On the fly.....

My office colleague was called to jury duty yesterday.  I knew he was going to get selected...he's just too much the decent, thoughtful everyman....and he was.  Which means that I have to be him and me for the next little while.  Which means, I'm going to have to WORK at the office most of the time, instead of working and also blogging and looking at email and stuff.

Damn you, civic duty.  Damn you.

1) You all take your menstrual supplies seriously, THAT'S for sure.  Thanks for the tips... the Diva Cup IS fantastic and it IS a fabulous feeling to not be at the mercy of a finite box of cotton at these times. 
    Link to make your own pads
    Link to Diva Cup
    Link to Museum of Menstuation (no, not making it up)
    Link to tampon donation website. (Go and click.  We will wait.)
 

2) I did have a yarn buying incident about 10 days ago.  Sometimes you just need a mindless satisfying thing....which is how I accidentally knocked 7 balls of Louisa Harding  Kashmir Aran - 3 chocolate, 2 turquoise, 2 deep rust red - into my shopping cart.  This yarn is the standard 'affordable luxury' blend of merino, microfibre and cashmere, with a chained construction.  It is lovely and soft and silky and good.  A tiny bit prone to snagging, and frays at the end - for safe keeping  I actually sewed down the ends (with thread and a needle, even) at each join. and as soft as it is, I'd probably stick to hats and scarves and stuff.  I doubt a sweater would wear very well.
But gorgeous texture to touch and see, beautiful depth of color and very satisfying to work with.  The perfect stupid knitting to refresh one for the challenges to come.

Cast on 325 (350?  Dunno.  Multiplied ball gauge by 80 inches cast on until my hand wanted to fall off) stitches, knit a ball, change colors.  Repeat until done.  I like horizontal garter for a scarf because if folds around the body in a really pliant, pretty way.

3) I made this.

Which suffers from all the flaws my spinning suffers from.  Which is not a self-effacing remark.  The thing about spinning is even my moderately skilled hands make things that make me sublimely happy.  There's room for obsessive perfectionism (and improvement, for sure) but it is still all good.  There's only one other thing I can think of when even when you're not very good, it is still fabulous, but this is a family blog.  Supply your own experience.

100g of merino from Laura at Cosmicpluto, marvelous non-fussy deep rose with a hint of lavender blue, purchased at Lettuce Knit in September. This was more fun that kittens to spin - and was done on my (cough) Louet Victoria, mostly at SPA.  My only regret is that I've only got about 250 yards of fingering weight out of it.

4)   Salad soon.

(I did tweak the pictures for truer color - people always say that, so I'm just letting you know these images (except for the lettuce) HAVE been altered.  For what it is worth.)

 

Comments

[Ellen]

Juno, I must thank you for leading me to the Diva Cup. In addition to the beneficial environmental aspects, it's just so much more convenient.

I frankly had not heard about it until I saw your link to it here on your blog, but I was able to zip right down to Cambridge Naturals and acquire one...just in the nick of time, as it turns out.

I am a very happy woman.

[Gina]

I tried that Diva cup and it was a disaster for me. Although maybe I need to find the smoother (less grippy rubbery one) or switch to making my own pads.

[dharma]

lovely spinning work. just beautiful

[Jennifer]

I have always wanted to spin kittens, and one kitten has tried to spin, finding the wheel a little too close to her whiskers for comfort. What do you think of your Victoria for plying? So far, I love mine to spin, not so much to ply.

[LauraJ]

I so completely understand about the love/hate you were experiencing for your 17-year-old cat (of blessed memeory). Asterix is not making it easy to love him. And now he's deaf I realize how much I talk to the cats (and if they don't listen, at least they respond). I am glad your new kitty has you wrapped around her paw.

And very pleased you liked the Pier One remark.

[Teresa C]

You got a Victoria? :)

I love your yarn, and now the question that my husband has taken to asking-and he truly is just curious and doesn't care what the answer is: Are you going to make something out of that? Heh. I am just curious too. You can sleep with it if it makes you happy. Put it in a bowl with fruit. Hang it from your rear-view mirror. Yeah! I'm liking that.

[Diane]

As my Dad used to say...neat, but not gaudy...and yes, he meant it as a compliment!

[Rachel H]

Victoria? You've been holding out on us, darling.

[stitchdom]

Louet what?? ;-)

[anj]

Sounds like both Lanea and you need minions.

Ah the victoria. Now I see the rational. Tell us more...

Still am jealous over the salad greens.

hugs from philly.

[Laurie]

Oh yum on the yarn. It seems to look much better on your blog than the similar shot on mine.

I didn't know that about garter stitch vertical scarves. Hmmmmmm.

[Kathy]

Hmmm. . . Louet Victoria. . . did we know about this? :-) Are you enjoying it? A travel wheel is next up for me.

[lanea]

Mmmm, spring lettuce. Time to decide how much gardening to do this year. And look at that loveliness you spun. What do you think it will turn into?

I'm about to start a shawl knit the looooong way, and the cast-on is daunting. Need minions.

[teffie-phd]

All that green looks so yummy. It's so grey outside...I need some spring.