The Reluctant Blogger Knits

Some are born to blog

2010-01-02T18:53:00.003-06:00

...others have blogging thrust upon them.

A short recap of the past 8 months:

I joined a knitting group! We meet at the Panera in West Bend, WI Tuesday nights from 6-8. I am loving the scheduled, dedicated knitting time, and have been inspired to move along more on all my knitting projects, so that I have progress to show. And it came about at a good time, as I broke up with my boyfriend about the same time the group started. I had just finished a pair of socks for him, too. That was irritating.

But there's plenty of good news.

Got a new kitty, Polly. She's all growed up now, but isn't she just a cutie? Awww.

Got a design published in a magazine. Off-hand Gloves, to be found in Knitcircus, Winter 2009.

Knit a pair of socks in less than a month. This is the Rushing Rivulet pattern from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways book. In Araucania Ranco Multy. First toe-up socks I've done, and I found the gusset, which is located on the sole, interesting. I like the reinforced heel, too. I'm going to try other architectures from the book as well. Maybe I'll find one I like enough to replace my usual cuff-down, short-row heel and toe variety.

Knit the Swirl Shawl (well, ok, scarf) from JoJoLand. I had no idea the Yarn Harlot was knitting this until I pulled it out at my knitting group. It was kind of fussy to knit--a lot of picking up and casting on as each hexagon is added to the scarf. But the finished product was truly beautiful, as this pattern made the most of the yarn. A Christmas gift for a dear friend who looks wonderful in it.

Knit something for myself out of my own handspun! The yarn was spun from the last bit of merino Kathy and I dyed, oh, way back in September 2007. I'm calling these Mariposa Mittens, as I knit them while watching The National Parks: America's Best Idea. I learned there that one of the first National Parks was the Mariposa Grove of Redwoods in Yosemite. So, knowing mariposa is Spanish for butterfly, I put a purled butterfly motif on the back of the hand. I have enough handspun left over for a colorful headband for a matching hat, and I bought a nice purple shade of Cascade 220 for the crown of the hat.

Things I am working on now:

The Classic Lines Cardigan from Knit Picks, which will be my first adventure in steeking. I'm almost done with the yoke, so the scary thought of cutting my knitting looms. I love the fabric the doubled laceweight is making, and bought more for a second version.
Purl-less Monkey socks. I was done with the leg and half the foot of the first sock, but tried them on and figured they were too tight around the leg, so I frogged them and cast on an extra eight stitches for the cuff. Since then, stagnation, but I will return to them soon. The lace stitch pattern is easy and quick, and I like the stream-lined all knit version better than the original.
A pair of fingerless gloves for a co-worker with cold hands.
and a mountain of other UFOs that I vow to either finish or frog.

So that's the skinny on me. I hope this post makes Kathy happy.

Bandwagons

2009-04-21T11:27:00.003-05:00

I jumped on the bandwagon and knit myself a February Lady Sweater:

I made some polymer clay buttons for it. I blended red, yellow, white, gold and a smidge of blue to get the persimmon color of the yarn, then I blended that with pearl for a lighter variegated color. I tried several other combinations as well, but these looked the best:

It doesn't look half bad:

It's really comfortable. I did lengthen the sleeves and taper them down from the elbow to the wrist, cutting out about three lace pattern repeats as I did so. I made M1 increases on the yoke instead of the called-for YO increases. If you do this too, do it on the WRONG side, where it will show less. I'm very pleased. It was a quick and fun knit and I think it'll become my most-worn handknit sweater to date.

Next up: The Classic Lines Cardigan from Knit Picks. In dark, dark, dark blue-green with a pale strand of eucalyptus. Swatching starts today.

Small accomplishments

2009-03-21T19:26:00.003-06:00

I spun this into this:

3-ply Merino/Silk (80% Merino/20% silk)

Dyed by Red Fish Dyeworks. ~500 yards, fingering weight.

It spun like a dream, but it took forever because (a) I really fell off the spinning wagon this winter and (b) three-ply is, you know, three times the work.

I was thinking socks originally, but I'm not sure now. For one thing, I have tons of sock yarn and I prefer machine-washable for socks, which this is not. I have half a mind to weave a scarf from it, or maybe knit one. I guess I'll let it marinate a while.

I finished these, although I seem not to have taken a picture of the completed pair:

Twin Rib socks in Online Supersocke 100. Cuff-down, short-row heel and toe. The rib is pretty clever, a 6-stitch rib of knit-seed-knit, purl-seed-purl, and it's reversible. They are nice and cheerful and took the bad taste of those really ugly socks out of my mouth.

I'm almost halfway through the February Lady Sweater, and have two socks on the needles; a mystery sock I'm lurking at over on Ravelry, and Eunny Jang's Bayerische Socks. For the Bayerische socks, I overdyed some kind of overly-pastel merino tencel I had a nice sapphire blue. If I can get it together soon, I will post pics of ongoing projects.

Resolved

2009-01-04T15:09:00.004-06:00

So, I've been up to a few crafty things over the past, um, five months.

I needed a necklace to go with a blouse I planned to wear to my Christmas party. So I got out my polymer clay and mixed up some colors. I tried and tried to create a circle like in the fabric, but failed miserably. So I ended up mixing and marbling the colors and liked the results. I got out my beads and found I had some tiger eye and Botswana agate beads that went perfectly and voilá! I was further pleased to discover I had sometime in the past made a purple and gold bracelet that went almost perfectly. Of course, when I went to get ready in the hotel room, I discovered I had left them on my bed at home and had to go to the party jewelry-less. Which made me feel kinda naked. I did rewear the blouse on Christmas day, however, so I was able to wear the whole ensemble.

This fall, I bought a new medium-weight coat, which was dark brown with a tan, red, navy, cream and black plaid lining. I had no gloves to match, so I dived into my stash and discovered I had tan, red, cream and black Merino Style from KnitPicks. Hooray! I wore my new coat on a road trip out west in early October and I took the yarn along. I got one glove done and up to the fingers on the other one. It was cold and snowing in the mountains and I failed to bring any other gloves or mittens. When I got home, I tried several times to finish the gloves, but made very little progress. One day, I pulled out the glove project bag and discovered I had lost the tan yarn. I faced the dilemma: rip out the other glove's fingers and make different color fingers? Or leave the one done glove as it was and make the other not to match? As I was thinking this over, a miracle occurred! I went to visit my sister and see her Christmas tree. And on her coffee table was the missing ball of tan yarn! A Christmas miracle! It had made its way under her couch, and she found it when moving furniture to put the tree up. I took the yarn home. I dilligently worked the fingers. Halfway up the middle finger of the second glove, it became clear I did not have enough tan left for the index finger and thumb. So I pulled out the index finger on the other glove, finished the other thumb in that yarn, and made the two index fingers red. Let's call it a design feature, eh? They'll keep me warm, anyway. I knit them tightly on size 4 needles. Should be fairly windproof.

A few months back, when I was struggling to make my sister The Ugliest Socks in the World (more of which anon), I had to put them aside and give myself a break. I wanted a pretty, lacey sock, because a friend had picked out some pretty pinkish Koigu for her birthday socks. After several false starts, I decided on Knitty's Spring Forward socks. I also decided to try the Magic Loop method, which I love. Absolutely love. I was happy with four dpns, but Magic Loop makes it so easy to keep the project tidy when it's time to put away. I used to have issues losing stitches if I wasn't careful putting the work away. I've been converted. And I really liked the Spring Forward pattern. The lace was easy to memorize and easy to decipher on the couple of times I lost my spot. I knit these mostly while sitting on a bench in the sunshine, watching my boyfriend practice on the driving range. A definite success.

Now, what's all this about The Ugliest Socks in the World, you ask? For several years, I have been buying sock yarn I think my middle sister would like. Every one I showed her, from Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Argyle, to Regia Cotton in Surf, to the fabled Trekking XXL 100, failed to excite her interest. Then one day, she came home and presented me with a ball of OnLine Supersocke 100 in the ugliest colors I had ever seen together in one yarn. Let me enumerate: Petal pink. Baby blue. Royal Blue. Cream and beige jacquard. Dusty rose. Apricot. Pale, pale, pale pink. And back to the cream and beige jacquard. It was like one of those 1980's sofas with the "impressionistic" pattern on it. A sofa which had been place in front of a southern-facing curtainless window for twenty years. My sister requested "fancy" socks, but not cables or lace. I settled on Grumperina's Jaywalkers since the yarn was self-striping. I started these socks at Knitting Camp in July, complaining mightily to all and sundry. I made a fair bit of progress and had hopes that I would finish soon. I came home and had my sister try on the sock in progress. Too small, and I was almost to the ankle. I tried to convince her to renounce the yarn as hideously ugly. No dice. She liked the yarn. The colors reminded her of high school. O-kay. I cast on again for the next larger size. I knit these socks through countless movies and NCIS and CSI episodes, losing Packer games and in front of the computer reading blogs. Finally, two nights ago, I finished the second toe and wove in the ends. They fit and my sister likes them. I am free of the albatross around my neck. Things I learned from these socks: Jaywalkers are not for me. I need a sock with more ribbing to accommodate my cankles. And ugly yarn knits a lot slower than pretty yarn.

I was afraid The Ugliest Socks in the World might prejudice me against OnLine Supersocke 100, so I immediately cast on this:

Now, there's a colorway I can work with.

Once a month is ok, isn't it?

2008-08-04T10:27:00.003-05:00

Time for an update! I'm making a little more progress in the crafty side of my life, so I'm hoping I'll be back in the swing of things soon and have more to blog. Here's what I got up to in July:

Beads and buttons made in the polymer clay class Kathrows and I took at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. I enjoyed messing around with the clay so much that I went out and bought a bunch of different colors and a case to put them in. When I start buying books and a pasta machine, we'll know I'm in trouble.

80% Merino/ 20% silk purchased from Red Fish Dyeworks at the MFAFAF. This was the ONLY fiber I bought there. I can't wait to spin it up. Right now on the bobbins is some organic cotton top that's driving me crazy, and I want to finish that up before starting anything else, because I think it's good for me to get more comfortable with cotton. But I am just itching to get at this.

After the MFAFAF, we had Knitting Camp. Did I take any pictures there? Don't be silly. Luckily, Elizabeth was more organized than me, and got a great picture of us all. It was a fabulous time at camp. Great weather, great food, great fun, and knitting, knitting, knitting! So much knitting that I finally finished something:

Mini-cable socks with short-row heel and toe, from Jojoland Melody. They're fraternal twins.

And before I started the organic cotton, I spun up a little BFL:

100% Blue-faced Leicester, dyed and given to me by One Skein Wonder in a secret pal exchange. Damn, I love BFL! It's so easy to keep fairly even, and so sproingy and cushy! Top pic is more representative of actual color.

Up next: some truly hideous socks, just wait, and a new lace project with handspun. I'll try to post 'em before September.

I hope you were sitting down

2008-07-03T16:08:00.004-05:00

I know, I know. Unforgiveable to leave the blog stagnant for five months. I could cite some excuses: started dating a guy, which has considerably cut into my knitting time (but in exchange I have discovered how much I enjoy taking motorcycle rides), a month-long bout of mono (!), big work project (not much of an excuse, as I have not made big strides on it), and most pertinently, a loss of knitting mojo. I have completed nothing since the socks I blogged in February, although I am approaching the heel of the second sock of my next pair (sorry, no pic yet), and have reached the separate-the-arms-from-the-body stage of a neck-down raglan (no pic for that either.)

Meanwhile, although I had temporarily abandoned my knitting, one of my knitting friends did not abandon me. Looky what the great Kathrows knitted me, from yarn made of fiber we dyed together and I spun up:

I know, the picture sucks. But they are very, very fabulous.

Beads and everything, and a great textured pattern! I just love them.

I did complete a spinning project recently.

About 500 yards of tweedy wool/silk 3-ply, about 12 wpi. It has a nice rustic, bumpy texture that I'm really digging. I got the fiber at last year's Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair, which is coming up soon. It is a great show, and if you're anywhere near Chicago, I encourage you to check it out.

Finally, a bit of sad news. If you read this blog, you'll know Chester, the world's best cat. Sadly, he developed kidney disease, and although we tried to treat it, he eventually got to the point where he wouldn't eat or drink, and I had to say good-bye. He was a devoted companion of over 12 years and slept on my bed most every night of those twelve years. He enjoyed playing hide-and-seek and I never heard him hiss. I will miss him something fierce.

Hooray for socks!

2008-02-11T13:41:00.000-06:00

Trekking XXL 100 socks

My basic sock pattern: 2x2 rib cuff, 6x2 rib leg and instep, short row heel and toe.

If you like wool socks, you will like Trekking. And if you like color, you will like Trekking XXL 100. Unless you are my sister. I had planned to give these to her for her birthday, but she called them outright ugly while I was knitting them! Her loss is my gain.

I've decided to finish up an old project before starting anything new. Can't tell you about it as it is a gift, so we might experience a slight blog delay. OK, even more of a blog delay than I've had lately. I blame winter. It is simply brutal this year.

January Slump

2008-01-19T10:20:00.000-06:00

I've been in a bit of a fiber arts slump so far this month. I have not spun every day, like I said I would. I am not making much knitting progress either. I'm sure I'll break out of it soon, though.

I did finally get my Harvest Moon spun and plied, though:

Harvest Moon Two-Ply

Super-fine merino, tussah silk, suri alpaca and Mongolian cashmere blend

plied with a strand of tussah silk.

100 grams, 330 yards, sportweight, about 17 wpi

Blended and dyed by Abby Franquemont.

I'm not thrilled with it. It is a little too loosely twisted and plied, I think. I could have done better by this lucious fiber. I'm also not sure I'm in love with the color. Spun up, it seems a bit muddy. I may overdye it.

And I'm half done with my latest pair of Trekking socks:

I was originally making these for my sister, but I decided to keep them for myself. I can't give up those colors! Laura will have to wait for the next pair, I guess.

New Year, New Post

2008-01-01T11:13:00.000-06:00

I am still here, still knitting, just not posting too much. One of the reasons I've slacked off on the posting is because I've been making some Christmas presents, and of course, can't show pictures of those until after Christmas. Here's two of the finished presents:
Laura's Fair Isle Hat. Cascade 220 Wool and Knit Picks Wool of the Andes, all leftover partial skeins. I graphed out the big X pattern with the colors I had, then cast on for seven repeats, and made up the rest as I went. The brim is a twisted rib. It turned out a little big, so I hand-washed it, then threw it in the drier. It shrank just enough to fit my sister Laura, who has a big head. She really likes it, and has had it for a full week now without losing it. Yay!

Jeanette's Black Watch Diamond Socks. Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, in Black Watch Colorway. 1x1 cuff, leg and instep a purl-stitch diamond pattern. Cuff-down, short-row heel and toe. Sorry about the bad pic, but I finished these the night before I had to give them to her, and couldn't get a good natural light photo. Last year I made her a vest using LL Swirl in the Black Watch colorway, so these are to match. They seem somewhat poofy at the ankle in the picture, but Jeanette reports that they fit her. I guess she also inherited our grandmother's cankles!

Here's what I'm knitting now, along with a Christmas present that did not get finished:

Trekking 100's socks. Zitron Trekking XXL, in the fabulous and cheerful colorway 100. Cuff down, short-row heel and toe with a 2x2 cuff and 6x2 leg and instep. I started these with the intention of giving them to Laura for her birthday, but she has seen them in progress and called them "fall-like". I'm not sure she deserves these spectacular colors!

Over at the knittyboard, some of the spinners there have made a resolution to spin every day in January. Coincidentally, I woke up this morning and realized exactly how long it's been since I did any spinning (over a month and a half!) and vowed to start up again this very day. So I hereby resolve to spin a little each day. I am also determined to do more weaving. I picked up some extra heddles for my loom last month, as well as some cotton yarn. I will report back soon on my progress there.

One final note: I got a sewing machine for Christmas! I need an idea about what to make to reacquaint myself with sewing, as I haven't done it since 8th grade! So, who's got an idea for a fun project I can start off with? Something small to get my feet wet, so to speak?

FO: Secret of the Stole--Guinevere!

2007-11-30T17:03:00.000-06:00

Still don't know the theme. The most popular guesses are Guinevere and Excalibur.

ETA: The theme was revealed to be Guinevere.

I'm a winner!

2007-11-10T16:30:00.000-06:00

I've been having good luck recently. Before the Innernets, I only ever won one prize in any kind of drawing or contest: an 8-lb chocolate bar. I was going for the trip for four to Disneyworld, but oh well. We had that sucker on the kitchen table for what seemed like months, it was about the size of a shirt box. Everyday after school, my friends would come over and we'd chip off a couple of chunks and eat it while watching Jeopardy and doing homework. It was Nestle's chocolate, and I'm really not fond of that particular brand now.

Anyway, with the advent of the Fiber Cyber Community, all that has changed. It started last year, when my entries (1, 2, 3) in Flash Your Fiber Stash won me a prize--some merino/alpaca blend that I have yet to spin up. Then, a long dry spell, and suddenly--two prizes! Whoo hoo!

First, Rebel had a little quiz contest in honor of her birthday, and I was a lucky winner.

Apparently, in Portland, Oregon, they sell fancy wool wash in the bookstore! Can you imagine? I have only one bookstore in the entire county, and it sucks, nothing but science fiction, Oprah's bookclub and religious meditations. Certainly no wool wash. I have to drive at least 40 minutes to get to a decent bookstore, which is why I patronize Amazon so much. But I digress. This prize was a wonderful surprise. I have actually been out of any kind of wool wash and have been using a sample bottle of moisturizing shampoo, but that bottle is just about empty. So, perfect timing! And the little button has a spinning wheel on it. I'm getting quite a button collection these days. I'm going to fix up something to display them on.

Next, I found out I was a winner in the Secret of the Stole knitalong. Yippee! And the prize just came today:

Awesome! Some absolutely bewitching yarn: Radiance by Yarn Botanica, in Dragonfly. The yarn is a fabulous merino/tencel blend, fingering weight, and a generous 400 yards per skein! Wow! Also: At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, which is great, because I don't own it and my library never has it checked in, some really pretty clip-on glass beaded row markers and a discount card to One Planet Yarn & Fiber. Yep. Hit the Jackpot!

Wanna see that yarn close up?

Secret of the Stole Hint Five

2007-11-08T16:13:00.000-06:00

The picture is a bit wonky, but you get the idea.
The blocking wires are working out well, they were a good investment. I'm still completely clueless about the theme. Maybe my brain does not equate lace with abstract ideas.

FO: Nantucket Jacket

2007-11-07T19:35:00.000-06:00

It's done! And I'm very pleased.

It fits well, it's warm and soft, and not unflattering. I'm probably going to replace the buttons at some point, but I went to three different stores on Tuesday and these were the best I could come up with. I'm going to cut the top button off. The collar lays better with it open.

I really need a haircut!

Stats

Pattern: Nantucket Jacket by Norah Gaughan, Interweave Knits Fall 2006

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish, 100% superwash wool, in Copper. 16 50 oz balls used

Needles: Knit Picks Options size US 7

Size knitted: 48.5 inches chest measurement

Modifications: Lengthened sleeves from 3/4 length to full length. Naturally, I made them a smidge too long, so I omitted the crochet edging from the cuffs.

Started: September 1, 2007 Finished: November 2, 2007

Blogstalking--What's for breakfast?

2007-11-07T19:28:00.000-06:00

Pretty self-explanatory. The tea in this instance is Stash Spiced Chai, which is my favorite chai. My favorite of all teas, however, is Lloyd's of Harrowgate Yorkshire Gold. I don't drink it on work days, though, because one teabag makes two cups and I don't have time to drink two cups before I go to work, so I don't like to waste it. I get my supply of Yorkshire Gold from my world-travelling friends who go to England about once a year. They are very kind to always bring some back for me. When I'm out, I really miss it!

And that is the story of my breakfast. Really, more about tea, but what else can I say about breakfast?

Secret of the Stole Hint Four

2007-11-01T15:27:00.000-06:00

I almost fell behind this week, due to working a lot of unexpected hours, but I finished Hint Four: Luckily this week's hint was all bubbles, easy to memorize and no beads to fuss with. I opted to knit the stole at the designed length, without shortening or lengthening it. I am still really enjoying knitting this. Meanwhile, I ordered some blocking wires which should arrive tomorrow, so I'll be able to put them to the test on Hint Five! I still have no clue on what the theme might be. I do think the motif in the middle looks a bit like a church, but I'm not really sold on that.

In other knitting news, I'm almost done with the cap of sleeve #2 of the Nantucket Jacket. I hope to have it done and seamed this weekend!

Cable Surgery

2007-10-25T20:03:00.001-05:00

Today, I would like to talk about doing a little cable surgery. I was half-way done with the second sleeve of my Nantucket Jacket, when I noticed I made a little (hah!) mistake:

I had crossed the cable twice for no apparent reason. And what was worse, I didn't notice it until at least 25 rows later. I could have frogged down to before the mistake and re-knit. I could have ignored it and went on. Many very good knitters did indeed urge me to forget it and move on. I stewed and stewed over what to do, and then realized the fact that I was stewing over it meant I had to fix it. So, Cable Surgery it was.

Step One: Knit until you reach the stitches which comprise the cable. In this case, we are working a six-stitch, P1K1P1 cable. Slip all the cable stitches off the needle and ravel them all down past the mistake, then put the cable stitches on a dpn:

In this case, my dpns are quite a bit thinner than my working needle. It's probably better to have dpns close to your needle size, because you are going to be re-knitting your ravelled stitches and your gauge will be off if your needle size is too different. In this case, I was too lazy to hunt up different dpns.

Step Two: Using the closest loop from the ravelled stitches, begin re-knitting your cable:

Here, I am preparing to purl the first stitch of the six-stitch cable. Just like regular knitting, you bring the yarn forward to purl and take it to the back to knit.

Step 3: On the correct row, work your cable:

You can do this with a cable needle as you would normally, as shown here, or you can also use your two dpns to first cross your stitches and then knit them in order, whichever works better for you.

Step 4: Continue re-working each ravelled row, being careful to use the closest loop of ravelled yarn, taking each in order:

Here we have the first cable correctly re-worked. Now it's just a matter of working up the ladder, keeping track of each row as you work it so you can cable on the correct row. Note that I have quite a bit of looseness in the left-hand stitches. I fixed this by distributing the slack among the other stitches as I finished each row, by inserting a needle point into each stitch in turn, making each one a little bigger. The closer your dpn size is to your working needle size, the less slack you will have on the edge. This also means you will have less yarn to make your last couple of stitches, so you may have to do a bit of maneuvering to get the stitches on the needle. Make sure you don't twist your stitches as you make them.

Step 5: When you have re-worked all the rows, slip the stitches from the dpn back on to the working needle. You're good to go! A couple of tugs sideways and lengthwise helps reshape the stitches, and after a good wash and block, you probably won't be able to tell which cable got the surgery: What? You've never used your cat as a prop before?

Silver Lapis Necklace

2007-10-23T21:12:00.000-05:00

I knit up this little trifle today:

Silver Lapis Necklace from the "Knitted Gems" kit by Knitter's Journey bought at the Wisconsin Spin In. Used size 3 needles, 24 lapis beads and 26-gauge non-tarnish silver wire. Time to knit: 3 hours, including stringing the beads and attaching the clasp.

Boy, knitting with wire is a pain in the asterisk. I'm not completely sold on the whole thing. I'm reasonably pleased with the end product, which I'm giving to a co-worker for her birthday, but I'm not so sure I'm champing at the bit to make any more. Lord knows I have enough beads and there's plenty of leftover wire, but man, it killed my hand to make. I might make some bracelets--they'd be quicker.

A day in my life

2007-10-23T20:22:00.000-05:00

Saturday, October 20, 2007

5:00 am: Alarm clock goes off, I hit the snooze, pet Chester at the bottom of my bed, turn over and go back to sleep

5:09 am: Alarm clock goes off, I hit the snooze, pet Nellie at the bottom of my bed, turn over and go back to sleep

5:18 am: Alarm clock goes off, I get up. No cats on the bottom of the bed.

5:18-5:43 am: Morning ablutions and get dressed. I wear my Tofutsies socks for the first time.

5:43-6:15 am: Breakfast (Maple and Brown Sugar Shredded Wheat, yogurt, banana, chai tea) and read the paper.

6:16-6:30 am: Brush teeth and put on make-up. Discover I'm having a bad hair day, but it's too late to do anything about it now, time to go.

6:31 am: Tell Chester good-bye, that I have to go to work, that I'll be home in the afternoon. I do this every morning. If I don't, he will cry for me after I leave, according to my sister.

6:32 am: Drive to work. It's a good time of day. I drive east and enjoy the silhouettes of trees against the sunrise.

6:58 am: Arrive at work, where I will spend 8 hours here:

6:58 am: Realize I've left my pathetic lunch, leftover pepperoni pizza at home. This dooms me to a lunch of leftover bakery and possibly an apple. Grr.

6:59-11:57 am: Check guests out, take their money, do the bookkeeping, check my e-mail and hang out at the Knitty Coffeehouse, answer the phone, drink two cups of coffee, and troubleshoot a non-working toilet (just needs a plunger, thank god, that's the housekeeper's job).

11:58 am: The caterer next door brings us a leftover lunch of salad with mixed greens, tenderloin, feta cheese and cherry tomatoes, and cheesy grated potatoes. Hooray! She also brings me three frozen, unbaked croissants filled with pumpkin and cream cheese. Dessert for tonight!

11:59 am-12:17 pm: Answer three phone calls, check two guests out, greet and answer questions from tourists wandering through.

12:18 pm-12:48 pm: Thank goodness, there's still some lunch left. Sit down with the housekeepers and have lunch. Am only interrupted twice.

12:48 pm-3:24 pm: Do a couple of loads of dishes, finish bookkeeping, answer calls, greet incoming guests, more phone calls, discover I've done the bookkeeping on the wrong form and fix and re-print, balance out cash drawer (+$12.42? what's up with that?), prepare bank deposit, more phone calls, sell some gift certificates, hand the whole thing off to the evening innkeeper.

3:24 pm: Drive home, past dairy and sheep farms, corn and pumpkin fields, under a bright blue sky. I curse my job in the windowless closet of an office. I should do something to enjoy the weather but I am drained from my day of constantly being nice to people. It is very hard. I know this is the only bit of the outdoors I will enjoy today:

Sheep:
3:48 pm: Am greeted at the door by the kitties:

3:49 -5:15 pm: Mess around on computer, knit a bit on Secret of the Stole, bake off the pumpkin-filled croissants.

5:15 pm: Am asked by my sister whether I was planning on making dinner. I offer my Noodles gift card if she will go get. She declines.

5:16-5:17 pm: Argument with sister.

5:18-6:18 pm: Knit on Secret of the Stole, trying not to argue further. Just want someone else to make or arrange for dinner just one day a week.

6:19 pm: Remember pizza in fridge and eat it cold with some cranberry Sierra Mist (yum!). Honeycrisp apple for dessert.

6:32 pm: Remember the pumpkin croissant and have that for second dessert.

6:33 - 9:28 pm: Knit on Secret of the Stole, listen to audiobook (The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwall), mess around on computer.

9:29 pm: Evening ablutions, jammies

9:35 pm: Bedtime! Argument and work have worn me out.

Secret of The Stole Hint Three

2007-10-22T23:17:00.000-05:00

Because I like to reward my stalker!

Can you see poor Chester's scratched nose?

He's been "playing" a bit rough with Nellie.

She looks entirely too innocent to have caused such damage, doesn't she?

Tofutsies Eternal Socks

2007-10-22T17:28:00.000-05:00

The Socks That Took Forever are done!

Yarn: Tofutsies by SWTC

Pattern: basic cuff down, K2 P2 rib with short-row heels and toes

Started: May 29, 2007 Finished: October 15, 2007 Four and a half months! Sad.

I love 'em and so does Chester. Why yes, those are my jammies I'm wearing!

Trouble in River City

2007-10-18T14:04:00.001-05:00

Trouble with a Capital T:
That rhymes with P:

That stands for Pool. I guess this Lorna's Laces Shepard Socks is not destined to be Jaywalkers. I guess I will continue to be the only knitter in the world who hasn't made a pair of Jaywalkers. Off to the frog pond for you! Maybe I'll make Monkeys instead.

Meanwhile, spinning's going fine. I spun this batt up and am working on the coordinating silk. Like buttah.

Blogstalking Statues

2007-10-17T08:26:00.000-05:00

It's a really long fish. Made out of concrete, decorated with broken bottles. Pictures by my 7 year-old nephew, Brandon. The guy in the carriage is not on the fish, he's in the background, but I like the way it looks like he's riding the fish. A few more freaky concrete statues can be seen here.

3 things I love, 3 things I hate

2007-10-16T12:07:00.001-05:00

Three things I love:

1. Fall. I love hiking in the woods, crunching the leaves underneath, seeing squirrels scurry after nuts, drinking in the color of the turning leaves against a blue, blue sky. I love the way the sunlight slants a different color, I love how the crisp air makes it seem I can see each individual leaf on every tree. I love hearing Canada geese honk as they fly overhead, and I love the smell of woodsmoke in the air. I love Fall.

2. Lunch. I like to go all out. This particular lunch is homemade vegetable and alphabet noodle soup, pork hash sandwich, Doritos, grapes and homemade apple sauce. Pork hash? Old family recipe. Take cooked leftover meat: pork, chicken, turkey, ham. Grind it up in an old cast-iron meat grinder. I suppose a new-fangled food processor would work too. Mix with Miracle Whip (NOT mayo, go white trash for this) and sweet pickle relish. Serve on buttered bread, preferably white for maximum traditional value. Doritos? Love 'em and not gonna apologize about it. Why is the apple sauce that color? Made with Jonathon apples, boiled with skins on and then seived--nice, isn't it? And very yummy too.

3. Jasper Fforde. If you've never read him, if you like literature at all and have a sense of humor and like alternate-reality stuff, you will love him. It's a quirky mix, but it's just pure fun to read. Start with The Eyre Affair. Seriously, it's great stuff.

Three Things I Hate:

1. 83 fricking degrees in October???!!!???? That shit's crazy! I hate anything hotter than 76. I wish it could be 63 degrees every day. Good thing the cold front came through.

2. Laundry. While I'm not fond of any household chores, I particularily hate laundry day. I force myself to fold it as it comes out of the dryer, because otherwise it gets all wrinkled as it stays in the basket two or three days before I put it away. I don't know why I can't just put it away immediately. It's a mystery. This particular week's worth of laundry (yes, one basket, it's just my own laundry, this is a major benefit of being single and childless) sat in the basket on my bedroom floor from Monday until Friday night, when I emptied the remaining clothes I hadn't pulled out yet. That's a new record for me.

3. The thing I probably hate the most, I am not going to post a picture of. You all can do your own Googling if you want to. CRUSTACEANS. Lobsters. Crayfish. Crabs. Shrimp. **shudder** They are creepy. These past few years, I have noticed a horrifying trend. Kiosks in malls at Christmastime selling fiddler crabs in fancy shells. THIS IS WRONG, PEOPLE! What a horrible, horrible idea of a present. I can't even think about it.

Three Things I Don't Hate (but a lot of people do):

1. Cleaning the bathroom. Having worked as a hotel housekeeper in my early working career, I have the skills and the tricks to making this one of the easiest chores around the house. It is, however, essential to do it frequently, or else all hell breaks loose.

2. Mondays. Usually my day off, so--Hooray For Mondays!

3. Paying Taxes. I don't mind doing my taxes, and I don't mind paying taxes. It's part of living in civilization. Get over it.

Three Things I Don't Love (that a lot of people do):

1. Shopping, especially for shoes and clothes. If I could wear the same ten outfits over and over, if my closet automatically replaced worn out clothing with a duplicate, I would be fine with that. Hand knit items excepted, of course.

2. TV. Not that I have anything against it, I just don't watch it all that much. I used to, a lot. Now I don't. Can't say why.

3. Babies. Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm sure your baby is beautiful, a precious bundle of joy and probably the most awesome baby ever. But I don't want to hold him, coo over him, or see more than three pictures at a time. I'm sure if I had my own baby, I would hold her, coo over her, and force random strangers to view seventeen nearly-identical photos in the check-out line, but as of now, it's not happening. Flame away.

Secret of the Stole Hint Two

2007-10-16T11:13:00.000-05:00

I'm kinda afraid those are spiders or crabs.....

Secret of the Stole Hint One

2007-10-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

I'm finished with the First Hint on Secret of the Stole! Here it is, not terribly-well blocked, but enough to give you an idea:

I'm really enjoying this lace business. The Knit Picks Harmony wood needles are easy to work with, keeping my stitches in good order, and I love the Knit Picks Shadow yarn as well. I have been able to keep my place pretty well, although I did have to drop some stitches a couple of times due to mixing up the order of the YO's and decreases, but it was quite easy to fix in all cases. The only downside in the whole business so far is that I have to wait until the next hint is revealed on Friday to continue.

Meanwhile, I am almost done with the first sleeve of the Nantucket Jacket. I think I am actually timing a sweater right for once. It should be done as the cool weather finally rolls in, and I'll be able to wear it on a nice fall hike.

The problem with being lazy....

2007-10-04T15:09:00.000-05:00

.....is that when you make a blog post with pictures you took last winter, people think it's snowing in October. Sorry!

Although we did have snow in April, as chronicled here, yesterday's photos were all from last winter. It's beautiful and sunny and 78 degrees here in SE Wisconsin today, and here's some pictures I took out in my yard today:

Foxgloves in my new cottage garden. This is the first year for this garden, and it took FOREVER for the foxgloves to bloom. I hope all the flowers survive winter and come back well next year.

Morning glories, at 3:15 pm. So we had some morning glories here last year, and we planted a different variety this year. Last year's volunteers plus this year's planting plus not much in the way of thinning equals The Morning Glories That Ate The Garage. I should really take a morning picture as it is positively bursting with blooms then.

Sweet 100's tomatoes ripening on the vine. One plant has provided us with three months of non-stop cherry tomatoes. Yum! It pretty much took over the garden and sprawled out among the three other tomato plants which could not keep up in production. If the frost holds back, I think I can get about three or four pints more of cherry tomatoes.

And now, in Fibery News, I have spun laceweight! Yay! I turned this merino/tussah blend into about 545 yards of 20 wpi two-ply, which comes out to 2184 ypp. I feel pretty damn good about it.
One thing about it: although I bought a red and blue and white mix of fiber, somehow I did not expect to get purple yarn. I can't imagine why not. No matter what I do, I end up with purple yarn.

And finally, if your birthday is October 4th and you could reasonably expect to receive a present from me and if for some unfathomable reason, you are reading my blog, please stop reading now!

Ok, for the rest of us, I have made this:

The bottom band is my hand-spun cashmere/silk, only 60 yards worth, so I combined it with Socks that Rock mediumweight in the Downpour colorway held with a strand of Kidsilk Haze. A complete experiment with no swatching at all and a complete success, if I do say so myself. Should I write up the pattern?

How I get from here to there, blogstalking 3

2007-10-03T18:50:00.000-05:00

Usually this is Here:

Usually this is There:
Usually this is how I get there:
Fascinating, no?

Recent Stash Enhancements

2007-09-24T11:48:00.000-05:00

I've been buying some yarn recently. I know, you're shocked!
Sock yarn, from Temptations in Sturgeon Bay. $1.50 each, because they were the last balls. Haven't these people ever heard of colorwork?

The last four balls of Merino et Soie by Naturally. I bought a bunch of these, and some lavender and teal colors too, back in January at my LYS's $3 a ball sale. When I got them home, I realized I probably didn't have quite enough of the grey for a sweater, but I resisted going back. I finally caved the other day and bought these at the exorbitant rate of $5.25 a ball. Originally marked $8.75.

Knit Picks Shadow, in three colors. I couldn't decide what color to make my Secret of the Stole, so I ordered three. I decided on the green. If it turns out I can't stand lace, I'll be swapping the other two colors away, I guess. But they are all lovely.

Knit Picks Gloss. I've been meaning to give this a try. I'm not completely sold on its wonderfulness in the skein. It just doesn't have any wow factor. That may change once I knit some up.

Knit Picks Harmony wood tips: LOVE THEM! They are lovely, sharp, smooth but not slick. They made my lace swatch a pleasure. I like them so much, I ordered two more in smaller sizes.

Harvest Moon batt and tussah silk top by Abby. Guess Abby was thinking the same thing as the flowers from my garden: Yellow and orange! The batt is a blend of super-fine merino, tussah silk, suri alpaca, and Mongolian cashmere! Soooo gorgeous and soft!

Here's something that merits a few less exclamation marks. My swatch for Secret of the Stole. It's a little floppy and open, I think I will go down one more needle size. On the tail on the left is my two bead choices. I think the bottom one (clear lined with gold) will get the green light. I like the brown one on top too, but I think it blends a little too much.

I'm half-way done with the second half of the front of Nantucket Jacket, which means I will soon have to sit down and refigure the arms to make them full length. Time to get out the graph paper.

Blogstalking: Assignment Two

2007-09-24T10:54:00.000-05:00

What's in my purse? The answer is completely unremarkable:
The "purse" is an Eddie Bauer Touring Bag. I don't like purses, and I certainly don't spend any money on them. The idea of a $250 purse makes me clutch my chest in horror. I actually didn't carry a purse at all for many years. Wallet in one pocket, keys and sunglasses in another; that was my system, and it worked. Then I got a cell phone and I suddenly found I needed a purse. Of course, when you start carrying a purse, you start carrying a lot of junk. Here's the inventory, if you care: yarn requirement chart for sweaters, sunblock, sunglasses, glasses cleaners, assorted receipts, auto insurance info, comb, little pad of paper, random business card, contact solution, barrette, lip balm, pill box, wallet, band-aids, a handful of toothpicks I stole from a restaurant (my mother always wants one, and never has one), keys, cell phone, and Tide Stick (I am a slob and always spill on my shirt when eating.)

So there you have it. Now of these things, here's what I use often enough to justify carrying around: Wallet. Keys. Sunglasses. Tide Stick. That's it. Minus the Tide Stick, just what I carried around in my pockets in my pre-purse days. Not the cell phone, but it's there in case I need it. Last month, I logged 1 minute in calls not to my sister, which doesn't count because we share the account. Hmmm.

Knittyhead BlogStalking: Who am I?

2007-09-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

In no particular order, just how Blogger decided to upload:

I'm a fan of icanhascheezburger.com. I bought this set of buttons for the WTF? one.

I've wanted a horse all my life. This poster hangs on my bedroom wall. The horse in this portrait by Stubbs is called Whistlejacket, which I think is one of the kickass-est of names ever.

Chester is my cat. He is devoted to me and I am devoted to him. He's the best cat in the whole world, even right after he pukes in three different spots on the carpet. I would really like not to perpetuate the whole knitter/crazy cat lady stereotype, but I can't help it. Isn't he such a cute boy, yes he is, Chester's my sweety-pie, kiss, kiss, kiss. See? I can't help it.

I was a really cute kid in first grade. Weren't we all? When I was in first grade, I made my teacher a Tweedy-bird shrinky-dink Christmas ornament. It was the first of dozens of crafts I took up and failed at before I became a Knitter. Some other tried and failed crafts: pencil drawing, watercolor painting, counted cross-stitch, candle-making, plastic canvas needlepoint, stencilling, leatherworking, ceramics, and on, and on, and on. The jury is still out on dyeing and weaving, but I feel pretty safe in saying the knitting and the spinning will continue.

I love to camp and hike. Here I am, on the right, with my sister Laura at Copper Falls State Park earlier this summer. The things I like about camping are: being surrounded by nature, spotting birds and wildlife, identifying wildflowers, being challenged by cooking outside (and everything tastes better!), getting filthy and not caring, and messing with the campfire. The best part is coming home and taking a nice long shower and sleeping in your own bed that night.

I'm a bibliophile. This is one of my four bookshelves. The bottom two shelves are my knitting library. This particular bookcase holds all my childhood and sentimental favorites. I once placed a Yahoo! Personals Ad describing myself as a bibliophile and Packer fan and got several replies from men who thought the word bibliophile means you love the Bible. I am not a Bible-ophile, except as a somewhat interesting piece of historical fiction. I am not interested in dating anyone who can't be bothered to look up an unfamiliar word in a dictionary, but I don't mind tormenting them via e-mail with logic when they try to tell me God made the Packers win the Superbowl because Reggie White was a minister. I am a cross between a cynical heretic and a private humanist.

Speaking of Packer fans, I have not one, but two Packer schedules on my fridge. You know, in case I lose one. I have almost zero interest in any other sport, either as a spectator or a participant, but I'm a pretty rabid Cheesehead. I have never worn cheese on my head, however. I don't like to perpetuate stereotypes if I can help it. Sometimes I can't help it (see above.)

I am an IKEA devotee. At my computer desk right now, without turning my head, I can count five objects purchased at IKEA. The lampshade pictured above is not one of them--it's in my bedroom. I think the majority of the appeal, besides the cheap cheerfulness of the Swedish design, is the fact that I have to drive two hours to go there, so of course once I get there, I have to buy stuff to make it worthwhile. Psychology. It gets you every time.

So there you have it. A truly fascinating glimpse at the real me behind the avatar. One last tidbit: sarcasm is my most unbecoming trait, and the one I secretly like the most.

Nantucket Jacket Update

2007-09-15T19:31:00.000-05:00

I have the back done and am almost done with the right front.
I really hope those seed-stitch panels block out even with the cable sections!

Fiber Stash Enhancement

2007-09-15T19:10:00.001-05:00

Here's what I bought at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend:
4 oz. Merino/Mohair blend (80/20). Freeport colorway. Hoping to spin a Schaeffer Anne type sock yarn.
4 oz Organic cotton, in three natural colors. Just a taste--I don't know what kind of yarn this will make!

100 % silk top. So much prettier in real life. I bought this from my favorite kind-of-Local Yarn Shop, Bahr Creek Llamas and Fiber Shop.

Coopworth/llama blend, dyed with cochneal. From Handspun by Stephania.

Corriedale/silk dyed with osage orange and indigo, I think. Also by Handspun by Stephania.

Had a great time with Kathy, met up with Elizabeth and her bright son, Owen, and ran into Christy and her mom. A very enjoyable day.

I'm rapidly approaching SABLE with the fiber!

Loom!

2007-09-15T18:22:00.001-05:00

Recently found through Craig's List:
15" Four-shaft Schacht Table Loom with 12 dpi reed. Solid maple, in good condition, but I will replace tie-up strings and apron-rod strings, and maybe buy some more heddles. New, it costs about $500. I got it for $75. Whoo hoo! I love Craig's List!

Here's my first "project" on it. It's worsted-weight wool that I dyed with Kool-aid (the variegated red/green/orange) and leftover Easter egg dye (solid green). I'm just doing a plain or tabby weave right now to get a feel for it. I pretty much hated the Kool-aid yarn in the skein and couldn't stomach the thought of knitting it up. I am totally grooving on the plaid effect it is creating when weaving, though. I don't know why it's kinda wavy and I made a mistake going from one color to the next. It's obvious I'm a rank beginner!

Nellie loves weaving. She never left my side as I measured my warp and warped the loom. Last night after I came upstairs after weaving the bit you see here, she stayed downstairs calling me, and when I went down today to take pictures, she was sure I was going to start up again. Silly kitty.

New beginnings

2007-09-03T09:22:00.000-05:00

Summer's almost over, and I couldn't be happier. I love fall, and I always think of it as a time to start new things. I'm motivated to organize (got all my fiber and spinning equipment tucked away on a shelf in my closet), exercise (nothing better than a long fall ramble in the woods), and experiment (I'm planning on a big dye day later this week). And I started something new:

Nantucket Jacket by Norah Gaughan from Fall 2006 Interweave Knits. I'm using Knit Picks Swish Superwash in Copper. Can I pause for a moment here and sing the praises of Swish? I loooooove it! Soft, squishy, sproingy, beautiful stitch definition, superwash and cheap! It's so wonderful, and now they have it in DK weight, too, which I much prefer to worsted. I could seriously knit for the rest of my life in only Knit Picks yarns.

Anyway, check out the stitch definition:

The last time I knit seed stitch, it didn't look anything like this. It might be that I've improved somewhat, but I also think the wonderful bounce of the yarn helps tremendously. And this is pre-blocked! See that cable there? It's a 6-stitch p1,k1,p1 cable. The purls blend in to the background of reverse stockinette and the knit stitch is the only visible part of the cable. Very nice effect. Now, that cable there gave me a bit of a headache. I crossed it the wrong way on the very first crossing and continued to cross it the wrong way. I got past the fourth crossing before I spotted it. I wrestled with myself for a long moment, trying to convince the O/C part of myself that it didn't matter, who cared which way the cable went, no one will know but me. But then I thought about what might happen when I seamed it up. Maybe it wouldn't make a difference, but maybe it would. So I dropped those six stitches at least 24 rows and reknit them, crossing the correct way. Only I had to do it three times because I kept screwing it up. But look at it now--still unblocked, and it is almost identical to all the other cables. I tell you, I love Swish! After all that acrylic baby sweater knitting, it is such a relief to be knitting in wool again.

So that's what I've been up to this weekend, along with working. Oh, and I might be buying a loom later today or tomorrow.

Kid Sweater Trio

2007-08-30T10:12:00.000-05:00

I've been working on these a loooong time. Or actually, I've been dragging my feet on these for a looong time.

My dear friend Margie, who shall remain blogless, (although she should blog, she makes the most beautiful cross-stich pieces) has three adorable grand children. They're going to look so cute in these!
Pattern: Sirdar 1538 Yarn: Sirdar Snuggly DK and Sirdar Snuggly Fair Isle DK, 100% Acrylic
I started the blue sweater in November, I think, and finished it in January. The cardigan I started at The Other Knitting Camp in Wisconsin on August 4 and finished August 17. The final sweater I started August 18 and finished August 27. A quick run through the delicate cycle in the washing machine, a partial dry on low in the dryer, and a bit of air-drying at the end makes for easy-care kids clothes. Can't wait to see them modeled on Josie, Tristan and Genna!

So now. I'm swatching for the Nantucket Jacket and the Knit Pick's Palette Sampler Fair Isle cardigan. Decisions, decisions!

I also signed up to participate in The Secret of the Stole, a "mystery" knitalong. I really want to do some proper lace and I thought the structure of a knitalong might help me stay focused on it. I'm going to look for laceweight at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival (next weekend! yay!), as I don't have enough laceweight of one color in the old stash right now. Plus, it's beaded! Now, I have a huge bead stash just sitting around not doing anything, but that doesn't mean I can't buy more!

Good Mail Week

2007-08-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

I got a lot of great stuff in the mail this week. A lot.

First off, a wonderful package from the fabulous one-skein-wonder. Lovely pinky-peachy yarn she spun herself, laceweight merino beautifully dyed by herself, Blue-Faced Leicester dyed by Spunky Eclectic and two more braids of BFL dyed by OSW. Plus a long-coveted sheepy tape measure. Could I be any more spoiled? Thank you so much Lauren!

Next, I needed to make some room on my knitting bookshelf, so I offered up the really nice Cables Untangled by Melissa Leapman. It's a lovely book, just nothing in there I couldn't find elsewhere in my library. So Bad Amy thought she'd like a crack at it. Oh, just send me any fiber you care to part with, I replied breezily. Look what came in the mail today! Tons, just tons, of blended wools and a couple of silk cocoons. I'm gonna get around to those other cocoons you sent me Amy, really I am! I'm seriously considering stopping this trading business. I end up feeling so guilty every time. People are constantly sending me way more than I send them! Thanks, Amy!

Finally, this little bit of heaven. It's batts blended by the extremely knowlegeable and talented Abby. It's carded of fine wool (BFL and merino), tussah silk, and camel and yak down. Bet you wish you could get your hands on it, eh? Lay off, 'cause it's mine, all mine! Lord, help me to spin a decent lace weight!

Guess I'm gonna be a little busy spinning!

I might have spoken too soon...

2007-08-21T16:04:00.001-05:00

So last post, I was saying I thought I might actually have the hang of the whole spinning thing.

These lovely batts smacked me right down. Beautiful suri alpaca, merino, silk and nylon. And they fought me every step of the way. Lumpity, slubbity, thickity and thinnity. I never got a grasp on a good drafting method and I fiddled constantly. I really despaired of the finished yarn, until I set the twist. A bit of a soak, and a good couple of thwacks against the tub, and it's actually something approaching yarn:

Suri Alpaca/Merino/Silk/Nylon blend, two ply

2.5 oz, 160 yards, 15 wpi

It really is lovely. Thanks, One-Skein-Wonder!

DIY Yarn Meter

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I made myself a new holder for my yarn meter. My old holder was a terribly jury-rigged affair not worthy of blogging, but the new one is working out well.

First, go to your local fishing supply retailer, and get a fishing line counter. I got mine at Cabela's for $12. Then go to your local craft supply and check out the unfinished wood stuff. Look for something like this:

A Whatnot Shelf. If you can't find one with a dowel, buy a dowel about the width of a fishing pole. But you do need the kind where the plane of the shelf is the absolute top and with supports on either side. This one, with handy dowel included, cost me $5.

Then, stablize the dowel by drilling some pilot holes through the supports and into the dowel on either end, then some small screws. If your cheapo shelf's dowel is firmly affixed and doesn't rotate, then you can skip this step.

Finally, drill holes just above the dowel on either side and sand or file the inside smooth. You don't want these holes to be too huge or too far up because you need for the yarn to go through the yarn meter at the same level as the track on the meter, or slightly below. Make sure you have it well sanded to prevent snagging your yarn. I use my orifice hook to thread the yarn through the holes, alternately, you could saw some slots for easier yarn threading.

Voila! Your very own $17 yarn meter! Last time I looked, yarn meters were $50 in the knitting catalogs, and it's the exact same fishing line counter! For extra stability, I like to clamp this on my counter with some cheapo C-clamps I got at the dollar store. Oh, and don't forget to divide by 3. It counts feet, not yards.

Yarn, lots of yarn

2007-08-12T20:28:00.001-05:00

So on Saturday I went to Stitches with Kathrows. I had a hundred bucks in my wallet and I came away with this, with money left over:

That's 2200 yards of persimon wool, 1280 yards of pink cotton, 1000 yards of lace weight for dyeing, two balls of Jojoland superwash sock yarn and samples of Malabrigo laceweight and SWTC Yin Yang. I'm pretty happy with it all.

Besides shopping, I had fun meeting up with knittyheads Darx, Bigwildonion, Errs, Plumfan, and Celtic Coyote and her friend. And then Kathrows and I spotted a super-fast knitter knitting away in front of a display of Lily Chin yarns, stopped to chat a bit, only to discover it was Lily Chin! That was cool--she's really sweet and claims she's nowhere near the fastest knitter out there, but she sure could run circles around me. It was a real knitting community moment!

In other news, I'm finally starting to feel like an actual spinner:

1146 yards of triple-ply merino. I haven't measured the wpi, but it feels like sportweight. It's actually even and slub-free. I plan to dye it, maybe a green color of some sort.

Knitting Camp!

2007-08-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

Imagine a camp where all you do is knit. And camp. And meet some other knitters. And make smores. And knit! Elizabeth organized us, and The Other Knitting Camp in Wisconsin took place August 3-5, 2007. We had tons of fun, swapping yarn and knitting and getting rained on and hiking what seemed like a half a mile to get to the bathroom. Elizabeth did way more than her share of the work, and some guilt still lingers over that. We all agreed that it must become an annual event. Celtic Coyote and Pumpkinseed

Criosa and Kathrows

I failed to get a shot of Elizabeth. It might be that she was constantly on the move, or it might be that when she sat down and pulled out the most beautiful Fair Isle sweater to work on that I was too stunned to get a shot of her. I truly had the most wonderful weekend, laughing and getting to know this great group of knitters. Make your plans for next year!

Fiber Fair!

2007-07-23T18:18:00.000-05:00

Here's what I bought at the Midwest Fiber and Folkart Fair:

Not a lot, but I was working on a strictly cash basis, and I stuck to it.

Corriedale/silk, dyed with osage orange and indigo, 8 ounces

Merino/silk top, 4 ounces. I think this might be an Ashland Bay product.

Merino/Tencel, 4 ounces. It's much shinier in real life.

My very first Socks that Rock. Downpour.

Kathrows and I went on Friday, and we met Celtic Coyote. We entertained quite a few bystanders by standing around with yarn on our heads, and actually accosted a completely innocent woman after she waved her arms at her husband standing a few feet away from us. These little doses of humiliation were worth it, however, to spend time with Coyote (whom some call Heather, but I suspect I might not get the hang of it), who is funny and warm and an extremely accomplished shopper.

The fair itself was really excellent. Booth after booth had to be inspected. Hardly any could be passed by without a closer look. Highlights were: The Fold (where I went gaga over the spindles but in the end restrained myself), Interlacements, Brooks Farm, Carolina Homespun (where Coyote got a spindle lesson), and Knitting Notions (excellent handdyes). I definitely plan to return next year.

Knitting Experience

2007-07-14T18:27:00.000-05:00

Ever wanted to see statues of people and animals made out of concrete and broken beer bottles?

Visit Wisconsin Concrete County Park south of Phillips, Wisconsin. Stops like these are essential to the summer vacation roadtrip!

I've been knitting for three years. Seems like a lot longer. When I started out, I made a policy that with each project I would learn something new. A new technique, stitch pattern, cast on, cast off, needles, pattern. Aside from a few socks and dish cloths, I think I've followed that policy pretty well. I've learned a lot, but there's still plenty left for me to try. Here's a little meme making the rounds I thought would be good here.

Bold for stuff you’ve done, Italics for stuff you intend to do one day, and Normal for stuff you’re not planning on doing.

Afghan/Blanket
I-cord
I-cord edging
Garter stitch
Knitting with metal wire
Shawl
Stockinette stitch
Socks: top-down
Socks: toe-up
Knitting with yarn made of camel, yak, alpaca, synthetic, sheep's wool, recycled,vintage, silk, soy, bamboo, banana, plastic bags, cut up fabric, cashmere, hemp, linen, wire, cotton
Mittens cuff up
Mittens fingers down
Hat
Moebius band knitting
Participating in a KAL
Sweater
Drop stitch patterns
Slip stitch patterns
Domino knitting (modular knitting)
Twisted stitch patterns
Two end knitting
Charity knitting
Cardigan
Toy/doll clothing
Knitting with circular needles
Knitting with your own handspun yarn
Slippers
Graffiti knitting (knitting items on, or to be left on the street)
Continental Knitting
Designing knitted garments
Cable stitch patterns (incl. Aran)
Lace patterns
Publishing a knitting book
Scarf
American/English knitting (vs. continental)
Knitting to make money
Knitting for a living
Button holes
Fair Isle knitting
Norwegian knitting
Dyeing with plant colors
Knitting items for a wedding
Household items (dishcloths, washcloths, tea cozies…)
Knitting socks (or other small tubular items) on two circulars
Olympic knitting
Knitting with someone else’s handspun yarn
Knitting with DPNs
Holiday related knitting
Teaching a male how to knit
Bobbles
Knitting smocking
Dyeing yarn
Steeks
Knitting art
Fulling/felting
Textured knitting
Kitchener BO
Purses/bags
Knitting with beads
Swatching
Long Tail CO
Entrelac
Knitting and purling backwards
Machine knitting
Knitting with self-patterning/self-striping/variegating yarn
Stuffed toys
Baby items
Darning
Jewelry
Writing a pattern
Gloves
Intarsia
Knitting for preemies
Tubular CO
Freeform knitting
Short rows
Cuffs/fingerless mitts/arm warmers
Pillows
Knitting a pattern from an online knitting magazine
Rug
Knitting on a loom
Thrummed knitting
Knitting a gift
Knitting for pets
Shrug/bolero/poncho
Knitting with dog/cat hair
Hair accessories
Knitting in public
Knit a vintage pattern (over 40 yrs old)
Crochet
Cross stitch/Embroidery/Needlepoint
Sew-like on a machine

Exceedingly Spoiled

2007-07-13T15:18:00.000-05:00

I got a wonderful package today from my Spinning SP, exSeidingly spoiled, also known on Knitty as one-skein-wonder, and just look what it contained!

Silk top. Yellow and purple, called Buttercups and Lavender. I see this as my first candidate for a Navaho-ply. It's fabulous!

That's not all, though. Look at this:

Four really spectacular batts made of suri alpaca, merino, silk and nylon. Look at the color. Think she's got me pegged, or what?

She also sent some seeds for my garden--daisies and California poppies, two of my favorites--they're so cheerful! Thanks so much OSW!

Is this me?

2007-07-12T18:33:00.001-05:00

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

I think it's not too far off, especially about the bloody civil war.

Camping

2007-07-11T21:05:00.000-05:00

Camping is somewhat of a crap shoot. Can't control the weather, never know what kind of people will be at the park, never know what might go wrong. This last, four night trip is a case in point. Here's some things that went wrong:

Nephew Brandon, age 6, broke his collar bone the day before the trip, so he camped in a brace and a sling, no bike, no roller blades, no swimming

First night's supper of hamburgers tumble to the sandy ground when the grill inexplicably collapses, causing us to have crunchy hamburgers

Heavy downpour on second day collapses camper awning and screen house, breaking four poles and getting a whole lot of crap wet

Peggy, one of the adult campers, falls victim to a stomach bug and spends a whole day sick in her tent

Camping coffee pot gets broken, dooming us to--gulp--instant!

Tripod chain weakens in fire, dumping our stockpot into the ashes

It should have been a disaster of a trip, but it wasn't. It was beautiful and peaceful. Twice we had lakes to ourselves, we saw seven deer, loons, cormorants, woodpeckers and nuthatches, and a white pelican. The fireworks in the little town of Mellen didn't start until after 10 pm, and the fireworks the waiting crowd set off were almost professional quality. The marshmallows were fresh and roasted themselves to perfection, and we didn't run out of food or drink. The stars were bright and crowded the sky, winking among the clearly visible belt of the Milky Way. We were surrounded in Nature and it was beautiful.

Copper Falls, Copper Falls State Park, Wisconsin

Day Lake, Chequamegon National Forest

Approaching Madeline Island on the ferry

Wild Iris in Big Bay State Park, Madeline Island, Wisconsin

Loon Lake in the evening, Copper Falls State Park

More Merino

2007-07-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

Remember this hand-dyed merino? It became this:

My first 3-ply. 14 wpi, sportweight, about 278 yds.

Yep, it's pretty purpley-pink, all right.

I've been very remiss not to blog this yet:

A wonderful sock bag, made for me by Kathy. It's perfect for grabbing-and-going and having my knitting with me. It's been to a Brewers game, several restaurants, a park, my back yard, and work. Even with all that travelling, I'm still on my first sock of my Tofutsies pair. Note the color of the sock yarn. Sense a theme?

Here's a shot of one of our perennial gardens:

I love the contrast of the cool purple lavender and the fiery gallardia.

Camping this week way Up North. Look for some camping shots next week!

Cashmere-Tussah Handspun

2007-06-26T19:38:00.000-05:00

Just look!

Cashmere-Tussah Handspun

Two-Ply Worsted Spun, about 60 yards, 2 ounces, 11 wpi.

Thanks to my Spinning SP, exSeidingly spoiled! I couldn't keep my hands off it, so I spun it up quick! It's so light and soft and shiny. I can't say enough about it. I probably could have done it more justice, it was a little fussy to draft, so I ended up with some uneveness, but I plan to knit this up pronto. I'm thinking a small scarf, because it's so soft I want to wear it around my neck.

BFL, my new BFF

2007-06-20T17:46:00.000-05:00

Meet my new BFF (sorry Kirsty, I know I said we would be BFF, but that was 20 years ago now. You had a good run.):

Spinners! Have you treated yourself to Blue Faced Leicester yet? How about some BFL handpainted by Spunky Eclectic? If you do, you will find yourself a new Best Friend Forever. It came looking a little travel-worn, but just fluffing it up a tad did wonders:

And it's a dream to spin! Smooth, even, sproingy. It practically spun itself and this is the result:

I'm so In Love! 4 oz, 130 yards, double-plyed, spun semi-woolen. About worsted weight, 10 wpi.

And now for something completely different:

Recycled Denim and Soda Bottles. Bad Amy sent me this last fall. The fiber feels like dryer lint and it's a bit tricky to spin. It sticks, sticks, sticks, and then pulls apart. I went for yards with a nice even singles and then yards of thick-and-thin Slub City. The texture is definitely cottony. I think I need more cotton-spinning experience to find out if it's just me. I am planning on buying a packet of RIT dye and dyeing this. It'll make a small discloth, I think.

Gratuitous Kitty Pic!

Ain't Nellie ladylike?

Drooooool!

2007-06-20T06:15:00.000-05:00

I now present to you, courtesy of my fabulous Knittyboard Spinning Secret Pal, exSeidingly spoiled, some Fiber Pr0n!

Angora! Pet the bunny. Isn't he soft! Just wonderful!

Cashmere/Tussah Silk blend! Oh my god. Beautiful, shiny, SOFT. If only that touch-o-vision had been invented! This is literally the softest thing I've ever touched. I had to put it away because I spent a good half-hour petting it, rubbing it against my face, encouraging family members to do the same. I eagerly await having a free bobbin to start spinning this up.

I also got a cd with songs about Illinois on it, so that gives me a nice clue. I plan on listening to it on my way to work today, in oh, five minutes or so!

Thank you so much, pal! You really hit the Wow Meter on this "little" package! I'm on Cloud 9 (and it's not as soft as that cashmere/tussah)!

DIY Day

2007-06-13T16:31:00.001-05:00

Today I made my own hackle! For the none-fiber-processors out there, a hackle is a device used to comb fibers. In my particular case, I am interested in using it to blend already-dyed combed tops to create a custom color blend. First, I saw an article in Spring 2007 Spin-Off about using a hackle to blend colors and different fibers. Then, over at the knittyboard, Clotho42 shared her own home-made hackle. So I went off to the dollar store and the big box craft store and I bought these ingredients:

Two sets of clamps ($2.50), four large dog combs ($5.00), one 24" shelf ($9.99), one pack of wooden disks ($0.99). The truly frugal would make their own shelf with wood scraps, but I decided the saved work was worth the extra payout. I'm a horrible woodworker, so I take shortcuts where I can find them. Total payout: $18.48. Oh yeah, the clamps and the dog combs, although purchased at the DOLLAR store, were actually $1.25 each. Yeah, my dollar store is a big rip-off.

At home, I had: a saw, sandpaper, a power drill, assorted drill bits, and eight screws that were long enough to join the combs to the shelf, but not long enough to poke out the back. I had to mix and match, because I'm not that picky. Oh, and I had some safety goggles. Safety is very important, especially when working with power tools.

First, I trimmed the combs. I stuck them in the vise and sawed the ends off, then I sanded the rough edges with the sandpaper. Next, I positioned the combs along the bottom edge of the shelf. I tried to align the comb tines as well as I could, but I didn't stress too much over it. A few pilot holes drilled, a few screws screwed in, and a couple of clamps later and I have this:

And here it is loaded with some combed Corriedale:

I drilled some different-sized holes in the wooden disks and pulled the fiber off through the diz:

This small sample yielded three little rovings and some waste. I can't spin it up for the final step yet because I have to wait for my bobbin to dry. Because the other thing I did today was paint my wheel:

Yep, a real DIY kind of day!

As rare as a day in June....

2007-06-01T14:07:00.000-05:00

"And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days..." -- James Russell Lowell

That's what my blogposts have become. Although what did James Russell Lowell mean, anyway? June days account for roughly one twelfth of all days when you think about it. Now if you want to talk rare days, well, how about Leap Day? June day, well you get 30 of them a year. But I digress. On to the post:

Here's some of this Corriedale/silk spun up:

Corriedale Wool/Silk Blend 2-ply

Spun from a carded roving

Dyed with indigo, osage and madder

2.75 oz, 230 yards, about 12 wpi

I still have another 4 oz or so to spin up. This spun so easily, thanks to the corriedale. After all the merino top I've been spinning, it's nice to spin something a little less fussy. I experimented a bit with the long draw on this, but mostly used a short backward draw. It's definitely a woolen, nice and fuzzy and light.

The World's Slowest Growing Sweater, the Bamboo Lace T has gained a few repeats:

I decided to incorporate some waist shaping and have been learning a lot about decreasing and lace. I finally have the pattern memorized and can figure out where I am and what row I'm on by sight. Hopefully that means this will start going faster.

I needed a mindless knitting project so I cast on a new pair of Tofutsies socks:

I'm just doing a standard K2P2 rib for the cuff, and a short row heel and toe. I might carry the rib down the top of the sock.

Oh, and I've become enthralled with LOLcatz. I even made one and submitted it to I Can Has Cheezburger? It amuses me.

Quickie

2007-05-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post to say it's been two whole days since I played Fate. I think I will soon return to knitting, and thus, blogging.

Oh, and I spun some fabulous yarn, but it's too dark for pictures. It's good. Real good.

(Still) Very Little Progress

2007-05-18T12:27:00.000-05:00

Well, I got a few more repeats done:

Here's a close-up of the pretty lace:

And is it just me, or is this slightly unsettling?

Very Little Progress

2007-05-15T09:19:00.000-05:00

I've been making very little progress in the fiber area. I wish I could say it was because I've been busy planting my garden, or busy making money, or even busy updating my blog, but it's none of that. You see, I bought a new computer.

My old computer, purchased in February 2000, was still running Windows 98, had a 4 GB hard drive, and dial-up internet access. Surfing the web was more like slogging through a swamp and I periodically had to remove unused programs to make way for a new file. In the last few days of its life, the old computer would freeze up every time I closed a browser window that was still loading, making it extremely annoying to blog stalk. And then, $600 fell in to my lap in the form of work reimbursements I almost forgot to submit and which I had not budgeted for. So, clearly, it was time for a new computer.

Well, the new computer came with Windows Vista (the jury's still out on whether I like it or not) with some amusing gadgets such as a desktop side bar with a clock and post-it note memo pad, and other fun stuff. And I was able to get rid of the dial-up and get a DSL line, so now I can listen to podcasts and watch You Tube and all those great knitting and spinning videos out there. And it also came with some new games. Which is what all this is leading up to. It's mostly one game in particular, see. It's called Fate, and it's one of those role-playing games. You know, you start out with a dog and a knife, you go down into the dungeon, kill some monsters, find some gold and some weapons and some armor, get quests, get killed and brought back to life, learn magic spells, the whole nine yards. And I've played 72 hours already. My character, a spear-carrying Magician, turned her dog into a Dire Unicorn by feeding him a fish, and had made it to the 77th level of the dungeon. I am such a geek!

So the knitting progress has stalled. But I have finished a few things:

Mother's Day Tofutsies

Anklet socks with a lace rib cuff and short-row heel and toe on size 1 needles

A little more than half of one 100g ball of SWTC Tofutsies, 50% superwash wool, 25% Soysilk, 22.5% cotton, and 2.5% chitin (fiber made from crab and shrimp shells, supposed to be antibacterial, and stop the socks from stinking the joint up)

As the name implies, made for my Mother, who has nice small feet and loves the color combo. Don't tell her they're 50% wool or she'll go on and on about how they're too hot. What she doesn't know won't hurt her!

I absolutely love Tofutsies and went right out and bought another ball for me when I finished these.

Ziggy's Elephant

From Last Minute Knitted Gifts

One 50 g ball of Plymouth Dream Baby, a dark dusty green, and one 50 g ball of Koigu, multicolor. Yellow Koigu for kerchief.

Double stranded on size 6 needles.

My SP8 downstream, the charming Stick Chick, had a gorgeous baby boy earlier this year, so of course he needed an elephant. It's cute, but not nearly as cute as Ziggy!

And I do have something on the needles:

I bought a cone this fingering-weight 100% bamboo last year from Woodland Woolworks.

It's silky smooth, shiny and soft, soft, soft. It has been swatched a million times in a million stitch patterns. It's very loosely plied and splitty as the dickens. It's also very teeny, working up to about 9 st/inch in stockinette. Thus my decision to make a lace something with it. I've decided on a lace t-shirt. The lace pattern is English Mesh Lace from Barbara Walker's First Treasury of Knitted Patterns. It's an eight-row repeat, all wrong-side rows are purled and the second pair of right-side rows are the same as the first pair, but offset, so it's a very easy lace. Well, I suppose it's a very easy lace, but, dammit, I have to frog constantly. I keep getting into a rhythm and then throwing in an extra yarn-over or something and before I know it, I'm off a half-repeat and have to frog half the row. And how many stitches in the row? Only 195. Am I crazy? The above progress is two night's worth of knitting. On a normal sweater, I would have about 1/3 the back done by now. I might be crazy, yes. Or, by October, I might have a finished lace t-shirt.

And of course, an obligatory kitty shot:

Here we have my 2 1/2 cats. That's Nellie on the left, Chester in the middle, and the 1/2 cat, Theo on the pillow. Theo stays with us when his owners travel, about twice a year. He's a giant, fluffy thing whose meow sounds like a bell. Here they are in typical knitting positions. When I put on the audibooks and settle into my knitting chair (not pictured, but off to the left), they all come in and settle down on the bed. They especially like the Harry Potter audiobooks. They must find Jim Dale's voice soothing. Well, so do I.

Don't notice the messy bedroom. This is an older shot, and the tiny yarn stash in the green bin has more than doubled in size, and this was before I had any fiber, whose stash is now stacked up along my bedside cabinet. Yeah, that stash-busting not exactly making progress.

Snow in April

2007-04-13T10:37:00.000-05:00

When I came home from work yesterday, I found that my nephews (who are staying with us this weekend) had been busy: If you're going to get 4 inches of heavy wet snow in April, you might as well make use of it.

Sadly, Snowmen born in April have a shockingly short life span. Here's what we found when we got up this morning:
Poor, poor thing. I can't believe Howard, the wild rabbit who lives nearby, hasn't found that carrot yet.

Flashing my stash (well, some of it anyway)

2007-04-02T13:57:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm a day late, but I thought I'd flash my stash anyway. Here it is, or about 50% of it, actually. I didn't include any leftovers or acrylics, and I completely forgot about my Knit Picks Palette sampler box, which is a shame, because that was the whole point of the color wheel layout: Can you spot the problem with this stash? (Besides the fact that it is about five years' worth of solid knitting, that is. Try looking in the lower right. That's right. I have practically no green or yellow yarn. What's up with that? I look best in green. Yellow is my favorite color. Clearly, I must now go on a mission. It's for the good of my stash!

Here's a couple of stash highlights:
Sock yarn. 18 or so pairs' worth. I like knitting socks, but probably not enough to justify a stash like this. I make maybe four pairs a year. Very odd of me.

100% Bamboo. I'm swatching this right now for a short-sleeve sweater. Here's the thing. It is making up best on Size 1 needles at 9 stitches per inch. Am I crazy to consider trying to knit a sweater on this fine of a gauge? It has a really wonderful drape and sheen. And another funny thing about this yarn. I bought it in a cone, and then wound it into cakes. I can't imagine why the hell I didn't just leave the stuff on the cone. Dope.

Three different worsted weight alpaca yarns. Bought months apart for different purposes. They seem to want to be used together. We'll see if some dark purple alpaca makes its way into the stash. Then we'll know for sure!

The Kindness of Knitters

2007-03-29T14:02:00.000-06:00

I'm starting to think my SP has hacked into my computer, or else she's a seriously gifted psychic. How else would she know to send me this? That's two skeins of Knit Picks Memories in Geranium, and a size one circular needle to try out Magic Loop. On Tuesday, I almost ordered some Knit Picks size one needles, and I was checking out this very yarn, too. In the end, I didn't order because I didn't have quite enough for the free shipping. I'm thrilled! The very needles I was looking for, and my favorite colorway of the Memories. Thanks so much, SP! How much more lucky can I get?

Well, maybe I could meet Kathrows on the spur of the moment for a little stitchin and bitchin and she shows up with this:

Um, yeah. That's a skein of Schaeffer Anne. Luscious, innit? And some loverly bamboo doublepoints. For no reason. Isn't my life charmed? Wait, it gets better. Remember this handdyed, handspun merino? Kathrows took that and made these:
Some perfectly-sized mittens and a calorimetry! Aren't they great? And she gave them to me! Now, it may be that winter is over here, but then again, you never know....

It's a good thing I have all these goodies to savor, because the knitting front is pretty grim:
Here's the first ten rows or so of my first attempt at real lace. Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave Stole. Other than that, I have a first sock that I have frogged at least six times and need to frog again, and a baby sweater languishing in the sew-up stage and two other projects drifting dangerously close to UFO area. Should I cast on something new? Silly rabbit.

Some finished business

2007-03-22T17:06:00.000-06:00

Progress has been made:

Red Velvet Waffle.

Yarn: Knit Picks Mainline, 75% pima cotton 25% wool, color: Red Velvet Cake, 14 balls

Pattern: Bottom-up seamless raglan from The Sweater Workshop by Jacqueline Fee

Stitch: Waffle stitch

I like the yarn, I love the color, I don't look good in raglans. This is a relief to know, because now I can stop denying my love for set-in sleeves and seaming. That's right, I love to seam. I feel better now that that's out in the open. On the plus side, the sleeves are exactly the right length. Not too short. Not too long. That's a monkey off my back.

Trekking XXL socks

Yarn: Trekking XXL, superwash wool/nylon mix, color: 108, one ball

Pattern: Cuff down, short-row heel and toes, 6x2 rib

I like to learn something new with each project I make, but I didn't learn anything new with these. I keep saying I'm going to try toe-up socks, but I don't. I like cuff-down, I love the yarn-over short row heel and toes, and I find them comfortable. I'm not so sure I am going to knit other kinds of socks. I loved knitting these, mostly because of the subtle color suspense involved. When will the yellow ply start? Is the orange block on the second sock going to match? Well, I think they match pretty well. Not exactly, just off enough to be quirky without upsetting my little compulsive side. They fuzzed up quite a bit in the wash, and they softened too. It's a good day when I wear the Trekkings.

I've been doing other fibery things besides knitting. It took me six weeks to produce this:

Handwoven Sampler Table Runner

Yarn: 8/2 cotton in sage green and cotton rug yarn in natural

Pattern: Rosepath, plain twill, and point twill threading, with fourteen different treadling patterns.

Fits two cats.

I really enjoyed making this, but I feel like I still have very little idea of the whole craft of weaving. It's an entirely different feel than knitting, but it definitely has charm. The pattern and fabric are formed in front of your eyes, almost like magic. Maybe it just feels that way because I don't get the mechanics of the weave structures yet. Just like knitting, tension is very important and I definitely will need to get a lot more yards of weaving under my belt before I gain consistency there. I'm contemplating my next weaving project. Maybe towels.

Finally, I have to admit I have purchased yarn for myself. One ball of Trekking ProNatura (bamboo!) and two balls of a lovely soft worsted weight alpaca. Purple alpaca. I'm not made of stone! Still making good progress on knitting up the stash, though.

Yarn in the Mail

2007-03-05T14:09:00.000-06:00

Is there anything better than getting yarn in the mail? How about getting purple merino laceweight and 7 ounces of dark chocolate in the mail? I'm pretty sure my secret pal must have a hidden camera trained on my stash 'cause she sent me this:I'm thrilled by the Knit Picks Shadow. 100% merino wool in a color they call Grape Jelly which does not do its beautiful heathered purpleness justice. Neither does my picture. It's a wonderful subtle color, and so soft and light. My sp suggests Eunny Jang's Print O' the Wave Stole, and I think she's right. As for the chocolate, well, let's just say the Green and Black's Maya Gold is already half-consumed as I post this! Yum, yum, yum!

Here's my mom's two-color brioche hat finished! Westozcaat suggested I call it the Galah, after a pink and gray Australian bird. So I looked that bird up (gotta love Google!) Here it is:

I think the name fits! But don't tell Mom her hat is named after a bird. She'll freak, because she's severly bird-a-phobic.

And finally, I have been knitting like a fiend on this (excuse the crappy pic):

I'm calling it my Red Velvet Waffle. It's a seemless, bottom-up raglan, out of Knit Pick's Main Line, in (of course) Red Velvet Cake color. I'm going to make it a high v-neck. The stitch is a waffle stitch which is basically 3 rows of K3 P1 and then a row of all purl. I'm already done with the sleeves--did those first as a gauge check. I put a few short rows in the back and the pattern got a little wonky at the side because of it, but it's not too noticeable. I am loving the Main Line. My stitches are even and consistent, and it seems to need no blocking. But it's killing my hands! They are dried out and my thumb is aching. This is the first time I've had any hand problem with a yarn. I'm actually inclined to blame all the shovelling I've had to do the past two weeks, and not the Friday I had off work and knit all day long!

New Car

2007-02-23T22:01:00.000-06:00

So, for ten years, I drove this:

1991 Honda Civic DX. No air. Crank windows. The radio only worked on one speaker. The open-door light went on and off. On cold mornings I had to whack the dash five or six times to get the dashboard lights to go on. AM/FM cassette player. Visor held up with velcro. No heat. Hole in an exhaust pipe. Squeaking brakes. Body rusted through in several spots. This picture makes him look good.

Pretty much of an embarassment to drive around in.

But it always started (except around Christmas time, when I finally had to replace the original battery), and it always got me where I was going. And it got 36 miles to the gallon. The occasional exhaust system and oil changes were about all I ever had to pay for. I jump-started at least four other cars with it. I went into the ditch three times in this car (only had to be towed out once). And it had the best bright lights ever. But it was time to say good-bye to old Whitey, aka Rusty. Times change, and the cars must change with it.

Hello, new car (yet to be named):

2003 Honda Civic LX with only 25,000 miles. Air. Power windows/locks. Cd player. Cup holders! Cruise control. A little thingy to hold your gas cap so you don't have to put it on the car. The dome light turns on when you take the key out of the ignition. Tachometer. 2 trip odometers. Air bags. I can safely drive around town without dying of embarassment. I will be able to wash it. Rusty hadn't been washed in a few years due to the amount of rust left on the driveway afterwards. It's a total car makeover. Too bad it had to be beige.

And too bad I'll have to make a car payment. Good thing I've got a big stash!

Still Alive and Knitting

2007-02-14T13:00:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true, I still knit. And I even finish some things on occasion:

A Cardigan for Arwen, from Interweave Knits Winter 2006.

Knit in Knit Picks Andean Silk. Alpaca/silk/wool. Color: Pool. In real life the color is a smidge greener and duller.

A detail of what made me knit it: Reversible cables! What in a normal cable would be the reverse stockinette background is really the purl-side crossing of the cable on the reverse. It's genius. Particularly challenging was grafting the cables on the cuffs (didn't get it quite right on the reverse) and the midpoint of the hood (perfection on the third try). It didn't help much that the instructions were somewhat vague, and in fact, wrong for the hood. But, through the magic of the Internet, I was able to find out how to achieve the desired effect. (Stop on Row 5 of the second side of the hood, not Row 6.)

And, as is my usual custom, I knit the sleeves too long. In this case, it's particularly galling as I originally knit the first sleeve shorter, but after trying it on, discovering the sleeve was much too skinny (note to Kate Gilbert: people choosing 49" bust sizes probably don't have 13.5 " upper arms!), I ripped it out and widened it. Since the sleeves are knit the long way, this meant adding more short rows. I now love short rows. They are not to be feared! Anyway, as I tried on my first too-skinny sleeve, I decided that it was also too short. This was a mistake, as I was measuring it as though it were a set-in sleeve. But it's a drop-shoulder design, which I have never made before. The drop shoulder added at least three inches to the length of the dang sleeve. Arggg!

Other than the sleeves, which really don't look bad cuffed due to the reversible cable, I love my sweater. The rest of it fits well. I lengthened it from the original design. It's a color I don't wear often, as I shy away from blue, but it really is a good color for me. And the Andean Silk is soft and warm. I am a little concerned about shedding, as I had many blue hairs all over me as I knit it, but perhaps now that it has been washed it won't shed much. Pilling might also be an issue. We'll see.

And I have a few works in progress:

Two-color Brioche Hat for my mom, in Naturally Merino Fine. She prefers the pink side. I like the gray, but hey, it's her hat. I will have to do a bit of experimenting when I get to the decreases, because I swatched with the gray side being the RS and I only know how to decrease properly on the RS. It'll all work out in the end, I'm sure.

Trekking 108 socks. No real pattern, short-row heel and toe and a 6x2 rib. It's suffering from second-sock syndrome, but I suppose I'll get back to it soon.

Danica Scarf from Knitty.com. Plymouth Yarn Baby Alpaca Brush, and a bit of my handspun for accent. My first foray into entrelac, which is really quite easy and fun. I'm almost done, but I've been putting off finishing because of this:

That's a lot of frickin ends to weave in! Complete disincentive to finish!

Well, that's it for the update, except: It's been 47 days since I bought yarn. For myself, I mean. Yarn for other people doesn't count!

More handspun

2007-01-08T20:27:00.000-06:00

Here we have some alpaca/llama/silk blend. It's hairy and thin. Single ply. Just 95 yards, so will be used as trims or accents.

And here we have some merino hand-dyed by Kathrows. This came out so nice. 300 yds of sportweight two ply. What with all this merino I've been spinning, I need a bit of a break. I'm thinking Mohair next.

And just in case you forgot I have two cats, here's Chester and Nellie. They like the new chair we bought apparently for them.

It's been 10 days since I bought any yarn!

Resolutions, Schmesolutions

2007-01-01T23:05:00.000-06:00

I am famous for not making New Year's Resolutions. Yeah, famous in my own mind. Nonetheless, I find myself compelled to make a resolution. And it's a biggie.

Read my lips: No New Yarn.

That's right, I've decideded to Knit From My Stash. I have my reasons. They include:

Sweater Amounts of Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes in brown, orange, green and tan for a lovely warm fall sweater, Knit Picks Mainline in Red Velvet Cake, Knit Picks Palette Sampler for a colorful fair isle, Knit Picks Andean Silk in Pool for A Cardigan for Arwen (under way), Beautiful Fingerling Bamboo in periwinkle for a summer sweater, and, on the way, Knit Picks Swish in copper for a Nantucket Jacket. All for sweaters for me.
Kid's sweaters: Two matching sweaters in Sirdar Snuggly for Margie's grandkids. Must be finished by March.
Sock yarn: two Trekking XXL's, pink Koigu, fall colored Koigu, pink Cascade Fixation, purple merino, denim cotton, blue Jawoll, gray Jawoll, red Kroy Socks, green Heirloom, red/blue/gray Lorna's Laces, khaki something-or-other, Knit Picks Dancing, and I think there's more.
Planned projects: Fuzzy Feet in Lamb's Pride, Hockey Helmet Hats for the Nephews in Dale Baby Ull, hat/scarf/glove set in Plymouth Brushed Baby Alpaca (under way).
Yarns looking for a project: 4 skeins Classic Elite Inca Marl, two skeins Noro Silk Garden, two skeins Euroflax, one skein Knit Picks Alpaca Cloud laceweight, two huge skeins Packer Yarn hand-dyed by Kathrows.
Handspun: Spun, but not knit: Blue corriedale, purple pygora, fall colors merino.
Yet-to-be-spun: More rainbow merino, natural white merino, black alpaca, white alpaca/merino blend, silk caps and hankies, silk cocoons, mohair, corridale/alpaca/silk blend, and on, and on, and on...
Leftovers in big enough amounts to make something: tons of Wool of the Andes, tons of Cascade 220, tons of Knit Picks Merino style, tons of discloth cotton, Berroco Suede, Caron Simply Soft, other bits and pieces.

Now, here's the scary part. I'm writing this at work. That's from memory only, and it's been a couple of months since I've gone through the stash. Lord only knows what else has escaped my memory. And all of it, I bought or otherwise acquired with the greatest of pleasure and anticipation of what it would become. I must use this yarn!

So, as of today, I am on the Wagon. I will make the following exceptions: I will go to Stitches in August and buy yarn. I will go to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival in September and buy yarn and/or fiber. I may do a Secret Pal exchange. If I am on vacation and enter a yarn shop that carries a yarn I cannot get at one of my local lys, I may purchase said yarn if it is really, really fabulous, and not too expensive. As a souvenir. Should I actually knit up my entire stash (exclusive of Leftovers), I may then buy more yarn. Should a meteor be discovered to be hurtling toward Earth on a collision course that will result in the certain anhilation of the human species in six weeks, I will max out the credit cards with cashmere, quiviut, silk, camel, etc. and fill my house with wonderful fiber. Chester will be allowed to chew on all the ends.

I will not order yarn online. I will not go to the local lys sales. I will stop buying sock yarn until I have at least seven pairs of handknit socks for myself, then I may buy more. I will stop browsing Yarn Sales forums.

One final disclaimer: This resolution applies only to knitting yarn. If I should happen to take up weaving in the next twelve months, it is understood that I will need to purchase specific weaving yarn. That is only reasonable.

All right. Who's with me now?

Minimal content

2006-12-26T19:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Second Day of Christmas! I always like the day after Christmas better than Christmas. The work is done, the guests are gone and I like looking over the loot. This year I got an extra bonus--the day off and the house to myself. I got some great presents, including a third share in a nice patio furniture set for our new patio, a twenty dollar bill from one of my aunts (for the love of Pete! I'm thirty-seven years old, not necessary to slip me a twenty!), a pretty jacket, a book by a new author that's part of a series (I love discovering a new series), and a cell phone. Yes, the last two people in North America without cell phones, myself and my sister, are now Connected. And my sister went fancy with it too, getting us souped up phones with cameras, web access and all. I feel a little dumb trying to figure out what all I have and how much it's gonna cost me, but I do enjoy my "When the Saints Come Marching In" ringtone. On the down side, if my boss finds out I have a cellphone, I could conceivably be called at any moment only to tell her it's ok to turn the computer off if ctl+alt+delete does nothing. Must remember to make my work number a really short ringtone.

The Sugarplum pillows for the aunts were a hit. The word heirloom was actually bantered about. Gotta love the innocence of the Muggles.

Next up: a big six-day work week. Luckily the last Packer game with--incredibly--Play Off Implications, has been moved to Sunday night, so I won't miss seeing it after all. Go Pack!

Next post: Should I call a moratorium on yarn purchases in 2007? And if so, would it be cheating to buy enough for IK's Nantucket Jacket before I do?

Sugarplums

2006-12-10T21:10:00.000-06:00

Two free patterns for your last-minute pleasure!

It’s the season for last-minute parties and last-minute presents. A person can only give so many bottles of wine before knitting pride takes over. That’s where these confections come in. Two little pillows to knit up quick and impress big. A small project like a pillow is a great way to try out a new technique; here we take on two-color stranding, log cabining and appliqué.

SNOWFLAKE PILLOW

MATERIALS
[MC] Cascade 220 [100% wool; 220 yd per 100 g skein]; color: #9452 (light heather blue); 1 skein[CC] Cascade 220 [100% wool; 220 yd per 100 g skein]; color: #8393 (navy); 1 skein

1 24-inch US #7/4.5 mm circular needles
1 US #7/4.5 mm circular or straight needle for three-needle bind off

2 oz. Fiberfill or other stuffing for pillow
Tapestry needle
Stitch markers

GAUGE
20 sts/22 rows = 4" in color stranded stockinette stitch. Exact gauge is not critical.

PATTERN NOTES
This pattern is worked in the round with two colors. The yarn not in use should be carried loosely behind the stitches. When the stranded yarn is to be carried for more than four stitches, you may find it helpful to keep tension even by weaving in the stranded yarn as you go, but it is not necessary. The snowflake design is adapted from one found in 1000 Great Knitting Motifs by Luise Roberts.

(click chart to enlarge)

PATTERN
With MC, CO 74 stitches. Place marker to indicate beginning of round and join, being careful not to twist stitches. K 1 round in MC, join CC and work all rows of chart. Knit 1 round in MC. Do not cut yarn.
Three needle bindoff: Turn inside out so that WS is on the outside. Grasp needle cord between stitch 37 and stitch 38 and pull so that the tube lays flat with stitches 1 through 37 on the needle in front and stitches 38 through 74 on the needle in back. Using second set of circular needles, insert empty needle into the first stitch on the front needle as if to knit, then into the first stitch on the back needle as if to knit, then knit these two stitches together. Repeat with the next stitch on each needle; pass the first stitch over the second. Continue in this manner until all stitches are bound off, cut yarn and pull through the last stitch on needle.

FINISHING

Weave in ends. Turn pillow right side out, stuff and sew the bottom seam with MC.

LOG CABIN POINSETTIA PILLOW

MATERIALS

[MC] Knit Picks Merino Style [100 % wool; 123 yd per 50 g skein]; color: Vanilla; 1 skein[CC1] Knit Picks Merino Style [100 % wool; 123 yd per 50 g skein]; color: Pine; 1 skein
[CC2] Knit Picks Merino Style [100 % wool; 123 yd per 50 g skein]; color: Hollyberry; 1 skein
[CC3] DMC Pearl Cotton 5 [100% cotton 25 m per 5 g skein]; color: 498 (red); 1 skein
[CC4] DMC Pearl Cotton 5 [100% cotton 25 m per 5 g skein]; color: 319 (green); 1 skein
[CC5] DMC Pearl Cotton 5 [100% cotton 25 m per 5 g skein]; color: 5282 (metallic gold); 1 skein

1 set US #0/2 mm straight or circular needles
1 set US #5/ 3.75 mm straight or circular needles

2 oz. Fiberfill or other stuffing for pillow
Tapestry needle
Embroidery needle

GAUGE
25 sts/30 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch. Exact gauge is not critical.

PATTERN NOTES
When picking up stitches along the side of the knitting, pick up two stitches for every three rows. When picking up stitches along cast-on or bound-off edges, pick up one stitch for each existing stitch. The poinsettia appliqué is adapted from one found in Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Embellishments by Nicky Epstein.

PATTERN
Front
With MC, and size 5 needles, CO 25 sts. Work in St st for 5 inches, ending with WS row. BO all stitches but last stitch, turn work and, with CC1, pick up 25 sts along left side of square, starting by drawing first stitch through stitch still on needle. Work in St st for 2 inches, ending with WS row. BO all but last stitch, turn work and, with CC2 pick up 36 sts along left side of CC1 rectangle and cast-on stitches of MC, starting by drawing first stitch through stitch still on needle. Work in St st for 2 inches, ending with WS row. BO all but last stitch, turn work and, with CC1, pick up 36 sts along left side of piece, starting by drawing first stitch through stitch still on needle. Work in St st for 2 inches, ending with WS row. BO all but last stitch, turn work and, with CC2 pick up 44 sts along left side of piece, starting by drawing first stitch through stitch still on needle. Work in St st for 2 inches, ending in WS row, BO all stitches.

Back
Use the same log cabin technique as the front, starting by casting on 12 st with CC2 and working a 2 inch square. Continue making 1-inch high rectangles in the following color sequence: MC, CC1, MC, CC1, CC2, MC, CC2, MC. Finish with a round of one-half inch high rectangles of CC1 all the way around. BO all stitches.

Poinsettia Petals (make 10)

With CC3, and size 0 needles, CO 3 sts.
Row 1 and all WS rows: Purl
Row 2: Kfb, k1, kfb. 5 sts.
Row 4: Kfb, k3, kfb. 7 sts.
Row 6: Kfb, k5, kfb. 9 sts.
Work even in St st for 7 rows.
Row 14: SSK, k5, k2tog. 7 sts.
Row 16: SSK, k3, k2tog. 5 sts.
Row 18: SSK, k1, k2tog. 3 sts.
Row 19: Sl 1, k2tog, psso. 1 st. Cut the thread and pull through to fasten off, leaving a six-inch tail to sew petal to pillow.

Leaves (make 2)
With CC4, CO 5 sts.
Row 1: k2, yo, k1, yo, k2. 7 sts.
Row 2 and all WS rows: Purl
Row 3: k3, yo, k1, yo, k3. 9 sts.
Row 5: SSK, k5, k2tog. 7 sts.
Row 7: SSK, k3, k2tog. 5 sts.
Row 9: SSK, k1, k2tog. 3 sts.
Row 10: Sl 1, k2tog, psso. 1 st. Fasten off, leaving enough tail for sewing onto pillow.

Bobbles (make 7)
With CC5, CO 1 st.
Row 1: Kfb 2 times, k all in same stitch. One stitch becomes 5.
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Knit
Row 4: Purl
Row 5: Knit, pass first four sts over last stitch, fasten off.

FINISHING
Block all pieces and weave in ends. Leave ends of poinsettia petals, leaves, and bobbles to use to sew pieces onto pillow. Arrange five petals of poinsettia in a star shape on white block on front of pillow, leaving a space in center for bobbles, sew on. Arrange remaining five petals on top of and in between bottom petals and sew on. Sew on leaves as desired between two petals and sew on bobbles in center. Seam three sides of pillow with mattress stitch. Stuff with fiberfill, seam remaining side.

Copyright 2006 by Susan Iding. Pattern free for your personal, individual use. You may print out a copy to work with. You may not reformat the pattern for commercial use, and you may not sell them or items made these patterns. Any usage beyond what's mentioned here must be negotiated.

A mixed-dye merino salad spun

2006-11-03T15:20:00.000-06:00

Start with merino top, hand dyed by Kathrows:

Split in half lengthwise and in fourths widthwise and spin vigorously from the fold to make two bobbins, and then ply together to create this:
Enjoy! Makes 200 yards worsted weight.

Flash Your Fiber Stash -- A Feast!

2006-10-31T21:08:00.000-06:00

Here's my FIBER STASH--A veritable Fiber Feast! Looks yummy, doesn't it?

Let's see a little closer the things we have to feast on, shall we?

First Course:

Mixed dye Merino salads. Prepared for you by yours truly and Kathrows
(Note the silk hankie napkins!)

Second course:

Mohair soup, graciously provided by Bad Amy!

And pass the relishes:

White Bamboo, White Linen, Purple Corn Fiber

Now we're ready for the Main Course:

Corriedale and silk roving dyed in osage, indigo and madder surrounded by a bed of silk coccoons
(More in the next post)

FYFS 2 -- Second Course

2006-10-31T20:54:00.000-06:00

How about some Mashed Potatoes?

Merino Top

And some Gravy? Silk Cap

Don't forget the Dressing:

Baby Alpaca!

FYFS 3 -- The Fiber Feast Continued

2006-10-31T17:15:00.000-06:00

More side dishes:

Alpaca/llama/silk blend

Recycled soda bottles and denim

Alpaca/merino/silk

More hand-dyed merino

And to Drink:

My first homespun--Corriedale

For Bread:

Hand-dyed merino

For Dessert:

Merino and Pygora Pie

In the Candy Dish

A few Corriedale bonbons for needle felting

I hope you enjoyed the feast!

Clapotis!

2006-10-24T17:16:00.000-05:00

I have finally officially finished a Clapotis. I feel less of a fraud in the Knitty Coffeeshop!

It took five skeins of Patons SWS -- 70% wool, 30% soy, natural plum colorway. I enjoyed working with the yarn--it's soft and cushy, with a really nice sheen from the soy. The colors are all me--purpley pinky goodness. I can't carry off a wrap like this though, so it's destined as a Christmas gift.

Clapotis is definitely a great pattern--so much opportunity for modifications and substitutions. I have the distinct feeling that this will not be my only clapotis.

More Rainbow Merino Handspun

2006-10-10T11:42:00.000-05:00

Latest Spinning News: More Rainbow-dyed Merino! This is the second of seven skeins Kathrows (check out her brand-new blog here) and I dyed, oh a month and a half ago. So I'm moving a little slowly, so sue me. It's not like I'm getting paid, here. This one I spun a little finer, I figure it's worsted weight, two ply. I made the color a little random, too, so there's a lot of variation.
This came out a lot more even than the first one, but you can still see a bit of thick and thin action there. No one's gonna confuse it with a commercial yarn, that's for sure. But those colors are definitely not my favorites. Next up: bolder colors. Stay tuned.

Malabrigo Mittens

2006-10-10T11:25:00.000-05:00

OOOOH, Malabrigo! I was right, it makes the warmest, softest mittens ever! Thanks to my super SP7 pal, Batty, my hands will be so warm this winter. And I just got a new black winter coat that will show off these beautiful green mittens. Knit at a tight gauge to ward off wind (and pilling), I started out with a two by two rib at the cuff and carried the ribbing up the back for a snug fit. I don't like floppy mittens. Nothing fancy--I let the yarn do all the talking. And I have enough leftovers to make a third mitten should I be so moronic as to lose one. It's happened before. Bring on Winter!

Today is a good day to spin

2006-10-02T09:22:00.001-05:00

So I've been spinning and not posting. Bad Reluctant Blogger! Here's some stuff no-longer-hot off the bobbin.

PYGORA

Oh yeah, that's some good shit. Wish I'd bought about a pound of it. Double plied, about 10 wpi due to fuzzy, mohairy goodness. 2 ounces makes 125 yards, and I have another ounce to spin. I'm thinking maybe some fingerless mitts.

RAINBOW MERINO

The first of these skeins Kathrows and I dyed at the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival. I spun this to be one long progressive colorway by splitting the roving in half, spinning the singles in the same color progression, then plying them together. Of course they weren't the same length, so there's considerable mixing of colors, but that's all to the good. Wow, that's some pastel, hey?

MY FIRST YARN

So Abiknits posted her first skein. I take up the challenge! Here's my very first yarn. It's not in a skein because about two months ago I was going to start actually knitting it so I wound it up. As you can see, not so much action there. Luckily, the frightening fug is still visible in ball form. The ball on the left was my first bobbin. The ball on my right was my second and third, plied for "better consistency." Yeah, right. I am fond of its fugly self, though. I really do think the blue was the perfect calming color for a dope who bought a spinning wheel sight unseen and proceeded to teach herself out of books.

Today I have free to knit and spin, watch last season's LOST on dvd and do a little laundry. Sometimes life is good.

Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival 2006

2006-09-14T14:50:00.000-05:00

On Sunday Kathy (Kathrows) and I went to the Wisconsin Sheep and Fiber Festival, where we dyed merino roving, ate lamb hotdogs, got rained on, and bought stuff:

From top left: Corriedale and silk roving dyed in osage, indigo and madder, pygora roving, dyed silk hankie, camel down (for my sp), and two dyed blends of alpaca, llama, silk and wool. I had vowed to only spend cash and quit when my wallet was empty. Only the fact that the ATM machine was out of money and most of the vendors didn't take credit cards stopped me from seriously running into debt.

In the morning, we took a dye class called Hot Rainbow Dye. Little did I know it was to be taken literally. Here's our dyed merino rovings, 28 ounces worth:

The first three are handpainted and set in the microwave (by Kathy, by us collaboratively and by me, respectively). The next two are from a round pot with a divider in the middle, supposed to keep the dye from blending together and the last two are from a rectangular pan, supposed to blend the dyes more. You can see a lot of undyed fiber, especially in the last two.

How will they spin up? We'll have to wait to see! Right now I'm busy with this:

Pygora--from the pygmy angora goat. It's soft as kittens. Literally. It spins up hairy and smooshy and unevenly--I'm loving it, despite my decided preference for smooth yarns.

Here it is on the bobbin. I think I will ply it as it is so soft I'm afraid a singles might not be strong enough on its own. I can hardly stand to go to bed or eat supper while it is sitting there waiting to be spun.I'm going to start saving now for next year. I think I'll double the amount I have to spend.

Hooray for Spinnyhead!

2006-09-13T13:15:00.000-05:00

I hit the Fiber Motherload today! A deceptively small box arrives via Sheep Express:

Inside, a veritable bounty of spinnables! Can you believe: wonderful (purple!) mohair top, dyed silk bell (purple too!), ingeo (in, you guessed it, purple!), bleached linen top, bamboo top, recycled soda bottles and denim (???), and silk cocoons! Not to mention a make your own sheep kit (tee hee!), chai and cinnamon tea (the kettle's just about to boil!), yummy Giradelli chocolate with toffee, and two little mice for Nellie and Chester.

Nellie promptly stuck hers in Mom's shoe. She's been playing with it non-stop for an hour. That cat sure likes a new toy!

Chester inspected his, went for a bite to eat, and by the time he returned, Nellie had stuck his in a convenient shoe, so he went back to sleep.

Spinnyhead went above and beyond with this package! My hands are itching to try that mohair. Or maybe I'll start with the bamboo. Or the silk cap.... I'll keep you posted! Thanks so much Spinnyhead!

Batty Rocks!

2006-09-11T19:37:00.000-05:00

Just look at this fab-u-lous final package I got from my super SP7 secret pal, Batty! The haul contains some great-smelling--mmm vanilla!-- shower gel and body cream, Burt's Bee's hand cream (don't you love Burt's Bees?), a rubber ducky :), dark, dark chocolate (the good stuff!), wonderful, soft, springy, cheerful, colorful sock yarn from Lucy Neatby that is a joy to pet, and that will be my next pair of socks, and a handknit, beaded swirl hat!

Here I am modelling the hat. It is wonderful! A lovely mulberry that I love, exactly the color I gravitate toward in the yarn shop. It's a great stitch pattern, and the beads are a perfect addition. It fits me really well, and I haven't taken it off since I opened my package, except to take the photo above. Batty is super-talented. I can't say enough about it--I just love it! Thanks so much Batty!

I've had a busy weekend, since I went to the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival yesterday. That will have to wait for its own post. Suffice it to say, my wallet was completely empty at the end of the day, and only the fact that the ATM machine was out of money stopped me.

Finally, on a more somber note, it's the fifth anniversary of the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I still remember every detail of that day--what I was wearing, who I was with, the e-mails I exchanged with friends across the nation. I expect you can remember too. It was a day of both hazy unreality and utter clarity. For those who lost loved ones, I wish peace. For those who planned the attacts, I hope for them to be brought to justice--whether in this world or the next.

An Elephant and an Experiment

2006-08-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

So I knitted up this Elephant for a little boy named Cooper who was born a few weeks ago. He's my best friend's first nephew and the whole family is so excited by his arrival! I hope to meet him this weekend. I'm thinking Elmer, but maybe that's a little hackneyed. Horton?

He's from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which is just about the only pattern book I ever make anything from. One strand Koigu KPPPM, one strand Dale of Norway Baby Ull and Koigu KPPM for his kerchief. Cute, isn't he?

Meanwhile, in a fit of boredom, I have embarked upon an experiment. I had occasion to search the internet for a specific pattern book recently. When I discovered that the shipping for the pattern would be more than for the actual pattern itself, I decided to throw in some yarn as well to make it worth my while. None of the yarns were jumping out at me, so I very foolishly decided to purchase the Grab Bag. Now, the Grab Bag was billed as "Over $30 worth of yarn, usually 3 to 4 balls, for the low price of $19.95." You could pick your color choices. I decided on green for some godawful reason now unknown to me. It'll be an experiment, I said to myself. I'll take what they give me and make something from it. I'll expand my creative horizons. I won't cheat. It'll be fun.

The package arrived. The grab bag was pretty.

The contents were not. Nellie is disgusted. (I did warn you about the cats, didn't I? They are frickin' hams.)

That's a sparkly Packer green and gold ribbon yarn, a not-so-bad-in-small doses squiggly yarn, and a truly horrible avocado-and-harvest-gold-straight-straight-from-the-seventies-appliance-color-scheme eyelashy yarn.

What in the name of all that is holy can I create with this stuff? Suggestions? Bonus points for tying in my beloved Packers. Help!

A brace of Boogas

2006-07-28T16:07:00.000-05:00

Those dang Booga Bags are so addicting, aren't they?

Top one is 3 balls Kureyon, bottom one four. I find making Boogas to be very soothing.

Secret Spoiler Strikes Again

2006-07-27T17:25:00.000-05:00

Yay! A great package arrived today from my SP7 pal, Secret Spoiler! Yummy Cadbury Fingers (now sadly half gone), a dark chocolate coconut candy bar of suspicious German origin which is supposed to be a clue (hmmm, yummm), Knitting Rules! which I've been dying to read, a really cute tape measure with a cat on it (you pull a bit of fur to pull it out--Nellie and Chester have been all over it), a little jar of Marmite (which I will be trying on my toast tomorrow morning--I figure it won't actually kill me, right?), and two lovely squishy balls of Debbie Bliss Merino Aran in a nice violet color (my first Debbie Bliss). I'm a little overwhelmed by it all, to tell you the truth! Thanks Secret Spoiler, you made my week!

You see I can't even take a picture without Chester getting a piece of the action.

Soysilk Drawstring Pouch

2006-07-25T20:35:00.000-05:00

My first finished object with my own handspun. This floppy, silky drawstring pouch, adapted from a pattern in Last Minute Knitted Gifts, holds a birthday present for someone! It's all wrapped up and ready to be opened. The soysilk made a lovely drapey fabric perfect for the slouchy pouch. And there's plenty of uneveness to prove it's Hand Made. I hope the recipient likes it! I must admit to a glow of accomplishment when I hold it.

Soy Silk Handspun

2006-07-18T16:24:00.000-05:00

I've been spending some time spinning. I finished up the soy silk I bought (splurged) on vacation. It's 100% soy silk, dyed by Conjoined Creations in the Age of Aquarius colorway. I only bought 4 ounces of it, and I wish I had bought more--it's really nice.

Well, it's really nice once I figured out how to handle it--I spun it from the fold, and it took me a while to get the hang of the joins. Swearwords might have been heard issuing from the Spinning Corner in the early stages. The dye they used did not penetrate all the fibers and a lot of the inside fibers were white. This produced a more swirled effect in my singles and when I plied it, but when I set the twist, there was a lot of bleeding, with the result of a more blended color, which varies from a grayish blue to bright turquoise.

This is the most even yarn I've produced so far. The pictures do not do the drape and sheen of the soy silk justice. It's just really lovely fiber, soft, silky, eminently pettable. I encourage all spinners to try it!

I met a fellow knittyperson!

2006-07-11T17:00:00.000-05:00

I got to meet Kathrows today! She and her friend came to the hotel where I work for a little stitch and bitch session. Only it was more like a stitch and compliment session. She is so cool! We have a lot in common, I think, and she will soon be sorry she agreed to meet me as she won't be rid of me so easily! Some knitting was done, some mistakes were made and fixed, a lot of conversation whiled away two and a half hours. And, which is so great and unexpected, she brought me some hand-made stitch markers!!!! Thanks so much Kathy! And it was great to meet the other person in the world who doesn't have air conditioning in the car.

I know, I know. Too many exclamation marks there, but it's so great to meet fellow knitters, and to meet such cool, kind and compatable fellow knitters, well, I'm all a-flutter!

Summer Orchid Cardigan

2006-07-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

So I finished my Summer Orchid Cardigan. This was the first sweater I designed entirely from scratch. It's in Knitpicks Shine Sport, which is really nice, by the way. I love a yarn that looks better after you machine wash and dry it. All in all, I'm pleased with the results. The only glaring fault is the arms are about an inch too long. This is particularily annoying since I ripped the first arm out after it was a bit too short and made it a bit wider and longer. Obviously I only needed to make it wider. Otherwise, I think I'm really going to like wearing it. If it ever gets cool enough to wear.

And here's a detail of the front panels. The lace is Gull Wing and the bobbles are Nosegay, both from Barbara Walker's first stitch dictionary as was the edging, which is called Open Star. I love stitch pattern names!

But why is it so wide and short you say? Because I made it to fit me! That's right. Wide, short and sassy. Ok, not sassy, but you know what I mean!

Now that I'm done with this, and I must report that I knit it monogamously, starting May 16 and finishing July 3 (yes, I am slow), I must start work with the next big thing: short sleeved sweater in fingering weight periwinkle bamboo. I anticipate being done by the time the snow falls.

Look, Ma! I made some yarn!

2006-06-21T19:27:00.000-05:00

So I finished spinning and plying my merino top. I got two nice-sized skeins from it and it came out to about 270 yards. Now to figure out what to make with it! It came out ok, a little uneven still, but all in all not bad. And I love the color--a beautiful teal with blue, green, purple and a little yellow. Lovely!

SP 7 Heaven!

2006-06-06T12:28:00.000-05:00

Hooray for Secret Spoiler! My secret pal from Knittyboard's SP7 really came through on the goods. That's a skein of the softest, loveliest, greenest Malabrigo. It's more fabulous than mere text can describe. Not to mention a huge block of Ritter Sport (with coconut, which I have never seen before!) and, glory of glories, a Jane Austen Action Figure. With Lapdesk and Quill!!!

I love it all and I love my Secret Spoiler!

Chester and Nellie are enjoying themselves, too.You'd think I had them pose, but they are the world's nosiest hams!

"For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbors, and laugh at them in our turn?" Too true, Jane, too true!

Spinning and Knitting = Good

2006-05-26T23:56:00.000-05:00

I've been spinning up some wonderful Merino Top I bought while on vacation in the Smoky Mountains. It's a beautiful blend of teal, blue, green, purple, and a touch of yellow. I have almost a full bobbin spun up and can hardly wait to get another one done so I can ply them together. I bought 8 ounces worth. I hope to get enough yardage to make a shawl or shrug type thingie. This is my first real attempt at making a useable yarn, and I'm dying to see how it will knit up. I also splurged on some Soy Silk. I have no idea how it will spin up and what I will do with it, so I'll wait for inspiration to strike on that.

I'm enjoying knitting monogamy this week with my Summer Orchid Cardigan. It's out of Knit Pick's Shine Sport in Orchid, and it's the first sweater I designed myself from start to finish, without using any sort of pattern. It has a lace border and will have a nosegay cable/bobble panel up the front sides. I'm almost done with the back and I'm really pleased. The yarn is soft and has great stitch definition.

I've been enjoying both spinning and knitting so much, it's hard to switch back and forth between the two.

This was last summer's sweater: Elmseed Cardigan in Saucy Sport. I made it for my sister, and the pattern was partially mine and partially software-written. All in all, it came out well, but the arms are a little tight on her, which just goes to show how important measurements are. I'm really hoping that this summer's sweater will fit me like it was made for me--because it was!

All Right, All Right, I Give In

2006-05-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

Ok, already! The world has been clamoring for another knitting blog. I've got the knitting stories. I've got the knitting photos. I might as well have the knitting blog. But I just want you all to know that I'm making a great sacrifice. When Blogs first made a big splash during the last Presidential Election, I scoffed openly. Fad, I sneered. Will never have any staying power, I sniffed. So? A girl can change her mind, can't she? Well, I can anyway. Welcome to my Reluctant Blog.