Circular Loom Knitting

When the weather turns cold, I always think of the people who don't have the cold weather essentials they need. That's when I get out my circular looms and do some hat knitting. Using a loom is not difficult. There are 2 important things to remember. 1: Keep your tension LOOSE! You will make your knitting very tight if you don't. That makes it difficult to manipulate the stitches. 2: Use the right size yarn for the loom you are using. If you use worsted or bulky yarn, you need the looms with fewer stitches per inch (just like when you knit with needles). I prefer to use smaller yarn, so I use the looms with more stitches per inch. I got this yarn at Hobby Lobby.

OK. So, first you have to cast on. Make a half-hitch loom & attach it to the post on the loom.

Now, bring the yarn up between the first 2 posts and wrap the yarn around the first post counter-clockwise.

Continue wrapping the yarn around all the posts, wrapping the yarn around counter-clockwise & proceed to the next post on the left. This is called "casting on". Once the yarn is wrapped around all the posts, I remove the half-hitched loop from the front post & tie it together with the "working yarn". You'll be working with 2 strands of yarn for a few stitches. That's ok. The tail end of the yarn is secured in the hat this way.

Now you are ready to start knitting. I use a little hook to manipulate the stitches. Keep your working yarn very slack. If you pull it tight, you won't be able to pass the stitches over the working yarn. And your hat will become VERY small when you have it finished. To make a knit stitch, hold the working yarn in front of the post and above the loop ON the post. Use your hook under the loop and pass it OVER the working yarn. Continue moving the loop up and off the post. Now the working yarn is secure to the front of the post.

. Continue working around the loom. The fabric you can see inside the loom is the inside of the hat. You'll need to knit several inches before you can see the front side of the hat beneath the loom.

After you knit several inches, you'll make the "band" of the hat. To do this, you'll be placing the cast on loops back onto the posts. Start at the knot you tied, and place each cast-on stitch back on the post. Work your way around, be sure you don't miss a stitch. Basically, you are now folding your knitting in half, forming a band for the hat.

Now, continue knitting your hat. You'll need to knit the hat much "longer" than you would think. Once you take the hat off the loom, it will draw in considerably. That's normal. Don't fret.

Knitting a hat on the circular loom isn't like knitting one on needles. For an adult hat, you need to knit about 14 inches of fabric. Now you need to get the stitches OFF the loom. Cut your working yarn, leaving about 12 inches to work with. Put a yarn needles on this "tail". Use the needle & pass the first stitch off the post and onto this "tail".

Once all the stitches are off the loom, you can put the loom aside. Now you need to close the top of the hat. I do this by pulling the "tail" tight.

Pull it all tight by stitching back and forth across the gap in the top. Really secure this tight, otherwise the hole will open up as the hat is worn. Tie off the tail and work it under a few stitches. Don't leave it free. It will tickle the top of your head if you do!

Congratulations! Your hat is done.

Jupiter /Saturn Conjunction

This year, on the Solstice, there will be a "Great Conjunction" in the south-western sky. For the first time in 400 years, Jupiter & Saturn will merge together to form the "Christmas Star"... Just a quick search of YouTube revealed several good videos on the event.

Finished up with the Christmas knitting

 Hurrah!  I'm done!  Since October, I've knitted 4 pair of socks, 2 pair of gloves & 2 hats.  I finished the last pair of finger-less gloves last night. 

I knitted a pair of socks for my niece, Tricia.  I think they came out well. 

 

Tricia's socks

I also knit a pair of shooting gloves for her husband, Patrick. This is an interesting pattern.  Basically, you make a pair of finger-less gloves, then you go back & knit a "toe" or "mitten" cover to fold back down over the fingers.  Making a mitten... Great for shooting, or general outdoors type work when it's cold.  The loop on the end is to slip over a button sewn onto the cuff.  Keeps it out of the way when you have your fingers exposed.

Shooting gloves

I mailed the package to Tricia on 11/5/20 and it still hasn't arrived yet!  I checked on the package yesterday while I was at the post office in Hardy.  I guess Tricia's package has made it to Jim Thorpe PA.  Why it went to Thorpe is beyond me... But at least the package is still moving & not lost.

I got alpaca socks from an online farm friend of mine, for our daughter's partner, Rickey.  He requested alpaca socks.  I knit daughter Tammy & granddaughter Ariel each a pair of wool socks. I also knit 2 hats for charity.

I got the sock yarn at Strings & Stitches, a great yarn store next door to the dinner Tammy works at.  They have a wonderful selection of yarns & patterns.  The owners are very helpful & full of information!

Why I love wool... (from an admitted fiber junkie)

 I love wool!  I love the feel of it!  I love the smell of it.  I love spinning it, weaving with it, knitting with it.  I love dyeing it... I love wearing it.  Yes, I even love crocheting with it.  It's been a life-long love... ever since I got my first wool blanket eons ago.

I'm knitting socks & gloves for Christmas this year.  One pair of each got sent off to PA last month & still hasn't arrived.  The box is "in transit" somewhere in rural PA... I hope it's not lost & gone forever!

I'm on my 2nd pair of socks to go to GA to daughter & granddaughter.  Daughter's partner wants alpaca commercial socks, so those are en route to our house. Once I get the fingerless gloves done I'll get that package on the way.

As I said, I love wool.  So... I saw an ad for this merino wool dress on Facebook. Wooland  I checked it out.  Now I'm trying their 100 day dress challenge.  I'm wearing the Sofia midi-dress.  I'm on day 11 & I'm loving it!  I got the dress in navy blue...

I've laundered the dress twice.  When it first arrived and then after the first week.  I simply washed it in warm water in the kitchen sink.  I used a dab of my shampoo, then rinsed it well.  I squeezed out the excess water then hung it up to dry.  It worked well.  The fabric didn't stretch and the color didn't run.

Wool keeps you warm when it's wet... It has natural elasticity, so it has some give.  And you can wear the same garment for an extended amount of time.  I have 1 pair of wool socks that are over 10 years old.  I don't wear them all day every day, but I have been wearing them for those 10 years.

Why are computers (and doctors) so damn frustrating!? A brain-diseased person's rant!

 Once upon a time... back when I didn't have a diseased brain... I understood computers.  I was blessed with the ability to see "in my mind" the various screens that would be navigated through to get the desired result.  I could read BACIS, Fortran, C , Novell networking... all in my mind.  I could help get someone who was stuck un-stuck over the phone.

Lord, not any more!  I HATE voicemail!  I hate those damn automated systems with the myriad of options dronning on... for english press 1778475639!  To hell with that!  I want to talk to a person!

What has me upset today?  Getting our damn meds refilled.

I hope you NEVER have the misfortune of having a chronic disease.  I've had Parkinson's now for 16 going on 17 years.  John's had it 20 years.  We're on the same med we've been on since we were diagnosed.  Our neurologist only sees us once a year because she can't do anything for us except try to manage our symptoms.

Well, we were supposed to see her in November.  But she cancelled our appointment.  So.... yesterday I had to get our 3 month refills.  The Pill Box sent a request to the doctor.  This morning, I get a call from their automated system telling I need refills on my medication.  Yep.  I know.  Yep, you guys sent in a request for a new one.  And then I'm given the option #3 to talk to a person.  Sure.  I press 3.  Clink.  Dammit!

So, I call the Pill Box.  They are so nice.  They tried to fill our script, but the Humana system indicates it's already been filled by another vendor...  DAMMIT!

So, the I call the neurologist's office.  Leave a message for the nurse on the voicemail.  "We will call you back within 72 hours.  If this is an emergency, go to the emergency room."  So I leave a voicemail.  "My husband & I need a refill on our sinemet cr. 50/200... can you please tell me who you sent the refill to?  Our pharmacy said our insurance indicates another vendor already received payment for our order."

DAMMIT!

So, I get on my laptop & log onto the insurance website.  Yes, I have an order from the pharmacy in transit.  I have an outstanding balance to be paid.  OK... Great.  I click on the little box & make the payment.

Then, I log into John's account.  Same insurance... same medication.  Where's the damn little box to make the payment?!  NOW WHAT THE HELL?!  No little box.  Crap!  I check the particulars of his account.  Yep, there's the debit card information.  Yep, there's the "auto-pay" box... Why can't I click on the damn thing?!

Finally I get so angry I resort to the "chat with us" box.  Someone named Rachel responds.  After 10 minutes and many more pages & boxes & other foolishness she finally agrees that the payment option is not appearing on John's account.  So, she manually processes the payment.  Great!

So I thank her & get out of that mess.

Then I log onto the bank website.  Yep, there's the payments for my meds & John's meds.  Wonderful.  I had to spend a good 45 minutes trying to figure out why I couldn't get my meds yesterday from the pharmacy I usually deal with all because the doctor's office cancelled our 1 appointment for the year.  

If this is what life in the "new normal" is going to be like.... I want to opt out.  I want to see a person.  I want a piece of paper scribble on that no one can read.  And I want the little pills that keep me from jumping out of my skin in my pretty little hand.  Is that too much to ask for?!

Nothing much to talk about...

 I don't have much to talk about today.  Joshua & I are going to run errands.  Being it's the first of the month, we need to hit up the bank, grocery store, farm store and pharmacy.  

We get our medication 3 months at a time, from The Pill Box Pharmacy.  That helps with budgeting & also helps us feel like we always have our meds on hand.  Neither of us take any heart, blood pressure or diabetic medications.  Just the meds we need to help control our Parkinson's disease symptoms.  We both take sinemet cr 50/200.  It still works well for me.... but not so well for John.  He never stops shaking now... which is very tiring.  His voice is very low & his speech is very slurred.  He has trouble chewing (and his dentures don't fit correctly).  I have to cook all our red meat in the pressure cooker or he can't eat it.

We both also take a med to help control muscle spasms.  We both get them - and those suckers HURT.  The arch of my feet cramp & my toes curl up.  Then the spasm goes up my calf muscle & into the back of my leg.  Sometimes it travels all the way up my back.  My left hip sometimes spasms and I can't bend my leg or rotate my legs "outwards".  When this happens, sitting is very painful.  Sometimes it happens when I get into the car.  And sometimes I have to open the door & stick my leg out straight, just so I can be in the seat!  Needless to say, this makes driving difficult!

Josh usually drives everywhere.  Sometime I drive to Hardy for a quick grocery store run.  Or to make a visit to Artasia the local yarn store.  I love that store.  Check out their Facebook page, Artasia.  Laura & Janet make you feel welcome.  They have great supplies for various crafts & also items to sell that were made by local artists.

When we go to the farm store, we go to Hersch Feed in Thayer, MO.  And we go to Simmons Bank in Mammoth Springs. 

Talking about chickens...

 I know.  Technically, it's late fall... but damn it's windy!  Our low last night was 30.  I knew the weather would get cold eventually... 

Every winter, I put plastic sheeting around my chicken enclosure.  There's already a metal roof.  The plastic cuts down on the wind & keeps snow & ice from accumulating inside the enclosure.  I'm not sure the chickens appreciate it...

The Rhode Island Red chicks are 3 months old now.  When I got the chicks at Tractor Supply, I didn't pay attention to if I was getting all females or "straight run" chicks.  Straight run means there could be male chicks included.  None of the chicks have started crowing yet... so maybe they are all female. I haven't started naming them yet.  I'm waiting to see "who" each of them is.  There's one bossy bird I've started calling "Mad Max".  I guess if it's a female, I'll have to change it to Maxine.

An immature female is called a "pullet"  and an immature male is called a "cockerel".  Rhode Island Red pullets usually start laying at about 4 months of age.  So, maybe I'll get eggs by Christmas...  But, typically, chickens do NOT lay eggs in winter.  You can keep a light on in their enclosure & "force" them to lay.  I prefer NOT to do that.  They'll give me eggs when they are ready.  I'm content with that.

I don't sell my eggs.  And I don't eat my chickens.  Thankfully, Arkansas has a huge chicken industry.  New chicken houses are going up everywhere.  Batesville & Pocahontas both have processing plants.  Our local grocery store, Bill's Cash Saver, carries organic free range chicken & eggs. 

I also have another trio of French Black Copper Maran chickens.  

I know.  This picture has 4 birds in it... the oldest hen, Jet, died last summer.  Now we only have Prince (the rooster), Mahogany & Ebony.  They're all getting older & don't lay anymore.  Prince is not a very energetic rooster either... The 3 of them just hang out in their side of the enclosure... doing their chickeny business.

Jet was a great mamma chicken.  She even raised guinea chicks for me.  She was the grandmother of all the birds I had for the past several years.  But I decided to go back to Rhode Island Red chickens, so I won't be replacing the Marans as they pass on.

Restarting my blog

 My friend, Barbara Stiles, talked to me yesterday via Facebook Messenger video calls... And she asked me to resume my blog.  This was a bit of a surprise.  

I've known Barbara more than 10 years.  She used to live very near me, on one of the local lakes.  But do to health issues & her inability to drive, she moved closer to her daughter in North Little Rock.  She now lives in on of those low-income elderly apartment complexes.  And she does NOT like it.  She's lonely.  She has no outside space to grow plants or walk her dog.  

Getting older.... losing our abilities to do the things we love... missing friends we've lost contact with... these are all issues we have to deal with as we age.  And it's hard!

With this "pandemic", people are feeling more isolated & alone.  People are afraid of spreading this virus to their elderly friends & family members.  And the "lockdowns" are making those feeling even more profound.  People are losing their jobs.  Not everyone is eligible for Unemployment Compensation.  The food banks are being stretched to their limits!

Our recent election has many people upset.  People are feeling like the whole election process has been compromised.  As the Inauguration draws closer, many people are fearful of riots & unrest.  I believe their fears are well founded.

The social unrest of the past year has been astounding!  I can't remember any unrest at this level since the race riot in Philadelphia back in the 1960's.  I was a kid back then, but I remember that the adults in my family were very concerned about them. 

Back to my chat with Barbara... She reminded me of a gathering we had here at our house back in 2015 or so.  We had a fun day & talked about our crafts.  And we ate good food.  And I think that's what most people are missing in these "Pandemic" days.  The connections we felt with other people.

Do yourself a favor.  Call a friend up & chat.  Tell them how much they mean to you.  Remember, the love we feel for one another is what we will take with us when we leave this world.

Spring

I took a equinox sunrise photo on the 21st.  I guess Spring always feel like the "new" year to me.  I was born on March 27th.  So, for me, the new year starts in the Spring.

Spring Equinox sunrise in Williford, AR

My nephew and his wife also greeted their first child right after the equinox. River Rose Davis wasn't supposed to greet the world until May.  But mom Jenny had a serious blood pressure issue.  The docs just couldn't get her blood pressure  under control.  This was stressing the baby.  So, the decision was made to bring River into the world.  She joined the family on 3/22. A real Spring surprise,this one.

River with mom Jenny

February 15th

We're spending these mid-winter days watching YouTube... John really hasn't been feeling well.  His tremors never stop & he has a migraine almost every day.  Not good.

I try to keep him comfortable.  He doesn't eat much at meals.  He would rather eat sweets.  At least he eats something.  He drinks 2 - 3 "breakfast" drinks a day.  They have soy in them, but he seems to tolerate them well.

I had a brief stomach "flu" last week.  Chills, headache & vomited.  Thankfully, it only lasted 2 days.

I've finally finished the double knit vest I started last March.  Notice that the vest is reversible. One side of the vest is striped, with grey designs.  The other is grey with multi-colored designs.  This vest was quite a challenge.  I had to restart the work 5 times before I had the stitches cast on in the correct order.  Each row required my complete attention.

Double knit wool vest

John complained several times that my knitting was keeping me from paying attention to him when he spoke to me.  Truthfully, his voice is now so soft that I can not understand him with the TV on.  His speech is slurred. Hard to understand.  Josh has the same issue.  I know this is very frustrating for John. 

I also finished a finger woven sash for our friend Lloyd Lindley.  He was very happy with it.

This wool sash is about 7 feet long.  I'm pleased with the finished product.  It two ends match very well. 

Last Thursday (2/8) we had several ladies over.  Just to chat & knit.  I spun for about an hour.  We had a nice potluck lunch.  Barbara Skiles brought a surprise for me from her sister Betty Relph.  These little corn husk dolls!

Christmas 2017

It's 5:00 AM on Christmas morning.  I woke up at 3:00... I guess when you fall asleep in your chair at 7:00 PM. waking at 3:00 gave me 8 hours sleep.  I'm turning into an early morning elder...

This has been an interesting year.  Thankfully.  No surgeries this year.  No money crunches.  No car issues, house issues, pet emergencies... It's been a good year.

As I get older, I'm finding I "need" less.  And what I do need can't be bought.  Hugs.  Love. Smiles.  True friendship. Honesty & compassion.

We accomplished a lot this year, as I look back at it.  The garden didn't produce as well. But we did get some wonderful produce to eat.  Josh wants to leave the garden unplanted this coming year - work on building up the soil.

I didn't get into the "Christmas knitting" this year.  That was a relief, really. Some years I started focusing on gifts in October & finished in February.  That's a long Christmas.  This year, I made several batches of hats to send off, and now I'm working on a blanket for friend Lloyd.

We don't decorate for Christmas.  We're just not into it. 

I baked fruit cake, gave some away.  Lloyd & his brother brought over a pecan pie last night.  Looking forward to having some.  Josh & I processed some venison & made brats.  YUMMY.

Hobbit House update

The interior is done!  Well, mostly done.  The solar system still needs to be installed....

Anyway, here's a quick video walk through.

Cool nights, Autumn is here.

Once again, I find myself lacking anything to blog about... Summer is gone.  Three months have passed since I wrote anything.

Life here on Big Rock Farm has been rather uneventful.  Summer was warm.  We had a hot spell, then a wet spell, now a warm & dry spell.  We got enough rain that our rain barrel was never empty.  That's a first, I think.

Joshua & John went fishing one day & caught 3 brim to put in our "pond".  We did our part, and raised 2 different breeds of tadpoles.  Ariel always likes playing with them.

Work on the Hobbit House was rather slow.... but the door & window are in.  The entire exterior has been coated with Hydro-Ban (water proofing), I finished the painting with the main colors.  I still have some faux painting to do and some stenciling.  And I need to lay the tile floor.

The "parlor"or main area in the Hobbit House

Walking up to the front door

The door & window.

Mandala on a triangular shawl

 I did a bit of silk painting & dyeing this summer.  I'm happy with the results.

Sun painting silk scarves & shawls

Luna Moth silk shawl

My friends Gena Stout & Dee Blansett & I had a booth at a local craft sale. I sold most of my hand dyed yarns (mostly to Dee).  Here's a picture of our space.

Add caption

Health wise, I've been plagued by a chronic sinus infection.  Annoying!  John's still having trouble sleeping.  I think I've joined him in that.  Most mornings I wake between 3 & 5 o'clock.  Today I woke up at 2:00.

Earlier, in May, I hatched out 10 Black Copper Maran chicks.  As they grew up, I discovered we had 8 new roosters. Great!  I advertised them for free on Facebook & Craig's list.  Seven of them were gone within 2 hours.  I kept 1 young rooster & 2 hens.  I named the Prince, Mini & Betty.  Our bantam hens sat on eggs all summer, but didn't hatch out even a single chick.  Our adult Copper Maran rooster is named Elvis (because he "sings" from 3 AM to 10 PM), and his ladies are Ginger (RIR/Copper Maran cross), Mary Ann, & Mahogany.

This year's chicks

I knitted a wrap for my niece Kendra Kittle.  It came out pretty well.  Ariel was working on a project with the same pattern.  I'm not sure it will ever get finished.

Starting Point knit along project

Now I'm crocheting ponchos for my great nieces.

"Virus" poncho for Nevaeh

Poncho for Revan

The Hardy Homesteader's quilting project was completed.  I think it came out well.  We will be giving it away on October 7th.