Nutcracker 2011

Well instead of knitting or spinning, I have spent the last month sewing ballet costumes. My ballet studio performed Peter and the Wolf and Excerpts from Nutcracker. I made the costumes for Chinese, Waltz of the Flowers and Sugar Plum. Most of the Waltz of the Flowers skirts were made earlier this year for another performance, but there were 4 more that need to be made. I don't have a photo of the whole bouquet yet, but will get that with the next performance. I got talked into dancing in the Reed Flutes trio wearing these same skirts. Here are the Chinese costumes, designed like a friends Kung Foo uniform:
I also created the Sugar Plum costume. I can't take credit for the tunic, but I was able to match the trim with trim currently available at Jo-Ann's. There are a few things I need to fix before the next performance, but I think it worked really well. The next thing to make is a storage case so the costume can be used again next year.

Next up is a pair of mittens that have been sitting to the side waiting. Unfortunately it has gotten cold enough to need them, but I have only about 3/4 of the first one done.

Tutu

I haven't been knitting much for a bit because I turned this:

into this:



OK, so it isn't quite done yet. I still have to sew down the straps and add the boning and make a few minor adjustments. I plan on test-dancing in it tomorrow at class to see what else needs to be adjusted.

It is finally fall

I love the return of cooler weather. Now I can wear the sweater I just finished.
Green Apple Bohus sweater with a reduced number of colors. I used KnitPicks Palette, but instead of 5 shades of red/pink used only 3. The hardest parts were the rounds with 3 colors being used. The sleeves and body knit quickly and I didn't get bored.

I also fixed up a brown sweater I knit a while ago, but in a cropped style. I didn't wear it because it was too short, so I snipped off the bottom and added about 3 inches and then grafted it back together.
I also finished spinning my Tour-de-Fleece project:
Night Owl, Merino, Spunky Eclectic club, 803 yds, 4oz.
I then started in on my next project:
This is for my sister. It is a mix of BFL, Mohair and glitz. It looks like a purple haze, but is spinning up to make a bulky 3-ply. There are only 2 oz on that bobbin. I have 12 oz total to spin and will make 2 skeins.

Next up is the current knitting project:
I am making a skirt from Classic Elite Yarns. I love the yarn and I am knitting this to use as a over-up before/after dance class, so I don't need it to be too long or need to worry about where the eyelets land as I will always have tights and a leo on with it.

The next knitting project to start is:
Mittens for me. These should match my new winter coat. The ones wore last winter are a rust color and just don't go with the coat so I went stash diving and found these.

The next wool project is:
I got this at The Wool Gathering today at Young's Dairy near Yellow Springs, OH. It is just under 2 pounds and needs to be washed. It was my only purchase (other than an ice cream cone) and was only $17.

So as we move into fall I will be spinning and knitting to the sounds of a beginning Cello musician. There might be a fight over the chair as he needs to practice and I want to spin, but I guess we will deal with that when it comes.

About to begin the new school year

In family news, school starts next week for Nathaniel and I can't believe how time has flown. This summer was packed with events- trip to Yosmite, cub scout camp, a week at the farm, and a ballet performance. The trip to Yosmite started off a bit bad with an unplanned night of sleep on the Augusta airport floor and only one day in San Fransisco. The weather was wonderful, but caused a few sunburns. We came home with only 1329 photos. We had a week of normal work and then it was scout camp time. Then 2 weeks off and it was time for Nathaniel to spend a week with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Sydney at the farm in Illinois. He had a blast helping mow the lawn among other things. Now school starts next week and I can't believe we are done with summer.

In dance news, Nathaniel and I danced for a local event. For his first time performing ballet, he did great. He started ballet this spring in March, I think. He danced in both a quartet with another boy and 2 girls (including lifts). They worked really well together and pulled it off with only about 5 hours total of practice. I danced in both a group number (with the tutus pictured in the last post) and performed the Paquita variation #4 (or 5 depending on which numbering system you use). I have never done a solo and this was on pointe as well. I have seen the video and boy do I need to work on some stuff. I have never seen myself dance before and it was scary. It didn't help that the stage was slick. We both performed in the finale which was learned by everyone in about 3 hours. We definitely were not a polished group, but had fun and no one got hurt by the slippery stage. We are also getting ready to help my ballet teacher launch his new studio (this includes a repeat performance of what we did before, hopefully better than before).
Other than ballet I also competed in the Dublin Irish Festival adult dance competition. It was a fun evening. For the first time I was in the over 35 category and therefore dancing against about 18 other people. I got first in Jig and third in Treble Jig. I really messed up the Slip Jig and slightly messed up the Hornpipe, but had fun.

In spinning news, I tried to do the Tour de Fleece this year. I was going to spin the 3 Spunky club fibers I had (April, May and June), but didn't finish. I got the first 2 done quickly and then had other things going on. I did get some drop spindle time in while at scout camp. The scouts and other leaders were interested in the spinning, so hopefully some packs out there might try it. Today was the Mid-Ohio Fiber Festival in Newark, OH. I got there around 9 when they opened and was there for about 1.5 hours. I had a lovely time just looking at the vendors. The Woolery was there and I got some stuff from them:I got a packet of 2oz of silk bells, 3 packets of cocoons, and a 3/4 oz turkish spindle. I got a small packet of silk from a different vendor (can't remember who) and also 2 4oz balls of undyed wool from another vendor (a CVMX and a RomeldaleX).

In knitting news, I finished Darin's sweater, so I got to start my Bohus sweater. We revised the color pattern from the Wild Apple sweater to have fewer colors. I am using KnitPicks Palette and only 9 colors. Some of the color rows had 3 colors used and they took a long time to knit. I am now in the boring plain round and round of knitting using Asphalt Heather. I do like that the sleeves are done before the body and the armpit transition is done with a provisional cast-on, so no seam.

Finished items!

I have almost cleaned off my needles. There is still a list of things to do, but they haven't been cast-on yet. First here is the group of us in the tutus from the last post.We performed well with no major issues or injuries and had fun, so that passes all of my criteria. It was a lot of work for 2 minutes of dance, but well worth it.

I also finished up the afghan for Warm-up America. Last year's was very ugly, so I made this one all myself instead of sewing up mis-matched blocks that got donated. I think it looks a little like the '70s, but still nice and someone will be nice and warm.
I also finished up the In Dreams KAL. I didn't get the last clue worked on as I normally would due to the tutus, but finally finished. It blocked to 66" wide and 33" neck to bum.I am almost done with Darin's sweater as well. I am doing the neck edge this evening and expect to get it done by next weekend.

Now what do I work on next? I have tons of stuff lined up for the spinning wheel, but I need some knitting for N's class time and when there isn't enough time to spin. I have finished washing the fleece I got, but now have to card or comb it. I purchased some Acorn 4 pitch English combs and the lace flyer kit for my wheel from the Woolery.

Lots going on

It is May already and I have tons of photos to share. I have been doing lots of stuff, but in the last 2 weeks most of my work has been on some tutus for my ballet class. There are 8 of us in the class. The tutus have invaded my crafting area. Our performance is next Sunday, so all but 1 will depart for new homes then. The boy and I also dyed Easter eggs this year and I am very proud of the rainbow one I made. In the bottom row his are the 3 on the right and mine are the 3 on the left. He did some good work on gradient dyeing.

I have also finally gotten around to plying the BFL that my sister dyed for me. I needed to clean off the wheel for a spinning class (didn't get much out of that class, so no more comment here about that). I did get 433 yds of 3-ply in this skein.
And the last thing for this post are the pictures of the finished clue 5 and 6 of In Dreams. I haven't finished the shawl yet due to the tutu invasion.
I have photos taken of the fleece washing process/project and will make a separate post for that.

Beginning of spring

Have finished a pair of socks. They sparkle. I am not sure I like the fit of the toe-up heel flap, maybe I need to make the foot section shorter?I did knit these on dpns since I don't like the magic loop or 2-circ methods, but I followed the pattern from 2-at-a-time-toe-up-socks.

I continue to work on Darin's sweater. I have both sleeves and the back done. I don't think he will get to wear it before next fall, but maybe the way Ohio weather is going, he might.

I have also been working on the In Dreams KAL. We have finished 4 clues and the 5th came out this past Friday. The beads are all on the wrong side, and it therefore takes about 30 minutes to purl the return, but I think it looks great.
Clue 3
Clue 4
I also saw some knitting bags while looking on Ravelry the other day. I loved the fabric, but since I can sew I thought I would make a lunch bag instead of buying a knitting project bag with the fabric. I found the hedgehog fabric at Fabric.com and ordered 3 coordinating fabrics. Using 2 of them I created a bag for my LaptopLunch box, but discovered a design flaw. I had just done a handled bag and my orange tried to roll away in the car. I re-designed the bag and made 2 more of the new design (one for my sister and one for me). This one uses drawstrings to make the handles and close the top. All 3 are reversible with hedgehogs on the outside and mushrooms on the inside.

I have decided not to go to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year, but I really wanted a spinning class, so I looked into classes at one of the local yarn shops. I am now signed up for a Spinning 101 class in 2 weeks! I also fell down a slippery slope and into a rabbit hole and ordered a fleece from Pitchfork Ranch. I will get photos when it arrives.

In Dreams KAL

I signed up for the In Dreams knit-a-long. I am really liking the shawl so far. The actual knitting is easy, but the hard part is all them time needed to put the beads on. So far with clue 1 we used 364 beads and clue 2 needed 912. Here are the pictures of clue 1 and 2.

The boy is almost 10 already!

Tomorrow is the boy's birthday and he will be 10. Oy, where does time go? Since the last post I have done quite a bit of knitting. The boy got a Kindle for Christmas and needed a cover for it, so I knit a Griffindor stripped sleeve.
I used scraps of Andean Silk from KnitPicks and just knit in the round with a 3-needle bindoff using both colors.

I also have finished up the Henley with a Twist by KnitSpot. I used hand-spun merino for this. I love the fit and the pattern was easy to follow and very easy to sew up.Last summer I sewed up some block for a Warm-Up-America afghan that my church knitting group had created. This was just a horrid mess of colors and an assault on the eyes, so I decided to crochet a complete afghan that matched. I am using Vanna's Choice yarn and will add 2 more colors to these:
Each block is 7" x 9" and there will be 49 total for the afghan. This is one of 4 works in progress.

I have a sock that is on-going, a sweater for Darin, and I joined the In Dreams mystery KAL. This is a shawl pattern in a series from the Lord of the Rings series by Sunflower Designs. Here is my swatch-
I am using Valley Yarns 2/14 Alpaca silk in Sienna and copper lined crystal beads from the Beadwrangler. The pattern calls for 5000 beads and 1260 yds of laceweight yarn. I didn't have the copper lined beads when I did the swatch so what you see there is silver lined crystal on the left and clear crystal on the right. I have started clue 1, but I need to spend time working on Darin's sweater as well. He sat with me at the computer and selected the pattern and yarn for this one:I am using KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in the blackberry color and a pattern from Penny Striker. I don't need to follow a chart for the cable pattern any more as they are easy to follow.