All I Wanted for Christmas Was a Spinning Wheel...

And I got it! This is the Ashford Traveller. It is a single drive, double treadle wheel. I also have the jumbo flyer to make plying easier. I have been borrowing someone elses' wheel for a few months, now I have my very own. I feel so spoiled (just like my daughter-in-law said that I am!). Our dog Brinkleigh is posing next to the wheel. It was hard to get her to pose (with the antlers) looking right at the camera. We kept putting the antlers on her, and she tolerated it for up to 1/2 hour at a time before she removed them. She is such a good dog. Golden Retrievers are the best dogs for families. You can pet her when she is eating, and mess with her, and she will never snap at you. She was my Christmas present 7 years ago.

One of the gifts that I made for Christmas was a knitted vest for my mom. When she came out to visit me last spring, she decided she wanted a knitted vest. We went to several stores before we found the "perfect" pattern. Then we found the perfect yarn at the LYS (A Perfect Yarn - how apropos!). To get a clear enough picture with good detail, I had to split up the top and bottom. So here is the top of the vest...............

And here is the bottom half..................................




Project Specs:

Pattern - "Eyelet Vest" by Sarah James

Yarn - Cash Vero by Cascade Yarns, color #016, 7 skeins.

Needles - U.S. size 5 and size 8 Addi Turbo circulars (my personal favorite)


Project started April 2007, finished December 2007 (with a few other projects and major life events thrown in between).

I really enjoyed working on this vest. The yarn is lovely and soft, very similar to the Cahmerino Aran that I used in the Arwen sweater that I knit. The hardest part was that I knit up to the armhole on one side, then had to put it away for about a month or more when my son got married. When I picked it back up to work on it, I had to re-knit the rest of the armhole about 5 times before I finally got all the decreases and adjustments to the pattern right. I am very pleased with the end product, mostly because (drum roll please) my mother said it fits perfect!! If she is happy with it, it was definitely worth making it!! I love to knit or craft items for people who really appreciate what I made for them.

These trees were really fun to knit.

I just finished a quick project for my sister. She was needing a pair of fingerless mittens to wear in her office at work. Evidently the temperature in her office is about 65 degrees. When you are sitting down working at a computer, that is just too chilly.These mittens were made with stash buster yarn that I got from the owner of a yarn store (sorry, I can't find the label it had with it).

Project Specs -

Needles - I used U.S. size 7 Birch DPNs by Brittany.

Pattern -Potluck Wool Mittenettes by Midnight Knitter (the pattern is towards the bottom of her free patterns).

I sure hope she likes them.

This is some teal Shetland (that I picked and carded) and white Wensleydale that I spun and then plied together. I had fun playing with it and experimenting with different colors. I don't remember the exact specs, but I believe it is a sport weight yarn. I still need to set the twist on it.

I think I am getting better at spinning and plying...

I think I had better end this post now, so that I will have something to post about next time.

I'm Baaaaack

Oh My Goodness!! I have been trying to get into blogger for about 2 months now, and haven't been able to sign in . Blogger kept telling me that my e-mail account didn't exist. Anyhoo,I'm not really sure what happened, I'm just glad that I can get on now!!




I have been extremely busy since I last posted. I went to the conference in Atlanta for work and had a great time - I even learned something! Then a month later (in November) I met my mom and sister in Phoenix, Arizona for a Merry Cox cross -stitch workshop. I took a class on Friday night and Sunday. The weekend was great. I really enjoyed taking a class with soo many creative people. I will have pics to share in the future.

I finished my Solstice Slip socks. They sure were a fun knit and a great project to take on the plane trips to work on.I just finished these socks for MIL for Christmas. Normally I wouldn't post about them, but I don't think she gets on the internet very often.
Specs - Knit with Limbo Mexico yarn on size 3 Addi Turbo circulars. Cast on 44 stitches and worked a basic 2X2 rib for 6 " before doing the heel flap. These socks were a quick knit, and it was stisfying to get them done.



I will post mre later with more pics of what I have been doing to keep myself busy!