testy or testing

Am waiting on a delayed shipment of brass right now, which delays me and makes spindle addicts desperate! (I have learned you don't want to interfere with a fiberholic and their fix) I woke up this morning worrying about that, so what did I do? I pulled my spindle off the bedside table and spun a little while listening to the birds and waiting on the coffee. Spring is!!!
Brass has gone up (again!) and so has the wood, hate to pass that cost on. On the upside, I am trialing a new spindle whorl style, waiting on the glue to dry. Counter to science, I am thinking of adding extra weight to the center. I love testing.

time and honor

You know, Tennessee is a long state, I always forget that when I try to squeeze too much into one weekend.
So the old folks at home where a wonderful visit, as always. I am so grateful that I can still be in the same room with them and share our memories and politics and point of view. So many people that I care about are gone, and though we can't cling, we can slow down and hold each moment closer while we can, because the time will not always be there.
Time was the theme on the way back, heading towards Nashville, realizing that I was not going to be able to fit in the time to make it to the seff fiber festival at Montgomery Bell park, and passing by that exit saw this bus heading into town behind us, and there was that time theme, again.
She was heading in to accept her honorary degree in music at the Ryman, before it is too late.
It does go fast,doesn't it?

march winds, not yet

So I have been falling in bed exhausted from spring farm/garden work and got this idea that I would chart the "march wind" (sort of like charting a verb intead of a noun)
I have been hankering to knit something to felt since the recent discussion on the yahoo lk150 group. The perfect candidate is the pending waist bag prototype for my spindloyn (I miss wearing a spindolyn sometimes)
The idea was to have the clouds be knit in acrylic and the background wool so that the background would shrink and the clouds pouf out. The chart is supposed to be like oriental depiction of wind, but it is not there yet, by any means.
Sometimes, I chart on the first take, sometimes, I have to put them away for a few days and redo them..this one is a long way away, it may have to be canned altogether, because even though I have redone and redone it, it has major suckage.
Maybe because the days have been fabulously warm and not windy and perfect for gardening.
Anyway, when (if) I get it right, I'll post it on the free charts page and either way, hope to get the bag done soon.

shhh, Im counting seeds

so i can't count stitches.
I wanted to work on the peach cables, but there are only so many hours in the day. Today, it was peach spindolyns and the new portable chicken pen. I was lacing the wire onto the pen frame with much satisfaction, because, in a way, it is like a giant basket, only it is wire, instead of withies.
Until the chickens are contained, I can't plant the spinach, and because "as soon as the ground can be worked" has come and gone last week, the spinach is not calling, it is screaming.. and until it can be laid to rest in the cold new ground, I can't count stitches and rework the peach cardigan. But, doesn't anticipation ad to the deliciousness...ok, writing time limit up....maybe I will just knit a few rows.....

Peaches and bad dreams

I found it! the lost unfinished peach spring time farm cardigan! I found it in the bottom of one of many, many baskets that hold yarn, and rovings and unfinished knitting projects.
I have been needing a "fresh" cardigan to wear to the post office, these old farm sweaters are getting pretty ratty looking, like something an animal has been sleeping on and dragging around the house as a comfort blanket. Actually, they look like this from wearing them to gather firewood and do barn chores.
So, I thought it would be no problem to piece it together and whip up some sleeves for it....
that is when I noticed that one front is a different gauge than the other, the one with the cable button band already sewn on it is was kni at the wrong tension. The other cable button band is too short to fit n the correctly tensioned front.... Oh. this is why it was put away unfinished. The button bands were hand knit, the fronts where knit on the LK.
Here is the nightmare part. I have no clue what tension on the LK 150, nor what needle size for the bands....argh!!!! NOTE to self. NEVER, ever, stuff anything into a basket without documentation.

I really love this wool and this color....where do I start, do I swatch until I match gauge? or frog?