I don't like to do housework...yeah I know....you've heard this one before. But I really don't like to do it. There is nothing creative in the whole picking up, vacuuming, laundry, washing thing. No matter how I try to convince myself that this is what I should be doing, something more interesting comes along.
HOWEVER.......when you are trying to avoid knitting on a certain tank top, your brain goes a little screwy. It was a snow day and the kids were home. This always means if I sat down to work on something I wanted to knit, world war three would have started. Since I'm all about world peace (especially in my own home), I had to find something to do.
DH and I sit in very comfy chairs to watch TV. Needless to say, there is a generous amount of knitting surrounding the area. My brain is screwy, I'm trying to avoid a tank top and avoid having to deal with crisis negotitations, so what do I do? Sigh...I clean.
Now before you think that I've lost my marbles, I am only tidying up my TV Knitting area. (Other knitting areas will come later) In this flurry of action, I managed to get a grocery bag of yarn together to be given away, throw out a few things plus I found a WIP. I had started these socks about 3 1/2 years ago and finished all but the toe of the second sock. They were supposed to be for DD#1 but ended up being too small.
I should title this post....why I had more than one kid.
I tried the first sock on DD#2 and they fit...more importantly...she likes them. I finished the second sock and she is wearing them to school today.
UPDATE
We did get the water back on after 30 hours. I have never enjoyed a shower so much in my life. DH says that next time it won't take as long because he now knows what he is doing.This by the way, is a very scary thought. And Kristen....you crack me up!!!!
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
Water....the very source of life!!!! But in order to have it, I need three things as I live in the country!!!
- A well....check
- Electricity......check
- A working pump......now here comes my sob story
Our pump started making wierd noises, so on Sunday DH took it upon himself to "FIX" it. So without filling sinks, filling the tub, or even a few stock pots, he took the thing apart. This started at 2 pm in the afternoon. It is now 26 hours later, DH has gone to Ottawa to get a part. He promised me that the water would be back on by sometime tonight.
Do you understand what I am going through? I turn on a tap....no water. This means no showers or even flushing the toilet. People...I am reduced to melting snow to flush because I don't want either of my washrooms to smell like an Ontario Provincial Park outhouse. This is desperation! I am in such need of some chocolate right about now.
When I think that I could sink no lower...I wonder what will happen if DH can't get the pump working by tomorrow....I have to go to work!!!!
I other news, I've put the tank aside for a few days. It mocks me mercilessly. I do my best to ignore it as I work on a cardi with Cleckheaton country silk. I am so looking forward to adding the cardi to my wardrobe that I will suffer through the taunts of the tank and the occasional phone call from the client.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
I was so careful. I swatched, I measured, I counted. It was perfect. It was acurate. Well at least, it should have been. Stupid Tank top!
Let's rewind at bit. Remember this knitting commission? It is the last one on the list and I have until the end of Feburary to finished it. Being the project floosy that I am, if I was making it for myself, it would have gone to the deepest, darkest recesses of my project bag long ago. But no...someone actually wants this. She picked the yarn and the colour....and is paying me to knit this.
Here's the problem....Thinking that I'm master of the numbers game, I cast on. I knit, knit and continue to knit. I knit the front of this tank top. I complete the first shoulder strap, duplicating the shaping of the store bought tank exactly. I'm brilliant, I'm a genious, I am a knitting goddess.
I bind off the neck line and head on down to the other strap. I lie my creation down on top of this store bought tank when I realize that I am an idiot.
What I have just about finished knitting, is too large. #$%#^^%&% Swatch. The stupid thing lied to me. It looked me straight in the face and lied to me.
I give up.....grrrr...the ONLY thing that is saving the life of this tank is the fact that it is not mine. The nearly finished front is frogged and I start again. This thing is now being knit in the round and I'm comparing my creation with the original every step of the way.
It's come down to a battle of wills....and I am not about to be beaten by a stupid tank top in the middle of winter. I may lose a few brain cells but I will not be beaten.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
Last Sunday the Ottawa Valley got dumped on.....by a lot of snow that is. Throughout the area, we got between 37-50 cm. That's 14.8- 20 inches for those of you not metrically inclined. Insane is what I call it. I mean really people....what are we suppose to do with all this snow? Here is view from my back door during the storm. The blurriness, this time, cannot be blamed on my camera or photographic skills. The fuzzy look is from the continual curtain of snow falling.
This is my front deck. It's kinda sad that we haven't removed the snow from the last massive snowstorm we had 2 weeks ago. I've been busy knitting...not sure what DH's excuse is. I decided to stretch my legs and do a bit of shoveling. and discovered at it's highest point, the snow on my deck is up to my mid thigh.
And that is just wrong!!!! Very Wrong!!!
The snow is still powdery so I quickly make progress. I got rid of about 1/5 of the snow.....just enough to look impressive but not enough to make DH think that I'll do the whole job myself. So as I am putting in all this effort, working up a sweat, engaging in this backbreaking work...what is my dog doing??????
She is just standing there....watching me. That dog is is a born supervisor, I think that she gets it from the kids.
I've finished the green sweater. I didn't take a picture of it as I couldn't wait to get it out the door. I really need to knit something for me. Wahhhhh, I can't! I've got two more projects that I've been hired to do. Enough of my pity party.....
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
I'm making good time on Salinas (the green sweater) so I decided to work on another of my commission pieces. I have to turn this.....
into this....
There was counting and math involved. There will be swatching and measuring and all that fun stuff. She found the tank top at an ooh lah lah kind of store and has lived in it for the past few years. She wants something to replace it as the top is getting worn.
I received a call from the phone tag client and I met up with her today. The guy who wants the fisherman's sweater will have to wait until the yarn is ordered, comes in, is paid for before I can start.
I'll try to answer a few questions that I've been getting. First of all, there will be a burning of the midnight oil and now when you see me, I will always have needles in my hands. As for the commissions themselves, then tend to fall on my lap. There will be a bag of yarn and pattern waiting for me when I get to work or someone will call (or come in) asking if there is someone who knits for other people. I either get volunteered or offer my services. I have yet to come across a pattern that I really didn't want to knit. If I did, I suppose that I would just ask for an amount so outrageous, the client would say no thanks.
I have yet to come up with a formula for how much to charge. I can only estimate how long it will take me to knit the garment. I know that I'll probably end up with slave wages if an hourly rate is calculated when I'm finished. So far, however, I've been content with what I've gotten when the project was finished. Last year, I knit a Philosopher's sweater for a client. About three weeks after delivering the finished item, I received a call from the client. She had me knit the sweater for her mom and called to thank me once again and to tell me that her mom has worn the sweater and it has received many compliments. Needless to say, that call made my day.
I have encountered three scenarios in knitting for others. 1) I am to knit the item to the measurements found in the pattern, 2) The clients sends me the necessary measurements or 3)The client comes in and I get the necessary numbers.
Hope that answers some questions.
Until next time
Yours in Yarn,
The Fibreholic
