High Fiber--Doing for Others

Giving begins with family, so I have been working on Daphne's cardigan:





The pattern is The Bees' Knees from Mary Scott Huff's The New Stranded Colorwork. The yarn is Knit Picks' Stroll fingering weight in Golden Glow Tonal, Cocoa (actually some of the old EssentialSolid, probably closest to Fedora), Bare and Springtime Tonal.



This closeup shows where I had a boo-boo. The orange stitch marker is in the stitch below a brown stitch that was supposed to be yellow. I didn't notice until I had passed it by about 10 rounds. I went up to the stitch that was still on the needles but directly above the mistake, dropped down to the mistake, fixed it and then put all the sts back. I used a crochet hook. There was enough yarn in the float (the yarn that's stranded along the back) to make the st, so it worked out.

Sunny and I help others by serving as a therapy animal team. Research has shown that petting a dog or cat is relaxing and lowers blood pressure. Twice a month we go to a local nursing home. Friday Sunny and I went to Camp Hobe, a camp for kids whose lives have been touched by cancer.



Sunny really enjoyed the attention and gave lots of kisses. (She somehow knows which people want the kisses.)




You can just see the tip of her tongue in the photo above.

We do this work as a part of Therapy Animals of Utah, a Delta Society affiliate. There were 12 teams at Camp Hobe this year!



Buying things from a friend is kind of a service. When you find what you like, the service goes both ways! Last week I showed the fiber and spindle I got at a garage sale. Here's a closeup of the spindle by itself, so you can see how cute it is. DH thinks it's teak. It's designed to be used supported, on a table or countertop. I haven't tried it yet, but it spins nicely by itself.



Our dogs require food, grooming and exercise, which we have to provide for them. This giving also goes both ways, because not only do they provide us with company, but hiking with them gives us exercise, too. Saturday we took a hike with the pups. They had a good time, and it was nice for them to get to swim in the pond after the hike. Next time I'll take peanuts for treats, so they all know to pose for the camera! (DH isn't influenced by dog biscuits. Sunny and Rocky know how to pose for the camera, though! They will do almost anything for a treat!)



I worked on my applique project a bit this week. I'll try to get a photo of it for next week.

I'm hoping to CO another pair of Mitts of Steal for dialysis patients this week. This is one way to have the fun of knitting or crocheting while doing something nice for someone in need. I'm going to help deliver the next batch of Mitts while I'm in Oregon next month, so I want to add to what I'm going to deliver. This makes a great mindless knitting project, and they are very quick to finish, taking less than a 50 gm ball of yarn.

What's on my needles: DBIL's "Prayer" cardi, front and back finished, a good start on Daphne's Bees' Knees cardigan, and I'm working on my applique project again for a special quilt.
What's on my wheel: The Louet Olive Green Corriedale, bobbin #3. The bobbin is filling up. Soon I will be ready to ply!
What's on my iPad: I finished Dog Sense by John Bradshaw. Excellent book! Now I'm starting The Shelters of Stone by Jean Auel.
What's on my iPod: Various podcasts, still including The Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini, read by the author.
What's my app of the week: I'm using Skype in a new way. We got the service that allows us to call phone numbers with the iPad. It saves on long-distance, I don't have to use my minutes on my Tracfone, and my hands are free to knit or quilt!
What's in my wine glass: Crane Lake 2008 vintage Zinfandel, one of my favorites!

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and MacBook working together, but no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber--Preparing for Summer

The big FO for this week was the felted bag for my MacBook:



Here it is in use (above), and then just to show off the lining:



I wanted to finish it so I could use it to carry my MacBook on our trip coming up in a couple of weeks. I used a variety of colors of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky. WotA felts great! (It feels great, too!)

I also dyed some spinning fiber for Tour de Fleece, which will start while we're on our trip:



I call it Wasatch Mountain Dusk, because that's what it looks like. I used various amounts and combinations of blue, neon blue, neon lavender and black food coloring with salt and vinegar. I used the sun tea method for dyeing. I used KP's Superwash Merino and Nylon, and I hope to make some socks when the yarn is done. My challenge will be to try to spin thin enough singles that the three-ply yarn will still be thin enough for socks. Good thing I have skinny feet!

We have been hiking, in spite of the wind and cool temperatures. The pups had their grooming appointment, as scheduled, but it's hard to tell from this shot. Even Rocky's tongue was flapping in the breeze! 

Vintage Stitchers met again this week, this time at Julie's. Brenda read a book to Alexis, Julie's DGD.



Alexis really admired Janet's Floral Bouquet quilt. (It has Minky on the back!)



Alexis already knows what she likes when it comes to quilts! This is the last of the bolt of Minky that Janet bought. Here's the quilt all finished and ready to give away:



It's like mine, only smaller. Julie expects to have one of my quilts finished this week. I can hardly wait!

Brenda had some quilts in various stages of construction. The Cat in the Hat quilt is done except for the binding. Here's the front:



And here is the back:



She started a Caterpillar quilt:



Brenda has several grandchildren, and they all need quilts!

A friend had a garage sale on Saturday, and I picked up nearly a pound of spinning fiber (half and half wool and mohair, with a smidge of lurex for sparkle) and a tiny supported drop spindle:



I stopped by her neighbor who keeps sheep. Too bad I missed them all wooly. Most have been shorn already. One of the white ewes has twins, but one is hiding on the other side of her.



Our tulips are mostly looking shopworn, but the daffodils are just now coming on. That's because the daffodils were planted in the shade and in a section of our front yard that keeps a pile of snow until very late in what passes for spring here. (Please excuse Jay-Jay's mess in the background.)



The wasps are back, and we got a couple of faux wasps' nests (say "wasps' nests" three times fast), which are supposed to keep the wasps from building nests in your yard.



The only trouble is, they say "The Waspinator" on the top, so the wasps will know they're fake. They should have printed "This is a real wasps' nest" on it instead. I'm not sure these will work.

Speaking of flying insects, I'm swatching for this cardigan for Daphne:



It's "The Bees Knees" from The New Stranded Colorwork by Mary Scott Huff. You can see it in another colorway here. I fell in love with this pattern when I got the book. I'm taking a class from the author at Sock Summit, and I hope to have it started when I ask her to autograph my copy of her book. The yarn I'm using will be Knit Picks' Stroll fingering yarn in various colors. Wait until you see!

What's on my needles: DBIL's "Prayer" cardi, front finished, and I'm working on my applique project again for a special quilt.
What's on my wheel: The Louet Olive Green Corriedale, bobbin #3.
What's on my iPad: I finished Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I especially liked the part that takes place in Bali, where I have spent some time. Starting Dog Sense by John Bradshaw.
What's on my iPod: Various podcasts, still including The Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini, read by the author.
What's my app of the week: Just upgraded Epicurious. Soon they will make it possible for us to keep our own recipes in the app, not just the recipes that come with the app. I've been collecting the quick and easy recipes posted in the Knitting Community Spin Along, "Rather Spin Than Cook," and I'm looking forward to adding them to the app.
What's in my wine glass: Ironstone Cabernet Franc 2009. Very nice!

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and MacBook working together, but no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.

High Fiber--Spring at Last! Not Kidding This Time

The pups are enjoying their walks:



If they look a little scruffy, it's because they were due to go to the groomer today. Poodle fiber, spinners?
We certainly have had enough rain and snow to last us! The seasonal streams are flowing full force, and the snow is disappearing. There is none left in our yard. In fact, snow is so scarce, I saw a man removing snow from the short street that's closed every winter for snow storage. I don't know if he was stealing it or trying to get the road open!
Some things uncovered by the disappearance of the snow include these vole burrows:



I assume they construct them so they can get around under the snow without getting too cold. They probably live deeper in the ground, because these will disappear, leaving no trace. Or maybe the voles pack up the kids and head northward in their little trailers....
More rain last week brought us this:



We just happened to be on the road, coming back from Home Depot, when we spotted this. We had a perfect view of it because the land is fairly flat along this highway.
Spring has brought some excitement into the lives of the DGDs. DGD1 graduated from high school last Thursday. She's the second from the left. Off to college in the fall!



DGD2 is on vacation in Texas, as you probably know if you read last week's blog. She and her family went to Galveston, where she enjoyed the sun and wind.



They did a lot of walking, and her feet were sore.




Daphne is trying to take after her DGM, who can put both feet in her mouth at once and keep talking. (You didn't know I was that limber, did you?) But Daphne has outstanding technique and will no doubt excel at it eventually.
Yes, it is spring at last! We have the wildflowers to prove it! Here's the Yellow Columbine.



Then we have Mule's Ear, which is prettier than the name:



DBIL's cardigan may be done in time for summer. I now have the left front done up to past attaching the pocket. Just a straight shot to the armhole.



Will spring continue? Will more wildflowers grace the mountains of Utah? What will the pups look like after their grooming appointment? Tune in next week to find out the answers to this, and maybe more knitting, spinning and quilting.

What's on my needles: DBIL's cardi and a felted bag for my MacBook, and I'm working on my applique project again for a special quilt.
What's on my wheel: The Louet Olive Green Corriedale, bobbin #2. Getting fuller.
What's in my hoop: The languishing hand-pieced quilt.
What's on my iPad: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
What's on my iPod: Various podcasts, still including The Sweater Quest by Adrienne Martini, read by the author.
What's my app of the week: Dean Koontz. (Yes, the famous author has an app!) I use it to find out when sequels are due to come out. That was how I learned that Frankenstein: The Dead Town was coming out. It's out now, and I downloaded it from Audible.
What's in my wine glass: Tapeña Tempranillo 2009, from Spain. (Vino de la Tierra de Castilla.)
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and MacBook working together, but no Windows were opened, waited for or cleaned.