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.

Nutcracker 2010 is done!

Today were the two performances of the Nutcracker for this year. I was a Party Adult and it was the first performance in point shoes for me since 1990!! All went well, but it was a long day.

I haven't finished much knitting recently. I did finish the mittens for the mitten tree at church.
The pattern is from Spilly Jane and they are knit with KnitPicks Palette. It is not a style that fits my hand, but was fun to knit and someone here in town will have warm fingers. I also started a project using my handspun merino. This is the Henley with a Twist from Knitspot.
I have finished the back and I am past the armholes on the front. It is an easy pattern to memorize and is very well written, not too much extra info. The next major project's yarn has been ordered and received, but I can't start until I get this one done. I am going to knit an Aran sweater for my husband with KnitPicks Wool of the Andes in the blackberry color. He picked both the pattern and the color, now I just have to find the time to knit it.

October 31st?

I have done a lot of knitting recently, but can't put all of it on here. The rest is on Ravelry. I have lost some knitting time and gained some knitting time this school year. N has started martial arts so I get to sit and watch class 3 times a week for 45 minutes each time. This has created some forced knitting time. I also started more dance classes, so I have lost time there. I think it is about an even trade. I don't have as much time for big projects, but will get lots of little things done. I started a pair of socks while on the family camping trip and was able to finish them at N's class.
Pattern: Ballet from Toe-Up 2-at-a-Time Socks
Yarn: Regia stretch

I then had to start another pair of socks. I decided doing 2 at a time was too hard to use as travel knitting, so I followed the same book, but I am doing only one at a time. This also allows me to use the dpns instead of magic loop.

I also decided that I was going to get too many socks done. I am not really much of a sock person, so I started a pair of mittens for the mitten tree at the church. I hope to get more than one pair done before Christmas, but that might be a stretch. I have lots of colors of KnitPicks Palette and since the pattern only uses 1 ball of each color, I should get quite a few from my stash.
This pattern is a free one from Spilly Jane Knits. I like the look of her patterns and thought I would try a free one before buying all of the other ones I want. She has some really cool mitten and sock patterns. So far it is well written and easy to follow, but a bit tight on my hand. Good thing I am knitting for someone else. I love color work with the KnitPicks yarns.

I am still here

I haven't fallen off a cliff. I just have been doing other things and not using the main computer or my camera. I have gotten a bit of spinning done. I tried to work on the Alpaca from a few years ago (from the alpaca named Sienna), but 2 of the 3 balls were very matted. I gave up and plied most of what I had, ending up with about 350 yds of a 2-ply and more still on one bobbin. I gave the rest of the fiber to a spinning co-worker to see if she could work with it or pass it on to friends who do needle felting. Since I gave up on that I started on some pencil roving in the Teddy Bear color. While spinning it looks like cake batter you are mixing melted chocolate into.
I have also been working on lots of baby shower presents. I love the little sock pattern I use as they knit up fast, but after a few pairs I am getting bored a bit. I need to get them all finished up so I can go back to the sweater I need to finish. I also have knit a cute, lovely sweater using Webs yarn. I forgot to take a picture of it, but it knit up quick and the yarn is nice a soft. I will definitely use it again.

A while back I went to Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. This year I took a class on a knitted Gansey sock. I used fingering weight yarn instead of the worsted, so the socks came out just the right size for Nathaniel. He loves them. I got the first sock done the first day and started the second sock in the second day of class. This was the second class I have ever taken on knitting and I learned just a few things, not as much as I really wanted, but I had fun with my sister. The rest of the festival was fun also, I didn't buy too much this year as I have tons of fiber I need to use up first.

It has been a while

Well I have been busy with lots of stuff. I keep knitting, but the photos haven't made it to the computer from the camera. We also tilled up the entire back yard and put down sod. I have been working on a knitting project I can't post pictures of here because the intended recipient may read this blog (check Ravelry to see them). I have also been doing some spinning. I finally finished the never ending pile of dark brown merino. I ended up with 1742 yards of a 2-ply fingering/sport weight. I thought I would have enough to knit Darin a sweater, but at a gauge of 7 sts/inch I don't. Now to decide what to do with it.
I also got around to spinning some wensleydale wool I got at MS&W last year. I got 2 braids for a total of about 8 oz. I wanted to learn how to chain (navajo) ply before I got to working on this wool.
I think I figured it out. I have about 165 yards of chain-plied.

This coming weekend is MS&W 2010. I can't wait. I have a list of books I want to look at and then a few things for the spinning wheel. I probably could survive an entire year without buying anything else, but what is the fun in that.

Time flys when you are having fun.

March already? Where has time gone? I didn't post anything for a while as we were experiencing computer problems and I didn't want to hook up the camera to download pictures. I have gotten lots of knitting done. I have tried my hand at designing and come up with some fingerless mitts that I like. Here is the second pair:
Pattern: Martha's Mitts
Needles: KnitPicks 3mm dpns
Yarn: KnitPicks Palette less than 2 balls
The first pair were knit with KnitPicks Bare in Fingering weight Merino. I like the second ones better as they are not quite as tight and heavy.

Early in the year I finished another lace shawl. This one is Lacewing by Anne Hanson. I really like the pattern as it was a bit challenging with pattern on both the right side and wrong side rows.
I also started another project. I was looking for a top down raglan v-neck short-sleeved sweater, but after about 3 hours of searching for what I wanted, I finally settled on a bottom up pattern from Creative Knitting magazine. After taking this photo I realized that you can tell where the second ball of yarn starts even thought I did several pairs of rows alternating balls of yarn to prevent a line.

Welcome to the Year 2010!!!

But before I start the new year of knitting here are the last bits of last year's work. First up are the arm warmers. This is a pattern for 18th century knitted mitts by Mara Riley. I liked knitting them, but when I make another pair I will make several changes- I didn't like how the decrease/increases look and they were a bit boring. I also need to check my gauge as these were a bit tight on my arms, but fit a friend perfectly.
Next up are the pilates legwarmers. I discovered this fall that when my calves get cold I get toe cramps in pilates class. I needed some shorter legwarmers as all of mine are thigh high for ballet class, so I found this pattern at KnitPicks and added the stirrup to the bottoms to help keep my feet warm. They fit nicely under my yoga pants and really work without interfering with my feet.I also finished the green Panda Silk socks, but I don't have a photo of the finished pair. They fit well, but stretched out a bit during the day and ended up a bit loose.

I am currently working on the edging for the Lacewing shawl by KnitSpot. It is taking a long time. After that I really don't know what to start. I got a few knitting books for Christmas (The Knitter's Book of Wool by Clara Parkes and Twisted-Stitch Knitting by Maria Erlbacher). I think I will work on another set of arm warmers with a twisted stitch motif. I also have to finish spinning the Merino roving I got a long time ago (actually before I bought my wheel). I am not loving the finished ply and I will probably have to make a 3-ply to get anything remotely even in thickness. I guess I prefer spinning worsted instead of woolen and this is not the best fiber prep for that.

My goals for this next year are to make a dent in spinning some of the fiber I already have before I get to MS&W in May; knit a few more pairs of socks than last year; try my hand at designing some items; and I think I already have an idea for one Christmas present for next year to get started on (after consulting my color expert).

Wow it is almost Thanksgiving

Where does time go? I have done quite a bit of knitting recently, but only have these 2 pictures to show. One is the bag in progress and the other is an almost finished photo with the bag blocking on a cardboard form. I still have to make the straps and line it with fabric. I love color knitting with the palette yarn.
Pattern: Sipalu Bag from Knitpicks
Yarns: warm colorway alternate colors
Needle: Knitpicks 2.25mm circular and dpns
Finished size: 9" x 11" x 2"

The other knitting projects have been swatches for a fingerless mitt pattern I am designing for some friends who have a revolutionary war era re-enactment store. I hope to either knit up several pairs for them to sell or at least produce a pattern for them to sell. I have taught both of them to knit and so we might just knit up a bunch. This will only happen if I get a pattern designed that will work easily. I have never designed or written a pattern before, so this is a bit of a challenge.

Wool Gathering 2009

Before going off to buy more wool I finished spinning up some merino/tencel I got at MS&W2007. I have had this for way too long and finally got to it. It is one ply of a light green and on of a dark green. I ended up with about 550 yds total.

Last weekend was the Wool Gathering 2009 at Young's Dairy in Yellow Springs, OH. I went all by myself and had a nice time wandering around for a few hours.
There was a huge bunny for sale:
A very beautiful Border Leister sheep:Some very interested Jersey cows:
Two big tents of vendors:
It is about 1/8th the size of MS&W, but is only about 1 hr from here. I came home with 1.5 pounds of Romney in an oatmeal color that I want to spin and knit a sweater for Darin, 1 pound of a charcoal merino to spin and then knit something for me, 3 oz of a hand dyed BFL and 1 pattern from Knitspot (aka Anne Hanson).On the way home I had to stop at Jo-Ann's (since I didn't have enough yarn at home) and get some Cotton ease to knit a mesh shopping bag that I have been wanting for several months.

I finished the mesh bag this afternoon and here it is:
Pattern: BYOB from Knitty
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton Ease, 4 skeins total (1 each of the contrast colors and 2 of the main)
Needles: US 7 and 10 KnitPicks options
Time: about 1 week total

Stupid Alpaca

Two weeks ago I sat down to start the Andean Chullo Hat kit from KnitPicks. I was going to make it for N, so I called him over and asked him to help pick out the patterns for the different bands. I told him I was going to use the alpaca ear flaps and he said "I don't want stupid alpaca on my hat". So the hat is not his, but Darin and I will wear it instead. It took only about a week for the knitting part. I love how Palette knits up in the color work. I couldn't stop, I had to see how the next section would look. My original kit had the substituted colors (navy for bark, sky for pool ,and turmeric for masala), but I was able to get the original colors before starting. I ended up using all of the colors I had.

I got some pictures of the Sarah cardigan today as well, so here they are.

In spinning news, I finished the socks-that-rock sheep-to-shoe kit I got a few years ago. I ended up with 413 yds in the big skein, 280 yds in the smaller skein and 71 yds of 2 ply in the smallest skein. I hope it knits up as nice as it spun.