I knit, I frog, I knit again... http://garciax4.com/blog ...just another obsessed knitter and spinner Sat, 14 Aug 2010 03:28:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Hi Dad! http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=706 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=706#comments Wed, 11 Aug 2010 03:14:28 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=706 Remember the incident here?

Well, tonight I was sitting in my favorite chair, watching Seinfeld on channel 39 (TBS), and knitting. The remote was on the end table, not anywhere near where I was knitting.

Seinfeld ended at 8, and the Yankee game started. I didn’t think anything of it, until I looked at the screen and saw the “MY9″ logo in the lower right corner. Huh? I picked up the remote, hit the info button, and, sure enough, the TV was on channel 9.

I guess Dad really wanted to see the game, so I left it on. Sorry they lost that one, Dad, but come by anytime you want to watch, OK? Love you.

]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=706 0 It’s here! http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=699 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=699#comments Thu, 08 Jul 2010 02:10:18 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=699 Blanche arrived safe and sound, and spins very nicely…too busy spinning to type more…

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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=699 0 Garden pics http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=678 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=678#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:07:40 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=678 Zucchini plant:

Zucchini:

Eggplant:

Pepper:

Chard:

Tomatoes:

Beans:

Cucumbers:


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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=678 0 We’re havin’ a heat wave, a tropical heat wave… http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=669 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=669#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:25:44 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=669 Our local stitch n bitch group met this morning – there are usually 2 or 3 members who meet on Monday mornings, but since it’s a holiday, there were about a half dozen of us, and the usual good time was had by all.  I can’t believe that 1 week from today will be our THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!  I feel so lucky to have a group of knitters  friends like these.

Oh, man – It. Is. Hot.

Temps are in the mid to high 90s, with humidity, while not as bad as NY usually gets, that makes you wilt as soon as you step outside.

We’ve got the ACs running, and put one in my sewing room/guest room for company this week. Now my sewing room is upstairs, in a finished attic area. The thermostat stopped recording the temperature up there when it hit 99 – I just checked, and it’s down to a cool and refreshing 89…I hope after a couple of hours more, it will approach temperatures more conducive to human habitation…

The combination of the heat and the antibiotics I’m taking is causing me to feel slightly dizzy & nauseous when I go outside, so I’m staying in for the most part. I did check on the garden today, and I found a teeny zucchini-woohoo! I’ll take some pics in the morning before it gets too hot-the green beans are getting big, and the squash plants are HUGE!

And this guy came to visit-makes me happy there’s a fence around the garden (sorry for the cell pic, but if I move to get the camera, he’ll be gone quick as a you-know-what)

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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=669 0 Blanche is on the way! http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=661 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=661#comments Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:27:42 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=661 I’ve talked about my spinning wheel, Rose, and I have to say I love this wheel. She spins like a dream, has a wide range of ratios (which determine how thick or thin a yarn ends up), and is easy to transport. I’ve only had one problem with it in the year-plus that I’ve owned it – the crank assembly separated from the back of the wheel last Sunday. It’s still usable, and an email to the dealer resulted in a brand new crank assembly being shipped from the manufacturer. Both Woollydesigns and Majacraft have excellent customer service, and I would (and have) recommended them both highly.

But, just as I have various spindles and knitting needles that all do the same thing, I’ve never thought that this would be my only wheel. When the opportunity came up back in May to purchase another wheel, I weighed the options and did the research as I did before buying the Rose, and decided on the Schacht Matchless.

There are a few differences – there are different ways of tensioning the Matchless, for example. Most people recommend trying a wheel before buying it, but I’d never tried (or seen) a Rose before buying it, and I love it, so I figured I’d just go ahead. Since I’m comfortable with a double-treadle, I decided to stick with that, but when I placed the order, I was told that there would be a looooong wait – the wheel wouldn’t ship until July, unless I wanted a single-treadle.

Well, July is here, and my wheel has shipped! It should be here Wednesday, which figures, because I took Tuesday & Wednesday off from work, and have a full day planned Wednesday – I probably won’t be home until late, so I’ll be lucky if I can get it assembled, never mind spinning.

And, yes, her name is Blanche…

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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=661 0 Ugh http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=649 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=649#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 02:30:11 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=649 So, last Saturday morning, I found what I thought to be a spider bite on my leg – similar to a mosquito bite, but larger & very itchy. By Tuesday, the red mark was 3 times bigger than it had been on Saturday, and was beginning to take on the appearance of a bulls-eye.

I called to make an appointment with the doctor, and by this afternoon, it was confirmed to be Lyme Disease. I’ve started the antibiotics, and I don’t anticipate any long-term problems, but damn. A holiday weekend, 90 degrees forecast through next Tuesday, clear skies, low humidity, and no plans except to float in the pool, or stretch out in a lawn chair with a book, and I’m supposed to avoid the sun while taking this medication.

You know this will be the only spectacular weekend weather-wise for the rest of the summer, right?

]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=649 0 Put the treadle to the metal… http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=648 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=648#comments Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:25:40 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=648 Yesterday, Edie and I met at her house to try to get her spinning wheel up and running.  A friend of hers loaned it to her, and before she invests in her own, she wanted to be sure that spinning on a wheel was what she wanted to do.  She’s already an accomplished spindler, but a wheel is a big investment. She’s currently using an Ashford Scholar, and after fiddling with all the moving parts, we got it running! The drive wheel appears to be warped, as you can see it wobble as it turns, but it didn’t appear to affect Edie’s yarn-making mojo.

Earlier tonight, Edie, Carol and I met at Edie’s for the first (of many, I hope!) spinning meetings. Carol brought her new Matchless, Edie had her Scholar, and I brought Rose. I was amazed to see the amount of yarn Edie had spun up from the day before – the bobbin was almost full – woohoo! It was great …we chatted and treadled, and the time just flew!

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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=648 0 Drive-by garden update… http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=645 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=645#comments Sun, 27 Jun 2010 04:14:18 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=645 No pictures today, but here’s what we’ve got: teeny green beans, tiny cucumbers, lots of small green tomatoes, flowers on all the squash, at least 1 pepper on every pepper plant, flowers have appeared on the eggplants, and lots of lettuce & swiss chard…

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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=645 0 Big Salad http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=630 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=630#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:39:53 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=630 Wow-this is today’s salad made entirely from the garden-arugula, romaine, bib and other lettuce. Too bad the cukes & peppers aren’t ready yet!

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]]> http://garciax4.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=630 0 Hi Dad! http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=708 http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=708#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 03:19:43 +0000 Toni http://garciax4.com/blog/?p=708 Today is the feast day of St. Anthony, and Dad and I always wished each other a “Happy Name Day” on June 13th.

My husband and I were in the kitchen earlier, he was seated by the table, I was standing by the sink, and the TV was on, and the remote was on the table, not near either one of us.

Suddenly, the info bar came up on the screen, and “9″ appeared – which is what happens if you press the number 9 on the remote to change to channel 9. Except neither one of us touched the remote. We looked at the remote, and then each other, then the TV. Sure enough, channel 9 came on.

The only time we’ve ever had channel 9 on is when Dad was here, and there was a baseball game on.

Love you, Dad – Happy Name Day & thanks for visiting!

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