It's Wine-Thirty!

Killings WIPs.

It has literally been months since I've read any blogs.  Part of that is just pure exhaustion on my part from stress (working, DH being in college, kids in school, etc.), and part of it is because I haven't touched any thing fiber related since last May.  My lack of fiber stuff plus reading about everyone else's fiber stuff is kind of depressing.   DH has been on a campaign for me to organize my stash as part of the "let's clean out Helen's old office" which has really become a storage room for my stash, old work, and just about anything I didn't want going into the barn.

So finally, on Veteran's Day, he convinced me to just haul out one bin, go through it, save what I wanted and ditch the rest.   That one bin led to another, and another and another, until I had gone through over 8 bins, several knitting bags and 4 cardboard boxes.  After the first bin, I asked DH if he could get our burn barrel going (I didn't feel like shredding 2 year's worth of work dating back to 1996 and I didn't want to toss out personal papers from the early 90's either).  Once I started getting rid of stuff, out came the knitting and fiber bins.  Many of these held projects that I had started 6, 7 and 8 years ago.  Many of these projects weren't very good to begin with (like what was I thinking knitting a sweater for DH out of bulky weight yarn when he's always complaining that he's too warm anyway???).  Or the circular shawl that I had spent 2 weeks knitting, only to find out that I couldn't get past one section because I kept making the same mistake over and over and over again?   

Part of me has hesitated to blog about this, because the last time I decided to burn a bunch of yarn, I had all kinds of negative reactions to what I had done.   But it is an incredibly freeing thing to do.  Tired of that project just laying around, and don't feel like dealing with eBay?  Burn it.  Had that project that looked so good in the store, but the color really doesn't suit you?  Burn it.  That sweater you started in 1986 with the big boxy shoulders and the crazy intarsia pattern that was reminiscent of Bill Cosby's sweaters from "The Cosby Show"?  Burn it.  There is something truly satisfying about watching an old WIP go away quickly like that.  I like to think of it as "killing" my old WIPs. 

Now,  I'm not a violent person, but I really do hate having old projects laying around.  They serve no purpose other than to torment me with the realization that I'm not good at finishing my knitting projects anyway.   And using the term killing means that they are dead and buried (or cremated if you will).  There is no left over yarn sitting around waiting for another project (oh yeah, like I really want to figure out if I can use that acrylic black and blue yarn that was sweater project #2 for DH).  And best of all, I can reclaim all of the knitting needles and tools that have been sitting with those WIPs for years.  I just gained 2 dozen circulars back from killing my WIPs 2 weeks ago.  And most of these are Addi circulars, which aren't cheap to begin with!

So, now that I've completely shocked some of you (and hopefully given permission to others), there is my confession.  That is how I deal with my WIPs.    :)

Best of all, I freed up a beautiful batt of wool/mohair from Persimmon Tree Yarns in PA that I bought several years ago at Rhinebeck.  Since freeing it, it has been whispering my name from it's bin (by the way, out of all the yarn I dug through, I only saved a total of 1 bin full!), and I'm thinking that I'll take out my spinning wheel this weekend, and start spinning.  That something I haven't done for well over a year now.

I'm ending with a few pictures that show what else I've been working on; cake decorating!  I had my final in our fondant and gum paste class on Sunday.  We needed to make a cake, and decorate it using some of the techniques we learned over the last few weeks.  I used fondant to cover my cake, draped the comet's "tail" and made an alien along with all those little stars, the moon and the comet.  It wasn't very Thanksgiving like, but my kids loved it which is all that matters.

 

What a wonderful Spring weekend

It is always nice when you can take off half a day from work and not feel too guilty.    ;-) 

That was what I did on Friday after going out to Pittsfield for work.  Plus, while out in Pittsfield, I stopped at the Wonder Bread bakery (don't shudder; my husband LOVES WB because he grew up on it; me, not so much) and bought all sorts of forbidden treats like a package of Devil Dogs, and some of the new low fat coffee cakes, which I must say are very tasty.  Who can pass up a deal of 3 boxes for less than $5.50?  Not me.

After Pittsfield, DH and I took my mom up to Fairview Farms in Whately so that she could start picking out her summer bedding plants.  Now, I could care less for annuals.  Yes, they look beautiful and if you want to spend way too much time hours planting flowers forever year after year, then have at it.  My mom loves doing that, and my dad did too.  But, I'm more of a perennial type of girl where you put it into the ground once and unless you want to move the plant later, it stays there providing pretty flowers every year with very little fuss.  However, Mom likes her annuals, especially hanging baskets.  For an hour, we walked the greenhouses (there are 34 of them, but we only went into half that amount), and finally picked out our hanging baskets.  Mom will have to go back at another time and pick out her bedding plants.  We ran late on time and didn't want our boys to come home to an empty house.  I came home with 6 hanging baskets of New Guinea Impatiens.  These grace the barn and our deck.  Those are about the only annuals I deal with, except for nicotinea which I plant each year because it smells so good in the evenings. 

My New Guinea Impatiens.

After returning home, I made a pan of lasagna for the Saturday night meal.  My brother and his family came home from NJ for a quick weekend visit and I figured it was much easier to put a pan of something into the oven rather than have to do the "big" cookout of burgers, hot dogs, etc., which turns into a *major* deal.  As much as my brother likes to grill, he is a high maintenance griller, always asking people to bring him stuff rather than being efficient and either getting it himself or gathering the stuff he needs before grilling commences.  Either way, if he grills, dinner can easily take an hour or more before it is on the table. 

Saturday was spent taking care of my two boys and my niece and nephew while my husband, mom, brother and SIL went up to Gardner to pick up their new furniture which they were taking back to NJ.  The kids had a blast together as they always do.  We watched Cars on DVD, then while the kids played outside, I got to my knitting.   Can I say just how much I adore knitting with the turquoise yarn rather than the black I was working with?  I can now SEE the stitches without having my Ott-Light type lamp going, even in the daytime.  Yes, I've finished the body of the sweater and am halfway up one sleeve.  I'm actually beginning to think I could possibly have this done in time for MAS&W! 

We also took the kids over to Mt. Tom's Homemade Ice Cream and Candy Store after dinner on Saturday.  All I can say is that Rolo ice cream is really, really good!    :-D

And yesterday I went up to Pine Nook Day lilies to buy some more lilies for my gardens.  I LOVE day lilies; they are perennials and they bloom all summer long if you choose the right kinds.  Your garden will have color from May until October if planned right.  Boo and I went up early yesterday morning, and picked out 13 different colors of day lilies.  I  mostly go with purples, pinks and peachy colors, with the occasional white one mixed in.   We got the flowers into the ground with bark mulch and water, and I'm happy with the end results. 

My goal is to have day lillies throughout the gardens in our yard.  I have quite a few bare spots left from when the previous owner destroyed removed some of the plantings to move to her new house, which was 11 years ago. 

The last time I really spent some quality time working in the yard was 3 years ago, before my dad had to go into the extended care facility.  It felt good to get back out there, planning where plants and gardens should go, and feeling the sun on my face.  There weren't many other things my dad loved doing more than working in his garden, so it felt like another small connection to my dad.  I'm sure he'd be happy to see me enjoying the earth as much as he did.

Someone pour me a cold one, please

A cold glass of water, that is.   :)

I'm exhausted.  I was able to shear 5 rabbits today, and all look like they are feeling much cooler.  Once the temps get up into the 70s, the rabbits start to get hot in a full coat.  And now I don't even have to put bunny coats on them, because it isn't getting too cool at night.

My poor nose looks like a strawberry though.  All that fuzz flying around (even though I was shearing outside), had me rubbing my nose on my sleeve to remove any bunny fluff.   I look like I've been on a drinking binge.

I think I'll wait to shear the other three until Sunday since I'll be shearing down Twist on Saturday for the IAGARB registration and also shearing down Gwertz for certification.  Then it will be off to see the Yarn Harlot at Webs with Charlene and Diane, and other bloggers (it has moved from Webs to a hotel, then back to the hotel for book signing).  From what I've been told; the event is sold out.  I'm thankful I signed up right away.

Kat's contest

Kat is having a contest asking bloggers to post about five places they have knitted.

Here are mine:

1.  On an airplane going to and coming back from CA where I went to see my youngest brother graduate from UCI with his PhD in Environmental Psychology in 1997.

2.  In the office of my midwife when I was pregnant with DS #2.

3.  At most fiber gatherings.

4.  On the beach in Sea Isle City, NJ during our annual vacations.

5.  At the hospital while in labor both times with my boys.

Fiber Bloggers Unite!

Last night didn't turn out as I had expected.  DH worked late, and ate dinner after we were all finished.  I'm not a night person.  I used to be, but I've found that I'm a lot more productive in the morning (even early morning I can get a lot done) than I'll ever be at night.  In fact, if I'm still awake past 9, it is amazing!

However, that didn't stop me from doing several loads of laundry, cleaning the kitchen, and picking up our bedroom between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.  So I still feel like I accomplished a lot yesterday.

But maybe all that housecleaning had an effect on me.  I was too tired to find a pair of #6 circulars and another pair of #7 circulars, so I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't knit last night.  And that disappointment went into my dreams.  In my dream, I remember that I met a lot of different knitbloggers.  People from all over the US and somehow I was able to be in the states where they lived meeting them, then magically zooming to where the next person lived.  I remember being in Utah where Margene lives.  And I remember being in Canada, where the Yarn Harlot lives and talking to Stephanie.  But most of all I remember picking up a newspaper, reading Dear Abby during my travels, and seeing Dear Abby give a shout out to Cate at the end of one of her columns telling everyone to read her blog because it was so good.  Magically, I was standing next to Cate saying "How cool!  You know Dear Abby and she's a big fan of your blog!". 

Then I woke up and thought; this is how the blogging world has brought people together.  People of all different walks of life, sharing about their everyday lives and their love of the fiber arts.  What could be cooler than that?

Today I'm off to the doctors with DH at 11 a.m., and I found this

at the bottom of one of my project baskets during my search for needles this morning.  I think I'll finish up the toe and start on sock #2 during the ultrasound.   :)

Who wouldn't love a weekend of cool classes?

My favorite event of the Spring is the Wool Connection's Ewephoric Weekend, which takes place next Saturday and Sunday.  To me, this heralds in the beginning of Spring, and always leaves me feeling energized about knitting again.

This will be my 8th year attending the event.  I can recall the year I started to go because I was 9 months pregnant with my oldest son, and he was due 2 weeks from the day I went.  I always laugh when I think of Bob begging me not to go into labor during the classes.  ;-)

Usually, when I first get the application for the classes, I review it for 24 hours, then fax it back to get my first choice of classes.  But because life has been so complicated lately, I just got the form back to Phyllis today.  I did find out this afternoon that I got my second choice of classes for Saturday morning, but things are up in the air about what I got for the rest of the classes.  Either way, the teachers there are always wonderful, I come home having learned something new each time, and I love the wine and cheese gathering on Saturday evening at the shop.

I am really looking forward to next weekend.  I need some type of diversion that takes me away from home and allows me to take care of me.  Selfish, I know.  But sometimes we just have to say "It's ME time."

If any readers of this blog are going, please let me know.  I never do the lunch on Saturday at the Avon Farms Inn, and have a wonderful little bistro that I patronize.  We can meet for lunch!

I will leave you with a picture of the pussy willows that have come out next to my house.