Tag Archive: ChiaoGoo Red-lace Circular Needles Toe-up Two At A Time Socks



Per Linda: Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “a repeated story.” Include in your post a story you’ve repeated again and again or a story you’ve heard again and again. Or write about the phenomenon itself. Have fun!
What did you do all day? Why are you so late to the blog?

Well, it’s the same ole story. Yesterday I found a mistake a few rows back and today I’ve been Tinking back. I still haven’t reached the boo-boo. And I find the number of stitches on each needle is so different I’m going to have to get creative to get the number to match. Or tink even farther. Ugh!

When I was a young adult, my grandmothers had Alzheimer’s. Yeah. Both maternal and paternal. So when you all wonder why I work so hard at languages and learning new things and puzzling things like Sudoku, that is a fight I’m on. I’ve not been diagnosed, but at 74 I’m being as vigilant as I can.

And yes, I do repeat stories. I have since I was a child. Most people do. Maybe they don’t realize it. Or maybe they are trying to work something out in this retelling. I remember my grandmothers would tell a story once again and folks would criticize them. But I listened and saw they changed the story a bit each retelling. Sometimes I learned something new about them or others. Sometimes it just was their story. A thing that made them. How I’d love to hear them repeat one of their old tales to me again.

Think about how kids love hearing a book read to them for the umpteenth time. They’re working the story out. The rhythms, the rhymes, how it all works.

I have learned to reread or rewatch things as each time I pick up just a bit more. Not only the story but about writing, directing, acting. Or maybe more about how people differ in their relationships.

Old stories are still packed with nuggets we can learn from. Whether we are telling them or an audience member.

Finished, umm, Sunday?


Yay! I got these done in time for the birthday party last night. And, I’m told, they fit!

I have more pics of my travels but no time.

Finished Friday


Yay! The dock is finished. It still needs to be straightened and sealed. Soon, it will see its new owner.

The socks have 3 inches until heel time. I’m pretty sure they will be finished before I leave. Yay!
My finer yarn socks are waiting patiently for me to finish the slipper socks. They will come with me to keep my hands busy while peopling. Yikes! I love travel, but I have to be brave and meet new people!

Having a timeline for my hobbies is hard for my ADD brain and arthritic fingers. I find having a lot of variety helps me get things done. Too much focus when it hurts, or I’m distracted makes me give up.

An example was sometime this week when I sat to play piano, people distracted me. Even my thoughts distracted me. I couldn’t find my hyper-fun focus. So I quit for the day. Also, my shoulder was hurting, and my neck seemed stiff. Hmmm. Was that there before or after the attempt? So, with the tension of the next few days, I don’t see a lot of playtime at the piano. But while on my trip, I am sure I will have alone time to think about music. As they often tell us about Olypian contestants, sometimes picturing the job can pay off nearly as much as jumping in full-bodied.

Because the next few days are house-cleaning and packing for the trip. I may have very few piano sessions.

I might take my roll-up to run scales daily. I don’t have to have sound on to do that. I’m also taking my practice fingerboards for the ukulele and guitar. I downloaded music to play around with. I won’t be able to hear the instrument, but I will practice moving chords.

I have an old recorder that will be good for pretending to play. The sound isn’t great, but it’ll be okay to keep up fingering work. If I lose it or give it away, no problem. Again, I’ve downloaded music to my phone to play around with. I just don’t want to lose the habit of music.

My other habit I’ve been happy about is the stationary bike and door exercises. I’m assuming that the trip itself will offer walking and moving around. I don’t know how I am going to feel like I’m keeping that up while on a completely different schedule.

Oh, and blogging. I’m going to try. I know I can share a bit on my phone. I’ll try to get the book reviews done before I leave, as they need the laptop. But saying “hi!” daily may be easy. Same with Duo. Five minutes can be done. I probably won’t be able to hit all the languages. I may just stick with Italian, as it is the easiest for me right now.

Okay, back to finished. I did finish a pile of stuff that needed to be tackled. I have so much more to do, but I have to give me a pat on my back.


I just learned that I might get to travel to Washington for a friend’s birthday. Oops! No money what to do for a present? Heck, I have yarn! Slipper socks! But, hopefully, these will be big enough. The sizer/blocker doesn’t go far enough for the recipient’s great understanding. Winging it!
My watermelon socks are coming along.
Another pair of no-show sneaker socks are nearing the heel.
Here are all the pieces I’m playing with. Embarrassingly, that Music of Today book, I think I learned in 5th or 6th grade. So many good! But my husband says he heard a lot of improvement. Just when I thought no one was listening. 😥.  By the way, at the far left is Succession. I didn’t like the show so much. I watched it for the music. But I’ll have to work up to it.
I’m having a lot of fun with this book.
This is one of the easiest songs. Can’t wait to learn guitar! But first I’m conquering the uke. I’m planning on giving my $11 Memorex to my son when I upgrade to an Enya. By the way, the Memorex regardless of price, holds tune very well and despite my ineptitude still sounds nice.
In this book with my recorders, I’m teaching myself to do harmonies so I can record me playing with myself. Keep it clean! You know what I mean!
For example, see how at the bottom of the page is the alto playing melody. Above is both soprano playing melody and alto playing harmony. I’ve worked through most of the book and can finally do both recorders’ melodies. Now learning the harmony.
Just because I think they’re pretty.
The dock is coming along. Though I’m working on it upside down to make it easier on my arms and back, it’s fun to see the picture right side up.
Ah, but here’s the problem. These “hard” ones in this EASY Sudoku book aren’t fun. I need lots of penciled hints. Even then I have to cheat and look up a few. Do I keep it up and finish regardless of difficulty or move on to another book where it starts very easy. Oh, the dilemma!
Happy Weekend Everyone!

Yay! I can actually report one finished project.

My son’s slipper socks are finished!

My other socks took a sideline as I finished the slippers. So I’ll take pics next week.

The dock is nearly finished. It reminds me of my son-in-love and daughter’s wedding dock At his parents’ home, at a lake. It is so beautiful there.

I feel better about my piano. We have love/hate moments. I do learn a lot with each sit down. I play not practice. I do work on problem areas. I work on my concentration. I see my playing as meditation. Here’s a thought. Check. Don’t dive in. A slight thought given attention can bring about a mistake tornado. Distraction of any kind can throw off the fun.

Take for instance, today I wanted to analyze the few pieces I shared last week. By thinking about key signatures my fingers lost their groove.

I’m much happier about the ukulele now. Being able to sing while playing makes this instrument far more fun than piano or recorders.

See those post-its? I can sing and play 16 songs in this book. No, not for an audience, but for fun. Still, I stumble, but it is fun. Isn’t that what counts?
This is that songbook.

Recorders seem to be helping my breath control. Note recognition between the soprano and the alto instruments is getting better. I still have goals of playing duets with myself. I need to learn how to record like that.

That’s about it for now. Time to get to Duo, and the recorders and uke.

Making Monday


This yarn is so much fun, visually I worked far more than I should have. Shoulder and hands are crying. But aren’t they adorable?
These haven’t progressed but maybe a row or two. The watermelons were much more fun!
Same with these. They are closer to the heel now.
The dock is coming along.
This is a ukulele chord trainer. Just for practicing without disturbing the household. I still need the ear training but my fingers need more touching. This I can do while watching TV.
This two sided poster helps with positioning and the second side helps with composition,  harmony, and scales, etc.  It’s been a long time since music theory classes

So these are the things in the making here. Hope you had a marvelous Monday.

Finishing Friday


It’s been an interesting week.  I’ve been busy and am tired. So the bits I can grab and report are these:

Shooting the Curl is finally finished. It still needs sealing. There were a lot of black and dark colors so I’m glad to be done. My eyes cross in the parts mostly 310 (that’s embroidery black).
Just started what I’m calling The Dock. It looks easier on the eyes.
Look what UPS just delivered! It’s just too hard enough to be a challenge. But not enough to be discouraging.
And for my rhythm inadequacies, this too, came UPS. It’s pretty and no battery or wires.
My son’s slipper socks are at the heel stage. Hopefully I’ll finish them by midweek.
These are getting hard. Sometimes I have to go get a hint. Almost every answer needs to be checked. If it isn’t right it can get so messy it’s hard to recover. I figure I need to keep at it as sooner or later I’ll figure out how to do these harder puzzles. It’s still fun. When it isn’t I’ll find something else to do.

Now it’s time to play uke and recorders. Have a great weekend!

Making Monday


My #2 son’s slippers are now to the arch. Chiaogoo red-laced cable needles, 40″, size 8, Two-At-A-Time. Turkish Cast-on, ribbed arch, will have Fleegle Heel.
I don’t know who these will belong to. But heading for the Fleegle Heel. Chiaogoo red-laced cable, 60″, size 1 needles. Because they have finer yarn and needles my hands have to take it slow.
Mediums are harder in this book. But I feel proud not to give up and I still try. Maybe someday mediums will be easier.
Making music still. Still working on Ash Grove. Learning flats. Playing both alto and soprano recorders. One of these days I will be coordinated or brave enough to record my own duets. This book is still quite challenging.
I know, now, the underlined chords. I’m working on the circled ones. My fingers are callused but so uncoordinated.
I’m also learning to play melodies. After decades of piano, I find this non-linear scale tough but fun for my brain.
I am learning scales, too!
Besides Bernadette’s 30 Day plan on YouTube (which is taking far longer!), I’m working in this book, too. Though I’m getting ready to order the next grade up. Maybe not a kid’s version. Suggestions?
A song involving chords and melody. I’m getting better.
Shooting the Curl will be finished tomorrow. I just need to fill the strays, seal and stash away.
12 languages. I don’t work on all of them everyday. But I do most of them most days. Sometimes I barely make it through one. But I only work on things I enjoy. Follow the passion.

Finishing Friday


Finished the remake of this pair of slippers. They will probably be too big for the first recipient.
This was the finish because I ran out of the bumpy cotton yarn. The brown was too tight and needed to be frogged back.
Empty needles call for new projects. Turkish Cast-on is my favorite. Too more rows, then the foot. Two-At-A-Time Chiaogoo cables size 8 40″
Almost finished. Just a piece of sky. Do I hear Barbra Streisand in Yentl?
The sunset. This weekend Oregon might see Aurora Borealis. So far not much in the sky but stars. There’s a lighter part of the sky but could it just be light reflection? No colors. But twilight and pre sunrise are the times to watch.

There are a few more projects. I just ran out of writing energy. I did finish “Leave the World Behind.” The review hits Sunday.

Made It Monday


I finished my scrappy no-show socks. I thought they’d fit me but they are slightly too small, so off to a friend.

I still have more of that purple-bluey yarn so I started toes for a new pair.

I finished my Uke strap.

It straightens out when I put it on. It’s comfortable .
I’m on the heel of the remakes. They are going to be a little too big for the first recipient. But  we have a friend who might like these when her feet and ankles swell.
Nearly finished Shooting the Curl!

The snow finally melted. We are told on the news, that though we started our week in the winter we will have Spring and then Summer by the weekend. Crazy Oregon! I love it!

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