Yarn Rambles

Joining the Hyster Sister Club

I will be taking a couple of weeks off as I join the growing ranks of hysterectomy celebrants. At least, I certainly feeling like celebrating! The surgery is scheduled for November 6th and I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas. I know the recovery will not be much fun but after that I know I will be better for it.

I have spent the last week running around taking care of details, as you can imagine. Prepping for the recovery time as well as our Christmas trip to Austria. I have collected a pile of Cozy Mysteries and have all my sock knitting organized. Xena has her paperwork for Europe and I bought nice new earphones for my iPod. Just odd little things I thought I would have two months to manage and now have two weeks.

When I get back from lounging around the house, I should have a few photos to share. I hope to be back at work after Thanksgiving. Since we have a firm "no computer" rule at the house, I won't be doing any blogging while I'm recuperating.

A Political Care Package

My experience dyeing cotton and linen clearing left a lot to be desired. I ended up placing the entire washcloth in the dyebath. After a wash, most of the dye rushed down the drain. Still, I am pleased with the seagrass green that was the result.

Yesterday I went to Wild Oats and gathered a few treats for my friend. An bar of Eucalyptus soap, gourmet chocolate drops, trail mixes and homeopathic calming mints.

I'm very pleased with the yarn. It knit up easily. I washed it with regular laundry and dried it on the cotton setting. The feeling is soft with the cotton but with a little roughness with the linen. It feels substantial.

Our little vacation was the best time off we had in a long time. No work in any form - no visiting any factories as part of the trip and no "work" knitting that needs to be finished before we return home. We slept in every morning and then wandered leisurely through the day. We played golf, I cleaned my closet and organized my projects that have been sitting neglected for two years, we watched movies and, of course, I knit for hours on whatever I wanted.

Now, it's back to work all rested.

The weekend went to the dogs

Despite all my prep-work on Friday, I didn't get much knitting done. Xena's breeder came over on Saturday to spend the night. We spent the afternoon on the back deck soaking in the autumn sun. Laura had brought along Xena's grandson, Kronos. Once the sun went down it became quite chilly. We headed inside to settle under warm flannel quilts.

  Laura and I went shopping on Sunday. She was determined to find a purse that had a compartment large enough to hold Kronos. I was not particularly optomistic. I don't like carrying around dog bags but I had resigned myself to always looking like someone heading off for a overnight trip. When I say Kronos in the bag Laura had found, I couldn't wait to try it out for Xena. Laura bought the black version and I bought chocolate brown.

The best part is that the bag also takes care of my concerns regarding a bag for airline travel. The large center section is ideal for knitting and drop spindle supplies. The pockets on the sides can hold my passport, ID, iPod and a little bit of makeup. I am so in love with this purse!

I did do some knitting this weekend. The Moderne Baby Blanket is ready for the edging. But, tonight, Monday Night Football, will be dedicated to the washcloth. The election is just around the corner and I want to get it to my friend soon. And, I had an idea for a dyeing experiment. When I finish the washcloth, I am going to soak it thoroughly. Then I am going to rig up a system for holding one corner in the dye bath, color to be determined later. I want to let the color soak up the washcloth from one corner to the opposite one becoming lighter as it goes. I think the result will be quite pleasant.