Books, Hooks & Sticks

Retirement

2011-12-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

Apparently I cannot keep up a blog while trying to keep up to date on Ravelry, Plurk, Flickr, Pinterest, etc. etc. etc. Looks like my last blog post was in October. That's really too bad, I have done a ton of stuff since then. Had a fabulous time at Interweave Labs and met the knitting elite Annie Modesitt, Alice Starmore, Nancy Bush, Cookie A, Nancy Marchant, Romi Hill and rode the elevator with Meg Swansen. I bought lots of wonderful things in the market where I met more designers, Kira Dulaney and Carrie of Irish Girls Knits. Spun on a Schact Sidekick.

I finished lots of projects and spun some beautiful yarn, but I don't have the time or inclination to post and labels the dozens of pictures I took.

To make a long story short, I am going to retire the blog for now. If I ever quit Plurk or Ravelry, or both I may pick this back up. In the mean time - there will always be a link to my Flickr photos (projects, handspun and stash enhancement) and I am paletpc on all social networks. See ya' around.

Socktoberfest Fail

2011-10-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am a little disappointed I only got to knit one pair of socks for Socktoberfest. I have 2 single socks without mates that I did not get to work on. Oh well.

I wanted to try this super bulky yarn from Berroco called Link. The scarf pattern on the label calls for a US 50 needle which I happen to have. I used a US 19/15 mm needle instead of the US 35/19 mm needle called for in the online version of the pattern. I would not buy a set of needles that size for a single project. I am happy with the drape of the scarf knit on the size 19 needles. I have another skein in grays, I am going to make a second one. They take less than an hour to knit.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-18T09:02:00.000-07:00

I finished the Knitabulls Knit Along for the Dancing Batty Shawl. I also posted it to the Nerd Wars 2011 Technical - Colortastic Challenge, Yarnivore, 11 Shawls in 2011, and the stash downs in the Dramatic Knits and Blooming Knitter Ravelry Groups. Yeah, I gotta a lot of yardage out of this small shawl.

I have also completed the Nerd Culture - Best Dressed Nerd Challenge with a lovely rendition of Luna Lovegood's Lion Hat.

The Scientific Challenge - Prehistory with a little Crocodile Love.

And last but not least the Super Summer Knitaway Knit Along. I chose WendyKnits Elizabeth's Cowl and used my Cloudlover Tempest handspun.

I think that catches things up well enough for finished projects. I just started block 6 on the Log Cabin Blanket and I add rows and stripes to all of my other works in progress each night. I have also done some spinning. The Sheep to Shoe Kit in Jonagold is gorgeous, I cannot wait to ply it with the Petrified Wood.

Nerd Wars - Really???

2011-10-01T23:28:00.000-07:00

Okay as if I am not knitting shawls like a crazy person, I have thrown myself into the Nerd Wars for the last quarter of the year, Oct-Nov-Dec 2011. I am still a little fuzzy on the challenges and everything, but I have submitted my first project and I hope it gets my team some points. The challenge was to show team spirit by creating a birthday gift that would show your team members your knowledge and love of your nerd-om. Which for me is Dumbledore's Army and all things Harry Potter. I sorted into the Ravenclaw house, which is odd. I am usually a Gryffindor. It's all good though, I even rocked Slytherin in a swap group once.

Who is the most creative person in the Potterverse after Mrs. Weasley? And who is one of the coolest and nerdiest Ravenclaws ever? Well Luna Lovegood of course. So I created some earrings for Luna to gift to Hermione for her birthday. I call them the Elder Wand of Invincibility Earrings.

The next coolest thing was finding pictures in my coloring book of both Hermione and Luna on facing pages wielding wands during a Dumbledore's Army Meeting. You don't even have to be a nerd to see the sheer perfection in that.

From The Craft Table

2011-09-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

On my craft table I have a stack of patterns that I have been wanting to get to for awhile. There are buckets and bags of yarn ready to be wound and cast on under the craft table.

When I finished the last bear for the Mother Bear Project I cast on many new projects.

One good thing about not having started them before Sept. is that I ended up having better yarn selections for the projects. For instance, the Mini Maiden in Cocoa I won from Lisa - Fibernymph and the Indigo and Bronze Age I was lucky enough to snag from a Hazel Knits update. Otherwise, they would have ended up being knit in some various shades of blue that are in abundance in my stash.

A few shots of the really pretty ones, or at least the ones that are large enough that the fabric can be photographed.

Shaelyn in the Mini Maiden Cocoa Colorway

My Wish in Hazel Knits Indigo and Bronze Age

Log Cabin Blanket

Shawl in my Solar Flare Handspun - so soft

Pamuya in my Riders on The Storm Handspun

I cast on another Clapotis and I am casting on another shawl tonight. October is all about socks and hats, mostly purple hats for Katie - Knittin' On The Fly click for babies KAL. Socks for Socktoberfest. November I will be going to the Interweave Lab and taking classes and enjoying some amazing keynote speakers - more on that later.

Podcasters Challenge 2011 News

2011-09-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting along with some of my favorite Podcasters. I finished the challenge knit along projects last night and I have knit two bears for the Mother Bear project bonus challenge.

My Scathach Hat I KAL'd with Katie from Knittin' On The Fly.

The Trenza Mitts I KAL'd along with Becca of Knit Bytes.

Tina of The Blooming Knitter's Bear

Dianne of Knitabulls's Bear

I want to knit more bears. I am trying to finish the Green Mountain Shawl as well. We'll see how it goes. I am enjoying the Challenges, Lois of Knittings My Bag has done a wonderful job.

Holding

2011-08-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

I am in a holding pattern. I am waiting for my Mother Bear Pattern to come so I can determine how many I can knit/crochet and what each entails. I confess, I want to do the bears wearing the cute little outfits. I am not sure how that is accomplished. I will be supporting a few of the participants in the Bonus Challenge of the Podcasters Challenge 2011. We will be knitting and crocheting bears for the Mother Bear Project based in Minnesota.

I want to cast on my Clockwork and My Wish shawls at the same time. I also want to start spinning one of my Sheep to Shoe kits. I have 24 rows and the edging left to knit on my Camp Loopy Project #3 before I can cast on. I can't decide which yarns to use for My Wish shawl, I like the fall colors in Carin's (Round The Twist) and the blues in JAKelsay's (Ravelry TKG Forum post) shawls. I have lots of fiber I could spin and make it out of handspun. I have also been thinking about some of my fall/autumn Socks That Rock colorways like Witch's Brew and Gail's Autumn Joy. Too many choices.

I have not located my partially completed Glenesk Cardigan. I have looked for it two weekends in a row. Bizarre. I found the Henry VIII pullover and the Lismore Cardigan Kit, but no Glenesk. I plan to go ahead and finish the Felted Clogs and the Drop & Cross Stitch scarf. Those are the only other remaining projects on my 11 WIPS in 2011 to do list.

I signed up for a hat knit along with the Sockbunny podcast. I have two hats on my Christmas knitting list and I still have not knit any hats for myself. So I will begin that KAL in September along with the Bears. Seems like a lot, but none of these projects have deadlines except the Camp Loopy Shawl. Everything else is to be knit or spun when and if I can.

Stash Dash Down and Loopy II Done

2011-08-11T08:57:00.000-07:00

I have completed The KnitGirllls Stash Dash, I am over 6,000 yards now. I have almost 23 bumps/skeins logged in for the DramaticKnits Stash Down. I also completed the Camp Loopy Project II. How did I manage all this you might wonder, let me show you.

Camp Loopy OWLIE socks

Eiffel Tower Shawl (unblocked)

I also finished the Lazy Katy scarf. Which means two more projects off my 11 WIPS in 2011 list.

1. Ardeo Socks ** DONE **
2. Chocolate Mint Socks ** DONE **
3. Cobblestone Sweater ** DONE **
4. Drop & Cross Scarf
5. Eiffel Tower Shawl ** DONE **
6. Glenesk Cardigan
7. Lazy Katy Shawl ** DONE **
8. Martini Scarf - Shaken Not Stirred # Frogged #
9. Rudolph Socks ** DONE **
10. Sockolatte Mousse Socks ** DONE **
11. Tweedy Clogs - Felted Clogs

I am working on some self striping gradient stockinette socks until Sat. when I plan to pull out my Glenesk sweater and get to work on the arm hole steeks.

I have also predrafted these four little one ounce braids of fiber. Not sure about how I will ply them. There surely won't be enough yardage to knit anything except a crazy scarf. The bump with the bright colors really does not coordinate with the other three.

I Am A Winnah

2011-07-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Tee Hee, I did win something after all. The Painted Tiger Team had not drawn for all of the prizes yet. Yep that's me, 4th from the top. I chose the 4 ozs of fiber. Whohooooo. I am a winner.

Well lookie here! We have 8 qualifiers for prizes, and 8 prizes! Our little boy drew names, and here’s the results!
Fiber is 4 oz my choice of TPT fiber, or a $15 store credit (PM me your preference)
Critter is a charming bunny or bear generously provided by jillhefele. Please PM her!
Peanutbuster Fiber
galdriel Critter
paletpc Fiber
ripnknit Fiber
vyep Critter
Ariaya Fiber
moongdss74 Critter
PokiePurrls Critter
Thank you all for participating in the first ever Painted Tiger Team for the Tour. It was fun!

TDF Day 23 C'est Finis

2011-07-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

The final day of Tour de France and Tour de Fleece. I completely overshot my goal. I wanted to spin 32 ounces. Four ounces more than I spun last year as a rookie. My final count was 38 ounces spun, that is over 2 lbs of fiber spun.

My Teams were:

Cloudlover
Crown Mountain Farms
Fiber Optic
Footloose 2011
Julie Spins
The Loopy Groupies
The KnitGirllls
The Painted Tiger
The Peleton
Phat Fiber
Plurknit
Natchwoolie
Woolgatherings

~~I did not win any prize drawings.~~ I won 4 ozs of fiber in The Painted Tiger team drawing.

I did however make a lot of pretty yarn.

I will definitely participate again next year. The total yards I spun 2,642 also put me over the top for The KnitGirllls Stash Dash with 4,705 yards. So I completed the Tour de Fleece and the StashDash 2011 all in one fell swoop - pass the yellow jersey please 8-)

TDF Day 22

2011-07-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

Fought with the tencel and won. It came out really lovely.

TDF Day 21

2011-07-22T22:05:00.000-07:00

First 2 ozs of The Painted Tiger Radiant Swallowtail. It's tricky to spin tencel, but the fiber is so beautiful I am giving it my best shot. This is the last 4 oz bump for my Tour de Fleece 2011.

TDF Day 20

2011-07-22T22:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the Challenge Day. I have Navajo Ply fail. I did not take any pictures of the plied Woolgatherings but it was a very frustrating and disappointing try at Navajo plying. Luckily I have another 4 ozs of the same fiber and I can try it again.

I finished plying the Buttercream.

TDF Day 19

2011-07-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

I spun the entire 4 ozs of Natchwoolie Merino Tussah Silk. It is luscious, the colorway is Buttercream and that is a perfect description.

Next - and last - The Painted Tiger Radiant Swallowtail. This fiber is gorgeous. It is Merino Tencel though so I must go painstakingly slow or it breaks.

TDF Day 18

2011-07-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Cloudlover fibers are always a joy to spin, but this polworth is my new favorite. Colorway Dionysus.

TDF Day 17

2011-07-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

The Julie Spins unclub colorway Holiday has a bazillion wonderful colors in it. I am going to knit the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun Scarf.

TDF Day 16

2011-07-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

The Fiber Optic Pencil Roving in the colorway Sapphire has dryed. I love the way it plyed up.

TDF Day 15

2011-07-17T16:52:00.000-07:00

I finished spinning the Cloudlover Polworth in the colorway Dionysus. I need to ply it tomorrow. I love spinning Polworth.

TDF Day 14

2011-07-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am plying the singles spun earlier in the week. I got 246 yards from the Sapphire fiber. I am about to ply the Holiday fiber.

I spent all day finishing the Daybreak Shawl designed by Steven West. These pictures are of the unblocked shawl. Not sure when I will get to block it, may be after Tour de Fleece. The yarn is Schaefer Nichole Two-Fers in Mystery (main body color A) and Spruce (stripes and border color B). I made the size large.

TDF Day 13

2011-07-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

I added another ounce of singles to the Woolgatherings bobbin.

In other news, Camp Loopy Project II has been cast on. I am starting with the Springtime Socks and I will cast on the Owlie socks tomorrow. Still trying to finish off the border on the Daybreak as well.

TDF Day 12

2011-07-14T20:36:00.000-07:00

I started spinning two new fibers.

Cloudlover Polworth in the colorway Dinysus.

Woolgatherings Mixed BFL in Turquoise/Lime Green mixed with the natural Blue Faced Leicester.

That brings my total number of ounces spun to 26. Well I will surely blow my last year total of 28 ounces out of the water at this pace. I have a lot of plying to do this weekend.

I Miss This Face So Much

2011-07-13T08:19:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a year.

TDF Day 11

2011-07-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

Finishing the Holiday braid of MCN fiber from Julie Spins.

TDF Day 10

2011-07-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

DAY OF REST - no spinning, plying or pre-drafting was done.

I added another 4 row repeat to the border of my Daybreak shawl, which took about 3 hours. It is huge!! I refuse to count the number of stitches currently on the needles. I can say that it is scrunched up on a 60 inch cable. Yikes.

TDF Day 9

2011-07-10T21:02:00.000-07:00

Highland Handmades Solar Flare singles

Crown Mountain Farms As Above So Below 2-Ply

To be plied:

Fiber Optic Footnotes Sapphire Batik

The last little bit of the Red Barn Farms Blue/Green singles have been 2-plyed.

TDF Day 8

2011-07-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

I finished spinning the other 2 ozs of the Sapphire roving.

I got the last of the Solar Flare hung and dried.

I finally reached the border on my Daybreak Shawl.

TDF Day 7

2011-07-09T12:24:00.000-07:00

I finished spinning the Solar Flare dark yellow portions.

TDF Day 6

2011-07-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

I am mixing things up a bit so I can be more active in some of my Tour de Fleece team threads. I started spinning the Fiber Optics pencil roving in the colorway Sapphire. I wish all of my fiber was pencil roving, it spoils you. You unwind the ball and spin, perfection. I spun 2 of the 4 ozs last night.

TDF Day 5

2011-07-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

I finished the second ounce of Julie Spins MCN in the colorway Holiday, so this bobbin is now off the spinner resting.

TDF Day 4

2011-07-05T21:02:00.001-07:00

Julie Spins colorway Holiday from the un-club.

Merino Cashmere Nylon Blend

I spun about 1 oz

TDF Day 3

2011-07-04T15:08:00.000-07:00

I spent the day winding singles off of the bobbins onto the Niddy Noddy in Solar Flare. I do not plan to ply it. This bobbin held 572 yards of singles.

I 2-plied the CMF and I ended up with 246 yards in a fingering weight.

No spinning today, just plying and finishing. The hanks are hanging up to dry now.

TDF Day 2

2011-07-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

Finished spinning the Crown Mountain Farms in the colorway As Above So Below. I am going to 2-ply it. I expect to get around 250 yards. The Highland Handmades in the colorway Solar Flare is about half done. I spun the dark orange ball of fiber and the light orange ball of fiber. Which I estimate to be about 4.2 ozs. I still have the dark yellow and light yellow balls of pre-drafted fiber to spin; they each weigh .9 ozs. This yarn will be left as singles to keep the colors as pure as possible. I do not want to cut the yardage by navajo plying it. I am going to wind the bobbin below off onto a niddy noddy tomorrow so I can soak it and set the twist. I think I am going to get major yardage out of the full 8 ozs.

I am not sure what I am going to spin next for TDF, perhaps the Julie Spins or Woolgatherings.

TDF Day 1

2011-07-02T20:53:00.000-07:00

Tour de Fleece 2011

2011-07-02T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am on 13 teams this year. I want to spin for all of the dyers I buy fiber from if they have a TDF team. Then there are other Ravelry Groups and Plurk that I feel connected to whose teams I wanted to join. All of my fiber will be spun on the Hansencrafts mini eSpinner so of course I joined their Footloose 2011 team.

I will be adding to this post. I want to insert all of the team buttons. Not all of the teams have buttons or tags, but I will add those that do.

Teams and Fibers to be Spun:

Crown Mountain Farms - As Above So Below South African Top 4 ozs
Fiber Optic - Sapphire Foot Notes Unspun Pencil Roving 80 % Merino 20% Nylon 4 ozs
Julie Spins - Holiday 80% SW Merino 10% Cashmere 10% Nylon 4 ozs
NatchWoolie - Butter Cream 80% Merino 20 % Tussah Silk 4 ozs
The Painted Tiger - Radiant Swallowtail CHALLENGE FIBER Merino Tencel 4 ozs
The Woolgatherings (tdfwg2011)- Mixed BFL Blue Green 8 ozs
Footloose 2011 - Hansencrafts Team - all spinning is eligible for this group
The KnitGirllls 2011 - all fibers eligible for this team
Phat Fiber (TDFPhat2011) - any fiber from sample box participants is acceptable: Woolybullie, Natchwoolie, Woolgatherings, WC Mercantile
Plurknit - all fibers are eligible for this team
Team Cloudlover 2011 - Polworth in Dionysus
Team Loopy Groupies 2011 -
Peleton - 2011 (tdf2011) All fibers are eligible for this team

Camp Loopy

2011-06-30T08:16:00.000-07:00

The Loopy Ewe has created a virtual Summer Camp. A fun and brilliant idea. There will be a total of three projects, one per each month of camp. Camp starts June 15th and ends Sept. 15th. Campers who finish each project and post a picture in the Loopy Ewe Gallery will receive a camp kit. There are various cabins and a Loopy Hotel for the campers to stay in and share their camp experiences. I checked into the Loopy Hotel.

Camp assignments so far:

Project #1 Campfire Nights
specifics for your first project:
- knit between June 15 and July 15
- a two-color project in either a cape, a shawl, or a scarf. (Things that would keep you warm, when sitting around the campfire in the cool of the night. See ideas and links below.)

Project #2 Hiking in the Mountains
– will run from July 15 – August 15
- for this project, the challenge is to knit or crochet either a pair of socks or a pair of mittens or a pair of gloves, in an adult size. (No fingerless mitts this time around.) The other part of the challenge is that the pattern you use needs to contain cables, which are always fun to do!

Project #1 I knit the Morlynn Shawl in Fiber Optics Footnotes yarn. Colorways are Garnet and Espresso. This is a very quick knit and I love the details. I used all of the Espresso but there was a few yards of Garnet left.

I have chosen the Owlie Sock pattern for Project #2. I ordered Skinny Bugga in Bog Fritillary for these socks.

The KnitGirllls Stash Dash

2011-06-20T08:11:00.000-07:00

I am nearly halfway to the 5k mark for the KnitGirllls Stash Dash 2011. I have 12 stripes left to knit on Daybreak. I have about 30 rows left to knit on the Eiffel Tower Shawl. Lots of fiber will be spun in July for Tour de France.

Project number:1
Roving used: Fiber Optic Pencil Roving in Garnet
Method of spinning: Woollen
Finished yardage: 196 yards
Total yardage used in Stash Dash thus far: 196 yards
______________________________________________________________________

Pattern Used: My Plain Stockinette Sock
Yarn Used:Fibernymph Dye Works Teddy Bear Bellies
Needle Size: US 1.5 /2.50 mm
Yardage Used in this project: 230
Total yardage used in Stash Dash thus far: 426 yards / .390k
_____________________________________________________________________________

Project Number: 3

Pattern Used: Summer Mystery Shawlette
Yarn Used: Wollmeise 100% in Ruby Thursday
Needle Size: US 5 / 3.7 5mm
Yardage Used in this project: 307 yards
Total yardage used in Stash Dash thus far: 733 yards
_______________________________________________________________________________

PROJECT #4

Spinning - Project Number: #4
Roving used: Red Barn Farm Hand Dyed Corriedale Wool
Method of spinning: Woollen
Finished yardage: 518
Total yardage used in Stash Dash thus far: 1251 yards/1.144 mm
____________________________________________________________________________

PROJECT #5

Pattern Used:Morlynn Shawl
Yarn Used: Fiber Optic Footnotes in Garnet and Espresso
Needle Size: US4/3.50 mm
Yardage Used in this project: 840 yards
Total yardage used in Stash Dash thus far: 2090 yards

Wendyknits Summer Mystery Shawl

2011-06-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

Wendy Johnson had a short little mystery shawl knit along on her blog. The shawl was knit from the top to the point. Very nice simple pattern. I finished it a day or two after the last clue came out.

The yarn is Wollmeise 100% Wool in the colorway Ruby Thursday.

Let the Games Begin

2011-05-27T15:57:00.001-07:00

sdravatar, a photo by lalaknits on Flickr.

The KnitGirllls Stash Dash 2011 has officially began.

Long Update

2011-05-26T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well so much for keeping up with the blog. I have not even blogged this month. I do have lots to show for how my time was spent this month.

The Age of Brass and Steam. This is handspun yarn from the Tempted fiber specifically dyed for The KnitGirllls Spinalong Knitalong. I only managed to get 214 yards out of 8 ounces because I removed all of the pink sections of the braids. HATE HATE HATE pink.

The Cobblestone Pullover - finally finished. I used Malabrigo Worsted in Emerald Blue which is just beautiful. It came out perfect.

The WendyKnits Japanese Garden Shawl was a knitalong for both the Mommyneedsyarn and the Dramatic Knits podcasts. The proceeds from the sale of the pattern through the end of April went to the Red Cross. Wendy Johnson raised nearly $7,000 on the sale of this pattern. I used two different Socks That Rock colorways, Melusine and Jensu. They are part of the Spirits Collection, where Blue Moon Fiber Arts lightly shades white yarn. One is bluish the other a blueish green. They blended very well, it's hard to tell where I transitioned to the second color.

The Lost in Light Shawlette was a test knit for Laura Linneman of the KnitGirllls. The pattern was for the Perfect Day Yarns Dead Poets Club package. I love the pattern and probably will knit it again.

The Malka Shawlette was the other pattern I had chosen for the Small Shawl Swap. But once I saw the Shaelyn I knew it was perfect for Melissa, so I made that one for her instead. I was more than half way through the Malka shawlette so I went ahead and finished it. I am donating it to a fundraiser that will happen later this year.

I am currently test knitting a pair of socks for Blueruin. I cast on the Evenstar but have not worked on it since because of the two test knits and some spinning deadlines. I am on the second set of arches on The Eiffel Tower Shawl, it is so pretty.

This is the merino tencel I spun for KarenGMT. It came out very silky and bright. I don't seem to have any photos of the skeined yarn in my flickr photostream. Too bad, it came out wonderful.

I have lots more singles on the bobbins, and some stripey socks on the needles as well. I have knit 7 shawls so far this year, I am sure I will have no trouble completing 11 Shawls in 2011 Challenge. Next up is the KnitGirllls 5K Stash Dash. Followed closely by the 2011 Tour de Fleece. I have joined 5 or 6 Tour de Fleece teams. More on that in a bit.

Spinning Out of Control

2011-04-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

I have been spinning a lot recently. I started the Merino Tencel KarenGMT purchased due to my enabling. She does not spin but the fiber was so pretty she bought it anyway. I promised to spin it for her.

I finally bought some pencil roving from FiberOptics. This is the garnet colorway, I love it. It spins up super fast and the colors are to dye for 8-}

Lastly I found this unbelievably good deal on Etsy. Less the $8.00 for 4 ozs of fiber in a bunch of beautiful colors. I have 12 ozs of this blue. I have spun about 6 ozs. The fiber is from Red Barn Farms.

I have also been knitting and gaming. I am on Chapter 3 of DSi XL Professor Layton and The Curious Village. I completed a test knit shawl for LaLa of the KnitGirllls. I finished the KnitGirllls Spin Along and knit the Age of Brass and Steam.

Cobblestone Complete

2011-04-05T08:15:00.000-07:00

Update

I have chosen 11 of my works in progress that I want to finish in 2011. Details in my Ravelry Projects.

I have frogged the Shaken But Not Stirred Project. It was originally intended to be a Christmas present for a co-worker. Family came first and it did not get done. The yarn is beautiful and I recently purchased a shawl pattern I want to use the yarn for instead.

The big news though, is that I finished the Cobbelstone Pullover. It fits perfectly, I am so excited. I need to get one of the shawls finished for the April submission for the 11 in 2011 Shawl group, then on to the Glenesk Cardigan. My plan was to have the craft room situated where I could have my various yarns for the stranded knitting laid out for easy swithching as I work up the chart. But I lost steam on that. There are still cassettes, movies and books that need to be sorted out. I have not replaced the shredder I killed either. I have documents that need to be destroyed and thrown away. Then the craft room will be complete.

I plan on finishing the Eiffel Tower Shawl for April. It will be a fond reminder of the week I spent in Paris a few years ago. My hotel was on the Rue Cler within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower. I did not go all the way to the top, primarily because I did not want to wait in line in the sun for over an hour. I went to Louis Vuitton instead, what can I say?!?

1. Ardeo Socks ** DONE **

2. Chocolate Mint Socks ** DONE **

3. Cobblestone Sweater ** DONE **

4. Drop & Cross Scarf

5. Eiffel Tower Shawl

6. Glenesk Cardigan

7. Lazy Katy Shawl

8. Martini Scarf - Shaken Not Stirred # Frogged #

9. Rudolph Socks ** DONE **

10. Sockolatte Mousse Socks ** DONE **

11. Tweedy Clogs - Felted Clogs

Technical Difficulties

2011-03-24T09:06:00.000-07:00

I am finally going get to participate in Lets Knit2gether Live show this week on Stickam. I had not been able to join previous shows because they were held while I was working or commuting home from work.

The KnitGirllls and His and Hers videocasters also have virtual knit nights on Tinychat. They have become very popular with the Ravelers and Plurkers. Virtual knit alongs are a great way to show off your projects and discuss patterns, yarn and fiber. Look for announcements on Ravelry and/or Plurk for chat room information.

My technical difficulties were due to equipment incompatibilites. I have an integrated webcam in my laptop - check. I have a headset microphone from my Rosetta Stone language set - check. So what was the problem? The webcam worked but the microphone on the headset was weak and cut in and out. I purchased a new Logitech headset with microphone. The new headset with microphone works perfect, and has great sound quality, but the webcam won't broadcast with it. So I have been either typing or talking without video in the virtual knit nights due to technical difficulties. Last night I decided to troubleshoot in an empty Tinychat room. I tried all of the video and audio settings I could find until I made it work. Fingers crossed, the next virtual knit night or the Lets Knit2gether live show, I will be able to broadcast with no technical issues.

Oh Dear

2011-03-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

I am just not getting it done. I meant to blog at least once per week, I have failed. What do I blame my tardiness on? A gazillion new video podcasts, forum posts, new books, new patterns and the Cobblestone Sweater. I cannot keep up with the video podcasts or forums any longer. Which makes me sad, because I really enjoy most of them. However, the vidcasts take a lot of time to download if you fall behind a couple of days, and they take up a lot of disk space as well. So I will be culling my list of to-be-viewed. I joined the Ravelry groups for all of the vidcasts I watch and they are very active, so I cannot keep up with those either.
The Cobblestone Sweater on the other hand is just plain tedious. I am knitting on it every day. I am working on the yoke, so the end is in sight. But because the rounds are more than 200 stitches of plain purl or knit - it is boring. I try to stay motivated because I am so close to the end but - ugh, I am afraid it is going to be put away for awhile. At least until April.

Today I purchased a couple of shawl patterns and I want to cast on one of them tonight. I have gotten two Malabrigo pattern books, and purchased several pdf patterns through Ravelry. I want to start all of the new patterns. I still have both of my sock club packages, which I want to start too. Then April 1st is the beginning of the KnitGirllls spin along. So unless I can get my collectible Harry Potter Timeturner to work something is going to suffer. Unfortunately it has been my blog. I cannot give it up yet. I have to do better, and get back on a weekly posting schedule.

2011-03-05T11:11:00.000-08:00

Update

I have chosen 11 of my works in progress that I want to finish in 2011. Details in my Ravelry Projects.

1. Ardeo Socks ** DONE **
2. Chocolate Mint Socks ** DONE **
3. Cobblestone Sweater
4. Drop & Cross Scarf
5. Eiffel Tower Shawl
6. Glenesk Cardigan
7. Lazy Katy Shawl
8. Martini Scarf - Shaken Not Stirred
9. Rudolph Socks ** DONE **
10. Sockolatte Mousse Socks ** DONE **
11. Tweedy Clogs - Felted Clogs

Acts of Kindness

2011-03-02T08:15:00.000-08:00

I have been knitting a lot of shawls. Last year I knit a dozen and I have knit four this year. Unfortunately I have not fully recovered from my surgery. The area where my scar is prevents me from being able to block lace work properly. I cannot stretch to do pinning the way I need to. To the rescue came Lynn. LynnZimm mentioned on plurk that she enjoys blocking and likes to see lace go from it's original knitted state to something open and beautiful. I jokingly said I had some shawls I would love for her to block. I had shawls from last year that I never got to block, the two Charlotte Web shawls, the Faro Easy Shawl, etc. Well Lynn said send them to me. Is that not the most generous and kind offer ever? I could not think of a way to thank her enough, I threw some goodies in with the shawls. But how do you really thank someone for such a helpful kind act? I just really appreciate everything Lynn is doing for me and I will share the blocked beauties on the blog when they get home.

Small Shawl Swap Package

2011-03-02T08:03:00.001-08:00

DSC07471
Originally uploaded by paletpc

My swap pal Lemonhalf sent me a wonderful package. Beck handspun the yarn, and knit me this beautiful Argus Shawl. Also, she was the very first person to send out a swap pal package - AWESOME. My goodies included a bath bomb that smells wonderful, a dark chocolate palette from Naked Chocolates that was delicious, two cute hearts which now hang above my desk, and a braid of fiber. I happen to have a braid of the same fiber in my stash. I was very happy with everything, Beck is a great swap pal!!!

#3 of 11 in 2011 Shaelyn Shawl for Meliabella

2011-03-02T07:56:00.001-08:00

Shaelyn Shawl for Meliabella
Originally uploaded by paletpc

The Shaelyn Shawl I knit for my swap pal Meliabella came out really pretty. I did knit my first choice, the Malka Shawl in STR Incredible Shrinking Violet and it is pretty too. But, as I suspected, once completed this shawl was more Meliabella than the Malka. It is also Socks That Rock, in medium weight colorway Rose Quartz. She likes it and has blogged and Raveled about it - yay. I used almost the whole skein, I had about 10 yards left.

#2 of 11 Shawls in 2011

2011-02-14T20:44:00.000-08:00

I completed my Feb. shawl for the 11 Shawls in 2011 KAL. It was a test knit of the Make It Work! shawl pattern designed by Leslie of The KnitGirllls. I love the way it came out. The yarn is Yarn Chef Mulligatawny in the colorway Chalcedony

I completed two test knits in fact. The other one was a cowl pattern called Twisting and Twining Cowl, the designer is Lisa Beamer. Available soon on Ravelry. It is a pretty little cabled cowl. I knit it in Bugga Bog Fritillary.

I finally finished the Ardeo socks. They are so lovely, though impossible to get pictures of. The Navy blue does not allow the pretty lace to show in photos. I have also finished knitting swap shawlette number one. I am getting into number two now. I know this is excessive, but I really don't think I will be able to choose until they are both knit and blocked. I received my swap package from my pal Lemonhalf. I will make a separate post for that.

I have been in a spinning mood. I am currently spinning some gorgeous Corriedale from Red Barn Farm. I have 12 ozs of this fiber. I will be trying my first 3-ply yarn. I should be able to get decent yardage with this amount of fiber. Fingers crossed.

2011-02-14T20:00:00.000-08:00

Update

I have chosen 11 of my works in progress that I want to finish in 2011. Details in my Ravelry Projects.

1. Ardeo Socks ** DONE **
2. Chocolate Mint Socks
3. Cobblestone Sweater
4. Drop & Cross Scarf
5. Eiffel Tower Shawl
6. Glenesk Cardigan
7. Lazy Katy Shawl
8. Martini Scarf - Shaken Not Stirred
9. Rudolph Socks ** DONE **
10. Sockolatte Mousse Socks ** DONE **
11. Tweedy Clogs - Felted Clogs

#1 of 11 in 2011

2011-02-02T13:23:00.000-08:00

I have completed the first shawl for the 11 Shawls in 2011 KAL. I knit the Stacy shawl designed by Wendy Johnson (wendyknits). I used Tempted Yarn's Lovely Grrl yarn in the colorway Renewal. I used all but 1.5 yards of the 375 yard skein. I loved working with this yarn.

This was my first blocking attempt since surgery. I managed not to poke myself, but I could not snap the blocking board pieces together properly. I could have blocked it much larger if the pieces had not kept coming apart. I could not bend forward to the center of the bed, hopefully I will be able to again soon.

Secret Knitting

2011-01-26T08:27:00.000-08:00

I am working on my Small Shawlette or Kerchief swap item. I am trying to keep everything a secret for now. I will say that the pattern has some key information missing, like how many times you knit the four row pattern repeat before starting the next chart. But with a little math I figured it out. I am also knitting the Stacy Shawl by Wendy Johnson in Tempted Lovely Grrl colorway renewal. None of my pictures came out very good so I will post on that later. I still have two pairs of socks on the needles. I only have 11 rows and the edging left to knit on the Stacy shawl so I should be able to get back to my socks soon.

I have been spinning quite a bit. I finally finished spinning The Scarlet Letter, and I finished spinning Bloodlust. I am glad I finished them both at the same time, because they are both black and red. The Scarlet Letter is Merino Tencel and the Bloodlust is Merino SW. It will be interesting to see how they look plyed. Maybe I can get that done tonight - if I can drag myself away from the Stacy Shawl. I will prep the rest of the North by Northwest too, I only have 2 ounces left to spin. I am really looking forward to starting the braid of South African top I received as the Jan. shipment of the Crown Mountain Farms fiber club. It is gorgeous. I just joined another Spin Along, more on that later.

In other news - I am going to do my first test knitting ever. Leslie of the KnitGirllls has written a shawl pattern in various yarn weights. I will be test knitting the fingering weight version. I am planning to use Yarn Chef in the colorway Chalcedonny. This picture does not reflect it well, but it is a semi solid.

Two of Eleven

2011-01-17T16:39:00.001-08:00

Saturday was the first Sister's day of 2011. My Sister and I went out for the day and had lunch and shopped. We got all caught up on work woes and family gossip. It was a great day.

I have finished spinning the singles of the Cloudlover Polworth fiber in the colorway The Tempest. I am now 2-plying it.
I finished sock 1 of the Twisted Limone Chocolate Mint socks. I love this BFL Sock Yarn so much.

Yay - I have completed two of the eleven projects for 2011. The Jack Stripe socks and the Rudolph socks are done. They came out wonderful.

I spun the first two ounces of the KnittyandColor bump in the colorway Bloodlust. This is a for a spin along I am doing with Phobbs1.

I would have made even more knitting and spinning progress if I did not have so much to do this weekend. I have swapped boxes for cabinets and drawers in the guest room closet. I put all of the movies, audiobooks and books into place. I have two boxes of DVDs that need to be brought into the bedroom to be placed in the new bookcase, and then that task will be complete. I framed the two Patternworks yarn catalog cover posters - but I still need to hang them. I set up my wireless router so I now have high speed internet access in the Craft/Guest room. I got up in the dark on Sunday morning to snag a Phat Fiber Fluffy Sampler box. I am extremely tired. But I am very pleased with my progress in all areas.

First 11 in 2011

2011-01-08T14:03:00.000-08:00

I have chosen 11 of my works in progress that I want to finish in 2011. Details in my Ravelry Projects.

1. Ardeo Socks ** DONE **
2. Chocolate Mint Socks
3. Cobblestone Sweater
4. Drop & Cross Scarf
5. Eiffel Tower Shawl
6. Glenesk Cardigan
7. Lazy Katy Shawl
8. Martini Scarf - Shaken Not Stirred
9. Rudolph Socks ** DONE **
10. Sockolatte Mousse Socks ** DONE **
11. Tweedy Clogs - Felted Clogs

Some of these projects were in hibernation, I have moved them back into the In Progress area of my projects list in Ravelry. The socks are all almost finished except the Chocolate Mint pair, I am still on sock 1. So this list will shrink quickly. The sweaters are mostly 50 % complete and just need some uninterrupted knitting time. The scarves have just been cast on. The shawls are a mixed bag, one barely started and the other progressing quickly.

I have some KALs coming up so there will be other knitting going on, intermittently. Spinning will also be a constant throughout 2011. But come hell or high water, the 11 items listed above will be completed this year. You heard it here first.

Busy Busy Me

2011-01-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

I have been spinning up a storm. I have 3 full bobbins. I need to spin the other half of each bump, Scarlet Letter, North by Northwest and The Tempest.

I am also socktastic, I am about to turn the heels on the second socks in Rudolph and Sockolate Mousse. I am ready to turn the heel on sock 1 in Chocolate Mint. I found the second ball of Navy Essentials yarn so I can now finish the second Ardeo sock.

I managed to squeeze in some shawl time as well. I added 20 rows to the Lazy Katy and I am on row 52 of the Eiffel Tower Shawl.

Weirder than weird - I want to work on the Cobblestone. Yep I am in the mood for endless rows of garter stitch.

No pictures of the wips but some random stash enhancement shots.

Spin Along

2010-12-30T15:15:00.000-08:00

I am participating in my first spin along. We all purchased Cloudlover fiber in The Tempest or The Magic Flute colorways. I chose The Tempest because it was available in Polworth, which I love to spin.

It really looks different than I expected. I can say that about most of the fibers I have spun. They blend and combine into something much different than what is in the braid or bump.

I am currently working on my self striping socks and the Eiffel Tower shawl. But I received almost my entire Ravelry wishlist in a pay-it-forward love fest so I am anxious to cast on the Pamuya shawl in my handspun.

Handknit Xmas Gifts 2010

2010-12-19T15:47:00.000-08:00

Berutti Hat Pattern in Swish Worsted Black

Short Row Hat in Telemark Garnet Heather

Boot Socks Pattern in Telemark Worsted Black and Truffle

Short Row Hat in Telemark Delft Heather

Stockinette and Hermione ED Lace Pattern Socks in Duet Skinny

Trying Something New

2010-12-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

Well it's official, I am a Spinner. I remember when I declared myself a Knitter, it was a turning point. I believe this is another turning point in my crafting life. I have been spinning for six months and I am actually spinning yarn that I can use in knitting projects.

I am taking another small leap and joining the Completely Twisted and Arbitrary Spinning Group's (CTA) SAL - a spin along - which I never even knew existed. I have spun fiber from Cloudlover before, and she is the dyer providing the fiber for the SAL. I am confident that I can spin something lovely, with enough yardage to make something for the SAL posts. It is similar to KALs and CALs in that we all start with the same thing (pattern, yarn, what have you) process it and compare our end results. I am excited. I chose the Tempest Colorway in Polworth fiber. I love spinning Polworth.

I have also made a break from the Socks That Rock rockin' sock club. I won't be renewing in 2011, instead I spent slightly less than the membership amount on yarn and patterns from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I am joining some new and exciting sock yarn clubs in 2011.
1. Bad Amy Knits Stripey Sock Club - it is bimonthly, 3 shipments over 6 months, beginning February 2011.

2. & 3. Janel Laidman's Art & Sole and Illuminations Colorwork Sock Clubs are also on my to do list for 2011. You know how long I have had the Enchanted Sole on the nightstand. I am extremely excited about those two clubs!! I found them by accident by the way. I was going through someones projects to see what a given yarn looked like in a particular sock pattern. The knitter posted something about the sock clubs - thank goodness - or I would have missed out. I need to take better advantage of the Ravelry Groups, seriously.

4. I am planning to throw my name into the ring for the Perfect Day Yarns club too, but I doubt if I will get in. Previous members from past years have taken dibs as they have been loyal to PDY for years. There are not that many spots to go around. I'll give it a go though.

I am in a few fiber clubs next year too.
5. The Crown Mountain Farms monthly fiber club.
6. Dyeabolical Bump & Braid Club which is a 3 month club Jan, Feb & Mar.
7. Cloudlover Fiber Club - another 3 month club, which was Nov, Dec and Jan.

I have had a minor set back, neither my Grinch Sock Kit nor my self striping Snow Man Sock yarns have arrived. I am terribly disappointed. I had plans for them. Now they will have to wait until next year. The weather has disrupted the flow of goods people, and I am not happy.

Almost There

2010-12-13T20:23:00.000-08:00

I put together one bookcase over the weekend. I love this furniture it is just so well made and pretty. There is one last piece to assemble, another white bookcase for the guest/craft room. Then I will finally be done. I have our waste company picking up the styrofoam packing on Tuesday the 21st. I will glad to clear out the garage. The end is in sight.

I had to add a last minute project to my Christmas knitting. I finished it last night - YAY. I am back to knitting socks with stripes and shawls with holes. I am really enjoying all of the projects I have on the needles right now so I am glad I am finished with gift knitting AGAIN.

I am spinning some amazing fiber too. I started two separate bumps. More on that in another post. I want to get back to my Rudolph socks. Ciao.

A Blessed Day

2010-12-07T12:45:00.000-08:00

I got a "Survey" receipt from Starbuck's yesterday so I got to enjoy a free Venti Caramel Macchiato. Then I got my San Francisco Soup Company daily menu and I won a free Large Soup. I went down to get my soup and literally ran into Silvia and she is way pregnant, due the 26th of this month. Silvia is one of the sweetest people I have ever worked with. When she had her daughter Sophia 8 years ago we gave her a shower here at work and I made her a Baby Carriage tissue holder. She loved it. Now that I know how to knit, I want to make her some booties and a hat. I don't think I have time for anything bigger because the 17th is her last day. This has been a truly blessed day.

Year End Sales

2010-12-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

I managed to finish my Christmas shopping for the kids, mostly Write Your Books from Barnes and Noble and digital photo album key chains for the teens. We are giving Dad pajama bottoms, house shoes and a fleece jacket this year. I bought a Red Cardigan from JC Penneys for Mom to give to me (I am her personal shopper). Lots of handknits for everyone, and gift cards for the work group. I am so happy we are not having dinner this year. My Cousin is having it at her house in Elk Grove. Yay.

Wow I scored a lot of stichmarkers, fiber and project bags during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, from various Etsy and ArtFire shops. Great discounts and free shipping offers were all over Ravelry. I joined 3 fiber clubs, two are Nov-Dec-Jan. The third starts in Jan and is for the whole year. I am undecided about the Socks That Rock Club 2011. If we get bonuses this year I will probably do the STR Club again in 2011.

The Berutti hat is done, I cast on a Short Row hat last night. I only have 18 more rows to go to finish the short row hat. I cast on the Shaken But Not Stirred scarf in Thraven, it is so pretty, I kinda want to keep it. I modified it for a guy, so there are no lacey olives on the border. The yarn is perfect. I am casting on self-striping socks as fast as I can. I want to wear the Rudolph socks on Christmas. We'll see.

I have not spun in over a week. The Quetzal Bird still needs to be plyed. I am thinking about spinning all of the 1 oz bumps and samples I received. My first one I want to try spinning without any prepping at all. I am not sure how to store my singles, I am considering winding them into cakes or balls for storage. Then once everything under 4 ozs is spun, I can decided what to ply together. I bought some solid fibers and I still have almost a pound of undyed fiber that I can spin and ply to get more yardage and different combinations.

I am not posting pictures of anything right now, because it is such a time suck. Taking pictures, editing them, labeling them, uploading them, then posting them just takes up too much time. This past week I have been spending that time knitting and I have finished 3 projects. That convinces me that less time on the computer equals more productivity. However, I have not been happy with the sparseness of my blog posts so I will try to spend more time here.

I need to find a new book. I have not been able to get into the Jasper Fforde book I started. Any recommendations??

Making Progress

2010-11-27T18:04:00.001-08:00

I managed to finish a couple of Christmas presents.

I finished Debbie's scarf. The Scrunchable scarf in SeeJayneKnit's Dexter colorway.

A new pair of socks for Julie. They are knit from Duet Skinny.
I scored a Phat Fiber box November 2010 version, the theme was a Season of Light. This is a Fluffy box which contains fiber samples, a spindle, patterns and several coupons.

I received a great package from my Fallmaggedon swap pal Sadie aka Blueruin on Ravelry. She sent me lots of Inuit teas, beautiful yarn and a braid of fiber she dyed herself. There is a shawl pin hiding under the yarn there, it is circular and looks hand hammered.

I put together both of the cabinets for the craft/guest room. That makes 6 out of 8 pieces assembled. Over the long Christmas weekend I will finish, putting together the last two bookcases.

Finished Objects

2010-11-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

I have finished a couple of pairs of socks and done quite a bit of spinning.
Knitterly Thing Vesper Self Striping Sock Yarn
Savana colorway
I think I posted this already but I just love this yarn. Handspun fingering weight yarn from Crown Mountain Farms in colorway Riders on The Storm. I still have some singles on a bobbin, yes still, that need to be plyed so I can figure out the total yardage. This was an 8 oz bump.

Currently Spinning Quetzal Bird. It is similar to another fiber I have spun, cannot think of the details of that one right now. This is a 4 oz bump from St. Seraphina's Etsy shop.

Duet Sock Yarns Skinny in the colorway Tide Pool. I love these socks, they are for Julie.

Nice Long Weekend

2010-11-13T19:20:00.001-08:00

I enjoyed the nice long weekend I took last week. The trip to Reno was fun and relaxing. I did not get to finish any of my projects though. We caught snow on the way home, near the summit - about 30 miles from Colfax. There was smoky rain for about another 50 miles. Mom was calm and patient and we had no incidences coming home; it was her first time driving in snow. We made it to the Dixon Produce Market just as they were closing. I got pecans for baking, some dried fruit and their famous chocolate covered raisins. Yay!!!

My visit to Jimmy Beans Wool was productive. The Namaste buddy cases are Christmas gifts, the Gold Lustra is going to be a colorwork scarf, I have some black for the contrasting color. The Colinette Jitterbug was on sale. I bought the Regia Self Striping in the World cup colorway because the sample sock was so danged pretty, I also got 3 more Zauberballs.

I assembled two more pieces of the new furniture, which are the last two pieces for the master bedroom.

Redecorating - The Library

2010-11-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have too many books. I relocated six bookcases full of books over the weekend. My new cabinets and bookcases came early Saturday morning. I managed to assemble one bookcase and one cabinet. The rest of the day was spent loading and unloading books. My scar felt like it was going to burst open at one point so I had to call it a day. I just managed to push the unassembled pieces against the walls out of the way. I still have one more old bookcase to relocate, then I think things will go much faster. The Paterson furniture is super easy to assemble but the pieces are quite heavy. The cabinet weighs more the 120 pounds and the bookcase 97 pounds. Needless to say they must be assembled close to their final resting place. I hope to get two pieces done each weekend until all 8 pieces are in place. An unanticipated problem is disposal. There is so much styrofoam and cartons to recycle that we fill up the can very fast and have no place to put the rest. Timing is good though, our recycling is picked up on Monday, so whatever we put in over the weekend is picked up right away.

I am going to Jimmy Beans Wool in person. I shop there online all the time so I am excited to actually visit the store. I am putting together a swap package for the KnitGirllls Fallmageddon swap. I will be on the look out for some deals. I am within budget so far, but I have a couple of yarn options that allow me to spend a few more dollars on goodies. I made some items this weekend from my endless supply of craft materials.

I finished sock 1 of the Vesper Savana 4 stripe socks and sock 1 of the Skinny Duet socks. I want to spin so badly, but I also want to get these socks off the needles. I have done the cuffs and first 10 rows on the second socks of both pairs. I cast on The Eiffel Tower shawl in Wollmeise We're Different colorway Kornblume.

I finally got a copy of Sweaters from Camp and it is a signed copy. Meg Swansen and the other two authors inscribed it to someone named Lee. I don't know if that is the person who sold it to me, or if a used book dealer ended up with it. It is like new and the book is amazing. I want to sit down with a pot of tea and read it all the way through. The patterns are challenging and inspiring.

GO GIANTS!!!!

Hi Blog How Are You?

2010-10-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

My poor neglected blog. I have been inundated with chores, my Sister's birthday, spinning, knitting and getting organized.

Good news is my Sister thoroughly enjoyed her birthday. I have found someone to take my Chaise Lounge so I can move my drafting table under the picture window where there is lots of light. I have gotten rid of some more books and bags and miscellaneous office stuff from the guest room. I found the perfect cabinet and bookshelves at Crate & Barrel. I plan to order them when we return from our mini-road trip. The really good news is this cabinet is on sale. You cannot see them in the picture but it has glass doors.

http://www.crateandbarrel.com/furniture/bookcases-cabinets/paterson-black-2-door-cabinet/s572503

Bad news is I still have boxes of movies, books and dvds to deal with in the guest room before I can move my yarn collection in there.

I celebrate my six month spinaversary next month. I cannot believe I have only been spinning for 5 months, it feels so natural. Just like with yarn, I have developed a sense of what type of fiber I dislike and which types I love. My favorites are Corriedale, Blue Faced Leicester and Polworth. Silk blends send too much loose fiber into the air and I have to wear a mask when prepping and spinning it - I would rather buy my silk blend yarns already spun. I have not tried to spin the tencel yet. No exotics or luxury yarns either. I am kind of blah about the superwash merinos I have spun. They were kind of boring, maybe because both were 8 oz braids and took awhile to spin.

I have cast on a whole bunch of new projects for winter. I am freezing, so I am making myself some hats and scarves and mittens. I need to also finish my felted clogs!!! I have only two Christmas presents to knit this year, my Sister wants a red scarf and I have decided to knit my Brother (in-law) some socks. The scarf is about 25% knit already, I just ordered a pattern and yarn from Knit Picks for the big old man socks - he wears size 14.

I Lied - Again

2010-10-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

I lied to myself, and possibly the interwebs, about taking photos of stash enhancements. I had said I was not going to do it anymore. I spend too much time uploading and updating stash and wips so I claimed I was not going to do that any longer. Well, I got all jazzed about a pattern last week and looked through my Ravelry stash to see if I had enough yardage in a particular yarn. But travesty of travesties I couldn't get that information because I never put the yarn in my stash. SO - it's all or nothing. I am back to putting stash pictures in Ravelry. And, by the same token, it was time to update my Library Thing list. I scanned about 100 books today and added them to library thing.

If you are curious about what I read my Library Thing username is paletpc.
If you want to peruse the stash enhancement or WIP updates, click the Flickr link in the sidebar. I still have to take pictures of my Kauni and Socks That Rock. They may have to wait until next week, I want to knit.

Make A Wish

2010-09-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to be a prize winner in the drawing that LynnZimm held for those who donated to her Make a Wish fundraiser. My prize was a handknit pair of socks from Leslie of the wildly popular video podcast The KnitGirllls. Leslie also sent me some brain food, CHOCOLATE, a book light and bookmark for those late nights reading in bed. I am going to have a cozy fall and winter with all three (well maybe 15 minutes with the chocolate). The hanpainted water color notecard that was included in the package is to die for. It is gorgeous.

It's a Record

2010-09-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

I somehow managed to knit a Traveling Woman Shawl in three days. I cast on and knit the stockinette portion on Saturday. I knit Chart A three times on Sunday. I knit the border Chart B and cast off Monday. Unfortunately due to the healing process I cannot block anything right now, I did not have the foresight to pull the blocking squares out from under the chaise before surgery. I also don't think the stretching during the pinning and wiring process would be good right now.

I was determined to knit another Traveling Woman Shawl correctly. If you recall the one I knit for the Ravelry meetup was a pattern fail. I forgot to knit the second repeat of chart A and ended up with a modified version of the pattern. The shawls in Ravelry which were knit correctly kept taunting me. My only modification this time was to add a third repeat of Chart A. I knit this out of my own handspun, Japanese Maple 100% Corriedale from The Painted Tiger. I still have a nice sized ball left, but I did not think it would be enough for another repeat of Chart B. I love it so much, the colors look so pretty knit up. This gives me a sense of how the spinning and plying affect the knitted fabric.

My itty bitty Nano came, it's adorable. I had it engraved with Go SMALL or stay home! 8-}

Spins, Socks and Wips

2010-09-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Spins:
I have skeined up the Bermuda Triangle and finished spinning the singles of the Sanguine Gryphon Dinosaurs in the Neighborhood. Currently I am spinning my first braid of Crown Mountain Farms, it is 8 ozs of superwash merino. Wow it looks more like a pound of fiber. I may spin 4 ozs of something else before I spin the other four ozs.

Socks:
I finished three pairs of the socks I was working on - mostly to avoid the mind numbingly long rows on the Cobblestone Sweater and Green Mountain Shawl. The yarns used below are (1) Opal Rainforest 6 in the colorway Lord Marlon; (2) Lana Grossa Solo #5208; and (3) Happy Choices #6.

Works In Progress:
I am still knitting sock 1 of the Hermione's Everyday Socks in the STR Colorway ST-1.

I cast on a pair of Ardeo Socks for my Sister, I have only completed the cuff so there is nothing to see yet. I am using Knit Picks Essential in Navy.

I cast on a Traveling Woman Shawl in my handspun in the colorway Japanese Maple. I cannot tell you how much I love this yarn, it is knitting up wonderfully and I love the way the colors are moving through the stockinette portion. I have just started Chart A. . . . and this time I will knit the charts in the proper sequence.

It Is Mine Whine

2010-09-20T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have decided not to put any more of my stash into Ravelry. Except the Prism Merino Mia because I am trying to collect one skein of each color, and need to avoid duplications. I will list my handspun as I finish a skein also. But the sock yarn, and yarn for projects I think I will only list when I am working on a project using that specific yarn. I am getting a lot of requests for yarn in my stash even though I don't have any listed for sell or trade. I am pretty sure I have whined about this before - sorry. Just because I have had a skein of something since 2007 does not mean I don't want it. I am a collector, I like to try different yarns/fibers and I buy single skeins to see a yarn in person before buying enough for a project.

I always volunteer to send Ravelers left overs if I have something they need, but I am not selling my Alice Starmore Hebridean or my Wollmeise lace weight. I am actually considering downloading my stash to an excel file and removing it from Ravelry. I don't like having to say no, and constantly explain why I cannot send someone that "impossible to find in the same dye lot" skein they are searching for.

What would be great is if I could make my stash non-public, that would be perfect. Then I could continue to use it on Ravelry with all of the links. That may be selfish, but I listed my stash for me to scroll through when planning a project and keep track of colorways and such. I don't know, I guess I am feeling a little harassed, Ravelry has gotten so big now and there are so many members, that the number of requests has grown with it.

Past Due

2010-09-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

Wow my projects were really out of date, books too. I spun two fibers and read three books that never made it to the side bar. Lets start with what's on my needles.

I am about to start the sleeves of Cobblestone. The yarn is Malabrigo Worsted in Emerald Blue.

Lots of socks.

Pair #1 Happy Choice in colorway #6, very weird to be unraveling yarn from what looks like a scarf to knit a pair of socks. Lots of curl in the yarn but no problem knitting with it and the sock is extremely soft and cushy.

Pair #2 Lana Grossa Solo in colorway #5208. I love the fabric and the slow color shift but the yarn is very splitty, doing the ribbing and the heel flap was a pain. Project bag: Blue Baseballs from Piddleloop etsy store.

Pair # 3 is the beginning of the Hermione's Everyday Sock in 3am Enchantments' one of a kind colorway The One Eric Dyed. I love this yarn so much. However, I am going to have to frog this sock. The pattern calls for a size US 1/2.25mm needle and 400 yards of sock yarn. The sock is too small and I need to go up to at least a US 2 needle for this yarn. So I don't have enough of this yarn to knit these socks. Not a problem of course because I have a gazillion sock yarns in my collection. Project Bag: 3am Enchantments Route 66 bag.

Pair #4 Opal Rainforest Collection 6 in the Lord Marlon colorway. Plain stockinette socks, nice and squishy and knitting up superfast in all their self-patterning glory. Project Bag: Piddleloop retro Snoopy bag.

Next - what I am spinning. I cannot say "what's on the wheel" anymore because my Hansen electronic Mini Spinner does not have a wheel. I have named her Cherry by the way, thanks Lemonhalf for helping me pick a name.

First is the Bermuda Triangle from Wild Hare Fibers that I am currently spinning. It is a 4 oz bfl bump. So pretty.

Second is The Painted Tiger 100 % Corriedale top 8 0zs in the colorway Japanese Maple. I spun and 2 plyed it for a total of 472 yards. It is a fingering weight. I want to knit a shawl out of the yarn. The hank is currently hanging in the shower to dry. I will probably post another picture of it all skeined up.

Last my Dyeing Arts Goblin Seas duo which was 4 oz of superwash merino. I 2 plyed it for a total of 254 yards. It is destined to be a pair of socks for Mom.
I cast off the Mystic Desire inspired shawlette I created when I had pattern fail on the Mystic Desire KAL pattern. I also finished the Clapotis I knit for Jane's birthday present; it came out gorgeous. I used Interlacement Tiny Toes again, colors #203 and #209 - I really wish this yarn was still available. The colors are so wonderful.

Brief Update

2010-08-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

Surgery went well, they removed a tumor and several fibroids 4 x 6 inches in size and a few other things. I got home last Friday 8/13, and things are progressing. I go in to have the sutures removed today 8/19. The body wrap bandage they put on after surgery removed my skin in several places, that is the only real healing problem right now. I am using New Skin liquid bandages to keep the areas covered and prevent infection.

I started the Cobblestone sweater in the Emerald Blue colorway.

I started Jane's Birthday Clapotis in Interlacement Tiny Toes #209 and #201. I am on section 3, the straight section.

I also started a pair of plain stockinette socks in the Happy Choices Color 6. Some nights I feel up to knitting, but mostly I don't. Very disappointing, I visualized lots of knitting on my time off. Charts are completely out of the question I cannot bend over or keep them positioned in a way that is easy to move the post-it tape or a ruler.

My Hansen Mini Spinner arrived yesterday, I am totally thrilled. It's so beautiful. Mine is number #318. I am hoping I feel up to giving it a spin this weekend.

Checking In

2010-08-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

I have been away from the blog for too long. Posting daily for Tour de Fleece was time consuming and draining. I did spin 28 ounces of fiber which was way more than planned. Then I had to ply it. I ended up with 640 yards of handspun from the two 8 oz braids and 224 yards from each of the 4 oz bumps. I am pleased with that. I have no plans for the yarn, I am just trying to learn how to spin and get familiar with my wheel.

I have had some real frustration with my spinning wheel, the con rod on the right treadle broke on Saturday. The squeaking had returned to the left treadle too. I am really tired of taking it apart and fixing things, so I stuck it under the craft table. I was trying to spin as much as possible until surgery because I will not be able to treadle again until Dec at least. I really think this is an inordinate amount of problems for a spinning wheel that is only 2 months in use. I wouldn't recommend this model to anyone, it is hard enough learning to spin without having to constantly work on the spinning wheel itself. I ordered an electronic spinning wheel - the Hansen Mini Spinner, no treadles to deal with. It should come the week after I get out of the hospital.

I have also been plurking quite a bit. So that's where I have been. I will probably be blogging much more when I am on medical leave. I know I will be knitting and reading more.

Tour de Fleece Finis

2010-07-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

TOUR DE FLEECE 2010
Rookies 2010 and Team KnitGirllls

My Tour de Fleece accomplishments. A GRAND TOTAL OF 28 Ounces of fiber spun.

I spun the DyakCraft Batt in colorway #101 Striped and knit a One Row Handspun Scarf. 4 ozs of fingering weight.

Next I spun the Gale's Art Fibers Merino Silk blend in the colorway Proud Peacock 4 ozs. I got around 200 yards of sport weight 2 ply yarn.

For the Challenge Day I spun the Purple 70/30 Merino Tencel from Ashland Bay. I have two bobbins packed with singles which I will ply with Zephyr lace weight some time today. 4 ozs and it's currently a fingering weight.

Lastly I spun two 8 ozs 100% Corriedale tops from The Painted Tiger. The light green colorway is Seascape and the blues are Blue Lagoon. I 2 plied the two colors together for a worsted weight. So far 2 bobbins of each have yielded 172 yards. The rest will be plied later today.

My goal was just the first two bumps for a total of 8 ozs. I exceeded my goal by a whopping 20 ozs. Yay me!!!

I learned how to long draft on the wheel, change flyers, and ply. I had a fantastic Tour de Fleece.

Unrest

2010-07-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Tour De Fleece had a day of rest yesterday. I did not do any spinning, I watched The Lovely Bones which was truly enchanting and enjoyable. I tried to finish knitting the LaLa Simple Shawl, but I have a pool ball size ball of yarn to finish up tonight. It should be enough for another row and the bind off. I am not worried because I have another skein already wound and can bind off with that if I run short. I AM SO TIRED.

The new neighbors played Mexican ballads until well after midnight. The kind with the strumming guitars and long held notes. OMFG people. Some of us commute to work. I have to get up before 5 which means I barely get 6 hours of sleep as it is. WTF?!?!?!?!

I am currently working on the first 8 oz top from The Painted Tiger. It is a little intimidating. I counted the loops in the braid and divided it by three. Seriously each ball feels like 4 ozs. I started pre-drafting and the fiber is wonderful. It is 100 % Corriedale and the colors are so nice - I am spinning Seascape first. I filled a bobbin with about half of the first ball. I have the high speed whorl on again because I want much thinner yarn. I don't like how fluffy it gets when plied so I want it as thin as possible to start with. I lost it a couple of times and the fiber was pulled out of my hand, I have to watch the drafting area at all times or the fiber breaks. The squeaking is back and treadling is not smooth. I need to try a different drive band I think. Also I had to unwind the brake cord to ply with the Jumbo Flyer and I cannot get it back the way I originally had it. Heavy sigh. I find this part of spinning extremely frustrating. All of the constant adjustments, how one setup works perfectly and you change bobbins or whorls and nothing works right. I really don't get that. The Maggie Casey DVD I have emphasizes all the wheel adjustments and tweaks for different types of fiber, etc. I am finding it to be a real pain. Apparently you get used to it, people have been spinning for thousands of years. It must become like background noise over time. I am heading into my second month of spinning, and I think I am doing pretty well for a self-taught spinner. I have a spinning buddy - hi KraftyKathy. She has an Ashford Kiwi too, which she painted beautifully. She lives about 1,000 miles away though so we encourage and support each other via Ravelry.

There is a swap I joined that sounds like a lot of fun. The KnittersWithCritters podcast host Jackie does small swaps, usually less than 10 people. You don't have to buy anything to participate, the only cost is postage of about $1.05 in the US. The next swap is for a knitted or crocheted bookmark, with a stitchmarker instead of a tassel, and a mini-skein of leftover yarn between 6 and 8 yards. The previous swap was a miniature sock, recipe and mini-skein. These are easy fun swaps that you don't even have to shop for. Sign-ups close tomorrow July 15, 2010.
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/knitter-with-critters-podcast/1201091/1-25#12

I completed the One Row Handspun Scarf, it is so pretty. I love the colors and the length is just right. I put my felted clogs into hibernation, it's just not happening. I am completely distracted by spinning right now. I left the two pairs of socks up though. I have not touched them, but I will when I finish these two shawls. I am a proknitcuous knitter, I like having a bunch of projects bagged up. I like casting on. I can always knit some stockinette socks or a clapotis if I want to complete a project.

TDF10 Day 7

2010-07-09T09:54:00.000-07:00

I finished 4 ozs of Gale's Art Tussah Silk and Blue Face top in the colorway Proud Peacock. No idea of yardage yet. I have picked a pattern form the Knitty Fall 2010 issue, Coteille. I think the bright colors will work well for the pattern.

Next up on the wheel will be one of The Painted Tiger Corriedale Tops. Something semi-solid in blue or blue-green. The One Row Handspun scarf is coming along. I am going to put the felted clogs and the socks into hibernation until I finish the Tour de Fleece. By then I will be on medical leave and have lots of knitting time. I hope I feel like knitting!! I won't be able to spin I don't think.

TDF10 Day 4 My Finished Yarn

2010-07-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

The Dyakcraft batt came out beautifully. The twist relaxed and the it looks great. I skeined it and then wound it for knitting. Yay.

4 oz batt spun up to 180 yards in a sport weight. Colorway #101 Striped. I would definitely spin these batts again.

paletpc
Rookies 2010 and Team KnitGirllls

TDF10 Day 3 & A Shout Out on TheKnitGirllls!!!

2010-07-05T21:46:00.001-07:00

I was so excited to hear a shout out about my spinning on TheKnitGirllls vidcast tonight (ep. 15 part 3 - link in the sidebar). Apparently I am doing well for a brand new spinner, Yay me. I am enjoying it. I would love to be getting more yardage, but I am sure that will come in time.

All three bobbins of the Dyakcraft in colorway #101 Striped have been spun and skeined up. It is currently drying in the shower. I only got 180 yards though. It seemed to be spinning up really thin (for me) so I expected more yardage, but that's fine. It is so pretty. I may ply it with something else or I may leave it as a single and knit a cowl or keyhole scarf.

I started spinning the Gale's Art Tussah Silk and Blue Face blend that I predrafted a couple of weeks ago. It has some really pretty color sections in it.
75% Blue Face 25% Tussah Silk in the colorway Proud Peacock
Because of fiber amnesia I ended up with 3 bumps of this, so I have 12 ozs. But it is very messy, sheds on everything. I have to wear a mask when working with it because it was clogging my nose and throat when I drafted it. I definitely won't be spinning all of it during Tour de Fleece. I think I will just spin this 4 ozs and skein it up.

My WooLee Winder came, but I could not get my tension right and ended up putting my regular flyer back on. I was making a terrible mess of my fiber with the Woolee Winder, it wasn't being pulled into the orifice and was an overspun curlicue. I will practice with my plain solid colored roving after the TDF. It will definitely take some practice.

Tour de Fleece has been great for me so far, I have really gotten joins down and no longer make slubs when adding on fiber. I can also change hooks without back spinning or losing the twist in the yarn I am pinching while I switch hooks. My bobbins are really coming out evenly and getting fully packed. I originally planned to use my drop spindle too, but I have not started a bump on the spindle yet.

It is so hot now that I cannot draft for long because I have to have the fan on. So I may not get around to the drop spindle at all, I was already having trouble keeping my fiber from floating up into the twist before I was working with a fan blowing at me.

In other news, I am 2/3 of the way through my LaLa Simple Shawl. I love this pattern in this yarn. It is so soft colorwise and, to the touch. I have added another 10 rows on the Mystic Desire - hugely modified version. I have my gauge for my sweater but I did not get a chance to cast on before TDF started.

TDF10 First Bobbin

2010-07-03T17:50:00.000-07:00

I have finished filling my first bobbin. I tried to split the yarn in equal parts. I spun all of the turquoise and kelly green onto this bobbin.

There is a very small amount of pre-drafted fiber left that did not fit on this bobbin. It is Kelly and Forest Green. I think I will go ahead and start the second bobbin. I need to pre-draft the rest of the batt. I did not draft the first half thin enough and was getting heavier yarn than I wanted. I broke off the fiber and drafted it all out some more. I am thrilled with how thin it spun up. I hope the rest goes as well.

TDF10 Day 1

2010-07-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

I am ready for day one of Tour de Fleece. I am on two teams, Team KnitGirllls and Rookies 2010. So far I have drafted half of the Dyakcraft Batt in colorway #101. It is so vibrant. I want it to spin up thin enough that I get around 300 yards. That is my goal for this half of Tour de Fleece.

My WooLee Winder and PVC Niddy Noddys came. They will really help during Tour de Fleece.

=`{ Still missing the baby.

Peaks and Valleys

2010-06-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

I know we all have times in our lives that mark everything else that happens to us. You often hear people say before "the Depression", "the Earthquake", "9/11/", "Katrina" this was this way and that was that way. These events have become a demarkation for them - what changed their lives from that point forward and has become their measuring rod.

Saturday June 26th was such a day for me. We were decorating for the party and my Mom and Sister and I were here alone and it was like when we were kids helping Mom get ready for a big family dinner. Only our roles have reversed and my Sister and I are now the hostesses. The party was a huge success, all of my Mom's friends for countless years and our cherished relatives were here. My Uncle came from Atlanta to surprise her, a cousin came from Long Beach to surprise her. A good time was had by all guests and the birthday girl. We reached our highest peak.

Indy had been having breathing problems since Thursday night. We took him to the vet on Friday and they took x-rays and gave him anti-biotics. Saturday he was very confused and we kept him upstairs out of the crowd. My Sister, Brother-in-Law and I took turns sitting with him. The last guests left around 9 or 9:15. I had just stepped into the shower when I heard my Mom call up and say come down when you get out of the shower. I knew. I just got out and went downstairs. He was lying in the kitchen floor, he had followed her into the kitchen like he always does - Grannie's baby, and he collapsed and died. He was my first and only puppy, and I loved him very much. He had been badly abused before Furry Friends found him and he had been adopted out twice before he came to us. We were his last chance before euthanasia. Luckily he got along with Micky and became part of our family. We loved him much, and well for 11 years. We will miss him for many more. He is being cremated and his ashes scattered on Monterey Bay. We reach this lowest valley.

Good Mailman

2010-06-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

The mailman actually rang the doorbell when he delivered the latest additions to my yarn collection. Please don't judge, I have few vices and none of them hurt anyone else. I used my Taking it To The Streets RSC discount code for these:
2 sheep to shoe kits, Quinault Canopy and Dragon Dance.
All of the yarns in the photo below are listed in my Ravelry stash, 10 are lightweight and 10 are medium weight. I also bought a Sock Summit Tote Bag which I love.

I also got my Loopy Ewe yarn, two of the new solids Malachite and Evergreen. And a sweaters worth of Malabrigo in Emerald Blue. I am swatching the Malabrigo for Cobblestone. I did not get gauge with my first yarn choice.

I got a shipment from Wild Hare Fiber. I love spinning her fiber. I have taken about 100 pictures of the Crush yarn I spun. Here are a couple of pictures of the skein and my new fiber, also bought with a discount for Tour de Fleece team members.

Indigo Inc.
April
The Bermuda Triangle

Last, but most definitely not least is a WIP shot of my LaLa's Simple Shawl. I cannot put it down, I have not knit on anything else since I cast it on. I love the yarn and the pattern!!!

More Fiber More Yarn & a Birthday

2010-06-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

I received many birthday wishes and cards, this is from the front of my favorite card this year.

New project and notion bags from Jen and Wendy of piddleloop which came with birthday goodies.

I got some more fiber in the mail, 7 8oz tops from Crown Mountain Farms, 3 braids from Gale's Art, 8 Corriedale and 1 Merino top from Paradise Fibers, and 1 lb of White Merino Top from Palace Yarn. Gale very generously sent some silk samples along with my order. So pretty. I finished spinning another 4ozs, Espresso from Lavendarsheep.
I drafted a small bit of the Peacock Merino Silk top from Gale's Art, which is next to go on the wheel. I have 12 ozs. Hoping for really good plied yardage.
A Day At The Fair all skeined up.
A skein of Monet.
This is Crush all spun up, the skein is hanging up to dry.

I had some real issues with the Mystic Desire, Chart B Fri. and Sat. The right side stitch count is wrong every row. I have had to tink back on every row from 69 to 79, I am pretty fed up with it. My nupps however have come out perfect. The Signature Stilettos make the nupps and k3togs much easier. I am giving it two more rows, if the problem persists I am frogging it and moving on. I have too many projects in my queue I want to work on. I cannot spend all this time unknitting and reknitting the same stitches over and over. I hope Signature Needle Arts offers circulars in more sizes soon, I absolutely love them. I wish I had them in sock sizes US 0-3.

Still Spinning and Finishing

2010-06-13T17:52:00.000-07:00

I finished spinning Monet and I am half through spinning Crush. Crush is so bright and pretty, like sherbet cotton candy. This is what I have left to draft and spin.

MAIL CALL!! I got a big box of luscious Tops from The Painted Tiger; 5 are Corriedale and the last one on the bottom row is Superwash Merino. I was wondering if I was crazy to order 8 oz tops, but considering how fast the Monet and Crush spun up using the high speed whorl - I don't think 8 ozs of fiber is too much to work on at a time. The drafting is the only thing really, will I get tired of drafting the same colors and fibers through 8 ozs.? We'll see, cause it's mine now 8~} [Details on Flickr and in Ravelry.] I am still getting kind of low yardage because my spinning is still a little bulky, I want to make sure I have a enough yarn to knit a project with. I thought - for now - spinning 8 ozs at a time should give me enough yarn to do something with. My bobbins are getting full, I need to get the finished yarn skeined up.
Next on the wheel will probably be Espresso from Lavendarsheep. I want to get away from the blue greens for a moment - I know, shocking.

A few more shots of my Wendyknits Faro Easy Shawl - still unblocked. This is the 6th shawl I have knit in 2010 which means I am right on track for the 10 Shawls In 2010 KAL. ETA: Correction - this is my 7th shawl in 2010, I had forgotten to add the Travelling Woman shawl to my 10shawls2010 Ravelry page. I am going to get back to the Mystic Desire this week. As usual, I am glad I waited until the Kal was over. The errata has all been incorporated into the final version of the charts and I have seen enough finished projects to know exactly what I am aiming for. I want to make the larger version instead of the small version as I originally planned to do. I will work on that tonight after I draft.

Heavy sigh, I wish I had more time!!!! I really really like the last two Rockin Sock Club patterns, but I don't have time to knit them. I still need to wind the yarn for the Norwegian Rose Sock KAL 8-/

In Other News

2010-06-11T08:15:00.000-07:00

I received my Mini Sock Swap Package from my pal Jackie aka Raynanjyl from the Knitter With Critters podcast. She has a great podcast so if you haven't heard it, go check it out. She sent me a yummy soup recipe, a beautiful mini KP Sock, a mini skein and a surprise - a set of note cards. So nice.

I am making much progress on my Wendyknits Faro Easy Shawl, I started the final chart last night. I love this yarn, Fiber Optic from The Loopy Ewe.

My First Yarn

2010-06-11T08:04:00.001-07:00

A Day at the Fair - ready to be put on the niddy noddy.

Gum Ball. I am so proud of this stuff, I think it's beautious!! I ordered a second roving in this colorway because I only got 116 yards. I want to be able to at least make a pair of socks or mitts. Maybe a cowl or keyhole scarf if I get around 300 yards total.

I am going to finish spinning this Monet first though. Isn't it pretty? The braid looked mostly white, but when I drafted it the fiber became blues and greens, lilac and whites just like impressionist paintings by the master. Amazing.

Ooooh Shiny

2010-06-10T10:41:00.000-07:00

I really need one of those "ooh Shiny" buttons from Kiping It Real. Anywho, I bought myself (another) birthday present. You know my motto, shop early and shop often for my birthday presents. I ordered a Woolee Winder with extra bobbin (just 1 for now). I put the high speed whorl on Miss Kitty last night and she flys. I spun some serious fingering weight singles. The ONLY problem is every time I stop to move the yarn to another hook. I either loose control of the twist or started going counter clockwise when I start to treadle again. Everything goes smoothly until I have to stop for hook changes, so I ordered a Woolee Winder . Taking the hooks out of the equation. But geez 8 weeks estimated delivery 8~[ I may not have it in time to train for the Tour de Fleece (TDF). I am on the Rookie and The Knit Girllls teams. My goal is the gorgeous Dyak Craft batt and the Sanguine Gryphon roving. They are each 4 ozs. I also took full advantage of the discount being offered by The Painted Tiger - 15% off for TDF team members. Lets call that a birthday present too! 8-)

The favors for Mom's 75th birthday came and they are fabulous. I am so happy I got them. I ordered 48 of the assorted ice cream cones and 24 of the assorted cupcakes. I am so glad they are towels, so leftovers can actually be used for something. I cannot tell you how many stale party favors I have around the house from showers, weddings and b-day parties!!! They are from Beau Coup Party Favors

In previewing that first paragraph, I realized that I have learned another new language. I now speak spinning. It is so funny, when I first got into knitting all of my posts were written in knitese, now I am writing in spinese. I am also now Tricraftual. I need to make a button for my sidebar. Maybe there is already one out there in the blogosphere I can grab.

Gum Ball Hank & More to Spin & Knit

2010-06-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have finished my first hank of handspun yarn.

I finished spinning the Gale Arts Gum Ball roving last night. This morning I wound it from the jumbo bobbin onto the niddy noddy.

** A couple of notes to self here: great idea to wind it onto a bobbin as the spindle got full. I need a much bigger niddy noddy. **

There were too many strands to get a count so I still don't know the yardage. I soaked the spaghetti looking yarn in a warm bath of Kookabura and then rinsed it. I rolled it into a towel for less than a minute. Huge fear of felting!!!! Then I looked at it and decided that I did not want it to dry that way. I am using directions from both Spin It and Start Spinning. They both say if the yarn is for crochet or knitting projects it can just be left to dry on the towel. Uh, I don't think so. It's still too curly, even after a few gentle pulls where the ties are. I decided to hang it in the shower. I have a set of acrylic stands so I set one in the shower and hung the hank on it. Much better - there was a downward pull on the damp strands and much less curl. Then I thought - the small stand is about the length of the hank, why not wrap the hank around the stand? So that's what I did. The measurement around is 36 inches, how cool is that!?! All I have to do is count the strands and I will have my yardage.

I finished drafting the rest of the A Day At The Fair Roving to spin on Miss Kitty (my Ashford Kiwi wheel) over the weekend.

Next on the drop spindle will be Monet. I will start drafting it after lunch.

I finished my third Clapotis. Interlacement Tiny Toes (#s 203 & 209) and Cherry Tree Hill (Tropical Storm) Sock yarns on size US 6 / 4.00 mm needles. I added 3 extra sets of 12 row repeats in sections 2 and 4 to make a bigger scarf/shawl. I think the next one I knit will be in Socks That Rock. I have decided all of the ladies in my extended family are getting Claps for Christmas. Carolyn, Davielle, Sedonia, Harmony, Lacey, Julie, and Doreen. I have already knit one for my Sister, but I think she wants a blue one. My brain just twitched, what a great way to knit down my Socks That Rock stash and my Wollmeise. ( I actually have Wollmeise in my stash that I don't like in the particular colorways - True Love being one of them.) So what's that come to? Eight more Clapotis. I probably should cast another one on this weekend. 8~}

Next to be cast on for myself is the Travelling Woman Shawl in Fiber Optic Lazy River. I must have this shawl knit properly with the charts in the right order. LOL, I have completely lost count of how many shawls I have knit for the 10 in 2010 Shawl KAL. I need to check Ravelry. I am counting the Clapotis because I have knit them all oversized - 60" in length - which I believe meets the minimum for the KAL.

Stieg Larsson

2010-06-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

The final volume of the trilogy has arrived. If I can tear myself away from my fiber pursuits, I plan to read this over the weekend.

"The exhilarating conclusion to bestseller Larsson's Millennium trilogy (after The Girl Who Played with Fire) finds Lisbeth Salander, the brilliant computer hacker who was shot in the head in the final pages of Fire, alive, though still the prime suspect in three murders in Stockholm. While she convalesces under armed guard, journalist Mikael Blomkvist works to unravel the decades-old coverup surrounding the man who shot Salander: her father, Alexander Zalachenko, a Soviet intelligence defector and longtime secret asset to Säpo, Sweden's security police. Estranged throughout Fire, Blomkvist and Salander communicate primarily online, but their lack of physical interaction in no way diminishes the intensity of their unconventional relationship."

Written by Stieg Larsson (1954–2004)

I have almost finished spinning the Gum Ball - love it. I am really good with the spindle now if I must say so myself. It actually looks and feels like yarn !! YAY!!!

Completely Unexpected

2010-06-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

I oiled Miss Kitty and practiced treadling. I thought, hmm, while I am treadling I could be drafting the fiber I plan to spin first. I ended up spinning half of the 4 oz bump of A Day at The Fair. The yarn on the second bobbin is definitely better than the yarn on the first bobbin. I am really pleased with the yarn I spun on my first try. I am going to spend at least an hour drafting tonight. The lesson I learned quickest is well drafted fiber spins the best. My first yarn on the spindle came out better than the yarn I spun on the wheel. The spindle is easier for me to control right now. I think I will finish the Gale's Art Gum Ball roving on the spindle.

I finished my Cherry Tree Hill and Interlacement Tiny Toes Clapotis last night. I ran out of yarn and had to go stash diving. I had 5 skeins of Interlacements in other colorways. The colorway #209 was the closest, so I finished the last part of section 4 and section 5 with that. I weaved in all the ends and took a few pictures.

The Vogue Knitting wrap came off the blocking boards and I weaved in all the ends. I joined the two rectangles and I am wearing it today. It came out fabulous - thanks Gail (Gail Knits, Las Vegas, NV) for recommending this pattern. Instead of picking up one of my socks, as planned, I picked up the Wendy Knits Faro Easy shawl and knit through row 25. I love the yarn I am knitting with so much I want to finish the shawl RIGHT NOW.

Curious and Buggaing Out

2010-05-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

I loved knitting Eidos and I am knitting socks with Bugga right now. I wanted to try some of the other Sanguine Gryphon yarns so I ordered some Kypria, Sappho II, Traveller and Little Traveller, and more Eidos and Bugga. Love the colors and I believe I will enjoy knitting with them as well. I am thinking about making a sweater in the blues and greens, maybe Jared Flood's Cobblestone. Something simple that will let the yarn colors be the focal point.

I bought a cute little notions box to go with my new Namaste bag.

My first yarn - the Gum Ball was all spun on the Schacht. The Purple Merino Tencel was spun on the Schact and the Spindle I got with my Kniddy Knoddy from an Etsy seller. I don't have any idea what to do next. I ordered the Start Spinning book from Barnes & Noble. I will try to read it today.

I finished my Vogue #28 Wrap, it is lovely. I still need to sew the rectangles together.

I am on Section 4, the decrease section of my Clapotis. I intend to finish it today. I am going to oil up Miss Kitty and give her a spin. I will either get back on the felted clogs or my toe up socks next. I need to finish Chart A (at least) of Mystic Desire. I have not even cast on the Norwegian Rose socks yet. But I am spinning and knitting and adding yarn and fiber to my collection so all is good.

Spinning Right Along

2010-05-23T12:02:00.001-07:00

This lovely box of bits and pieces arrived on Friday. This is the cute little Ashford Kiwi Spinning Wheel I ordered from the Woolery. They had their distributor Foxglove FiberArt in Bainbridge Island, WA ship it because they were closer. I got it in 4 days - amazing. It came with a Lazy Kate, 3 bobbins, and the Hi-Speed adapter kit.

There was an announcement taped on the outside of the box. What a coincidence, this is the very spinning event I am going to in June. My sister has agreed to join me. I am looking forward to it. I am going to take my Spindle, they will have wheels there for us newbies to try.

I bought the Schacht Hi-Lo Spindle from the Loopy Ewe. I am going to give it a spin as soon as I finish posting this.

Here she is all put together. I have named her after my Grandmother whose nickname was Kitty. Miss Kitty fits perfectly under my craft table right next to me. She is unfinished but I plan to paint her.

I bought a bit of fiber for practicing with.
This is Black Blue Faced Leicester from Gale's Art in the colorway Gumball 4 ozs
This is Tencel/Merino 30/70 from Ashland Bay 4 ozs
This is Superwash Merino from the Dyeing Arts. It is a Dazzling Duo in the colorway Goblin Seas 4 ozs.

I mentioned that Webs was having an Anniversary Sale - this is what I nabbed for the collection. Details and individual pictures can be seen in Flickr - there is a link in the sidebar, or even more details in my Ravelry stash list. None of these were sale items by the way, just the usual excellent 25% discount.

Fantastic

2010-05-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time at the SF Ravelry Meetup. Other attendees started getting on the BART train a few stops after me, Walnut Creek or thereabouts. We were in the center of the train car, mostly knitting socks. But I was working on my Clapotis, which I put away because there were too many interesting shawls being discussed, and we had a batch of door prizes with us that were pretty exciting.

The turn out was impressive. We were greeted with name tags, 2010 Meetup pins and samples of Soak. We each received a raffle ticket. The door prizes were stunning and plentiful. There was a potluck and there was a variety of edibles on the mezzanine. There were demonstrations and massages - you heard me right massages. There was a knitting machine demo/learning station. The CompassionKnit drop off and information table. The hand and arm massage station. A needle felting demonstration/learning station. There was a table with free knitting magazines, and one with meetup group info and yarn store coupons. The door prizes were on display on three long tables. In the center of the room were the spinning wheel and drop spindle demonstrations/learning spots. Then there were chairs in meandering circles with knitters of all variety. I have to give a nod to the guys though, their group were sporting some gorgeous shawls, scarves and sweaters - you go boys.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, I spotted a childhood friend who I have not seen for 40 years. Her family moved away when I was 10 - OMG she's a knitter, and she's on RAVELRY. Another amazing Ravelry story eh?!?

And the thrills and chills did not end there, I was sitting there waiting for the line to die down at the wall where the door prize lists were. They did it really neat - they posted lists of prizes with the winning raffle ticket stapled to the prize won. AND I WON THIS

The Prize Donated by Uncommon Threads the softest red leather Namaste Satchel and 10 balls of Plymouth Brushed Alpaca yarn. WOW, I never win anything. I am so excited.

Last Hat Done

2010-05-15T19:46:00.000-07:00

Last hat done for CompassionKnit and my bag is packed for tomorrow's meet-up. Yay! I charged my Flip Video so hopefully I will catch some good pics of Bay Area Ravelers.

It's Better to Give and Receive

2010-05-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

I am pleased with what I came up with for my CompassionKnit finished object donation. I raided my Christmas Gift Stash and chose two hats, to add to the two hats I knit yesterday and today. With the cowl and mitts that is a total of six objects I will be able to give. The Luscious Silk yarn that I knit the cowl in apparently went in the yarn donation I gave Compassion Knit - I could not find it anywhere. I pulled out some Valley Yarn I knit a sweater out of. I had two balls left. It is still on the needles, but I only have 20 rows left. I knit the Noro hat last night.

Not really a reward or anything, but really good timing - my Signature needles and new Swift came.

32 inch circulars with 6 inch Stiletto tips, Red = US 7/4.5 mm; Green = US 6/4.0 mm; and Blue = US 5/3.75 mm

SF Ravelry Meet Up

2010-05-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday is going to be so much fun. I have a couple of new online knitting friends to seek out. I hope we find each other!!! I also hope I nab one of the fabulous door prizes, not the one I contributed to though. Tonight I am going to do my usual Sunday chores, I will probably pull an all nighter - until my roomies tell me to go to bed and quit making so much noise. I want to try to make a couple of my 2 hour hats and key hole scarves tomorrow. Although I contributed a metric b*tt load of yarn, needles and other tools to CompassionKnit, I still want to make a few items too. They came up terribly short in finished items. I could actually part with the Noro fingerless mitts I just knit, I still have 10 or 15 skeins of that yarn. I also still have the STR Atomic #6 Cowl, I ended up not giving it as a Christmas gift.

Yep a plan is forming. I have enough Atomic #6 and Noro yarn to knit my quickie short row hats to go with the cowl and mitts. I feel better already, I will be able to give a couple of homeless teens a little warmth next winter. Or, next week, since another rain storm is due in on Monday.

For you shopaholics, and what real knitter isn't one, there are a couple of sweet treats available. The Signature Needle Arts circular needles are back in stock and The Sanguine Gryphon has yarn up pretty much constantly in every type now that she is in her new studio. Knit Picks is having another big book sale. Webs is having a big Anniversary Sale. Oh and Herrschners has some very interesting sock yarns now - they are offering 3 or 4 sock yarns with aloe or lanolin in them. I ordered the Red Heart, Heart and Sole 75 % wool 25 % nylon with aloe in Black, Navy and Ivory for the Norwegian Rose Sock KAL. Okay, I ordered some needles and Bugga too. But I did not buy any new books. I bought a couple of new patterns instead 8~}

Finished Objects

2010-05-07T23:29:00.000-07:00

Austermann Step Socks
Noro Fingerless Mitts

Yarn - Of Course

2010-05-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

Goodies from the Sanguine GryphonPrism Merino Mia - Mink
Skinny Bugga Oak Timberworm
Prism Merino Mia Tahoe
Lana Grossa Solo in Midnight
Eidos Nisii
Eidos Ion
Prism Saki Blue Lagoon
Skinny Bugga Oak Timberworm
Spud and Chloe Anemone
Spud and Chloe Snorkel
Bugga Bog Fritillary
Eidos Hipparchus
Bugga Nighcrawler (my absolute favorite bait for fishing)
Fiber Optic Ultramarine Batik
Vesper Pine
Vesper Sea Foam

New Tools

2010-05-07T22:20:00.001-07:00

Sanguine Gryphon sample soap and Skinny Bugga.
New Hiya Hiya 16 inch cable needles, US sizes 1, 1.5 and 2 - to replace the Knit Picks 32 inch needles I am using on the socks. These are not socks for magic looping!!!
New Issue of St. Denis Magazine - I love just about every pattern.
Stitchdots, well labeled for parts of patterns and charts.
Scissor Sitter, heart motif (of course).

Works in Progress

2010-05-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Clapotis Number 3 in Interlacement Tiny Toes and Cherry Tree Hill
through section 2, I am adding 3 extra repeats because I have a lot of yarn.

Clue 1 of the Mystic Desire Shawl in BMFA Laci Haida

Using US Size 5 (3.75mm) Stiletto Signature straight needles.
The final piece of the VogueKnitting Wrap, the short triangle. Just started the 4th color.

The completed first part of the shawl, the long rectangle.
The toes of the Theseus & Minotaur socks in Bugga.
The toes of the Phoebus Apollo socks in Wollmeise Orange Campari.