Called on Account of Rain

I wanted to have before and after photos for you today, but alas, we are stuck "in between." The day we were supposed to get the rest of our furniture, my dad was called away on business, and it's been raining ever since. We only just managed to get a fridge last night, and I suspect that was due primarily to prodding from my mother, who remembers all to clearly the months we spent living in a barn with no running water and limited electricity.

We were supposed to wait to unpack until the furniture arrived--because wouldn't you know it, the biggest pieces are the ones that are missing. We cracked last night, though, and brought in about half of the boxes that were in the garage. Most of them were books, but I found some ofmy clothes and my current pattern I'm working on, and my camera, Which is good, since I have a tutorial on there that I'll be putting together for Friday's blog.

I did the last of the painting this morning. There are a few little things that still need to be installed, and the master bath needs cleaned now that all of the messy work is done. Once the upstairs is done, we can start cleaning the basement and then my typewriters and craft supplies can get moved down there. Which will be nice since I still have boxes all over my room of things that don't actually belong up here now.

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I've been doing a surprising amount of writing since Nano ended. I pulled one of my older pieces out--my Magnum Opus, which has been written and rewritten at least three or four times since I started it in 2007. Parts of it were even posted on this blog, eons ago, but it no longer resembles the original manuscript in anything but the most remote ways. Characters have been added and taken out, my antagonist has changed twice, names, locations, and occupations have been altered...but I think it's gotten a little better every time, and that's the goal, right?

Now if you will excuse me, I have a few dozen things to catch up on.

Proof that Knit Happens

The shrug I started making for work is coming along slowly. It involves miles and miles of stockinette, but I've only got about four more inches to go before I can start the hood, and then finally, the trim. I'm going to pick up stitches for the hood, and knit it in two pieces that will be sewn together. Then I'll pick up stitches again, all the way around the body, for eight rows of lace eyelettes. Most of the stuff I make looks complicated, but it's usually 90% just rectangles with maybe a little bit of shaping here or there. I'm not patient enough for anything else. Who says it's not hip to be a square? (okay. Bad puns. Shutting up now.)


I also picked up my blueberry socks again about two weeks ago, after a long hiatus. I have one more cable twist to do, followed by the ribbing at the cuff, and then they'll finally be finished. Finally!

It's sad that it took me so long to complete this pair of socks, but I'm already planning the next pair. They won't get made for a while though, because I don't have the right yarn for it, and I have a huge stack of WIP/UFOs that need attention. I think at last count I had nine, on top of my sewing projects and everything I need to do for my senior thesis show.



This, of course, is the Great Cotton Mistake. Let it be known that while you can spin with bathroom cotton (such as unwound cotton balls and cotton coil), it is not recommended. It doesn't join well, and comes apart very easily. Plus I ended up covered in white fuzz. But hey, it kept me entertained for a half hour or so (though the nine yards of "yarn" that it produced was so not worth the effort it took to spin).





And lastly, I did a little redecorating/organizing. This is a basket quiver that I made a few years ago at 4-H camp. Since I no longer have a bow, arrows, or a place to shoot, I figured I might as well use it for something else--like storing knitting needles! Then that got me started on hanging up other camp baskets to store things like crochet hooks, tapestry needles, etc (I lined the inside of those baskets with scrap paper to keep the needles from falling out). To hang them, I crocheted a chain with the Great Cotton Mistake and tied it through the weave, then thumbtacked it to the wall (pictures forthcoming). Then that gave me an idea on how to store my plethora of french hook earings--I'll let you know how that goes. I might have found a use for that itty bitty ball of alpaca, after all.