moonfrog

For our third year, we headed up to Eugene last week for the Black Sheep Gathering. We camped in the field behind the fair grounds and slept to the sounds of sheep: baa, baa, baa and an occasional middle-of-the-night outburst from the homeless people who passed by,  displaced by a crowd of campers.

This year, I tried something new. Seeing a call for volunteers for the Wool Show on Ravelry, I offered to help.  I figured that helping would be even more fun than just watching the wool judging, which is what I do most of the weekend. Also, it would keep me busy since I really don’t need anything from the market.  I had a great time moving fleeces around and learning more about wool from a different judge this year.  Then I kept super busy on Saturday taking payments during the sale. And the fleece flew out the door!   I showed amazing restraint and just split one fleece with my friend Connie, who also helped with the judging all weekend.

One thing that was really interesting was seeing some women spread out a fleece in order to split it. It was BIG.  And I learned that fleece are made up of varying qualities from one area to the other. The best fiber is on the back, and even which side the sheep sleeps on will affect the quality. There’s so much more to learn.

Doesn’t it look lovely all spread out there? There were tons of gorgeous fleeces.  If I didn’t have a mountain of wool in my house already, I surely would have come home with more.

Besides working at the wool show and a quick trip through the market and the sheep barns (I loved the newly born lambs!) we went to dinner with the husbands (who were sorely neglected but kept themselves busy.) This trip we ate at Cornucopia, which has a varied selection, including several vegetarian choices. And it is said they have good beer, too. It was extremely busy there and service was slow, but the food was good.  We also returned to the Koho Bistro for a fine dinner. They are on the pricey side, but the food is excellent.

The other activity that I really enjoy is spinning outside in our camp. This year Connie brought a canopy and we added a wall to keep the wind out. The weather was rather cold and windy most of the weekend. I bought some bright orange roving from Aunt Janet to make the husband a hat.  It reminds me of the safety orange jackets my dad loved when he worked on the city street crew. Even though orange is not my color, I’m enjoying the cheerful effect it has on me. It’s like summer flowers.

I always enjoy the drive up and down the Oregon coast, but it sure did tire us out.  Today  was spent recovering, reorganizing, and battling some raging hayfever.  Sleeping in a grassy field always sets it off.  I did spend a little time spinning outside on my porch today, enjoying my new lettuce and herb garden. Oh, and making up to the cat, who is not at all happy that we have been gone so much this month. She sat watching me spin and giving me cranky looks.

We have a three days at home, four more away, and then back to stay put for a while. Sounds like summer, right?

Happy World Wide Knit in Public Day!!   I will be out of town on Saturday, but I will be knitting a hat.  Knitting a hat at a motorcycle run. Camping in the redwoods. Now, I’ve knit in a lot of places, including bars, but this one seems like it will be the most — conspicuous, I guess.  A bit out-of-place, maybe, which might just be the point of WWKIP Day.

I will miss all the fabulous activities our local Northcoast Knittery has planned for the day, but I will still be around friends. This will be my first time going to the Redwood Run, which is the big old-school motorcycle run in our area. It’s strange that it is the one I’ve always missed, but we could never get away for it.   I’m surprised we are managing to go this year, the one year we aren’t riding. The man of the house is waiting for hernia repair surgery and is under strict orders not to ride.

I hope your day is filled with knitting, and maybe some of it in public. I’ll be thinking of you and listening to the sound of motorcycles revving and some good, old-school rockin’ music.  And knitting a hat.

I used to knit a lot of hats. Remember?  Most of them went to chemotherapy patients through Caps for a Cure. Well, I do still knit and crochet hats, just not as many. And I don’t blog about most of them, but there are a few I’d like to share.

This pink hat is from the pattern called Thorpe.  I knit it as a Ravelry Knit-Along on the Hats! Hats! Hats! group. It was the New Year knit along. I used Lion Brand Jiffy for both parts. It was fun to knit; I love the braids. Then it whooshed off to a chemo center across the country along with the Slouchy Copy Cat Hat that I made during the Super Bowl. February. I purposefully made this less slouchy than the pattern directed. It makes a lovely fake cable that is so easy it feels like cheating.

I also went through a Fair-Isle phase with my hats, which I hope to pursue further. I started out with two February birthday hats. I used the pattern from Knit Two Together called  Skull Hat (pdf. file) and found a chart for some fishes for my Dad’s hat. I call it the Swedish Fish Hat since our family name is Swedish. I used some bamboo from my stash and this is silky soft. Dad loves it.

I really like how this hat has a built-in liner that covers the stranding, makes it warmer, and lets me use wool if I want to with a softer yarn for the lining.  What I don’t like about the pattern is the four-corner top, so I just make it a regular beanie style top.

Then came the hat for the husband’s grandson, for his 12th birthday. It had to be cool, and what’s cooler than skulls?  He thought so, too.

The hat in the picture is actually the one I made for the husband. His grandson’s had red skulls.  I really enjoyed the Fair-Isle and plan to do more soon.

Happy Knitting!

So if it takes a minimum of two weeks to finish a couple socks, how long does it take to make a sweater?  Add to that the starts that have no finishes and it is really quite a long time! Regardless, I am working on a sweater, well, two sweaters, actually.  I’ll start with the non-finishers . . . .

First came a vest in Noro Kureyon. I think it just didn’t suit me and I was frustrated with the rowing-out (uneven tension between rows.)

So it was frogged.

Then I cast on for a vest with a big cable running down the middle, using some chunky-weight alpaca.  I worked on this one for quite a while, working on it when I went to Stitches West in February, but again got frustrated with the rowing-out and decided it would be too heavy anyway.

Frogged again.  I’ll try this pattern in a lighter yarn later.

I spent a little time after this practicing my tension. I tried switching back to English-style knitting for the purl rows.  I tried cinching up the stitches. I also made some small swatches to make sure whether it was the knits or the purls that were looser. The purl swatch came out bigger. I can’t say the practice improved my knitting — mostly provided awareness, but I cast on another sweater anyway.

Hey, Teach! has a back and the first front is just started. I’m sticking with this one so far. Too far to turn back now!

I’m using Queensland Kathmandu Aran in a tweedy beige.  The yarn is a blend of wool, silk, and cashmere, but feels like a very soft cotton. It is slightly thick and thin with some slubs.

The textured yarn will cover some rowing-out, but I am also purling English style (throwing) and knitting Continental (picking.) I did go back to Continental purling on the last few rows of the shoulder. It is just so much faster and easier for me! I didn’t notice any rowing-out, but the texture of the yarn could easily hide it. For the stockinette portion of the front that I started yesterday, I am back to throwing the purls. I’m glad the rows are shorter now, because I really don’t like throwing, but I may get used to it eventually.

It took some time to figure out how to “work in pattern” while decreasing and shaping. It’s coming along fairly well, though. It’s a new challenge for me.  Lest you think that I am powering along at top speed on this — it was started April 13th. That makes it going on two months now. One more month would make me a happy Finisher. Heck, finishing it any time this year would make me happy!

I’m also still working on my Nordic Sock Sweater that will be coming up on its one-year birthday the same day that Hey, Teach is two months old.  Hmmmm.  I think it’s time to work on speeding up the sweater knitting like I did with the sock knitting. Get in and get it done! Naw, that’s not my style. I’ll just keep plugging along at my own pace. I’m still in my comfort zone as far as works-in-progress, so there’s no need to push it. I really would like to start wearing one of these sweaters, though. I do think there’s hope.

Back in August of ‘08, on a Wednesday, I shared my first weaving project, a decorative pillow.  A few months passed before there was more time for tackling this new art, but in ‘09 it went full speed ahead.

First, I took a beginning weaving class that spanned from the first week of January until March. Here’s the loom warped with red wool for samples and a scarf. It took a long time to choose, but I ended up using a shiny magenta rayon and  aqua blue wool/silk for weft, making this change greatly in the finished product.

As the class came to a close, I started looking for a floor loom and had the good fortune to find one at an estate sale. I think it’s time to introduce my new baby.

This is my lovely Louet Hollandia, a countermarche, 4-harness. I’ll have to take a picture that shows all her glory later. For now, this gives you an idea. She’s 54 inches wide, but not too tall. The colorful warp is just there to make it easier to warp and was there when I bought her.

My scarf from the beginners class is in the front, with its random purple and blue stripes. Behind that is the sampler from a three day workshop with Robin Spady at the end of March. Whew!  That was a lot of weaving for me and I learned a lot.

Here’s a picture of many of the samplers and weavers from the workshop. We used one warp and varied the treadling to make many different patterns. This is a way to do less warping and more weaving.  We even learned how to make corduroy, which we cut right on the loom.

It was a fun workshop. Robin is a patient and enthusiastic teacher and has a lifetime of weaving experience. She even gave us a mini-workshop in the evening,  covering the inkle loom, which was a bonus.

Next came another 8-week weaving class, this time learning shadow weave. I’m working on a Cranbrook countermarche loom, hoping to learn how to set up my Hollandia once I’m done. The tie-up is different than the jack loom. I’ll share pictures of that class project once I make a bit more progress. It is going very slowly.

With all the big looming going on, I haven’t forgotten my first loom, the Schacht rigid heddle. In fact, I managed to squeeze in a workshop in Sonoma at CNCH, the Conference of Northern California Handweavers. This class was spinning and weaving. Connie (on the left in the picture above) and I filled her little Honda to the brim for this one.  First we spun the yarn for the weft. Then we learned the direct-warping method for the rigid heddle. What a difference!  This will make it easy to keep the loom warped all the time.

Joan Sheridan, owner of Heritage Spinning and Weaving in Michigan,  taught this fun workshop and has a picture of our little group on her blog.  She took extra time to show me how to make Leno Lace  and Spanish Lace with a pick-up stick.  The Leno has rolled over onto the cloth beam, but you can see the Spanish Lace at the bottom. The black is a commercial yarn used for the warp.  You can find instruction on how to make these and other laces in an article on Weavezine written by Robin Spady.

And since no one broke a warp thread, Joan used my cloth to demonstrate a repair — by cutting one of my warps!  She did a nice repair, though, so I can’t hold it against her. That’s what she’s doing in the picture. Thanks for the great workshop to Joan and her wonderful helper/angel, Debbie!

Well, I guess that catches me up in the weaving department. I feel like it has been a stealth activity as far as this blog is concerned. I’ll try to keep things more up-to-date, although there are still a few things to catch up on from knitting bag.  I really have been busy, haven’t I?

I finally busted out the Wollmeise to actually knit with it!   I wanted to make some hand warmers for my son’s girlfriend, Christina,  and this pattern seemed to fit her style. Starting a bit later than I’d planned, this turned into a deadline knitfest, but I did enjoy making them.

I started these two-at-a-time with some Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Mountain Twilight, but found too much navy and brown with the purple. I really wanted the color more vivid and dramatic, to match the style. So, I pulled out the precious Wollmeise. (Yes, she is a sweet and lovely girl — Wollmeise-worthy!)

The second go, I split the mitts onto separate Addi circulars. Keeping track of where I was in the pattern was enough without doubling it. I found two on separate needles was also too much, so I completed one before starting the third try on the other.  The only downside  is that one is slightly bigger than the other. I really relaxed into the buttonholes after a while! The stretchiness of the garter stitch fabric makes the difference in size negligible.

The pattern,  Hand Charmers (Handschmeichler) was designed by Claudia, the Wollmeise herself, who dyes the yarn, which in this case is the Hollerstaud’n (Bavarian for Elderbush) colorway. They are really just tubes with lots and lots of buttonholes. I think I’ve practiced buttonhole-making enough now, thankyouverymuch. There are a couple small errors in the pattern, I think, but nothing that can’t be figured out easily.  Instead of a 3-needle bind off to join the seam (these are knit flat), I used kitchener stitch. It still left a small seam ridge since it is on garter stitch, but the seam is not really noticeable.

Just for the record, these look much better on the recipient’s slender, young hands. She also seems to be pleased with them. A happy project. Oh . . . Christina?  Superwash wool, although they will need steam blocking if you run them through the washer and dryer.

Now, what’s next?  I have several things going on fiber-wise, but really need a new travel project. I’m thinking socks.  I even have enough of this Wollmeise for some socks for me. ;>

  = Ravelry Link

So, I’ve been waiting for things to get less hectic, for inspiration, for some sense of where to pick up on this blog again . . . .  It’s like Waiting for Godot,  just never gonna happen.  But here I am, no more waiting. I’ve decided that sporadic posts are better than none, so I will quit trying to post weekly or bi-weekly and just drop in when the stars align.  I hope you’ll join me on occasion.

After working a lot for the past two years, I decided that this year would be rejuvenation and pursuing my interests. (I also decided that more of that pursuit would be in “real life” rather than computerized, and that has definitely been the case.) Well, my goal is right on course, so it has been busy and rewarding; however, my blogging absence has not been due to classes and fiber pursuits.

About two months ago, my aunt had a stroke that severely limited her speech and communication abilities. Circumstances dictated that her recovery period would be spent in my home, so things have been a bit topsy-turvy since then. It seems we are headed back to some form of normal, so I hope to be back to sharing some of my creative endeavors again.

Where to begin?  I think the present is best, and I’ll throw in some past along the way, too, so I’m going with socks.  Socks.  Two pairs!  Now, up until this year I’ve averaged two pairs of socks a year. I always get stuck on the heels. By “get stuck” I mean the socks get put aside until I work up the courage to make the heels. That’s exactly what happened with the husband’s latest socks — toe, foot . . .  oh no! the heel!

I finally got past it and finished these bad boys. It has taken ten months of fits and froggings to get them done — four months from the last incarnation.  The man chose the left over Lorna’s Laces worsted from my socks, so I needed fillers. He also wanted the Sunrise Socks (Rav link) from Cat Bhordi’s book, so the contrasts were built-in.  These are the sidestream archetecture, so all the increases  are on one side — probably not the side my dear one is showing here. (He is quite the experienced model, yes?! He took this pose without coaching. At the end of the photo session he asked, “I can wear these now, right?”)

I started the toes with some mystery gray that I swapped for, then needed something heavier for the heel, so added some Celestari Blue Denim Heather sock yarn, then used that alone for the top ribbing. They fit great.

There was a slight detour in the middle of the gray section of the ribbing (which is 3 inches long to make them very tall boot socks, as requested.)  I laid these down on the arm of my chair, helped myself up and broke a Knitpicks needle tip.  Now, you might think this would be a traumatic event, but au contraire, my immediate thought was — Yeah! Now I can start on my socks while I wait for the needle.  And that’s just what I did. 

I grabbed some yarn I had dyed and got to work on the Basic Socks from The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook (another Rav link.)  They started toe-up so I could make the most use of whatever yardage there was and this pattern called for a provisional cast-on with a kitchener closing at the end.

After a couple inches, I realized this was not what I wanted. I thought it was like my other handpainted yarn that would make wide stripes. Clearly it is not. And I don’t really like flashing or pooling. Pooh!  I couldn’t bear the thought of another stalled pair of socks, so I made a quick decision. These would be my Fast Sox. I would use them as an exercise to power through and end the cycle of taking forever to finish a pair of socks.  Then the heel happened. It was a disaster. Stall — but no! — I ripped and powered through. Another heel from a different pattern. Whew!  Onward I went.  I started another sweater — yikes! — then the new needle arrived. I laid aside the Fast Sox and finished the Hubs long-awaited socks. Then back to the goal. A class with an unfinished project, another class with an unfinished project, but I kept pushing the socks toward the finish.

And here is a fast photo of the Fast Sox.  Eighteen days, with interruptions!   They aren’t my favorite socks, but they fit well. I like the short row heel, the kitchener toe and the ribbed leg that can be folded down. They can be worn inside shoes and boots with no desire to show them off.  They are sport-weight wool, so they will be good for winter weather. And they are done!

Now it is time to pick a pattern to make a special pair of socks. Some I will love to make and love to wear. I’m not in a big hurry, but don’t want to stall out again, either. I hope the curse of the stalled sock has ended for good! (And the stalled blog. It’s good to be back!)

Deadlines are stressful, but I seem to thrive on them. There’s nothing like a good deadline to get me motivated.  Odd as it seems, the delivery due date of a baby did nothing to spur my Ugh knitting. Wrapping up loose ends and getting the house somewhat in order for a trip out of town did. Something about coming home to less of a mess, one of my many quirks.

The baby had arrived via induction. I finally decided to buckle down and just make the little buggers. Little being the key characteristic. I fought my urge to make them tiny and went with realistic. And they are done! The only modifications from the pattern (link is on the previous post linked above) are substituting size 2 and 3 needles and using a double strand of Plush for the white accents.  I sent them off  with a few other baby goods and proceeded to pack for a trip out of town.

This time, the trip is for fun!  My sweet valentine called me in to check the plan he was making for a little get-away. Knowing I had a wheel waiting for me in Oregon, I asked if we could go there instead.  And so it went. We arrived in Portland after a very, very long drive. (Who knew it took that long?!!) The man went a bit overboard, as is his style. We stayed at a lovely hotel called River Place, right on the river. Our room was more of a suite, with classical music playing as we entered. We laughed and marveled over the weather report card and the pillow menu, which provided a list of many types of pillows that could be ordered for our comfort. (No, we didn’t order one. We made-do with the regular old pillows on the bed.)

Our weekend was really full:  looking at a loom, , playing a special guitar, eating out, and getting lost driving.  Portland is not an easy city to  get around! We spent some time on the waterfront. Check out the view from our room. Can you see the black submarine on the far side of the river?

Although we had seen the movie Coraline the week before in 2D, I really wanted to take the opportunity to see the 3D version since it was available. (The Laika studio that made the movie is right there in Portland.) We drove off for the theater on Sunday night, squeezing in the late showing before our scheduled departure the next morning. After a slight detour (lost again!) we joined the line of expectant movie-goers, one even dressed in a yellow raincoat and matching rainboots, ala Coraline.  Before we even reached the window the word came trickling back. Sold Out!   This is not opening night — far from it!  It opened a week and a half ago. We stayed in line and decided one more night out of town wouldn’t hurt. It would give us a chance to break the long drive into two days. We bought our tickets for the noon matinee on Monday and pocketed our 3D glasses.

Next day we joined a throng in the packed theater to see Coraline again. It was awesome. So much better in 3D!  The movie has so many fun details that it was not the least bit boring to see it twice. And the 3D images actually came out and danced on the heads of the people in front of us during the end credits. It was definitely worth staying.

And then there was the actual purpose of this trip north. About a month ago, I put a deposit on a used spinning wheel and asked the seller to hold it for a month.  It was not an expensive wheel, more of a sentimental purchase. It is similar in style to the wheel I had in the 70s. I’ve been hoping to find one to use for plying. This one was made in Washington, called a Cascade wheel.  The elderly woman who sold it to me had parted with all her weaving equipment previously and this was her last fiber arts piece to go. I feel very lucky to have it. We had to bring it inside the last night of our trip; it wasn’t safe enough parked outside.  So I got to try it out.  Love it!

It is so different than my Rose (which will always be my spinner.) The single, wide treadle is really comfortable. The bobbins are big. It even has metal spindles on the inside bar to hold the extra bobbins (not shown in picture) with eyelet hooks to thread the bobbins through. I can ply right from the wheel!  It’s like a built-in kate. I can’t wait to try some plying and see if it works. It came with a matching niddy noddy, too.  It is even nicer than I expected. First, it needs some oil to quiet some squeaking.

I did some knitting on the long drive, of course, but that will have to wait for another day. The dirty laundry is calling my name!  Vacation is over.

I think you’ve all noticed that I’m a fan of Neil Gaiman’s books, right?  Well, while I was in San Fran (once again) with the huz-band –does that make me his groupy? — anyway, we made it a little fun this time and went to the Cartoon Art Museum, which was having a display from the Coraline movie (based on Gaiman’s book.)  Surprise!  A crew was there for a video/photo shoot, and Henry Selick, the director was with them. It was fun to watch as they got ready, but we had to leave before the actual shooting. As we got ready to leave, I asked for a photo and Mr. Selick was quite gracious and posed with some Coraline models that were brought out just for the video.

The movie comes out on Friday. Can’t wait!  I even got a special keepsake. As part of their super big promotion of the movie, button keys were left where people could find them, kind of like graffiti give-aways. I didn’t find one, but I found someone who did and was giving them away. I hope this arrives before the movie so I can wear it. Geek alert!

Back to some knitting news:  I finished the Eva’s Shawl.  I’m pleased with how it looks on my rather ugly chair. The colors really brighten it up.  After using all of the finer (although very thick-and-thin) yarn I had spun, I decided it needed to be just one row longer in the pretty red. So I got out the yarn I actually made during the spinning competition. I use the word yarn here very loosely! It’s really a super-overtwisted/big-slub wooly mess. But it was fast!

I salvaged what I could and added that extra row. Now it is just right!  Another keepsake. It seems that making knitted keepsakes is satisfying to me. My newest weaving project will be another keepsake using the yarn from my stay in Oaxaca — but that is for another post.

  I still haven’t shared my holiday knitting obsession, wherein I became a fingerless glove factory. It started out with a lovely, intricate cable design that I worked on while we traveled to San Jose to visit my mother-in-law. These are Evenstar Gloves in white Debbie Bliss Cashmerino dk, which are shown in their current unfinished state.  I enjoy the pattern, even though I knit them intensely, very tightly. They are coming out a women’s small, which is fine.  I have my place marked but have to get back in the groove with them. Later.

Next was the replacement for the Evenstar gloves. The dear huz-band stopped at a new yarn store in San Jose and I bought this luscious Mulberry Merino, the mulberry being silk, color number 687.  It was quite splitty, but very silky soft. The pattern is Warm Braid Cable Wristwarmers. I made a Quickie Cowl to go with these for my son’s girlfriend.

Then I decided that a couple friends needed mitts, too, so I made some 2×2 ribbed ones using the Maine Morning Mitts pattern. Those weren’t as pleasing to me, too plain,  so I used the rest of the Lorna’s Laces worsted  (could it be I just wanted to keep using that lovely yarn?) and made some Mom’s Cabled Mitts (ravelry download.) Much better!  Well, except for that little problem with the cable being on the side of one glove. Yikes!  And Rip!  Still fun to knit, though, and I only had to rip to the thumb gusset and start over from there. These are in the Tahoe colorway.

Next up was the lovely rust tones alpaca for Extra Warm Kureyon Wristers (ravelry download,) some small simple gloves. These last three pairs were a pleasure to knit, but I had to hurry to finish them on time. My reward?  I made some for myself!  Returning to Mom’s Cabled Mitts, I used some Malabrigo in Red Mahogany. I wouldn’t use this as a gift usually since it pills so easily, but they are perfect for me.

With each new pattern, I learned a new thumb technique. I also practiced some new cables. It was fun to immerse myself in these, but now it is time to make other things. I could easily knit fingerless gloves for the next year and be happy about it. For now, I’ve returned to hats and hope to do some sock-knitting soon, too.

Today is the start of my new year. I could look at it as coming late to the party, but I’d rather look at it as coming early to the parade, since tomorrow begins the Chinese New Year. Whatever the perspective, my life has just ordered it that way so on we go….

Looking for a nice New Year graphic, I stumbled on this interactive Hallmark card that tells the future.  First click:  Lose ten pounds. Point taken.  Second click:  Move in with parents. Yikes!  Too close to reality, since my parents’ health may require this soon. Third click: Buy more junk. Not the best advice, but easily predictable. How about one more click, just for good measure:  Kiss Fewer Frogs. Well, what can I say to that?! Click on the fortune teller to see your own predictions.

While I do feel a little late to the party, I did manage to go out on New Year Eve, celebrating properly with fireworks and good friends. At home we cooked and ate black eyed peas for good luck on January 1st. After that the man and I slipped away for a quiet anniversary dinner and B&B in San Francisco. I attended our guild’s Roc Day, a lovely gathering shared with sweet people.  I started a weaving class on the first Wednesday, which I am really enjoying and will blog about later.  (None of these events has a photographic record, so the imagination is left to cope.) My most recent adventure has been an emergency trip to the dentist for a root canal, after many days of misery. But life cannot be all fun and pleasure, right? Having said that — let’s get back to the pleasures, shall we?

For many people, my family included,  one of the best things to happen this year is the dawn of the new presidential administration. I have so much hope invested in this new direction. Peace. Stability. Freedom. Respect. So many important things tied up in the hopes for the new year. And I have my own personal symbol of this new era:  Obama Sox!

I won these socks in a raffle on the Knitters For Obama group on Ravelry. They were knit specially for me by Marisa (Risala on Ravelry) in the Yes We Can! colorway from C*Eye*ber Fibers.  Marisa worked hard to make these perfect and they are.  It’s the best prize ever!  The KFO group raised  over $32,000 in donations to the Obama campaign and kept me informed of all the latest news. It’s been great to be a part of the group and the huge number of people who stood up to bring our new president into office.  I wear these socks with pride and hope.

My own stitching is a new thing for me, too. I’m making Eva’s Shawl from Without Seams and using my handspun. It will be a small shawl to hang on the back of my chair. this is my first real project with my own handspun. It will be a great keepsake.

This shawl is part of a knitalong, and in my haste to get started, I neglected to wash and set the yarn. I wound it right off the bobbin and started crocheting. There are a couple problems with that. I tend to overspin and I’m using this as a single ply, so it kinks back on itself.  I’m stubbornly persisting, though, straightening the yarn while working it. I am curious to see how this blocks out in the end. I’m not worried about it since it is something for my own enjoyment.  The color changes are fun and the lace pattern repeat is very easy. I actually think that I pick this project up when I want to procrastinate on other knitting I should be doing.

What am I procratinating about? Uggs! I wanted to make some of these for a young friend who is due any day now.  I swapped for the yarn and got as far as this:  One. Big. Bootie.  Not my kind of knitting, either. I really should make some little ones. I really don’t want to do it. So I work on my chair shawl.

We’re headed out tomorrow for another doctor’s appointment in San Fran, so I might take the booties as my travel knitting. I tend to take something that will make the long drive seem productive, like chemo caps. These booties would be just right. I’ll report back on how that works out.  (I’m going to take the shawl, too!)

Time for a little pause in this busy season, lest this blog falls further into the category of  “things neglected.”  Yesterday I took a moment to water my withering plants and — surprise! — my amaryllis that I’d given up on ever blooming had three beautiful blooms, stuffed in the corner behind some other plants. I set it next to my spinning wheel to show how stunted it is this year. It’s usually taller than my wheel, but it pushed through and shared its wonder just in time for Christmas. Last time it bloomed in July, after I had set it outside to die. Now it sits happily on the kitchen table as I get started on the cookie baking.

So, besides the unmentionable gift knitting, I did spend a night out at the spinners and weavers guild for our art night. There were five of us demonstrating spinning: two men, three women, four wheels, and one spindle. It was a fun and relaxing time, though the traffic to our part of town seemed a bit less than last year.

I started the night out spinning the undyed merino top that was on my wheel, patting myself on the back (and encouraging my friend to do the same) for the thinner, more even yarn that I am spinning now. Then I grew restless with the undyed roving, casting longing looks at the blues and greens and browns the other spinners were enjoying.  So I popped a new bobbin on the wheel and started spinning a colorful braid that I had swapped for some undyed roving. That’s the pink and blue merino that is on my wheel now. It perked me up instantly.

As I looked around at the spinners, I noticed that two of them were wearing handmade socks that matched the yarn being spun. It struck my fancy in some odd way, so I took pictures. Me?  I was wearing my bright purple and green socks, so they were handknit, but did not match my spinning. One of the men who was spindle-spinning assured me that his socks were white, just like his heavenly cormo fiber.

My pretty pink and blue spinning will sit neglected now while I finish gift knitting and baking. I look forward to getting back to it. Our guild will have a get-together for St. Distaff Day on January 4th, so I will wait until then.

I do have a couple other things I’ve neglected to share here. Hats, of course! I’ve made three children’s hats to send off for Caps for a Cure. The first was a pretty blue and green ribbed hat that went to a young boy my friend knew who had leukemia.  Another one was a little topknot hat. I played with the little I-cord top to make it stand up. It’s made with Elann Esprit, an elasticized yarn.

The little pink tassled hat on the right was fun to make. I copied a hat made by Adrienne because I thought hers was cute. I made this one with a scrap of Lorna’s Laces worsted and some Cascade 220. I’ve set aside a few scrap combinations to make more of these.  I used it for simple travel knitting and it is perfect. I can still help my dear huz drive while I knit. For some strange reason he likes the complex knits for traveling. Hmmm . . . maybe he’d like me to neglect my backseat driving more.

I also decided to frog the  Foliage Hat that matched my Branching Out scarf. I re-knit it into a Muse Hat that better suits our climate and feels better on my head. I ad-libbed the top, decreasing while still keeping the openwork pattern going. I didn’t want the solid top. My decreases aren’t perfect, but I like it.

For my fellow Neil Gaiman fans, there’s a new interactive website for the book, soon-to-be-movie, Coraline.  It’s a fun site, with posters to download and a knitting pattern for Coraline’s sweater. You have to hunt for it!  There’s also a place to “button” your eyes. Here’s mine.

Coraline is a child’s story, but it is dark and twisted. Gaiman’s most recent book is also a children’s book, The Graveyard Book.  I “read” the audiobook and loved it. It was not as morbid as I feared it might be.

Well, that’s enough neglecting of my baking and housecleaning and wrapping, etc.

Wishing you all a warm and wonderful winter!  Until next time . . . .