Monday, October 22, 2007

I Went To Rhinebeck & All I Got Was This Wheel


Of course I got my Hitchiker. I headed up there with my buddy Kim and as soon as we hit the gates my goal was building A - Merlin Tree. This post will mainly consist of all my fiber goodies and I'll post pics of the people I met and a recap of the event next time. Now on to the goods.
About a pound of alpaca fiber from the Sheep Shed. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you how much I paid for it.
2 ounces of Yak from Black Fen Farm
4 ounces of soy silk also from Black Fen Farm
2 ounces of handpainted tencel from A Touch of Twist
An assorted felters fiber pack from Misty Mountain Farm (I am so gonna card this up into a fantastic batt)
4 ounces of BFL from Little Barn.

4 skeins of millspun heavy worsted weight yarn from Cranberry Moon Farms.
2 skeins of Aussie Sock yarn from Seaport Yarns
2 ounces of wool from A Touch of twist.

Now that my goodies have been thoroughly documented, I can start spinning/blending/knitting some of this stuff up. Catch you on the knit side.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Just me and my stitch

I’m not sure where exactly to start. There’s been some knitting and spinning but I have to admit that I’m feeling a little down right now. One of my closest co-workers just retired and I’m having a hard time dealing with it. She’s like family to me and although I know it’ll make her much happier I just can’t bear to see her go. I’m trying to use my crafts to cope with my sadness.

I think that’s enough of the sappy stuff, on with the show.

On The Knitting Front

I don’t know what’s wrong with me but my sock knitting mojo has left the building. It’s not for lack of trying either. See? That’s the start of Maia’s secret sock pattern. I figured I would go hard or not go at all, knowhatimsayin. Although this is a gorgeous pattern I just couldn’t bring myself to knit it any further. Main reason being, it just wasn’t making my fingers sing. Maybe its just a little bit of the process knitter in me but I covet the feeling of getting into the groove of your favorite knit project, so much so that your fingers start to move at their own little beat, just musical in my opinion. I felt not one smidget of that while knitting this so I abandoned it with no remorse at all.

For the past couple of weeks it’s just been me and my sweater. So far I’ve finished the back, left front and two sleeves. I just have to finish the right front which I started last night. I doubt this sweater will be finished by Rhinebeck but I’m not really stressing about it. If it is, that’s fine and if not, then that’s fine also. Now you guys will be able to recognize me at 'Beck as the only blogger there not sporting any handmade items.

Fit To Be Plied

I had this renewed love for spinning once I left the Spin Out but alas my monogamy is still is full swing. I finished spinning the fiber I started at the Spin Out but it has yet to be plied. It’s pretty energized so I’m waiting for it to relax just a bit before I ply it. I’ll most likely Andean ply it. I scored the fiber from a swap on swapbot. The roving is 4 ounces of domestic wool hand painted and pin drafted by High Prairie Fibers. It was a little rough on my hands to spin but I’m excited to see what it will be once it’s done.

Public Announcement

Did you guys know that the Knit & Crochet Today show is only showing on select PBS Stations.Well whaddya know, it's not playing in the Tri-State area so if you feel so inclined, please send an email to NYC's local PBS station requesting they add this show to their programming. I already did but I think it's take a little more than little ol me to get this show added.

So that’s about it for now. I’m planning to make some stitch markers this weekend to post in the shop. I’m just trying to get my weight up for Rhinebeck which is in a little more than a week. YAY Rhinebeck!

Oh, by the way I think I may have picked up another needle craft. I'm going to test the waters and see how I like it. For now, here's a clue.

Any guesses?