Back Sliding

pound cake

chicken & dumplings

 I have been very, very busy at work, limping along without two employees since November, so I haven't had a lot of time to work on my resolution of finishing things, but I do spend any free time I have working on fiber.  The school is not as busy right now, because people are afraid to travel with the recent violence of wintry storms.  But, many still do make it out here, and all need to be fed!

 I finished threading Tootsie and the kitchen towel warp, but right away, she was up to her old tricks, popping shafts above the top and sticking.  I have been waiting almost two years for a friend to create an elegant solution, making a tool tray for her top, but I can see he isn't going to come through.  So, I went for the un-elegant solution, a run-of-the-mill clamp.  So far, so good.  I haven't actually woven with it in place, but I did try all the shafts and they seem to stay where they should.  I'm afraid of starting it right now, because I have a feeling there might be threading issues that I am not in the mood to discover just yet.

weft's feet photo-bombing

I finished winding the dinner napkin warp to go on Jenny for the Brasstown weaving challenge, but then, this week, I realized my sous chef, Rachel, is having a baby in 2 1/2 months, and I have nothing for her!

 I asked her what she wanted, and she said, "Girly colors!"  Well, you know, those are my favorite colors!  So I started a new sweater, even though I wasn't supposed to be starting anything new.  Those are Weft's paws in the photo. He couldn't resist.
  Then, she said she also wanted a baby wrap, but she doesn't wear girly colors, mostly black.  I pondered that for a while, googled baby wraps and played with Weave Design.  The wrap I found on the web that I liked best was in hand-dyed carpet warp, but I don't have time to dye anything.  I do, however, have a big selection of carpet warp.  I think it'll be pretty with these colors in the warp, and black as the weft, in a bird's eye pattern.  I'll try to get that warp wound this week, and start threading on the weekend.  


Another resolution was to make time for yoga every day, which has not always been possible.  Sometimes there's traffic on the yoga mat that refuses to yield.  Most of the time, it's just needing to be at work at 6 am, but sometimes, there's a cat on the mat.
  I have found time to work on the fair isle I'm making for myself.  See my steek?  Oh, yeah!  I'm stranding, steeking, designing, working on ufo's!  I've almost finished the first motif, and I love it!

Purl finishes my muffin and reads Yarn Harlot's blog

Purl continues to grow and thrive, though I had a scare this week when she got her first set of baby shots.  I dropped her off at home after the shots, and went to knit night.  When I came home, she was asleep on the bed, and hardly able to lift her head.  She slept right up against me all night, and had trouble getting off the bed in the morning.  By the time the vet opened, she started eating, so I figured she was out of the woods.  I called them, anyway, and they said not to worry, but that next set of shots would be broken up, so she doesn't have to have them all at once.  When I got home that night, she was wrestling with Weft and dodging Bella and eating well.  Whew!