Kelly's Stuff

It's Mitten Season

2012-01-22T11:40:00.000-03:30

We have been having what the older folks around here call an 'old fashioned winter'. This means colder than usual and more snow than usual. I've been living in Labrador for over 20 years now and I can actually remember the old fashioned winters. I know weather does seem to go in cycles, but the past two winters were really scary and to me is proof positive of global warming. We actually had our first official green Christmas last Christmas and the Churchill river didn't freeze up until well into January.

Which brings me to this winter. No evidence of global warming so far. We've had a tonne of snow and temperatures have made me extremely grateful that I now have a car with auto start. Long stretches of temperatures in the minus 25 degrees Celcius have become the norm this winter. So much so that when the temperature warms up to minus 10 it feels downright balmy.

Which brings me to knitting. And mittens in particular. I need more, my daughter needs more, everyone I know could stand more mittens this winter. And if pressed to name what my most favorite thing to knit is, I would say mittens everytime. They are the most useful thing especially when living in the climate that I do. I knit a lot of them, but it seems that the people who are important to me (Yes, Amy, I'm talking about you!) also lose a lot of them. So, I'm in a crunch to knit more. And in keeping with my resolution of every second project being handspun, here are my handspun mittens.

The pattern is called Warmest Mittens and can be found as a free download on Ravelry. Very simple yet effective pattern. I don't really need to use a pattern at this point in my knitting career and I did alter this pattern to fit the yarn a little. I'm sure the intended recipient will like these since the cuff is quite long and that was her very specific request.

I like them a lot. They are obviously not matched as is often the case when knitting with handspun. That dark stripe in the middle of the right mitten really surprised me as I don't even remember the roving having any dark spots.

I recently purchased this roving when I was in Halifax. It is targhee and its the first time I've ever spun this fiber. I enjoyed spinning it. I was going for a worsted weight and adjusted my sidekick to have a quicker uptake and it worked! The yarn was nice and consistant. The lady at the Loop in Halifax told me that Targhee is a decendant of Corriedale, and it felt exactly like spinning Corriedale. Its nice to try different fibers.

Here is what the yarn looked like right off the bobbin. Totally over spun or over plied but definitely not a well balanced yarn.

But after a nice soak and a few whacks it ended up being a very nice plump springy worsted weight yarn. I even have enough left over for another pair.

Two finished objects!

2012-01-15T00:15:00.000-03:30

I've finished two more things recently. One is in handspun! I'm keeping to my resolutions so far. First up, the Bandana Cowl that I've been talking about. Its done in the Loop Bullseye Batt.

I like it very much - but I think I will gift this to someone, just not sure who yet. Maybe I'll start a big-box-o-gifts for future gift giving. That way, no stressing for Christmas knitting. I really should do this for baby shower gifts too, but thats a whole other discussion.

Another item off the needles is my 'Wild is the Wind' hat by one of my favorite designers, Lee Meridith. The pattern is from Lee's e book called Remixed. All the designs are knit out of recycled yarns. Included in the book will be tutorials on how to recycle yarn and deconstruct sweaters. So far all of the patterns in this book have been awesome! If you haven't purchased it yet, I highly recommend it. These patterns are all designed to be knit at any gauge! Talk about stash busters.

Here is my hat - slouchy version. I'll be making this again using the brim pattern as written. I think next time I make this, I'll use a yarn with more drape too. I'm thinking this hat will also go into my big-box-o-gifts. I'm thinking there is someone in my life with a birthday coming up. That someone is very important to me and she just happens to love slouchy hats. She also reads my blog, so I wont give it away, just yet.

Off the Needles!

2012-01-10T13:54:00.000-03:30

I've finished a couple of projects. I've decided that my New Years resolution in knitting is to not cast on anything new until I either finish something or frog something currently on the needles. And, every second project that I cast on has to be in handspun! Hows that for a resolution that I can keep?

So, I finished a couple of things. First up...this little dude.

Or dudette? The pattern is Harriet the Habberdashery Hippo by Rebecca Danger and I love it!!

I'm so tempted to buy her book - the big book of knitted monsters I don't knit a lot of toys, but I think I could be easily swayed to knit more if they all turn out as cute as this. And can you believe that this is the second hippo that I've knit? I'm not sure which I like best.

I also finished a pair of socks and I've been wearing them a lot eversince. I especially like wearing my handknit socks to bed. I am on my feet a lot during the day and often will wake up with pain in my feet. It seems if I rub foot lotion and wear these socks to bed, I don't have this problem nearly as much.

The yarn is Berocco Sox and the pattern is The Knitmore Girls Vanilla Socks. This has become my go to sock pattern and I've already cast on for another pair. I need to build up my stash of knitted socks since most of my older ones have developed holes or have become slightly felted. Maybe its time to do some mending.

I can't stop spinning

2012-01-06T22:24:00.000-03:30

Not that I want to or anything, but it is seriously interfering with the knitting time. The only thing thats gotten finished around here is a bulky hat. The pattern is Icing Swirl by Ysolda. And it knit up in a jiffy. I knit it out of 100% bulky alpaca. I'm not sure of the brand, but it is very drapey and warm and I really like it.

Can I just say how much I am enjoying my new sidekick? Its all I want to do! Spin, spin and spin some more. I'm finding it much more easy to adjust the settings on the wheel and come up with a different weight of yarn. This time I was going for a heavier weighted single and it totally worked. I'm loving this yarn so much that its all I can do to wait to cast on for that Bandana Cowl. The singles are fairly consistant and they aren't overly spun - which is such a huge deal for me. No way could I have gotten results like that on my Louet. Which means my spinning should only get better, right? This is just the second skein from my new Sidekick. Don't you just love the sparkles? Again, its a Loop batt. I should just bite the bullet and subscribe to her club, but I'm trying to reign in the spending. And I have my own drum carder. I should be able to make batts like this myself. Well, in theory I should, but somehow my batts turn out all lumpy, bumpy and stuff. Oh well, I guess I should practice it more. If I get seriously into doing my own carded batts then that means less knitting time too. Arrrgh...so many great fibery things to be doing, and so little time.

And I really need to finish a shawl that I started for Mehrnaz for Christmas. As of tomorrow Christmas is officially over. But Mehrnaz won't mind. As long as its red, she'll be okay whenever she gets it.

Happy 2012!!

2012-01-01T11:44:00.000-03:30

Its a new year already. What is it about time that seems the older I get the faster time goes by? I cannot believe we are into 2012. I was thinking of revisiting the 'resolutions/goals' that I set for myself last year, but sadly realized that I failed them miserably. Well, for the most part. I am getting a little better with knitting with my handspun, but still am reluctant to do so. I will have to remedy this in 2012 however, since my spinning should increase quite a bit (and as a result the knitting time will decrease) because of the new wheel. Here's a thought - every second project that I cast on will be in handspun. I should be able to do that right? God knows, I have plenty of handspun and plenty of ideas for things to knit from handspun. I just have to put the finished object in a bin of some sort to be handed out to some unknown person at some unknown date. How is that for a concrete goal.

2012 came in with me spinning on a second Bullseye Bump. This time my aim is to spin a bulky single. I think I will knit the Bandana Cowl from the Purl Bee out of this. Again, no recipient in mind.

I finished spinning up the Bullseye Bump in Plum pudding and I am so happy with the final yarn.

There is about 350 yards of a light fingering weight yarn that gradually transitions through various shades of purple. This will make a very nice shawlette - pattern to be determined. I'm even thinking of another Daybreak - and I rarely knit the same pattern twice!

I also cast on for a hat last night. It is Icing Swirl by Ysolda. 2009 was the year that I was obsessed with all things Ysolda. 2011 was Stephen West. Maybe I'm swinging back to Ysolda again? But I definitely see more Ann Hanson in my immediate future too! Lol....so many great designers out there and so little time.

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-27T00:12:00.000-03:30

Look at what Santa brought me!!

Yes, its the new Sidekick from Schacht. I realized that I wanted a new wheel when I was at the spinning retreat this past summer. Travelling with my Louet was a big pain. And while I was there, I got to try a bunch of different wheels and I really liked the feel of the Schacht wheel that was there. So, when Schacht introduced the sidekick later on this year, I knew I had to have one. Its designed to fold up and travel. And you can purchase a bulky flyer for it to allow for spinning art yarns - which is something that I'd really like to get into more.

Kevin bought the wheel from Gaspereau Valley Fibres. They are based in Nova Scotia (about an hour outside of Halifax) I love the look of their store, and someday I will visit it for real instead of online. Someday soon, perhaps.

So far, I've been spinning up my Bullseye Bump from Loop in the colourway Plum pudding and I'm loving it. I'm able to spin very thin and consistent. I'm hoping to get good yardage from my 'bump' and intend to navajo ply it to maintain the gradient colours. I'm thinking I'll knit a shawlette from the yarn.

I cannot believe that I've progressed to being an owner of three spinning wheels!! My friend Heather sent me pin which sums up my obsession nicely. It says "Spinning...because knitting isn't weird enough"

Silk Hankies

2011-12-10T11:55:00.000-03:30

Last February, the yarn harlot posted about knitting with silk hankies. I was intrigued. Her mittens turned out beautiful. Then Caryn from 'Round the Twist' video cast started knitting mittens with silk hankies. Her's were also beautiful. Again, I was intrigued. Then Amy from 'Stockinette Zombies' video cast also started a pair. Finally, I gave in. I ordered 1 oz from etsy seller Mulberryfibers. I loved the look of the hankies as they were.

When you separate each hankie, you can see how thin each one is. I understand that they stretch each cocoon from the silk worm over a square box, and keep adding on cocoons, layering them and layering them until you have the silk hankies. These are definitely not the silk hankies that a refined gentleman would keep in his suit pocket.

And then, to get the 'yarn' I poked a finger through the center of the hankie layer and pulled and pulled on each length (not unlike predrafting fibre to prepare for spinning) until I got a thickness of yarn that I was happy with. Like this.

Then I knit them into a beautiful pair of fingerless gloves. I am so happy with them. I made them fingerless because I was afraid that I didn't have enough of the fiber to make full mittens - but I did. Oh well, I guess I'll save the leftover hankies and maybe blend them into something else with the drumcarder.

They are so light, but yet warm too. I've already ordered two more ounces of the silk hankies from Mulberry fibers to make another pair!

Another Spinning Post!

2011-11-24T15:15:00.000-03:30

I've been bitten by the spinning bug lately. Its all I want to do. Usually when these sort of whims hit me, I just go with it.

I just purchased some teeswater fiber off of etsy seller beesybee fibers Teeswater sheep are the guys that look like they have dreadlocks. The prepared top had a very long staple length and it was very interesting to spin.

I did predraft quite a bit. Just look at how fluffy it became with a little predrafting.

It was almost like I imagine spinning human hair would be like. The fibers were so long and silky. My goal was to spin this into a heavy worsted weight to make some mittens.

Once again, its a two ply and the weight is just what I aimed for. I am happy with it, but I'm not sure that the resulting mittens won't be itchy. This yarn has quite a bit of halo going on, and I'm pretty sure that the micron count for this fiber is quite a bit higher than merino. Maybe I'll knit the cuffs up in a different fiber. God knows I have plenty of it.

And, I'm going to Halifax tomorrow!! So excited! I'm going to see Amy perform in the Phoenix Rising show. I haven't seen Amy since August, so I'm really, really looking forward to spending some time with her. I'm also hoping to get to Loop Cafe! I hope they have something interesting for sale!

Fractal Spinning

2011-11-22T23:18:00.000-03:30

I've heard of fractal spinning before, but have never tried it. The concept is quite simple. You just strip down your roving in such a way that the colours in a multicoloured roving should hardly ever line up, and you end up with mostly a barber poled type of yarn.

Here is my attempt at fractal spinning, and I'm so happy with the resulting yarn.

This started out as a hand painted merino roving from etsy seller Chimera. I've purchased fiber from this seller before, and I've always been super happy with her stuff.

I ended up with about 350 yards of 2 ply fingering weight yarn. You may also notice a mini skein on the end. For some reason, I always end up with a fair bit of more singles spun on one bobbin and this time, instead of leaving it there for all of eternity, I decided to navajo ply it just to see how it compared with the fractal spun yarn. Quite different isn't it?

So what is fractal spinning? Well, my understanding of it, is this - Its all in the fiber prep done prior to spinning. I split my length of roving into half lenghtwise. One half, I set aside. The other half, I divided again lengthwise. Each of these halves, I divided again, so of this half, I had four pieces of roving about as thick as my thumb. I then predrafted each of these pieces and spun them up onto one bobbin.

The other half, I just spit in two (not four) and predrafted that down to about the size of my thumb and spun that. So, basically, this method is designed to have the colours line up in as random as possible. I'm super happy with the resulting yarn as this is how I think handspun should look. Something that cannot be replicated by bigger yarn companies. I love me some barber pole. Now what to knit with it?

Next up....I have some lovely Tesswater fiber that is just begging to spun up into a worsted weight for a pair of mitts.

Knit Lobster

2011-11-01T11:25:00.000-02:30

All of my knitting time in the past week has been taken up by knitting this lobster costume for Colson.

It turned out pretty cute - the hat was a little small. I'd forgotten how big toddler heads really are. Lol. I improvised the whole design and overall I'm please with it. I told Heather if she wanted me to do something for next year, she would have to give me at least a months notice. Geesh....who can knit lobsters that quickly?

In other news, I've been watching the Knitgirlls podcast a lot lately. They are quite productive spinners and they've inspired me to spin more. Here is my lastest spinning project. The roving came from etsy seller Chimera Fibers I've purchased from this seller before and I'm always happy with her stuff. Its 100% merino top and I've spun it into a 2 ply worsted weight yarn. It is very lofty! I'm guessing there is about 200 yards or so of the stuff - enough for a pair of mittens for myself. At least this is what I want them to be. Stay tuned.

A Very Random Saturday

2011-10-29T13:12:00.000-02:30

Its been a while since I last posted and I feel I'm over due. For some reason I only tend to post finished objects, not works in progress - so it would seem that I'm not doing too much, but I am - honest.

Now, I don't knit for Christmas - way too much pressure. I have been known to knit for Halloween though. Thats whats been taking up my time lately. I've been charged with the task of knitting a lobster costume for my nephew Colson. Last year, I did a duck costume, remember? After a search on Ravelry, I realized no knitted lobster costumes patterns in a toddler size were to be found. Believe it or not, there was an infant bunting bag pattern that is super cute, but no way would Colson put up with being bound up in that for Halloween, not anymore, since he is walking this year. So, I've been improvising my own pattern and so far so good. I've two mittens completed and almost finished the hat. Next up, legwarmers that somehow look like a lobster tail. Yeah, I've saved the best for last. And I have to finish this by tomorrow. Pictures of my success (or failure...eep...) to come later.

In other news, I've been so busy with Anne Hanson's Knitspot Fall into Colour Club!! I've completed Longshawdows. I wear it all the time. It is so beautiful and lightweight, yet warm enough.

This is a picture of it blocking - aggressive blocking makes all the difference. I just love the colours.

And here it is on my neck.

I've finished the knitting on the second pattern from the club too. Its called Hazeline. Its a top down, triangular shawlette pattern. I'm smitten with this too. I just have to graft the center stitches together, block it and I'll be good to go.
This isn't a great picture, it was taken in the dark with a flash. The colours are very sophisticated. I'll post a picture, post blocking. When I get a chance...too busy knitting a lobster.

And here are the mittens that I finished knitting for Sam. She loves them. I love knitting for people who really appreciate things. She was so grateful for the mittens and she's been wearing them ever since.

In an effort to try and document more WIPs I'll show you what I've been knitting. I started this hat my favorite designer Lee Meridith. Its called Wild is the Wind. She has a new ebook called Remixed - she is releasing a pattern each month. So far, I've received two patterns and I love both. Lee writes any gauge patterns - which I love! This hat is no exception. The pattern features twisted stitches and is so pretty. I just have to finish this lobster, so that I can finish the hat.

And finally, here are a couple of pictures of the latest addition to our family...well, not directly our family. I'm not sure I could take training two puppies right now. These two cuties belong to Aimee, Keith and Max. This is Bailey.

And this is Spike. I think they are insane, but I can't argue with the cuteness factor!

My Hero!

2011-10-08T21:07:00.000-02:30

I realize how lucky I am to have a supportive spouse in my life. Kev truly supports me in all that I do. He doesn't complain (too much) about the 20lbs of fleece that is currently stored in the shed. He will (sometimes) model shawls and lace scarves when I need to do a photo shoot, but today, he really proved to me how much he loves
me.

As I said in an earlier post, our little guy Max started hockey this year! So this means more time being spent at the arena - which in turn means more time knitting socks and mitts at the arena. I don't usually get to go to too many practices since I work full time, but today, being Saturday, I got to go.

I took my latest work in progress and off I went. I'm currently making a pair of mitered mittens (by Elizabeth Zimmerman) for Sam (my friend Karen's daughter) I've made these mittens many, many times and could make them in my sleep, I think. I finished one mitten, except for the afterthought thumb and cast on for the second.

After hockey, we went and got our fresh turkey for Thanksgiving. Kev's cousin Monica has a farm! And then we went grocery shopping. We had people coming for supper so I had a lot to get ready, but I figured I'd get a few rows of my mittens in before company came. I pulled out my mittens only to discover that I just had the second mitt - which was just a measly bit of ribbing. I told my sad story to Kev - I think I left it at the arena. Can't you knit another - he asked. Of course, I can knit another, but....but...this was handspun!!!!! And handspun that came from Torbay, Newfoundland, created with fiber that the dyer called "Jellybean Row" (named after a row of colourful houses on a street in St.John's) This mitt was special!

Well, my hero didn't hesitate. (Well, he did a little - they were recapping the Olympic gold medal men's hockey game on TSN) Off he went to the arena to try to find my mitten (sans thumb) Meanwhile, I was sick with worry. Would he find it? What if someone picked it up and realized its beauty and decided to keep it. (Without a thumb, I'm not sure if anyone would have realized what it was) What would I tell Sam? She had picked out the pattern and the yarn herself.

Well, Kev (being Kev) came through the door looking very sad, and very dejected - and I knew right away..... that he had indeed found it. He does that to me every time and he really is quite a good actor. I always say he missed his calling. He would have convinced anyone else that the mitt was gone forever, but not me. I know this man too well.

My hero saved the day - and the mitten. I just really hope I have enough yarn to finish! If not, the thumbs will be some commercial yarn.

You can see why I was upset. These are gonna be gorgeous!

Going big!

2011-10-02T14:20:00.001-02:30

I've been pretty monogamous to my fall club knitting, but its lace knitting on laceweight yarn and its getting a little tiresome. I've been hankering for some immediate gratification knitting. And this involves super bulky yarn with huge needles.

And since I'm still a few shawls short of my goal for 11 shawls in 2011, I was on the hunt for a bulky shawl. I just received my latest issue of Interweave Knits and loved the Pembroke Wrap.

I had to go out and buy yarn for it, and of course the selection is so darn limited here in Goose Bay. I ended up buying Bernat Roving This is normally not something I would buy as it is 80% acrylic, 20% yarn. But, I needed super bulky and I wanted it now. So, whats a girl to do. Of course, this will likely be gifted and thats a good thing since most of my giftees appreciate a washable item.

I do think I'll make this pattern again. It was so fast...like 3 hours fast! And next time, I may even spin a bulky yarn for it - that will make the gift even more personal.

In Fall into Colour Club knitting, I have finished Longshawdows. I just have to graft the two ends together. Then I can cast on for the next project in the club. Its called Hazeline!! Cant wait.

By the way, who says that acrylic blends don't block well? Here it is preblocking

And here it is post blocking. Not as nice as a 100% wool fiber, but still I think it blocked out rather nicely.

Fall in Full Colour

2011-09-25T23:02:00.001-02:30

I am really enjoying Ann Hanson's Fall in Full Colour Club.

I've been pretty monogamous with knitting the first project. Its called Longshawdows, which is a great name since the colours do look like shawdows. Here is my progress so far.

It is such a great lace pattern and the yarn is stunning! This yarn is a custom blend made for club members by Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Its a laceweight merino, cashmere and silk blend.

I've also received my second shipment. I love this one too. Here is Morgan modelling it, since he thinks it looked like hair.

The pattern for this yarn is a triangular shawlette - which I love knitting. I'm resisting casting on until I finish the first one.

And in family news....guess who started hockey this week??

Too big!

Random Saturday

2011-09-17T11:25:00.000-02:30

I was thinking of having regular blog segments. Things like

* Favorite Thing Friday (where I'd write about something I really, really like or I'm really into at the moment, something like Meghan of 'Stitch it' podcast fame

* Spinning Wednesday (where I'd talk about fiber and what I'm spinning or maybe why I like one wheel, or one spindle)

* Yarnie Thursday (where I'd feature a new yarn I've tried and do a review of it)

I think this is a great idea and would likely get me blogging on a more regular basis, I just can't seem to get my s@#t together and do it. So, here is my favorite thing Friday - except its Saturday.

My favorite thing this week is homemade yogurt. All the ladies that I work with make it. I didn't think it was worth the trouble, though I was intrigued with the idea. Then last weekend, Kevin came down with a severe dental infection and was on IV antibiotics. I was so scared of c. diff infection. (I personally know someone with resistant c. diff and I really didn't want that for Kev) I became obsessed with feeding him yogurt and lots of it. But I think he was getting bored with it. This coincided with Courtney bringing me some of her handmade yogurt to try. Oh my!!! It was so delicious. I tried it right away.

Here is the recipe that I used. Super easy and great results! Next time I will leave it for longer than their recommended 7 hours. Courtney and Charlotte and Mehrnaz all leave theirs for 24 hours to get a thicker yogurt. But first I have to eat the litre that I made. Not too hard when it looks like this.

Spectra

2011-09-10T12:47:00.000-02:30

Here it is...another Stephen West design. Obsessed much? Well yes, I believe I am. Lol. Make no wonder, just look at this stuff that he comes up with. Unbelievably simple, yet so effective.

Its knit in Berocco's Ultra Alpaca Fine and Noro Silk Garden sock yarn. I really enjoyed knitting this. I knit quite a bit while travelling to Toronto earlier this summer and vowed I'd knit until the yarn ran out - so its quite long.

I decided to lay it out on the piano so you could see the length of it. I highly recommend this pattern. It curves around the neck in such a nice way. There are endless possibilities in how to wear it.

Mystery solved

2011-08-28T15:48:00.000-02:30

I just finished up Clue 4 of the West knits mystery knit a long. I'm super happy with the result and am wearing it now as I type. Fall comes quickly to the big land. I'll be wearing it outside soon enough.

It is quite large - about 190cm in wingspan and 60cm deep. I love the colours too. Next up, my Knitspot club knitting.

In other news, I did squeak in knitting a bit of handspun - as was my knitting resolutions this year. This pattern is a freebie called Lychee mittens. A simple knitted mitten pattern with a few stripes thrown in for good measure. I knit a pair for each of my students this year. I think the handspun makes them even more special

I've finally lost my mind!

2011-08-18T22:09:00.000-02:30

Let me warn you all first that if any readers are participating in Westknits mystery knitalong ...there are spoilers in this blog post!!!

Okay, now that formality is out of the way, let me go on to tell you why I feel that I've finally lost it. Kev and I just got back from a trip to Toronto!! We had such a great time. We went to two Blue Jays games. Saw the musical "Billy Elliot". Went to the Hockey Hall of Fame, and had our pictures taken with the Stanley Cup!! We ate at some great restaurants and did a little shopping! And I even got to go yarn shopping!! Surprised? No, I didn't think so. Here is what I bought.

Yeah, thats a lot of yarn!! It cost surprisingly less than I had thought it would. There are some yarns there that are totally new to me - yarns that I've never tried before, but have always wanted to try out. And there are some old favorites. There is even a sweaters worth of Cascade 220 in the greatest green colourway ever - destined to become some unknown cabled hoodie. I'll figure out the pattern at some time in the future. Knowing me, it'll be like 2 years into the future, but the way I look at it, I'm saving up all this knitting for my retirement.

I bought all of this yarn at a place called Romni. Let me tell you, this place is stocked. Overstocked in fact. A lot of my friends on Ravelry recommended this place to me, and I'm so so glad that I went, but... the day that we went was sooo humid and hot. And this store is so crowded and big and not air conditioned. It was really difficult to make my way around. So I basically made one sweep through, without really thinking about what I might like to make, and this is what I walked out with. I didn't even look at the books and magazines (of which there appeared to be plenty)

In other news, I was so excited to sign up for a Stephen West mystery Knit along. I've praised this man's genius on the blog before, so its no surprise that when this opportunity came up, I signed up right away. The first mystery knit along that I did was by Lee Meridith and I loved it! It was so much fun that I knew I would definitely enjoy Stephen West's KAL too.

So far, Mr West has not disappointed me! Here are my results to date.

Oh and did I mention that I ordered the yarn from 'A Good Yarn'? And did I mention that Jenny helped me pick out the colours? And did I mention that I couldn't decide on a colour so I bought enough yarn for two shawls? Is the title of the blog post starting to become clearer? No? Well, the cincher for me would have to be, when I got home from Toronto there was a package in the mail. A package from Knitspot!!

Apparently, I signed up (and paid for!) a six month club membership and totally forgot about it! I must be crazy, right?

There is Nothing Cuter...

2011-08-07T23:35:00.000-02:30

Than crafty kids.

Here the boys are stringing beads for necklaces for their moms. Morgan strung half dozen or so then got completely bored with it, but Max wanted to keep going and make necklaces for his nan and me and every other female he knows. Too cute!

Its August?

2011-08-02T22:32:00.000-02:30

I don't know what it is about summer, but its like we are in some sort of time warp. I don't know if time speeds up in the Northern hemisphere, or is it just that our summers are so darned short. In anycase, I cannot believe that its August already. Only 8 more sleeps and I'm heading to Toronto!!! Hurrah...yarn shopping anyone?

In the meantime, I finished up some more Tour de Fleece yarn. Sadly, my Tour was way less productive than in previous years. I think it was because I was suddenly unexplainably smitten with my spindle. Go figure, and I have two wheels.

Jess was in town for the month of July. It was so great to see her and talk knitter with her. I had almost forgotten our language. Lol...good thing that I have ravelry and that I went to the spinning workshop. And Jess has finished her Sylvi. I was so impressed with it that I took pictures. This is in part to show off her mad skills and to pressure myself into at least casting on for Sylvi. I've had the yarn for close to two years now. Shame.

Its Tour de Fleece Time!

2011-07-16T00:52:00.000-02:30

Its that time of year again. July is the perfect time to spin. With so many others spinning for the tour de fleece, the ravelry boards are a constant source of inspiration. For example, the other day, I saw someone had a spindle that had as its whorl, the Wheel of Fortune!! I pm'd this person to tell her how cute I thought it was and she immediately put me onto the esty seller. So, I have a new spindle on the way!!!! Not a wheel of fortune, but one with candy butterflies, set in resin. I cannot wait to see it...and spin it too, I guess...lol.

These two pictures show my favorite skein to date. Its BFL/silk from an esty seller from Torbay, Newfoundland. The colourway is Jelly Bean Row. How cute is that? I'm very happy with how the colours lined up and I only had to do a couple of resectioning in places to make it work. I'm so tempted to immediately cast on for a pair of mittens using this yarn. Thats a good sign that I'm getting over my inability to knit with handspun, right?

This yarn is my first time spinning polwarth! Its from etsy seller Kelpiefibers and I spin this completely on my new Kundart spindle - which is a dream to spin on, by the way. I don't know why, but ever since the spinning retreat, I've been obsessed with spindle spinning - and we didn't even do a whole lot of spindle spinning there.

And finally a picture of what summer is all about! Homemade popsicles with fruit! I made these for 'the boys' but so far, I've eaten them all myself. Can you blame me?

The Time of My Life

2011-07-07T12:39:00.000-02:30

I'm just back from a weekend of spinning and dyeing at Full Tilt Creative Center in McIvers, Newfoundland! I always promised myself that if I ever got the opportunity to attend such a workshop, then I would take advantage of it. I'm so glad that I did. I was very vilifying to see other spinners (especially the instructor, Robyn Love) and realize that I'm doing things right! Most - well, all of my spinning knowledge has been gleaned from books and youtube videos. I have always felt somewhat isolated as a spinner. I learned a lot of things from this workshop, including a better way to wash fleece. My Big Project will definitely improve with the knowledge gained from this weekend.

This is Blanchard House. This is where I stayed the entire weekend. It has a beautiful view of the 'Bay of Islands". There is a small island with a tern colony just off the beach. The terns didn't stop screeching all night long. Surprisingly this was quite soothing.

Here Robyn demonstrates how to properly scour fleece. I hadn't been adding enough soap to my washings. I'm hoping this will help with my very greasy Saskatchewan fleece.

This is Jen sorting through some fiber that came from our indigo dye pot. Aren't the colours amazing?

Martina (my roommate) looks at all the dyed fleece drying in the sun. Again, the colours are spectacular!

These are my two yarns from this weekend. I used all the colours from the natural dye pots to make both of these yarns. I carded up the fibers (both on hand cards and the drum carder) for a little blending and I threw in bits of novelty yarns to attempt art yarn. I was going for a thick and thin single, which I think I succeeded.

This young lady was one of Colette's workers. (Colette is the owner of Full Tilt) She was interested in spindle spinning, so I gave her one of the spindles that Kev and I made. She is spinning with some fibre that took a quick dip in the indigo dye bath. I love that light blue!

Pink Cardi gone to waste?

2011-06-26T22:38:00.000-02:30

Here is the cute little pink cardigan that I just finished. I think it is perfect in so many ways. The shade of dusty pink, the nice contrasting chocolate brown, the sweet little peter pan collar (why is it called that?) and I even managed to find the perfect little buttons in my huge button stash, and its knit in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK which is also superwash. The pattern was also designed by Debbie Bliss, queen of the baby knits.

But......sadly, this cardigan will not be worn. Nat had another boy! Now don't get me wrong, I'm super happy about that, as he was born healthy and Nat had a quick, relatively stress free delivery. But alas, he is a boy and his dad will not permit him to wear this cardigan.

The good news is, Nat said, I'm not giving you back that cardigan (like I would take it back?) I'm still planning another pregnancy. Joy of joys!!! Hopefully the cardigan won't be out of style by then. But I don't think so. Its a classic design. The pattern was originally published in Vogue Knitting 2007, four years ago. I wanted to knit it ever since I first saw it. There is a boy version too, but I still think that even knit in a masculine colour, this little cardigan is totally feminine.

This post is for you, Cathy!

2011-06-18T16:46:00.001-02:30

Last night my friend Cathy reminded my that its been May 22nd since I did my last blog post. She's been wondering if I've given up blogging - or worse...knitting. Not so, I assured her. I've just been doing a lot of baby knitting and not really finishing off things. I like to show finished items here on my blog, though I'm sure I could show some 'in progress' shots every now and again.

So, without further adieu, here is what I've been up to since May 22.

Baby item #1. A little boy vest. Nat is due any day now. Not sure of the sex of the baby. This is quite masculine. I've knit a pink cardi too (more on that in a later post Cathy, sorry)

Here is some yarn that I just finished plying. Its been spun since...forever. They were two very mismatched singles just sitting on the bobbins. In preparation for next months 'Tour de Fleece' I wanted my bobbins clear. Also, I'm going on a SPINNING RETREAT'!!!!! I'm so excited about that. I cannot wait. Its the first weekend in July. Its taking place in a small community on the west coast of Newfoundland. The spots available for the retreat filled up really quickly. The instructor will also be teaching some yoga and natural dying in addition to the spinning. I'm very stoked to be going. I was going to drive, but have opted to fly instead. I'm not sure how I'm going to get my wheel out there.

And here the beginning of a new shawl I'm working on. Can you guess who the designer is? Yup...its Stephen West. Its called Transatlantic and I love it. I'm knitting this from yarn from a recent etsy purchase. I love it. The colours are so vibrant and saturated and bright...retina searing even. Lol.

And lastly, here is a picture of some yarn that I recently spun and plied. Again, an etsy purchase. I love the combination of yellow and grey together.

Knitting with Handspun

2011-05-22T20:49:00.000-02:30

Knitting with handspun has always been a challenge for me. I've lamented this fact before. I'm not sure what it is. Either the project isn't worthy, or the intended recipient isn't worthy. Shameful, really. I've got to get over this. I'm starting to really build up a stash of handspun. I love spinning and the 'Tour de Fleece' is coming up. So that means I'll be producing more handspun.

I've trolled around on Ravelry. Other people seem to have no issues with knitting up their handspun. I've come across some really great finished objects there that have inspired me to cast on and knit already.

I've mentioned that I've been bitten by the Stephen West bug. His patterns are totally worthy of using handspun. And I have good friends moving to the Northwest Territories in July who are totally worthy of some handspun.

So, that being said, I knit up this little cowl called Drawbridge. Such a simple pattern. It can also double as a hat in a pinch. The colours of the yarn are nice and masculine. I'm sure my friend will like it.

Daybreak

2011-05-15T22:43:00.000-02:30

So, I finished the Daybreak and I absolutely love it. As predicted, I immediately cast on for another Stephen West pattern. This time, I'll be knitting Daybreak - in handspun no less!! I'm super proud of myself for doing that. I've written before about my hesitancy to use handspun. I think I even listed that as a goal for 2011. I'm really trying to see the potential of this beautiful yarn - not to see it as a final project in itself.

Here is the blocked daybreak on my floor. So happy with the yarn and the pattern. I highly recommend both

The daybreak on my back porch.

Here is a photo of some locks from the 'big project'. The rest of the fleece is currently undergoing a 'cold soak' in a large rubbermaid container. I decided to hand wash a few locks just to see how they look. I handcombed the locks, and will likely spin these up to see how they turn out. Pretty aren't they?

The Big Project (Take 2)

2011-05-03T21:28:00.000-02:30

Since my original post about the big project, I've done nothing to process the fleece. The lady from whom I purchased the fleece recommended that I keep the fleece in a freezer for a few days, just in case there were bugs and what not hiding in the fiber only to come alive once in my warm home.

Well, this was back in March, in Labrador. Things are still pretty cold at that time in Labrador. So rather than store it in my freezer, I decided to keep in on my back porch for a couple of days.

Bad idea.

Kevin assumed it was garbage. I know!! I can hear the gasps from here. I contacted the seller to see if she had a similar fleece for sale, but sadly she sold the little lamb (a Merino, Corriedale cross named Rosie). She also decided to change her shipping. She no longer ships in black garbage bags owing to Kev's faux pas. She contacted me sometime later to tell me that she just had her flock sheared. While she had sold Rosie, she still had her sister Daisy, and I could buy some of her fleece. I was a happy camper, as was Kev. He finally got out of the dog house.

Here is what it looks like all spread out.

I'm very happy with this fleece. I've already scoured and carded a small amount of it, just to see what it spins up like. I have to spin some existing fiber however, just to get a few free bobbins. I'm very, very happy with the result so far. This is a far superior fleece to the Jacob fleece of two summers ago.

I haven't settled on a big project goal yet. Like a sweater or an afghan. I may just spin single skeins of various weights and colours and just enhance my stash. I'm still debating what to do. I am toying with the idea of an icelandic yoked sweater. I think I will have enough yarn when all is said and done. We shall see. Exciting times.

I'm obsessed

2011-04-28T14:38:00.000-02:30

With Stephen West's patterns. Its all I can think about. I cast on for his daybreak shawl a little a while ago. I can think of nothing else. I'm using yarn that I bought while in Montreal. Sweetgeorgia yarns - Cash luxe fine. And oh my god!! Its heavenly.

I've been pondering why some projects that I cast on, I love initially and then it gets kinda ... meh...not so interesting or entertaining anymore. The yarn is splitty, the pattern gets boring... something just doesn't hold my interest.

But not this time. I don't know what it is about this particular combination of yarn and pattern, but I absolutely have no desire, whatsoever to knit on ANYTHING else. I'm a woman obsessed.

I'm guessing that I have about 1/2 the shawl knit. I'm going to try for the largest size depending upon yarn amounts. This yarn is beyond gorgeous. The colour is stunning. The fiber content is so, so soft. The yardage is generous. Their website says it has 375 yards but for some reason, I thought the label said over 400 yards.

Once I finish knitting this, I'm sure I'll cast on for another Stephen West pattern. I'm really thinking Bandwidth. We shall see.

On Hiatus

2011-04-21T00:08:00.000-02:30

I hope I've spelled hiatus right. Well, it seems that I'm on a knitting hiatus. I've come down with some sort of inflammation in my elbow. Its what I imagine tennis elbow to feel like - except I don't play tennis. And weirdly, its in my left elbow. I'm thinking its due to knitting, but I'm a little perplexed about the whole deal since I mostly use my right arm when knitting and I sort of just prop my left arm on a cushion or arm of the sofa and use it to more or less balance my knitting.

Kev and I just got back from a 5 day trip to Montreal/Sherbrooke, Quebec. My friend thinks my elbow problem may be due to shopping, as I sometimes grasp things in the crook of my arm when I'm picking things up. Entirely possible. Shopper's elbow. There you go.

So, right now, I'm on my 5th day of self imposed knitting hiatus - just to see if it helps with the pain. So far, not a lot better. I am wearing a brace and rubbing anti inflammatory cream on it. This seems to help some, but as soon as I take the brace off, it (ie pain) comes back.

This hiatus has done wonders for my knitting fantasy life - as I'm prowling Ravelry all the time now. I've bought SO.MANY knitting magazines and two new knitting books. I've also bought a lot of yarn. I believe that I'm somehow trying to 'scratch an itch' or something. I can't get my fiber fix by actually doing, so I've got to get it this way. This is entirely self defeating, of course, since I've already speculated that shopping is making it worse. Oh well, live and learn I guess. No more shopping....wait, I can online shop still. Woo hoo.

On this trip to Montreal I was thrilled to discover a new yarn shop had opened up. Its called Espace Tricot. They have only been open since July and they seem to be doing well. They are trying to stock yarn brands that the other stores in Montreal don't have. I looked them up online before going and I was so happy to see that they carried Koigu!! I bought two skeins. I have no idea what to make with this, but it was just too pretty to resist.

/

Here is the rest of my haul from this store. Take notice of the Steven West book Westknits Two! I had been debating buying this book online and downloading a copy, but seeing it in the flesh, just about sent me over the edge. Like I said, my knitting fantasy life has now taken on a life of its own. I swear I want to knit every single pattern in this book. As soon as my arm is better, I'm casting on for all of them...at once. Really, I am.

I also got some Addi Lace needles, that I've been wanting to try, and some Hiya hiya DPNs, a super cute wooden button, some charms and some free Soak samples.

And finally, here is a photo of the reason for our travels. My beautiful daughter. She was performing in a recital. She was amazing. It was the first time hearing her sing classical, and (as her friend Shaun pointed out) it was also the first time I ever heard her sing as a soprano. All throughout school Amy sang alto. When she went to high school she even sang tenor with the boys. When she gets to Bishop's university, her voice coach tells her that she is actually a soprano. Crazy or what? Isn't she stunning??

,

Slog Sweater

2011-03-23T13:24:00.000-02:30

I cast on for this sweater back in September. Its from the book New England Knits which I really, really like. There are a number of other sweaters in this book that I want to knit, but this one really caught my eye, and I cast on right away.

Well, here I am 6 months later and I'm just now finishing it.

I'm very happy with the finished cardigan. Its very wearable. It fits well, and I like it a lot. Why it took me so long to finish is anyone's guess. I think it was the endless amount of garter stitch. And when I got to the sleeves it was even worse. Garter stitch in the round is not for the faint of heart. It was beyond monotonous. So, I opted to knit them flat. I love knitting flat garter in front of the TV. The down side to knitting flat sleeves is seaming. But it appears I hate seaming less than I hate garter stitch in the round.

I promised myself that I would not cast on for another sweater until I finished this one. I was so happy to finish this sweater that I immediately cast on for Lady of the Lake Cardigan by Fleece Artist. This kit has been in my stash for quite some time - lets hope it doesn't take me as long to finish this sweater. Here is my progress so far

This is magical yarn for sure. I just love the resulting fabric. I'll keep you posted as to how quickly this one knits up.

The Big Project

2011-03-08T20:28:00.001-03:30

Megan (of Stitch It podcast fame) has decided to do a 'big project'. She plans on processing a fleece right from the start. Me, in my infinite wisdom, I've decided that this would be a great idea and I'm going to Big Project a long with her. My proof? This box.

In this package there is a well skirted fleece of corriedale/merino/ramboulet cross lamb - 4 pounds of it. I'm not sure if this will be enough to make a whole handspun sweater (since I'm sure there is at least a pound of lanolin in the fleece) But there will be enough to make some serious yarn. I'm thinking this is a better quality fleece than the whole Jacob debacle of 2009. Its a white fleece, so it'll be easier to dye right? And this time, like Megan, I've decided to process smaller batches and spin from the lock this time. Anyways, I'm hopeful. Wish me luck!

In other news I've been doing the freeform crochet a long on Ravelry again. Every March is international crochet month. I love, love, love this game. I don't always love my final item, but I usually learn a few new stitches and make a few friends in the process. Here is what I've got so far.

Interesting, isn't it?

I need a new project

2011-02-27T20:47:00.000-03:30

I don't know whats wrong with me, but I have no real desire to cast on new projects. I'm trying to finish whats on my needles. Which is a fairly long list.

1. Prairie Rose Lace Shawl in Paton's new lace yarn from The Knitters Book of Wool
2. Greenfield Cardigan in Cascade 220 from New England Knits
3. Pinstripe Slouch hat in Fleece Artist Merino 2/6 from Knitting 24/7

These were all started keeping in mind my new goal to knit more from my library. But I'm not sure why, I just don't feel like finishing them. I love all 3 projects. I'm enjoying the patterns and the yarn, but I just keep looking and lusting after other things. Why can't I finish them? Especially the cardigan. I've been working on that since September, and I won't allow myself to cast on for another sweater until I finish it. I only have 1 and 1/2 sleeves to finish. I know what the problem is though. I hate knitting garter stitch in the round. It is so annoying. I've decided to knit the sleeves flat and them seam them up afterwards. That should make for decent TV knitting at least.

I did manage to finish a crochet project though. This time not from a pattern in my library, but from a freebie on Ravelry called Calm Cowl. (Ravelry link only -yet another reason to join)

This was crocheted using Rowan felted tweed. I loved this yarn so much. The resulting fabric is very nice, with great drape. This is sometimes hard to get in crochet. I'm very happy with this cowl. It will likely be a gift for my daughter or one of her roomies. The house is having a depressing time with boys and whatnot, and could use some cheering up. So, I will send woolies. Nothing says I love you, like woolies

When good gauges go bad

2011-02-10T23:42:00.000-03:30

Lame title, I know. Especially considering I refuse to do gauge swatches on hats. Sweaters, yes. But not hats. Even the great Elizabeth Zimmerman used hats as swatches.

So, really, its my own fault that the first hat that I knitted turned out gigantic. It was meant for Morgan - as a Valentine gift. The cute little hearts were too sweet to resist. He was in need of a new hat since the ganomy I had knit for him had gotten way too small. Now that I think of it, I did knit him a handspun earflap hat a little while back, so I'm not sure why his mother asked for a new hat. Oh well, who am I to resist knitting hats for gorgeous little boys. Not me. Resistance is futile.

In any case, I now have two heart earflap hats. The first hat was knit in size 18 months to 4 years. Perfect for our 2 1/2 year old Morgan, right? Except, it turns out that the finished hat ended up too big for me! Likely great for my large headed offspring, Amy. There is no such thing as too many hats, she tells me. So, I'm lucky in that regard. When my hats have gauge issues, they are sure to fit someone in the family right?

The second hat, I ended up going down a needle size and knit the newborn size. It'll be a perfect fit for Morgan. I should have paid attention to the comments that other knitters had said about this pattern on Ravelry. A lot of others had said that this pattern ran kind of big. Who knew it would be that big though!!

Oh, details about the hat. The pattern is from the book "Weekend Knitting" and its called "Almost Famous Luggy Bonnet". I knit both versions in Knitpicks telemark yarn, except for the yellow hearts, they were done in knitpicks stroll tonal held double.

Numbers 2 and 3

2011-01-20T21:08:00.000-03:30

The second finished project of 2011 is a hat. The pattern is Spry from Knitty. I knit it exactly as the pattern is written, using the same yarn (Noro Kuryeon) even. I really enjoyed knitting this hat. It features four intarsia panels in a colour changing yarn. The designer also wrote a fingering weight version featuring 6 intarsia panels. I think I'd like to knit this again. I'm not sure who or where this hat will end up with, but my gift knitting for Christmas 2011 is off to a great start.

Another item for my gift knitting box is this great Shawl that I finished. FO number 3! Its designed by Susanna Ic. She designs these perfect little shawls that are so wearable. Wear them like a shawl or a scarf or a kerchief. I knit her Abrazo Shawl from twist collective last summer and I really enjoyed it. I liked knitting this even more since it was done in a worsted weight yarn, knitpicks Andean Silk. This is a wool/silk/alpaca blend and I really, really enjoyed knitting with it. (Dangerous for me to even look at knitpicks website - way too tempting, and I'm trying to cut back...well...somewhat)

I'm always amazed at pre and post blocking pictures. This one is no exception. Can you believe that some people never block their work?

The picture on the bed is closer to actual colour. Look at my yellow croc.

And here is my attempt at an artistic shot off my back porch. Sadly we don't have a lot of snow.

I'm off to a slow start!

2011-01-14T20:12:00.000-03:30

My first fo of 2011 is the leafprints shawlette by Anne Hanson. I've joined several KALs on Ravelry, including 12 shawls in 2012, and 52 projects in 52 weeks. I'm a week behind on that one.

The details about this shawlette? Its knit from Tanis fiberArts Purple label cashmere sock yarn. I bought this yarn from 'A Good Yarn' in St. John's/ Its a cashmere blend and is really lovely. I love the grey/blue mix. Of course I love all of Tanis' yarns. But look at how close I cut it. Seriously, thats all that was left.

I'm very happy that I bought those blocking wires from knitpicks. They make blocking less tedious thats for sure.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-09T13:40:00.000-03:30

Yeah, I'm about a week late. Oh well. Things have been busy - work, life, etc. Aimee and Max have move out, which makes me so sad, in ways I can't even explain. It has been an absolute joy to have them here, especially on the heels of Mr. C's passing. They filled a void for us.

Now, I've taken over Aimee's empty room. Everything is now in there. My two wheels, drumcarder, loom, skein winder, niddy noddys, sewing machine, yarn stash, fabric stash. I could go on and on. Some day, I'll post photos of my lovely craft room. I'm very happy with it. It is so nice to have everything in one place.

I usually set some goals for myself in the new year. Fiber goals that is. Personal goals, I won't go into here. Though maybe I should. It might make me more accountable. Well, in 2011, I would like to

knit, crochet more from my every growing library. I have been so fortunate to have a family that gets my fiber addiction. Every occasion usually means I get some new books and magazines. I love that. They are a great source of inspiration. But, I seldom knit from them. I want to knit more from my knitting library.
knit using my handspun. I think I mention this quite a bit. I love spinning, but find it incredibly difficult to find projects 'worthy' of the handspun. I have to break this mentality somehow. 2011 will be the year to do it.
knit a sweater for my mother. I have had a fleece artist kit in my stash for some time now. I love the pattern and the yarn. I just have to do it. Christmas 2011 - I hope to have a sweater for mom.
knit more for Kev. Poor Kev. I never make him anything. This has to change. He is such a great supportive partner in everything I do. And he spends a lot of time outside. He needs to be warm too.
start making and spinning batts. I love to spin batts. I have a drum carder. There is no reason why I should be buying batts. I could make them easily. I need to do this more.

Speaking of batts, I was lucky enough to get some of hobbledehoy's batts just before the holidays. I just love the way it spins up into a thick and thin single. You can't see the sparklies in this, but there is just enough shimmer in here. I think I'd like to weave this. I've been so, so happy with weaving lately. Its unbelievable how fast weaving goes. Here is a simple scarf that I wove for Heather B. Simple yarn, but with the slow colour changes, its very effective.

One last photo to show you. Here is a trio of handpun hats that I made for my trio of daughters/stepdaughters. I love the hats, I love the girls. I hope they will wear the hats. Picking a favorite would be like picking a favorite daughter right?

Mystery Revealed

2010-12-18T22:19:00.000-03:30

Back in November, I joined a mystery knit along on Ravelry. I wasn't sure what the project was, but it was offered by one of my favorite designers, so I couldn't resist. I'm so happy with the resulting shawl. I haven't taken it off since I took it off the blocking mats earlier this morning.

Lee will be offering this pattern with different options, including lace and cables. She has completed a gorgeous cabled version herself, that will definitely be on my 'to do' list in the new year.

Other than the mystery KAL, I've been busy getting ready for Christmas. This year, I took part in a cookie exchange with my Trefoil Guild. Here is a picture of my offering. These are oreo truffles. My daughter, Amy, put me on to this recipe, found here at blogger Bakerella's website. I highly recommend this recipe. The resulting cookies are exquisite.

We also did a homemade gift exchange for Christmas with the Trefoil Guild. Each of us made a gift, not knowing who the recipient would be. I decided to make a woven scarf. I was going to give mittens, but didn't finish them in time. Besides, everyone was expecting me to make a knitted gift. I wanted to surprise them. Julie was the lucky recipient of this scarf. It turned out so beautiful. I'm still amazed at how fast I can turn out a woven scarf with generous sizing. This one was made using frog tree alpaca for the weft and a tweed wool blend for the warp. Julie seemed to like her scarf.

A New Love/Addiction

2010-12-01T22:50:00.001-03:30

I alluded to the fact that I am now the proud owner of a loom several posts back. Kev bought it for me for my birthday. My first go at it was with a skein of sock yarn. I wasn't too impressed with the process or the finished project. Well, that was a waste of money, I thought. But I'm not one to give up that quickly. Besides, fiber is involved. There has to be more to it.

I had this skein of 'Slubby Blue' by Fleece Artist in my stash and I kept picturing it as a woven scarf. Well, when inspiration hits, you gotta run with it right? So, I took out my little cricket loom again, for another try. I was like a woman possessed, once I got past the warping of the loom that is.

I couldn't stop thinking about it. Every spare moment, I would add a few wefts. (Not sure if thats the correct terminology, but the weavers out there know what I'm talking about). Within 2 or 3 evenings, I had this 8 foot scarf. Wow. No way you can do that with knitting. Or at least I couldn't, unless I was knitting with turkey basters and 10 strands of worsted weight held together. Hmmm....I might file that idea away for later. Imagine the stash you would eat through.

Here is the finished scarf. Its so hard to photograph though. I'll try again in better light. Its a beautiful yellow, with bits of rose and forest green. The warp yarn is just a plain natural worsted weight yarn by Lion Brand - Fisherman's wool, I believe.

I've already warped the loom again, for another scarf of the same width. I'm not sure about the length though, as this time I'll be using handspun that I bought (gasp!) from A Good Yarn. I had planned on giving it away, but got greedy when push came to shove and kept the yarn myself. Its spun by this lady on the west coast of our beautiful province. I am so envious of her yarns. When I grow up, I want to spin art yarn like her. And, oh my, art yarn looks glorious woven. More on that later.

Teach a Child to Knit

2010-11-28T15:50:00.000-03:30

You know the old saying 'Give a man a fish, he eats for a day but teach a man to fish he'll eat for a lifetime'. Well, I believe this to be true of knitting. Max loves hand knitted things. In case you don't know, Max is Kev's 3 year old grandson. He lives with us now - partime anyways. I love him to bits. Today he spotted some juggling balls on Ravelry that he really wanted. Of course I made them for him

They were super easy. So then he gets it into his head that he can learn to knit. The balls are crochet, but he does see me knit more. So I thought, why not? I was 7 when I learned, but kids today seem to be so ahead of things, maybe he could learn. Well, he was more interested in using the needles as drumsticks. I didn't think he would be able to master the fine motor skills. He just wanted to mimic what I was doing. Too cute though, isn't he?

And I wanted to show off a pair of handspun mittens that I made for him. I think I will make an ichord to thread through his jacket so he doesn't lose them. Handspun is much more precious. I am getting over my reluctance to use it.

The Benefits of a Close Shave

2010-11-23T00:21:00.000-03:30

Every knitter should have one - a good sweater shaver that is. I took these photos to demonstrate the difference. These two photos are the underarm area of my somewhat recently completed 'Lady Kina'. Just look at those white pills. For some reason the pills were white, not grey. I'm guessing its because its a blend, and only the wool part of the fiber pilled. I could be wrong on this count. I should ask about it on the knitter's review boards. Clara Parkes knows a lot about yarn!

Here are my lovely Malabrigo Robot mittens. The mitten on the right hasn't had its shave yet. It almost looks blurry. There weren't a whole lot of actual pills, but more like a fuzzy greyish halo around the mitten. And again, I'm guessing grey since the orange and blue fibers must have pilled equally to create grey.

And another photo of 100% wool mittens that have a fuzzy pilly thing going on. These are Aimee's mittens. She was very pleased that they now look brand new.

A Mystery

2010-11-20T17:46:00.000-03:30

A lot of designers host these mystery knit alongs. A clue is given every so often and the participants go off and knit the clue. I've seen several of these on the Ravelry boards, and while they have always piqued my interest, I've never participated. But along comes a mystery KAL by my one of my favorite designers. I just couldn't resist. I know, its only 34 days or so before Christmas. I have lots on my plate. I have to finish knitting this hooded scarf thing, that my mother specifically asked for this summer when she was here. The good news is, that its almost finished. I love when I'm enjoying knitting something so much that it almost knits itself. Well, thats the way its been with this hooded scarf.

The yarn is shamrock by Knitpicks in the colour
Dougherty. I was not expecting to enjoy this yarn or even this pattern this much. What a nice surprise.

I did some sewing this week too. I visited Heather's Ranger group. We made some Little Dresses for Africa I had intended to send them to the blog writer in this link. But, one of the girls in this picture has a brother who is currently getting ready to go to Benin, Africa through Canada World Youth. We will be sending them to him, so that he can distribute them to needy girls in that part of the world. The dresses turned out super cute and they were pretty easy to make too.

So, about that mystery. I'm still not sure what it is. I've just about finished knitting clue one. And this is what it looks like. At this point it could be anything. A hat? Maybe? This could be the band. Its only 3 inches wide. Not mittens, I really don't think. The genius part about many of Lee's patterns is that they are any gauge, so that practically any yarn can be used. I'm using Paton's SWS for the stripes and Briggs and Little softspun is the blue background. I'm liking it so far - whatever it is.

I miss Jess

2010-11-15T23:00:00.001-03:30

Twist Collective came out today. It is filled with gorgeous patterns. All of which, I want to knit right now. I really miss having my friend around to talk about which patterns appealed to her, which yarns that I might have in my stash that could work with different patterns, which patterns we didn't really like but might work in a different colour..etc. You get the idea. I really miss having someone around to bounce knitterly thoughts off. She sees things differently than I do, and I really appreciated her different perspective. Since I've lost my iphone, I can't even text her to find out her opinions. Yes, I guess I'm a little whiny. I saw her mom today, which made me miss her even more. But I especially miss Jess whenever there is a new Knitty, or a new Twist, or I get my next issue of Interweave in the mail. Which should be soon. I guess I'll be missing Jess again, soon.

Loving the Handspun

2010-11-14T21:46:00.000-03:30

I have this real problem with knitting with my handspun. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm really hesitant to knit it. Its almost as though, once its knit, its potential is gone. I know, weird eh? I also feel that no project is good enough. No project will really show off how beautiful the yarn is. Also, I'm not sure that any recipient of a handknit item made from handspun, will really get how much effort has gone into such a project. But, I really have to get over this. My handspun stash is rapidly growing. And with Distinctive Knitting (my LYS) starting to carry spinning supplies I suspect this situation will get worse.

Nat came to the house on Friday and announced that she needed new mittens. What selfrespecting stepmother would I be if I didn't help her out with this situation?? By the way, she also announced that she is expecting!! Hurrah, another babe to knit for. Can't deny the fact that I'm hoping for a little girl to knit for this time, but seriously, people always say this, but its true. As long as the baby is healthy. I can still put fuschia on a boy, right?

So, back to the mittens. I quickly knit up some mitered mittens (curtesy of Elizabeth Zimmerman, knitting goddess) out of a heavey worsted weight handspun that I did a long time ago. The colourway was called sushi. Cute aren't they. And I know that Nat will appreciate them - so she is totally worthy of a knitted project from handspun.

I have quite a few gift certificates to spend at Distinctive Knitting. I had a pharmacy intern this summer that gave me a gift certificate as a thank you gift for being her preceptor. So, I took a quick jot down to see Mrs March (owner) and I saw that she still had a shelf full of the Fleece Artiste Merino Slyver. I quickly spun it into this lovely skein of yarn. Actually, not quickly - I had to run it through my drum carder to get it to fluff out. It had become quite compacted from sitting on the shelf in the store. Since I was giving his mommy handspun mittens, I figured Morgan needed some too. So, I knit up these little fraternal twin mittens. I'm not sure how I feel about them being so different from each other. I figure he'll wear them in any case. Winters are long, cold and hard in these parts - and a two year old goes through quite a few pairs of mitts in a winter. I had several yards of the yarn leftover and this stuff is too precious to just toss, so I knit it in with an earflap hat for Morgie too.

Crochet Love

2010-11-11T16:53:00.001-03:30

It started with that little duck Halloween hat for Colson. It was so fast. It was so cute. I was smitten. I can't stop the cute. I had to crochet another one, with the proper eyes. Adorable, isn't it?

Then, I found this cute owl pattern on etsy, so I crocheted some of them. I ended up modifying this one quite a bit. I'm on a roll now.

This latest one is my favorite. I plan on donating these to Heather's Ranger group who are raising money to go to Halifax next summer. I think people will like these.

And guess what this is? No, its not my favorite yarn shop. Its my bedroom, and it makes me so happy to see all my yarns on display like this. It makes them so accessable. I've kind of organized them by colour. Also, the quantities that I have in sweater's worth are in those duvet bags under neath the pile of feltable sweaters that are folded on top. I still have large quantities of yarn in the living room and some downstairs. When I get another square shelving unit, I will stack it on top of the existing one, and add more yarn. My self striping yarns are hung on the closet rod, in the hanging shoe units. Works in progress and spinning fiber are hung in bags over the closet rod. Pretty clever isn't it. I've shown some of my friends this picture, and they can hardly believe I have that much yarn. I don't tell them about the shelving unit in the living room.

What happened to October?

2010-11-06T23:11:00.000-02:30

Was that ever a fast month! But then again, I always find that time seems to speed up in the fall. I guess, I've been so busy with work, and girl guides that I haven't found the time to blog. I've been knitting though. And some other things too. I even did some painting.

Last weekend the Big Land Trefoil Guild went to Lake Alexander for a fall camp. 7 of us attended. We each had to bring a craft or activity. I figured the girls could handle some silhouette painting. Here are the results. I think they turned out very nice! I particularly liked my friend Karen's. She did the Inukshuk in the sunset. Gorgeous!

I was busy with knitting Halloween items for Heather's baby, Colson. I made him the knitted duck feet from Knitty. These were just about the trickiest things that I've ever knit. Turkish cast on, applied icord, stretchy cast off, shortrows. This little pattern had it all! But boy, oh boy, were they ever cute. Just look at that little duck! The crocheted hat was a cinch in comparison. It only took about 2 hours to finish. Talk about a great little pattern. Its from speckledfrogcrochet on etsy. You can buy it here. What a great seller, and a great pattern. I'll be making this again. And she doesn't mind if you sell these hats - if you ask!

I've been making a very concentrated effort to knit more with my handspun. Its hard. A project has to be worthy enough, a recipient has to be worth it too. It has to be a special project for a special someone. I'm trying to relax those standards somewhat and just knit it already. (I'm really starting to build up a stash of handspun - my regular stash is bad enough). I'm also trying to knit more from the books in my library. This argyl hat is knit from two different colours of my handspun. The pattern is from All New Homespun Handknits which is a really nice book with the patterns calling for small amounts of handspun. I just love the resulting hat. I've already cast on for two more. Stay tuned.

Last weekend

Camera lost but found again

2010-10-16T20:56:00.000-02:30

I haven't been blogging, but that doesn't mean I haven't been doing fiber crafts. I've been knitting up a bunch of little projects and wanting to blog. I had lost my camera - or rather misplaced it. It was in my Girl Guide hoodie, hung up in the closet. It made a reappearance today, when I needed my hoodie for another guiding event - cookies.

Here is a little neck warmer that I whipped up in less than 2 hours. I've been making a real attempt to knit from my knitting books more. I have so many books that are filled with great patterns, yet I keep knitting things from freebies on the web. Thats not a bad thing, mind you, but I did buy these books for a reason. This cowl is from the book by Sally Melville and Caddy Melville - Linkletter called 'Mother Daughter Knits'. This is a great book, with many patterns that I like. I'm not sure why this is the first thing that I've knit from it. It needs buttons obviously, but its a really cute gift.

Next up are some little fingerless mittens. These are from 'The Knitters Book of Wool' A great resource book for spinners as well as great patterns. These mittens are called Sweet Fern mittens and gave me a bit of grief at first, since the thumb placement was way off in the first mitt I knit. This lead me to check for erratta, which, I should have done at first because, I would not have had to knit the right mitt twice. Oh well, hindsite is 20/20 right?

I really shouldn't brag

2010-09-24T22:03:00.000-02:30

I cast on for these way back in March. I bragged about how quickly they were knitting up. I loved the yarn. Malabrigo - whats not to love? I loved the pattern. Colourwork robots!! Hello! Fantastic. But here it is, now September and I'm just finishing them. What happened? To put it quite simply - summer. Warmer weather inspired me to knit lace and baby items, not warm mittens. But summer doesn't last long here in Labrador. Its actually chilly enough now to start wearing these in the evenings on my walks.

I suspect I may have a hard time keeping these. I know Amy wants them. But she isn't getting them this time. Amy, you do understand that right? These are mine, all mine.

A Thing of Beauty

2010-09-21T21:00:00.000-02:30

I'm so proud of this shawl. Its beautiful thats for sure, but the thing about this shawl is that it is totally all my doing. I spun the yarn. I knit the shawl. I even 'unvented' (to quote EZ) the pattern. I have this 'thing' about knitting with my handspun. Its like no pattern is good enough. No recipient is worthy of it. So, all my handspun just sits in drawers waiting. I've mentioned my reluctance to knit with handpun before. I realize that I have to get past it, or really, I should stop spinning. For some reason, I have no problem with gifting the handspun yarn. But, it has to be given to someone who I know will appreciate it. I once gave a skein of 100% alpaca to my mother. She started a project and frogged it. Started another and frogged it again. My poor handspun didn't hold up too well to repeated frogging. I don't think my mother will ever get another skein of it. I actually took that skein back.

I knit this shawl for a swap partner - another knitter from Newfoundland. On ravelry, the forum that I participate in most is the Newfoundland and Labrador Knitters and Crocheters. I enjoy the discussions in this forum and even got to meet some group members last month when Amy and I went to St. John's for her tonsillectomy. A swap was organized on the board earlier this summer. I was the only knitter from outside the St. John's area included in the swap. After meeting Leah in person, I knew that this shawl was well suited to her - and that she was definitely worthy of an item knit from handspun. Pictured here is her total swap package. A ball of Zauberball Crazy, a spindle (by Kev) and roving, handmade soap, shawl and shawl/hair stick and a scone kit - all packaged up in a breast cancer bag.

Leah was pleased with her package and said it was like getting a gift from 'someone who knew her soul'. What a great compliment. It makes me want to knit with my handspun some more.

Summer is ending

2010-09-09T23:11:00.000-02:30

And I didn't blog a whole lot. We've been really busy around here. To sum things up...we took a trip, we had a baby born, we had a wedding, we had a surgery, I met some knitters, and I bought a new car! Here are some photos of things I've done and knit this past little while - in no particular order.

Mom and Dad on Port Hope Simpson bridge

Nat and Blair's Wedding! Nat was stunning...Blair too, I guess, if a guy can be stunning that is.

Here I am teaching little Natalie to knit. Natalie is my sister's niece. Too young really, but hey, it doesn't hurt to try right? We spent two nights in Melrose during our flying visit to my hometown to pick up mom and dad for the wedding

My first Citron (knitty pattern) this summer. Knit in 3 days on the way to pick up Mom and Dad for the wedding and on the drive on the way back. Blocked in the hotel at St. Barbe NL. I almost have a second Citron finished.

Knitters!! Amy and I spent more than 2 weeks in St. John's after she had her tonsils out. Thankfully, there were knitters and crocheters from Ravelry who invited us out to supper. I also went to their KIP at the Rooms. What a fantastic bunch!

Here is Amy posing with my first Minty (knitty pattern) of the summer. I made a second one for Jenna. My sister Cindy came in to St. John's for a weekend while we were there. It really helped to pass the time! You can really see how sick Amy was in this picture. The tonsillectomy was not an easy procedure. It was significantly more difficult than the jaw surgery of two years ago.

A Minion from Despicable Me! Amy, Jenna, Riley and I went to see this movie during my sister's family visit. It was great. I had to make one of these guys for Riley. He really, really liked it.

This is a shawl made from Malabrigo yarn. The pattern is from Knitscene and its called Oscilloscope. I bought this yarn at my new favorite yarn shop called 'A Good Yarn' in St. John's. The owner, Jenny, is super fantastic awesome nice! If you go to St. John's, make sure to drop in.

My new vehicle. A Rogue by Nissan. I had my corolla for 14 years! I hated to give it up. Actually, I didn't give it up. I have her parked for Amy to drive when she comes home from university.

Mr Colson Lethbridge. Big ole boy of Heather's. I can't believe Heather is a mom to two boys!


Jenna and Riley on Signal Hill. Riley had a list of things that he wanted to do during his two days in St. John's. I tried my best to get most of them in.

Overall, the summer was way too short, as it always is. You can already feel that nip in the air here. It is Labrador after all. But that's one of the reasons why I love it so much.

The Tour has Ended

2010-07-29T10:39:00.000-02:30

I finished the tour with a decent number of skeins this year. Seven whole skeins of yarn finished. I really put a big dent in my fiber stash too. Here are the latest ones. That final purple skein really surprised me. I really disliked the look of the roving. A customer of mine had given me some yarn several years ago and I had promised her a small skein of handspun in return and she really likes blues, so I thought I would spin it up for her. This was a pencil roving and it had short repeats of navy, sky blue and purple. It turned out to look like a tonal purple. I wasn't expecting that. And now, I'm not sure if I'm going to gift it at all, since it isn't really blue anymore. We'll see.

Its Tour de Fleece Time!!

2010-07-18T12:53:00.000-02:30

And I've been spinning up a storm. I have no goals for the tour this year, only to spin through some stash. Here is what I've finished to date.

I've even been spinning on my spindle that Kev made. I'm really having a blast this tour. No pressures.

Cutting it close

2010-07-01T22:13:00.000-02:30

This is how much yarn was left over!!

Pretty scary! I actually didn't have enough to complete the edging chart, so I omitted 6 of the final rows. The pattern is called 198 Yards of Heaven and I only had 185 yards, so I knew I didn't have enough. I think it still looks okay even with the missing rows.

Here it is unblocked.

And blocked (Spencer for scale)

The yarn is from esty seller Squoosh. I love this sellers fiber. Its the first time I've bought their yarn. I think a sweater in this stuff would be stunning. It has a hint of cashmere - about 10%. The kerchief is the perfect size. I can wear it with a little shawl pin. Real pretty.

Its button time

2010-06-29T01:03:00.003-02:30

These are the sleeves of my little cardi. I didn't like the way it was turning out - see the one on the right. I hadn't counted on my gauge for garter stitch being so different in the round, versus flat. The second sleeve cuff (on the left) I knit flat and seamed it shut. I liked it much better. So I frogged the first cuff and knit it flat as well. The whole thing is now finished. Pretty cute eh?

Well, except its missing button. I'm still not 100% sure who I'll be giving this to. Maybe Heather's baby - who will be a boy. Or maybe a former coworker - who will be having a girl. I really like these green buttons. What do you think?

I think they would be perfect for either a boy or girl. I'm still debating doing a little embroider or needle felting too. In anycase, I'm super happy with it. I'm also in love with this yarn. I bought this yarn with the intentions of finally making a sweater for Kev. Its 50% acrylic/50% wool, so I thought it would be warm enough, but also easy care. But I love the colour and I love the way it knits up. Great stitch definition and just so nice to knit with. I'm thinking about making myself a Lady Kina. This sweater looks so much like me. Its so wearable. And I'm thinking that the acrylic might make it cool enough to make this garment a nice transitional cover up. And then I can use a nice yellow/green button too.

Baby Sweater Jag

2010-06-13T21:18:00.000-02:30

We all get on knitting jags. The Yarn Harlot is going through a leaf thing right now. I've gone on sock binges before, and even a scarf kick, but I do believe this is the first time I've gotten on a baby sweater jag. Heather is the only person that I know who is expecting. I knit the striped placket pullover from a few posts back for her baby to be. He is set to arrive sometime this summer. Her due date is early August but I'm doubtful she'll last that long. Essentially her baby sweater is done. I'm not sure why I feel the urge to keep knitting baby sweaters other than they are so freakin' cute and fast. The grey one is from a free pattern found here. I wish I could photograph the garter stitch better. Maybe I'll try again in the morning in better light. The yarn is new to me. Its Berroco's Vintage - which is wool/acrylic blend. I'm normally a bit of yarn snob especially when it comes to natural fibers. I'm not a fan of acrylics as a rule, but I must admit to really liking this yarn so far. I'm not sure how it'll hold up to washing or if it pills or not, but based on feel and how it knits up alone, I really, really like it!

The second photo is also a free pattern. I wasn't so happy with this one. In fact I ended up frogging it. The pattern called for bulky yarn knit on size 11s. The resulting fabric was way too open. I went down several needle sizes to get a fabric that I was happy with but then the pattern was more doll size. I think I may double up on the bulky yarn on size 11s to see if I get something I'm happy with. I haven' totally ruled this one out yet.

Self Striping Yarn - My True Love

2010-06-09T01:23:00.000-02:30

The yarn is Zauberball Crazy and it is just that. There is no repeating of any colours. If you knit socks from this yarn, they would definitely be fraternal twins as there is no way to make the colours line up. Up close, the yarn is like a barber poled handspun. I love the result. I would have kept crocheting but I ran out of the contrasting black yarn. It took two skeins of Knitpicks Palette.

I have countless other images that I wanted to put up as well, but I chose these. I love the close ups. This is from a free pattern that can be gotten here.

In other news, I cast on for a baby sweater four days ago, and finished it. I used Spud and Chloe Sweater yarn. Its a blend of wool and cotton and is supposed to be easy care. I really enjoyed the yarn. This sweater is for Heather's new baby, not yet born, and it had to be easy care. No care would be great, but I'll settle for easy care. I bought this yarn from A Good Yarn. Its a new yarn shop that opened up in St John's. While I've never been there in person, I can attest to the great customer service. I hope to visit it real soon.

The Joys of Blocking

2010-06-01T11:34:00.000-02:30

Pattern is Abrazo from the most recent Twist Collective. Its knit in knitpicks new tonal lace yarn, and I love it. Its one of the first (if not the absolute first) attempts at lace knitting in a lace weight yarn. I did find it difficult to get used to. Its not like knitting with nose hairs, as its been suggested by other knitters opposed to knitting with lace weight, but it is a little tricky. The results are stunning though, and definitely worth it.

This pattern actually called for knitting in beads, which I omitted because I hadn't done that before either, but I might contemplate it at sometime. This designer has a new pattern in knitty called Annis which is very similar to this one, except it uses nupps instead of beads. I might try this one too.

Can you believe that some people never block their work? I'm sure that its not lace knitters. Blocking this was a real joy, seeing how the pattern opened up.

A sewing post - and a craft by Kev!

2010-05-15T00:20:00.000-02:30

I swear, Kev made something!! But first, I wanted to show off the little bingo caddy that I made. It actually turned out to be not so little. I've sewn this project before, and I found it ran a little small, especially on the base. This time I wanted it a little larger, so I just kind of made it up as I went along, using the pattern more as a recipe. The pattern can be found here by the way. I used some more of the fabric that I got from the 99 cent dress from Old Navy. I love it, and I still have enough for another bingo caddy, maybe two, if I don't make it so friggin huge. Its hard to tell from the photos, but trust me...huge. And here is a close up of the cute little needle felted beads that I put on the ends of the ties.

This past week, I had to give a little talk about spinning to my Trefoil Guild members. I brought my wheel in to show the ladies, and I also brought along my spindle. I showed off my handspun yarns and all my fibers. And.....I had Kev make them each a spindle for them to take home and try themselves. Here he is holding them all. I am so proud of his work. Each spindle is well balanced, and seems to spin great. The girls seemed to enjoy the talk and demonstrations. I'm not sure that I convinced any of them to take spinning up as a hobby, but I really tried.

Still loving the Crochet

2010-05-01T01:23:00.001-02:30

I finished the little dress, which turned out to be adorable. I donated to the Girl Guides fundraiser silent auction. I know the lady that bought it, so I will be secretly watching her child this summer to see if she wears it. This was such a cute design, and the designer couldn't be sweeter. She contacted me on Ravelry to let me know that she liked my rendition of her design. I did use a heavier gauged yarn than recommended and consequently ended up with a size to fit a 2 year old even though I crocheted the smallest size.

And here is my progress on the rhubard scarf. What a great pairing of stitch pattern and yarn! I'm loving the result, though I'm getting a little tired of scarves. I just finished knitting Summit from the most recent issue of Knitty. I modified mine to make a more narrow version because I didn't have enough of the yarn to make a full sized version. I used Knitpick's Stroll kettle dyed in the auburn colourway. Overall, I'm happy with this as it resulted in a nice spring scarf. Blocking was tricky though!

What I've been up to.

2010-04-22T23:25:00.000-02:30

Its been a while since I've blogged. So much for my resolution to blog more, but in my defence, I was ill. Strep throat to be precise. And at the worse possible time. I went to visit Amy last week. I had all of these plans to go yarn shopping. I even had Kev convinced to go wheel shopping with me. He even knew that I was talking about a spinning wheel, not actual tires or a vehicle. All that I managed to do (in the fibre realm) was to buy some books and magazines. I did get to take in some amazing performances by the students of Bishop's University. Other than that, I slept. And took medication.

Prior to our trip, I got on a crochet jag. Brought about by National Crochet month and our little CAL on Ravelry. So here is a look at some crochet projects that I've been working on.

This is the Bella Dress from the most recent issue of Interweave Crochet. I finally broke down and bought a subscription. This was my first issue and I was not dissappointed. This little dress features a fabric skirt sewn in after. I just love the coordinating fabric. It came from a tent dress that I bought from Old Navy on sale for 99cents!! I guess I'm still in denial that Heather is having another boy. I really wanted this dress to be for her new baby. Maybe she'll still let me put it on him.

This is the Noro Catherine Wheel Scarf. I'm making mine out of a ball of Zauberbal Crazy and one ball of Knit Pick Palette. I love how its working up. This was my go to project on our little trip. Normally, I knit or crochet like a bandit while travelling. Sadly, I hardly worked on it at all. That just goes to show you, how sick I really felt.

Scrumming

2010-04-02T13:01:00.000-02:30

Or Freeform crochet. March was crochet month. Over on ravelry I participated in this crochet along. Each day in March a different set of instructions were given by different 'designers'. I was March 27th designer. I had everyone crochet grannysquares in remembrance or honour of their grannies/nans. My finished ....erm....thing is this. Here it is in all its glory. Lots of new and interesting techniques and stitches here. I know, its kind of odd, but some people make great things out of freeform crochet. Check out Prudence Mapstone. She is the queen of freeform crochet. I think I may hang this in my imaginary studio. My plan is to hang one of these each year that I participate in the freeform along. I suspect it will look interesting when I have several of them done. Oh, and someday, I'll have that studio too.

I think I may be in love

2010-03-26T22:54:00.000-02:30

With this combination of yarn and mitten pattern. I'm not usually a person to use the recommended yarn. I almost always will try to substitute based on what I have in my stash. I certainly never knit with the exact same colourway. Except this time. I purchased the exact same yarn brand - Malabrigo, in the exact same colours - Emerald blue and Carrot as the pattern is recommending. And oh my, how I love it. These mittens are so fun, they are practically knitting themselves.

In other news, I joined a yarn club of sorts. Its Leethal Quick knits Club, by Lee Meridith. I love her patterns and her work. She is genius. She uses mostly recycled/reclaimed yarn and materials, which I love, love, love. Her patterns are quick, quirky and fun. I really wanted to support her work and join this club. So far, I've received March's mail out which had a photography theme. When I grow up, I want to be a photographer. Some day I'll own a good camera, but for now, I love my little Canon Power shot. The package included two mini skeins of yarn, two fun little patterns and some extras - one of which was this neat little mesh thingy that you hold over your camera lens to produce a nice twinkly effect with lights. Here is a photo taken in my kitchen. I suspect there would have been more twinkling if all lights in the fixture were working and if it were indeed dark enough to require lights. And yes, that is a big pile o snow outside my window. Late March does not equal spring in Labrador (even though we have had the mildest winter on record)

I'm not sure what is going on with Blogger. I used to be able to somewhat format my photos, now they are just going in here all helter skelter like. Oh well, I'm sure it makes sense to someone.

I think I may start a tradition

2010-03-22T22:14:00.000-02:30

I was getting kind of bored with my knitting. Not that the stuff that I'm currently knitting isn't challenging, because it is. But, its just not ....... fun. I seem to need a fun project on the go all the time to keep my knitting fresh. Otherwise knitting sometimes looses its appeal. Now that statement is probably a little too strong. It will never loose its appeal. Knitting will always be my boyfriend. But I like knitting things that I see progress quickly. I love self striping yarns. They always keep me entertained. You should see my stash. It is crazy. And the amount of self striping yarn is ridiculous. I actually got a Jimmy Beans order today. The whole point of the order was that Jess and I wanted some Malabrigo worsted to make the Love Bytes mittens. Since we had to pay about 14$ shipping, I decided to throw in some Noro Kuryeon. I also wanted to try Mini Mochi. No pattern in mind - just because.

Sorry, I've kind of gone off on a tangent there. The title of my post is about traditions. My daughter's best friend since forever is Lucy. Lucy loves interesting hats. In fact, I've made Lucy a mohawk hat, a princess Leiah hat, a Tepes Hat and now this year for her birthday she will be receiving the Dead Fish hat. I think she'll like it. Morgan does. He looks pretty cute with it on too. Well, he looks pretty cute with it off too, but I'm biased. Pattern is Dead Fish Hat from Knitty and the yarn is Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes. I needle felted on the eyes. So much easier than sewing. Great pattern. I highly recommend it.

A Short Winter

2010-03-14T20:00:00.003-02:30

A mild winter thats for sure. We haven't had those long periods of weeks on end where its been 40 below (Celcius). In fact, I recall only 1 real week of it sometime in January. And we haven't had a lot of snow. Spring will arrive shortly in Labrador. It makes sense then, that I'm knitting these heavey boot socks for Kevin.

He will wear these hunting and cutting wood I expect. Though, likely not until October with the way things are going. I don't mean that I won't finish them until October. (though, with me that remains a distinct possibility). I just mean that its been so mild that these aren't altogether necessary anymore.

The pattern and the yarn are both by Briggs and Little - an east coast favorite. Great pattern, neat little heel. I'll likely make these again.

Not quite there yet

2010-03-03T21:38:00.003-03:30

But, I'm not entirely disappointed with my showing at the Knitting Olympics either. Sure, I didn't finish. But, I came pretty close. The body of the vest is done. I've only to knit the neck and the sleeve ribbing. And duplicate stitch in the green stitches on the back. And weave in the ends. Not too bad really for 17 days.

I know in my heart that this was a challenge I could have completed. I'll admit to distraction. Damn you drop spindle. Why is it that when I'm doing the Tour de Fleece, I'm distracted by my knitting and when I'm doing the Knitting Olympics I'm distracted by my spinning. I'm thinking it must be some sort of personality fault of mine.

I'll also admit to being distracted by the real Olympics. I was riveted! From the opening ceremonies and that first gold medal by Alex Biladeau to Sidney Crosby's goal, I was captivated. I am so proud of my country and never knew I was so patriotic. I even went out and bought some 'Go Canada' gear to help cheer on the hockey teams. Here is Max demonstrating!

I plan on finishing up the rest of the vest soon, and then who knows. No real plans. Exciting isn't it? I still have those gift certificates to spend at Distinctive Knitting...about 340$ worth!! I love my family and friends...and boss! Even more exciting is that I was talking to Mrs March (owner of my LYS, Distinctive Knitting) and she is going to start carrying Fleece Artist! OMG...and I am not an OMG type of girl. But...OMG!

In other news my beautiful daughter is home for her reading break. This makes me so happy. She brought back a ukelele. And she is playing it...quite well in fact. Max..not so much, but at least he is trying.

Kev just got back from a hockey tournament in Moncton. He always brings me back a gift whenever or whereever he travels. This time he brought me back a book called Knit Two by Kate Jacobs. Its a sequel to her first book called...Knit Night? or Friday Night Knitting Club? Despite me not remembering the name it did make an impression on me and I did like the book. Brain candy, I guess. A nice light read. Nothing too serious, and that is the way I like my books and movies sometimes.

Don't think I'll make it.

2010-02-26T22:59:00.005-03:30

Here is where I am so far. I've only 2 more days to knit the back and the ribbing. Bloody hell, I don't think I can do it. Just blogging quickly and have to get back to it.

And since I was the first project to log this pattern on Ravelry, I had no one elses to look at for comparison. I now today see that another person has test knit this for knitpicks. And she duplicate stitched the green parts on. Bloody f$#*&&ing hell. I could have saved my sanity and a little time there. No where in the pattern does it say that. I intarsia -ed the larger blocks and fair isle -ed the green bits and let me tell you about the mess on the back. Wait...I'll show you.

The late Doris Saunders once told me of the time when she exhibited some single thread embroidery peices and they were displayed backwards because it was so difficult to tell the back from the front. Her work was that neat!! That won't be a problem with my vest. I'll likely choke myself or at least rip an ear off the first time I wear this thing.

Oh well, off to plug away at the stockingnette. You all know how well I'll do with that. At least the hockey game is on.

Knitting Olympics Update

2010-02-21T15:39:00.004-03:30

I'm behind on my Olympic knitting. I had hoped to be at the halfway mark by now since we are into the second half of the real Olympics. I figure I've completed about 1/4 of the vest. I haven't given up yet. I really need to focus and stop being distracted by other projects such as this one. Its another pair of Newfoundland Mittens .

I'm not sure why I'm finding these a distraction. Its not like I haven't knit these before. 6 or 7 times in fact, perhaps more since I didn't document my preravelry knitting too much. I'm just not focused at all. Perhaps its because I've made a few mistakes on the colourwork. In the interest of time, Ive decided to forge ahead and fix the mistakes later with duplicate stitch. I'm pretty certain that the mistakes can be managed with that strategy. We'll see.

I just can't stop!

2010-02-16T23:16:00.005-03:30

I have seriously fallen in love with spindle spinning. Ever since I bought Abby Franquemont's new book Respect the Spindle. In the book, Abby says that your productivity will go up and maybe even increase above what you are able to produce on a wheel. I believe it. I'm less likely to haul out my wheel, but I have no hesitation about spindling for 5 minutes here and there. I'm getting better too. My singles are more consistent, and I'm dropping my drop spindle less and less. Though I did drop it - point side down - on Spencer twice in the past half hour - don't say I didn't get the look from him.

Knitting olympic update - vest is progressing nicely. I'm less tangled and my tension is ...er...okay I guess. Well, you be the judge. It looks like argyl doesn't it? Then, I'm happy.

And belated Valentines greetings. Here is my Max enjoying his Vday cupcake. Cutie. Loves him, I do.

I will close this blog post with absolute, concrete proof that we are in the throws of some serious global warming here in Labrador. This is a picture of the mighty Churchill (or Hamilton or Grand depending upon your political views) River.

This was taken yesterday. Now, its not broken up or anything, but I certainly would not venture ou on it on skidoo or anything else for that matter. Its February for crying out loud. Old Man Winter - when I said we needed a break, I didn't mean a permanent break. I want you back okay. I'm not too proud to beg. Remember, we just bought a new Skidoo in November. I've been on it once! Thats what happens when I do something in anticipation of enjoying our cold weather. The same thing happened the year we bought the snow plough. (Not that I consider ploughing snow enjoyment). We didn't get hardly any snow.

Olympic Update

2010-02-13T23:08:00.007-03:30

I watched the opening ceremonies last evening. They were gorgeous and moving. My step daughter Aimee was telling me that 'a rumour' was circulating on the internet that Arnold Swartzenager would be the final torch bearer and lighting the cauldron. I knew this was wrong and I insisted there was no way a non Canadian would be bringing in the torch. In my mind, it would have to be a great Canadian - a great Canadia athlete - like Wayne Gretzky, I told her. I was beyond excited and more than a little smug to be right.

As soon as the ceremonies began, I began the knitting olympics. I cast on for my vest. A provisional cast on. Note that I didn't swatch (gasp). I decided to cast on for the largest size and immediately regreted it. It was humungous. I ripped it out and recast on 2 sizes down. I may regret this too, but hey, it'll fit someone right? Besides, I've started a Christmas box. More about that later.

My vest is argyl, knit in peices from the bottom up, with intarsia blocks of colour. What a tangled mess I had after the first hour or so. I immediately went out this morning and bought some little plastic bobbins to wind the yarn onto rather than having whole skeins tangled up. Here is how it looks so far.

So, onto the Christmas gift box idea. I've decided that throughout 2010, I will knit various small projects that appeal to me as a knitter. They will be random projects for no one in particular. Then come next Christmas, I will decide if any of these projects will be appropriate for anyone on my gift list. This probably isnt' the most efficient way of gift knitting, but I like the idea of knitting what I like. So far, I have 3 different things in the Christmas gift box. Here they are, in no particular order.

Hmmm, interesting. Until now, I didn't realize they were all for the neck. This larger shawl thingy was something that has been languishing for over a year now, I think. Its from Knitpicks Suri dream, and was an absolute nightmare to knit. Its a brushed alpaca and it was so hard keeping the stitch count straight on such a hairy yarn.
Here is a rusched cowl. I really enjoyed knitting this, and it just flew off of the needles. The yarn is Merisoft by Punta Yarns. The pattern is a freebie called Tamarind Cowl.

And finally here is a little neck kerchief made with my handspun. The pattern is from Joelle Hoverson's book Knitted Gifts. I own many knitting books. Some would say an alarming number really. I have knit 5 projects from this book! I love this book, alot. Its been in my aresnal for some time now, and I keep going back to it.

And speaking of too many knitting books, Greg gave me an Amazon gift certificate for Christmas. I bought 1 knitting book All New Homespun Knits and spinning book called Respect the Spindle. I really want to be a better spindle spinner. I think with the help of this book, I'll get the hang of it. Here is what I've done so far.
I want to share with you a little prize that I won from entering a blog contest. This little cutie was knitted by this lady. She has an etsy store too. Definitly worth checking out. Her patterns are cute.

The Knitting Olympics

2010-02-12T22:11:00.002-03:30

The opening ceremonies are about to start...in about 20 minutes. And I will be casting on for this vest. This will be my first Olympics and I'm excited. I also like this vest. I somehow ordered two kits by mistake. Don't know how that happened. It must be the wool fumes. Wish me luck.

I am battling an injury, so I'm not sure that I'll be in peak condition, but I'm sure I'll be able to pull off a spectacular finish. Here's hoping.

Comfy Cardigan

2010-02-07T19:10:00.004-03:30

I finished my cardigan. Its from the Knitter's Book of Wool. The yarn is Knitpicks City Tweed, which is a delight to knit. I'm really hoping it will hold up well. I'm not sure I'm over my disappointment in the Knitpicks Swish DK that I knit the Tilted Duster out of a couple of years ago. It pilled like a son of a bitch and I haven't knit a sweater from a knitpicks yarn since. It hasn't turned me off of knitpicks mind you. I still love them - thier prices and service are hard to beat. I do read yarn reviews now, something I didn't really do pre tilted duster days. The City Tweed is a new yarn by knitpicks, so I guess the jury is still out on it.

I bought these buttons at Terry's Tents (a local craft/tenting supply store). Terry told me he just got the buttons in. I love them.

I had debated making buttons from caribou antlers. Kev even brought me back the antlers from his most recent hunt. But I think I'll leave the button making to the experts. These square buttons just suit the cardigan so well.

Overall, I'm happy with the cardigan and I expect it will get plenty of use.

Later Gator

2010-01-30T23:11:00.003-03:30

Wanna see something cute?

Yeah, I'm talking about Max, but the mittens are kinda cute too. I dreamed last night that I knit a pair of these in a khaki green colour and had a red stripe on the mittens where the eyes go. You know, like the Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now, I must make them. Which one wears the red? Donnatello? I remember my brother loving them. I wonder would he appreciate a pair of ninja turtle mitten?

The pattern details - "Later 'Gator" mittens from Stitch n Bitch Nation. Knit in the smallest size. Brother Bradley would need a much larger size and some serious pattern altering, so no, I don't think I'll be making them. Knit these in Cascade 220, a work horse yarn that I cannot see any difference in it and Paton's Classic. The mouth is actually knit in Lopi since it twas the only red I had on hand. The teeth are french knots. I finally figured out how to do a french knot.

The designer warns that these mitts will cause impromtu puppet shows. They did indeed. I even ended up getting nipped once or twice. Now I have to make another pair for Morgan. I have this thing about making a pattern twice. I hate doing it.

But, I love Morgan. So, I will make them. I have to find the actual sewon eyes for him though. I glued Max's on, but I'm afraid glue on eyes won't cut it for Morgan, as picky as he is.

Random Sunday or How I love Felted Slippers

2010-01-24T20:43:00.007-03:30

In keeping with my once weekly random blog post, here is this week's offering.

Fiddle head mittens - FINISHED. Totally inspired by Patty finishing her's ahead of me, even though she bought her kit at least a couple of months after me.
Squirrel Sampler Mittens. By the same designer as the fiddleheads, just not a kit this time. I love, love, love them. They are addicting to knit. I'm planning on making the liners out of knitpicks Suri dream which is a brushed alpaca. In theory this should be nice, but I'm betting (based on the swatch that I knit) it will be a pain in the arse to knit.
Comfy Cardi - working on the skirt. I will likely finish this by the end of the month. I'm actually spacing this out now. I gave myself 3 months to finish it. It astounds me that I may finish it in a month

My first FO for 2010 - felted slippers, crocheted at that. Wow, my first finished FO for the year is crochet. And oh, how darling they are.

I just love how warm these are. They fit quite nicely. They are a little long in the toes, but thats okay. I felted these in my front loading washer (tis true!) I have to wash them about 3 times to get them down to the size that I wanted. Just in time really because, I have somehow misplaced my French Press felted slippers (see several posts back)

Upcoming plans? 'Later Gator' mittens from StitchnBitch nation for Max and Morgan
Lace. I have tonnes of lace weight around, and have yet to knit a single lace weight item. I want to, I really do. I should have added lace to my fiber goals for 2010. I even signed up for the 10 shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry. I'm delusional really. There is no way I can do that, but I'd like to.

Random Saturday

2010-01-16T20:48:00.006-03:30

In my efforts to blog more, may I present Random Saturday. Every Saturday I will post some photos and descriptions of what I've been up to this week.

First up....Jerky.

Amy is gone back to Sherbrooke. She left a lot of stuff behind. I had to box up much of it. She loves caribou jerky and was hoping that I would send some. I thought it was a very remote possibility as we have no caribou. (not from lack of trying on Kev and his brother John's part) But, as luck would have it, we were invited to Nat and Blairs for supper on Thursday evening for caribou burgers. Blair gave me about a pound of the ground meat with the cure and seasonings all done. All I had to do was put it in my jerky pistol and fire.

Next up are my fiddlehead mittens. I was on a real roll with these babies. I have one finished - lining and all. The second one is done with just the lining to knit. My right wrist is giving me some grief so I've been knitting continental more often to try to allieviate some of the tenderness. Its much faster. I had the thumb gusset all completed and was almost up to the part where I had to decrease for the top of the mitten when I decided to turn the lining into the mitt to see how it was going. Well, you can see what a collosal mistake I made. I put the thumb on the wrong side.

And finally I'll show off my comfy cardigan.

I strongly suspect that I will have this one finished in time for next Saturday's random post. I only have to finish the left sleeve, then pick up stitches at the waist and knit a 'skirt' onto the cardigan. Then I have to seam the underarms and weave in the ends, sew on buttons (find buttons that I like first) and then block. Well, I'm hoping to have most of the knitting done by next Saturday then, I'm not totally sure about it being actually finished, finished, ya know?

2010 Goals - Knitting and Otherwise

2010-01-13T23:30:00.003-03:30

Knit some lace - in lace weight yarn. Note - may have to work up to this...errrr...down I guess really. Meghan (of 'Stitch It' podcast fame) likens it to knitting with nose hair. We shall see. My one attemp at knitting in lace weight was an unmitigated failure, but that may have to do with the fact that I was too cocky to use a life line. Won't be making that mistake again.

Knit more EZ patterns. (That would be knitting royalty Elizabeth Zimmerman to you non knitters out there). I've been lucky enough to acquire 2 more of EZ's books in 2009. My hope is to have the all some day. I now have 3. I've knit only 4 of her patterns so far. A baby surprise jacket, 2 pairs of mitered mittens, 1 ganomy hat, and one baby surplice jacket. She was brilliant. I want to make a tomten jacket and maybe the seamless hybrid sweater in the future.
Continue exploring colourwork. 2009 was a good year for colourwork for me. I am now a convert. I want to continue in this vein and perhaps even knit a full adult sized fair isle sweater.
Blog more and include more photos of non knitting stuff. I'm not a photographer and I'm not about to convince myself that its something that I'd like to do or even be able to do well. But, I am living in one of the most pristine places on the planet. I'm not sure for how much longer I can continue to say that sadly. Development is occuring here at too rapid a pace. I'd like to document some of the beauty of Labrador for the next generation to see.
Get rid of some of the crap in my home. I'm a pack rat. I've come to terms with it, but the time has come to start getting rid of some stuff. I'm running out of room for my yarn. My china cabinet could really hold alot of yarn. Right now its full of a bunch of crap that is of no value to me - sentimental or monetary. And imagine how pretty a china cabinet full of yarn will look. Especially all the handspun thats tucked away.
Knit with my handspun. Really, there is too much of it tucked away. Its too, too precious not to be doing something with it. Even if it is, displaying it in my china cabinet and admiring it. There is a new knitty pattern called 'King of Confidence', that is just calling out to me.

So, that about sums up what I'd like to accomplish in the upcoming year. In keeping with goal #5 here are some photos that I took while at my cabin this weekend. It was pretty frosty.

Happy New Year.

2010-01-05T23:32:00.003-03:30

Can you believe its 2010? Not me. Well, I'm not too sorry to see 2009 go. It hasn't been kind to us really, at least the last month. Mr. C is no longer with us. He passed away on Dec 26. He was a kind and gentle soul. I will miss his laughter and his wit. The world is a sadder place without him.

A lot of knitters will chose to cast on a big project at the start of 2010 and this year I decided to do the same. I got 'The Knitter's Book of Wool' for Christmas, and I was anxious to start a new project. I will be making Pam Allen's Comfi Carigan. This cardigan appeals to me as a knitter and as someone who wears a cardigan every single day. I'm making this in Knitpicks City Tweed HW in the colour marsh.

The construction is interesting as it starts from the center back and is worked outwards. The yarn is really lovely to work with. I'm hoping it will wear well, unlike the knitpicks swish that pilled like a son of a bitch after a couple of wears.

Here is what I have so far.

A close up of the tweedy yarn. I just love tweeds.

Can't Believe that I haven't blogged this...

2009-12-13T11:27:00.002-03:30

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My friend Sheryl got married! I was the MC for her wedding. I'm not sure how I got talked into it, but it went something like it being an honour, and there isn't a whole lot that I wouldn't do for Sheryl etc. And it was August when she asked and November seemed such a long way away, and it seemed as though I would have plenty of time to prepare. Well, needless to say I was up until 1am the night before, putting finishing touches on my speeches, jokes, toasts etc. 1am is late for me. Somehow, I also volunteered to make a wrap for her, because, lets face it...Labrador in November is pretty freaking cold. I also volunteered Jess to do half of the knitting on the wrap.

Sheryl picked out this pattern herself. Its called 'Deciduous' by Sheepy Time knits. The good thing about this pattern that worked well for 2 person knitting is that is it knit for the center outwards using a provisional cast on. So, I knit one side, then handed it off to Jess to knit the other. Jess had a little trouble getting our tensions to match, but did so well enough that only a seasoned kntter would notice. We had a funny conversation at work that went some thing like, "I'm loose, but Jess is looser" Dirty minds had a great chuckle at that. I also worried that white leaves would look like feathers and Sheryl might look like a giant partridge. But not so, Jess thinks the leaves look like frost in white. I agree.

In any case Sheryl was very pleased with the wrap. It is now carefully folded and lovingly put away, while her wedding dress remains in a heap on her bedroom floor.

Many Mittens

2009-12-13T11:02:00.002-03:30

Karen and I have been very busy getting ready for 2 craft sales. They are both fundraisers for girl guides. We are going to Gander next October for the Guiders conference once again. We weren't planning on going, but 2010 will be 100 years of guiding in Canada and the celebration is supposed to be huge. We are not ones to miss out on a good party.

Julie donated an old wool camp blanket to us. Karen sewed up the mittens and I knit the cuffs (pattern can be found here http://www.purlbee.com/felt-mittens-with-knitted-cuff/ at the purlbee) And we both needle felted on the designs.

The mittens were a hit. We sold each and every last pair, and I also have 3 more pairs that I haven't found the time to knit the cuffs on. We are having another sale in February. And guess what? We still wear mittens here in February. I can so picture some nice heart themed mittens for V day.

Here is a close up of my favorite ones (that is the favorites of the ones I made. Karen, though new to needlefelting has a great eye for these things, and all of hers are my favorites)

Breast Cancer Scarf

2009-11-22T14:41:00.003-03:30

I bought this kit from Jimmy Beans Wool. Its the first time I've ever shopped there and I was curious as to how it would go. They were fast, and the shipping was reasonable. I will likely be buying from them again.

The first thing you have to do with this kit is to cut the yarns for the fringe. The kit is 5 different pink yarns held together. Its a simple lace pattern knit on size 19!!! needles. It was a bit like knitting with turkey basters. It was super fast, and I think the results are quite nice.

$5 from the sale of this kit go to support Breast Cancer charities. I'm going to donate the finished scarf to our local Cancer society. Every Christmas they hold a soiree. They have a silent auction and there are usually loads of local items that have been donated. This time I'm going to have something there too. I'm curious as to how much it will bring in.

Its going to be kind of hard to give up really. I think it looks quite stunning with my black jacket.

Adventures in Felting

2009-11-06T21:34:00.002-03:30

I've been wanting to make myself a pair of hand knit slippers for sometime now. We have very little carpet in our home - mostly tile and hardwood. In the Labrador winter this can lead to very cold toes. In my quest for the perfect hand knit slipper I came across this little gem of a pattern called French Press Felted Slippers. The pattern can be found on raverly and is worth every penny. I sometimes find that felting patterns can be so unpredictable. And slipper patterns often may look cute, but be so impractical. But these are cute and practical. They stay on over the heel and they felted to just the right size after two washes in my front loading washer. And let me tell you, they were huge. I jokingly showed them to Kev prefelting and told him that I thought there must be an error in the pattern because they came out a little (a little!!) to big. Try 42cm long. See??? Huge.

But boy, oh boy are they ever cute. I'm wearing them now. I'm debating a little needle felting to embelish them a bit, but for now, I'll leave well enough alone because they are just so cute!!

This is what happens when we buy a skidoo

2009-10-25T22:08:00.004-02:30

Seriously. I know that we pretty much live north of everywhere. Not quite north of 60 but pretty darn close. We bought a new snowmobile yesterday. Kev promptly comes home and checks out the weather channel. He tells me (I thought jokingly) that we were gonna have 30cm of snow. Not joking! (Oh, and isn't Morgan just the cutest thing with his new haircut?!)

All of this snow has put me in a mitten mood. Considering all the other moods that I could have chosen from, I'd say a mitten mood is pretty good. Then again, I'm always in a mitten mood. They remain my most favorite thing to knit. I'm thinking the second pair my end up being sent to Warm Hands.

The fair isle mitten is called 'Fiddlehead' mittens. I bought these from Tanis fiber arts off of etsy. I love her yarn. I've bought several skeins from Mouline in Montreal. The pattern is from Hello Yarn. I've been coveting the pattern for quite some time now. When I saw the pairing of one of my favorite yarns with this beautiful pattern, I just couldn't resist. These will be mine. The great thing about these mittens are that they are fully lined. Essentially like knitting two pairs of mittens, but oh so warm.

The second mitten is called 'Mittens Interupted'. They are an Interweave pattern written by Eunny Jang. I've been meaning to knit these for some time too, but never had the correct yarn. I got a knitpick order this week and it had some Wool of the Andes Bulky. So, I cast on right away. Two pairs of mittens on the go at once. One pair is TV knitting (specifically Criminal Minds, my new favorite). The second pair requires a little more concentration. I must admit to enjoying both patterns immensly. Enough to knit them again maybe. (Easy to say that when I've only gotten about 1 mitten done on each right?) Isn't that slipped stitch pattern very sharp looking? There is not much stretch to it. Its almost like a woven fabric. But very dense and warm. Great for all that snow.

Magnificant!

2009-10-22T23:17:00.004-02:30

At least I think they are. I said earlier in the year that my knitting goal this year was to do more colourwork. Here is a fine example of this. They are called Smargagdi mittens - a free pattern that I found through Ravelry.

They are knit in Noro Kuryeon sock (thats the self striping part) and Knitpicks Palette (the grey part) The pattern actually calls for both parts to be knit in the Kuryeon but in all the finished mittens that I saw on Ravelry that used just kuryeon looked very different. That is, each mitten was beautiful, but looked nothing alike. Fraternal twins if you will. But, I wanted identical. So I used the Palette as a base. I ended up have to hack and slash away at the kuryeon to make the second match, but I think I did a pretty good job. Except..... they are exactly the same. And of course our hands are reverse images of themselves. So I have one mitten with grey diamond print on the palm and the other has the grey diamond print on the palm. The inverse image on opposite sides. See what I mean?

I should have realized that when I was so meticulously trying to match the colour runs. But its okay. They are still beautiful. They are even beautiful inside out.

Of course we have reason to be wanting mittens. This is the view of the mighty Churchill River from my workplace. Beautiful! A bit early for this crap, but beautiful nonetheless.

And Now for something totally different

2009-10-12T23:34:00.003-02:30

Fondant. Marshmallow fondant. No, I didn't make it. My friend Karen did. She even made the cupcakes. I got to play with the fondant. Here is the result.

She says its not too hard to make. But I've been fooled by Karen before. But those cupcakes were dead easy to decorate. With results like that, I might be foolhardy enough to try making the fondant on my own.

Some sets of things and other stuff

2009-10-12T00:47:00.006-02:30

Been a while since I posted. Who knew? Well, remember that stuff that was on the bobbin? Its now off. I can now officially say that I can spin with a backwards long draw. Not well, mind you, but I can do it none the less.

Here is proof.

Also, I've been knitting a little. I will admit to a decline in the knitting mojo. I don't know whats going on. Its fall. That time of year when knitters just about go crazy with desire to knit. Not me. I haven't knit a thing on the vine yoke cardigan since I came back from vacation. Instead I've been content to fritter my time away with knitting little projects on huge needles. Instant payoffs. Oh, and crochet. Proof again.

That's a crocheted version of the 'Bainbridge Scarf'. And here is proof of some quick bulky knits. These are from a free pattern off of Jimmy Bean's website (who I just placed an order with for the first time) called Neckies.

They are cute. Here is what they look like when worn. I love bulky neckwarmers. Especially if garter stitch is involved.

Cute or what?

A spinning post

2009-09-19T11:38:00.003-02:30

Its been a long time hasn't it. Its almost as though, now that I actually own the wheel, I don't feel compelled to spin as much. The year that I leased the wheel from RGB I was a spinning fiend. I felt that I had a year to spin the yarn that I wanted and that I had better get in as much spinning as I could. Now that the wheel is mine (I should name her don't you think?) I'm of the opinion that I can put off spinning until the mood strikes me.

Well, the mood has struck. When we were in Montreal, I purchased Amy Kings new book 'Spin Control'. This book is all about taking control of your spinning and spin using different techniques and tensions to get the yarn you want, instead of just letting the yarns happen. Up until now, I've been letting the yarns happen. I've gotten comfortable with my technique of predrafting and short forward draw. All my yarns essentially were turning out the same, unless I plied them differently. They were almost all 2 ply, almost all sport weight. Here is my most recent example of my standard handspun.

Its pretty mind you, but basically just like every other yarn that I've spun. (Except for those bulky thick and thins in the beginning, that I couldn't repeat now to save my life)

Until now. I think that I've finally grasped the backwards long draw technique. I'm super happy about this as it is so fun to do and you end up with a bulkier, loftier yarn. I came across a bump of roving that I deemed destined to become a bulky single and set about following Amy's advice and practised until the technique started working for me.

Amy recommends finishing a bulky single by shocking it a bit to felt the fibre a little. It helps the lofty single hold together better. In my inifinite wisdom, the roving that I'm using is superwash merino, so there will be no felting it. But, I guess the point is all about practising. Here is what it looks like so far. It is an absolute joy to spin this way. Totally relaxing too.

Mini Shawl and more Ysolda Love

2009-09-12T11:32:00.004-02:30

I've just finished knitting Damson by Ysolda. This pattern has been #1 on Ravelry's list for some time now with 311 of these being made. Its is a simple fun little knit that takes just 1 skein of sock yarn. Unfortunately for me, my sock yarn came up a few yards short. But, I knew this before I started it, so its my own fault. The original calls for Malibrigo sock which runs about 440 yard. I used Tanus fiber fingering weight which only had 400 yard. I love this yarn though.

But, I had to end the pattern early. I didn't get those nice scalloped edges that I should have, but thats okay. Its still lovely. I adore this colour. I guess its because we are running quickly into fall here. The leaves are starting to turn already!

And just for kicks, here is a picture of it prior to blocking. Quite the difference isn't it?

Single Skein September

2009-09-06T12:17:00.003-02:30

The girls on 'Stash and Burn' are hosting a Single Skein September contest, with the goal being knitting out your single skeins. I'm so guilty of buying that single skein. Especially when traveling. So, I've knit this little beauty. I just love cowls. They are so much more practical than a skarf.

The pattern is called "Wicker Cafe Cowl" and its a freebie. The yarn is Cascade 220. I know this yarn is a staple in the US, but its the first time I've ever used it. Quite nice, not unlike Paton's Classic.

Its House Cup time again

2009-09-03T18:42:00.004-02:30

And I'm busy knitting up a storm. Well, a hat anyway. For "Herbology" homework this month, we were challenged to knit with something with at least 50% plant based fiber. I finished this hat (for Amy) out of 55%bamboo , 45% wool yarn. It was an interesting yarn to work with. Certainly much nicer than 100% bamboo of which I am most definitely not a fan.

The pattern is from Knit.1 magazine. Its a neat pattern and I really liked knitting the leaf motif. I may actually try to incorporate into a pair of mittens later on, but not out of the bamboo blend as it would be too cool to be practical for mittens

Montreal - Again!

2009-08-31T10:37:00.008-02:30

Kevin and I are just back from dropping Amy off for her second year of university. I can hardly believe it! I still have nightmares - yes, nightmares - that I'm still in university. And now my beautiful girl is doing her second year.

This year she opted for an apartment -res life not being for her. So, she needed some help with getting her apartment set up. Here is a picture of her very college-like apartment. I think they will be happy there.

We drove to Sherbrooke (12 hours to Baie Comeau - overnight there, then 7 hours to Sherbrooke) and spent several days there cleaning, buying furniture, assembling furniture and what not. A picture of Amy and Lucy at the Brick looking for furniture. I don't think the employees were too impressed with us.

Then we went to Montreal. Again. I can't believe that I've been to Montreal twice this year. And this time we drove. We gave Kev a GPS for his birthday and I really think its the best money that we've ever spent. Seriously, a life saver - well, most definitely a relationship saver as prior to this I was always given the task of map reading and lets just say that my map reading skills aren't up to par. Having a GPS is the only way to drive. I know there is no way that we would have been comfortable driving in Montreal without it. The city of Sherbrooke is only about the size of St. John's Newfoundland, so I'm sure that we could have managed that one, but still - amazingly easy.

So guess what I did when I was in Montreal. Yep, I went to Mouline. The owner guy actually remembered me from last time. I'm not sure what that says about us (or him), but it was very nice. I bought a few things. Mostly sock yarn again. I guess because I had just purchased Cookie A's new book 'Sock Innovations'.

I've been steadily working away on the Vine Yoke Cardigan, and I suspect that I would have finished up to the back on the long drive home, but I misplaced the pattern. I do have the right front and sleeve finished. I'm really enjoying the pattern. I'm not so certain that my yarn choice was the right one as it is a loosly spun single that is already developing a halo. I hope it doesn't pill too much.

And I finally finished my One Skein Stole from the Noro Kuryeon sock yarn. It turned out very pretty. I'm not sure how wearable this will be here. Perhaps it will become a gift.

I'm done, I'm done...hurrah

2009-08-21T14:33:00.003-02:30

Leisl is finished. She is gorgeous. I'm happy and all is right with the world. I cast on for Ysolda's Vine Yoke Cardigan and I've just finished the right front. I'm taking 3 weeks vacation, traveling to Quebec with Amy. 3 weeks of knitting time (I hope). I wonder can I finish it in 3 weeks? That is rather ambitious, but we'll see. Now, I'm off to wind up those skeins so I can have them to knit on the road.

Ysolda - How do I love thee?

2009-08-16T10:18:00.005-02:30

Last night 'Twist Collective' went live. That is, the online magazine published their fall issue. I am smitten with a cardigan by Ysolda Teague called Vine Yoke Cardigan. I bought the pattern within the first minute of the issue going up. This is my dream cardigan. I've been saying for some time now that I've been wanting a cardi knit side to side. I'm a sucker for any type of unusal construction. And the best part - its garter stitch. I'm a sucker for garter stitch too. I just need to see if I have any yarn in my stash that will work, because there is no way that I'm buying another sweater's worth of yarn when I have about 8 sweater's worth in my stash. I haven't really taken a close look at the pattern but I'm sure it is well written. This won't be my first Ysolda pattern. I've knit a pair of her tiny shoes. (There are two of them, just didn't get a picture)

I've also knit Ishbel. I had a bit of trouble with that one, but it was my own fault.

And I've almost finished the Leisl cardigan. I'm so close on this one that its ridiculous. I've just got about 5 inches left on one sleeve.

Overall, Ysolda's patterns are so clever and well written. They are classic. Okay, I'm off to finish the Leisl and cast on for Vine Yoke. I'm on holidays starting next week for 3 straight weeks. I wonder can I finish a sweater in 3 weeks? We are driving to Quebec. I hope I don't get motion sickness while knitting in the truck. Its a looooong drive. We'll see.

160 Yards and Counting

2009-08-02T22:22:00.002-02:30

This dirty fleece business is getting a bit monotonous. I don't mind the cleaning of it. Really, its not that bad. The carding of it is kind of boring, but again, not that bad. The thing is, I thought that when I had done these steps there would be a pay off. I'd have something really great to spin. That this fiber would be delicious and I would love spinning it. Not. No matter what technique I use, I have loads of neps. The fiber feels very matted (even though I have taken great care in the cleaning process). In any case, I have decided to go with the bulky single. I now have 160 yards of the stuff. What will I do with this? Right now, I'm thinking mittens. But I'm open to suggestions. I might even try overdying it, just to see what happens.

And, in knitting news, I haven't finished anything - and my goal to finish the stormwater shawl before August rolls in, is now completely out the window. I have, however, cast on and have knit nearly half of this stole. (Pattern found here ). It is such a fun, fast knit. I have dreams of knitting hundreds of these, and giving them away to ladies that have important birthdays. (Yeah, I was just invited to a 70th birthday of this awesome lady and I really wish that I had something like this finished and ready to go - next time, I'll be prepared). It knit in the Noro Kuryeon sock yarn. Which I think is much nicer in a stole than in a sock.

And, my tulips have finally bloomed. When my mom was here visiting she kept insisting they were going to bloom anyday. But I knew better. Here we are 2 maybe 3 weeks since they've left and they are now just blooming. Sorry mom, I was right, you were wrong.

A Hat for Muggles

2009-07-27T22:25:00.004-02:30

I was pleasantly surprised when the new summer knitty came out and it had winter patterns in it. The powers that be have done this to help us prepare for the holidays which is just a scant ... gulp ... 5 months away. I love it! There were several patterns there that I love. There is a beaded lace shawl that I've been eyeing for some time. But I couldn't resist this little baby. I ordered the exact yarn in the exact same colours as the designer. (Wooly Wormhead by the way - fantastic!) This is something I rarely - if ever - do. This hat is knit in a combination of stripes and intarsia using short rows on a straight needle. Genius. I've even purchase the yarn to make this into a 'Labrador' hat. Here Amy is modelling it on our front lawn in the much too hot for woolen hats weather that we have been blessed with.

I thought I'd include a bonus shot of the fleece. I don't know how many more pictures of dirty water that I can post, but I am slowly making my way through the 6 pounds. I've spun and finished a total of 160 yards of the stuff so far. Notice the slightly different colour? I'm not sure how to fix that. I guess I have to wash all of the stuff first and then card and then spin. But, I'm going to stick to my method of washing bits, carding bits and spinning bits. I think I've gotten about 2 pounds done so far. Just keep at it right?

Way more work than expected

2009-07-19T00:27:00.005-02:30

There is this saying that anything worth doing is worth doing well. I am trying to keep this in mind when processing this fleece. I tried spinning up that original bit that I washed and lets just say the results were less than stellar. The end yarn bore no resemblance to any yarn that I've ever seen before - not even a novelty yarn. I'm optimistic though, because the yarn was quite soft. Next to skin soft even. Take a look.

Those things, those little bits and blobs are called 'nepps*'. They sometimes result from the processing of fleece (possibility) or come from weaker fleeces (likely). Now, I'm not saying that my processing skills are so developed that I couldn't have possibly caused these nepps. I am saying that I handled the fleece parts with care, no agitation, no squeezing or wringing. I spoke to RGB (the lady that I'm buying the wheel/carder/picker from) and she recommended that I use the picker. She also recommended that I try spinning 'in the grease'.

*can you believe that they sell these nepps on etsy?

Now the picker is one scary looking device. Check it out.

I've had this thing in my possession since May '08 and have yet to use it. Blair says it looks like some sore of medeival torture device. I agree. I took a bunch of the fleece and ... I'm not sure of the right verb here... 'ran'? it through the picker. Not really an accurate verb because you kind of swing the barbed nails over the fleece. This seems to accomplish two things (besides tearing a hole in my jacket and puncturing my leg) It fluffs up the fleece and it removes quite a bit of debris. See?

So after that I decided to wash it, using the same method as I previously did. I want to see if I get different results running the fleece through the picker prior to scouring the fleece. It is really remarkable how much dirt comes out of this fleece. Here is my laundry tub after the first wash on this section of fleece.

And here is the fleece drying in the sun (on my sweater rack)

I'm hoping to get better results when I card and spin this. If not, I guess, maybe, perhaps I'll consider taking RGB's advise and trying spinning in the grease. I'm just afraid it'll muck up the equipment. And, I'd have to do it outside, because this fleece is way too stinky to consider leaving in the house as is for any length of time.

Busy with Mom

2009-07-15T22:29:00.005-02:30

My parents came to visit us for 10 days. We had a great visit with them. Dad and I went out in boat. We went to Muskrat Falls. We barbecued. Had lots of other good food to eat (fish and brewis - yummy!) And there was crafting. Mom and I crafted that is. Of course there was knitting - there is always knitting where I'm concerned. But there were other things too.

First up the knitting. We knitted dish cloths - your basic, run of the mill, garter stitch dish cloths. Can you believe that I have never knit one before now? I think its because THAT'S ALL that my mother knits. She usually gives me a big old bundle of these every year for Christmas. These are the only thing I use to wash dishes. I don't have a dishwasher. I'm not a fan of doing dishes (who is?), but I love these. I have come to expect these from my mother every year. So, I don't knit them myself. Also, I'm not a fan of the dish cloth cotton.

These are knit with knitpicks new organic cotton. Its hard to see in the pictures, but the colour is a really nice caramel colour. This cotton is actually grown that way. No dyes. Nice.

I have quite the large yarn stash. I live and breath knitting and would gladly quit my day job, if I could somehow make the same sort of living as a knitter. So, it really tortures me to know that my mother only knits dishcloths. This is the same woman who taught me to knit. She is able to knit other things. In fact, I recall a bright green Phentex pullover that she made my sister (and I secretly wanted). She also recalled several hooded sweaters that she made for us growing up. I came up with a plan to get her back into knitting things other than dishcloths. She really liked that drop stitch scarf that I made her out of my handspun for Christmas last year, but she didn't think she would be able to make it. I assured her it was quite easy and that she would have no trouble making that scarf. So, I gave some handspun 100% alpaca yarn right off the bobbin. Here it is in all its glory.

I ususally have a lot of trouble parting with my handspun, but not this time. Its for my mom - she is worth it. She just better not try to knit a dishcloth out of it.

When my parents visited us two years ago Mom and Jenna (my neice) and I went to yard sales. I have no idea why we did as I normally do not go to yard sales. But we did score some nice things back then, so we decided to give it another go. The few times that I do go yard saling, I am always on the look out for 100% wool sweaters; either to felt or shred down into reuseable yarn. I made some great finds at the yard sales we went to this past Saturday. I washed and felted them right away. This is what I made out of it.

The pattern is from Betz White's first book 'Warm Fuzzies'. (I really want to buy her second book soon). I made these more or less to show off to my mom my mad needle felting skills. Not really, since the flowers are very easy needle felting, but I did want to show her what needle felting was and how it could be used.

And then we did some painting. Rock painting. This is craft that my Mom is into. My sister too I think. Mom actually painted 3 houses, but I must have forgotten to 'document' them. I'm going to be in trouble for that.

Not bad for 10 days. And, I was still processing that dirty fleece in between all of that. But thats another blog post. Next time, I'm taking time off work.

Yes Sir, Yes Sir - 3 Bags Full

2009-07-07T23:55:00.005-02:30

Well, 1 bag full anyway. I purchased a raw Jacob fleece from here.
http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=16838148

This is the first time I've ever bought raw fleece. Its the first time I've ever intended to process raw fleece. To be quite honest, I'm not sure what prompted me to want to try this. I've been hearing some of the podcasters (Megan of Stitch it and Jasmin of Knitmore Girls) talk about the pros and cons of processing your own fleece from scratch. Hearing them talk about the process inspired me to give it a try. I hope its not something that I'll live to regret.

Here is a picture of the fleece spread out.

Pretty dirty isn't it? Well, I was expecting that. The seller did an accurate job of describing the fleece. It also had some tags on it. Not sure what tags are? Well, Megan (of Stitch It) gives a great description of tags in her most recent podcast. Tags are dingleberries. Still not sure what they are? Well, tags are bits of poop that cling to the sheep's fleece. Some shearers will remove this stuff when shearing the animal. This one had all that charm left on. I wonder what the guys in the post office thought? I hope the package wasn't too stinky while at our postal station. I'm sure the guys think I'm eccentric enough without having packages come that smell like shit.

I decided to clean about 8 oz tonight. I used Maggie Casey's method as outlined in the book 'Start Spinning'. This fleece is very greasy. Or it feels greasy to me. I have nothing really to compare it to, but it is greasy to the touch. But after two washings the fleece is no longer feeling oily. Take a look at the dirty water that was left after the first rinse.

And here it is drying on a sweater rack. I'm debating whether I'll keep on with the cleaning process or whether I'll card this stuff up and spin it right away, just to get a feel for it. Already this bit of fleece feels so much cleaner. And the best part is, it no longer stinks!! Now, there is still quite a bit of vegetable matter (VM) in here that will hopefully come out with carding, but I think (or hope) I can handle that. Wish me luck!

Tour de Fleece 2009

2009-07-03T21:23:00.005-02:30

Its back! Hurrah! I spun a lot of fibre last summer during the tour. I'm not sure if I'll get to spin as much this summer because my parents will be visiting as of Sunday. I'm not sure they will understand the madness. Here is a picture of some of the fiber that I plan on spinning.

My personal goal this year is to use the drum carder more. I really need to do something about the drive belt/band. The owner of the drumcarder had some kind of aquarium tubing rigged up. But since I plan on buying the carder, I need to invest in an actual band/belt since the aquarium tubing doesn't work well. I really enjoyed spinning the batts that I carded last year.

I plan on dyeing the natural corriedale different colours and use some of Deb Mentz's colour theory to blend, blend, blend.

The last tour, my goal was to spin enough for a sweater - which I did. I just haven't finished knitting the sweater. Its the violent green Leisl (pattern by Ysolda). Its almost finished, but not quite.

Oh, have I mentioned that I purchased a big dirty fleece. It should be here any day now. I will be processing it all by myself and documenting it all here. Megan (of Stitch it podcast fame) has been talking about it a lot on her podcast, and I'm totally inspired. I'll likely be looking for a good therapist by the time its all over, but its something that I want to try.

Rocking the Rice Crispies

2009-06-27T01:01:00.006-02:30

This is not a knitting post. Strange isn't it? I totally stole this idea from someone on craftster. Nat and Blair had their engagement party last week and I wanted to make something fun. It was a big hit. No one wanted to cut it - they all thought it was too cute. Either that, or people's tastes were too refined to enjoy the rice crispie treats. Someone asked if the ribbon was fondant. Can you imagine? Um...no. Not fondant, but a fruit roll up. Even better she says.

And in keeping with the rice crispie theme...I made this fake pizza for Morgan's first birthday party tomorrow.

I made this same sort of 'pizza' for Max's first birthday too. Its only fitting then, that I made one for Morgan. Oh, I also made these babies. I'm on a roll.

I wonder why it is that I enjoy making deserts and treats that look like something else entirely? I once made 'mock sushi' out of rice crispies, gummy worms, and fruit roll ups. The cone cupcakes are pretty tame I guess.

Starting a Tonne of Stuff, Finishing nothing

2009-06-21T11:00:00.003-02:30

This is what I've been up to lately. Starting. And more starting. I've finished practically nothing. And there are still other things that I want to cast on. I'm sure those cute baby shoes will be finished soon, as it only took an hour or so to do the first one. And they are So. Cute. Love them. Lets see if I can remember what all of these projects actually are. There is the blue baby girl's sweater.

The pink baby boots (that may or may not go with the baby sweater, depending upon which type of baby my friend has. Then there is the reversible cabled grey scarf - for my boss's 70th birthday. This is from a cashmere silk blend that is to die for.

Then, there is the storm water shawl for me. This is made from that fleece artiste seasilk blend that I bought in Bathurst last summer.

And finally there are Outside in socks from the new summer knitty. I coudn't resist these. They are so clever. So, I think its time to actually finish something

Good Luck/Bad Luck?

2009-06-13T11:01:00.003-02:30

I'm involved with girl guides. This year I had to help plan our advancement ceremony. We had 13 girls advancing. I wanted to make them each something - a little good luck trinket. I decided these lucky penny flowers would be easy and fast enough. The fact there are 13 of them? Well, lets just say, I'm glad I'm not superstitious.

Coffee Filter Yarn

2009-06-07T10:23:00.006-02:30

Last night I was reading Amy Singer's article in knittyspin. She was talking about a trip that she took to Arizon in February, and how she met with a spinning guild there. She met a lady that was spinning coffee filter - used and straight out of the package. She briefly gave a description on how it was done, so I decided to give it a go. Now, everything I've ever learned about spinning, I've learned on animal fibers. Spinning involves two things - drafting and adding twist. There wasn't a whole lot of drafting going on here. The resulting yarn is surprisingly strong.

Here are my supplies. The markers, because I couldn't bear to spin such bland colour.

Here is a coloured coffee filter.

Cut into shreds.

Attempting to draft.

Result.