Slap on the Wrist

It's been a long time, but I haven't forgotten you, my lovely blog. I've been so busy this July that I really haven't had the time.

Let me first explain what I've been doing with my life the past month. At the start of July, I prepared for a middle school reunion (we graduated 6 years ago) on the 4th; not including myself and Selma (we organized it), we had 5 guests. 10 people had said they were coming. This is why people under 25 aren't allowed to rent a car: we're incredibly irresponsible in the most careless way, because we just can't be bothered to keep our word. After that- and believe it or not, I really enjoyed it, despite my complaining- I've been taking Metal Arts and Russian, which has taken me from my 7am wakeup to 11pm, when I finally go to bed (that's only 2 days a week, but there's other stuff going on).

There's also some guilt involved in this post. I haven't written anything for a while, of course, but there's also the issue of my SPs. I didn't send off my gifts for June until the very start of July- the 3d, I think, when I got my gifts from my upstream pals (they both emailed my to apologize for being late, and I of course answered that it was no prob because I hadn't sent mine off, either). I didn't mail out the Fug until then either, even though I'd gotten it a month before, worked on it, and then kept it a little longer so I could "wear" it to WWKIP Day (June 10th), and then kept it longer, and longer.

The yarn I got from my SPs (which I feel major guilt about not posting- I know I was supposed to do so right when I got them) is really fabulous. From my OneSkein, I received a handspun kitchen-sink yarn, which will be used in my maniyarn scarves. It's mainly grey, but there are little bits and pieces of color or Angelina that make it very attractive. My Mellow SP sent me a bar of Raspberry Mint soap (which will be used to ward off my unfortunately present clothes moths), a skein of Trekking XXL (my first ever self-striping yarn- surprsingly un-annoying, as I thought self-stripers would be), and a skein of Mountain Colors sock yarn in this very dark, earthy colorway (I don't have the yarn on hand, so the name is unavailable at the moment, but it's dark blues-browns-greens), which is perfect for my dad, but I may have to keep it for myself because it's so luscious (and my dad, enabler though he is, is not a FiberphileTM).

And now for what I've completed, and what I'm working on: I recently finished the Royale Wrap, which is huge and fuzzy and rather orange (but I still love it), I've been working on a couple of pairs of socks, and Fetching, a pair of handwarmers that I am totally in love with. This curent pair is in lavender and is going to go to a friend whose birthday is today (it's going to be late, of course), and the next pair- in the same color- is going to my OneSkein SP. I'm going to make a pair for myself in dark red, and that means I've got an extra ball of dark red for another pair (because a ball of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran makes a pair). Something that I really like about this pattern (besides the great yarn, the awe I receive by using DPN when KIPing, the speed of the project, and the fact that it can fit into my smallest purses) is that it teaches you how to do cables. Cables are amazingly easy, and I'd never before realized it because I couldn't visualize how they worked. I'm working my way further into the knitting depths; next, colorwork!

Which reminds me: why do I have four superfluous balls of Cashmerino Aran (CA), when it isn't really the kind of yarn you buy one ball of because it's so neat? I have 2 balls of dk red, and 2 balls of lavender because I bought a Tubey-worth of CA, and mistakenly bought two reds that were way too similar, so I decided to get a purple, but lavender doesn't go with the sort of autumnal colors I already have. Fortunately, Fetching was invented, so now I am not only familiar with CA, but I love it.

I think that's really all.

No, no! I almost forgot spinning! I have continued to spin the grey alpaca-wool, which is really going to make a nice lacey project (I think it'll have moderate stitch definition, because it's not hairy, but of course it's hairier than cotton or silk). Last weekend, my mother and I sat in our driveway, under the plum, and hung out. I brought out my wheel (oh the joys of a portable Ashford Traveller), and Navajo-plied a muted-rainbow Wensleydale singles I had (I spun it months ago, and always had something else I was working on). I way overspun it, so I could get the dimensions I wanted, and I'm going to wet-set it in an attempt to balance the twist (ooh- jargon!). I've also been ever-so-slowly spinning the apple green merino I got from handpaintedyarns.com on my drop spindle (I've found merino difficult to spin on the wheel, because I let it get too thin and it breaks).

Also, my Metal Arts class has finished (I have a strange bronze logo, an ugly copper band ring, a fabulous silver and copper comet ring that doesn't fit, and an aromatic oil censer that I love, but will probably never use), and I am now helping out at the Girl Scout day camp (Camp Ida Smith in SF) that I have volunteered at for many years. I'm not a full-out Unit Leader because I haven't the time, but I am an "Adult Floater," which means I help where help is needed, and when help is not needed, I hang out in Houser House (the base of operations, and the only building besides the bathrooms) and knit.

Speaking of knitting (and I'll just mention this briefly), there is a show on PBS called Mystery! (I'm sure you've heard of it), and lately, the shows they've been presenting have been Miss Marples (stories by Agatha Christie, the Grande Dame of whodunnits). I've never noticed it in other iterations of Miss Marple (but then again, I haven't seen any since I was little), but the title character is almost always knitting. It's quite fabulous. You all ought to keep an eye open.

Oh, sorry for not having any pictures. I either haven't taken any of what I want to show, or they're on my digital camera, which I can't really find.