Surprise! A New Hole!

Okay, I am taking a chance here. I’m about to admit something pretty incredibly stupid. You know when you buy a purse and it has all sorts of compartments and secret zippered places, and then several months after you began using it you discover a new compartment you never knew was there? (Even if this never happened to you, just say yes.) Well, this story is like that, only more so.
I bought my spinning wheel, who I affectionately refer to as Charlotte, about two years ago in January. All along I’ve been annoyed that the string gizmo hangs over the whorl when I’m spinning and sometimes gets in the way if the adjustment isn’t perfect. I just stop spinning to adjust it and move on. That is, until yesterday when I discovered THE HOLE. This entire time there has been a hole in the thing that holds the whorl, specifically for the purpose of letting me knit annoyance-free, and I never even knew it. I got so excited that I squealed, in front of my kids even. They, of course, rolled their eyes and assumed I’d lost my mind as usual.
So here is the wonderful hole:

Isn’t it just glorious? I’m so happy that I could bust. I think I’ll eat chocolate and go spin awhile to celebrate! Yea!!!

Lace Love

Lace Ribbon Scarf

I started this as a gift for our incoming pastor, but am stunned at how slow it is. I read the comments on ravelry about it, but I thought I would knit faster. HA!
I have a feeling that today’s purchase of Addi lace needles will speed things up a bit. They are amazing. I wish I’d had them for my first lace project.
The yarn is Cascade Heritage sock yarn. Very nice yarn. Pattern is called Ribbon Lace Scarf or Lace Ribbon, I forgot which. Free Ravelry pattern, yeah!!

Hair Update

Here’s the photo I promised.

The photo is supposed to illustrate that my hair is NOT dripping with oil, nor is it lacking body or looking disgusting. There is no smell. I am still happy with the results. My frizz problem is basically gone, and I am free of any oil issues. It feels very liberating. I will continue with the daily regime of what I’ve described in earlier posts: It takes maybe five minutes more than just using shampoo. I brush every evening and before I shower, and I dust cornstarch only around my hairline, rinse well, apply conditioner, done.

Loreal, you’re goin’ down!

I have basically been ‘poo free for 21 days (not counting the hair coloring I did, which contained some sort of shampoo). I thought this whole thing would be harder. Suddenly, I think it was about four days ago, I had a magical hair moment. I realized that my hair was exactly as if I had washed it 8 hours before. It had body, no frizz, and was almost exactly what I want my hair to be. I think I’ve arrived. It was totally worth it. My family has long forgotten the experiment. My kids were a bit bothered by the whole thing and told me to wash my hair more than once. Funny. I didn’t listen. The oil is about 95% gone and the tiny bit that remains is completely manageable. I use the cornstarch just around the hairline before showering and then conditioner, and it’s just great. I’m calling this a success! I’ll post pics when my hormonal breakout clears up. Sorry! You have to wait. But here’s the clue: it looks exactly the same. **Shrugs**

Knitting ADD

I can’t explain it. Sometimes I am pleased as punch with my current project and am monogamous as the day is long. Then there are times like now when I can’t wait to get this sock off the needles so I can cast on four more projects. I have new favorite sock yarn calling my name daily. It sounds like, “Hey! It’s dark in here! I thought you loved me? Hello? Remember me, Trekking 126? Hurry and knit that ugly sock because I’m waiting, and I’m more fun than what you’re working on now!” That about sums it up. I can hardly think straight for all its griping. So there’s that. Then there’s a stack of patterns with corresponding yarns which have been in the queue for months. Apparently I don’t love them that much or I’d have knit them by now. So why am I shopping for more yarn online when I have all these projects just waiting to be knit? I have no idea. I blame it on spring fever. It’s all so exciting, new colors, new weather which requires lighter weight knits, new patterns just begging for my attention. It’s all just too much. I can’t take it. No wonder my stash is bursting out of the cabinets and I had to create a new stash area in the basement. I told myself it was temporary, just until I used up some of the active stash on the main floor. Yeah, right. Now the basement stash area is outgrowing its space as well.  The lies we tell ourselves so we can buy more yarn.  But I NEED it.  That’s my most often used excuse.   But honestly, isn’t it more fun to knit a project you’re really jazzed about than knit a project just to use yarn?  ‘Nuff said.  See, I need it!

Hubby’s Socks

These were knit with Opal Mississippi color 5082, #1 needles.  Very happy with them.  Okay, I lied, it’s an ‘it’.  I’m still working on the second sock.  Oh how I wish I could knit one sock and then POOF, the second one is magically done at the same time.  I need to perfect that.

What I learned from these socks that is above all else:  I can knit my hubby a pair of socks from one skein of Opal and have a smidge, and I do mean smidge, left for mending.  That is so good to know.  I always thought he’d take two skeins for his size 12 feet.  Whew!!

Have fallen head over heel for the Nancy Bush Knitting Vintage Socks book. Had to order it. I really like how her patterns are written and of course, that I was able to knit it without making mistakes helps too.  I know that the pattern got lost in the pattern, so to speak, but hey, it was an experiment with both the yarn and the pattern.  Seems like I’m doing a lot of that lately.  Oh, the hair…you want to know?  I’m peachy.  No oil, just dandy.  I’m to the place I wanted to be, and the hair color setback really didn’t set me back at all.

But I did tell a woman at work about the experiment, big mistake. I’ll probably have to hear about it daily now.  Why didn’t I keep my mouth shut?    Some people just don’t get the natural thing.  If using shampoo doesn’t hurt you, and it’s available, then why not do it, is their attitude.  Why not find out what natural truly is, I say.  Just because we live differently than our ancestors did, doesn’t mean we’re truly living better.