Here are the treats......the results of yesterday's dye day..........
Another treat is the new way I am spinning some more mohair. I got some technical advice on spinning the mohair which will hopefully produce some lighter and fluffier skeins. I carded the roving which changes the way it spins and I also changed the whorl to a lower twist ratio and wow , what a difference from the last mohair I spun! It is good to stretch your wings and try something old in a new way.Another treat was dinner at my parents and getting whomped (definitely the first trick part) at the Wahoo games and a game of Cribbage................
Bill purchased all the electrical supplies for the house-such a little pile for such a big price! It is worth it since I don't want to live without electricity-especially when it is as cold as tonight is supposed to get-in the 20's! It has been a long time since there has been a winter as cold as this in Florida. (Another trick) I hope this doesn't sound like whining. Shame on me! But my yard looks like it has colored halloween ghosts roaming around! I hope it gives the plants the protection it needs! (No, that is not a fire in the background-it is the rope of Christmas lights in the banana tree!)
Sleep tight and don't let Jack Frost bite........!
Our skeins got handpainted, bagged and baked. The wool turned out great! The acrylic rinsed right out like we hadn't touched it-grrrrrrrrrrr! I had prepared mom for the element of surprise in dyeing but didn't expect this! I tossed our two skeins of acrylic into the crockpot and 4 hours later it was no longer a cream color-of course, it wasn't handpainted either but I wasn't going to let it beat me! Tomorrow, we will put the skeins onto the umbrella swift and wind it into balls for knitting.
While we were dyeing, the guys were taking out the window in the end of the livingroom and turning it into a doorway . They made good progress and will finish it up tomorrow, too. My Dad and Bill work well together-it is good to see! The daytime temps were mild today (70) but they buttoned it up for the night since the temps for our evenings are still cool-another freeze tomorrow night!-a sheet to cover the gap on this side and 2 pieces of plywood on the back side. No escaping kitties allowed!
While I have been in the car, this is what I have done-->I have one more pair of Russian boot slippers and I will be moving on to another project-I will have used up the bag of chunky yarn which was the catalyst for this knitathon! (this bag of yarn yielded 5 pairs)
I have been doing some spinning again. I have finished filling up this bobbin with the suffolk fiber I had been spinning and today I am going to start the birthday fiber-the mohair first.
When I sit down to the computer, I now have an assistant. She is determined to catch that cursor if it is the last thing she does! Now just how cute is that?! (The funny colored spot on her neck is where the vet had shaved her fur to remove a grub when she was first found-he had to disinfect the area, of course, and the fur would impair the process. It is healed now and the fur is growing back in-soon it won't show at all!)
We bought 4 new shelves for Bill's garage and so I decided to put them together.......Bling was a lot of help as usual! I got two done when they called to say they were just 20 minutes away!
Knit the next round and continue alternating rows until you have 14 garter stitch bumps between the needles. (14 rounds total ending with a purl round.)
Decrease row for the toe shaping: needle 1-Knit 29 (32, 35)sts, k2tog, p1
Continue each round with one less stitch until there is a completed round of k13 (16, 19), k2tog, p1, p1, k2tog tbl, k13 (16, 19)--then begin the top band. (You can also stop the decreases sooner so that the slipper will be lower and not boot high--the greatest part about knitting is to be your own designer-go ahead and experiment!)
Bury the ending yarn tail and the beginning yarn tail and you are completely finished! Enjoy making a bunch of these! 
Our Mexican sunflowers are raising their sunny faces to the sun.
The poinsettia from Marsel is just stunning.
The peas are climbing and blooming......soon we will be picking the green goodness off its vines!
Finished the Russian boot slippers. They are still too big for the kid I was making them for so will make another pair. 
We were working on putting Bill's inversion table together-it was a bit much for just one person but with all the boys expertise, we had it together in no time!!!!
When I came in, Nyki had done several rows on my knitting for me! Talk about helpful!
I made a pair of fingerless gloves for a freezing relative up north......... out of
the yarn I dyed the sock-blank way: it worked perfectly! (the gloves are a truer rendition of the color rather than the sock blank!)
Cleaned the breezeway........ 
and the garage........so they are all ready for the next wave of construction now that my Dad is here to help Bill (they arrive this Saturday!)
You will be inundated with pics because she is just too cute and 'helpful' to the doings of my day. She helped me finish up the newest Psalm quilt and was even more helpful as I handsewed the binding on!
And knitting takes on a whole new kind of meaning........much more aerobic as I chase, untangle and repair!
Bill installed all 4 of the garage windows. There had been a mix-up on the order and then another and yet another but finally it has worked out-it is so much brighter in there now!
