because I had to

Am I ready for a week with family?  Where I will get very little done and Christmas and a birthday will be celebrated?  No.  I will be working on presents into January.  They just get mailed late.

This present had to be done today.  It does not look like much.  It is a hat I made with yarn I spun.  It is going to get wrapped and be gifted with a box of cookies.  It will be gifted either tomorrow morning or Saturday morning.

Why did it have to be done?  I walk every morning.  Almost five miles.  I look at the sky.  I try to breathe.  I check out the bayou.  I pick up trash every morning and put it in the bins along the path.

And I say good morning to the homeless man who lives under one of the underpasses.  That his spot.  It was his spot this summer.  It was his spot during Harvey and it was covered with water.  I do try to tell him what the weather will be.  He has offered me his umbrella when I got caught in the rain.  Just human. 

Being human, I am taking him a Christmas gift.  A hat and cookies.  Not a lot.  Something he can share.  Some small gesture to let him know I see him every morning.  I am a little worried about him.  He has been moving slowly out of his spot the last couple of mornings.  I am worried he may not be feeling well.  I know too many people who have homes who are sick right now.  There is not much I can do but I can show him that someone knows he is alive.

I will not be in this space until the New Year.  Lots of family starting soon.  I hope everyone who shares this space with me have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

downsizing

I made this lovely sweater for myself from yarn that I had spun.  It was thick and cuddly and huge on me.  I had to roll the sleeves up three times so that they would not drag in everything.  And the sweater was heavy.  It made my body tired to wear it.  It is one of those things I have noticed with my arthritis, clothes that are too heavy are not my friends.  

I have learned that any pattern that says boyfriend sweater is not for me.  It is too much sweater for my body and life.  No matter if I like it or not!  I still have a few boyfriend sweaters that I would love to make and know better!

I got out my sewing machine and ran some lines of stitches.  I got out my scissors and cut.  I unraveled the collar.  I unraveled every thing I cut off and saved the yarn. 

Then I started finishing all the edges and putting a new collar on it.  I had to redo the button holes and I even found buttons to work this time.  I put them on.

I now have a sweater I can wear.  It is still on the bulky side.  I was wandering around my parents with it on over another sweater when I was so tired my body hurt.  I needed the comfort.  But it is now something I hope to wear more then twice a year.  I might be able too.  I do like it much better now.  I can envision it over my new overalls.  

I am so ready for autumn

While I was making the last quilt, I bought myself some black and chocolate brown linen.

I put the brown linen together in a sheath dress in very little time.  It has become my go to dress around the house.

Dark colours.  Solids.  It is what I want to wear right now.  Like I said, I know it will change but right now it makes me happy.

After this week, black may be the only colour.  My cold is still not better.  And I have not had enough time on my sewing machine to let me feel sane.  The spinning wheel yes, not the sewing machine.  I am making yarn for a shawl I am working on.  It should be very pretty.

rain

Working during the week and traveling every weekend for six weeks has finally caught up with.  Since  my hours at work were cut, I can consistently travel which I have been doing.  Time to do that type of thing has been one of those bits I have wanted more of.  But it does mean that the rest of life can get away from you.

This was the first weekend, since my weekends start on Friday, that I have woken up in my own bed with no place to rush off to.  It felt so strange.  But then there were just tasks that needed to take place that make living better.  I now have empirical proof, after working on the monthly books, that if I do not eat out I can travel and still put moneys away for a rainy day or a new project.  That is just a pretty lovely thing to know!

After I waded through more then a month of financial papers, due to have my life strewn over half the country, I got to sit down at my spinning wheel with Rain.  Rain is the name of the male sheep whose fleece I am spinning.  My hands were deeply aching today but I was able to spend about an hour working with the fiber.  I got a half a spindle spun.

I also got a sweater started.  I now it is only a couple rows but this couple rows came after multiple experiments for starting the sweater.  I had a hard time deciding what I wanted or how big it should be.  There still may be a mock turtleneck to be added but I decided to wait and see.  I am hoping to have something I can tramp through the woods in or wear on my walks under a waterproof.  

I need to walk more.  My joints and muscles are saying that.  Having two arthritis conditions does make life interesting.  My energy has been very low this week and I find it has been hard to go for walks.  I just may need a few more days of rest and walking slower.  I can do that!  Take more time at my spinning wheel.

how do I start making a sweater?

I have been coughing so hard that the muscles over the left sides of my ribs hurt.  It is an old injury that I aggravated while I was taking care of a very sick Koda Bear in Sitka.  I thought I was doing better but I have no stamina.  And the slightest cough hurts.  It is hard to feel creative but it is easy to sit and spin.

I am working with some lovely Corredale fiber that I have cleaned and carded.  It is not as soft as I might like but it has the most gorgeous chocolate color.  And I learn more every time I spin and card.  I put on a strange audiobook that was getting good reviews but I returned to the library almost immediately.  Much too odd for me.  Especially with a head that is not working at full potential.

After I got the first bobbin full, I started on a sweater that I have been thinking about since I saw it in the Interweave Crochet last winter.  It reminds me of  J Crew sweater I wore out about twenty years ago.  It does get me a new one but I am having such a problem concentrating on the pattern that it may take until next fall to finish it!  

Yes, my head is not in the game either.  The yarn currently varies a lot in width which is why that bit looks like it is not straight.  It is the same number of stitches but I hope blocking will really help.

I will get better.  It is just slow.  My creativity is basicall at the point of spinning mounds of fiber.  Not very interesting at all.