. :sigh: I am perservering, though....I WILL wear these socks at some point. AFTER the foot-dectemy. :lol:
Sweet Geek is off Friday, and will be running fence. Saturday is finish the barn OR ELSE day; Sunday the goats land. :panic: :flail:
Gotta skitter...
Nov. 18th, 2009 @ 08:12 am
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| » I knew better..... |
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but I didn't listen to myself. Wait - let me back up. :lol:
I have been knitting the Fiber Festival Socks by the Tsock Tsarina for...well, some time now. :lol: I had doubts about the heel from the beginning - I even wrote the lovely Tsocky and asked her about maybe changing it to my beloved flap-and-gusset.
See, I have interesting feet. A short-row heel (by any name) simply doesn't *work* for me. I've tried - my CSM socks have, for the most part, a short-row heel, and they DO NOT FIT correctly. I live with 'em, because when it only takes an hour to crank out a pair of wild, colorful socks, you don't mind slight imperfections. BUT....I have high arches, and kinda tall, narrow-ish heels. Flap-and-gusset heels fit *perfectly* (when I make the flap a little longer than normal - easy to do!), so......
Tsocky said, basically, "now, now - TRY this heel. It'll work! If you need to "customize it, I'll walk you thru it, but give it a try." Against my better judgement, I decided to go ahead and knit the sock as written - after all, the *designer* said it'll fit! I should trust her, right? (And, I didn't want anyone to say (y'now, those mysterious "Them") that I was "afraid" to try something new and different. Even though I HAVE tried various short-row heels...anyway.
I finished the first sock, and......against my better judgement, started the second. The whole time I've been working on it, I'm thinking - this ain't gonna work. No way - the heel is TOO SHALLOW. Not gonna fit...but I solidered on. I finished the toe on sock #2 yesterday, picked up the stitches for the cuffs (finally the FUN part!) and....decided to try it on "for real" (I'd tried both of them on while knitting, to make sure the foot was the right length before starting the toe. I ignored the heel.....Denial is SUCH a large river, y'know?)
Ugh. I was right - the heel DOES NOT fit my foot. It slides itself down to the BOTTOM of my heel, where it forms this lovely Lump. The arch is baggy - I can Live with that, I can't live with a non-fitting heel. :sigh: (I just tried it on again, to be sure I wasn't making things up. Nope - the heel turn is at the exact bottom of my heel....NOT the right spot. :bangs head: As a comparison, the short-row heel on my CSM-knit sock is right at the *back* of my heel. Still not quite where a flap-and-gusset heel has it, but it works. Sorta. :lol:)
I have 2 options: 1) Ignore the ill-fitting heel, and throw the socks in the drawer, never to be worn or 2) perform a foot-amputation, pick up the stitches on the foot to hold them, rip out the peasant heel (saving the yarn), picking up the stitches on the leg, knitting a properly-fitted flap-and-gusset heel, then carefully fit the foot and kitchner the whole shebang back together. (And do it *again* on the 2nd sock). I really don't have a choice - the socks are cute (although a bit drab for my tastes - I like to cut loose with my sock colors. The LOUDER the better!), and I bought the kit because, c'mon - the cuff is a SHEEP! And there's a spinning wheel on the ankle!
So that this isn't a totally depressing post, here's a couple photos of the socks in progress (photos taken this morning on my phone, so the quality isn't the best. Oh, well):
and
The pattern is well-written - I've only had a problem with her explanation of "loop stitch" - no matter how I tried (and I did - I even photocopied the instructions and sat them on top of the cuff instructions!), I couldn't get it to work. Knitting-help.com had a video that showed it clearly (and...different from Tsocky's. Oh, well - whatever works!), so I've got that......the sock itself is pretty basic. I *like* the look of it...but that heel! :shakes head: (Why, yes, there IS a hole at the heel there. It doesn't bother me, because a)if I was *keeping* this heel, I'd go in and fix it properly and b)this heel will get ripped out, so there's no point in fixing it, is there?)
Ah, well...I'll finish the sheepies, then I'll fortify myself with something alcoholic before performing surgery. :sigh: I want these things DONE so I can knit something fun and mindless.....probably another pair of Monkeys. I have that pattern *down*. :lol:
Oh, and from now on, I'll trust my instincts and go with the heel I *know* fits me. I've learned my lesson....
Nov. 17th, 2009 @ 07:30 am
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| » Is it Monday yet? |
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:ugh: I am tired. But happy - the barn is 90% (well, actually closer to 95%) done. The walls are all up (no more holes!), the roof.....that's a story.
See, the roof is 13'. The longest panels we had were 12...something. So...we knew we were gonna have to piece the top (you overlap the panels so it doesn't leak. Just FYI - some folk have never had to think about building stuff before. You're welcome. :lol:) So....we have all but 2 of the full panels on (I didn't sleep Saturday night, so I was exhausted to begin with Sunday morning. By 3...I was so tired I couldn't even *think*) (and those 2 will take..maybe 30 minutes. There's no cutting needed), and the pieces...which will take about 2 hours, maybe. Depends on how many pieces we need to cut.
The skylight panels look great, and let in plenty of light. We ended up with only 2 - instead of 3 sets of 2 panels, we did 2 sets of 3 - see, the skylight panels are only 8' long. To make them work, you have to use metal at both ends. On the milk room, we did 2 skylight panels.....well, 1 skylight panel isn't quite as wide as 1 R-panel, but 2 skylight panels are too wide. For the milk room, it wasn't a big deal - for the barn, it was, since we were tight on R-panel. We found out that 3 skylight panels = 2 R-panels.....so, that's what we did. We pieced 2 R-panel ends, then ran the 3 skylights, and kept going.
Final tally - we only needed 5 full R-panels for the roof, and 6 skylight panels. I had calculated 9 R-panels (and no skylight panels, because the R-panels were the expensive part. New, they run $45 EACH..the skylight panels? $12. BIG difference. Of course, we bought the R-panels used...but that's a good 4 hours to go get them. Time = money....) we have 3 full R-panels left, a bunch of scraps (which I hope will do most of the piecing on the roof), 1 R-panel that was split length-wise (which I think will finish the milk room roof) and 1 partial R-panel that was split length-wise. IF we're lucky, the pieces will finish the roof, and we can use the 3 full ones for the feed room door. If not....we'll go to the salvage yard and buy 3 white panels ($15/each for white 10', IF they have them. They don't carry the longer panels....Home Depot wants $28/each for 10'. I......like cheap.) just to get it DONE. :sigh:
We still have no fence, but the gate is in - and Sweet Geek is off Friday (comp time for last week.) Fencing is a LOT faster than building - so I'm not worried there. We need to finish the inside - we need a gate to keep the does in, and we need to finish the feeder (run some wire along the bottom and attach the panel to hold the hay in. Those won't take too long, either...
AND, I need to get hay. I'm hoping we can do that Wednesday evening :fingers crossed:
Oh, I did install the mineral holder (and bought the minerals - go me!) and put in an eye hook for the water bucket. We intend to go with an automatic waterer....but haven't had the funds to pay a plumber to run the line yet. :sigh: Someday....until then, a 5 gallon bucket or 2 will have to do. (That's just in the barn; we'll have an outdoor trough, too.)
No knitting to report - we were busy!
Nov. 16th, 2009 @ 07:23 am
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| » Knitting musings.... |
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Let's see.....the other day someone posted in one of the forums a question about stranded knitting, and then yesterday my mom asked about it....so. Since I'm in the middle of a stranded project, might as well talk about it. :lol:
Stranded knitting - or multi-color knitting - is NOT hard. If you can knit with 1 yarn, you can knit with more. It's just fussy. You have to work to keep your tension even over all the yarns - but it comes easier the more you do it. You have to *gasp* read a chart! Oh noes! Listen - you're reading *this*, right? Reading a chart is no more difficult.
Plus, stranded knitting is just plain fun! You're painting with yarn - and I get a kick out of watching the design develop. My chullo is going fast - mostly because I have to knit just One.More.Round to see the pictures. :lol: (I'm almost done with my sheepies - 3 more rounds to go! Then it's on to....well, you'll see. When I get around to taking photos - I'm too busy actually *knitting* :lol:)
Other knitting.....I need to finish my Fiber Festival socks. The first one is done except for the cuff; the second one is at the toe decreases. Those have been stalled, not only for the Boring Gray, but...well, they have (basically) short row heels. SR Heels do NOT fit my foot. I've tried.....they always migrate around. I'm a heel-flap-and-gusset girl - they fit my foot perfectly, the gusset cradles my high arches, and they DO NOT MOVE in my shoes. The FF socks? The gusset area is a bit baggy (but I can live with that), but the heel just doesn't cup my foot. I'm going to knit them again - in green, I think, with a stranded heel flap (I'm thinking green with a short-repeat multi, so it looks like flowers), and a stranded toe. We'll see - I need to find (or spin!) the perfect yarn. :lol:
I brought a ball of LL's Shepherd Sock in "1776" - her Liberty colorway. I'm thinking I need a pair of Monkeys out of it.....or maybe Feather and Fan. We'll see. Want to finish the FF's first. (Then I can wear my sheepie Chullo and my FF socks to the barn. :lol:) I don't have a small travel project - just Sweet Geek's sweater - so...socks. You can never have too many hand-knit socks. :lol:
Enough rambling.....I'm hoping Ms boss doesn't come in. I have socks to knit work to do!
Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 08:45 am
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| » Blah de blah de blah |
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Not much to report this morning - I did do a picture post yesterday afternoon, if you missed it. :lol: Photos of the barn, chickens, etc.
Sweet Geek has been working late all week (except for Tuesday) - they are "moving the network" or..something. He's gonna be 1 tired cookie tomorrow. Poor guy....
Himself is excited - I told him he's in charge of pie-making for turkey day. He's already decided that we need an apple, a chocolate, and a pumpkin pie - FOR SURE. And maybe some others...I said, well....let's try to keep it at 2 or 3, OK? :lol: We'll see.....
Herself, of course, decided *she* needs to learn how to cook. Right. She's NEVER shown an interest - and claims now that I've never taught her. Uh-huh. I taught both of them how to cook eggs at the same time...she wandered off while Himself browsed the spice rack and asked how each one would work with eggs. :sigh: This'll get fun....
Nov. 12th, 2009 @ 08:38 am
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