Technology is not always my friend.......

I'm having some issues here lately, and technology is NOT always my friend.  Quite a lot of the photos that were part of my blog posts have disappeared.  Vanished.  Cyber-invisible. 
Where did they go?
My DH got a really great song downloaded, but I can't listen to it because his i-dud has a glitch.
And, the internet bandwidth available seems to be shrinking as much as the waistband in my pants.  It seemed like we would have plenty of access when I upgraded from the "rocky-limestone" plan to the "pie-in-the-sky" plan that costs more each month than the car payment was on my first car.
Then, there's the Unlimited access phone plans that I've been shelling out for on 3 of the 5 cell phones based in my household.  Turns out that "lifetime guarantee" contract wasn't talking about My lifetime.
Like so many other things in life, they get you hooked and dependent on them, and then they go and change everything.
I remember an Auntie that didn't trust those utility companies to keep delivering the gas and electricity.  She kept her wood cook stove for a good 20 years after her kids tried to haul it off.  The wood was dependable.  Nobody could shut that off!
And there was a Granny-Aunt in the family that didn't trust those people that delivered milk to your door.  It just made too much sense to have it bein' produced in your own barn where you knew what was what.  And then they stopped delivering milk, and you had to drive clear in to town to get it.  And nobody had Real Cream anymore.... 
Hmmmm, maybe they were right???
I'm beginning to think that it is just possible that it is all a conspiracy.

Getting ready to clean VM-ish Fleece

There's a lot on the internet about how to card wool and spin wool; how to start with a commercially prepared Top or the myriad other forms available for purchase.  There are many discussions on how to diplomatically let your esty or eBay seller know that your are displeased with the amount of "the Barn" recieved along with the wool or alpaca fiber.

So, just for the sake of covering the topic: Let's say that I've sheared my very own sheep and it's got a lot of VM and other sheepishness in it. (Because we have, and it does.) Nobody to notify (or complain to) but myself. Can't bear to just throw it away...... Can't let DH know it's been a "worthless waste of time" to have a couple of sheep..........

How's this for a plan:

1. Shake out the fleece/blanket that is still all together. But, it's really more in clumps than a fleece.

2. Gently spray with a hose on Mist while the fleece clumps rest on a sheet of expanded aluminum lath like they use for stucco. Think of a large strainer - only flat; holes are big enough to put a pencil through, but not a finger.

3. Wash and rinse in plenty of very cool water with a tiny bit of detergent.  (Very worried about felting the wool that is "irreplaceable")

4. Let dry.

5. Comb out chunks with livestock combs used to prep show animals.

6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 every time DH goes to work for as many repeats as necessary.

7. Get out the good hand carders.

8. Never, ever let on what a PITA this has been. When asked, smile and recite what a joy it is to work with REAL WOOL we raised our very selves.

9. Find out how on earth the real sheep raising people keep the little beasties clean.

My UFO in the Attic........

My DS1 recently read my UFO blog page (rubyintheroughufo.blogspot.com), and got a kick out of the "lurking in the attic fair" reference.  Actually, said DS1 has been living in the attic since we finished insulating part of it last year.
Which brings up the whole discussion:  is HE an Unfinished Object?  One of my many uncompleted projects?
Or is it one of those "God isn't finished with me yet" situations?
DS1 is, by the way, one of my best knitting victims and is willing to wear several of my hats out in public.  Just saying that so you knitters will know the kind of offspring I'm talking about here.

What are the statistics on adult children living with their parents?  Not the adult children that are caregivers for their frail parents, but the returning to the nest children (in the 18 to 30 age range) that are moving back in with Mom & Dad.

DS1 says that the reason young adults are willing to live at home, when those of my generation weren't, is that today's 20-somethings get along with their parents much better than the Baby Boomers did.  Looking back on the issues that encouraged children to move away from home as soon after High School graduation as possible, I do really see the difference in the generations.  And, I take it as a compliment that my children are willing to move home.  But, it isn't a condemnation of what my parents did.  The times changed, and parenting had to change too.  That Said.......
While there is something to that, I'm sure there are other factors at work here too. 

Examples:  Minimum Wage buying power, expected standard of living, expenses of education, technology required for communication, housing/building market crash, loan unavailability, insurance rates, transportation costs, the list goes on….

And I will too, as soon as I can get enough bandwidth to upload the file……

New Obsession : Spinning Wheels

Ok, at last report, DH & I were trying to shear the 2 little sheep we have.  Well, admittedly, it was actually DH, DS#1, & DS#2.  And then I got in on a little of the fun after work on the second day.
Notes on shearing sheep: 
It's a dirty job!
If your sheep haven't been sheared in 2 years and have been just roaming around out in the field, It's a dirtier job.
If the field has thistles, and stick-tights, and cockle-burrs, It's a Dirtier & Thornier Job!

Sheep that are not handled by people don't like being sheared.
Jacob sheep are stronger than they look.
A Jacob sheep can drag a 6 foot tall teenager through the orchard quite a ways before he lets go.

This wool is worth it's weight in Gold, Blood, Sweat, and Tears.  And It Shall Be Spun AND USED.

Rick Reeves 1977 17" Solid Cherry "Slanty" or Saxon?

reeves 1977, a photo by rubyintheroughknits on Flickr.

This is how the spinning wheel looks today. Still trying to get it all fixed.

Knitting Graph paper calculator & printer

The same person as mentioned in the last post, Lucia Liljegren, has a program that will create proportionate knitters graph paper.  This is a very tallented person here.  I'll be doing more research on this.

Wolly Wormhead has good hat patterns - some are free

Wolly Wormhead has patterns for hats, caps, and other kinds of "Toppers".  They're even available in digital form for download - some free, some at a price.  Don't let the British Pounds Sterling worry you on the prices.  As of this writing, $1 = about .6 pound.  Or inversely, 1pound = about $1.65.  So, I shop online like this I kindof figure the final cost will be 2x what is shown.  Then at the end, I'm sure to have stayed in budget.  When you go to PayPal, the calculators will figure it out for you in USA Dollars if that's what you usually work with.
                                         This is one of the free patterns I'm going to try this weekend.

I found a wonderful web page that has Typical Head Sizes in a very nice table format.
Since I'm on a hat knitting binge, I need to have this available and thought you might like it too.

Nationwide Knitting Craze Hits Four State Area

Nationwide Knitting Craze Hits Four State Area
Really?  Are we having a Nationwide Knitting Craze?  Again?  I love a good craft craze!

It'll be great if we do.  Wal-mart's sure missed the boat though.  As far as I can tell, they've cut back all their craft department offerings in the stores that I've been to lately.

Wal-mart's loss will be the LYS's gains though, won't it?  Maybe the big W has lost it's strangle-hold on the pulse of mid-america.  That would be sooooo good.  I could really look forward to the return of LYSs on Main Street and at the Strip Mall.  Actually, wherever and whenever I can find more yarn and fiber, I'm good with it.

Psalms 139:13

So, even the Creator is a knitter?
If you look at all of Creation as a knitting project......
That just gets really deep.

Just looking at the smallest thing, say a leaf......
The interconnectedness of everything.
How one part depends on another.
If a piece is missing, sure the world can go on,
but it might leave a hole in the fabric.
Is the soul, the spirit of a person perhaps "joined" to a body,
much like a new fiber is joined at the spinning wheel,
or the next ball of yarn is joined when the first is used up,
or maybe like a Kitchner Stitched seam?
So invisible that only the maker can see the join?

One thing leads to another:
Then there's the history questions: 
When was this translation of Psalms recorded?   When did people start knitting?
Was anyone actually knitting when the Psalms were originally written in their original language?

Ravelry Stash update

Update on the stash I have listed on Ravelry:
195 different kinds of yarn - includes different colors and different packaging (ie: a Ball of Lily Sugar'n Cream is not the same as a Cone of Lily Sugar'n Cream)
379.49 skeins of yarn - Yes, I'm entering partial skeins
76,076.2 yards of yarn = 43.225 MILES

Calculations:  if one square inch of knitted fabric uses up one yard of yarn, on average,
This is ONLY 528.3 square feet of knitting.
Now, really, that doesn't sound so bad does it?
I know, it's only the tip of the iceberg.
Hmmm, will have to add the photos later, not seeming to let me do it here and now.

Ravelry is so cool.

My goal is to list all the yarn in my stash on Ravelry

Get it all into one place for safe storage and organization.
Throw away any yarn that is even slightly damaged.
Life is too short to knit with bad yarn!

Has it really been that long since I last posted?

Wow, this is all changed since last time I posted.  I'm sure I'll get used to it though.  Bear with me while I get everything set back up though.

Cap & Booties from Akron Children's

The first is a pattern from the Akron Children's Hospital for booties and hat.


https://www.akronchildrens.org/cms/tipsActions/8fa643d8d0498261/cap_bootie_knit_pattern.pdf

It calls for Baby yarn - plain, pastel only - and has no fuzzy yarns in bold and underlined. Well, I've got Bernat Baby Jacquards that is begging to be used. So, that's what I'm going with.  I've done several hats with a ruffle and lots of pink.  So, this is Blues and Greens called "I'm a Big Boy".  Since I actually have some big boys, including one teenager, I'm thinking it still needs to be a pretty little big boy to wear this color.
In the past, a lot of my hats have gone without being worn because the intended "victim" wasn't pleased with the color choice.

So, here goes.

Preemie Pattern site

I found a preemie pattern list at:

http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/preemies.html

It's a place to start.

Preemie Knits

Maybe this is my "calling".  I'm going to make preemie baby knits.
I've made several from the pattern on Bernat Baby Jacquards titled "Ruffle Hat".  It's a top down pattern and so to make smaller sizes, I just increased on fewer rows.  Photos when I can get to them.  Several were made from one skein of pink and blue stripe with pink, blue, yellow and white patterning.  I was using US size 3 double points, instead of the US 6 that the ball band calls for.  I think they came out wonderful and soft.

More Later

Knitting on through Adversity

What is the Elizabeth Zimmerman quote? Knit on through all adversity. ? Maybe. I'll have to verify that.
Personally, I've been experiencing adversity. A lot of the people around me have been experiencing adversity. The knitting does help.

March Madness

Oh, no! Is it March already! My goodness, I’ve got to get a move on quick. Hustle, Hustle!!! What should it be this year? I love the socks that I made last year “Jayhawk Jaywalkers”. Every time I had a bad day, or was sick, I wore those socks. I even wore them to work a couple of times on Jayhawk days when other people were wearing KU shirts, etc. Soo, I’m goin’ huntin’ Rubyintherough.blogspot.com

Having a change of focus

Have you ever realized that your project has had a major change of focus?
That you had started out on a journey, and the destination has somehow changed?

I've been here before, you know?
I didn't even realize that it was happening, but here it is:
I don't want to be snarky about other people's knitting mistakes anymore.

There you go. It's the truth.
I just realized that I haven't really seen any knit objects that I cannot resist making fun of.
How did that happen? you might ask.

Well, I think I'm going to blame it on Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Yarn Harlot, the witty writer about knitters, not knitting. I've been reading her books a lot lately. Mostly when I can't sleep and my hands hurt too much to knit. She really is quite inspiring. And she seems to be such a good hearted soul. The point is, I just can't condemn another's efforts in knitting anymore. No matter how wonky the project, someone poured a lot of effort into it. No matter what the fiber choice, or the color, or texture, it is a rendition of someone's creativity and that should be celebrated. Who am I to say "What Were You Thinking?" when you knit that?

Now, that's not to say that I won't at some point in the future point out some questionable design choices on the part of say, a Yarn Company. Or a Magazine Editor. Or some high fashion designer that forces hard working runway models into outrageous garb that no mere human being should try to wear.

Let's just recognize that there's a Kinder, Gentler, Ruby out there now.
Thank You Yarn Harlot

Well, lots of stuff is talking to me, but not the yarn

Did you ever have one of those weeks where the "Muse" is not with you?
The highlight of my week was when DD1 introduced me to a D&D cartoon on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UqFPujRZWo
Did I do that right? Anyway, we've had a love/hate relationship with the kids playing D&D for several years now. It just struck me as increadibly funny when she was reciting parts of the video for her little brother. And, now I just can't get it out of my head.
Anyway, that's the kind of week it's been.
The DH's Work Socks With a Twist from Unique Sheep's Ram Club are showing progress ! Yeah !