The iceman cometh

Damn! Summer sure did bolt like a bat outta hell. One second, its 90 degrees and hot enough to fry an egg. The next, its fifty degrees and colder than a witches tit in a brass bra. We've been waking up freezing every morning. However, I DO love Autumn (in case you couldn't tell from my blog skin) and can't wait to see the fabulous color show that the mountains of Southwestern Virginia are famous for.

The entire Muse family is trying to settle into our school year schedule again. This means lots of fussing and fighting about bed time and waking up in the morning. And the evil homework monster has reared its ugly head again already. But momma has some time to herself each day to not only get things done but to see the house stay clean for more than 10 minutes at a time. But with the kids back in school, I'm now faced with the task of locating gainful employment. Unless a small miracle manifests itself, the grant funding for my job has almost dried up :( And while I know that I would love to teach arts and crafts, it will be some time before I can generate considerable income. Reading the employment classifieds is quite a depressing task. While I'm tempted to take a job where I don't have to think, its just not in my nature to be a blind follower. And since I've worked in non-profit world for the last 10 years, I'm not sure that I can re-enter the "real" workforce. I AM grateful that I have choices and know that it could be much worse and trust that something will present itself though I've convinced myself that I probably won't be happy. It's been a long time since I've been in the position of taking a job because I HAD to, not because I WANTED to. Que sera sera.

Much knitting has been had around here especially since I needed to keep my hands busy to cope with all of the somber news. Several lovely spinners and knitters made their way to my house last night for some fibery good fun. We had a great turnout, some new faces and lots of show and tell. I could feel myself glowing the entire time I was with my "peeps."





A couple of us worked on face cloths for Katrina survivors and a couple of people spun (there was some yummy chocolate alpaca in there that was to die for). One person worked on a mobius scarf made from a beautiful Fiesta yarn. And our new friend was working on a beautiful Gansey made from Rowan cotton wool.

Here are some of my show and tell items though none of them are completely finished:

Here's the one that made me the most angry first. Mind you, I swatched first for Annie's corset using some handspun, dyed yarn. It bled a bit not an alarming amount. Imagine the horror as I gave my finished corset a gentle soak only to watch it become a blood bath.



What the bloody hell? Was it dyed with watercolors? I'm so crushed that the vibrant colors washed down the drain and I'm left with a corset that looks like it has weathered outside for weeks on end. I'm so bummed that I haven't even looked for buttons yet. Here she is after blocking. (((((Sigh))))



I'm tempted to send the knitting shop an email warning them that other customers may have the same problem. I'll very cautiously use handspun, hand-dyed yarn for future projects.

I also broke out Rogue and was shamed into finishing her. And to think that I started her LAST September. Oh the shame...

These are a couple of the Cloths for Katrina that I'm working on. I love instant gratification projects even if I don't like cotton. What a great way to do something positive and destash at the same time.



And finally, the debut of my newest tote bag design that I named Autumn. Of course, the season itself inspired the colors and the leaf accents. I was hesitant to break her out because she still needs some handles but here's a peek at her semi-finished state.



This is not the greatest picture because I was going to send her off with one of my knit buds who is into beading to match up some handles for her and wanted to snap a quick shot. I'll get some modeled shots when she's finished. I love everything about this bag and can't wait to take her out on the town.

And for those who care, Autumn can also double as a Hokie (Virginia Tech) spirit bag. Go Hokies! Yes, college football and NFL seasons have started and I'll be an annoying fan for the next three or four months so beware. I'm off to change the flag out front to the Hokie banner and hunker down for some weekend football fun. Ciao!