Tales of a Spinning Knitter

I've been unfaithful...

2011-04-05T21:23:00.000-07:00

to my wooly fiber stuff. I confess, I've been obsessed with making Renaissance costumes. Only it's become kind of a serious obsession. Like I've now started hand-sewing trim to my bodices. Like I draft my own bodice, shift, and skirt patterns rather than using ready-made ones. Like I have a HUGE fabric stash comprised mostly of linen for garments and wool remnants for trim. Like I have linen and silk thread with which to learn how to embroider blackwork, cuz it's more period. Like I've completely ignored my lovely spindles, and have only knit a pair of stockings to use with my Ren Faire costumes. Yeah, an obession like that.

So, I've hit 2 Ren Faires thus far this year. If I have my way, I'll visit at LEAST 5 more. In Big Bear, San Diego, and Northern California too! So, of course, I had to make sure I have enough variety in my peasanty wardrobe. I mean, how embarrassing to be seen/photographed in the same outfit more than once...I mean, a peasant has her dignity!
So here's a pic from Ren Faire #1, the Palm Springs Ren Fest.

Yes, I also made my boyos' tabbards. I made the chemise, the bodice, the removable sleeves, and both skirts. I also have a coif I made, but ditched cuz hubby didn't like it. This Ren Fest was a total DUD, as it was comprised of like 10 vendors, and 2 stages, and the food court consisted of one booth for Chinese food, one ice cream booth, and one other that sold funnel cakes. At least there was an ale truck. Anyway, we stayed for no more than 1 1/2 hours. Sad :-(
This is from Ren Faire #2, the Spring Escondido Renaissance Faire.

This is my Flemish peasant ensemble. I made the side-lacing tan kirtle as well as the totally reversible over-gown. Drafted both patterns, thank you very much, and you may recognize the sleeves from the prior outfit...Hey, mix & match is SO period, dahling! And I made the linen shirt the night before/morning of, so the cuffs are not finished in ruffled cuffs to match the collar like I planned, but I had used the selvedge edges, so they're kind of 'done'. I love the pinky-coral linen of the gown! I still need a partlet and an apron, but I think this costume was a resounding success in the reproductin dept.
Google "Flemish gown", and you'll see :-) Here's a front view, just cuz. This Faire was little, but WAAAY cooler than that Palm Springs atrocity. The lovely grassy, oak-shaded setting, the engaging, costumed attendees, and the entertaining stage shows really made this one worth being at. I'm even planning on going back for the Fall version later this year!

In other costume-y news, I've most-recently finished a front-lacing brown heavy-linen kirtle with really cool felt guards on the skirt & bodice, but I still have to hand-sew the eyelets. Bugger! I have also made 3 new skirts, and 2 other new bodices for this year (in addition to the ones I've already worn), so I think I'll be ok for future faires. Maybe. I have some really pretty dove grey and some deep terracotta linen I just HAD to buy! Oh yeah, and I made that really cool pirate coat, so I need to make a costume to go with it, right? Yeah, an obsession like that :-)

I want a new drug

2011-01-12T23:09:00.000-08:00

...One that's not spindles!!

But where's the fun in that? Here are my newest additions, 3 beauteous Kunderts. I'm so glad I splurged & got the hand-carved cedar. The wood is just gorgeous & is even lovelier with the carvings.

So, I'm going to actually use my spindles and participate in the Ravelry Spindlers Group January challenge to spin a skein of yarn this month.
This month's theme is "Have a Drink". Mine will be "Malibu Mojito", comprised of 1 ply of green merino/silk (the mojito) & 1 ply of white wool (like the Malibu bottle), to become a scarf for Deanna. I'm shooting for a worsted/chunky weight, and am trying not to overspin this. It's a challenge, cuz I keep wanting to spin my default yarn, which is sport/dk weight. But I'm the boss of my spinning, and I'll get it done! :-)

Spindlicious Def:

2010-12-23T15:34:00.000-08:00

As I alluded in my previous post, my spindle collection has grown, and the babies finally arrived:

This beauty is a special-order Woolly Designs "Flowers" spindle by Tracy Eichheim. Truly a lovely hand-crafted unique design! The cut-outs are also cut by hand - super impressive. I'm so happy with this one!

Also got my Spindlewood Co. special order square spindle:
This one spins like a dream, and is so different-looking. Its whorl is of bloodwood & yellowheart, and the contrast in the colors is so nice. And the circles stay perfect when the spindle is in motion. Steve is an extremely talented woodworker!

Not to be outdone, the Spanish Peacock does it again:
My special-order Snowflake spindle finally arrived, and was sooo worth the 6-weeks wait time. The light Holly wood is perfectly contrasted with the black Ebony. Spectacular! I can't say enough about how much I love Mike's work.

And it just so happened that Sheila Bosworth posted on the Spindlers list that they had Midi's available, so hopped over to the website immediately and was lucky enough to snag a gorgeous Pau Amarillo one:
This spindle sooo lives up to the hype of the Bosworth Spindles. It spins smoothly, and FOREVER! So psyched I was able to finally get my hands on one of these.

So, here are my beauties all together:

Who needs flowers?

I've also knitted some great Christmas gifts for my friends, but I'm most-proud of the Christine Bag. Knitting was a breeze, and only took about 3 hours, but the lining was horrible. But I learned a lot from the process, so when I do one for me, it'll go a lot smoother...hope springs eternal!

Just checking in

2010-11-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, I suck at blogging, but I have been crafty, so I'll show you pictures...
First, I have to show you my Kunderts. I LOVE Kundert spindles! I actually have another on the way...a beautiful cedar, purpleheart & maple one. I can't have enough, and they are so gorgeous, well-made, and spin forever! They're individually hand-crafted, and are so reasonably priced I'm going to pick up as many as I can before Steven Kundert gets wise and starts charging more for these spectacular works of art :-)
Here are my other spindles. I've got 2 Spanish Peacocks, which are also wonderfully hand-crafted, and I've got another one of those on the way, too. Steve is making me a custom one with a white Holly wood whorl (Hollywood, hehe!) and a black Ebony shaft with a SNOWFLAKE design! I can't wait! Of course I have my Golding, a lovely carved spindle from etsy, and another Walnut etsy find. Oh, and I've delved into Turkish spindles. I haven't quite gotten the hang of spinning bottom whorl, but I do love the idea of being able to get a ball of yarn right off my spindle, and not having to do the whole winding into a center-pull ball to ply thing, so I'll keep it up till I master it. I have also an awesome Spindlewood Co square-whorl spindle being made for me, which will be totally unique. And I can't wait till next payday to order a Tom Forrester...probably one of the geometric ones. Yes, I have a bona fide spindle addiction, but I figure there are worse things I could be...

So, to support my spindle habit, and to protect my lovelies on the go, I also knit and felted a nice spindle bag for my yarn in progress.
I am not too happy with how much it shrunk in height, so I didn't felt it further, but it still does the job. I've actually ordered a fabric spindle bag from a nice vendor on etsy, so I'm eagerly awaiting that.

I'm also almost finished with a pair of socks, of which I'll take a picture once they're done. Oh, and this is my first complete 4 oz of yarn spun & plied (plyed?) entirely on a spindle: I spun this up in an airport, on the beach in Cancun, and everywhere in between. All done on my cute heart Kundert spindle. I'm thinking a diamond modular scarf will be just the thing to showcase the color changes on the yarn, but I need to create the pattern first :-).

Oh, I also got a new drum carder...a Fancy Kitty one. Sorry, no pic yet. So, I've experimented on my carder to test how well it does with fine wool, and processed some Brown CVM fleece, which came out sooo soft and lofty, but which has TONS of VM, so I'm not too happy. I also carded some super-crimpy Merino fleece with some fun colorful sari silk, and spindled a little sample (next time I'll add more silk). Also, I spun my first Merino roving in a lovely brick color. It took a little getting used to, and the resulting yarn is more uneven than I like, but, hey, it's handspun! I have 8 oz of this, and it matches a pair of Uggs I have perfectly, so I'll probably make a scarf & hat.

OK, and non-fiber crafty stuff was also made:
This is a pirate coat I sewed recently. The lapels just about killed me! I still have to put on clasps in the front, and buttons on the cuffs, and hand-sew the lining shut, but the hard stuff's done, and I'm happy with this purty little number.

So, my ambitious plans for the future include dyeing some fleece, carding cool mixed batts with different colors & fibers, and of course, spinning & knitting when I can; I'll let you know how it goes. :-)

New Obsessions

2010-06-16T21:20:00.001-07:00

As if I needed another craft to vie for my already-limited free time, my friends convinced me that buying a sewing machine would be good way to save money in my quest to clothe myself and my family for Renaissance Faires. I was easy to persuade, seeing as how the prices for said Faire costumes are completely outrageous!

Anyway, I now have 5 skirts, 3 bodices (complete w/boning), 1 chemise, 2 kids shirts, and a pirate vest under my belt...and they ain't half bad, if I do say so myself. And, I can make them out of the natural fibers which really make the outfits look great, cuz they sure didn't have polyester back then ;-). So, here are just 2 of the outfits I've come up with:

I've got my piratey costume, complete with the felt hat I hand-formed and decorated myself, and 2 authentic linen skirts. I must admit that I bought the chemise, but I did make the bodice.
My peasant costume was pretty cool too, because I got to make bracers and I learned how to drop spin just so I could roam about the Faire doing a period activity. This bodice came out a little too small, but it's a bodice, so it still works!

Yes, the Ren Faire inspired me to learn spindling, which I had resisted until now. But I took a class at my local yarn shop, found that it's super-easy since I already know how to spin on a wheel, and I'm officially hooked! So now I've bought waaay too many 4 oz braids of handpainted wool and have a bonafide spindle addiction:

I've got a custom-made Spanish Peacock Purpleheart, Golding Celtic Knot, a little Poppy one off etsy, and a nice Kundert (my first). Lovely!
Anyway, this is why you'll forgive me for not knitting lately. :-)

Regrets

2010-02-20T08:32:00.000-08:00

I regret being seduced by the beauty and softness that is Malabrigo, throwing good sense out the window, and not attempting this Olympic project in the called-for chunky weight yarn. Because of my poor choice, I've wasted precious competition time on calculating stitch counts (which I HATE doing) and the knitting is of course much slower at the worsted gauge because of inceased number of over-all stitches I must make. DUH!

Also, the finished sweater is not going to look anything like the cozy cushy sweater I had envisioned. Again, because of the poor yarn choice. I'm hoping it will still be nice anyway.

I'm decreasing for the waist, but I think I put too many too close together, because it takes in rather sharply. I'm thinking it doesn't look good and I'm going to have to rip.

I'm still giving it my all, but I'm quickly losing faith that I'll finish this thing by the 28th.

Olympics

2010-02-13T09:14:00.000-08:00

I've been shying away from the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Olympics challenge because I'm aleady hopelessly limited on knitting time due to my 3-4 hour DAILY commute, my full-time job, my boys' homework, just to name a few.

However, I'm being sucked in to the whole thing, and would like to challenge myself to actually finish something. AND, I finally succumbed to peer pressure and ordered and got my first-ever Malabrigo worsted in a lovely colorway called Autumn Forest:

I want to work with this RIGHT NOW, and don't want it to become stash and then get sucked into the whole "I don't want to use this stash yarn I've had forever because I'm waiting for the PERFECT project for it" and then I end up a crazy yarn hoarder.

So, I'm going to try to do "Sedum" by Jane Richmond. It's a free Ravelry download, so check it out!
Doesn't it just scream "comfy" and "cozy"? I think it would be the perfect project for the super-soft, cushy, warm Malabrigo. So, I'm going for it.

It doesn't seem like it will be a technical challenge for me, but it is definitely a time-constraint challenge. So, this will require self-discipline and extreme time-management, which I need to work on anyway. I'm signed up for both the Knitting Olympics and Ravelymics, so there is great potential for public humiliation should I fail. Let the games begin!

Knitting FO's - really, I swear!

2009-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

I finally finished Sylvi and I'm the most-happy I've ever been with a finished knitting project. Here she is:

Isn't she lovely? I've gotten so many positive comments from random strangers, and that NEVER happens.

Anyway, the pattern was easy to follow and very well-written. My modifications: omitted the hood, which resulted in me changing the cable pattern on the back; I modified the sleeves a bit by tapering them; I added a flower on the front right panel. I just did not enjoy the sewing of the petals (I despise sewing). I also found perfect buttons (pink plumerias carved from coconuts), which turned out to be too big for the buttonholes, so I have to sew on hook & eye closures now. But it was soooo totally worth it!

Also, my recent road trip to Colorado for Thanksgiving provided lots of knitting time. I made this adorable little fishy hat for Trevor.

I had to fudge the pattern a bit to make it small enough for his head, and I'm not sure I'd be able to do it again. One of a kind!

I also started my Heroine coat.
I've finished the back, and I love how the tweedy yarn looks. It will be felted eventually, and I'm really excited to get it going. But now it's on hold for me to do some Christmas knitting. So, for the next two weeks, nothing but scarves, little felted bags, teddy bears and caps for me. We'll see how much I actually get done!

proof

2009-10-18T23:52:00.000-07:00

To prove that I am actually knitting, here's a pic of my current project, Sylvi.
I've almost finished the back. I'm modifying the pattern by omitting the hood. This means that I have to change the vines & flowers, since the pattern says they should climb up the hood. I've made the changes, and now I'm hoping it won't look too retarded.

For all you Ravelers who want to track my progress, here's my project link: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/chicksryd2/sylvi

I'm still nervous about what the final measurements will be, but I'm hoping for the best!

Don't call it a comeback...

2009-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

Since last I posted, lots has happened...no duh, right? But I've started knitting and spinning again, so I guess I can post here again.

Ravelry has had a lot to do with my getting back into the fibery stuff I love, so I'm really grateful for it. My active project is the gorgeous Sylvi coat from the Twist Collective: http://twistcollective.com/2008/winter/magazinepage_06.php

I'm using stash Cadena from KnitPicks, a lovely plush alpaca/wool blend I used in a previous sweater I posted before..."Cabled Cardigan", or some other such bland name. Anyway, I'm knitting tighter than the gauge, but I did do a swatch, and actually washed and blocked it and...drum roll please...GOT GAUGE with a nice, drapey fabric, which will be nice because I think thick alpaca might make this too hot for the So Cal weather.

So now, it's very disconcerting to see the actual measurements so much smaller than what they're supposed to be. But, I'm going to trust that little 4x4 piece of knitted fabric, and will continue on. Plus, lots of Rav folks say that they blocked the hell out of their Sylvi's and they turned out fine. I'm still going to add some extra rows to make it longer, though, because I don't want any width to get sucked up into making it longer.

I'll get some pics up soon...

Off to Colorado

2007-12-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

Well, another post sans pics. But, I did start my black cap as I had promised you, and it fit very well, so I'm excited that I got a recipe that will work. However, I forgot it over Matt's parents' house on Christmas, so it's not being worked on. Also, in that same bag, I had Honey's socks, so those aren't getting any closer to being done either.

But, I'm leaving to Colorado today to spend New Year's w/Matt's brother & his wife (his brother's wife, not Matt's). We'll go snowboarding, and indoor parachuting (I'm very nervous about that one), and taking them to dinner to celebrate various b-days. But, this also means that I MUST HAVE KNITTING to save my sanity on the plane. Therefore, I have packed 3 skeins of Worsted Weight yarn, a skein of sock yarn, some appropriately-sized dpns and 16" circs, so I will cast on another hat. Or a sock, if the mood so strikes me. After all, I imagine it will be very snowy out that-a-way, and you can't have snow without knitting, now can you?

When I post next year, I'll have pics. I promise :-)

Obligatory monthly post

2007-12-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Well, I have no pics for you this month. I am still working on Honey's sock cuffs. I did detour for a day and begin working on an A-line swing coat, but I'm not happy with it thus far, so I need to rip it. But, I did use my Harmony needles on it, and I must say that I LOVE them!

What else? I'm going to start a basic ribbed cap with a pony-tail hole. It's ridiculous that I haven't finished a cap for myself. I've already been snowboarding twice, and had to stoop to borrowing a cap from my Honey, since my store-bought hat has disappeared. But, come on, seriously, it takes like no yarn and very little time to knit a cap!

But, I find myself spending a ridiculous number hours agonizing over the color (pink? white? black? brown? a combo?), the design (cabled? What cables? Fair Isle? What design?), the construction (ribbed completely? ribbed on the bottom & stockinette for the rest?). Then I search for patterns, surfing the web, flipping through magazines, and checking my books. At that point, it's pretty much paralysis through analysis and I give up on the whole idea.

Then, I look in stores like Hollinger where SIMPLE 2x2 rib hats are $25, and my resolve is renewed. $25 for ACRYLIC?!?! And they're always too big for my freaky-small 19" head. And there's no ponytail hole!

So, today, I am casting on 84 sts of some basic Black stash wool yarn and doing 2x2 rib until it's time to insert a largish one-row buttonhole a'la EZ for my ponytail, and I resolve to have it done by Wednesday, which is my next snowboarding trip. I'll let you know how it comes out.

P.S. - Honey's daughter has let the scarf die on her needles, as she had gotten stuck and I wasn't around to help. I'm not pushing the issue, but I'm planning on knitting around her and making really cool hats in the hopes that she'll become inspired once more. We knitters are so devious! :-)

Propagating

2007-11-29T19:50:00.000-08:00

So, I must let you all know that I have been busy hooking a poor, unsuspecting 10-year-old girl into our fibery fun. I taught my boyfriend's daughter how to knit last weekend.

I tried showing her the continental method, which I favor, but she ended up latching on to the English method, which I showed her when she was having issues with the other. She picked it up so quickly and loved it so much ("This is fun!"), that I had to strike while the iron was hot and I promptly took her to the craft store where I bought her a beginner book and the called-for yarn and needles for a garter-stitch scarf. The colors she picked are great, we modified the amount of c/o stitches (see? already letting her know that patterns are merely guides), and away she went. I haven't spoken to her since the weekend, and her dad keeps forgetting to ask her how she's doing with it, but I'm hoping her knitting is continuing apace, and that soon she'll be ready to learn purl. If not, well, at least she tried it.

Speaking of her dad, here is how his socks are coming along:

Yeah, I'm pretty burned out on them, but I'm soooo close to a pair of socks.

But I unearthed some socks in progress I had apparently started in May 2006. And, since these were for ME and were close to being done, I took a break from Matt's socks and actually finished something:

I LOVE my socks! They're comfy and fit me perfectly. Of course, I didn't write down how many stitches these were, but I think it was 56. They're Regia Stretch, and I am exceedingly happy with the yarn, and I'm on a FO high.

I'm feeling so good, I've been tempted by the beauteous Autumn Rose fitted Fair Isle 3/4 sleeve sweater designed by Eunny Jang. I would like it to have full sleeves, and I'm seeing that the best deal I can get would bring the price tag of the yarn & book for this pattern to about $96.00. So, I'm passing (for now), and am entertaining ideas of starting the "U-Neck Sweater" I was eyeballing at the end of last year. At least I already have the pattern and yarn for it.

Or, I could start an A-line swing coat in chunky wool which would go pretty quickly. Or, I could do the Aran Coat ala Meg Swansen from "Knitting Around", as I have the yarn, the book, and the video for it.

Or maybe I should force myself to plug along on my poor Honey's socks and let him know the joy that is perfectly-fitting, hand-made, love-induced knitted socks.

Ummmmm..

2007-11-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, okay. Yes, I realize that it's been now four months since my last (lame) post. However, I do have knitting to show you:

Um, now I must explain myself. This is a pair of socks in progress, at the point where the heel has just been completed and I am now sailing up the cuff in 2x2 rib. They seem quite long, do they not? That's because they are for a size 13 foot.

Now, I realize that in my last post, I was thanking my lucky stars that I was not planning on knitting for a size 13 foot. Well, let's just say that now I AM thanking my lucky stars that I am knitting for a size 13 foot. Irony is great.

So, these socks have been my WIP for the past 2 months. I hope to have them done soon. I then plan on making a hat for myself which has a hole in the top for a pony tail for when I go snowboarding. I have issues with goggle placement.

And, this is the only knitting-related purchase I've made in many, many months:

Yes, I succumbed to the new Knit Picks Harmony needle set. I haven't yet knit with them (I'll use 'em on my hat), but they feel very slick and warm and they are just beautiful! I'm so happy with them, even though they only go down to size 4.

OK, so I won't make any promises so that your expectations will remain low, and therefore the chance of disappointment is lessened when I don't post for another few months. But, hopefully, I'll keep my act together, and you'll see a pair of finished socks soon...

Over 6 months have passed...

2007-07-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Hi there!

My goodness, where has the time gone? I'm so sorry to have been gone for so long, but, you know.

So, hey, since last we spoke, I've completed the dragon scarf, the Fiesta Shawl is in the exact same state it was when you last saw it, and I believe I've only finished knitting a baby hat. So, you see, it was a blessing for you that I did not post to this blog. Otherwise, all you would have heard about was my failed attempt at completing an online MBA course, my crazy-busy job, and my Online Dating escapades.

Alright, in other knitting news, I'm almost done w/the Rick Rack bag I'm making for my friend Deanna. She had seen mine, and was so taken with it, she requested one for herself. So, because I love her, I cast on...even had the colors she wanted in the stash! I've only got the handles left to do, so I'll be sure to do the whole "before" and "after" felting pics.

So, besides the 2 afore-mentioned on-going projects, I'm agitating to make hand-knit fishnet stockings. I've got 2 patterns, and 1 on the way, so once I get a pattern I really like, I'm casting on, baby. I'm going to order that new Knit Picks yarn Risata in Black. Won't that be soooo awesome?! I can't wait!

Alright, so I guess I'm back, baby! Let the knitting begin in earnest!

Online Dating

2007-01-23T22:41:00.000-08:00

There will be no pictures in this post, so if you're looking for eye candy and/or inspiration, you would do well to move along at this point. If you're interested in pathetic tales of single-dom, please stay tuned.

First, I did get a chance to spin, and it was wonderful. I felt so guilty for neglecting my lovely Symphony for so long...I had actually forgotten I had bought a Woollee Winder for it. How lame is that? But it was, pardon the cliche, just like riding a bike, and I fell right into making my springy Blackbird yarn for my Rogue cardigan. I think I made about 90 yards, and am almost done with another bobbin of singles, so hopefully I'll have 2 finished skeins to show you next time. Then I have to prepare some more fiber. I'm this close to just using pre-made yarn for this project.

But I have started and made some progress on the Tie-Front Cardigan from the Vogue Holiday 06 issue. I'm making it in black Gloss from KnitPicks. It's a nice silk-merino blend, and I think this coat will be absolutely fantastic once I finish it. I'll show that to you in my next post as well.

But anyway, I recently subscribed to match.com, and let me tell you, it's an interesting world out there. I haven't dated at all anyway (I met my soon-to-be-ex when I was 18, and he was my first boyfriend), so it's all new to me. It's actually very overwhelming. I'm not putting too much hope into it, but it's kind of making me feel better because it's something I can actually "do" to help alleviate my feelings of being such a man-less loser. I might un-subscribe, but I'll be going out with a friend of mine tomorrow who has been on match.com for quite some time, so I'm going to pick her brain on how to navigate this stuff. Perhaps she'll renew my enthusiasm.

I'll keep you all posted....

Here there be dragons

2007-01-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Well, an eye-less dragon, but a dragon none-the-less...

I really enjoyed this pattern, and it was pretty quick to make. As I had mentioned in a previous post, the yarn from Morehouse Merino is absoulutely sinfully soft, and was nice to knit up.

I just need to block this bad boy, sew on the eyes, and tassel in the puffs of smoke in its nostrils. Because I'm sketchy on finishing, I probably won't actually have this done for a while, but I'm excited about it, so here it is.

In non-fibery news, I'm now 2-weeks post-op. The nurse has told me that I'm healing up very well, and a lot of my friends are surprised that I already came back to work this week, so I guess I'm doing well. I attended hula class last night, but only sat and did the hand movements half-heartedly. But even that little bit of activity left me sore, so I'm really impatient with this whole recovery process. My tummy is also still a little swollen, and the swelling gets worse as the day wears on, so that's really ticking me off, too. I just need to be patient, but that's never been one of my strong suits.

Anyway, this will be my child-less weekend, and I'm planning on doing some spinning. It's been so long, I hope I remember how to do it :-)

Post-Op

2007-01-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I did the deed. The surgery went very well (i.e. I survived) and recovery continues apace.

My new rack is the perfect size...just a bit larger than they've been with my push-up padded bras, so there isn't a very obvious difference. Of course there is to me. The bummer is that for the next 3 weeks I've got to wear a tight strap across my chest which squeezes them together and pushes them down to help them drop into place. This means I'll have projectile boobies and no pretty bras till that's done. I have a feeling I might cheat and go strap-less a bit. I did some preliminary measurements, and it looks like I'm a 32 C. Woohoo!

The tummy tuck is another matter altogether. I look like Frankenstein down there, and the belly button is decidedly unsavory. But the tummy is AMAZING! I have a killer waist and I'm as flat as a board! 26 inches, baby! Of course, my scar is absolutely crazy-looking, but I'm applying some expensive scar cream in the hopes that it will eventually become less horrifying. For those of you who aren't squeamish, click here to see it 4 days post-op.

Anyway, I'm a lot more ambulatory, but I did get some knitting time in.

Here's that Fiesta Shawl I've been wanting to make for 6 years....Well, Blogger is up to its usual tricks, and it won't let me post pics. So, let's try this:

Alright, here she is. Isn't she lovely? This is the first time I've knit with rayon ribbon and mohair, and they are both tricky in their own little ways. Suffice it to say that winding ribbon is not my idea of a fun time. Right now, the thing causing me concern is the fact that I've already run out of 1 skein of Gelato. It seems that the shawl isn't even half done, and I still have fringe to do. Of course, the shawl is getting smaller, but I'm not sure it's getting smaller fast enough. Well, time will tell. Till then, I need to sew the beginning of the next ball to the end of this ball, but I've been too lazy to get out my needle & thread.

So, instead, I started this...

Look, I'm knitting a dragon tail! This is the Dragon Scarf Kit from Morehouse Merino. It was outrageously expensive for a scarf kit, I thought, but I LOVE dragons, and wouldn't this just be the coolest thing to wear while snowboarding?! But the yarn is fantastically soft and lofty and it'll be such a treat to have this soft dragon snuggling warmly against my neck. The pattern is fun and it really does look like a dragon, no? You gotta love knitting!

This is fun...

2006-12-23T19:43:00.001-08:00

Yes, I do have a new project on the needles, and it involved cable-casting on 423 stitches! Talk about new and exciting ways to torture yourself! But the yarn is gorgeous, and I'll post a pic as soon as I make a significant amount of progress.

Until then, my time is being consumed by my anticipation for my surgeries next Friday. I'm excited, and apprehensive at the same time and I'm really NOT looking forward to the recovery period. Well, I'm trying to get as much advice as I can, but I know that my experience will all depend on me and my own reaction to the procedures. I'm just one of those people who has to do a bunch of research and get as much info as I can in order to feel somewhat at ease, even though it's mostly pointless. Of course, the most important part of my recovery perid will be the knitting projects I'll be working on...that is IF I'm able. I certainly hope so, and am planning accordingly.

Anyway, here's something fun to do...I think it was pretty accurate for me, because believe me, I've been low lately, and I REALLY need some attention and some outside affirmation from others. And I absolutely adore blue :-)

Your Power Color Is Indigo

At Your Highest:

You are on a fast track to success - and others believe in you.

At Your Lowest:

You require a lot of attention and praise.

In Love:

You see people as how you want them to be, not as how they are.

How You're Attractive:

You're dramatic flair makes others see you as mysterious and romantic.

Your Eternal Question:

"Does This Work Into My Future Plans?"

What's Your Power Color?

Knitting on Google

2006-12-23T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hey, if you get the chance today, go to Google.com. They've got 2 knitting kangaroos as part of their logo today! Very cute!!

Get your FO here!

2006-12-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

Ladies & Gents, with absolutely no ado, here is my most recent Finished Object:

Yeah, I know the one pic is crooked, but I never said I was a wiz with the camera. But I'm really happy with the sweater, and it'll be even better once I break down and block it. Here are the specs for those of you who are interested in such things:
Pattern: "Woman's Cardigan" (such a catchy name), the cover sweater on the Fall 2006 "Knit Simple". Smallest size.
Modications: I shortened the body by 3" and lengthened the sleeves by 3". I also mirrored the cable twists on the fronts and the back, and made the center back cable a horseshoe-like cable which I also used down the sleeves.
Yarn: KnitPicks "Sierra" in the color "Tide". I really like this yarn as it is soft and thick and shows the stitches very well. However, there were an average of 2 knots in most of the skeins, and I was too lazy to deal with them correctly...you know, cut out the knot and splice the yarn ends. So, we'll see how that decision pans out for me. Oh, here's how much I had left...

This was such a quick knit that I really didn't have time to get tired of it. So, I've already wound the skeins for my next projects. Yes, I'm going to start two: One for mindless knitting, and the other for when I have time to concentrate. I figure I'm going to have some awesome knitting time on my hands while recovering from my surgery in less than 2 weeks. Also, I may be flying out to Hawaii at the end of this week for my grandfather's funeral, so that will also need a project. I'll let you know once things are "for sure".

Another year

2006-12-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived my birthday on the 5th, and I made it through yet another year! I never in a million years thought I would be where I am at this point in my life, but it's all good.

Alas, this is yet another post scarce on the fibery stuff. My poor Cardigan remains sleeveless, although I have sewed one sleeve seam together. So close, and yet so far. I'll work on it later after I finish off these:

My mom has the kids tonight, since she'll watch them tomorrow, and I'm relaxing w/my faves...Hornsby's Hard Apple Cider & a Godiva Macadamia Nut truffle. MMMMMM, talk about heaven! I had stayed up till midnight last night working on a report for my stress-inducing job, and I am so going to bed early tonight. I'll just stay up long enough to watch "The New Adventures of Old Christine", and them I'm out. Maybe I'll work on my cardigan while I zone out. Then I'll actually have something related to wool to show you.

Hmm, speaking of showing you something, looky what I did this weekend to commemmorate my birthday:

This is on my lower back, and is my second tattoo. It still stings. It's actually based on a sketch I drew up, and it didn't turn out like I had expected, but it's growing on me, and I'm starting to really like it. Either that, or I'm mind-screwing myself into liking it because IT'S FREAKING PERMANENT! But, it's really not that bad, right? For those of you who can't really tell, it's supposed to be the Harley Davidson shield with plumerias around it. At least the colors are pretty.

So, anyway, you've suffered through this post, and I feel that I must mention something related to knitting. After all, this is supposed to be about the Tales of a Spinning Knitter, not a man-less, depressed, stressed out freak. So, here goes: I'm debating on what my next project should be...

These are both from the Holiday 2006 issue of Vogue Knitting. I'm LOVING the pretty Frost Flowers ruffley cardigan, but I think the cute cabled, bell-sleeved jacket would be perfect for work. I have the yarn for the jacket, but I've already decided on KnitPicks Gloss in black for the Frost Flowers...I just have to break down and order it. Wouldn't black silk & merino be just lovely?

So, you'll see soon enough what I decide. If you'd like to vote, I'd be more than happy to take your opinions in consideration. :-)

Hope springs eternal

2006-12-03T10:44:00.000-08:00

Advisory: Before you read on, I just want to warn you that there is no fibery content in this post, nor are there pictures. But it's short.

Wow, I'm just a posting machine lately, huh? Y'all sick of me yet? I'll bet you wish I would go back on another depression-inspiried hiatus. Well, I do still cry a little every once in a while when I hear certain feelings expressed in songs or even some sappy TV commericals, but that's all you're getting from me. I'm tired of feeling unhappy. If you have Evanescence's new album "The Open Door" (and if you don't yet, what the hell are you waiting for?), the last song "Good Enough" is one of those songs. I LOVE LOVE LOVE me some Evanescence!!

But, you'll be happy to know I'm feeling much better. I went out with my aunts & cousins last night & I saw the cutest guy (light eyes, dark hair, late 30's/early 40's, wasn't drinking nor smoking, and wasn't acting like a horny-assed jerk) at the Boiler Room in Redlands! We made eye contact & smiled a couple of times and my aunts said he was checking me out when I wasn't looking, but I was having a tough time getting up the nerve to say anything to him. He was with 3 other guys, and just when I was going to say hi (he was standing really close to me), some FREAKY dude came right between us and started talking to me. Then the guy & his buddys left while I was stuck w/long-haired weirdo! I figure that if it's meant to be, the fates will bring ol' blue-eyes and me together once more (although I'm sure fate would have had an easier time if I had given him my number)...and by then I should have nicer boobs, a flat tummy, and a finalized divorce :-) He was really cute though, and he's inspired me to believe that there are, indeed, other fish in the sea. Of course, he could have been a total jerk, and it could have been the best move in history for me not to talk to him, but this is my fantasy, and I'll assume he was a prince if I want to!

Yes, dear ones, hope springs eternal. It's a character flaw of mine I'm trying to work on ;-)

Halloween in December

2006-12-02T18:44:00.000-08:00

Hey, better late than never. Besides, if I didn't keep my promises to you, kind gentle reader, what kind of person would I be?

As promised over a month ago, here I am as Satan's Bride (as if I even have a chance in hell - pun intended - of being anyone's bride - HAHAHA!):

Please don't mind my sister-in-law's butt in the background. And, yes, that is my very own felted bag being used as a "trick or treat" receptacle (I was collecting candy for my littlest guy. Really!). Who said knitting isn't useful?

Oh, and one more of me & my bros:

Good times!

Therapy in its various forms

2006-12-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I survived the week at work as a lone HRO in a department which requires 2 HRO's to stay on top of things. My partner in crime has been out because she was in a car accident over the weekend, but she's scheduled to come back next Monday. Believe me, I have been freaking and tweaking these past few days, and was soooo ready for the weekend.

So here's what I did to unwind...

That's right, baby, I hit the slopes at Mountain High for some serious snowboarding therapy. It was absolutely SPECTACULAR!! The snow was perfect and the weather was 55 degrees, so I was riding in my tanktop & hoodie. There weren't too many people and the lift ticket was discounted because it's still early in the season. And I rode better than I ever have; the wind rushed past my ears, I rode up the sides of hills, and I carved the hell out of that mountain. I rode until my calves started aching...

And that was my signal to chill out because my friends had planned on taking me to an Indian casino for some pre-birthday clubbing action, and I didn't want to wear myself out too much. So I only spent 4 hours on the mountain, but it was soooo worth it!

Anyway, long story short on the pre-birthday trip...this was the first time in like over TEN (10!) years that I've been to a nice club; soon-to-be-ex didn't like clubs. This was also the first time in like 5 years I got to go out with these friends; soon-to-be-ex didn't like me going out with friends. So, there was a nice big group of us, we got a little jiggy with it and got our groove on on the dance floor, and went back to the room at a respectable 1:30 am. I didn't get (too) drunk, danced with some decidedly unsavory guys, and just had an outstanding time. I've known most of these girls for like 6 years, so we always get crazy and have a blast together. It was nice to get out with people who care so much about me.

What's funny is that, although I loved the company of my friends, going into the type of situation where it's basically a meatmarket is very unnerving to me. I feel like I'm constantly being judged against the other girls (very young, cute girls, mind you), and am being found lacking. I draw this conclusion based on the fact that no normal-looking guys approached me. Although, at one point I did have an opportunity to approach a really cute normal-looking guy, but I chickened out because I just couldn't survive rejection. I found out later that it was his birthday too, so that could have so been my ice-breaker, us having close birthdays, but it was too late to try it out. Oh well...

Anyway, I find that I feel really down about myself in that type of atmosphere. And, even if I was to meet someone there, I'm not sure he'd be the type I'd want to hook up with. I don't know, it's hard to explain. I guess I just wanted to say that I expected that going clubbing would make me feel better about myself, but it just kind of amplifies my aloneness and my total lack of hope that a single, good-looking, successful guy will ever be attracted to me, a 32-year-old, soon-to-be-divorced mother of a 1 & 3 year old.

And, yes, I know it's too early to be thinking of getting back into a relationship, and yes, I know that I need to enjoy being alone and use this opportunity to get to know and like myself for myself, but I have security & self-esteem issues. I'm still at a point where I would like to feel like someone cares about me and my day-to-day life. You know, just to know that there's at least one person, besides me, out there in the whole world who really cares about what's going on in my life just because of the simple fact that he cares about me.

Hmmmm, now that I'm reading that, I think that's part of what my idea of love is at its core...an unselfish caring that prompts self-sacrifice to ensure the happiness of the other without expectation of external reward; the reward is the happiness he/she creates in the other person. That would be magic, wouldn't it? It's a freaking pipedream for me at this point.

Moving on (much like I should be doing), I've got some knitting to show you.

I am currently working on the collar. I don't want to sound too confident for fear of angering the knitting gods, but I'm pretty optimistic that I may be able to finish this without running out of yarn. I've already seamed the shoulders, so once the collar is done, I'll just sew the sides, sleeves and then set the sleeves in and I'll be in FO Heaven.

I've already got my eye on another project, but more on that later....

Living on the edge

2006-11-28T19:33:00.000-08:00

I'm knitting like I'm possessed. I've neglected housework, work that I've brought home to work on, and perhaps I've put the Cars video on a few too many times than what's good for my kids, but I can't help myself.

Behold, the home stretch...

I have the top portion of the fronts to knit. Well, that's not very exciting, you say? Well, what if I told you that the ball of yarn in the upper-left part of the pic is my VERY LAST BALL OF YARN! That's right, just 110 yards left. I have to finish the fronts and then a collar. Can I make it? Do I have enough? The suspense...she is killing me!

Just for prospective, each front took 1 whole ball of yarn to get to the arm-hole shaping. I think I just might eeek by, but there's still a chance I could get burned here. It was the extra length I added to the sleeves that did me in. But then again, I had also shortened the body by 3 inches, so that should have counter-acted the sleeves, right?. Right? Why oh why didn't I buy an extra ball? Why, I ask you! Everyone says to buy an extra ball! EVERYONE! I think that's one of the first things EZ tells you to do. Well, don't mind me, I'm just the freak with the sweater missing a collar lapel...

So, I must now go knit. Y'all will be the first to know how it goes.

Finally, some knitting!

2006-11-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

Well, I must say, that EZ sure knew what she was talking about when she said something along the lines of, and I'm taking liberties with this here: knitting soothes the troubled soul...and it's not too bad for the untroubled soul either. Truer words have not been uttered about our beloved craft. I have re-discovered happy knitting (i.e. not knitting to a deadline nor knitting for someone who does not deserve it) and I cannot stop!

I've made mad progress on that sweater. See? Here's the back...

And this is one of the sleeves, (I've actually finished BOTH, but since they look exactly the same...you know) and the beginnings of the fronts. Yes, my lords and ladies, I am knitting BOTH fronts AT THE SAME TIME! This is the first time I'm attempting this, and I don't know why I've waited this long to do this. In fact, I'm thinking I should have done it with the sleeves. I'm guessing that the exhilaration of my recent feat of finishing 2 socks at the same time has inspired me.

Regardless of why I'm doing it, I gotta tell ya that this 2 at a time thing is really great. Now, I admit, it took me quite a bit of pre-planning before I felt comfortable enough to jump on in, but now I'm motoring right along, secure in the knowledge that my fronts will have shaping at the same places, will be the exact same length, and, this is the most important, they will be DONE!! I will not have to knit yet another front after completing a front. And, as an added bonus, I'll be done with my entire sweater upon completion of these fronts. Life is indeed good when knit happens.

The downside to this knitting therapy is that, although I've had a nice long 4-day weekend, I've accomplished very little in the way of housework. I actually bought all kinds of organizing gadgets and shelving in anticipation of having a productive weekend, but they are still sitting in my room unopened and unassembled. Maybe tomorrow. After my fronts are done...

Nothing to see here...

2006-11-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Well, I had an interesting time at the CalPELRA conference. In case you're all just dying with curiosity, CalPELRA is the California Public Employers Labor Relations Association. It was quite an experience. They had fantastic give-aways (as well they should, considering it was like $600/person for the conference fee) and an abundance of interesting lecture sessions. I would love to go into more detail about the non-conference hours, but I've been cautioned that "what happens at CalPELRA stays at CalPELRA". Therefore, in the interest of keeping my new job, I'll just assume that posting CalPELRA happenings on my blog would be violating this directive, and will have to leave you all in suspense (I'm sure it's killing you). Suffice it to say, after everything that happened, I'm very grateful I still have said new job.

Anyway, I did give the socks to the intended recipient. Unfortunately, I was unable to give them face to face, but I did receive 2 nice "thank you" texts. We're in a strange place, and I'm not sure what to think about our friendship, but I'm not going to worry about it. However, I can guarantee that there will be no more knitted gifts.

Well, I'm currently working on that cabled sweater from Knit Simple my friend Nola and I are supposed to be doing a knit-along with. I've finished the back and am closing in on a sleeve cap. I must say, it's very nice to work with nice, thick, chunky yarn after working with those teeny needles and thin sock yarn. Noticeable progress is good.

You know, I don't think I've posted a pic of my progress on this sweater at all. I'll rectify that in my next post. Promise.

Oh, and I've scheduled my elective surgery for Friday, December 29. Dr. says recovery time is about 1 week, with most patients being up and about after only 3 days! I was comfortable with him, he actually owns the surgery facility so can schedule surgeries whenever he wants, he's really close to my work (good for appointments), and he gave me a hell of a deal. How could I refuse? Now I just have to get through the waiting. Well, I've got my b-day and Christmas next month to keep me occupied, so I'm sure I'll muddle through somehow. But, the great thing is that I'll only have to take 3 days off work to get me 10 recovery days. How's that for a spectacular way to ring in the new year?

I just can't catch a break...

2006-11-10T20:57:00.000-08:00

Alright, that's quite a bit melodramatic, and if you never come back to read my blog after reading that title, I won't blame you a bit. I'm really thinking of changing it, but it just about sums up my week. I'm having a rough life right now.

Work has been outrageously busy. I mean, this is my second week working in my new position, and I am completely overwhelmed. It's not the actual work, per se, but it's the volume that's killing me. It just never stops! I swear, I've spent a grand total of 5 hours actually in my office in the last week. My life consists of endless back-to-back meetings which result in ever more work. And, of course, when certain high-ranking very important people request something, you had best be dropping everything else, or you can kiss your sweet ass goodbye. I can honestly say that I've NEVER missed a deadline at work, but I'm VERY worried that something is going to slip through the cracks, and I'll be having to do some major 'splaining. So, I do a lot of working at home. People freak out when they receive emails from me time-stamped 11:30 p.m. But it's keeping my mind off other things which, right now, is a very good thing.

So, my mother has told me that she doesn't want to fight anymore. That's fine. I'm playing along because 1) it's very hard for me to hold a grudge. It's probably why I stayed w/hubby so long. I'm always willing to forget & forgive. Although, I don't think my mom's & my relationship will ever be the same; 2) she sometimes offers to watch the kids. If you are the mother of 2 children under the age of 4, you will understand how much this means to me; 3) I don't like to "keep the party going". If someone's willing to bury the hatchet, I'm not going to be the one to reject it in favor of more drama. No thanks.

And, I have a knitted-gift question for you. You know those socks you've been forced to look at the past couple of months? The ones for which I put aside all of my other projects (sweaters) which would have been done by now, just in time for the cool fall weather. The ones I've been working on during every spare moment of my life, falling asleep while knitting because I can only work on them after the kids have gone to bed and I'm not working at home. Well, these socks are a very personal expression of caring for the recipient. I'm sure you all know about the thoughts that go into every stitch of a project you're knitting for someone. A knitted gift is truly a labor of love.

It should be no surprise to you, considering how the fates have been punishing me lately, that the intended recipient of these socks has decided that, at this point in life, there is too much going on to be able to commit to maintaining steady communication with me. Communication consists mostly of text-messaging. So, this so-called-friend has basically told me that life has priorities, and I'm so low on that list that I don't even warrant 1 minute of the day for a freakin' text.

So, the dillema: Do I go ahead and give the socks anyway? The color, the inscription, the size were all chosen specifically with this person in mind. Every time I look at them, I think of the recepient. I can't give them to anyone else.

Oh, more non-knitting news: I went for a consultation for a boob job & tummy tuck. Good news is that, saggy as I am, I don't need a lift. Bad news is that, for the whole shootin' match, I need to come up with $10 grand. But it'll be so worth it, and I can hardly wait. As background, I nursed 2 children 8 months each. I started out a nice B, and am now a flat, saggy, deflated A-. Horrible. And my tummy resembles an overflated balloon which has now been deflated. I started at 108 lbs, gained 45 lbs with each kid, and am now back to 105 lbs (thanks to that cool "stress-caused-by-the-big-D" diet). Not a pretty sight. I've tentatively scheduled surgery for Dec 27th, but I'll be having a consult w/another surgeon on Nov 21, who's been recommended by 2 of my friends. So, things may change, but it will happen.

Well, I did have a bit of knitting luck...perhaps the fates didn't want to drive me ALL the way to suicide. I was dragging the kids all over town today looking for a piece of luggage to use for my 3-day conference in Monterey next week (yeah, I'm super-busy and I'll be gone from work from Tuesday afternoon through Friday night!). In the 5th store of the day, a Big Lots, I found this:

This is a super-bulky weight chenille I scored for $1 a skein. I got all they had of this color, which is 14 skeins. Of course, I do not NEED this yarn, and in fact, have no room for it. But I'm addicted, and I can't help myself. And doesn't chenille worm? I'm an idiot.

So, what do I do with the socks?

I love socks

2006-11-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself right around now. My mother is so hurtful, that I actually don't ever want to see her again. And I'm not being dramatic. Just very deeply hurtful stuff about not being proud of my success at work & school and that she can't support my decision to get a divorce because she doesn't want my family broken up, even though she, herself, is DIVORCED!! Did I mention that one of the things I cannot abide is a hypocrite? Just absolutely irrepairable damage to what little relationship we had.

Anyway, enough of that. Look, I've made some progress:

I've got 1 week and 1 day till these bad boys are due, and I think I just may make it. Knock on wood.

So, now that I'm so close to the end of these, of course my thoughts are already on my next pair of socks. I'm liking these as prospects:

This is, obviously, Fleece Artist Merino Socks. Absolutely beautiful. This is "Russet" and "Hercules". How could you not want Hercules? I think he may be next on the needles.

I'll let you know if I make the deadline. Here's hoping...

Almost Too Lazy for Pictures

2006-10-29T21:15:00.000-08:00

I'm so horrible, and I think I'm breaking all kinds of ultimatums from my webrings with my failure to post regularly (aka more than once a freaking month), but considering my life's tatterted state, I'm hoping that you, Gentle Reader, and the kind fiber artists will take pity upon me and show mercy.

Well, the divorce continues apace. I've prepared the next wave of papers, and now have the firm understanding that I was out of my ever-loving mind to even entertain the idea that I could afford to keep this house with my single income. So, now, moving is imminent. Problem is that I HATE moving. And I REALLY don't want to have to pack up my stash. After all, I took up my spinning obsession after I moved into this house, and I'm not looking forward to moving that stash in addition to my knitting one, which has magically gotten larger since I moved in here.

Speaking of income, I have recently received a nice promotion at work. I'm very excited, but also now VERY busy. Like taking-work-home busy, because everything is so new that routine paperwork is time-consuming because of all the questions I have to ask and research I have to do. Also, I will be moving from my beloved HR office to an office in my assigned department, so I'm not really digging that part. I'll miss all the friends I've made these past 4 years. They promise not to forget me, but it's pretty much "out of sight, out of mind" with those guys. I can only hope...

Ah, yes, you came here for knitting and/or spinning stuff. Well, I aim to please (a fatal relationship flaw, but I digress...)

The observant among you will note immediately that these are NOT the socks pictured in the previous post. I frogged those bad boys, bought some black Opal to use for the toes & heels, and learned how to do the 2 socks on 2 circs deal. I also ditched the Fair Isle fiasco and have cultivated a nice acquaintance with duplicate stitching. I did try to buy another skein of Moody Blues during the same trip I acquired the Opal, but the skein I had left behind at Close Knit was gone when I went back. You snooze, you lose. But I did get some nice Trekking to help with the pain.

Anyway, I must say that I'm madly in love w/this 2S2C technique. The socks are moving right along, and I'm tickled with the idea that once I'm done, I'm DONE! We'll see what I think once I get to the heel, which is just about one inch away. I'm sooo guessing at the foot size on this. Oh well, I'll just do the best I can. Did I mention I now have less than 2 & 1/2 weeks left to work on these? Just sayin'...

Oh, I feel I must also confess to getting 2 skeins of Fleece Artist in Hercules & Mahogany, both absolutely gorgeous. I pet them both throughout the day. Also, I may have also gotten 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces in "Pioneer". It seems I've got quite a bit of yarn to try out that 2S2C method. :-)

I've always loved Halloween, and soon-to-be ex didn't much care for it, so in the past years, I haven't participated to the full extent I would have liked. Baby, let me tell you, I've spent a small fortune on my costume, which I will be wearing to work, and it is AWESOME! I'm even going through the trouble of making some of it, and using latex for some realistic horns in my head. BTW, I'm going to be Satan's bride. I love the gothic, gory, scary characters...that's what Halloween's all about. But anyway, I'm planning on taking the kiddos w/my sister-in-law to do some major trick-or-treating that night. I'm really looking forward to it. I'll try to get some pics and post 'em for you. It's the least I can do after making you suffer through all this drama...

I Hate Drama

2006-09-30T09:16:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be gone so long, but I've been embroiled in high drama. Losing 11 pounds in 5 weeks kind of drama. Goin' through the big "D", and don't mean Dallas kind of drama. The worse kind. So, knitting and spinning have been scarce.

Scarce, but not absent, as I do need to keep my sanity intact somehow. Here's what I've been doing:

These socks are to be a birthday gift, due in November. These are also my first attempt at "toe-up", (will be) short row-heel, and Fair Isle on socks. I was going to try the "2 socks on 2 circs" method, but I couldn't get my gauge tight enough, seeing as how I'm a gauge freak of nature and need needles 10 times smaller than recommended. What's funny is that I couldn't get gauge w/size 0 circs, but I can w/size 0 dpn's. Whatever. But I'm having to do these toe-up since I have a limited amount of yarn, and I want to make sure I don't run out before finishing. So much pressure....

Anyway, I'm not happy w/the Fair Isle, since when you stretch the fabric, as it will be when worn, you can see the white through the blue. Not cute. So I'm going to rip it back, and just duplicate-stitch the letters & happy face (an inside joke for the recipient) onto the top. You can see I'm opting for contrasting toes & heels to help make the sock yarn last longer (Cherry Tree Hill Super Sock in "Moody Blues", in case you were wondering - and yes, it's sinful to knit!).

In a moment of self-realization, it occured to me that I've been on an uncharacteristic yarn-buying binge lately in a vain attempt to soothe my ailing soul. Here's the damage:

Well, I must admit that it isn't an entirely vain attempt, since my spirits are lifted every time I look at this stuff. I've got Noro Kureyon, Noro Silk Garden (not shown), Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, Cleakheaton Boucle, Cherry Tree Hill Possum Worsted, Lisa Souza dyeworks sock yarn (one's an angora-merino blend..YUM!), Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool, Knit Picks Crayon, Knit Picks Telemark for the "U-Neck Pullover" in Vogue (not shown), and my fiber-sista Nola gave me some gorgeous roving from Warm Threads for more socks.

Yup, that'll hurt the ol' pocket book. But I don't care. HA!!

So, he moved out this weekend, and I've completed the initial paperwork and will be filing it at the court on Monday. So, what's my plan for making it through? Trying to finish 2 toe-up socks in one month while trying to replicate the knitting equivalent of the miracle about the fish & the loaves. That should keep me busy.

Still waiting...

2006-09-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm still waiting for all of my yarn! So, in the meantime, I've put in huge orders to Lisa Souza dyeworks & KnitPicks. I'll be in shock once I get all this stuff (and my credit card statements!), but I'll just have to deal with it :-)

In the meantime, I've finished ALL of the knitting for the Ribby Cardi. I just need to sew in the zipper, and I'll have an honest-to-goodness piece of clothing!

As you can see, I went with the collared version. I took some liberties with the patern and finished the front edges with a 3-stitch I-cord. I'm all for easy!

So, now I'm without a sweater project (well, that's not counting poor Viking Cardi). This is what I really want to make:

This is "Fair Isle U-Neck Pullover" from the Vogue Knitting Fall 2006. And I must say that this is one of the best issues of Vogue ever! Full of gorgeous cables & socks! Just wonderful! It reminds me of the patterns that were out that first inspired me to start knitting back in 2000/2001. Just modern takes on the classic styles that rely on the knitter's skill to execute, rather than focusing on funky yarns. The eyelash is scarce in this issue, and that's a VERY good thing!

So, anyway, I've put in an order to KnitPicks for the Telemark yarn I'll be using for this, so I'll have to wait. I'm planning on knitting this circularly and putting in steeks at the sleeves & neck. I thank Meg & EZ for my confidently cavalier attitude toward changing the pattern so drastically, so I'll try to do them proud.

Dulcedosahas started the U-Neck Pullover, so I'll be checking out her progress. Anyone else in?

In the meantime, I'll work on the chunky cabled sweater from the cover of the 2006 Fall issue of Knit Simple. Pics to come once I have something to show. I'm still not sure how I feel about Knit Simple. I actually got it by default when Family Circle Easy Knitting changed ownership. This third issue is okay, and is better than the previous 2 issues, so we'll see how the Winter issue is.

I'm back!

2006-09-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

Did ya miss me? Sorry I've been neglecting the blog, but I just haven't been motivated to post. But I have been a busy little bee.

First, the trip. Let just say that the boys had fun

and I did not. Although I did get quite a bit of knitting done, it was in a vain attempt to maintain my sanity. Needless to say, I will NOT be camping in the wilds with little children again. Ever. Let us not speak of this again.

I finished and felted the Knit Picks felted Rick Rack purse
These are the before & after felting pics:

This is my first felted project and I REALLY enjoyed it. The pattern was really easy and quick to knit, and just look at how cute that bag is. It stands up on it own, and it's a nice size.

I used 3 balls of "Chestnut" Wool of the Andes and 2 balls of "Coal". I only regret that I didn't knit some kind of closure tab or something. Maybe I'll put some big snaps on the inside. It's the perfect pattern for using up small amounts of wool. I'll probably make the next one with longer handles so it'll be a shoulder bag. I felted it in the washing machine on the "small" load setting, and the "hot wash, cold rinse" cycle along with 2 pairs of dirty little boy shoes and some little boy jeans. It worked like a charm. Overall, an excellent project with an amazing price tag of under $15.00, including the pattern. Knit Picks rocks!

And, fanfare please, Ribby Cardi is perilously close to completion.

I've sewn it together in all the right places. It just wants an I-cord edge, a collar, and a zipper. I scored a black 2-way separating zipper on eBay, and it's ready to get sewn in. Did I mention that I hate sewing in zippers? I was seriously contemplating a button band, but I like to look of zippers, so I'll just have to suck it up. As God is my witness, there will be buttons on my next sweater. So, anyway, this will soon be a Finished Object! Hopefully.

On the spinning front, I've spun a smallish skein of Blackbird. I spent 1 day prepping fleece, so I've got 6 balls of roving still waiting to be spun. I would really like to start knitting Rogue one of these days.

That's it for now. I've been on kind of a yarn buying spree/binge lately, so when my spoils arrive, I'll take a pic and share with you all. I've bought some Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, Cleckheaton wool Boucle, Noro Silk Garden, Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, Cherry Tree Hill Possum Worsted, Noro Kueryon, 14 pounds of raw Ramboulliet fleece, and I'm contemplating some Fleece Maiden Merino sock yarn. Aren't you just drooling listening to that list? And I scored all of it at least 40% off! I can't wait to get my grubby hands on it!

Have a happy Labor Day!!

Gone camping!!

2006-08-17T22:52:00.000-07:00

Well, we're on our way to Central Utah for my husband's annual deer archery hunt. We'll be staying at a nice place in the middle of nowhere, although we will have a toy hauler trailer. This is a must when camping with a 1-year old & 3-year old in rainy conditions.

I'm hoping to get knitting done, but I have a feeling I'll be chasing children in the woods making sure that no wild animal makes a snack out of them. I'm taking my Ribby Cardi stuff, and I'll also take some socks. I suppose I may take some yarn to make a hat for myself, and maybe I'll take the materials for my felted "Rick Rack" bag project from Knit Picks.

So, I hope to have some interesting pics for you when I get back. Until then, happy camping!!!

Progress!

2006-08-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

The back of Ribby Cardi:

And I've knit 2 more rows of my Adamas Shawl. No spinning.

That's all, folks!

Sock yarn!

2006-07-31T21:32:00.000-07:00

I never did post about my trip with Nola to the Yarn Lady. Anyway, while I was there, I scored this...

This is the fabled Koigu. It's lovely & soft, but the colors are very similar to the self-dyed socks I completed not long ago. I want to start knitting it (note the already-wound center-pull ball), but I need to finish my Regia Stretch sock first. I want to try a shortrow heel a'la PGR, so I'm really anxious to get it started.

I also ordered and received this from Little Knits:

The even more-fabled Fleece Artist Merino Socks yarn. This is in the colorway Autumn, and it is gorgeous.

I kind of went on a sock-yarn binge because I ordered a Country Hills Yarn grab bag which consisted of these:

The multi-colored one is kind of wild for my taste, so I'll probably over-dye it (cuz we all know how well I do with over-dyeing). But the other ones are really soft, but they seem like the same yarn as KnitPicks dye-your-own, which is MUCH less expensive.

But I have been knitting as well. I've finished the cap on the sleeve for Ribby Cardi:

I'm not sure what I'm going to start next. Maybe the back?

I also noticed that Stephanie has started the Adamas shawl, so I've been inspired to contine to work on my own version.

I've got 7 repeats done...just 9 more to go. And the rows keep getting exponentially longer as I go along (I think I currently have about 200 stitches on my needles). But I'm enjoying it again, so I'll plug along until I want to tear out my hair.

As a sideline, Blogger is really upsetting me. I haven't been able to post pictures through Blogger in 2 weeks. The photos you see are courtesy of Picasa. I may be forced to move to a different blog host.

Moving on

2006-07-28T23:55:00.000-07:00

Now that Crappy Cardi is done, I've been rifling through my patterns to get another big project going. For myself. I should be knitting hats for my boys & I, and I could even knit the kids a couple of sweaters, but I'm not in the mood. I want more for ME!

So, I've actually been doing a lot of web-surfing lately, and I've found and bought a few PDF patterns to download. The most famous of which is the Ribby Cardi. I started it today...

Needless to say, this is a FAST knit! I've been knitting on it all day while watching TV, and in between cleaning the house & playing with the kids, and discovered that I can do the simple 2x2 ribbing pattern on auto-pilot. It kind of surprised me when I realized what I was doing, but it makes me feel like a real "Knitter" in Harlot-speak. I mean, come on, if being able to knit a pattern (a basic pattern, yes, but a pattern nonetheless) without looking AND without thinking doesn't constitute "Knitter" status, I'm not sure what would. I know it sounds like I'm bragging, but I think it's really cool I can do that. That's like Meg Swansen-level knitting. I'm pretty proud! :-)

So, anyway, the sleeve is to the point where I need to start shaping for the armholes, but I need to get another ball of yarn, so I figured it's a good stopping place for today. I also figured that since I have 3 other sweaters which would be done except that I have not knitted them sleeves, I'd start with the sleeves FIRST on this one. Sounds fool-proof, right? We shall see.

On a fun note, I stumbled upon cafe press. They have got some AWESOME stuff for knitters. Just type in "knitting" in the search bar, and you'll be busy for hours looking at the cute & clever stuff knitters have dreamed up. I saw a shirt with the caption "Life's short...knit fast", and I loved it, but I wasn't crazy about the graphic. So I drew a yarnball, designed my own graphic, and ordered some items with it on them.

Cute, huh? I'm really happy with how it turned out. I also ordered a tank top & junior t-shirt, but those are already needing to be washed, so you'll get a pic later. I'm half-tempted to get the yarn-ball tattooed on me somewhere. I'm actually thinking of getting my Symphony tatted on the top of a foot (appropro for the treadling, no?), but my employer has a strict "no visible tattoos" policy, so I'd be having to stick a band-aid on my foot for the rest of my working life. I'm still mulling over the possibilities.

Speaking of possibilities, I was browsing through Claudia's Blog again, and noted a link entitled "Mariah" in her side bar. So I clicked it, and found out that I absolutely HAVE to knit this cardigan!! Of course, this realization came after I had completed about 3/4 of the sleeve for Ribby Cardi. So, Mariah is NEXT.

Blackbird Returns

2006-07-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
Yes, I'm back to spinning Blackbird again!

For this one, I spun up 2 bobbins of singles, then plied them together. This is instead of spinning 1 bobbin of singles, winding into a center-pull ball, and then plying back onto the same bobbin.

It's about 220 yards of Blackbird. This yarn is so soft and springy! If I pull on it, it easily stretches out and then sproings back as if it has elastic in it. I can't wait to start knitting it up.

As far as knitting goes, I'm all over the map right now. I worked a little on the Adamas Shawl. I need to knit me and the boys some hats for our camping trip to Utah in August, and I also need to knit something for a soon-to-be baby boy. But, instead, I started knitting the Lotus Blossom Tank from the cover of the Spring 2006 IK.

This is the result of some serious de-stashing. I've combined a dk-weight superwash wool with some nylon/cotton novelty eBay yarn. If you look closely, you can also see some smallish beads in the knitting. I'm so proud...it's my first time!

But, this has also made me aware that I am a freakishly loose knitter. And I don't mean that I just have to move down 1 or even 2 sizes. The pattern & the ball band call for a gauge of 5.5 sts per inch on size 6 needles. I can only achieve the gauge of 5 sts per inch on size 1 (ONE!) needles. And the fabric isn't all that stiff either.

This almost precludes me from ordering the interchangable Options needles from KnitPicks that EVERYONE in blogville seems to have. The other thing keeping me from succumbing to the supreme amount of needle-envy is that I have the 16" & 24" Addi Turbos in sizes 5-8, and seeing as how I'm a freak when it comes to gauge, I actually need sizes 1-4. The Options don't come that small.

Well, I'll probably order them anyway. All things in the fullness of time.

Crappy Cardi - the Final Chapter

2006-07-23T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here she is folks!

In person, it's mostly black with a slight reddish hue. There is one small spot on the front which is not very dark. But, for some reason, the subtle uneveness of this dye job doesn't bother me near as much as that stupid stripe across the middle did.

But, it's done. Except that the zipper is coming off the bottom now because of all the abuse it's taken today. Once it's repaired, I'm free at last!

I just dyed and went to heaven!

2006-07-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

First of all, I want to thank everyone here and on the Dye Happy list who offered their sympathy and advice for the dye job. I especially want to give a HUGE shout out and thanks to Heather for her detailed advice she left in the comments. Now, I don't know Heather, and I didn't search her blog before taking her advice, so I had no idea of her credentials (note the "had". I've since taken a tour of her blog, and I must insist that you go look, too. She not only knits, spins, sews, and dyes, she designs her own knitwear. Really cool!). But, I took her advice on blind faith and applied it to my dyeing situation.

"Why?" you ask? Why would I risk the hours and hours I spent on Crappy Cardi to possibly ruin it based on the advice of a stranger? Simple: Because Heather wrote her long, detailed comment to me while a child sat on her lap. Anything worth typing with a child on your lap is DEFINITELY worth listening to. Thanks Heather!

So, I did some preliminary, if unscientific, dyeing of the extra Lamb's Pride in Cornflower and in Blueberry to see which shade I liked. Surprisingly, the Blueberry came out lighter than the Cornflower. And because I also have an extra jar of Blueberry, it seems like it was fate. And who am I to mess with fate in a situation like this?

So, I boiled some water and dissolved 3/4 of the jar of dye into it before placing it in my water for the dyebath. I gave this a really good stirring to (hopefully)dissolve all dye powder. Now, the directions say to bring this to a boil, and then add the wool. However, I followed Heather's advice and added a glug of vinegar (I know you said a TBSP per gallon, but I don't follow directions very weel) and then added the wool while the water was cool. I heated it up, stirring every 5 minutes. Once it reached boiling, I let it boil about 10 minutes, then turned off the heat, put on the lid, and then walked away.

When the dye exhausted, I dumped out the water, rinsed it, and got this:

Now, I was not heartbroken about this, because I kind of almost expected it. Heather had cautioned to use "enough" dye. The instructions on the jar of dye said to use a whole jar for 2 pounds of fiber. My sweater weighs about 24 oz. so I figured that 3/4 of a jar was "enough". Apparently not.

So, knowing this was going to come out a lot darker than I had planned for, I dumped my other entire jar of Blueberry dye into the dyepot and tried again (just like Heather said I might have to do).

And since Blogger is giving me serious problems with posting pictures, you're going to have to see the next entry for the final Crappy Cardi pic....

Calgon, take me away!

2006-07-14T12:28:00.000-07:00

Remember those old, cheesy commercials? The poor overworked woman with the horrible loud family? Now that I can totally relate, I'm sure Calgon sold a lot of bubble bath when they were running those ads.

Anyway, fanfare please, without further ado, I give you Crappy Cardi....

Yes, it's done. And it really did come out nice. I ended up putting pockets in the slits where I had cut the sides, and I'm pretty proud of the thing since so much of it was designed on the fly. Not that there was anything wrong with the orignial pattern (Kathy Zimmerman is truly awesome), but I wanted to knit this in the round.

EXCEPT for that STUPID, HIDEOUS, UNDENIABLE dark band from hell smack dab in the middle of my otherwise totally wearable garment. As of this post, I've washed the sweater in HOT water with Dawn, and now with Kookaburra Woolwash. The water changed to an encouraging red shade (it's all the excess dye from that crazy skein soaking out, right?). But ultimately, even though the sweater is still damp, I can see that the band is still there. Isn't that the funniest thing? Absolutely hilarious.

So, the only alternative I see is to overdye the entire sweater. I know this process is fraught with danger, the biggest risk being splotchy color from uneven dye uptake. But I am a trooper, and I am armed with my Country Classics dyes and some left-over yarn, and I will at least make sure I get the right color to splotch my sweater with.

I found the Dye Happy list on Yahoo Groups during an unfruitful Google search for some advice to help me in my quest. There is precious little on the net about overdyeing an entire sweater...I guess the knitting community is a little smarter than yours truly, or at least they pay better attention to the colors of the sweaters they are spending precious hours of their lives knitting. At any rate, after searching their archives and finding nothing that fits my particular dillema, I posted a plea to the Dye Happy folks, and am now fervently hoping for a magical reply. You know, the one that says "Oh, you silly little thing, just wave your Addi's over the entire thing twice counter-clockwise, and your sweater's color will even right out!" Here's hoping.....

I've got a surprise for you!!

2006-07-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

And no, I'm not going to tell you in today's post. You'll have to wait till the next one.

While I was in my anti-knitting stage last week, I rifled through the stash to check out my forgotten WIP. And I found a common theme. Maybe you can spot it too.

This is the 2 fronts and the back of a lace cardigan I started a year (or two) ago. It's actually been stashed at work in a file cabinet, so I thought I'd bring it home to be with the remaining yarn I have in my stash for it. It's actually a really nice project, but it wants sleeves.

The main problem is this:

This is what serves as the "pattern" for this cardigan. Apparently, I liked the pattern in the magazine, but I substituted horseshoe lace (and yes, I do own the publicatin that photo copy came from). So, I have no strict guidelines and I'm going to have to play it fast and loose to finish this puppy off. Maybe that's why it was abandoned. But it would be a great coverup for the hot summer months (i.e. NOW).

I also found my very first attempt at a sweater:

This is the 2 fronts and the back of a lovely seed stitch cardigan. The main problem, besides lack of sleeves, is that the yarn is everyone's all-time favorite Red Heart acrylic straight out of WalMart. I know, I know, but I was young and naive to the ways of wool. All that has changed now, which is probably why I'm loathe to cast on the scratchy, plastic yarn to finish this project.

Well. Hmmmm. It seems as though the rest of my pictures do not want to load. I'll continue the parade of shame once I can actually post the pics. It's more fun that way...

I suck

2006-07-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wanted to pop in to report that I have done NO knitting and NO spinning since Sunday. I don't know why, but I don't want to work on any of my numerous WIP's. Maybe that's the problem...I have too many projects and not enought FO's to show for my efforts. Or maybe it's the fact that I went back to work on Wednesday, and my job is so stressful that it's sucking the life out of me.

I've been surfing the net and reading other blogs, and I swear I don't know how these other knitters are doing it. It's like they start a project, and then it's done and on them by the next week! I'm such a slacker. Sure, the job and the kids cut into my fiber time. But right now, for instance, it's 10:10pm. I'm off work, the boys are asleep, and this could be a prime opportunity for me to get something fibery done. But my dumbass is sitting here blogging about how depressed I am about my lack of completed knitting & spinning projects.

So, I'm kind of in a funk and I'm hoping to snap out of it. What's kind of on my nerves too is that I'm finding a lot of nice patterns I'd like to start, but, get this, I don't have the appropriate yarn! This is the stupidest thing ever since I literally have OVER 100 pounds of yarn in my home! And of this, I can find nothing that will fit the gauge of the patterns I like. Whatever.

Anyway, no pics today. But I do need to give a report on the Yarn Lady field trip Nola and I took on Monday. I find it really odd that I'll spend $60 at a yarn shop on waaay over-priced yarn I could get a lot cheaper online, but when I do find a really great deal online, I'm loathe to jump on it. I'm an idiot.

New Stuff

2006-07-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today, there will be no pictures of old projects. Today is all about new stuff. Check out my Avatar in my side bar! I think she looks like me...Whatta ya think?

Anyway, here's "Robles" yarn from handpaintedyarn.com. This stuff is sooo pretty:

I'm hoping it will become this:

The problem is that the yarn gauges are off (of course), so I'm having to play with math. This is never a good sign. Plus, it's an all-over rib pattern, so I'm having to "guess-timate" how much negative ease to put in. We'll see how long this lasts.

I also got this gorgeous stuff:

This is single-ply, laceweight Merino in a color called "Oro & Vino" (Gold & Wine). This is like over 900 yards, so I can make just about anything! The possibilities are over-loading my fragile brain circuits.

On the spinning front, my supply of ready-to-spin Blackbird fleece is depleted, so I've resorted to this:

This was "Mountain Twilight" Merino roving from Beaverslide Dry Goods. I am soooo loving this stuff! The colorful flecks are just my cup of tea. I'm sorely tempted to abandon the labor-intensive preparation ritual of Blackbird and just knit Rogue out of this. But I made a committment (sort of), so I'll try to stick to it. Maybe I'll have to make 2 Rogues.

I spun this on my poor, neglected Lendrum. I actually made 2 bobbin-fuls of singles and plyed them together like a normal spinner, using my gigantic plying head. This was instead of my usual mode of spinning 3/4 of a bobbin, then winding it into a center-pull ball, then plying it back onto the same bobbin. But the huge skein is waaay worth it and ended up being like 220 yards of "worsted weight" yarn. Not too shabby.

Tomorrow, Nola & I are planning on taking a trip out to Laguna Hills to visit The Yarn Lady. She's having a 10% off everything red, white & blue sale. I'll have the boys with me, so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers.

Field Trip

2006-06-30T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today was a great day because I was able to visit my good buddy and fellow spinning knitter Nola without my little ones. It was a really good day.

First, we started the morning off with a nice ice-cold glass of Bud Light right out of her very own keg. It definitely helped to take the edge off this 103 degree heat!! After some fiber show-and-tell (it had been about a year since we had last met in person), we drove off to a "local" yarn store:
This was about a 30 minute drive away. It is the new-ish shop "Knit Affair" in Corona. The owner (I presume) Tori, was very helpful. She even offered to wind the hanks of yarn Nola bought into balls. Very nice!! It was a lovely shop, and I'm glad we made the drive, even though we had to fight So Cal traffic on the way back. While there, this stuff may have found it's way home with me:

This is 2 balls of Trendsetter's lace-weight Kid Mohair & Silk (I can't remember the name, and I'm too lazy to go upstairs to look at the label). Just know that it's lovely, and I'll be using it in lieu of Rowan Kid SilkHaze to knit the Birch shawl in Rowan #34 (on it's way to me in the mail) of Yarn Harlot fame.

The book is full of cute little sweater patterns for kids. There are quite a few I'd like to make for my boys. I really must love these patterns, because when I got home to put the book on my shelf, I discovered I now had this:
Well, at least my taste is consistent. It's a sad commentary to the fact that I have so many knitting books that I can't even keep straight which ones I have. I just regret that I used potential yarn money on a book I already had. Sigh.

So, when I finally got home, I found a package from Copper Moose waiting for me. Inside was this:
2 pounds of Blue Faced Leicester. This is gorgeous, soft, lustrous clouds of wonderful fiber. My husband is already ordering me to knit him a hat out of it like the one "Survivorman" is wearing on an episode showing right now; the one where he simulates a plane crash in the middle of Canadian winter. I pointed out that he (my hubby) has 4 hand-knitted hats and I have NONE, but he is adamant. He thinks the BFL is so soft, he HAS to have a hat. We'll see.
I also got this

4 ounces of Merino, and this

4 ounces of Merino/Mohair blend. It's not quite as crazy and bright as it looks in this picture. It's a nice blend of neutral colors.

As I said, it was a great day. Thanks Nola!! :0)

Look Mom, No Markers!

2006-06-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Well, progress remains steady, but not remarkable, on my current projects.
I've knit 3 repeats of the pattern on the Adamas Shawl since last we met. This pattern is really freaking me out since it is increasing to the bottom point. I can't quite comprehend this, but it's working, so I'm good with it. Except that the rows are getting alarmingly loooong. It's going to take me a good hour to complete just one row once I get toward the end. Talk about needing some stick-to-it-iveness!

Also, please note that I have done away with those pesky ring markers, whose goal it is to fall off my needles and onto the floor where my 1-year-old can scoop them up and put them into his cute little mouth. Not good. So, I'm glad that I'm getting so used to this pattern that it's easy for me to "read" my knitting and I've been able to find and correct mistakes (there have been (ahem) a few) by simply paying attention. So, good-bye little round choking hazards!

I know you all were worried, but please rest assured that I was successful in talking my 3-year-old son out of wanting purple, pink & aqua socks that match Mommy's. So now, I'm working on this:

This is the first of his "camoflauge" socks he's going to wear to the deer hunt in August. I'm planning/hoping on completing a pair for my 1-year old son and also for my 3-year-old nephew, who will be attending the hunt as well (it's a family thing for my husband).

Of course, I've completed the requisite skein of Blackbird for the week (left-most skein on the top of the pile).
This skein has some issues, and I'm really not sure why. Firstly, it's only 88 yards, where the other recent skeins have been around 100 yards. I usually spin a "batt-ful" of wool at a time and get roughly the same amount, but this was different for reasons beyond my understanding.

Speaking of my level of understanding, I also jacked this up by plying it way too much. When
I usually ply this (when I'm not on crack), I count out 5 treadles per 3-foot draw, and wind the yarn on as I start counting the next set. So it goes: 1-2-3-4-5, (wind on during 1)-2-3-4-5, etc.

On this particular skein, I had a major brain fart and counted thusly: 1-2-3-4-5, (wind on during its own treadle), then 1-2-3-4-5, etc. So I ended up adding an extra 20 twists to those particular lengths of yarn. When the skien came off the niddy-noddy, it was a curly, pig-tailed mess. After washing, it behaved much better, but I'm not really happy with this, and I can't explain why I started counting this way. I am a mystery even to myself.

In other news, I've been keeping up on the Spin-List, and right now they are discussing carders. I have the Louet Jr. Roving Carder, and I like it. However, I have found that it's harder to card finer wools with it without getting a bunch of neps (see my April 3, 06 post). I've got to crank ridiculously slowly, and it just about saps the life out of me. Of course, I happen to like finer wools, so most of my stash is Corriedale and Shetland, and aye, there's the rub.

But a lot of the members are mentioning the Strauch Petite, citing that it makes a lovely batt and cards fine fibers well. The price is pretty comparable to the Jr., and I'm toying with the idea of selling my Louet and getting the Petite. I don't know. I'm still debating. I'd love to hear any pros and/or cons you all may have about this.

Finished!

2006-06-19T21:29:00.000-07:00

Ladies & Gentlemen, we have a genuine, honest-to-goodness finished object:

Well, objects which together equal a finished object. I'm very happy. The only thing marring my happiness is that my son wants a pair of socks out of the very same yarn. Have I mentioned that I'm pretty sick of this yarn?

Something New

2006-06-18T20:46:00.000-07:00

How's that for an opener? This is the Adamas Shawl from Knit Picks. I'm knitting it in Knit Picks lace-weight Merino wool called "Shadow" in colorway "Oregon Coast". The yarn is really lovely and has various subtle shades of blue & pink so that it reminds me of a dark opal. And the most awesome part is that the price for the required 2 balls of yarn AND the pattern was...are you ready for this?... UNDER $7! At that price, how could you NOT knit this beauty?

Anyway, this is the first honest-to-goodness laceweight shawl I've ever (attempted) done, and I'm finding that it's not too bad. I'm already starting to memorize the pattern, so I'm not having to refer so much to the chart. I'm really liking it, but it's kind of worrying me that my ball of laceweight seems unaffected by the amount of knitting I've done. It's like the "loaves and the fishes" story, but in tiny little laceweight wool. But, the important thing about the shawl is that it is something new.

In that spirit, I will not post a pic of the Crappy Cardi. However, be assured that I am making progress on the I-Cord border. I've completed the left front and the back and am fast approaching the right-front and cardigan front. Well, maybe not so fast, but I'm still actually working on it (instead of burning it in the bar-b-que), which is good enough for me.

I also will not post a pic of the 2nd hand-dyed sock. I'm closing in on the toe, but progress is slow and boring, and I'll not make you all suffer.

But I will show you my cumulative stash of Blackbird yarn:
That's over 500 yards now. Although I don't think I'll be able to use the lighter skein, I'm still counting it. I'll probably use it for the inside of the hem. I'm fighting the urge to cast on Rogue until I get the yarn done, but the time it takes to do the flicking and the carding and the spinning and the plying is making me antsy. This "skein-a-week" pace I've got going is just not working for me. I'm not sure I'll be able to keep holding out for long, because I've already been scouring my stash for some comparable yarn, and I think I've found some. You'll be the first to know if I succumb.

Pretty boring

2006-06-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Alright, I've been taking pictures of this last week's progress, and I've realized that my projects are extremely boring. After I was done taking the pictures, I was looking around for something more. Surely, this can't be the extent of my projects? How pathetic.

This feeling may have been exacerbated partially because I discovered Claudia's Blog. Check out this woman's gallery! OMG, I am sooo unworthy. At first I was inspired. But toward the end, as the seemingly un-ending parade of perfectly-fitting gorgeous, homespun "Claudia Originals" continued, I was feeling pretty disappointed in myself. I've really got to get some stuff done. And she's made not just one, but TWO Rogues; Rogues which she "cardiganized". And both fit absolutely perfectly! And of course, she has just the PERFECT figure. I might hate Claudia, except that she's raising money for MS, and she's a genius spinning knitter, so I guess she's pretty cool.

Well, without further ado, after that wonderful build-up...my current works in progress:

I've started putting a 3-stitch I cord border on the Crappy Cardi. I know...boring. But I'm running out of yarn, so it'll have to do. The good news is that I had a zipper lying around that is the perfect length, so it's a done deal. I'm thinking I need to finally finish this thing and get to trying to fix that stupid dark stripe. I know you're all sick of hearing about it, but it's a pretty big issue for me.

Here's the cumulative total of my Blackbird progress. I've got about 400 yards. Rogue takes 1200 yards. My resolve is waning, especially since I've just acquired the most gorgeous dark grey Corriedale, but I'm going to try sticking to Blackbird. But it's pretty boring.

And my modest progress on the second hand-dyed sock. I work on this thing in the car at red lights and drive-thrus, so that's my excuse for the slow (boring) pace.

Well, that's it. I'd recommend visiting the Yarn Harlot or Claudia's Blog for some real knitting and some inspiration. Maybe I'll have something cool to show you next week....

I'm still here!

2006-06-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'll bet you were wondering if Crappy Cardi put me over the edge, huh? Well, I've exacted my revenge:

I crochet-steeked per Meg Swansen's instructions in "Sweaters from Camp". It was pretty interesting, and I didn't even flinch when I cut into the fabric. But it's very sturdy (except for 1 place where I crocheted the wrong stitches together), and I'm going to have to start an I-cord border soon. Well, someday.

In the meantime, I'm an extremely proud mama because of this:

This, lords and ladies, is the very first knitting done by my 3-year old son! He has not yet completed a row, and this is actually 2 sessions-worth, but those stitches on the right-hand needle were done by him (yes, I did help a little, but his hands were on the needles at all times). He's a thrower. However, he's still more interested in the ball-winder, and who can really blame him? He IS only 3! The point is that he's knitting. I'm busting!

Alright, what else do I have to say for myself for 2 weeks? Oh, the 2nd hand-dyed sock is coming along

The heel flap is just about done. It would have been done had I remembered to carry along the Wooly Nylon the FIRST time I knit it. I guess I can be grateful I remembered it at all.

But most of my time has been devoted to this:

That is my THIRD skein of Blackbird (alright it's still singles, but it's pretty darn close) on my very own WOOLEE WINDER!!! I LOVE this thing! It's so worth the money. It kind of freaks me out that my Symphony is now worth about $600, but I'll get over it.

Anyway, back to Blackbird. Well, it turns out that during the making of my first skein, I found that there were A LOT of neps and it was pretty slow-going while I picked only some of them out. That is the middle skein seen below.

For the second skein (the one on the right), I wanted to see what would happen if I did a little more prep. So I started flicking the locks individually with a dog comb, and found that the light tips of this fleece literally break right off! So, it's a "tippy" fleece, and will require that I comb EVERY single lock. Do you know how bad that sucks? But I love the fleece despite it's MAJOR flaw, and I went ahead and started flicking. The carding was way smoother as was the spinning.

The only thing (of course there's something) is that the 2 skeins do not match, since the 1st skein is lighter than the 2nd. At first I thought it was the tips, but then I noticed that the very first yarn I made (the stuff on the left) matches the 2nd skein. I guess I had just carded a bunch of lighter grey fleece without making sure I had enough dark blended in as well. Lesson learned.

And now, I must introduce you to the newest members of my wooly family. Here is Snowy, a Romney lamb:

And here is Posey, a Romney ewe:

Aren't they just gaw-geous! These are so next-to-the-skin soft and so fluffy that I just wanted to lie down on them once they were done drying in the sun. These are famous "McNair" Romneys offered at Homestead Wool and Gift Farm (link is in my sidebar), and they go pretty fast. Sandy is just the sweetest person ever, and I'm always glad to help support her fiber family.

Alright, that's enough for today. I'll try to go back to posting weekly so I don't slam you like this again!

Back in the saddle again

2006-05-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I broke down and got the Crappy Cardi back on the needles. I've decided that if a good washing doesn't fix that stupid dark band around the middle, I'm going to over-dye the entire sweater with dark blue.

So, I've been working the "chain-cable" up the shoulder, and it's really fun. I'm knitting back backward across the "wrong-side" rows, and knitting it together alternately with the front and back. . It's a lot easier to show than say.

I'm almost to the point of working across the back to make the front lower than the back, and I'll be done! With the knitting, anyway. I still need to sew and then cut the front steek, and the side slits. Then I need to come up with an edge. I'm thinking I-cord.

The whole dark band thing is still getting me down. Maybe I'll shoot off a plea for help on Knit-U. I keep worrying that I'll dye this thing blue and then it'll just be a purple sweater with a dark band of purple in the middle.

Well, I'm almost done with my newest sock. Just a few more rows and some grafting, and this sucker's done! I've been working on the 2nd sock of my hand-dyed yarn, and I've got about 3 inches done. But it's in the car, so there's no pic right now. Maybe later.

There's no new spinning, but I've swatched my Blackbird yarn.

This is pretty amazing for a few reasons.

Firstly, I very RARELY swatch. I think it's a waste of knitting time that could have been spent on actual knitting. And of course it's boring. And the few times I have swatched, the actual project gauge turned out different than the swatch anyway.

Secondly, this is only the second time I've actually knit my handspun. Believe me, I've got plenty of handspun yarn around. So, the fact that this yarn moved me to actually knit it is pretty surprising to me. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's destined to be a hoodie much like Rogue. I had actually bought this pattern once, but my old computer crashed, and took my pattern with it. But I think I saw a recent Elsebeth Lavold pattern in Knitter's magazine that I like too. Anyway, I'll hone in on one here pretty soon. Oh, yeah, and I guess I'll need to spin the yarn too, huh?

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-14T21:46:00.000-07:00

Firstly, happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there. No one but we know how much work goes into making sure the next generation is not a bunch of worthless yahoos running rampant and wreaking havoc. The world owes us big time.

Well, I've taken a "sabbatical" from the Cozy/Crappy Cardi. Its future looks bleak.
It's still needle-less and sitting in a basket in my "re-modeled" wool room.

This is my "most improved" corner. I added this second book shelf to house my knitting & spinning books and my Spin-Off collection. The other (unseen) shelf has my dyes, my extensive collections (I've had subscriptions to these since 2000) of Knitter's, Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, FC Easy Knitting (now Simple Knits), INKnitters, and Creative Knitting (new magazine 2005). This along with my "non-knitting" books. I hung some handspun on the flower hooks and called it good. I did rearrange my fleeces, but I'll have to show you those another day.

Look, I even did some spinning! Remember Blackbird? This fleece is insanely soft. But it's also "rustic", with clumpy tips and some really short staple lengths. This translates into nubby "textured" yarn. But I'm spinning this softly and plan on making a plain sweatshirt-type of sweater which will show off the unusual texture. No chance of messing up the dye lot on this one! I'm still experiementing with my twist & tpi, so I'll let you know what I end up with.

I accidentally left my sock at work over the weekend, and I needed some small, mindless knitting to keep me occupied during a nice family trip to the Ripley's Believe It or Not museum in Buena Park on Saturday.

This is some stash Regia Stretch knit on size 1 needles and 56 stitches. I'm not sure how many inches around it is, but I'm hoping the stretchy yarn will help me out. I'm really loving the colors of this, and it seems to be moving along fairly quickly for some reason. Anyway, I think I'll alternate between my other sock & this one to help stave off mind-numbing boredom. Oh yeah, and I still have the Viking Cardigan at work. I'm still hoping on getting that one done by this Winter.

Well, today I ordered a Woolee Winder for my Symphony as my Mother's Day present, so I'm pretty excited about it. I spun up Blackbird on the Symphony, and I just love spinning on it. The wonderfully smooth treadling and the big gorgeous wheel just make it so enjoyable to spin on. From what I hear, the Woolee will make it even more so.

Would ya look at that!

2006-05-09T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today there is no knitting. Cozy/Crappy Cardi is still NOT on the needles, and I've done like 2 rows on the sock.

I do, however, have this....

I've now got 2 skeins of that oilslick/dragonfire yarn. They don't look exactly alike, but I think they'll work for the hat I have planned for them. I've got a bit more roving to spin up, and I'll be ready to knit.

But here's something REALLY interesting. Remember that wonderful Fiesta Heaven yarn I got? That wonderful, one-of-a-kind, hand-painted beautiful stuff?

Look at this:

The roving is what's left of my oilslick/dragonfire roving. Pretty cool, huh? I'm taking it as a sign that the Fiesta was meant to be mine, and that the handspun will be just fine.

Check back with me in a few weeks...

Tragedy & Drama (the usual stuff)

2006-05-07T22:49:00.000-07:00

The beginning of my latest chapter in the saga of the "Sweater Loosely Based on the Cozy Cardi" (herefore after known as "CC" for Crappy Cardigan) starts on an unusually high note. This should have been my first indication of the disaster to follow. I was off on Friday, and this is how I spent my afternoon:

Ahhh, yes. Just me, the boys (running rampant and keeping out my hair for the most part), the CC, EZ's Knitting Around for help/inspiration, a little early Cinco De Mayo spirit, and the warm California sun. Life was good.

So, as you can see, I got the sleeves & body on one circular. I started decreasing for a saddle shoulder sweater per EZ & Meg, and things were looking good. In the words of the geniuses known as the Eagles: I "had planned it out so well, so carefully", that "I got a peaceful easy feeling". But, as my hero the Yarn Harlot knows all too well, pride goeth before a fall.

So, I spent Saturday working on this thing and decided to try it on, just to see how I was doing. I tried taking a picture in the mirror, but I failed miserably and was so disheartened by the whole thing that I just gave up. So, there are two MAJOR reasons why the Cozy Cardi is now the Crappy Cardi.

1) The waist shaping is waaay too severe, which causes it to balloon out very unattractively (I daresay freakishly). This is because I had forgotten to start my waist shaping during the early stages of this thing, and I figured I could just fudge the rows a bit to get to where I needed to be. Nope. But I think I can fix this by just cutting slits in the sides which will hopefully mask that problem. However, I am not so optomistic about #2.

2) If you look closely, you may notice that there is a definite band of DARKER RED in the MIDDLE of the cardigan body. Don't ask me how I missed this, but it appears that this yarn is NOT OF THE SAME DYE-LOT as the rest of the sweater! Holy idiocy, Batman, how did she miss that? Well, I have no excuse, other than the skeins have no ball-bands and I didn't notice the difference. I do remember that the yarn had felt "oilier" for a while, so I'm hoping it's just dirty and will come out the same color after a good wash (HA!). So, if anyone is out there, "won't you please, please help me?" (my nod the the Beatles)

You may notice that the sweater has not yet been put back on needles. Yup. I noticed that too.

So, to drown my sorrows, I must admit to a splurge on yarn never-before seen in this house. All of the yarn I have in my stash has been bought ON SALE. I've never paid full price for yarn, so this should give you an indication that I would feel that $20 for ONE skein of yarn is incredibly outrageous and I would refuse to support such price gouging by boycotting any and all yarn that would cost more than $4.00 for 100gms.

Well, I have succumbed to a 5-year obsession. Behold, Fiesta Yarn's Heaven & Gelato in the Rainforest colorway:

They are too gorgeous for words and the picture does them no justice. The Heaven is soooo soft. Just beautiful!

So here's the story: I taught myself to knit in the Winter of 2000, and in the Spring 2001 Knitter's magazine, I saw this, the "Monet Garter Stitch" shawl:

I don't care who you are, but that is the most drop-dead gorgeous thing I have ever seen. But the cost of the yarn would make that shawl like $80! So, it has been in the back of mind ever since. For 5 long years. Until I stumbled upon a website sale that was offering Fiesta Yarn for 15% off! AND free shipping! So, I did the deed, and now it's MINE, ALL MINE. But I've been dreaming of this for so long, I'm kind of afraid that I've hyped it up too much. I'll keep you all posted on any progress I might make.

And, yes, I am keeping up with my obligations and am dutifully working on the mate to my sock. I'm not really expecting the color to stack like it did on the first one, but I'm ok with that. My sock takes the edge off that Crappy Cardigan I'm trying to forget. Wish me luck!

Knitting is better than Prozac

2006-04-30T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I really don't have a valid basis for comparison, having never before taken Prozac, but I'm sure I would have seriously freaked out on the flight home from Las Vegas this afternoon without my knitting. There was so much turbulance, the flight attendents didn't even have enough time to serve peanuts since they couldn't leave their seats. Have I mentioned that I'm insanely afraid of heights? Insanely. So, I had to cope with the fact that I was in a human-made, human-operated (last I checked, humans are NOT perfect) heavy metal tube thousands of feet above the earth. I just worked intently on my Cozy Cardi sleeve, crossing cables and making bobbles like there was really no chance of my plummeting to a horrible fiery death at any moment. I was able to fool myself long enough to make it safely back to California. This was only possible thanks to knitting. And as an added bonus, I ended up with this:

That's right! Only 1 1/2 inches left till this puppy is arm-pit length. Then it's on to joining the sleeves & body together. I'm still not sure if this will be raglan or saddle-shoulder. But I've still got time to decide. The spectre of possibly running out of yarn, however, is looming larger than ever. I'm currently using the second-to-last ball, and by now it's feeling pretty squishy, if you know what I mean. I'm not at all sure if I'll make it.

Please note the little baby head in this picture. This photo is actually the only one out of the 3 I took where the sleeve was on actually on the couch long enough for me to get a reasonable photo before being snatched away by the resident yarn-thieving baby boy.

Well, before you ask, no, I'm ashamed to say (but not very surprised, given my track record) that I did not have a new pair of hand-knit socks to show the Vegas slot machines. But I do have this:

Will ya look at that? A completed, perfectly-fitting sock! Although, the cuff still seems not long enough to me. But the foot is perfection! The heel flap is just the right length, as is the foot itself. If I was smart, I'd write down these measurements and keep them forever to help calculate socks for myself from now on. But for now, I'll just settle for actually finishing the mate for this bad boy.

Already loafing

2006-04-24T22:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not posting over the weekend as usual. I have no good excuse. Well, the kids are always a good excuse, but it's old and worn out, so I won't use it this time.

Anyway, looky-looky at my side bar! Yup, that's right baby, I got to join the Knitting Blogs ring. It's been closed for a while, and when it opened, I lept at the chance and got in. One of the requirements is that your blog needs to be updated every week, and I've already broken the directive. Oh well. I really just wanted it because the Yarn Harlot is a part, and I'm just in awe of her.

Speaking of which, I've been knitting my sock while reading her archives (I'm to October 2004 now).

I'm really happy with it. Yes, it looks freakishly long, but that's because I wanted them poke out of the top of my motorcycle and/or snowboarding boots. I hate socks that are shorter than my boots. I just hope I have enough yarn to finish a second sock.

Anyway, besides the rough start, I think it's pretty cool. Although I can't explain how the top looks so different and I'm sure I won't be able to duplicate it for its mate, I'm still pretty content. The yarn is sooo soft. I used navy blue Woolly Nylon in the heels and will in the toes as well, and you can barely see it up close. This is fine with me since no one will be that close.

And yes, the flap is kind of long, but that's cuz I've got a rather high instep, and other socks I've made with a shorter heel slouch down unattratively/uncomfortably into my shoes. See? I can be taught.

Here's a little taste of how crazy-weird I am with knitting...Hubby and I are going to Vegas this weekend, and I'm set on finishing these socks in time to wear them. The reason is that these will be "lucky socks" and I will show them to the slot machines before putting in my money. Don't look at me like that! Yes, I've done this before (with different lucky socks, of course), and it worked out pretty well. Of course my husband thought I was insane when I lifted my leg up, lifted my pant cuff, and then proceeded to play the machine. Actually, he thought I was showing the machine something else altogether, but we won't go there on this nice wholesome blog.

So all this sock-knitting has cut into my Comfy Cardi time. I only knit on this one night last week...

I know it's not much, but I've done all the increasing, and it's big enough around to be able to use my circs on it. So now it'll be smooth sailing from here on in. Just rounds and rounds of cabled tube. Unbroken. Nothing to break up the monotony. Did I mention this is the 2nd sleeve? That means I've already knit one of these. Yup. I'm just dying to get back to it. Dying.

But things here may get a little more interesting than I would like because I have only 2 more skeins of Top of the Lamb left, and I'm almost ready to join one of them in to finish the sleeve. Let's not forget that I still have the chest and back to finish up. And a button band of some sort. And an edging. The skeins are 4 ounces, so I'm not too worried. Yet. Stay tuned...

Steady as she goes

2006-04-16T21:33:00.000-07:00

I've had little time for fibery stuff, and have only allowed myself to knit/spin/look up fibery stuff on the internet until 10:30 p.m. at the latest. I've been getting so carried away and staying up so late that I'm a zombie at work (I've got a new-ish job, mind you, where I still have some impressing to do), and I have very little patience when I get home from work. Not good for the kiddies when I notice that I'm yelling at my 3-year old that I don't want to read "Goodnight Sweet Butterflies" for the third freakin' time.

So, although I love my fibery stuff, I need to spend more "enjoyable" time with my kids. All this really means is that I've been working on getting them to bed about 1/2 hour earlier. It seems to be working, because I've made considerable progress on my Cozy Cardi sleeves, I've managed to complete some projects at work, and I can read "Goodnight Sweet Butterflies" 4 times before I start yelling.

Since last we spoke, I had to rip back a considerable amount (all the way back to where I had only 5 inches of knitting left) since I noticed that I had left out the vertical lines of knit stiches inside the cable. I actually don't like these lines because they don't look right where they begin and end out of the cable. The illusion of going through the cable isn't very convincing. Maybe it'll look better blocked. I also had to drop a couple of stitches (seperately) allllll the way down about 12" and then hooked them back up to improve the looks of the underarm - I had come up with the idea of increasing in 2x2 rib. This brilliant idea is the fool-hardy result of my delusion that I can design on the fly like Meg Swansen.

Anyway, I knit till this thing was to my arm-pit. And I didn't make any more increases than I had since the 5 inches of knitting, so it's a pretty shapeless tube. I think it's alright on my arm, although I probably should have increased at a more gradual rate, and even still not as much as I have. But I'm sick of knitting stuff I've already knitted, so we're moving on. I got the 2nd sleeve started, baby, and I'm not changing a thing.

But I'm being sidetracked by my sock. I know I haven't mentioned it much since the last pic I took of it quite a while ago, but that's because I was underwhelmed by the barber-pole effect I was getting with the yarn. After struggling with the pattern for a bit, I also decided that I didn't want to have to concentrate on reading and keeping track of a pattern for my socks and that mindless knitting was the order of the day. So I ripped back to the ribbing and began nice, easy, soothing stocking stitch. And an amazing thing began to happen:
The color's doing really cool things. This actually isn't one of the better sides of the sock, but I'm intrigued with the colors. It's hard to put this down because I keep wanting to see what the yarn will do next. Because there is now no pattern to concentrate on, just a few minutes ago I was knitting on this thing while at the same time reading the Yarn Harlot's blog archives (I finished her 1st book and have ordered her other 2. I'm now on August 2004 of the archives, just in case anyone is tracking my Harlot addiction, too).

All hail mindless knitting, which fixes horrendous barber-pole effects on socks and enables the time-starved knitter the ability to feed two addictions at once. Now that's multi-tasking.

As for spinning, I've got half a bobbin-ful done of that self-dyed "dragonfire" silk/wool roving. You'll have to take my word for it because I don't have a picture. Soon, though. I promise.

I ain't got Ah-nold arms

2006-04-09T11:28:00.000-07:00

Since last we met, I've got some somewhat good news. I've made considerable progress on the Comfy (Cozy?) Cardi Sleeve #1.

Everything's going great (although I managed to forget a bobble in the beginning), and I'm dutifully increasing at the rate the pattern instructs for the smallest size: Inc 2 sts every four rounds 6 times, then every six rows 8 times.

Well, I went to try this puppy on, and it is HUGE around my arm. Now, I've got puny arms - 9 1/2 inches around my bicep. After re-evaluting the increase rate, I've determined that the pattern wants me to increase a total of 28 stitches. At 15 sts per 4", this is an increase of almost 8 inches - almost double my arm circumference.

At this point in the pattern, I've completed 11 increase rounds for a total of 22 stitches. This is waay to wide, so I'll have to frog this back. I don't know how far back...at least until the thing doesn't float around my arm. So, I'm thinking I'll increase at a slower rate and hopefully come out with something wearable. This pattern is perplexing me...first it wants the length of this sweater to be obscenely short, and then it wants you to knit Ah-nold arms. Can you imagine the Terminator in a belly-baring bobbled sweater? I don't think that's the look for me.

Hmmmm. I think I've deviated so significantly from this pattern (knitting in the round, omitting the ribbing border, lenthening the body, narrowing the sleeves) that I think this is just a loose interpretation of Kathy Zimmerman's original. I'll really be taking artistic license when/if I get to the joining of the arms and body. So, please do not hold Ms. Zimmerman (one of my favorite designers) responsible for the outcome of my sweater. It will be my own fault for putting too much stock in my own designing abilities, but you gotta listen to that inner knitter. To be continued....

On the spinning side of things, I did manage to get a bobbin-full of my hand-dyed roving into finished yarn.
While spinning the singles, I was really loving the colors I was getting. The whole time I was spinning, the term "dragonfire" kept coming to me. The green/purple/turquoise areas reminded me of the iridescence of dragon scales, and the orange/gold/yellow was definitely fire. It was kinda cool.

Then I plied. I Navaho-plied to try to keep the continuity of the color changes. But there are "muddied" areas where too many colors were incorporated. My confidence has wavered again. I've got a hat pattern in mind, so we'll see how it goes.

A little help from my friends

2006-04-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was digging through my fiber stash and happened upon some lovely, snow-white Corriedale fleece I had washed up last year. I pulled out a handful, and it felt rubbery, not like I remembered. Having never before worked with raw Corriedale I had washed myself, I figured it would fluff up after carding. Well, after a couple passes through my drum carder, I pulled the "batt" into "roving"...

How's that for scary? It feels as horrible as it looks. This is a sticky, neppy mess. So I wrote to the Spin List and asked for help with "sticky" wool. They all responded with lots of advice, the most common of which was to re-wash the wool in HOT water with a good dish washing liquid.

So I filled up my washing machine with boiling water and a good dose of Palmolive, and let it soak. After 2 hot rinses, I let the stuff dry in the sun.

It felt much softer this time, so I had high hopes as I sent it through the carder very slowly. After two passes, I pulled it into roving, and ended up with this...

How's that for success? This is soooo soft and fluffy. Maybe there's a nep or 2, but this stuff is wonderful!

Here's a side-by-side for comparison:
These are both 1 oz balls. Of the same wool. The one on the right is courtesy of the Spin-Listers. So, THANK YOU SPIN LIST!!!

I am bitter

2006-04-01T20:04:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those beautiful rainy, over-cast days which always inspire me to work with all of my fibery things. Spinning wheels sat beckoning, soft fluffy rovings spilling invitingly out of nearby baskets; bags of freshly washed wool waited patiently by the drum carder; my knitting sat in progress on needles, both current projects calling to me. All I needed was a nice cup of hot coffee and a comfy spot near a window to enter fibery bliss.

But my baby is teething.

Of course, on the best of days, the most I can hope for is a few rows of uninterrupted knitting, but today, I could get through only a few stitches before having to tend to one of the kids, so I gave up. Oh well. One of these days (hopefully before I lose my sanity), they'll be old enough to undestand that Mommy is not to be disturbed when she locks herself in her fiber room.

So, here's what I accomplished this past week in the late evening hours after the kids went to sleep:

I pulled my rovings out of their post-dyed, matted state into a semblance of their former, fluffy selves. I'm thinking that I like this dye job after all. We'll see how it all spins and knits up.

I started knitting the merino sock yarn I dyed. I'm not really liking the diagonal effect the colors are doing, but I'm too lazy to break the yarn and start it at a different area to break up the effect. I'll work on figuring out how to dye to make a more random color repeat.

Oh, I actually ended up changing to size 0 needles for 7 1/2 stitches per inch. A knitting friend of mine just informed me that, with the same yarn, she's getting 10 stitches per inch with size 3 needles! So, who's the freak here, her or me?

And congrats to her for completing her first-ever sock!

I finally tracked down some Woolly Nylon for reinforcing my toes and heels. While in the check-out line, and trying to convince my 3-year old that he really didn't need 3 bags of candy, I decided I HAD to have this candy:
Isn't this just the cutest mint tin you've ever seen? I know I'm gushing, but I love this thing. I'll be offering mints to strangers on the street just so I can admire it. I still don't know why I only bought 1, but I'll be heading back pretty soon. If anyone is interested, I got this at JoAnn's for $1.99. It took the edge off having just dealt with 2 grumpy boys who were fresh from daycare, eager to get home and stuck in a craft store with their frazzled mother who had to search the entire store for just one spool of thread. Hmmmm, maybe I have already lost my sanity.

And, yes, I am still working on the Cozy Cardi. I cast one of the sleeves and have gotten about 2 inches done. I'll post a pic when it looks a little more spectacular.

The yarn is talking

2006-03-27T21:32:00.000-08:00

The sock yarn I dyed last week has been calling me. I wound it into a ball, and left it to ponder it's future. It's been calling even louder ever since I finally got some time to flip through the pages of these treasures:

Great stuff on sock technique (Sensational Socks), historical content (Knitting Vintage Socks), and loads of wonderful sock patterns (both)! How's a girl to decide? Well, first, I guess I got to get to swatching.....

I'm sorry for the quality of my photos, or lack thereof, but I'm still figuring out my digital camera. I'm so happy with how this is knitting up! Anyway, I'm getting 7 sts to the inch on size 1 needles. Armed with this knowledge, I'm going to decide on a pattern and get to knitting. I've been itching to knit a sock lately. This yarn is wonderfully soft Merino, so I'll need to get some Wooly Nylon to reinforce the heels and toes. Darn, that means a trip to the craft store!

Speaking of not needing to spend more money on fiber-related stuff, here's my newest acquisition...

Meet "Blackbird", a Shetland/Corriedale cross with beautiful colors & lovely crimp. I'm so excited to wash this up, but it's going to have to wait till it this weekend.

And this is why I really didn't need more fleece:

And this is just a partial picture of my fiber stash. Let's not even mention the yarn.

Oh, did you notice my Harlot button on the side bar? She's awesome, I tell you! :-)

A new addiction

2006-03-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

Alright, before I start, I want to show you that I have been dutifully working on my Cozy Cardi...

See? And for those of you following along at home, you'll immediately notice that I've strayed from the pattern in that I've significantly lengthened the, er, length. The pattern wanted this thing to barely cover my belly button, and I'm of the mind that tummy-baring sweaters kind of defeat the purpose of wearing a sweater. But, I am a bit worried about the placing of the waist-shaping...I think I should have made it closer to the armholes. But it seems to work when I hold it up to me, so we'll just go by that. And block the living hell out of it if it doesn't work out.

Now that I've got this thing up to my under-arms, I'm going to start knitting the sleeves; well, one at a time. I'm still pretty confident that I can join the sleeves to the body and then saddle-sleeve this thing a'la Meg Swansen in the Aran Coat video of "Knitting Around" fame. Yes, yes, and I'll come up with a border. Eventually.

Okay, I also did some experimenting with silk and wool and dyes:

Let me explain. I was trying to go for a "fall foliage" kind of look, and bolstered by my success with my first dyeing foray, I approached this with a very cavalier attitude, thinking that I couldn't go wrong. I don't know about you, but methinks I was not very successful. I'm really not thrilled with this, it looks kind of like an oil slick, but it is still wet in this photo, so hopefully it'll look different when it dries. Or maybe it'll look nice spun, or it'll look great knitted. I'll let you all know.

And now, I must announce that I am addicted to the Yarn Harlot. Of course, I had "heard" her mentioned on the various knitting lists I subscribe to, but I never thought I'd be interested in reading another knitter's stories about knitting. Then a couple of weeks ago, I'm not sure why, I visited her site. And I'll never be the same.

Of course, I now have her first book, and will shortly be ordering her other two. Did you know she has new one that was just released? But since I left the book at work over the weekend, I've been feeding my addiction by reading her archives. I'm on March 2004, so I still have quite a bit of material to get through. Yay!!

But she's so inspiring, her knitting and spinning are amazing, and she comes up with the most outrageous stuff. I've laughed out loud several times while reading her blog. Really, really great stuff. My next blog project is to put a button on my sidebar to link to her. Yes, I'm star-struck, but she's great. Check it out if you don't believe me.

Well, the whole point of this is that I've had less time to pursue my fibery interests because of my obsession with the Harlot, and I'm going to try and get a handle on it. Just as soon as I catch up on her archives. And finish reading her books.

Sidetracked again...

2006-03-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I have been working on the Cozy Cardi, and I'll post pics another day (don't feel like messing with the camera right now).

So, on to what I did manage to take a pic of....

See that? That means that I am no longer a dyeing virgin! This is my first hand-dyed project! How's that for beginner's luck? I know, I know. It's got quite a bit of white, but it still came out pretty cool IMHO. This started out as some un-dyed sock-weight merino from Knit Picks, and it is soooo soft. I used Country Classics dyes in Raspberry, Cornflower, and Mountain Aqua. I laid out the yarn (after soak in Palmolive & vinegar), squirted on the dyes, rolled it up in plastic wrap and steamed it for 20 minutes. Let it cool, rinsed it out and VOILA!

So, when this stuff dries, it'll be a nice pair of socks for MOI! I'm so happy with how this came out that I'll be dyeing some roving fairly soon. I've got jars of 12 other colors to get to...the possibilities seem endless!

Ooops!

2006-03-12T21:50:00.000-08:00

Well, I've made major progress on the Cozy Cardigan. This sweater has become an obsession lately, and I haven't been obsessed by a project in a loooong time. So, I'm motoring along, memorizing the pattern, feeling good about my commitment, having grand ideas that I might actually finish this sweater, and basically having a blast watching this thing grow so quickly from my needles (gotta love chunky wool and Addi Turbos). Then, I stopped a moment to take a look and admire my work...

If you study this fuzzy picture, you may notice that I've missed a bobble row about 6 long rows ago (remember, this is circular knitting, so the prospect of frogging even 1 row makes me cringe). When I first noticed this, I figured I could just make some bobbles and sew them on (I think I read that Nicky Epstein does this). Content with this plan of action, and determined not to make this mistake again, I continued on. Alas, I didn't get far.

Now, if you study the sweater a little more, as I did, you may also see that the cables on either side of my steek stitches are at different stages of development (the ones on the right are crossing over the verticle line of st st, while the ones on the left are not). I blame the countless interruptions from my family (darn kids just have to have their diapers changed), and the fact that I've allowed myself to become overly confident regarding my knitting skills.

Now, because I've been so impressed with myself at memorizing this pattern, I've only just occasionally been consulting with the chart, and of course have not bothered with my usual method of keeping track of which row I'm on by using Post-It sticky notes. The realization that I've made a huge error which has cost me valuable knitting time (of course this all needs to be ripped out at least 2 rows back) is a veritable rainstorm on my cheery little knitting parade, not to mention a HUGE wake up call reminding me that I have not yet reached a "chart-less" level in my knitting. Very well, lesson learned.

But now that I'll absolutely be frogging, I'm figuring that I may as well rip back to fix my missed bobbles. I've got a very bad attitude about the actual act of ripping, but, surprisingly, I still have that burning desire to get this thing done. I'm envisioning completing the sleeves then joining them to the body and attempting my first-ever saddle-shoulder sweater in the round. Can you tell I've been watching too many EZ & Meg videos?

Oh, and I didn't even get the Viking Cables sweater out of its bag since it's photo shoot below. Work is a never-ending nightmare from which I can't escape to sneak in even just a little bit of knitting. Oh well.

On the Spinning side of things, I did get around to plying my 1st skein of the BS Mill-ends roving.

I am so loving this stuff. It's so purty. And although the rest of the roving is singing its siren song to me, I've been hopelessly distracted by this new arrival...

Look at this gorgeous stuff! This is Mountain Twilight roving from Beaverslide Dry Goods. I've bought their yarn before, and it's wonderful as well (it's marinating in my stash, but I fondle it often). This wool roving is sooo soft and fluffy, and the colors are wonderful, as you can see. I'm already planning on getting the Mountain Midnight colorway, just as soon as payday rolls around. I really love tweedy yarns, so I'm really looking forward to starting in on this. Anyway, at $16/lb, it's an absolute steal. Check it out and support a small business.

Viking Saga

2006-03-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

Here are the much-anticipated pics of my beloved/hated Viking Cables cardigan. As you can see, I've finished the back...

the fronts (I have no clue why this pic is a strange blue-ish green color)...

And I've started the sleeve. Yes, that is a paperclip marking my pattern. I only work on this thing at work (not to be confused with during work - it'd be pretty hard to play off knitting in the cubicle if I actually got caught), and I had to improvise. The fact that I don't go ahead and replace it with an honest-to-goodness marker is mere superstition.

So. It has taken me about 2 years to make it this far (I also made a baby during this timeframe, which included a pregnancy complete w/unbearable carpal tunnel, so maybe I get some slack). Well, of late, I've been making a concerted effort to cut back on going out to lunch and to start brown-bagging it so I can stay in the break room and knit.

This would be a good plan if only I wasn't so busy at work that I can't actually take breaks away from my desk. Well, I dare say I'll get this sucker done in time for next Winter. Stay tuned....

OT: I must share that I had the most wonderful ride today with my Hubby on our Harleys. I'm a very green rider, having gotten my motorcycle license 3 years ago by taking a safety class and having just gotten my 883 Custom Sportster this past December (no practice in between). Today was actually only the 3rd time I've ridden my bike. And I LUH-HOV it! We had a nice 2-hour ride. Hubby enjoyed it not so much because he was worried about me the whole time (the sweetie!). But he also led me on some trecherous-to-me roads (read really STEEP and WINDING), so I think we're even. Only here in So Cal could a ride have been so sunny & marvelous.

Knitting a Phoenix

2006-03-05T07:58:00.000-08:00

Out of the ashes, it rises again... Here's my progress so far on the cardi I'm working on from the current issue of Vogue Knitting (I love me some Kathy Zimmerman - I wish she would come out with a book!).

The yarn I'm using is actually attached to the old, incorrectly set up, 1st attempt on this thing. That's why it's so curly and "used" looking.

This pattern is going surprisingly fast because I was able to memorize it fairly quickly. This is very unlike the cardigan I designed using Elsebeth Lavold's Viking Cables, which has been a constant WIP for the last 2 years because I only get un-interrupted chart-reading time at work (ie away from the kiddies). Those suckers are quite involved, but soooo impressive. I'll get a pic of it up.

Alright, well, Boy #1 is whining about going to Chuck E Cheese (aka the outer limits of hell) because we're having his and his brother's birthday party there. Talk about a place where you could really use some knitting to maintain your sanity....

Try, Try Again

2006-02-28T22:02:00.000-08:00

Knitting: Last night I tried starting the cardigan again. This time I used the German Twisted Cast-On since I'm not really sure what type of edge I'd like, and I'm wanting to start the pattern right away without ribbing along the bottom. I'm thinking I may crochet a picot edge to match the bobbles in the pattern. I got the patterns situated correctly this time, so I'm off to a good start. I'll share a pic when I get further along than the 2 rows I've managed to accomplish.

I wanted to mention that if you haven't already, you have GOT to get Meg Swansen's "Knitting Glossary" on DVD. Absolutely a MUST! I got mine from her website at www.schoolhousepress.com. Yes, I'm an EZ/Meg Swansen worshiper, but this DVD is full of truly invaluable tips. Mine is playing right now.

Sorry, no Spinning action, but I'm planning on getting that bobbinful of BS plied up. I almost want to forego sleep to Git-R-Done, but bed is so warm & comfy that I can't resist. G'night!

Look Look!

2006-02-26T09:55:00.000-08:00

Ha! I've learned how to post pics to my blog :-) This is the Brown Sheep millend roving I'm working on that I mentioned previously. Is it not just fabulous? Not too shabby for $7.50/lb.

Anyway, since I've remembered about my blog, I've decided I'd like to belong to some webrings. But I'll have to post regulary (i.e. more often than my track record of twice a year), so there's my incentive to be faithful.

Now I'm thinking I want to start a photo gallery to get me inspired to finish some projects. It's amazing what the possibility of public scrutiny can accomplish. Behavior modification at its finest.

Yup...I'm still alive

2006-02-26T06:54:00.000-08:00

Howdy! Betcha thought I had falled off the face of the earth, huh? Well, you all haven't missed much.
With the boys getting older (yesterday was my oldest's 3rd birthday!), they're demanding more attention (imagine that) which means little/no time for fiber arts. Plus, I got a 2004 883 Custom Harley Davidson Sportster in December, so I have another hobby to compete for my attention. Not to mention that it's snowbarding season, too, although the weather hasn't been great this winter in 80-degree So Cal.

Knitting:
Well, ashamedly, I don't have much to report by way of finished projects, even though it's been like over 7 months since my last post. I made a sweater for my baby, finished an apple cap for a co-worker's soon-to-be baby boy, and a Fair Isle cap for my brother's girlfriend. Of course, I have already promised both my brothers and my sister-in-law a cap as well. Need I say that I, myself, am wearing a store-bought acrylic abomination on my head when I go boarding down the slopes?

WIP: I'm still slogging away at a dark green Viking cable cardigan which I only work on during breaks at work...children make it hard to follow involved charts. Last weekend I had attempted to start the "Cozy Cardigan" by Kathy Zimmerman (pg 73) in the Winter 05 Vogue Knitting. This was a failed attempt since I was converting the pattern to knit circular, and I got the fronts mixed up, so the 3 inches of knitting I actually got done is worthless. Oh well, I wanted to try a different bottom border anyway. So it'll be to the frog pond for that one, and then back on the needles.
By the way, I had tried my new Denise circular needles on this, but had such an awful time of having to push the stitches around the "sticky" cord. Maybe it was my wool (Brown Sheep's Top of the Lamb), but I had to dig out an Inox to use or I would have gone nuts.
I recently got the "Sensational Socks" book, and am now inspired to start knitting socks again. I have a constant sock in progress, and I pulled it out yesterday with the intention of starting the heel flap. However, I noticed 1/2 way down the leg, that I had unwittingly dropped a stitch, and then had knitted blithely on for another 2 inches. So, I'll toss that guy in the frog pond too. Boy, it seems like I'm making negative progress.

Spinning:
I've got even less to report here. I made a nice skein of some dark Romney I have in my stash, and now the entire 5-lb bag wants to be made. I really like this fleece since it is long-locked, the colors vary from really dark to medium grey/brown, and it spins so easily. I'll get to it again eventually.
But it's being overshadowed by my most recent exciting find: Brown Sheep mill-end rovings from The Sheep Shed at http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/Roving.html. I got 2 pounds of roving in the "Brown Tones" and this stuff is lovely! I'll post pictures once I figure out how :-) But it's got lovely colors and it spins so easily. I'm actually spinning from the fold because I like a loftier yarn and the fibers are so parallel in their rovings. So, I got my package yesterday, hurriedly picked up the house, and got to spin after the baby went to bed. I've almost got a bobbin-ful, so I'll be ready to ply soon. I can't wait to see this stuff plied.

Alright, well, hopefully I won't disappear for months on end again, and my subsequent posts won't need to be so lengthy. We'll see.....

Progress!

2005-07-11T22:16:00.000-07:00

Hubby, the kids and I went camping for the 4th of July weekend. We rented a motorhome and embarked on an 11-hour journey to Utah from Southern California. Surprisingly, the kids were very well-behaved. And 11 hours translates to LOTS of knitting time.
Knitting: Between the drive up, the drive back, and down time at the campsite, I knit 2 hats, finished a sweater for my 2 year old, and finished knitting a lovely scarf. Ah, the scarf. The scarf is made from a blend of white corriedale and chestnut alpaca which I blended on my hand cards in a roughly 70/30 ratio. I spun the lightly carded fiber and Navaho plied it into a lovely soft heathery yarn. I used a pattern called "Seafoam" from the Vogue Book of Knitting which worked well with the randomness of the yarn's color. This fiber was actually given to me along with a bunch of other fiber by a member of the Spin-List named Joy. When I first started spinning and posted to the list to ask for help, she answered my question, and then asked for my address so she could send me a bit of fiber to get started. Not long after, I received a box full of lovely dyed wool roving, the corriedale and alpaca, and llama fiber. Once I put the fringe on this scarf, I'm going to pack this pretty thing up and ship it off to surprise her. I hope she likes it. I'll try to post a picture once I get the hang of this blogging thing.
Spinning: I had brought my Lendrum on the trip, but didn't take it out since it was so dirty and windy where we were staying. Besides, I was having to tend to the boys every 15 minutes, and it was much easier to put down knitting rather than to interrupt spinning. But I had carded up 4 nice big batts of black Shetland wool, so I have those ready for me when I get a little time to work on them. I'm planning on carding up some nice moorit Shetland to spin on my Symphony. I just got a new drive band to replace the one which had frayed, and I believe I'll put it on in the double drive mode. I've been using the wheel with Scotch tension, and I find that I don't much enjoy the constant adjusting of the brake band I must perform as the bobbin fills. We'll see how it goes.

Late as Usual

2005-06-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

I started this poor blog in April, and have just now gotten around to posting. My sis-in-law reminded me when she directed me to her own blog. Well, I'm sure you all have been waiting with bated breath...
Spinning: I'm wanting to knit a Fair Isle cardigan using hand-spun Shetland wool. I've accumulated MANY natural colors and plan to dye a few I don't have. SO, I bought a skein of Jumper-weight Shetland yarn to use as a guide, and started spinning. This stuff is waaay fine, and I'm actually pretty proud of my singles as I think they're pretty close to what I'm trying to get. I've finished a bobbin-ful, but it's languishing on my Kromski Symphony until I get a chance to ply it (hopefully today). I'll let you know how the plyed (plied?) yarn comes out.
BUT, I just got a new Single Treadle Lendrum upright wheel a few days ago and have barely gotten a chance to spin a tiny bit of Romney on it. It's definitely different from my Symphony, so I need to better acquainted. I'll try to get to that too.
Knitting: On the needles currently (besides some terminally Unfinished Objects [UFO's] hidden away in the closet) is a ski hat for my OB/GYN doctor who took care of me through my pregnancy with my now-3-month-old and who sent me a porcelain bootie engraved with his name, DOB, and weight. Sooo cute! So anyway, he skis, so what better gift than a hand-knit hat, right? I'm thinking of attempting to chart the Caduceus medical symbol and make a band of it around the hat, but we'll see. I may just sail on through and keep it all grey. I guess it depends on how ambitious I get and how much time I have to spare.
Other: My kids are growing like weeds, and right now take up almost all of my time away from work. My 3-month-old can now roll onto his back, so I'm just waiting for him to get up and crawl away at anytime.
I also have a Hula performance tomorrow night, so I'll probably need to get some practice in sometime. Nah, it can wait till tomorrow...