NorCalKnitter

Caution...Picture heavy post

2011-06-28T15:52:00.000-07:00

I just love going to Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon every year. It is the only fiber festival that I have ever been too, and I have been able to go about 5 times. This is the third year in a row that I have been able to take classes. This year I took a class called Fiber Feast (making designer yarns). The teacher had brought fibers in different colorways for us to choose from and we separated and layered the fibers, ribbons, and yarns on the tables then divided them up between everyone and spun up our yarns. This is my yarn......

I had alot of fun shopping. I bought a total of 3 fleeces - a White Shetland that I dropped off for processing at BSG, a Jacob, and a CVM (California Variegated Mutant). I was able to find a small picker to help prepare the fiber for spinning.....
I was also able to find a Jenkins Turkish spindle that I love. I really enjoy spinning with it, but not necessarily with the pin-drafted Cormo roving that I bought at BSG. I am able to spin a very fine single, but it has a few little lumps in it because of the way that the fiber was prepared .

I found a wrist distaff to use when I am spinning with a drop spindle. And for those of you who don't know what a "wrist distaff" is, here is a video of how to use one...

....and of course I found some lovely yarns at BSG. This is lace weight Merino/ silk 80/20 in the Hepburn colorway by Abstract Fiber.

Lace weight Merino in the "Tropicale" colorway by Only Natural. It was dyed with Cochineal, Logwood and Madder. The skein is 2 5/8 oz. and 600 yds.

Hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester top - 8 oz. by Crown Mountain Farms in the Novalis colorway.

From the top going clockwise in the picture below is BFL and silk (75/25) by Chamelion Colorworks in the October colorway, 4 oz. ob Bombyx silk sliver for blending with other fibers, and silk hankies dyed by Plum Crazy Ranch and Fiber Art.
Hand dyed silk ribbon
Dyed mohair locks
Firestar for adding sparkle to batts!

I think that is enough Pictures! Happy Spinning and knitting.

More Guppie Hats and other Finished Objects!

2011-05-09T17:33:00.000-07:00

I have 2 more Guppie hats to add to the list of hats that I have knit recently. They sure are fun to knit, and what a fun and easy gift to make. I plan on knitting some to put away for future gifts.

I knit these 2 hats using Plymoth Yarns Encore Colorspun Worsted as the main color. Then I chose coordinating colors for the lips, fins and tail.
I still want to make one that looks like Nemo! I have the yarn, now I just need to squeeze it in between all my other projects!

I have finished a few things for myself (I know shock and awe - once in awhile I do knit for myself!). The first is socks knit from Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball yarn. They are a simple pattern that I adapted from a one-skein sock yarn project book. There are cables on the cuff, although they are hard to see in the picture.

I have also finished the Multnomah shawlette that I started before Christmas. It is knit with Noro sock yarn. The first time I finished it, it seemed too small and there was still a portion of the ball left. I couldn't see leaving that much yarn to sit around waiting to be used for something, so I undid my cast-off edged and knit the shawl using as much of the yarn as I could and still have enough left to bind-off.

It only took me about 2 weeks after finishing it to get the blocking done. I am soo proud of myself. It takes me forever to do finishing work. My goal was to have it done to take on vacation at the end of this week (and to be able to wear it to Black Sheep at the end of June).

In other news, all the kids are doing well at this time. Son #2 finally got full time work, God answered our prayers for him. Son #1 is still working, I pray the mine he is working in will continue to have work for him until a better job comes along.

Son #3 will be working at a Christian youth camp for the 1st 6 weeks of his summer vacation, and as an intern youth pastor at our local church for the last part of his vacation. He is one busy boy and God has blessed him with many good opportunities to work in his chosen field. He is just finishing his Sophomore year at college, 1/2 way through!

I had a wonderful Mother's Day -I heard from all 3 of my boys, and 2 of their girlfriends- all wishing me a Happy Mother's day! I felt very loved.

Here Fishy Fishy

2011-03-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

When I need something quick and satisfying to knit, I knit hats. My latest projects have been fish hats sized to fit babies....

This hat is soo cute and fun to make....

I have knit 4 of them in the past month. The first one was a gift for a friend, then several friends from work asked to knit some for friends or new grandchildren of theirs. It was fun to hear the exclamations and giggles when people saw the finished hats!

I have made 2 of the light and dark blue striped fish hats. The above fish was knit with yarn that the person alreeady had. The great thing about it is that you can use any leftover yarn that you have and make the fish look however you want. What a great way to use leftover yarn from your stash! The pattern is The Guppie Hat- you can find it on Ravelry.

Another finished project is the Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

The yarn I used was Encore Tweed -beige and blue(#4108). I was 2 rows short of finishing and had to buy a second skein of blue - I will have enough now to make a matching hat! I was anxious about knitting this sweater - anyone in their right mind would be when you look at the pictures of how it looks before you sew the shoulder seams. I bought the directions from Schoolhouse Press and knit the jacket with the line by line instructions to make sure it turned out right on my first attempt. I will probably make more of these. I think it is a great present and a fairly quick knit with minimal seaming.

This is also a great project to use leftover yarn from your stash or homespun yarn. You can get creative with the color changes and striping and step out of your comfort zone!

I have also been doing some spinning - This is some brown and pink Blue faced Leicester that would be great for a shawl...now to find a pattern and figure out how much yardage I have!Next off the wheel is this blue wool and alpaca blend. It is about 25% alpaca and is very soft and smooshy. The above is only half of what I spun. There is almost 8 oz. altogether.

On one of my recent yarn store excursions, I purchased some Romney that was hand-dyed by the owner of the store.It isn't the softest fiber, but I love the variation in the colors.

I also purchased some green fiber. The staple length is a bit shorter, but the color sure blends well with the first sample.

I had to comb out a few locks just to play with it. You can see the nice crimp in the middle of the above picture. I can't wait to start spinning that :)

Special Chocolate Truffles

2011-02-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Sean and Melissa came to visit. Melissa loves to cook and try new recipes, and it just so happens that I like to try new things also. So we worked together on making these Mayan Chocolate Truffles from Nourished Kitchen. Some of the ingredients were a little pricey, so I won't be making this too often, but it sure was fun to try.

Cast of Characters pictured above (the cinnamon is missing from the picture) - we weren't able to get everything from the local health food store, and I of course used some ingredients that I had on hand. I have never used whole Vanilla beans before, and was thinking they would have a bean inside the pod- like a green bean does. Needless to say I was mistaken. For the complete recipe, please see the link above from Nourished kitchen.

I had to go and buy myself a zester for the orange peel in the recipe. I had tried useing the zester part of a grater before without much luck, but the zester I used for this recipe was a breeze, it was so quick and easy, and I had a nice pile of zest when I was done (pictured above with the vanilla bean).

This is what it looked like after stirring in and melting the chocolate, not very pretty :(.

After it has chilled, you cut it into chunks and roll it in cocoa. It looks a little better that way, don't you think?

The recipe called for at least 85% chocolate. The only chocolate that we could find in the health food store was candy bars, and I was pretty sure that we weren't supposed to use that. We ended up useing Ghirardelli 100% caacao unsweetened chocolate baking bars. Did anyone notice in the picture of the ingredients that the sugar was missing? That is because there was no sugar listed in the ingredients. Jenny from Nourished Kitchen says that "You won't miss that sugar one bit." Perhaps if I had been able to find and use chocolate with 85% cocoa content, I might not have missed it. I taste tested the "batter" before we rolled it in a log to refridgerate it.....all I have to say is BLECK, UGH, YUCK!! Needless to say, we added some sugar, about 1/4 cup, to make it somewhat palatable (and yes it was organic evaporated cane juice sugar). The finished product still was not anywhere near as sweet as a candy bar, but that is OK. The lack of sugar allowed us to taste and enjoy all the other flavors that were having a party in our mouths. The first taste that you get is chocolate (of course) and orange. After the second bite, I tasted the mild bite of the Chipotle Chili and cinnamon-it was quite a taste experience. Melissa didn't care for the finished product, but Sean and George ate it up!

Baby Hat #1 - the yarn used is Be Sweet Bambino Taffy in Spearmint Gum, #883. The pattern used was on the label.Baby Hat #2 - Knit with Be Sweet Bambino Taffy in #881 Salt Water Taffy. The pattern was a free pattern from the shop where I bought the yarn.
Baby Hat #3 - Knit with Be Sweet Bambino Taffy - #886 French Revolution. The pattern is the same as the one used for #2.
Baby Hat #4 - Knit with Baby Jacquards Floral by Bernat. The pattern is the baby ruffle hat on their site.

I am also knitting the baby surprise jacket for the first time. I ran out of yarn with just 2 rows to go. When it is finished, I will post pictures.

2011-01-24T13:41:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for a long awaited posting??? Be ready for lots of pictures. For Christmas presents for 2010, I did a little sewing and alot of knitting. In reviewing my pictures, I missed a few things, like 1 neckwarmer for mom in bulky alpaca, and 1 pair of slippers for my sisiter. So, here's what I got.....

Cogwheels quilt for my son and daughter-in-law

The kit didn't come with enough of the fabric to straighten up the edges and then cut out the pieces that were needed, so I ended up hunting for some extra fabric to finish it. I got it all pieced by the 1st week of December and then had to find someone to quilt it at that late date. There is only quilt store within 50 miles. and there was no way that they were going to be able to do it. Luckily, a friend that used to work with my husband now has her own home quilting business and took it in to quilt. She had a bubble/dot type pattern that was perfect with the fabric and had the quilting done within a week!!

I love the way it turned out. I haven't done any quilting in quite awhile (been too busy working, knitting and spinning). I had a great time sewing on this quilt and was very pleased with how it turned out. My son and daughter-in-law loved it too, which makes it all worthwhile :)

It seem like just about every year I have one project that I make for alot of people at Christmas time. Something that is fairly easy and quick to knit, and hopefully very useful. This year it was the Felted Slippers by French Press Knits. The pattern was quick and easy. She also has a great video tutorial for sewing up the seams. I had fun knitting these for the girls in my immediate family. I put buttons on most of the slippers, but purchased some pre-made felt flowers at Hobby Lobby for the black slippers. You can't beat red and black!You can't beat the Koigu neck cozy pattern for a quick and useful gift. I made about 3-4 of them last year, and mom wanted one this year. (The color is alot prettier in real life.)

My sister found some precious yarn that she felll in love with and gave to me to knit her a lacy scarf. Again, the color is off in this pic, it is really a pretty blue with beads on one strand of the yarn. This yarn was not fun to deal with when I made a mistake :(

My sis also needed a new lunchbag, and decided that she liked this pattern by Craft Apple. Yes I know it says "diaper bag," but it had all the little compartments that she wanted and plenty of room to take bottled water and containers of food. The fabric I used for the outside is Nicey Jane laminated cotton- Lindy Leaf. I used laminated fabric for the inside and outside to make cleanup easy in case of spills. The fabric was a little hard to work with- especially for topstitching on plastic..ugh. But overall, I thought it turned out well and she was thrilled with it. I bought some of the same fabric for myself to make a raincoat....someday!

I used a magnetic snap to close the flap on the bag (a first for me), and made a fabric flower with a button for the center, to decorate the flap.

The pattern for the flower is from the book Kanzashi in Bloom by Diane Gilleland.

I haven't stopped knitting gifts, but have switched gears to baby gifts for 2 friends that are having babies this spring. I have also squeezed in a little knitting for myself, imagine that!

Countdown to Christmas

2010-12-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Boy, time has sure been rushing by. I have been cranking out the Christmas presents like crazy. I started on the presents in September, thank goodness. I think I will still be getting down to the wire to finish everything up, and then I have to ship the presents off!

Be ready for a picture heavy post after Christmas, I don't want to spoil any surprises before then.

September Madness

2010-09-26T14:50:00.000-07:00

I have a goal for the next 3 weeks....to finish as many Christmas presents as possible before I go on vacation to see my mom and sister. My ulterior motive - to use their washing machine to felt said presents! These slippers from French Press Knits are too cute once they are felted, and are super easy and quick to knit, a perfect Christmas gift. You can find the pattern here.

I looked on Ravelry for project pics and found this. Check it out, there are some really cute slippers!

Before I started the French Press slippers, I made a pair of Felt clogs for myself. The pattern is from Fiber Trends. Yes, they are going on vacation with me also, so that they can be felted. This is also a quick pattern - but you have to really pay attention because you are doing alot of wrap and turns.

If you make this pattern, make sure to look at the errata page on the website.

I have also finished knitting my Slanted Norte Tee. Now I just need to bury yarn tails and block it. Did I tell you I don't much like blocking? It's not nearly as fun as knitting :)

Maybe I can talk someone into taking a nice picture of it actually on me once it is blocked!

I have been working on washing my brown Shetland fleece that I bought at Black Sheep Gathering last year. This is it, all laid out for sorting.

It is all washed, as of about 2 weeks ago. I have been washing it in a plastic tote that I set in a bathtub. I had to carry some hot water from the stove to the bathroom to make sure the wash water was hot enough. I also combed some of it using combs that I bought at the same time as the fleece.

It is going to take alot of time to comb all of it, but I kinda enjoy the process. I have decided that I need to get something to hold the clamps to a counter top or table. I have been looking at this comb holder. Wouldn't that be a good Christmas present? Husband, are you listening?

2010-08-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

I sure have had a hard time getting to the computer to do some posting. I have been spending alot of time in the kitchen lately experimenting with some healthier cooking. The latest experiments have been yogurt and milk kefir.

The yogurt was Matsoni which is a mesopilic yogurt, meaning it cultures at room temperature. It came out a little runnier than I am used to. I have heard that homemade yogurt can be that way and sometimes as you make more, it gets thicker. I ended up using it to make some homemade ranch dressing, and I thought the dressing came out great. The milk kefir came out fine and I have used it in cooking as well as for smoothies. I find that I crave the flavor of the kefir smothies.

Yesterday I started a batch of Water Kefir.

The Kefir grains are sitting at the bottom of the jar, and the lemon and raisins are floating at the top. I am anxious to see how this turns out and if I like it. So far, my husband hasn't been too excited about some of my cooking experiments. He doesn't care for sauerkraut or kefir, and I think he was afraid to try my yogurt. He (and my son) do like the homemade granola :)

Now, on to knitting! The latest project on the needles is the Slanting Gretel Tee that was in the Fall 2009 issue of Knits. I am calling my version the Slanting Norte Tee.

The yarn that I am using is some that I got in April at Baabara's Wild and Wooly in Bend, Oregon. If I recall correctly, the wool came from a friend's sheep. It was dyed this nice shade of magenta and is a tweedy spun yarn with bits of brown fiber, then mixed with flash for a little bit of sparkle.

I had a hard time getting going with the pattern, I don't think it helped that I was trying to watch a movie and read a graph at the same time. The little marker is a stitch that need to be attached to the rest of the sweater. When I discovered the loose stitch, I couldn't bear ripping back to it yet again!

Today I am at the part to divide for the sleeves. The end is getting closer, yeah! I have so much knitting on my to do list!

#1 - off the spinning wheel.....

This is some black alpaca that I spun from prepared roving. It is so lovely and soft. I am thinking of doing a color work project using different natural colors of alpaca. I believe I have 4-5 different colors to spin.

#2 - off the spinning wheel...

About a year ago I spun 1 strand of pure buffalo and one strand of buffalo mixed with nylon and plied them together, hoping to make a stronger yarn than just pure buffalo. At Black Sheep Gathering this year, I purchased some more Buffalo roving to ply with the rest of the Buffalo/nylon mix that I had. I finished plying it on Sun, 8-22-2010. Now to wash it and see if I can find a crew sock pattern to use for the yarn.

I have been seeing alot of apron patterns in the store lately, and have been wanting to make a new apron for myself, and possibly another for a gift for someone. I bought a couple of patterns the other day, then found these fabrics to use....

I like the smock pattern with the scalloped hem, and the fact that it covers more of the front of your clothing (I gt kinda messy when I am cooking!).

I also like the full front of the pattern below, again, it covers the front (and protects the clothing) for those of us who are messy cooks!

I am itching to spend some time at my sewing machine doing something other than mending

Things That go Bump...and Crash in the Night

2010-07-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

At 3:00 AM the night before last, I woke up to some very loud noises in the yard outside of my bedroom where we keep our trash cans. The trash cans have been inside a dog pen that we haven't used in years, just to keep stray dogs out of our trash. Well the noises I heard were not from dogs. I finally woke up enough to realize that something wasn't right and it definitely wasn't my husband outside.....and why is my Golden Retriever not making ANY noise whatsoever if something isn't right?......

Soooo, I'm getting a little nervous, but I peek through the glass door (without turning on any lights), and I see a bear less than 20 feet away!! Thank goodness he didn't see me! As soon as I saw him, all the stories my father-in-law ever told me about wild critters coming into people's homes and terrorizing owners went through my head. Next thought was, do I have a gun and would I know how to use it to defend myself (answer - no). And why is my dog still so quiet and not barking her fool head off. Wait a minute, maybe that is a good thing because then she might attract the bears attention, she definitely isn't mean enough to scare anything away.

My final decision was to run to the other side of the house, try to stop shaking and decide what my options were. I tried to tell my 18-year old son what was going on, but the silly boy just wouldn't wake up. Eventually I wondered back to my bedroom, snuck another little peak out the window and the bear was gone. Needless to say, I didn't sleep too well the rest of the night.

And this is what that darn bear was doing....

He knocked that whole fencing over. Now mind you that there were trash cans inside of that, so he had to get the fencing up and over the trash cans. He dragged one large bag of trash off into the woods beside our house. Last night we didn't hear from him. I hope he stays away. If he comes back he might get a surprise zap from the fence. Yes, darling hubby took care of that. As for the dog? She may be good at protecting the yard from lions and tigers, and the occasional elephant, but not from bears, Oh My!

Just a Few Finished Objects

2010-07-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

I got a light box for Mother's Day and finally got a chance to use it. I hope you like the photos.

The first is a Zig Zag scarf pattern courtesy of our LYS. It is knit with Boku by Plymouth Yarn, color #6 on size 10 needles.

This was a quick and fun knit. I was working on it during my lunch break and got alot of favorable comments about the colors.

The next project is the neck cozy. Yep, it's the same pattern that I was using to knit up quick Christmas gifts. This is a great one skein pattern. The yarn I used is from Manos and is a silk blend. I couldn't resist the yarn when I bought it several years ago, and have been wondering just what to do with it. I think I found the perfect solution! Now the question is: do I use it myself, or save it to gift to someone else??

The next project that I finished was the Koolhaas Hat by Jared Flood from the 2007 issue of Knits - Holiday gifts. I used Palace yarn from Berroco, color #8909 that I bought about 1 year ago. Did I mention that all of these projects are stash busters??

I have about 5 things marked to knit in 2007 Holiday Gifts magazine, and this is the first project that I have done. I love knitting hats. They are such a good way to try out different yarns and patterns. They are also quick and gratifying to knit. T0o bad I don't look good in them - plus they just ruin my hair. Oh well, they make great gifts for people that do wear them :) This is all part of my plan to knit ahead for the holidays.

And for the back view...............

I think my model needs some sun, what do you think?

I have also been working on this cross-stitch sampler. It isn't going very fast, of course it would go faster if that was all that I had to keep my hands busy!This block is almost done, only 7 more to go!

And last, but not least, is this small skein from fiber that I blended at the class I took at BSG.
Happy Spinning and Knitting :)

Black Sheep Gathering

2010-06-30T15:05:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed to be able to take classes again this year at Black Sheep Gathering. They have such great classes there, and the teachers I have had, have all been more than happy to share their wealth of knowledge.

The first class I took was Color Blending on a drum carder. I feel much more comfortable with my drum carder after taking that class. I couldn't believe how many times you have to run the fiber through before the colors blend enough to get what you want. I was wishing for the electric carder by the time I was done. I thought my colors came out pretty good when I was finished.

There were 3 different exercises she wanted us to do in class, but I was only able to complete 2. The third exercise was to pick up a bundle of 3 random colors that the instructor had put together,

assign them primary color names and then blend secondary and tertiary colors with them

Then blend them with a tint (white), tone (add grey), Shade (add black), and complement (from the color wheel). The colors on the right of the picture below are the tertiaries, the colors on the left are the tint, tone, etc.

This was a very interesting exercise, and one that had me stepping out of my comfort zone as far as the colors were concerned. When I was able to do some shopping at BSG, I picked out several of my own random color combos that weren't necessarily in my comfort zone, to play with at home.

What a bunch of busy ladies, don't you think?

On Saturday, I took a class on Mushroom Dyeing. Again, there was alot of info, and it seemed like this could easily have been more than a 1/2 day class. Below is the instructor's sample of all the different colors you can make with different mushrooms. The tricky thing about doing this type of dyeing is that you need to be able to go out and identify and pick your own mushrooms (and estimate how much you will need), it isn't like going to the store and picking up some powdered dye that you know will dye X amount of yarn. I really liked the earthy, muted colors that you can achieve with this method.

OK, time for gratuitous pictures of sheep......

and a Navajo Churro...............

and an Angora Goat....................

You have to love these guys, I mean they share all this wonderful fiber for us to make clothing and accessories with. I love the curly locks of the Angora goat. How fun!
The last class that I took was on spinning Primitive Breeds with Judith McKenzie. She is a wonderful teacher and if I ever have a chance to take a class from her again, I will. I don't have any great pics from the class, but there are a couple of things I wanted to share. First of all, Judith brought about 10 fleeces and laid them out of the floor so that we could see and touch them. She had Shetland, Icelandic, Navajo Churro, Clun Forrest and Jacob. She had some that were washed, and some that weren't washed. We had a short amount of time to spin, and she taught us a trick with our wheels, I should now be able to spin lace weight yarn with my wheel. She also showed us how to skirt a fleece and what parts to use for what purpose.
Below is a picture of all the different lengths of fiber you can get from an Icelandic sheep fleece (there were about 5 different lengths from this particular fleece).

2010-05-31T16:56:00.000-07:00

I have been doing some reading and thinking about food, nutrition and how I would like to live my life. This is not something totally new, but is something that I have been thinking about for awhile.
As a nurse, I have done some diabetic teaching to pregnant women. Part of that teaching is telling them to "read the label, read the label, read the label...." on everything that they eat. So, I have been doing the same thing, reading the label before I buy foods in the store. Sometimes it is easier to just buy prepackaged food because you are tired from work, taking care of the house, and trying to meet the needs of your family, and put a meal on the table. But, you would not believe how many foods contain high fructose corn syrup as one of the first four ingredients. If you look at the last few ingredients on the label, there are allot of chemical words that no one can even pronounce. If you can't pronounce it, should you be eating it? Is this part of what is causing all the cancer in this world, and all the health problems??
I have stumbled on a few websites that have some interesting theories on foods that you should eat. GNOWFGLINS is mostly about eating natural, organic foods and eating local foods that are in season. I like that idea. The Nourished Kitchen is another site that talks about eating real foods. Both sites have on-line cooking courses with videos, and you are supposed to be able to work at your own pace. Both talk about fermenting veggies, making kefir, homemade yogurt and bread. Another fun cooking website for just down home good food is The Pioneer Woman Cooks
I have signed up for the Nourished Kitchen course, which starts tomorrow. I have never had kefir before and I am not sure if I will like it, but I am willing to give it a try. I am excited about learning something new.
I have also been reading The Radical Homemaker. I have read very much yet, but it does make allot of sense. If you are interested check it out.
Some great blog reads having to do with Homesteading are Mountain Home Quilts, and Homestead Revival.
I am supposed to go to an Alpaca shearing tomorrow. I hope to get some good pictures to share!

Back In Town

2010-05-15T11:27:00.001-07:00

It has been a very busy month getting my in-laws moved to a new home from a place that they had lived in for about 27 years, then coming back home and a week later driveing to a graduation. YES, my middle son is done with his schooling, now he just needs to find a job and get some good work experience.

On our way home, we drove over Togette Pass. There was a snow storm the day we drove over it - at the end of April...................

While we were back visiting family in Wyoming, I found out about an Alpaca ranch that was close by - Arrowhead Alpacas. Jan gave us a tour of their ranch and told us everything we wanted to know aout Alpacas. I was also able to buy some raw fiber, and some roving from her. It was so nice to see where the fiber comes from. I could have kicked myself for forgetting to bring my camera and take some pictures!
While we were driving on vacation, I had plenty of opportunities to work on knitting. I finally finished these socks that will probably be a gift for someone.

And these socks for me.....

and a stashbuster project, the Spiral Rib Bag From One Skein by Leigh Radford. I used the yarn that they used in the book - Collinette Chrysallis #121. This took me about 1 day of knitting!

I also started the Fiddlehead Mittens, finally. Another stash busting project!

I think I will change the green yarn out for a lighter shade of green that will show up better against the black.

I have also been busy cooking since I came home, making Raspberry Jam......

and Raspberry syrup from the extra juice (Over wholewheat pancakes, YUM)........

and learning how to roast a chicken (yum) ...............See the recipe and a tutorial here. I love this blog! There are some great sounding recipes, great tutorials, and she makes it interesting.
And, last but not least, I have been washing wool, and washing, and washing (5 pounds of fleece). I finished up the last of the corriedale/targhee fleece that I bought last year at Black Sheep Gathering. I have made it a goal to try to get one more fleece washed before I go this year.
Next I need to get going with the carder!

2010-04-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Since I posted 2 weeks ago, I have finished the Flirty Tank, now I just need to block it. I am starting my stretch of 12-hour shifts tomorrow. After that we are leaving on vacation, so it probably won't get blocked until we get back home. I am also almost done with the Christmas lap quilt, I just need to finish hand sewing the edge of the binding!

I feel good about how I have started this year- digging up old projects and finishing new ones. But since we are going to be going on a road trip, and I can't have idle hands, I have to get a few light projects ready for the road.

The first project is a pair of socks out of Limerick, color #31808. The color is a bit brighter than my picture. I think the color is sooo pretty (you can see it better in the second picture).

The pattern I am using is the Cable Twist Socks from Hello Yarn. If you go here and scroll down almost to the bottom of the page, you will see the free pattern. It is an easy stitch, and adds some fun to your sock making!

My other project is a pattern that is also by Hello Yarn (Fiddlehead Mittens), imagine that! If you go here, you can see a great picture of the pattern and the different colors that you can use. I bought this pattern maybe about 1 year ago, and even though it isn't really winter anymore (in most parts of the country) I am ready to knit these mittens! I can't wait to see how they turn out. I cast on for them last night and learned something new. I have done I-cord before, but this was an I-cord cast-on edge. I am impressed by the way that it looks- very finished. With the liner, it will be like knitting 2 pairs of gloves. Maybe my hands will finally be toasty.

I have also been playing with my spinning. My sister has been saving fur for me that she gets from combing her Persian cat. The fur feels like angora rabbit. So, after discussing it with a spinning pal, and a spinning group on Ravelry, I mixed it with some nice Merino cross fiber on my hand cards, and spun up a small sample.

It has a very nice hand to it. Now I need to set the twist and knit up a sample to see how it behaves. Again, that will probably have to wait until we get back from our trip.

I think the yarn might develop a bit of a halo after washing and knitting with it. I can't wait to see what happens!

It is Time to Finish What I Started...

2010-03-22T16:41:00.000-07:00

I have been a little frustrated by my stash, my habit of starting alot of things, and being a 50-90 percent-er. So I am trying to mend my ways. After all, it is pretty sad to go through your craft stash and find all these beautiful projects that you had big glowing plans for, sitting forgotten and neglected.

So my fingers have been busy working on projects. The oldest is this Log Cabin throw that I started back in the days when I was really into quilting. I started this about 2001-ish, pieced the top together in 2002-ish, and started machine quilting it (stitching in the ditch) about 2005-2006-ish. It has sat neglected in my sewing room since then. I was doing some spring cleaning the other day and decided it was time to finish this poor, neglected quilt. I still really like the fabric and design. It was my intention to make this as a throw to cover up with when sitting on the couch knitting and watching movies during the winter season.

In just about 4 hours of working on it, the machine quilting is done. Next I need to even up the edges, sew on the binding, and the quilt is finished!!! I think I should label it with the story of how long it took to finish!!

The next (actually the first thing I dug out of my stash - that started this whole thing), was this beautiful Corriedale roving that I bought about 1 year ago.

It was hand dyed by Carin Engen Fiber Arts; 2 oz. of colorway Leaf Green. I spun 2 ply yarn out of it at an average of 15 WPI, which makes it a sport weight yarn. There are approximately. 183 yards.

Next, I dug out the Flirty Tank that I started last summer, then put away about September to start working on Christmas presents.

It is sooo close to being finished. I need to do the armhole shaping on both sides of the back, the ribbing around the neck and armholes, block it, and voila! Another project done!!!! Now, if I can only keep my nose to the grindstone.

Oh, and I also dug up this project.....

The name of the pattern is Miss Dashwood. I started this for a friend about 1 year ago and ended up giving her something else. Soooo, when I needed a baby gift for someone else at work, I thought I should finish this. I am ashamed by how little time it took to finish. I just needed to knit one more tie, block everything, and sew the ties and ear flaps to the hat. Less than 2 hours to project satisfaction.

Now on to newer projects. I started the Rosamund Cardigan Feb. 19th. When I started it, I was determined that I would finish it and not let it sit neglected. I finished it on Marh 8th - ta-da! Well, I guess I still need to sew on the buttons.... minor detail.
The next new project that I finished in about a month was the Noro Striped Scarf.
I had to take several pictures so that you could see all the pretty colors.

In some areas there wasn't much contrast of colors...... I cast on 49 stitches, knit with U.S. size 7 circular needles. I knit in K1, P1 ribbing, slipping the first stitch of every row until all the yarn was gone. The yarn was Noro Silk Garden in color #252 and #282.

This was an easy project, perfect to knit on during lunch breaks at work, and at home after a 12-hour shift when I needed something easy to do to relax and unwind.

What's waiting for you in your craft closet??

Knit With Love and Prayers

2010-02-24T16:10:00.000-08:00

I have a completed project since the last time that I blogged! My pastor's wife, Karen, had to have emergency surgery for a brain tumor. When my husband heard about it, he turned to me and said "You need to knit her a hat." I guess I was surprised at how well my husband knows me, although by now I shouldn't be (allmost 23 years is a good amount of time to get to know someone!) . Sometimes I feel inadequate when someone is suffering, I feel that I want to make the perfect gesture, and whatever I do doesn't seem like enough. But I can knit, and I have made many hats for babies and people with cancer, so why not one for this beautiful, sweet lady?

Of course, it had to be the perfect hat to fit her personality. She is a very classy lady that wears alot of pink, and not just any pink, but bright fushia pink which compliments her coloring. Have you ever tried to find fushia pink in a small town yarn store? It ain't easy!

This was my first choice. The colors are nice with some brown and some texture, however, when I knit it up in a plain rolled brim cap pattern (it wouldn't have looked right with much of a pattern), it was very scratchy. So when I went back to the store I found Mulberry Merino by Plymouth Yarn Co. The color # I purchased was 5605. The picture of the colors on the site don't do it justice. It is a pretty pink. The yarn is a singles and feels wonderful, much softer than the first yarn that I bought.

The pattern is Rivendell by Hanna Breetz that I originally downloaded from Mag Knits several years ago. This is the second time that I have knit this hat.

I like the design on the top of the hat.

The cloche-type design will, I feel, fit Karen's personality. I hope she enjoys it. It was knit with love and prayers for her complete recovery....

Confessions of a Yarnaholic

2010-02-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

Time for some updates.............

On the spinning wheel -

This is some wool that I bought about a year ago. It was washed and dyed, I teased the fibers open and carded it on my new carder. I have about 7 batts total. One batt fills up about 1/2 of a bobbin as you can see in the above picture. The color is allot nicer in person, more like a soft plum. I am hoping that it will be fine enough to knit a shawl or shawlette with it. I have about 6 oz total of this fiber.

My husband and I went to the Sacramento area a few weeks ago to visit son #2. Whenever we go to see him, I also get to visit some of the yarn stores in the area. Of course it would be unreasonable to expect a yarnaholic like myself to go to a yarn shop and not purchase something. I am truly blessed to have a husband that knows this, and knows that alll the crafts that I do help keep my spirits up. Soooo, here are some pics of what I recently purchased.......
The above yarn is Natural Shetland Fingering by Elemental Effects with Judith McKenzie. The pattern I will be using is the Slouchy Tam from the Knits - Holiday Gifts 2009 magazine. The yarn that they used (The Fibre Company Canopy Fingering) is very nice, but also cost about twice as much as what I bought. Since I had more yarn shops to check out, I didn't want to blow all my allowance in one place........
I bought eight skeins of this beautiful, teal Silky Wool by Elsebeth Lavold. I have had this patter in mind for a long time. It is the Ljod sweater from The Viking Knits Collection - Book 1 by Elsebeth.
I couldn't resist this book by Elsebeth Lavold. The pattern for this Silky Wool is Bjorg cap and mittens. The color of this yarn (very pale greenish) isn't my favorite, but it was on sale. I have been toying with the idea of trying to over dye it to get a color that I would like better. I do love the pattern. You know me and cables!!

New to the needles..........

My version of the popular Noro striped scarf. If you look here on Ravelry, there are 6700 projects. So, OK, I am part of the big/HUGE crowd. I was trying to resist it, but the pull was too strong, especially when my LYS just started carrying Noro Silk Garden. Really, folks, if you look at Jared's post about the scarf, how could you resist this project???? His photography is amazing. I wish I had that kind of talent!

Gifts Received

2010-01-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

As promised, I am finally posting about the wonderful gifts my family gave me for Christmas. DH gave me the circular needle holder bag and the needle gauge pendant. My sis gave the book Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush. One of my future goals is to be able to knit a lace shawl. I don't know if I would wear it very much, but they are so beautiful and elegant.

When my in-laws asked my husband what I would like for Christmas, he told them wool or llama/alpaca. I must interject here that my father-in-law's father was a wool buyer, back in the day, and also had some sheep of his own. My FIL is tickled to death that I am so interested in spinning and wooly things, and had fun finding a fleece for me.

This is aprox. 10 lbs. of mystery wool stuffed into a little cardboard box. It really isn't that yellow, but is rather dirty on the tips. My FIL thinks it is probably Rambouillet.

It has about a 3" staple length and a very fine crimp (you might be able to tell in the left hand corner of the above picture). There is allot of Lanolin/grease and it is very soft. Needless to say I was/am tickled to death with the generosity and thoughtfulness of this gift, and can't wait to wash and spin it. I'm hoping I can spin enough for the Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang.

Once I get that fleece washed, I have a brand new drum carder to use for getting it ready to spin!

This is the Strauch Finest 405 hand crank carder. It is quite a step up from my last drum carder that I purchased used.

When I am done spinning wool, I have this sheep rug kit to play with.

On to knitting progress. I finally did the finishing touches on these mittens. All they were waiting for was for me to finish embroidering the flowers. And, they were waiting a long time!! I started these probably 2 years ago.

The pattern is Olivia's Mittens by Kristin Nicholas. For details on the project, go here.

I also started and finished the Freyja Hat by Courtney Kelley. Instead of using the recommended yarn, I used Classic Elite Yarns - Miracle which is Alpaca and tencel.

I also started the Swirl Shawl, then had to re-start it because I didn't like the way the blocks were turning out. The second time around, they look much better.

Well, busy hands are happy hands :)

Gifts Given

2010-01-04T15:23:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can finally post pictures of the gifts I made people for Christmas!

First of all is a pair of socks made for my mom with Panda Soy - Print. I did a twisted rib pattern for the cuff on a standard sock pattern. The yarn is very soft and silky feeling, but does tend to split a little when you work with it. The yardage per ball is 185 yds. so I ended up using 2 balls to complete the socks. Mom was very pleased with her socks! The greatest quick knit gift of all was this wonderful neck cozy pattern (Koigu Neck Cozy) bu Karen Ko. It is quick and easy to knit (as long as you mark the right side to keep track of your knitting). I ended up making 3 of them for different people.

The first one that I made was for my sis. It is knit with Ellyn Cooper's Yarn Sonnets Oingling?, colorway Spice Grove. The yarn is bamboo or soy, can't find the label right now.

Here is a close-up of the yarn.....Pretty, isn't it?

The second one was made for my Secret Pal at work. The yarn is Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend.

The third one was a last minute gift for my MIL and was knit in 2 days. I used Mainland yarn by Plymouth. It is Baby Alpaca and Silk 80/20, color - "#6". I give it a 10+ on the softness scale! I guess I was in such a rush that I didn't get a picture of this one, but you get the idea.

A day or two after Christmas I cast on another pair of socks. This yarn was in my stash. I am just knitting a basice sock with it. I haven't decided who I am knitting it for, but probably should by the time I get to the foot!

Stay tuned for my next post "Gifts Received". I can't wait to show you all the purty things I got for Christmas. My family loves me!!

Christmas is Coming Fast

2009-12-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

The four weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas always seem to zoom by soo fast. Before Thanksgiving I have trouble thinking about starting my Christmas knitting, and if I wait until after Thanksgiving, there isn't enough time to get it all done. I have tried to get an earlier start - this year I started gift knitting at the end of September, beginning of October. My sister's birthday is 4 days before Christmas and I had something special to knit for her, so I'm glad I got started that early.

So without further ado, I give you my finished projects so far (I have a last minute gift on the needles)..........

Hope for a Cure socks for my Sis

Details of the project are here.

I would love to share more of my finished gifts, but don't want to take a chance on spoiling any one's surprises. Suffice it to say that my knitting needles have been moving so fast that they are smoking!! I have finished 3 gifts for Christmas and am on the fourth. More details after Christmas.

I will leave you with pics of beautiful fiber that I purchased in October at a small fiber arts show in Selma, Oregon.

Beautiful dyed mohair locks.......

and beautiful natural, soft wool roving. The dark grey is Gotland.

I can't wait until Christmas rush is over and I can dig into my spinning again.

My latest dye adventures.......

2009-10-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

I just had to share these yarns that I dyed. I haven't been good about coming up with names for the colors that I do, oh well, I 'm still having fun!
Shades of blue to green...

This color combo reminds me of an old china pattern, I believe it was called desert rose. This is superwash merino and didn't soak up the dye very well, not likeing superwash very much for dyeing right now. Once you spin it, you don't really notice the white spots, it just tends to lighten the color.
I was really playing around with the colors here, and tried the scarlet, diluted. I like the way it came out in the roving, and then had to try 2 of the colors by themselves on some odd bits of yarn that I had. I like the colors allot and am thinking that they might be good for some bigger sweater project.
These yarns are all 100% organic wool. Too bad I haven't learned how to use natural plant dyes yet :(
Next time I dye, I will try to get out of the darker colors. I do like the intensity of the colors though.
Hand spinning:

I finally finished and plied the mauve merino that I bought last Feb. I used my Ashford drum carder to make batts, then sun it on my Ashford Traveller spinning wheel. It was hard to get use to spinning from a batt after spinning with mostly roving, but I am happy with the results, and it is very soft.

I also have some darker maroonish/purple-ish merino to spin that I bought at the same store. I would like to get that spun up as well, but need to quit with the ADD and stick with less than 10 projects at a time!!! Must... maintain... focus........

Finished socks:

Salish Sea Socks, Finished on 10-12-2009.
Sorry about the lighting. But this is proof that I did finish both socks.
Better picture of sock....

I do love Blue Moon Fiber Arts sock yarn. It is very comfortable to wear and nice to work with. So far I have more than enough yarn from one skein to make a nice pair of socks. Maybe one day I will do something with all the leftovers.

I also have a very cute pair of socks on the needles that was just started 1 week ago. Sock #1 almost done. You can view it here on Ravelry, since I don't want to take any chance of ruining it for the recipient!

2009-10-07T15:47:00.000-07:00

Life is busy,and I like it like that. I haven't had time to think too much about being an empty nester. So, while husband is setting up the new DVD release of "My Life in Ruins," I will give you a quick update.

Knitting projects:

A baby hat for a workmate at work that is due soon. (This really isn't the only thing I gave her, but it is the only thing I made for her).
Salish Sea Socks for the 2007 Rockin' Sock Club through Blue Moon Fiber Arts (75% finished)

New Purchases:

Yarn for the Rosamund Cardigan (see more pictures here)from the Fall 2009 issue of Knits. I bought the yarn last weekend while in Sacramento visiting Son#2 and stocking up his fridge with food. The yarn is Royal Llama Silk by Plymouth Yarn Co. (60% Llama and 40% silk)......
Mariposa Shawl kit from Southwest Trading Co. (The kit was purchased from Websters in Ashland) The yarn is Bamboo - 100%, color #182

I have also had fun cooking from the few things that we grow on our property.

Ugly apples......

Make yummy apple crisp.......

Tonight I made the Toscana Soup (Olive Garden's recipe scroll down until you see the recipe) using fresh Kale and Yukon Gold potatoes from our garden. Boy was it Yummy. I also made Cheddar Bay biscuits. Sorry I didn't take any pics of that.

Will post again with pics of recently dyed yarns when I get a chance.

I'm Baaaack...........

2009-09-07T16:39:00.000-07:00

What a busy month I have had. Son # 3 is settled in college on the east coast and is staying very busy with classes and making new friends. He is maxed out on the number of units that he is taking and I hope that he does OK with that. The day after we left him, he texted us that he had received another scholarship to be a sound tech for the marching band.
While we were there, my husband and I were able to go to Washington D.C. for the day. One day is just not enough in D.C. A few of the highlights......

The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and the Washington Monument

The World War II Memorial I got a little sentimental at the last Memorial.
I just had to dip my poor hot feet in the water at the WW II Memorial, and believe me, I wasn't the only one doing it!

The Lincoln Memorial just filled me with a sense of awe. Hubby and I had to read the whole Gettysburg address and his second inaugural address. What powerful speeches.

We also visited Appomattox, and the Virginia Safari Park.

After we got son #3 settled in his dorm room, we flew back home and drove to WY. We bought fruit and corn in Idaho for the in-laws and helped them process it. Then we spent "several" long days helping son #1 and our daughter-in-law with their house. We helped tear up carpet and re-finish the wood floors that were underneath - boy what a messy job! Then, when my husband finally got home, we worked on major cleaning projects at our house that have been neglected. We have been busy, busy, busy this summer. And it sure feels good to be getting some things accomplished.
Last Saturday I tried to sell some yarn at the Farmer's Market and got rained out. It started misting just as I arrived at the fairgrounds, and we were able to set up the gazebo and the yarn table without any problems, then it started really raining. When the river started running through the middle of my gazebo, I decided to call it quits. The few customers that I saw at the market were just there after their vegetables and then were making a quick exit, they weren't shopping for anything fun like yarn.
I did manage to get some knitting done while traveling on the plane and in the car. On one flight I got a little testy. I carry a tote onto the plane with my knitting in it, but when I board I take a bag with my knitting out of the tote so it looks like I am carrying 3 items onto the plane. The stewardess told me that I couldn't take 3 things onto the plane and I started panicking thinking what am I supposed to do with myself for the next 2 hours? the only thing I brought was knitting. You know the feeling? Counting on that time to work on a project? Then she explained to me that there were inspectors on the plane watching everything, and that I could take my knitting out of the toe once I got to my seat - whew, what a relief!
The purse is felted (it is still very large), and I plan on going to the yarn store today for help figuring out how to do the handles.

Several days ago I started on the Teddy suit for a baby shower that got moved up by 2 weeks (Yikes! Fingers and needles are flying!) I have the 2 legs done and am just about ready to join them to work on the body of the suit. Thank goodness babies are small :)

When the Farmer's market got rained out on Saturday, we decided to go to Oregon to do some shopping. We had lunch in Ashland and visited Websters. I ordered the yarn for Mariposa, and bought 7 oz. of Blue Meriboo roving to spin to add to the 4 oz. I already had. Maybe I can make something more than just a scarf or a hat with it (not that there is anything wrong with scarves or hats).

As if my husband and I haven't ben busy enough, we bought Tuna to can, about 60 pounds of it. I'm sure some people buy much more, but with only 2 pressure cookers going, 60# is keeping us busy enough! Boy does our house smell fishy!

Over 3 dozen jars,, and we have one more batch to do! I guess I better get busy ;)

2009-08-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

Almost off the needles:

I started this purse on July 28th. It is based on a purse in our LYS that one of the owners had designed and knit. I had looked on Ravelry for a puse pattern, and I didn't find many patterns. I did see one that was striped so i based my design on that also. But really, this is one that I am kinda designing as I go. I am doing an i-cord around the top of the purse to finish off that edge, and around the base of the purse to help it stand up straighter, when you put it down. I finished the i-cord on the top last night, and started on the base. Next I have about 8 feet of i-cord to knit for the handles. I am also trying to figure out how to add a pocket or two on the inside of the purse, and some kind of flap to close the top ( or I might look into some kind of magnet to keep it closed)

The Flirty Tank progress has slowed down. I am on the bodice with a "daisy stitch" on a base of knit stitches for the design. The daisy stitch is fussy to do, and if you don't get it snug enough, it leaves too much of a hole. It is knit 2X, alternated with a purl, all through the same 3 stitches. I think it is starting to look better.

I also started this pair of socks. I love a good sock project for traveling, very light and compact.

The pattern is Salish Sea Socks by Cat Bordhi, the yarn is medium seight 100% superwash Merino in the Bella Coola colorway. This project is from the 2007 Socks That Rock club. Better late than never, right? I haven't been knittng much on socks lately and there is a lot of yarn in my sock yarn stash that is waiting for some attention. I have been very good at resisting the urge to buy more at our LYS - they keep getting new, beautiful yarns. I don't know if I will be able to resist this urge much lonnger!!!!!

I haven't spun very much since my last post, mostly because I worked about 90 hours in 1 week. There wasn't much timee to spin and get some sleep before I had to go back to work. But I did work on this Dusty pink Corriedale cross. I bought the fiber alreday dyed, but picked it and ran it through my drum carder before spinning it.
I have been working almost solely with combed top, so it was quite different to spin from a batt. This yarn will be very bouncy when plied. I can't decide if I want to ply it with one ply of a darker purple or just with itself?
I am off of work now till the end of the month and will be taking son #3 back to college to get him all settled in, then visiting son #1 and miscellaneous other family. I hope to voisit yarn shops along the way. I am blessed with a husband that knows how to keep me happy and is very understanding about my obsessiveness with my current favorite hobby.

Future projects -

1. Teddy Suit from Baby Knits by Lois Daykin. for a friend at work that is due in October. I need to get started on that as soon as I get home.

2. Christmas projects X 2

3. A scarf out of some scrumptious yarn that I bought last year in Texas.

Happy knitting to all......

2009-07-25T11:54:00.000-07:00

On the Needles:

The Flirty Tank - I just finished the skirt part of the top, and am starting the bodice. Going well so far. This one shouldn't be too big. In fact when I block the lace, it should be just right (according to the measurements).

The lace is pretty scrunched up right now, and you should see much more pattern definition when it is blocked.

Off the needles-
G's Cabled Scarf:Remember the shades of blue singles that I dyed at BSG? I knitted a scarf out of it for DH. He loves it and is anxious to wear it on a motorcycle ride. I know that sounds funny to allot of people to wear a scarf during the summer, but here on the coast, we are still having foggy, drizzly mornings and highs in the low 60's during the day.

The pattern I used was based on the Double Cable Scarf from the One Skein book by Leigh Radford.

Pattern modification: Instead of only doing 9 cable crossing rows on each end, I continued the cables to the other end of the scarf and did the 2" of ribbing on the end.
Needles - U.S. 9, Addi Turbo circulars.

Yarn - Corriedale thick/thin singles, one skein, hand dyed by me.

Time to complete - about 1 week.

Off the needles -

I have also made a scarf for myself out of some of my first handspun. The scarf still needs to be blocked.

This is a dropped stitch pattern. I think I cast on 45 stitches, knit 2 rows, alternating with a drop stitch row. Knitted to desired length.

Needle size - U.S. 9.

Off the Wheel:

Teal 3 ply Colonial wool, DK weight. Total of 341 1/2 yards.

I sure like doing the 3-ply. It is a much smoother yarn and hides any little imperfections.

Cashmere/wool blend from chasing Rainbows -2 oz. What a pleasure to spin. Sorry I couldn't get the lighting just right for the picture.

84 count Merino Roving that I bought at BSG and hand dyed.

Spun 2 ply, 9-22 WPI.

Yardage - 187.5 yards, 4 oz.

In the box and on the bobbin is 50/50 Wool and silk that I hand dyed at my class at BSG to match the silk hankies dyed by Chasing Rainbows. I have spun a small amount of the silk and plied a sample to see what it would look like. The silk hankies are not very easy to spin, especially since this is my first experience. I am trying to find a special pattern for this. Maybe something like a cowl with a lace design?

Dyeing to knit

2009-07-13T13:24:00.000-07:00

I have been a fool for dyeing lately. Here are just a few of the latest skeins out of the dyepot....
Sand and Sea

Wavy Gravy

And of course...Chocolate Covered Cherries

And to show you what a difference it makes to re-skein the yarn when it is dry....

Before..............

And after re-skeining...............

Last weekend, a fellow spinner/knitter friend and I had a booth at the Farmer's/Saturday Market and I actually sold a few skeins of handspun and some hand-dyed yarn. I feel like I have soo busy with the spinning and dyeing, and was surprised that I couldn't quite fill up a table with my "stuff". I won't be able to do the Sat. Market again until August and should have more yarn to sell by then.

In August, my husband and I will be empty nesters. My Youngest son is leaving for college. We will be going back with him to Virginia, and will be doing some sight-seeing while we are back there (Are there any good yarn shops in Lynchburg??). When we get back, we will be home for one night, then hitting the road to go on our annual trip to Wyoming. I am excited as I will be seeing Son # One's house for the first time.

Color Eye Candy

2009-06-25T09:50:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time at Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene last weekend. I had alot of fun playing with color in the Lanaset color wheel class with Nancy Finn. And here is what I came up with.

This is Merino/silk roving dyed with toned primaries.

Next is Corriedale singles yarn. When I dyed this I was started with my favorite shades of blue and green and wanted to add some orange to make it pop. then added a fourth color to tone down that pop a little!
This is Tussah silk roving. At the top of the picture you can see my inspiration fabric....

My husband doesn't really care for the "wild" color combinations, so I made a blue with different values (blue is his favorite color). I plan on making a scarf for him out of this...
The inspiration for the next fiber was an abstract picture titled something like White Dove in the Desert Morning. The pinks and tans in the picture were alot lighter in value, but I really like how this color came out.
The sample I made was with Merino/Silk roving. I was trying to make a roving that would at least coordinate with some silk hankies that I want to spin that were dyed by Chasing Rainbows in the Tuscan colorway. I hope to spin singles from the hankies and from this roving and ply them together to make something delicate and pretty.

It was fun to see the different colors that people in the class came up with . I think we were all pleasantly surprised with our results. I think the best part of the class was that Nancy was so laid back and allowed us to be creative. I am already looking forward to Black Sheep Gathering next year and hope to take more classes.

Off to BSG

2009-06-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have been off on vacation for a week now, and what a busy week that has been. Last week, my "baby" graduated from high school. In 2 short months he will be off to college on the east coast - far, far away from mom. I'm not quite sure how I will handle that. He has been such a pleasure to be around lately. Last weekend all the kids were home to see their brother graduate. I'm glad they were all so supportive.
I leave tomorrow for Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR. I have been looking forward to this for a long time. It is the only real wool festival that I have been to and I am hoping to find a fleece to buy this year. I have never bought a whole fleece before, just a pound here and there. So Wish me luck!
Stay tuned next week for pics of classes and fiber !

2009-06-02T12:59:00.000-07:00

I have been bad this past week. First of all I have ordered several books (Alice Starmore's Book of Fair Isle Knitting , The Celtic Collection - used version!!, Debbie Bliss Baby and Toddler Knits, and Baby Knits by Lois Daykin). And no, I am not pregnant or going to be a grandmother soon, but do seem to know alot of people having babies.

Today I ordered some yarn for the Sweet Hex Child's Hood. I love the old fashioned look of it, and the stranded work is always a draw for me. I am hoping if I get enough practice at it on the small projects, I will be good enough someday to make one of Alice Starmore's sweaters!

The other thing I ordered this week was new cell phones. Our 2-year contract with Verizon was up for renewal, and the 2 kids were needing new phones, so everyone got new and upgraded phones. I am little excited as my new phone will have the Qwerty keyboard, now maybe I will be faster at texting the kids.

Now for updates on projects:

On the wheel-

Merino - 3-ply. I am hoping this will work for a Baby Surprise Jacket.

....and some wool/cashmere blend by Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks

Almost off the needles -

Miss Dashwood - for gift-giving. I need to make some baby booties to go with it.

I received my confirmation for two classes on fiber dyeing with Nancy Finn from Chasing Rainbows at Blacksheep Gathering this month. I am soooo excited. I have been wanting to take another , more in-depth dyeing class for quite awhile. I hope to learn lots!

I am also excited about the new book by Chrissy Gardiner - Toe Up. She is self-publishing this book, and it hasn't yet been released. If you have seen any of her patterns in Interweave Knits magazine, this book is a must have. Her patterns are challenging and fun. I also was able to test knit one of the patterns for the book. ........

Just to give you a little teaser!!

Knit On!!

2009-05-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

I have been spinning allot lately.

Off the Wheel:

This is the crazy fiber that I carded, spun and plied with variegated thread.

I consciously spun it thick and thin, because something with that many different kinds of fiber and bits and pieces of novelty yarn wouldn't look right any other way.

I have probably 7 oz. more of this fiber to spin, enough to make a substantial project, I'm thinking!

Also off the wheel is this 100% Baby Alpaca by Handspinner's Dream...

Waiting to go on the needles....

I bought this pattern for Flirty Tank by Y2Knit about a year ago. I fell in love with this yarn
(Olmue) by Ester Bitran. It is a cotton and Viscose blend and has a shine to it. (5-18 -I couldn't wait and had to cast). I'm hoping that it will be a nice, cool little summer top. I don't know if it will get done for this summer though! It is knit in the round which should help.

I finally finished the sleeves on the Printed Silk Cardigan. Now I just need to block it and do all the finishing. It seems like it takes me forever to finish some projects, maybe if I could focus on only one project I would do better, but I want to make so many things !!!!!!

The On-going Project, and Fiber Fun

2009-05-03T14:53:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been working mostly on sleeves for the Printed silk cardigan. I have the same problem I usually have and am short 1 skein of yarn. The sleeve needs to be between 11-12 inches before I start shaping the cap of the sleeve, and I just have a tiny bit of yarn left I just ordered 2 more skeins which I hopt to have by the end of the week. I'd sure like to wrap up this project. (yes, I am knitting both sleeves at once).I did start a scarf with the Mooi yarn from Louet that I just purchased. The pattern is the Cocoon Lace Scarf by Fiber Trends, #AC-73X. I wasn't sure how to do the provisional cast-on, so had to make a trip to the LYS yesterday for help. I also did a swatch to practice the pattern, and when I actually started the scarf, it seemed to go smoothly. Here is a shot of the first reapeat plus 2 rows. (The bright pink is, of course, the provisional cast-on). Tere is an article for Provisional Cast-on here, and a tutorial here.

I have been playing with differnt colors and types of fiber. I recently purchased some "crazy" fiber from Websters......

close up of fiber...

Ready to spin "crazy batts".....

I hope to have some "crazy" yarn to show you next week.

Ready to Ply, twon bobbins of baby alpaca...

Also ready to spin is some 100% Icelandic lamb roving that I purchased from a spinning friend that raises Icelandic sheep. She has more roving for sale here.

Ok, I must go now. I feel the need to spin after talkig about all that wool!!

New Treasures

2009-04-16T12:12:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband gave me a gift certificate to the LYS for Christmas that I have been saving for something very special. I have been tempted to spend it on yarn for a big project, but didn't think I needed anymore big/sweater projects at this time. I was visiting the LYS last Saturday and they had just received some new "special" yarn, and suddenly I knew what I had been waiting for.... Mooi by louet. It is lace weight yarn - 50gm/350 yds. Fiber content 15% Bison/15% Cashmere/70% Bamboo. It is very soft yarn and feels like quite a treat for me, since I don't think I would ever spend that much for one skein of yarn if I didn't have a gift certificate. Now, to find the perfect lace scarf pattern :)

They also had another new fiber that I had never heard of before - Banana hemp. It is made from Banana leaves. It feels stiff to the touch, but should get softer with handling and washing, much like linen does.

ON THE BOOKSHELF -

The LYS (A Perfect Yarn) also had some new books. I couldn't resist buying Mother-Daughter Knits.

There are several projects that I would love to make.

The Classic Shirt...

Mother-Of-The-Bride Cardigan

A Gray Cardigan (but probably not in gray!)...love those cables and the long ribbing at the hem.

And the Reversible Tank Top...

ON THE WHEEL -

Alpaca with a Twist - 100% Baby Alpaca, 7 oz. in the Fawn colorway. It requires more concentration and skill to spin than the wool that I have been spinning with lately. It is very slippery. I think it will be beautiful when it is done.

ON THE CARDER -

I have been hand teasing the 8 oz. of dyed wool that I bought in March. It is very time consuming and a dirty job (should I give it to Mike Rowe?), there is a fair amount of vegetable matter including some burrs, and a bit of dirt still. One of the colors that I got was very sticky, which I hadn't noticed in the store, and some of the locks are matted together requiring a bit more care to tease apart.

I tried blending the 2 colors together on the carder. I think this will add more visual (and spinning) interest.

The batt on the top is solid pink, the batt on the bottom is the pink merino mixed with dark purplish brown merino.

IN THE WORKS-

I am sending off my registration today for 2 different dyeing classes by Nancy Finn from Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks, that will be held at Black Sheep Gathering in June. I have to send the form by snail mail, but should receive confirmation by e-mail. Here's hoping I get in. I am excited to possible have this opportunity since I have been wanting to learn more about dyeing fiber, and haven't had any luck so far finding anyone local who could teach me. This week I told some people that I was going to "take a class in dyeing", the room got "dead" silent and I got some odd stares! I had to explain myself so that they would quit worrying about my sanity :)

Out Of The Dye Pot And Off The Wheel

2009-04-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

I feel like I have been pretty productive the past 2 weeks. I finished plying the last of the 8 oz. of Autumn Corriedale pencil roving. I ended up with 2 large skeins, and one small one. I had a tiny bit of leftover singles that I tried Navajo plying, but the singles weren't cooperating and kept breaking. The yarn came out a lot different than I expected, to my pleasant surprise.

The yarn came out allot different than I expected, to my pleasant surprise. There was a lot of orange in the roving (see picture from previous post), but when I plied it, the orange just ended up mostly being a highlight.

WPI – average of 10, Worsted Weight, 3 ply
Yardage – Approximately 331 yds,

I had to play with color on Thursday, so I broke out the crock pot and the dyes and some Pastaza by Cascade yarns. The colors didn’t come out as deep as I would have liked, but I am still pleased with the results. The yarn was sitting in my bag at the yarn shop yesterday, and the lady next to me said she loved the colors. I must be doing something right!! I am anxious to try the dyeing again with some different colors. I think I will add more dye to see if I can get the deeper shade that I want.

I have also been working on the Printed silk Cardigan here and there. I had made a fair amount of progress, then realized that I had been off on my measurements and had to rip back about 7 inches of work. That was last weekend, I have since re-knit those 7 inches and now I am ready to start the diamond pattern on the second front piece. My next obstacle is doing the buttonholes, the directions in the magazine are different than the buttonholes I have knit in the past. I can’t wait to get this sweater done and have something new to wear -and move on to the next project that is waiting in the wings.

On and Off the Needles, Wheel, Bookshelf, etc.

2009-03-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Projects off the sewing machine ...............

When I went to see my mom and sis last November, I offered to finish (I mean MAKE) pillow shams to match quilts that I made for them several years ago. None of us have been sewing much lately and have been concentrating our creative talents elsewhere. It was a difficult project for several reasons:

1. I am rusty on my sewing skills, and cutting things out with a rotary cutter.

2. It was hard for me to make myself sit down and sew with so many other projects calling my name.

3. I had to be very careful with cutting things out, as there wasn't as much fabric of the right size to use.

All I can say is IT IS DONE !!!!! I sure hope they are happy with their shams. I know it will make their beds look more "finished". I do feel good that the project is completed and I can cross it off my list.

On the Needles:

In between other things, I started on a pair of generic socks for my MIL who really appreciates handmade socks. They had some sock yarn on sale at the LYS and I couldn't resist. I'm almost ready to start the heel on the second sock.

Also on the needles:

Theis is the left front of the Printed Silk Cardigan from Interweave Knits Spring 2008 issue (after you click on the link, just scroll down to the pattern). I am finishing up the armhole, then the shoulder decreases and piece #2 will be done!

Off the needles.....

Project specs:

Pattern: Striped Hat from the book Baby Cashmerino 2 by Debbie Bliss.

Yarn: Oceanside Organic 100% cotton by Plymouth Earth, colors #1 and #4

Needles: U.S. #3, Addi Turbo Circulars, and Brittany DPNs

Made for : A friend at work who is due to have her baby in about 3 weeks.

Time to knit: About 1/2 a day.

Comments: It was fun to make a hat with stripes. The pattern directions were to knit the hat flat and then seem it....well I knit it in the round so I have a jogs on my stripes. Oh well, now they know which side goes in the back!!

I have also been spending alot of time at the wheel, trying to increase my inventory of yarns to sell. I was thinking that I would have yarns ready to sell at the local Farmer's Market when it opened up again for the summer, but with my other full time job and duties at home, I was wondering how I would be able to do all that.

Anywhooooo....I talked to my friends/owners at the LYS and they are more than willing to sell the yarn there. The store is right on HWY 101 and they get tourists that pass through and want something that was made locally. Here is a little mix of what I have been spinning.

Here is what is on the wheel right now:

It is Corriedale pencil roving that I purchased at Black Sheep Gathering about 3 yrs. ago.

On the bookshelf:

World Without End by Ken Follett. I have been waiting for this book to come out in paperback. I actually gave it to DH for his birthday. We both fell in love with Pillars of the Earth and were anxious to read the sequel. Well, he finished the book in less than 2 weeks. It will probably take me 2 months since I mostly just read at night when I go to bed.

Long time, no blog....

2009-03-02T16:13:00.000-08:00

I knew it had been about 2 weeks since I last blogged, but when I looked at my last entry today, I realized it has been almost a month. It didn't help that I was out of town for work for about 1 1/2 weeks. I am back home now, and other that having to do FAFSA applications for the 2 youngest boys, and college entrance paperwork for youngest, I am hoping life will be somewhat "normal." My definition of normal has changed over the years, and "normal" seems to be slightly less hectic than "crazy busy"!!

While I was out of town for work-related "stuff" I stayed with my son in Sacramento. He was calling me his own personal "Economic Stimulus Package." I wonder if he had an empty fridge on purpose so that Mom would feel sorry for him (who wouldn't feel sorry for a poor starving student?) and fill it up with food (that is what Moms do best, feed people!). I also helped him finish unpacking some boxes from his last move in Nov. and clean things up a little. For an 18 year old boy, the place didn't look too bad. It sure was nice to see him, and know that he appreciates everything we do for him....and to get caught up on my hugs and kisses!!

I did finish the Tyrolean Stockings. They were a faster knit than I thought they would be, and, of course, I loved doing the cable work. Now I need something like a jeans skirt and some nice clogs to wear them with and show them off.

Specifications:

Pattern - Tyrolean Stockings by Ann Budd from the Knits-Spring 2007 issue

Yarn - Cleckheaton Country 8 ply, 3 + a little of a 4th skein.

Needles - Addi Turbo, US size 3

Time to complete - a little over 3 weeks.
On my way down to Sacramento, I had to stop at the Boll Weaver Yarns in Eureka. It was good timing. She had 2 washed fleeces for sale, but the one that caught my eye and made me drool with the buttery softness of it, was a white Corriedale/Merino cross. I made myself stop at 2 pounds. Now, the big decision is whether to spin it and then try to dye it; or dye it first and then spin it?? Does anybody out there have an opinion??

I also bought some dyed top quality Merino in 2 different colors that the owner had dyed.....

(sorry, that is the best I could get on the color today),.... and some Corriedale roving that was hand-dyed by Carin Engen from Garberville.

When I was in Sacramento, I had to stop by Babetta's Yarn and Gifts. They had some beautiful hand-dyed silk hankies. They weren't labeled well, but they were with some hand-dyed roving from Chasing Rainbows, and if you go here and look at the "Tartan" colorway, that is what I purchased. I also bought some un-dyed silk caps and 5 different colors of Jacquard acid dyes to play with!

I even bought some yarn there, Berroco Palace, 2 skeins, color #8909 (50% merino/50%silk) to knit a hat.

On Feb. 26th and 27th, I attended a conference. It was very educational and the speaker very knowledgeable. So on Saturday, I was ready for another shopping fix, and found Filati Fine Yarns in Rocklin. They have a very nice store with some very fine yarns. They also have allot of knit samples that are very inspiring. I found some creamy lace weight yarn by Filatura Di Crossa that is 70%cashmere and 30% silk to knit a lighter that air lace scarf with. I also bought some Baby Cashmerino by Debbie Bliss to make the Twisted Stitch Gauntlets from Knits - Holiday 2007 issue.
I truly need some help, I am soo addicted to knitting and spinning.......oh well, it could be worse. And with the failing economy, if I run out of money, I have enough projects to last me a very, very long time!!! I am lucky my husband is so supportive (and doesn't know where I hide all the yarn!)

On Knitting and Book Acquisition

2009-02-06T22:10:00.000-08:00

I am currently I working on the Tyrolean Stockings by Ann Budd from the Interweave Knits, Spring 2007 issue. The yarn I am using is Cleckheaton Country 8 ply. So far I am liking the yarn, and the pattern is complicated enough to keep my interest but not discourage me. I had a few qualms about knitting knee-high socks, but then decided I should try at least one pair. If I were to do this pattern again, I think I would do the usual 6-7” leg. The other project that I picked up from the hibernating pile is the Farmer's Market Bag by Pam Allen from the book - Weekend Knitting. I enjoy stranded knitting and really enjoyed doing the Fake Isle Hat and Mitts, but with this pattern I can only do about 5 rows in a sitting before I need a break. I have recently been on a book-acquiring craze. I purchased Intertwined when I was last in Ashland at Websters. When I purchased a book for my hubby from Amazon, I decided not to waste the shipping, and ordered Folk Mittens by Marcia Lewandowski. For my birthday, I was given 2 new books – The Eclectic Sole by Janel Laidman, and Latvian Mittens by Lizbeth Upitis. I had been lusting after both of these books for some time. THEN, Knit Picks just happened to have a 40% off sale on certain titles, soooo I added The Opinionated Knitter by Elizabeth Zimmerman, and Selbuvotter by Terri Shea to my library. There are sooo many patterns and styles of knitting, and only 24 hours in a day, I wish I didn’t have to sleep!

More FO's

2009-01-21T18:10:00.000-08:00

I have been a knittin' fool lately. I have completed several things, but they have all been quick projects. I knitted a baby hat in 2 days for a baby shower, then neglected to get a picture of it.

Chemo Hats: I have finished 2 since Jan. 1st. I made them both for a young woman with breast cancer. I have knit these before, and a local breast cancer support group reccomends the Cascade Fixation because it is soft and not itchy. There is quite a range of colors to choose from including pastels, solids, self-striping, and bright colors. I have now knit a total of 4 of the Chemo hats.

Specs - Pattern - Chemo Caps

Yarn - Cascade Fixation - Colors 9245 (striped) and 3077 (pale pink)

Needles - Size 6, Addi Turbos, 16" circulars

Time to finish - The first hat took about 1 week to finish. The last hat took 5 days of knitting in the car, in front of the TV and on lunch breaks at work.

I have also been spinning. The skein below is the first yarn for the new year.

Fiber - Blue faced Leicester - 4-5 oz.

Color - Pink Panther by Snake River Fiberworks (purchased in Montana while on vacation last summer).

Spinning details - spun 2 ply, 9 WPI. 138 yds. I also have another 42 yd. skein.

My fourth hat for this month is the Fake Isle hat by Amy King to match the last pair of Fake Isle Mitts that I made. The yarn is Lang Mille Colori #48 for the main color, and GGH - Bel Air #07 for the contrasting color. Time to knit - 1 week. I love this pattern, it is so quick and satisfying.
My husband's birthday was on the 13th and I had to search a bit to try to find something to knit for him. He doesn't wear knit sweaters or vests, knits socks are too hot, knit caps make his head look too small (in his opinion). I did find a knitted tie pattern in the new Fons & Porter's "For the Love of Knitting" magazine that just came out - and he does wear ties!!

Time to knit - probably 2 weeks (it went on forever, plus I was trying to keep it a secret)

Yarn - Happy Feet by Plymouth Yarn Company, color #1. Superwash Merino and Nylon. It took aprox. 1 1/2 skeins to make the tie.

Needles Addi Turbo circulars, US size 2

Pattern - Garter Stitch Tie

My First Pattern !

2009-01-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

I recently made the Fake Isle Hat by Amy King as a gift for my daughter-in-law. I really enjoyed knitting the hat, but felt that there should be another article of clothing to complete the ensemble. I used the basic Potluck Wool Mitts pattern by Missa from kpixie.com with part of the charted pattern from the Fake Isle Hat and voila’, there you have it!!

I finally finished editing and uploading the pattern for the Fake Isle Mitts on Ravelry. This is my first experience with designing and writing a pattern. If you are a Ravelry member, you can find it in the pattern section - search under the "Mitts" tag.

I finished the Mitts on the left before Christmas, but was waiting until I had the pattern available to post a picture here.

The yarn used is Lang-Mille Colori , color #048 for the main color. The contrasting color is GGH - Bel Air , color # 07.

Now that I have finally fiished the pattern, I am kinda nervous. I am hoping that there will be some interest in it. I would welcome any comments, positive or constructive!

I have continued to knit furiously on presents and managed to finish the Christmas/New Years presents for my mom and sister. It was very stormy outside when I took these pics and I was having trouble getting good lighting. The color is really very pretty.

Yarn - Lana Grossa Mellenweit Cotton Stretch, color #8004

Needles - U.S. Size 1 Addi Turbo circulars

Pattern - Celtic Braid Socks by Cabin Fever - (#157)

Time to complete - aprox. 2 weeks

Here is a close-up of the cable pattern -----I also finisihed some fingerless arm warmers for my sister

Pattern - Whitewater Wristwarmers (originally offered in Mag Knits, now available in Ravelry for free.)
Needles - U.S. size 1 Addi Turbo circulars.
Yarn - Oops, can't find the label without tearing the house apart. I do know that it is part Alpaca and part silk!!
The yarn (whatever it is!) was very nice to work with. The pattern knit up quickly and yet was challenging enough not to be boring. Using stitch markers really helped to keep track of the pattern repeats. I would do this pattern again probably for myself or as another gift.

Flashing some FO's

2008-12-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I love about Christmas decorating, is re-discovering all the things that I have made over the years to decorate the house.

Patchwork cross stitch pillow designed by Homespun Elegance .
I made two of these Santa dolls and gave one to my mom.....
The body was sewn together, stuffed, then painted. It was a very fun project and I think I was smiling the whole time that I was working on Santa.
I feel spoiled with some of the gifts that I got for Christmas, one of which was a gift certificate for the LYS. My mother spoiled me with this loveley project basket by Lantern Moon...

The fabric right above the basket is a light rust and black colored silk. The top part of the bag for the drawstring is black velvet, and it is lined with black velvet.
My mom and sis contributed to my collections of sheep ....

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T15:34:00.000-08:00

I am working furiously on finishing some gift knitting, in between the job and Christmas baking.
I will have pics of latest knitting after they have been mailed off to the recipients, hopefully before New Year's Day.
Just a heads up to look for my pattern for the Fake Isle Mitts. I am fine-tuning the pattern, then I need to convert it to a PDF file. I hope to have this done wtihin the next week. I haven't decided if I am going to post it only on Ravelry as a free pattern. If I can get my act together, I will probably post it on this site as well.
I am looking forward to when the Christmas rush is over and I can finish some projects for myself, start some on my "to do" list, and do some more spinning!! Tomorrow I plan on fully enjoying the day with my family and eating good food. When we aren't eating or opening gifts, I hope my youngest will entertain us with his guitar playing and singing songs that he has written!

Merry Christmas

Christmas Push

2008-12-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

There is less than two weeks until Christmas, and life is crazy for everyone. I had prospects for a 4 day weekend that was crammed with things to do. On Thursday I went out of town with my youngest son for an orthodontic appt. for him and a day of Christmas shopping. We accomplished quite a bit of shopping, and I think I am about done. While we were shopping, I found a few cute things to add to my Christmas decorations.
I love vintage ornaments/decorations, santas, and snowmen.

On Friday I had hopes of getting alot of baking and wrapping done, but ended up getting called in to work for 5 hours. After work I went home and rushed around to get ready for a Christmas party. I made it to the party and had a great time with friends from work.

Saturday was spent baking and doing laundry.

Martha Stewart boxes for goodies......

Then Saturday evening my son had a performance - a Madrigal Dinner that the high school Madrigal students put on every year. The food was catered by a local restaurant, and the students served and entertained. What fun!

Now I'm off to wrap presents and do more cleaning!! Yippee!!

My Dyeing Experiment

2008-12-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

I decided to try my hand at dyeing to practice what I had learned at the class that I took on 11-1-08.

Step 1 - winding the yarn around 2 kitchen chairs so that my repeats will be spread out over the yarn.

Step 2: I gathered the dyes, selected the colors that I wanted and got my crock pot ready. I put the yarn in the crock pot with the water already in it and turned it on high, letting the water get hot (but not boiling) and waiting for the yarn to "bloom". (sorry, no pic of that step). I waited longer than I remember the instructor telling us to wait and the yarn didn't seem to bloom as much as it did in class....so I finally just went to the next step. Did I mention that I was trying to recall all the steps from memory - since I couldn't find my notes from the class??

Step 3: Adding the color to the yarn that is in the crock pot........

the I put the lid on and set the timer..........and waited for the dye to be "exhausted"........then I checked it, and set the timer again and waited........

Do you see all the green dye that is in the water and not being taken up by the yarn??? It finally dawned on me that I hadn't added one of the most crucial elements to the water before I added the yarn - the vinegar!!! I think that is why all the green and brown dye stayed in the water? I waited soo long for the dye to be exhausted that the water ended up coming to a boil. I know you are all gasping with shock and dismay! But no, my yarn didn't felt, it is still soft and............

Not exactly the color that I was hoping for. I am not unhappy with this color though, it is kind of a mauve-ish pink. There are a few darker spots of pink here and there that must be where the dye didn't get mixed very well before I added it to the dye pot. I like the darker spots of color, they add character to the yarn. Now I just have to decide what to do with the yarn.

Yarn used - Dolce by Cascade Yarns. It is Alpaca, wool and silk. 50 gr. hank

Dyes - Wilton's Food dyes - color Juniper Green, Violet, Brown and Burgundy.

As for the knitting this week, I made one fingerless mitten, and started on #2 last night.

I am using the Potluck Wool Mittenettes pattern (it is free on Ravelry). The yarn is Baby Alpaca Brush and Perle. The little specks in the yarn are beads that are on one strand of the Perle yarn. I am holding one strand of each yarn together to knit the mitts. I hope to get the other mitt done this weekend. The mornings are getting cold here and I need something to keep them warm!

Christmas Gifts, and De-Stashing

2008-11-29T09:03:00.000-08:00

One more Christmas gift done! I had been wanting to make a hat for my oldest son - specifically the Swell hat. I tried about 3 different yarns, and at least that many different needle sizes and still couldn't get gauge. Sooo.... I ended up just making a ribbed hat (my husband talked me out of making one with a cable design - oh well).

Specs: Yarn used: Cleckheaton Country Naturals 8 ply, color #1825. One 50 gm. ball (with about12" of yarn leftover!!)

Needles: Brittany U.S. size 7 DPNs

Pattern: Basic hat pattern.

Since I finsished the Lenore socks, I had to get another pair of socks on the needles (no matter that I already have several projects on the needles). So I went through my patterns and found the Celtic Braid Socks pattern (# 157 in the Cabin Fever catalogue). It is one of the first sock patterns that I bought when I started knitting, and certainly one of the first cable patterns that I purchased. I do so love cables!!! The yarn I am useing is Lana Grossa - Melenweit Cotton stretch, color #8004 ( a de-stash yarn, she has been sitting around waiting for me to notice her for about a year). This yarn has a very nice hand, and the color is beautiful. What a change from the dark color of Lenore!

Once I got the hang of the cable pattern, things have started really progressing.

Close-up of cable pattern.....

I am trying not to stress out this year and make everyone handmade gifts, so I don't really have anymore plans right now to knit anything else for Christmas. Of course that could change at a moments notice, especially since I haven't bought anything for my sister for Christmas yet. It is so nice making things for my family, they really appreciate handmade things. I think they know how much love I put into it.

Well, the needles are calling for my attention. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Flashing my FOs

2008-11-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

I have been back home from Texas for a week, and finally have a moment to "flash my FOs".

The day before I flew to Texas, I took a class in crock pot dyeing. I didn't have the colors available that I really wanted, so my first attempt doesn't look exactly as I had imagined. But isn't that the way with so many things when we are first learning? I know my first few knitting projects didn't turn out how I had hoped.

The green is too much on the "kelly" side, so I tried over dyeing it with brown. That muted it some. Since I did this, I have gone shopping for other dye colors and have about 10 now. I am looking forward to having a morning to play with yarn and dyes.

I also finished the Lenore socks.......

Sorry about how dark the picture is, but black is hard to photograph.

While I was visiting my mom and sister, I enjoyed visiting with my sister's cat, Pandora. Pandora is gorgeous (as you can see in the picture below) and her fur is very soft...and luscious... and a very soft creamy color.

The more I thought about it, how she gets combed every single day and how that beautiful fur was just being tossed into the trash can, an idea began forming in my head. Now the fur is being placed into a bag, and when at least 4 oz. has been gathered, it will be shipped to me and hopefully spun into some gorgeous yarn and knit into a lacy scarf to give back to my sister to enjoy for years to come!!
The biggest accomplishment for me during my 2 weeks in Texas, was designing a pair of fingerless mitts. The design is actually based on 2 different patterns. I have e-mailed both of the other designers who have given me permission to offer the pattern for free on the Internet. I have a friend who is willing to proof read the instructions for me. When she is done, I will be posting the pattern here and on Ravelry. I have also had a few ideas for sock designs rattling around in my head. Who knows where this will lead me?

Vacation Post

2008-11-07T06:55:00.000-08:00

I am currently in Texas visiting and helping out my sister and mom (mom recently had a knee replacement and had a few complications).
Flying on a plane is a great time to do knitting. You can sit and knit and not feel guilty! I have finished one of the Lenore socks, and would have finished the second sock, but have been sidetracked on other projects. Since I have been here (in between cooking, cleaning and playing chauffeur), I have worked on:
1. The Lenore socks
2. A present for my sister for her birthday in December
3. Adapting a fair isle hat pattern to fingerless mitts

As soon as I finish working out the bugs on the pattern for the fingerless mitts, and get the OK from the original pattern designers, I hope to offer the pattern for free either on my blog or on Ravelry, or both. So stay tuned!!

The day before I flew to Texas, I took a yarn dyeing class. We dyed the yarn in the crock pot using Wilton food dye. I wasn't especially happy with the way that my yarn turned out - I was hoping for more muted colors instead of a bright Kelly green. Since then I have bought more dye colors and more yarn and hope to possibly do some experimenting in the next week. Please look for more pics in about 1-11/2 weeks.

October socks

2008-10-23T06:19:00.000-07:00

I usually participate more in the Socktoberfest, but this fall I have had so much going on that I didn't want to join anymore KALs. It has however been more than a month since I had any socks on the needles, so on 10-11 I cast on for "Lenore". The yarn has been sitting around for awhile-it was from the 2007 Socks That Rock Club from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I am really in love with their yarn. It is good quality, it feels wonderful to knit with (and on the foot), and there is such a wide variety of colors. The color for Lenore is very dark, but I managed to get a picture that shows the hint of color that is in there.

Socks are such a nice quick project. The last few days I have been trying to get going on some slippers to felt, but I keep messing up on the SSK and K2tog so my count is off. Maybe it is best that I put them down until I feel less stressed and don't have ANYthing at all going on around me to distract!!

I have been out of town allot lately. I went down to San Francisco with a friend from work for a class on Gestational Diabetes. We came home as soon as the class was over, and got home after midnight. I had one day to run around to 3 Dr. appointments, worked a 12-hour day the next day, then took off to Sacramento (a 7-hour drive) to help my son find another apartment to live in. Next weekend I fly to Texas to help my mom who is recovering from Total Knee Replacement surgery. How I long for a boring week with nothing at all to do!!

Before I started traveling so much, I managed to get this fiber spun up - 4 oz. Colonial wool, commercially dyed, spun DK weight. I sold this skein and my last one to some friends at work. Someday I will make time to learn how to photograph and get the true colors. This yarn is a very pretty, soft blueish green I call it Marine Green.

I am hoping that I will be able to blog before I go out of town again, or possibly when I am in Texas. Until then Happy Knitting!!

Printing on the Silk Cardigan!

2008-10-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

I have been devoting most of my knitting time, the last few weeks, on the Printed Silk Cardigan. I really like the feel of the yarn that I am using (Ella Rae - Silkience). The silk ply that is plied into the yarn has been a little problematic and doesn't always like to stay together with the other strands, so I have had to be very careful with my knitting.

Please forgive the angle of this picture, it makes the back of my sweater look like it is a mile wide!! I am knitting the size 38". The color did come out pretty true in the shot.

Here is a closeup of the pattern. The quality of the pic could be alittle better, but I am still practicing with my camera.

I also tried to knit the Swell hat by Kimmie Kemper from Knitty, Summer 2006. I tried knitting it with Lamb's Pride worsted, but that yarn just doesn't have enough elasticity to make a good fit for a hat. I guess I will have to try something else.

More Finished Projects

2008-09-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Since I posted last, I have had family visiting for a week, and have been covering at work for someone who is gone on vacation. I have noticed that the busier I am, the less time I have to be down. I have also noticed that having some time, even if it is only 30 minutes per day, to work on crafts really helps my mental outlook and is cheaper than going to a therapist.

The first prlject that I finished for September was a pair of felted slippers that I made for my Mother-in-Law for her birthday. I had them felted and gave them to her before they left so that I could see what she thought of them. She was tickled.

The second thing that I did was to spin a skein of yarn. There was a picture of the roving in my last post. And this is how it turned out.

Specs: Fiber - Blue Faced Leicester

Color - The Lady of Shalott by Snake River Fiberworks

Weight - aprox. 4 oz.

WPI - 14-16 (between sport and DK weight)

Yardage - aprox. 277 yards.

I have never spun BFL before, but I really enjoyed it. It was easy to work with and was prepared very nicely, in fact I don't remember seeing any vegetable matter at all in the fiber. This fiber has a nice soft hand, although not quite the same as Merino, it was still lovely. This skein will be going to a good home as I have several friends that were wanting to buy some handspun yarn.

The third project that I finished so far this month, was another gift..........

Pattern - Fake Isle Hat by Amy King (originally printed in Mag Knits, November 2006)

Needles - US size 6, 16" circulars, Addi Turbos (what else!!)

Yarn - 1 skein Schoeller and Stahl Limbo color #2539, and 1 skein Cleckheaton Country 8 ply in black.

There was about 1/2 of a skein of each yarn leftover. I have been contemplating knitting a pair of matching fingerless mitts. Of course that means designing my own, and I haven't done anything like that before.

Next on the Needles is the Printed Silk Cardigan from the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. n I have started knitting the back but have had a few false starts trying to get the gauge to come out right.

ACS - finished!!!

2008-09-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

I finally finished my Auburn Camp Shirt about a week ago. Please visit this site to see finished pics. I sure like the way it turned out, but am alittle concerned about how to keep the cuffs on the sleeves from flopping down when I wear it. Should I tack it in a few places with needle and thread? After taking the pics, I think I will sew the buttons down flat and directly on the sleeve.

Last weekend, my youngest son and I have flew to Wyonming and back for my in-laws 50th wedding anniversary. It was nice to have that time alone with him since he has been gone alot this summer.

My husband was already back in Wyoming as he had driven his Harley back there on a roadtrip with his brother. He couldn't quite convince me to ride that far on the back of a motorcycle- after all, how would I knit? !! I did finish this gaiter for him to wear on the cold part of his trip to help keep his neck warm.

Specs: Pattern - Gaiter, from the ONE SKEIN book by Leigh Radford

Yarn: alpaca silk dk by Debbie Bliss in black - very soft and luscious

Time to knit: about 2 days

I have been doing a test knit for Chrissy Gardiner who is in the process of writing a book. It has been a fun project to work on and is almost done. I hope to finish it tonight. She has had sock patterns in several of the Interweave KNITS magazine over the past year. You can visit this site to see some of her retail patterns.

Yesterday I got side-tracked on gift-knitting. My mother-in-law's birthday is at the end of this month. I love making things for her as she is very appreciative of anything I make her and tends to get good use out of it. I am making her some felted slippers. I started them yesterday, and finished the first one today. Maybe I can get the other one done by Monday? Then I will only have 499 projects left to do, that is if I can resist buying anymore yarn for a few weeks! I am doing a good job of supporting my LYS at least!
I also got a request for some handspun yarn, and have been working on that this weekend. I will have pics when it is done. The fiber I am using is the bottom center color. It is hand-dyed BFL by Snake River Fiberworks. I have never spun BFL before and am loveing the feel of it and the ease of drafting. The bright pink is "Pink Panther" by the same company. The light aqua is an unknown breed of wool (um, no label and I forgot to write it down--oops!).

The pic below is 8oz. of Targhee Top, colorway Sweet Lavender. I believe it is from Mountain Colors.

This is some fiber that I purchased at the Black Sheep Gathering from the Fantasy Fibers booth. Two skeins are colonial wool, the other two are Merino. All this fiber should keep me busy spinning this winter!

Well, I think I might have enough eye candy here to make up for not posting for two weeks! Hopefully it won't be that long before I post again!

Auburn Camp Shirt Progress

2008-08-12T19:28:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted about this in awhile, but I am still working on the Auburn Camp shirt in between getting side-tracked on other projects. When I went on vacation in June/July, I finished the Left front and the 2 sleeves. When I got back home, I sewed all the pieces together (I don't know why I dread that part so much).
Then I knit up the collar..............................
And I started on the cuffs.................
and then...I ran out of yarn- with 1 1/2 sleeve cuffs to go, aargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So the wonderful people at our LYS (A Perfect Yarn) are trying to find more yarn for me. I am just a little frustrated with myself and went through every cupboard (aka yarn hiding place) and knitting bag that I could think of, looking for a possible wayward skein of yarn - all to no avail. So my poor shirt is confined to the project bag for, I hope, a short time.

I was trying so hard not to cast-on another project until I finished up a few things that were laying around the house waiting to be noticed, but in frustration I gave into the overwhelming urge. I have done one test knit project for an up and coming designer, and she just happened to post a few new patterns that needed testing. I found one that looked like it would fit the bill, dug through my stash and needles and the yarn started flying! I am having fun with this project and will post a few teaser pics with my next post......

Anyhoo, Son#2 left for school today and will be living about 6 hours away. Son # 3 is at family camp for our church with some friends, and my husband is taking a nap before he goes to work night shift. I do believe I will go hold down the couch and relax with that new project.

Toodles!

Ah, Wyoming...

2008-07-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

I finally have a moment with the house to myself, and time to catch up on a few things. I just wanted to share a few more pictures from our time in Wyoming.

When we were traveling through Yellowstone, traffic was stopped to take pictures of these mountain sheep. They sure blend into their surroundings!
Son # 3 got some interesting shots of clouds with some different lighting. My favorite is the second one.

I believe this shot was taken up the North Fork of the Yellowstone, north of Cody, WY. I just love the reflection that he caught in the water, don't you??

The day before we left, we finally saw a moose. This is the best picture that we could get - she wasn't being very cooperative and had her head too close to that tree for us to gt a very good shot.

We also saw this mom with her cute little twins - if you look closely, they are almost covered by the tall grass.....

On our way home, we drove through Montana, to Coeur d'Alene, ID. One of my favorite stops is St. Regis, MT. They had Bing and Rainier Cherries for sale at a roadside stand. Those were the best cherries I ever tasted. We also had to stop at the little drive-through espresso stand that they have where they sell Huckleberry smoothies that are just wonderful. I love this barn that is behind the espresso stand........

As faras the knitting goes, I am almost done with the side seams on my Auburn Camp shirt. I have also been working on spinning some wool in easter egg colors that I bought at Black Sheep Gathering. I have the singles spun and I hope to have it all plied by this weekend.

As my 16 year old says, "Toodles" for now...............

Time to Get Back to Work

2008-07-12T10:05:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice visit vacation. The first stop was the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. In the future (when all kids are gone - which will be soon), I would like to spend more than one day at the gathering. There were several classes I would have like to take on dyeing and color blending fiber. One of the first things I had to check out was the sheep -

these guys were so cute and tiny compared to the rest of the sheep!

Then, I spent lots of time checking out the different booths..................

With all the wonderful colors.......

And meeting new people, like Kristine from a verb for keeping warm. She is a very warm and friendly person and we talked about her inspiration for her colorways.

I couldn't resist a 3 oz. bag of Polworth from Kristine in these beautiful spring colors...fiber before carding.......

Fiber after flick carding.........

I have almost finished processing those 3 oz. and have little couds of color everywhere. It is amazing how much it expands after carding. I can't wait to spin it!!

I also met Maia and Brooke from Tactile who were sharing a booth with Kristine. Again, very nice ladies with very beautiful yarn colors.
We took our Impala on our trip, and after all the fiber I bought, there wasn't much room left in the trunk of our car. I ended up shipping a box of fiber home. I will have pics of my stash as well as pics of beautiful Wyoming in the next post.

I will leave you with this one shot of the Teton Mountains

Vacation Time

2008-06-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am still alive. Since the High School graduation for son #2 on 6-13-08, I have been very busy. I worked for one week then we left for vacation.

On June 28th, the first day of our vacation, we went to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon. I had a great time and bought several different types of fiber, including a Buffalo blend, Mohair, and some unnprocessed Alpaca. I will have pictures to share when I get back home. I am in the process of setting up a small home business, and I am not sure if I just want to sell handspun yarn, or if I also want to sell roving or batts that I have prepared for spinning. If I sell the fiber, I think I will have to learn how to dye it also, which sounds like it could be alot of fun. I have already sold some yarn, and have several requests for more.

When I get back home, I should also have some pics of the progreass on my Auburn Camp shirt. I am very anxious to get this finished and start work on the Printed Silk Cardigan.

I will post more after I get back from vacation on July 8th.

Project update

2008-06-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

First update-- the right front of the Auburn Camp Shirt is done! And I don't want to think of what I have left to do.

I deep getting distracted by other things. Namely, the Monkey socks that are now finished, yeah!! I haven't made myself a pair of socks in like 6 months, although I have made socks and gifts for other people.

They may not look like much in this picture, but they are very cute on. The pattern wasn't too complicated, just enough to keep me interested. I enjoyed knitting them, and the fit is nice.

Here is a close up of the pattern (unblocked, sorry about the weird blue background, but the actual yarn color is more true in this picture)...

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A. , from Knitty's Winter 2006 issue.
Yarn: Koigu KPPM, colorway P405
Needles: Addi Turbo U.S. Size 2 circulars (Don't you just love Addi Turbos?)
Time to complete: Um, not quite sure. I didn't write down the day that I started, but I believe it was about the 1st of May, finished socks on 5-31-08.

In other news, the clock is ticking. Only 2 weeks left until Son #2 graduates from High School, and only 2 months until he moves down to Sacramento to go to school. I am very excited for his future, and I am sure I will survive without having him under our roof anymore. After all, plenty of other mom's have survived, haven't they? Son #1 and his bride are supposed to come home to spend a week and be here for the graduation. I'm glad I only work two 12- hour shifts that week and should be able to spend some time with them.

In other knitting related news, I sold my first skein of yarn. It was a baby blue 100% Merino, 4 oz. I was showing it off and my boss asked how much I would charge for it, then decided she couldn't live without it!

Ahhh, Spring

2008-05-17T08:59:00.000-07:00

We have been enjoying a heat wave here in the Pacific Northwest. It reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit here on Thursday. Those of you who are used to temperatures in the 100's may not think that is such a big deal, but for us on the coast (who don't have AC) who have an average temperature of about 62, it was a heat wave. We were still having frost in the morning up to a few weeks ago. I am hoping that our vegetable garden will finally get planted this weekend.
I have been enjoying this wisteria that we planted in our back yard. The heat has made it go crazy.

The place where I do most of my knitting is on the couch on the other side of this wall. When the window is open, I can smell the sweet aroma of the blooming flowers.

Only one month left of school for the kids, and another year bites the dust. Son # 2 graduates High School this year and goes off to technical school in August. Next year, Son # 3 graduates High School. In a few years it will just be hubby and I. I am excited and scared. He works allot of overtime which leaves me alone allot, guess I will have more time to knit and spin!

Well, it's Saturday and my to-do list is long, I guess I better get busy. Toodles.

2008-05-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

When I was in Texas visiting, I bought some yarn to do the Printed Silk Cardigan. Instead of the Fiesta Yarns La Luz, I decided to use Silkience by ella rae, the color is grape - #19. The fiber content is 41%cotton, 39% Modal, 12%silk, and 8% Rayon. I bought a few extra balls of yarn since I hate getting to the end of a project and coming up short. Plus, I just might want to make it a little longer in the length.

Now I just have to hurry up and finish the Auburn Camp Shirt so that I can start this cardigan! I did recently finish the back, and have now made it past the waist decreases on the right front piece. For more info, see the KAL site.

I have made more progress on knitting. I have been taking periodic breaks to work on these socks. The pattern is Monkey by Cookie A., and was in the Knitty: Winter 2006 issue online. The yarn I am using is Koigu KPPM. I believe the color is P405 (couldn't find the label when I wanted to blog). I was trying to look it up online and all I could find, without spending an hour looking, was KPPPM. I don't know what the difference is, but if you go here, you too can drool over all the beautiful colors!
I have made some progress with my spinning. I have not set the twist yet in this skein of 100% lavender merino - do you see how nice and straight it hangs!!! It is aprox. 11 WPI which makes it a Worsted weight yarn, wieight 3 5/8 oz. or 101 gm., and aprox. 94 yds. This skein will be donated to the local hospital for a silent auction for Disaster Relief funds for employees. I also bought a few new books on dying from Amazon.com. Hands on Dyeing isn't really what I expected, and I probably could have done without that book. However, I am really enjoying The Craft of Natural Dyeing, and The Dyer's Companion. I am doing a little reading before I jump in with the dyeing. I am really interested in useing plants, flowers, etc. to dye with. We are getting ready to plant our garden, and I want to try growing our own plants to use. If I don't get on the ball, it may be next year before I am ready for that!Well, that's all I have for now. Happy knitting and spinning.

Merry Cox projects - finished!!

2008-04-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have been playing hooky from the blog for a good reason. I spent about 9 days with my mom and sister in Texas and just got back on 4-21 in the evening. Since then I have been working and playing catch-up around the house. It's funny how many things need to be "caught- up" after only being gone for 9 days, even when the guys do a fair job of keeping up with things around the house. I am a firm believer in teaching my children (all 3 boys) how to do housework and laundry. They even know how to cook a few things! I want them to be able to take care of themselves when they are out on their own. (Besides, if I did EVERYTHING for them, their wouldn't be any time left over to spin, knit, cross-stitch, quilt, sew, or read!! 'my bad??)

While I was in Texas, my mom had knee surgery. While she was recuperating, sis and I stayed around the house and worked on doing the finishing for the Merry Cox workshop we went to in Phoenix, AZ last November. We took two classes, Flowers in the Fall and the Diminutive Sewing Set. The finishing seemed to go on forever, but my sister taught me alot aobut how to do the finishing. I really like the way Merry has nice little "presentation bags" that were made out of taffeta to store your projects in and give everything a nice finishing touch. She is a lovely person and I would take a class from her again if the opportunity ever presented itself. She is a very warm and friendly person and made a point of trying to talk to as many people as she could. She never talked down to anyone and tried to make the instructions and clear as possible.

Here are some shots of my "Flowers in the Fall"

and the inside of the bird box................
The Diminutive Sewing Set had the most detailed finishing. There are little compartments at each end that you make out of posterboard covered with silk that you glue to the posterboard. You cover each end separately, then try to hand sew those pieces to the main piece (not an easy task with that glue on there!). Each individual piece had some finishing to do.
Then there were all the other goodies that went into the box,

the scissor holder and sampler...

and the little sewing bag (the stitched end opens up to hold your needles).

I did come home with a few things left to do. There is a presentation bag for the Diminutive Sewing kit. I have it sewn up, but there are a few little finishing touches that I have to complete.

I did get a little knitting down. I worked on the Auburn Camp shirt some (pics to follow in next post). I also started a pair of Monkey Socks in Koigu KPPM. OK, I know I didn't need to start another project, but sock are a good project to take with you when you are traveling. I like the pattern, easy but not boring. I am really liking the yarn, it is very nice to work with, and has a nice hand.

OK, back to the knitting needles I go, I'll try not to wait so long between posts.

Fiber Candy!!

2008-04-06T19:22:00.001-07:00

It's definitely time for a photo update. I have been making more baby presents when I need a break from heavy knitting. My latest endeavor is diaper soakers for a friend's grandchild. They are quick and easy to knit and there are alot of free patterns on the net (of course!). I have been using the pattern from Fern and Faerie. The cuffs for the legs look knida silly the way that they stick straight out, but I have seen other soakers that look just like these......

The specs: Pattern: Fern and Faerie free hand-knit diaper soaker pattern.

Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 wool, 100% merino superwash in color 664

Needles: Size 5 and 7 wooden DPN's

Satisfaction for a quick and easy knit that will be well used and appreciated - PRICELESS!

On Friday the 4th, I had my last fiber preparation class. I ended up with plenty of fiber to spin and many different methods to practice. I learned how to make hand carded rolags and batts, drum carded batts, how to make roving and rolags from drum carded batts, and how to spin from a batt.

I am really excited about all the possibilities with mixing colors on the drum carder also. I was supposed to help a friend and learn how to dye yarn in the process, but we have had a hard time getting together with our different schedules. I had to buy some fiber while I was st the store for my lesson. There was this merino that was hand dyed - most of it is yellow, but it also has some light pink in it.

I also hand carded a little bit of hand dyed mohair locks that I had purchased several years ago. I think this will be beautiful spun up!

I have also made some progress on the back of the Auburn Camp Shirt. Monica, one of the participants in the KAL for this shirt, was kind enough to make a button for the site - you can see it in my sidebar. We will also soon be able to post picture updates on Flickr thanks to Monica.

Busy is as Busy does

2008-03-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

...and boy have I been busy lately. I have been taking a few business classes, the spinning and fiber preparation classes that are out of town (one more left), working extra to fill in for someone that went on vacation......oh, and getting son #2 set up for technical school in the fall. This weekend we are driving down to Sacramento to check out the school, housing, financial aid and loans, and for testing. I am very excited for him. I was hoping that he would go to college and at least get an AA, but I am glad that he knows what he wants to do with his life and is eager to pursue it. He has been a wonderful son, and I pray that God will continue to bless him and watch over him.

In between all the other things I have been doing, I have been sneaking a few rows at a time on the Auburn Camp shirt, and am up to the bodice increases on the back. I hope to get more knitting done this weekend on our roadtrip.

Well, better go pack my suitcase. I sure hope the weather is nice for our trip. I would love to feel and see the sun when we go to Sacramento!

Fiber Preparation............

2008-03-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

can be a very smelly business. My eyes were trying to water when we had this dirty fleece spread out on a tarp and talked about how to sort a fleece.

The teacher, Crystal, was a little disappointed in the fleece as it wasn't as good a quality as she had originally thought it would be. It was a good example for learning what to look for as there were fibers that broke when you stretched them - a very undesirable quality when using that fiber for anything other than needle felting or stuffing.

This is my fleece soaking in Dawn dishwashing soap and hot water (Don't worry I cleaned the sink very thoroughly after I was done). I was a little nervous about the amount of bubbles..................

Thankfully the bubble action diminised easily with a few rinsings..........................

And here is the dried fleece...................

I had a very hard time trying to get the lighting for this picture, and it still looks dark and yellowish, but I swear that the fleece looks alot better!!

I am enjoying the different steps right now, and am looking forward to next Saturdays class where I will learn how to use hand-carders and a drum carder to prepare clean fiber for spinning. I have actually used a drum carder before, but I hope to fine tune those skills.

Spinning to my heart's content...

2008-03-09T14:05:00.000-07:00

After a month long hiatus, I have resumed my spinning classes to improve my skills. I had a lesson on March 7th and learned how to spin from the fold. I need to spin 2 bobbins before my next class on the 15th. I work 8-5 all next week and have an evening class on Tues. Hopefully I will get at least one bobbin done today, and have enough time th rest of the week to complete the other one. I'm not sure if I like spinning from the fold, only because I'm having a little trouble keeping the fibers on my index finger, and then my finger wants to cramp! I'm sure it will get easier with practice.

This is the cormo that I spun and plied last Friday. I believe my skills are improving quite a bit. This fiber has some nice little flecks of black that make it look very homepsun. I toying with the idea of experimenting with hand dying on this fiber.

I have also been spinning up some Wensleydale roving from a bump that I bought before Christmas. I still have a couple of ounces left to spin.
I'm very excited about next weekend. We will be learning about fiber preparation and learning how to sort a fleece - whoo-hoo!! When I told my husband about this class, he thought I was crazy - why would anyone want to do that? I guess he had a bad experience when he was younger and had to help his grandparents with their sheep.

Last weekend we went to Roseburg, Oregon to see a play. On the way home we took the coast route and stopped for lunch and shopping in Bandon. I got to stop at the Wool Company and got some beautiful roving. It is from Ashland Bay Trading Co. The dark blue is 80%wool and 20%silk, the rest is 100%wool. I can't wait to spin it!

I have also been working on the Auburn Camp Shirt. See my pics of my progress here.

There's been a little knittin goin' on...

2008-02-22T13:39:00.001-08:00

I worked hard last night and this AM to finish up a little baby sweater for my friend's new grandson so that I could start somoe new projects without feeling too guilty.

Specs: Bay Bolero from One Skein by Lleigh Radford

Yarn: Four Seasons 70 % cotton, 30% wool, by Classic Elite Yarns (These skeins are 50 gm., so it took just over one skein)

Needles: US size 8 and 9 Addi Turbo circulars.

I hope the new mom and aby like the sweater!

I neglected to post a pic of the yarn I spun and plied at my spindle class, so here it is...

The fiber was included in the cost of the class. I have been using fiber that hasn't been overly processed ( read - kinda greasy, but not freash off the sheep!). In comparison, this merino was a joy to work with, and much easier to draft.

I just received the yarn for my Auburn Camp shirt and cast on for it today. More details and pics of the yarn here.

I'm in that phase again of feeling that I have to join every thing! My wonderful husband bought me the Kristen Knits book for Christmas, and I noticed that there is a KAL to go along with the book. I already have the yarn for one of the projects, so I had to join! I will be posting pics of that project on the Kristin Knitalong site.

To Host a KAL

2008-02-17T10:21:00.000-08:00

I have wanted to do this for awhile, and finally took the plunge. I'm hosting the Auburn Camp Shirt KAL. I love this pattern by Chrissy Gardiner that just came out in the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. There were several patterns that I wanted to knit, but this one won out. You can find more of her patterns here. The lines are classic. The fiber that was used, and that I have ordered is Dawn by Fiber Trends. It is 50%wool, and 50% silk. The shirt should have a nice sheen and drape from the silk. I also really like the interest added by the split collar in the back and the buttoned sleeve cuff.

I recently finished a knitted cap for DS #2 (he actually asked me to make him a cap out of my handspun yarn!). He has received alot of compliments on his cap from his friends at school.
He has a goofy smile, but it was early in the AM when I took this pic, and he was waiting on his ride to go on a ski trip.And the top of the hat...

I am happy to have made him something he likes and will enjoy wearing.

In the meantime, DS #3 performed at our church for a Valentine's Day fundraiser to raise money for some missionaries in the Phillipines to come home on furlough. He has come a long way in the past year. He is a fairly quiet kid. He has been playing and singing for the Jr. High Youth group. This past Friday he and his friend got up on stage and played several songs for the adults. My son even sang! He stills sings very quietly, but I don't think I could ever get on stage and sing in front of a group of people. He didn't even seem nervous. They played several songs, one of which was a worhip song that my son wrote. He also played his violin that night. I can't tell you how much I was beaming!The next day, he asked me to trim his hair - not in front, but at least I got to trim it on the sides and in the back. As much as he loves his music, and considering the amount of time he spends practicing, makes me wonder if this is going to be his career.....who knows????

Time For a Change!

2008-02-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

To celebrate 2 years of having this blog, I decided to update my template. I was getting pretty tired of the plain pink look. I think the current pattern more reflects my personality, and is more interesting. I was able to transfer my links by copying them from the old template and pating them to the new one. I think that is why I delayed changing, I was afraid that I would lose everything. In the end, it was alot easier than I thought. I probably had more trouble adding new links to the site. The only thing I am really disappointed in , is the size of the font - I'm not sure why it is so large. If anybody has any hints about how to fix it, I would be very appreciative.

One of the links that I added to the sidebar is the one for Free Rice. My sister told me about this site and I have been enjoying it. Free Rice is a vocabulary game. You start with words of varying difficulty, and then it adjusts to your level of vacabulary. Whenever you get a word right, you donate 20 grains of rice which the United Nations World Food Program distributes. The rice is paid for by the advertisers at the bottom of the page. The game is very addictive and serves two pruposes, you expand your vacabulary while also feeding the hungry.

I have also included a link for the Chemo cap patterns on the sidebar for anyone who is interested.

Yesterday I had a spinning class in Eureka. This is the same teacher who gave me lessons in spindle spinning. Crystal is a wonderful teacher and is exactly what I was looking for. She is passionate about spinning and has a wealth of information to share. Yesterday we spent alot of time talking about the different parts of the spinning wheeel, learning where to oil it to keep it working smoothly, and how to adjust the tension. It really helped that I had done some spinning already, everything just made more sense, and I wasn't totally overwhelmed with the information. I also got to do some spinning yesterday, and I have noticed that my singles are becoming more uniform with less and less slubs. I have visited The Joy of Handspinning site, and it is a great resource with short videos on different techniques. I am excited about future classes, but I am also a little frustrated. My next class is a month away due to other commitments that both Crystal and I have. I will also be taking a class from her on Fiber selection and preparation - I can't wait!!

Well, it is Saturday and I have to go to work for a few hours to get ready for Monday. I had better go soon or I will never get myself out of the house.

Holding Down the Couch

2008-01-31T16:27:00.000-08:00

About once a year I get sick. This past 1 1/2 weeks I have more than made up for my normal good health. I had a virus with a fever and sore throat that lasted 4 days, felt better for a few days, then goat a nasty sinus infections - which finally entitled me to some antibiotics. I think I just may live!

On the upside, I got a fair amount of knitting done and finished a book. The book I was reading was PILLARS OF THE EARTH by Ken Follett. It was almost 1000 pages in paperback form, but what an interesting book. The book even talks about buying and selling wool, spinning, and weaving!! Since it is set in the 1100's, there are a few gruesome parts that I skimmed over pretty fast. It is an epic novel with a sequel that was just released - WORLD WITHOUT END. I'm waiting for that one to come out in paperback.

As for the knitting, I finished another pair of gift socks for a very good friend (and forgot to take a picture of both socks together).....

The yarn is Trekking, and they were knit on US 1 Bamboo DPNs. I uses a standard 2X2 ribbing and carried it down the instep to the toe decreases. These were a nice, no-thinking, knitting project.

I have also been knitting Chemo Caps out of Cascade Fixation yarn that I am going to donate for patients in Eureka. Here is one site with free patterns to make your own to donate to your favorite place. I was told that Cascade Fixation is more comfortable for those who have lost their hair from chemo since it isn't itchy. I finished one cap........

And started another when I had my relapse.......

While I was holding down the couch, I started on the Market Bag from Weekend Knitting. The Fair Isle seems to be going along pretty well, and I think I am developing a rhythym with the color changes.

I have stitch markers to indicate pattern repeats and that really seems to help. I got tired of the plastic ones though, and decided to make my own...........

When I went cruising the net this morning, I visited Lolly's site. She just took a weaving class, and her projects are amazing. It almost makes me want to give it a try.......In the meantime, I think I will perfect my spinning and knitting skills!

2008-01-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

Well, As you know from my previous post, gift knitting didn't stop with Christmas. My Hubby's birthday was Jan. 13th. With some trepidation, I made him a pair of felted slippers. I didn't know if he would think they were too hot or not. Luckily, he really likes them.

Slippers before felting (they look like they would fit Sasquatch.......................

Slippers after felting.......................

Specs: Pattern - Fiber Trends - felted clogs

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted by Brown Sheep in Charcoal

Needles: Bryspun Circulars - Size13, 24 inch

Time to finish - Aprox. 2 weeks. (or less if you don't have to worry about someone seeing their present while you are working on it!!)

Below are 2 books that my husband recently gave to me. He gave me KRISTIN KNITS for Christmas. I guess he asked the owners what I wanted, and they pointed him to the book. The Ultimate Sock Book was a special request from me for my birthday (Jan. 20th.) I planned it pretty good. My husband can't forget my birthday since it is only one week after his. And he can't forget our anniversary since it is engraved on the inside of his ring. Although I really don't need to worry, my husband is better than I am about remembering people's birthdays.

I love Fairisle patterns and am anxious to complete some other projects so that I can start something from the Kristin Knits book. We went OOT for my birthday and just happened to go to one of my favorite yarn stores - Websters. I wanted to try some of the different color combos that are used in the book, bu couldn't quite do the bright colors, so I chose more muted colors, but the green and yellow are still color that are a little out of my comfort zone. I amd thinking of knitting these mittens, as I have never knit full mittens before, only fingerless mitts.

I was also thinking of making these socks to coordinate with the mittens....

I think they are a good, fairly simple choice for beginning with the two-color (or more) knitting. I'm sure the pattern will be easier to follow than the Tangled Garden sock that I started in May 2006 and never finished.

Wow, I didn't realize how similar 2 of the colors were until I pulled up this picture. Isn't that interesting?!!!!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

2008-01-14T19:05:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. I did finish a pair of socks for a friend that were out of a sokotta cotton. I even had pictures of it on my son's camera, but didn't get them downloaded before someone erased the pic. By the time I noticed they were gone, I had already given the socks away.

Instead, we have pictures of some merino/silk (80/20) roving that I purchased when I was in Arizona in November at a Merry Cox workshop with my mom and sister. This roving felt so wonderfully soft while I was spinning it. I was happy with how the singles came out, but I made the mistake of plying with the jumbo flyer, and didn't get enough twist going. I was having alot of trouble getting a good tension with the drive band. Oh well, live and learn.

I was hoping to make a pair of socks with this, but I don't think it will stand up to that much wear and tear. I think instead I will make some kind of scarf or maybe some fingerless mitts with it ....maybe something lacy or with cables? I do so love lace and cables!

I got an early birhtday present from DH this past week. I have been wanting to take some classes to learn more about spinning and wool preparation, and there isn't any formal classes in my small town. So, I signed up for some classes in Eureka. I had my first official spindle spinning class last week.The fiber was included in the class fee. I don't wear very much purple or lavender, but have been more drawn to these colors lately. I have only had about a 2-minute class in spindle spinning in the past. My teacher last week was wonderful. She really broke the instruction down by steps and focused on individual skills. The main focus was more on letting twist build up in the fibers, and then slowly drafting the fiber and letting the twist travel slowly while holding the spindle between your knees. I liked the fact that we didn't even practice standing and dropping the spindle. That will be saved for when we are more comfortable and better at the other steps. My next classes isn't for 2 more weeks. By the next class I need to have 2 balls of singles so that she can teach us how to ply on the spindle. I'm hoping that I can take a spindle with me for spinning when I go to visit family this summer.

I have still been busy knitting late Christmas gifts. Above is the first of a pair of socks I am knitting for a good friend. I have also started on a chemo cap....The list of to-do projects is endless, but that's what keeps me going!

I have another project that will be finished in the next day or two. Look for more pics soon.

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

2007-12-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

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!

The Solstice Slip Sock Progress

2007-10-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I did make it back from Atlanta. Boy, what a culture shock - to be in the middle of such a big city when you come from such a small town. Even though I did grow up in Southern California and went to the L.A. area many times to shop, I never stayed overnight in the heart of L.A. The hotel that we stayed at in Atlanta was the Hyatt Regency. It had 22 floors, and we were on the 15th floor. It was like a small city just by itself with several restaurants, a gift store, conference rooms, bars, ets. There was even indoor access to a mall that was right next to the hotel. I was on total crowd overload by the time I got back home. If I can figure out how to get pics from my cell phone to the computer, I will post some of the pics I got while I was there.

I did get alot of knitting done on the plane. These socks ( The Solstice Slip from theRocking Sock Club) are going much better than the last pair I tried to knit, and I am really enjoying them.

I am really likeing the wrap and turn method for doing the heel. When I do the heel flap method, I am always so excited about getting on to the foot, that I forget to turn the heel and end up re-doing it. With this pattern, you can't forget to "turn" the heel, and there aren't any stitches to "pick up" to do the gusset. All-in-all, it seem to be going very quickly.

Forgive me this silliness, but when I was looking at my work, there was just such a perfect little hole, I had to put something in it. Doesn't that look like a cozy spot for a little "critter" to nest??

Okay, I have to get back to working on secret projects. Time is growing short, need.. to... work ...hard ...and... fast ...(and not make any mistakes!!!!) More on double secret project in the not too distant future..................................

I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane

2007-10-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

....but I'll be back on Saturday. I am going to Atlanta, Georgia to attend a conference for 3 days. So what is the first thing I think of when I am going on a trip? What am I oing to do with all that travel time. I just can't sit idly by staring out a plane window, and my hands must stay busy. So, good excuse to break out the knitting!

I'm looking forward to having some time to do some knitting on the plane, and maybe during the layover time. I have neglected the Rockin' Sock Club knitting lately, so I thought that the Summer Solstice pattern with the Firebird colorway would be a good choice to take with me.

Before I left, I had to take care of some apples that we got off of one of our trees. In the past we have only harvested enough apples to make, at the most, 2 apple pies. This year we filled up 2 5 gallon buckets. My wonderful husband helped me make 2 large batches of applesauce out of one of those buckets. Boy is that some good applesauce!

I have been doing alot of searching and reading on the web about spinning, trying to learn as much as I can. I stumbled on a sight for the Spinning and Weaving Association, and found out that this week is "Spinning and Weaving Week." So, in honor of the aforementioned week, I thought I should get some spinning in tonight before I leave. I had some brown Llama that I wanted to try spinning.

Yep, I'm still working on my photography skills (I was in kind of a hurry). This fiber is soo soft and lucious. I really like the natural color and am trying to figure out what small project I can make with it (I have another sample about the same size to spin and ply with it).

It was spinning up pretty nicely and was fairly easy to work with, expecially for a novice like me. Even my 17 year old son thinks that my spinning is getting a little more even!!

Just a small sample of what it should look like when it is plied. I sure am having fun with the spinning. I'm hoping to learn how to relax and not sit on the edge of my seat when I spin, it's hard on the back!

Another site to check out, for those of you who are interested, is the Yarn Museum. They have some very nice pictures of some handspun yarns. There is a way to submit pictures of your own handspuns, and some other interesting stuff on that site.

Some Knitterly Progress

2007-09-23T17:27:00.000-07:00

I have been working on several secret projects lately. It's kinda driving me crazy because I can't talk about them or post any pictures right now. I'm also test knitting a small project for someone...and I can't post a picture of that either! I'm going to have to auit knitting on secret things, Maybe after Christmas.....
In the meantime, this Feather and Fan Shawl has been my standby project this summer. It has been repetitious enough to be a no-brainer, except for every 7 rows. I'm not sure how long I'm going to make it, maybe long enough to wrap around me and back to the front.

I have done a little spinning and plying. I have already set the twist on this skein. It isn't wound quite as tight as the last skein, in fact, it may be plied just a little too loose in spots. I 'll just keep working on it until I get it right. This yarn is very soft, which is a good thing.I just got another loaner wheel to try today. It is the Ashford Traveller. I wanted to try it to see if I like it any better than the Kiwi wheel. I am sold on the double treadle though. I also got a larger Niddy Noddy to wind my skeins so they don't end up in such a mess like this one.
Well, I'm..... off to do some stitching,

some wonderful stitching today,

La la, la la, la la, la la

It's wonderful stitching today

(sung to the tune of "I'm Off To See The Wizard")

Time for a Breather

2007-09-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh...... my oldest son was married on 09-08-07, and everything went very well. No major catastrophies. The saddest part, though, was that my daughter-in-law's grandmother died a week before the wedding, and the funeral was the day before the wedding. We ended up with more of her family at the wedding than was previously planned. I think they had close to 50 extra people. It was a good thing that it wasn't a formal, sit-down reception. The reception was kind of a blur for me, I wonder how much the bride and groom remember. They were both glowing and beaming from ear-to-ear. They are currently on their way to their new home, and honeymooning along the way.

Sooo, life goes on. I have a Junior and Senior in High School this year. I don't imagine I will be able to catch my breath for a couple of years! My son who is the Junior has NO electives this year. I was concerned about the heavy load, but he doesn't seem to be. I think he is starting to be more serious about his future. He worked hard this summer earning money for car insurance, and his employers gave him a bonus specifically to put in the bank towards college...and he did!! I have heard alot of compliments about my kids over the last few years about how polite they are, and they seem to be able to communicate well with other adults. I guess all that praying for them, loving them, and keeping all of us involved in the church as a family is paying off.

I was hoping that I would be able to really get back into knitting this week, but I came back to work being a short-handed, so have had to work 10-11 hour days today and yesterday. I should be able to post some pics of knitting progress this weekend.

TTFN (For those of you who haven't watched Sleepless In Seattle - "Ta-ta for now")

The Final Countdown Has Begun

2007-08-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

My oldest son is getting married on 09-08-07. That's only 11 days away.......Mom is just a little excited/stressed. I can't imagine how stressed/harried I would be if I was the mother of the bride. I am happy that I have been able to teach my daughter-in-law-to-be how to knit, and have started teaching her how to quilt. I'm also happy that she has told people that she "loves" her mother-in-law! What a gift. I hope she still feels that way in 5 years.

Anyhoo, I have had a little trouble concentrating on knitting lately. I did get to go to a local spinning club last Friday. I had a bag of wool that looks like this........

It isn't especially clean, and still has a fair amount of vegetable matter in it. One of the ladies in the group was able to help me use a carder that I had borrowed, and these are the results........

It took me about 3 1/2 hours to card this much with a drum carder. Of course I spent a fair amount of time picking out hay and "stuff" and pulling the fibers apart a little bit before I ran them through the carder. When I was done, my hands were very soft. I will definitely have to wash this wool before I knit it!

This is my first real attempt at spinning and plying yarn all by myself. What a curly-que mess!! I guess everyone has to start somewhere. I still need to soak it in water and balance it. I think that is the correct term. Isn't it amazing how each hobby, sport, profession, etc. has it's own lingo and terms that it uses? I had no idea that there was an "orifice" on a spinning wheel!

This is the Kiwi wheel by Ashford that I have borrowed/rented to see if this is what I want to get. I think I like the double treadle better that the single. I obviously have a little ways to go, but I feel like I have bettter control of starting and stopping the wheel with the double treadle.

I'm feeling more comfortable with drafting the roving and keeping the wheel going at the same time. This yarn is alot smoother on the spindle than my first attempt.

One of my goals is to be able to spin this pencil roving that I bought at the Black Sheep Gathering in June 2006, into sock yarn, and then knit a pair of socks out of it. I think it will make a very colorful pair of socks! I am really fascinated with the whole process of taking some kind of fiber in it's raw state, processing it, and turning it into something to wear or use in your home. (yes, I know the pencil roving isn't in it's raw state) With soo many things available to us to buy ready-made, and so many women working outside the home, I think our culture has lost it's appreciation for things that are made at home.

I don't know if I will get back to the computer or knitting before 9-8-07, but I will try.

Happy crafting and creating!

I "Got 'er done"

2007-08-13T06:15:00.001-07:00

Yes, the Arwen Cardigan is finally done. Hurrah!! I "Got 'er done" on Thursday 8-9-07, and I'm so happy, yeah, I'm sooo happy!! I love the yarn I used- it is so soft. I love the color - one of my favorites. I like having the hood. Okay, the specs.............

YARN: Debbie Bliss, cashmerino aran, 14 skeins, color #24.
PATTERN: A Cardigan for Arwen, Winter 2006 issue of Interweave Knits.
NEEDLES: U.S. Size 7 and 8 Addi Turbo circulars.
Started Jan. 2007, finished August 9, 2007 (didn't work on the sweater from the 1st week of June through Aug. 4th).

If I were to ever knit another sweater like this, I think the only changes I would make would be to add 3-4 inches to the length, and maybe add an inch to the upper arm circumference. I don't think I will mind that it doesn't have any buttons, since I don't usually button my cardigans anyways. I really do feel a sense of accomplishment in finishing this sweater, and I really learned about cables (and how to fix them when you get them turned around!). I think this is a sweater my future daughter-in-law might like, hmmmm, maybe someday in the future. I know she would appreciate the work involved in it.

On Friday I met a friend at a gathering for spinners/knitters/weavers/crafty women. I had talked with my friend A about maybe taking a spinning class together "someday" after finding out that she has a spinning wheel and wanted to learn more about how to use it. She found out about this group that meets on Fridays, and that there was a woman that would be willing to share a little of her knowledge about spinning with us. Sally was very kind, patient and accomadating about sharing with us. I had played with a spinning wheel once in June when hubby and I went to Eugene, but I just couldn't get it to go in the right direction, or get the hang of drafting the fibers. After learning about our interest in spinning, Sally went back home and brought a Louet spinning wheel for me to practice with. After several attempts, I actually spun some yarn!!

Sally even let me take her wheel home with me so that I could practice some more. I was supposed to spin some yarn on a second bobbin so that I would then learn how to ply the yarn. Well, I got home and was so excited about learning something new, that I spun all the grey fiber onto one spindle. Ooops! Anyhoo, another spinner is going to come over after I get off work tomorrow. She has fiber from her lambs and alpacas and also sells and rents spinning wheels. Here we go... I love to learn new things! I also love the idea of making an item of clothing out of yarn that you spin yourself. I don't know if I am good enough with animals to actually raise the critters that I get the fiber from.

As you can see, I still need to practice getting the fiber to actually wind the correct way onto the bobbin. While I was browsing the internet, I found this great site with tutorials on spinning. If you are interested, go check out The Joy of Handspinning.

Just a little peek of progress.......

2007-08-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, I might renege on what I said about being persistent in figuring out a pattern and trying to stick with a project to completion. I am not having fun with the grasshopper socks, but I will give it one more try... in a week or two. If I don't succeed, I think I will give myself a break and try a different pattern with that yarn. It is so pretty and soft with that little bit of silk added to it.

In the meantime, I made some good progress on a gift that I started knitting for a Christmas present. This project has been much more satisfying for me to work on, and I am almost done with the first of 3 big pieces. I'm knitting it for my mum, and since she picked out the pattern and the yarn it isn't too big of a secret. However, I don't think I will post big pictures of the progress until after I give it to her. Instead I will post little teaser pics, like this one!!!

I have also done some knitting on the feather and fan stole. Believe me that is one project that is going to take awhile. I think I had about 1,000 yards of yarn to knit it with. I don't know if I will use all of it, but I have used just about 1/2 of the skein.

I have also decided to resurrect my Arwen cardigan and work on finishing it. I was working on it great guns until our little anniversary trip in June, and then she was neglected as vacation and wedding plans for my eldest interfered. My other big hangup is that I am still a little scared about the blocking thing. I did get it blocked this past week, and plan on starting to sew the seems together starting tonight. I imagine it will take a little time to sew everything together. Wish me luck! I am trying to keep my self from casting on any new projects until I get some old projects done.

This should be an interesting week at work. We are doing at least 3 eight-hour days of computer training this week, possibly more. We are going to start charting on the computer when the patients come into the office. My concern is that it is very hard for me to sit for that long of a period at a time as my back starts hurting if I don't get to move around too much. The classroom/lecture/conference thing is kinda hard for me. Hopefully they will give us frequent breaks. In October, I'm going to a confrence in Atlanta for work. I'm excited about some of the lectures, and again I hope they give us frequent breaks!!

Ankle-High to a Grasshopper

2007-07-26T17:39:00.001-07:00

I started my April RSC Grasshopper sock at the end of June before we left on vacation. And, let's just say that this pattern, although really not that complicated, has taken quite a bit of concentration for me! It took me a couple of tries to get the rhythym of the pattern down, and when I was an inch away from starting the heel, I noticed a few holes in the pattern, so I had to rip back and re-do it. I do feel that I have developed much more persistence when doing my crafts. I used to just give up with sewing or other craft projects when I hit a snag, now I am determined to not let these snags get the better of me. When I tried on the sock, I couldn't see any holes, at least none that weren't supposed to be there!

With the last RSC sock pattern, I used the medium size, and the socks were very snug going over the ankle. This time I chose the large size, and so far it seem to be OK, maybe even a little loose on the foot.

When I returned from vacation, I had my next sock club kit waiting for me. The Firebird colorway is so bright and vibrant.I really need to hurry up and finish the Grasshoppers so that I have empty needles to use on the Solstice Slip. I'm hoping this next pattern works up a little quicker. I sure am learning about knitting toe-up socks!

I did finish my blue Trekking XXL socks during my trip to Wyoming. The color is #108 and these were knit on size 2 US DPNs.

I also got a good start on the Feather and Fan Stole.

close-up of pattern......................

And the project that I was working on as soon as I got back from vacation was a raggedy chenille throw. The cotton that was used was commemorative of the Lewis and Clark expedition. I bought the kit for the throw 2 years ago in Kerrville Texas while I was visiting my mom and sister. There is the neatest quilt store there called Creations. I think we spent 2 hours in there trying to absorb all the wonderful fabrics and quilting ideas and samples that they have displayed throughout the store. This quilt was easy to make. The worst part was the how messy it was (I kept a vacuum handy and used it frequently), and clipping the exposed seam allowances. I had to clip in intervals to spare my hands!! Now I need to take this thing down to the laundromat and wash it for the first time to get rid of the fuzz that keeps floating off of it!!!

Alright, I guess I better quit blathering on and on and get back to knitting on the Grasshopper!

Yes, I'm still alive

2007-07-16T20:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a busy and exciting past 3 weeks I have had. I actually got back in town about a week ago, but have been running full-speed since I got home. While we were on vacation, we went to Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. We put over 3,000 miles on our truck.

The first historic site we saw was Custer's Battlefield in Montana. We just happened to visit on the 131st anniversary of Custer's Last Stand (June 25th). The headstone with the black on it (pictured below) marks where Custer fell. Needless to say, there was alot of activity at the site. There were battle re-enactments that were just finishing up as we got there. They also had some interpretive speakers. Below is a Lakota indian who is a direct descendant of one of the scouts that was at the battle. He is wearing a breastplate, moccasins and leggings that his grandmother helped him make. We got there in the middle of his talk and he was so interesting, I was sorry I didn't get to hear him from the beginning.
Our next stop, after visiting with my son in Wyoming was Devil's Tower. Some of you may remember this from the movie "Close Encounters." It was very impressive.

Our next stop, of course, had to be Sturgis. The twon seemed deserted after seeing pictures of what it is like during the motorcycle rallies. I was surprised to see that the Harley shop there doesn't sell any motorcycles, but I guess most people ride their bikes there. We ate lunch at One-Eyed Jack's. They were interviewing waitresses and bartenders for the influx of people that they get in August with the rally. I believe they said there are 22 bar stations at this one restaurant/bar (20 of which were outside).

Then it was on to Mt. Rushmore...................

.....Doesn't old George have a nice profile??

And then the Crazy Horse Monument....................(The foreground is actually a statue of what the monument will look like when finished. The statue is in the museum, and the picture was taken from inside the museum. My youngest kiddo took that picture, isn't it neat?!!)

And another picture of a statue and the monument in progress......

The work on this monument started started in 1948 and is continued today by the Korczak Ziolkowski's family.To learn more about the Crazy Horse Monument visit this site.

I only visited one yarn shop during this trip, and didn't buy any yarn. I did however, visit a few quilt shops (one of my other passions), and bought some material to make a quilt for son # 3. If you are ever in Billings, Montana, you must go to Fiberworks. I spent several hour there and could have spent at least 3 more. The shop is incredible!!! There are sample quilts everywhere that really inspire and get those creative juices flowing!

Well, if I am ever going to post this, I had better end now. More knitting related pics later.

Time For Another Road Trip

2007-06-21T20:17:00.000-07:00

I know I just went out-of-town 2 weeks ago, but now it is time for the real vacation. No work (that I get paid for) for 3 weeks!!! On Saturday, we are going to visit my in-laws and my oldest son that lives with them, sort of. We are taking back his and his fiance's furniture in a U-Haul truck, so that my son can get everything setup in an apartment for them before they get married in September. Oh my, it is a strange feeling when your oldest son is getting married. It sure makes me feel old! I was having a small anxiety attack about it today, and the wedding is still a couple of months away.

Anyhoo, since I haven't even started packing yet, there won't be any new pics tonight. I did get the top of the hood for Arwen grafted together and now need to block it. I didn't feel ready for undertaking that task this week and will tackle it when we get back from vacation.

I have been planning what I am going to take with me so that I can get something done during our long road trip. I'm trying to take a variety of levels of projects, and not too many of them. I have the blue trekking socks to finish (I am almost ready to do the heel). When those socks are done, I can use the needles to cast-on for the Knee High to a Grasshopper -Rockin' Sock Club socks. I'm also going to take a Feather and Fan Shawl to work on. The yarn I'm using is 8-ply Rayon and Flax from Interlacements that I got the yarn for it last year at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene last June.

Sooo, I should have some pics of knitting progress to show when I get back from vacation.
Toodles!!

20th Anniversary Fun

2007-06-11T19:00:00.000-07:00

My Hubby and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary last week. We drove up to Bend, Oregon. We were going to go to look at Crater Lake but there was a blizzard, and the ranger at the gate to the park told us we wouldn't be able to see anything if we went all the way up there. So went to the High Dessert Museum just outside of Bend and had a good time there looking at the exhibits.

We were in Bend for 2 days, and my hubby is sooo sweet. He knows the way to my heart is to take me shoppinig. I visited 2 yarn stores in Bend. The only yarn I bought was from this Kid Merino from Crystal Palace Yarns. The color reminds me of strawberries, but it is called "roses". I haven't knit with real mohair yet and am anxious to see how this turns out.

The drive from Bend to Sisters Oregon was beautiful. This picture doesn't even do it justice.

The best place to go near Bend for yarn/fabric shopping is in Sisters, Oregon at the Stitchin Post

This place has a HUGE selection of fabric, and added yarn a few years ago. I bought fabric and a pattern for this mandarin style jacket. The instructions looked very easy and quick.

Then I finally decided on some sock yarn (although I was drooling over alot of other yarn!).

And I bought a Punchneedle Embroidery Kit. I love these cute little pictures.

Sisters also has an Outdoor Quilt show on the second weekend in July every year. If you ever get a chance to go - do it!! Just make sure that you wear very comfortable walking shoes and cool clothing - and bring water, it get very hot. They hang hundreds of quilts on the outside of the building all over this little town, and the quilts are beautiful. Another suggestion if you decide to go - make your hotel reservations well in advance. Alot of people go to see these quilts and the hotels book up quickly. We have been about 3 different times, and it is a fun way to spend the day.
After spending 1/2 the day in Sisters, we drove over to Springfield, Oregon and had to stop at another quilt shop called "Something to Crow About". This is another fun place to go fabric shopping, but with more of a primitive and country flavor to their selections of fabrics, whereas the Stitchin Post has alot of the more modern retro fabrics and bright colors.

Anyhow, I found this material....

yo make this quilt as you go table runner.

Don't worry, the trip wasn't all about me, hubby went to a few Harley shops also and bought some more accesories for his bike!!

Hooray, A FO

2007-06-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

I finished my Inside Out socks!!! Yeah! I guess I'll have to find some other pair of socks to take with me for a travelling project!

2007-06-03T15:59:00.001-07:00

I was soo close to finishing this sweater. Do you see how close??

I was finishing up the hood section of the Arwen Cardigan, and did my famous trick of running out of yarn. I'm sure I purchased what they called for, and didn't make any modifications. The measurements seem to be right on track and yet.... The replacement troops are in the mail and should be here in the next few days. I ordered 2 more skeins of yarn to make SURE that I have enough to finish the hood and stitch all the seams together. I'm sure there is a lesson here, hmm, I believe I bought at least one ball extra. I'd hate to buy 2-3 balls extra every time I make a sweater. Any suggestions? Anybody??

My life is a little busier than usual right now. It seems to go in cycles. God gives you time to catch your breath, and then things seem to pile up again. Last week I worked an extra 12-hour shift, then had an 8-hour class on Friday. So Thursday was spent at 2 Dr. appointments, running errands and paying bills. Somehow I even made dinner for the family. Tomorrow I am having a procedure done - It will just mean a few hours at the hospital, but since I will have to have general anesthesia, I don't expect to be good for much of anything tomorrow.

Wednesday, 6-6-07, is our 20th wedding anniversary, so my husband and I are going away for a few days. We have alot to discuss and catch up on. So of course I have to make sure I have something to work on during the road trip. The last 2 days I have been working on the RSC Inside Out socks. Today I started the heel, so I'm hoping these will be done in the next week, or the next few days. This is the yarn for my other take-along project---

I have used this yarn for baby hats and socks in the past. This time I am going to make a hat/cloche for a friend of mine who has cancer. I thought that I would use the Rivendell pattern in the May 2007 issue of Mag Knits. You know me, I love cables. The yarn should be nice for a hat, it is very soft and is 100% cotton. I hope she likes it.

Well, I believe my time on the computer is up. We have all been competing for time on the computer lately, what with end of the year school projects and online Driver's Ed classes to take. It might be about time to get another computer!!

Somebody Loves Me

2007-05-21T19:05:00.000-07:00

I had a very nice Mother's Day. I know this post is a little bit late, but I just had to share a picture of the corsage Son # 1 sent me for Mother's Day. He moved far away about 1 1/2 months ago, and I didn't realize how much I miss the big stinker until I talked to him that Sunday. We are driving out to see him in Wyoming at the end of June, and as the time approaches, I'm getting more anxious about seeing him. It sure is an odd feeling when your oldest steps out on his/her own. You love them, but you really want to see them make it on their own and be independent and happy. Any-hoo...aren't these flowers pretty. I do love roses! My boys know me, I also received a gift certificate for the LYS, and gift certificates for Java Hut!

Meanwhile, I have been working on the RSC Inside Out Socks only when it isn't feasible to work on the Arwen cardigan. It was kinda hard to get myself to get started on the second sock, but now it seems to be flowing pretty good. I am not really into camouflage colors, but I think I am going to like these socks.

I have been making progress on the Arwen sweater. I am now working on the sleeve for the right front. I am afraid to say anything... but I might just be getting a little bit more careful about my cables. I am certainly getting enough practice!! Aren't these cables pretty??

I wanted ya'll to know that I have kept good my promise not to start anymore gifts, so far. When I was out-of-town for an Orthodontist appointment with Youngest Son last week, I did some gift shopping at Target. Aren't these hats and booties just too cute?!
And for the boys...................

These little baby shoes remind me of some that Saartje's mom has made for her. (Hint, scroll to the bottom of the entry.) I have tried going to La Droguerie, but I have been "lost in translation."

Last but not least, I finished this sock a couple of weeks ago. Sock #2 will have to wait on the back burner for awhile. The yarn is Trekking. I love the different color combo, and the bright blue.

I hope I have made up for not having any pics in the last post!!

2007-05-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

I have have been keeping the needles hot over the past week. I finished the left side of the Cardigan for Arwen - only one side to go! The challenge is on. Do you think, if I really concentrate and focus all my energy (ha ha), that I could finish the other side by the end of the month? Or should I set my goal for the end of the first week in June? The only problem is, I have such a hard time staying with only one project at a time.

Since I posted last, I also finished the first Trekking sock (last seen on post for 4-7), and started on the second Inside Out sock for the RSC. I have decided not to do anymore gift projects until I get more of my present projects done. We'll see how long this resolution lasts, I am soooo weak!!

I hope to have some pics/eye candy to show when I post this weekend. Now it's time to sign off, I only slept about 5 hours last night and tomorrow is a 12-hour work day.

Keep those needles busy!

Sock-It-To Me-Baby, Yeah

2007-05-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

I sure enjoyed my last days off. It helped not having any out-of-town trips. I got to spend more time than usual knitting. I finished the Sock-It-To Me Baby sweater for Baby B. I felt like I spent most of Friday sewing all the seams together and knitting the neck and front bands. I found the blue and green buttons in my button stash and am very happy with the results.

I'm about ready to either ditch my camera or take a short course on digital photography. I got some very funky background color with all the pics I took of this sweater, and this is the best one!Specs on the sweater:

Yarn: Opal #1616, Pfau, from the Rainforest collection. 1 ball. It didn't look like I could make a hat out of this one ball also, so I didn't attempt it.

Size: 3-6 months.

Needles: Sizes 1 (DPNs) and 2(Addi circulars).

Pattern : "Sock It To Me Baby" sweater by Black Purl Patterns

Time to knit - aproximately 1 month (while working full time, and knitting on other projects for short breaks). This could have been knitted up much quicker if this was the only project I was knitting on. (But then that wouldn't have been any fun, would it? )

When I finished the baby sweater, I was going to start on the second Inside-Out sock, but Arwen was calling to me. She was feeling very neglected after being stuffed away in the corner!! It took me a little bit to get back in the cable mode, and I managed to spend at least an hour trying to fix a mistake with cables that weren't crossing the right way. I do feel like I learned how to do cable surgery pretty well, and got everything "straightened" out. I'm still loving the Debbie Bliss cashmerino that I'm knitting with. It is sooo soft, I am in a "Bliss-ful"state!

This is the progress of the left front. It looks pretty odd at this point.

Below is a closer picture. Doesn't that look like a neck-hole opening that needs to be sewn up the back? Actually the lower part of the opening is the shoulder seam, and there in the top left is the beginning of the hood.

And here is a close-up of my kitcheneredddd cuff. This is a first for me. Doesn't look to shabby, if I do say so myself! Everything is actually crossing the right way! I have had to pay close attention to the instructions. I got off on my row count a few times, but when she said to end on a certain row of the pattern, I did. And it worked!

I have a slight problem, and that is when to say no. I know a baby that is due in May, and one in July. I would like to make these babys something, but I know that my time is limited, and I might never get my other projects done. It sure is more fun to make a gift, than to go buy it in a store. I think I maight make easier projects for these next babys, like a cap and socks in fun yarns (and bigger sizes so they will get more use out of it in the colder months).

But right now, I think I'll go back and spend some time with Arwen! I would love to have her finished before the end of this month. People that live in the south might think I'm crazy for working on a sweater at this time of the year, but where I live, I've worn ski jackets and wrapped up in quilts to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July!!

First Inside Out - Off the Needles

2007-05-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

I was hoping ot be done with the first Inside Out sock by now, however I have had some problems. I think one of my downfalls is getting too involved with a movie while trying to do cables. I was watching "Facing the Giants" last night with my family, and was very touched by it. It is a movie about being down and out, reaffirming your faith and how God can turn your life around. I teared up in a couple of places, but had to hold it back (the boyz just don't appreciate it when mom starts blubbering during a movie!!). Any-hooo, I have redone the last section of this cuff about 3 times now, and I keep dropping a stitch and getting off on my count. One time I did rows 1-20 twice instead of moving on to rows 21-40. I am going to sit down with it later and figure this out. I refuse to let it get the best of me!!

The other reason I need to get on with sock #2, is that I received my second STR kit already!! I am trying to be strong and finish #2 and the the Sock-It-To-Me baby sweater before I cast on for anything else. I have a 4-day weekend coming up without any out-of-town trips planned, so I'm hoping to get more knitting done.

Last Friday, 4-27 was Arbor Day and Lolly posted a nice entry on "Dendrology", and asked for comments about favorite trees and memories of trees. I think my favorite is the Redwood tree, specifically the Sequoia sempirviren, although I enjoy many other species including flowering trees like fruit trees and jacarandas. When I was younger, I dreamed about living in an area that had alot of trees, and now I am surrounded by National and State Park land. I love all the trees around us. For a little information about the area of Northern CA and the redwoods, please visit this site.

Later: I made a little time when I got off work, and voila'....

Boy this is a hard color to photograph. This picture came out the most true to the real color. I know I have large feet, but these look like they were made for Bozo the Clown!!!!! Oh well, there isn't really much stretch in the foot, lengthwise. They also came out a little tight over the instep. Live and learn. I am glad that I got some stiping on the leg of the sock. I hope to have more to post about before next Mon.

No Idle Hands Here!!

2007-04-24T19:39:00.000-07:00

I may not be doing a whole lotta posting, but I have been making some progress on my knitting. I have been diligently working on the "Sock It To Me Baby" sweater for a friend's baby that is due the first part of May. Obviously, from the picture I need to do some blocking!! I only have one more sleeve to knit before I block and start sewing all the pieces together. The pattern said not to expect the front pieces to match the back (stripe-wise), but the stripes should be pretty darn close to matching across the front. I wasted quite a bit of yarn trying to make sure they matched! I'm hoping that I will have enough yarn to knit a matching cap also.

Sunday night I had to take a break from baby knitting to work on my Inside Out Socks from the STR club. I used Size 000 Addi circulars for the foot of the sock, and size 0 DPN's for the toe and the heel. I'm thinking that I will continue with the size 0 for the cuff of the sock. Instead of "pooling" of the colors on the foot, I prefer to call it "puddles". (I know it's kinda corny what with the the name of the color being "Monsoon" - oh well, that's me, corny at times). At this point I will be glad if I get one sock done before I get my next kit, unless I happen to be one of the unlucky few to be the last to receive a kit, again. I don't think that should happen twice in a row. I think the problem with my last kit being late was the fact that they had some kind of problem with the binders that they sent with the kits.

This is the first time that I have done a toe up sock. After doing the wrap and turn for the increases on the toe, it was a little quicker and easier to do the wrap and turns for the heel of the sock. The socks seem to be a pretty good fit so far. Wish me luck on the cuff!

Just Little Knitting Progress

2007-04-16T06:13:00.000-07:00

I sure had a nice weekend. On Saturday I went to a mineral, gem and bead show. I personally was more interested in the bead part of the show, and was a little disappointed that they didn't have more there. They did have lots of different gemstones, and the best find was some stones that were wire wrapped. I treated myself to this beautiful piece that is Ruby in Zoisite. I also bought some Lapis beads to make myself a neckalce. I plan on making it simple, so it should get done in this lifetime.

I have been knitting away on the baby sweater. I fell that I made some pretty good progress, although it is slower than I would like. It is always a little slower when you are working with fingering weight yarn.

And in between work, life and other knitting, I managed to make a little progress on my Inside Out sock. I sure would like to get at least one sock done before the next kit arrives. I guess I need to quit getting side-tracked with other projects. But there are soooo many thngs I want to do. Must get more focused, must get more focused!!!

I'm off to do a little studying for a test I have on Friday, and then knit till bedtime.

Caution, picture heavy post..

2007-04-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Alright, so I haven't had much time to post, but I have been knitting when I get a few minutes.

While I was wainting for my Rockin' Sock Club yarn to arrive, I started these on Trekking XXL Colr #108. I really like the blues in this yarn.

When I did get my RSC yarn, I wasn't able to start the socks right away because of having company and then going out of town. When I finally did have a few minutes, I got a little nervous because I had never done a toe up sock before. So I finally got my courage up last night and cruised the internet for help with the provisional cast on. I tried the method on the Knitting help site, got the toe all done, and couldn't get my stitches to look right on the needle (plus I couldn't find them all and I didn't leave enough of a tail to finish off the end). Soooo, I went back to the pattern and did it the way they tell you to by crocheting a chain and picking up stitches throught the back loop of the chain. and voila'...

I did manage to finish the blue alpaca scarf to go with the fingerless mitts. And while I was at the LYS yesterday I bought this Opal yarn to make a sweater for our youth pastor's new baby that is due at the end of the month and is supposed to be a boy. I may not get this done in time for the shower, but I don't think they will mind if I give it to them after the baby is born. And since it is for a baby, hoepfully it won't take too long to knit!!

I haven't posted too much about the Cardigan for Arwen, but I have been working on that too. It wasn't a good project for the plane, so I had to wait until I got back. The short rows that you do on the sleeve are good practice for the short rows on the RSC socks.

That's all for now. Happy Easter everyone!