Monday, September 20, 2021

Weekending 9-20-21

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was lovely!  Friday wasn't as quiet as I would have liked work-wise, but I managed to enjoy it.  Saturday morning I met up with Dee for some coffee and knitting and chatter.  And, as it turns out, for some knitting help.

I had started working on Peggy's sock - the cuff was finished and I started in on a lace pattern that I had written out on paper.  It looked pretty on paper, but it just wasn't working with the yarn, so I decided to rip out.  When this very same thing happened (different pattern, but same yarn) a week or two ago I ripped out EVERYTHING, including the cuff.  I'm not real good at picking up stitches when I rip out, unless there is a lifeline involved.  It turns out Dee is very good at that.  And speedy.  So, while I sipped coffee, she ripped out the rows I had knit down to the cuff and then picked up all 64 stitches and NONE of them were twisted!  Thank you my friend!  Turns out that yarn was just begging to be a PLAIN sock, so that is what it will be.

Later on Saturday I went out for a pedicure.  My first pedicure in years - really!  I used to get pedicures and manicures every 2 weeks, but my nails became brittle, so I stopped.  Oh boy did I enjoy the pedicure on Saturday though.  This may be common, but where I go you always get a hot stone massage on your legs and feet.  My feet really appreciated the work on my calluses and the focus on them too.  So now my toes are pretty and my feet are soft.

Sunday was filled with a bunch of miscellaneous things including yarn!  I wound the blue skein of yarn that I bought the other week at the fiber fistival.  It is gorgeous caked up:


And I picked out this pattern:  Mariner's Scarf to make a scarf for Zhongren with this yarn.  this is one of the things I plan to take on our vacation.

One thing I managed to do Friday morning was pick out yarn for the next French Market Bag.  I tried to start it Saturday morning after the sock fail, but it is way too fiddly a start to try to do while talking (at least for me).  But Sunday afternoon I had a bit of free time and buckled down and got it started!


The start is much further along now.  The fiddly part is having just 2 stitches on each needle and then making two M1 on each needle.  As someone once told me, they call it a "belly button" and that really is what it is like.  I'm now up to 80 stitches on each needle (not quite ready to switch to a circular, but soon!) and it is going faster.  I stopped, because the weight of the yarn and the size of the needles (7) was beginning to bother my fingers and hands.  Obviously this bag will not be a solid color.  There will be some stripes of grey and green (both of those yarns are Plymouth Earth Homestead 100% wool - found somewhere - maybe the shop in Chesapeake City?? for $3 each!).  The multicolor yarn will be used along the body of the bag.  That yarn is "Gina" from the Plymouth Yarn Company - another bargain for $6.  This will also come on vacation.

And, of course, Peggy's plain socks will travel to New England as well.  Those three projects should be sufficient - LOL.  (I know I will throw in some cross stitch as well...)

Meanwhile this is our last week at home before we leave next weekend for New England!  I cannot wait.  There is lots to do before we take off.  As I've mentioned before, I'm one of those people who clean the house before we leave.  I want to come home to a clean house for sure.  So, bathrooms and kitchen floor are on the list as well as dusting and vacuuming.  Yuck!  Then, I plan to make some new cookies to take (a pumpkin cookie with chocolate chips, some nuts and maybe some dried cranberries) plus a new granola bar recipe.  And...Friday is Fletcher's birthday, so there is a cake to be made.  Plus packing, planning camping meals, etc., etc.

Today, however, I am heading to the office.  Work has become ridiculously busy and I've got a ton to do before we leave.  Some of it needs to be done at the office, so I would rather get that over with today.  I'll stop at the State Store near my office for wine to take on vacation and I also want to run into TJ Maxx.

Wishing you all (and myself!) a productive and easy Monday!


14 comments:

  1. It's always a good thing to listen to your yarn when it tells you what it wants to be - twice! You have the important things decided for vacation - what knitting to take, and getting some wine. I hope your Monday is a good one!

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  2. It's always such a flurry to get ready for a vacation! (Like you, I always want to return to a clean and orderly house when I get back. . . ) By the time you sit back and leave for your vacation, you'll REALLY be needing that vacation! :-) I'm sending you all the good-flurry-juju this week, Vera. XO

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  3. I like that flurry of busyness before vacation, it helps build the excitement and really helps you relax once you are ON vacation! :) Yay for knitting friends who have mad skills!

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  4. I wish your work wasn't so busy for you! I'm glad you were able to get out for a pedicure and treat yourself, also seeing Dee is a blessing!!!

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  5. I'm glad you were able to fit in a visit with Dee and also got some knitting assistance! I've never had a pedicure but talk about it each year for my birthday! lol Sounds wonderful. I clean my house before trips, too, because it is so relaxing to come home to a clean house! Hope work goes well!

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  6. I admire you felters! It seems like so much knitting to me—and then it shrinks! But the finished projects are awesome.
    I am on vacation now—and I wish I would have cleaned the house before we left. That is a really good idea!

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  7. The yarn knows what it wants to be and we must listen. :-)
    You have a LOT to do this week. I had a pedicure on Saturday with my sister. I hadn't had one for a few years before I came home. Now we make it a tradition, (during summer months,) to do it monthly. My feet are so dry that it is WoNdErFuL to have it done regularly. My nails are another store. I never bother with them except to clip them short.
    Have fun vacation preppeing. So fun.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  8. Planning vacation knitting is always so much fun. It's been so long since I've done it I've forgotten how. I think the last place I went was to Michigan for Son's wedding and that was three long years ago. Seems like a lifetime.

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  9. Hooray for Dee, the best Rescue Knitter! What a blessing.

    I think Plymouth is where I found a yarn called Goose Poop a while back. Hilarious.

    You are far too busy for me. I was battling a bit of insomnia for a while there, and I'm just starting to get some good sleep. Reading all your Goings On is wearing me out!

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  10. Glad the knitting is going well. Wishing Fletch a very happy birthday on Friday! I'm sure he'll enjoy the "birthday" trip.

    See you when you get back. Safe travels!

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  11. I prefer a c1ean home to return to! Have a safe and sweet trip. I want to see that French market bag!

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  12. I’m late in reading blogs today, so. Hope your day at the office went smoothly. I didn’t do much today: worked out at the gym this morning. This afternoon, I brought most of the summer “things” in to store for the winter and then listened to an audiobook.

    I hope you and Fletch have a great vacation with pleasant weather.

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  13. I think you are wise to clean the house before you leave -- you know when you come back that there will be unpacking and laundry to do, and the last thing you'll want to deal with is a dirty house! I am also going to remember to bake cookies in advance of my next trip to take along.

    I'm glad the sock frustration is over. Lace is beautiful, but a plain hand-knit sock is still a wonderful thing.

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  14. Oh it is good to have a knitting friend like Dee. The blue yarn looks gorgeous. It's blue, so what else would I say. I hope you are enjoying New England.

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