Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of my blog peeps :) 
This past year has been an interesting one,with many ups and downs. Unemployment has been the hardest of them all. I have to say that we have worked very hard to keep our heads high and keep our spirits up with activities with our beautiful boys. I have enjoyed being with them for the summer which hasn't happened in many years. My husband even though unhappy without work for the last 3 years, has been given the gift of being with our boys and learning about them in a new way. He has been here to help our oldest purchase his first car. He has been at every swim meet that the twins have swam, he even has learned how to volunteer at swim meets, timing and clean up. He amazingly has really enjoyed it.....
I'm grateful for the random jobs I have been able to pick up here and there. Right now I'm working a temp job until the end of January or longer. While I don't like the drive at night when I'm tired after working a 9-10 hour day, I'm very grateful for the job. After being home all summer I'm missing being home with the boys. They have been so understanding. 
So now about my knitting and spinning! It has preserved my sanity! I have missed a few of my Wednesday Evening knitting groups at Textiles A Mano, but have worked really hard at going to spinning on Saturdays! I really have enjoyed the wonderful friends I have met and continue to meet there.
Merry Christmas to everyone! Keep your heart full of thankfulness and joy and you will have Peace!

Time is Flying!!!

Oh my goodness! Am I wasting time? Its almost time! YIKES!
These are the questions that I ask myself at this time of year.
We are down to the wire on Christmas and I don't have a thing done! OK that's in my mind.... I do have the tree and lights hung, and as much of my Christmas Village up that I'm willing to deal with. That means that if I put it all up my back will hurt and then I will have deal with the kitties sitting in the middle of it all like big abominable snow cats! They just love to annoy me to no end like that! I swear they see me coming through their sleeping eyes and boom! Get up and jump out of the middle of it all as house's and little fake people and horse's go flopping and flying around! 
This year I decided to make it a little more real looking by covering the couch pillows with the white snow looking batting and then putting a book under each house to stabilize it. Crazy of me to think that the cats wouldn't see those nice soft pillows of snow as their beds!!!! I swear I live in a constant PollyAnna World! Denial and playing the" Glad Game" in my head constantly! 
Where was I going with all this? Oh just to say that if your not ready for Christmas its ok. It all could be worse, you could have a cat sitting in the middle of it all thinking its all about them!
Thank goodness its all about Jesus! Merry Christmas 

Advent Has Begun!

The holiday season has begun at my house! Today I started putting up my Christmas Village, while watching the Oregon Ducks play. It's always difficult for me to get this task done. Therefore today was a great day to get it going. Now I need to get my husband to put up Christmas lights before it starts to rain again. I often wonder what the motivation would be on a cold day to go out and put lights up that will come down in a month! This just seems so strange to me that I even am thinking about this. Many years ago I found so much joy in putting those lights up and decorating my house. Now I just look at it & see WORK! I really think that I've become rather scrooge like........... 
I enjoy the sites, sounds, and smells of the season. But I would rather enjoy the church events and family with out  all the hard work. Whats that about any way???? 
Right now I'm working on hats, I obsessed with hats..... My boys are all getting hats for Christmas! In fact they are wearing them already. I'll have to confiscate them so I can re-gift them in their stockings. 

This is my attempt at a hat with flaps... Its "Thorpe"
I have knit it over sized so I can felt it. Its merino and tussah.

Cameron's Hat.... I can get it off of him!

Still Working Hard

These last few weeks have been intense. I have still been working as a dental assistant in Veneta, about a 33 mile round trip trek every day. 
I'm so grateful for the work, yet I'm so tired at night that my head is spinning in circles!
I still am only getting about 30 minutes a day for lunch and no other breaks, unless I run at top speed to the bathroom down the hall. The dentist is very nice, yet very intense. Don't think he is thinking any one gets a break!
At this point I know that I can count on work until the end of January 2011. His long time assistant cant come back to work until that time, and even then who knows. She was hurt pretty bad, I really feel sorry for her the more I have learned. She broke her leg in 4 places and now is recovering from surgery, as they had to place pins, posts and who knows what else to put her together again!
Thus I have found little time to knit or spin unless its on the weekends. My new focus right now is hats for my boys for Christmas. I have a lot of hands-on which I know they would love to have in a hat :) 
So I have been plowing through that as I can.
Today I plan to knit and spin and watch the Oregon Ducks win another football game! "I Love My Ducks!"

Making of a Hat 

My Sweet son Daniel and I we did Pumpkins together

Tomorrow the boys swim team cleans the stadium, so thats where I will be with them. Sweeping and shoveling up game day old food and muck! Sure hope it doesn't rain tonight. That makes it really mucky....... Still love the Ducks, just not the fans that make the mess..........

Weekend and a Job!

Well when you pray for something that you really know you need make sure you understand that GOD is the one in charge! Because this week my prayers were answered.... Not how I wanted but how GOD wanted I'm really sure of it! 

I was called Sunday night to work a temp job in a dental office for 2 months. I started on Tuesday. 

I was happy to have it and understood that it was only for 2 months due to the fact that the assistant broke her leg and would be out for that amount of time. I was good with that, but didn't know anything about this office. 

Well I really think this lady broke her leg on purpose!

This office works 10 hour days with very little time in the day to even go pee! They schedule an hour for lunch, not sure why because I have yet to even get a full hour, not to mention even 15 mins.! They work a long morning and don't even schedule a break until 1:00. I can work with that.... NOT! The first day I got 30 minutes all day! The second day I got 15 minutes at 2:00!!! I had worked a straight 6 hours with no break! My hands were shaking and my brain was fuzzy. My bladder was bulging! This is insane!!!! 

OK enough GOD! I prayed for a job, any job... I'm not afraid to work hard and never say no.... What the heck are you trying to teach me here???? I am now praying for this woman's leg to heal fast! 

I drive round trip over 30 miles to do this job. I don't mind the drive its a pretty one. I do mind these insane hours! All I can think of is home, shower, bed. My family really misses me and I miss them. 

So my prayers are... Dear God, please give me the strength to do this job for the next 2 months and help this lady's leg to heal fast! Help me understand what you are teaching me... but please teach me fast, because I'm too old to work like this. I promise I will listen even if I'm too tired to answer back. Thank You GOD! Love Tammie. AMEN>>>>>>>>>>>

Wednesday Prayers

I've been working on more new spinning. I'm working on a new fiber I've never spun before. It's Polwarth, and beautiful!!!!  It's like spinning butter. I also have been working in tufts of angora (Bunny Fur ) as I go. What will I make???? A prayer shawl. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have a friend who is hosting a workshop in December on knitting prayer shawls. She has several patterns. The idea is to knit one for some one who needs comfort in some way. They may have a health issue or just daily struggles with life. 
I really love the idea. I decided to spin my fiber for this project and pray as I spin. It feels so peaceful as I work. I'm not sure who will receive the shawl, but its cool to think about how much love will be put into the fibers. 

Home Spun, Happy Birthday Mom 10/10/10

Batt from Uniquely Yours

Beautiful Swatch :)

BFL/Tussah Silk

Birthday Cake!!!

Amazing! I just made my first custom Yarn !!

Working on Mom's Birthday Yarn

In honor of my Mom, I have spun her a birthday yarn. Her birthday is Sunday 10/10/10!!! She will be a young 75 years old. So I have spun her favorite colors. She loves the Reds, Oranges, Golds, and Greens. I have combined a beautiful combination of fibers just for her! I spun BFL/Tussah Silk in a fantastic orange/copper fiber from Dicentra Designs, then I received a mystery batt from an online SAL ( Uniquely Yours) they are on Raverly. Her batt contained a mixture of greens, yellows, rusts, and golds, with a bit of purple. It is made up of Merino/Romney,Mohair,BFL/Suffolk X, Nylon, Acrylic, Bamboo,Tencel, Silk Noil and Angelina fibers!!! 
I know thats a lot!!!! I wasn't sure what I would end up with but its fantastic!!!! 
2 ply, Sport weight, I knit a swatch so she could see it better, ok it was for me too!!! I was dyeing to check it out! 
Happy Birthday Momma!!! I love you, Love your crazy spinning knitting daughter :)

Working Interview

Well yesterday was the first time I have worked since June 30th! I did what we call a working interview in the dental field. 
I have to say that the day I spent in this office was probably the least stressful work day I have had in years!!! 
They had a gal there that did all the sterilization and clean up! Oh my goodness was I spoiled by the end of the day! Have to say my legs and feet did not hurt at the end of the day and I didn't feel like I had roller skates on all day. 
I believe God is Good! I really am praying that they will hire me. 
Its between me and another lady that has work as a fill in for them so they wanted to give her first choice. I think thats nice of them. She may not take it due to the fact she lives 20 miles from the office. From my drive way it's 11 1/2 miles. Nice country drive. The office is located in a little scandinavian town. The building is a cute little house nicely redone and decorated. Its very homey and cozy. Its set in a nice little neighborhood across from a park.
So now the thing to do is pray, pray, pray! 
Other good thing is I will have knitting time! They work M,T,Th,F.Wednesday nights are my knitting group night, woohoo!
Like I said GOD IS GOOD :)

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival :)

Silk Curls

Basket of Fiber :)

Oh my goodness! Yesterday my dear hubby and I went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, about 2 hours from my home. It started out beautiful and sunny here in Eugene. Half way there the rain started and it didn't stop! I had never been to the fiber fest 


so I didn't know what the heck to expect. I had sandals on and my summer crop pants and a light t-shirt. We didn't take our umbrellas...... Oh well we decided we would make the best of it. After all we were out for the adventure. 
We got there and the rain kept on.... Most of the show was in two buildings, however there was a lot outside under canopies. By the time we finished in the buildings and I had bought fiber to my hearts content. The rain started to slow:) It warmed up and so did my toes. 
The fiber was abundant and I had a wonderful time just filling my heart with the sounds and smells of fiber. I found some wonderful fiber to bring home. I bought a few things that I had never spun before. 
I have Corriedale roving, BFL/Silk, BFL/Tussah, Polwarth, Silk Curls, and Angora Bunny
I am really looking forward to spinning and learning. The Angora I bought from a young girl who had 2 bunnies one white and one grey and white, she told me about how clean she kept them and that she even blew dryed them when they got hay or VM in their fur. It's beautiful! She had it all packaged so nicely in clear box's with her card on top. $5.00 for 1 oz. Thats a lot of bunny fur!!! 
My husband was so sweet he carried my basket around for me while I shopped. He even was approached by a few unsavory women who wanted to steal him to carry their goods! I told them to back away from my man, he was taken for the day! Such a good man :)

Been a While!!!!

Wow!!! I haven't posted anything for a while! Since school has started we have been on a roller coaster! 
I have been out every day pounding the pavement for work! It's Fall and my husband got laid off from his job. He only has 9 weeks left on his unemployment so here we go...... I have sent out and gone to every dental office in town. Cant give up! I have had 2 interviews, one decided to not hire any one at this time. The other only wanted part-time and I needed full time.... Oh the joy of life right now in these uncertain times!
I continue to spin and knit it helps me get through these really stress filled moments and days. 
On the flip side of all this, life does go on! The twins are playing water polo and are doing great in school. They are amazing and I thank "God" daily for the joy my children have given me!!!!

School Has started!

Well School has officially started! I realized its Friday! The twins are 16 and Juniors this year. Which means they don't even start school until the end of the week. It just seems so very strange to me to say that Friday is the first day of school. Don't ask me to explain this, we have had this strangeness all of their high school years and since we are on the last 2 there isn't a point to complain or wonder "WHY". 
As for me.... this is the first year EVER! that I have had the wonderful experience to stay home and enjoy the quietness of the house :) Happy Me :)... My plan for this day, you may ask??? Drink coffee and spin and knit>>>>>>>>>>> 

Luke & Cameron 16 years old

Me, Myself, and My Fiber

YEAH ME! Thats what I say! Happy Days are here again. Oh I know that looking for work is so very important, but I believe that God wants me to have this day to chill. Voice of reason, YAHOO!

Navajo Ply!

Side by Side

Strawberry Fields>Navajo Plied>BFL

Just finished my first Navajo Ply! I believe this will be my new favorite. The colors are amazing and the fiber is so much more stable.

Indigo Blue>Merino/Bamboo,Regular Ply

Spinning

Covered Bridge>>>> Walk

2 ply, Merino/Bamboo

Got down to the business of spinning again last night. I had spent a few days at the property in Yachats ( Cloud 9 ) and had done some knitting and reading. Both of which I needed to catch up on! I so love this life called Summer right now :) Here's what I did at Cloud 9 and a view of being there.

Cloud 9 

Got the toilet fixed so I could knit!

HEY HEY! WOOHOO! We got the toilet fixed so I could knit! Good thing I have AC, it was 101* here yesterday. If we didn't have that I couldn't have even thought about knitting. I'm working on a scarf pattern with some of my homespun. Its the new Spin-Off magazine, had to figure out how to do a CDI= Center Double Increase. Found it online through a video. Thats a new one for me. This scarf is really a cool design. I'll post a picture when I get a bit further along. Happy Day and Knitting

Summer Joy!

Well today I was hopping to enjoy knitting and spinning. I finally figured out how to do a Center Double Increase! WOO HOOOO!

Think I may just go dig a Biffy!

Instead..... We have a leaking toilet! All the nerve! How on earth can the toilet leak at a time like this? I have work to do. I need to knit! Then I need to spin. I have fiber calling my name! Tammie, Tammie..... Really now can you even believe the nerve of that toilet?

Spin a Tale :)

Merino/Bamboo

Merino/Silk

This is my new spin, Approx. 250 yards Merino/Bamboo Pink, Plied with Merino/Silk. WPI=10, Medium Worsted (4)
Gauge per inch= 4-5 inch's, Needle size U.S. #7-#9

Color Way-- Pink SeaShells, By HattieMae

ClOUD NINE HERE I COME!!!

Merino/Bamboo

Merino/Bamboo

We are on the count down to Cloud 9. We leave in 2 days to prepare for the big family reunion. The hamburgers and hot dogs have been bought. The wine is in the fridge. What more will we need other than the wonderful family to show up?! I'm just really loving this Summer. No work, hang'n with the boys. Lots of spinning and catching up on my reading! I'm reading Lady of the Butterflies, by Fiona Mountain. One of those Costco finds. Its interesting at this point..... Here's a picture of my latest spin.

Boys are all home from Camp

We got the boys home from Camp. They were stinky and dirty and full of fun tales! The joy of boys and camp tales. Dinner was interesting that night with all the stories being told. Next is a big family reunion at Cloud 9. We all can hardly wait. One last big family meeting yesterday at Mom and Dads to finalize the plans.

New Deck at Cloud 9-- Summer 2010

I love Summer :)

Finished Tour De Fleece!

This is what I got for finishing the race! I'm still spinning to catch up on what I didn't get done! YEAH ME!!!

Finished Tour De Fleece!

I finished my first Tour! It was fun and I was inspired by so many wonderful people. I set my sites a bit high for a first timer. Guess next year I'll know better. Here's a picture of my work. I spun the blue BFL/Tussah Silk and plied it with the Green Merino. I spun a vibrant Blue that is BFL/Bamboo that I'm planning to ply with a mystery fiber which is sky blue, thats what I have on my wheel right now. I also spun a pretty pink BFL and plied it with a white baby alpaca and mystery wine colored fiber. I'm so happy with my progress, I can hardly wait to finish what I didn't get done. YEAH ME!!!!

Update on my progress for Tour De Fleece with Ravelry. I have been really spinning away to the point that my knee was hurting last night and I had to re-a-just my position in my chair last night and spin on my toes :) so funny... Better today so I need to keep going .....

Tour De Fleece

Just Joined Team Lendrum Tour De Fleece. I plan on spinning my weeks away!

New Life New Job

Here I go! I have after 15 years been replaced at my job as a dental assistant. My old boss has just sold his practice to a younger dentist who has no plans to keep the old staff.... Guess I get to join the ranks of the unemployed and have the summer to figure out what I want to do when I grow up!

There fore I declare a time of self revival! I have always wanted to stay home more and take care of my teenagers. Have a cleaner house, make more healthy dinners, exercise more and knit and spin more! I have found out during these last few years that I am strong and tough in many ways! I went back to school to help myself learn what I could do with my career and what I really wanted to accomplish with my life.

My husband had been unemployed for 21 months and just recently got a job. I guess that God opens a door just as he shuts a door..... I have to feel ok with this because I simply can't change it... It's not in my power. My faith has got to carry us through this closed door.

Home Spun

Merino and Silk Winter Spinning

Green Cardigan

Guess what!! It's Spring! time for spinning and knitting! I almost have my green cardigan completed! Finally... I have been working on it for almost a year.... I can't believe it.