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!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Look Look!
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
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.....
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.....
Monday, July 11, 2005
Progress!
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.
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.
Friday, June 17, 2005
Late as Usual
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...
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...
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