Now Posting from Wamego, KS

Wow, what a couple of weeks it has been.  We have moved from Minnesota back to Kansas due to the husband being relocated.   I will save all that excitement for a later post.

On a knitting front (since technically this is a knitting blog), I do have a little to show.

First, I have an LYS that is not 40 minutes away!!!!!  It is right here in the town that we moved and it carries spinning fiber.  I am so excited.  

This is the bump of Merino/Silk blend that I picked up when I went to check out the store after a day of unpacking boxes.  

This is my current spinning project.  I am still working on the Chocolate Cherry Frabjous Fibers BFL  I have about three more feet of roving to spin.  I am going to do a two ply and hopefully make a Clapotis with it for winter.

Since most of the boxes are unpacked, I have found a little bit of knitting time.  I had started this before we moved but I made a mistake so I ripped it and started it over a couple of days ago.  It is the Traveling Woman and I am using some of my handspun that I had in my stash.  I am going to increase the repeats to 13 instead of 11 since I still have 81 grams of yarn.  I will probably do two repeats of chart A and one of chart B like the pattern calls for unless I have still have quite a bit of yarn after the first two repeats of chart A.

Shetland Triangle

I love how blocking a shawl makes it look so awesome.
I finished the Shetland Triangle earlier this week.  This is #4 for the 10 in 2010 Shawl KAL.

I used some handspun Tussah silk.  I think it looks really shiny.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark
Started: June 29, 2010
Finished: July 5, 2010
Needles: Knit Picks Harmony Size 6
Yarn: Handspun Castle Fibers Tussah Silk Batts 270 yards.

A New Project and a Tiny Bit of Spinning

Since I finished the Seas Shawl,  I needed to start the fourth shawl for my 10 in 2010.  I am knitting the Shetland Triangle.  I have a few yards short of 300 so it won't be very big, but it will qualify for one of the smaller shawls.  I am knitting in out of my handspun Tussah Silk that I recently spun.

I haven't been doing much spinning this month.  I had grand plans to get through a couple of bumps of my stash but alas that didn't happen.  I am currently spinning up some BFL from Frabjous Fibers.  It is the Chocolate Cherry colorway.  I was a little disappointed when I went to weigh it and it was quite a bit under the 8 ounces that it said it was supposed to be.  I am hoping to knit a Clapotis from it.  I am even considering just knitting it as a single.

Is that an FO????

I have finished my third shawl of my 10 in 2010 shawl Knitalong.  

Pattern Sea Shawl

Yarn Handspun Sea Dream from Gale's Art

Needle Size 7 Knit Picks Options

Started April 23, 2010

Finished June 25, 2010

I had one of my favorite models try it on to show off the stitch pattern.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I think my model would take it if I let her.

Summer of Socks???

I seem to be on a bit of a sock knitting binge lately.  My last three finished projects have been socks.  This is a pair of plain vanilla socks made from Nashua Best Foot Forward in the Berry Cobbler color way.  I used size 0 Hiya Hiya DPN's.  Started June 1, 2010 Finished June 16, 2010.

This is the pair I cast on last night, the marker is where I started this morning.  This is Colinette Jitterbug in Mardi Gras.  The blue isn't quite right it have more purple and greens mixed in with it.  I am using two Knit Picks Options circulars in size 1.5 and the pattern is Stansfield 196 from More Sensational Knitted Socks.  I was afraid that the pattern would get lost in the funky yarn but I can see it pretty good so I will continue on.

I am thinking this handspun will be my next pair.  It is Gale's Art BFL swirl in the Grace limited edition colorway.  I really enjoyed spinning this and I am excited to see how it knits up.

Does the Title of the Blog Say "Stitches"?

It has been a very very long time since I have been motivated to do any cross stitching.  Before I became obsessed with knitting, I was obsessed with counted cross stitch.  I was reading a friends blog where she was posting her current cross stitch project so I went and dug one out of my stash.

I started working on this last night.  I remember why I haven't stitched in a while.  It takes a long time to get a finished object.  I am still wanting to work on it so I guess that is a good thing.  This is about two hours worth of work.  I did have to rip out the the star once because I miss counted.  I am planning to post a cross stitch update periodically so I can see the progress I am making.

I have spinning and knitting to show off in the upcoming posts.  So fret not that I am turning this into a cross stitching blog.

Silky Goodness with a Side of Sock and Shawl

I have been spinning some Tussah silk from Castle Fibers that I got at my LYS.  I have found that I really like spinning it.  I will admit that it intimidated me a little but it was not as difficult as I thought.  I have two ounces and I can't wait to see how many yards I will get from it.  This is about a half an ounce.

I started this sock this week and I am just not sure if I like it or not.  I think I will knit a little further and decide then.  

I have been working on the Seas Shawl.  I won't be able to finish it before the end of the month to get it in the drawing for the 10 Shawls in 2010.  So far it looks pretty good.

Coriolis.....

or why I think Cat Bordhi is a genius?  Those were the choices for the title of this post.  Once again, I have knit a pair of socks using the New Pathways for Sock Knitters.  I knit these socks toe up using the Coriolis master pattern.  I also discovered that I enjoy toe up socks when you have the "toe" that you really like.  I used the Pontoon toe and it was very easy for me to accomplish.  I also was able to do a "heel flap" heel.
Some of the pluses for doing toe ups for me was not having to sew the toe together at the end (which I really don't mind but I don't always like the points on the ends of my toes), no picking up the gusset stitches (I pretty much always mess this up and have to do it over at least once),  and that it was easier to try it on as I was working on them.  I think I will be knitting more toe up socks and trying other pathways in the book.  I would like to try knitting a pair for someone else using their numbers.

Summer Melons Coriolis Socks
Started May 11, 2010
Finished May 17, 2010
Needles KnitPicks Options DPN's size 3's
Yarn 220 yards of 3 ply handspun from a Gale's Art Corridale Sibling in the Summer Melons colorway.

Little Buddy Saves Socky Saturday

There has been very little sock knitting around here this year.  It hasn't been for lack of trying just a lot of "when knitting attacks".  I have finally finished my first pair of socks of the year.  I finished these last Sunday during my very quiet Mother's Day (since DH had to work).  


Pattern: Charade
Yarn: Misti Alpaca Handpainted Sock Yarn
Needles: Harmony DPN's size 0
Started: April 4, 2010
Finished: May 9, 2010

Here is my current sock project.  I started these on May 11, 2010.  I finished the bind off on the first sock this morning and I am almost up to the increases for the gusset on the second one.  It is amazing how fast socks work up on 46 stitches.  I might actually finish a pair in less than a week.

When I was outside taking the picture for my current sock project my needle fell under the porch.  I didn't really like the idea of having to wiggle under there to get the needle out.

Luckily, I have a Little Buddy who was more than happy to wiggle under there to get it for me.  Thank Little Buddy, Mommy really appreciates it.

Aaaahhhh Handspun

I have been listening to old episodes of Stitch It from when Meghan went to SOAR in 2008.  She was kind enough to pass on the knowledge that she learned in class to her listeners.




I learned how important predrafting was by listening to the episodes.  By predrafting I was able to spin the singles much more consistently.

I think this is one of the most "balanced" yarns I have spun to date.  There are very few spots of thick and thin in this hank.  I have 220 yards of a sport to heavy fingering weight here.  I think I might have enough for a pair of socks since I can get a pair of socks out of one hank of sport weight usually.

I needed a new shawl project for 10 Shawls in 2010, so I cast on the Seas Shawl out of my Sea Dream handspun.    Hoping to finish before the end of the month.

A Red Phase???

I started the Sock Knitters Anonymous May June Mystery Sock yesterday.  This pattern was designed by Cookie A.  I really like her designs even though I have only knit Monkeys so far.  I am using some Happy Feet yarn from my stash.  I have the first sock cuff done.  I am not sure if I will wait and cast on the second sock after the clues are all out or go ahead and knit the second sock up to the end of the first clue.

I have a tendency (if I really like the teacher) to knit something for them before the end of the year.  So far I have knit for all of them up to this point.  I had a hard time thinking of something to knit for Punkin's teacher.  She has very narrow feet and I thought socks might not fit very well unless I could try them on her.  She isn't really a "scarf" or "shawl" kind of person either.  My neighbor who lives across the street from the school thought mitten might be good.  These are the Pop Top Mitts that I knit for her.  They will go live with her tomorrow.

The Transformation of Purple Spaghetti

Doesn't that title sound like some wonderful piece of literature that every high school student (Teen) should read before they go off to college???

After many a moon of working with the incredibly long piece of purple spaghetti, I have bid goodbye to it.  It was a wonderful relationship and I shawl miss it dearly. (Pardon the really bad pun)




The purple spaghetti became a beautiful five course meal.  I am so glad that it reached it's full potential.

North Roe Shawl
Started January 4, 2010
Finished April 19, 2010
Needles US 6 Knitpicks Harmony circular
655 yards of Cascade Alpaca Lace in Thistle

Have I Created a Monster????

Punkinbug decided on Sunday that she wanted to learn to knit. I let her knit a little on a scarf that I was knitting for my sister.  The next morning she wanted me to dig out the yarn and needles that I bought for her a while back.  Yesterday while the agent was showing our house, the hubby took the kids to dinner.  Punkinbug took her knitting.

In the previous post, I showed my experiment spinning.
This is the end of my experiment.  It is around 266 yards of merino/bamboo/silk.  I think it turned out AWESOME.   I am so excited to find something to knit with it.  I think maybe a cowl or a skinny scarf of some sort.

Silly, Spinning, Serious

I have had this laundry basket since the hubby and I got married.  It was given to us at our wedding shower filled with cleaning and paper products for our home.

It is now time to tell the laundry basket goodbye. All three handles are broke so I am going to finally throw it away.  I wonder how many loads of laundry this basket has seen in the almost 14 years that the hubby and I have been married.  I am not sure how many times it was used for a boat but I know it was a lot.

I have been doing some spinning lately.  This is my most recent finished hank of yarn.  It is approximately 170 yards of light worsted to worsted weight that was Navajo plied.  I am not completely in love with it so I am not sure exactly what I am going to do with it.

I started a new experiment the other day and this is the beginning of it.  I will show you how it turns out later.

Do you know what this means???  It means we are moving.  After six plus years here in Minnesota we are moving back to our home state of Kansas.  Hubby is being relocated by his company back to his home town.  The nice thing is that we will be near family again.  The bad thing is that we will be leaving our friends and school.  I really love our school.  It is right down the street from our house.  I was able to watch the Punkin walk to school by herself on the last day of kindergarten almost three years ago from my front porch and see her go into the building.  We have a couple more months before we leave but it will come more quickly than I anticipate.

Socks and Spinning

My sock knitting mojo had taken a serious dive, but I seem to have found it possibly. I haven't finished a pair of adult socks since October of last year.

I started this pair of Charade Socks last week and so far they seem to be working out so far.

I had started a pair of Gentleman socks with this yarn but they were way to small so I frogged them yesterday and started a pair of Anniversary Socks with the yarn. I am enjoying knitting this pattern so far. I hope they will continue to work out.

At least my spinning is still going okay. I haven't had a lot of time to spin lately but when I do get a chance it turns out pretty good. This yarn is called Aquarius and it is a three ply. I have over 200 yards of a DK to light worsted weight. I am still trying to figure out what to knit with it.

Did you say Crochet???

Why, yes I did.  I can't believe that I got an urge that I couldn't ignore to pick a crochet hook.  I have not crocheted in years.  I was inspired by Trek when she did her posts about her five dishcloths.  By the way Trek, I loved the color you used.  She used a different pattern than I did but I am trying that pattern now.

Started and Finished March 15, 2010
Yarn is Peaches and Creme but I can't remember the color way
Hook size H


I think I like the crocheted dishcloths better than the knitted ones since they are more solid so I have a feeling I will be crocheting more than I have in the the last fifteen or so years.

March is for Mitts

I seem to be on a Mitts kick lately.  I knit a pair for the Punkinbug's teacher.  She liked them a lot and I was glad that she did.  I knit these out of Patons Classic in Retro.

 

I have started a pair for Punkin's teacher now.  This pair is out of Malabrigo in Geranio I think. These are so soft I was tempted to keep them for myself but I have now knit past the point of my fingers so to the teacher they shall go.








Knitting has been interrupted a little lately due to a third grade project that I have been helping my Punkin with.  I will try to post pictures of the completed project soon.

I Have Jinxed Yarn

I am not one that believes in superstitions or things being jinxed.  I am really starting to believe that this yarn is jinxed.  Everything I have tried to knit with it just isn't working.  The socks looked okay but I kept having ladders and odd shaped stitches and when I got to the foot I didn't feel that they were going to be "good" socks.  So I ripped them out yesterday.

       


So today, I started a Multnomah shawl, but I am not liking how it is turning out. My stitches are all wonky and uneven so it is kind of bothering me. I am pondering ripping this out and trying to find something else to knit with this yarn.  The yarn may just need to go in "timeout" for a very long time.                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Knitting Olympics

The Olympics are ending today, both athletic and knitting. I am happy to say that my project is DONE. I really enjoyed knitting the Citron and am actually considering another at some point but just not right now. Malabrigo lace is like knitting with butter. It is so soft and smooth. I want to knit lots of projects with it now.

Details:
Pattern- Citron from Knitty
Needle- size 6 KnitPicks Options
Yarn-Malabrigo Lace in Azul Bolita
Started- February 12, 2010
Finished- February 26, 2010
Adjustments to pattern: I left off the last two rows of the ruffle because I was afraid I was going to run out of yarn.


I also realized today that when it came to blogging this month, I seriously failed.  It is amazing how a month can go by so quickly.  I will admit that this month has been eventful to say the least.  Tomorrow begins a new month so maybe it will go better.

Life Gets in the Way

It has been crazy busy around here.  I have been knitting but all my projects seem to have been slow going.  Technically, I haven't finished anything all year.  The knitting of the  sweater for the Punkinbug was actually finished in December.  I have joined the Ten Shawls in 2010.  I have been plugging away on the first one.  I am on the second chart of three.  I have become more proficient in fixing lace knitting mistakes on this one which I am happy about.

Friday night was the beginning of the Olympics, therefore I needed some Knitting Olympics knitting.  I started the Citron shawl from Knitty.  I am using some Malabrigo Lace in Azul Bolita.  This yarn is so yummy and soft.  I am already trying to think of other projects I can use this yarn for.  This shawl is going pretty quick but I still have the longest rows to go.








A week ago Friday, I had planned to take the kids to movie night at school so I needed knitting that I could work on during a movie.  We didn't go for some reason but I still had a sock started.  I am making the Burning Rings of Fire socks in some Zen Yarn Garden.  This sock has saved my nerves some in the the last week or so.  The colors are a little washed out in this photo but I will get better pictures when the socks are done.