Friday, April 17, 2009

Laundry shmaundry and other stuff

Stormy apparently likes my Austermann Step socks. Who could disturb such a cozy scene?
Yes, I will use any excuse to avoid doing laundry.

Anyhoo, in spite of working a lot, I've managed to get some knitting done. I finished my Red Heart & Sole socks, and I have to say that I am disenchanted with this yarn. It works up fine, but the way these skeins were dyed seems sloppy. Instead of nice, clean color stripes, there are little bits and blobs of different colors marring the stripes. Alas, I can't get this to show up while taking flash photos, and it's dark out right now, so I'll have to try and get some photos in natural sunlight tomorrow.

I've got the Essential Tweed (Plum color) from Knit Picks OTN at the moment. My replacement Knit Picks circs arrived in short order (again, gotta love good customer service!) and I put them immediately to use. In betweek working hearings and juggling articles (as well as the annual Oak Ridge Horse show, where I took photos my editors chose not to run - sigh), I managed to knit up a cotton Swiffer cover. (Links to patterns found here.) I've had the basic Swiffer wet/dry "mop" for years, but I had quit using it because I just hated the idea of putting the used cloths in the landfill. These knitted, washable cloths do the trick quite nicely - and it's a good way to use up leftover cotton yarn. I used the WallyWorld cotton yarn leftover from a dishcloth to make my first one. I'm sure I'll make a few more.

I'm not going to get a tremendous amount of knitting done this weekend, as my dad and my bro are coming for a visit tomorrow. We intend to go out for seafood, whereupon Daddy and I will do major damage to oceanic things with exoskeletons.

On Sunday, I'm going to a birthday party for a perfectly charming gent who will celebrate his 98th birthday on April. 21. I've known this family since 2004, and they have a fascinating history. I was so excited that my editor OK'd doing a bio piece on him. I got to spend two hours with him today, listening to wonderful tales of growing up with 10 siblings and how times have changed. He's the last surviving grandson of a black gentleman who, in the 1850s (years before the 13th Amendment), bought 240 acres of property in Stokesdale, NC. Most of the land is still owned by the descendants. I've had the honor of being adopted into the family, and I get the honor of presenting his story to our readers. I'll post a link to the article when it publishes.

Next week is my knitting group at the Bistro 150 in Oak Ridge. Time to sit and knit and nosh on yummy things created by the cute French chef, Julien. Given that I've got articles to do as well as four solid days of hearings, I have a feeling I will really appreciate the down time. I always appreciate Julien's yummy creations.

One more thing - if you have not heard Susan Boyle sing, please do yourself a favor and proceed directly to YouTube. I saw this video Tuesday, and was completely blown away. I still get all misty-eyed every time I see it (which I have done at least 2 dozen times over the past few days). Given that she sounds amazing over crappy computer speakers, I can only image how fantastic she sounded in the auditorium. I cannot wait for her to release a CD!

5 comments:

  1. aww Stormy looks so comfy with your socks! Better keep an eye on them my cats have been known to take off with goodies like socks! And you always wanted to know where that missing sock went around laundry time huh? Check the cats!

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  2. I had never thought to check with the cats for lost socks! Watches, pencils/pens, belts, the drain plug from the kitchen sink - yes. My guys nick these things unrepentantly and often. In a similar vein, I used to have a dog who loved to bring guests my underwear, which he filched from the hamper, but so far the cats have only displayed an interest in sleeping on or with my hand-knitted socks. I don't get too upset when a commercial sock vanishes, but I'd be distraught if one of MY socks disappeared!

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  3. Hey! I have those same socks! I dont blame the cat for liking them - I like them too.

    Around our house the laundry gets washed, but them tends to sit around in baskets unfolded and getting crinkled until we run out of underwear.

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  4. Darcie,
    Don't you just love the Step yarn? I have another skein in my stash, waiting for my attention.

    I managed to get my laundry folded and into the baskets, but somehow a lot of it ends up staying in the baskets! Fortunately, Stormy seems to be most content sleeping in a nest of dirty clothes, rather than clean ones.

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  5. Stormy looks snuggly indeed! On any given day, one of our 5 will be settled in for a nice nap in the CLEAN laundry. I've started sorting my clothes into "doesn't show cat hair - can wear in public" and "shows cat hair - for lounging at home". The Step socks look pretty; I understand you would have preferred the colors to be less "muddy-looking", but they look very nice and comfy to me.
    Enjoy your knitting!

    P.S.: How is the barn now? Are you still sending the knitting mags?

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