Kiyowara

I'm baaack!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I last posted.  Life has been positively insane.  Purlescence just grows and grows, and with it more and more fabulous people come into my life.  So much has happened in the last few months! 

On the FO front, I have completed several pairs of socks, several hats, a coat, several tanks and sweaters for the shop (ribby pully, chic kami, Vogue lace cardigan, catalina blouse, bamboozle tank, something else I can't remember), a man's vest for Yarn Place, several pairs of fingerless gloves, and I think I'm forgetting something in there.  OH, and I finished up my thirty-ninth year and turned forty!  I thought that was a pretty big accomplishment.

In the WIP department, I am spinning up the rest of the blue noil super wash (it's in the plying faze); I have Rosella Plumes from Trenway also in the plying faze; I have started spinning beautiful black Handspinner's Dream alpaca from Alpaca with a Twist at the shop, which I am going to ply with some fun black, purple, and orange Nylon Firestar; I have a faroese shawl on the needles for a friend (it's been in the works for a while now, but it only just became apparent to me who the recipient must be!); a cabled pullover in Fable; the second sock in Blue Moon Fiber Arts Lightweight Socks that Rock in Cockamamie color; my second Ribby Pulli (ribbed, scoop neck, with hood alteration); a chenille with metallic drop shoulder sweater; a new needle case design (mostly finished, awaiting second felting); Jitterbug vest from Colinette; I desperately need to do a full inventory of pieces as I think there are more on the needles than I have listed here!

In the wings are a whole bunch of projects. To name just a few: child's pullover in Encore Colorspun, Neckdown summer cardigan in Colorspun for my mother, more socks, Breast Cancer Awareness hat design in Lorna's Laces Flamingo Stripe, Wrapped in Comfort shawl in Alpaca with a Twist Fino and RYC Kidsilk Night, Four Seasons Vest from Classic Elite, Neckdown V Neck pullover in Mountain Colours Weaver's Wool and Cascade Yarns 220, Moebius dress in cashmere/rayon blend, more socks, a Clapotis in Blue Heron Rayon Metallic, and several more that I can't think of right now.

Oh, and did I mention more socks?  I realized about a month ago that I only had 3 pairs of handknit socks, and one of those was worn out!  (Yes, Regia does eventually become too crispy to wear after 7 or 8 years of steady wearing!)  I have this great bin of sock yarn, just waiting to become beautiful sockies for my footsies.  Ah, seamless socks, my feet can't wait! 

Oh, I did finish up my first pair of Trekking socks.  Yeah, I know, I'm like the last person on the planet to try out Trekking.  Check them out at the shop; we got in this fabulous Halloween-like colorway and there are two skeins left.  As soon as the last two skeins are purchased I can wear my socks!  Come on folks, help me out here, please?  I love them sockies and I can't wait to wear them!  We did discover that socks for my short little feet fit our manikin feet very nicely.  I guess there has to be some advantage to having small feet!

Anyhow, I hope everyone's knitting is going well.  Let me know how your WIPs are doing!

random thoughts

I've had a couple of days mostly off after Stitches.  I finished the Shark's beanie in the wonderful sample yarn we received from Claudia Handpainted Yarn.  Claudia, you are totally fantastic!

I am mostly finished with the prototype of the poncho pattern I have been belatedly working on.  Vivienne, you'll be happy to know that the pattern should be published by the end of the week. :)  I am also half way through with the first of the Hippy Crunchy socks.  They should also be finished by the end of the week.  I need to make a list of all the projects I have going and prioritize them into a coherent whole.  That will also probably happen this week, along with various boring accounting functions. ;) 

I'm very happy that Stitches is over, though it went very well for us.  I'll take pictures of my purchases and upload them tomorrow for your perusal.  I have the most lucious silk from Lisa Souza, some wonderful mohair from Nebo Rock Textiles, and some great new patterns (Thanks, Cookie!). I can't wait to dig into the new Blue Moon Fiber that we brought home with us.  It should be an exciting week!

11 hour days and still ticking

So, it says something that I had an 11 hour day today and I'm still going, at least a little.  It's good to be the King, er, I mean it's good to own your own business! 

On the other hand, I am in fact tired, and headed for tea and sleep.  Only 140 more rows to go on the tunic back (today was a slow knitting day).

Gratitude

This last week has been so incredibly trying, and I want to take a moment to thank the folks who helped me through it.  The emotional roller coaster of losing my Leo, followed by trying to be up enough for the store opening, has pretty much wiped me out.  If it hadn't been for all you wonderful folks who supported me and my family through I don't know what we would have done.  Please, consider yourself heartily hugged by me, and know that I have the deepest gratitude for your presence in my life.

Brave Leo

Stoic, full of the biggest heart possible, our Leo is gone.  His legs simply wouldn't hold him up any more, and we had to let him go.  My heart is broken.  My eyes are so swollen I cannot see.  I can still feel the soft fur of his neck, see his beautiful brown eyes looking up at me.  For a moment, my life stops.

Evening Musings

I'm tired and so easily distracted.  I feel like I'm climbing a long hill without getting anywhere.  I know we're almost there at Purlescence, but this last piece seems so slow.  Tomorrow my family will be there to help me get this done, and then we're going to help our friend Nathania celebrate the big 35.  I'm planning to go ahead and walk/run the San Jose Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon on Sunday morning, but we'll see.  At least I will walk the first loop, which ends almost at my house: about 5 miles.

Pain, pain, pain!

Well, the right elbow and left wrist are definitely down for the count.  My wonderful massage therapist did his best to rescue them, but they need some rest.  I am really unhappy about this as it means I am off the painting and hauling committees for Purlescence.  Believe it or not, I like do all that stuff, and I'm really cranky about this situation. 

However, I did discover a funny little thing along the way: being ambidextrous does not mean you do things the same way with both hands.  Apparently, I use elbow movement to paint with my right hand, while I use wrist movement to paint with my left hand.  Very interesting, but no less painful.  I'm running a interesting line between enough naproxen to alleviate the inflamation, but a low enough dose to keep from flaring up my asthma.

Ouch!

My elbows and wrist are in pain from all the painting getting the new store ready.  I'm afraid that my ability to paint is gone, and I'm being cautious about overknitting for a few days.  I'm just glad that we're nearly done with the painting part!  Come by and check out the progress at the blog if you get a chance.

Alas

I guess I will never be an official knit blogger: I'm allergic to cats.  It's a shame really, because I do like them, but I am really allergic to them.  I do have a rather large dog, whom I love a lot.  I'll have to dig around for a picture of him to post here.

Sleeping Beauty

Rest is a wonderful thing.  I got more sleep last night than I have in a single night in several weeks.  I have to admit that I do feel better for it.  So, I'm just about ready to head back into Purlescence and pick up the paintbrushes again!  Oh, but first I'll stop by the spa and schedule the massage that Chloe gave me for my birthday.  Thank you, Chloe! 

I did manage to get some knitting done on the poncho yesterday, but only a very, very small amount. I really should finish it and submit the pattern today.  I really like the piece myself, so it'll be a nice piece to see out in the world.