More news from the homefront

Well, here we are again. I have been at my job two days now. I only work 3-4 days a week and only 6 hours at a stretch at the most. Right now, the person I am taking over for is still there, so I only go in to do the new fittings, and then I leave. The boss man doesn't want to have to pay two people for that many hours. No skin off my nose. I hate being stuck at work when my actual work is done. It is going well. Rather boring, but as I have had this job before, I knew that going in. The money is worth it. It is an easy job and pays pretty well. And it isn't so much time that I feel like I am away from baby for too long. In fact, it is a pretty nice break. Am I allowed to say that?

I got a new batch of roving in the mail from some lovely Raveler who RAK'd me. Very pretty Coopworth wool in burgundy, charcoal and white. Coopworth is so easy to spin. It has a long staple and a lot of crimp, so it sticks together really well. I spun about 70 yards of single ply, just messing around to see what I got. It is varied thick and thin (on purpose this time!) and after I had spun it, I decided to try plying. I like plying, it is very satisfying to see my spinny turn into real yarn! I did andean plying, because I am too lazy to set up a lazy kate and all, and I didn't have that much to ply, so it wasn't a big deal. I haven't washed or whacked it yet, though. I will post pics when I do. I am now spinning a fine ply, hoping to be able to create sock yarn. It is crazy how many yards of yarn you can make out of a blob of wool!

Dad talked to a sheep owning friend of his about my wanting wool and turns out, he has 80 sheep (suffolk/hampshire cross) that he shows. He shears them and throws the wool away every year (gasp!) So dad asked him if I could have some and he said I could have as much as I wanted! I am very excited. Yes, it is true. I am a geek. I looked up suffolk and hampshire sheep online to see what kind of wool they have and also, someone on Ravelry hooked me up to her blog where she described her experiences spinning different kinds of wool. Her opinion was that it made very suitable yarn, particularly for socks and outerwear, though perhaps not a next to skin sweater. I am not terribly concerned about that as I simply want something I can practice spinning and dyeing with. I don't necessarily have to make something out of it. It is a somewhat expensive hobby. (what, like knitting isn't?)

Dad hasn't gotten in touch with other sheepy friend. Other friend actually raises wool sheep, as opposed to suffolk friend. Suffolk are raised for their meat, not their wool. Hopefully other friend will give me a good deal on a fleece, but if not, that is okay. I found a place online that sells roving for pretty cheap. I am sure I will be buying some there as well.

I finished the Gryffindor socks for SIL and I want to keep them. That is a good thing, it means they turned out pretty well. They are very cool and I am pretty proud of them. I should post a pic. I believe I will. Let's see if this works... hmmm...I am not sure how to make it stick the pic where I want it. It did this to me last time as well. I will have to figure it out. Anyway, you can see the socks, they are cool.

I knit a dishcloth yesterday, very soft. I like very much and will be making more. It is a lovely quick knit.

In Lilly news...she is getting closer to walking! She will let go for a second now while she is standing and can balance for a mo'. She is starting to say words, which is adorable. She says daddy, hi, bye, Efa (which means Ethan) back for dog. This is funny, because whenever we go in the house, the dogs try to come in, so I always say back! And when they are in the house, if they get too close and bug me, I say back! So, she thinks this means dog. When we were coming home from Grandma's yesterday, the dog across the street was barking at us. Lilly looks at it, looks at me and says "back?". Very funny. She also says berry, for strawberry, because she loves them so.

I have decided the best thing about working is having the small one get so excited when I walk in the door at night. She is all smiles and starts to wiggle she is so happy. I love it! Lil is a very smiley baby, anyhow, but more so when she hasn't seen me for a while.

Everyone told me not to want her to crawl too soon, because she would be into everything and I would be longing for the days when I could just park her on my hip or lay her down. Wrong. I am not pining for those days. I love that she is mobile. She is so much happier! Granted, she makes unholy messes, and even though I clean my front room every morning, by evening it looks like a tornado hit. But I don't care, I will happily clean every morning if it means she is happy. She was such a cranky infant. The difference is night and day, and I think it will only get better as she learns to walk. She is a rather independent baby, so being mobile makes her much more content, as she can control herself. She does get angry at the baby gate, though. She does not appreciate being contained. Funny enough, though, she loves to be stuck in the laundry basket with a bunch of socks or something. DH sticks her in it while he folds laundry, otherwise, she "helps" which means she picks up and chucks everything he has folded. It is pretty funny. While she is in the basket with the socks or washcloths or whatever, she can chuck those to her little heart's content and not make daddy frustrated! ;)

She is so funny with the dogs. They are huge compared to her, and they just don't scare her at all. Today, Sadie was in her way, just snoozing on the floor, so after trying to shove her aside with no success, Lilly just went over the top of her. She crawled right over her head, and Sadie didn't even move. I am not sure she even woke up, it is funny.

Lilly has a thing lately with needing to grab both sides of something. This frustrates her in the tub, because she doesn't quite have the reach, so she grabs one side, stretches to grab the other and lets go of the first side. Then does it again, and again, and again...til she gets mad that she can't do it. She does the same thing with the dogs. She will crawl between them (they are usually sleeping next to each other) then grab one and the other at the same time and look enormously pleased with herself. She also LOVES their tails. Especially when they wag. She thinks they are playing a game of keep away with her. I love it.

Well, I best head. DH is getting frustrated. I think Lilly is having a hard time staying asleep tonight!