A Little Colour... Or A Lot

Sometimes you need a little pick me up... and this night of wakefulness seems to be a perfect time... and what better than bright colours to give me a boost. I have been having a werewolf night and can't get any sleep. Usually this happens when Teapot goes away, though not quite this bad. I will go to bed at the normal time and take forever to fall asleep and then sleep in in the morning... or I will go to sleep early and then wake up half way through the night and lay awake the rest of the night. However neither of those scenarios quite applies tonight. This is one of those rare occasions when I haven't closed my eyes AT ALL! So when that happens I find the best solution is to get up and do something to take my mind off whatever is bothering me. I spin a little, I knit a little, I blog a little... and if I'm really awake I write poetry. The poetry is not happening tonight... I'm blogging first and then we will see.  Of course I took one look at my blog and decided that it was in need of some colour.... previously it sucked... I knew it after Christmas but just couldn't decide what to do about it. When I first started this blog, it was black with all the colours of the rainbow just as it is now and has been numerous times throughout it life... and while most blog designers will say keep it simple and all these colours are anything but simple.... I just can't resist turning my blog into a rainbow. Still, I like all the black and white pics. They are pretty cool, so I will continue to keep them for as long as I can... but then summer is coming... and who knows what will happen then.

The weekend has come and gone in the blink of an eye. Teapot departed Sunday morning for more southerly climes. He has gone to Comox for a week of training for the JCRs. As a matter of a fact he is doing the same PHASE training that I did a few years ago.  I miss him terribly. That's part of the reason I am wide awake. The ever elusive sleep departed with Teapot when he left. Yesterday morning I woke from strange and kaleidoscope-like dreams to hurried whispers and dark breakfasts and cold outdoor weather, as we left for the airport, leaving the Daughters sleeping peacefully in their beds. Before long the sun was rising and the sky had turned a vivid orange to the east and a pale blue and fuscia sky to the west. The trees were covered in their crystalline coats and everywhere the sky colours were reflected by the fields of white pristine snow. The whole world was awash in colour.

I saw Teapot through security at the airport and headed home again and got here just as my stomach was beginning to growl for a midday meal. Since then I seem to have been busy, yet I have accomplished nothing. There's silk on the wheel... a sample of Bombyx and silk waste meant for a knitted sample, but I really haven't done much with it. I can't seem to find my momentum that I had only a few days ago.  The hemp samples from the other day turned out fine... I've even sold a few skeins of yarn over the weekend to a neighbour's visiting daughter-in-law. But here I sit... at a full out stop.  Perhaps tomorrow, when the light arrives again, and I am able to finally fall asleep from exhaustion, and then wake up refreshed, I might be able to get my feet on the treadles and make some more headway. But for now I stare at my wheel and pray that the ever elusive sleep will come for a wee visit before this night turns into day. But since it is now 5:35 a.m., that's highly unlikely.... for if I fall asleep now, the Daughters and I will likely sleep till half the morning is gone. (Not that they would mind missing a little school!)

So the results of this wakeful night lays before you in all the colours of the rainbow.... and those colours are chosen as brights because we all need a little brightness in these last dark days that cling to us as mother nature tries to throw winter off her back...

Happy sleeping to you and yours.... may you be snoring peacefully... drowsing in sweet dreams.

Now This Is A Real Winter Day!

So I got up this morning took one look out the window and decided that this weather is as yuck as it possibly could be... - 20.... a little warmer but oh oh oh... is the snow ever coming down. I will be staying home today and avoiding roads that are snow covered, snow packed and in a dastardly state of winter nastiness. To be honest, as much as I would like to get in to FSJ to catch up with the gals in the NPSW, I am really wanting to stay put and do so more spinning.  I have been doing fairly well with my spinning, but not well enough. Yesterday I finished my second section in the level 5 books but I never even got started on the second section in the level 3 books. Today I will get out my Mawata frame and some silk cocoons and boil me up some worms... I will be making my very own Mawata... silk hankie with a cocoon or two. I also will be spinning silk.... in various forms.... commercial hankies, rovings, blended... I'm looking forward to it. The first time I concurred the level 3 homework I found it stressful.... but because I have done it before this time around I find I'm enjoying it more. I know what I'm doing so that makes it more liberating somehow.  I'm going to say something now that I never thought I would ever say... I think everyone should do the MSP twice. The second time just for fun!You learn something new every time.... and you know what... I am totally not stressing over the tpi questions. What's more is I'm enjoying the MSP again. For two years I felt burnt out and when I said that to people all I got was, "Nah relax you can't quit now."  Well I didn't want to quit and I kept thinking that everyone was right and that if I took a break I would somehow lose my momentum.... I don't know what would have happened if I had taken a break... and I never will know for sure now. I'm just happy that I wake up excited to get down to a day of samples.

Yesterday I finished the hemp samples.  I enjoyed them actually. The first hemp sample was just plain hemp and it turned out fairly well. It reminded me a lot of flax but tow flax which is a little easier to work with. My second sample was a hemp noils/tow mixed with cotton. It turned out nicely too but as I was plying it... the darn thing snapped and that was the end of that. I had a 6 metre section and a 9 metre section, neither one long enough to send in with my homework. So it was back to the drawing board.  This time I decided to try something a little different. I had read that a hemp silk blend would be nice so I thought,  even though is was what I thought of as an odd combination, I would give it a try. I blended the longer hemp I have with bombyx silk on my hand cards and then rolled it off in a sausage.... (as apposed to a rolag, that means so that all the fibres were parallel)... Then I spun what turned out to be a lovely lustrous yarn that would work really well in a woven table runner. It would also work in a lace knitted table runner. I was really happy with my results. So with all that completed today will be my day for silk spinning for the level 3, and with any luck the latter part of tomorrow and Monday will see all of this written up and in my books.

Enough about spinning....

I went to Daughter #1's play last night. I was well entertained. There were only a few fluffs on lines and the singing didn't make me want to run away and actually the story line was quite hilarious. Daughter #1 did very well as a nerd and pulled it off really well (which makes me worry that my daughter may in fact me a nerd... which doesn't seem to worry her at all... even more worrisome!!!!) Still she is a sweet girl and she enjoyed herself, that was obvious. Unfortunately it did not draw a big crowd. Mostly proud parents. They have another performance this evening.

Friday.... At Last

Sigh... it's been a long week.... a hard week.... a cold week.... I'm really glad it is Friday.

Daughter #1 has been doing Drama at school this semester as one of her electives. She has enjoyed it but was worried that she would have to take a large part in the play... she really enjoys working on plays but in the background. she is not a front and centre kind of gal. She did manage to get out of being in a big part and snagged a small part in the play while helping to work on the background, lighting, and sound system. But now.... tonight is the big night. The name of the play is called Pom Pom Zombies and is a story about cheerleader zombies... (yes I know that's odd) Evidently the jist of the story is that the head cheerleader is at a beach party and eats some food that has been infected with nuclear waste and dies and turns into a zombie. (I know the spindle princess would love this!) Anyway Daughter#1 is playing a nerd which she thinks is awesome. It's a musical.... and from what I've heard not one of the kids can sing for beans.... but then they are all zombies so maybe that doesn't matter. However, I am looking forward to seeing the play... it should be fun.

So I didn't go to knit night again last evening... instead I stayed home and spun... as a result I have almost caught up with where I thought I would be. (But still not where I should be.)  I should, as of today, be finished section 1 and 2 in level 5 and section 1 and 2 in level 3. However, I have finished section 1 and 2 in level 5 except for the hemp and wool sample and I haven't even touched the section 2 in level 3. That means I have 8 samples to do today to catch up. I doubt if I can get that many done but then I should never say never. Even if I could get that done by Sunday I would be satisfied. So I will do what I can and see how far I get. I also have a warp to get on the loom... hmmm this should be another busy busy day...

Not as cold this morning at -23 degrees. It is supposed to warm up a little tomorrow and then it is supposed to warm up a whole lot on Sunday... we'll see. Sunday I have to drive Teapot to the airport so I am hoping for clear highways. Tomorrow I have to go to the NPSW meeting in FSJ. I hope the roads are clear for that too. But it's the 20th and there are only 11 days left of the hardest month of the year... and last night when I took din din into Mom and Dad at 6 p.m. there was still a fair amount of daylight in the sky.... I liked that.... it reminded me that this deep freeze that we are in will eventually lose it's grip and spring will come.

For now I had better get down to it and start my day with a quick shower.... a little breakfast.... and some spinning... Hemp... here I come.

Sitting With My Dad On A January Day... Brrr

So yesterday was another day of missed spinning time... I will have to stay home tonight from Knit Night in order to have a day of catch up. Yesterday afternoon I headed in to Pops house to check on him and ended up staying for supper and staying till half past nine last night because Mom wanted to go to her Crib Club and didn't feel like leaving Dad alone.... thus no spinning.  I was so tired when I got home that I went to bed pretty much right away. I'm not really sure why I was so tired since it was only 10 p.m. but I just felt like I couldn't keep going and when I crawled into bed it was the most delicious feeling you could ever possibly imagine. I do have to say that that memory foam mattress which we bought two years ago was the best money spent... ever. This morning I had a really hard time convincing my bed to let go of me.

Anyway, today I am getting down to my homework again... I have to finish the section in the level 5 books that I didn't get finished last weekend. So I have two singles of soy silk to ply first then I have a soy silk/wool blend. Then two hemp samples. That's way more than I would like to be doing, in one day. I will try my darndest to get them all done today though.... that is if I don't run into problems. I still have to go in and check on Dad and make sure that if there any things that he needs that he has them. But maybe I won't have to go for so long.

Warmer temperatures are on the horizon so the forecast says.... that is good because the dear one is headed off for a week of training for the JCRs. I will miss Teapot while he is gone. I will miss him because with these temperatures, it is a worry when he is away that there will be frozen pipes or something equally disastrous, (and remember I'm taking care of two houses at the moment) and I have to haul all our water. It really is a headache. I will miss him for other reasons too not just the fact that he does a lot of the work around here but I will miss him because I like his company at night after all the chores are done and we are sitting having our after dinner tea. It is the cozy time of the day, and it is a pleasure to enjoy his company.  Still the Daughters and I will manage if all goes well.

Again this morning I am looking out on the arctic type temperatures. It is cold, cold, cold! -32 again this morning and the sun is just rising over the horizon. I do hope it warms up some today. Yesterday it reached a balmy -18 during the warmest part of the day.  I hope it does so again....

One last thing.... Happy Birthday to my friend in FSJ... RG.... hope you are having an awesome day!

So now soy silk and other spinning.....

Nursing My Own Self Today

Today I am not so rushed... Me dear old dad is feeling a whole lot better today. The doctor came to see him last night after the clinic closed for the evening and drained fluid from his knee. Then he gave him a shot of Corticosteroid. His knee is much improved today and he has even been able to get up and walk a little. We are worried about him losing his balance after being so unwell for the last few days because he is so shaky, but I am picking up a walker for him from the clinic so that he can get around ok until he regains his strength.  Nursing Pops for the last few days has meant really buggering up my schedule for the MSP. I am not complaining just worrying a little. I will have to work really hard to get back on track. It makes me anxious. Still I felt that I owed myself a little down time today and so I have been knitting this morning. I have finally gotten the opportunity to put my feet up and knit on those silk socks. I am using a pattern from Knitting Traditions from Interweave Press. It is a men's sock pattern but I have a feeling that they will be a very small men's size. Remember I am using silk hankies to make these and the silk is pulled out to a certain size before knitting. I am a little worried that the silk will not stand up to wear and tear so this is an experiment of sorts. I will probably double the thickness in the heal and ball of the foot just to help add strength. But silk is one of the strongest natural fibres and I am hoping that it will be ok and these socks will not wear out too quickly. We will see. If this first pair fits me then I may wear them myself and do a little test to see how long a pair of silk socks will last.

Here let me show you how knitting with silk hankies works....

First of all, I bought a stack of silk hankies.

Each silk hankie looks like this... so you can just imagine how many silk hankies are in the stack. Hundreds and hundreds of silk worms have worked really hard to produce these silk hankies because each silk hankie is one cocoon, but the cocoon has been boiled in a solution to take the stiffness out and then the worm is removed and then the cocoon is stretched out on a frame in a square shape... thus silk hankie because it resembles a silk hankie.

Then I poked a hole in the centre of the silk hankie with my finger and began to pull.

 

The silk hankie will stretch and begin to produce a long circular bundle of silk filaments.

When it is stretched enough I break the bundle of filaments and wind them on to a toilet paper roll.

Then you pick your pattern... in this case it was a men's merino sock pattern by Nancy Bush.... only mine are not merino...

I then cast on the stitches and began knitting. There's the wee filament with which I am working...

When you run out of one hankie you stretch out another and overlap them by about 6 inches works best. Then you just carry on knitting.... and the nice thing is there are no ends to darn in.... I like that!

Here's what they look like so far....

I think they are going to be lovely... don't you?!

As far as I'm concerned a pair of silk socks is a good way to nurse myself.... even if I'm only knitting them... and not wearing them yet!

I will have to put them down soon as I do have to go to Pop's house and look in on him and make sure all is going well. But I will look forward to coming home again this evening and getting back to this easy and relaxing project.... it's a really nice way to nurse yourself.... for tomorrow I will be back at the MSP.... if all goes well with Pops.

A Little Nursing Going On

So... I just got home from a morning of nursing. Dad has not been well for a few days... his congestive heart ailment has once again been rearing it's ugly head. He has a severe build up of fluid on his leg. It is very painful and we are hoping the fluid doesn't move up on his lungs and heart. My mom is not a nurse... completely useless in any situation where Dad might need help... so I am doing what I can. It's really hard to deal with. Then when I got home... the ADHD s#%$%#head had gotten into a bunch of stuff in my studio. There are cotton rovings chewed and ruined. There are two balls of camel and silk yarn chewed to bits. There are wool rovings from one end of the house to the other and right now I am cleaning up the mess. Actually right now I am taking a few minutes to sit me arse down because I haven't sat my arse down this morning. I'm pooped and really did not need this fiasco to come home to.

I am supposed to be cooking food for my parents for supper so that Mom doesn't have to cook... I'm not sure it would be fit to eat if she cooked. And Dad can't get up at all. I'm sort of thinking that he should be in the hospital or at least have some home care.  I wish they were living here at the farm.... (in their own house cause I'd be in a straight jacket if they were in mine).... that way they would be close enough that I could keep an eye on them.

It has suddenly turned into that awful winter weather that I was so longing for last week. It is sunny and beautiful.... but damn cold. -32 degrees this morning when I got up.Why oh why did I want winter weather..... actually I was quite alright with the temperatures... I just wanted some sun... Slap me up the side of my head the next time I complain about warm and wind.... please.

So I am off to the kitchen for an afternoon of cooking casseroles to keep mom out of the kitchen where's she dangerous... and keep both mom and dad fed. As for the ADHD s#$%#%head..... she's outside where she can stay for a wee while!

A Little Trouble

Pops is not well. He may have to go to the hospital... Since Saturday he has not been well at all. But we are hoping that things will be better... I am sorry that I haven't had time to write... will try later today to get a few words down.