Distractions

I am the king of distractions. If there is something I really do not need to be doing but would rather be doing...I will do it!

Progress on a few Christmas gifts has been going slow as I am tiring of them already. So as a way break the boredom I am feeling with these few items, I have been casting on smaller projects that I can finish in short time. All the while thinking, OK, I will start this smaller project and work on it when I get tired of the other ones. Good logic hu? Yea...it would be if it actually played out that way but it doesn't. It plays out with me finishing the "distraction project" while the others sit in a bin. These little items are simple knits that require very little pattern reference and attention to detail.

Well whatever it is seems to work for me! However I do have other things I really do need to focus on like my swatches for the Knitting Guild....jeeesh....we will not even go there!
So with all that said, here is another completed "distraction" that I knit up in less than a week. I had some left over yarn and decided to use it. The black and white are Dalegarn Baby ULL and the colored is KP Stroll Hand Painted. It was knit on #2 needles. I have been playing with Fair Isle this past year but have not actually used it in a completed project as it is a new technique for me. After hours of fine tuning the technique of carrying yarn in my left and right hand, the AHA bulb flahed and it became second nature. Regardless of what the motive was I am feeling pretty good about trying and becoming comfortable with a new technique. Could this be justification for a Philosophers Wool sweater???


On a spinning note, I was horrified to discover that there were major issues with my Rose wheel when I went to use it the other day. Until then I had been using my little old Kiwi. He is great for lower ratios and plying. My poor Rose took a beating during the move resulting in the largest whorl having a crack in it and a LOST smaller whorl! I was PISSED! I looked through boxes, tubs, project bags...you name it I looked in it. The large whorl went into surgery with some Q tips, wood glue and stretchy bands to hold everything in place. It seem to have been a success so I may only have to replace the smaller whorl.

TODAY...I MUST FINISH SWATCHES!!! So with that affirmation I am off...and in more ways than one.

Wool Dyeing

Here is a couple more pictures of some wool I recently dyed.




I will be doing some more dyeing this year and plan on concentrating on on more dyeing and spinning in the new year.

I beleive winter is almost here.

It sure has been some strange weather over the past few weeks. I have seen everything from snow one day to 70 degrees with thunderstorms back down into the low 30's. All of this in a weeks time.
With this colder weather my feet are always freezing so over the weekend I dyed and spun up some yarn for a pair of felted socks for moi. It is some New Zea land Romney wool I picked up a few year ago. I kettle dyed it using some fall colors, dried and skeined it. I have another skein but think I will double strand this with some Lite Lopi I have.

October Harvest

As for other fiber activities I have been busy working on small gifts for Christmas. Fingerless mitts seem to be a huge request this year by men. Hey I am all about that, I can turn out a pair of simple ones on worsted/heavy worsted in a day. These are a couple that I have made so far. The first ones were done with Noro Silk Garden and already gifted to my sister because she no resides in an area of norther Michigan that has already seen snow on more than one occasion this year.

Noro Silk Garden Mitts

Shetland Bulky

I also got the sock bug a few weeks ago and really needing a break from some bigger projects, I sat down and cast on for a pair thinking I would work on them when I was tired of reading a pattern and while I was watching TV. Since I am home all the time now I decide to see how long it would take me make a pair. I completed these in 4 days. Mind you they are a worsted weight but knit on #3's. Also they have a shorter cuff, per the recipients preferences. I just used a big skein of Lion Brand Fishermans Wool. It does make very warm sock and long wearing, I have a pair I knit three years ago that I still wear.

Fisherman's Wool Socks

A few more items I have completed since my last update.

Crest of the Wave
Knit Picks Stroll hand painted yarn

Beanie (to go with fingerless mitts)

Knit Picks Elegance

There are still a "few" items on the needles that I will share later. Tomorrow ....WTF...two posts in two days!!!....I will post some pics of some more hand dyed wool that is dry rite now.

Update

The move to Indiana is complete. It was close to being disastrous with the horrible way the movers packed the truck. So many broken and damaged items. Not to mention that when they felt the need to remove a screw they just tossed it box. What a mess. I will never use Two Men and a Truck again.
I am about 80% settled in with two rooms left to finish, my bedroom (the clothes) and a spare bedroom that was the catchall for boxes of stuff that should have been tossed but were moved. Hope to be finished by the end of next week so I can spend more time knitting.
As soon as everything is in place I will post some pics of the new abode.

Summer What?

As I set here typing this I can see a big oak tree outside of the loft window that has many colorful leaves and then the realization that summer is pretty much over sets in. Now you will not hear me complain about that, I do not like warm/hot weather. Give me 60 degrees year round.
Well the big move is almost here. The official date is September 26th. The moving company will be here that morning to load up everything and head for our new home two hours away. I will be transporting the girls in my car and not looking forward to it. Binks is pretty laid back and would probably ride in the seat next to me. But Jasmine, well lets just say either her or I will need drugs for this trip. She will cry inside her carrier the WHOLE trip.It will be the longest two hour car trip of my life.
I just finished packing up the fiber room but did leave a couple of containers of current projects and extra wool easily accessible. As well as some books and magazines.
The dining room is filling up quickly with packed boxes and there is still quite a few left to pack. How in the hell did we accumulate this much stuff?
Knitting is going quite nicely, I have a few too many projects going as usual and will post some pics as they are finished. There has been no wool acquisitions for a while now, After pulling out all of the stash and packing, well lets just say that if I dared to buy anything rite now, Dave would string me up with yarn. I do not think that I have a lot, but there are quite a few boxes. I told him there are more boxes than there needs to be becasue each box contains groups of fiber, wool, cotton, sock yarn....that is my story and I am sticking to it.
I did manage to whip out a pair of fingerless mitts. The pattern did not include adding the thumb peice, I added that after it was knitted and like it much better. The following pictures show one with the thumb and one without. The yarn is Noro Silk Garden.

I really like these and will be making a pair for myself. They will be nice during the winter when my hands are bothering me, I can slip them on and be able to knit while supporting my hands.
There will probably be little activity for the next few weeks (big surprise!) while I finish packing for the move then getting settled into the new place. I have lots of knitting to get completed in the next few months so this move can not happen fast enough. On the up side, I do not have much house cleaning to do as there are boxes everywhere so that allows me more time to knit and look at the dust on the boxes!

Interesting

You are The Magician

Skill, wisdom, adaptation. Craft, cunning, depending on dignity.

As life goes on

It has been a while since I was last here (at the create post screen). The year seem to be flying by so quickly as it is half over, and I am left with this feeling where did the time go. Work consumed a good share of it. Illness ate up it's share and throwing in my tendency of procrastination, well that pretty much explains it all.

There are changes taking place starting next month. The biggest one is me going part time at work, two days a week, I am loving it! This may be temporary, meaning that I may be all done by October/November. Stopping all together is going to give me a chance to do more of what I want to do, having the extra money not coming in may put a little damper on that but in the long run it will be worth it. I still deal with some health issues and probably will for the rest of my life. As I have found out this past week that I have been on vacation, the reduction of stress has done wonders for me. I have way more energy and feel as though I have been able to accomplish a lot more.

Well on the knitting front...I finally got the Blue Jeans Lace Shawl done. It is blocked and drying as I type. Here is a picture of it right after it came off the needles.



And here is the blocked and finished piece. It is amazing how small and shrunken it was before washing and blocking.

Statistics -
Pattern; Blue Jeans Lace Shawl
Yarn; Dale of Norway - Baby ULL, white
Amount; Four 50 gram skeins
Needles; Knit Picks Harmonies #7
Started; too long ago!
Finished; 06-26-09

I never thought I would drag a project out as long as I did, but there were different contributing factors in play, the main one being the medications I was taking, following a lace pattern was not exactly that easy at times. I have spotted a few minor mistakes but luckily they are so minor because I have become an expert at decreasing and increasing a stitch since taking the TKGA course. It really makes you look closely at your knitting and encourages you to practice to perfect your techniques. I had an after thought nearing the end, I wanted to add so glass pearls to it. That will be done in time. This is a Christmas gift and I will have plenty of time to add the finishing touches

So what should I do next? Fiber shopping or what is on the needles? I guess what is on the needles.


I love this yarn! It is Crystal Palace Bunny Hop. It knits a nice dense, but soft fabric on #4 needles. I bought two skeins of this when there was a LYS going out of business, decided to make a pair fo socks, only to discover I would absolutley need another skein...hate it when that happens. Luckily, even thoughit had been some time since I bought it, I was able to find the colorway at Jimmy Bean Wool.

Next, or I should say still on the needles is the Cherry Leaf Scarf. I am half way finished and now that the beast is done I might be able to get this one done much sooner.


And last but not least....the shopping! It has been getting pretty serious as I have moved on from Knit Picks and have been buying more of the higher quality yarns at higher prices. Here is what has been delivered so far.

Berroco Puruvia

Black Water Abbey

Cascade Eco Wool

Classic Elite Blithe - This yummy camel hair blend is for MOI'!

New England Shetland

Noro Sock Yarn

And a couple of media items.

I truly am enjoying this while I can, and I feel extremely blessed that I am able to do this.