Green Dilly Beans

Ouch

Forget the Ides of March... 

Beware the pitfalls of falling yarn. 

I was on the phone with my sister tonight - going over my Ravelry queue and reviewing projects I have lined up, especially those I have identified for her daughter/my niece, the Onion, and my sister herself. 

As it turns out, E spotted the Just Like A Peasant Cap in my queue and said she'd love one too.  I went back to the wall o' yarn to scope out potential yarn matches.  I spotted a gorgeous fawn colored wool/silk blend from our Nanna's stash that could work well for this hat.  Inevitably, it was on the top shelf of the 9' 6" floor to ceiling bookshelves lining the back wall.  So here I was, on the phone, standing on a chair, looking up to the top shelf and jumping up and down trying to grab said wool/silk blend.  I knocked the desired yarn off the shelf, but in doing so, clobbered myself in the nose with another massive falling cone of yarn.

I would not wish for anyone to get hit on the nose with the cardboard base of a falling yarn cone.  I was actually a little scared for the health of my rather wide-brimmed nose.  All at once, I was laughing to E and trying to justify the tirade of expletives I had just unleashed while making my way to the bathroom to see if I was bleeding from the collision's impact. 

Of course, once I had established that there was no bleeding, I had to weigh said falling yarn cone with my new digital kitchen scale.  It clocked in at 1 lb 5 7/8 oz.  I know there must be some sort of Newtonian formula to calculate the impact of yarn to nose based on weight, falling height, and resulting velocity.  However, without getting into the math, I can assure you, it hurt like hell. 

All is can say is, I really like my sister, and she better really like her Peasant Cap.

E is for Entomology

The letter E is brought to you with a request for help.  My sister, who will graduate from the University of Minnesota-Duluth this spring, is taking Entomology this semester as part of her biology degree.  Like many entomology classes, she is expected to assemble a bug collection for identification. 

She is learning the hard way that mid-winter Duluth does not provide the best conditions for bug finding and collecting.  She and her classmates are scrounging every nook and cranny looking for critters.  All her current specimens are so tiny, we had to resort to one of Onion's baby toys to photograph for this post. 

Here's our plea - if any of you readers live in warmer climes (that should be just about all of you), and you come across any members of the insect family, would you send them to my sister for this project? 

We're not sure how many specimens this post will turn up, but I've learned to never underestimate the boundless generosity of knitters and readers.   

Who knows? Perhaps someone has a moth infestation that could be a silver lining for my sister?! If you're willing to help in her quest to gather members of the insect kingdom, leave a comment and I'll follow up to send you the details.  Thanks!

D is for Duluth

I thought that a move back to the Midwest would satisfy my penchant for long winters, lakes, and easy access to the outdoors. However, frequent visits to see my sister in Duluth have made me wonder, how far north is north enough for me?  The siren songs of Portland are quelled by the knowledge that I need a severe noticeable contrast between the four seasons that the West Coast just couldn't provide.  Although Minneapolis is a great city, I sometimes feel that it just isn't cold, snowy, wintry, hilly, and forested enough for me. It is strange to think of limiting my search for a city to settle in to areas north of the 45th parallel.  Thankfully, I've got another 2 years of school to sit and think on it.   

The Big Reveal

The yarn is on the shelves!  Admittedly, it's not exactly all cataloged on Ravelry yet, but a lot of it is, and I have been able to reclaim my dining table. 

Neutral yarns were boxed up and stored in closets, anything with color is out on the upper shelves of my bookcases.  It makes for a striking display, if I do say so myself.

Thanks to all of you who gave advice and offered encouragement in this endeavor!

The End of an Era

No I'm not here to write about Favre's retirement.  I want to mark the passing of another great....  This morning I used up the last of my Spinner's Hill Licorice Twist Yarn.

Licorice Twist played a starring role in my first Hourglass sweater.  It went on to play supporting roles in Kate the Cat, BSJ #1, and now, in its final appearance, the BAWK Hot Water Bottle Cozy (Ravelry link)

Despite the presence of a down comforter, which has been counteracted by the absence of a husband, I've had a real problem keeping my feet warm at night.  Enter the BAWK, my shameless attempt at finding a substitute for B.  I know my toes will appreciate that the last bits of Licorice Twist have been put into service in the name of warm feet.   

Morning Update: Consider me converted to the cult of hot water bottles.  For the first time since October I went to bed without wearing wool socks.  My toes had a toasty, warm base at the bottom of the bed.  The bottle has some serious staying power too.  It was still warm when I woke up this morning!