Handy ma'am (sort of)

At some point, my 10-year smoke detector decided time was up. It must have been when I was not home for an extended period of time, because I had no idea there was a problem until it began to act strangely. At first, I thought it was okay, as it responded appropriately to a manual test. A week later, it was mute. (Note: one is supposed to periodically test one's smoke detector by pressing the button on it. I had never done this. Shame on me.)

So I purchased a new 10-year smoke detector, thinking I could take the old one down and use the same bracket to mount the new one. Alas, sometime in the past 10 years, the manufacturer changed the bracket design. I took down the old bracket and discovered holes in the wall where an even older smoke detector had once been, holes that did not line up with the holes in the new bracket. *sigh*

I left everything sitting on the breakfast bar for about a week before deciding if I didn't act soon, there was going to be yet another newspaper article about a house fire where everyone died because the smoke detector was non-functional. Today I got out the drill, installed the new bracket, attached the new smoke detector, TESTED THE SMOKE DETECTOR, and now we are all safe.

Now I need to get hold of some spackle, and patch and paint where the old smoke detector was.

I wasn't as successful installing a portable, motion-activated light in my clothes closet. Can't win them all.

Knitting: I finished another slouchy hat, and my pattern modifications worked pretty well. I started a THIRD slouchy hat, plan to repeat the modifications, but will make the ribbing a bit longer.

Yesterday's spin-in at the Little House of Spinning was fun, or more fun for me, as there were fewer people there. When there is a big crowd (and by big, I mean about a dozen people), multiple conversations are going at once. My little AD/HD brain gets overloaded and I go home exhausted. Seven (plus or minus two) are about the right number.

Studio re-org

I had the French doors in the den replaced with a patio door this past week, as the former were quite leaky. That meant shoving stuff around to clear the area for the installers, which made me reconsider how I have my fiber workstations organized. The bedroom-turned-studio is not working for me, maybe because that room feels so FULL.

I think the studio would work better as a storage space while the den is more attractive as a work area. But I don't want all my wheels and looms and fiber cluttering up the den. So the plan is to have only projects I am actively working on in the den. We'll see how well I can stick to that concept.

There are two spinning wheels in this corner; I can spin on only one at a time.

New door, lets in more light

Project table

Knitting station

Knitting: Still working on the sleeves of the Lempi sweater, have started the decreases, so now I have to remember to do that every fifth row. My quota for the cowl is at least two rounds per day - oops, I haven't done that yet today. I took the socks to the guild meeting, as they are my "traveling" project, but I have also been working on them at home, to get them finished in a more timely manner.
Weaving: The second washcloth is woven.

I went to the spinners guild meeting the past week, and it was... meh. Or maybe I was meh. I know I was tired, but usually these meetings perk me right up. Not this time. I would not have gone at all, but I've been organizing a gathering for Spinning and Weaving Week and brought the sign-up sheet. Between the two guilds, twenty people have signed up, which is a *great* response. At least I feel a little excited about that.