Hey! long time no see!

So I've been super busy living life and enjoying my time with TW, but I have a ton of stuff to share with you!

Still no progress on the shawl, I really should get myself an audiobook and buckle down, but until then, I’ve finally finished the big blanket!

For size reference, that's our queen sized bed.

(yes, I had to stand on a chair to take that picture, it was scary.)

It's nice and soft and cozy and warm, and I finished it just in time for a summer heat wave, so it hasn't gotten much use yet, but I foresee lots of cuddles come winter time.

And just because, here is TW modeling it for you:

Yarn: my hand dyed hand-spun

Needles: size 10.5 (6.5mm) knitpicks options

Pattern: a bastardized Shetland Shawl construction: I cast on three stitches and knit the middle panel, increasing every row until it was big enough, and decreasing back down. (a la Grannie's Favorite Washcloth). Then I picked up stitches all along the edge and knit in the round increasing at the corners until I ran out of blue yarn, then I did a sideways knit on edging in white, ending it back at the beginning with Kitchener stitch.

It's meand to be big and warm, and not need any blocking if it needs to be washed.  I can simply squeeze out the water and pat it out in a rough square shape and let it dry.
(My poor pi blanket got dirty soon after TW was born and it still hasn't been blocked since we don't have the room for it here.)

***

Bill's socks are coming along nicely, I have one more pattern repeat and then I start the ribbing.

***

And as the weather has finally started to cool off a bit we can start turning off the AC and opening the windows, which means pleasant breezes... and slamming doors. So I’ve had to get back to the little mousy doorstop. I picked up a nice heavy stone for his base today while out on a hike so I can stuff him and finish up the rest of his head. Then its just a quick nose and a couple of ears!

(although I do have to admit that he looks a bit creepy right now.)

***

In other crafty news, my poor juggling balls have been sitting on my bedroom bookshelf for ages, ever since the old bag fell apart in the wash, so I decided (with the inspiration from my new friends on the FB Project Project group (hi guys!)) that it was time to make them a new bag.

It was super simple, just the leg off of an old pair of PJ bottoms, and a kumihimo cord made from cotton yarn. But now my juggling stuff has a happy new home, and I have more room for books on my self!

***

Before I made the juggling bag I decided to try my idea out on a pair of jeans first. Then I got the nifty idea to make it a set, so I whipped up a few denim bean bags to go with it. (the aren't filled yet, since I need to pick up some of those little plastic pellets first, but I have a craft store trip planned for the near future for some other crafty projects, so I'll pick some up then.)

I have a friend who juggles also, and since I certainly don't need any more balls, I may give them to him.

***

I have a few more crafty ideas in the works, and I'm trying to keep up knitting regularly, (even with the lack of a weekly get together) so hopefully I'll be back soon with more updates!

Slow progress is still progress

with the lack of Monday knitting, and Bill's work schedule landing on a few Saturdays, I haven't had as much knitting time as I would like. But I have been making progress, because i can still knit simple things during date nights (we cuddle up after TW's bed time and watch a few episodes of British TV)

the shawl is still stuck in the trees, so no pictures of that yet, but I’ve almost finished my hand spun blanket!

One problem...I ran out of white yarn.

I have a tiny ball left over from when I knit the center and I think I may have a hank from when I was doing test spinning, but I don't think that will be enough. I also have a bit of blue left, so I could just finish the last corner with that, but then it would probably drive me nuts. We'll see. It's in time out right now as I ponder my options.

***

I've started a new pair of socks for Bill as well, perfect waiting room knitting and for date nights.

Knit Picks Stroll in "Wine" on US 1 (2.25mm)

Nancy Bush's "Gentleman's Sock with Lozenge Pattern" from Knitting Vintage Socks, slightly adapted to make them toe up.

***

TW is starting to outgrow his pixie hat so I need to plan for a new hat for next year. I think I want to do Chouette but I wanted to be sure I understood how the cables work, and to check for any mods I would have to make (a lot of people mentioned needing to add rows to the body and head of the owl) so I knit a mini prototype:

knit with one strand of random acrylic on US 7s (4.5mm) I did the smallest size and this would probably fit a newborn, super cute. I added two rows to the body, but I think it probably could use four, and maybe a few extra in the head too. (ravely page)

there’s a basket for donated baby/preemie hats at Saturday knitting, so I’ll probably put it in next time I can go.

arbres!

Knitting moves slowly along.

There wasn't any Monday night knitting for a few weeks because of the holidays, and then because if Bill's work schedule getting in the way, I couldn't go the last few weeks, and the holidays also got in the way of Saturday knitting a bit, but I have been knitting a little: I'm about halfway through the trees on my sheep shawl:

and I'm on the fourth and final ball of blue for my hand spun blanket (no picture because it doesn't look much different.) once I finish that I'll cast on a few stitches and do a sideways knit border with the last two balls of white. I can't wait until I'm there, it will be fun to see exactly how big this blanket is.

I'm feeling a little miffed about knitting out though. Because the Monday knitting is so much earlier than when it was at Flavors a lot of people can't reliably make it, and the people at More Bread and Jam are (understandable, and rightfully) thinking of not staying open any longer for it. And Saturday knitting isn't really all that fun for me because all the ladies that go there already know each other from other things, which means I'm usually out of the loop on their conversations, when anybody shows up, that is, one day I was the only one there and while it was nice to have tome to just sit and knit, it was also kind of lonely. And then the last time I went the two other ladies who showed up sat off at another table and talk to each other and essentially ignored me the whole time. So I'm not even sure if I want to continue to go to that either.

Despite all the roadblocks to finding actual knitting time, I have been able to get a new pattern posted! It's and oldie but a goodie: I knit it a long time ago, but never really got around to formatting everything up properly until recently. It's been test knit a few times, and some errors were found, and I just the other day fixed it all up and you can now download the Arachen's Veil Shawl pattern!

have fun with it!

fo, blanket progress, and new knitting group news!

Wow, it has been a crazy week here at the Platypus Gardens.

Bill got an awesome new job a few months ago, but because he is so new, there is no way he would be able to get any significant time off at Christmas time. BUT he managed to get four days off in a row in the beginning of December by working three 11 hour days straight.

So this past week while he was at work I spent my days toddler wrangling and also trying to prepare for a trip up north. I cooked, cleaned, took TW for walks and packed what I could. All the while slipping in a few moments of knitting here and there.

Just before we left I finished the simple cabled socks I had been working on:

socks on a plane(rav link)

in Dorchester Farms Handpainted sock yarn

my usual two at once toe up construction on US 1 (2.25mm) 40 inch circulars

(project's Ravelry page)

I thought it was a very auspicious start to our trip to be wearing a brand new pair of hand knit socks.

While I knew we would be busy visiting family I also knew that it was a 3 1/2 hr drive up and another 3 1/2 hr drive home, so I brought my knitting along. I had hoped to work on the sheep shawl, but unfortunately reading the chart made me carsick, so I spent the whole trip working on my hand-spun blanket instead. I finished the second ball of blue yarn, and got about halfway though the third by the time we got home. That's some pretty good progress!

Since it's been so busy this past week that’s all the progress I have to show you for now. But I have awesome news on the knitting group front:

you may remember that when we lived back up north I attended a knitting group on Monday nights at a local coffee house. When we moved I was sad to be leaving them, but soon found a new (also on Monday!) group here in Troy. They met at Flavor's cafe and I made a ton of friends and had a great time knitting and socializing. Sadly this past spring Flavor's was targeted by an arsonist and burnt down. Reconstruction faced many delays and I was once again left knit-groupless (although many of us still kept in contact via facbook, ravelry and other social networks) then a month or so ago, thanks to Ravelry, I discovered another group of knitters that meets at a (semi)local cafe on Saturday afternoons. Luckily, Bills new work schedule allowed me to stop in a few times, and I really enjoyed myself! It turns out that the cafe's owner is also knitter, and also very good at promotion and networking, and one thing lead to another and now the old Monday group from Flavors will be meeting there as well! So now I have TWO groups a week I can choose from, one on Monday evenings, and one on Saturday afternoons! And Bill's new schedule at work is such that if I want I can attend both while he hangs out with TW! Yay!

Catch up Part Two

Remember TW's pixie hat? (you saw it in the last post too.) When my cousin discovered that she was pregnant, she immediately requested that I make one for he son as well. I couldn't refuse!

 

Stella Pixie hat
in Vickie Howell Sheep(ish) in turquoise
on US 6 (4mm) circular needles.

I used the same mods as last time.
(project's Ravelry page)

 I can't wait to get the pictures of it on him! I'll be giving it to her at Christmas, along with a pair of thumbless mittens in the same yarn. (more on them in a later post)

 ***

When my mom was visiting a while ago she brought me yarn! Lion Brand Amazing. It's a wool/acrylic Noro wannabe. It was quite soft and the colors seemed pretty nice too. Around the same time I discovered that all my knit hats either didn't go down over my ears well, or had lace/yarn overs that let the wind in. I decided to remedy that.




It's in Bicolor Brioche
On US 6 (4mm) needles In Lion Brand Amazing in Strawberry Fields and Pink Sands.
(project's Ravelry page)

This is the third time I've knit this particular pattern, and my sixth time knitting Brioche in the round, and I gotta say I still love it!

The hat is nice and squishy and soft, and VERY warm. Perfect for the frequent walks TW and I take while Bill is at work.

***

It hasn't been just all hats around here though. I've also started a new pair of socks:

 

socks on a plane (link is to the Ravelry pattern page)

(my Bayerische socks are on hold until I stop being annoyed at them for being so fiddly in a dark colored yarn)

***

I also washed, carded, spun, and plied up a bunch of yarn from the batch that had originally been destined for a sweater. The dyeing process had been interrupted by our move, and I decided that the sweater was never going to happen. So I cast on in the white yarn I already had spun up, and spun up a batch of blue and white mixed.




There are four skeins of white, two in the center and two for an edging, and then four skeins of blue all for the border.

It should be a nice large, squishy, warm blanket when it's done. It is a bit further along than in the picture now (I'm into the second skein of blue), but its my mindless big lap knitting, and I don't work on it much, but that's ok, since there is no deadline.

***

And finally before I end this post, here is an unremarkable picture of the start of an amigurumi mouse doorstop.

Over the summer and early fall when the temperatures were so nice we had the windows open a lot, unfortunately the wind kept catching the door to TW's room and slamming it on us. Eventually I got fed up and decided that his door needed a doorstop too. But that it had to match Marmalade who guards our bedroom door.

 

 I’m taking my time on him, since he doesn't need to be ready until spring when we open the windows again.

Oof, a lot going on but not much to show.

I am alive, I promise, its just I get all ready to sit down and do a post, and then I get distracted and by the time I get back to it I just don't feel like posting anymore.

A couple of weeks ago a lady that frequents the coffee house where the local knit night meets approached me with a very old and raggedy knit headband. She had bought it many years ago while on vacation and it quickly became her favorite. Unfortunately it was time to get a new one, but the place where she bought it no longer sells them. She was wondering if I could make her one.

Of course I said I would, and immediately set out to figure out a good pattern, and this is what came of it:



She loved it and immediately ordered one in read, which I am just finishing up. I'm working on getting the pattern written up and as soon as I've gotten all the kinks worked out I'll post it for you.

I also finished some spinning:


This is a test batch from the two fleeces that I received a while ago; these four skeins are about 4 oz each. I carded and blended half of each fleece, and then spun them up soft and woolen. I got a bit of a fright when I washed them. I really wanted to make them bloom and hold together so I washed it in alternate hot and cold and abused them quite a bit. When I pulled them out they had felted almost solid!! I was crushed; I hung them up to dry and then tried to figure out what to do.

Once they were dry I took one skein and kind a roughly picked it apart. Thankfully it wasn't quite as solid as it had appeared when they were wet, and the strands pulled apart with some work. I reskeined one, and then just rolled the rest into balls. This yarn is quite soft and has the most amazing halo. (most likely because of all the abuse and then having to pull them apart after they felted together) I'm thinking about knitting this up loosely into a sort of shawl/lap blanket.

I've also been doing a little bit of sewing!

Bill and I love our local library and often take several books out at a time, but carrying them all can be a bit awkward sometimes, so I sewed up a denim tote bad to carry our books in:



On top of all that I've been weaving.
I just finished my second scarf, and hopefully will have pictures for you all in my next post!
See you all then!

The great fleece to sweater adventure!

One of the ladies at my Wednesday weavers and spinners group has sheep, and recently gave me two fleeces.




She said they were washed, and the do look it for the most part. But they are also old.

One of the fleeces has a long staple, good crimp, but is a tad coarse, and in fact, a bit crunchy and dry feeling.





The other fleece is rather short and fine, but also still quite greasy and tacky. The sheep was a male, and the fleece is a bit… um, strong, if you know what I mean.



All her sheep are a mish-mash of different breeds, and there was no note as to the lineage of either of these fleeces.


The crunchy fleece, I hoped, just needed a little hydration, I carded up a couple of ounces and spun them up, and after a nice bath with some kookaburra it seems much better, but still a little rougher than would want for a sweater.



The other I took a handful and gave it a nice hot bath with some Dawn before carding it up and spinning. And not only did it smell better but it came out amazingly soft. When I was picking it to get ready for carding, I had this intense urge to cuddle up into the soft cloud of fibers and take a nap! The spun sample was nice and soft, but not very strong feeling. And if I want this sweater to stand up to a lot of wear, I need a strong yarn.



Also, I noticed a bit of felting at the cut edges of the fleece, and ended up with a ton of nepps because of it. Thankfully, when I went back and looked at the original fleece, I didn't see any of that felting, so I'm assuming I was a little too rough when washing my sample, and I just have to remember to be extra gentile.


After my original samples, I blended up a 50/50 batt of the two fibers, and spun that up.



It came out way softer than the skeins of just the long fleece, but also much stronger feeling than the skeins of the soft fleece. So I think I have found my winning combination.

The next step of this adventure is to dye the fleeces up and get them prepped and ready to spin.

Wish me luck!