A Clear and Beautiful Spring Day

Fiber stuff at the bottom of post!

In Memorandum:

So far, this year has not been an easy one. It has been filled with struggles, and sadness. My Father-in-Law passed from this world on the last day of February.
He was 90 years old. He had a small stroke the last week of January, which took his strength and his will. The family all took turns caring for him. He didn’t want to go to a hospital, and he didn’t want any life support. He couldn’t be left alone. My Mother-in-Law was not able to care for him on her own.
As the month of February headed towards March, Dad got weaker. Still a stubborn man, he would use the aid of a walker to shuffle down the hall from his bedroom to his favorite chair, in the family room. As the days moved forward, his health moved backwards. It took longer and longer to get to his chair, eventually having to resort to a wheelchair, which he didn’t want to use. Did I mention he was a stubborn man?
On February 28th, he had another stroke, this one taking the mobility of his left leg. He was disorientated had a hard time speaking. The doctor was called as was the hospice nurse. We were told to make him comfortable and that death was eminent. The Doctor and Nurse were easing us into the actual acceptance of death that was to come, telling us we had possibly 24 to 48 hrs. Dad laid there struggling for breath, his eyes open, he looked through us not at us. He stayed with us until we all had time to say our goodbye’s, give him our love, and reassure him or ourselves that all would be fine. He left us at 2:30am on February 29th 2008. He had told me earlier in the week that this was all of this was part of life. I am grateful to have had this experience. I am happy to have been of service for his care. He will be missed.


Knitting has been going strong. I finished what felt like a multitude of socks. It was a way to distress…it was easier to get tangled in cables, and twisted into to lace, than to really think about was happening in our lives. 16 pair of socks finished and wrapped for next Christmas.


Gauntlets for one Granddaughter’s birthday, and socks for another. Birthday’s falling on the 5th and the 10th of this April showery/snowy month. .

Cascade Fixation, completed the gauntlets, my own pattern and design...and soft cashmere made the pink socks.

I hope spring is here! This is the first weekend in quite a while that has not had snow or rain.

Snowy Snowy day

The snow has been falling since around 3am...it is over a 13 inches deep now. The snow plows just finished in front of our house, it is now 1:10pm. The snow has finally slowed its descent, allowing for a quick pathway cleaning, before it starts up again.

Yesterday was a grey day, brightened by the hand dying of some merino wool. I had cooked red beets for dinner the night before, and had second thoughts about tossing the cooking water out. The water had not been treated with salt, or butter. It was bright red. I poured a bit of vinegar in the red water, and dunked in some un-dyed dampened merino wool roving, and left it over night in the pot. The next day, I brought it up to a simmer, let it cook for 30 minutes. There was still red water in the pan, the wool was bright pink in spots and looked dark red in other places. I removed the wool and placed it in a sink of hot water. The color was washing out. I figured, "oh, well a good try"...but not all the color was washing out. I soaked and rinsed the wool, until the rinsing water was clear, and I was left with the most beautiful peachy salmon colored roving. It is mottled with lights and darks. I have only 3oz. But it is gorgeous. See!

I haven't got a clue how the color will age or wear...but it will be fun learning.

Stay warm!

Thanks to those that commented on my January Socks

Thanks to all of you posted comments on my January socks for the SAM 5 KAL. I used Sublime in a Cashmere/silk/wool blend. It is a DK weight. It does halo a bit, but after washing and blocking, the socks looked wonderful, the halo was nearly gone, on the dark blue socks...I did another pair in the same yarn in pink, that did not fair so well. The halo effect stayed after washing. Still the socks were soft, warm and yummy.
The socks were loved by my Father-in-Law.
Thank you again for all the nice posts. Stay warm and keep your fingers nimble :)

Stash Enhancement: The Love of Fiber!

My favorite yarn store (LYS) The Unraveled Sheep in Sandy, Utah is two years old. The proprietress is a sweet helpful woman named Verla. She is having a special sale, in celebration of her shops’ birthday. Of course I was there 10 minutes after the door was opened…I got off pretty easy I spent just over $100.00, and got enough yarn for 11 pairs of socks, two hats and a skinny scarf. Plus something that was just pretty to my eye, perhaps for mittens. All for next Christmas...and a birthday or two. Just some of the goodies are pictured above.

Happy and Fiber Prolific 2008!

Take care of what you wish for-all wishes come true-but maybe not in the way you expect them to~

I got a tad bit of knitting done in December, a pair of slipper socks for the SAMKAL4, I made up the pattern up as I went along. These will be a birthday present for next year. They will be wrapped, carded, and kept safe. They are cashmere, wool and a bit of silk. The fiber seems to halo, I don't like that, however they are soft, yummy, and feel good on the feet.

The next two months is the time for deep winter, planning for the re-growth of life. My husband plans his garden and I play with fiber. I love to knit, and spin through this time. I plan our yearly gifts (birthday, holiday, and special occasion) with the hopes to have all the small handmade items finished by May. Most of the time I accomplish this, which leaves the last half of the year to fish, camp, and play. Now I will spread out the sock knitting over 12 months. I still want to get three sweaters, and two shawls done sometime this year. I have most of the yarn spun for my Central Park Hoodie. (Wow finally something for me!)

Back to the sock knitting...this year...I have planned 22 pairs. I have joined the SAM5,2008, and Red Bird Knits sock a month club, to help me keep on track. I even joined a mystery sock club at Goddess Knits...(I will see if this is something I can keep up with, as I don't know what to expect from it. )

I usually have all the socks, hats, bags, mittens, gloves, (small things) I am going to make for gifts, done by May. Then it is knit anything I want for the rest of the year. Last year was different. I joined the SAMKAL4. I knitted a pair of socks (or more) each month for the last half of the year. I enjoyed the pressure and the fun. It was wonderful to feel part of something, and to see all the beautiful hand work that these knitters were turning out. All the love that is being knitted, all over the world is a special feeling that only those that craft for the ones they love feel. They hope the recipients of the gifts feel the love and protection that they stitched into every knitted, woven, crocheted, tatted, felted, and sewn item that was made for them.

Make Wishes, not Resolutions!