Pretty Yarn!!!!!!

 FatCatKnits Quackenbush on Falkland

 Woolgatherings June Fancy Pants Mixed BFL/Silk

Woolgatherings June Choose Your Own on Polwarth

Woolgatherings June Fiber Adventurer on Superfine Merino (this stuff is AWESOME!!!!!)

All three of the Woolgatherings in the same picture.  I thought they were so pretty together.

I know that I have mad spinning skillz NOT but I want you to know that they were spun over the months of July and August so I didn't just crank them out recently.

Socks!!!!

 

These are the two pairs of socks I have been working on.  This is Desert Vista Dyeworks in Electric Middle Schooler.  It is a pattern I just kind of made up.  Since I took this picture I am to the heel flap of the first sock.

These socks are plain vanilla socks in Socks That Rock Lightweight colorway Rockstar.  I am turning the heel on the second one now.

Legos For the Win

It is amazing what a six year old imagination can do with some Legos.  I am always amazed at the stuff our son builds.

It is a fighter with laser and booster rockets and levers so you can control it.  I think it had some Kryptonite on it somewhere too.

Socks on Sunday

This summer I have been knitting more than spinning.  This is a pair of Hermione Everyday Socks knit out of Socks that Rock lightweight in Knitty Rocks.  I used size 1 Hiya Hiya 4 inch needles and they were a quick knit but I just didn't knit on them much at a time, so they took me three months to knit.  The knitting was actually done about three weeks ago but I just got around to sewing up the toe on the second sock yesterday.

I needed a new project one day so I cast on a pair of Vanilla socks out of Socks that Rock lightweight in Rockstar.  I am using size 1 Lantern Moon Sock Stix to knit these.  I have always wanted a pair of Vanilla socks out of Socks that Rock and these just seemed to fit the bill.

September....

where in the world did you come from????  It was a busy August around here.  I went back to work, kids are back in school and I have been reading and knitting.

The spinning has been in a little bit of a slump as of late.  I am finally getting back to it.  This is my July Woolgatherings Fancy Pants Fiber which is a mixed BFL and silk blend.  I am in the process of plying it now. I am quite a bit farther than this shot and hope to have it done today or tomorrow at the latest.  I am so happy we have a three day weekend.

I started watching Knitabulls podcast this summer.  I am joining in the Sept/Oct self striping sock knit a long. I would like to knit two or three pairs of socks during the two months.  This is Desert Vista Dyeworks in Electric Middle Schooler.  I am debating on whether I will knit them for myself or for my middle school daughter.

A Finishing Kick of Sorts

 I got on a little finishing kick this week.  I decided that some of these projects just needed to get done.  These are my handspun Moxie socks.  I used the Upstream Master Pattern from Cat Bordhi's book New Pathways for Sock Knitters.  The yarn was superwash merino spun from a braid of Moxie from FatCatKnits.

This is a hat that I knit for the LYS here in Wamego.  The pattern is Braides Swirl Tam.  It was knit in Jojoland Fantasia.

Domestic Goddess...

should be my new name.  I canned 7 quarts of apple pie filling,

baked five and half dozen cookies (four dozen went to church)

and 9 pints of salsa today.

You can bow to my awesomeness now. :)

Some Shawls on Sunday

 I have been knitting even though my blog posts have been sporadic at best this summer.  I have completed three shawls this year so far and I hope to knit a few more.  

This is the Queen Anne's Lace Shawl by MMario and it is a sample knit for UrbanGpyz.  It took the better part of five months for me to knit and I really like how it turned out.  

This is the Color Affection Shawl, I loved knitting this. I used my handspun.  I think the next one I knit I will do without the yarnovers so it gets the curvy edge.

This is my newest completed shawl.  The pattern is the Calais Shawl by Judy Marples.  I used some handspun alpaca merino silk in Enchanted that was a AllSpunUp spinalong fiber last year.

What A Month

What a month it has been around here.  I always think I will write a post and then it flies right out of my mind.  
I was going to get you all caught up in one post but I might spread it out over a few posts.

I finished the yarn that I had started in the last post.  It is from Woolgatherings it is the June Fiber Adventurer  Club fiber in Merino.  This is one of the most awesome yarns I have ever spun.  I love the way it turned out.

I spun it as a two ply and I got around 442 yards.  It is destined to be a TGV shawl I think.




I also spun up the Woolgathering June Playing Favorites Fiber

This is a two ply polwarth of about 328 yards.  I really liked this one as well.  It is very squooshy (that is a highly technical yarn term I have you know) and I am really looking forward to knitting with it.



This was the extent of my Tour de Fleece spinning.  I would call this Tour an epic fail for me because I didn't get nearly as much spinning done as I was hoping.  That is okay though because the Tour is just for fun, so I guess it wasn't a fail at all.

Starting July

Hoping to get July off to a better start blogging than the last couple of months.  I am participating in the Tour de Fleece again this year.   We had a party last night at the LYS and had so much fun.  I won some fiber and a gift certificate.  

This is my first finished spin of the Tour.  I am not happy with my yardage but sometimes that just happens.  It is a Panda blend that was dyed by Wild Ivy.  I only got 212 yards out of four ounces, it is somewhere between heavy fingering and sport.

This is what is going to be spun next on my wheel.  This is the June Fiber Adventurer club colorway from Woolgatherings.  It is a superfine merino and I just love these colors.  I am thinking a two ply lace to fingering.

Spinning Update

 Thought I might do a quick blog post since I haven't blogged all month.  Here is some Alpaca/Silk from Woolgatherings.  I think I got around 280 yards of a fingering weight.

I am wanting to make some hand spun stranded mittens.   This is some local corriedale from my LYS.  The sheep is owned by the owner.  His name is Barley.  This is about 180 yards of a fingering weight.

Varigated BFL that I got from UrbanGypz in 2010.  The colorway was Vineyard and it is almost 400 yards. I am thinking of using it for a shawl of some sort.

The singles of this fiber are done and I need to ply them.  Hopefully, a finished yarn pictures will be up soon.

Wrapping Up May

 Well I pretty much stunk at blogging this month, I always have great intentions but somehow I get busy and then I never get around to it.  There has been spinning and knitting.

This is my Color Affection wrap that I using three different handspun yarns for.  I am really enjoying knitting this.  I am on the 6th repeat of the the third part.

These were my "Away from Home" Socks because I was just knitting on them away from home but now I am just trying to get them finished.  I am about halfway through the foot on the second one.

I didn't make much progress this month on my yearly goal to spin 12 pounds of fiber.   I am about 12 ounces behind schedule but hopefully can make it up this summer during Tour de Fleece.  This is Gale's Art 80/20 Merino Silk.  I got about 780 yards of a two ply heavy laceweight.

This is Two Window's Dye Co. BFL in an unnamed colorway that I have called Salmon to Blue Gradient.  It is a two ply of about 260 yards.  

FatCatKnits Spin a Long

I finished my FatCatKnits spin a long.  I got around 296 yards of heaving fingering that I am planning to use for a pair of socks at some point.

Planning a Spin, Spinning a Plan

I have taken this braid of FatCatKnits superwash merino in Moxie.

I have split it into six (almost) equal bumps.  I think one of them might have one more gram or so.

I have started to spin the first bobbin for some three ply sock yarn.

On My Way to Stitches South

Okay, I am not going to Stitches South, these awesome mittens that I knit are though.  These will be in the UrbanGypz booth.

Pattern: Ruba'iyat Mittens
Yarn UrbanGypz Superwash Merino sock in Stay Golden and Nails
Needle 1.5 KnitPicks Options circulars
Started  February 20, 2012
Finished April 13, 2012.

Why Fiber Friends Are Awesome

I have wonderful fiber friends.  My friend Linda sent me a package that I received on Saturday that made my weekend.

She sent me two braids of Two If By Hand Superwash Merino, a handspun shawl, and a braid of fiber from Gritty Knits in Fish Bowl.  The bag says I Spin Yarn, with a spinning wheel in place of the word spin.  I need to get a project in it soon.  THANK YOU LINDA!!! I loved it.

Maybe I Should Stop Spinning

I really haven't been knitting much this year.  

 I think it is because I have been doing so much spinning.  

I want to knit with all this great yarn but I just keep spinning.  I have already spun over three pounds of fiber this year.

Wednesday on my Wheel

I have one more skein left to ply for my vest.  I am hoping I will have enough to make the vest I have picked out.  If not I will make something smaller with this yarn and try again.

I think this will be what I will spin next on my wheel.  I think it would make a great spring/summer scarf or shawl.

Polwarth/Silk How I Love Thee

Oooh Shiny!  Gale's Art Polwarth Silk in Blueberry Bush approximately 530 yards fingering weight two ply that is destined to become a Flower Basket Shawl.

Another FO and a Big Spinning Project

Well since I have been doing a lousy job of posting lately I totally forgot that I had a project I had finished.  I knit these socks for a lady that I work with. These are the Jeck socks and I used Socks that Rock in River Rocked.  These were a fun knit and took too long because I just messed around and wasn't in any hurry.

I have also started a large spinning project.  I am hoping I will have enough to make a Mondo Cable Vest or maybe a short sleeved cardigan of some sort.  I am using natural BFL and Wild Ivy BFL and I am going to ply the two together.

I have finished three bobbins of the natural.  I don't have enough bobbins to spin it all at once.  I have spun six of the eight ounces that I have of the natural wool.

Here is the first bobbin of the Wild Ivy BFL.  I am almost done with the first two ounces of the eight that I have of this.