Memorial Day Weekend

Since my last post I have done some knitting, some spinning, some dancing, and went to my 10 year college reunion. I am still amazed that I have been out of college for 10 years now. Almost no one was at the reunion events I attended.

For knitting I have been working on my SIP and I am almost done with the first of the pair. I have also worked more on the Rosebud shawl. It takes about 1.5 hours to do 2 rows now. Here is the current picture (it looks like a larger mass of pink string)
I have also been working my Monet sweater as well. The color of this picture is better than last post's picture.
Here is the spinning I was working on as well. This is the wool/tencel blend for my sister.
Here is the result of my dancing this weekend. I got a 4th and three 1st place medals at the Cleveland 2007 Feis.So it has been a great week and weekend for all of my hobbies. Next weekend is the dress rehearsal for my Ballet class and we don't have our costumes yet. I have been assured that we will not be naked, but until I actually have the costume I am still a little doubtful.

Queen City Feis 2007

The Queen City Feis 2007 was yesterday. This was my first aniversary of competition Irish dance. This year I got 2 first places (the first and last dance of the day) and 2 third places. I did not place in one dance. They actually gave trophies for the adults.
Here are the socks I finished on the plane comming home from MS&W.
Yarn: Austermann Step
Pattern: mini-cable top down

Here is the current SIP:

And here is what the Rosebud shawl currently looks like (just a bigger pile of dental floss)
And finally here is the sweater I just started with yarn from MS&W. This is the Inspired by Monet sweater from Creative Knitting May 2007.

MS&W 2007

Well I am back from Maryland (I got to see the Pink Lemon and I came out of lurkdome and said Hi) and the pocketbook is considerably lighter. Here is the picture of our loot:
I got 3 wools to spin, 1 silk to spin and 4 wool/tencel blends to spin along with a bag pattern, a scarf pattern, yarn for 3 pair of socks and yarn for this sweater:

Before I left I got the wheel cleaned off and ended up with this:

This is the green wool/silk blend. I have about 290 yds and it weights 124g. I will figure out wpi later. I have to soak it and let it dry before I can use it. I also finished the current SIP while on the plane coming home last night, but no picture yet. I did start a new SIP with some of the loot yarns (Koigu KPPM).

5 days until MS&W

I have been working on the Rosebud shawl. I got the center done and picked up all the stitches around the edge. It looks like a pouch of dental floss, but I am progressing. I have done 14 rows out of about 92 for the borders. Then there is the edging that will probably take forever. I started the borders with 117 stitches per side!!!
I have also done some work on the current SIP. I had to get some work done on my car, so that provided me with about 1 hours of unterrupted knitting time for these. This pair is actually for me and not a gift.
I also got to do some spinning. Last weekend I got some more done on the Wool/Silk blend. After letting the singles rest about a week, I plied what I could and discovered that I did not have the same yardage of singles on the 2 bobbins, so I have to spin some more single then I can finish this and find out what yardage I have. I really want to spin some of the other wool I have already and I am planning on buying some more at Maryland Sheep and Wool. I only have 4 bobbins right now, but The Woolery is currently having a sale and bobbins are 15% off, so I just ordered 4 more. (This is the same store I bought the wheel from and I had great service on that order).
In non-knitting news, there are only 2 more practices before the first Irish dance competition of the year. I am a little worried, but keep reminding myself that this is just for the kicks and giggles, my life does not depend on me winning (just not getting hurt). There are also only 6 ballet classes before our recital.

An almost-FO

Here is a picture of the bathroom tile before we grouted:

Here is what the room will look like when we are done. All that is left is to buy and install a tub door.
Now for knitting content.
Here is where I am on the Rosebud shawl. I am almost done with the center section. I had all of yesterday to do what I wanted as my boys were on a backpacking adventure.

I have also been working on a pair of socks for me out of the Austermann step yarn and finished the first sock and cast-on for the second, but put off working on that this weekend in lieu of spinning more on the wool/silk blend and knitting the shawl. I have 2 weeks until the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival and I have to create a list of what I want to knit and the yarn requirements before going. I can't wait.

Bathroom re-do

Instead of knitting, I have been re-doing a bathroom. In the first picture you see the chunk of drywall that had to be replaced. This is what started the whole process.

We wanted to re-paint the bathroom. We could do 2 walls without a problem, so here you see what we hope to end up with.

Here is the corner of the tub/shower before all of the old was removed:This next pictures are after we removed all the old tub, shower, and surround:

Here is the cement board getting ready for tile.

Here is what we got done by the end of the weekend:

It is April already?

I finished the second sock of this pair in record time (friday evening to sunday morning). These are a gift for someone.Yarn: Austermann Step
Pattern: Top down Waffle Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks, eye of the partridge heel
Needles: Inox 2.25 mm
Size: 5 1/2 women's

I have started another pair of socks for me out of this yarn in a different color. I really like the way it feels. Knitting has been put on hold for a while.

The weekend started with the plan that we were going to paint the bathroom a new color. Well when we removed the trim (to avoid having to be careful with the paint) we discovered a leak we thought had been fixed was not. So after patching the drywall and going to order a new tub and start ripping out the old surround and stuff we got 2 of the walls painted and that part looks great. I will post pictures of the mess at a later date after we get done with the demolition.

2 FO, 1 SIP (sock in progress)

Before I show pictures of knitting, my mom wanted some pictures of the "new" kitchen showing more than just a snippet of tile.

Now for the knitting content:

Aran Braid Hat
Pattern: Blackwater Abbey
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed, 1 ball
Needles: US size 4& 6, both 16" circ and US size 6 dpn
Knitting time: about 2 weeks, not the only project worked on

This is for my husband. It isn't very dense or windproof, but it does keep the heat in.


Pattern: Mobius Cowl by Cat Bordhi featured on Knitty Gritty on DIY network
Yarn: Rowan Tapestry 1 ball, 70a wool, 30% soybean fiber
Needles: US size 10 (6mm) 42" circ
Knitting time: started thursday afternoon, finished friday evening.

This is a gift for someone not to be named. It was a fun knit. The first few rows were fussy, but after that was very easy. I would recommend this pattern to anyone and I also loved the yarn.


Here is my current SIP (sock in progress).

Tile

I finished my socks from the Red Cross Knit Kit.
Yarn: Wool from the Red Cross Knit Kit
Pattern: Top down Waterfall Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks, eye of the partridge heel
Needles: Inox 2.25 mm

Here is my excellent mouser:
This past Sunday I got no knitting done, instead I did this:
and this
I tiled the backsplash in my kitchen. We used white "subway" tile and a travertine accent. I just finished grouting before eating a late dinner. The blue is the wall paint. We made a frame around the space above the sink. Normally a photo framed to look like a window hangs there and it will fit nicely.

I have been working on an Aran braid hat for my husband using Rowan Felted Tweed. The really big fiber related news is I am going to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival!!!! I will fly out friday evening to my sister's house and then we will both go shopping on saturday, then I will fly back on sunday. I can't wait.

It is March already

Here is a picture from my sledding adventure after Valentine's day. This was before we went and got new sleds that were more fun.

For a while I have discovered my cats staring at strange things (the paper shredder, the bottom of the TV, the stove, etc). Well here is what they found:

It took us about 1 hour and a fat cat to catch this little bugger. The cat just wanted to carry him around in her mouth and then hold his tail and play with him. He has been evicted.

In knitting news, I am further along on the second sock of this pair than shown here. The yarn came from the Red Cross Knit Kit. I didn't really like the boring pattern that came in the kit so I chose a different pattern. I really like the yarn, but I don't know the manufacturer so I can't get any more without buying another kit.


I also bought a toy:

This is an Ashford Traveller single drive, double treadle unfinished wheel. It took about 2 hours to put together with some "help" from my son. As you can see I have already spun 2 partial bobbins of yarn that I am going to ply together so I can work more on the scarf I started with the other hand-spun. Spinning is definately relaxing and addictive. I hear it calling me to come and play this evening.

Valentine's Day Fun

The weather here is not very much fun. We got lots of snow yesterday and I could barely make it out of my driveway in my Subaru Outback this morning. My husband works in a different county that had a level 3 snow emergency (only emergency personal on the roads) and my son's school/daycare was closed, so they got to stay home a second day. The city does not plow our streets, so we got no mail delivery today either. I don't think the morning paper showed up either. I was on the roads at 5:30 this morning and they were not that bad once I was driving on streets that had been plowed.

In knitting news, I finished a pair of socks:
Pattern: Waffle Rib from Sensational Knitted Socks (top down with heel flap)
Yarn: Austermann Step color 06
Needles: Inox 5 dpn size 2.25 mm
Size: Women's 7 wide
These are a present for someone, so they will be given away soon.

Since I finished this pair of socks I started a new pair from the Red Cross Knit Kit. The yarn is an olive drab wool, but it feels like it has some cotton in it. I am also doing the top down construction again since I like how that fits better. (the camera battery needed to be recharged so no picture)

I also did some spinning the other night to add to this:
I started a scarf with my handspun and discovered it would be very short, so I have to spin some more. Unfortunately I am getting better at the spinning and the yarn might not be the same gauge as the first set.

I have also spent some time working on my Rosebud shawl, but it didn't photograph well. It looks like a wad of pink thread. I have 4 of the 11 repeats done on the middle section. It is much harder to knit with the thin yarn on biggish needles than the socks, so I work on this in the evenings.

Not much going on

Like the title says, not much is going on in the knitting/spinning part of my world. I will be busy this weekend with my son's 6th birthday party. We will be going bowling with a total of 8 kindergarten boys. Should be fun, but you never know. I finished a pair of socks last weekend and have started a new pair. The new ones are top down instead of toe up. I really like the fit of the top-down style better, but you can't just knit until you run out of yarn. Since this pair is a present for someone else, I thought I would do the top-down style.

FO in just 1 week

In just 1 week I went from stash yarn to a FO. Here is the sweater I created with help from The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns.
Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease about 3 balls of Wheat and 1/2 ball of Loden
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 8/ 5mm


This is the first yarn I spun on the antique wheel and then plied. It is about 38 yards of probably a bulky weight. I hope to spin some more and then make a simple scarf with it.

Happy New Year

Look what my Uncle got me for Christmas!

It is an antique spinning wheel. I have a few repairs to make then it should work well. I am not an expert, but I have tried spinning with it and discovered a few issues. Now I just need to figure out how to fix it. If anyone has any suggestions for sources of parts please let me know. My sister must be psychic, she got me this:


The stuff on the left is a space dyed wool pencil roving and on the right is a 50/50 wool/silk roving that is wonderful to spin. As you can see I immediately wound the brown merino off of my spindle to try the silk blend. Now my mom was thinking along the same lines and got me this:

I guess she thought I needed some ideas for the finished yarn. This book has beautiful pictures and some patterns and information on how to combine stitch patterns to make something special.

This past week was not a week to do any fiber work (knitting or spinning) as we were re-doing our kitchen. After getting back from visiting my family for Chrismas we tackled the job of removing the old cabinets and installing new ones. The kitchen is done except for the countertop and that will take about 4 weeks after they come and measure the space. Then while still in the organizing mood I tackled my fabric "inventory". I have a huge trash bag of stuff for the garbage and a large tub of cotton fabric I need to donate to a quilt guild. I don't sew much anymore and when I did I kept EVERY scrap (it is a genetic problem). I had scraps from skirts I made 9 years ago and from making my wedding dress 8 1/2 years ago. Now my yarn and fiber are occuping the space vacated by the fabric scraps. I did keep 3 tubs of fabric (you can see some of the tubs in the picture of the spinning wheel). Now I need to get everything to fit in the garbage can so they will haul it away.

Christmas Projects

I have been very busy working on projects for christmas. Most have been not knitted. Here is the first picture (this is a queen sized quilt, 90" by 106"):


Here is the knitted project (this is based on Wendy's generic toe-up sock pattern with the double seed stitch for the cuff) using Interlacements Tiny Toes superwash sock yarn in color #207. The yarn does NOT photograph well. The blue is this vibrant, but the darker colors are a green and brown.

Finished Socks

I finished 2 pairs of socks this weekend. These are KnitPicks Simple Stripes in Crayon using Wendy's generic toe-up sock pattern and only 2 balls of yarn for the 4 socks. I am still chugging away on the quilt I need to finish. I did get some Lion Brand yarn on sale this week at Jo-Ann's for a cute bag pattern I saw in their catalogue/magazine. I started a new pair of socks out of Interlacements Tiny Toes yarn. It is sooooo soft compared to the KnitPicks Simple Stripes and the purple color in the mix is very vivid. I think I will really like knitting with it, but we will see how long it takes me to finish the pair.

New Project

I got 6 blocks done on the quilt, so I decided I could start a new knitting project. I selected the Rosebud Shawl from Heirloom Knitting. It starts with a knitted cast-on of 117 stitches. I picked up the recommended needles and did the CO and the 4 rows of garter stitch that follow. The edge was WAY too tight, so rip, try with 0.5 mm larger needles, rip after the same amount of knitting, finally I tried 1 mm bigger for the CO edge. I think I finally got the right tension for the edge. I have done several rows of the first chart. The only problem is that the yarn is cobweb weight and I was just knitting with worsted weight and this feels like dental floss. The 117 stitches fit completely on the needle section of my KnitPicks Options needles.

FO and Feis

Pattern: Fairfax Fibonacci Sweater
Pattern Source: KnitPicks
Yarn: Andean Silk & Andean Silk Twist
Yarn Source: KnitPicks
Needles: KnitPicks Options size 4 and 6

I do love the feel of this yarn, but there were TONS of ends to weave in. The directions were not written the best, but I did my usual trick of writting them out row by row on a separate piece of paper. It is knit from the top down and has no seams, just tons of ends.

Feis info
There were 4 of us dancing and we collected 14 medals for 18 dances and 2 for vocal. I got a second in slip jig and third in reel, light jig, and hornpipe. My treble jig was atrocious, so obviously I didn't medal in that. We were done dancing in about 1 1/2 hours!!! It was a whirlwind and we didn't have time to even think what the steps were or even practice them. We didn't even get to stretch. But on the whole it was fun and successful and no one got injured.

FO and quilt blocks

I figured out how to sew the quilt blocks on the machine, so after finishing 2 blocks I switched to knitting. I finished the Fibonacci sweater. I will post pictures later.

This weekend is the last Irish dance competition of the year. I have to take my son with me, so hopefully he is well behaved and doesn't decide to have a clingy day. I also hope to do well and not fall on my face or cause any bodily harm. It will be the first time I compete the treble jig.

No knitting time, only quilting time

We spent this last weekend redoing the hallway and our bedroom with new flooring, so I got no knitting done. We put bamboo flooring down and repainted the walls a dark yellowish green. Unfortunately this color doesn't match the quilt on our bed. I want to make a new quilt, but I have one started already for my mother and must finish it first. Since the quilt for my mom needs to be sewn completely by hand this is a chore for me. I figure after I finish sewing a block I get one evening to knit so until the quilt top is done there won't be much knitting news, but I will post my quilting progress.