Knitting, Sci-fi and other stuff...

      I nearly forgot it was Sunday and time for another blog post.  I didn't post last week as all I've been working on is the Boo Halloween MKAL.  I'm finally on the last clue and I hope to make some more progress today.  I have pictures from each clue but they're terribly lit night pictures as that's when I was able to finish each clue.  So I think I'll wait 'til I have it done and blocked before I show off mine.  There are plenty of pictures of other's shawls in the spoiler threads of the Boo Knits group on Rav if anyone really wants to see the Enchantress Halloween MKAL.  Here's a link to the group if anyone wants to take a gander:  Boo Knits .  While I'm at it I'll throw in a plug for Boo Knits.  There is always a KAL of some sort going on and all of Boo's lace designs are beautiful and fun.  Beverly AKA Boo is very active in the group as well, and she answers questions especially when doing MKALs as they are new patterns.       So

     Let's see, what have I done this week?  I finally moved all the totes of china out of the hallway and living room.  I made sure a couple of the totes were secure enough and then re-packed two.  The one tote had fallen when a couple of the cats knocked into it.  Several dinner plates broke along with a bread plate and a couple saucers.  I was quite disappointed by the dinner plates breaking as those are arguably the most important part of the set.  But it was quite a large set to begin with so I still have service for six.  The other tote I repacked is the partial set I retrieved from my grandmother's estate.  I don't know much about the set other than no one else in the family wanted it and my aunt had already claimed some of the larger pieces from it.  I did some rudimentary research on it yesterday from the back stamp.  It's a Howard Laughlin print called Virginia Rose and the vast majority of it was manufactured in 1948.  So my guess is this was her wedding chin

      Quick update from me.  I've been working on the Boo Knits Halloween MKAL, so no pictures I can share yet.  I'm not quite finished with the first clue yet.  I got sidetracked by a unit project for the Communications class.  I hope to finish clue 1 when I get home from work today.       I returned my defective yarn winder and the new one I ordered arrived yesterday.  I grabbed a couple hanks of yarn I intend to knit soonish to test it out.  The gear is totally enclosed, the yarn guide has two selectable positions but doesn't pivot so there is no possibility of it falling.  The winder itself has more range on its clamp and can clamp quite tightly to whatever table I choose to use.  It wound the two hanks I grabbed with ease, and it was smooth and quiet.  I'm much happier with this one.     That's really it from me.  It was a busy work week and any extra time I've had has been spent on the MKAL.  Until later, happy crafting. -Q 

     In anticipation of the Boo Knits MKAL starting on October 1st I got out my Dye For Yarn so I could wind it with my new yarn winder.  I quickly found that the winder I chose is a piece of crap.  The yarn guide doesn't stay in place and drops while winding which feeds the yarn directly into the open gears.  The spindle base also isn't large enough to accommodate 100 gram skeins.  It is nice and quiet and it didn't roll backward when I had to stop often because the yarn wasn't cooperating with me either.  The hank was extra twisted and crinkly in one spot so it kept getting stuck on itself and needed to be teased apart.  Overall it was a very negative winding experience.  I just went back to Amazon to read the reviews on the winder to see if it was just my winder.  Nope, each review said the same thing.  I'm not sure why I didn't think to read the reviews before I ordered this one, I usually do.  I have a different winder picked out and will start the process

      I finished Liara's hat.  I even washed and blocked it.  The dark blue bled a good bit, but it doesn't look like it re-deposited onto the lighter blue.  I looked through my little stash of swap notes and small items and I couldn't find the note from that Dr. Who swap so I have just my memory to go on for these two skeins of yarn.  I'm not overly concerned but it would be nice to know what the yarn is; it was nice to work with.  Liara is happy with how the hat turned out.  I made it a little longer than mine so she can fold up more of the brim.  I also rounded the top just a little. I immediately started Ronon's hat.  He chose two Malabrigo Sock colors.  He says his favorite color is green when I usually ask, and he had a green picked out; but as soon as I showed him the orange, he very empathetically demanded that his hat be made of that yarn.  I've finished the Terracotta side and am working on the Camaleon side now.  The dark blue is bleeding off onto my

     We had a fairly eventful week; some big firsts for our son.  Ronon started preK as I mentioned.  He's been doing great and has adjusted well to being away from home for a few hours each day.  His fourth birthday was September 12th.  In New York children who are under four have to be transported to and from school by parents, so on Thursday he was able to start riding the bus.  He did great and really enjoys the bus as well.  We also cleaned almost all the random stuff out of the spare room and moved him into it and into the big bed that's in there.  We still need to move his dresser to his room and move my desk to our room.  I now have a good five or six totes of China to go through and repack into totes that aren't falling apart.  I had planned to do that this past weekend but I was really tired yesterday.  I did manage to put all of grandma's knitting books up with mine in the "craft closet" and put all the magazines in order in a new tote.  I've al