Ramblings of a Craftaholic

Sigh

2011-02-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

I need to say it, but I feel safer saying it here. Nobody reads this blog anyway ;)

The really sucky part of being a parent (especially to a teenager) is that I can't pick a giant fight about nothing on YOUR FLIPPING BIRTHDAY. Thanks ever so much for doing it on mine.

That's all for today.

Whee!

2010-03-20T08:49:00.001-07:00

Geez, it has been a while since I posted (again)!

I just booked our trip for this year. We are going to Maui, just the two of us! My sister is going to stay with S and the dogs!! (Can you tell I am excited?) And what am I doing to plan for this trip? Searching out yarn stores on Maui, of course (big grin). Hey, we have two months to figure out the rest of it . . .

In other news, I've been busily knitting, testing and writing patterns! It is an interesting balancing act to get them all done. I have a pattern for sale, and another that will be available soon (April 15 - after all the yarn club members have received their packages) . . . And one of these days, I will figure out how to link to them here!

oooooh, designer

2010-01-12T11:43:00.000-08:00

I'm in the process of getting set-up as a designer on Ravelry, where I can upload the pretty PDF files of my patterns. Here's the sad version of my first one for now! The pattern has not been tested, so use at your own risk!!

Clown-y Mittens

When my daughter needed a new pair of mittens, I let her into my stash to choose her yarn. She chose a brightly colored handspun, named“Taking Out the Clowns” because it is murderously bright. When she chose this yarn, she also stipulated that blue must be at the tips of the fingers. But the only way I could ensure that was by knitting them “backwards” from all the patterns I could find.

So I made it up as I went along.

Size: about 4 year old size. (wrist ~5 inches)

Yarn: My hand spun BFL, approximately fingering weight.

Gauge: 30 stitches = 10 cm

Needles: US 1 (2.25 mm), US0 (2mm)

Here is a link to the pattern page on Ravelry
where you may download the PDF for free

Happy Birthday Baby!

2009-11-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

Happy Fourth Birthday S!

She got to open one gift this morning, and is wearing her Tinkerbell dress already. We're planning out our day based on the birthday activities we need to complete - where to get her cake (ice cream cupcakes from Coldstone) and what she wants for dinner (Mac & cheese at Red Robin - at least this morning that's what she wants!), not to mention what she wants to bring to school tomorrow to celebrate!

Birthdays sure are fun when you're 4!!

2009-11-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

Yowza! It's been a while since I posted. I've done lots of knitting, a little spinning, and all sorts of other "stuff." No pictures, because most of it is stealth (gifts) and the rest, I'm too lazy!

It seems late to post the Sock Summit summary. It was awesome. I bought some stuff. I won more stuff. That's probably enough anyway.

I've been knitting like crazy. For the holidays, for Barb and Kollage, for me - not so much I guess. That's wishful thinking. But there are grand plans for "me" knitting, once the holiday stuff gets finished. I have some lovely silk lace yarn for a Featherweight Cardigan, and a whole bag of Malabrigo in Forest (holy cow what a great gift!) just aching to be a nifty cardigan for me too. Anyone with any ideas is welcome to weigh in. I have a couple options from my Ravelry queue, but I'm open. . . This much lusciousness is so tempting for so many things!

I have been spinning, and planning my spinning . . . I've spun a few natural colors (CVM, some merino/baby alpaca I got in a swap), and a few chain plied fun tops. I'm learning long draw (what you can do with top, sliver, and batts), and feeling more confident with my modified long draw. Posted pictures of most of it on Ravelry. And what I haven't gotten up there, will get up eventually. Lambtown yielded a little new fiber (8 oz of Cormo), but the Yolo Wool Mill trip on Halloween yielded my project for next year. . . I found 26 oz of chocolate merino (at a steal of a price)! I'm planning to spin it up into DK weight yarn, see how much I get, and figure out a lovely sweater to knit for myself from there! I need to decide if I want to do 2ply or 3ply, probably 3ply, because I usually like the look of that better (but after I knit up S's mittens for the holidays, I'll know better). OK, I know I said (somewhere) that I had no desire to ever spin for a sweater. And we'll see if I ever get there. But that's my project for the next year. People change, right? This sliver is just so gorgeous, and such a great price, I could not pass it up! (and I even had to fight off a couple spinners, as I was waiting for my change hehe).

wow

2009-08-10T09:21:00.001-07:00

I'm back from Sock Summit. Overwhelmed, exhausted, and satisfied beyond words. It was a fun weekend of knitting, new friends and sisters. I enhanced my stash more than intended (but the bonus of that is that I followed my budget, and only purchased one skein that was not on my list of intended purchases! Winning door prizes is fun.) I got to be a little starstruck and even got to make a fool out of myself gushing at my "spinning idol"

On the non-knitting end of things, I had the best hot chocolate of my life, some great microbrews, good food, and got to explore some of Portland.

Now I am back. I am getting back to the reality of groceries, the chatter of a 3.5 year old, and housekeeping duties.

I'll write more later. And maybe even have some pictures for you.

2009-08-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

I'm busily preparing for my trip. I leave tomorrow for Sock Summit. For those who don't know what it is, I'm sure you won't understand ;) It's a sock knitting convention. With classes taught by famous (mostly sock) knitters, and a marketplace full of fun sock knitting goodies. I am taking one class, and plan to spend money at the marketplace. I am having dinner with some of my online friends (and hopefully my favorite Yarnista will be there too!) - How nice to put faces and voices with all those posts we've shared online! I am beyond excited. Like a kid at Christmas - you know: up at 4 am watching the window for a glimmer of the sun so that I can go in and tell my parents the sun is up so can we go see what Santa brought now please but what do you mean I have to wait until the clock says 6 but I can see the sun no it is not just a reflection of the moon on the snow I've been watching and it is definitely brighter than it was an hour ago come on why not - My flight leaves tomorrow around 6. PM. I hope I make it without annying the whole family!

I am meeting my (non-knitting) sister there. We are making a girls' weekend out of it. No kids, no J, just me and my sis.

This is a photo of the yarn that I made just to take with me to SS. It is the "Labor of Love" that I mentioned in my last post. It is now all caked up and ready to go in my carry-on (no way I'm entrusting it to the baggage handlers!) For those that are interested in the specifics, after finishing it was about 430 yards of 17 wpi, Targhee from Time to Knit (Etsy seller)

Hopefully I'll have lots to gush about after my return!

Pictureless Progress

2009-07-25T09:12:00.000-07:00

The vacation was nice. After two nights camping on the beach, we had all gotten our fill of the sand (Anyone else know the Sandra Boynton song that goes something like: "I've got the sand in my toes, the sand in my nose, the sand in my hair and the sand in my face. I think I've got the sand 'most everyplace" Yeah, we all felt about like that.) We took off looking for a new place to camp and we no longer have a tent. (Don't ask!) We spent the next couple nights in hotels, and I think by Sunday, while we had a lot of fun, we had all seen enough of each other for a while. I didn't get as much knitting done as I hoped.

But, this week, I finished another test knit for Barb and Kollage. I knit up a cute little one-skein bag, the yarn and pattern for which I received in a recent swap. And I did a little spinning too.

As the title for this post shows, I have no photos for you though, so it's just a boring list of my accomplishments.

I also need to photograph the labor of love - 4-ply cabled fingering weight yarn, made from Targhee. I worked on it for over five weeks, and now it's just sitting on the table, begging me to take pics so I can post them. It really wants to be loved now, after all the time it spent on my wheel.

So, maybe next post will have some yarn pr0n for you.

2009-07-14T23:26:00.001-07:00

Whoot! We're headed to the beach for five days! CAMPING on the beach. I haven't been camping since the summer before S was born. (Remember that trip, Courtney and Carrie?) It's supposed to be in the 70s while we're there. That means that we get to escape the 105+ they're predicting for around here. I wonder how much knitting time I will get. I already know that I'm driving most of the 5 hours there, as J has to work. Hopefully that will be the end of the work while we're on vaca.

See you in a few days! I've been pretty cranky this week. Hopefully I'll be more relaxed and happy when we get back.

A few FOs

2009-06-25T10:07:00.000-07:00

So one of my knit-night friends keeps dropping these not-so-subtle hints about seeing the finished socks. And since I've sent them to their new home already, pictures will have to do. While I'm at it, I decided to include a couple other recently finished projects too. Hopefully there is some fun eye candy for you here.

I'll start with the test-knits for Kollage Yarns (and Barb, the designer). I just finished two sets of fingerless gloves in 1/2 N 1/2, which is a half wool, half milk protein yarn. I adore this yarn - it is nice and soft, with great stitch definition. It feels fantastic on my hands! Forgive the self-photography. I'm getting better, but there are only so many angles you can get of your own hand.

These are her Petit Feather & Fan Fingerless Gloves. A quick, fun knit. And who doesn't love purple anyway?

Next are the Spiral Rib & Ruffles Fingerless Gloves. There is a funny story about these gloves. A while ago, I knit a pair of socks in this stitch pattern. Made a mental note to never make anything with this stitch pattern again. About a year later, I was leafing through my book, and decided on this stitch pattern, because it's so pretty. Made an actual note to myself in the book to never make anything with this stitch pattern again. So, along comes this test-knit, and I mentally groaned (OK, so maybe I actually groaned out loud hehe) to be, yet again, knitting this stitch pattern. I don't know if it was the yarn, or maybe the slightly larger needles (at least over what I used previously) but I didn't hate the stitch pattern this time. And I even kind of like the ruffle! It was a fun ruffle to make.

And now, the socks. These are Toe-Up Bayerische, which seems to have vanished shortly after I printed up the pattern. I even had a lot of issues getting to the original Bayerische pattern, by Eunny Jang, when I was looking for further information as I attempted to size up a bit. Boy am I glad I printed it all up when I did! I used Shibui Knits Sock yarn, in Chinese Red. These were fun, even though I just finished a twisted stitch cabled sock, and have another in the works. I guess I'm just a glutton, but these patterns are so PRETTY! This one was a little hard to fathom. My typical socks are 65-75, maybe 80 stitches. These were more like 100! And according to the pattern, were supposed to fit something like a 7 inch foot circumference. I think it fits more like an 8+ inch circ, but I was still amazed that 100 stitches at 9-10 spi pulled in to 8 inches! J nearly stole them, before I shipped them off to my swap partner in Minnesota.

adjusting is hard to do!

2009-06-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yep, we're adjusting to life with a teenager. She definitely is more mature than last year, but still teenager, through and through. We're working on reinforcing that we have rules, and consequences for not following the rules. The one we're working on now is that everyone has chores. And that we don't ask you to do your chores, you are just expected to get them done. She told J last night that the dishes were done. Um, there is not a free surface in the kitchen, at what point did she think he would realize that was an out and out lie. We also found a dirty plate in the otherwise clean dishwasher this morning. Er, I think we forgot a step somewhere, hon. I get that we need to just let this go. I just am not sure how much more of it I can take!!! And anyone who knows me (SO not the queen of clean. About as far from it as you can get!) understands just how bad it must be for me to be itching to clean up my kitchen!!! He says to leave it. And not ask for her to do it. It's killing me!

On a happier note, with someone else "doing" the dishes, I've had a bit more knitting and spinning time. I'm nearly finished with the first of two test-knits, and still plugging away at that 4-ply Targhee from Time to Knit. I WILL have this done by Sock Summit! And I sure hope that it works out to the right yarn weight for socks!

Ten Years

2009-06-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago today, there was a fantastic party. Two 24 year old kids stood up in front of a whole bunch of people in a church and made a bunch of promises to each other. Then a photographer took a bunch of pictures, everyone had a great meal, and they all celebrated together.

We're not kids anymore. And there are more than two of us. We kept our promises (for the most part - hehe, really who is perfection all the time? I think marriage was more work than either of us figured it would be.) And we still have a lot to celebrate! Happy Anniversary honey! Here's to many more decades of wedded bliss.

As promised . . .

2009-06-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Someone asked me to post some finished yarn pics. Some of these aren't going into my Ravelry stash, so they're going here. Enjoy the eye candy!

First up, Merino from HPY. Fruit Salad colorway. My bobbin filled, so I have a large and small 2-ply skein. I would guess this yarn is about dk weight. I measured the wpi at one point, but forgot to write it down.

Next is a Merino/Silk (70/30, I think) that I got from a friend's destash. I really liked spinning this one! I got about 400 yards (pre-finish) and I'd guess it's a fingering-ish weight. It's all wrapped up, so I'm not going to go measure wpi on it. Both skeins 2-plied. My bobbin just filled up fairly quickly, so I ended up putting about a quarter of it on a smaller skein.

This one is a BFL that I got in a swap. Linda dyed the top herself, and it was a fun one to spin. She did a good job dyeing, the top was not noticeably compacted or felted, so it spun like a dream. The big skein is 2-ply, the smaller is chain plied.

Enough

2009-05-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

OK, enough with the whining being the last post on the blog. The blog is for venting sometimes, but it wigs me out to have that negative stuff stay on top for too long.

I'm working on motivation these days. Getting things done, no matter how small. Yeah, like unloading the dishwasher this morning. Right on that one (ha!) . . . Maybe this weekend we'll get the garages done! We just have to organize everything that's piled up in the small garage into the (now dry for three weeks) freshly painted garage. then we can have BOTH vehicles garaged! For the first time since the move. That will really feel good.

Hopefully somewhere this weekend, I will also get some spinning done. I'm working on my first alpaca (purchased from royal fibers on ebay). So far, it's going well. We'll see once it gets plied up and washed. I definitely made good progress on my goal this month. I started and finished 8 oz, plus a couple sample sizes, as well as at least half of this alpaca. Taught someone how to spin on their spindle at knit night this week too.

I'm knitting away on my swap socks. Just started the legs. It's a top-down pattern, but I'm using a translation to toe-up. Something got lost in the translation, and I ended up ripping a full inch out. That's a full inch on both socks, which are 90ish stitches each. Ugh. Oh well, they're working now, and looking beautiful, if I may say so myself! (J says so too. I'm not sure how I will get these out of the house!) Good thing I'm such a process knitter, because I could see myself getting attached to these. And you can bet I'm never knitting them again!!

Knitting Drama???

2009-05-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

Yep, it sure was. I've been psyched about Sock Summit for a while now (ever since I didn't get into Loopy's Spring Fling, then heard about SS, and talked DH into taking full responsibility for the girls for the weekend while I play with sock knitting) and anxiously awaiting registration. I had my classes all chosen, and was ready for the button pushing at 9:59 this morning. Only to find out that, yet again, the technogeeks had no idea how many knitters there are out there. You got it, the servers crashed before things even got started.
I continued refreshing for at least forty minutes. Then, like an idiot, once I learned that the servers were down, and the organizers asked us to hold off until they told us it was working again - I did. I kept checking the blogs to see if things were up again. I heard on Ravelry that they were up, and went to check. EVERY class I wanted (in fact, all the classes aside from a few beginner ones) was sold out. I got angry, and then cried. And then got angry at myself for crying over a silly sock knitting convention. I mean, really. Still, I was looking forward to the weekend away, and with some people who "get" me. And a few Ravelry friends who I'll never have the chance to meet otherwise. And a weekend exploring a "new" city with my sister.
So, I was commiserating with said Ravelry friends, when one of them mentions that she was just at the SS site and everything was open again! I headed over straightaway! Unfortunately, even though there were many open classes, only one (of the three I wanted) was available.

Now I have to decide if it's worth the plane flight and hotel to go to one class and the marketplace. Phew! I'm wiped from all the knitting drama!

Mama got a new pair of shoes!

2009-05-15T07:50:00.001-07:00

Running shoes that is. Holy cow, is that nice! Of course, I've been running with my pronation for so long, that I didn't make it very far before some muscles told me that enough is enough! They told me that they had never been used for running before, and they were done for the day. Funny. BUT my feet and hips thanked me profusely for the new shoes. I am sure the calves will be grateful, once they have had some time to get used to the idea.

I finished the sweater for S. We'll head out this afternoon to find the proper buttons for it, then I can attempt to post a photo or so.

I've been spinning. Got some pretty BFL done, for a swap. Then realized that the swap partner likes purple, not turquoise! Oops. Good thing I started some purple next. I was going to keep this stuff for myself, but I suppose I can part with it.

Bad mama

2009-04-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when I run in the mornings, I think about how I'm going to blog something clever about it. Never happens. I think I must be much more creative when I'm dripping sweat, sucking wind and staring at the inside of my garage door. Or something.

On a more positive note, baby girl is much healthier this week! Yay! Healthy enough for me to tell her all day yesterday and all morning as we got ready about how she was going to the zoo with her school today. Except that it's tomorrow. Who's the worst mom EVAH? That's me.

On the knitting front, my new socks had their photo shoot today. The yarn review is pretty much written - just waiting for some washer/dryer action to be complete. Whoot!

I FINALLY started on that sweater for the little one. You know it's bad when the three year old asks, "Mom, when are you going to make my sweater? You said you would make me a sweater!" But then, when I started it yesterday she had a fit too, because for some reason she was under the impression that the orange fuzzy novelty yarn I purchased (to keep her happy at a yarn store that was a really bad place for a kid) was going to be her sweater. NO freaking way! There is no way she will ever wear that yarn outside our house! I promised her at the time that I would make her a shawl with it. Of course, I suppose I could just swell with pride when the kid wanted to wear her freakishly fuzzy sweater every day, but I would probably just die a little inside instead. I guess I really am a yarn snob. I have started her shawl and try to get two rows a day on it. Haven't touched that for several days. . . I'm having too much fun with her REAL sweater and the organic cotton yarn . . .

Random Monday Thoughts

2009-04-20T09:37:00.000-07:00

104 degrees is really hot. Especially when it's radiating off your baby.
Motrin is your friend.
Sick babies don't like to be far from Mommy.
Barney is the spawn of Satan.

Seriously, but who could take him away from the little person in the next room, who is still hot and can't keep crackers down?

Back in the swing . . .

2009-04-06T08:07:00.000-07:00

So, we're back from vacation. I suppose I should write a vacation report, but there's not much to report. We had dinner at what is reputed to be former President Clinton's favorite Bar-B-Q joint. It was very tasty. We had good massages, and sat in the hot springs. J, his dad and step-mom played golf nearly every day. The Mid-America Science Museum is really neat, for kids of all ages (we had 3 - 60+ covered). And I didn't get nearly as much knitting done as I had hoped to. Isn't that always the way it goes? I over plan, just so I won't run out, and then don't get even close. I need to remember to bring more mindless knitting on vacation. Cable intensive, chart intensive knitting doesn't work very well when we're at the park, or attempting to make conversation with drinks after dinner. Sigh. I got about halfway through Chart A on my Seascape Stole, and most of the Cairdeas legs done. But I didn't finish a single project. I was SURE I would be able to finish those socks. Sigh.

On a more fun note, I got several swap partner assignments while we were gone. I have some fun swaps coming up. One that requires spinning, and another that I am going to spin for. One that requires knitting, and a couple that will just get me digging in my stash for fun stuff.

I got up and went for a run this morning. It went better than I thought it would, with a week off. Now to just keep it up.

Vacations

2009-03-24T16:26:00.000-07:00

So we're getting ready to leave on our Spring Vacation. This year, we are headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas with J's dad and his wife, which should be fun and interesting. Last time we visited with them, I attempted to teach her 2-at-a-time, magic loop. I believe she's stuck at turning the heel, so that should be a fun evening while we figure it out.

Vacations are very different with the little one, and I usually complete a project or two with all that "free" time in the evenings. Usually socks. This year, I have a lace stole (Seascape from Knitty, in a pretty rusty color from handpaintedyarn.com) on the docket. I am hoping to finish my Cairdeas socks before the vaca. I'm wondering if I should bring another sock project along too. . . Just because I can't be monogamous with my knitting. And I'd hate to be stuck in Arkansas with only one project, when what I really wanted to do was knit on some more socks.

Soooo . . . I think I need to find a sock pattern. Very "man", with some cables on it. For a very slightly varigated yarn (Three Irish Girls, Adorn in Baltic Sea, if you must know). That I can knit at around 9-10 spi. If anyone's reading, and can suggest a winning pattern, I will be eternally grateful. Well, at least until my next cast-on dilemma.

Oh, and don't forget my Handmade Share - you can get cool handmade goodies from me!

Ahhhh, Stitches. . .

2009-03-02T08:30:00.000-08:00

Well. Now that I know this blog isn't read very often, at least by people who like my crafty items. . . Nobody wants to join the contest? Hehe.

Stitches. I came home just giddy - I'd had so much fun! I decided to give it a day or so to settle down. I'm not sure I'm settled, but oh well. Hehe.

I had much better restraint this year. I think I shall be able to use everything I got, and within a couple months - if I choose to do it all consecutively! Aside from a skein of yarn for a swap partner (Hi Linda, if you're reading) and a skein to make a fun water bottle carrier, I only bought fiber this year. Definitely a different crafter than the one who attended last year!

I also got to meet Susan and Anastasia from Kollage Yarns. What a treat! I have done some test/sample knitting for them over the last year or so, which has been it's own treat (the yarns are great to work with, and Anastasia and I seem to communicate well. Not to mention that she designs some great stuff!) I walked into the booth and introduced myself to Susan, and she bypassed my hand for a hug. Then when Anastasia returned, I didn't even get to my name - she just knew who I was and gave me a big hug too. It is so nice to work with such wonderful people! They made me feel like a member of their family. I can't wait for my next assignment with Anastasia and Kollage yarns!

I met Dianne from Creatively Dyed, and saw Joan at White Lies Designs again this year.

There was so much beautiful fiber, as well as some gorgeous beads, and wonderful woodworking. I just love to see it all and wander while being distracted by all the fantastic handknits!

There was also a guy starting a documentary about knitting. They interviewed me for what felt like forever, and half the time I think they were trying really hard not to laugh at how all these people are about knitting and yarn. I hope they got what they were looking for, and am interested to see how the documentary turns out. (They took my email address, so I can stay updated on their progress. I'll let you know if I hear anything interesting)

I guess I have managed to keep the giddiness out of it - mostly. I certainly enjoyed Stitches West, and we're already making our plans to attend next year.

Game Time!

2009-02-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

ARE YOU GAME?The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It'll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it's going to be.
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!
Who's in?

Fleeting thought

2009-02-14T08:20:00.000-08:00

Heh. I've been trying to run a few mornings a week. My sister, in an awesome display of support, made me a mix cd to run to. I don't know how to run my mp3 player corvery well, so her songs are all mixed in. Every so often I get a song thrown in that just doesn't seem very familiar. What is interesting is that they all seem to be songs that, should I be making a movie of my oh-so-interesting life (hahaha) they would be songs that would play in the soundtrack while I am running! Go sis! Thanks for the awesome running music.

February already?!?

2009-02-02T09:01:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's been almost a month. I've accomplished quite a bit of knitting and spinning. Not as much as I would like, but then when does that ever happen? I've been bad (as usual) about photographing any of it, and even worse about uploading the pictures. I'm doing more swaps, and so some of my knitting is the supersecret kind.

I knit my first project with handspun yarn (some I received in a swap on Ravelry) . . . And am getting ready to knit my first project with my OWN handspun :) Just have to get the socks off the needles, since I can't have more than one pair of socks otn. (My own rule, made to prevent myself from having 22 socks otn and having to buy new needles constantly!)

I had a pair of socks go holey on me. Dangit! I swear it's my Birkenstocks. So many people I know wear their handknit socks in them all the time, but all three handknit socks I've had go (as well as several storebought ones) have been immediately after a day in the Birks. I think I'm done with wearing the handknits in my Birks! I thought it just must have been a horrific coincidence after the first two, but these last socks were practically brand new! Worn maybe twice?!? Sigh. I have enough Smooshy to make another pair, I think, especially if I make them shorter.

On a side note, what do I want for my birthday? I have sooo much yarn, and fiber, that's not a good thing to ask for. . . Jewelry, well, a lot of that too. Anyone have any ideas? It's getting a little late, I guess, but maybe someone can help me. All I've come up with is a new pan, and that's pretty boring!

Back to the real world

2009-01-09T10:15:00.001-08:00

Whew! The holidays are over, and the last-minute gifts all got done in time. I have been spinning up a storm, and knitting like crazy too. The Aran Sweater of Doom is FINISHED! Whoot! I should give something away for that. Hmmm, that's a good idea. I'll just have to decide what. Maybe I can get it off J long enough to get a pic (or maybe get a pic with him in it) and when I post the pic. . . We'll see if anyone actually reads this blog. Hehe.
Here are a couple pics of spinning I've done. I'm not going to go into too much detail, because some of it is supersecret :)

I think my consistency is improving. I am having so much fun with the different fibers and colors! There is a local spinning group starting up tonight, so my Traveller will go traveling for the first time since I brought it home. I'm excited to get out and meet some new people.

Not much else to say, I just wanted to put these pics somewhere, and my Ravelry page is too close for some of those supersecrets mentioned earlier :)

Ta-Da!

2008-11-25T16:52:00.000-08:00

I feel so proud. . . I made a lightbox based on some directions I found online. I still need to work on it, and it's a little small, but it works! Overcast, grey day, but I got some decent pics. So, without further ado . . . BFL, dyed by Selah in the Autumn Dessert colorway.

BFL/Colonial/Wensleydale from etsy in a colorway called Sweet Dreams

Another BFL from Etsy, this colorway is called Send in the Clowns

I feel happy. Like the yarns are done now. I have had them completed for a while, just no satisfactory pics.

On the holiday front, Sharon mentioned that she'd like socks. So, I'm now on a frantic mission to swatch up some yarn that i found, making sure it fits her personality and then finding a pattern to use with it! The pattern I want to use, calls for size 0 needles, which made a pretty fabric, but a little stiff and unforgiving for me. I think I'm a tight knitter though, so I'm getting a better fabric with size 1 needles. We'll see if they meet the gauge.

Defeated by worm spit

2008-11-21T15:38:00.000-08:00

OK, so who said that silk hankies spin up fast and easy? Easy, yeah, I guess, fast? Not so much. Maybe it's because I want to do a 2-ply laceweight? It's taking FOREVER to do this one ounce of hankies! I had to just give it up. Really, I can't delay the holiday gift spinning anymore.

So, today, I started the Creatively Dyed SeaCell/Wool for Sharon. It's pretty nice to spin, though it seems to want to be either a tiny bit thinner or a tiny bit thicker than what I'm trying to shoot for. I was hoping for something like a 2-ply dk weight. I can't seem to find that. I seem to find a worsted or fingering pretty easily (as I test before I let the single wind on). I guess it will be what it is, and I'm sure Sharon will have fun with whatever I end up with hehe. On the positive side, it's a fun mottled top, so I'm enjoying not worrying about what the colors are doing and just watching for what comes next.

On the home front, S's first birthday gift arrived today. How the heck am I supposed to make her wait a whole week to open this thing? It's HUGE! Guess I'll have to hide it tonight and hope that she forgets until I pull it out later.

Holiday gifts are progressing nicely. After my "vacation" last weekend, my sister claimed a project I was working on, so yippee! One more gift I don't have to buy.

2008-11-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

Oh my. S decided that I needed to spin up the "Send in the Clowns" BFL that I found on sale. I figured I could make somthing bright for her, but wasn't planning on doing it next. I had figured on making it an experiment in Navajo plying (or chaining singles, depending on who you ask) but the color repeats are too short to separate the colors into long sections of singles. So I'm getting longer repeats of muddied combinations of neon-ish colors. It's interesting. Instead of getting yellow and pink, I get this orange-ish color. I guess in a way that's good, as it's not quite as bright as I had anticipated originally. I'm not sure what to do ply-wise now though. I separated it out to be a 3-ply, once I realized that it wasn't going to work for the original chaining intent. Now I'm not sure that will be nice either. Maybe a 2-ply with some nice barberpoling? I guess I'll wait to name the stuff at the end, maybe "Taking Out the Clowns?" Hehehe.

2008-10-25T09:34:00.000-07:00

Haha, I've disappeared into the depths of my new spinning addiction! And it seems like pretty much every new yarn is my favorite!

After the initial practice attempts, I started with some Ramboulleit/cornsilk roving (? still learning all the terminology) which took me forever, and I started to think that maybe I didn't like spinning so well after all. Did I mention it took forever? Like 2 weeks of every free minute spinning? And there were tons of little knots. I had little blue fuzz carpeting around the wheel and chair. S had fun picking up the little blue fluff. And I ended up with a light worsted, I think a little underspun - it's very fluffy and I wonder what to make it into? I was thinking fingerless gloves for my sis, maybe, but I worry that it might not take that abuse well?

Then I decided to try a custom blend that I got from CopperPot on etsy. Wensleydale/Columbia/BFL, if I remember correctly. I fell in love. It spun up a thousand times faster - ok, well maybe more like twice as fast. I made a pretty 3ply heathered, about worsted or aran wt maybe? I didn't check wpi, but it's about 156 yds for 3.5ish ounces. Loved it, everything about it. It was a joy to spin, I loved looking at it, and dreaming about what to create with it.

That went well, so I started in on the BFL I just got from the Selah group buy. . . Autumn Dessert. I was a little disappointed in the colors of the top. I just wasn't feeling it, and wondered what I was thinking when I ordered it. I decided to try split it in two by length, then spin long color repeats, then ply, hoping I would end up with some sections where each color plied with itself and some where it barber poled with the other colors. This stuff spun like a dream! I learned some new way to draft, which makes things go much faster and very smooth . . . Maybe that was just my click moment? I was still not in love with the colors, though I like the way the colors blended into each other. Then I plied. It turns out I didn't offset the colors properly for the desired effect, so I get long stretches where the pink/green and pink/ivory barberpole and the yellow plied with iteself. I ended up with about 340 yards of a 16wpi yarn. Well, mostly, there are two or three heavier spots. What do you expect, it's my third yarn! FPS! Now I am in love. I just love looking at it. I like petting it. It's sitting on my kitchen counter so I can look at it and pet it several times a day. I want to wear it around my neck and wrapped around myself all the time! OK, maybe not really. But it is by far my favorite creation (knit/jewelry/etc) in a very long time!

I wonder if I am going to love each new yarn more than the last?

I started in on the alpaca/silk I got fsot on Rav. It's mostly creamy with little shots of royal blue. I'm trying for a 2ply laceweight. Figure this would be really pretty and etherial in something lacy. Plus I only have a couple oz, so this way I can stretch it a bit further. It's interesting spinning something akin to thread, but going well so far. I think I heard something about silk being easier to do this with (another reason to try it now, eh?)

I also figured out how to make a fun knitting row counter that a swap partner requested. You know, she posted a link to one, and I said, "Heck, I can do that!" I made one to try it out, and then the one in the colors for my partner. It's a pretty cool concept, but I'm not sure I like how heavy they are. I suppose the lampworked glass bead doesn't help. But it's so pretty!

I will get pics, but I keep telling myself I'm going to make a light box first. It's not like we don't have boxes filling the garage still . . .

more of the same, I guess

2008-09-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Since I last wrote I have sent off a couple baby gifts, and completed a test-knit with a yummy yarn. . . Creamy from Kollage Yarns. . . This stuff is dreamy soft! And I've never knit with milk before :) Of course, I forgot to take pics of any of it. As usual.

Still working on my Mirabella socks, as I took that break for the test-knit.

We planned a family vacation to Tahoe in October. I promised J I would take his sweater along and work on it exclusively . . . Maybe I can finish it - HA! This thing is never going to be done . . .

S starts pre-school next week! Whoo hoo!

More time for me to spin - oh yeah, I brought home my Ashford Traveller last Saturday. I love it, more than I expected to. I spun the rest of my 2 oz Corriedale into a bulky 2-ply, then took out my fleece study Texel, and have a thin single (maybe fingering-ish? I need to get wpi on it, I guess. . . ) and then got out the Rambouillet/corn silk and have been spinning that, hoping to get something near a sport/dk wt 3 ply out of that. I'm still working my way through the ball of roving (?), and loving every minute of it!

Guess that's all for today. See you next time!

2008-08-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Yippee! I finally got that yarn dyed! And I didn't like it so much. Then I re-skeined it. I like it a lot better this way. Even J likes it - a lot. S said, "Mommy, this yarn isn't knit yet? Why did you not knit it yet? Knit it!" Hehehe. I hope my swap partner likes it as much. I call the colorway Berry Burst (yeah, so original. . . ) So the yarn on the top is wool/bamboo/nylon blend; the yarn on the bottom is a mystery wool I received in a "dye your own sock" kit.

I got my package from the aforementioned swap this weekend. Wow! It's awesome!

So here is the package as it looked when I opened the box:

This bag is so perfect, I can hardly describe it. . .When I was shopping for fabric for my partner's bag, I saw a whole line in these colors, and nearly bought a few to make something for myself!! Not my "normal" colors, but for some reason in this combination, they really call to me. . . Perfect choice! And totally the style I use for MY project bags (as my partner was a bit worried it wasn't a typical project bag . . . )

Now for the beyond amazing goodies inside:

They include Miss Babs Yummy sock yarn - which truly is yummy, a cute sock blocker keychain, pretty little necklace with a bird (in a cute tin which will hold incidentals in my knitting bag), some stickers for S, a chicobag (love 'em!), some handmade notecards, handmade soap, pretty scissors, and a nice ruler for the project bag too! Whew, I got spoiled on this one :)

The bug hit me Friday. It was just a little tickle in the back of my throat, and then all of a sudden it was a hacking cough that sucked the energy right out of me. Thankfully, J was home this weekend to take some of the load off. I got to take a couple naps and pretty much just be a slug. It was a nice relief, except for the fact that I really couldn't enjoy it through the fog of this cold! Feeling better today, though still tired.

I cast on my next sock project, while I am waiting for the yarn to get here for my next test-knit for Anastasia and Kollage . . . I cast on Mirabella with my precious DIC Smooshy in the Don't Be Blue colorway from The Loopy Ewe. I've been looking for a yarn that swatched up to the right gauge for this pattern, and I finally found it, after Nisha (from Ravelry) inspired me to finally cast something on with that Smooshy. It's just yarn, right? Right? Hehehe.

2008-08-07T14:34:00.000-07:00

Whoo hoo! I finished those socks for Mom, and a couple dishcloths. . .

J has been sick this week, so not much of anything has been done. Tomorrow is poker night, so I will get some dyeing and sewing done. Then I can ship out my sock swap package! And I get to go out Saturday night! I haven't done that in a long time. . . I definitely need a break - haven't had one in a while, as we went to MN and WI for a funeral last week, then J has been sick. . .

Men are such babies when they are sick. At least mine is. Moms don't get sick days, but he sure did. Sigh.

I'm kind of stuck. I have a bunch of great yarn, and a ton of great patterns queued up over at Ravelry, but can't decide what to cast on for my next project. So I started a "game" at one of the swap groups I post at. This way, someone else can choose for me, and I get to pass on some great yarn that's not getting any love :)

2008-07-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, J found a group trying to get a weekly pickup game of Ultimate Frisbee going. . . I'm happy for him. Sigh, just means he's going to be gone for a few more hours every week though. I'm glad he'll get his Ultimate fix though, he's been missing it since we moved.

On a happier note, we had a great drive yesterday, and though I'm not used to having a picnic in 90 degree heat at the top of a mountain, it was still fun. I love how excited S got about having a picnic. "Daddy, we need a blanket, right?"

Well, he's back and needs the computer, so that's all for today . . .

here we go!

2008-07-25T17:50:00.001-07:00

Ok, so I decided to start a blog. Some days I just want to write it out and let it go, so to speak.

Like today. I just sent out a couple big swap boxes - both with handmade items that took a great deal of time and effort. They were received a couple days ago, but I haven't heard from either recipient. This makes me sad. Maybe I'm just expecting too much. I also haven't received packages from either of these swaps. One was supposed to ship a week ago. The other hasn't passed the ship date yet, so I'm not worried. I just want a package of yarny goodness in the mail already :)

The little one is sleeping (for a very long time today - hooray for playgroup!!) and I have had a few minutes to surf, am at the heels in the socks I'm making for a holiday gift, and I have already searched today in all the places I can think of to find a used spinning wheel. J is working (surprise - not!) and I'm just hanging out. It's weird, I'm not used to this much quiet time. I wish I had known it would be a long nap, I'd be off dyeing yarn for the next swap I'm doing!