Fiberaddict's Fiber Fumblings

But it's a good tired! Let's see if I can get y'all caught up.

1. Studio: Have recovered the couch in the Studio (this was a while back, but still - need to update!). It was a really....out there 60's brown/yellow/orange/brown plaid; now it's plain canvas. I also made a quilt and 4 or 5 throw pillows for it. MUCH nicer in there, now!

1a. We also got rid of "Big Ugly" - the old entertainment center I had in there. Now I have a double Billy and a single, in white. They....well. Big Ugly was 3' deep; the Billys are 15". So all the fleece is hanging out next to the loom. But! The Billy's have glass doors, and my yarn looks VERY NICE now. I can actually SEE what I have....which...well. I don't need any yarn for a while. I have enough in most weights to make almost anything. (Only 1 sweater's worth set aside; if I decide I NEED another sweater, we'll have to go shopping. But for hats/gloves/socks/scarves, I'm set.

2. Knitting: Have banged out 3 hats and a few pairs of socks. I've slowed down recently - I messed up my right elbow last month and can't do a lot without pain. :sigh: I have 2 pairs of socks on the needles, but they are stalled. No biggie - I'm sewing, instead!

3. Sewing: I joined Sew Over It's PDF club, and have taken advantage of it. I jumped on the new "Ultimate Culottes" - I have 3 pair, so far. Have plans for a few more - the goal is to get rid of my default sweat pants, and replace them with something a little more feminine. These fit the bill, at least for Spring/Summer/Fall. Have some Jeans patterns I need to work on, but right now I'm focused on Summery stuff. (It's been in the 80's...in MARCH and early APRIL. How hot is August gonna be????) Fabric Mart had a huge sale, and I scored some really nice Cotton Lawn. Already knocked out 1 SOI Vintage Shirt Dress; I have SOI's Nancy Dress (a Swing Dress) that I think will make a lovely tunic that I will tackle next. (SOI FITS me. I have to do very very little modification to their patterns, which is very very rare for me. SO NICE!)

4. Life, in general: Himself is.....better. He has developed an interest in modding Nerf blasters, thanks to the YouTube channel "Battle Universe". We've been having Family Nerf battles every Saturday evening....I am bruised, but it's fun. He still can't deal with crowds, so he stayed home yesterday while the rest of us went to Dallas Fan Expo.

FYI: IF you should decide you'd like to take your family to a Con (and have never been), might I suggest Sunday as your first visit? It's generally less crowded and a little bit cheaper. Most vendors (but not all!) are willing to slash prices so they don't have to move the stock back home. BUT.

If, say, there are more than 2 autographs you want to get, and they are BIG names, I highly recommend you spring for at least 1 Premium ticket (or VIP, but those prices are.....well. $$$$) We learned this with Mark Hamill - Sunday tickets, long lines, almost didn't get the autograph after HOURS of standing in line. For David Tennent, I did the Premium - we got 5 line jumps, so there was very little waiting.

This time......well. It was HUGE. Just some of the stars: Princess Bride Vizini, Wesley, and Humperdink; 2001 (the 2 main male characters); Back to the Future Biff, Doc Brown (Michael J. Fox and the girl had to cancel last minute, but STILL); Val Kilmer; Chuck Norris; Richard Dean Anderson; Inara from Firefly, Anthony Daniels (C3P0), Billy Dee Williams (LANDO CALRISSIAN, Oh My Goodness!!!!)...and the list honestly GOES ON (oh, Ben Afflack was there....he's a bit full of himself.). There were 9 autographs SG wanted, so -after a lot of waffling, to the point he missed the VIP pass - he went for a Premium. He decided on 4, total...and got the 3 "big" ones on Saturday. (He would have gotten some on Friday, but the guys he wanted didn't make it before he had to leave.) Sunday he got Inara's while Herself and I waited in line for the 2 SHE wanted - the English voice actors for a Japanese anime called "My Hero Acadamia". If you haven't discovered it yet....go. Go NOW. It's just started Season 3, and it's WONDERFUL. (Basically humans have evolved super hero powers, called "quirks". There are a few quirkless folks around - the main protagonist is a 14 year old quirkless boy named Midoriya. (Called "Deku"). The Number 1 Hero is All Might - and Herself LOVES them. Here, let me show you:



When she found out Justin (Deku) and Chris (All Might) were going to be here, she pulled out the Sculpy and went to work. :lol: We took them with us yesterday so she could give them to the actors....who are both simply LOVELY people. Very, very, very nice and personable, and both of them were SO NICE to my out-of-her-element Aspie. :hugs: So nice, in fact, that she willingly got selfies with both:



That, my friends, is Chris Sabat, voice of All Might (and Vagita from Dragonball Z). He is.....well, you can see. :lol: (She is bounding as Bonnie from FNAF. She crocheted the guitar. Yes, it's awesome. :lol:)



This is Justin Briner, voice of Deku. VERY nice guy!

She is thrilled - SG bought her a print with the whole ensemble (Class 1A from the school), and both Chris and Justin signed it. If any of the other actors come thru, she'll get them to sign it, too. (Yes, *I* also have their autographs...because I really like the show, too.)

We came home with 2 new plushies for her (Oh My - 40" tall Bonnie and Chicka from FNAF. They barely fit in the car!!!), a Gjallorhorn prop from Destiny (it was a flash sale....for 75% off! Himself is looking into modding it to actually fire Nerf missiles. :lol:), a bunch of art work, and some custom-painted Nerf blasters. Oh! We also had a photo op with the Princess Bride trio - it was a hoot! It was a good day! But exhausting - today has been very laid-back.

Went to the Stock Show on Friday - SG bought me some lovely, lovely work gloves. Thinsulate-lined deerskin gloves; very warm, very sturdy. LOVE them!

FIL is....well, he's been moved to a regular room. I talked to him last night; he was slightly confused and very, very wheezy. :sigh: I....don't like it. At all.

Piano! It's going well. The teacher has both of us in book 1 for "Recreational Music Makers". It fits - I don't want to perform anywhere, I just want to be able to play piano. And harp. :lol: Problem......this book is, so far, too basic for *me*. He assigned both of us Module 1 for this week. I am....well, I'm into Module 4 already. :lol: To be fair, he warned me I'd move pretty quickly at first. The problem? I have to hide it from SG, who doesn't read music, doesn't have much music background, and is struggling with Module 1. :sigh: NOT fun at all.....(Every practice I start with Module 1. IF I play it perfectly, I move on to 2, then 3 etc. I have to play it perfect before I move on, though - I want my left hand to get with the program. Module 5 is where we are introduced to the Grand Staff (both clefs!)...I'm waiting on that. For now. :lol:)

Still knitting. Finished the fingerless gloves and started (yet) another hat. This one has Sheepies on it! :lol:

Floors are DONE. Finished. Beautiful. The kids' bathroom is virtually done - the grout needs to finish curing (tomorrow evening!) and we need to hang the towel rack and rehang the door, but I can mark it off the list.

And the kitchen cabinets have been ordered and will be delivered Jan. 30. Let me repeat that: My Kitchen will be Delivered 1/30/17. !

I need to talk about that - because my experience wasn't what the internet said it would be. It was better. Remember, I paid $249 to get Ikea's partner Traemand to come out, measure, and plan my kitchen for me - and I think that's why the actual ordering process went so quickly.

The Internet told me to a) get there right as the doors opened (we...didn't. :sigh:) and be prepared for a 2 or 3 hour ordeal - because the salespeople had to place the order line item by line item. :shudder: So, I was prepared for a long, drawn-out ordeal.

I brought ALL the paperwork Traemand sent me (VERY important!), plus the receipt from when I set up the measurement/planning (also VERY important! Take ALL the paperwork Ikea has ever given you - it'll make life so much easier!)

We got there at 11 (because SG decided to pay off the piano first, instead of 2nd. :sigh:), and had a 30 minute or so wait. To say they were packed would be an understatement - and it looked like almost everyone wanted to PLAN their kitchen right then. (I don't know why they weren't set up on the planner and left...that's what happened the first time we went in, but I digress.) When my name was called, the guy asked me what I needed; I said, "I'm here to order my kitchen." He went pale. "Traemand sent me all the paperwork - and I have it - what else do you need from me? Do I need to sign in the planner?"

He took a deep breath, said "You went thru Traemand? This'll be easy, then! Let me see the papers...." He found the plan #, typed it in, told it to convert to a sales order, removed the appliances (because the guy at Traemand didn't.....he was hoping we'd order the Ikea appliances, too. HA! Not even....), double-checked the number of items, and hit "final". He then got his supervisor over (he's been with Ikea for 12 years, but just started in kitchens) to make sure it was done correctly; she "fixed" a few things, told him how to get me the "free" gift card (the refund from the planning fee), then watched him check me out.

We were done within 30 minutes of his calling my name.

I am expecting 124 packages, weighing 599.9 Kg. :gulp!: We have 48 hours to do an inventory after they drop the stuff off; after that it's on us to pay for anything missing. Damaged items will be replaced free of charge - they just want to make sure we actually received everything we ordered.

Now, because everyone asks: Total cost for the kitchen, upper cabinets, lower cabinets, countertop, bar countertop, sink and range hood, WITH tax and delivery: $5,392.49. Let me repeat: This is for the ENTIRE kitchen, less installation. (Delivery was $199; tax was $316.64 - meaning the actual cost of the kitchen was $4,876.85. Go compare that to Home Depot or Lowe's, just for fun. :lol:)

Install will be another $2,250.00. We *could* DIY; I've offered. However......both of us kinda don't feel like it. Yes, Himself could - and would happily! - assemble all the cabinets by himself.....but......y'know what? Life's too short. We've agreed it's worth $2300 to NOT do it ourselves. (Unlike the bathroom - it was NOT worth $1,500 to pay someone else to do it.)

Insurance had allocated about $4,000 for the lower cabinets and countertop ONLY.....so I think we did pretty well. The contractor we consulted quoted $5,000 for lower cabinets and countertop; that did include installation, but no uppers and no bar. I think we came out ahead, actually - and I LOVE how the kitchen looks in the planning tool.

I am in a faint freak-out phase right now; we have NO kitchen at all (the sink was torn out for the floors, and can NOT be reinstalled.) We DO have a microwave....but it'll be coming out a day or 2 before the install. I am SO ready for all this to be over!

In good news, I have another new hat, and I've started yet another one. We ran out to Tuesday Morning today; they have a bunch of Clover wooden needles (both circular AND straights) for $2.99 (yes, Mom - I left some! :lol: RC's is Right There if you wanna go shop!).....I filled in the blanks in my collection, and added a few more balls of yarn. Today is work-day; Cyn needs it by this weekend, so I need to get cracking!

The insurance check came back on Monday, and we dropped everything to run it to the bank. They, of course, put a hold on most of the funds, but enough has been released that we can go get the kids' bathroom vanity today (if we wanted - we're planning an Ikea run Saturday). We're also going to replace their tub and toilet while we're at it (why not? They could use replacement - might as well do it now, before replacing the floors.) Next week, when the bulk is released, I'll order the floors and the kitchen cabinets. :happy dance:

I'll soon have my house back! Can't wait!!!!

We are going to arrange a professional to come out and measure the kitchen - we've done it, I've played with Ikea's kitchen designer program....but I am planning some changes and want to make sure I don't screw up. The current plan has 2 small countertops on either side of the stove......and, in MY kitchen, they are useless. They simply collect stuff. I really want to ditch them - run the wall cabinets down to the countertop, leaving just a "lip" of counter. Regular cabinets on top, drawers on bottom, with a built-in microwave (Ikea has a cabinet designed just for that, but it's the same depth all the way. I want - I THINK I want - shallower cabinets on top.....according to the program, it looks like it'll work, but I want the confidence that'll come from an Ikea professional looking and advising. (The other side of the kitchen is a long run of countertop that curves around the sink and ends in a small clear space. IF I have enough storage space, that'll be enough counter space. If not.....we'll be hacking an island to match - right now I have a portable island from Big Lots, but it doesn't match, it won't match, and Herself can use it for lamp working.)

I think this knitting jag is almost over - I'm on the last (for now) scarf.....and have slowed down a bit. I'm still planning on stocking up on "larger" yarn - I am a SOCK knitter. I use tiny yarn/tiny needles - anything larger than a size 2 feels like I'm trying to knit with pencils or something. I am good on sock yarn......not so much on hat/sweater/bulky yarn. :lol:

for those of you, who, like me, have NO idea of what, exactly, being named an Executor entails. It's interesting!

First, someone has to die and name you executor in their will. You need to cobble together some money (in our example, $1800-ish), and contact a Probate Attorney. Bonus points if he's "local" to you. Find the will, and make an appointment.

Go to the appointment. Discuss the basics of the "estate" with same; be sure to verify you will get back any funds spent by you on estate business (in Texas, yes - you will get back the funds. Otherwise, you'll come out *less* than the other heirs, and that's not fair.) Agree to the attorney's fees, and write a retainer check.

Go home, freak out slightly on the amount of money you will be out until you can liquidate assets.

Wait approx. 2 weeks. Get a letter from the attorney spelling out the date and time you are to go to Court to be officially appointed as Executor. Notice that he wants you to meet with him 15 minutes before the court time, so you can go over your "testimony". Mark date on calendar so that you are SURE you won't forget.

Court day! Make sure you are dressed appropriate to the dignity of the court - NOT in cut-off shorts and flip-flops, or the dirty wife-beater, stained and torn jeans, and tatts that the folks after us showed up in. :shakes head: Because you are paranoid about being late to official things, make sure you leave the house with PLENTY of time to spare. (In our case? Um.....4 hours. For a 1 hour drive. In my defense, SG offered to take me to lunch at a sit-down place that notoriously runs slow. We ended up at Chick-fil-a......and the yarn store. :lol: More on THAT later...suffice to say I *needed* a new project, right then.)

Wait for your attorney, who is LATE. Later than my brother, in fact, who is almost always late. (In our family, I got all the "Must get there on Time" genes, and my brother got all the "don't worry, it's fine, I'll get there when I get there" genes.) Then, remind your attorney of who, exactly, you are (he tried to give me someone else's paperwork. TWICE.)

Go over the "testimony" - basically, you answer yes or no to various easy questions. If you're not totally brain-dead, you've got this. :lol: Oh - be sure you're not a felon, or been declared legally incompetent. :snicker:

Take a deep breath, and go into the Court. The Judge will swear you in, get your attorney to hand him the papers, and then he'll tell your attorney to question you. Pay attention - he might try to trick you by asking "And you swear you are not a felon" and "Have you ever been declared mentally incompetent"...which if you are not listening you might mis-interpret. (No, I didn't. I did sign one page on the wrong line, though....)

The Judge will declare you Executor. You and your attorney will then go to the clerk's office to get the paperwork (he didn't tell me that.....:sigh:) and then you are done and can sell all the things.

Re: Yarn. I had started a new sock last Friday. By Friday evening, I was OVER it. The yarn - which was NOT cheap ($28/skein!) - is riddled with weak spots that break if you look at it funny. Or try to pull a bit out to knit with. I tried to keep going - by Tuesday AM I was at 4", but had 8 grafts. I told the yarn store owner about it - she was horrified and wanted to try and help me; I told her no, the yarn was a couple of years old, it was a highly-spun yarn and it looked like in some spots it was just too highly-spun. Seems that the company is now out of business, so......Anyway. I bought 3 new skeins and a set of needles. She wound 1 into a ball for me, and I sat down and CO a new sock. (SG was at Lowe's, which is in the same shopping center.) I happily knit while I waited for him - AND I had a sock to work while waiting for the attorney. And 2 more skeins to play with, later. :lol: I don't get to the yarn store often, so it was a nice treat. (Photos later......)

Tomorrow at 11 we go to the Title Company. This is almost done.......:whew!:

Because I don't have much else to share right now. It's wet, it's chilly...we need the rain, but we're at a point we almost need an Ark, too. The creek is about 25' outside it's banks right now....we're going to evolve webbed feet soon!

Anyway, photos! First up, the Yaakov V.3.0 socks:






These are "better" than V.2.0, but there's still a bit of muddiness. However, they'll do! (for now :lol:) I have 3 more double sock blanks, so there *may* be at least 1 more pair in the works, but...not any time soon. I have too many other patterns I want to knit up, first.

I managed to finish these Thursday AM, and I wore them to NTIF on Friday. Thursday PM I started these:






The yarn is a Cash/Merino base from Wool2Dye4, and it's SCRUMPTOUS! Lovely, lovely yarn - SOOOOooooo soft and cushy, and it takes the dye really, really well. The colors are...well, this pair was inspired by a Celtic song, "The Orange and the Green". It's about a boy from a mixed family (Irish Protestant (Orange) and Irish Catholic (Green)), and how difficult his life was, having to make both sides happy. (It's a comedic song, BTW. :lol:) I wanted to show that the 2 COULD get along.....so, here we go. If I could count to 3, I'd be past the heel now, but I had to rip back 20 rows because....yeah, I can't count. :lol:

Anyway. That's what I've been up to lately. I need to fix Herself's jeans pattern, and give it another try, and I need to retrace my bombachas pattern and change the tucks to darts. And get rid of some length.

Hope y'all are staying dry!

I, um...wasn't going to post today, but...well, it was a good mail day. :wink: Anyway, I have photos! Let's see...

First up, the UGLY socks:





The yarn is nice, and the colors - in the skein! - obviously looked good, or I wouldn't have bought it (I don't get affected by wool fumes to the point of purposefully buying ugly yarn, and I KNOW I didn't dye this batch. I...don't have dyes in that lichen green, for one thing!). The pattern is Old Shale/Feather and Fan, which usually works great with variegated skeins. This skein, though......

Here's my currently active sock - I give you Yaacov V.3.0:



The muddiness I had yesterday in the pattern portion is now in the bottom of the ribbing. :shrug: It works there, and the pattern is showing up pretty clearly. Can't wait to see how it works up next!

And now....I give you my new serger:



It came in a lovely protective case! The box...was HUGE. The serger was in the case (wrapped in bubble wrap!), then the case was wrapped in bubble wrap, with an old yoga mat wrapped around *that*. The foot pedal and accessories were in bubble wrap inside a shoe box that was *also* wrapped in bubble wrap.



There she is, in all her glory! I am.....intimidated. VERY intimidated! She currently has 3 needles in - she can take 5. :gulp!:



This thing is SPOTLESS. I mean - except for a few scuffs on the outside, it looks like it's never been used! I am.....:gulp!:

I will play with it probably tomorrow....or maybe Sunday. I am.....honestly? I am a little scared of this thing! :giggle: At least it's good timing - I have a pair of jeans to make up for Herself....guess I can practice on them.

I need to rustle up lunch and get back to knitting...the serger can...can wait a bit. :lol: I need to read the manual and hunt up some videos to get my courage up.

:lol: Anyway...

Herself has a week of doctor's appointments next week. Monday is a Gyn visit (to try and figure out WHY the BC pills aren't doing their job of regulating her cycle), Tuesday we have to be at the Med. Center in Mesquite at *8* AM for the start of a test/scan on her thyroid (the endo checked her levels last week, and did some "new" test - low and behold, her thyroid levels were *high*. :sigh:); we have to be back at 2 for the scan, then Wednesday we have to be back at 8:30 for the final scan. Thursday we see her GP.....needless to say, school has been cancelled for next week. :sigh: Glad we homeschool!

Just turned the heel of Yaacov sock #1. My gauge is all over the place - i was supposed to be at 3" and 32 rows.....um. I was at 3" at 24 rows. I fudged it - knit to 30 rows so I can pick up the required 16 stitches on each side of the flap. I tried it on - it DOES fit, thankfully! I am going to push and try to get this pair done this week, so I can take a NEW sock along on Tuesday (I think we'll have to hang out at the Med. center, because it's an hour away - gas is an issue. :sigh: Ah, well - let's pray they figure out what the heck is going on with Herself, because she's miserable. (Oh, and the endo put her on thyroid meds. :sigh: Fun stuff....)

We started Joshua this week (TorahClass for the win!). Looks good, so far. I really like how Mr. Bradford goes into the traditions and culture of the time period, and brings the NT into it. Fascinating stuff!

Gotta run - have a Jedi outfit to finish, as well as a new knitting bag. (What? I found Star Wars fat quarters at Wally-world......and 2 fat quarters are just enough to squeak out a large bag. And......Star Wars!!!!!! :lol:)

Because I still don't have a lot to report. I'm busy, but.....not *busy* busy, if you understand. We're just keepin' on, here...

So, Photos! I have 3 to share:

First up, Socks! DH "stole" these before I had finished the 2nd one. It's OK - I was so OVER them it isn't funny.



Commercial sock yarn, don't remember the brand. Feels decent, the colors looked great in the skein, but knit up? I'm not impressed. I don't like the way they striped - it happens sometimes. SG's happy, so it's all good. :lol:

I've been sewing - I'm putting off working on Himself's Jedi robes. I'm just not.....feeling it right now. I'm going to start on them in the morning, though - there's nothing else I have to do to postpone it. :wry grin: This was the last thing standing in the way - covers for the pressing tools:



The sleeve board. Both sides are covered; I used old towels for the padding. I LOVE how they look and feel now!



And my matchy-matchy ironing board. The original cover was the standard blue-and-white stripes; I HATED it. It was....boring. And...for some reason, it offended my sensibilities. I realize that sounds weird, but there it is - I hated using the thing. Now? I love it! Herself says it reminds her of a country cottage...I guess I like cottage-y things. :lol: I do need to pad it - I think I am going to look for an old wool blanket to use.

School is going well. I found a documentary series (it's on YouTube!) called "Engineering an Empire" that we are using alongside the iTunes U course. I thought it was going to be light-weight; it.....well, it is, but it isn't. It's pretty good! Himself is enjoying it, except that each episode is like 1.5 hours. :shrug: There's another series we'll be watching at the end of the year; it's called "Ancient Impossible". I have no idea how good/accurate it is, but hey - it looks fun.

We have to take Bree to the vet tonight; she's got 3 lumps that need to be removed. Surgery is tomorrow AM....I am worried, but I trust our vet. Still...my baby isn't going to be home tonight! She's going to be a basket-case, and so am I.

Not much else to report.....

OK, so Herself is moderately better. Doc appt. yesterday was honestly a waste of time - we learned NOTHING. And nothing was done - just "come back in 6 weeks for more blood work" :bangs head: At least she sees a "specialist" on Tuesday....maybe we'll learn something then.

I finished sock #1, and am on the leg of #2. I am itching to dye up some more yarn to kit up yet more socks....but I am fighting the urge. I need to knit more down, first......maybe. :lol:

Tomorrow we go to pick up a sewing machine cabinet/table....I want to move my White (30-ish pounds!) into the house, as I can't sew in the Studio. No room! I found a cheap, antique cabinet on CraigsList - hope it works. (No picture....but the lady is nice, and it's CHEAP.) Not sure where I'll put it.....ah, well. Such is life, right? :lol:

Himself got his forge, and promptly freaked out. :rofl: I'm working on him......

Shabbat Shalom! See ya on the flip side!