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Couple 'a things not fiber related

First, it is our 11th wedding anniversary on the 20th of this month. My husband is a general contractor and has gone through 3 wedding rings. The first (and only one he is still in posession of) is a simple gold band a good 3 sizes too small for him. He has meaty hands I am proud to say ;o) The second ring he lost while building a restaurant in Colorado 7 years ago (after he smashed it so badly he almost had to cut it off his finger, he misplaced it before he could take it to a jeweler to have it reshaped. It’s probably built into a wall or behind one of the huge industrial kitchen appliances), the third ring (which was my favorite by far and closest match to my antique wedding ring) he lost a few months ago playing beach volleyball. He took it off so it wouldn’t chafe and lost it somewhere in the sand. He really was sure he put it in his backpack but alas, it was not there when he went to put it back on.

So with some moneys I made, you read that right folks I earned some money, I just bought him a new ring for an anniversary gift. He was actually really upset he lost the last ring, he liked it too. Here is a glimpse of it. Titanium and 18k gold.

Titanium and 18k 7mm Comfort Fit Band

I love it.

Like I love him.

Okay, I love him more.

Secondly, those of you who live or have lived or even visited Santa Barbara know our lack of realistic shopping spots here in town. If we want some place fun (that wouldn’t take an entire paycheck for one item) to shop we have to drive an hour to Ventura. No Wallie world here, no Target for us. But, come April/May we will have our very own Old Navy. You read right folks!! My kids can have cute disposable clothes, finally! I love clearance, I love sales, I love shopping and not having an Old Navy has been a real problem for me living here again. I didn’t even mind it when I lived in the mountains & had to drive down half an hour to shop in the valley. But when I have to go from one urban area to another urban area an hour away from my house for such a popular store I just don’t have it in me. So, Ross will have a serious contender pretty soon. They better woo me with some good deals!

Kinda like the deals I got today at the thrift store. 1 pointelle cardigan, 5 pairs of pants/jeans & 6 pair of shorts for a whopping  $10 total. All in like new condition, all the perfect sizes for the kids. Gotta love that find! It’s like someone that has kids one step above mine came & dropped them off with my name on them. Fan-frickin-tastic!

Now off to do some knitting. I havent’ knit a stitch yet today and if I want to get my cashmere vest done I had better work on it. Do you think I can actually work on it until it’s done without picking up anything else? That is my goal, wish me luck!

Granted, I do start teaching the beginning sweater class next Tuesday so that puts me on a deadline. I work well under time constraints, gets the fire burning under my tush.

 

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Guess what I am doing?

For weeks I have been trying to build up the strength to go through my stash and organize. My friend Christine over at Tallulah’s World has had a moth infestation and got me all freaked out ;o) In a good way, of course, it put a serious fire under my butt to get my yarn protected.

So, yesterday I started, if you didn’t notice by all the pictures of my sock stash. I decided to go one step at a time. Tracy thinks I should photo my progress for you all. That might scare you all & embarrass myself. I have more yarn than I could ever possibly use in my lifetime. If I knit only from my stash it would take me a solid 5 years to knit it all. Sweaters, blankets, socks, etc etc.

 I got through knitpicks yarns, Handpaintedyarns and all sock yarns. I used Ziploc gallon sized and Ziploc Big Bags size XL, 2ft x 1.7ft.

Sock yarn drawer top view

Sock yarn drawer from front

Handpaintedyarn in an XL bag

Knitpicks yarns in XL bag

Okay, so do you see how this is working out? Those bags will end up in the wool drawer which is above the sock yarn drawer. I still have to actually empty the wool drawer, organize, bag and catalog it. That is my goal today. We’ll see if that actually happens. Whew. Guilt abounds over here at the A household for the amount of yarn I have.

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Swatches washed

Now here are the same swatches washed. You can see that overspinning the bottom swatch ended up with a balanced yarn after washing.

So now I have respun the ply’s together to make it tightly spun biasing to the left to overcorrect the bias to the right in the original yarns I am plying together. Make sense? It does to me and that is all that matters.