Ugh - bugs

A propos of my infested handspun, I decided to go through all of my fiber. I have most of it in plastic bags and the bags in a rubbermaid tote, but I was afraid of what I might find.

Sadly, the creatures had attacked. I had to throw out two fleeces - one down breed (can't remember which) and one shetland. The shetland wasn't actually a good fleece to begin with, so I'm kind of happy that I had a good reason to chuck it out. My angora and the silk and cashmere were okay, but one bag of linen had to go. The bison fluff was also unscathed...I don't know what I would have done if it was corrupted!

What this makes me realize is that I've been hoarding fiber - buying a beautiful fleece or some roving and being too scared to actually spin it. I decided to start spinning more and using my handspun. If I don't, the only winners will be the bugs that are munching it up.

I also decided to pull out my drumcarder and combine some of the more interesting fibers in my stash. I have a Louet Jr. drumcarder, so I really can only make .5 or 1oz batts, but for this sampling, it was fine. I combined silk, cashmere and Finn, mohair and silk, Finn and Cormo, Cormo and cashmere, and I think a few more...maybe some BFL? I make .5oz batts, spun them up all on one bobbin and navajo plied it. I made a garter stitch triangle out of the yarn, and I decided that the Finn/silk/cashmere blend was the best. Before I put the carder away, I cleaned it up the best I could and sprinkled pennyroyal oil on it. I know that it's poisonous, but my drumcarder was bug free, even though it still had fiber tufts on it, when the rest of my stash was infested. I may make up some wormwood sachets as well, just to be on the safe side.

Finally

I finished my sil's socks:



I'm pretty happy to be finished with them.

I also finished a pair of slipper socks for DP's best friend:



For some reason, I could not get a non-fuzzy pic of them. They're made with Blue Sky Alpacas organic bulky cotton, and they're super soft.

I started working on the LotR sock club installment, Hobbiton. Unfortunately, the amount of cabling has injured my right arm, so I'm taking a break from them. I started a plain stockinette pair for DP:



I'm pretty happy about the toe. I used Cat Bordhi's garter stitch square toe, but instead of casting on one side of the square, I cast on one stitch, increased up, then decreased down. It made for an extremely sproingy square with no hard edges.

Hooray for socks!

Curses

I was past the waist on a cardigan for me, when I discovered that instead of knitting with two US8 needles, I'm knitting with a US8 and a US9. Unfortunately, my gauge was gotten on US8. Argh. I'm not sure how far back up I should rip...I do have wide shoulders, so I might not rip everything out. Doggone.

I haven't finished my SiL's socks yet. I hope to get them done during the Super Bowl. My sister and brother in law will be coming over, because my mom is coming up to watch their baby. My sister's very excited about being able to do grownup things for a few hours.

In other news, I got the birth announcement for my best friend's baby, Caleb. She had the baby with zero problems, but I haven't called her because I figured that she'd be busy learning how to take care of a baby at home (he's 3 weeks old). I'd forgotten who my BFF is! She called me yesterday on her way to Kmart and Babies R Us: she had to buy some ink and a crib mattress for her mom's house. She'd also been to the airport to drop off a friend who'd been visiting. That woman has the most energy of anyone I know, and can multitask more than two octopi. I love her!

I'm famous

Well, not really. Today I got a packet from Interweave Press, asking me to grant them exclusive rights to my pattern in Handwoven from 1987. Ideas about copyright aside, I was 10 years old in 1987, so there must be another person with my name out there. What's crazy is that if I do a google search for my name, the only results that turn up are me. Who is this other person? DP said that I should have requested a copy of my pattern to check for errata :)

I also got my December heating bill: $300!!! I called the gas company and asked if I could get someone to check my meter, and they said no way. I think something's wrong, because I keep the house at 60 degrees and our furnace is only 5 years old. You can bet that if my bill had been too low, they'd have been over here asap.

I'm about a third up the cuffs on my SiL's socks, and boy is this yarn splitty. I think that if I wasn't doing cables I wouldn't have a problem, but it makes me dread the cable rows.

I discovered a gross bug infestation in one of my bags of handspun yarn. I had to throw the whole bag away: 3 skeins of alpaca, 1 skein of linen and 1 skein of silk. Thank goodness I keep my yarn and fiber in different places and bags. If I had to chuck everything out I'd be quite peeved. I'm now afraid of what else might be living in my stash.

Of course

Well, I was so excited about not having to make anything for anybody that I should have realized I'd forgotten somebody. DP reminded me that I'd promised his sister Becca a pair of socks...in 2007. I decided to take the Knitivity sock yarn in Firefly (a yellow and black combo) and rectify the situation. I'm using the Cloning Anemone pattern from the 2008 Rockin' Sock Club. I think it works well with the colors.

I also thought about making this raglan cardigan by the Glampyre. I saw some great versions of it on Ravelry, and it looks pretty simple. I just have to finish all the rest of my projects for other people. Sigh.

Wrapping things up

I finally uploaded more of the pictures of Christmas presents.

Golf club cover made of Cascade 220:



Oven mitt and hot pad, made of white buffalo yarn dyed with koolaid:



Neckwarmer for my best friend, made of schaefer anne held double and a strand of kidsilk haze:



I also spun a skein of yarn from the falkland wool I got in the fairytale swap:



And, I finished one sock for DP, made from yarn he picked out himself:



It's peaches and creme dishcloth cotton! The sock is heavy but surprisingly comfortable. I'm planning on finishing the second sock over the weekend.

I'm not sure what I'm going to make next...a baby blanket for my best friend (due in mid-January), handwarmers for my brother, a top or sweater for myself...? So many options, when you don't have to make things for other people.

This weekend I'm also going to be putting new carpet into DP's home office. When we bought the house, I knew I wanted to replace the carpet. It looks like someone got a carpet remnant that didn't fit the room and decided to slap it in anyway. It's wrinkled and stained. I'm going with Flor tiles in charcoal. Very subdued, but that's what he likes. After I recarpet the office, I need to pick out a paint color for my craft room. I'm thinking of a buttery yellow.

What a month!

December was completely crazy. I realized that I needed to concoct presents for everyone on my list, since I had actually finished my dad's sweater.

The sweater:



It actually fit my dad!

I also made a couple of neckwarmers (only got a pic of one right now):



It's based on Fourteen by Yarn Ball Boogie. I love this pattern, and I'll definitely be making more of these.

I made a cloche out of roving (no time to spin it!):



It's utterly soft and warm. It's for my sister in law, who has eclectic taste :)

Pretend there are two of these, and you'll see the socks for my brother:



The pattern is based on Dolomite by Anne Hanson, and made for my brother because of his love for the Dolemite movies.

The Sunday before Christmas, I realized there was no way I was going to be able to knit or crochet presents for all, so I made my sister a lap quilt and a co-worker a silk scarf.

I also made a potholder and oven mitt for one of my brothers and a golf club cover for my brother in law.

I'm still tired.