How fair!

This past week, Bill and I ventured out to Watertown to go to the Jefferson County Fair

In order to get from out parking spot to the fairground we had to ride the tram:


once there we went directly to the animal exhibits.

There were cows (no pictures, because I am a bad blogger)

Sheep:


Goats:


Pigs:


And piglets:


Adorable bunnies:




Chickens:


Ducks:


Geese:


And goslings:



then we headed inside to check out the craft exhibits.

Along the way we saw several scarecrows, for the scarecrow competition. This was our favorite.
I think it's supposed to be a bunny, but it looked a lot like our American Eskimo Dog, Cayenne, so we called it an Eskicrow.



Once to the crafts exhibit I had a wonderful surprise,
Socks!


But not just any socks, these socks were knit by one of the wonderful ladies that attended my sock class, and these are the socks she knitted afterwards using techniques I taught her!

How awesome! I'm so proud!

Then, not only were there the above socks, but there were these as well:


Socks she knit using the yarn I gave her for the class!


After all the excitement it was almost time to go home. But not before the traditional fair fare:


Taffy and steaming hot salt potatoes!

Yum!

July socks

Woot!



Stats:
JL yarns Vinca in colorway #10
US size 1 (2.25mm) knitpicks 40" circulars


So happy, the colour variegation came out weird, but I really like these guys, they are super comfy.

I do have to admit though, the yarn was a bit thinner than I usually like to work with, and gets fuzzy quick. Even with 25% nylon content, I'm not sure how well they will hold up.

A tale of two uteri

One upon a time there was a nice uterus, belonging to a very nice woman. This uterus lived many happy normal years, and even gave birth to two very smart and handsome boys. One of which grew up to be a very smart and handsome man, who got married to a very nice girl who liked to knit.

Then one day that uterus got sick. A cancerous tumor had grown on the poor uterus's endometrial wall. This made the uterus sad. The doctors said that the uterus had lived a nice long life, but now it was time for it to go. That made the woman and her family very sad, but glad that the cancer had not gone any further.

The woman's daughter in law felt bad for the woman, who would surely miss her uterus. So she knit her a new, non-cancerous, and much cuddlier one, to keep her company in the hospital. And everybody was happy.




(knitty's Womb
size US 8 needles, Red Heart pound of love, double stranded.)

Socks, booties, and bags

I have a new pair of socks in the works. I really needed something to work on while waiting for PT to start and while my ankle is being iced. And these are working out nicely.



I really enjoy the way the colours are progressing. I admit I prefer the shades on the rightmost sock better. But these are the same colourway, so hey should even out eventually.

One of Bill's cousins is having a baby soon, so I've also been working on baby's things. First up is a cute little pair of booties.



The pattern is Oscar and I love it. I only made one modification and that was to make it so I cold knit in the round. I hate seaming. These guys are so cute that I'm working on another pair in orange. (I don't have very many 'boy' colours, and unfortunately the parents are the type where the pink in this pair will be pushing it)


A couple of weeks ago while Bill and I were out shopping I found this really nice straw bag at Target.



It's been perfect for carrying my knitting around, but it was in the bargain bin for a reason. It sheds little bits of it self everywhere. And I'm worried it won't hold together too well.
We went back last week to see if maybe I could get a backup replacement. But they were all sold out. I was a bit disappointed because, I really liked it, it was small enough that I couldn't over pack it, and hurt myself (my elbow is still quite delicate). Yet big enough to hold a project or tow as well as the sundry notions that I like to have on hand.

Luckily when we stopped in to Michaels to look around I found this beauty on clearance:



It's a little larger but definitely put together better. and I love the colours. Yay!

A gratuitous dog picture: Cayenne was helping as I to photos today

Saturday sky

Calumet Sky
Originally uploaded by Bill LaLonde


Bill took this picture a couple of days ago for his photography class, and I though it would be perfect for today's Saturday sky.

a knitting notions pouch.

I had an old beaded "silk" pouch from the dollar store which I kept all my knitting notions in, but it had always been just a tad too small, and it was getting quite beat up, so I made myself a new one. The pattern is similar to my change purse pattern, just bigger. The pouch came out to about 6.5 x 4.5 inches.

I tried a slightly different way of handling the zipper and I'm not quite sure I like it. If I do it again, I use the old way, I much prefer the results.



I added the little charm on a whim, and I'm glad it did, it adds just the right 'sparkle' and makes it easer to use the zipper. (And it can be uses as a stitch marker in a pinch)

And it fits all my supplies with room to spare. Sweet!


(btw, notice the little jar of badger balm I really love that stuff. I highly recommend it.)


I'm thinking of making more of these for my shop but I'm not sure if anybody else would want them (I'm thinking of charging around $10ish) but it's a moot point at the moment as my sewing machine has decided it wants a vacation.

I got a book on sewing machine maintenance from the library, but it seems my problem may be beyond the scope of simple home repair, so I have to call the sewing machine repair place on Monday to get a quote and figure out what to do.

Gimp knits

Despite a bum arm I still managed to get quite a bit done these last couple of weeks.

I finished my online striped socks Monday:


Stats:
On Line sock yarn in "tropic"
Size 1.5 (2.5mm) knit picks 40" circs
My usual boring old, toe up two at once magic loop pattern.

You can still see quite a bit of swelling in my right ankle in that picture.
(pssst, don't tell the doctor I took of the air cast to take the picture and was walking around without it, my leg gets itchy after a while)

I'm also thiiis close from finishing feather and fan!
(no pictures, because sadly it doesn't really look much different than last time)
I only have one patterned row and five plain knit rounds to go before I can start the crochet chain edging/bind off. (we won't mention the fact that each row contains roughly 1290 stitches...)

Also with feather and fan, it somehow managed to acquire a raspberry stain during its stay in the wip basket, so I was planning on dying it to hide the stain.

I'm thinking a turquoise blue, or deep sky blue or maybe bluish purple. (I'm going through a 'blue' phase)

That plan plus the plan of expanding my etsy shop as well as some other exciting news I have, culminated in my splurging on a ton of dying supplies. I have a big plastic bin filled with the assorted ephemera of yarn dying and the color theory and yarn dying books all read, and I'm just about ready to jump in!

I'm very excited.

Bill's aunt (who we rent our apartment from) has a small summer cottage down by the water, but isn't renting it out much this summer because she hasn't felt up to cleaning and upkeep. And she told me I could use it for my own personal dye studio. How cool is that!?

I'm back!

A little update on me before I get to the fiber fun:

So what happened to me?
I fell, because I am a giant klutz.
As I was leaving to work I missed the step down and twisted and sprained my ankle, as I fell I put out my hand to catch myself, and the impact dislocated my elbow.

I got a fun ride in an ambulance to the emergency room where I got poked and prodded and x-rayed. The ER doctor couldn't tell through all the swelling if my elbow was broken or just sprained. (It had gotten popped back into place during the move to the ambulance) so I got a temporary cast until I could go see the orthopedic doctor. My ankle also got a spiffy air cast, and instructions no to walk too much, since I really should be on crutches, but since I only had one usable arm, could only use a cane

A few agonizing days later I got in to see the orthopedic doctor and he declared me sprained.
I got rid of the horrible cast and left with instructions to take it easy and a prescription for physical therapy.

My elbow is healing nicely, as is my ankle. The first week and a half I couldn't do much, but I'm finally getting back into the groove of things. And actually have an FO to show you, but not today.

Today I talk about the Stone Mills Fiber festival.

Stone Mills is a little town near where I live, and every year they host a little gathering of some of the fiber producers in the area. And all sorts of fun ensues.

There were sheep:

(We saw some of them getting sheered, but I didn't take any pictures.)

And alpaca:


My husband bought a garden full of heirloom vegetable plants from a very nice gentle man, whose wife I taught in one of my sock knitting classes.

And I bought yarn and fiber:



clockwise from top left: 8oz Ashland bay merino wool top in "snapdragon", 8oz
Northern Lights Spacedyed Wool Top from Louet in "violets" JL yarns vinca in colorway "10" and JL yarns salvia in colourway "19"

all bought from pollywogs

I've already started a pair of socks in the rainbow Vinca. It's a superwash and nylon sock yarn, and was quite cheep but so far really nice. It's a bit thinner than my usual sock yarn, and only two plies. But the really cool thing is what goes on with those two plies. Each one slowly transitions through the colour wheel, and they are spun together slightly offset, so that the combinations make amazing effects in the knit fabric. it's really fun to watch them develop.

I also fondled the fiber, and the so far I can say the Ashland bay feels amazingly soft, and the Louet feels a bit rougher, but probably more hardwearing. I plan on spinning at least half of each of these tops worsted to make some nice sock yarn. not sure what I'll do with the rest yet.

ow

no knitting content for a while as I seem to have broken my elbow.

Cop out

I've been spinning almost constantly lately. (Except for short intervals of sock knitting in the car)

I just can't help it... the BLF roving from Squoosh is just delicious!

And it's going so quick.

From this:



Plus this:



To this:



Then a quick chain ply plus a quick wash and I have this:





You can really see how long the colour repeats are here:



This skein is actually about two cops full.

It comes out to 2.5 oz, 232 yards, and 22 wpi after washing (it was 26 before)

It is so pretty and so soft, I'm really happy with how it's turning out, although It's a bit thinner than I was hoping for (I really wanted sock weight, but this is several wpi thinner than I'm used to knitting with) so I'm not sure what I'm going to make with it.

I still have a little under half the roving to work through, but it's coming along swimmingly.

Some finished spinning samples and delicious squoosh

Bill just got a new camera and has been playing with it a lot recently, this is a picture he took of my Golding tsunami in action.

I've been spinning a lot lately, mostly samples, here's what I got:

a three ply from the same crappy roving I was using in the beginning, this is what was on my old spindle when I got the new Golding, I wanted to practice Navajo/chain playing so I stopped where I was, wound if off and went to town. I really like the finished yarn. (Well, as much as I can, considering the crappy roving it was made from) I over spun while plying and then had to wash and set the twist. I think it may be a little to over spun, but it's still quite nice. And I finally found a good use for my old heavy spindle; its extra weight was perfect for keeping the kinks out of the singles during all the maneuvering required for the plying.



this little gem is a small sample I spun up of Cayenne's fur.
It's sooo soft.
I had been trying on and off to spin her fur for a while now, but I had no way to card or process it, and nothing but a big heavy spindle to use, so the results were far from satisfactory. While out last week I finally picked up some dog brushes (how pithy!) to try carding the fur before spinning, and then using the new lighter spindle. The results were much more satisfactory, but if I want to do more, I will need a lit more practice, the fiber is very light and wispy and liked to drift apart and float away if you look at it wrong. I was thinking maybe blending it with some merino may help keep things together without sacrificing too much softness. Spun on the Golding 2" .8oz tsunami, then chain plied on my old heavy spindle.


And now for the yummiest part:

my better roving finally arrived!

This is BFL roving in the "thicket" colorway from Squoosh it is sooo dreamy!


Look at that! It's like spinning a cloud! I can't keep from cuddling it whenever I pick up my spindle, the colours are amazing, and the BFL drafts like buttah! I should have gotten good roving a long time ago, and Squoosh's colours are so pretty, I can't keep my self away! It's fascinating to sit there and look a the roving, pre draft it and watch the colours meld and then to spin it all up and watch as they transform into shiny happy beautifulness as I wind it on the cop. The last three days at work all I could think about was coming home and spinning. I think I'm addicted!

I got another roving from Squoosh (I just love that name!) too, it's a merino called "fun" and it does look fun! I can't wait to spin that up too.

My new spindle arrived!

On Friday afternoon I ordered my new Golding drop spindle. And it arrived today! I was so excited I just had to play with it. I felt like I was throwing purls before swine by using the crappy roving I had on had but I just had to play. (I ordered some spiffy hand dyed but it hasn't arrived yet)

Anyways, I have to say I LOVE THIS SPINDLE! It spins for ever and so smoothly! It is so light, I was instantly getting smoother finer yarn that I could ever hope of getting on my old spindle, I can't wait until the good roving arrives.

Stats:
Golding spindle
Micro 2" model, .8 oz.
Purpleheart whorl "tsunami" design.

I know I'm just a newbie, but if you are looking for a new spindle, I cannot recommend Golding enough. It's like a dream to work with, and so pretty!



a comparison with my old spindle. In a post I made to LJ, when I mentioned I wanted this spindle, tashabear said it was one hell of an upgrade. I didn't realize how true that was! I look at my old spindle now, and can't believe I managed to make halfway decent yarn with it.



the whorl



and a crappy picture of just how fine I could spin.
After a little more practice I was getting even finer, and I'm sure it improve even more with the better roving.

Spinning!

A couple of years ago I bought a beginners drop spindle at Rhinebeck. I spun up a really bad and lumpy bulky skein on it then promptly put it aside for something else. Then a little later I picked it back up and started spinning Fur from our American Eskimo Cayenne. It was difficult since I had no way to properly prepare it, and the staple length was short and the spindle was heavy, so I didn't do it too often and for very long.

Then the other day while I as cleaning out my stash I found a bag of unlabeled bats that I had bought long ago on e-bay, and decided to pull out the spindle again.

The wool wasn't very well prepared, there were a lot of little matted lumps in it, tons of vegetable matter, and it was a little sticky from all the leftover lanolin. But it was all I had and I wanted to spin! I decided that if I was really going to take up spinning seriously I wanted lace and sock weight. So that's what I aimed for.

Here it is on the spindle before I took it off to ply:


And after plying:



With penny:


stats: about 102 yards, 17-20 wpi, unknown breed of wool.

It's not perfect by a long shot, there are a lot of too thick and under spun bits from the beginning but towards the end I was getting really happy with my consistency, but it kept breaking and pulling apart if I got as thin as I wanted. From my research I guess that was because my spindle was just too heavy. So I think I'm going to get a new spindle - I was looking at these specifically the Tsunami in purpleheart.

When we go into town today, I'm also planning on going to the library to take out some books on spinning. Ohh I'm so excited!

A new skirt!

I hate clothes shopping. It's annoying.

I'm a big girl, and it's always difficult to find clothing that 1) fits me and 2) looks nice.
One of my favorite types of clothing during summer time is skirts. They are easy to take on and off; they cover my flabby pale legs, and are amazingly cool, even on the hottest days. (Way cooler and more comfortable than shorts even, because skirts allow air flow)

I especially like the bohemian tiered skirt look, because they are looser, look better on my figure and allow more freedom of movement and air flow.

But I've had a very difficult time finding many that are both the appropriate colour palate for summertime (I prefer lighter colours during the summer, but not white, I am too much of a klutz to wear white) and that match shirts that I already own (I have more than enough tank tops and t-shirts, thankyouverymuch) AND that will actually fit over my rather large bottom.

My solution?

Make my own!



I've scrounge the internet and library and bookstores for good skirt patterns, and I found a couple of resources that discuss my favored skirt design. And a couple of weeks ago I finally got up the nerve to try it out.

So I went to Jo-Ann's Fabrics and got a pretty fabric, and some elastic, brought it home, cut it out and make a skit!

It was way easier than I expected, and I'm incredibly happy with the results. AND with a coupon, (and not counting labor, since it gave me something to do, and was fun) it came out to WAY less than I've paid for similar skits. YAY!

The skirt isn't perfect, but I'm happy, and already have the fabric to make another one!



if you're interested, here's the tutorial for how I made it