FO FRIDAY!

 knitting  3 Responses »
Aug 122011
 

Woo Hoo! Finally, some FOs!

First up, Empoisonnée by Yarnissima.

Cast On: 2/2/2010

Cast Off:  6/16/2011

Yarn: Wollmeise 100% in Single Malt

Needles: US 1.5 Addi Lace turbos

I love Yarnissima patterns. I have no idea what took me so long to finish these socks. I love them. I love the folded cuff even thought it drove me crazy while I was knitting them – I forgot the number 1 rule of following a pattern: FOLLOW THE PATTERN. Anyway, they are done. These are for sure, Rhinebeck socks. I didn’t think I would like this colorway of Wollmeise but I love it knit up.

IMG_6311

IMG_6310

IMG_6308

IMG_6302

Next up are the socks that I knit as a test knit for Yarnissima, Gush, or the June/July Mystery sock for the Solid Socks group on ravelry.

Cast On: 5/30/2011

Cast Off: 8/4/2011

Yarn: Kashmir by Fiber Optic Yarns, Raspberry colorway

Needle: US 1.5 Addi Lace

I LOVE these socks. Sharon got me the yarn this year at Maryland Sheep & Wool as I was unable to attend – and ooh she done good. Kashmir is an 80/10/10 blend of Superwash Merino/Cashmere/Nylon. We’ll also be getting this blend in our shop soon – we just have to dye it, but I love this sock base. So warm. Mmm. This colorway was very hard to capture correctly while photographing but I think I finally got it.

IMG_6299

IMG_6289

 

IMG_6322

IMG_6321

IMG_6316

Whew. Two full pairs! Yay! I’m currently working on reknitting a pair of Dawn Gnot for the CSI: KAL – I hope to get past the first heel turn this weekend. More on Sunday hopefully!

Knitting update!

 knitting  3 Responses »
Jul 142011
 

Here’s what I’m working on:

 

I’m on the toe of the second Gush(ravelry link) sock – being knit out of Fiber Optic Yarns Kashmir in the Raspberry colorway. Tiny toe pic:
IMAG0324

Color is god awful in that photo.
I’m also restarting a pair of Dawn Gnot socks for the KAL over at Crafy Detour - I test knit this pattern and had half a sock done with a miscrossed cable which I ended up ripping out completely. Will be restarting the sock once Gush sock #2 is done.

 

I’m trying to also finish up my February fitted pullover - I’m on the front left neck shaping so hopefully soon.

 

Next sweater up is an oranje. Did you see Daniele’s completed one? Stunning. Mine will be in pink, lime green, and black instead of Orange, white and black. I’m calling it my Watermelon-je. Can’t wait to get started.

 

I’m hoping to get some fiber loaded into the shop tonight and also get some spinning done this weekend. It’s about time right?

 

A contest! A Contest!

 knitting  28 Responses »
Feb 252011
 

Okay I am going to have my first ever blog contest. So go tell your friends :)

The person who comes closest in guessing how long it’ll take me to reskein 5lbs of sock yarn from these cones:

IMG_5763

will get either a skein of yarn dyed in the colorway of their choosing, or 4 oz of spinning fiber in the colorway of their choosing.

If NO ONE comes close, I will add an amount of time to everyone’s guesses to get them in the ballpark.

Yes, clearly the need for a skein winder is evident now :)

Leave your guesses as a comment on this post. There will be a second post to announce the winner on Monday!

A rocky start to December

 knitting, life  5 Responses »
Dec 082010
 

While I have been making progress in my Christmas knitting and spinning projects, there was a minor setback this morning.

Let me preface this with, I am okay. I was in a car accident this morning. My car is driveable but needs to be repaired:

smooshy car

smooshy car

Smooshy honda fit!

We’re starting the long and tedious process of dealing with the insurance companies. But I am okay. I expect to be sore tomorrow but I am okay :)

Let’s talk about something that is hmm not car accidents! I finished the first sock that I’m knitting at the request of MIL. It’s “brainless” from Yarnissima (That’s a ravelry link).

brainless sock #1

brainless sock #1

I’m still working my way through Rosebuddie for my niece. I’m almost done the last chart and then I can proceed to the edging.

Erika’s sweater is still in progress but I only have the sleeves left to work on – I need to rip out the 4 rows I knit on one to restart and use the jog-less stripe method to alternate the two skeins that I’m working from.

Erika's Ingenue

Erika's Ingenue

There was some stash enhancement after the Skein Maven’s trip to Woolbearers:
A skein of Tosh sock in Oxblood:

MadelineTosh Sock in Oxblood

MadelineTosh Sock in Oxblood

and 3 balls of St. Denis Nordique to knit Juneberry with:

St. Denis Nordique

St. Denis Nordique

I’m going to stop here so I can go relax a bit before another day at the grindstone tomorrow – hopefully I can get to the second gusset on the socks for MILs co-worker.

Uncle.

 knitting, life, spinning  7 Responses »
Oct 142010
 

Sometimes you need to know when to quit.

There was no way I was going to finish the christening shawl by today. The edging alone has 1200+ stitches. Needless to say, I’m back to the sock commitments that I need to fulfill and hopefully will have the Zur Lederhos’n socks out to Yarnissima on Monday.

christening shawl

I’m further along than this photo shows. The shawl is now slated as a Christmas present. Hopefully M can wear it for her first holy communion or her confirmation or something.

We (Sharon and I) finally got the etsy shop up and running. Come check out our yarn and fiber selection: Stitches ‘n Rows. We also had our first vending experience at this year’s Schuylkill River Fest in Pottstown, PA. Here’s our little booth:

random_2010 020

random_2010 022

And a visitor to Sharon’s CPW:
random_2010 024

We had beautiful weather and our Cheeky came out to demo spindling and was a great sales person – we thank her for this!

Currently, I’m spinning some superwash Merino from Pigeonroof Studios, in the Squall colorway:
random_2010 028

I have some 50/50 baby alpaca/superfine merino on another bobbin and I need to take a photo of that as well.

But, mostly I’ve been knitting on socks and spending time with these two:
random_2010 004

I love that they hang out on the couch together!

Rhinebeck is this weekend and I’ll be there on Saturday only. Come say Hi if you see me!

Where does the time go?

 knitting, spinning  6 Responses »
Jun 202010
 

Really, how does a whole month go by? Wow. Here’s what I’ve been up to:

1. Knitting my cousin’s wedding shawl, which came off of the needles yesterday

Erika's shawl - purity from Roman 43

Erika's shawl - purity from Roman 43

Lace detail

Lace detail

I dropped 3 stitches on the final row of the edging and had to figure out how to pick them back up and somehow managed it. If I wasn’t a Knitter with a capital K before this, I most certainly am now.

2. Knitting a baby sweater for my niece, Marisa who joined us on June 5th.

handspun boheme for Marisa

handspun boheme for Marisa

The pattern is Boheme (ravelry link) and it was a quick knit, done in 3 days. I love knitting with handspun, I love the accidental striping that happens. I see more of these in my future, they are a great way to use up smaller hanks of handspun!

3. I’ve been dyeing fiber like it is going out of style. Sharon and I are trying to get an etsy shop up and running and I’ll post as soon as we get everything in order :) But here’s a teaser of some of the Falkland roving I dyed:

falkland sampler

falkland sampler

I think I may just be addicted.

bagged up and ready to go

bagged up and ready to go

4. Finished two pairs of socks:

Zen toe-ups which took me over a year to finish because I hate the yarn (trekking xxl – a sin I know!).

zen toe-ups

zen toe-ups

and a pair of toe up monkey socks using yarn from my friend Debbie:

toe up popcicle monkeys

toe up popcicle monkeys

5. Some spinning has occurred but not much since I was focusing on Erika’s shawl.

Pigeonroof studios SW merino in Emperor

Pigeonroof studios SW merino in Emperor

6. And a ton of test knitting for the girls over at Crafty Detour. The next sock in the series looks awesome and I can’t wait until they launch their CSI series :)

Skinny Bugga! in Beyer's Jewel Scarab

Skinny Bugga! in Beyer's Jewel Scarab

I’ll be knitting this pattern using skinny bugga! for the first time. I can’t wait to see how it knits up and how the sock turns out. So far all of Heather’s patters have been lovely!

Hopefully I’ll be back in a few days with more to blog about!

You spin my head right round . . .

 knitting, life, spinning  5 Responses »
May 132010
 

And yes, this re-mix from Flo-Rida gets stuck in my head thanks to my Thursday night Zumba class.

Let’s do a spinning recap! First up, the last braid of fiber that I got at MDS&W that went home with Sharon accidentally,

"Pure Luxury" from Frabjous Fibers

"Pure Luxury" from Frabjous Fibers

Cashmere, Silk and Merino. MMMM. Can’t remember the colorway, but yes, it’s another blue/purple/green mix which was apparently the theme for the day.

Next up, some etsy shopping.  These two braids are from Christina Marie Potter (and they were purchased because JessaLu posted her new stash and yeah well, I’m weak):

100% Superwash Merino in Chesire Cat

100% Superwash Merino in Cheshire Cat

Firefly Inspired Fruity Oaty Bar

Firefly Inspired Fruity Oaty Bar Corriedale

And What I’ve been spinning:

1. Some merino/bamboo from Fiber Optic that I purchased at Rhinebeck 2009

merino/bamboo singles

merino/bamboo singles

that I navajo plied:

Navajo Plied merino/bamboo

Navajo Plied merino/bamboo

2. Some batts from Pigeon Roof Studios in the Victorian colorway.  These were a blend of Merino, Shetland, Silk, and firestar:

Victorian

Victorian

And some yarn stash enhancement:

Wollmeise 100% superwash in Frühling

Wollmeise 100% superwash in Frühling

I actually obtained a skein of Frosch but traded with Sharon for this Frühling because it’s more like what I wanted for Haruni. I really need to get moving on my cousin’s shawl so I can start mine!

And knitting wise, I’ve been doing some investigating for the girls over at Crafty Detour and here’s some progress:

picot edge

picot edge

but that’s all I can share of my investigation so far.

This weekend we are staying put so I hope to get some MAJOR progress on my cousin’s shawl accomplished. I gave my self the goal of May 22 to be at the beginning of the first ruffle (there are two!) so I need to get a move on!

And a Mom-Mom update. The surgery went well, they still believe they got rid of the cancer. She met with her oncologist (the same that my MIL had) and discussed treatment options. They removed 7 lymph nodes (this is an updated version from Dr. Swab) and two of those were clear. Mom-Mom will start a pill form of radiation and will not be undergoing chemotherapy because hell she’s 82! So your good thoughts, prayers, ju-jus, vibes, etc are all still appreciated :) She was doing well on Saturday when we went to visit her (3 days post mastectomy) and we hope that she continues to be as feisty as ever.

Weekend warrior?

 knitting, life  5 Responses »
Apr 162010
 

The next couple of weekends are proving to be insane.

This weekend I’m heading to NYC with Sharon and Jessica to putz around, check out the new purl shop, figure out what bridesmaid dress I want from j.crew for my cousin Erika’s wedding, and just generally enjoy each others company.  These ladies are my closest friends I’ve made since moving to NJ and I could not say thank you to them enough.

The next weekend, my Ashbee (or Ashly) is coming from Pittsburgh for a 3 day weekend! We’ll spend Friday in NYC, Saturday in Philly, and Sunday probably in Princeton.  It’s been over a year since I got to see Ash and I could not be more excited about this visit!

May 1st is Maryland Sheep and Wool. Sharon and I are taking that Friday off, driving to my parents house in PA, then leaving at o’dark thirty on Saturday morning to drive to MD. This will be my first trip to MDS&W, and my mission is Woolee Winder bobbins.

I think after that, I’ll finally have a moment to sit and breathe!

Continue reading »

 Older Entries