sock blanks!

My friend Pam came over yesterday and we dyed sock blanks. We've recently been introduced to the world of podcasts and had both listened to one about dying these bits of fun. She was all the motivation I needed to try it out. It was very fun, super messy, and extremely interesting. They all came out great, even the ones we didn't like at first. It will be an adventure to see what they look like as socks.

We started at 11 and were finally finished at 3, but it was fun. It's a two person job that's for sure, if for no other reason then it's such as mess, you want someone else there to make it worth the newpaper! Today they are dry and ready to be knit......must go find a pattern.

30% - what's your interpretation?

I don't know if you remember, but way back in June I started the summer with great enthusiasm for commuting by bikng to work. Well, summer didn't - wasn't as cooperative as I had hoped, between my second job schedule, a bout of the flu and the weather, until yesterday I hadn't ridden to work at all. So, as yesterday was the last day of work before the school year officially restarts next week I jumped out of bed at 5am (note the sarcasm) got my gear together and took Mr. Fish and Chips advice and checked the weather report.

"30% chance of scattered showers starting between 1-3pm". Great, I can leave work at 2. But hey only 30% means there is a 70% chance it won't rain right? I've sat at home on days with a higher percent chance and it's been completely dry so I'm not going to let this stop me - plus, scattered showers. It's going to completely miss me, I know it. But somewhere in the back of my head was this little voice reminding me of the 100 mile ride we took a few summers ago with a 40% chance of rain - when it poured for 60% of the ride - that math didn't make sense at all.

So as I left work yesterday afternoon, I could see the big storm clouds up ahead and behind me. I just kept pedaling and thinking about the possible stops if it became torrential. I made it to the half way point, no rain. I pedaled past a possible safe haven shop, no rain. I watched the storm clouds move farther east and begin to clear, still no rain. I felt a drop......... then a few more, but still not a shower. I then found myself in completely soaking wet, puddle filled roads with rain dripping down my glasses and my shoes filling with water. I didn't have much of a choice given my location so I decided to keep going until it became worse. I took my usual route, passed a town line marker and the roads were dry. I made it home a bit soggy but given that the rest of the ride was completely dry and sunny the bike and I dried off before we opened the garage doors.

Yes a long story that doesn't lend excitement to most. The part I like about it is the math. I didn't realize that a 30% chance of rain seems to mean something different in biking terms. It seems the percentage change of rain - refers to that fact that it rained exactly 30% of my ride. I'll keep this in mind next time - but truly I would have ridden if it had been 50% as well - it's only 33 miles each direction after all :)

My brain is moving WAAAAAAAAAY faster than the rest of my body/life it seems

This picture is for my mother. She gave me new dishes for my birthday and doesn't think that I like them - main reason being that I neglected to call her when I opened them to tell her. Truth be told it was the first thing I did on my birthday, but the day was full of fun and I didn't get to a telephone when I should have. The bright colors do look wonderful in my cupboard, the dishwasher, the table in even on the couch in front of the tv which is where the three of us seem to be eating these days. Why did I spend all last fall finishing a table for the kitchen? To learn the process of course.

For the first time in my life, knitting is still going strong this summer - I usually give it up when the weather turns bicycle friendly. But this year with the gift of an ipod from Mr. Fish and Chips (previously known as Mr. Romance) I am addicted to knitting podcasts. This only seems to give my brain consent knitting information in the car, which is usually where I catch a break from the needles. Add to that the Twist Collective release, and my sudden desire to knit my entire Christmas gift list socks - hope they aren't reading this. I keep thinking about more things to cast on, more skeins to turn into center pull balls and even more gifts to make for people. Oh, limenviolet aren't helping with their yarnporn, and even listening to the knitpicks podcasts is making me check their website repeatedly. As if the closet can handle more fiber! The craziness continues because I'm going to visit a friend this weekend and I'm already wondering about knitting projects.

When do I get nervous?

Ok, the wheel was only purchased in May, so how has this happened? I simply have a wool obsession, it's not just yarn, and at the rate I'm buying roving this won't get spun into yarn for a very long time...... so it is indeed an obsession. I've already forgotten that I had a bunch of it. Between fiber and yarn, I believe that I have established my retirement stash. It's so sad that work gets in the way of my hobbies. I guess as long as the checkbook can sustain it, I'll be ok, which unfortunately means I have to keep working.

spin, spin, spin

I can't believe an entire month has gone by since my last post. The school year wrapped up, I spent an eventful weekend in Kansas City with my relatives, and I've had almost two weeks of vacation. I guess that sums up a month for me. I do have some lovely treats to show for my time however:
This is some top I picked up at the fiber fair for Web's annual tent sale. It was really fun to spin. I picked the orange/red one up at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool festival, I spun some up before, but this little bit is better!


The orange/purple is from End of the World Farm also from the NHSWF! Mom helped pick this out.
The blue/purple is Romney from the Spunky Eclectic, thunderstorm color and below is some BFL in the Tie Dye color! I love how that came out.

When last we met our superhero...............

She was excited about having ridden her bicycle to work, well................................................. I knew it would change, and it did. After getting rained out and another failed attempt, which resulted in my being stranded in Raymond with a HUGE puncture in not only my tube, but my tire as well and Mr. Romance coming to my rescue at 6am, I rode to work again. It was HARD, and it's taken me two days to recover. I'm not sure what's going on, I will do it again, probably on Tuesday, but it was a struggle.

In other news, the back of house and the deck have been pulled apart and are slowly be put together again. It's a long process involving many generations of my family. My dad and grandfather came down from northern Maine last weekend in 90 plus heat to bake in the sun and give us help and much needed advice on what to do, especially about the rotten parts. My brother who's living with us for the summer was good enough to help after having worked in the sun all day himself. For the second time this spring we could almost walk from the backyard into the basement without using a door. Interesting.

There is good news to be had in less favorable news, my beautiful Julia spinning wheel is here! It showed up on Tuesday, and it's wonderful. So smooth, and quiet and I'm getting better at it. I just plied some beautiful orange/pink wool of some sort that I bought at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm not sure exactly what wool combination it is, but it was fun to see how my skills had improved from the beginning of the spool to the end. It's encouraging, because it wasn't so great in the beginning. Practice and all is coming..........