We're going camping this weekend! In Hocking Hills! Woo!

I finished the wheel, and got it all put together. I'm working my way through my Shetland Triangle, Due Date: May 22nd. And I'm working through a dishcloth for gifties! Amazingly, we've made it to two Wednesday night knit nights in a row. Hey - we were busy for a while, and then we were sick, and then we were just tired, but we're getting there now. So ha! It's way awesome.

Rae is making this bag, and I'm utterly jealous. Liiiiike, freaking out jealous. Hopefully she won't use it - because I want it, I need it, I'm desperately in love with it.

Did I say that we're going camping this weekend? And that I haven't slept well all week? And that we're going drinking with my little brother tonight? He turned 21 this week, so we're taking him out! We'll hit the liquor store, a bar or two, great times! Annnnd, we made him specialty vodka. Hot dog vodka!!!! Chilli dog shots tonight, baby!*



*Umm, I personally think this is absolutely disgusting. But Rae and Little Brother are terribly excited, and I can't help but get caught up in it..

Last week was stressful. So very very stressful. Work was a nightmare. Until late Thursday, I was certain that I'd be working all day Saturday and a half day on Sunday. But then on Thursday they cancelled my project and my weekend opened up and I decided to take advantage of it!

We had our annual company banquet Friday night. Not interesting stuff, I can tell you that.

Saturday Rae and I went to Innis Woods! I haven't been to Innis Woods in ages. Beyond that, the last few times I went it was just to get some time with a girl away from prying parental eyes. We actually made it out of the car on Saturday, at which point I'd seen more than any previous trips there. We started walking around, took the long path around the very edge of the park and then made it over to the Sister's Garden - which was a delight for our fanciful minds. We played Saturday morning. We invented worlds, countries at odds, and fairy tale peoples. We wrote a children's novel out loud on our "diplomatic envoy" of the afternoon. It was great fun. We have to go back when things are alive.

Saturday evening we saw Slumdog Millionaire. What fun! The vibrant colors and the energetic music combined for a great time. The story was sad at points, but in the end everything played out well and "justice" and "retribution" were had. And the hero gets the girl, which is ever important.

Sunday we slept in and went to Three Creeks Park - what a weekend for being outdoors! All the activity was relaxing, being outside was centering, and the cold - well, was bearable. We had a good three mile walk on Sunday, nearing a jog at points. We're trying to make sure we'll be able to handle the hike this weekend. The week before is the perfect time to start "training", right? Haha!

And I finished finishing my spinning wheel - about time, right? I'm not terribly pleased with it, but it's just going to have to do. I'll work on it again once the weather outside is tolerable. Until then, I want to be able to use the thing! And I'm going to, but not tonight. Stupid work class, taking up my precious free time. Tomorrow, though.

Finito.

Ahh! I finished it! It's way totally awesomely exciting. It's at home right now, pinned to blue foam mats. This evening I get to unpin it and toss it around my shoulders.



I know every first time blocker has got to say this, but I'm just amazed at how much the thing grew! It was such a crumpled tiny mess, then I started pinning it, and it grew a little bit. But then it kept stretching and I kept adjusting the pins and then, magically, it was huge! Ahh! Attack of the Luna Moth Monster! Batman!

I'm hungry today. Physically hungry. My tummy has been rumbling all day. My tumbling was rumbling while I ate my oatmeal; my tummy was loud when I shoved my energy bar down my throat; my tummy yelled while I chewed my bag of vegetables, my macaroni, and my salad. Right now, my tummy is doing anticipatory flip flops while I think about dinner. I just don't get it.

We tried boxed macaroni and cheese this weekend. It was pretty alright, as far as boxed food goes. We also walked down the street to watch the construction men assemble the tower crane that's going to build the new apartment building they finally started. I would lie, and say that we only went to see it because the 6 year old who spent the night was interested, but I'm not much of a liar. We really just wanted to watch them install a tower crane. I could potentially say that I did it for the practical experience, as a tower crane could potentially be related to my work, but that's too much of a stretch.

I also (mostly) finished the Luna Moth! I finished the last full repeat, and then the half repeat, and then the edging row. And I'm approx. 30% through the bind off! I should finish it tonight, and then I'll be able to block it - because I bought some foam mats this weekend, and some pins! Woo!

I also retrieved the wheel from my father's house. It still needs to be painted/stained/finished though. I'll probably do that this evening. And it will probably just be the same blue as the stand. Because, well, I'm tired of waiting. And this is the easiest thing I can come up with. Then I get to spin!! Which is way totally awesome for me. Big fun!

Next I'm starting the Shetland Triangle shawl from Wrap Style in some bright blue Lyndon Hill pima cotton/silk for Renee's cousin's wedding. That one I'm really excited for.

I did figure it out! In fact, I figured it out, flew through the repeat I'd just frogged on Saturday night , and the whole next one on Sunday! So I've got one (or maybe two or three) whole pattern repeats, and then the half pattern repeat that forms the edging, then the edging and the last different row, and then the cast off! That's way totally exciting. See? Way excited.

And I'm going to bust out some 'manly' dishcloths. Any idea what a manly dishcloth is? Yeah, I wasn't too sure either. It'll get figured out, though. I'm sure.

So, I'm knitting the Luna Moth with KnitPicks Palette, on a size 6 needle. The other Ravelland projects are using the Palette with a size 8 or 9 needle. That's okay. Hence the extra two or maybe three pattern repeats. Also, having never blocked lace, I'm not sure how much it'll grow and I want to make sure it's big enough. Personally, I'd rather it be too big than not big enough. I guess, right? Yeah.

FFI, Plus

5. If my life had a pause button, I'd pause it _every Sunday morning_.

I only felt like the one. That's okay.

My spinning wheel still is not ready. It was delivered, and I immediately put it together and had some fun with it. I took some yarn we both hated (Lion Brand Wool-Ease, if you must know) and overspun it, then plied the two colors together. Now it's delightful. So the yarn probably isn't that bad to work with, but it was so loose and stretchy and awful to work with. Now it's got a nice firm hand, and it'll be okay to use. I was delighted. After that was finished, I spun a little bit with some merino I had lying around. I loved it. It was delightful. My yarn was a bit over spun, but that's okay.

And then I took it apart to stain/paint it. And that's still not finished. It's just the wheel that's not finished. I was painting it with acrylics, but that was just awful. So I tried to spray paint it instead, and that was retarded on top of the acrylic. So it's got to be sanded down and then repainted. Which should be finished this weekend, and then it's back to learning to spin! Exciting.

I finished my socks I was working on. Which is a darntooting good thing, because there was a sock yarn sale last weekend, and now we're up to our eyeballs in sock yarn. Excellent.

I'm slightly fiascoed with the Luna Moth right now. I frogged back to my last lifeline, and had some issues. I'm using sewing thread for the lifelines, because it's smooth, it's bright red, and it was there. Well, not such a great idea. My stitches ended up dropping into the row below, and I've got a tangle of hunter green wool and Christmas red nylon on my hands now. Most of the row is back on needles now, but it's proving nearly impossible to knit through - the thread is so tangled up in the stitches, they're stuck. Goodness. Well, it'll be okay. I'll get it figured out this weekend. Perhaps.