
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Back in Business

Wednesday, November 04, 2009
It took a trip to Oregon to get me out of hibernation

If you haven't guessed, I recently went to spinners heaven, also know as SOAR. For those non fiber heads out there, the acronym stands for Spin Off Autumn Retreat and I was one of the lucky few who received a scholarship (YAY)! It was absolutely surreal but I will try to put into words all that I experienced.









Wednesday, August 05, 2009
A Gallery of Yarns

Here's some of the yarn I've spun in the past month.

Colorway: N/A
Purchased: online somewhere
Ply: 2
Weight: .92 ounces
Yardage: 50 yards
WPI: 12 - Light worsted
Spun on: My Spinning Bunny spindle

Colorway: Carnival - hand dyed by me using easter egg dyes
Purchased: Sheep Shed Studio
Ply: 2
Weight: 1.62 ounces
Yardage: 65.44 yards
WPI: 11 - Worsted weight
Spun on: Louet Victoria Wheel

Colorway: Dogwood
Purchased: Tactile Fiber Arts via Rhinebeck '08
Ply: 2
Weight: 2.12 ounces
Yardage: 68.33 yards
WPI: 13 - worsted weight
Spun on: Merlin Tree Hitchhiker Wheel

Colorway: Green
Purchased: A long time ago on Ebay
Ply: 1
Weight: 1.30 ounces
Yardage: 60 yards
WPI: 15 - Sport weight
Spun on: Louet Victoria Wheel

Colorway: Shades of green (base color dyed by me)
Purchased: Variety of colors in one ounce pieces purchased on Ebay
Ply: 3 - Navajo plied
Weight: 1.84 ounces
Yardage: 48.3 yards
WPI: 8 - Bulky
Spun on: Louet Victoria Wheel

Colorway: Selfish
Purchased: Spunky Fiber Club
Ply: 2
Weight: 3.96
Yardage: 123.5 yards
WPI: 11 - Heavy worsted weight
Spun on: Merlin Tree Hitchiker Wheel

Fiber: Merino
Colorway: Say a Little Prayer
Purchased: Crown Mountain Farms - Sock Hop
Ply: 2
Weight: 4.30 ounces
Yardage: 131.04 yards
WPI: 11 - worsted weight
Spun on: Merlin Tree Hitchhiker Wheel
Sunday, July 05, 2009
I still knit...really I do!
Thanks for waiting. I'm all done taking crappy photos, now on to the knits.
I finally finished my Primavera Shrug (just in time for Verano). The only reason this took me so long to knit was due to my aprehension about picking up stitches around the border. I was dreading it but I had nothing to be afraid of. Sure it took me a while to pick up all those stitches but once I did, it only took my like a week to knit the ruffle collar. I can be a big baby at times. The yarn is wool and its super warm. This will come in handy this fall. Details can be found here on ravelry.
I also recently finished up a pair of socks that functioned as "busy knitting". I only knit these during commutes and standing in lines. Basically anywhere I had time to kill. This is a Cookie A pattern from her book Sock Innovation ( I forget which pattern so check out the ravelry page for details) that I did toe up. I actually ended up doing the gusset heel from Wendy Johnsons Book Socks from the Toe Up. I love both books so I took my favorite from both and kinda remixed it.
The last project I just finished was a cute vest for a baby shower I went to this past Friday. I found out about the shower on Wednesday. I had plans to be in the Lionbrand Studio with my meetup group on Thursday so I figured I'd get yarn then. I casted on that night and finished about 4 Friday morning. I would've been finished earlier but me and my boo went out for dinner and then to see the new Transformers movie. I love the pattern and I plan on using it for last minute shower gifts.
My current project is a shrug that I saw someone knitting at one of my meetups last week and I fell in love with it. I just grabbed some yarn out the stash and casted on on my way to the baby shower. I love the way it's coming along and I can't wait to finish. The pattern is called the shawl collard vest and hopefully it won't take me a year to finish.
So thats about it for now. See I really do still knit! I did lose my mojo for a while there but its back now, all is well. Oh I almost forgot, we just added a new member to our herd. Meet Danny.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
A Yarny Post
So, yarn....lets see, where do I start. I'll start with my pretties. These are my most recent spinning projects.
I joined the Spunky club again this year because frankly, I just love the way she dyes fiber. This is the March offering of a Dark BFL called Myrtle. I spun it a bit thicker than usual because I was in such a rush to finish it. I wish there was a such thing as squish-o-vision because this skein is so freakin' soft. I only have enough for maybe a hat or a baby sweater but its still satisfying none the less.
Specs
Weight: 3.7 ounces
Yardage: 121 yards, 523 ypp (yards per pound)
WPI: 10wpi or worsted weight
Next up is a skinny skein that I spun after a dye experiment I applied to some fiber from my stash. You can read about how I dyed the fiber here on Ravelry. I'll admit that I made a big boo-boo when I dyed it but thankfully the fiber still turned out wonderful. Here's the skein.
Weight: 1.9 ounces
Yardage: 81 yards, 682 ypp
WPI: 12wpi or light worsted/sport weight
I am in love with this skein and I have absolutely no idea what I can make from it. I wish they had a feature on ravelry where you could put in the weight and yardage of the yarn you have and it'll automatically pull up all the patterns that qualify. Maybe they do and I'm just too lazy to have found it as of yet. Point is, this yarn is so soft that I keep it under my pillow so I can have sweet dreams at night.
Speaking of yarn, recently I took the fam on a little road trip to yarn heaven, better known as WEBS.
I went to their tent sale last weekend and spent waaaay too much money. I got great fiber but here are the irresistable yarns that just jumped right into my shopping bag.
The next purchases were made inside the store and all I can say is WOW. I didn't really have a chance to explore the way I wanted to because it was just jammed packed with people but it was definitely an unforgettable experience. I'm a sucker for sock yarn so here's what I got:
I definitely want to make another trip to WEBS. Maybe after my bank account recovers. As an aside, if you need a ride from hubby and he hates hanging out in yarn shops, you can point out that the basketball hall of fame is only a 20 minute ride away from WEBS. He can drop you off, go there and pick you up hours later. Ask me how I know? Thats about it for yarn....until next post.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Sneaking away for a little R&R
Since I've barely traveled outside of the northeast, I decided to be a little adventurous. Even though some may think that my decision to take a vacation all by my lonesome is pretty brave, its just that sometimes I prefer my own company the best. That way I can do what I want to do when I'm ready to do it and not have to wait for anybody. Don't get me wrong, I would've liked to have had someone to chill with during my trip but it didn't work out that way so I was determined to have a good time regardless.
I ended up in booking a trip to New Orleans, the crescent city. I spent 4 wonderful days in this beautiful city. My hotel was in the French Quarter so I was within walking distance of everything. What I enjoyed most was the food. I think I gained like 10 pounds on beignets alone. I went to Cafe Du Monde about twice every day I was there.
Friday, April 03, 2009
Outta My System
It was a very anticlimactic moment. It didn't turn out exactly how I remembered the orginal holy grail of a hat as being but its close enough. I'm not bummed out about it though. I know that my indifference stems from my yarn choice. The original hat was done in an aran tweed and here I used lustrous Vanna's choice acrylic. By the way, Vanna's choice is my favorite acrylic yarn to use. They come in some really nice colors. Except for the baby colors, they're not my cup of tea.
All in all, my obsession has been quenched and I'm glad that I can get back to knitting my socks. I took some notes so I'll definitely be on the lookout for some tweed yarn...or maybe just try to spin some up. Did somebody say Webs anniversary sale? Who said that? Bad enablers, no cookies for you!
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Trainspotting & Copycating
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
A bit of randomness
Sorry for going off on a tangent but inspiration hit and I just figured I'd go with the flow. I don't really have anything crafty to show but its been so long I forget what's been showcased already and what hasn't.
Knitting
Right now I'm working on knitting a pair of Leyburn socks (ravelry link) in some Yarn Pirate sock yarn from the stash. Its really, really thin but nice. I just finished the heel and I'm working my way up the cuff.
I'm also working a labor of love which is a saddle shoulder sweater for my son. I'm trying to work through my stash so I figured I'd knit something for the little one. I'm fashioning it the same dimensions as a sweater that he already owns. I had to do it this way because I'm using the "instructions" from Barbara Walkers Knitting from the Top. I didn't use the word pattern because the book basically gives you the recipe and you have to customize it yourself.
Thats about it for knitting although I have taken a vow to finish my Primavera (ravelry link) by the end of Primavera. I only have the last step to do which is to pick up a gazillion stitches around and knit a cute, lacy border. I just need to knock it out so that I can wear it before summer hits.
This post is already long enough, so I'll end it here. Hopefully it won't take me so long to post again.
Peace
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Can I change my name....
This is going to be a really quick post because I'm exhausted. We're in the thick of our busy season at my day job and nights of not getting to bed on time are starting to catch up with me. I've been making yarn more than I've been making FO's but I do have one to show off. I really needed a pair of mittens. I was successful at hatching a plan to have someone else can knit them for me because I'm way too indecisive when it comes to making things for myself. Only problem is that I wanted mittens NOW. So I had to cast on for something quick and simple.
Even though I only took a picture of one of them, I assure you that there is a mate. I used some angora yarn that was gifted to me by my cousin. Deets are on ravelry.
In my last post (last year), I stated that I wanted to spin up the rest of my spunky club stash from 2007 before I joined the club this year. Well I'll have you guys know that I finished before Christmas. Here are the two I had left:
Weight: 1.75 ounces
Yardage: Approx 134 yards
WPI: 20 - laceweight
Spun: short forward draw, navajo plied
The last one I spun using the fractal stripe method. I split the roving straight down the middle then predrafted one hole strip. I then broke the other strip up by color to keep the lights and darks seperate. I spun one bobbin of all the blues then all the pinks. I spun the second bobbin as the colors lay in the long strip then plied the two together.
I really like how it came out. I'm thinking of knitting a nice chunky hat out of it (or mittens).
Weight: 3.375 ounces
Yardage: Approx 108 yards
WPI: 10 - Heavy Worsted
Spun: short forward draw
Lastly, I can finally say that I've tried a crosspatch creation batt....and I liked it! I picked one up at Rhinebeck just so I could see what all the hubbub was. I was having a not so good day and needed to relieve some stress. I wanted to spin something without thinking about it, without having to worry if it was even or smooth. So I pick this batt up and just started spinning all willy nilly and this is what I ended up with.
Weight:2.875 ounces
Yardage: Approx 61 yards
WPI: 8 - Bulky
Spun: Long backward draw- point of twist
Thats about it. I'm still working on my sweater project, I've got about 5 skeins spun and I need about 6 more. I've also been working on stuff to put up in my shop. Speaking of shop, I will be posting to my Etsy Team's Blog this weekend so take a gander when you get a chance. There are also some great tutorials on there too. By the way, Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 04, 2008
I'm Focused Man
Let me briefly get the knitting FO's out of the way first. First off is a hat I finished a while ago for my future hubby. Funny thing is that I casted on originally for the little one in mind but I realized about an inch in that it was going to be way too big. I asked the hubby if he minded the color and he said it was cool. I
Pattern: #032 from Knitting Pattern 300 ISBN:978-4-529-04172-0
Next FO is a special project I made for my Nana. She's the matriarch of our family and she turned 90 years old on the 22nd so you know I had to make her something extra special. Since I was on a budget, I decided to knit a spectacular pattern with economy yarn. Her favorite color's pink so I went with the Hemlock Ring Blanket in Caron One Pound. The yarn doesn't block well but I already knew that before I started.

On to my current obsession, yarn. I was a member of the Spunky's Fiber Club last year but I canceled when I started to get a little backlogged. Well she's opening the club back up in January (you guys better leave me a spot, I know how you fiberhaulics are!) and I am so psyched. Only problem is that I still have stuff from 2007. So to make me feel better, I'm trying to spin it all up before I join again. So far I have two finished and I'm working on another.
I then tried something different by spinning up a long wool which I don't have a lot of experience with.
This is Harvest Haze which is 100% Lincoln wool. I spun this from the fold to try and wrangle those long fibers. It is rather scrathy but I picture knitting this into a double knit hat with something soft and luxurious on the underside.
Right now I'm working on the the Aspen fiber from the September 2007 installment. Its a merino tencel mix which is really slippery and shiny. I'm also spinning this from the fold but I'm spinning as thin as I can so I can get a great lace weight in the end. I'm thinking of navajo plying it to gain a little thickness in the end.
Once I'm done with this, I only have the July 2007 fiber which is a colorfully dyed Shetland called Celebration. Then more fiber for me!
This post is getting a bit long so I'll try to wrap it up. Thats what I get for staying away so long. I already dipped into my Rhinebeck haul. I spun up the sock wool that I snagged at Little Barn. I had two ounces of both blue and green which equated to two skeins of tw- ply loveliness.
I wanted to share my sheep to shawl project that I'm working on but I don't think I have time. I'll do it briefly:
Step One: Scoured Romney Fiber from RH Lindsay.
Step Two: Hand carded into rolags. (dog brushes really help with picking the wool)
Step Three: Spun long draw on my hitchiker. (Dave is working on a double treadle hitchhiker yay!)
Step Four: Plied and felt blocked for a nice fluffy yarn. (this skein is about 2 ounces and 83 yards at worsted weight)
I just found the perfect project for this project yesterday. I picked up this wonderful British magazine at B & N and all I can say is I am in luv! Its called Yarn Forward and it is a great magazine. I would get a subscription if I could. Anyway, I couldn't find any pictures of the pattern I want to make so here's one straight from the mag.
Its a one piece cable yoked sweater that I can't wait to knit. So far, I've processed about 3 and a half skein so I have a bunch more to go. I'll keep you posted. That's about it, I'm off to read my fifty-eleven blogs in my reader. Be breezy.