It was another early Christmas present, but well worth it. Friday night DH took me to see The Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Words cannot describe the mind blowing experience of seeing this group in person.
The first half of the show was one of their Christmas stories and the second half was less structured with songs from other albums. I still can't believe that the ticket price was as low as it was. Last year TSO played 2 Canadian dates, this year it is 5. They had not been to Ottawa before and with any luck they'll be back again.
Why did I like the show????
Was it the the hypnotic voice of the narrator???.....Yes
Was it the light show???....Yes
Was it the pyrotechnics???....Yes
Was it the laser light show???...Yes
Was it the songs and the various vocalists???...Yes
Was it the music???...Yes
Was it how they put everything together for a performance that blew my socks off???....YES!!!
DH let it slip that I'll be seeing a couple of their CDs in my stocking this year.
In other news...
I finished The Friday Night Knitting Club by sneaking off every now and then to read a chapter or two before I was discovered missing.
I was able to finished the boy's quilt on time by burning some midnight oil. And yes, it is another double sided quilt.
So now it's back to the grindstone with my knitting needles.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
It looks like Old Man Winter is finally here. This is the scene as I look outside of my garage. You can see my driveway, the crab apple tree on the right and our wooded area on the left.
Problem with this photo is what it doesn't show you. It doesn't show you the ice pellets coming down making the roads very slippery. So slippery, the buses were cancelled today for our area and this causes many problems.
Problems
1) Since the buses aren't running because of bad weather the kids are home today.
2) I picked up a copy of The Friday Night Knitting Club and was planning to read it today. I can't, because since the kids are home today, I can't seem to find a quite place in the house to read. I move to one room and they follow me there only to start an argument (this is a never ending cycle)
3) Since the kids are not being constantly occupied by school activities they assume there is nothing to do, so in comes the whining and complaining. I won't let them watch TV all day, so it seems I've taken away their only source of entertainment
4) The kids need mittens. They younger ones at least as the teen is too cool for warm hands. After digging in the winter box, I find all kinds of scarves and hats. I also find one pair of pink mittens and 6 single mittens. So in order for my kids not to get teased about wearing mismatched mittens I must, at great sacrifice, knit mittens. Did I already mention I hate knitting mittens????
5) Tomorrow is a PD day so there's no school tomorrow. This makes it a 4 day weekend for them....and for me!
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
I was reading Georgie's blog and she has adopted the No Guilt Stash Manifesto. All I can say is good for her!!!!! Go George!!! Go George!!! Go George!!!
I don't feel in the least bit guilty about my stash, in fact I relish in it. But as I have promised two baby quilts for a charity auction I am feeling in a quilty mood. I'm also feeling a wee bit pressured as the auction date has been moved up to this weekend and I still have one to do. I just hope that my kids weren't planning on any parental time with me this week (or laundry).
Because I like a challenge, (or the fact that I'm slightly insane) I make my quilts (in all sizes) double sided. For example these are both sides of the first quilt which is suitable for a girl. The next one will have a boy's theme and colours.
In response to some emails and comments:
DH is a fair weather BBQer. So any chance of him cooking on the grill in the winter will be impossible. I'd have a better chance of getting him to dust the top of the piano. As for me, it's an unwritten rule in the house about who rules the grill. I can handle it as it just means I plan for many BBQ meals in the Spring to Fall to get out of cooking supper.
The Challenge sweater was delivered last night. The client really liked it and it fit her perfectly.
Seven Things Update
I haven't forgotten or quit but I think that after the holidays, I'll be able to get back into the swing of things.
Last week
IN
an extra water bottle for the bunnies (one just isn't enough for Isolde and the babies)
OUT
12 books (to be sent to soldiers in Afghanistan)
1 roll of door prize tickets (given to my DD cadet unit)
Until next time
Yours in Yarn
The Fibreholic
Or I could title this post...One Down and Two to Go!
Last night I finished The Challenge with a week to spare. Yeah for me! I celebrated last night by working on something non-commission related. It was wonderful. (snicker) Actually what I worked on was a quilt for a charity auction and a pair of socks for my sister for Christmas and these are both deadline pieces. So basically I just traded one kind of commitment stress for another.
The green sweater is well on it's way and the client wants it by Christmas. No problem. The tank top is at the end of the queue.
Blocking is a wonderful thing. Not only does it produce a wow factor with lace, it hides your mistakes and transforms your work into something beautiful. If you are ever wondering if you should block a sweater, look at this.
What a difference...n'est pas????? (note to self....pictures are better when taken in natural light.....but you get the idea)
Now that this sweater is finished, it's back to the grindstone. At least I've got some nice baby alpaca to fondle when the work load gets to me.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
I don't consider myself as a lucky person as I usually don't win anything. But yesterday was an exception.
Last August we took the kids to a local restaurant for supper. The restaurant isn't much to speak of in the way of frills, but it does have good basic food at good prices. Plus it has air which I don't, and on a stinky hot day, is a very good thing. When our meal was almost finished, DH and I were asked to fill in a questionnaire. These were then put into a draw. Yesterday, I got a call telling me that I won. (And yes if you look very closely, you can see a ball of yarn in my pantry...what's your point???)
This is what the gift basket contained.
Not a bad haul for the 60 seconds it took me to fill out the form. But do I think that it's kinda weird to win items for a BBQ, in mid November, when today the temperature went to zero degrees and we had flurries? Oh yes, it feels weird. But I'm ready for next year!
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
DH: We need more dishcloths.
I just stare at him.
DH: You could knit more, if you have the time.
I then give him The Look!
DH: Or we could just buy some.
Now here I am trying to keep up (but I am failing) with the seven thing challenge. Should I just buy the dishcloths or should I make them? Well it turns out that about 10 years ago I bought an obscene amount of cotton on cones that is still in my stash. So I pull out my crochet hook and go to work. It does feel good to use up stash for something we need that will get used straight away.
There is no way that I'm knitting these things, I've got too much on the go. Now considering what I charge to knit for others, I was trying to come up with a price for these dishcloths. While he appreciates the dishcloths, he is not going to pay me $10 for each one I make.
Bunny Update
I was really going to try to go a whole week without a picture of the babies. But today I could not help myself. They are 4 weeks and are starting to eat solid food. I caught Isolde and the kids at luch time and had to show them off.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
I was looking forward to going out with DH to celebrate his birthday. We planned to check out a restaurant that we had never visited then head to a movie. Yeah I know, wild and crazy time.
It was a school night so we didn't need to go overboard since both of us get up at zero dark and stupid during the week.
We decided to try Montana's Cookhouse. (For those of you in the Ottawa area it's the one in South Keys) It's a restaurant with a "home home on the range" feel. I almost expected a group of ranch hands to show up for some chow. When you get to your table you find it covered with a sheet of brown paper. We weren't the only other adults, in the place, to take advantage of the crayons provided, at each table, to colour.
Everything was fine, until our food arrived....that's when the evening started to go downhill. The waitress brought us our orders and left. We sat there, looked at each other and commented how nice it would be to have napkins and cutlery with our food. The description of my meal, in the menu, didn't quite line up with what I received either. Also, if I want pasta that tastes like it came from a box with powdered sauce, I'll stay home and make it myself.
We eventually got our cutlery and napkins, I sent my meal back, things were said by a staff member and I just shook my head in disbelief.
DH : That was patronizing!
He is clearly not impressed at this point.
We finish our meal and it is now time for dessert. But wait.....another server comes rushing over to our table and, without a word, grabs our dessert menu from our table and brings it over to customers on the other side of the room.
That's it!!! I've had it!!! All I want to do is leave that place...ASAP!!!
Normally, I'd just go to the manager, complain about the service and give him/her a chance to make it right. Hard to do when he was the rudest staff member we had to deal with that night.
Montana's has a website set up for feedback where we will be entered into a draw. I don't think that we will win the $1000 weekly draw, with my comments. But at this point, I don't care!
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
We interrupt what seems to be a blog full of bunnies with some actual knitting.
- The Client wants me to do a cardi with simple moss stitch, knit in the stitch below and a very basic cable. Not a problem, I could probably knit this thing in my sleep.
- The Client wants me to re knit this item. She has frogged it and rolled the wool into balls. No problem here either. I wind it into skeins, wash, blah blah blah and the wool is ready to go.
- The Client hands me the pattern. It isn't written in English. Not a big problem, I've spent the last 18 months translating patterns into English.
- The Client is leaving the country at the end of the month and would like to wear the cardi a couple of times before she goes. Not a huge problem. If I don't knit anything of mine, I should have it done in plenty of time.
- The Client has me knitting with a wool that no longer exists. The company that made the wool also no longer exists. So if I run out.....There would be a MAJOR problem.
Yes I know, it's a lousy picture. But personally, I think it it belongs in the frog pond.
Date of Note
Today is DH's birthday. He gets older and I remain 29...how do I manage that?????
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
For those of you who, like myself, have dial up, I'm including a photo as well as a video. They are now 3 weeks which means I'll have to give them up in 5 weeks.
Sigh...Occasionally I do stupid things. For example, take on a commission that requires real speed. I have a hard and fast deadline as the client is leaving the country in a few weeks. I'm really beginning to hate this sweater.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
I am failing miserably at this seven things challenge. On one hand I haven't had the opportunity to get rid of things but on the other hand, in the last two weeks, I've only purchased one thing.
I've been so busy knitting for other people...it's crazy. But one thing that I have done, for which I am quite pleased, is my shake it all about item.
Two pairs of men's jeans. One with the knees torn out so badly you wonder what is keeping the bottom half of the leg attached to the rest of the jeans. These were turned into cutoffs for next summer. The second pair, covered in paint, was worn in the crotch area and beginning to be obscene. So what do I do? Take a pant leg from one pair and cut it to size and a pocket from the other pair and turn it into a small project bag. Using bias tape and Velcro, Ihad in my sewing stash, I came up with something quite usable.
And just look what's inside......
Yes, I've casted on another sock........so what's your point??? I know that I'm a weak woman. I just can't help myself.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
