Short and sweet

Just a few photos today.

Sophie on Sunday. She was posing so nicely then a snowflake caught her eye. (Some of you will find humor in that statement...)

My house Sunday night during the snow

This is a recent repair job that I did for a Haus of Yarn customer. I was very pleased with how this came out. I think she snagged the shawl on something. The angora was broken in two places. She didn't have any spare yarn, but the shawl had fringe! I took a couple lengths from the fringe and re-knit the hole. I think the customer will be pleased.

Before:
After:
(I only kept the yarn tail so you could see the patch location)

I lightly needle-felted the ends in place so you can't even see where the new yarn was woven in. I was able to camoflage it in the darker pink mohair. Thank goodness for fuzzy natural fiber! The stitches are a bit thicker where I had to overlap, but it's hardly noticable.

We're gearing up for what could be a "significant ice storm" tomorrow and Thursday. Have no fear!

• Bread? - check!
• Milk? - check!
• Toilet paper? - check!
• Wine? - oh...CRAP!

Time to fear!!

The Plague Forecast

It seems that the White Death is on track to hit middle Tennessee sometime around midnight. Great. As if the stores aren't crazy enough with all the Christmas shoppers.


For those of you who haven't heard, Davis Kidd Booksellers is going out of business. They started their clearance sale and last night most everything was 30% off. As time goes on the discounts will get deeper...as will the crowds. I went last night and spent more time trying to find a parking space than I did in the store.


On to a brief knitting update. I've been knitting A LOT! I finished up a pair of fetching handwarmers for a good friend, but I forgot to take a photo. Drat! (We're going out to dinner tonight so I'll try to get some actions shots.) The yarn I used was quite surprising. I wanted them to be black with a hint of sparkle, soft, machine washable. This was PERFECT! Plus it was only a couple bucks a skein. The skein is 3 ounces and I have 1.15 ounces left. Not quite enough for two pair per skein.

Caron Simply Soft Party

I have more photos to post but I need to get moving with wrapping gifts, trip to the post office, finish Christmas cards, start baking, etc. 'Tis the season!

Caring Bridge

Caring Bridge is a website where people who need support due to cancer, premature birth, injury or other significant health challenge can stay connected with loved ones. When my dad was diagnosed with a rare form of appendix cancer, he created his own Caring Bridge site to keep everyone in the loop. Last month he spent nearly 2 weeks at the UPMC Shadyside Hospital in Pittsburgh for a pretty radical surgical/chemo procedure. This last trip he is referring to was the followup visit.

This is his most recent journal entry. It speaks for itself.



Thursday, December 9, 2010 8:58 PM, EST

We are home again, this time from P'burgh. Great news on the pathology report. All tumors were of the low grade, some even at the lowest of the low. So this means that research tells them I have a 90% chance of survival at 10 years!! The other news is we may not need chemo for now.
As for the UTI it realy took me down and now I am working to recover from that.
Thanks for all those prayers...don't stop. Bob & Mary

Pittsburgh - Tuesday

Just a quick update from UPMC.
Everything is going well! My dad is still in surgery and the doctor just called with hourly update and everything is going really well. More later!

Thanks for all your prayers!

Zack Lannan Outfield Throw 11/7/10 AllAmerican Foundation.co

February in September

It was finally cool enough to wear my recently finished February Lady Cardigan. Great pattern + great yarn = FAB-U-LOUS!

I purchased the yarn at Knitch in Atlanta at Stitches South 2009. Liana and Martha, my traveling companions for the weekend, wouldn't let me buy any more green yarn, so I chose a heathered lavender. I was a little aprehensive about the color (it's a lot of lavender) but now that's it's finished, I really like it.

The yarn: Stonehenge Fiber Mill Shepherd's Wool. This yarn is wonderful on several levels. First of all, it's a USA product designed and spun in East Jordan, Michigan. The yarn is wonderfully soft--100% Merino wool. Not a bit scratchy when worn next to the skin--very soft and squishy. It's also extremely affordable at about $10-11 per 250-yard skein. The yarn is very smooth and gives great stitch definition.

The pattern: February Lady Sweater by Flint Knits. It's knit from the top down with raglan sleeves. The lace pattern is pretty easy to remember after you get a few rows into it. The only tough part is calculating the eyelet increases, but someone much more "mathy" than myself worked up this awesome calculator. Way too cool! The only thing I'm not particularly happy with is the bind off. It's just too tight. I went up two needle sizes, but it's not as flexible as the garter edge. It bugs me, so I'm going to pull it out and redo. I may use a sewn bind off. I used a Channel Island cast on to add a little interest. However, it's a pretty stretchy cast-on so I ran a row of single crochet along the back of the neck for stabilization.

If you're contemplating knitting the sweater, I suggest you cast on right now! You'll love it!

A LIVESTRONG Day Event

Celebrate Livestrong Day, October 2nd. Show your support and help fight to improve the lives of people affected by cancer!
A LIVESTRONG Day Event LIVESTRONG Day 2010 LIVESTRONG.org

My dad's story. Please send prayers!

Why I didn't knit at lunch today

What a day. I need to share, but I have to go back a few days.

Last Thursday I noticed a weird bump on my lower rib cage. I'm not sure how long it has been there because it's not an area I can see easily. I just happened to see my reflection in the mirror (that was a treat...must get rid of mirror) and noticed the bump. Considering the family cancer history, I called the doctor.

Come to find out, my doctor is out on medical leave and will be for some time. I had to get “worked in” with another doctor. The only way to get worked in is to call that morning and get an appointment that day. No scheduling in advance if you want a specific doctor, and I wanted a specific doctor, as in female. I called Friday and no female doctors were available. Called Monday, same thing. Called Tuesday, same thing, but the nurse took pity on me and post-dated my call so it would show up in the system as Wednesday morning with an appointment time the same day at 8:30am. So sneaky.

Now we're to today.

I showed up at the doctor's office and she looked at everything, poked, prodded, squeezed, pushed. She couldn't figure it out so she sent me to get a CT scan. I had about an hour to kill between appointments so I drove to Centennial Park to read and drink that indescribable "smoothie" crap you have to drink before a scan. I found a shady spot with a good view of the ducks and geese, opened my book and popped the top off the smoothie. Yuck. Less than a half hour later the lawn crew showed up and started mowing the little piece of lawn I was occupying. Dust and grass was flying everywhere…so I packed up. I could just as easily finish the smoothie in the waiting area of the imaging center.

My car wouldn't start. The battery was dead. Lovely. Ok, fine, I’ll walk. See Walk 1:


View My Day in a larger map

While walking I called a friend who works nearby and asked her if I could buy her a Thai lunch if she'd come rescue me. We met at Royal Thai (see Walk 2). It was 96 degrees, I was in heels and a lightweight cashmere shell. It's not supposed to be 96 degrees and I'm supposed to be able to wear transitional sweaters in September. Have I mentioned I walked 1.18 miles total? I was hot and pissed, but I looked nice.

We went back to deal with the car. I was pretty sure about where I left it, but I didn't see it there. Oh how lovely. Could it have gotten towed? Stolen? We turned around and then I saw the car. Whew! It was blocked from view by a big handicap accessible bus. Then came the trick of wriggling Becky's monsterous F150 into jumping position. The F150, close friends call her Eddie, is big boned and it was no easy feat to jockey her into position. We popped the hood and the freaking battery was on the wrong side. Seriously. So she had to drive around in the grass (newly mowed, I might add) to get to a spot where the cables would reach. The folks on the handicapped accessible bus were just watching us with a strange sort of dazed curiousity. It only added to the weirdness.

I popped the hood on my car and as I walked around to open it up, I stepped over a curb and into a muddy, goose-crap filled hole. Down I went, lacking all grace and poise. Grass stains on my slacks, dirt, mud and who knows what else in my shoe, hurt my wrist, injured my pride. I swore. Loudly. The dazed and curious were still watching and it was still weird.

At this point, a Nice Man came by to help us. This was after SEVERAL had walked by doing their best to ignore two women in nice work clothes wielding jumper cables. In a snap, he got the car started. I thanked him profusely and then the bus driver asked to borrow the cables and Becky’s truck because he too had a dead battery from using the wheelchair lift while the engine wasn’t running. Really. Well that explains why there was a guy in a wheelchair half-way up the lift.

The Nice Man jump started the bus. The wheelchair lift continued its ascent. The Nice Man was thanked by all involved. Everyone went about their business.

While all this was going on my doctor was trying to call. Everything is normal, nothing looks bad/cancerous/suspicious, it’s just a build-up of tissue. Nothing to worry about. And all this before 1pm. Whew!

Next Wednesday I'm going to knit instead.

Shameless Plug

I taught my first knitting class of the season tonight--a garterlac spa cloth. Did you miss the class? Well, dry those tears and stop the pity party! I'll be teaching it again in next month at Haus of Yarn. Check out the schedule for more knitting and learning opportunities.

Wouldn't these make a great Christmas gift paired with a bar of hand crafted soap?

I'm also teaching a tiny Christmas sock. These little guys are just adorable and can be easily knit up in an evening. If you've never knit a sock and want to give it a go, sign up for this class and you'll be turning a heel before you know it.

Here's a complete list of all my classes for the fall:

Some Assembly Required
Experience: Must be able to knit, purl, cast on, bind off, follow a simple pattern
Quick and painless finishing techniques! Invisible side and shoulder seams, picking up stitches for button bands and necklines, button holes, weaving in ends. If you have a finishing problem, bring your project and we’ll figure it out.
Materials: Swatch yarns in worsted weight preferably wool or wool blend, 24” or longer circular needle 2 sizes smaller than the needles used for swatches, tapestry needle, scissors
Homework required (instructions will be given when student signs-up)
Class Cost: $45 for two 2-hour sessions
Scheduled Dates:
Monday September 13, 20 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Saturday October 30 time: 4:00 – 7:30pm

Great Beginnings (Ways to Cast On)
Experience: Must be able to knit and purl
Expand your knitting repertoire with more ways to cast on! We’ll explore knitted and cable cast-on, continental or “long-tail” cast-on, Norwegian cast-on, tubular (extra stretchy) cast-on, decorative Channel Island cast-on, crochet chain provisional cast-on.
Materials: Two or three contrasting colors of worsted weight wool or wool blend yarn in light, solid colors. Straight or circular needles and crochet hook in size appropriate for yarn. Additional needles in various sizes (slightly smaller or larger) may be helpful for experimenting.
Class Cost: $25 for 1 two-hour session
Scheduled Dates:
Monday September 27 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Monday October 11 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Monday November 8 time: 5:30 – 7:30pm

Garterlac Spa Cloth
Experience: cast on, knit and purl
Entrelac simplified! Learn the basics of entrelac while making a cotton spa cloth.
Materials: Cotton yarn *(we recommend Mission Falls 1824 cotton), appropriate needles.
Class cost: $25 for 1 two-hour class
Scheduled Dates:
Tuesday September 7 time: 5:30 – 7:30pm
Monday October 4 time: 5:30 – 7:30pm
Saturday November 6 time: 4:00 – 6:00pm
Tuesday December 7 time: 5:30 – 7:30pm

Tiny Christmas Sock
Experience: Knit and purl
Make a super cute tiny sock, perfect for a Christmas ornament or gift tag. Very simple construction makes this class a good introduction to sock knitting without committing to a large project.
Materials: DK yarn and DPNs, stitch marker
Class cost: $30 for 1 three-hour session
Scheduled Dates:
Sunday November 14 time: 1:00 – 4:00pm
Saturday December 4 time: 4:00 – 7:00pm

Call Haus of Yarn to sign up! 615-354-1007

I Present the Domestic Goddess

This afternoon I sacrificed some precious knitting/spinning time and dusted off the canning equipment. Yes, canning. As in glass jars, lids, big pot of boiling water...and a basket of peaches. The outcome? Peach marmalade, and it's tasty (if I do say so myself.)

We spent this past long weekend at a fishing camp in Kentucky. As is typically the tradition over a holiday weekend, we made peach ice cream. I don't know what I was thinking, but I bought an entire basket of peaches from the Farmer's Market. We used some for the ice cream, ate about as much as we could stand and the rest turned into marmalade. I had to work fast before the fruit flies smelled the heavenly ripeness.

Isn't it pretty?

The fish camp is in the middle of nowhere. Literally. There is nothing else around. To get there we had to take the Turkey Neck Bend Ferry across the Cumberland River. That was pretty cool.

This is the view of the cabin from the boat launch. It's a cozy 2-bedroom cabin with a great view of the river.

We did a lot of fishing, but no catching

The view from the porch this morning.

What a great place to relax! We will definitely go back.

How I Spent My Summer - The Cliffs Notes

Did I have a busy summer? You might say that.

A synopsis:

The week before Memorial Day the ducts under the house were replaced and the air conditioning was reconnected. School got out. Finished one Ty-Dy Wool sock, cast on sock number 2. Baseball tournament Memorial Day weekend. Zack hurt his elbow pitching, 6 weeks of physical therapy. Trip to Cincinnati for a baseball tournament and a Reds game. Good knitting time for sock #2. Trip to Lexington for another baseball tournament. We got to visit with my parents and nephews while we were there. Ate at Joe Bologna's and played Apples to Apples (highly recommend both). Worked on sock #2 until I realized I screwed up the divide for the heel flap and it didn't match sock #1. Balled it up, said some choice words and pitched it in the knitting bag (knowing full well it's my fault for knitting without a pattern or notes.) Tried a toe up sock and hated it. I harrassed Zack about summer reading. I bought a new washer and dryer! We wondered how a summer that started with so much rain could be so dry. Then the heat kicked in and we endured 100 degree days. I spun some Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) fiber on the CPW--lovely! The February Lady cardigan came back out of hiding and I finished it. Spent some time at Kentucky Lake with Randy. School started back up. Zack found out he and several other classmates were given the wrong summer reading assignment. I worked out my teaching schedule at Haus of Yarn. I've worked on maybe a dozen finishing projects for them over the summer, and I'm getting repeat clients! I cast on the Annette and Liesl cardigans (got to have a sweater on the needles.) Knit up a bunch of tiny Christmas socks for the class I'm teaching. Went to Hamfest in Huntsville and found out that "Hams do it until their gigahertz". Bought Zack a Nissan Pathfinder (it's nearly as old as he is), he'll be 16 in a few. We're getting ready for Labor Day weekend on the Cumberland River with my parents. I have 4 more finishing projects in the hopper plus a refurb project for my mom.

So, there you have it--more or less. Thinking back over the summer, this is probably the first Saturday morning since mid-May that I haven't been out of town or had to be somewhere. It's lovely!

I know you're thinking, "Gee Chris, all that blah blah blah about your summer is fine and well, but move on! What about yarn shops? What about knitting?" I was able to get sneak away from the tournaments and visit a few yarn shops.

Cincinnati:
Lambikins Hideaway - About 10 miles out of Cinci in Hamilton. Neat old building, but the lighting could be better. They also have fabric upstairs.
Yarns and Fabrications - Huge and bright with a great selection. Lots of Habu yarn, which not a lot of shops carry. Quite friendly too.

Lexington:
ReBelle Girls: This is located in the middle of the UK campus. The coolest thing about this shop was that they carried a TON of fair trade merchandise, bags, key chains, jewelry, etc. I got the cutest project bag for $10.
Magpie Yarn: Very lovely shop, (website doesn't do it justice) but a little tricky to find. If I lived in Lexington I would knit here regularly!

Huntsville:
Yarn Expressions: Every time I'm in Huntsville I stop by this shop. Great selection, nice and bright. She also carries some spinning supplies.

That pretty much gets us caught up. I'll post photos of February Lady and my finishing projects in the coming days....and will try not to let three months go by before I post again. I am so ashamed! But please know that I'm glad you came back to visit. Talk to you soon!

Another Rainy Sunday

I awoke to the sound of rain. Lovely.

For the record, I'm sick of rain. I'm sick of humidty. I'm sick of everything being damp.

Update on the car: it is ok! Toyota gave it a clean bill of health after they ran a full diagnostic on the electrical system and computers, upgraded the computer software (who knew), cleaned the fuel injector, and replaced the steering shaft (not flood related and totally under warranty). The electrical silliness has not been explained, nor has it happened since. Weird.

The insurance adjuster is scheduled to be here tomorrow morning. Maybe I'll be able to get some movement on cleaning up the mess. I had to pull up the carpet on the garage steps yesterday because it was beginning to mold. I can only imagine what my ducts look like. Gross. We've been without AC for two weeks now. NOTHING in this house is dry. I contemplated a dehumidifier, but with the windows open what good will that do?

Task for today: create a full inventory of everything in the garage that was damaged by the flood, complete with photos, date of purchase, purchase price, model number and replacement cost. Sounds fun, huh?

Crap crap and more crap!

I just went to roll the windows up on my car, you know, those fancy electric kind. As I was holding the levers to roll the front windows up, the back passenger window went down. I don't think it's supposed to do that.

The FEMA agent told me that water damage to a car may not be apparent right away. This might be a sign.

And the AC unit is probably toast. It's supposed to be in the 90s tomorrow.

CRAP!

I need to go fondle my stash....




(Thank God I have a stash to fondle!)

Rude Awakening

This was the view that greeted me at 8am on Sunday as I walked by the patio door...and before coffee. I've lived in this house for 18 years and the water has never gone over the patio. It has gotten close before but nothing compated to this. The big clump of grass at the top of the photo is surrounded by lariope that's 8-10" high.

Our creek, Vaughns Gap Branch, is usually a pleasant little stream that meanders its way through the neighborhood. It ranges from a couple feet to maybe 10 feet wide and is ankle to mid-calf deep.

This creek, however, gives a whole new meaning to meandering. We did some calculations and estimate that the creek got to about 400 across. That's a lot of water!

By the time I took this photo from my drive way, the water had gone down about 6 to 8 inches.

The creek relocated some of our bridge to an undisclosed location downstream.

Let's rewind to Saturday night. It had rained all day Saturday, and I'm talking about a hard, driving rain. The news reported flash flood warnings and urged everyone who lived near a river or creek to be prepared to evacuate at any point during the night. Zack and I took action and moved most of the stuff from the garage floor to shelves and the work bench before we went to bed.

Before dawn on Sunday, the weather alarm went off with severe thunderstorm warnings for the neighboring county. I got up, checked the news, checked the creek and went back to bed. At 8am I got a phone call letting me know a luncheon had been cancelled. That's when I got up and looked out the patio door.

When I saw the water, I knew the garage was in danger. Sure enough, the water was seeping in and was about 12 inches past the door. I literally ran back to the bedroom, pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt, I don't think I grabbed shoes, and went back to the garage. It was 4 inches deep and still rising. I swear it only took me a couple minutes to throw on some clothes. That's how fast water can rise.

I yelled for Zack and he jumped into action. I'm sure the tone of my voice was something he had never heard before. By the time I got to my car the water was within an inch of the body. I was afraid to move it, but determined that the house had blocked some of the current. The car started up and I was able to move it to higher ground. Then it was time to bang on neighbors' doors and make sure everyone was prepared to evacuate.

Only one neighbor was unappreciative of the early morning wake up call. When he finally got to the door, I asked him if he was ok and aware of the creek. He looked at me like I was nuts and said, "yeah" (in the same tone you'd use when saying "duh!") then shut the door in my face. WHAT?? Is that how his mother raised him? If someone is banging on your door, nearly knee deep in water, soaking wet and telling you to prepare to evacuate, you don't just say "yeah". I won't knock on his door again. Nope. He's on his own. Jerk. (I'm glad I got that off my chest...pity he won't ever read it.)

I'll post more on the flood on another night. Just know that we didn't have to evacuate, we didn't lose power, we didn't lose much at all compared to so many others. Want to help? Check out Hands On Nashville. This is just one of many organizations helping Nashvillians.

Heed storm warnings. Heed flood warnings. Don't drive over water-covered roads.

If you can't handle cute, go elsewhere

Don't say I didn't warn you! These photos are way off the cute meter!

If you're in the market for a Great Pyrenees, get in touch with me and I'll put you in touch with the farm. These were taken a month ago when we visited my parents in the Huntington, WV area. At that time, the pups were about 7 weeks old. Bred to work with sheep.

Zack and Poppy

Zack and Poppy's puppies

Getting acquainted

My dad with a load of puppies all tuckered out after their grand day out!

The sheep

And, NO, we didn't bring one home...didn't bring a puppy home either!

Return of the Words

It's been a while, and for that I apologize. Life gets in the way. I don't really know if I've been busier than normal. I just lost my words for a while. Since I've been silent for so long means that I have lots to tell. So I'll quick blathering about nothing and get on with it.

As most of you the two of you know, I enjoy a good estate sale. I check the major estate sale websites on a weekly basis. This past week an ad with photos was posted that contained the magic phrase "spinning and flax wheel".



Quite intriguing, don't you think? The sale started Friday but I work for a living, so I went Saturday morning. For some weird reason the teenager wanted to go with me. I think he just wanted to drive because nosing around a house full of stuff is not how he would choose to spend his time. I was really hoping to find other spinning related stuff, maybe weaving supplies, odds and ends of fiber, stuff like that.

Surprisingly, the wheel was still there! Even more surprising was that it was completely intact, with the exception of the drive band. The treadle was connected to the footman, the footman was connected to the crank, the crank was connected to the wheel. Hmm, this sounds familiar. No rust on the cast iron parts, the flyer spun with ease, no cracks or damage to the whorl and everything was nice and tight.

Ladies and gentlemen, please stand back, the bargaining is about to commence!

At some point my teenage son will learn to interpret my "looks". Like when the woman running the sale said, "We can probably come down to $125", and he said, "That sounds like a good deal, mom." DUDE! You're killing me! I'm here to bargain, not just open my check book and write down the first number to fly about the room! So I give him The Look and he says, "What? $125 is a great price." Really? Really, Zack?? This is obviously not my son. There is no common DNA here at all. I pretended to study the wheel with great care and threw in a few head shakes, hmmms, and I don't knows. I sighed, offered $100, she hestitated, I stepped away from the wheel, and she said she'd take it. SCORE!

Isn't she pretty?




She's a Canadian Production Wheel (or CPW for those in the know). Since there is no maker's mark (not the whiskey, seriously) I can't tell you for sure who made her, but she looks like a wheel made by the Cadorette family of Quebec, Canada, about 100 years ago. I'm sure you'll be hearing more about her in future posts.

Ah, but the story doesn't end here. We gingerly loaded the wheel in the back of the Rav, (for perspective, the diameter of the wheel itself is 30" across), and Zack says, "Can we go to Dick's Sporting Goods on the way home?" Such a total manipulator. Maybe we do share DNA.

It was a typical Thursday night...

I dropped the teen off at home after work/school and went to the Haus of Yarn for a bit of knitting and catching up. Everything seemed typical when I walked in. The usual suspects were at the front table knitting and chatting, while some were wondering about doing a bit of shopping. It seemed very...well...Thursday.

Then it hit me.

Something was different. Something was very, very different and not as it was last Thursday. They should have warned me. On the other hand I should have been expecting it. I just wasn't totally prepared.

EEEK!!!!

My hats and patterns on display at a yarn shop!

This is So! Dang! Cool!

Many thanks to Liana who had her camera phone handy and was kind enough to snap a couple photos for me.

The White Death, January 2010

Coming out of the North, the White Death reached the borders of Tennessee in the winter of 2010 unleashing a rampage of terror and panic across the state – unprecedented in recorded history. By the time the disaster played itself out less than twenty-four hours later, anywhere between 78% and 94% of the region’s milk and bread supply was depleted. The residents of Nashville had fallen victim to the calamity.

White Death Variants:
The White Death presents itself in three interrelated forms. The Minaccia Variant (the most common) derives its name from the Italian word for threat. This “threat variant” is the most severe of the White Death variants forcing a vast percentage of the populace to run to the nearest grocery store to purchase bread and milk. A majority of the work force abandon their jobs and flee for the perceived safety of home. This “run for your life, but don’t forget the bread and milk” mentality can cause irreparable harm to southern society by invoking amused scorn and ridicule from residents of northern climes.

A second variation – Schnee Tag, which is a derivative of the German word for snow day – has been known to cause overwhelming joy and giddiness in children while simultaneously striking terror in the hearts of all adults, especially parents. This variant manifests itself in entire school systems ceasing to operate for days at a time. Having no defense or understanding of the cause of the Schnee Tag, parents caught in the onslaught of sledding and building human likenesses out of snow are bewildered, panicked and finally devastated. Children, however, experience an unnatural exhilaration and lose all ability to know when to come in from the cold. Currently, Swedish scientists are studying how neglecting to complete school assignments for the following day may incapacitate this variant. Results are inconclusive.

The Glace Noir variant, perhaps the most deadly of all the variants, presents itself in the form of a very thin layer of ice on the roads and bridges in the impacted area. Nothing can overcome or alleviate this deadly variant except for the spraying of thousands of gallons of saltwater substance on highly traveled routes. Ignoring the pleadings of meteorologists and transportation officials, an enormous number of ignorant men and women take to their automobiles and consequently end up plummeting off the roadway. Thus, causing automobile towing professionals to risk life and limb to assist in recovering vehicles that succumbed to the Glace Noir variant. In most cases very few automobiles escape without permanent damage in the appearance of dents and scrapes.

Cure for the White Death:
The violence of the White Death is such that the diseased quickly communicate it to the healthy who come near them. To speak to, go near, or read an e-mail from the afflicted quickly brings infection and a common terror to the living (i.e., herd mentality). With each return of the White Death the variants mutate, growing stronger and manifesting themselves at a quicker and more expansive rate than before. At this time there is no known cure for the White Death. However, insolated sectors of the region’s populace have survived unscathed by forgoing the diet of bread and milk and replacing it with beer and wine. Modern science has yet to validate this correlation.

Now, that's more like it!

Still no snow, but that's a mere technicality.

Not cool

The light blue counties have not closed schools for tomorrow. Dark blue counties have already called a snow day. Davidson County is the light blue one in the middle.

"You have GOT to be kidding!"

Have I mentioned that the first flake has not fallen?

Pure torture

When do you think it will start?
How much do you think we'll get?
The people at the weather channel don't know what they're talking about.
I'll bet we won't get any at all.
How much do you think we'll get?
Will we have school tomorrow?
I'm not even going to think about it anymore.

Issued by The National Weather Service
Nashville, TN
12:27 pm CST, Wed.,
Jan. 6, 2010

... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO
6 PM CST THURSDAY...

* TIMING... 3 AM CST THURSDAY TO 6 PM CST THURSDAY

* MAIN IMPACT... 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION. THE SNOWFALL WILL STICK TO ROAD SURFACES WITH NO MELTING... AND STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CAUSE A PERIOD OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. THIS WILL CAUSE TRAVEL PROBLEMS OR DELAYS ACROSS THE MID STATE.

* OTHER IMPACTS... A SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE INTO THE MID STATE IN THE WAKE OF THE SYSTEM AND WILL DRIVE TEMPERATURES INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS FRIDAY NIGHT... WITH WIND CHILL READINGS BELOW ZERO.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES... AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

&&

More Information
... SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL LIKELY TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON...

A STRONG WINTER STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD SNOW ACROSS MIDDLE TENNESSEE BEGINNING LATE TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

When do you think it will start?



This is worse than waiting for Santa Claus.

Hot for teacher

Yea, that's a strange title for a blog post, but it's the first thing that popped into my head when thought of something to do with teacher.

Here are the classes I'm teaching at Haus of Yarn this year. Give the shop a call if you want to sign up for any (or all) of them. All dates are 2010.

Some Assembly Required
Experience: Must be able to knit, purl, cast on, bind off, follow a simple pattern
Techniques learned: Quick and painless finishing techniques! Invisible side and shoulder seams, picking up stitches for button bands and necklines, button holes, weaving in ends. If you have a finishing problem, bring your project and we’ll figure it out.
Materials: Swatch yarns in worsted weight preferably wool or wool blend, 24” or longer circular needle 2 sizes smaller than the needles used for swatches, tapestry needle, scissors
Homework required (instructions will be given when student signs-up)
Class Cost: $45 for two 2-hour sessions with Chris
Scheduled Dates:
Wednesday February 17, 24 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Thursday April 22, 29 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm

Got Gauge?
Experience: all levels
Techniques learned: Why is gauge so important? If you’ve ever wondered, you should probably come to this class. We will walk you through yarn substitutions, as well as the math involved in calculating gauge and size. We will also learn a fun way to swatch.
Materials: Solid worsted weight wool (enough for swatching), several sets of needles sizes US 6 – 9. Scratch paper, pencil, and calculator
Class Cost: $25 for 1 two-hour session with Chris
Scheduled Dates: Monday January 11 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Thursday February 18 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Monday April 5 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm

Great Beginnings (Ways to Cast On)
Experience: Must be able to knit and purl
Techniques learned: Expand your knitting repertoire with more ways to cast on! We’ll explore knitted and cable cast-on, continental or “long-tail” cast-on, Norwegian cast-on, tubular (extra stretchy) cast-on, decorative Channel Island cast-on, crochet chain provisional cast-on.
Materials: Two or three contrasting colors of worsted weight wool or wool blend yarn in light, solid colors. Straight or circular needles and crochet hook in size appropriate for yarn. Additional needles in various sizes (slightly smaller or larger) may be helpful for experimenting.
Class Cost: $30 for 1 two-hour session with Chris
Scheduled Dates: Monday February 8 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Monday April 12 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm

Quick and Chunky Ear Flap Hat
Experience: Must be able to cast on, knit, purl, follow a simple pattern
Techniques learned: The ear flap hat is hot, hot, HOT with skiers and snowboarders. Knit this super cozy hat using Lamb’s Pride Bulky yarn. This hat is knit in the round with circular needles and double-pointed needles. Knit in a solid color or customize with a simple Fair Isle pattern.
Materials: Lamb’s Pride Bulky yarn*, pattern, size US 13 DPNs and 16” circular, size J or K crochet hook
Class Cost: $30 for 1 two-hour session with Chris
Scheduled Dates: Monday January 18, 25 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Monday February 22, March 1 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm

Super Simple Intarsia Scarf
Experience: Must be able to knit and purl
Techniques learned: This is the perfect class for beginners who want to try the Intarsia technique but have been afraid of all that tangled yarn. We will get you started on a simple vertical-striped scarf using 2 or 3 different colors of bulky yarn. Learn tricks that will make this technique as easy as it is beautiful!
Materials: Pattern, appropriate yarns*, locking stitch markers, darning needle, appropriate hook Class Cost: $30 for 1 two-hour session with Chris
Scheduled Dates: Thursday January 14 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Thursday April 8 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm
Wednesday May 5 time: 5:30 - 7:30pm

New year, new ramblings

Happy New Year, dear reader(s)!

Last night I was out with friends and someone brought up resolutions. They were surprised that I don't make them. I've made them before and for the life of me can't remember what they were or if I stuck to them. No resolutions for me this year. However, I do have a list of things I'd like to accomplish. The biggie this year is to get the garage organized into useable space. I plan on setting up my dying studio out there, complete with running water... (and what color is the sky in my world?) I also want to organize the guest room and get rid of stuff I don't use any longer. It's easy to talk big right now, but we'll see how it goes when it comes down to the actual "doing". Yes, we shall see...

But I have made a bit of a start. I listed some of the stuff on Craigslist. This will be interesting....there are some weird-ass strange folks out there. For those who are interested:
Igloo style dog house
HP photosmart 7350 color printer
Critter Trail II hamster cage/habitat plus expansion pieces
2-Bike Carrier/Rack for car trunk
...more to come...
And I will not drive to Murfreesboro, nor will I deliver an item to a hospital room. I want to get rid of these things, but seriously.

On to knitting news! This winter I've taken on more classes at Haus of Yarn. I'm teaching the finishing class again and have added 4 other classes--simple intarsia scarf, quick and chunky ear flap hat, different ways to cast on, and a class on understanding gauge. The shop has a great selection of classes and teachers this season. I still can't believe I'm part of their line-up! Pinch me!!

The ear flap hat class has me the most excited. The class is a result of the hat I made for Zack last year. Here's the pink version which can easily be knit in a weekend.

This pattern will be available at Haus of Yarn in the next week or so. I will also post it to Ravelry. It's a super fun pattern!

Another goal of mine is to post more info on my blog. I've gotten rather sporadic lately and hope to change that. I have enough projects going that finding material to write about should not be an issue. It's finding the time to write, take/upload/crop photos, but heck, who needs sleep?

Best wishes for 2010!!