Monday, September 06, 2010

Winding Down

Labor day. The summer is officially winding down. And right on schedule, the past few nights have been cool enough to turn off the air conditioning and sleep with the windows open. It feels wonderful.

I finished up the Whisper Cardigan and I absolutely love it. I should be able to get a few wearings in between too hot to even think about it and I need something warmer.

I've taken the Origami Cardi out of hibernation. It's a pretty quick knit. I found that I needed to put stitch markers after the first 4 stitches and before the last 4 stitches otherwise I would screw up the berry-in-a-box pattern. Missing yarnovers, extra yarnovers. I didn't do that for the back and had to rip back a few times. I'm almost done the second front section.

I'm not really sure how this is going to work out. On the back I cast on for the smallest size, but used the length for the 38 size. For the front I followed the smallest size.

I'm using Cascade 220 Heathers in an orangey red. It has flecks of goldish brown. (Mine also includes some white cat hair here and there. You'll have to find your own cat for that.) Anyway, I really love the color. It reminds me red autumn leaves when the sun is shining on them from behind.

I also started knitting on my Queen Alice socks. I haven't gotten much more than the cuff of the first sock done. This was the first kit from the Alice in Wonderland sock club from Woolgirl. This was February's shipment. Why yes I'm a little behind. Why do you ask? This was my first sock club ever, and I'm loving it. Now all I have to do is find the time to actually knit the socks.

I've recently been overcome with a case of knitting bag lust. I have the vintage bag from Namaste but I also wanted something a bit more subtle. I purchased another bag from Namaste. This time it is the Newport bag in Hollywood Pink. Please refrain from any comments about how could Hollywood Pink in any way be considered more subtle than, well, anything. I'm not sure where this will lead. Maybe the Laguna in charcoal.

Surprise find. When I originally started the Queen Alice socks I used the size 1 needle called for in the pattern. The socks were way too big for me. I had to purchase size 0 needles. The shop I went to was running a little low on their DPN's. I usually use Brittany needles and have been very happy with them. They didn't have the Brittany's in the right size. They did have Crystal Palace needles. At first I thought they may be a little flimsy. They just weren't as sturdy as the Brittany needles. Well, can I tell you, I am loving them. They have just the right amount of flexibility. The shop only had the 7" and I would prefer 5". I see more Crystal Palace in my future.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

My First Fleece

Last month I went to Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. It was hot, humid, crowded and fun. I met up with some friends from my knitting group and met some new people. I got to listen to Maggie Casey talk about spinning with a spindle. Very interesting, by the way.
Maryland Sheep & Wool 2010 1

I did a wee bit of shopping
Yarn Haul - Maryland Sheep & Wool 2010

Not included in the photo are the rovings that I purchased.

I loved all the fleece for sale and wandered through the fleece section.

Maryland Sheep & Wool 2010  fleece sale

The woman in the front left, her name is Rose. She was one of the wonderful volunteers. She helped me purchase my very first fleece. A nice corriedale.

Dirty fleece

I washed the fleece. (Ok, most of it. There's still one more batch to go) I did it is small batches. I used a small plastic basket and a large plastic tote. After discarding the debris and any dung tags, I soaked it in cold water for a day or two. Then I scoured using two washes with Power Scour and two rinses.

fleece first soak

washed fleece

What a difference.

I decided to try dyeing some of it before carding. This is my first attempt at dyeing.

My first dyeing attempt


I can't wait until it's dry and I can card and spin it.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Way too cold

So it's the end of January and right now it's about 20 degrees outside. Brrrr. I guess the robbins I saw the other day were wrong. And being one to always live in the moment, what am I thinking about right now? How to turn my plot of weeds in to a nice yard and garden. Lots of flowers, some veggies, a lawn instead weeds mowed really short. But I'm not really sure where to start.
Meanwhile, I'm knitting the Prairie Spring Tunic by Franklin Habit.

Prairie Spring Tunic

I'm actually much further along but I need to take a few more pics.