Saturday

I never know what to do with the time in the mornings on weekends while I'm waiting for the pool to open. Last Sunday, on the way to the pool, I thought... that would be a great time to change the sheets on the bed. Today, I remembered and did just that. Now, to fill in the time tomorrow...

I expected a crowd at the pool but there was none. One regular couple who always share a lane and me. It was nice. This is garage sale day over where the pool is. Hundreds of people having hard sales all over the place. After my swim I drove around but I just wasn't into it so I didn't even stop. Instead I went to Safeway where they just annoyed the crap out of me. So I came home.

bill_schubert is spending his morning building a chicken coop and he moved one of his Dropcams out so I could watch. He also sent me the instructions that he has nailed up on that tree so I could follow along. It's incredibly complicated.



Making clothes is way easier. I laid out my next shirt and will start work on it as soon as I finish this entry. I bought the fabric at a fabric shop in a neighborhood north of here. I spent $50 on two pieces of fabric. One is a long sleeved sweater that I made last week and am quite delighted with. And then I bought a yard and a half for a t-shirt. It was a guess. This morning I laid out my new pattern and discovered that 1. I really need a yard and 3/4ths or 2 yards and 2. The nice lady at the store had cut my yard and a half so generously that I have enough of it for the shirt. So nice. I will absolutely be going back there. She does not have a huge selection but her prices are good.

There is also a smaller shop down the street here. Yesterday afternoon when I went out to check out the neighborhood setup for the music festival, I remembered I needed interfacing so I popped in there. They were all out of what I needed but she said she had a remnant upstairs would I be interested? Sure. It was a big piece and plenty big enough for what I need for this shirt. And she refused to charge me. So, of course, I will absolutely be buying there again even though her selection is limited and prices are a little steep. I love that they are there and want to encourage that.

Baseball teams are, once again, wearing pink and using pink bats for Mothers Day and, once again, I think it looks stupid. But, then Mothers Day is sure not a day for me! [edit: turns out it's cancer pink in addition to Mothers Day - cancer pink annoys me more than Mothers Day - grrrr - but, I'm the only one. The announcers say everyone thinks it's wonderful.]

The process or the product?

Mostly I knit and sew for the end result. For the bear, sweater, shirt, doll... But, sometimes I find myself more interested in the process. Today was one of those days. I'm working with a very fussy fabric. It's a bamboo knit that has a little lycra or spandex in it. What makes it drape beautifully, makes it a bitch and a half to work with but, I just decided to enjoy it instead of fight it.

I did lots of tests. Different stitches and different techniques.

I'm making this pattern BUT...



I'm not adding that extension onto the sleeve and I'm reversing the collar so that the pointy bits are in front. These downloadable made to order patterns have nearly zero instructions. So there are things to think about.

I did all of this while I was watching my brother's web cam that he pointed to the hen house he's building. I was in cool, comfortable Seattle, inside sitting down. He was in hot as hell Texas outside working with the bugs. It was fun to watch.

He made GREAT progress.



I also made what may be the worlds most delicious creamy coleslaw. It's getting better in the fridge as I type this. I think maybe quiche with coleslaw for dinner.

The baseball game was the worst. As I say every year... (except maybe last year) This Season Sucks.

Time to watch a little TV and knit a little bear.