Proof of Life

Well, it may not be proof of life but it is proof of knitting. I finally got around to blocking a few of my finished items but the sun did not cooperate today so the pictures are flash and house lighting instead of nature light.

When I downloaded the pictures I realized I still had some pics from work in the camera so I thought you might like to see one of the old printers my team uses to create black & white booklets, brochures, etc.

The left side where the guy is standing is the paper trays along with 3 more trays just to the right of the "bump". This printer can hold 9 different types of paper. Different size, color, weight, tabs, etc. So if you have a book that has a cover, tabs, color paper inserts, etc. - this guy will print is all at once and spit it out complete.
The bump is the printer.
To the right of the extra paper trays is stapler. It staples and loads the finished copies in the window area.
Next, is a stacker. When you do all those tabs, chapters, colored inserts, etc. and its done - it ends up in the stacker waiting to be taken out.
Finally, the last big unit is the booklet maker. It takes finished copies staples the whole thing together, folds it and then trims off the extra edge you get when you fold it.

So - There you have it. An older but still very functional printer. Next time you get a booklet that was printed with a colored cover and the rest black & white it may have been printed on a machine like this one.

Knitting

A while back I finished a shawl out of Mini Mochi. It's simple and lets the yarn do its own thing. The lace edge is Cascade Hertiage Sock because I felt the lace pattern would have been lost with Mini Mochi.
The full size picture is closer to the actual colors. The pattern is Eliina shawl. More info is on my Ravelry site.

I also finally blocked the Alita afghan. This was made from a lace doily pattern with Woolease yarn. My hope was to make an afghan that was a bit special for my couch when company goes because I like to keep the house cool. It needs to be kept away from the couch until then so it remains fairly cat hair free.

And - yes - I block with the iron. Lots of steam, a bit of heat and a light hand. So far I have yet to kill the yarn and things come out looking great.

The Neno Award

I was tagged this weekend for the Neno Award by Toni.

The Neno’s Award Rules and Regulations:

1. As a dedication for those who love blogging and love to encourage friendships through blogging.

2. To seek the reasons why we all love blogging.

3. Put the award in one post as soon as you receive it.

4. Don’t forget to mention the person who gives you the award.

5. Answer the award’s question by writing the reason why you love blogging.

6. Tag and distribute the award to as many people as you like.

7. Don’t forget to notify the award receivers and put their links in your post.

Toni and I have similar things going on as far as cats who like to sew with you and sleep with you and be with you every second of the day. Then of course there's the knitting. After some comments we ended up sharing bits of our local area - I sent her Wild Rice from Minnesota and she sent me some wonderful Huckleberry products from Idaho. Our friendship pretty much explains why I enjoy blogging - I've met some pretty amazing people on the net. Some I've met in person others I may never meet other than through the blogs but we share friendships of sorts that I term as net-friends.

My one problem with blogging is I can't answer people directly through blogger because it hides email as unknown. Many people have commented on my blog that I'd love to reach out to and be more friendly but blogger just won't let me. But for now - I'll enjoy the friendship I get anyway I can get them!

I'm not going to tag anyone for this but I'd love to here from those that read the blog and suffer through the endless Chief and Bert pictures. Maybe one of these days I'll even get the afghan and 2 shawls blocked so I can post pictures! Then of course there's the patterns I've been writing up, I really should finish them. Some day........

Serious Kntting Time Ahead

I've been limping around for the past year or so waiting until my heel got crummy enough to do something about it. 6-7 years ago I had 3 spurs removed from my left heel and the past couple years my right heel has been heading the same way. Today the doctor confirmed it. Time for surgery. Not only do I have major heel spurs going on I also have what is the equivalent of a bunion on my small toe side and a hammer toe starting on my second toe. The decision is to do everything at once so there's one recovery time. So just after the first of the year I'll be getting 3-4 weeks of sitting around with nothing to do but knit and then about 3 weeks after that with an air cast. Able to go to work but after work - come home and sit around and knit. It's gonna be tough but I'll try to survive all the extra knitting time this winter!

Oh - I made the doctor promise I'd be good to go by April so I can enjoy Yarnover and all my net friends that will be coming here. I must be good by then!

Best Sleeping Positions

Every once in a while you look at your world and decide some changes need to be made. You have an old car that costs more to fix than its worth. You have piles of things on the table so it can't be used. You're in a loveless marriage and need to get out. My world is not so dramatic.

My big thing I need to change is my wardrobe. I think its time to make a new night gown. This one is over 15 years old and looks everyday of it. Mom is probably rolling over in her grave seeing me wearing something this raggy!

I may not have made a new nightgown lately but I have made progress on some knitting. I found a Lace Edge Hat pattern I liked and made it out of Malabrigo. It's yummy and wonderful. After I made the hat I decided to come up with some gauntlets that would match. First one is done and of course I didn't take any notes on my increases and such so I've been going a little slower making the second one. Turns out I have enough Malabrigo to make a small scarf also. Once I get the scarf finished I'll write these up and share them with you all. I'll also hunt up the hat pattern source so you can make a complete set.

While I've been knitting the Boys have been doing what they do best - sleep.

Bert likes to sleep on top of the TV cabinet. Here's his favorite pose. I know its because the the heat that comes from the cable box in the cabinet but its still pretty funny.

Even when he hears something he manages to check it out without losing "The Pose".

Once he's sure everything is safe and there's no real live person coming into our cave he relaxes and settles down to some serious sleeping again.

Don't ya just love the hind foot action!

Meanwhile, Chief sleeps where Chief sleeps best - on the recliner between my legs.

The black thing on the bottom of the picture is my laptop. I can handle Chief on the right arm of the chair, Bert on the left arm, the lap top of (of course) my lap and knitting in front of the computer. What else do you need!

Life is good around here if you ignore my nightgown!

Scary Halloween

I really hate the phone calls that begin - "Hello, this is ..... I'm your Dad's nurse". They always end with me going to his facility because of a problem or going to the emergency room because it was a bigger problem. Saturday was a bigger problem. Around noon I got a call that Dad had a seizure for about a minute but was ok now and they wanted me to know. By 12:30 I was heading to the ER because his doctor thought it best to be checked out and get a CT scan to see what caused it.

He's never had a seizure before that we know of and in the end everything turned out ok but, ER trips are not fun and you just never know. I'm unfortunately getting a bit too good at this routine. I grab a book, my knitting (something mindless), and a can of pop on the way out the door because ER trips are always 4 hours or more. This one was only 3 1/2 hours so I guess I was lucky.

CT scan showed no change from one about 1 1/2 years ago and the ER doctor is similar thinking to me - don't add a ton of meds on older people unless it's needed. So- our orders are for the nurses at Dad's place to watch him and the visiting doctor will check him out again Wednesday on regular visit day. If seizures happened again, then we'll talk drugs.

The knitting I worked on? I was smart- I brought some blue Malabrigo with me so I'd have something soft and cuddly to work on. I worked on a hat from a pattern I found on line - Lace-Edged Women's Hat. Unfortunately I saved it on my computer and don't know the website. I'm guessing it's on Ravelry if anyone wants to do a search. There's a one inch lace edge instead of a rib and the rest plain knit. I decided a pair of mittens or fingerless gloves would look great with it so I started a pair using the lace edge and the rest will be plain knnit to match the hat. I haven't gotten too far on the gloves yet but I'll post pictures when there's something to see. In the meantime, let's hope today is less scary than yesterday!

Let sleeping kitties lie

Two days off with rain and dark skies meant I didn't go work at the other house cause there's no electricity up there and it's hard to see what you're doing in the dark. So, I hung out with the boys and did some knitting and working at this house. I managed to fill a large garbage can sized recycle bin and half a garbage can. Maybe some year I'll get through all Mom & Dad's stuff. but - I won't hold my breath!

I see you down there big kitty! - Bert

ZZZZ zzzz- Chief

Mom, I don't think this thing is big enough to be a scarf or shawl yet. Guess you have to keep knitting and letting me sleep in your lap. - Chief

Yup, Chief has been very good at keeping me company while I knit billions and billions little sock yarn squares to make a scarf or shawl or ??? we'll see what this thing grows up to be one of these days.

I give that meal one sniff.

I got a call this afternoon from my cousin. He had heard about a concert tonight on NPR and thought I might be interested. Yup. A couple hours later I got to Coz's house and we headed over to a church by his house for a Celtic Harp and Wind concert. It was 2 ladies - one played Celtic harp and the other played multiple wind instruments (1/2 dozen different bagpipes, whistles and other flute like instruments). The wind player also sang. It turned out to be part of a concert series that this church puts on during the year - one a month. Unfortunately the crowd was somewhat small - about 100 people. But everyone seemed to enjoy the concert very much.

While we were waiting for it to start I was telling Coz about the gathering next April of some of my Net friends here in Minneapolis. I told him I call them Net friends because it's easier then trying to explain these are friends I've never met- they're all knitters- etc. Coz decided they should be called "Knit Nets". He thought this was a great idea then decided the place we met is the Knit Net and the people are Knit Netties. I should also mention this is the same cousin who couldn't decide if Knitting is a hobby or a cult. Whatever if is he supports my obsession and has even gone so far to hunt up a book about knitting culture for me after seeing a review in the paper - "I knew you'd like it." - What a guy!

After the concert we headed to a vegetarian Indian restaurant for more conversation. Food was okay but I like "our" Indian restaurant better. When I got home Chief gave me his official review of my supper.

You see, Chief has this bizarre habit of having to smell my breath after I eat. His review of my meals consists on how many times he has to smell my mouth, the more sniffs the better the meal. Tonight's Vegetable Korma got 1 sniff. I think he was excited because he could smell the korma but, at my restaurant I get Chicken Korma, tonight no chicken smell. It may be a bizarre habit of Chief's but at least he's never tried to get his nose in my mouth!

For the record - chicken korma at my favorite restaurant gets 3-4 sniffs easily. Chief has good taste.