Purling Oaks

Cold turkey

I was out of town (I forgot, I live in the country!)away from home for a night and decided to leave my laptop at home. I certainly have a habit of spending a lot of time reading blogs and surfing in general. My self-imposed time-out was good. I didn't get the shakes though I did miss the weblogs. I did start reading Kim Harrison's A Fistful of Charms which is the fourth in the Rachel Morgan series. Interesting and definitely the distraction I needed from everyday cares. I can sink into a book of fiction and enter a time-warp where I will look up and find I've been reading two hours without noticing anything but the story. It is a great way to escape but also a "good" way of not getting enough sleep, not doing housework, chores, and so on. Yes, i was awake past midnight last night. Wayyyy past my regular turn-off-the-light time.

So, I'm going to catch up with my list of weblogs and maybe submerge myself into the last portion of my paperback. Sweet dreams and I hope the Pixies are on your side.

New cast-on success

Here it is, Sunday night. It seemed like a pretty short weekend especially since DH and I were working in different locations last week and the situation will be the same this week. Today, we ran errands together--kind of like a date (!) since we had coffee and a snack at Borders--to increase our togetherness ratio to compensate a bit for the time apart during the week(s). Monday, I'll be doing a lot of airport and flying time but still will sleep in my own bed (hopefully) on Monday night. I'm in my own bed tonight, too. Don't ask. I'm just trying to think of all the knitting time I'll have. I'm bringing the Sunrise socks but I have another project that will make the trip with me........

In preparation for Monday, I cast on for Bonnie Marie Burns' Voodoo Wrist Warmers . I tried a new way of casting on for circular knitting as described by Techknitter.


















I followed Techknitter's directions including using the loop for the first cast-on stitch. It worked really well. Really well. Here is the result after a few rounds of following the pattern.

Thanks, Techknitter!

Today was really dreary weather-wise but yesterday was nice and sunny. White Dot found a way to relax in some morning sun on Saturday. This is not an action shot--he was actually hanging off the stool like that for quite a while.

Lentils, beer mug socks, and Vicki!

Gosh, it seems like the weekend came and went in a flash! Saturday was laundry, chores, and soup making. I made lentil soup with just a little smoked ham for taste and NO carrots, since my dad will be one of the end consumers. (He says he won't eat carrots anymore. It's a mystery to me but..oh well, no carrots.) I think the final product tasted great and lentils are such an easy soup ingredient.

Today, I drove up to visit with my folks and to bring them the lentil soup and some black turtle bean soup. My mom is taking up sock knitting again after a break of a few decades. She was looking through her box of knitting supplies and found this old pattern she once made for her brother in college in the early '50s.
Beer Mug Socks with Mohair Foam

After visiting with Mom and Dad, I drove over to Appleton and met Vicki at a nice local coffee shop!! Now, how cool is that?!! She brought her Williamsro sweater for my viewing. It's nice in a photo but it is great in person. The cabling and other stitches are really interesting and the Cash Iroha washes up much softer than I would have anticipated compared to the "raw" yarn in the skein. Now I want to make that sweater more than ever! Thanks, Vicki!! I really enjoyed meeting Vicki, she's easy to talk with and we covered quite a range of topics in our two hours or so at the coffee shop. Yes, I was nervous for fear I would be tongue-tied or say stupid stuff. I think I got through without embarrassing myself. Well, at least that I noticed. *grin*