Knitting at sea

I mentioned in my last post that Mr. Gadget and I will be going out to sea again--a week from today as a matter of fact, and I always like to take along a knitting project. For the past week, I've been on the prowl for more of this yarn:

Notice how hard I must concentrate to avoid taking a picture of just my camera, and to make sure no turkey neck is showing?

After much phoning and emailing, I found a store with some in stock--right in my own hometown. A very pleasant saleslady even rolled my purchase into balls on one of those magic winder thingies. I may be a knitter from way back, but I've never quite mastered the entirety of the knitting terminology. Thingie works so often in a pinch, don't you agree?

So now that I'm stocked up on yarn for the cruise, I can start focusing on my packing. My major dilemma will be figuring out how to pack all the clothes I think I'll need for a 14-day cruise, while remaining within the luggage weight restrictions for the flight home. Mr. Gadget has come up with a very clever solution indeed.

He always uses the ship's gym, since he's very committed to his exercise regime. (I use that time to meditate out on the deck, in the sun, with a nice cup of hot coffee.) Mr. G is not one to wear the latest in designer exercise togs. Instead, he plans to take his old, tattered workout clothes which he will deposit in the trash can on the last day of the cruise. He'll do the same, he says, with an old pair of shoes and socks. And now he's even thinking of dumping an old toothbrush, and a can of shaving cream with just enough for two week's worth of shaves.

Hearing his plan got me to thinking. Maybe I'll pack my favorite short-sleeved t-shirt--the one I stupidly wore to clean the bathroom and spilled bleach down the front of. With a pretty scarf strategically placed, maybe I can get by till we disembark. I could even take my little white crocheted purse--the one with the cafe latte stain on one side. Who would notice if I pinned a crocheted yarn flower on it? And maybe, rather than packing my black and white sparkly dress for formal night, I'll look for something stylish in a red crepe paper...

Send a bartender

My therapy sessions are going well. I've made quite a bit of progress on the blue chicken, and have traced the other two chickens onto fabric for future sessions. It never hurts to have a little project lying-in-wait in case of an emergency.

Between stitches I've been watching the Olympics. My favorite athlete is Apolo Ohno, or Apolo 7 as he is now known. He always appears cool as a cucumber. And I love those colorful bandanas he wears. Maybe I could get Mr. G to wear one so I wouldn't have to be sewing those terry-cloth headbands that snow all over the house.

So life has served me up a few lemons lately.

I know I should be making lemonade, or better yet--lemon meringue pie--but what I really feel like doing is hurling them. I think I've come up with a workable solution though. Mr. Gadget and I will be heading out to sea in a little over a week. Once we're out past the 12-mile limit, I don't think the lemons can get us. Well, except for the ones in those big paper-umbrella drinks.

Quilt show

I'm not much of a quilter myself, but I do enjoy going to a good quilt show, and there just happens to be one right here in my neighborhood this weekend. This cat quilt was one of my favorites. I found it very amusing. The eyes are buttons and the whiskers are rick rack.

If I was a quilter, I'd use bright colors like this. And if I had no worries about what my neighbors would think, I'd live in an orange house with purple shutters and a polka-dotted front door.

I'm sure the quilter who made this one had fun looking for turtle-shell fabric. She probably has a good turtle story too. Kind of reminds me of Tech Guy's car trip around the U.S. with his pet turtle. I've always wondered if his iguana was jealous.

This is one of 12 squares that make up the quilt. It's a crazy quilt with appliques. The tree blossoms were made with ribbon embroidery. It was assembled and stitched by the ladies who run Piecemakers--the store I visited a few weeks ago in Orange County. It was photographed for their 2002 calendar.

I love the colors in this one. You're probably wondering if these quilts inspired me to take up the craft. They did not. I'm more of a small-craft gal. I like something I can work on in my lap and throw in a little tote bag and take along with me. I'd love to own lots of wonderful quilts, but I don't think that's gonna happen. I'm quite content, however, to wile away my hours in the Treehouse with the silly characters who live there. We don't always get along, but at least we speak the same language...

Barnyard therapy

There's nothing like some chicken embroidery therapy to soothe your frazzled nerves. It's so much less expensive than prescription drugs--or a good bottle of Scotch--and there's no annoying hangover. This week Joann's is having a sale on floss, so if you're thinking of signing up for some therapy of your own, hurry on down. Here's a little tutorial for you. Think of it as my small contribution to your sanity.

First, find a picture of something that strikes your fancy. A drawing is the best, and one with simple shapes is even better. Enlarge it on a copy machine. I think I used 175% for mine. You'll have to play around till you find the right size.

Tape the enlarged copy to a sunny window, then tape a piece of white cotton fabric over it--allowing extra space around the edges so you'll have plenty of room to accommodate an embroidery hoop. (I'm just doing the middle chicken.) I usually use white Weaver's cloth. It's available at Joann's too. Mine was $4.99/yard, and--no surprise--it was on sale, so I couldn't use my once-in-a-blue-moon 50% coupon. Trace all around the design with a pencil. I'm usually able to stitch over the lines, but you can always use one of those marking pens with ink that rubs out with a damp cloth.Remove the fabric from the window and use your pencil (or marking pen) to fill in any areas you missed. I drew the chicken dots on afterwards by just referring to the drawing. Some things don't have to be precise. Chicken dots, for instance. Oh, and remember to remove the copy from the window--or else the neighbors will have even more reason to wonder about you....

Now it's all ready for the embroidery hoop. If you're smart, you'll take your picture with you to the thread store so you can match the colors. I forgot to take mine along, but I discovered I have a pretty good color memory. I came very close. And, like the chicken dots, the colors don't have to be precise either. It's just a fun therapy project.

Now, get up off your chair and go get yourself some therapy supplies. You'll feel so much better after you've stitched a chicken.....or a pig, or whatever strikes your particular fancy. My bill in the mail....

Anybody got a GPS?

I finished a couple of my crocheted flowers and pinned them on my hat.

A plain hat is perfectly acceptable, but a flowered hat is so much more festive.

The same could be said for Mr. Gadget's gym bag.

Maybe I won't tell him I've pinned a flower to it. This could turn out to be a great practical joke. Especially if his pretty bag is sitting on the gym floor, right next to him while he's lifting a big, manly barbell. On second thought, maybe this is not a good idea. It might be a very long time before he'd be willing to open another jar for me, or retrieve something from a high shelf.

So the Brothers Gadget (good thing I didn't say the Brothers Grimm) had a nice visit. Whenever they get together there are usually only two topics of conversation: 1) cars, and 2) humorous stories about their growing-up years. I'll spare you the car stuff. But they really got to laughing about how their mother used to throw shoes at them, or hit them with wooden spoons, whenever they came in past curfew--and sometimes a little tipsy. I've heard these stories before, but I never let on. I'm frequently in need of jar-opening assistance.

Late yesterday morning we all decided to go out for a Korean lunch. My sister-in-law is Korean--as I've mentioned before--so we put her in charge of ordering the food. We picked a restaurant nearby, and we set out on foot. The weather was great and we all like to walk. And wouldn't you know, all three of the Brothers Gadget were clueless about how to find the place. While they all have a fancy GPS in their fancy cars, they're foolish on foot. Finally one of them flagged down a passerby and ask for directions. Fortunately, this guy knew where the place was. He said he and his Korean wife eat there all the time. By the time we finally got there, we were so hungry we ate everything in the 23 little dishes. But only one of us had any idea what exactly we were eating. Sometimes it's probably just as well not to know.

Chickens

Sometimes something comes in the mail, sort of out of left field, that begs to be embroidered. I think I will start with the blue one in the middle with the cute tail feathers. Gotta love a chicken who's not afraid to show his true colors.

Must run for now. The Gadget brothers will be here soon. Word has it that they are creeping along in some L.A. freeway traffic. And you know what I say to that? Better them than me....heh...heh....

Resurrected

My computer has returned from the dead, thanks to some magic from Manila and some schmoozing with certain customer service people by none other than Mr. Gadget. He's good at schmoozing. He used to work in the corporate world.

So now I'm back in business, uncensored, in my quiet little corner of the back bedroom, and I finally have some knitting craftiness to share.

I used 3 skeins of Berroco's Softwist--for those of you who knit and are interested. I love it and especially like its ability to camouflage the dreaded turkey neck. I only wish I had purchased more of this yarn on my last visit to Yarn Heaven. Maybe I should really be calling it Knitters' Heaven. I plan to wear it while watching news about the east coast blizzard on the Weather Channel. It's enough to give me the shivers.

I've also been doing some very boring sewing. You can stop reading now if you'd rather, and come back next week--after the Auntie Pasto and Gadget brothers visit--when there is likely to be something more interesting.

I've been making Mr. Gadget some sweat bands for his gym workouts.

He says the sweat bands I make him are superior to the ones he buys at the big sports store. I'm pretty sure he's just saying that. He'd much rather shop for a new car than exercise gear. And he knows I'm always looking for an excuse to go to a fabric store, so he probably assumes it's one of those win-win situations. Do you know how terry cloth sheds? We've got half an inch of snow in the house. Good thing I've got my new scarf.

And finally, I shortened the new bedskirt. That was a mind-numbing task if ever there was one. I'm glad it's over. I think I need a break. Maybe I'll go down to the beach and see if the surf's up. And on my way home I'll see if I can find a snow shovel....

Gardening

I've been doing some gardening with my crochet hook. It's so much less messy than digging in the dirt. These little posies still need some finishing work plus a crocheted leaf or two. Then I'll sew a pin on the back so they'll be suitable for adorning something--a big hat, a purse, or maybe even Mr. Gadget's gym bag.

I have some sad news to report. My computer has expired. It may have suffered a cardiac episode of some kind following a recent power dip in the area. Mr. Gadget tried hooking it up to life support, but his efforts were futile. We've put an emergency call in to Tech Guy, but apparently there are more fun things to do than help your clueless parents with their computer issues. Meanwhile, I'm using Mr. G's computer. I suppose I'll have to be especially careful now when I talk about him here on the blog since he and I and it are mostly sharing the same room. I'll have to remember not to make any more humorous jabs at his various idiosyncracies just in case he's hovering over my shoulder.

This coming week will be a busy one with preparations underway for a visit from two of Mr. Gadget's brothers. I thought it would be a great time to invite Auntie Pasto for another visit too, and she has graciously accepted. Maybe she can help me keep the boys in line. They've been known to misbehave--especially when there's wine involved.

Shopaphobic

I hate to shop. And sometimes I'm even scared to shop. It wasn't so long ago that I was driven to submit a complaint to customer service at our local mall about the proprietors of those push-cart-kiosk thingies that seem to be increasing in numbers like carnival games along the midway. They always seem to delight in shoving a scented heating bag in my face or badgering me to answer their questionnaires.

"Yes, we do get quite a few complaints," said the nice lady behind the desk, after I told her I found it quite annoying to be hounded like that right in my own zip code. That was months ago and nothing has changed.

And while I'm at it, there's another thing about shopping I find frightening. Must the sales people bombard me with receipts? Just the other day I went to one of those big mall stores to buy a new pair of jeans. Just one pair. Just jeans. No sooner had I swiped my credit card than I was blitzed.

Next time I'll wear a flak jacket....or at the very least, a hard hat.

Well, enough of the scary part. Now for the hating part. Since we're having guests soon here at the Calcondo, it seemed like a good idea to shop for a queen-sized comforter set for the guest room so we could retire the twin-sized bedspread we've been making-do with for months. I wasn't dreading the task too much. After all, this is the time of year for white sales.

But I soon discovered that all the bed sets on sale are in either over-the-top zippy colors, or they're bland enough to double as shrouds. After days and days of searching--and countless hours taken away from my crafting pursuits--I found something I deemed acceptable.
I will choose not to look at this and think bordello. Instead, I will think Holiday Inn. I only hope our guests don't get the wrong idea and think they have to check out before noon.

Rescue

It looks like the firemen finished their shopping and cooking and had time left over to stop by our complex to resusitate the flagpole. It's been naked and lifeless for over a week....apparently due to some sort of malfunction. But those resourceful firemen with their long ladders, and their vast experience retrieving cats from trees, have come to the rescue. Although I must say they did not come to rescue our cat from a tree many years ago. I was forced to be resourceful on my own. I found a long pole of some kind in the garage. Maybe it was two poles that I lashed together (she was up there pretty high). That, along with a plastic basket and lots of twine, did the trick. And maybe it helped that she was hungry.

Sparkle the cat went on to live many more years--long enough to go deaf and put the fear of God in me with her jarring, loud, obnoxious meowing. Which would prompt Mr. G to question me as to why I rescued her all those years ago. And those questions came up again when she developed arthritis and I built her a handicapped ramp up to our bed.

I hope you know I'm just funning with the firemen. I have the utmost respect for the work they do. I even have a cousin who's a fireman. I wonder if he has any good recipes?

So I've been lagging a little with the blogging. Seems like stuff has a way of getting in the way. Not to mention, a little hand-wringing from afar. Oh, and the fact that my computer is now in a room that is cold. And I left all of my warm clothes on the east coast. I suppose I could turn on the heat, but this is California, after all. Who turns on the heat? I did just discover some nice warm socks in the back of a drawer. Have you ever noticed how when your feet are warm, you're warm all over? I should be back to regular blogging business soon. I have a few blog ideas in mind, and if I ever run out....well, there's always the firemen.