AI- Top 5 Elimination

Paula looks good, and sounds marginally lucid tonight. Ryan tries to gloss over her gaffe from last night with limited success (my guess- she watched the dress rehearsal and took notes, though I like the idea of Time Travel Paula much better).

I didn't write anything down about the group sing, and I can't remember which Diamond Chestnut(s) they trotted out, but I'll say again that this group has, collectively, the worst dancers in AI history.

The first one called out is never in the bottom tier, so I knew that Jason was safe. I love the kid, but he shouldn't try to think too much. Like Ebby Calvin LaLoosh, he needs to learn his cliches.

I actually wondered, for a moment, if David A was in danger (he really was that bad last night). I should have known better.

And then I was pretty certain that David Cook was in trouble, since they wouldn't ruin the suspense by leaving the bottom 2 for last. But it is Syesha and Brooke, with Brooke already fighting the water works.

If Ryan explained why Natasha Beddingfield was on the show, I missed it. Making David A blush was kind of creepy (I keep forgetting that he's 17, not 12).

Gina! Ace!! argh- my eyes... Constantine! And though they've studiously avoided mentioning him all season, they're going to have to say Taylor's name next week when they show his overpriced postage stamp.

I hate the call-in questions, but it was sweet that Simon remembered the name of his first crush. Then he ruined it by asking her if she was still cute.

Neil Diamond's voice is pleasantly gravelly, and his new song is nice (sort of Johnny Cash-ish), but Neil Diamond's old forehead is as smooth as a baby's bottom.

And finally, we see Brooke's onstage breakdown, and it's every bit as awful as I feared it would be. Brooke has been fragmenting for weeks now. It's better for her to go home and regroup. I like her voice and I hope she gets to make an album. I'll buy it.

The Davids in the Top 2 is a foregone conclusion. Since I doubt The Powers That Be want an all-male Top 3, Jason had better step it up next week.

Healthy Recipe- Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie

It's not all meat and main dishes around here- we make room for sweet things too, and this easy smoothie can be a part of your meal, a treat or a dessert. It whips up quickly with a blender, and makes a generous glass full of strawberry goodness.

Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie

6 medium strawberries (fresh or frozen)

1- 4 oz tub Dannon Lite and Fit Sugar and Carb Control Yogurt- any flavor

1/4 cup Breyer's Smart Carb Vanilla Ice Cream

Ice Cubes

Stem (if necessary) and slice 5 of the strawberries and put in a blender. Add the yogurt and ice cream. Blend on high until mixed. Add ice cubes one at a time and blend until the smoothie is thick (like a milk shake). Pour into a glass and top with the remaining strawberry.

Serves: 1

Calories: 135

Carbs: 10.5 gr*

(*there is some controversy over whether all of the Sugar Alcohol Carbohydrates can be subtracted, so I added the ice cream carbs. If you discount them, the total carb count for the smoothie is 9gr).

Note: You can add a packet of Equal if you want the smoothie to be a little sweeter.

AI- Top 5 Performance

Well, Neil Diamond Night wasn't quite as bad as The Second Week of The Beatles, but it wasn't far from it.

Jason's performance of Forever in Blue Jeans was more energetic and animated than usual, but that doesn't take much since he's generally so laid back as to be comatose. I'm not objective when it comes to Jason's singing- I find him to be very entertaining, so I tend to be forgiving. I enjoyed his performance, though not at Somewhere Over the Rainbow Levels.

David Cook's smartassery might have been scripted, and therefore not his fault, but it annoyed me anyway, though not as much as the new hairdo. His I'm Alive may have been good, but the sound quality was so bad, I couldn't tell (and he's the anti-Jason- I'm apt to dislike even his good performances).

Brooke's pants appear to be made from polished cotton, a fabric I haven't seen since the late 50's. Her I'm A Believer was lackluster at best, though she pulled it out at the end. I prefer Donkey's version from Shrek.

David Archuleta, dressed for Jailhouse Rock, was just plain bad on Sweet Caroline. I would say that it was his worst performance of the competition, but the evening isn't over yet.

Syesha seems to have turned a corner. I don't love her, but at least she stopped Whitneying everything. On the other hand, beginning a song while sitting on the Steps of Seriousness is never a good idea.

Paula critiques performances that have not yet happened. Why were we not informed that Time Travel was one of her skills?

Jason's September Morn was okay, though he was a bit ahead of the music. While he did surprisingly well with some of the other odd themes, Neil Diamond (like Andrew Lloyd Webber) is not his niche.

They fixed the murky sound on David Cook's second song, and he did okay but he still had the stupid hair.

Brooke chose I Am, I Said, which Dave Barry rightfully named as one of the worst rock songs of all time. However, even the chair agreed that it was better than her first song.

David Archuleta pulled a Kristy Lee Cook with Coming To America, but it was a terrible, terrible performance. I actually cringed.

Syesha's take on Thank The Lord For The Night Time, was interesting, but it didn't work.

Best of the night? Well, none of them qualified for Best of Anything, but I enjoyed Jason's Forever in Blue Jeans the most.

Worst? Brooke's I'm a Believer had me wishing for Davy Jones, but luckily for her, David Archuleta had a truly horrible night- both of his songs were just plain awful.

Unluckily for her, I don't think wee Davie is going anywhere.

And the Super Secret 100K Grand Prize Winner!!!!

I had a super-secret drawing from the names of all those who entered all 3 100K Celebration Contests, and Kate/Massachusetts won!

Kate your prizes are: about 1.5 ozs brown organic cotton sliver, 1 undyed silk cap, 3 batts (maybe 2 ozs) SD wool/silk noil/mohair, a skein of Knit Picks Spinnaker (pima cotton, bulky weight), a hank of Knit Picks Bare Natural Laceweight yarn (88o yds), a skein of hand-dyed fingering weight Merino Sock Yarn (not superwash) that should knit up in a spiral design, a copy of I Heart Felt, a copy of Yarns to Dye For, and a copy of Funeral Food (the first Tory Bauer/Delphi mystery).

I do believe that Kate has entered every one of the blog drawings so far, and I'm thrilled that she's the Super Secret 100K Grand Prize Winner!!!

send me your snail mail address, and how you'd like the books signed, and I'll get your prize package in the mail tomorrow, Kate.

kathleentaylor1952 at gmail dot com

100K Book Drawing Winners!!!

Steffi gets the uncut vintage paper doll books

lizzyhelen gets the 4 Tory Bauer Mysteries

jennifer gets I Heart Felt

Cara gets Yarns to Dye For

Congratulations!

e-mail me your snail mail address and I'll get the packages in the mail tomorrow. I'm not sending any of these things priority, so it'll take a few days to arrive. Everyone but steffi, let me know how you'd like your books signed (just my signature, inscribed to you, or inscribed to anyone you'd like).

Thanks everyone for entering!!

100K Yarn Drawing Winners!!!!

Kathy gets the 2-50 gr balls of Fortissima Sock yarn

teish gets the 2 skeins of handspun merino

kaarkaar gets the 3 hanks of novelty handspun yarns

leah (darkest blaze) gets the hand-dyed worsted weight yarn

Congratulations!

e-mail me your snail mail address, and I'll get these packages sent out tomorrow. I'm not using priority for any of them, so it'll take a few days for them to arrive.

kathleentaylor1952 at gmail dot com

100K Spinning Drawing Winners!!!

Splindarella gets the dyed Mohair Locks

Vampy gets the Gray Romney pencil roving

Anne gets the Chocolate Romney with the copper Glitz pencil roving

Chibicat gets the organic cotton sliver

Congratulations!!!!

e-mail me with your snail mail address and I'll get these packets in the mail tomorrow (I'm not sending this stuff priority, so it'll take a few days to arrive)

(kathleentaylor1952 at gmail dot com)

100K Drawings Now Closed

I'm not taking any more entries in the 100K drawings. I'll be back soon with a list of the winners.

Thanks everyone for entering, and all the wonderful comments!

100K Celebration Drawings!

Just in case you don't see all of the posts below- today the blog went over 100K hits, and to celebrate, I'm having 3 separate drawings- Books, Yarn, and Spinning. Enter by commenting in the proper post. You can enter in all 3 drawings, but you can only win 1 prize. Winners will be announced sometime April 29.

100K Book Drawing! Prizes!!!

To enter the 100K Book Drawing, leave a comment, or just your name, for this post. You may enter all 3 drawings, but you can only win 1 prize. Winners will be announced sometime Tuesday April 29.

Book Drawing Prize #1: A copy of I Heart Felt, signed as the winner desires.

Book Drawing Prize #2: A copy of Yarns to Dye For, signed as the winner desires.

Book Drawing Prize #3: 4 of my mysteries- Funeral Food, The Hotel South Dakota, Mourning Shift, and Cold Front (I don't have extra copies of Sex and Salmonella, or Foreign Body). These are the Tory Bauer mysteries, set in a small town in South Dakota. There is no fiber content in these stories, but lots of sex and bad words, so if those things bother you, say so in your entry so you don't win this prize. These are new, never opened paperbacks. They can be signed as the winner desires.

Book Drawing Prize #4: 2 vintage, uncut paper doll books. These are Lowe books, published in the late 60's or early 70's, and cost 10 cents originally. Susan, #1812, and Cindy #1814. These books are in good condition (the upper corners were cut off- I suppose they were remaindered), and the Cindy book has tape on the cover. Each has a cute little girl doll printed on the cover, and 4 pages of clothes, with some dresses on the back cover. These books have not been featured as Thursday Tab sets yet.

The 100K Book Drawing is now open!

The 100K Yarn Drawing! Prizes!!!

To enter the 100K yarn Drawing, leave a comment, or just your name, for this post. You may enter all 3 drawings, but you can only win 1 prize. Winners will be announced Tuesday April 29, sometime after 8:00am, CDT.

Yarn Prize #1: 158 yds, 6.1 ozs total, handspun Merino Bulky 2-ply yarn. The Purple skein has 93 yds, the Pink/White skein has 65 yds. This is extremely soft and squooshy yarn, and it should be enough for a hat.

Yarn Prize #2: About 2 ozs of handspun Novelty Yarns, 130 yds of Purple Romney/Silk Noil/Angora boucle bound with a metallic thread. This yarn won a 2nd Place in the Novelty Yarn category at the North Country Fiber Fair (ribbon included), 20 yds of Mohair Lamb Boucle yarn (spun from the same locks in the Spinning Drawing), and 36 yds of green Merino Lamb novelty yarn bound with metallic thread. The small skeins aren't enough for more than an accent stripe in a larger project, but there should be enough of the Romney/Silk/Angora for a simple scarf.

Yarn Prize #3: 2 50 gr balls Fortissima Socka Colori self-patterning sock yarn, in the old Mexiko Colorway. I bought an entire bag of this yarn several years ago, and it is now discontinued. It's one of my favorite self-patterning designs.

Yarn Prize #4: 100gr hand-dyed worsted weight wool. This yarn has been dyed in a graduated color band colorway of peaches and browns. The color will gradually change throughout the skein.

The 100K Yarn Drawing is now open!

The 100K Spinning Drawing! Prizes!!!!

To enter in the 100K Spinning Drawing, leave a comment, or just your name, for this post. You may enter all 3 drawings, but you can only win 1 prize. Winners will be announced tomorrow, April 29.

Spinning Prize #1: 4.8 ozs Brown Organic Cotton Sliver. If you want to try cotton spinning, this is the stuff to use. It spins easily, and the yarn is lovely. You need to boil the skeins to bring out the final color, and to set the twist.

Spinning Prize #2: Just over 4 ozs of hand-dyed Mohair Lamb locks. These locks are incredibly soft and shiny. They've been dyed green, pink, purple, and blue, and I threw in some undyed locks as well. They are VM- free. You can tail-spin these for a novelty yarn, you can flick them open and spin them that way, or you can blend them with other fibers. These locks were used in the small skein in the Yarn Drawing.

Spinning Prize #3: An 8 oz bump of medium Gray Romney pencil roving. This is lovely Romney and it spins like a dream.

Spinning Prize #4: An 8 oz bump of Chocolate Brown Romney pencil roving that has been blended with just a bit of copper glitz for sparkle. It is also lovely and it spins like a dream.

The Spinning Drawing is Officially Open!

Happy 100K! Contests! Prizes!!!

I started this blog on August 31, 2007 (not 2008, as has been gently pointed out...), with no idea if I was going to be able to come up with anything to say, or if anyone out there would be interested in my blather. Well, this morning, not quite 8 months later, the blog got it's 100,000 th hit. Now, I account for several a day, because I check in to see if there are comments, and I use the links on the right side of the page to read other people's blogs, but still, I haven't read my own posts 100k times. I'm amazed, proud, and so pleased that you all keep coming back.

To celebrate, and to thank you all for stopping by, I'm going to have 3 separate drawings for prizes! You may enter all of the contests if you like, though you can only win 1 prize. The contests will be listed separately, enter by posting a comment (or just your name) in the specific contest posts. Though you may certainly comment on this post, doing so won't enter you in any contests. The contests will be open from the moment I post them, until tomorrow morning (April 29), whenever I get up to the computer, which will probably be around 8:00am CDT.

The Book Drawing will have 4 prizes: a copy of I Heart Felt, a copy of Yarns to Dye For, copies of 4 of my mysteries (the only ones I have extra copies for), and 2 uncut vintage paper doll books from the early 70's.

The Yarn Drawing will have 4 prizes: 6.1 ozs (158 yds) bulky handspun Merino yarn, 2 ozs of handspun novelty yarns, including a skein that won 2nd prize at the North Country Fiber Fair, 2 balls (100gr) of Fortissima Socka yarn, the Mexiko self-patterning stuff that has been discontinued, and 3 ozs (about 200 yds) worsted weight wool dyed in a graduated color band.

The Spinning Drawing will have 4 prizes: 4.8 ozs brown organic cotton sliver, just over 4 ozs hand-dyed mohair lamb locks, 8 ozs medium gray Romney roving, 8 ozs chocolate brown Romney roving that has been blended with just a bit of copper glitz.

Let the entering begin!

Drop Spindle Fever

I don't drop spin very often, but every once in awhile, a spindle will jump out and beg to come home with me. A couple of days ago, I clicked on a Ravelry Ad link to Butterflygirl Designs on Etsy, and was instantly smitten, not only with her yummy fiber, but with her fantastic spindles. She has amazing polyclay spindles, shell spindles, carved resin spindles, stone spindles, and millefiori glass spindles. I left her etsy store without buying anything that day. And then I looked again yesterday morning. And last night. And again this morning.

Though I'm a total amateur, I did lampwork for awhile and the laceweight millefiori glass spindles spoke to me in a way that I could not resist. I bought this spindle-1.5" glass whorl, 10" shaft, .6 ozs, with a sterling hook. It's a top whorl and should spin like a tornado. And most amazing of all? It was just $17! And of course a new spindle needs new fiber- Butterflygirl's batts are gorgeous, and it took me a bit to decide on Riot- 3 oz blend of bamboo/sari silk/firestar. I intend to spin a 2-ply laceweight yarn for a scarf (3 ozs might be enough for a small shawl, but my yarn is never as light or fine as I'd like, so a scarf it will probably be). The fiber was $18. (these pics are from Butterflygirl Design's Etsy shop- the actual items should be here by the end of the week, and I'll take new pics then).

There is more Riot listed, and there are many other gorgeous fiber bundles and batts available, and equally gorgeous millefiori, and other style, spindles in Butterflygirl Designs's Etsy store. Go here:

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5207884&order=&section_id=&page=1

What month is this?

When this is on the outside of my living room window, there damn well better be a Christmas tree on the inside.

Healthy Recipe- Parmesan Chicken, Zucchini and Salad

Here's a whole meal (again, note the good china) and guess which part has the most calories and carbs? The parmesan coated chicken? Nope. The sauteed zucchini? Nope.

That's right- it's the salad. But it's a good salad, and this is a very satisfying meal, low enough in calories and carbs that you can even have a light dessert (one of those great no-sugar fudgecicles, for example).

The total calories/carbs for this meal: 490 calories, 21 gr carb

Parmesan Chicken

1lb skinless, boneless chicken breast strips

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (the stuff you buy in the can, not fresh)

Spices

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Combine the Parmesan cheese and desired spices (I use Johnny's Salt, Trader Joe's Pasta Blend, and Garlic Salt) in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Heat the oil in a skillet. Wash the chicken strips and then coat with the cheese/spice mixture. Cook in the skillet- 5-7 minutes per side (or until the strips are done).

Serves 4, 180 calories, 0 gr carb

Sauteed Zucchini

4 small zucchini (approx 20 ozs)

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Spices

1 tbsp stir fry sauce (I use a local brand, but any will do)

Cut the zucchini in 1/4" slices, heat the Olive Oil in a skillet. Sautee the zucchini, adding spices as desired (I use the same mix as with the chicken). Cook for approx 5 minutes (do not overcook the zucchini). Add 1 tbsp stir fry sauce.

Serves 4, 62 calories, just over 5 gr carb

Salad- for Each Serving

Romaine Mix greens

1/2 hard boiled egg, crumbled

1 tbsp crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/4 small tomato cut into small pieces

2 radishes sliced

4 black olives sliced

1/4 cucumber, peeled and sliced

5 large croutons

1 tbsp Lite Dressing (I like Ranch)

Toss everything but the croutons and dressing. Top with the remaining ingredients

248 calories, 16 gr carb

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

Not as many brown song titles, I guess...

The synapses fired a bit, and I remembered where some of the mystery roving in my stash came from- a few years ago, I offered a trade of my knitting books for wool. I am pretty sure that's where the Louet Corriedale, and a lovely bag of Targhee roving came from. And this lovely wool- which came with a letter explaining the wool's origin.

This box is the fleece of Ebony- a Blue Faced Leicester/Border Leicester/Romney/Coopworth cross. The box (which had been opened but not explored since '05) had about 19ozs of beautiful lighter charcoal roving- prepared perfectly, and it spins like a dream. These 2 hanks total 5.1 ozs, and 286 yds of my usual fingering/sport 2-ply. The letter is signed Franna, and I think that must be Franna Pitt, who was on the Yahoogroups list with me. I don't have her e-mail address any more, so Franna, if you're out there- thank you again. Ebony will become part of my handspun sweater.

I'm also uploading a shot of the 3 browns I'll be using as base colors in the sweater. The darkest is a prize winning Romney lamb from Iron Creek Ranch, the medium is the Romney I spun last week, and the lightest is Ebony. They go together very nicely, and it'll be lovely for the browns to gradually lighten in the background on the sweater. (Ebony's yarn looks gray in the pic, but it really is brown, and you can tell when you put it next to the silver Romney- no comparison pic at the moment. I'll get on that).

And though my wool room is stuffed full (to the point that I am still discovering roving I forgot I had), I did buy some roving on eBay- these 2 bags are from Jehovah Jireh farm (seller id: jehovajirehfarm). Each is 8 ozs, the solid is Cinnamon Stick (40% Alpaca, 20% Corriedale, 40% Tunis), and the striped is Autumn Splendor (30% Alpaca, 30% Corriedale, 40% Tunis). I think I might try to spin some of the Autumn Splendor as self- striping by dividing the colors in the roving in equal amounts, and then plying with the Cinnamon Stick. I envision a Trekking Sock Yarn effect- sort of regular tweedy color changes. I'm going to spin at least another couple of skeins of Ebony before I try the new rovings.

Thursday Tab- Whitman #1987 Casual Co., '72

I love love love this set- it's everything that was wonderful and terrible about early '70's fashion. #1987 Casual Co., with the long-leggity models and high-waistedy pants, was published by Whitman in 1972. And what does it say that we can buy every single pair of those shoes today (except maybe the white boots with the pink laces)?




Click on images to enlarge, right click to save as jpgs, print from any graphics program, dolls on card stock, clothes on plain paper.

AI- Top 6 Elimination

Well, if you were thinking about putting money down on my psychic abilities, you might want to hold off for a bit.

But before we get to how wrong I was, there was Ryan smooching Simon (and Simon massively overreacting), a group sing that sounded pretty good, a fairly cool commercial with comic book illustrations, and a reminder that we could still be listening to Danny Noriega every week.

And then both Davids are safe, as if there was any doubt that they're this year's Top 2.

OMG! It's Clay!!!!!! Squeee!!!!! (I talk about American Idol endlessly, so you can't be surprised that my taste veers toward the Aiken, right?)

So that's Leona Lewis. Huh. She's not terrible, but she's not exciting either. She does rock the stilettos, though. But really, show- flames?

And we get to the first shocker of the evening- Brooke is safe, which totally blindsides her. I don't think Syesha saw it coming either, though one good performance doesn't exactly make up for the rest of the meh.

Soon afterward, Jason is safe, which is the exact opposite of my prediction. Carly, on the other hand, is more relaxed than I've ever seen her on stage, and she seems completely unsurprised. Her possible singout is fine, though JCST is such a yelly-shouty song that I can't really enjoy it (once again, I wish for I Don't Know How to Love Him). Syesha, back to her usual form, suffers from the lack of superfantastic dress and hair, and an excess of pitchyness. My conclusion, based on the order of their songs, is that Syesha is headed home (see above, re: my psychic prowess).

Note to Randy Jackson, who has obviously never watched American Idol: It's always been a popularity contest.

And Carly is gone. She seemed to yearn so desperately for validation (after her dismal album experience, who can blame her), that I am surprised at how calm and collected she is during her Bon Voyage Montage. Good Luck, Carly. I wish you well.

Bring me the hand of David Archuleta

Rolling Stone had a photoshop contest... do not drink while viewing...

http://www.rollingstone.com/photos/gallery/20380437/david_archuleta_and_the_outstretch/photo/1

Blue Moon

I'm back knitting socks again, working on the last half of the sock book, so there isn't much spinning time. But I managed to finish the greeny/blue Corriedale that I dyed a couple of weeks ago. The skein is 3.1 ozs, 204 yds, 2-ply, the same fingering/sport weight as the rest of the yarns (with a couple of thinner spots- I wasn't as consistent with this roving as with some of them). It came out a really lovely dark teal with green highlights, and it looks great with the lighter blue.

Here is a new shot of the Sweater Railing 'O Yarn with all of the colors- there is some white yarn at the far right, but I couldn't get it in the pic. I'm not sure I'll be using white or gray anyway. I have a good range of tones (maybe another yellow?) and only have to spin up another 8ozs or so of the Chocolate Romney because that's my base color. I still have no idea what sort of design I want to use- traditional or non. I just know it'll be a stranded cardigan.

AI- Top 6 Performance

Andrew Lloyd Weber might just be my favorite Guest Mentor ever. I've never heard such blunt, non-partisan assessments on the show (Simon is blunt, but he's as partisan as they come). ALW didn't sugar coat his opinions and he didn't pretend to like things he didn't like. It must have been contagious, because Paula was more lucid, and much less with the rainbows and auras than usual.

Syesha starts the night out with a terrific performance of One Rock And Roll Too Many. She's wearing a very flattering dress. Except for starting a bit ahead of the music, her rendition was better, and showed more personality, than we've seen from her all season. Brava, Syesha!

Jason did as well as he could with the theme, and Memory, especially since he didn't know it was sung from the viewpoint of a cat. A lady cat.

I'm rooting for Brooke, but she is crumbling before our eyes, and honestly, sending her home would be a favor. I think she's this close to an onstage meltdown, which I do not want to see.

Lord LW tells David A not to close his eyes while singing (though strangely, he didn't mention the constant lip-licking), and wee David tries really hard to prop the peepers open, with moderate success. As always, he sounds wonderful. The boy has an amazing voice, but I still wish he'd waited 3 or 4 years before trying out.

I would rather have heard Carly sing I Don't Know How to Love Him, but she did okay with JCST, though I think Paula was right that Carly started too high for her range.

I didn't believe any of the faux-emotion in David Cook's Music of the Night. That was every bit as calculated as Kristy Lee Cook singing God Bless America a few weeks ago. I suppose he really couldn't Daughtry or Emo Phantom, but singing it straight-up wasn't the right choice either. I think he sounded like a high school talent show contestant.

Best of the night? Syesha, and pretty much only Syesha (I suppose David Archuleta as well, though I wish he'd try understatement, just once)

Worst? Everyone else, including sweet befuddled Jason.

Going home? Boy, it could be any of them. But I'm betting on either Brooke or Jason.

7 Exercise Tips

As long as I'm pontificating, here are some exercise tips- that is if you're interested in advice from someone whose first, last, and middle names are Sedentary (you can look it up). Changing what, and how, we ate, made a huge difference in our lives and bodies. But I am firmly convinced that weight loss notwithstanding, I would not have gone from a size 24 to a size 12 in 7 months without exercise. I wasn't kidding about being sedentary- I read, I write, I knit, I spin, and I do all of those things sitting down, happily. Nothing I enjoyed (except swimming) involved moving the legs or raising the heart rate. So learning to exercise (and loving it) was a whole new experience for me.

#1. Move around. Sounds self explanatory, doesn't it? Haul your body somewhere- up the stairs and down the stairs a couple of times, park in the North Forty at the Mall, walk around the block. Just move yourself. It doesn't have to be far, though a mile is a nice distance for a stroll.

#2. Stretch. If you're not used to moving around, you're going to have achy muscles. Stretching helps enormously. And it feels good.

#3. Sweat. Any sort of motion is good for you and none of it, even a leisurely stroll, is wasted effort, but if you want some cardiovascular improvement (not to mention calorie burn), you're going to have to push yourself hard enough to work up a sweat.

#4. Increase slowly. It's really easy to do too much, especially when you first start your exercise routine and fall madly in love with the whole idea of getting fit. You walk 15 minutes on the treadmill and it feels good so the next day you do 30, the day after 45, and then you can't move for a week. Increase your workouts slowly (say by 5 minutes a week), and if it hurts (I'm not talking about the normal aches you get from pushing unused muscles), stop.

#5. Vary the routine. Walk one day, play basketball another day, do weight workouts a couple of times a week. That keeps the boredom factor down, and tones a different set of muscles every day.

#6. Hold your stomach in. All the time. It strengthens your abdominal muscles and improves your posture. Pretty soon, it'll become a habit and you'll do it without thinking.

#7. Rest. This was the hardest one for me- I went a little Cat-Lady Crazy with the exercise for awhile, working out twice a day, 7 days a week. But when Curves closed, I decided to institute a more realistic routine, one I can keep to for the rest of my life- once a day (walk, light jog, soon I'll be swimming daily) 30-45 minutes of some activity that raises the heartrate and makes me sweat, 6 days a week. I have learned to appreciate a day off here and there.

5 Eating Tips

7 months, and 60lbs into this adventure, I thought I'd share a few of the things I've discovered about eating healthier (note that this is not a diet, and these are not diet tips- no diets in my house, just smarter food management).

#1. 3 Meals A Day- No skipping breakfast. No skipping lunch because you're going to a party tonight. No skipping supper because you're working late. Eat 3 meals a day- every single day. If possible, eat at the same times every day, that helps keep the sugar highs and lows to a minimum.

#2. Moderate Portions- you don't have to measure and write everything down unless you want to (and if you do, you'll be amazed at the amount you eat. Trust me), but pay attention to package serving sizes- they're always smaller than you think. An ounce of nuts doesn't look like much, but truly, it is enough. If you're eating in a restaurant, don't feel like you must clean up your plate. Most restaurant servings are more than enough for two people.

#3. No second helpings. Period. Ever. Of anything.

#4. Eat Snacks- yep, snack, midway between breakfast and lunch, midway between lunch and supper, and a couple of hours after supper. For me, that's 10:00am, 3:00pm, and 8:00pm. Eating small meals throughout the day makes it much easier to eat less at any given meal, and it keeps your blood sugar levels even, and you'll feel so much better (well, I do, anyway). Any of the 100 calorie pre-packaged snacks will do for any, or all of the snacks. I have probably tried all of them, and many are very good, but I don't bother with them very often these days, unless I'm on the road. I've settled into a routine with my snacking: an apple in the morning (about 100 calories, 20gr carb), 1 oz of mixed nuts in the afternoon (170 calories, 4gr carb), and 28 gr chocolate chips in the evening (140 calories, 17 gr carb- it's amazing how long they last when you eat them one at a time). In fact, chocolate is a great snack because there are fewer calories and carbs in chocolate than any other candy, and, well, it's chocolate. Try to stick to the darker chocolates- there are lots of different varieties out there. I am particularly fond of Lindt Chocolate Mint.

#5. If it's not breakfast, lunch, supper, or one of the designated snack times- don't eat. Anything. No tasting, no nibbling. If you institute a snacking regimen, it's never too long until the next time you can eat, no matter how hungry you are (or think you are, which is usually the real problem).

Since we live in Diabetesville now, we have to be aware of the carb count of everything, and meals/snacks have to be balanced with each other (and on time), but these 5 tips are a good launching point for a healthier way of eating whether you're learning how to live with a disease, or just wanting to change how you look at food.

Healthy Recipe- Salsa Chicken

I had some chicken that I needed to use, and my friend Ann suggested this recipe, which I modified a bit (mostly because I didn't have a mallet to flatten the chicken). It's yummy, quick, and with a green salad and a piece of garlic bread, it makes a great meal. It can be mild or really spicy, depending on your brand of salsa.

Salsa Chicken

4 bonless skinless chicken breasts, cut into large chunks

1 tbsp olive oil

spices

1 cup salsa (any kind- check the calories and carbs, my brand was 105 calories a cup and 15 gr of carb)

1/4 cup shredded mozarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 6 minutes. Spice to taste (I use a combo of Johnny's Salt, Garlic Salt, and Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy). Reduce heat, add salsa, and simmer until the chicken is done (another 5-7 minutes, depending on the size of your chicken chunks). Top with shredded cheese and allow it to melt.

Serves: 4

Calories: 313

Carbs (Fiber subtracted): just under 4 gr

Thursday Tab- Saalfield #4426 Double Date

Saalfield's Double Date (#4426) is a reprint of their 1957 #2757 Double Date. It has the same dolls, though possibly fewer pages of clothes (which is common with reprints). The reprint is die-cut, printed entirely on card stock-like paper, so the dolls are printed on the same page as the clothes. I never liked punch-out paper dolls because the perforations always looked sloppy and there was a huge tendency for tabs to tear off when taking them out of the page.

This set is like many teen-age sets- the girls look like they're going on 35, and the guys look 14, and they all wear incredibly high-waisted pants. Maybe it's a babysitter double date. And in keeping with tradition- this set is not labeled as a Cheerleader set, therefore it does have a cheerleader outfit (as opposed to many Cheerleader sets with nary a pom pom).

Click on the images to enlarge, right click to save as jpgs. You might want to print this whole set on card stock.

AI Top 7 Elimination

I've hated the Top 7 Elimination night ever since they forced poor George Huff to place himself in the proper group of three. It was mean then, it was mean in Seasons 4, 5 and 6, and it's still mean, though The Show tried to pull a sneaky on us this time around.

But before that, we had the group sing (which will never be mistaken for a group dance). David Archuleta ditched the leather pants, and Syesha embraced her inner Nadia Turner.

Then we had the division that confused me by placing Syesha, Jason and Carly in one group, and David Cook, Brooke, and Kristy in the other. I played right into The Show's hands by thinking that maybe we really were going to have another shocking boot.

Hey Elliott, with your shiny new choppers, and your odd new song (I prefer the last one that got airplay, the one I always think is a Boy Band from the 90's... sort of like that Celine Dion song that I always think is Kelly Clarkson). It was nice of Ryan to acknowledge the passing of Elliott's mother. She was a sweetie.

The viewer questions were marginally less stupid this time around (playing along: the first records I bought with my own money were: Oliver -can't remember the album title, but it had Jean and Good Morning Starshine on it- The Association's Greatest Hits, and a single of Elusive Butterfly)(yes, I am old).

And then Mariah sang a song (I'm not a Mariah Fan, so the song didn't register with me one way or the other), and then declared, "I love myself some him" (speaking about Randy Jackson- who renders me ungrammatical sometimes too).

And finally, we're down to the business of the show, first by rearranging the kids so that David Cook is back with the Upper Tier, and Syesha with the Lower (though I fully expected Carly to be the bootee). Then David Archuleta pulls a Bo, and Kristy is sent home, and I am surprised to be a little sad- I didn't want her to stick around (it was way past her time, and even further past Syesha's), but surely she was the most improved performer of the group (while Brooke slowly disintegrates). If Kellie Pickler's example means anything, my animosity for Kristy will mellow into amused good will by Season 9 (if there is a Season 9).

Wednesday in Mitchell

It's tempting to snark on The World's Only Corn Palace, in Mitchell, SD. It's a building with minarets and onion domes smack in the middle of the South Dakota prairie, and... it's covered with corn. But it's an amazing building covered with corn, and the former cross-stitch designer in me is fascinated by pictures made using nothing but corncobs and a few nails. The building is actually very pretty, and nearly snark proof. And it is a major state tourist attraction (perhaps #5 after Mt. Rushmore, Wall Drug, Crazy Horse, and anywhere Kevin Costner has actually stood).

I had a wonderful day in Mitchell- Cafe Teresa is a lovely cafe with great food (I had a grilled herbed cheese sandwich and an apple for lunch), wine (of which I did not partake- I had to drive 110 miles back home), and a small wall of yarn. Teresa (owner) was warm and welcoming, Deb, who organized the signing, was great fun as she did a little one-on-one knitting lesson with a student. If you guys think I knit fast- consider that Deb knitted 160 caps for the Hockey Association between November and March, on size 7 needles with 88 sts. One hundred and sixty...

They set up a great table for me, with a sign and flowers, and I put out some projects from I Heart Felt. We had a good stream of knitters and unwary cafe customers lured by Deb's sales pitch. That's Deb sewing ends in on a beautiful Alpaca sweater. Barbara and Ellen were there but they refused to pose for pics. A pair of German tourists wanted to buy several of the projects, not realizing that it was just a display and not souvenir stand (their English was superior to my German, so they did understand my apologies eventually).

And of course, I bought some yarn- 3 skeins of Alpaca With a Twist, Baby Twist, 110 yds, a sort of iced sage color, probably sport weight (it's lighter than worsted anyway). I think it wants to be a cabled hat. Or maybe mittens... or maybe both...

Blue Hawaii

I'm back to sock-book work (the one I'm doing now is totally amazing, if I do say so myself), so my time at the wheel is limited. But I did get a little spinning done last night- about a quarter of the greeny/blue Corrie roving that I dyed on Saturday. I love how this color is coming out.

I'm heading out to Mitchell soon, for the signing at Cafe Teresa. I'll be back tonight with a report and pics of The World's Only Corn Palace.

AI- Top 7 Performance

My but we're glittery tonight, in honor of Mariah Carey, who is, like, really famous, and like, popular, and like, sort of trying to, like, help these kids with their, like, singing, and stuff.

David Archuleta is wearing leather pants, which distracts me enough that I don't listen to what he's singing because I am too busy wondering if it is illegal for him to dress that way.

Carly, in black and with a minimum of sparkle, once again dips into the Clay Aiken Cover Songbook, on Without You. It's nice, but she strained on some of the notes.

Gold and sparkly Syesha sings Vanishing, bringing to the forefront everything I dislike about Mariah Carey.

Paula is babbling and interrupting and mumbling, though not quite at The Chihuahuas Joining You Onstage Level of Incoherency.

Brooke, black and very sparkly, sang Hero at the piano. I should have liked that performance more, but her lack of connection to the song was front and center.

I am puzzled to discover that Kristy Lee Cook is growing on me. Or at least, I don't dislike her as much as I used to. She was bronze and shiny, and sounded fine.

Unfortunately, David Cook didn't glam it up. It seems obvious that the judges are looking for the Daughtry they didn't get the first time around.

I am going to stop worrying about Jason. If he can pull off ukeleles, he can deal with Mariah Carey. I really liked his song, and I loved the bongos. I tried to vote for the first time this season, but did not get through even once, so I'd guess that Jason is safe.

Who isn't safe? One of the girls, probably Carly.

Blue Bayou

This is the yarn from the Corriedale roving that I dyed with Gaywool dye (Iceberg), on Saturday. It came out exactly as I hoped- a little mottling, soft and pretty lofty for me (I'm a tight spinner, mostly because I knit socks with nearly everything I spin). This skein is 3.4 ozs and 198 yds, 2 ply, and fingering weight (I'm going to have to start putting a pencil or something in my pictures for reference, because all of the shots look like worsted weight yarn). I took a pic after plying but before niddy-noddying just to show how much yarn I can cram on a single bobbin.

Next up on the wheel is the greeny/blue roving from Saturday's dyeing.

Blue Heaven

Man, I'm never going to run out of *blue* song titles (or at least, I'll run out of blue yarn first). This is a nice skein- 3 ozs, 127 yds, Midnight Blue, superwash Merino, my usual heavy fingering/sport weight yarn (it'll knit up just fine on size 3 needles- though the pics always look like the yarn is worsted weight). I'm pretty sure the wool is Brown Sheep mill ends, and it was the only blue roving I had on hand. It wasn't fun to spin- the mill ends were all jumbled, with fibers going every which way, neps and small snarls, and it was severely compacted (which is sort of the definition of *mill ends*). I was too lazy to get out the drum carder to straighten it out (Lazy is my middle name, you can look it up), and I thought I could just sort of finger-comb and pull it all into spinnable hunks. I was able to do that, but it was a pain, and next time (I have about 2 ozs of this stuff left), I will get out the carder and save a lot of bad words.

I've already spun and plied the light blue Corrie roving that I dyed on Saturday- it's a nice big, soft skein, and I'll take a pic as soon as it dries. Next up on the wheel is the dark greeny/blue. And after that more dark brown Romney, though I am hankering to try the Wrap and Roll yarn that is featured in the latest issue of Spin-Off. But today it's back to sock book work, so I won't be spending as much time at the wheel.

Am I Blue?

So, I wanted blue roving for blue yarn for the handspun sweater that I am going to knit someday when I can knit for fun again, and I didn't want to buy blue roving (in part because I already have a room full of wool and roving, and also because I would have to wait for it to arrive and Impatience is my middle name- you can look it up).

I found a bag of soft white mystery roving (which wasn't such a mystery once I noticed the little sticker on the bottom of the bag that said: Louet Corriedale Top, though I have no idea where it came from, so it's still a mystery), and I dug out the dye (Gaywool Iceberg, Country Classics Blue Spruce, and later a bit of Wild Iris and China Jade), and the tools. Note the fancy countertop protection and measuring devices.

I heated up the water in a big old pot (just for dyeing: Do not use dye equipment for food prep- ever), added 1 1/2 cups white vinegar, and 2 tsps of Gaywool Iceberg dye (remembering after the fact that Gaywool doesn't need vinegar), brought it to a steamy almost-simmer, and then immersed 3.5 ozs of dry Corrie roving into the water. I left the roving dry because I want uneven dyeing, and a slightly mottled yarn. The dye struck almost immediately (what with double the amount of acid, I guess), and so I only needed to heat (not exactly a simmer, but it was steaming) the roving for about 15 minutes before shutting it off to let it cool. The dye didn't exhaust but the roving did rinse clear.

Then I added 2 tsp of Country Classics Blue Spruce dye to the pot and added another about 3 ozs (didn't measure carefully) of dry wool to the pot and let it heat for about 45 minutes. I decided it wasn't quite the right blue, so I added 1/2 tsp of Wild Iris dye (powder) to one side of the pot, and 1/2 tsp of China Jade to the other side. I did very gently stir the water where I added the powder, but I didn't stir the wool. Then I let it stew and steam for another 20 minutes or so before turning it off.

I managed not to compact or felt either roving, which pleased me. The Iceberg is a very nice pale blue (not pastel). The darker blue is a bit more greeny than I expected, but it'll come out a lovely dark blue green when spun, I think.

I'll get a nice skein of each, which is all I need for blue (along with the one hunk of blue roving that I did have on hand) in the future sweater. You might notice that I am mixing and matching wool breeds- Romney, Corrie, Merino- the only fibers I'm excluding are those that halo (mohair, angora, alpaca). Everything is spun pretty tight and Stranded work isn't really elastic anyway, so I should be able to mix and match without hurting the sweater fabric.

Do they have me nailed, or what?

Okay, I found this test on my morning surf (from Pumpkinknits- link in the list on the right side of this page), and had to take it. It's sort of scary.... (It's not showing well, but I'm an INFP- and when people *don't get* me, they also see me as loud, opinionated and annoying... heh)

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world. Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships. It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close. But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. In love, you tend to have high (and often unrealistic) standards. You are very sensitive. You tend to have intense feelings. At work, you need to do something that expresses your personal values. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist. How you see yourself: Unselfish, empathetic, and spiritual When other people don't get you, they see you as: Unrealistic, naive, and weak

What's" Your Personality Type?

Sweater Yarn

I pawed through the roving/wool stash and found only one hunk of blue for the future sweater- a little bag (maybe 4 ozs) of navy merino superwash mill end roving (probably Brown Sheep). I'm not very drawn to blue, I guess. But I have a lot of white roving (lots of breeds: Romney, Icelandic, Targhee, Columbia, and several bags of mystery roving- I really need a better system of labeling) and I have plenty of dye left from Yarns to Dye For, so I can come up with blue if I want to.

Added to the Sweater Railing this morning: 3 skeins of Chocolate Romney, total 7.7 ozs, 364 yards; and 1.8 ozs, 77 yds of purple variagated Romney.

I am pretty sure that I have enough colors to knit a sweater already, though I do want some blue for the mix, and I will probably have to spin up at least another 8 oz bump of chocolate romney (if not 2). I also have lots of odds and ends of colors already wound into balls that I could use for this sweater too. Since none of these colors are replaceable (except for the chocolate, silver, and white), I will probably have to work on the body and both sleeves at the same time so that they all match as I work my way up.

It's a good thing that I don't know what the pattern will be yet, because I'd want to cast on today. What I have to cast on today is another sock for the book. Luckily, it's a *fun* sock, and I am excited to see how it comes out.

Future Sweater

After several months of steady work, and the last couple of frenzied weeks, I met the first deadline of my sock book- I've done 34 designs, and knitted 58 socks/pairs, which puts me at about halfway done. I'll be back to the regular grind now: knitting for a couple of days, writing the pattern up the next. But I've given myself permission to play this weekend (the first real days off in well over a month), so I've been spinning some more.

I figured out what I'm going to do with most of the newly spun yarn-not the purple/fuchsia/glitz stuff that's going to be a Granddaughter hat, and not the neon striping sock yarn, and not the lumpy neppy mitten yarn, but the rest of the yarn.

I'm going to knit a sweater for myself. I think it'll be stranded. I dug through my tubs of already spun yarn and found a bunch of colors in 2-3 oz skeins that will be perfect with the colors I've been working on. A fingering/sport weight yarn is my default spin, and I have a lot on hand, some several years old, that never found the right project.

I don't know what style sweater yet (except that I want a cardigan), and I don't know what the stranded pattern will be, except that it has to be fairly simple because the yarns aren't factory uniform, and therefore small details might get lost in the occasional irregularities. I do know that the base color will be the chocolate Romney because I have a lot of that roving on hand, plus one large skein already spun, and I finished spinning up/plying/washing a full 8oz bump. I also have more of the silver and plenty of the white, so those can also be good background colors.

I've looped the skeins over the loft railing so I can look at them for awhile and figure out what sort of color-order I want. The motif will suggest itself to me when it's ready to.

And of course, I can't start knitting it until I'm done with the sock book- but it can percolate.

In the meantime, I found a little 1.8 oz bump of purple/red Romney roving left over from a larger project, that I am spinning now. I probably have plenty more than enough yarn for the sweater spun already, but I can see in the skein pic that I need some blue too, so I'll have to search around the wool room and see if there is any blue roving laying about (chances are good).

AI- Top 8 Elimination

I tried to write this last night, but though we missed the predicted blizzard (all around us got a ton of snow, but we just had a couple of inches), we had sustained winds over 30mph, and lost power 7 times in a single hour. I gave up and went to bed.

Anyway, Shocker! Shocker! Shocker!

But before the shocking elimination, we had Up With Jesus, Kristy Lee Cook's worst outfit ever (one sleeve? really?), Zack and Cody (I have granddaughters, so I know about them too) and a montage that makes me think that AI needs a Monkees Night.

Brooke is lucky and safe, David Cook (who I thought might be in danger) is also safe, dammit. I peg Archuletta for Top 2, so no surprise there.

Jordin looks good, but I'm old and that song was annoying. They celebrate her status as The Lowest Selling AI Winner Ever (while still ignoring Taylor's existence)(bitter? you bet).

The Top 8 Celebrate Ford and Jackson Pollock.

Jason and Kristy are safe, which leaves Michael Johns, Syesha and Carly for the Bottom Three. Carly thinks she's going home, I hope Syesha is going home, and Michael Johns assumes it's all a mistake.

Silly Michael Johns.

Thursday Tab- Lowe Jan and Fran Front & Back Dolls and Dresses #2766

Sorry I'm late uploading this- I was on the last day of my first half of the sock book deadline and then I had to run a big box of socks to the FedEx office (43 miles away) before the blizzard hits. I totally forgot that it was Thursday.

Anyway, this is Lowe's Jan and Fran, Front & Back Dolls and Dresses #2766. It's an interesting set from 1964. You might want to print the whole thing on card stock. There is an odd number of clothes pages because one page was printed on the back cover. The Doll backs were on the inside of the front cover. It'll be tricky to print and glue them together, but maybe if you hold them up to a window, you can line them up properly. In order to put most of the clothes on the dolls, you'll have to cut a slit in the back neckline. You can see where on some of the outfits, but not all of them.

Spinning spinning spinning

The last couple of weeks have been exhausting- marathon sock pattern writing (there's a reason why so many didn't get written up until late, but it's too complicated to explain right now), and an inability to knit anything else (even socks, because I don't want to muddy my head with new patterns while I'm trying to get old ones written up). Spinning has been the perfect decompression- I lose myself in the rhythm of the wheel and relax.

I finished spinning the natural/naturally dyed gold/brown batts- I did a single largish skein that ended up 3.3 ozs and 142 yards. It's a heavy fingering weight (I'm a dense, tight spinner, that's why my yarn weighs so much while having fewer yards), and I love the highlights in this yarn. It's a companion to a yellow batch (same natural dye) that I spun up earlier (note that one skein is underplied). The yellow totals 3.6 ozs and 219 yds.

I'm working on some absolutely yummy chocolate brown Romney that I washed myself, and had Abi at High Prairie Fibers card into pencil roving. It's spinning like a dream- I have several pounds of this, though I'm probably just going to spin 8 ozs right now. I also have some silver Romney, and several pounds of an award winning white Romney, so I'm sure I'll spin some of each for this series. The Romney came from Kirsten at Iron Water Ranch, and I cannot recommend her fleeces highly enough.

I don't have anything specific planned for this yarn, but the colors go together so beautifully, and I see something Stranded in its future.

P.S. Just 1 pattern left to write up, and then I'm half done with this book!!!!!

P.S.S. Iron Water Ranch- home of the most gorgeous Romney fleeces you'll ever see, smell, or touch: http://www.ironwater.com/

Abi at High Prairie Home, who cards perfect pencil roving (note, the pic above is not her roving- those are some batts I carded myself) : http://prairiefiber.homestead.com/index.html

AI Gives Back

I won't snark on the intent of this show, or on the good works that will surely be done with the money brought in, or on the work that needs to be done everywhere in the world. Most of us take our cushy lives for granted, and it hurts no one to be reminded occasionally that other people's lives can make deadline crunches and taxes not yet prepared seem pretty trivial.

But the road to Good Intentions is sometimes paved with boredom- and this was 2 1/2 hours of pure slog. I have two young granddaughters, so I already see, and hear, more of Miley Cyrus than I ever want to (the girl is like Sheryl Crow- a famous singer who can't), and I never want to think about Simon's nipples. It was nice of the Wilson Sisters to show all the rock wannabes (male and female) how it's really done, and I was fascinated to discover that Kobe Bryant is polka-dotted. Carrie Underwood is even more gorgeous than she was on the show, and Daughtry uses the Royal We. Fergie sings Gilbert and Sullivan while wearing leather leggings and a tutu, Eli and Peyton are still adorable, the appeal of Posh and Becks mystifies me totally, Annie Lennox is truly amazing, and Mariah has never been my cuppa, but she does have the pipes. Forget dancing, The Top 8 can't even sway properly.

And is anyone surprised that Terri Hatcher can't sing?

Fair warning: if AI is opposite The Office tomorrow night, I will probably switch over, and find out who gets the boot later, online.

Oh yeah, and I'll let The Fug Girls have the last word on Brooke's opening outfit:

http://gofugyourself.typepad.com/go_fug_yourself/2008/04/idol-fugs-back.html

Future Hat

I got the rest of the fuchsia roving spun (though it looks very red in the skein). It came out to 125 yds and 2.2 ozs. So I have a total of 283 yds and 5.4 ozs, which should be enough to make my granddaughter a hat on size 3 needles. It may not be enough for earflaps and tassels, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it (which won't be any time soon, because it's still all-socks on the needles, and that's not going to change for awhile). The yarn turned out nice- fairly evenly spun and plied (a blob here and there, but it's well balanced)- I think you can see the sparkles in the pictures.

Next up- some natural and naturally dyed (maybe onion skin) yellow/brown wool that I got from Connie Henning-Wagenaar, also at the North Country Fiber Fair last September. This stuff is spinning up like a dream- I don't remember the wool breed, but Connie has some rare breed sheep. I already spun up a couple of skeins of lighter yellow wool from the same purchase. I don't know what I'm going to do with this yarn, but I suspect it'll involve Fair Isle (along with some grey and white Romney).

AI- Top 8 Performance

So, AI is on 3 times this week, which would usually be fine with me, but I'm going to have a real conflict if the elimination show is opposite the new episode of The Office on Thursday. We don't have TiVo, and our VCR no longer records (and barely plays), so we live back in the middle of the 20th Century, where you can only watch a show while it's airing.

But today is Tuesday, a long time from Jim and Pam and Michael and Jan- tonight is Ryan and inspirational songs, and Paula's poor squooshed boobs.

Michael Johns is going to ruin his vocal cords screaming like a rock wannabe, though if that happens, I'm pretty sure he and his ascot can find work with Scooby and the gang.

In addition to insulting all of the remaining contestants (it's possible that they *get* her just fine), Syesha continues her unbroken string of incredibly stupid song choices. Fantasia's coronation ditty is a lose-lose-lose-lose situation- Fantasia's fans will automatically dismiss the performance, Fantasia's non-fans will not be impressed, the judges will never allow anyone to outshine their beloved, and the song itself, a mishmosh of rainbows, puppy dreams, and unicorn wings, is a shining example of what is wrong with every single coronation tune.

We have decided that Jason is the Cyndi Lauper of American Idol. Personally, I love him, and I was mezmerized by the song, which absolutely should not have worked, but did. I'm totally shocked that the judges agreed not only with me, but with each other, especially considering that Over the Rainbow was the signature song of both Kat McPhee and Kimberly Locke. I admire Jason for never taking the easy route.

I think Kristy Lee Cook knows she's going home fairly soon (though maybe not this week). She hit a few bad notes, but it was, overall, her best performance so far.

Okay- who narrates the Al Gore commercial? It's driving me crazy. I know that I know that voice.

After a couple of weeks of David Cook being almost tolerable, he's back to annoying the bejabbers out of me. From his Revolutionary War Re-enactment Jacket, to that atonal song, to cheesy messages written on the palm of his hand- his was the worst performance of the evening.

I am liking Carly's voice more and more, and she has hit on the perfect makeup, but I agree with Simon- the last half of that song was not good. Not good at all.

David Archuletta's voice is gorgeous, though I prefer it when he stays out of his lower register. I didn't know the song, but the performance was lovely.

Brooke hit a couple of pitchy spots in an otherwise note-for-note copy of Carole King's own version of You've Got a Friend. It was pleasant and it was competent, but it wasn't good enough to for Brooke to sleep well tonight.

Tonight's best? Jason and David Archuleta, and reluctantly, Kristy Lee Cook.

The worst? Michael Johns, Syesha, and David Cook

Going Home? I'm afraid for Carly

Knitted Jammie Bottoms?

That's what my granddaughter requested from this roving and yarn. Luckily, there isn't nearly enough for a project that large. She did settle for a promised hat, which I think will have ear flaps and stranded motifs.

I do remember buying this roving from a vendor at the North Country Fiber Fair, but I don't remember the vendor's name or the wool type. I had thought that the lavender/glitz was Merino, but it didn't wash like Merino, so I'll settle for *soft but not springy*. The lavender skein is 2.5 ozs and 120 yds, probably sportweight. I must have spun and used the rest of the darker roving (purple/rust/glitz) because I would not have bought less than an ounce. That little skein is .7 ozs and 38 yds. I'm working on the fuchsia roving (which is more coarse than the lavender- my guess is Columbia), and will probably end up with a bit more yarn than the lavender after it's spun and plied. Plenty for a nice hat.

Ya think the wind blew yesterday?

Entertaining a 7 year old

It was far too nasty for my granddaughter, who is visiting for the weekend, to go outside yesterday, so I decided that carding some wool would be a good distraction from the awful weather.

For full fleeces and large carding projects, I send my wool to Abi at High Prairie Fibers. But for small batches and experimentation, I use a Louet Jr drum carder. It does exactly what I need (except for very fine carding, and I have some cotton hand cards for that), quickly and efficiently. And it keeps a 7 year old pretty fascinated, what with turning the handle, and that ice-pick thing, and the stiff brush that can clean the drums and take the skin off your knuckles at the same time.

We got a lot of nice batts carded. None of these were done *from scratch*- all were pre-processed in some way or another. I usually recard large batts and compacted roving, so having help this time, actually did help (as opposed to when she *helps* me clean).

We carded green wool/mohair/camel down from my friend Dana, whose camel was featured in a recent issue of Spin-Off. And some of her raspberry/rust camel down/wool that is incredibly soft; nearly a pound of wool/mohair/silk noil in blues, pinks and greens from Kelly Knispel (South Dakota Colored Wool Studio); about 4 ozs of natural dyed yellow/brown wool from Connie Wagenaar-Henning (that I bought along with some lighter yellow wool, that is already spun-into sock yarn, of course), and some soft roving, probably merino but it's not labeled, in purple, fuchsia, and purple/orange, all with a little glitz, that I got at the North Country Fiber Fair last year. The 7 year old claimed that for herself (asking for pajama bottoms but settling for a future hat) and I spun a bobbin and a half last night.

I'm on the last week of the first half of the sock book deadline, so it'll be writing all day, every day until Thursday, but I'll probably spin in the evenings, so there will be new yarn in the house.

What a difference a day makes...

yesterday.... today....

And the Wheel Goes Round and Round

I'm going to run out of wheel song references soon (though I haven't even tapped into The Beach Boys yet). Anyway, I finished the bump of rambouillet/cotswold self-patterning roving that I was spinning for socks. The yarn turned out beautifully, though as I predicted, it's not going to be the kind of self-patterning where the socks match each other. I did get 2 skeins with some distinct yellow/green/blue/purple/peach striping, and one skein that will have a lot more subtle tweedy stripes. But the socks, whenever I can knit them, will be lovely. I think I'll do a simple lacy pattern- that will help offset the difference in the striping.

Stats: 1 hank: 2.1 ozs and 107 yds, sharply defined striping; 1 hank: 3.8 ozs, 171 yds, fairly defined striping; 1 hank: 162 yds, 3.4 ozs, subtle striping. Total: 9.3 ozs, 440 yds, 2-ply, about 16wpi, a heavy fingering weight. I should be able to knit socks with size 2 or 3 needles, and I should be able to get a pair of adult socks, and maybe a child size pair as well, with this yarn.

This is how I display my handspun yarns- looped over the railing of my office/loft.

Though I have to get back to sock knitting for the last half of the sock book, I think I'll card some wool *clouds* today for the next spinning session. The nice thing about wanting handspun sock yarn is that it never takes too long to spin enough for the entire project.

I want this sweater

Rarely has a pattern grabbed me so quickly, or at such an inconvenient time. I cannot (and will not) start this sweater from the new issue of Knitters' now, but the first moment I can, I'm going to. The pull is just too strong.

Knit Picks Podcast!

It's up!

http://community.knitpicks.com/

The podcasts are on the left side of the page- just click on the top link (#43) for 40 minutes worth of my blather- it's sort of like an audio blog.

Kelly asked great questions, and I tried not to say anything too terribly stupid. I think it worked out pretty well.

Thanks Kelly for the great interview!

Spinning Wheel, Got to Go Round

I can go months without getting the wheel out, but lately, I've been dreaming about spinning. It's probably because I am in the *first sock-book deadline* crunch, writing up patterns furiously all day, every day, and having a brain that feels like curling ribbon in the evenings. Right now, I have to keep my head in the game, which means no recreational knitting, and I only have 1 sock left to finish for this portion of the book (something like 32 designs so far, and over 44 different sock versions knit- since December). So I've been spinning in the evenings as I watch TV.

I finished the Lumpy Bumpy Mystery Roving- I ended up with 3 skeins, a total of 7.5 ozs, 219 yds, 11 wpi yarn that I am really happy with. It's a DK/worsted weight, and this roving told me it wanted to be mittens as soon as I started spinning.

After all the lumps and neps, I wanted something I could spin smoothly- so I chose the last bump of a Rambouillet/Cotswold cross that I washed and dyed myself, and sent to my wonderful processor, Abi at High Prairie Fibers, to card and turn into roving. I used Country Classics dyes- neon Yellow, Pink and Blue (I can't remember the exact dye names and the jars are in the basement). Abi processed the roving to be self-striping, and the colors blended for a bit of green, peach and purple. It's a dream to spin (as are all of Abi's rovings) and the first skein came out perfectly- 3.8 ozs, 171 yds, about 16 wpi, 2 ply. It's heavy fingering, or sport weight, and it's destined to be socks. The yarn will be self patterning, though it'll probably be a *Trekking* sort of self-patterning, and I won't be able to make the 2 socks match because I only had one bump of this roving left (out of 2.5lbs) and the color repeats match up over 2 bumps, not within the bump itself. I envision a simple lace pattern with this yummy yarn.

Check High Prairie Fibers out: http://prairiefiber.homestead.com/index.html

Thursday Tab- Abbott Playroom Paper Dolls Boxed Set- Four Playmates

This is another book from Abbott's 1944 Playroom Paper Dolls and Cut-Outs boxed set. I have the entire set- the box is in tough shape, but the 5 uncut books are pristine.

This is #526-2 Four Playmates. It's drawn in an entirely different style than Susie and Betty, which was an earlier Thursday Tab. I like this baby set- it's simple but adorable.

Here's Susie and Betty:

http://kathleen-dakotadreams.blogspot.com/2007/10/thursday-tab-abbott-playroom-dolls-1944.html

Click on images to enlarge, right click to save as jpgs. Print from any graphics program, clothes on plain paper, covers on card stock.

AI-Top 9 Elimination

Of course, they chose 9 to 5 as the group sing, though I came into it a bit late- either our clocks are wrong, or they started the show a tad early (given that it runs overtime nearly every episode, an early start isn't totally out of the question).

Carly might have genuinely worried about Ryan's mind games, but it was pretty obvious to me that she was safe. And there was even less chance that either David Archuletta or Michael Johns was in danger.

We muted the band winners- if that performance is indicative of their album, those boys are in real trouble.

We didn't mute the Ford commercial, but I tuned out anyway. I find basketball, in any incarnation, boring.

Not to be an armchair physician or anything, but I wonder if David Cook suffers from panic attacks- his symptoms (palpitations, elevated blood pressure) sound like it to me.

Ramielle is the first one sent to the Martini Stools of Shame. My Geezerhood is firmly cemented in place because all I want to do is get her bangs out of her eyes. I think Kristy Lee totally threw Ryan for a loop with her grandstanding snit.

Hey Bucky! Hey Phil and Phil's adorable kids! Hey Bo and Bo's health problems, and Bo's even more adorable son!

Brooke knew what it meant when an extremely lucky Syesha was called out on stage. Jason may have known what it meant too, but he was probably too busy thinking about munchies to care.

Call me cynical, but that Idol Gives Back sisters reunion felt staged, which is too bad. The situations they're trying to address are worthy, and dramatic, enough without embroidery.

Dolly, what in the world are you wearing? Wedding leggings?

And poor, little weepy Ramielle is going home. I'm glad she pulled herself together for a good sing-out. She has a big voice, and with a little more training, she might be able to use it to her advantage. But I'm not sorry to see her go. Next week Kristy can join her.

A Meditation on Shoes That is Probably Not About Shoes At All

Even though Manolo's Shoe Blog is one of my daily reads (The Manolo amuses The Kathleen), I've never been much of a shoe person. I bought a pair of black Ecco closed-toe clogs for an HGTV thing I did in '02, and I've worn them happily, and exclusively, ever since (6 years of steady 3-season wear, and they still look great). In the summer, I usually buy a pair of cheap sandals, and several sets of even cheaper (we're talking Dollar Store) flip-flops. Oh, and I've had a pair of black cotton Mary Jane flats for dress, for about 10 years, and a pair of -15 degree rated Sorrell snow boots that I've worn for going on 20 years. And a pair or two of tennis shoes for mowing the lawn. That was my entire shoe wardrobe. My foot decorating money was spent on sock yarn.

And then I started losing weight. This is A Good Thing- it's something that I worked hard to do (though truly, the weight loss was the reward, not the reason), but it also wreaks havoc in the wardrobe. Off to the side in my closet right now are 8 pairs of jeans, all worn less than a dozen times each, in sizes 20, 18, 16, and 14. Not a one of them fit long enough for the *new* to wear off. I've gone through several full sets of tops- going from 3X, down to just plain Lg(which a size 14! What idiot decreed that a 14 is Large????).

I'm a creature of habit, I prefer to wear clothes until they fall apart- all this change is unsettling, and the waste of money on stuff I could only wear a couple of times was depressing. And then I discovered a universe of shoe sales on eBay and I started snapping up bargains. Great Ecco dress Mary Janes in black, and also in brown (retail $110, my price $37, including shipping). Fantastic cowboy-looking clogs with pointy toes. Born loafers in black and brown. Sandals in black and brown. There is a pair of olive green Ecco Mary Jane flats with a braided strap that are calling me even as I type. And I got a pair of wonderful white/choc brown Colter Creek saddles in the mail this morning (check out the texture- pebbled on the white, crocodile on the brown) that I love love love.

It took me awhile to figure out why, after being indifferent to outer foot coverings for most of my adult life, I was suddenly buying shoes like feet are going out of style. I finally realized that shoes that fit me when I weighed 221, still fit me at 162. And they'll continue to fit when I weigh 150 (which is the current goal). And 5 years from now, when I weigh whatever I am going to weigh in 5 years, the shoes will still fit.

Sometimes, if I'm just walking by and glance quickly, I don't even recognize myself in the mirror, so I think I'm searching for permanence and familiarity- something that changes slowly, if at all. Who knows what the wardrobe (or my body) will be like in 6 months, much less 5 years? It gives me a measure of comfort to know that no matter what else I am, or what I am wearing, my clogs and saddles will still be in the closet- well loved and well worn, and ready to go.

AI- Top 9 Performance

Ryan attempts possibly the lamest April Fool's Joke in the history of TV. Or April Fool's Day. But we know better. It would take a disaster of major proportions to pre-empt the AI juggernaut.

Tonight is Dolly Parton night, and I am very interested to see how the kids will do with Dolly's music. Her catalog is extensive but her considerable songwriting ability has always been overshadowed by boobage. Countless singers have covered Dolly's music, but it may prove beyond this bunch. We'll see if it turns out to be First Beatles Week, or Second Beatles Week.

Frist up is Brooke, singing Jolene. I've never liked this song, but I like Brooke's take on it, and I think, Simon to the contrary, that she connected with the message pretty well. Much better than last week's chirpy Every Breath You Take.

David Cook's new haircut is a vast improvement- he looks much less like Mr. Combover now. I'm not familiar with Little Sparrow, but I think David sang a little high for his range. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't a Top Performance either. On the plus side, we now know that Simon is incapable of understanding Avian Allusions.

We could tell that Dolly didn't love Ramielle. And we could tell why- that song was a hot mess.

I worried for Jason, but he did well by Travelin' Through. He's not going to win, and in fact, he may go home fairly soon, but he does make me smile.

Carly finally found the right hairstyle and makeup- she looked fantastic (though I agree with Simon about her clothes). Her Here You Come Again was flat-out gorgeous (though very much like Clay Aiken's version on his latest album- my favorite song on the CD). This might be the first Season 7 performance that I download.

Wahoo for David Archuleta- he needed a comeback from the last couple of awful weeks, and he got it. I had nearly forgotten how beautiful his voice is.

Coat of Many Colors is right in Kristy Lee Cook's wheelhouse, and I don't expect her to go home this week either. Was she actually wearing a turquoise-encrusted, empire waisted, leather belt?

Syesha, Syesha, Syesha, we've talked before about going to The Whitney Place and you refuse to listen. We haven't talked about being consistently Behind the Music, or Gratuitous Glory Noting, but I can see that we need to adress those topics as well.

I don't know why Michael Johns leaves me cold- his voice is fine, his performance was fine, his song choice suited him, and Dolly obviously likes him. But he does absolutely nothing for me.

Best of the night? Carly and David A, with Brooke a little distance behind.

Worst? Ramielle and Syesha.

Going home? Ramielle

Slubs and Neps and Thrums, oh my

The wheel has been calling me lately, so after I finished writing up yesterday's sock pattern , and then got the latest sock done, the ends woven in, and washed, I decided to give my brain a break for the evening.

I pawed through my wool stash, which is nearly as large as my yarn stash (which is embarrassing), and came up with some true Mystery Roving. It's a Mystery not only because I have no idea what wool it is (it's white, soft, springy, and fine, with neps and pink/purple/blue/teal slubs, threads, and thrums throughout), but I have no clue as to its origin or how it ended up in my wool room. I don't know if I bought it, or if I traded for it, or if it was a gift. But it jumped up and begged to be spun last night.

The nice thing about spinning yarn that you know will be lumpy and bumpy is that you don't have to worry so much about inconsistencies in your spinning- no matter what you do, the yarn is going to be lumpy and bumpy. Even so, I managed a pretty even 2-ply yarn that was nicely balanced (not a hint of a twist when I took the plied yarn off the Niddy Noddy). It bloomed well after washing, and has a fair amount of spring to it. The colors are gorgeous- the whole yarn looks pale purple with bright spots, and it'll be great fun to knit.

This hank is 3.1 ozs, 86 yds, 11wpi. I have a little over 4ozs of roving left. I'll have enough for a pair of mittens, which is what the yarn says it wants to be. I don't know if I'll spin the rest tonight or not- that depends on how the book work goes today, and how American Idol goes tonight. But it was nice to spin again- I've missed making my own yarn.