Because I'm cool like that...

Because I'm cool like that...


A knitter who is going to Gambia in the Peace Corp. I'll try to check on her regularly.

High Country News -- Printable -- July 24, 2006: Taking Liberties

http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.PrintableArticle?article_id=16409

"The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way."

Home from Quilt Camp

And that was last Thursday. Many things to do, but I wanted to share how good my Wednesday classes were.
Paper Piecing in EQ5 in the AM, was great. Everyone in the class had at least a nodding acquaintance with the program, even if it was from Monday, so we were able to keep up much better and didn't spend so much time in frustration because of getting behind and being unable to go where the rest of the class was. Ask me how I know how that feels.
I liked it, and almost wish I had taken the 2 EQ5 classes on Tuesday too. But no, I wouldn't have liked to miss the one day of sewing with John Flynn.
PM was EQ5 Medalling Quilts, and we designed a quilt with 15 borders. And I might actually make the quilt I designed too. I would replace making the Braid blocks in Easy Draw with the Triangles on a Roll Braid that I already have for starters, and I would use the New York Beauty paper piecing blocks I already have as a UFO for the 14th border instead of re-inventing the wheel in Easy Draw, but other than that, I would follow my design. I love the way you can change sizes of blocks or borders with just a few strokes and then preview how everything is going to look, over and over, before committing to anything.
For instance, when I got home, I discovered that, if I make Marlon's Log Cabin quilt the way I designed it in class, it will be much too small, and if I just make the blocks larger, the program wants me to cut the logs larger than I want to. After all, I have many many 1 1/2" strips already cut for making log cabins. So that was not an option. I had to go into the worktable, add more blocks until I liked the size, then color (easily) and rotate blocks until I reached the neat way I had arranged the blocks in the first place, only now there are more of them. Cool.
So then I previewed and printed with fabrics, to help with log placement and started cutting and sewing. I love it.
Actually, I like all the quilts I designed in the various classes and will probably eventually make them all. I also have a few I designed in the Judy Martine Stars and Sets before I bought EQ5, too. Maybe I should work up one of those as a mystery quilt. I have never showed them to anyone, so that could work.
Back to the sewing machine!!

Second Day

Today I had an all-day class with John Flynn, Wheel of FOrtune. It includes curved piecing and tiny little templates but he is a low-key, relaxed teacher, and it went very well. I only finished one blockin the whole day, but I learned a lot and without stress and strain. The class was small, too, which always helps.
Then I visited Odegaard's and added some blues and golds to my set of fabrics to make Marlon's graduation quilt. I designed it on Monday, in EQ5, and its a Log Cabin variation. I also added a couple of oranges from the Bernina COnnection, as my Wheel of Fortune is in light blue, dark blue, and different shades of orange. Never can have too much fabric.
Tomorrow its back to the computer, for paper piecing in EQ5 in the morning and medallion quilts in EQ5 in the afternoon.
Thursday I have to pick up Kathleen and go home. Boo.

First Day of School

I am just wrung-out and wasted tonight. I spent all day in a class learning to use Electric Quilt 5. Major mental work all day, and I will still need to practice every day so I can learn to use it automatically like I do WOrd and Excel. Mary sat with me and also struggled. I guess the whole class did. But if I CAN get comfortable with it, the whole quilt designing process, and especially for quilts to teach, will become much quicker and easier.
I went to Los ALtenos to eat after, with Mary and Andy and Kathleen.
Then I found myself at Jo-ANn buying more baby yarn for charity sweaters. I still plan to visit Unravel, the Flagstaff LYN, but not until tomorrow.
Gotta go veg out.

Quilt Camp

Well, here I am, all checked in to my motel and waiting for the Meet the Teachers meeting tonight at Old Main. This motel, the Highland Country Inn, is twice as nice as the Parkside (50 yards away) where I stayed last year, and it cost less too. The room is much bigger, even with a bigger bed in it, the refrigerator is bigger, the bathroom is bigger, there is a table and 2 chairs, and the air conditioner works. I came up smelling like a rose. ANd this is good, because I had to pay waaaaay in advance to get this room rate and was afraid that I made a mistake. I didn't.
The wireless internet access didn't work at first either, no signal, but is fine now. SO I hope to be reporting regularly for the next 3 days anyway. Off to get ready for tonight.

Try again.

I don't know why this picture didn't upload with the last entry, but here it goes again. 

First Jiffy Baby Sweater

Finished, AND sewed together AND the ends
put away AND the cord tie crocheted and
threaded thru. And I'm SO proud of myself.
I believe I will have to do a few more of these
before I go back to CIC socks. It was fun,
and its so cute.

Yarn for Jiffy Baby KAL

I have been so successful at giving away my
acrylic yarns over the past few years that I
had a heck of a time finding any for this
KAL. But here it is. I will run 2 strands, one
of sportweight Red Heart Soft Baby and one
of a sportweight mauve anonymous fluffy
from my stash.
If that doesn't look good once I get started,
I will frog and use both ends of the Soft Baby. 

Juicer

DH decided we need a juicer after reading a book called Power Aging, by Gary Null, so we researched them on the Internet and decided on an Omega 02. I got it for $100 on ebay and it came a few days ago. Yum, just about anything is good juiced. Even celery juice is kind of good, but the best of all is 2 apples and half a little lime. I haven't ever really liked apple juice, but this is a whole new taste of apple juice.
THe juicer is a pain to clean of course, but I can feed the pulp to the chickens so there isn't any waste. And fresh vegetables are less expensive that bottled or frozen juices.
I saw somewhere a paragraph or two about drinking cabbage juice for IBD, but I can't think where. Oh well, I'll probably come across it.

Another Rock died

Yesterday when I went up the hill to feed the chickens, I found a dead Rock in the coop by herself. Everybody else was out in the yard. It had been an extremely hot night and I guess she just couldn't take it. We also can't leave them out at night because of all the predators. The yard isn't as fortified as the coops, and really can't be, or it would cease to be a yard.
We did remove part of the wall between the coop and the yard, leaving just the layer of hardware cloth on the inside and chicken wire on the outside. So there should be better air movement, although it really should have been OK already.
I really hate losing a chicken. It makes me feel so guilty.
So now I am down to 3 barred rocks, 6 Fayoumis and 2 Ameraucanas for hens and the Wallee the Fayoumi rooster. I plan on keeping the 4 Speckled Sussex pullets to go into the laying flock and Bill wants to keep the 2 Dark Cornish pullets and Edgar the Dark Cornish cockerel and raise some more purebreds of them. That's OK with me, because it will galvanize him into building another chicken house. Can't have too many chicken houses, you know.
And I need another house for broody hens to set and to raise their chicks. ANd maybe soon. I was pecked several times by the little brown hen when I tried to reach under her for eggs, a couple of times by one of the silver Fayoumis, and again several times a couple of hours later by a Rock. All of these incidents were when I was trying to gather eggs. They are not broody yet, but I'd be willing to bet that at least one of them will be completely broody in a week. Naturally, right when I'm getting ready for Quilt Camp. Bill probably won't even notice. Oh well, if they are going to be broody, they will still be that way when I get home and can make some adjustments to the living arrangements.

Migraine season

A migraine woke me up before 5 this morning. I took a Maxalt and tried to go back to sleep. No luck, it just kept getting worse. A washcloth wrapped around some ice cubes felt good on my head but it did nothing for the pain. So I got up at 6:30 and started my tea (which often helps with migraines). I drank a cup and took another Maxalt before heading up the hill to feed the chickens. The pain was still so bad that I vomitted twice in the chicken yard. Boy was I glad to have drunk the tea or I'm sure I would have had dry heaves. Those can be so painful. Anyway, I felt some better after that. Now I have had a stuffed-full headachy feeling the rest of the day, but it is so minor compared to the migraine that I have hardly noticed it.
The weather is doing weird things; that's probably the reason the the migraine. I guess I'm lucky to live here. If it really is the weather I'd be in a world of hurt more often if I was living practically anywhere else. Easy to say now, but in the midst of a headache I'd be willing to commit to doing anything to prevent them. Speaking of which, I'd better ask the doc about prevention medicine when I see him in a few weeks. Maybe I could just take it this time of year since this is when I have the most headaches.

Second pair toeup

This is my 2nd pair, made with 3 different
scrap yarns leftover from my DH' s socks. My
normal style is for more exuberant colors, but
I think these turned out nicer than my first
pair. I like them anyway. I did manage to
do the spiral stitch pattern on the leg this time,
which I completely missed on the first pair.
These are habit forming, and I will try and
work on the next pair's leg fitting more snugly,
not so slouchy. 

Up to date with chickens

Very first egg from my 19 week old Fayoumis today. Its so teeny and its is a tinted white. Since the Rocks have been laying, their eggs have been getting bigger and bigger and are now bigger than the Ameraucana eggs. I'm down to 2 Ameraucanas after losing another one last week. DH thinks she was stung by a bee, but I think she might have eaten a piece of string or something that got stuck. ANyway, she died. I feel so guilty when that happens.
SInce we put the 3 young Fayoumi roos in the freezer, I have started separating out the young roosters in the chickie coop and putting them where the Fayoumis were. There are 3 Black Langshans that will be butchered first, whether they are roos or not, since they are the absolute worst feather pickers ever. I will never get any more of them, cute as they are with their feathered feet. There are 3 white roos, of which one is obviously not the same breed. THe other 2 are large and handsome. I have put the 2 Speckled Sussex males in there, and there might be another one with the hens. Can't tell yet. And then there are the 2 Buffs, which are more than likely Orpingtons, since they are large but very slow to feather, and very non-aggressive. In fact, one has named himself Crybaby, as he runs in circles and cheeps for a Loooong time every night before joining everybody else on the perch. Who knows why?
In the hen chick coop, there are 3 Dark Cornish, of which one I think is a cockerel. There are 3 tall and slender blacks which I think might be Minorcas, and 2 are probably males. There are 4 Speckled Sussex and 3 Light Brahmas and 2 handsome whites, breed yet to be IDed. I think that's it. Ideal Hatchery sent a very nice assortment.
Oh, and I forgot that there are 2 either Rocks or Dominiques, one in the the roos and one with the pullets. The roo is large and handsome; the pullet is dark and quiet.

Here's the set of Twin Ribs I just finished for my DH. He only wants dull dull colors. The yarn is Plymouth Sockotta, and I ribbed the instep because he likes them snug there.
 

buying/not buying Baby Lock for sale

I've done a bad thing. I got an email message (sent out to many) that someone has a used BabyLock Professional Quilter for sale, just like my Brother QC1300. THe price is good; I told her I want it. Of course I want it, but I can't afford it now and can't buy it unless I use credit. I don't want to use credit, and put myself in that cycle again. You know, the one about buying what I want with credit, thinking I'll pay it off the next month, or within 3 months, or ???? whenever, and then you end up running it up and up until you really can't even afford the minimum payment. NOT!!!! I will just have to bite the bullet and tell her I can't get it. After all, I never did say I would buy it, just that I wanted it, but I sure did give the impression I was buying it. I bet if anybody else called about it, she told them it was sold.
Stop kicking myself and just go email her. I am not buying it. I am not buying it. I don't even need it; I just want it. I am not buying it.

Bless Her Cotton Socks Exchange

Is this a good idea? Yes

Can I accomplish it? Sure, if I try.

Do I want to? I THINK so.

I better think about it for a day or so.

Avian Inluenza update

http://www.mercola.com/2006/may/11/a_hidden_agenda_behind_the_bird_flu_hoax.htm

Says it all

Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald

Unclaimed Territory - by Glenn Greenwald
Just discovered this blog this morning. Even though he is thought to be a conservative, and I am thought to be a liberal, I haven't read anything yet I disagree with. I plan to read this on a regular basis.

Ideal day old chicks

Actually they were 48 hours old in the photo. They were hatched at 8 AM Monday and shipped to me. The PO called me at 7 AM Wed and I had them home and in the brooder box by 8 AM. Aren't they just the cutest things? And they are stronger and more active than the ones I get from the feed store. THey come from Texas, and the feed store ones are from New Mexico, but these were shipped by air, AND I picked them up shortly after arrival rather than waiting for them to be delivered. That would be at least another 6-7 hours delay. And it is my understanding that the NM chicks are 3 days in transit rather than 2. So I guess its no wonder that these chicks recovered from it faster.
Oh, when I got home from work, there were 2!!
small perfect green eggs in the nest box. Yay!
However, I soon noticed that one of the pullets,
Sisty Ugler was straining, and that she has a
prolapsed cloaca. I put her in a sink of warm
water until I was able to massage the impacted egg out, but I wasn't able to make the prolapsed tissue. She continued to strain off and on, and that pushed it out again. I knew the other chickens would peck it, the evil little buggers, so I put her in the small crate overnight.
I haven't decided yet whether to kill her this morning by myself or confine her all day and let DH do it tonight. We were going to eat a Barred Rock this weekend, but we will eat her instead.