Hmmm...too hot?

I didn't end up spinning any yesterday - it was both too hot and too windy!  My hope is to get something done tonight, but I don't know how that will work out.

In other news, I made some no-knead quick yeast bread yesterday.  It didn't turn out too badly, but I didn't take the plastic wrap off before I baked it - yuck!  I was wondering why the crust was so shiny, even without an egg wash :)

I'm really just counting the hours until I can go home and spin - sad when you begin the day wishing for it to end!

Onwards!

Spinning, spinning...

I joined another swap (blush).  I know, I shouldn't have done it, but the swap deadline is before the Olympics start, so I'll be fine.  It's a shawl swap, and I spent yesterday afternoon with pencil and calculator working up the pattern.  I think I have it mostly set at this point, at least enough to get started.

DP said that I could buy yarn for the project (we're trying to tighten our belts currently), but I decided to spin it from some Cupcake Fiber Co batts in stash.  I got 2 oz of two ply spun on Sunday, and I hope to maybe spin another ounce today.  It would be great to get 5 oz spun up...in time for me to spin up 7 more!  I decided that I needed a bit of insurance, and since it comes in 6 oz increments, I had to get another box :)  I'm excited to blend the two fibers:  I'll be doing 2 2oz skeins of each, 1 1oz skein of each, and 1 2oz skein of blend.

I wanted to go with a 2 ply, even though I usually do shawls in singles, because I want something a bit heartier.  If I have any left over, I might even eke out a pair of fingerless gloves, but we'll see about that.  I'm also using two different fiber blends - one blue faced Leicester and one Merino, with the Merino being on the part closest to the neckline.

With these swaps, it's always hard when your partner doesn't give you a lot to go on.  If their likes are just "knitting" and so are their hobbies, what's a person to do?  What I do is pretty methodical, and the closest I'll ever get to my dream of being a private investigator's secretary.  I go through all their posts on Ravelry to see what personal information lies within.  I check their projects, favorites and queue.  I cruise the boards that they're members of.  If they have a blog/flickr account/website, I check it out (unless it's F@cebook, since I'm not on it).  I G00gle them and see if there are any groups they're part of, or if they're in the news.  Usually that nets me enough information to go on.  But you can never tell if that's the real person or just their persona, so I always have that fear that they'll hate whatever I make.

In old business, my swap partner for the GoIaF swap liked her patchwork blanket!  I'd love to make one of them again - you take wool felt, cut it into squares and just seam them together overlapping (thank you Purlbee!).  I added a border and backing to hers so that it would be warmer and able to be used as a ground cover for picnics/fireworks/etc.  She made me an amazing wall hanging that is now over our fireplace.  DP loves it.

Back to spinning!

It didn't work

I decided to spin thin and triple ply, but the yarn is really only a heavy worsted, or maybe a bulky. Certainly not super bulky.

Soooo...I'm going to try to knit with 4 strands held together and see what happens. It means I'll be making this cowl in beige instead of cappuccino, but beggars can't be choosers!

Napkins and spinning

Using a tip from another person who made the Purlbee napkins, my plan is to cut them out, sew, and then wash them. Supposedly it makes fringing easier.

I'm spinning up the wheel of the seasons braid into what I hope will be a two ply. I'd like to make some fingerless gloves with it, but we'll see.

I'm also going to spin up some bulky yarn for more cowls. I discovered that the cowl I made, though itchy, is actually worthwhile, so I need to concoct a few more.

Hooray!

One day closer to the opera! I can hardly wait - mom and DP are going to the opera with me.

Nothing much on the spinning front. The replied merino/bamboo is finally dry; a cool house means a looong wait for anything to dry. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. Maybe a scarf for my sister or sister in law.

I'd also like to weave something, now that I got the replacement heddle blocks for my loom. I don't have any warping pegs, but I could figure something out. All the sock yarn I'm not making into socks could make some nice scarves.

I also discovered The Saxon Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell, and I'm halfway through book 5. That's not really that impressive though, since I started on book 4 :) 1-3 have long wait lists at the library, so I didn't even try to check them out. If I end up liking how this ends, I'll get on the list for the others.

Tsk, tsk

Another long dry spell - I blame the holiday season :)

I actually released another of my shawl patterns, the Lady of Rohan. It took me a long time to write up the pattern, and I think there may still be mistakes, but I wanted to get it out there. I also want to release my this and that mitts, but I need to reknit a sample, since I don't have the originals anymore.

I finished the little cardigan for my niece, and she even wore it! Of course, it was way too big, but hopefully it will fit when it's cooler outside.

I'm currently working on a featherweight cardigan for my sister. It's basically just a top down raglan in laceweight on large needles, but I'm very excited about it. Maybe I'll even finish it!

I'm not allowing myself to buy the other cardigan pattern until I finish this one. Since I'm extremely excited about the other cardi, I hope this will give me the push I need.

I'm still trying to felt the thumbs for the mittens I started making last year. For some reason, they just won't felt, even though they're made of the same yarn as the mittens. I'll keep trying.

For the water-along in the Folklore & Fairytales group, I think I'm going to try to spin up the "ultramarine" that I bought from Cupcake Fiber. The person I asked about the batts was right. This stuff is amazing. Best batts I've ever spun, excepting my own (those last ones I made).

I'm pretty excited for fall, even with the extra workload, because I feel like I'll get deeper into knitting and spinning.

I've also decided that I really, really need some relaxing skirts. Since I can't seem to make one worth beans, I'm going to have to get someone to make one for me. I ordered one from a person on Etsy...we'll see what happens. I'm just more comfortable in a skirt than pants - I'm even wearing a skirt right now, and it's Saturday afternoon :) I tried to buy a skirt from Zappos, but I didn't read the explanation correctly or something, and it was sheer with a little mid thigh slip. Eep! Not the kind of thing I can feel relaxed in.

I finally finished working my way through the Val Lewton collection, and I was severely un-impressed. The best one was Cat People, which is saying something. Bedlam was supremely irritating, as was Ghost Ship. The thing I didn't like was the "happy ending"...if you could call it that. Conflicts were built up, but either were not resolved at all (just forgotten about) or were resolved in a really lame deus ex machina way (see the end of Bedlam). Sigh. I did see an extremely great movie with Edward G. and Boris Karloff, 5 Star Final, about a newspaper digging up dirt on a woman acquitted of murder twenty years before. I'd never heard of it until DP mentioned it, but I loved it. Pre-code, so a lot of snappy dialog, strong women, and just plain craziness. Edward G. was at his best, I thought.

Watching movies like that with DP reminds me of when we were dating, and we'd go down to the local video store to pick out an obscure movie or two every weekend. It's hard to believe that we'll be married for 11 years in October.

I just recently had a birthday, and for a present DP brought me to the liquor store and said I could pick out a case of wines that I wanted, so I wouldn't feel bad if I drank a bottle without him. He loves Valpolicella, and so do I, but I thought I'd branch out a bit. I even bought a Burgundy, which I haven't had since before I was married. My friend Alan, my sister, and I had some amazing wine and crackers one night when he was off duty and in town. I haven't seen him in years now...I think he has three or four kids at this point.

I'm off to try to get another couple of inches in on the featherweight!

Beet stew - yes, really

Today I came home from work and decided I needed to eat beets. I grabbed three beets, a summer squash and some basil and oregano from the garden and an onion from the fridge, and went to work. I sauteed the onion and beets (thinly sliced) in some coconut oil, then added some tomatoes that had been sitting on the counter for a week (we'd saved them from the chipmunks, but hadn't figured out what to make with them). I let that simmer for about 7 minutes, then added chopped summer squash and the herbs. 5 minutes later, I had a delicious sweet and earthy veggie stew! I added a sprinkle of feta to finish it, and I wished there was someone around I could have fed it to (DP hates beets).

In other news, I finished the cowl, which is drying on my new blocking squares (thanks DP!). Once I get pics, I think I'm going to toss it up for free on Ravelry. There can never be too many free patterns, right?

I started a tiny tea leaves for my niece using STR lightweight. I'm making the size for a 4 year old in sock yarn, so it should end up fitting a baby :) The color is little bunny foo foo, a melange of browns and pink, and it's so beautiful, I just like watching the colors as I knit.

I also joined another fiber club - the wheel of the seasons - and bought some batts from the Cupcake Fiber Factory. I asked a person on Ravelry how the batts spun up, and she gave such a glowing review that I had to try them. Since my experience with my home made batts, I'm willing to give spinning them another try. Hopefully this means that I'll have some good spinning fodder for the blog this winter.

Finally, I'm getting a cat! I know, I know: I'm allergic. But I found a breed of cat that has somewhat less of the protein I'm allergic to in its saliva, so we found a kitten who needs a home. We'll get her in November...I can't wait! My whole life, I've wanted a cat, and I'm finally getting one. DP is really excited too - I wouldn't have even tried this without making sure he was on board. He already has a name picked out for her.

Italian Chain?

I'm trying out a new-to-me ribbing: Italian chain ribbing. It looks great in the stitch dictionary picture, but we'll see how it looks actually knit up.

I'm about a quarter through the latest Song of Ice and Fire book, and I'm both happy and sad. Happy that I have it left to read, sad that I'll probably have to wait five years for the next book! It's kind of like Auel's Earth's Children series. If you come to it late, you have a backlog to read, and it makes the waiting less painful.

I think that it's chipmunks that have been eating my tomatoes - I overheard someone on the bus talking about chipmunks eating their tomatoes, and the signs point to the same MO. I'm not sure what to do about it...I don't really want to kill them, but I want to be able to eat at least some of the things I'm growing! I think those fiends must also be eating my green beans.

I have to ply up the three singles I spun for the Camelot-along, and then I'll have all my Gawain and the Greene Knight yarn ready. Instead of making up my own pattern, I may just make another Eva shawl. It's plain, but I wear it all the time.

Tour de fleece already?

Wow - it's already July! I'm hoping that the TdF will get me off my duff and onto my spinning chair. I really want to finish spinning up that three ply.

In other news, the shawl is done being blocked and looks great. The other little item I'm working on is still just ribbing :)

The fan in my bedroom is stuck on high, but since it's a ceiling fan and it's the summer time, I don't want to turn it off. My eyes and nose are not thanking me for sleeping underneath it.

Is there anything cooler than cutting cloth off a loom? I have a rigid heddle loom, and I don't do any fancy patterns, but when I cut the warp at then end of a weaving project, I feel so powerful! Like I was telling DP, I have the tools and the ability to make him clothing, should we end up in a post-apocalyptic war zone. I am woman!

Now, this woman has to figure out how to full the cloth without ruining it :)

Happy Saturday!

Spin great yarn with this one weird tip

I was reading the back of Respect the Spindle, and thought of that ad. Really, the best way to get better at spinning is - wait for it - to practice! I know that when I was spindling more often, I was able to whip up a two ply sock yarn like no one's business. Now that I've been using my wheel more, it's a lot harder.

I have the single ply, the two ply, and two of the three plies for the three ply done. I need to buckle down and spin up the last 3/4 ounce, but it may have to wait until tomorrow. (I'm almost done with the plain part of my shawl, and I want to get to the edging.) I'm excited to see how the three ply turns out - it's been a while since I've done a three-bobbin three ply, as opposed to navajo ply. I hope the effect of round-flat-round shows up when I knit the three yarns. I may have a motif for at least the neck of the shawl. I found an eyelet pattern that kind of looks like a double bladed axehead, but the decreases don't emphasize the eyelets. I think if I move the decreases to the outside of the pattern, it will look more axehead-ish.

Sadly, my allergies are in full force and I have to keep stopping spinning or knitting every few minutes to sneeze or blow my nose. Because of where I am in my cycle, I can't take allergy medicine right now, so I'm just miserable. Blech!

Ply me a river

Well, I've decided to go traditional three-ply with the cormo/mohair. I found all of my bobbins, so this shouldn't be a problem.

It's pretty steamy outside - and inside! - so my interest in spinning or doing anything with fiber is waning. I am darning DP's socks, and hopefully I'll have them all finished by the fall. It's not that far away! Halfway through June is pure craziness.

I haven't been able to pick out a pattern for my shawl yet. I still want to incorporate the pentangle, and of course I need to work in something axe-like. I want to make the thing interesting to knit, but not so difficult that I can't memorize it and have to keep referring to the pattern. Yargh! Maybe I should just ball some yarn up and start swatching already.

In other news, I have a case of wine coming my way from CA. In researching an awesome Italian pop singer, I found out that he has a winery. Sadly, all six liquor stores I called did not carry it, and didn't seem interested in ordering it. Outside of Italy, it's distributed through a company in Germany, and I wasn't about to pay $76 to ship a bottle of wine that might be garbage. Then I came across Beltramo's! If you haven't checked this place out, please do. Great prices, inexpensive and fast shipping, and a good selection.

Now I'm off to decant my coffee concentrate!

Weather or not

I have the day off today, and it's supposed to be 91 - but t-storms throughout the day. I need to get the pool summerized (is that a word?) but every time I go to do it, it starts raining, or I have somewhere to go, or I have to work. Blargh. Yesterday would have been perfect, but DP was babysitting at my sister's all day and I was at work. After work, we went over to my sister's for a cookout, so we didn't do anything last night - not that I would have wanted to anyway. I hate the dusk mosquito swarm that comes out every evening, and I won't willingly go into it. All I need is some dang sunshine today, and I can get the pool cleaned and filled. Of course, it will only be in the 60s for the next week, but I can't control that. Dang weather.

In other news, I got the fence up around my garden. Thank goodness! The rabbit's had munched the strawberry plant down to one leaf, and they had their sights set on my other veggies. I got the fence up on Saturday, and on Monday, I saw the rabbit hoard descend. They were all around the garden, but couldn't get in...though one enterprising fellow stuck his nose through the chicken wire and munched a few leaves that were up against it. Hopefully they won't have gotten in when I go to check it today.

Knitting wise, I wasn't able to find another cardigan to make, so I started spinning up the green/yellow Polwarth I got from Briar Rose fibers. It's beautiful stuff, and my plan is to spin up three ounces of it, then blend two ounces with my cormo/mohair roving from Sheep Shares, then spin two ounces of the Sheep Shares alone, and make a shawl out of it. The Folklore and Fairytales group theme for the summer is Camelot, so I'm thinking Gawain and the Green Knight. I just need to come up with my motifs and hope I have enough yarn :)

I have discovered

That I hate spinning unblended batts. I have a lovely batt, in rose and cream, which I'm trying to spin into a two ply laceweight. It's giving me the fits.

On the other hand, spinning the loverly camel down (unblended with anything) into a two ply laceweight is slow, but no trouble at all.

Sigh - there are so many pretty batts, but they're now pretty much off limits, at least until I improve my batt control.

I finished the slippers I was working on; I'll try to get a pic of them when the light's good. They went straight from my needles onto my feet - I didn't even weave in the ends. They're nice and warm and not too big.

I'm still trying to get the Dwimordene pattern written up, but I don't seem to have a nice chunk of time that I can sit at the computer and work. It's so simple, I think people might like to make it, but I have to get my buns in gear and just write the darn thing out.

My brother's visiting tonight. He has a wedding to go to a little ways away, and he needs somewhere to sleep. It'll be nice to see him.

Repairing vertical blinds, spinning Falkland

I had to fix my vertical blinds today; whenever I tried to pull them open, they would tilt closed, making it difficult to get them all the way open. I tried looking online, but I couldn't find anything useful to help me. I finally figured it out - the string to open and close the blinds had come off the pulley wheel on one side. So, every time I pulled the open side, that string would pull down on the closing mechanism and pull the shade closed. One crochet hook and two minutes, and it was fixed. Hooray!

I'm currently spinning up some falkland as a bulky two-ply to make some Malabrigo loafers. I have some green falkland that I spun as a 3-ply for the soles, and this will be for the uppers. I'm excited to have some warm slippers, now that fall is upon us!

Tour de Fleece - days 10-15

Buffalo down:







Dyed tussah silk:



Crown Mountain Farms superwash merino:





My goal was to spin every day that the tour rides...and I'm doing it! I think that I'm improving on the wheel, and I know I'm improving on the charkha. I also may be able to get more of the cormo blend, so I'll have that to spin up. Swoon :)

Tour de Fleece - days 6, 7, 8, 9

Day 6 - Gotland:



Day 7 - Cormo silk alpaca blend from Foxfire fibers:



Day 8 - cormo blend, 2/3 done:



Day 9 - rest of the cormo blend:




I tried to spin the Gotland into a nice laceweight singles, but being combed top and a thicker fiber, I just couldn't get enough for what I want to do. I decided to go with the cormo blend because I know it's a good fiber for lace, plus it's just so beautiful. I have to wash it today and hopefully it will be dry by tomorrow so I can start knitting.

My allergies are going crazy with this warm weather - I'm having tons of sneeze attacks!

Tour de Fleece - days 4 & 5

Day 4: The Jacob, plied:



Day 5: The Gotland, singles:



I think that all this charkha spinning is good for me - I'm getting a lot more comfortable with it.

On an utterly frustrating and irritating note, remember all that cashmere I spun up? About 800 yards of 2-ply laceweight? Well, I was knitting merrily along with it, when I realized a horrible thing: it has scurf. I don't know why I didn't see it when I was spinning...I must have just ignored it. But it really can't be given away to anyone in this state, and I'll actually have to throw it out. That's right, all those hours, now to become bird's nesting material.

I now have to figure out what to spin for the swap, spin it, and hope it works with the pattern. My current scheme is to spin the Gotland into a singles that I can knit with and use it in tandem with the Stansborough. I may end up having to buy more fiber so that I have enough to make the stole I'm planning, but I won't be able to buy a full stole's worth of fiber a third time. Argh!

Add to this that DP thinks I've been spinning too much and wants me to spend more time with him instead of crafting, and you've got one crazy spider on your hands. All I want to do is go home and spin, but once I get home I have to build a shelving unit for DP, since I promised him I'd do it tonight. Double argh!

Tour de Fleece - day 3

I'm spinning up some black Jacob fleece:



I like it; it's combed top, so I can spin a fine singles easily with few slubs.

I finished the left front of Uinen, so I've started the right front. It's good bus knitting, so I probably won't do too much more of it today.

I'm casting on for my Lembas & Lace swap stole today. I'm so excited to be knitting with my first two-ply laceweight!

Tour de Fleece - day 2

I spun the rest of the Stansborough up:



I'm going to take a break from spinning for the rest of today and do some knitting. Here's the left front of the Sprossling, hereafter named Uinen:



That is, I'll start knitting as soon as I've finished folding the laundry!

Tour de Fleece - day 1

I spun this yesterday:



It's the Stansborough from International Fleeces. It's a bit coarse, but it will suit my purposes just fine! I have the light grey Stansborough, some darker grey Gotland and some almost black Jacob that I plan to make into a shawl. Who knows when I'll actually make the shawl, but using the Tour de Fleece to make me spin the yarn is perfect.

I'm still not getting the hang of the supported spindle, but I'm going to keep trying until I do.