PippiKneeSocks.com

Rest assured, I am still alive and kicking. (Or getting my tookas kicked by life, who can really tell anymore?)
I’ve had my head down working, working, working. It’s both good and bad. The good, I’m getting stuff done, and that makes my editor happy. The bad, I’m feeling terribly disconnected from my community. My bloglines have so many new items in there (over 4k) that I feel overwhelmed by guilt when I look. I’ve missed birthdays, anniversaries, new spectacular FO’s and apparently some poo hitting some fans. I’m sorry. I hate being such a taker, and not giving back. (Hence the long absences… well, that and a giant post 35 pity party; that, I’m over, I think. ha.)
I do fear, that I’ll be away more than I am around the next few months… I hate that. I hate feeling disconnected from you all.

In the middle of all the chaos, I did some actual dyeing, and updating; because a girrl has got to eat.

Perfect timing; as today is going to be the hottest day of the year, here. ha.
Me, today… will I be going to the beach? A pool? An air-conditioned movie theater? No, not me, I have to sit in a linen suit, in the sun, and do a few more hours of photographs.
This means one thing…. boob sweat. *sigh* not very lady like, is it? But we all have to suffer for our art, no?

I hope you all are well, and I trust you will all be here when I “get back”.
I miss you all terribly! Why not come over for lunch? Plenty of organic greens to fill your bellies!

♥

I know I mentioned something about a NHSW update, er, two weeks ago.
I’ve been caught in the land of computer woes, busy kids, and work.
Life has gotten me by the ovaries but good the past month. And things are just going to get more hectic from here on out. (Send strength and chocolate!)

I did manage to eek out some dyeing recently AND get the fruits of that up on Pippi. Wonders never cease.
I even did some solar dyeing! And hopefully there will be more sun powered goodness in the future!

Now, it seems like the ass alarm has caught the attention of some weee folx.
♥

Even with all of my running around this week, I managed to keep up with dyeing.
Maybe I was inspired by the outside world, or gas prices (OUCH!) either way, I did a bunch of dyeing!
So, I’ve updated the spinning fibers page today.
(With nearly 10 Pounds of Hand painted wool top!)

Yes, nearly 10 pounds. It seems like a ton, since my dyepots have remained pretty inactive this past winter.
(Competing for the propane, heat vs. dyeing… I vote for the dyeing, but my family sees it differently.)
Speaking of which, I should cut this here, as both the family and the dyepots are needing my attention.

Happy Friday!
XO!

I’m unsure how I’m feeling about this…

I feel like I should be bitter. Possibly a bit angered. But, I’m unable to muster frustration at the weather today.
I’m the one who thought living in Vermont was a good ider just over a decade ago. Why I didn’t migrate out west like all the sane folx, I’ll never know. I’ve tried the south for a while. Key West, to be exact… I couldn’t hack it. The constant 80f temps fried my brain a little. (And I’m sure some of the brain frying had nothing to do with living in freaking Margaritaville… nope.) I have NO clue how my friend Melissa is still living there…
Anyway, no use trying to fight the things I can not change. (serenity now!)

I really love (and I do mean LOVE!) the new freedom bestowed on me by having a legal car. Yesterday we ventured to The Firefly Solar Store, where we got some new light bulbs, Mr. Pipps chatted solar talk, and they generously provided me with parts of a solar oven from Solar Ovens.org. We clearly need to come into large sums of money so we can go totally solar.

Knit Night at The Knitting Studio, was a blast! I finally got to meet Sarah, who, contrary to what some people may think, actually knits! She isn’t just a political zealot, radical extremist *cough, cough*. Give me political zealots over closed mined people, anyday! (Remember people, minds are like parachutes!)
I also finally got to meet Kate (blogless). We have been trying to connect since February, when she bid on, and won a gift certificate to Pippi that I donated to a school fund raiser. It is such a good and wonderful thing to know that there is someone in my half a horse town that I can connect with. (*waves to Kate*)
I’ve also been asked, by Brigette, to teach a dye class. Details soon to be ironed out. Keep an eye here, or in the Knitting Studio’s news letter.

With all of my recent gallivanting, I was informed by Scout, that I need a cellphone… Hahaha. Some months it is all I can do to keep regular land line service. I would be terribly dangerous with a cell. I’m a talker once I get going.
Speaking of Scout, she asked me to co-judge her latest contest. Aye, ask an aspiring Buddhist to be a judge, why don’t ya. It is hard… Carole’s Post?, Norma’s Limerick? or This picutre from Literate Knits? (I love it super duper muchly since they are knitting!) Anyway, I think I have a few hours left to decide where my vote goes. Sheesh, I hate casting judgment on others!

One more thing, you can file this under.. Who knew?
I’ve been saying the word “Mittens” wrong for over three decades..
Go figure.
XO!

PS. Hopfully today, I’ll have some dried fiber to photograph for a shop update soon (tomorrow??) Stay tuned!

ETA: There are some Springtime ChocoBird roving braids in both domestic and the super sexy merino/tencel over at Scout’s Place

It has been a hectic week, so far. (But, Yay! it is Hump Day!)
I’m seemingly burried under wool.

This is about 6lbs of roving I’ve done this week.
Less what is already put away, or spun up.
Some of it heads out soon to Scout re:Exciting news & some of it stays here & some of it goes on my fiber page.
I also did up about 3lbs (yes, three pounds) of sock yarn. (That will be up later this week, too.)

Today, I need to stick to my to-do list, or else, everything crumbles!
Yesterday, the big Trick or Treat thing threw a wrench in the works.
I tried to take some cues from the Mafia, and train the kiddlets to “Go for the orange squares”. It only partly worked….. ;0

If anyone is local-ish (or feel like trecking to Vt.) & interested, in December, I’m going to be guest speaker at a local-ish spinning guild.
I’ll be discussing pushing thresholds for creative development (or something like that.)
You can Contact me for the detials.

Happy Hump! (day)
♥

for the past few days, i’ve been thinking about that phrase when the going gets tough, the tough get going, and how it applies, or doesn’t apply to me. i used to think i was a tough cookie; but it seems that i am not doing well under pressure lately. (i used to do really well with deadlines; and in fact, excel.) but, me, the un-tough version, i’ve just been running around here like a decapitated chicken.
amy boogie said the other day; “My gardens are as ignored as the housework. Makes me wonder what I do all day long.” ~ this pretty much sums up the scenario here. i swear, months have gone by and i’ve wondered what on earth i’ve accomplished. i really don’t know where my time goes. i do know that i should have better use of it. (i swear, i’ve tried to whip myself into submission; but it doesn’t work. i think i need to swipe mike e’s ADD medication from his medicine cabinet. (just kidding, dad, you can start breathing again.) but, you know, when i get thinking like this, it does no good. yesterday i didn’t think about it. i didn’t dwell in unproductive guilt. and i got a bunch done.

~
some handpaints

both sport and lace weight. ~ i’m going to keep that one on the far right for myself.

~
some washed carded & dyed churro (with corresponding tinkles~ black tinkle!!?!)

i don’t have plans for any of these yet. i just got motivated to dye them up.
~
and some washed churro fleece

~
i had no intention whatsoever to wash up any fleece yesterday.
but, once again, i was forced to.
while i was on the front porch flick carding some wool, my son, went around back, truned on the garden hose and decided it would be a good day to clean out the mudroom. i found his “cleaning event” fairly quickly; but the damage was already done. two inches of water on the floor of the mudroom. the above fleece was stored in the mudroom in a burlap sack. on the upside; the mudroom floor got mopped, and another pound of this churro is washed. on the down side, last night, i totally collapsed.
if i could only be this productive every day.
but then again, i think my body would rebel. i have a fever and i’m feeling ‘flare-y’ and my arms and ears appear to be sprouting some new rashes. a total downer to be a slave to not only my mental limitations, but my physical ones as well. ha.

now, who wants to come over and help me clean the house? i’ll send you home with some washed rare breed wool. (and possibly one very spirited 2.5 year old boy; in ‘like new’ condition.)
♥

ahhh! brown.

i get a-lot! of compliments on my use of brown. (thank you!)
i also get alot of questions about how i do it. it’s a gift, i was just born this way.
no, seriously, it’s years of trial and error.
the other day amanda asked,
how do you get those gorgeous deep browns? I have lanaset straight
brown, but I can’t seem to get it dark enough. What’s your secret (if
you don’t mind sharing!)
i don’t mind sharing my knowledge on this subject. i do it at least once a month. so, i figured i’d make a post about it; i’m sure others want to know, besides the ones that actually ask… (and thusly, saving me at least 20 minutes per month; i can simply link to this post next time it comes up.) i don’t mind sparing anyone the pains of pounds and pounds of ‘ruined’ roving…

first.. are you using enough dye? some brands and colors you have to use 2 or 3 times the amount to achieve the full color (like some black and reds. and hummm, brown fits there too.) there is a fine line that you can indeed cross, the one that separates ‘full color’ and ‘over saturated’

second.. shop around. i think one of my “most favoritest browns” are made by cushings a bit pricer than most others (roughly $2.50 for 1/3 of an ounce)

third.. know your dye!
is it going to break red? is it going to break green? (not many break green, but sometimes, it happens.)

fourth… don’t be afraid to tweak.
i love tweaking. lemme say that again, cuz i do.. i looove tweaking.
nary does a good color come out of the jar all by it’s self.
a favorite brown ‘recipe’ is: (roughly) 9 parts brown out of the container, a dash of green and one quarter of a dash of black.
black is the great equalizer. a wonderful color tool. (except when it breaks to holy hell when trying to do a flat black… but, maybe i’ll save flat black for another day. talk about a PITA, flat black…. aye.)

i hope this helped amanda!

as for the shirt contest from yesterday, i suppose that little picture wasn’t too fair.

so there you go. and some added commentary that may provide some hints.
boogie said
I know the t-shirt. you attended the concert with Ann but the ticket
stub is lost and there is no recollection of it whatsoever except it’s
awesome.
this is close… i was not actually at this show. i traded SIL a carpenters LP for it. well, actually for a really old jerry shirt. but her x-bf made off with said shirt; and well, a deal is a deal…

neefer said
Chicago 1980.
right decade; and under 5 years off. but to the left of chicago.

mike said
Looks like the kind of Bundle you’d win on a dice roll in Vegas…
getting closer.. to the north and west of vegas.

apparently puppy momma wants a prize anyhow…
so, i’m going to have to make a new contest down the road and rig it make it easy, so she will wind up with a prize.

speaking of prizes… the prize has yet to be determined. why? well, if say boogie wins, and the prize was undyed fibers and a dye kit, well, that would be a bummer for her… and if mike guesses correctly, yarn would be a bummer… so, maybe nips of absolut.. humm, come to think of it, that is a great universal prize. ha.
when will this contest end? humm. not sure. i was going to say august first, but that is too far away. so, july 7?

stella won! congrats stella!

over and out;
happy fry-day!
♥

the rain does funny things to me. i’m convinced. especially after two glorious sunny days, it is like being taken by surprise. (in a bad way.)
and as it normally turns out, i start dyeing things really bright.

big bright orange pile of fiber. blinding in person. (it is pretty dim in here)

and i started spinning this up

pretty sunny…
and i have to play the game in my head… “will i fill it up” (think will it float except i don’t have a grinder girl.)
hummm

hummm, maybe?
about 4 or 5 more ounces to go

i’m going to work on finishing that bobbin up today, and *cough* do some cleaning.
my messy house prevented me from getting good sleep last night.
and when the mess keeps you up at night, it is time to clean. yes. yes, it is.

and now, something to file in the WTF? department.
Every.single.time.the.woman.opens.her.fucking.mouth. LIES.FALL.OUT.
ann, listen to hank. you need to shut the fuck up.
every ‘deadhead’ knows their favorite show. LIES, LIES, LIES. please close your mouth NOW ann. there is enough pollution in the world. need you desecrate the last sacred thing i have left? GO AWAY.

*sheesh*

yippie tuesday.
♥