Olympic Update

The toes went lickety split and the increases worked out just fine. The size is great on my foot. Then we got to the gusset increase. So far I ripped it back twice. This is not easy to do when you're working from both ends of the ball, no place to wind up the pulled out yarn. I've got a fist sized tangle of yarn that I'm trying to create a heel from. Wish me luck.
I took the sewing machine to the shop yesterday. The light bulb burnt out and I discovered that aside from not having any more light bulbs, I somehow crushed the end of the screwdriver that one uses to remove the light bulb (Bernina. Fabulous design. The screwdriver that you use to put in needles has an indented handle that just fits around the light bulb.) Oh well, it was time for a check up any way. The lady said, "I have to warn you, it may take a week or two to find the parts."
I replied, "That's OK. I still have three more machines if I have a sewing emergency."
And my family thinks I'm nuts.

Why Don't I Post More Often?

Why don't I? Mostly because the pictures are all loaded on The Husband's computer and he has it all crapped up with downloads so any program is three times as slow on his. If I load the pictures to my computer I can't print them out. Little advice here? Can I use my flicker account to print out stuff? If so, I can load the pictures on this computer and print from the other one. Hmmmm...Possible.
I have finally finished all the doll clothes for the Victorian Doll I made for Great Niece. I went a little overboard and also make her a doll quilt and miniature teddy bear, but, hey, I love that little stuff.
I'm all ready for the Olympics. I am knitting toe up socks. Biological Clock socks from the Eclectic Sole book. I have never done a toe up and according to the notes on Ravelry there are a few errors in the pattern. Therefore, not only am I doing toe up, I am going to knit two at once on a magic loop needle. Wow! from top down on 5 needles to toe up on one. You may need to send chocolate.

Oh, Dear!

With this being Black History month, the old story of Underground Quilting is making its rounds. Barbara Brackman (a noted quilt historian, in fact if you google "quilt historian" her name is the first thing that comes up) has stated that she hoped the story would die down once she debunked it. No suck luck.
Please go to her site and read just how much she researched this topic. She was quite thorough and there in NO contemporary evidence (contemporary meaning "from the time of" the Civil War, not "modern", but that is a rant for another day).
Yes, it's a wonderful way to get kids to think about the Underground Railroad, and making quilts (even paper ones) is a great class activity, but it's bad history and if we teach bad history (seriously, I once heard a teacher tell her class that slave owners didn't want their slaves to read because they might read the Constitution and find out that all men were created equal, WTF) we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes while holding dear the nice little stories.
Please, if you are a teacher, don't teach this as fact, go ahead and teach it as a nice little story, but it ain't fact. If you are a parent, watch out for this little lie in the classroom. If you are a quilter, keep trying.
Sadly, more people won't read this post. Oh, well, we'll know.

Catching Up and Digging Out

I am so far behind I will never catch up. Let's see:
Summer projects:
There was something about reading the 83 books in my box near the fireplace so we could have a fire this winter. Yeah. Now there are at least 100 books in the box. Thanks, family.
I refinished three or four pieces of furniture (you can have a picture or a post, your choice).
Yeah, yeah, lost 25 pounds (and not an ounce since, I may even have gained a pound back)
Quilts? The less said the better about those.
Holiday projects:
This was the year of Feltenschung. I made felted slippers for all the "children". The kit from Knitpicks with the high top sneakers, and spatted shoes (Elder Son made a special call to tell me how much he likes the slippers/sneakers and that it's helping with his heating bills) and French Press Cafe slippers for YSS. Two (maybe three felted hats, hmm maybe four), felted snowmen (well, those aren't finished), a felted fireman's hat for Little Guy.
Two Steggie sweaters. What can I say there was enough yarn for both.
Socks for all the men in the immediate family.
This is the month of my blogiversary. The Yarn Harlot (speaking of whom, I made up a sock of the month bag, but I'm not starting it until March. Not only will I not go berserk during February, March is my birthday month and it can be a gift to me!)got me into this four years ago. Which brings up: Olympic Knitting. I struggled for a while picking out a project that would be challenging without requiring that I stay awake for 16 days. At first I thought I would knit Sleeves in my Pi. I have the yarn, five skeins of laceweight. Sixteen days? Maybe not. I finally settled on toe-up socks. I have probably knit 30, maybe 40 pairs of socks, but never toe-up. The cast on scares me and the cast off worries me (fat ankles...bad circulation in the legs). Time to figure it out.
Digging out? Check the news (or Samurai Knitter's pictures). We got 2o" of snow last night and the cars just looked like igloos this morning. The plow still hasn't been by (7:30 pm).
What brought on the need to post?
I've been making a Victorian Doll for Great Niece (so far there is only one) and with all the snow we're sort of trapped here, so no more excuses for finishing the last dress. You'd think so anyway. I just ran out of white thread. White. Thread. I haven't run out of white since Mom gave me 10 spools of white and 10 spools of black for Hanukkah one year. She died in 2001. Today, when I can't get to JoAnn's, I run out. Sigh. Guess I'll just have to knit something. Good thing I have a little yarn around here. If only there were something to read. Oh, wait...