Friday Fluff: Recalculating

 

The first of my rainbow skeins is off the wheel and I'm not pleased with the results. I had a plan for them. I wanted to make a rainbow colored pi shawl but I didn't factor in the Polwarth factor.

After soaking and thwacking it puffed up like crazy. It's soft and fuzzy but not fingering weight. I'll have to think of another use for it. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. I really wanted this to be a spin and knit as you go project. 

I've got the orange braid in progress and like the pink, the singles look promising. I'll have to see if I can adjust the plying to get a better skein. One that's not so loosey goosey.

Since I like to be knitting with some handspun during the Tour and since I'm not going to be working on a pi shawl, I cast on some mitts to go with the wonky hat I knit using some yarn from last year's Tour. 

That yarn started like this. Anything I card on the carder spins up major wonky and these blended Merino batts are super wonky. 

I picked up all three spindles this week but they aren't quite ready for a wind off. I'm hoping to get there by the first rest day which will be Monday. I have to say that watching the Tour is a big yawn again this year. Once Pogacar gets that big a lead it's all over. 

New Friends

 

While The Mister was picking out his new TV, Pup and I wandered through the nursery section of Walmart. I bought a hanging basket. In spite of the previous owners having hooks in the front of the house, I've never had a hanging basket before.  I have doubts whether I can keep this alive but I'll try. It's a Calibrachoa which is something new to me. I'm not wild about the cheap container it's in. If it survives the summer I'll look for something nicer to put another one in next year. 

I also bought some zinnias. These were also in a hanging basket but I don't think zinnias belong in a hanging basket so I re-potted them into one of those big containers the trees came in.

These zinnias were in a small pot but I moved them into a bigger one too.

I also brought home some more Black Eyed Susans although at the time that's not what I thought they were. They were labeled Rudbeckia and I didn't know that was the scientific name for them. 

My floral container garden is getting out of hand out front. I'm running out of room to put things where the deer can't get them. Now that I know I have enough sun for flowers, I can't wait until next year. I'm going to have to take all this much more seriously.

As for a cable update.....the dude came and tinkered with some stuff outside at the box then said it was going to take more than that to fix the problem. Several hours later we got a text saying the problem should be fixed BUT then the cable box wouldn't re-start. Now we have to drive the cable box 40 minutes from here to have it tested and probably replaced. Argh....

Wednesday WIPs: Heels and Toes

 

Last week was too hot to even think about having a lap full of wool. I did pick up the socks here and there. Rainbow socks are at the toe. Uneek socks are getting their heels turned. 

We did get a bit of a break yesterday so I picked up Chestnut. I'm only doing half rounds right now. That's all I can manage. 

Last week was crazy hectic and this week has been the same. The new TV The Mister had delivered arrived-with a broken screen. We had to pack it up and haul it back to Walmart where after returning the broken one, he bought a similar one from the store. Setting up a smart TV is one thing, teaching someone how to use one is another. I've spent a couple of days running up and down the stairs fixing things. I really want him to cut the cable but if this is my future with streaming, I don't know. That old dog may not be ready for new tricks. Thankfully the cable guy is coming today.

TNT: Music Amongst the Trees

 

Ta da....another finish. This one was a long time coming. I've picked it up and put it back down many times since January of 2017. The chart nearly did me in. It's one of those on multiple pages that have to be put together where things meet. I'm not a fan of those. 

Then there was the insane amount of color changes. So much floss to deal with. 

I also finished the center section on the needlepoint project. This one has a ridiculous amount of color changes too and even worse.....the dreaded blended strands. I hate those. I should have just subbed them out from the beginning. I will from now on. Putting orange and yellow together to make a ratty looking gold made no sense. Why not just include some gold yarn? 

Chairy

 

My new Ikea recliner looked familiar. 

I think it was because it was smiling at me. 

Oh, yeah. That's it. 

Yep. Chairy. Mine doesn't hug or talk but it does swivel and rock. 

Le Grand Depart

 

In the category of "it's always something", this is how I have to watch the Tour right now. We've got a new internet company running cable around the neighborhood and somehow the Comcast cable got cut a few days ago. They could get the internet up and running again but they can't get anyone out here for the cable until the 8th to fix the issue. Since my TV was a smart TV I lent it to The Mister so he could stream his shows downstairs. That leaves me upstairs with my iPad. I don't watch much TV so it wasn't an issue until yesterday morning. The Tour isn't the same on the small screen.

After running around all week in this brutal heat, I honestly didn't have the energy to really care since it was just a pretty boring team time trial. All I did was organize and clean up my leftover projects from last year. They needed a good dusting.

I had to go on a scavenger hunt to find the cotton I had been spinning last year. I had parts of it all over the house. 

I also had a lot of winding off to do with the drop spindles. Hopefully this morning will be a better morning and I'll get myself over to the wheel. 

A Star Spangled Birthday

 

The second oldest Grand is turning 11 next week so we celebrated early yesterday at his house.

Dad was out back in the 100 degree heat grilling one of everything that could be grilled. 

Mom was in the kitchen putting together salads and fruit plates. Everyone else was watching the World Cup in the living room. It was a good day. We even got to do a video call with Middle Son, DIL and kids up in Detroit.

Back at home I got to celebrate my first two ripe cherry tomatoes by turning them into bruschetta with my own basil. 

Another first was baking a big Betty in the big oven. I didn't get the math right again and there was too much dough for my small Dutch oven and since the big Dutch oven won't fit in the small toaster oven the big one got its inaugural bake. 

I'm also celebrating the fact that I've managed to keep all these alive in this horrendous weather. It's been a week of too many comings and goings and by going I mean sitting in hours worth of traffic on the hottest days in recent memory. Starting today, I'm going nowhere until we get breathable weather here again. It might take a while. 

Happy 4th.