More Spinning and other stuff

Here's a little pile of the 3 ply black and white marled yarn from the Brown Sheep mill ends. Click it to get an interesting closer look. I haven't quantified anything about this yarn yet, but so far, it's one fairly big skein and 3 mini-skeins and looks to me like a DK worsted weight. (edited to add: I made a little sample from one of the mini skeins and it looks good on US #7 needles, getting 17 st/4 inches/10 cm.) I hope to make a bunch more of it.

I'm very nearly done the body on the Fair Isle cardigan: about 8 more rounds. Then I get to figure out how to make my sleeves with a steeked sleeve cap and matching pattern bands from the sleeve to the body. That's one big advantage to drop sleeves. I didn't take another picture because it hasn't changed that much since the last one.

I thought I'd reply to a few comments from the last post.

Peri and others who commented on the school registration: Every year we need to go to each kid's school and stand in long lines to fill out paperwork and pay fees. They used to send home a stack of forms for correction and signature the first day, but I think they had a hard time getting them all back. So, they set up stations around the gymnasium and one must file around handing in the health form, the emergency contact form, the money, etc, and set up a lunch money account (if desired) and check on the bus routes (if applicable). The elementary fees are only $35 a year, but the middle school ones are a shock. A large part of it is rental of the band instrument, which we could avoid if we were willing to buy a bassoon. ;-).

Becky, I think PMS is a big part of my moods, too. I definitely have one or two days a month when I just want to be left alone. My kids seem to sense that this is what I need, so they get in my face even more. Unfortunately, my cycles are so short that I spend two-thirds of my time either having PMS or having a period. No fun.

For all who expressed concern, thank you. If I feel like things are not right once the school year starts and my stress level drops, I'll talk to my doctor. I seldom get depressed in the winter, although I do have an urge to hibernate. But this summer has been difficult weather-wise. I enjoy a nice rainy day, but three weeks of dark dismal rain and being cooped up with my kids, who prevent me from pursuing any creative thing of my own that might buoy me up... well, that's too much. And they fight all the time.

Magatha, I'm glad you could see the humor in my quandary, too. I had a chuckle about it as I realized what was going on.

So, just this week to get through. Then the three day weekend. And then it's my time!

August and Everything After

Ah, lets see. I've been doing a bit of spinning...




This is from the Brown Sheep mill ends. It's a three ply yarn using two strands of the dark and one of the light. Before I go all out on this, I wanted to make a small batch to see if I'm happy with the result. And I am. These photos were taken while it was still wet, hanging on the clothesline. Tomorrow I'll get a few more of the dry skein. The mohair in this yarn definitely wants to fuzz out, which is ok with me.

I hadn't done much spinning in the last week because my left hand and wrist were acting up and I've been working on the Fair Isle cardigan some and also in the throes of the late summer miseries.

As you probably know, if you read the newspaper or catch the news, it's been a rainy time here in Wisconsin. I haven't personally been affected by flooding, since my house sits on a little high spot in my neighborhood. But I have been affected by the unrelenting rain, grey skies, mud, humidity, and being cooped up with my kids while counting down until the school year starts. Today, thankfully, the weather finally shifted and The Big Blue H*, as I call it, came sailing in from Canada bringing nice cool, dry, high pressure system air. We've opened the windows and we're airing out.

During the monsoon, I managed to get school supplies for the boys, handle both of their school registrations, and buy them each a new pair of shoes. The school registration was a royal pain, especially the middle school one. The parents were required to wait in a line which (not exaggerating here) took about 50 minutes just to pay the fees for the coming year ($222), so they could claim their receipts and move through the rest of the process. No receipt, no schedule. When I am in charge of the universe, there will be a better way to handle this. I would put the info online in a password protected account, and let each parent look up the number they owe before appearing for registration. Then, motivated parents could mail the payment ahead of time, have a receipt and a schedule mailed back and skip the whole waiting in line part. Middle school registration took me about 1.5 hours (again, not an exaggeration) for the sole purpose of correcting one phone number, paying my $222, and signing a few forms. There's got to be a better way.

So, Thursday afternoon I was feeling down and I've been wondering if I'm hovering around the edge of depression this summer. I have a history of depression, though not recently. But I'm always aware of that potential: that I could again lose 5 months of my life because I have my head under a pillow, wishing I didn't have to get up and face life. So, Thursday afternoon, I found a depression screening quiz online. I took it and came up with the recommendation that I seek psychiatric help for my depressive symptoms. Today, the sun is shining, the air is not so heavy, and I feel fine.

But, in regards to that screening test, I found this amusing:

7. Do you feel that it takes you longer than before to make decisions or unable to concentrate?

A. Never
B. Rarely
C. Sometimes
D. Very Often
E. Most of the time

I sat staring at question #7 for about 10 minutes, trying to decide if I was finding it harder to make decisions than before. I just couldn't decide which answer seemed accurate. Finally, I saw the irony in my predicament and went with C. Sometimes. But, as I say, today with a shift in the weather, I feel miraculously better. Go figure. If the pharmaceutical companies of the world could figure out how to bottle and sell nice weather, maybe no one would need Prozac again.

Last Saturday Knitting met this afternoon. It was absolutely delightful company. Molly Bee, Baxter Knits, Mousey Blog, and Molly Bee's friend Ann were there. We missed having Laura/Yarn Thrower with us, but we hope she'll make it in September.

*The Big Blue H refers to the standard weather map way of denoting a high pressure system, otherwise known as the Canadian High.