Knitwith Homespun

I need to unpack the trailer. I need to clean the trailer. I have a nephew coming to stay with me on Tuesday when we will have to take him to the beach, Disneyland, playing around, and general merriment. I don`t have time to spin, since any spare time I have I should be knitting so I finish my socks by Aug 8. However, I saw the yarn spun by Hello Yarn on Flickr that she received from Spunky Eclectic for the July club. I also received this fiber.

I am such a beginner at spinning I need to practice more on the fiber I have before I spin up the good stuff I am spending decent money on. That being said, this fiber on the left came down with my Ashford as a bonus when I bought it. I practice with these fibers and so far I have been really pleased with how they are spinning up. I don`t know what the fibers are but I am sure some of you might know given your experience with them.

The raw fiber is displayed on the right here. I didn`t think this fiber would spin up like this. I expected it to be primarily black but the look is very shiney (from the white). It looks very silver and I think will ply very very well. I can`t wait to finish it (maybe tonight). I love spinning! Yeah!

I`m home! Yeah! So, now I have to frantically knit so I can be finished before my next trip. Going to see my Dad, hooray, in North Carolina. I will see my sister from Portland while I`m there. She left for France, where she has a home with her husband, the day after I left Portland. So, on her way home, she is stopping at my Dad`s and I am meeting them there the next day. I wouldn`t ordinarily take three trips in three months, but my Dad asked us to come this summer. It`s truly a wonderful place to visit during the summer. Fishing, beaching, relaxing, and of course, my Dad! Yipppeeee! Enough of that…….Back to knitting…..

My socks are really coming along. I have finished the horrendously long 8 inch leg portion, turned the heel and finished the gusset. I was able to knit a bunch during our 800 mile drive home from Pocatello, Idaho. Did you all know I was in Pocatello? Let me tell you about it……NOT! I don`t like how the cable turns around the gusset. I have checked other people`s knitting in Ravelry and their knitting isn`t as wonky as mine on the gusset and the cable around the gusset. I checked my work and counted my stitches like 5 times and all seems to be correct so I don`t know what happened. I suppose I will chalk it up to experience and let it go.

So, the yarn and colorway pictured here for these socks is from Hello Yarn where I love to shop. The last order I placed was processed and submitted before I left and shipped while I was gone. I got home and opened it (will blog and display yarn later) and this little sheep guy was in the package. I just thought he was tooooo cute. So here he/she is……Good night all…..Going to sleep now……almost midnight……very sleepy……my own bed…….yeah…

We won`t miss you! We have checked out of the hotel. I am sitting at the hotel computer in the lobby typing this waiting for the Chevy courtesy shuttle to come get us. They say the truck is done and we can go. Everyone say your prayers and we will hopefully see you sooner than later! Wooohoooooo!!

Louis left me a present on my little point and shoot Pure Digital video camera. I thought I would share it with you all. It`s kinda hysterical! Good job Louis!

Bella should not be left out of this mix, however. Yesterday, at the Pocatello Zoo, we walked around and found this beautiful park, Ross Park. It was lovely and Bella got to take her time on the monkey bars. Watch for yourself!

You might ask me…..and I`ll tell you. We ended up stuck in Malta because our Chevy truck broke down. It`s new (2005) and has less than 22000 miles on it. It is still under warranty and everything that needs repair is covered at this point. We called Chevy`s roadside assistance, as recommended by the Chevy dealership where we bought the truck. They recommend that we tow the truck to the nearest dealership and that this expense is covered under our warranty as well as any expenses incurred as an interruption of our trip. So, we spend about 2 hours waiting for the tow truck to come and get us. They assure us that the tow truck that is coming will tow the truck and the trailer and all will be fine.

So, we wait…..and wait…..and wait…..and wait. I am wearing my Yarn Ho T-shirt from Knitty.com (which I love). Bella and I go to us the restroom in this gas station several times. The first time I go in, I am in a hurry and trying to get back out so I don`t notice anything. The second time, I am a little more relaxed and notice a computer monitor and some business cards close to the cash register but it doesn`t dawn on me what is going on there. The next time I go in, I browse through the shop looking for sodas, snacks, etc. and I look at the cash register and in the glass case right below the counter is a bunch of bags of ROVING! That`s right baby! Alpaca roving! Needless to say, I got some. I will take a picture of it when I get home since it is out in the trailer and I am in a hotel room waiting for the Chevy dealership to call and tell us we can go home. They won`t call until Monday at the earliest and hopefully we can leave Monday afternoon. Everyone cross your fingers for me. Anyway, it`s beautiful roving and the man and woman behind the counter are spinners and knitters and noticed my shirt when I had come in a couple of times before but it didn`t register with them until I started asking questions. They raise alpacas and they have a friend that raises them as well. I will post their information later when I get it out. I bought 9.5 ounces of pure rich dark brown 100% alpaca. She said it wasn`t her best but it is baby soft and really very gorgeous. I can`t wait to get it home.

Well of course, I get an invitation to Ravelry RIGHT before my Big (I need time to get ready for it) trip. I have to pack up a trailer and do a CRAPLOAD of laundry, grocery shop, clean my house, etc, etc. When I get back from Idaho, I will spend a LOT of time cataloging my stash, photographing my FOs, and tying everything together for anyone who is interested.

I always act like people read this, but I am sure noone is. Thanks to anyone who is and see you in a couple of weeks!

No Second Sock Syndrome here (anymore)! Now, I am no expert and this is only my first “pair” of socks that I have (nearly) finished. As you can see, toe and heel are both done and just finishing the leg and I`m there. I should be able to knock that all out by tomorrow latest. Having been invited to Ravelry, I am now way overloaded with stuff I want to photograph and knit and get patterns for and everything so I have been super hyper about it all today.

Now, given my non-expert status, and my history for one finished sock, I have compared the techniques and habits employed with the first lone sock and the second pair of socks and come up with some suggestions and hints for avoiding Second Sock Syndrome:

1. Knit fast. Sure, sounds easy, but it helps.
2. Take it with you. Take it everywhere. This time I knit at the doctor, at the in-laws, at the pool, everywhere. It`s easy to do with the magic loop method and one long circular needle.
3. If you put it down and you have nothing else really to do, pick it back up and keep knitting. Keep knitting, keep knitting. The faster you finish, the faster you can cast on that second sock. Get it done as quick as you can so you don`t get bored or tired of this project.
4. If you are about to finish the first sock and it`s late at night and you don`t have time to cast on the second, put it down and finish when you can IMMEDIATELY cast on the second sock.

5. When you finish the first sock, IMMEDIATELY cast on the second sock. IMMEDIATELY! Very important. Unless you are knitting two at once (let`s face it, if you were, you wouldn`t still be reading), you need to do this right away. Putting it off is the first symptom to SSS. Once this symptom takes hold, you may as well build a single condo for your single and alone sock that will never find a home on a foot.

Knit the second sock furiously! Get the toe and heel done (if you are knitting toe up). Get the cuff and the heel done (if you are knitting cuff down). Once these tough sections are done, it`s all downhill and you are well on your way to a PAIR of socks.

Well, let`s see if I can`t get my PAIR done. As per my instructions, I have the toe and the heel already done. It`s all down hill from here. I do, however, have to make another PAIR of socks before August 8 for “someone”. Wish me luck. May the syndrome stay away!

Huge families come with a lot of benefits. Our Idaho camping trip is one of them. My husband, David, is the youngest of five children; three brothers and one sister. His next older brother, Bill, lives in Las Vegas and used to live in Reno. While living in Reno, Bill became involved with a motorcycle riding group there called the High Sierra Motorcycle Club. Annually, this group goes to Baumgartner Campground in Idaho east of Boise in the Sawtooth National Forest. The club provides a caterer for breakfast and dinner for a fee.

This trip was heaven on earth. As a housewife, I love to cook. But camping is another story. I met my husband on a camping trip and really enjoy any style of camping. Nature is really beautiful and I love the quiet and the breezes and the trees. But cooking and cleaning outside on a fire is a bit much for me. During this trip, you wake up and walk down to breakfast at the caterer`s camp (there are about 60 of us) and choose from several types of breakfast meats, eggs, potatoes, fruit, yogurt, cereal, juice, coffee, milk, etc. Then you can just throw your plate away and go back to your campground! That`s right, no cleaning! Wooooooooohoooooooo! That`s enough about my vacation section of the blog.

Now let`s talk about the trip and the campground itself. Above, you see our campsite. It was wonderful even camping in tents. The weather was warm in the day and cool at night. This picture is David getting ready to take Bella to dinner. The caterer`s campsite is about 3 campsites away and you need to either ride a bicycle or ride a motorcycle to get there. The campsites are quite far apart and that makes this nice for families and privacy. We shared our campsite with David`s brother Bill and his son Alex who was 7 or 8 at the time. David brought this motorcycle (street bike) with us but you were not allowed to ride or start your dirt bike in the campground. You had to push it outside of the campground to start it and ride. That makes it nice for those of us that don`t ride (me). The picture to the left is Grandpa (David`s dad) taking a nap during the afternoon. Don`t get me wrong, Grandpa does ride, however, he didn`t bring his bike this trip. He and my mother-in-law took a trip up into Canada from here and did some exploring.

I apologize for how these pictures are going to be laid out. I am sure I am going to lose track of which pictures are where and what photos they are so please bear with me. There are hot springs in this area. Many of them. Many many many of them. So, this next picture is of the river. The river has a bend right at the end of the campground and the water pools there. This is where most of the riders go to swim at the end of the day of riding. This picture is that pool. You can see how clear and clean the water is here and there is a current here that runs quite strongly. The best part of this pool is the hot springs coming up under your toes when you wade through here. The water is freezing freezing, however, as you walk out, you can dig your toes into the sand below and you are suddenly warmed with tingling heat. It`s wonderful! The next picture I am showing is the pool at the end of the day with all the riders coming back and taking a swim. Every day the rangers fill a finished pool with 105 degree clean fresh water from the hot springs. This is where I spend a lot of time during the day when the men are riding. I share my time between the hot spring pool and the river. I think I read 3 books during the week we spent there last time. This year, I plan to do a lot more hiking and exploring around the campground. Bella was a toddler last time and she can do much much more this time. Also, the difference this time is we have an 18 foot camping trailer. Ordinarily, at my age, I would say “Wow I`m so glad to not sleep in a tent”. But in this instance, it`s not a big deal. The camping here is so clean and fresh. You can bathe each morning in the hot spring pool (quite common practice). There is a slatted deck for you to rinse your soap and shampoo down and everyone does it and then sits in the hot tub for a bit. There are also bathrooms that are very nice (but my own will be great).

We are leaving for this trip Friday of next week. We will lollygag on up and take three days to get there. We will go by Lake Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Last time, I didn`t have my good camera and I took hundreds of pictures.

This time, look out!