tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11958694421978924832024-03-05T22:16:07.257-05:00Chasing DragonfliesSusanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15577187132675878519noreply@blogger.comBlogger207125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-31400212168447166222017-07-09T00:56:00.000-04:002017-07-09T00:59:01.234-04:00The Great Craft Room Reorganization of 2017My crazy-time at work ended at about 2:00 AM Friday, June 30, at least for a little while. I've been working a lot of hours since March, but particularly in the last 2-3 weeks I was easily working 60 hours/week. It's an annual occurrence, so in that sense I'm used to it, but when it's over I'm always exhausted and cranky and have the feeling that while I was working the rest of my life has spun out of control. That last part is not usually literally true, but so many things get put off those last few weeks I always feel like it is.<br />
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I don't know about you, but organizing something always gives me a sense of putting my life back in order, so I've spent a good chunk of the past week rearranging and reorganizing my craft room.<br />
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First goal was to get the yarn and fiber out of the closet and into the room where I can see it easily and constantly. This is in part to make it easier to see and find what I have, but also to remind me of how much I do have and hopefully curb some of the "oh pretty" impulse buying of more. I bought some more cubes and successfully got all my yarn, including handspun in bins or on display. There's very little room left for more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoW1VfLnnH70oYNbuX7N3wLLX5CUCgWY_pPOj7nSMvGxhavy54jXhwwqy_OyW0AcQ7J14W0DoYevyQKtuRzQuulx0OZZ_vcUIWjt4VBUUCc466NTZx3NiE07AlFLsTY9KPLZjub5VmUWo/s1600/Photo+Jul+08%252C+4+22+46+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoW1VfLnnH70oYNbuX7N3wLLX5CUCgWY_pPOj7nSMvGxhavy54jXhwwqy_OyW0AcQ7J14W0DoYevyQKtuRzQuulx0OZZ_vcUIWjt4VBUUCc466NTZx3NiE07AlFLsTY9KPLZjub5VmUWo/s320/Photo+Jul+08%252C+4+22+46+PM.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of my yarn </td></tr>
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And most of my fiber is also out on display now. The only thing left in bins in the closet is a couple of fleece-sized quantities. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWjBdW47d3X7StGyx2MuIvlMpy0GYUbF-1WIw-mEnO3CjEgXyxL7ntEfn2-p-PCvMM2DPtnSV28BkJZryf8c3avg4d-AC5U5VBwtlX7nqAu-gtvXmzXI-dWBsRKfLLMMg3uwfnLW4Be8/s1600/Photo+Jul+09%252C+12+03+22+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWjBdW47d3X7StGyx2MuIvlMpy0GYUbF-1WIw-mEnO3CjEgXyxL7ntEfn2-p-PCvMM2DPtnSV28BkJZryf8c3avg4d-AC5U5VBwtlX7nqAu-gtvXmzXI-dWBsRKfLLMMg3uwfnLW4Be8/s320/Photo+Jul+09%252C+12+03+22+AM.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Most of my fiber</td></tr>
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I moved my cutting table to a longer wall. This makes it easier to access the fabric and supplies in the cubbies underneath and it's also a better location for rolling it away from the wall if I need to be able to walk around it while I cut. My ball winder and swift also stay attached to this table most of the time. The cart between the fiber bins and the cutting table holds all my current crossstitch projects (which have seen no love in recent months) and rolls easily out of the way when necessary.<br />
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My sewing table is now where my cutting table used to be.<br />
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About the only thing that stayed in the same place is my desk.<br />
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The bookshelf that was full of fiction books got moved to the guest room. I removed the shelf in the closet and moved the other two bookcases in there. These hold photos that need to be sorted, craft books, supplies and things I don't use as often.<br />
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The closet is now more for storage so I won't have to move things in there around as often trying to get to my yarn or fiber. These two tall rolling drawer sets hold partial balls of yarn, buttons, smaller pieces of fabric like fat quarters, and other odds and ends. My blocking mats are to the right of them, and my drying racks to the left.<br />
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Although it still looks like a bit of a jumble, the remaining shelves that hold more supplies and other odds and ends for various crafts are more organized as well.<br />
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Overall, given the limited space I have to work with, I'm pretty happy with where everything is and how functional it will be. We'll see how long it stays that way!<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-38149510258296630322017-03-23T00:05:00.000-04:002017-03-23T00:05:40.837-04:00Frolic Eve It's that time of year, and I'm working a lot of hours, but there has been some knitting going on the past couple of weeks even if it hasn't been as much as I would like.<br />
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Tomorrow after work, I head west to Sapphire Valley and the <a href="https://carolinafiberfrolic.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Fiber Frolic</a>. I've been getting some things I finished a while ago blocked to take for "show and tell".<br />
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First I washed and blocked my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/find-your-fade" target="_blank">Find Your Fade</a> shawl, although blocking in this case just meant laying it out to dry without really stretching it, because it was already huge enough! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture shows the colors better.</td></tr>
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I also finished and blocked my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/snowmelt-shawl-mkal" target="_blank">Snowmelt Shawl MKAL</a>.<br />
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And last in the just needed to be blocked category is the Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights shawl I finally finished at the end of 2016. This is also a giant shawl, but I finally took the time to pin it out. I couldn't figure out how to get a really good picture of this, and there are beads, but they are very similar in color to the yarn, so they're subtle, which is what I wanted.<br />
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As for the projects I was trying to finish in time for Frolic, the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cayambe-poncho" target="_blank">Cayambe</a> is finished.<br />
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But the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sweet-chilly" target="_blank">Sweet Chilly</a> sweater is not. I only have one sleeve and the neckline to do, so I'm hoping I can finish it up by Friday in time to give it a steam with the hotel iron Friday night and enter it in the "what I made with my door prize" contest on Saturday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSogx9p29ad-6wgCvoE05SpdUKWZzRaRKVsRX-D6Ofcv8A4jcQBGeXJsHBCxTdbXDNgyq3xgk2mMtaXgtRzkC3HIV8_-sjsqA-W5GFvqmt80MhH43GbO2FXmPL1J9t6QFCPX7Ja9LnDzc/s1600/Photo+Mar+19%252C+1+08+52+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSogx9p29ad-6wgCvoE05SpdUKWZzRaRKVsRX-D6Ofcv8A4jcQBGeXJsHBCxTdbXDNgyq3xgk2mMtaXgtRzkC3HIV8_-sjsqA-W5GFvqmt80MhH43GbO2FXmPL1J9t6QFCPX7Ja9LnDzc/s320/Photo+Mar+19%252C+1+08+52+AM.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pic of the body before I started the sleeves.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One sleeve done, second one started.</td></tr>
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As usual, I'm sure I've packed way too many projects to work on at Frolic, but that's nothing new. I'm looking forward to seeing friends, making new ones, learning a few things, and just hanging out with my people.<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-54358516614384465802017-03-11T18:58:00.002-05:002017-03-11T18:58:32.593-05:00WIP Roundup - The BlanketsIf you knit or crochet, you may already realize that "scrap" blankets are a popular project these days. I appear to have bought tickets on the crazy train when it comes to blankets the past couple of years and have several in progress. Some of these get worked on regularly, some sporadically. I consider them all long term projects with no deadline (except for the one that will be obvious in a moment).<br />
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The crazy began back in January 2015 when I decided to start a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-yarn-blanket" target="_blank">sock yarn blanke</a>t. I use a lot of fingering weight yarn, for socks and other projects, but I always have at least a partial skein left over. I'm doing 31 stitch squares on US1 needles, so each of my squares only uses about 3g of yarn. I've been throwing more of the larger squares in lately because I've been using more self-striping yarn and it takes a larger square to really show the stripes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_i9bU-uf-7soplMgdgHG8aOqICq4hDJFUHHxCHfQZdF69wWaksuIy-yBh8DXT83uNIvbfjyKtVtiA2JS1A3vvamYeYXMpLpjS739dqyWyUC7Y3UI1y5j-2XoiSO2tUxvllx35k4D0dQ/s1600/Photo+Mar+11%252C+5+28+27+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu_i9bU-uf-7soplMgdgHG8aOqICq4hDJFUHHxCHfQZdF69wWaksuIy-yBh8DXT83uNIvbfjyKtVtiA2JS1A3vvamYeYXMpLpjS739dqyWyUC7Y3UI1y5j-2XoiSO2tUxvllx35k4D0dQ/s320/Photo+Mar+11%252C+5+28+27+PM.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Not too long after I started the sock yarn blanket, I decided to start a blanket that is truly from scraps of sock yarn. These are bits that are too little to even make one of the small squares in the sock yarn blanket. I'm making this one up as I go along. I cast on 25 stitches and just knit the bits in stripes until that one strip was as long as I thought I wanted the blanket. Now I'm working on the second strip of only 10 stitches, attaching it to the first one as I go. Other than trying to make sure I don't do the very similar colors right next to each other, I'm not planning anything, just knitting until I run out of that yarn, then magic knotting the next color on and keep knitting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboWT61Se9wp7mdaDu0N8MSxgcRsJniyCSsh7Fe63XAvGUyhyphenhyphenFItXFbupATBJH6xTL4emEcCBDwTagUL1SqLm_mVdf4w81b5aPxA79iZa3AvR4RXJeZqjnyljkSeYNSEUNr6y3EEV9AS4/s1600/Photo+Mar+11%252C+5+25+41+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjboWT61Se9wp7mdaDu0N8MSxgcRsJniyCSsh7Fe63XAvGUyhyphenhyphenFItXFbupATBJH6xTL4emEcCBDwTagUL1SqLm_mVdf4w81b5aPxA79iZa3AvR4RXJeZqjnyljkSeYNSEUNr6y3EEV9AS4/s320/Photo+Mar+11%252C+5+25+41+PM.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
Because it only takes a little over 50g to make myself a pair of socks, I still had a lot of sock yarn left after making a square for the sock yarn blanket, but more than I really wanted to use in the true scrap blanket. So in June 2015 I started making blanket squares similar to those of the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/barn-raising-quilt" target="_blank">Barn Raising Quilt</a> that a lot of people have made and called it my Bandwagon Blanket. I start off my squares a little differently, but it's the same effect. So far I've made 14 squares for this. I'm a little more choosy about which yarns I use for this, sticking to ones I really love the colors of or ones that are colors outside my "norm" so there will be some variation in the end product.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTIZbdeMyFaurtixhRzNpPREYXpGHVV2tsrvjnE-0a0Ju4eCHYGVAGFEZxgK-n-CjI2tSfthr3gzYA3HYBZXDNmFknxqlhRkURO_IdiLUVnwrTfTMvPoF9C2WxQZo7f3UDzYCXGiWXTY/s1600/Photo+Mar+11%252C+5+26+59+PM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBTIZbdeMyFaurtixhRzNpPREYXpGHVV2tsrvjnE-0a0Ju4eCHYGVAGFEZxgK-n-CjI2tSfthr3gzYA3HYBZXDNmFknxqlhRkURO_IdiLUVnwrTfTMvPoF9C2WxQZo7f3UDzYCXGiWXTY/s320/Photo+Mar+11%252C+5+26+59+PM.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I blame Diane of <a href="http://suburbanstitcher.com/" target="_blank">The Suburban Stitcher</a> podcast for this next one. She started a granny square blanket out of sock yarn, and after seeing it several times on her podcast, I had to have one too. This is basically a big granny square that just keeps getting bigger. I started it in December 2016 and I'm using a 3.00 mm hook and just crocheting around and around in whatever yarn I pick up next out of the bag.<br />
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So with all these "scrap" sock yarn blankets I've developed sort of a system for where my leftover sock yarn goes. I knit my socks two at a time, so when I finish a pair there are 2 balls of yarn left over, usually about 20-23g each. One goes into the sock yarn blanket bag and if I like the yarn enough, the other ball goes in the bandwagon blanket bag. Whichever ball is biggest after those squares are made goes into the granny square bag and the other one goes into a bin where I keep leftovers for making mini skeins for swaps, etc. Yarn only goes into the scrap blanket bag when it has less than 5g left and therefore not enough for making a mini skein.<br />
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The final blanket is the only one that's not a scrap blanket. I did start it out of leftover worsted weight superwash yarn I had on hand, but I've already had to order some more of some colors, and I'm sure I'll probably need more before it's done. This one is my 2017 Temperature Blanket, which I'm making using the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/groovy-ghan" target="_blank">Groovy-ghan</a> pattern. This is also a crochet blanket, and I'm using a 4.5mm hook. Basically, I do one stripe for each day of the year and the color of the stripe is determined by the high temperature for that day. I'm about a week behind on this one because of trying to finish things for Frolic, but I'm generally trying to stay on top of it by working on it every 2-3 days. It's going to be a large throw blanket when it's done, but not wide enough to cover a bed. This picture shows January and February.<br />
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So that's the blanket madness. Sadly, those are not all my projects. I have another group of projects that are hibernating. I was going to post about those, but since it could be a while before any of them get any attention, I've decided I'll just wait until I actually work on them at some point and tell you about them then.<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-80199465467550985942017-03-10T17:00:00.000-05:002017-03-10T17:00:31.024-05:00WIP Roundup - The WaitingToday I'm sharing some of my other works in progress (WIPs). These are the projects I haven't worked on in the past week or so, but I plan to start working on again soon.<br />
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First up is my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rhapsody-in-cables" target="_blank">Rhapsody in Cables</a> sweater. I fell in love with this sweater as soon as the pattern was released and had to start it immediately! I initially started it in the yarn I'm using for my Sweet Chilly sweater I talked about yesterday, but between the darkness and slight variegation of that yarn, the cables just weren't showing up well, so I ripped it out and started the Sweet Chilly with that yarn. But I still really wanted to cast on this pattern, so I'm doing it now in some Morning Meadows yarn in a natural colorway I bought at <a href="http://saffsite.org/" target="_blank">SAFF</a> in 2015. I got started at the end of January, but then I started to realize I didn't have too long to finish all the things I wanted to finish before Frolic, so this one has gotten set aside for the past few weeks and doesn't look like much right now, but as soon as my Sweet Chilly sweater is done, this one is getting some serious attention.<br />
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The next two projects that are getting ready to go back into the regular rotation are a couple of baby blankets. My daughter is pregnant with her first child and due in June with a boy, so of course I'm making a blanket for him. I don't think it will be any surprise to her if she sees this that I'm making him a blanket, but I will hold off disclosing the details until I've finished it and gifted it. I'm hoping to get it finished by the time or shortly after he's born.<br />
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I've also got a blanket I started for my grandson (my son's son) when he was a couple of months old that's been hibernating way too long. That's a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/baby-dragon-blanket" target="_blank">Baby Dragon Blanket </a>that I'm making in Cascade 220 Sport. I made him one blanket before he was born, but his older sister got two, including one with a castle on it when she was born, so I thought a dragon would be cool for him. He'll be 2 in July so that's my artificial deadline for finishing it this year, and really 2 years old is the perfect age to appreciate a blanket with a dragon on it right?<br />
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I'm also planning to get back to spinning regularly as well. I've currently got a gradient set from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/threewatersfarm" target="_blank">Three Waters Farm </a>in progress, but I haven't spun in a while. Here's what I've spun so far and the waiting fiber. <br />
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Towards the end of last year I started working on counted cross stitch again. I pulled out a couple of old projects that had been hibernating for years and started a couple of new ones, that are now hibernating. But I signed up this year for the <a href="https://www.thefrostedpumpkinstitchery.com/collections/clubs/products/happily-ever-after-pdf-cross-stitch-pattern" target="_blank">Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery</a>'s year long Happily Ever After pattern. They send a portion of the pattern each month, and I started out doing well in January, but that's fallen by the wayside as well. I want to get back to working on it again regularly so I don't get so far behind. I still haven't finished January, so it will take a couple of months, but if I start actually working on it sometime soon it's possible.<br />
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So those are the things I plan to try to put some work into in the next few weeks, but sadly, they're not the only things in progress. Next time I'll talk about the blankets.<br /><br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-42190102078939309592017-03-09T22:41:00.000-05:002017-03-09T22:43:25.311-05:00WIP Roundup - The ActiveI keep thinking about writing here, and I keep not doing it. So I've decided it doesn't matter if I have nothing "important" to write about, I'm just going to write about what I'm crafting, and if something more exciting happens, I'll write about that too.<br />
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As a starting point I thought I'd start a run through of all the various projects I have in progress. As I've mentioned previously, I'm not a monogamous crafter, so there are a lot of them. Today I'm talking about the ones I've been actively working on recently.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/cayambe-poncho" target="_blank">Cayambe</a> poncho is the one I'm closest to finishing, and plan to have finished in the next couple of days. When I went to <a href="https://carolinafiberfrolic.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Fiber Frolic</a> in November, someone was wearing one and several of us decided to make it, so I want to have it finished before the spring Frolic the weekend of March 24th. As soon as I finish the knitting I'll need to block the piece before I seam it up into the poncho and since I'll be busy the whole weekend of the 17th, I need to get it blocked this weekend. I'm making this in <a href="https://www.missbabs.com/" target="_blank">Miss Babs</a> Yowza in the Forever colorway.When I started this post yesterday I still had about 3 repeats of the pattern left to do, but I worked on it a good bit last night and finished the big rectangle. I'm not going to have enough yarn to do the neckline as written (despite having almost 150 yards more than the pattern calls for) so once I get it seamed I'll have to decide whether to do something different at the neck, or nothing, or maybe I'll raid the stash to see if something I have would blend well or be a good accent at the neckline.<br />
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The other project I'm trying to get finished in time for the Frolic is my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sweet-chilly" target="_blank">Sweet Chilly </a>sweater that I'm making out of the <a href="https://neighborhoodfiberco.com/" target="_blank">Neighborhood Fiber Company</a> yarn I won at last year's spring Frolic. The yarn is their Studio DK base in the Dupont Circle colorway. Neighborhood Fiber Company will be vending at this spring Frolic, so I want to be able to show off what I made with the yarn. I'm not quite half-way down the body on it, but once the Cayambe is finished this will take priority and I should be able to finish it up in time.<br />
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Also seeing some action this week are my March socks for the <a href="https://desertvistadyeworks.com/" target="_blank">Desert Vista Dyeworks</a> year long KAL. These are just vanilla socks for me and this month I'm using the Secret Life of a Snowflake colorway. I chose this color for March hoping it would bring on at least one snowfall this winter despite the 70 degree days we've been having, and it looks like it might have worked, they're calling for snow here Sunday!<br />
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And I have a second pair of socks on the needles. These are for a friend at work who is an ECU fan and I'm using the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hermiones-everyday-socks" target="_blank">Hermione's Everyday Sock</a> pattern although I'm doing them toe-up and will use a different heel. The yarn I'm using for these is sock yarn dyed by the <a href="https://friendsandfiberworks.com/" target="_blank">Friends and Fiberworks </a>yarn store near Asheville in the Happy Ripper colorway.<br />
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So that's it for what I've been actively working on this week. Tomorrow I'll show you what's waiting in the wings.Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-61621768335117341272017-01-08T15:57:00.003-05:002017-01-08T15:57:50.486-05:002016 Crafting Goals RecapI set several crafting goals at the beginning of 2016 and since I just posted my 2017 crafting goals earlier this week, I thought I'd update how I did on the 2016 goals.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><u><b>The Good</b></u></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Knit 12 Pairs of Socks</span></b><br />
I actually knit 17 pairs of socks in 2016, so I definitely exceeded this goal. I won't bore you with pictures of all of them, but here are a few of my favorites from the year.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Knit 2 Projects with Laceweight Yarn</b></span><br />
Yes, I knit the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/newfoundland-2" target="_blank">Newfoundland</a> shawl and the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/danse-macabre" target="_blank">Danse Macabre</a> shawl. You get crappy pics of both of them because they are still in the bag of things that need to be blocked.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Knit 2 Projects with Handspun Yarn</b></span><br />
Also successful. I knit the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/quaker-yarn-stretcher-boomerang" target="_blank">Quaker Yarnstretcher Boomerang</a> and <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/traveling-woman" target="_blank">Traveling Woman</a>, both out of my handspun yarn. I've actually gotten around to blocking both of these.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Finish Marigold Moroccan</b></span><br />
This is a project I started way back in January 2010. Because it was heavily beaded and I was knitting both halves at the same time, it was a very time intensive project and I only worked on it sporadically until 2016. It wasn't unpleasant to work on, just required focus and it was slow going because of the beads. I sat down at the beginning of 2016 and counted the remaining rows and figured out how many I had to do a month to finish it in 2016. And I did it. Breaking it up into monthly chunks kept me on track and I did the final bind off, which joined the two halves on New Year's Eve. I haven't had the time to block it yet, but here's a picture to prove it is in fact done! I'll post a better picture and some that show the beading detail once I've gotten it blocked.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Spin the Bin</b></span><br />
At the beginning of 2016 I picked out 12 items in my fiber stash to spin in 2016. Together, it was just over 3 lbs. of fiber, and I spun all of it. I really should corral all the finished yarn together for a picture, but I haven't gotten around to it, so I'll just share a couple of my favorites.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQm43_68dhuYkXxwKIp2Xisvq0nULRPO-2VtoQhgJrFpbkl5QfYOGqxqMjkptM8Hpo0oPs-gl20Ji1Luam2vzEDwgQTORZ-AgL4Qbv9XRtwsfeZ75MUf_8dRhaEhm6t-LdB1vnT72T3Q4/s1600/2016-03-16_17.15.20_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQm43_68dhuYkXxwKIp2Xisvq0nULRPO-2VtoQhgJrFpbkl5QfYOGqxqMjkptM8Hpo0oPs-gl20Ji1Luam2vzEDwgQTORZ-AgL4Qbv9XRtwsfeZ75MUf_8dRhaEhm6t-LdB1vnT72T3Q4/s320/2016-03-16_17.15.20_medium2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the yarn that was knit into the Traveling Woman shawl above.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FQ5Ivb-coJFoHJO7-usCt8iUEsvQ1OZkdeoNa97aJOMyC9kLCyI8mbVwGmSjTWcrJZ1cS28HvBvwf9Y_Z_Kj2c03avARVPpRmBFRZwydaRJg8XngSgz5xXCoGEGQ3BhKqZFamhG9GVo/s1600/2016-06-28_22.49.53_medium2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7FQ5Ivb-coJFoHJO7-usCt8iUEsvQ1OZkdeoNa97aJOMyC9kLCyI8mbVwGmSjTWcrJZ1cS28HvBvwf9Y_Z_Kj2c03avARVPpRmBFRZwydaRJg8XngSgz5xXCoGEGQ3BhKqZFamhG9GVo/s320/2016-06-28_22.49.53_medium2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Learn to Sew</b></span><br />
I did learn how to use my sewing machine. I'm not very good at it yet, mainly because I haven't really sewn since early summer. I took a class at my local community college the first half of the year that was very helpful, but then work got busy and I couldn't make the class. But I did make a few things and I can make a pretty good pillow case!<br />
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I've also made a small quilt that's finished except for hand stitching the back of the binding. It's not exactly square, but I still like it. However, I think I've decided that at this point in my life I don't have the patience needed to do serious quilting. Maybe as I get better at sewing straight seams that will change. But here's the top of the one I've mostly finished.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Bad</span></u></b><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Knit a Steeked and Zippered Cardigan</b></span><br />
This is the only actual knitting goal I didn't achieve this year. But really, the primary reason I didn't is I still haven't found the pattern I really want to do. I'm not sure exactly what I want, and I honestly haven't spent a ton of time searching for it. I think I'll find it at the right time and this will happen. In the mean time, I don't really feel bad that this goal didn't get achieved.<br />
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<u><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Ugly</span></b></u><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;">More Yardage Out Than In</span></b><br />
This was a complete and total fail. On the positive side, I completed 64 projects in 2016, which used 25,879.4 yards of yarn. That's 14.7 MILES of yarn folks. So I certainly did some knitting. I added less yarn than I did in 2015, but 2016 still saw a substantial increase in my stash yardage even with all that knit. It's not ugly though, it's beautiful yarn, and I'll use it eventually, so not going to beat myself up about it.<br />
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So there you have it. 2016 crafting goals were mostly successful and I'm hoping 2017 will be even better.<br />
<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-77960492025169148292017-01-02T01:57:00.000-05:002017-05-07T16:02:36.646-04:002017 Reading List<div style="text-align: center;">
<u><b>Books I've Read in 2017</b></u></div>
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<i><b>I include audio books I listen to on my daily commute. (A) indicates it was an audio book, (K) indicates it was read on the Kindle app, and no designation means it was a traditional paper book.</b></i></div>
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<i><b>I am no longer taking the time to link each book to Amazon. If you want more information on a book, there is a link to my Goodreads in the sidebar.</b></i></div>
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<b><u>January (10)</u></b><br />
Steal Me, Cowboy - Kim Boykin (K)<br />
Oklahoma Christmas Blues - Maggie Shayne (K)<br />
Fiona's Flame - Rachael Herron (K)<br />
The Christmas Secret - Jannie Watt (K)<br />
Don't Break My Heart - Laurie Kellogg (K)<br />
The Velvet Hours - Alyson Richman<br />
Winter Street - Elin Hilderbrand</div>
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A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman</div>
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The Concrete Blond - Michael Connelly (A)</div>
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The Last Coyote - Michael Connelly (A)</div>
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<b><u>February (6)</u></b><br />
Trunk Music - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
The German Girl - Armando Lucas Correa<br />
Rather Be the Devil - Ian Rankin (A)<br />
The Paris Wife - Paula McLain<br />
A Darkness More Than Night - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Fredrik Backman<br />
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<u><b>March (10)</b></u><br />
Winter Stroll - Elin Hilderbrand<br />
City of Bones - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
Winter Storms - Elin Hilderbrand<br />
Britt-Marie Was Here - Fredrik Backman<br />
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer - Fredrik Backman<br />
Lost Light - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
The Substitute - Denise Grover Swank (K)<br />
The Narrows - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
The Closers - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
Echo Park - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
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<u><b>April (3)</b></u><br />
The Brass Verdict - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
Nine Dragons - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
The Reversal - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
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<u><b>May</b></u><br />
The Drop - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
Garden of Lamentations - Deborah Crombie<br />
Loving Lauren - Jill Sanders (K)<br />
The Black Box - Michael Connelly (A) <br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-57694132943472865292017-01-02T01:29:00.000-05:002017-01-02T01:29:48.697-05:002017 Crafting GoalsI've set some new crafting goals for 2017. I'll do an update on how I did on 2016's crafting goals later, but here are the new ones for this year.<br />
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<ul>
<li> Knit 1 pair of <a href="http://desertvistadyeworks.com/" target="_blank">Desert Vista Dyeworks</a> socks/month<br />
</li>
<li> 2 projects with handspun<br />
</li>
<li> 2 projects with laceweight<br />
</li>
<li> 3 projects with yarn added to stash before 2016 (this can cross over with handspun or lace goals)<br />
</li>
<li> Reduce total number of stash entries (including trade/sale) to 540 or less (currently 554)<br />
</li>
<li> Spin at least 12 fiber stash entries<br />
</li>
<li> Reduce fiber stash entries to 65 or less (currently 70)<br />
</li>
<li> 3 sewing projects of some kind<br />
</li>
<li> Stay on track with <a href="https://www.thefrostedpumpkinstitchery.com/collections/all-pdf-patterns/products/happily-ever-after-pdf-cross-stitch-pattern" target="_blank">Frosted Pumpkin Happily Ever After</a> monthly pattern<br />
</li>
<li> Aim for more yardage out than in on a quarterly basis (handspun created does not count as yardage in, but handspun knit counts towards yardage out)</li>
</ul>
I've got a few other goals that aren't crafting related, but they're still in generalizations at the moment, so maybe I'll talk about them at some point.<br />
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As usual, I'm going to try to start posting here more, but we'll see how it goes.<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-42472659192986132892016-08-02T14:59:00.000-04:002016-08-03T23:42:20.962-04:00Bits and Bobs from JulyI don't know what I was thinking, but my only excuse for trying to start writing here again so close to crazy time at work was that when I wrote last I didn't yet realize that the final craziness was upon us.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.ncleg.net/" target="_blank">NCGA</a> wrapped up their session around midnight, Friday, July 1, 2016, a month ago and I've spent the month of July recovering, at least I think I've recovered...almost. I'm still feeling a bit brain dead most of the time, but it seems to be getting better.<br />
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We celebrated my grandson's first birthday at the beginning of the month, and in typical one-year-old birthday style, there was a lot of food, a lot of presents, and a lot of messy toddler.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the messy part</td></tr>
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The only other event of any note in July was a quilt class my mother and I took together this past Saturday. One of my goals for the year was to learn to sew, and I've been slowly doing that. My mother used to sew a lot when I was a child, but hasn't really in a long time. She bought a new machine about the time I did and we took a mystery quilt class at the fabric store in Sanford this weekend, just to spend time doing something together. I'll probably never finish the quilt, at least not the size it's supposed to be, but it was fun. As usual, I had good intentions of taking some pictures, at least of my mother and I, but I totally forgot. I'll insert a picture of what I got done sometime soon if I can remember to take it when I'm home.<br />
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Other than that, it's now August, and I need to get moving, literally. I started taking a tap class again about 3 weeks ago, and so far I'm enjoying that. Class right now is on Tuesday nights, but will shift to Monday nights in the fall. So I should be able to attend until early January at least. 2017 is a long session year, so session will start in mid-late January and at that point Monday night classes won't be possible. There is a Thursday night class, but it's more advanced, so if I feel I can keep up in that class by that point I may be able to switch to that.<br />
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I'm going to try this month to start getting back into an exercise habit. Rob signed up for a 10K race the end of the month, so I signed up for the 5K FunRun with the intention of walking it. Need to get some walking in before then though if I'm going to make it. Just ordered a new swimsuit so I can start swimming laps again, and I'm considering making an appointment with a personal trainer if I can find one I like through the Y. Grand plans for sure, we'll see if they actually happen.<br />
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Until next time.... <br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-76746645069602809202016-06-07T22:38:00.000-04:002016-06-07T22:39:44.050-04:00Long Time GoneThe longer I go without blogging, the harder it seems to be to come back to it, primarily because I feel like I should tell you everything that's happened of any significance since the last time I posted. But that's just not realistic, so here I am back again, and I'll hit a few highlights and we'll just pretend it hasn't been that long OK?<br />
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My son and his family are back North Carolina, at least for the next couple of years until the Army decides to send him somewhere else, so we've been able to spend more time with him, his wife and the grandkids. I love my kids, I love my grandkids, but spending a few hours with the grands makes me glad I'm done with the kid-raising phase of my life. The joy of being a grandparent is being able to enjoy some time with them then send them back home with Mom & Dad!<br />
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We took a trip to Louisiana in March to celebrate the 90th birthday of Rob's Aunt Sue. It was good to see some of his family that we rarely see and my DIL was able to bring the grandkids down too even though my son couldn't get leave. Sue is my MIL's sister and is quite a bit older than her, but you can see the family resemblance.<br />
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Rob & I celebrated our 16th anniversary last week, and I can't believe he's put up with me this long. There are days it seems like our wedding was yesterday, and others when it feels like it's been forever. But that's true of most marriages I suppose, but I'm glad he's stuck with me for yet another year.<br />
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I took a sewing class for a few weeks and have actually learned how to use my sewing machine, although it will be a long time for I feel like I have any degree of expertise. I've also attended a couple of fiber events this spring, but I'll talk more about those in separate posts. <br />
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Other than that, it's my busy time of year at work, so my hours are erratic. Some days I work relatively normal hours and other days I work until late at night just to get things done that need to be done for the next day. I've been in my current job over 20 years now, and although some days I would like to find something different, for the most part I still like my job, and every time I try to imagine doing something else I think of all the things I would miss about my current job. I keep my eyes open for something else that might be interesting, but I've essentially resigned myself to being here another 9 years and 8 months at which point I can retire with full benefits, and hope to do so!<br />
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O.k. quick and dirty update done, more crafting and other tidbits to come, assuming I don't get totally distracted again right?<br />
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<span id="goog_1967722487"></span><span id="goog_1967722488"></span> Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-2621047019876318312016-01-15T22:55:00.002-05:002016-01-15T23:57:36.710-05:00Finally FO FridayAfter taking a couple of weeks off for the holidays, the last two weeks of work have seemed inordinately long. So I'm glad it's finally Friday, and it's a 3-day weekend to boot!<br />
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I was feeling the need to work on some quick projects this week and get the sense of accomplishment that comes with actually finishing something, so I made up these three hats. Aren't they adorable?! The blue & green monkey is for my 6-month old grandson, the pink & purple unicorn is for my 3-year old granddaughter, and the blue & white bear is for my 17-month old nephew.<br />
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The yarn is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/yarns/library/dmc-top-this" target="_blank">Top This!</a> by DMC and it comes with the cute little animal heads to make these. Each one knits up in just an hour or two, so I made these in three consecutive nights this week. One caution if you want to make these, the pattern runs very small. I actually knit the monkey one twice. I had heard that the pattern ran small, so I knit the toddler size for my 6-month old grandson, but even that looked too small to me. So I ripped it out and made the small child size for him, and I made the full child size for my granddaughter and nephew. If they're a little big, that's always better than too small.<br />
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I'm hoping for a relaxing weekend. I've got some yarn to ply off the bobbin so that I can get started on my Spin the Bin goals for 2016. I finished spinning the singles last weekend, but didn't want to start spinning something else until this last thing left from last year is completely done. I also need to sort and organize some clothes this weekend and see what can be donated. Finally, I want to get <a href="https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener.php" target="_blank">Scrivener</a> reinstalled on my laptop because so far I have made no progress on my goal to actually write for 30 minutes 3 times per week. I reloaded my laptop early in 2015 and I've never reloaded Scrivener, which tells you how little writing I've actually done in the past year. Hoping to change that.<br />
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So that's it for today. Happy Friday!Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-47311955793913755972016-01-13T16:40:00.002-05:002016-01-13T16:40:23.842-05:00WIP It Into Shape Wednesday<u><span id="goog_1364859147"></span><span id="goog_1364859148"></span>Knitting WIP</u> <br />
This week's knitting WIP is the pair of socks I cast on New Year's Day. As I mentioned, one of my goals for 2016 is to knit at least 12 pairs of socks. I don't know that I will do exactly 1 pair per month, but I know that if I finish at least 1 pair each month, I'll hit my goal, so these are January's pair in progress.<br />
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I'm just doing a plain "vanilla" sock, toe up. The yarn is <a href="http://www.knitpicks.com/yarns/Felici_Sock_Yarn__D5420165.html" target="_blank">Knit Picks Felici</a> in Rainbow. I will do the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fish-lips-kiss-heel" target="_blank">Fish Lips Kiss Heel </a>when I get to that point. I prefer to knit my socks two at a time on two circulars if possible. There are occasions when doing certain types of patterned socks where that's not possible, but if I can, I do.<br />
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These are being housed in my Dr. Who Tardis bag from <a href="http://www.erinlanebags.com/" target="_blank">Erin Lane Bags</a>. This is a small sock bag that has a divider inside to keep two skeins of yarn separate. I love the fabric and I like the interior design. I'm not a big fan of the way she does her drawstring on this bag. The bag is very well constructed, it's just a personal preference thing. I prefer one drawstring coming out one side with a tension clip or something. This one has two ribbons running through and you pull from both sides. This is the first of her bags I've bought, so it may just be this particular style of bag. I bought this one at SAFF, so I'll have to look at her others next time.<br />
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I'm using a <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/232252463/poke-me-not?ref=shop_home_feat_1" target="_blank">Poke Me Not</a> from JanBSmiley to not only keep my stitches from sliding off the needles, but to keep the small pointy needles from poking through the bag. I have about 7 of these things because I use them on just about every project. Highly recommend!<br />
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<u>WIP Me Into Shape</u><br />
I've decided to add weightloss progress to Wednesday's as well. After all, I'm a WIP too. I don't really want this to become a weightloss blog, but I don't want to ignore that part of my daily life either, so I will attempt to strike a balance between sharing some of my efforts to be healthier with you without going overboard.<br />
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I may do a longer post at some point with a little more of my lifetime battle with my weight, but suffice it to say it's not the first time I've made an effort to lose weight. I've tried tons of times, and even been successful a couple of those. I can lose weight when I set my mind to it. I just need to make it stick at some point. But for now, I need to focus on losing. Hopefully by the time I get to where I want to be this time, I'll figure out how to maintain it too.<br />
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I'm a lifetime Weight Watchers member, but I'm way over goal. I've tried to get back into WW the past few months, but it just wasn't clicking and with the changes to the new program, it's not going to work for me. So I'm doing this without an official program of any kind. I need to make lifestyle changes that are just that, my lifestyle, and not work this program or that, or this eating plan or that. So my current tools are my Fitbit Surge and the Fitbit App to track my food intake. I'm trying a couple of different online groups to find the right fit for support, but mainly I'm trying to eat healthier and move more.<br />
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I "officially" started last Tuesday, January 5th and I will record my weight every Tuesday morning. Doesn't mean I won't weigh myself other days, but the weight I will record for tracking purposes will be whatever I weigh Tuesday morning before I get into the shower. So yesterday was my first weigh-in day and I did really well this week. Of course, the first week, when you go from eating a bunch of junk to actually eating somewhat healthy is always good, but it's always a nice boost as well.<br />
<br />
I have a lot of weight to lose, and I haven't decided yet whether I want to share actual numbers here or not. I have a feeling that if I'm actually successful in making some progress this time I will get more comfortable with sharing the details, but until then, I'm sorry if I keep that part vague. I will say that my first goal is to lose 5# by February 2, and in one week I'm well on my way to that goal.<br />
<br />
Happy Hump Day! <br />
<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-17772903821734067322016-01-08T23:51:00.002-05:002016-01-15T23:57:52.299-05:00Fee Fi FO FridaySometimes I actually finish projects. That's not accurate, I actually finish a lot of projects, but I go through spurts. I'm not a monogamous knitter, so I usually have many different WIPs at any given time, so unless I'm really focusing on one particular project I may go weeks without actually finishing anything and then suddenly I'll finish several things one right after the other.<br />
<br />
In knitter-speak a finished project is an FO, i.e. finished object. I'm designating Friday as the day to generally share FOs, so here's something I've finished recently.<br />
<br />
I went to Southern Pines a couple of days before Christmas to do a little last minute Christmas shopping and after I got what I needed for everyone else, I treated myself to a little Christmas at the yarn shop there, <a href="http://bellafilati.com/" target="_blank">Bella Filati</a>. It's a nice, friendly, yarn shop and I go there occasionally on Saturday afternoons for social knitting. If you're in the area you should stop and check it out.<br />
<br />
But the reason I mention it is that at that visit I bought a skein of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/KnittedWit" target="_blank">Knitted Wit</a> Victory DK yarn in the Autumn Rainbow colorway. I just couldn't resist these jewel tones jumbled all together. Isn't it gorgeous?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBksII53tgK92LxGlLYkpBZewxgQogZ891MGKyqy9Du6EG-QdTR76uM67JwHBd9P_OFmVey8WtjQ15FbYSu1NDlNtp_D3AdTsXjMikQJFWKJpDoTL-rafKTP330-Vf3XQRO4V8ILRcbU/s1600/2015-12-22+15.30.48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUBksII53tgK92LxGlLYkpBZewxgQogZ891MGKyqy9Du6EG-QdTR76uM67JwHBd9P_OFmVey8WtjQ15FbYSu1NDlNtp_D3AdTsXjMikQJFWKJpDoTL-rafKTP330-Vf3XQRO4V8ILRcbU/s320/2015-12-22+15.30.48.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
I had the store wind it for me so as soon as I got home I could cast on. I knit a pair of gloves for me, but because I have small hands they only took about half of the skein, so I made a short cowl to create a matching set.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBi1Vp_92UcRo8VyqQPH6_DEe1DixIQUwQELPAJDXSl973nktiw_zCa7CpopK-cdrVNtOCgJx5Ku1j1KnmNiX69Tl4D9nRc_-c6mQuu8ga_jYzACnNZ2ywXeJ6fRRIEs53JyPNS4ka8lo/s1600/2016-01-06+16.41.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBi1Vp_92UcRo8VyqQPH6_DEe1DixIQUwQELPAJDXSl973nktiw_zCa7CpopK-cdrVNtOCgJx5Ku1j1KnmNiX69Tl4D9nRc_-c6mQuu8ga_jYzACnNZ2ywXeJ6fRRIEs53JyPNS4ka8lo/s320/2016-01-06+16.41.44.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cowl pattern is <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/diamond-cowl-6" target="_blank">Diamond Cowl</a>, gloves I made up as I went.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I love them! They're so fun and colorful. I just bought a new charcoal grey dress coat, so they give me a fun pop of color with that. I loved this colorway so much that I've ordered a skein of sock yarn in the same color from the dyer. She has more in her shop if you want it, go on, you know you do!<br />
<br />
I get many hours of enjoyment from knitting and other crafts, but wearing something you made at the end is also very satisfying.<br />
<br />
<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-46548473387795540712016-01-06T17:36:00.000-05:002017-01-02T01:53:58.470-05:002016 Reading List<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>Books I've Read in 2016 (117)</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I include audio books I listen to on my daily commute. (A) indicates it
was an audio book, (K) indicates it was read on the Kindle app, and no
designation means it was a traditional paper book.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<u><b>January (9)</b></u></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Hope-Thunder-Point/dp/0778317870/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452119675&sr=1-1&keywords=a+new+hope" target="_blank">A New Hope</a> - Robyn Carr</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Naming-Dead-Inspector-Rebus/dp/0316099260/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452119682&sr=1-1&keywords=the+naming+of+the+dead+-+ian+rankin" target="_blank">The Naming of the Dead</a> - Ian Rankin (A)</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Last-One-Home-Debbie-Macomber/dp/0553391909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1452119705&sr=1-1&keywords=last+one+home" target="_blank">Last One Home</a> - Debbie Macomber<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whose-Body-Dorothy-L-Sayers/dp/0486473627/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452721437&sr=8-1&keywords=whose+body%3F" target="_blank">Whose Body?</a> - Dorothy L. Sayers<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Exit-Music-Inspector-Rebus-Mysteries/dp/0316099279/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452721461&sr=8-1&keywords=exit+music" target="_blank">Exit Music</a> - Ian Rankin (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Louises-Chance-thriller-wartime-Washington/dp/0727885529/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452721483&sr=8-1&keywords=louise%27s+chance" target="_blank">Louise's Chance</a> - Sarah R. Shaber<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Truths-Lie-Detective-Warren-Story/dp/1511368888?ie=UTF8&keywords=three%20truths%20and%20a%20lie&qid=1461524635&ref_=sr_1_2&s=books&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Three Truths and A Lie</a> - Lisa Gardner (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Wound-Murder-Yarn-Retreat-Mystery/dp/0425252655/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461524689&sr=1-1&keywords=wound+up+in+murder+by+betty+hechtman" target="_blank">Wound up in Murder</a> - Betty Hechtman<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Standing-Another-Grave-Inspector-Rebus/dp/031622460X?ie=UTF8&keywords=standing%20in%20another%20man%27s%20grave%20by%20ian%20rankin&qid=1461524663&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Standing in Another Man's Grave</a> - Ian Rankin (A)<br />
<br />
<u><b>February (7)</b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Saints-Shadow-Bible-Inspector-Rebus-ebook/dp/B00CO7FI4U/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Saints of the Shadow Bible</a> - Ian Rankin (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Incident-Dog-Night-Time-Contemporaries-ebook/dp/B000FC1MCS/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461524937&sr=1-1&keywords=the+curious+incident+of+the+dog+in+the+nighttime" target="_blank">The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</a> - Mark Haddon (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Even-Dogs-Wild-Inspector-Rebus-ebook/dp/B00X47ZNO4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8" target="_blank">Even Dogs in the Wild</a> - Ian Rankin (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Anything-Blue-Heron-Kristan-Higgins-ebook/dp/B0150Y1WG6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461524970&sr=1-1&keywords=anything+for+you+kristan+higgins" target="_blank">Anything for You</a> - Kristan Higgins<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-Book-ebook/dp/B004J4XA6E/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-1&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Maisie Dobbs</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Knitlandia-Knitter-World-Clara-Parkes-ebook/dp/B01ADHYKJG/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525054&sr=1-1&keywords=knitlandia" target="_blank">Knitlandia</a> - Clara Parkes<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Feather-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B004HYHAVM/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-3&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Birds of a Feather</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<br />
<u><b>March (10)</b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pardonable-Lies-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B0026UNZS6/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-6&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Pardonable Lies</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Willow-Lake-Lakeshore-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B01CCJK91Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525290&sr=1-1&keywords=starlight+on+willow+lake+susan+wiggs" target="_blank">Starlight on Willow Lake</a> - Susan Wiggs<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Evening-Stars-Blackberry-Island-Book-ebook/dp/B00FNJVSX6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525314&sr=1-1&keywords=evening+stars+susan+mallery" target="_blank">Evening Stars</a> - Susan Mallery<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Messenger-Truth-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B000SCHBHK/ref=sr_1_8?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-8&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Messenger of Truth</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Incomplete-Revenge-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B000UZQIVK/ref=sr_1_9?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-9&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">An Incomplete Revenge</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Wind-Lowcountry-Book-ebook/dp/B00GEEB9B0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525339&sr=1-1&keywords=the+summer+wind" target="_blank">The Summer Wind</a> - Mary Alice Monroe<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Ladies-Wonderful-Bestselling-Author-Collection-ebook/dp/B011I8LHUE/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525380&sr=1-1&keywords=the+ladies+man+and+some+kind+of+wonderful" target="_blank">The Ladies Man/Some Kind of Wonderful</a> - Susan Mallery/Sarah Morgan<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Summers-End-Lowcountry-Summer-Book-ebook/dp/B00P434CJS/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525339&sr=1-2&keywords=the+summer+wind" target="_blank">The Summer's End</a> - Mary Alice Monroe<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Among-Mad-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B002GUK7N2/ref=sr_1_11?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-11&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Among the Mad</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<br />
<u><b>April (11)</b></u><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mapping-Love-Death-Maisie-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B003AYZB9I/ref=sr_1_10?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-10&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">The Mapping of Love and Death</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Citizens-London-Americans-Britain-Darkest-ebook/dp/B00362XLI2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525465&sr=1-1&keywords=citizens+of+london" target="_blank">Citizens of London: The Americans Who Stood with Britain in its Darkest, Finest Hour</a> - Lynne Olson<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lesson-Secrets-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B004FEF6QK/ref=sr_1_12?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-12&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">A Lesson in Secrets</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Isnt-Perfect-Destinies-Sherryl-Woods-ebook/dp/B0166ASGWQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525692&sr=1-1&keywords=isn%27t+it+rich" target="_blank">Isn't it Rich?</a> - Sherryl Woods<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Priceless-Perfect-Destinies-Sherryl-Woods-ebook/dp/B0166B4OVM/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525692&sr=1-3&keywords=isn%27t+it+rich" target="_blank">Priceless</a> - Sherryl Woods<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/War-that-Saved-My-Life-ebook/dp/B00KWG65L0/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525757&sr=1-1&keywords=the+war+that+saved+my+life" target="_blank">The War that Saved My Life</a> - Kimberly Brubaker Bradley<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Elegy-Eddie-Maisie-Dobbs-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B005UD1ECK/ref=sr_1_16?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-16&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Elegy for Eddie</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lions-Little-Rock-Kristin-Levine-ebook/dp/B005ERITJ8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525784&sr=1-1&keywords=the+lions+of+little+rock+by+kristin+levine" target="_blank">The Lions of Little Rock</a> - Krisin Levine<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Leaving-Everything-Most-Loved-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B008QXXQOU/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1461525006&sr=1-7&keywords=maisie+dobbs+in+order" target="_blank">Leaving Everything Most Loved</a> - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Still-Dream-About-You-Novel/dp/0812977165/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483338645&sr=8-1&keywords=i+still+dream+about+you+by+fannie+flagg" target="_blank">I Still Dream About You</a> - Fannie Flagg<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Treasured-Perfect-Destinies-Sherryl-Woods/dp/0778318842/ref=tmm_mmp_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1483338682&sr=1-1" target="_blank">Treasured</a> - Sherryl Woods<br />
<br />
<i>*I haven't had time to add links for the rest of these, but you can follow the link to my Goodreads in the sidebar and see them all.</i><br />
<br />
<u><b>May (7)</b></u><br />
A Dangerous Place - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
Journey to Munich - Jacqueline Winspear (A)<br />
Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Book Store - Robin Sloan (A)<br />
The Murder of Mary Russell - Laurie R. King<br />
Clawback - J.A. Jance<br />
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street - Susan Jane Gilman<br />
The Lake House - Kate Morton (A)<br />
<br />
<u><b>June (8)</b></u><br />
Destiny Unleashed - Sherryl Woods<br />
Extreme Prey - John Sandford (A)<br />
The Guest Room - Chris Bohjalian<br />
Edwin of the Iron Shoes - Marcia Muller (A)<br />
Prayers the Devil Answers - Sharyn McCrumb<br />
Fool Me Once - Harlan Coben<br />
Winter at the Door - Sarah Graves (A)<br />
The Girls She Left Behind - Sarah Graves (A)<br />
<br />
<u><b>July (12)</b></u><br />
War Brides - Helen Bryan (A)<br />
Redemption Road - John Hart<br />
Wilde Lake - Laura Lippman<br />
Hearts on a String - Kris Radish (K)<br />
Split Second - David Baldacci (A)<br />
Open and Shut - David Rosenfelt (A)<br />
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier (K)<br />
If You Only Knew - Kristan Higgins<br />
Finding Pride - Jill Sanders (K)<br />
Discovering Pride - Jill Sanders (K)<br />
Hour Game - David Baldacci (A)<br />
Returning Pride - Jill Sanders (K) <br />
<br />
<u><b>August (11)</b></u><br />
Lasting Pride - Jill Sanders (K)<br />
Simple Genius - David Baldacci (A)<br />
The Things We Wish Were True - Marybeth Mayhew Whalen (K)<br />
Everything We Keep - Kerry Lonsdale (K)<br />
First Family - David Baldacci (A)<br />
Pierced by the Sun - Laura Esquivel (A)<br />
All the Single Ladies - Dorothea Benton Frank<br />
Unnatural Death - Dorothy L Sayers<br />
Knit Your Own Murder - Monica Ferris<br />
The Sixth Man - David Baldacci (A)<br />
In the Teeth of the Evidence - Dorothy L Sayers<br />
<br />
<u><b>September (15)</b></u><br />
King and Maxwell - David Baldacci (A)<br />
Flashback - Nevada Barr<br />
Where They Found Her - Kimberly McCreight (A)<br />
I Let You Go - Clare Mackintosh (K)<br />
Silver Linings - Debbie Macomber<br />
A Christmas Homecoming - Melissa McClone (K)<br />
A Bramble House Christmas - CJ Carmichael (K)<br />
Memory Man - David Baldacci (A)<br />
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls - Anton Disclafani (K)<br />
Maid for Love - Marie Force (K)<br />
Fool for Love - Marie Force (K)<br />
Ready for Love - Marie Force (K)<br />
Falling for Love - Marie Force (K)<br />
The Last Mile - David Baldacci (A)<br />
Hoping for Love - Marie Force (K)<br />
<br />
<u><b>October (10)</b></u><br />
Season for Love - Marie Force (K)<br />
An Obvious Fact - Craig Johnson (A)<br />
Prelude to a Wedding - Patricia McLinn (K)<br />
Wedding Party - Patricia McLinn (K)<br />
Grady's Wedding - Patricia McLinn (K)<br />
A Family for Christmas - Noelle Adams (K)<br />
Small Wars - Lee Child (K)<br />
The Innocent - David Baldacci (A)<br />
A Great Reckoning - Louise Penny (A)<br />
The Life We Bury - Allen Eskens (K)<br />
<br />
<u><b>November (12)</b></u><br />
The Hit - David Baldacci (A)<br />
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs<br />
Lilac Girls - Martha Hall Kelly<br />
Downfall - J.A. Jance<br />
The Target - David Baldacci (A)<br />
The Guilty - David Baldacci (A)<br />
The Black Echo - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
Blind Sight - Carol O'Connell<br />
The Old Blue Line - J.A. Jance<br />
Ring in the Dead - J.A. Jance<br />
The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend - Katarina Bivald<br />
Night School - Lee Child (A)<br />
<br />
<u><b>December (5)</b></u><br />
Escape Clause - John Sandford (A)<br />
Black Ice - Michael Connelly (A)<br />
Gift Wrapped for Christmas - Mona Ingram (K)<br />
No One Knows - J.T. Ellison (A)<br />
Just in Time for Christmas - Kim Boykin (K) <br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-74472534525967531922016-01-06T17:12:00.001-05:002016-01-06T17:12:30.380-05:00Watch Me WIP WednesdayI've realized that in order to post here more regularly, I need to have some recurring segments to fall back on when the brain is not cooperating. So welcome to the first <b>WIP Wednesday</b>.<br />
<br />
For you nonknitters, WIP stands for Work in Progress, so this segment will be related to projects I'm in the process of making using some form of crafting, most often knitting.<br />
<br />
This week's WIP is my <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/jamestown" target="_blank">Jamestown Sweater</a>, which I'm making out of <a href="http://alishagoesaround.com/" target="_blank">Alisha Goes Around</a> Bevy of Swans DK in a beautiful teal color. I bought this yarn at <a href="http://www.saffsite.org/" target="_blank">SAFF</a> in October and it is sooo luscious!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK8fLqY7kS16WS4eU1zvvRiFisREZJM6brb7Cwaiv0UOOQV3_dZ3kOSjmsO-o2YUk9lHt8sy2AoxVW8K5N99YO0-5oM0wgZNdGwHsakQ_oQjens6_q1EUXi1q3MJne4fxMSw5bN8lbyc/s1600/2016-01-06+16.46.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhK8fLqY7kS16WS4eU1zvvRiFisREZJM6brb7Cwaiv0UOOQV3_dZ3kOSjmsO-o2YUk9lHt8sy2AoxVW8K5N99YO0-5oM0wgZNdGwHsakQ_oQjens6_q1EUXi1q3MJne4fxMSw5bN8lbyc/s320/2016-01-06+16.46.55.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I spent most of November knitting this sweater. I had finished all the pieces and seamed it together, only to discover that I had made it too short. I knew I needed to make the front and back pieces shorter than what the pattern called for because of my height. Unfortunately, I wasn't thinking clearly and kept holding the piece up to my side to determine when to start the armhole, which means I didn't account for the amount of length going over my boobs and belly and hips would take up. End result, I put it on & it's at least 2 inches shorter than I need it to be, and I don't think I'll be able to block it out those extra inches.<br />
<br />
Since this is knit from the bottom up, I can't just take out the bottom and knit it longer, so as you can see above, I've ripped the back piece back down below the armholes and I'm in the process of getting the stitches back on the needles correctly so I can knit some more straight before doing the armholes. Hopefully I'll get it right this time.<br />
<br />
I love this pattern and the yarn though, so I really want to finish this sweater. I'm just trying to stay motivated to get it done now so i can wear it a little this winter.<br />
<br />
This sweater is being housed in my library card bag made by Amy Beth aka <a href="http://thefatsquirrel.com/" target="_blank">The Fat Squirrel</a>. I love this bag because the reading geek in me is thrilled by all the old library cards for books I mostly read as a kid. Jane Eyre, The Secret of the Old Clock (Nancy Drew), Where the Wild Things Are, and so many more!<br />
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I've really become a bit of a knitting bag addict, so I'll try to make a point of showing my knitting bags with my WIPS as well.<br />
<br />
Until next time....<br />
Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-86020918194311695852016-01-05T17:30:00.000-05:002016-01-05T17:30:18.503-05:002016 GoalsUnlike 2015, which was the year of no goals, I've set some goals for 2016, and one of them is to blog here at least three times per week, so I probably should get on that by actually writing a post huh?<br />
<br />
I've done some serious thinking and planning about goals this year. Who knows if I'll be able to achieve all of them, but I'm going to try. I'm also trying a technique I've read a lot about of having a word and a mission statement for the year. <br />
<br />
While I will probably talk more about most of these in future posts, for the purpose of this one, I'm just going to give you the list, or as Joe Friday says..."just the facts."<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
My word for the year is.... <span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">DETERMINATION</span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
My mission statement for the year is....</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Determination and action lead to achievement.</span></div>
<br />
<u><b>Writing Goals</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>Blog 3x/week</li>
<li>Write 30 minutes 3x/week</li>
<li>Journal regularly</li>
</ul>
<u><b>Health Goals</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>Make exercise a habit</li>
<li>Lose weight (I've set a more specific number, but I'm going to keep it general here for now) </li>
</ul>
<u><b>Crafting Goals</b></u><br />
<ul>
<li>More yarn out (knit) than in (purchased)</li>
<li>Knit 12 pairs of socks</li>
<li>Spin the bin challenge</li>
<li>2 laceweight projects</li>
<li>2 handspun projects</li>
<li>Finish Marigold Moroccan</li>
<li>Steeked & Zippered Cardigan</li>
<li>Learn to sew </li>
</ul>
Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-11063999393822821792015-12-03T00:00:00.000-05:002015-12-03T00:00:49.676-05:00Office Decoration DayIn my little corner of office-land, we went a little overboard with the decorating this year. As I mentioned in my last post, we decided to decorate our doors a la elementary school, so I'll just go straight to the pictures o.k.?<br />
<br />
We started off the morning with a visit from Santa and Rudolph....<br />
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A homemade hot chocolate bar kept us warm....<br />
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And let me tell you how seriously inadequate some of my coworkers make me feel sometimes. Trina made all the hot chocolate mixes from scratch, and by "from scratch" I mean that for the salted caramel mix she made actual salted caramel, let it cool, and then ground it up with some cocoa and other ingredients. And there were 5 or 6 different flavors to choose from. The woman's a marvel, I have no idea where she finds the time.<br />
<br />
So here was my door...<br />
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I thought it was funny because half of our suite is always complaining they're freezing and the other half is always hot, but I was amazed at how many of my coworkers, of all ages, had no idea who Snow Miser and Heat Miser were. Just in case that applies to you too, they're from The Year Without a Santa Claus, and here's an appropriate snippet.<br />
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<br />
Wendy did one of my other favorites...<br />
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And Trina is rockin' Buddy the Elf, a movie I've never seen but have now been convinced I need to watch at least once despite my dislike of Will Farrell.<br />
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<br />
Kelly is pregnant, which made her door rather appropriate....<br />
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In case you can't tell, that's a bib on his chest and he has a pacifier in his mouth.<br />
<br />
Heather got creative with old copies of the General Statutes that were due to be recycled....<br />
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<br />
Can you tell Jan is a horse lover?.....<br />
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<br />
And Jennifer just went for pretty and creative....<br />
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<br />
Giles added some ambiance to the end of the hall with his fireplace....<br />
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And we all did little stockings with our names. Can you stand the cuteness?<br />
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Tawanda is still working on her door, but has her priorities straight and put up her UNC tree first....<br />
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And Wendy either had her kids working like slaves or bribed them with something, because they made us a bunch of snowflakes to string from the ceiling...<br />
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And I forgot to even take pictures of the tree after we decorated it, and the wall murals that Wendy and Trina lined the hall with.<br />
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Suffice it to say, we may have to work in December, but at least we'll have something cheerful to look at while we do! Hope you're finding a way to get into the holiday spirit too.Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-86924017544776608912015-11-29T17:31:00.000-05:002015-11-29T17:31:59.802-05:00The Case of the Missing Christmas Lights<br />
It's been a nice Thanksgiving weekend, even though I didn't get quite everything done that I had planned. <br />
Long holiday weekends always feel like tons of time at the beginning,
but never seem to be quite long enough to fit everything in.<br />
<br />
We had a fun Thanksgiving feast at the home of some friends. Less stressful all around when I'm only responsible for a small part of the menu and I didn't have to prep my house for guests either! I've been bad about taking pictures lately, so the only one I really got was of our friend's young son enjoying this turkey leg bone. He has no teeth, so he was really just rubbing the gristle end against his gums, but boy did he love it.<br />
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The rest of the weekend has been equal parts starting the Christmas prep and just hanging out. We're decorating the office for the holidays on Wednesday, including decorating our doors a la elementary school. I had to do some prep work for my design plan so I've taken over the dining room table, which is just about the size of my office door, so that things could be done to approximate scale. <br />
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That's before I got started obviously. I'll share the actual design and those of my office mates later this week.<br />
<br />
I got a little of the Christmas baking done and in the freezer. Cheese biscuits are made because I need to take some to work Wednesday and also to my knitting group Christmas party next week. I also made sausage balls and froze them raw. I'll be cooking some of them Tuesday night for work Wednesday and probably the rest closer to the holiday.<br />
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I also got all the Christmas decorations hauled in from the shed today. Everything that is except the lights for the tree, which have gone missing. I had a bunch of lights and I can't find a single strand. I didn't put up a live tree last year, so the only thing I can figure is that I decided 2 years ago it was time for new lights and threw them all out, planning to buy new ones. I'm not planning on putting up the tree until next weekend, so I guess I'll be shopping for tree lights sometime this week.<br />
<br />
The usual Sunday afternoon grocery shopping has been done, and the laundry is in progress. Other than cooking dinner and maybe a little more work on my door decorations (which aren't quite finished) I think I'm done with productivity for the weekend. I had hoped to at least get a start on updating the Christmas card list, but I'll work on that soon.<br />
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Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-16402270594544487172015-11-22T02:17:00.001-05:002015-11-22T02:17:46.688-05:00Crafting UpdateThere's been too much knitting, spinning, and overall crafting happening this year to completely cover what I've worked on this year.<br />
<br />
You may remember that my crafting goal this year was to avoid any goals or deadlines and to just craft what I wanted when I wanted. I've been pretty successful, although it's resulted in quite a few more works in progress (WIPs) than I usually have. <br />
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I usually have 5-6 WIPs, sometimes venturing up towards 8 or 9, but right now I have 13. Three of those are long-term scrap blanket projects and one project is the beaded lace shawl I've worked on off & on for the past 4 years (hint, no progress made this year really, but it's going to become a priority in 2016), so I guess that's really only 9 WIPs, but still a lot. I'll share some more info on most of those soon.<br />
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Despite the "no deadlines" goal for this year, a couple of the WIPs are items I'd like to finish for Christmas gifts. One of them will most likely get finished, the other probably not, but that's o.k. I don't really consider these violations of the no deadlines rule since
I'm not going to feel guilty if neither of them get finished. The one that probably won't get finished in time for Christmas is for my grandson, who's not quite 5 months old, so I doubt he'll notice.<br />
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I did participate in a couple of knit-a-longs (KAL) this year, because KALs are just fun. It's fun to work on the same project at the same time as other people and share info on where you are in the pattern, ask questions, etc. Most of the ones I did this year were with the <a href="http://www.carolinafibergirls.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Fiber Girls</a>. The did a KAL in the spring where everyone made something with Jones Street yarn from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCopperCorgi" target="_blank">The Copper Corgi</a>. The KAL lasted a couple of months and I actually finished 2 sweaters. I made a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hiro" target="_blank">Hiro</a> out of Jones Street Worsted and a <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/triticum" target="_blank">Triticum</a> out of Jones Street Sport.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't have a modeled shot of this one.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks great with my sweatpants doesn't it?</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I also couldn't resist the competition of Socktober with the Carolina Fiber Girls, and I completed 7 pairs of socks in October. There were points involved for different things and I actually came in 4th place and won a skein of (you guessed it) sock yarn.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprfDOeguArRYFcM-7ih7oS54jfW4dvsmW6fNMSa1YL8KePY5PsrX8V3k48yszuuVtRzylyq2LD664UVocnQATJSx7ab6vZUDbNERBzD-LxOKnhWKSMVVfD4XkL0GNiVN_XhwAzgtstgg/s1600/2015-10-14+19.31.47.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprfDOeguArRYFcM-7ih7oS54jfW4dvsmW6fNMSa1YL8KePY5PsrX8V3k48yszuuVtRzylyq2LD664UVocnQATJSx7ab6vZUDbNERBzD-LxOKnhWKSMVVfD4XkL0GNiVN_XhwAzgtstgg/s320/2015-10-14+19.31.47.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collywobbles </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRBdNy0S2NNLmFLEsgqTF47lqBIpzZMIGlERvW9Jnbzyf6mzexFRTeyRoD6oAngM_hl6XBJFFrucrWW3R74mnjgZgkHIWVyE7EdtAmdd_hm2p0jBRNpSxMo39k7ZkRRm-oX3rMZD_BB-k/s1600/2015-10-16+22.06.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRBdNy0S2NNLmFLEsgqTF47lqBIpzZMIGlERvW9Jnbzyf6mzexFRTeyRoD6oAngM_hl6XBJFFrucrWW3R74mnjgZgkHIWVyE7EdtAmdd_hm2p0jBRNpSxMo39k7ZkRRm-oX3rMZD_BB-k/s320/2015-10-16+22.06.42.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fireweeds</td></tr>
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I was spinning pretty regularly the first part of the year, but not as much since work started getting so busy. For some reason I just lost my spinning mojo. I've spun a little here and there, but right now, the project on my wheel is one I started September 12th and I'm still not done spinning the singles. I'll get back to it I know, it's just not what I've felt like doing as much lately.<br />
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I haven't done any weaving since March really. Just haven't made the time to set up the loom with a new project. I bought some yarn at SAFF specifically for a weaving project though, so I'll definitely get something started in the new year if not before.<br />
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While it's been nice not to set any rules for my crafting this year, I think I'll be going back to setting some goals for 2016. I'm still going to try not to get too over-committed on things with deadlines, even if they are self-imposed ones, but I like to have a bit of a plan for my knitting, and I like checking things off a list.<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-49144760407122583862015-11-19T00:03:00.001-05:002015-11-19T00:03:43.698-05:00SAFF 2015One of my favorite trips of the year is the annual Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (<a href="http://www.saffsite.org/" target="_blank">SAFF</a>) held just outside Asheville, NC. This year, because the dates of the event were moved to the last weekend in October, there was no tractor show, so we were able to use the entire grounds of the <a href="http://www.wncagcenter.org/" target="_blank">Western North Carolina Agriculture Center</a>.<br />
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This year I took two classes. On Thursday I took an all day spinning class with Judith MacKenzie. I still consider myself very much a novice spinner, so I really learned a lot in this class. Unfortunately, as is usual when I get immersed in what I'm doing, I didn't think to take a single picture of Judith or anything we did in this class.<br />
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Friday morning I took a class with my secret boyfriend <a href="http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Franklin Habit</a>. This class was on doing steeks (aka cutting your knitting on purpose) and installing zippers into knitting. I had never done either one of these techniques, and while I'm generally a "learn what you need to know to do the project" type knitter I thought it would be helpful to actually have someone physically show me how to do it. And of course, I had to take at least one of Franklin's classes (secret boyfriend remember?) While I wasn't particularly doubtful of my ability to do either of these things before, now I know for sure how to do them, and I'm currently scanning patterns to do both in a sweater. Fortunately, I had a little more focus on Friday and did get a picture of Franklin with Dolores in the background.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdcGvSm_gCIgDelQtL05nyVK7LQQAdCIClWcf4iJJebTMulZdkpXGSk8rWGqf6WG4YPb1cyDtPB5Xwofx9rDfkoktJHPl2fMTTaoh7_Je64TNCiwsyzSmmDvMWKgH40O0vsexy8r-BNA/s1600/2015-10-30+11.33.09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLdcGvSm_gCIgDelQtL05nyVK7LQQAdCIClWcf4iJJebTMulZdkpXGSk8rWGqf6WG4YPb1cyDtPB5Xwofx9rDfkoktJHPl2fMTTaoh7_Je64TNCiwsyzSmmDvMWKgH40O0vsexy8r-BNA/s320/2015-10-30+11.33.09.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Friday afternoon was the first chance I had to do some shopping with all the vendors. I had a couple of specific projects I was looking to find yarn for, so I focused on those mostly Friday, although I picked up a few things not on my list as well!<br />
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Saturday I had no classes, so I decided not to get up at the wee hours with the rest of the group, and instead slept a little longer and got to SAFF about 11:00 am. One of our group has a vacation home about 45 minutes away from SAFF and she graciously lets us stay there. Not only is it a huge money saver (more money for yarn & fiber & classes!) but it's nice to have a comfortable place to sit around together in the evening and show what we bought or made that day & just knit and socialize.<br />
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This was the day I made it over to the barns to see the animals. Alpacas and llamas and goats and sheep. Just about any fiber animal you can think of. And because they're all so cute and furry I took lots of pictures. I won't subject you to all of them, just some of the cutest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg42DRbDPp8dGFgQvB2igw7vFMcIHkcWtWHf0T9DIyXCBb2Pdy51V94u2-mUkf7Jt1CW-MzfhmfWkNir3etQDbd8fCDo92asl1CLK7FjPOlh-Q4GNEnQmrFRABAO2_d5rnrtp301As9EZg/s1600/2015-10-31+13.32.46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg42DRbDPp8dGFgQvB2igw7vFMcIHkcWtWHf0T9DIyXCBb2Pdy51V94u2-mUkf7Jt1CW-MzfhmfWkNir3etQDbd8fCDo92asl1CLK7FjPOlh-Q4GNEnQmrFRABAO2_d5rnrtp301As9EZg/s320/2015-10-31+13.32.46.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Suri Alpaca</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFwjfNgP33fEts_8aV8uqXLmt3ZWP1t2ggDfx7bYb2J4zeeE7DoEp1z8DBWaqpgCNHWGOHhiIuIcZYaPPuUjIhov9gC0DO1pHyl7KiytkydestFv2Ly-iDmNaDxc8ADc2-DlxwP3LV64/s1600/2015-10-31+13.35.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPFwjfNgP33fEts_8aV8uqXLmt3ZWP1t2ggDfx7bYb2J4zeeE7DoEp1z8DBWaqpgCNHWGOHhiIuIcZYaPPuUjIhov9gC0DO1pHyl7KiytkydestFv2Ly-iDmNaDxc8ADc2-DlxwP3LV64/s320/2015-10-31+13.35.36.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby Alpaca</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgliJqMiDWJffhJ1_GGSxdH70iTMUHEyEz52buhqYJjqddmh2JlcIjf0AzeSNKygbge4IYyQ4FASbk6mNAXctIq4lyyZhyiyfEBPEqlP-HFZzJBxX7EPtM4Eva4PycskCaVE5vAyK0ZHb4/s1600/2015-10-31+13.42.38.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgliJqMiDWJffhJ1_GGSxdH70iTMUHEyEz52buhqYJjqddmh2JlcIjf0AzeSNKygbge4IYyQ4FASbk6mNAXctIq4lyyZhyiyfEBPEqlP-HFZzJBxX7EPtM4Eva4PycskCaVE5vAyK0ZHb4/s320/2015-10-31+13.42.38.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Baby Alpacas</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfVStVbDieuQu3tC9PGrqnhx3NBHUMB9Mg4SXumZ83frroNpwWGAiHARkSdaocdPi2L74jEqsnmEkJpmbhsuyFmxlvPq1Ha7AjnJsq6HvCd1EhIdJqCYcZzq117z97iNyvunKc5FCMOo/s1600/2015-10-31+13.47.37.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnfVStVbDieuQu3tC9PGrqnhx3NBHUMB9Mg4SXumZ83frroNpwWGAiHARkSdaocdPi2L74jEqsnmEkJpmbhsuyFmxlvPq1Ha7AjnJsq6HvCd1EhIdJqCYcZzq117z97iNyvunKc5FCMOo/s320/2015-10-31+13.47.37.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Llama</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa-L216nEMWsLpbCkXMsfbYfjDEgx_rgA3Rfj_a26qfbh8v2olHMTaoO755TT5Vv5BmbwNuk4EgJNtEfhAnLhBkT0Te-LRYFIkbX16Brz8PeGljZnGu16Tv6Oo2TzHdZhyvyWpkrxzsU/s1600/2015-10-31+14.06.28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTa-L216nEMWsLpbCkXMsfbYfjDEgx_rgA3Rfj_a26qfbh8v2olHMTaoO755TT5Vv5BmbwNuk4EgJNtEfhAnLhBkT0Te-LRYFIkbX16Brz8PeGljZnGu16Tv6Oo2TzHdZhyvyWpkrxzsU/s320/2015-10-31+14.06.28.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I admired this sheep's dreads</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjAAT-CJBeXr0wfH2Rz-CFPizBW8XThQeyJArC6p5xkEH_UijGgTp5YN5rJ4D2jNbnlsgfFCNQz8DzfyNPGKcS0RYoHm6-KqjArz1icrxWHjHoFlVGHe_KAal66tej0II7-TAtjRXfEA/s1600/2015-10-31+14.18.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYjAAT-CJBeXr0wfH2Rz-CFPizBW8XThQeyJArC6p5xkEH_UijGgTp5YN5rJ4D2jNbnlsgfFCNQz8DzfyNPGKcS0RYoHm6-KqjArz1icrxWHjHoFlVGHe_KAal66tej0II7-TAtjRXfEA/s320/2015-10-31+14.18.14.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nosy Sheep</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIssXy-fVBGWukpiXj7pd1CDC6nQS8xif_SvS453ga9zjGtP8KBAHddl0e47vHmMe31m_uhKOdsCKzsZqrFpafJlU3yjMDI47_ZKId6c8szNUCZTkSRfY2VaXIcqpoaZ7I9GdTo9usNJg/s1600/2015-10-31+14.27.44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIssXy-fVBGWukpiXj7pd1CDC6nQS8xif_SvS453ga9zjGtP8KBAHddl0e47vHmMe31m_uhKOdsCKzsZqrFpafJlU3yjMDI47_ZKId6c8szNUCZTkSRfY2VaXIcqpoaZ7I9GdTo9usNJg/s320/2015-10-31+14.27.44.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one just wanted you to scratch between his horns</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Saturday night we joined Ann & Janis of the <a href="http://www.carolinafibergirls.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Fiber Girls</a> podcast and a few others for dinner at the <a href="http://www.sierranevada.com/blog/north-carolina-brewery" target="_blank">Sierra Nevada Brewery</a> just down the road. I'm not a beer drinker, but the food was pretty good and it's undeniably a gorgeous building. I think I need to take Rob there the next time we're in the Asheville area.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypKCrYrddu5NnCIcl76LKuSUihQBhPG-3hFVUVm2N1R5hjgfRgA25Qt9VtTvh8iSlSVOKY_AC8eYrv8Hwocu5nEkR0zPYMv5OLbm5FaZ8FtTzclhTYrasoOrPPCAJUpUyFRlzisQ3gek/s1600/2015-10-31+16.58.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgypKCrYrddu5NnCIcl76LKuSUihQBhPG-3hFVUVm2N1R5hjgfRgA25Qt9VtTvh8iSlSVOKY_AC8eYrv8Hwocu5nEkR0zPYMv5OLbm5FaZ8FtTzclhTYrasoOrPPCAJUpUyFRlzisQ3gek/s320/2015-10-31+16.58.21.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside of the brewery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ0LE2nDqPgj0pwFIdXn5qd1Zb8hvF0iCnsu12SFfvTXhL4yUVuNaRngJJQlnbYEQ42e9gF6doIEmSPMh5axF0RqkmsbPUUrFYIzDgxKoLL1R-GI-BfbGpeI8BT4qnf9-MeIJ-cnkb7M/s1600/2015-10-31+18.41.21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmZ0LE2nDqPgj0pwFIdXn5qd1Zb8hvF0iCnsu12SFfvTXhL4yUVuNaRngJJQlnbYEQ42e9gF6doIEmSPMh5axF0RqkmsbPUUrFYIzDgxKoLL1R-GI-BfbGpeI8BT4qnf9-MeIJ-cnkb7M/s320/2015-10-31+18.41.21.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vats of beer</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2r5plOkyfqaoGA1UPTUVw4-hEsiA3YoyhBr2QP9k-vjwSd1iA0BUPhNQdLOs4trMMySJf7gMYtcuWkgFRn-rq3BkfZjQzsufBfm4zAkFAecpoGQr4w484iN2HCL6pZbfipmy1eRookg/s1600/2015-10-31+18.41.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2r5plOkyfqaoGA1UPTUVw4-hEsiA3YoyhBr2QP9k-vjwSd1iA0BUPhNQdLOs4trMMySJf7gMYtcuWkgFRn-rq3BkfZjQzsufBfm4zAkFAecpoGQr4w484iN2HCL6pZbfipmy1eRookg/s320/2015-10-31+18.41.42.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Something to do with making beer</td></tr>
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Sunday morning we took our time getting up, packing, and loading up the cars for the drive home. Michiele was riding with me and we decided to make one more quick stop at SAFF on the way home. A couple more purchases were made, and we headed home. I'm so glad I took Monday off work too because besides needing to do laundry and grocery shopping, I need to some time to admire and inventory my haul from the event.<br />
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It's quite a haul, but almost all of it was bought with a specific project in mind. That gorgeous teal grouping towards the bottom of the picture is already being knit into a sweater in fact.<br />
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All in all, another great year at SAFF. The classes, the yarn, the fiber make it worth the trip every year, but the weekend with such great friends that share my love of all that SAFF offers make it more than just a trip.<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-33552506780653280872015-11-15T00:49:00.000-05:002015-11-15T00:49:18.577-05:00Surprise<span style="font-size: x-small;">February...March...April...May...June...July...August...September...October...</span><br />
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Yeah, it's been a while. Life has been moving along, and I've been living it. And working...I've been working...a lot. Session finally ended September 30th, and I think I'm still recovering.<br />
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There have been some good times in all those months though...<br />
<ul>
<li>My college roommate got married</li>
<li>I got to visit with my sister and nephew at the beach</li>
<li>Rob & I went to Asheville for his birthday</li>
<li>Classes, yarn, fiber and time with good friends at <a href="http://www.saffsite.org/" target="_blank">SAFF </a></li>
<li>My 25th college reunion </li>
</ul>
A couple of those I may write a bit more about soon, because I'm back, or at least I'm going to try to be.<br />
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Just call me the Terminator.<br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-76120602904626781342015-02-02T23:29:00.001-05:002015-02-02T23:29:28.489-05:00January Crafting RecapI can't believe it's February already, so I guess you get the last 3 weeks of January crammed into one post. Not that there's all that much to tell really.<br />
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So far the "no goals" thing is going well, although as I mentioned before, you'd be surprised how hard it is NOT to set goals. It's made me realize how often I set little goals and make bargains with myself..."if I do X, then I can do Y".<br />
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On the knitting & spinning front, I've enjoyed just working on whatever I feel like in the moment. It means that I didn't finish a lot in January and I have a lot of works in progress (WIPS), but that's o.k. The flip side is it means that I'm actually enjoying working on whatever I'm working on at that moment, and not feeling like I just "need" to work on it because I haven't in a while, or I have to finish it for a deadline, or some other reason.<br />
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I did finish knitting this pair of socks for me. I also did a little weaving and wove a scarf. My edges are still really bad and uneven, but I haven't practiced much. I'm taking a couple of weaving classes at <a href="https://carolinafiberfrolic.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Fiber Frolic</a> in March, so hopefully I'll get better.<br />
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I've cast on a couple of new things, and I won't show you all of them, but one item is a reknit of the <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/water-for-the-elephants" target="_blank">Water for the Elephants</a> socks in the exact same yarn & colors as I knit them before. I wrote <a href="http://nettychasingdragonflies.blogspot.com/2014/04/getting-stuff-done.html" target="_blank">here </a>about the laundry tragedy that killed my last pair, so I won't repeat it now, but fortunately I have more of the same yarn, so they can be recreated! Ann, one of the <a href="http://www.carolinafibergirls.com/" target="_blank">Carolina Fiber Girls </a>recently started knitting herself a pair, and it inspired me to get started remaking mine. So far I have a little of one leg done.<br />
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In spinning news, I finished my Sweets Off the Wheel group "Squatch" SAL. This was 3 different colorways of 2 ounces each of fiber from Three Waters Farm. I ended up just spinning all 3 into singles and then plying the together as a 3 ply. I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out, although I had no idea what to expect. <br />
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I also practiced my woolen spinning a little with some mystery fiber from last year's Carolina Fiber Frolic. I plied some of it with some other random fiber I had on hand, and then when I ran out of that, I just chain plied the rest. The result is just evidence that I should probably practice my woolen spinning more. Or maybe not, I can't decide. I really like the smoothness of worsted spun yarn, so that's kind of my preference. On the other hand, woolen spun is much lighter, so would make a lighter sweater, etc.<br />
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I have no idea what I'll do with either of these. They're only 87 yards combined. I'm thinking about knitting them up into some squares and then felting them for coasters, although the blue/green I added to the one has some silk in it, but I think I don't think it's enough to keep it from felting enough to be dense.<br />
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That's about all my crafting since my last post. I spent the weekend sick, and didn't knit a stitch or spin at all. I still didn't feel 100% this morning, so I took the day off in the hopes that a little more rest, Vitamin C and ibuprofen would get rid of the last of the icks. I felt a lot better by this afternoon so I did one productive thing and washed the pile of handspun that has been accumulating since sometime in October. It's a crappy picture, but you can see I'm not kidding when I say PILE of handspun.<br />
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I feel like I should have some sort of ending statement here, but I don't, so until next time....<br /><br />
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<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-47523239644422468152015-01-11T23:14:00.001-05:002015-01-11T23:16:13.674-05:00Spin Stitch Knit Festival 2015I've enjoyed having a few days off, but it's back to work tomorrow. I got most of what I wanted to accomplished this weekend, not that it was an overly ambitious list to begin with, and I feel a little more organized at home heading into the start of a busy few months at work.<br />
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Saturday I went to a small new event in Stedman, NC called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1542680969282003/" target="_blank">Spin Stitch Knit Festival 2015</a>. It was indeed a small event, but there were several nice vendors there and I came home with a few pretties.<br />
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The blue & yellow yarns on the left are both Whisper Fingering from <a href="http://www.unplannedpeacock.com/" target="_blank">Unplanned Peacock</a>, an alpaca, silk, cashmere base that is sooooo soft. They will probably be used together in a two-colored shawl. The green/yellow yarn is also Unplanned Peacock in her Lustral Shawl, which is a fingering weight yarn in a 600 yard put up. The yarn on the right is the event colorway, called Oceans 11, and it's from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThatHookerChick?ref=ss_profile" target="_blank">That Hooker Chick</a>.<br />
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Also there was The Clay Sheep and I picked up a diz and some adorable stitch markers from her.<br />
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Until my friends <a href="http://www.knitonregardless.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Michiele</a> and Roxie became bad influences I never bought buttons until I needed them for a specific project. A couple of years ago they turned me to the dark side and my button stash has been slowly growing as well. I added 4 of these gorgeous antique dragonfly buttons to my collection Saturday. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's hard to capture with all the shiny going on.<br />
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My friend Colleen went with me, and even though she's not a knitter or spinner she is a quilter, so she was both tolerant of my shopping and properly inquisitive about the various offerings and their purpose. She even bought herself an Origami Owl bracelet, which is not spinning or knitting related, but I was glad she found something there she liked.<br />
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The event, though small, was worth the trip for me because I live only an hour away. There were 9 or 10 vendors, and I figured if Unplanned Peacock was there it wouldn't be a total wasted trip. They did have some food there, although we didn't actually eat anything there. They did offer some classes, but they didn't do a very good job of providing information ahead of time on what was and/or when those were being offered and I was only able to determine the exact classes and schedule the day before the event, at which point I had already made my plans.<br />
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Overall, if they do it again next year and it falls on a weekend I don't have other plans I might go again, but I'm not going to plan my weekend around being able to go.<br />
<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-698083462969957802015-01-08T23:13:00.000-05:002015-01-08T23:13:17.382-05:00Cotton Candy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is what I made today. I actually had most of the singles spun before today, so I just had to finish the last bit of the singles and then ply it. That's not always a quick process for me, so this is my major accomplishment for the day and I'm fine with that.<br />
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Other than spinning I goofed around on the computer for a while and then spent the late afternoon sitting on the couch in the silence, reading a cheesy romance novel, wrapped in a blanket (because it's f**ing cold) with feline leg warmers. It looked something like this....<br />
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Tomorrow will be less lazy and more productive, but I thoroughly enjoyed my day, including the take out sushi we had for dinner.<br /><br />
<br />Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1195869442197892483.post-27197458781765581562015-01-07T22:43:00.002-05:002015-01-07T22:44:41.553-05:00Calm Before the Storm<br />
I got my <a href="http://nettychasingdragonflies.blogspot.com/2014/01/2014-reading-list.html" target="_blank">2014 Reading List</a> up to date on here today and started <a href="http://nettychasingdragonflies.blogspot.com/2015/01/books-ive-read-in-2015-i-include-audio.html" target="_blank">my list for 2015</a>. I can tell from the last few books I've read that I'm entering my mindless reading phase. When my life gets busy and stressful my reading tends to be mostly Harlequin type romance. They're escapism at its finest, coupled with guaranteed happy endings, and they give my brain a rest for a while from all the other stuff going on. <br />
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Work is going to start getting busy again next week, so I'm taking the next two days off to have a 4 day weekend and try to combine a last couple of days of relaxation with getting a couple of things done.<br />
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Tomorrow is "relax day". I'm going to spin, knit, read, weave, sleep, whatever I feel like doing at any given moment and not feel guilty about it or think about anything I "should" be doing. At some point I will figure out what we're having for dinner, but it will most likely involve take out.<br />
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Friday is the day to get a few things done. The pile of donations that have been sitting in first the floor of the guest room and then my craft room for over 3 months need to be listed, bagged, and dropped off at the Salvation Army. If the weather report remains accurate and we don't get any rain, I will finally get the outside Christmas lights and wreath down and put away. And finally, the largest project, I will get my craft room cleaned up and organized because right now it looks like everything exploded in there.<br />
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Saturday morning early Rob & I are heading to buy some wood so he can start the master bedroom closet built-ins. When we get back from doing that I'm going to drive down to Stedman and check out the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1542680969282003/" target="_blank">Spin Stitch Knit Festival</a>. It's new this year and probably small, but I figure I'll give it a chance. I know that one of my favorite vendors <a href="http://www.unplannedpeacock.com/" target="_blank">Unplanned Peacock</a> will be there, so that alone will make it worth the drive.<br />
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Sunday will be my normal routine, which mainly involves doing laundry and a trip to the grocery store, and gearing myself up to go back to work on Monday. Hopefully by then I will feel ready for the months to come.Susan Sitzehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13921396288750609145noreply@blogger.com0