Furniture Gone

All of V's bedroom stuff is gone (compared to this), her closet packed with boxes of her stuff, the other sided emptied (V are't you glad you are on the West Coast?). Phil got his office cleared (compared to this and this) and ready for the new flooring to come in next week! Now to get all this stuff hauled off to the dump. The med-lift chair found a new home - Tara's parents. We did get some of V's bags into a storage tote and into the attic- goodness that girl has a lot of bags, but I know that she probably wants me to keep the rucksack that she used backbacking through Europe. There are mostly empty boxes up there; a future job to tackle. AND J was nice enough to trim the tree in the front yard with his chain saw. Now it looks like a real tree. He removed all the lower limbs. Thank You J! Now all I have left to do is shred 2 more file totes, hire a dump runner and hire a painter. It is looking more and more like it will all get done before school starts. Phils is actually excited about being able to put his office back together the way he wants it. The new guest/Vanessa room will be cute. I can't wait to have my office/sewing/knitting room :) Off to sock class, knowing the I will really be able - and ready - to relax on vacation.

Keyboard Purse

Keyboard Purse - kinda cute.

Still Cleaning, Socks

Vanessa, did you have fun in Tahoe? Well, the garage is lined with trash, and I usually am so organized I can't believe how much STUFF I was able to get rid of. Anyway Vanessa’s room is completely boxed up and ready for J and Tara to come and take the stuff away. Phil will get his stuff organized today and I think we will be good to go. Fiber Felting Class was a blast. There were 6 of us including me and Susan. These ladies were a hoot. I originally signed up for the class when I saw the sample on display at The Wool Connection. Others in the class agreed that had we know exactly what this would involve we probably wouldn't have signed up. Basically we made our own felt from roving. Our kit had needle felting needles but we didn't get to that ‘til the end. I think we all, except Susan who had no idea what the class was about, were more interested in needle felting embellishments. We pulled the roving apart and then layered it, laid muslin on top of that and then another 3 layers of roving on top of that. After we sprinkled it with warm water and them some liquid dish soap it all got rolled up in bubble wrap and more muslin and tied. Then we had to work it using a noodle on a bamboo mat and then a washboard – who even owns one of them? Actually one of the ladies produced a really nice solid camel color bag, chose a really nice button and is going to line it and turn it into a clutch bag. I love the way they take your sandwich order and then at lunch time go and pick it up. We had a little picnic lunch outside. The weather both Friday and Saturday was gorgeous for a change. Susan said she had just been bustin’ my butt and really had a good time – phew! I don’t think I’ll be fiber felting in the near future, but I put the bag of supplies upstairs – duh – that is how I collect so much stuff. This lovely creation is going to be something some day! Links that Ginger gave us: http://fuzzygalore.biz/articles/fulling.shtml, http://www.textilelinks.com/felt/, http://www.wildturkeyfeltmakers.com/FeltFabricGallery.html, http://www.peak.org/~spark/felt_artist_links.htm, http://www.allfiberarts.com/library/felt/blfelt.htm (this one more clearly shows the process) Sock class this afternoon.

Nice day!

GFs kidnapped me at 10 this morning. (Unfortunately there was an awful accident nearby so it took me a bit longer to hook up with them). After a bit of a traffic struggle, we were off to a wonderful lunch at Hopkins Inn. I had a Veal Piccata dish, and bought a couple bottles of local wine and a 2 bottle wine carry thing. Then we moved on to Litchfield center to window shop and had dessert and coffee at West Street Grill – yummy raspberry sherbet. They gave me a beautiful necklace as a gift too! The weather was beautiful, and it was a WONDERFUL day. Thanks, Ladies! Love You! In the mean time V called and when I told her about the plans for the house, she was a bit upset. I am dismantling her most recent childhood room. She was unhappy about me getting rid of the “new” carpets, changing the rooms around, changing the colors (NOT yellow), getting rid of her old furniture – what will she use when she moves back East permanently? Actually I thing she would rather her future niece have the furniture! She called back a few hours later, and after processing all of it, thinks it is a good idea. She knew that her bed needed replacing, and the daybed will be a good alternative for her room/guest room. I may not use the new craft/sewing/computer room as much as I would hope, but I think it will go a long way to organizing the house! She did say that I need to get going on replacing the kitchen floor – I know – but that is an even bigger job. I will get to it… BTW Vanessa my socks are not UGLY! Even though I was told they are Pippi Longstocking colors. We will see about tomorrow’s class, as S said that “we’re off to the Jersey shore as soon as I get done with you.” Will have to see how hard it is to get to the shop if the accident scene is not cleaned up. Phil and Justin need to work tomorrow anyway, so not much will get done in the house.

Craft Room Plan

Used HGTV Room Planner: Computer in front of window, sewing machine lower left, cutting table open (folds down), comfy chair, books and fabrics on shelves in closet, yarn in cubes on other half of closet. Reminder to buy clear plastic boxes. Many more boxes packed! Off to a day with GFs!

Heel Flap Done!

YES - the heel flap is done ! I am ready for Sunday's class.... Loving the striping... Great since I am off to a day with GFs tomorrow and to Fiber Felting class with S. on Saturday. Feeling the pressure of getting stuff into boxes... to get ready for the installation and for our vacation...

Digital Age?

How do I accumulate so much stuff??? Got up at 6 AM and tackled the file cabinet in Phil’s office space so that it can be moved into my new room. It really was freeing to get rid of so much of that junk that I had been keeping for years just in case my slimy scumbag SD (that's sperm donor for the not down with that!) came back after me in court again. Yes, those were the words used by one of my attorneys in one of the letters I just shredded. Not to mention the other vultures that came knocking when Joe died. I decided that since I hadn’t been in that cabinet in years it could all go. So 2 ½ hours later my new best friend Aurora quit on me with a stack of papers still to go. So I go from: This, to this and this: (and the trash bin is out on the street, full to the gills). I'm also on a search for a sock pattern that will use worsted weight yarn. I'm doing OK with the Sockotta and 5 #2 double pointed needles but it sure would go faster with heavier yarn and larger needles. I am determined to learn 2 circ or Magic Loop and have both these books. The sock in the middle of this picture is what I will hopefully end up with. (2 Circ Instuctions, photos) Found some patterns online: Joan's Socks , SweaterScapes, SockKnitter's Page, Sock Calculator and I need to look at the 2 sock books I bought. Little Knits has some beautiful yarn at good prices. I WILL get that heel flap done today!

Estimate

I am so excited I can't get over myself. I got an estimate (fully insured and licensed) to install select red oak with 3 coats of poly in 3 of the bedrooms, the hallway, all the closets and refinish the stairs for half of what I thought it would be! AND they can do it while we are away on vacation - YES! AND J talked with Tara and they are coming to take V's bedroom furniture (minus the dresser) and the med-lift chair! It really is a GREAT chair - oversized, heat and massage and lifts you to a standing position, and it can function as a recliner. It only arrived about a month before Joe died, but I am still glad we bought it. He got some use of it, and it lived as a reminder of him after that. Justin can haul stuff to the dump for me too!!! I WILL have that room by end of summer!

More Cleaning

Well I spent over 2 hours shredding yesterday. Mostly old tax returns. It really does feel good to be tackling this. More than 30 books are gone. Phil is still trying to convince me to just have the carpets cleaned and that they will be fine. Getting 2 estimates today should at least give me information to work with. The closets will get cleaned and painted, and the rooms painted for sure. I picked up paint chips also. It looks like I'm going with Benjamin Moore Light Yellow 2022-60 and Hancock Green HC-117. Managed to get up to the heel flap on sock # 2 though as well as a couple of rows on the Entrelac bag. Got delivery of 2 new books - yeah! Bags : A Knitter's Dozen by Elaine Rowley (Editor) for the French Market Bag, and The Knitters Book of Finishing Techniques by Nancie M. Wiseman just because! I have another estimate tomorrow and a nail appointment. On Friday GFs are taking me on a belated birthday day. Saturday from 10 - 2 is the fiber felting class at Wool Connection. Sunday is the last sock class, so painting may have to wait until Monday of next week. We leave the following Saturday for the Dominican Republic. I might be able to get 2 of the rooms and a closet done before that - we'll see...

Crochet Bag

Check out the $475 crocheted bag! It went for the asking price!

Progress

Well, making some progress of course I want everything done yesterday! But Vanessa's clothes are in drawers and I just need to box up all her scrap/photo albums. There are a few hanging things but they can just be transferred into the other room.Also gaining on the closet in Phil’s office, but some of that is more time consuming like shredding all the tax returns and trying to find new homes for all the books in there. I was able to get 2 of the 3 contractors to call me back yesterday, which is amazing. Both are coming out tomorrow to give me flooring estimates. Someone on the KAL suggested wire cubes from Target, but I can’t find them on their website, but Bed Bath and Beyond has some. Add some of these, and I think that would work for more storage in the closet. I think these are like the ones V has in her apartment. I have the huggable hangers in my closet, I may just add some of these bags for storage too. Made some progress on the socks and the Entrelac bag yesterday and had a yummy dinner on the table for hubby when he got home!

Slapstick Pie!

Check out the Slapstick Pie!

Designing a Sewing Center

Designing a Sewing Center - Tammy sent me this really helpful link from the Felted Bag KAL. Thank you!

Cleaning

Well this rearranging things is going to be interesting. I started this morning cleaning the stuff out of the closet in Phil's office so that he can reclaim some storage space. Vanessa's closet is going to be a snap as the clothes can just go into the dresser and all her scrapbooks can go in the closet in Justin's old room. There are only a few things in Justin's old closet. So the revised plan is to get those closets cleaned out and painted first. Also need to get the heel flap done on one sock, and get the second to that point too, before next Sunday's class.

Off to Sock Class

Well, we were only supposed to get 4" done on 1 sock, so I'm in good shape.

Whirlwind Kathy - house ideas

Last night I got to festering (as my kids say - "You know how Mom is"! Hmmmmm, the house needs to be redone. Just like me, I can never make things simple. So the plan is that I will start with three of the bedrooms:

1. Pack up Vanessa's things - her clothes can go from the closet to the dresser since I plan to keep that. Move her things into Justin's old room that is now being used as a sewing/yarn storage room. Vanessa room is the largest of the 3. I had initially planned to use Justin's old room, but duh, she only comes home a few times a year, and I could use the space.
2. Clean all my books and "stuff" out of the closet in the bedroom Phil uses as an office, so he can have storage space to clean up his stuff.
3. Call for estimates to replace all the carpeting with hard wood floors (I absolutely HATE carpeting!)
4. Paint Vanessa's old room - thinking yellowish - kinda a garden room theme - Benjamin Moore Butter.
5. Paint Justin's old room, which will now be Vanessa's room - thinking sageish - Benjamin Moore - Spring Valley
6. Repaint Phil's office - thinking keeping it the same - Atrium White (goodness there already seems to be a theme building!)
7. Repaint the upstairs hallway.
8. Replace Vanessa’s antique white French Provincial style double bed with a day bed?
9. Move my computer and the sewing machine from the kitchen (yes the kitchen, I've really liked having it here especially when I was working on my last Master's Degree) upstairs to my new sewing/yarn room. Also move the cutting table, swift, yarn winder into this room.

I am figuring that the master bed room will have to wait since that entails replacing the waterbed with new mattresses and a lot more chaos and confusion. Next year for that I am thinking. The family room was painted about a year ago, the kitchen maybe 3. Living room and dining room are fine.

I still need to get rid of the med-lift chair, and get J to come and get his books out of the basement. Also get rid of the freezer, Bennington Pine bedroom set (bed, triple dresser with hutch, dresser, and oak entertainment unit that are in the basement). The TV in V's room needs to go too, as well as the hutch for her dresser and the canopy for the bed.

It sound like the house is in worse shape than it really is as I read this, but I feel better now that I at least have a plan. Haven't painted these rooms in 10 years since I bought the house, and actually they are in good shape; just needs to be freshened up a bit. Gee, can I get all this done in the next 5 weeks before school starts? Make that 4 since we leave for a week in the Dominican Republic.

Now to get those socks ready for class this afternoon....

AND this is so cute! The dancing grannies are adorable...

Need to get going

J just called and in the middle of putting a new kitchen floor in he broke a pipe, so Phil is off to help him repair it. I'm sitting here playing with this instead of working on those socks!

Bad Blogger, First Socks and Entrelac

Hmmmmmmm, guess I'm a BAD Blogger. Definitely one of those people who is always in search of learning something new, so sometimes the "old" gets left behind. I do enjoy cruising though other's blogs though. There are so many sources, I should probably check a bunch of them out to see which appeals to me more. This knitting thing is new to me, since December of last year. Only updated yesterday because of the SP from the Felted Bag KAL. This morning I perused The Knitting Doctor's Blog - fun! Haven't posted in so long that I think I'll get some pics up. I need to get to the Post Office today to get the 4 bags out to SF CA for Vanessa's nursing "mom" at work. Yesterday was a lazy day knitwise, but I did have a great lunch at Max a Mia with a GF. Had CAVATAPPI SPAGLIATI Shrimp, calamata olives, sundried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, garlic, pesto, Grana Parmigiano. Yummo! Today I am going to tackle the beginning of the second sock of my first pair. I need to get 4 or more inches done on the cuff before class on Sunday. Using the "Simply Splendid Socks!" pattern by Lucy Neatby and Plymouth Sockotta Yarn (Fiber Content: 45% cotton 40% super wash wool 15% nylon, Cleaning: machine wash, tumble dry, Gauge: 7 sts = 1" on #2 needles, (Good God - #2!) Yardage: 414 yards, Price: $9.00). Color: 617 Bought a set of Bates #2 DPNs since the #2 Brittany I brought were too much of a struggle. I discovered that I knit a lot more tightly than the others in my class (AND that I have the skinniest ankles!). Learned the Twisted German Cast On Lucy Neatby's Grafting Method Also making some progress on the Entrelac Bag. Here is the first sample swatch I did during class with Ann Feitelson at The Wool Connection July 16th. The swatch was made with #9 circs as suggested, with a and a 3-st 6 row pattern. For the purse since I knit so tightly and want larger rectangles I am using the 6 st 12 row pattern and US # 11 needles):

Ended up with: Lamb's Pride M-05 Onyx Lamb's Pride M- 145 Spice LP M124 Persian Peacock Tahki Donegal Tweed (100% wool; 183 yd [167 m]/100 g): #866 gray tweed,100% Pure New WoolGauge: 8/4.5 sts10/100g / 183 yds

Secret Pal - Felted Bag KAL

Secret Pal Questionnaire KAL 1. List your 3 favorite colors burgundys, blacks, blues 2. List colors you don't care for? Really bright colors, browns 3. List a paperpack novel you would like to read (author and title): The Shop On Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber 4. Name some yarns on your wish list? Wool of the Andes – 3 each of Hyacinth, Cherry Blossom, Grass and Cloud 5. It might be fun to send food or other products from your home state or country to your pal or receive them. Do you have any dietary restrictions, i.e. diabetic, lactose intolerant etc. no 6. List your favorite scent. Do you like lotion? Yes, hand lotion Like most, as long as not too strong 7. List any knitting supplies you might like? Needle Felting Starter Kit, fibers for felting 8. Name an issue of a knitting magazine you would like to receive. XXXXXXX 9. Are you looking for unusual or decorative buttons for any of your felted bags? Color? Purple 10. Is there a knitting pattern you would like ? (price range $4-$6) – PackySac, Daybag, Constant Companion or Oregon Tote from KnitKit 11. Would you like some beaded stitch markers? No, thank you, have some but they tend to catch in my work 12. I am at a loss for further questions...why don't you make somesuggestions of little goodies you like? Folk Bags : 30 Knitting Patterns and Tales from Around the World (Folk Knitting series) by Vicki Square The Knitter's Handy Guide to Yarn Requirements Stitch Keepers; 6 inch Size 3-5 Line Magnifier Sock Yarn - I am making my first pair of socks Note Cards Coffee - not froo-froo though Interesting and Local Wines - red Dyable Yarn and Kool-Aid - haven't done this yet! Sets of 5 Aluminum double-pointed needles - sizes 3, 4, 5, or 6

San Francisco bound bags!

Here are the 4 Marsupial Bags from Stitch 'N Bitch going to CA:

This is the first one that I made, for Vanessa, seen upside down blocking:

Scrubs for Vanessa

Made the red and white one yesterday and the blue and red one today. They'll go off in the box with the CA bound bags. Too cute! Thought it might be a conversation started with co-workers and patients and a little bit of the East.

Soft Shell Crabs

Lunch with MJ, B and C. I LOVE soft-shell crabs! Phil says "how can anyone eat for that long?"

Northampton

Spent a nice day with friends in Northampton, MA (Noho). Walked around checking out the town and then had lunch at Northampton Brewery. I had Basil's Rathbone - sliced tomoatoes, roasted red peppers, red onions, fresh basil, provolone cheese and garlic mayonaisses, baked on French baguette. Phil had Philly (WBG) cheese steak - thinly sliced grilled sirloin, with sauteed mushrooms, peppers and onions, topped with hot melted cheese, served on a hoagie roll. I was more impressed with mine than he was. Fun place to lunch! Did poke into Northampton Wools, but didn't see the wedding dress ;) Couldn't convince them to side-track to Webs :(