More stuff...

http://www.bloglines.com/blog/mystarfalling

So, when I said daily...

At least it hasn't been months since my last post. I have a couple of baby hats to take pictures of today and I will try (yeah sure) to put them up soonish. I think they came out well and they are paid for. This will help keep me in yarn, coffee and tobacco for a while. My vices, horrible aren't I. Hoping the world is still turning where y'all are.

Have an opinion, I've got plenty.

So, I do not often post anything to do with my "world view" and try very hard to not let politics or religion intrude on this, my creative space. I feel that this is important enough a message that I will ask any of you still reading to give it a chance. I won't be offended if you stop reading me afterward, but please try to refrain from nasty comments with no actual basis in reality. Thanks all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVUecPhQPqY

It's Monday.

I have so many things I should be doing right now but I am sitting here writing a post because I am missing something. For quite a while now I have had a friend that has come to my house and sit with me, drinking coffee and picking my brain for more crochet knowledge. Sometimes she would eat my odd kitchen creations and tell me how wonderful they were. Sometimes she would want to show me the new "thing" she was making with skills I had shared and she had improved on. She had to move this past weekend and this is the first Monday in a long time that I haven't had her knocking on my door at half past 8 in the morning asking if there was coffee or if I wanted to have a smoke on the porch with her. My heart hurts and I am lonely again.
May the pain be lessened by the sharing.
Hope y'all are having a better day than I am.

Boogabooga

For a blog this has been pretty boring lately. I'm going to try to start posting more. A good thing has happened recently... I got licensed to substitute teach. Yay me. Other things like sewing, knitting and crocheting have been going on as well. I even taught a friend of mine how to crochet and showed her how to read charted crochet patterns. Now she is faster and more accurate with a hook than I am. =P
Have a day y'all.

Been a while.

Still here. Still making stuff.
The brown shawl went to the fair and won a blue ribbon. I was amused.
I have no pictures of my latest triumph because I forgot to take one before it went home. I took 3 kitchen towels and a pant leg and turned them into an apron with pockets. It was fun and fairly simple. The towels had an image printed on them copied top to top so if you were to hang them on a bar the pictures would both be right side up. In order to make it right I had to cut them in half and stitch them back together.
Outside of this I have been doing some re-organization and culling of the "stuff". Also working on some slip-stitch things as well as attempting to work on my Hemlock blanket. Hoping it will be finished before snow but that gives me a few more months... (=
So, how's the rest of the world going. I have been reading some and know that things go up and yet they still insist on coming down. Hoping that gravity is treating people well today

Still here, still doing stuff.

A few things have been finished. I even have some pictures.

"Prayer Shawl" made for bestest friend.


Essentially a granny triangle with a bit more openness and flip.


I loved how the edging came out with a bit of ruffle.


Unblocked mohair granny triangle.


Fluffy and fuzzy. Really enjoyed watching the KP Shimmer peek through the darker mohair.


Oh my goodness, Is that me blocking something?


Why yes, the shawl has been washed and blocked. Soon I might have a few pictures of the finished lovely. I would say it is at least 5 feet across the top edge, haven't measured yet.
Hope y'all are having a good day. (Grace, Keep chugging on. You are in my thoughts on a daily basis.)

Art to share

Sometimes I see things in a different way.



Free for y'all to download and use for yourselves. Please leave a comment and maybe pass me some credit if you use it for something that makes you money.
If you feel like checking out my flickr I have have quite a few other pictures that aren't yarn related. Have fun and enjoy the air.

Flowers for y'all

Thanks for sticking with me through the first hundred.
In appreciation, a bouquet of images I took.
Thank you for looking in on my fuzzy world.

99th post.

Today I did something I have been wanting to do for years. I rode my bike to the grocery store. Not a major earth shaking occurance, but since I haven't had a bike for some 10 years it means a lot to me. Being that I haven't ridden in forever I had to learn all over again. Having changed shape a great deal, I had to find my balance all over as well. I rode over two miles and didn't crash, I am giddy.
On the fiber front I have been doing many things fall and winter related. Several scarves and I am almost finished with the mohair shawl. I finished a "church" shawl for my bestest friend in the world and got it to her shortly after her birthday. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of it. I will try to get some pictures of the other things I have finished up in a bit, I just wish I had the other camera to do so with.
Here's hoping that all are feeling better and coping as best as can be expected. I want to send out specific wishes to Chan and Grace + Tom right now as they have been on my mind.
Peace to all.

Just can't figure it out.

The temperatures outside have been hitting 105 for about a week and I suddenly HAVE to start a shawl with mohair. Something seriously wrong with me. Hope everyone is not melting and trying to have a good summer. Some are ill, some are sad and some are just stuck someplace they don't really want to be... Hoping the best can be made of the lemons.

Quickly, while she's not looking.

Since the summer has started for my small one I have made a few things. I made a "pumpkin" bag loosely based on the picture of the acorn bag that I believe "Bri" did. I am nearly finished with a plain brown belt because I realized I didn't own any three days ago when I wanted one. I am in process of making a bunch of other things but don't have brain enough to remember them all. I wanted to steal this quick minute before bath-time to Say Hi to y'all and thanks so much for the comments. Summer reading program, Golf lessons and general activity will prevent much else for a while... *hugs* to All Y'all.

Just a ping.

Haven't had much to report recently but wanted to at least make my presence known. As usual I am working on about a dozen things at once and haven't taken any pictures yet. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Pictures and a thought.

Fiber Happy
Cranberry Merino Top I bought for my birthday



The gorgeous Merino top Teach gave me for my birthday

I put up a few new pictures of completed projects on ravelry so if you get a chance to look I would love to hear your thoughts. I have been making hunny do some home renovation in the form of shoving furniture around so I haven't been doing anything this weekend. With school ending in a week there will be lots of things going on to prevent my crafting but I will try to at least make a post a week over the summer. Thanks for the wishes and Hoping you all are doing well.

Back, sort of.

On the crafting side I have finished a shawl (sort of) and am about to finish my mom's mothers day present. I will be trying to get some pictures of those up soon, like within the week. I have also cut my yarn stash in almost half with the help of a new friend, a mother of three girls that go to my daughters school.
On the reality side, my house is still a mess and Murphy's Law still rules. Hopefully all the mothers that read this had a good day on Sunday and are ready to face another year of "but, Moooooom! " from their children.
Good day to you all.

Fantastic!

http://www.purlescence.co.uk/storytellers/open_winner1.html

Pictures and such.

For those of you that want to see a bit more of how I think I present you with a link. (Ha! That rhymes.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/mystarfalling/

Busy a while.

April has been interesting. Had a birthday, had a friend die, made (knit) a shawl, Got some yarn, got some fiber and a new Addi hook.
Strange things in the air making me want to hide my head for a while. Have been reading the posts left by others and wishing I had words to comfort those in pain and congratulate those in joy and accomplishment. I might be pulling my head out of the sand a bit soon, just letting my (*OH so loyal*) readership know I haven't dropped off the high velocity ball we live on.
Love, peace and harmony to all.

Simple yet satisfying.

**Edit**
Pictures (=
** end edit**
Ah-ha. I have a pattern to post, yet because the google servers and unhappy right now I can't put up the pictures yet. The pattern is very simple and I will happily repost it when I can do so with pictures.
Moms short stole pattern.
Measures approximately 2' x 4.5' when finished.
First, grab 3 or 4 skeins of worsted weight yarn (I used a fun fuzzy acrylic variegated I was given recently) and your favorite J (6.0mm) hook.
Chain 77 fairly loosely, then chain 3 more (total of 80 chains)
Row 1... dc in the 4th chain from the hook. Do a total of 77 dc into the chain, chain 3 and turn.
Row 2... dc across (total of 77 dc) ch 3 and turn.
Row 3...One dc in top loop of the first stitch, ch 1 skip 1 and dc in the top loop of next stitch. (creating and open space) continue to ch 1 skip 1 and dc in top loop across. ch 3 and turn.
Row 4 through 9, repeat row 3
Row 10, 11 repeat row1.
Repeat these rows until you have 7 (or more) sections of open work and end in 2 rows of solid dc.
With 3 skeins I got seven sections easily. If you want more sections I suggest figuring on 3 sections per skein. No, I didn't do a gauge swatch...Sorry

Have some pictures.

I have a small obsession with brick stitch right now. I started this shawl with some Knit Picks "gloss" that was given to me over the holidays and I seem to be doing fairly well with it. I haven't changed stitch in the middle or gotten frustrated and ripped it apart. Might be the yarn cause it is smooshy and nice to work with... Might be the stitch as it is mindless once begun. Either way I just might be able to finish this.

This is a fair shot of the bottom. I like the way the spaces create pinwheel shapes for the light to go through. The color is more red and less fuchsia than this but hey, this is what I get for not trying to get a better camera for x-mas.

The next color after the chocolate brown is going to be this grape purple. I hope I can hold out long enough to finish because I think it will look good once finished.

I also made this yarn ball holder(not what I call it in my head, thanks to L&V) for a friend out of P&C cotton. The bottom has an issue where the knot I was making got out of hand. Soon to be remedied. Once that is fixed I will make the cord.

As most of you know I have been trying to learn to spin. This basket is my "homework" for the class. I have to take more pictures due to a spate of activity in the middle of the night while dealing with a cramp in my (still) broken foot. Eventually I will have pictures of finished yarn to show y'all.

In other news... I am a lazy wench and haven't found any of the things I wanted to put up for sale. I am seriously considering closing the shop for a while due to feeling guilty at not *making* the time to take care of it.
Also, for anyone in the area of MD please go to the fiber festival and put up lots of pictures. I really want to try to go next year and drag my favorite uncles with me.
Go buy Yarn from NHknittingmama
Cause she is just the coolest... And I said so. =)

Not Self promotion...

http://www.NHKnittingMama.etsy.com
Go there, check out her stuff... Tell her I sent you, please.
I should ask if I can link her in my sideboard...

Preservatives.

Sometimes, no matter how healthy you try to be, there comes a craving for something un-healthy. I will on rare (maybe once a year) occasions CRAVE little debbie's swiss rolls. I have been good this month so I will allow the vile preservative laden fascimile of food to come home from the store... Now however, comes the real battle. Not eating the whole box at one sitting.
Spinning classes... Learning how to "flick" the locks in order to make them ready for whichever preparation I choose to use for the yarn. Fun, but a bit tough on the hands. Deciding that I don't like carded fiber and would prefer to spin straight from the lock, amusing.
I made an order for my teacher from Etsy today because she doesn't have acess to a computer at home right now. I was horribly tempted yet resisted blowing my birthday money on some of the drop dead gorgeous fibers I saw. Makes me want to touch them. You know, this learning to spin thing might turn out to be an expensive habit... I might have to sell yarns to pay for fiber addiction... Are there 12 step programs for that?

Alive and Spinning.

So, for those that are interested... Small one is doing much better. Back to normal breathing and not running scary temperatures anymore. There is a long story about a local child that actually passed away from complications of the same thing she had but I haven't wrapped my head around it fully yet.
On to the fiber related stuff. I am actually learning how to spin on a drop spindle and learning how to prepare fleece in both woolen and worsted methods. I have a wonderful teacher that I will ask if I can put her info up soon. She has been spinning for much of her life and teaching for about 30 years. I am so glad to have found her... Yet another good thing to have come from the county fair.
Since my brain was not allowing me to finish anything without major frustration and frogging I haven't made anything to sell this month. I hope to remedy that this week and put up stitch markers at least. I make markers for both knit and crochet and occasionally even use them myself.

This would be the first thing I made from the wonderful book that hunny ordered me for V-day. Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful. Small one has informed me that I need to make them all.

This has been in the "unfinished" drawer for months. I started him using a "basic amigurumi" pattern I found on Ravelry and improved the arms and legs. He also has Dreadlocks because I couldn't help myself.

Ha, a swatch! Attempting to get the working of lace in my brain so I can design a stole for Grace to knit... (= I am happy with how the pieces fit together and I will likely make a few more swatches before the pattern comes together for me. I used P&C cotton for this and finished the top edge with an i-cord bind off... My teacher thinks I could add beads and turn it into a necklace... What do y'all think?

And finally, this... It is a head warmer. Not a hat, just the ribbing for one. I went up 4 needle sizes and did some funky lace work at the top to create the fluffy bits. Felted it and viola. An anemone on my head. Small one stole it and it looks a whole lot better on her than me. This just means I have to make another one for me using my new Harmony needles from Knit-Picks. I got the circular and DPN's in size 10 because I didn't have DPN's in that size and I really wanted to have a fixed circular of that size. I have an old Boye set of interchangeable points that work for most things but the threads are starting to get loose so I have to keep an eye out to make sure they don't come off while I am working.
I an also hoping to someday try to manage the magic loop for socks because I think that if I could do it that way there might be a PAIR in my future.
On to the rest of the day with coffee.
And again, Thanks so much to those that have been with me through the last couple of weeks. You will likely never know how much it helped knowing there were people across the country that cared enough to look in on me. <3 to you all.

Still breathing.

Her temperature is still between 100 and the highs of 104.something. Research into RSV shows that the swings can last from 8 to 14 days in moderate to severe cases. I have been awake since around 4 due to her body heat waking me up. She hit 104.3 so I woke up. This is the update...
To note:
Grace, I am so glad you are feeling better. I hope it continues to improve.
NH Knitting Mama, I thank you for you words as I know you have been through similar things and worse. The wishes are appreciated.
Anne, Thank you for looking in on me and I am sorry I haven't been commenting much. Congratulations and I am glad you didn't truly give up the needles.
To all the others that read and just send me a kind thought. Thank you.
Now, More coffee so I can *stay* awake for the rest of the day.

Appreciation and impatience.

Can I please have my life and my brain back now? First in a line of things that are making the world chaotic is the child having something called RSV. I think of it as Really Sucky Virus because there isn't a "treatment" that helps. She just gets REALLY sick for about a week and we get next to no real sleep because we are on the lookout for the spiking fever, vomit and discolored mucus that "might be" signs of *something else is wrong* so we are both covering the grumpys for her. Add to this the fact that I haven't been able to take my pain medication for 3 days because it makes me a bit fuzzy which I can't be in case of an emergency (at 3 am or any time) and you get an exhausted me.
We also had a surprise concerning the medieval torture device that I still have to wear. It costs $150 and the Doc didn't tell me this when he gave it to me. If I had known I could have gotten one elsewhere and not had to pay though th nose with money we didn't have at the time.
I don't have the brain to make anything for my shop and I don't have the patience to work on anything at all for more than 5 minutes or so. Getting the time to sit and read a few blogs is good enough right now.
On to the Appreciation part. I appreciate the blogs that I read for giving me a few minutes of "out" time. I want to let y'all know that I hope things get better fo you and that things don't keep you from sharing (even the not so happy) because it means a great deal to me. Yes, even though I rarely comment.
And thank you for looking in on me as well.

And the band played on.

Yes, I am still alive. No, I haven't finished a darn thing. I have put up a small update to my shop and I hope that the drugs they gave me for my foot can help me *do* more than I have been doing. I hope that there aren't too many blog land people I have let down with my tendency to not get things finished. Wish there was more time in the day. Happy fiber to you all.

A little more brainless.

So because I have *so* much spare time... Taking spinning classes from a local woman with LOTS of teaching experience. Need to get things packed and sent away to various places. Need to *finish* about a dozen things to go on etsy within a week. I love to be busy. Oh yeah, my foot is still broken so I hobble around making things and swishing my cane at people. (= lovely mental image. *cackle*

Couple of things.

Finished... Slippers crocheted and book bound for person 1. Beads finished on *gift* for person 2. Beads applied to item for etsy. 5 more projects to finish before I can "relax" and do whatever strikes my fancy. TTFN

Chaos and Entropy

Due to Chaos and Entropy (and my own inability to judge time available) I will not be putting up pictures for a bit. The camera is hiding from me and I think I have just enough time in the next few days to finish half of the umpteen bazillion things going on. I just wanted to post this public service message to let those that have been paying attention (and commenting) know they are appreciated. I like to think that I am building a small group of friends through this medium and the journals that I read are wonderful windows into other peoples realities. Hopefully I haven't driven too many away with the outbursts of insanity that will continue at irregular intervals. (=
A happy beginning to a new year to all y'all