Kitty knits and spins

Where are the kittens?

2012-01-31T10:41:00.001-05:00

Cause here are more mittens!

Mitten number two. Wheel-spun leftover yarn from a BLF/silk braid from Bee Mice Elf (pronounced: "Be myself").

And then there are three.

Mitten three was spindle-spun! Yeah!! Merino/silk from Fluff Fibers.
I am on a roll. And I almost finished socks #2 too. And it's not even February yet.

Spindling fun

2012-01-24T08:21:00.002-05:00

One of my new year's spinning/knitting resolutions is that I am determined to become proficient in spindling. Unlike most spinners, I did not start with a spindle but jumped right on to the wheel.I decided I would try spindling during last year's Tour de Fleece and got bit by the spindle bug -- mostly in collecting the spindles. This year,however, I am determined to put them to use.

Two events helped reallized this. The first one is the "monthly spinning club" on the Spindle Candy group on Ravelry. You pick a fiber, a spindle, set to work and post your picture on the group thread. The second one is that my Snobby Spinners group on Ravelry has launched a "handspun smitten mittens swap." These miniatures mittens are based on a free pattern "Smitten" on the Knitpicks website. Each mitten only takes about 20 feet of yarn. I figured this would be perfect for leftover handspun scraps and, more importantly, practicing my spindling! I only need to start small and got almost an instant gratification that would encourage me on.

The first spindling was done in a couple of days.

Less than an ounce of merino/camel/silk batt from Corgi Hill Farm was spun on a Bosworth Midi, Mini and a Golding spindles. The three singles were plied on my brand new Schacht Matchless Wheel.

I was surprised how much yarn I got - almost 50 yards, three-ply, light-worsted weight. And here is the first mitten:

I have enough yarn left for another mitten. We are supposed to knit one mitten a week, to have enough to exchange in the fall to make a holiday garland. At the rate I am going I could have several garlands.

12 in 2012

2012-01-13T08:54:00.000-05:00

A tall order? Maybe not

Almost everybody does it. Almost nobody follows it through.

The New Year Resolutions, that is.

But I am not resolving to lose weight. Nor to eat right. Nor to exercise. I am already good with that. I am not going to stop buying yarn or fiber either.

We are talking spinning and knitting folks. All things woolly and wonderful.

Here are the goals:

Twelve pairs of socks;

Twelve handspun items: spun and knitted, at least one spindle-spun.

Spindle every day!

Finish 12 WIPs (works in progress), including at least one sweater on the needles for two years now. Shame on me!

Get rid of the yarn I no longer like or want. Sell it or give it away. Get in out of the house.

Tall order? Maybe, maybe not. We'll see. I am off on a good start though.

The first pair of socks are already in the bag. Actually given away.

BFF Ann's Pittsburgh Steelers socks. Well they may look more like bumblebees, but I finished them in time for the Steelers play-off. They lost, but that was not the point. So that's one pair of socks down, eleven to go.

I also have one handspun item in the bag too!

Icy Honeycomb Cowl, test-knitted for a fellow snobby spinner on Ravelry.

Not bad for a start, eh? And we are not even half way through January yet!

I'm not the only one!

2012-01-13T07:36:00.003-05:00

Squirrel lovers of the world, unite!

Watch Christian Videos and Read the Online Bible at GodVine.com

Let it snow!

2012-01-10T06:35:00.002-05:00

We had our first snow of 2012 yesterday. Not much, but still it was pretty.

Nutty didn't mind. He kept munching away.

But Nibbler says: "I am staying in where it's dry!"

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-22T19:20:00.002-05:00

From our family to yours!

Have a nutty Christmas!

2011-12-22T07:32:00.002-05:00

Happy Holidays from the Maury Road Gang!

Nutty, Nibbler, Hoppers and Scampers

You know you are loved when...

2011-11-30T04:39:00.002-05:00

These were delivered to your office on your third anniversary.

BOO!

2011-10-31T07:15:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween

Yum!

2011-10-19T08:13:00.002-04:00

I really like it here.

Chow time

2011-10-06T07:44:00.004-04:00

Eat...Drink ...
and be merry!
Life is good around here!

A pre-emptive strike

2011-10-05T08:41:00.009-04:00

The coyote came back for a second day. He definitely was stalking my squirrels.

I am having none of this. It's time to take a preventative, pre-emptive measure.

We built two "sky cafes" for the squirrels.

We put them about five feet off the ground, too high for the predators to reach but low enough for easy refill.

Nibbler obviously appreciates it!

The things you do for your animals!

Too Close for Comfort

2011-09-30T07:22:00.002-04:00

It was about two in the afternoon when I looked out my kitchen window and saw this:

At first I thought it was a fox, but foxes have bushy tails and are much smaller.

The neighbors confirmed it: a coyote.

In my backyard.

I called animal control who told me to keep an eye on him. They don't respond to just a "wildlife call," but if the animal appears to be injured or rabid they will come take care of it.

Usually such animals are nocturnal so when they are out in daylight it usually means they are injured or rabid. Not a good news.

I am keep an eye on my backyard. And hope the squirrels stay up in their house.

Simple math

2011-09-16T11:50:00.007-04:00

This works.

Earlier this week I forgot my breakfast so I went down to a McDonald's and got an oatmeal and a hash brown. $3.25.

I normally bring breakfasts and lunches to work. A two six-pack of bagels or muffins at Costco cost seven dollars.

I did some quick calculation. One work week of McD's = $16.25. One month would be $65.

Twenty-four bagels from Costco costs $14.

That's $51 savings.
This is definitely an "Aha!" moment, because that's a Glindle!

This is my mohogany Russian-style support spindle with cobalt accent. I am still learning to spindle on a support spindle, so it helps to have the right tool.

Now a Cobb salad at Quizno's costs $8. That's $40 a week, $160 a month.

My lunch is usually leftovers from dinner the previous night.

Yippee!

Here is a reversible top/bottom spiral spindle from Malcolm Fielding from Australia:
And another reversible from Grizzly Mountain Arts:

I like math.

A weekend to remember

2011-09-12T09:50:00.010-04:00

September 10th was Carl's birthday. We went on a tour of the Potomac River on the restored 105-year-old skipjack Minnie V. The Minnie V was originally an oyster-dredging boat built in 1906. There are fewer a 100 skipjacks left in the world and only two working as an oyster boat in the Chesapeake Bay.

The weather was nice after the week of drenching rain. The sail went up and we cruised along the Potomac for an hour and a half.

I want a boat! Well, probably not a 105-year-old sailboat with no engine, but nothing beats bing on the water with a gentle breeze on your face...

It was such a simple, enjoyable afternoon.

Sunday was another story altogether.

I went to my first NFL game. Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh Steelers at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.

It was quite an experience. And being the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, there were moments to remember too.

Well I could not bring my knitting in (too big a bag and needles). I know next to nothing about football. It was first so hot we all got sunburned, then we were drenched by the rain. We were rooting for the Steelers who had the worst performance ever and were trounced.

We had a blast!

It was the funnest weekend ever!

Confession

2011-09-01T09:54:00.001-04:00

I think I have an addiction problem here:

And it is growing....

A different eye candy

2011-08-26T10:04:00.001-04:00

Looks just like my Runty (sniff!)

http://www.wimp.com/catdolphins/

Earthquake!

2011-08-24T08:21:00.003-04:00

It was weird.

It was 5.8 on the Reichter scale -- the biggest one ever on the East Coast. We were all sent home afterwards. At first we were told not to come back to work until further notice because there may have been structural damages to the building. Anyway about seven we got words the building was okay and we should report to work as usual.

Well this is on the wall of the stairwell right next to my office:

People on the West Coast might think we are wimps, but it is pretty scary!

The engineers say the building is structurally sound. I hope they are right!

Feling fun

2011-08-11T11:34:00.006-04:00

When you wash fleece, you take time to make sure that you don't accidentally felt the darned thing.

Deliberately shrinking your wooly knitted thing is entirely different, and so much fun!

Last year I made myself a pair of Felted Clogs. I felted them at my friend Ann's house since I don't have the top-loading washing machine needed for felting. She liked them so much I decided to make her a pair for her birthday this year.

Here's the "before" picture:

And just to give you a perspective. That's my foot in it:
After two cycles in the washing machine on hot wash and cold rinse, with a tennis shoe thrown in to help with the agitation:

Presto!

Magic!

Just don't try this with a sweater!.

A labor of love

2011-08-08T12:28:00.009-04:00

But once was enough.

I just finished washing about 3.5 pounds of raw Cormo fleece.

This was a beautiful, half fleece that I got from a Cormo farm in California. The fleece was very clean since the animal is covered year-round. Still it was a tedious, labor-intensive process of picking out the veggie matter, dirt, then soaking in very hot water, then rinsing, and finally setting out to dry.

Cormo is hard to get commercially because the fleece is so soft it usually does not fare well through commercial processors. But if you wash it yourself the result is very rewarding.

Fluffy white cormo ready for you:

I tried putting it through the drum carder but did not like the result so I will be hand flicking this (all 3 pounds of it!) with a dog brush!

Yep. A labor of love.

On a totally unrelated matter my Vietnamese neighbor brought us a flower last night. I have no idea what it is but it only blooms once a year and it opens at nine p.m. And at nine p.m. on the dot it opened.

Very pretty. Very fragrant. She gives me one every year.

More spindle eye candy

2011-08-02T11:24:00.005-04:00

This is my latest acquisition: a Bosworth mini. She is made from Red Cedar and weighs in at 17 oz.

The tomatoes are from my garden. They make a lovely background, don't day?

I am in love

2011-07-28T09:45:00.004-04:00

Or you can say I am in trouble.

Most people learn to spin by starting on a drop spindle.

I thought I had no patience for the drop spindle, so I jumped directly onto the wheel.

However, I have always wanted to get a hand on a spindle. With this Tour de Fleece, I was determined to master the spindle. I did pretty well with the Golding and even though the little ebony/lapis wobbles a bit it spins quite nicely.

But I have always wanted a Bosworth. But they say you might have to wait forever to get one. I figured I could try my luck. I placed an order Monday asking for a Midi in any wood, figuring if I was not choosey I might not have to wait too long.

An hour later I got an email back saying my Midi was on its way!

Yesterday this baby showed up on my doorstep:
She is Walnut with a birch shaft and weighs 29 grams.
And she spins.
I must say I love her even more than the Golding.

I love her so much I ordered a Mini this morning.

Yes I am in trouble.

How many spindles can one have?

Tour de Fleece

2011-07-19T11:22:00.001-04:00

More like dragging my feet...

The tour has been on more than two weeks now yet I don't have much to show at all. I got one braid spun and plied. This is a BFL/silk mix from Fat Cat Knits. Light fingering weight, two-ply. 360 yards out of 5 ounces.

There are two main reasons I am not as prolific during this year's tour. One is the crazy workload but I really should not complain since it supports my fiber habit.

More importantly is that I am bound and determined to spindle

And with a Golding, I must say I got off on the right foot.

Here is my first spindle-spun skein. I plied it on the wheel though.

Two ounces of merino/silk from Pigeonroof Studios. About 90 yards of two-ply, DK weight.

I liked it so much I bought another spindle!

This tiny beauty came from Autumn Hollow Spindles. It is ebony with lapis inlaid on the ring and weighs less than an ounce, making it perfect for lace-weight spinning.

At first I ws strugging a little bit with its light weight compared to the Golding which weighs almost twice as much. But after a while I got a hang of it and am now able to get it going.

I am spindling this 50/50 merino/silk from Spirit Trails Fiber Work:

Yes it is like watching molasses drop. But I am trudging along.

We are going to Omaha tomorrow. Guess what I am taking..

You know it's summer when..

2011-07-13T11:47:00.002-04:00

There are tomatoes on the vines.

Yes!

The ugly duckling revealed

2011-07-06T08:52:00.008-04:00

It did turn into a swan.

I remember the first time I tried to wash a fleece several years ago when I first started spinning and wanted to do it from start to finish. I did not quite know what I was doing and what I got then was a blob of matted, felted mess.

I told myself I would never again wash raw fleece.

Well, that was until I made a commitment at my LYS, Uniquities, to wash a portion of the Romney fleece for the fleece-to-scarf-demonstration and the competition in the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival in September. I won't be able to participate due to family commitment but I promised to wash the fleece. So I brought the fleece home.

The is the Romney we got from Solitude Wool. I got just about over a pound which made it very manageable. I laid out the fleece in two big heavy duty aluminum roasting pans.

First a plain hot water soak:

Followed by a hot soapy soak. Then a hot rinse, and another rinse and another rinse.

I put the washed fleece in the washing machine to spin out the excess water.

Look at the transformation.
The ungly duckling has turned into a swan.

How pretty!

Saturday was also the start of the Tour de Fleece. And guess what?

I am not only spinning; I am spindling!

Action!

2011-04-15T07:31:00.002-04:00

Now this is what I call a jump! In the meantime outside my office in Washington, DC, it's spring cleaning in full force. That's the Smithsonian's Museum of Native American History being cleaned. And I thought Carl climbing the ladder to install the squirrel house was high! Whew!

Nutty and Nibbler

2011-04-14T10:18:00.001-04:00

I feel like a voyeur... But who can resist...

They ask for so little

2011-04-08T08:15:00.006-04:00

A cake of suet...

A corn cob or two..

and the joy is endless...

YES!

2011-04-03T17:58:00.003-04:00

If you built it... They will come!

YES!

Extreme Home Improvement Makeover

2011-03-24T07:42:00.013-04:00

Squirrel Edition

We have a big back yard with lots of trees. Right outside our breakfast room window is a big maple tree. A few days ago I noticed some twigs and branches in the fork of the tree trunk.

A pair of squirrels was trying to build a nest there. As with most young parents, they don't exactly know what they are doing. The next morning most of their work ended up on the ground.

They brought the twigs and leaves back up again only to have them back on the ground. This went on for three days. At that rate they weren't going to have their nest any time soon.

Schauer/Vercio to the rescue!

I found information on how to build a squirrel nesting box on the web, and Carl set out to work:

Building the box wasn't so hard. It was getting it up there.

One...

...Two...

..and three!

Success!

You'd better move in now, Scampers!

A Fabulous Fiber Market

2011-03-14T12:00:00.012-04:00

Fiber Frolics!

This past Saturday my local yanr store Uniquities held its semi-annual Fiber's Farmer Market at the Vienna Community Center in Vienna, Virginia.

It was their fourth fiber fest, the biggest to date. And it was big. Loads of fleece, yarn and roving from local farms and dyers such as Wild Hare Fiber Studio from Front Royal and Spirit Trail Fiber Works, to name a few.

Lawrie's Laine had a table where you can custom order your project bags and needle holders.

Uniquities showcased their latest fibers and yarns:

There was a table for bake sale goodies where all the proceeds went to support one of Uniquities' employee who will be participating the the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk this fall. Check out the "Sheep Pops."

Or the "yarny" cup cakes.

But the highlight of the afternoon was the "From Sheep to Scarf" demonstration. Six spinners and a weaver sat down and carded raw Romney fleece, donated by Solitude Wool, and weaved a scarf, all in just over two hours!

Jasmine donated the fleece:

We carded and spun.

Robin weaved.

Two and a half hours later:

Go Team Uniquities!

Hey we might not be up to entering in the Maryland Sheep and Wool competition yet, we we're mighty proud!

finally

2011-03-04T06:16:00.013-05:00

Vacation pix -- about time to wrap it up!

I got sidetracked and have not had a chance to wrap up my pictorial post of our vacation in Thailand. Finally, here it is.

You really cannot go to Bangkok without visiting the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace. The temple itself is the most important Buddhist structure in Thailand and the Grand Palace is where the Kings of Thailand used to live. Even though there are no resident monks at the temple and the king has his residence eleswhere and the two places basically are for ceremonial functions, they still command a awesome presence in Bangkok.

They definitely are a showcase of traditional Thai architecture.

I particularly like the giants that stand guard throughout the compound.

These guys are characters from the Thai classical tale "Ramakien" which is a Thai version of the Indian epic Mahabharata which you can say is the Oriental version of the Iliad.

Now who do you think is better-looking?

Plenty of gold, colored glasses and tiles.

Adjacent to the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is the Grand Palace. Built in 1782 by Rama I, the founder of Bangkok and the present ruling royal House of Chakri, the palace had been resident of Thai kings until the death of Rama VIII (the present king's elder brother) in 1946.

Today it is primarily used for ceremonial functions.

Buckingham Palace it is not, but there is the changing of the guards:

Not far from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is Wat Pho, better known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.

A close-up of the face. I love how serene he looks.

Wat Pho is also the birthplace of the famous traditional Thai massage. In fact there is a shool there that attracts students from all over the world.

Well, I think that about wraps up our visit to Thailand. It was a wonderful visit. It seals our relationship, our commitment to each other. My mom cried when Carl told her and my dad, in Thai, that he loved me very much.

I am not alone anymore.

And I couldn't be happier.

A totally experimental sweater

2011-03-03T12:04:00.010-05:00

And a totally, totally satisfying experience!

I wanted to do more with my handspun than knit more scarves or hats. I wanted a sweater. I figured it was time to start.
Here is a braid of Blue Faced Leicester/silk roving from Bee Mice Elf (pronounced Be Myself) in the colorway "Old School."

I have five braids but did not want to make a whole sweater out of it. I splitted up a braid and spun it onto two bobbins.

The resulting yarn was a very nice, two-plied light worsted weight (12 wpi) with a wonderful sheen of silk.

I kept searching for a perfect pattern for my sweater, wanting something very simple yet classic. I wanted to show off my handspun and wanted to do a little bit of Fair Isle, stranded knitting.

I chose to pair the handspun with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter yarn -- a wonderful, beautiful 2-ply woolen spun Targhee/Columbia yarn from Vermont. The two-ply, woolen spun worked so well with my handspun.

Swatched:

In the end I threw out all the patterns and devised my own. I followed the guidelines on a bottom-up, in-the-round raglad sweater from Ann Budd's The Knitter's Handy Book of Sweater Patterns book.

The corrugated ribbing worked out so well.

Across the chest, just before joining the sleeves and starting the raglan decrease I added the Baltic Braids -- a technique I learned at my LYS Uniquities.

The raglan decrease started with 12 rows of the Shelter, two rows of handspun, six rows of Shelter, two rows of handspun and so forth.

Just to make it a little dressy I decided to add the corrugated rib collar.

The finished product, is a totally experimental sweater.

Totally my own. And I totally love it.

That was a good knitting month

2011-03-02T07:10:00.003-05:00

A couple of firsts for me.

February was really a very good knitting/spinning month.

I finished three sweaters!

The first one was, of course, the hoodie for Khun Nittaya, mentioned in the last post. I like it so much I am planning one for myself.

I believe you can't call yourself a knitter until you have knitted at least one Elizabeth Zimmerman pattern.

I am proud to say I have finally reached that milestone.

Presenting my first Baby Surprise Jacket:

Yep. Exactly as she said in the book, The Opinionated Knitter, it looked nothing like a garment when you finished it. It was blind faith in EZ. But you folded it, sewed up the two shoulder seams and on the buttons and Hey, Presto!

Baby Suprise Jacket!

We interrupted vacation pix

2011-02-10T10:24:00.008-05:00

To bring you some yarny delights!

This is just a quick post to recap my January spinning and knitting. It was a very good knitting month. I knitted a handspun multidirectional diagonal scarf for Carl and a pair of watermelon socks for me on the trip to Thailand. The scarf matches his Thorpe hat I made earlier.
Yeah. Basic brown. Quick spin and quick knit. The hat was three-ply heavy worsted and the scarf was two-ply worsted Merino roving from Fiberphile.

I also finished a long-promised sweater for my friend Khun Nittaya. I promised her a sweater two years ago but just got down to knitting it. It actually took just over two weeks to make. I really like it. The pattern is Basic Chic Hoodie from Chic Knits. The yarn is Dream in Color Classy in Chinatown Apple. I opted for zipper instead of buttons.

I had not sat down at the wheel for almost two months and it took a while to get back in the zone. The first attemp was not too cool. I set out to spin a two-ply, worsted weight yarn for a shawl. The initial result was way too thin and uneven. After fuzzing about for a while I decided to cable it. The result was a four-ply, cable yarn, heavy-worsted. almost bulky weight. I quite like it.

This is my first cabled yarn.

I then embarked on a very ambitious project. This is a Blue-faced leicester/silk fiber from Bee Mice Elf (pronounced: Be Myself). I spun it two-ply worsted. I am going to kit a Fair Isle sweater strading this with Jared Flood Shelter yarn. This should be very pretty!
We'll see how it turns out.

Next: Vacation pix part III.

What a memorable vacation part two

2011-02-03T10:19:00.019-05:00

The hot springs of Krabi

Geographically Thailand is siuated on the outermost of the infamous Pacific Ring of Fire -- the chain of active and dormant land and underseas volcanoes ringing the Pacific Ocean coastline. Even though there is not any active volcano in Thailand, there are still seismic activities from time to time. One of the indicators of this active underground activities is the stream of hot underground water running along the west coast of southern Thailand. Old Faithful it is not, but the Hot Springs of Krabi are a very popular tourist desination.

About an hour's drive north of Phra Nang Inn Hotel where we were staying lies the Waree Raksa Hot Springs Day Spa, also run by the hotel.

It was one of the most beautiful, peaceful sites I have visited.

The hot springs run through the property. The place was delevoped into a traditional Thai day spa. Shallow tiled hot and cold pools were built to blend in with the landscape. In essense you have an outdoors Jacuzzi.

Thatch-roofed huts and traditional Thai style houses are interspesred throughout. That was where we later had our Thai massage.

But first, the hot tub!

We soaked in 100+ degree crystal clear mineral water.

Learned basic Yoga:

And got a massage:
A good time was had by all.

The place is expanding. Right now it is only a day spa but they are building accommodation so guests can stay overnight if they choose to. And who would not. And an inherent foreman in Carl just needed to check out the construction underway:

What can I say? The man has not met a construction project he could keep his hands off.

We also checked out the palm oil field near by.

Palm Oil has replace rubber as the cash crop of choice in southern Thailand. There is an ever growing market for the oil in the food industry and expecially more in the cosmetic and beauty product industries. It is more lucrative, less labor intensive than maintaining a rubber plantation.

But that is not to say there is no more rubber plantation in Thailand. There are still plenty.

Considering you have to get up every day at 3:00 a.m. to collect the rubber sap from tree to tree, I think I would go with the palm oil any day. At least with the palm oil, you collect the fruit once every three months. And each cluster of fruits weighs in over 20 pounds.

We also stopped by a pineapple field on the way back to the beach.

That guy in the bottom left picture is about ready to be picked.

Back at the hotel I went back to my socks.

Moving right along.

Our stay in Krabi was drawing to an end. One farewaell dinner though:

I'll have the one in the middle please.

Yum!

We had three more days in Bangkok before heading back home.

A Truly Memorable Vacation

2011-02-02T08:59:00.027-05:00

A wonderful trip indeed.

Both Carl and I had a bit of anxiety as we set out for our trip to Thailand in January. We have been together for over two years now and this was the first time he was going to meet my family. I wasn't all that worried to tell the truth. I know he would be well received.

It was beyond expectation.

We went to a memorial service for my late grandmother at a Buddhist temple where her ashes were interred the Sunday after we arrived. This is my family's annual pilgrimage so to speak. It is almost a command performance. When my grandmother was alive relatives would gather at my parents house (She lived with my mother who was the only daughter.) on her birthday. It became an annual tradition, a family reunion to speak.

Now that she is gone, the family gathers at the temple to remember her and then go to my oldest uncle's house (who is now the patriach of the family) for a luncheon.

I had not been to one of these gatherings in years. The timing was never right. This time not only did I show up, but with a new family member in tow.

Needless to say, more relatives showed up to meet "the new guy."

The surprise was this cake. Sorry I didn't ge the picture before it was cut, the it says "welcome to our family."

That's my mom:

We had a lot of fun. Here is my sister, me, my niece and my sister-in-law.

The day before we went out to dinner. I have not seen my dad smile like this in a long time!

We were in Bangkok for only a couple of days before heading south the the resort town of Krabi. One of my cousins has a hotel right on the beach and she graciously gave us a room with a great view.

Krabi is a small resort town on the Andaman Sea coast on the west coast of southern Thailand. It is a sleepy little town compared to the world-renown island resort of Phuket, which is right off the coast. We are glad we chose to go to Krabi instead of Phuket. What it lacks in glitz and glamor is more than made up with beautiful beaches and all the charms of a small town.

Here is our Phra Nang Inn Hotel

That's my room in the bottom left picture. Here is the view from the balcony:

Those boats are "long-tail speed boat" - water taxis that will take you out to the outlining islands for a day trip. You can also charter one out for a day.

We took a day trip to Phi Phi Islands, about a 45 -minute boat ride out in the Andaman Ocean. This is Maya Beach, where the movie The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed in 2000.

Phuket, Krabi, and Phi Phi Islands all were hit badly in the New Year tsunami of 2004. Now there are evacuation route signs posted all along the beachfront.

And this is the "Chicken Island."

The islands off the coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea are predominently lime stone, hence a lot of interesting rock formations. This so-called "Viking Island" is so-named because of pre-historic cave paintings resembling those found in Viking caves in Europe.

The island itself is more economically valueable because of the concession to the gathering of the nest of the swiftlets for the infamous bird nest soup - an extremely expensive Chinese delicacy that is allegedly highly aphrodisiac. How anybody gets amorous from eating bird barf is beyond me.

I was so fascinated with the rock formation.

From the one in the middle of the sea:

This one is at the end of the beach in front of our hotel:

But this is my favorite rock:

In fact we climbed over one rock to get a better picture of it.

Me an my rock!

Carl, of course, couldn't care less for the rocks.
He'd rather be with his Kindle.

So I started to knit socks, naturally.

But Krabi doesn't just have only sand and sea to offer. Next: the Hot Springs of Krabi.

Stay tuned.

Happy Bunny Year

2011-01-28T05:05:00.012-05:00

Finally it hit.

One week after we came back from sunny Thailand (I have yet to post pix and stories.), the Washington areas finally got hit with the first snow storm. We had been lucky but that wasn't the case last Wednesday.

I don't know how much snow we had, but it was very wet and heavy. And it cause a heck of a traffic jam throughout the DC Metro areas. Fortunately I got home before it hit but it took Carl four hours to drive 15 miles home from work Wednesday night.

Then Thursday morning we woke up to this across the street:

Two huge pine trees had fallen across the driveway of our neighbor's house right across from us. Two other are leaning precariously toward the transformer. We decided the neighbors needed help and opted to telework. I sent in my work from home. Fortunately we did not lose power. The trees did not hit the power lines.

As soon as daybreak Carl set out to work.

The first attempt had the chainsaw stuck in the tree trunk and broke the chain.
Break commercials.

After a failed trip to the Home Depot and Lowe's in search of a replacement chain we finally found a Stihl dealer and got a new chain and blade.

Back to work.

Finally! And I caught it on camera too!

There's my man!

The neighbors could get out now. And Dominion Power promised to take care of these two guys who are leaning precariously over the transformer pole.

Let's hope they get there befor the next storm hits, which is supposed to be Tuesday.

Another good year!

2010-12-14T07:34:00.002-05:00

My Christmas to-do list is as long as Santa and even though it is dwindling down I am knitting and spinning as fast as I can. Therefore there won't be much blogging in the next few days.

However, I must tell you again it has been another wonderful year for me. We are having a time of our life and I hope you and your loved ones are too!

Happy Holidays to you and yours. I hope this coming holiday and the coming year find you and your loved one happy and healthy!

Three-way fractals

2010-11-04T11:07:00.005-04:00

My three-way fractal socks are finished.

They don't look as stripey as the traditional two-way fractals. I think it was also because the original fiber was not all that stripey to begin with. I am very happy with it nonetheless.

I tried another three-way fractals with a Blue-faced Liester/silk blend top from All Spun Up. The fiber has more distinct color repeats, so hopefully it will show up more when knitted up. Presenting Miss Crabtree:

I got about 150 yards, light-worsted weight (about 11 wraps per inch) out of the 4-oz braid. I have a full sweater-worth of this fiber (24 ounces) but I doubt I will make a sweater out of it. Most likely I will split it up and make several accessories out of it. I may just do only another three-way fractals and spin the rest two-ply for a lace shawl. Or navajo-ply... the possibility is endless.

Whatever it is will have to wait until after the holidays. The gift spinning/knitting must begin in ernest now, as I have quite a list. There are several November and December birthdays in between too!

Here is a first November birthday present for a knitting friend:

Alpaca/merino blend from Pigeonroof Studios. This was my first time spinning alpaca and I like it a lot. Will have to get more alpaca fiber. I got really good yardage too. Over 500 yards fingering out of two 4-oz braids, two-ply.

This sec0nd one is also a birthday present. It is a hybrid. No spinning here. I combined three mittens/gloves/fingerless gloves patterns to get these:

The original pattern is the "texting mittens" from the October Spin Off magazine. I combined that with the Urban Necessity Gloves and the Fiddlehead Mittens. The yarns used are Cascade 220 Superwash and Noro Kureyon. I like these a lot. I might do some more with a combination commercial/handspun yarns.

In the meantime I have to get cranking on hats, scarfs and socks for the holiday gifts. And a sweater for my mom.

See you behind the (spinning) wheel.

Fiberholic

2010-10-29T11:28:00.002-04:00

That's what I am.

I went a little overboard with fiber buying last week.

At least I finished a hat. And it is not handspun!

Well, what can I say.

My name is Aporanee and I am a fiberholic.

A picture paints a thousand words

2010-10-19T09:14:00.009-04:00

The Hyperbolic Coral Reef is here!

The Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Exhibit opened at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History on the National Mall in Washington DC on Sunday. It was originally scheduled to open on Saturday, but a watermain break on Constitution Avenue right in front of the museum caused the delay of the opening.

I walked over from my office after work yesterday.

Situated in the Sant Ocean Hall of the museum, it is a sight to behold.

The original reef was the brainchild of two Australian sisters, Margaret and Christine Wertheim of the Institute for Figuring in Los Angeles. Christine is a mathematician and Margaret a fiber artist. Christine came up with the idea of using crochet to explain hyperbolic plane to her students. Margeret saw what her sister did and thought it looked like a coral reef. The two sisters are from Queensland, home of the Great Barrier Reefs. They thought it might be a good idea to use this fiber craft as a means to show people the beauty of the coral reef and raise the public awareness of the
dangers coral reefs around the world are facing from global warming, natural disasters and pollution.

Thus the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef was born. The first one was displayed in Australia. The idea took off and subsequent reefs were made and displayed around the world.

The Smithsonian Community Reef was made by over 800 men, women and children from the National Capital Area as well as contributors around the country who heard about the project. There are over 8,000 pieces. The youngest crocheter was three; the oldest 101.

The exhibit will be on displayed until April 24, 2011.

Go take a look. Take a camera with you.

Here are some eye candies.

The are all kinds of colors. And then there are the white corals. The white corals are dead corals, or known as bleached corals. It is the biggest problem corals around the world are facing right now and it is caused primarily by the increased temperature of the water in the tropics. The warmer temperature causes algae to grow and the algae feeds on the corals, killing them. The dead corals lost thier colors, thus the "bleached" status.

Most people don't get to see the coral reefs up close and personal. Most people also don't realize the importance of the coral reefs to the survival of the ocean life. The reef is the largest hatcheryand nursery. More than half the fish in the ocean mate, lay eggs, feed and spend their juvenile years around the coral reefs. It is the biggest food source for the fish in the ocean.

The Smithsonian reef is the largest ever made. There are over 8,000 individual crocheted pieces.

And among these I managed to find Bill's reef.

It brought tears to my eyes. Bill loved the ocean. He was an avid diver. He loved the reef. His remains are a part of an artificial reef in the Chesapeake Bay. And now his reef is a part of the Smithsonian.

I am proud to be a part of this.

Look! Look! Look!

2010-10-12T12:35:00.003-04:00

It's not blue!

The three-ply fractal is done!

I got about 210 yards out of 4 0z of polwarth roving. 14 wraps per inch, so it is more of a sports weight rather than fingering. I don't think it will be as stripey as the two-way fractals. I am not sure I will knit socks from this, though. I have another 4-oz braid of coordinating color so I might spin that up and see what I can do with both of them. Maybe gloves or mittens.

Tuesday musings

2010-10-12T08:55:00.007-04:00

We took a quick trip to Philadelphia this weekend to see the Cleopatra exhibit at the Franlkin Institute. Awesome! Didn't get much knitting done and only took a couple of pictures. But in all a very enjoyable weekend.

And the Foucault's Pendulum at the Institute.

I did manage to get the TTL Soctoberfest Mystery Socks 2010 started:

Of course it's blue. What did you expect?

More fun with fractal

2010-10-08T08:45:00.006-04:00

The fractal Lavalette is finished. It blocked out really nicely

I used all of the yarn. About one foot left!

I think I am keeping this for myself.

I have another fractal spinning/knitting in the pipeline. This one is going to be the famous Girasole blanket. I have 24 ounces of this beautiful merino/silk roving dyed for me by the talented Midnight Purls.

There are six 4-oz braids. I am dividing them into three pairs. I have spun up the first pair. The first braid was divided into two equal parts and then spun across the web one after another onto one bobbin. The second braid was divided into two halves. The first half then divided again into two and the second half into three parts. Then they were all spun onto the second bobbin one after another starting with the thinnest strips. Then the two bobbins are plied together. The idea is to have the shortest repeats of colors first for the center part of the blanket. Then as the row grows the color repeats will become longer. I plan to divide the second pair into one and two and leave the third pair whole. I hope I am doing this right.

I like the result of the first pair any way.

I was charging the solar-powered ghosts for the Halloween decoration and couldn't resist.

I need to get the second pair of braids on the wheel but in the meantime we are having a three-ply sock yarn spinning challenge at my LYS, Uniquities. I figured this would be a good time to try three-way fractals.

The fiber is polwarth that I got from Corgi Hill Farm.

The fiber was divided into thirds. The first third was spun whole across the web. The second part was divided into two and the third into fourths.

I don't think the finished yarn will be quite stripey as the two-ply fractal.

And have you noticed something?

IT'S NOT BLUE!

Fractal fun

2010-09-24T11:55:00.006-04:00

Move over, Noro!

Last week I took a spinning class in fractal spinning at my local yarn store, Uniquities. Loads of fun! We learned how to manipulate the roving to get self-striping yarn a la Noro.

I got this progression-dyed roving from Wild Hare Fiber which I divided lenghtwise into two halves. The first half was spun across the web onto one bobbin. The second half then was divided into fourths, then spun one after another onto the second bobbin.

Then you ply the two bobbins together.

The resulting yarn is a self-striping one, with parts solid, parts tweedy with colors flowing into each other. In other words, gorgeous.
And the fun continues with the knitting:

I want to try three-ply fractals next.

A tale of two pairs of socks

2010-09-03T10:03:00.003-04:00

Labor of love indeed.

Last year Carl asked me to knit him a pair of black socks.

"Plain black socks," he said. "Solid. Simple. So I can wear to work when it's cold."

Plain black socks, I grumped.

Plain black socks.

I cast on a pair in February. Plain black socks. With a little ribbing thrown in to keep me from dying of boredom. Nine stiches to an inch, 32 rows to an inch... plain black socks.

The socks got knited, millimeter by millimeter, in between a dozen other projects, until August was rolling to an end and it dawned on me that Carl's birthday is next week.

I'd better finish those darned black socks.

Finished them I did.

Not only that. I said to myself: Now that I knitted him a pair of plain black socks, how about a pair of plain brown socks to go with them?

Plain brown socks, eh? Not on your life.

The black pair was knitted in commercial yarn. Took me six months.

The brown pair, on the other hand, was hand spun and hand-knitted. Took me six days.

Labor of love indeed. I must love the man.

Bill's reef

2010-08-18T08:30:00.009-04:00

Drum roll, please.

The last two corals are added to the set.

Another set of tube corals in Noro Kureyon:

And I couldn't resist throwing in some handspun. This is the leftovers from the sock yarn I spun from a superwash merino roving from Perchance To Knit:

And now, to recap.

The corals:

The product:

Bill would be proud. I know I am. A reef made for him. After all, he is an Eternal Reef in the Chesapeake Bay.

And if you happen to be in the Nation's Capital, come see the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Exhibit at the Smithsonian this October!

It's looking really, really good

2010-08-10T08:48:00.006-04:00

Bill would be proud.

I have been crocheting like a mad woman, and the result is very rewarding.

Three corals this week. Two little ones from Noro and a huge spiral hyperbolic crocheted on the double with Diakeito Diadomina.

Another small tube coral with Noro Iro:

And this is a long spiral hyperbolic single pane crocheted on the double with Diakeito Diadomina. It took six balls of yarn -- a whopping 732 yards!

So far, so good:

Yes, Bill would be proud.

Charlotte's Web -- the finale

2010-08-04T08:01:00.005-04:00

I couldn't be more pleased!

She is done. And I am very happy with the whole process.

Let the pictures do the talking.

The raw materials:

The process:
And the product:

Yes!

It's beginning to look like a reef

2010-07-27T07:31:00.005-04:00

I'm getting there.

I got two more little corals done over the weekend. Both are crocheted with Noro Kureyon from stash.

The project is shaping up very nicely. So far I am using all the yarn from stash. And all the patterns were made up as I crocheted. All one-of-a-kind. All fun. And fast.

Bill's Reef Update

2010-07-26T07:20:00.005-04:00

Slowly but surely.

I was engrossed in the Tour de Fleece spinning that I hardly worked on the coral reef project.

I did felt the base coral which turned out really well and is now a manageable size and crocheted another small coral. This one is an elongate one pane hyperbolic shape crocheted with two strands of fingering-weight yarn and one strand of mohair from Mountain Colors.

The project is taking shape.

Moving right along. I got another coral done too but haven't taken a picture yet.

In the meantime I came home yesterday from the Tour de Fleece victory party at Uniquities with a new toy:

Meet the Majacraft Aura, my new spinning wheel. The latest creation from Majacraft, the Aura is designed first for the new "art yarn." But it can do anything from poofy, thing, embellished art yarn to lace yarn without changing the whorl. And that's the beauty of it. I sat down at it for about five minutes at the Uniquities spinning day and was hooked. It can do a lot of things my Majacraft Rose can do, and more. We are getting to know each other. I am spinning on the Rose still, though. She is my first wheel and my first love. She won't be sitting gathering dust for sure.

Tour de Fleece update

2010-07-21T08:10:00.014-04:00

I have been spinning, but not posting.

This is the last week of the tour already, yet I have not been posting my progress as much as I had hope. Oh well, here is a pictorial recap:

Fiber one was All Spun Up Blue Face Leicester/silk two ply. Then I plied it with a single from color two -- Pigeonroof Studio Crocodile Tears, which is also a BFL/sil blend. The third section was two ply Pigeonroof solid.

Then I had the PRS and a merino/silk roving from Squoosh Fiber Arts:

And a section of solid Squoosh.

Looking good.

Next up was a Squoosh single plied with a merino single from Artemis fiber from New Zeland:

That's how far I got with knitting. I spun up two more fibers, though, ready for the next two sections.
The next one is two Artemis singles plied together:

Then the last fiber -- merino from Spunky Eclectric Fiber.

I only have one last fiber to spin and that is the two Spunky singles plied together.

The Tour de France ends this Sunday, so will the Tour de Fleece. There is a victory party at Uniquities Sunday. Think I'll make it?

I think I will!

Instant gratification

2010-07-15T09:01:00.008-04:00

With a little violence thrown in.

I am working on a spin/crochet along scarf with the Snobby Spinners group on Ravelry.

It is fun, and fast! And a great learning experience.

I started with this merino/silk roving.

First off the batt this is totally NOT my colors! But the pattern we are doing is Queen Anne's lace so I wanted something pretty in pink. It is also not a pattern I would pick for myself.

Then I decided to try spinning from the fold. Another first. It is a combination worsted/woolen spinning in a sense that you use short forward draw (worsted) but you introduce the twists into the fiber before you let the yarn into the bobbin (woolen draw).

And it was fast.

I wanted a worsted weight single for this project. Therein lied the problem. Despited using the largest whorl of the wheel and threadling very slowly, I still got a very overtwisted yarn. On the bobbin it didn't look too bad:

But once I wound it off I could see we had a little problem here:

Yarn spaghetti!

It's time to teach the yarn who's boss. And not in a gentle way. I washed the yarn first in very hot water, then very cold. After wringing out most of the water I beat the living daylight out of it. Yep, just whacked the poor thing on the kitchen counter top.

The transformation is amazing:

Now we were talking. It was slightly overtwisted still, so I ran it back on the wheel in the reversed direction that I spun the fiber to take out some more twist and got the yarn I wanted.

400 yards of beautiful singles, 11 wraps per inch. It is working up fast too!

I like it.

Bill's coral reef

2010-07-06T11:08:00.004-04:00

Memories are made of this.

Yesterday marked the third anniversary of Bill's passing. I could hardly believe it. He had been gone three years. The first two years were so hard, but through the support of friends and families and through counseling I have come to live with the grief and have turned the grief into positive memories and have been able to find joy in life again.

And the past year has been just that. Joy.

And the memories of Bill have changed. They are now wonderful, happy memories. The wonderful memories of 17 happy years we had together.

And I am crocheting those memories into a coral reef for him.

The Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC is putting on an exhibit later this year called the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef Exhibit and they are calling crocheters around the area to contribute. The idea started in Australia as a campaign to raise awareness of the danger to the fragile coral reef and it took off in countries around the world. And now it has come to the nation's capital.

I am making a reef in Bill's memory.

Actually, Bill I a reef now. He is part of the Eternal Reef. Bill was an avid diver. We went to the Great Barrier Reef for our honeymoon. What a fitting tribute.

This is what I got so far. Here is the base:

And I started on one little one:

The base is made with Cascade Pastaza. This little coral head is crocheted with sock yarn, two strands held together. I dyed the yarn with Wilton food coloring! It was a dyeing experiment. This is free-form crochet. No pattern. Crochet as you go. Fun.

Tour de Fleece days 1-3

2010-07-06T11:03:00.003-04:00

Let the wheel begin.

Just a quickie post. I have something more important to talk about in a post to follow.

I went to Uniquities to launch the Tour. Here is a progress achieved over the weekend.

I am trying to knit up some right now just to see how the transition color will work out. I don't think I will get the shawl done during the tour but that will be okay. I am not planning on it anyway. There are so many things going on right now and I just take on another translation assignment which mean spinning/knitting time will be pushed aside somewhat.

More importantly, I am making Bill's coral reef.

Tour de Fleece

2010-07-02T09:40:00.003-04:00

Spinning my way into glory.

Or so I hope.

As cyclists around the world are gearing up for the Tour de France which starts tomorrow, we spinners are also gathering our fiber and oiling our wheels and gearing up for our Tour de Fleece.

I am going over the my LYS, Uniquities, tomorrow to participate in the launch. This will be my first year in the tour and I am ready.

I am spinning these five fibers:

Two-ply, fingering weight. They will be knitted to make the Charlotte's web shawl.

21 days. I knitted a sweater for the Ravelympics in 17 days. Over-achiever again aren't we?

I am happy and it shows

2010-07-01T08:29:00.005-04:00

Let the pictures do the talking.

The house is happy.

The flowers are blooming everywhere.

The garden is growing.

And we share it with the backyard creatures.

And particularly this guy: Scampers!

The house is home once again. And I am happy, happy, happy!

Out of the box

2010-06-21T11:06:00.005-04:00

But they totally rock!

Everybody knows I like blue.

According to me you never have enough blue shirts, blue sweaters, blue flowers, blue yarns, blue rovings...

So it was a total surprise when I bought this merino roving:

Granted there is some blue in it. But this is totally out of the box for me.

But I had so much fun spinning and knitting it. And the finished product is awesome!

These socks really rock.

Fun, fun, fun.

Eye candy

2010-06-16T07:55:00.002-04:00

I have a new camera:

The gardens are in full bloom!

Handspun February Lady Bolero

2010-06-10T07:09:00.005-04:00

I couldn't be happier!
Fiber: 4 ounces each of Pigeonroof Studio merino/silk, Bee Mice Elf merino/silk, and Sassy Sheep merino/cashmere. Singles spun light fingering. Short forward draw. Three-plied to get worsted weight yarn.

I got about 700 yards out of the three braids.

Really, really happy with the result.

Back to the Wheel and needles

2010-06-07T10:57:00.006-04:00

I have been working crazy this past month I hardly had time for the wheel and the needles.

But the job is done and now there is time for spinning and knitting and some other summer fun.

And here are some eye candies:

My first hand-spun sweater is coming along quite well. Actually I am a little further along. It is going to be a bolero rather than a full sweater. Even though I have more roving I would like to save that for another project. Besides, I tried it on and liked the way it look as a bolero.

My handspun February Lady Sweater:

Fiber: four ounces each of Pigeonroof studio merino/silk, Bee Mice Elf merino/silk, and Sassy Sheep Merino/ Cashmere singles plied together to make three-ply worsted weight.

I also spun up some fun color superwash merino from Perchance to Knit:

I spun lace-weigt singles and Navajo-plied them to keep the colors. This will be self-striping socks.

Then I had my first experiece with with Wensleydale fiber. Singles:

Just a tiny bit spun up. This will probably be a shawl. My first time spinning long wool.

All is beautiful around the house. The hydrangeas are in full bloom

They are doing really well this year. I don't know whether it was because we had a lot of snow and hence a lot of water went into the ground. We had a sprinkler system install two weeks ago so they won't be thirsty anymore.

Next post will be all about my gardens. Yeah!!

Adventures with singles

2010-04-21T08:02:00.008-04:00

No, not that kind of singles.

I have wanted to spin and knit with singles for a long time, especially with Citron. There are so many beautiful handspun Citron knitted with singles on Ravelry that I am really tempted to try. But then I have heard horror stories about working with low-twist singles. They are unstable. They untwist; they bias and so on and so forth. It seems spinners have had a love/hate relationship with singles forever. It's not until the issue was much discussed in the Snobby Spinners group on Ravelry and an article by the venerable Judith MacKenzie McCuin in the latest issue of Spin Off magazine about spinning and knitting with singles that I decided to take the plunge.

The secret to achieving the perfect singles, it seems, is in fulling it! That is to say you spin a low-twist singles. Then you plunge the yarn in hot, then cold water. Then comes the fun part. You beat it a few times! Just whack it against the side of your bath tub if you are doing this in your bathroom or in my case on the countertop in the kitchen. Here is a pictorial:

The roving: Corgi Hill Farm's merino-camel-silk roving. Gorgeous.

Singles spun-up just off the bobbin. Pardon the off-color pic. You get the idea of how twisted and kinky it was:

Into a hot and cold bath it went. Then a few more "twacking" against the countertop. Voila. The magic happened:

Perfect, balanced singles!

Here's a swatch for Citron:

And four ounces of roving will give me plenty of yardage. Yippee!!!

Hydrangea shawl

2010-04-15T07:51:00.003-04:00

Proudly present:

The Hydrangea Shawl.

Handspun from eight ounces of Pagewood Farm merino roving. Two ply 12 wraps per inch.

Pattern: Faraway, so close

Couldn't be prettier than this!

Whirring away

2010-04-08T10:28:00.007-04:00

I just can't stop.

More eye candy. I finished the Apollo and Starbuck roving that I got from Woolen Mill St. Yarns. Here are the roving and the singles:

And now the finished product:

I ended up Navajo-plying it. I didn't want to at first because I wanted a fingering-weight yarn. But when I started two-plying I saw right away that I was going to get too much barber-poling that it was going to be too muddy for my liking. Navajo-plied it was. As a result I got a thicker yarn -- about 12 wraps per inch making more of a sport/DK weight and less yardage out of the eight-ounce roving. I think I have less than 400 yards. Now the search for the perfect scarf pattern begins.

In the meantime I am plodding along with the Pagewood shawl. Almost done. It is turning out very pretty.

I am not going to have enough yarn for the third drop-stitch section the pattern calls for unless I get another four ounces of roving and spin which I don't want to do. I think it will be big enough with the blocking. I made one small modification.

The changed the second half-linen stitch section to the texture stitch instead.

I am working on the final eging now. It will be the same yarn too instead of a contrasting color as called for in the pattern. Should be done today. Great! Because I can't wait to get this on the wheel:

Eight ounces of falkland roving custom-dyed for me by Diana of Fiber Fancy.

Denim and grey. Two of my most favorite colors. I have never spun falkland before but it is really soft and squishy. I can't wait.

Eye candy Monday

2010-04-05T09:40:00.009-04:00

More spinning fun!
I have been spinning, spinning and spinning!

This is Spunky Eclectric superwash merino roving that has been in my stash for some time. The colorway is the perfect storm which I think is a misnomber. It is really pastel and very springy to me. I have 8 ouncs of this and spun up two ounces and Navajo-plied it to keep the color:

About 14 wraps per inch. More than fingering but thinner than sport weight. I think this will be socks.

Then I picked up eight ounces of very pretty merino from Pagewood Farm at my LYS, Uniquities:

This one I did a regular two-ply. I got about 350 yards out of a 4-ounce braid. Because it is not superwash it blooms quite a bit when washed to set the twists. I started a shawl from it:

This is my version of the Faraway, So Close shawl. I am modifying it a little bit. First off the pattern calls for worsted-weight yarn. I am knitting this is a sport/dk yarn so it will come out smaller. It is going really well.

nother in the making is a merino/silk blend from Tempted Yarns that I got from the Loopy Ewe:

I am on a spinning roll. I picked up more roving from Uniquities because I have a birthday coming up and on your birthday you get a percentage off equal to half of your age! So I got -- yep -- 25% off. How could I resist?
Here is the loot:

Top are again Pagewood Farm. The bottom two are superwash Blue-faced Leicester roving from Spirit Trail Fiberworks. I will spin and knit a scarf for Carl, probably Henry. Or some other herringbone scarf.

The last of my roving adventure has not ended there. I made a mistake of roaming the Etsy site. This just jumped into my cart and onto the wheel so fast!

I was super careful stripping the roving and spinning it because I really want to keep the color and minimize the barbar-poling yet I do not want to Navajo-ply it. I think I achieved that with the first braid. I am spinning up the second braid now. I am still debating whether I should Navajo ply it to keep the colors together. I do not want a three-ply yarn. We'll see.

In the meantime I need to finish this pair of socks:

Loksins! In Skinny Bugga

I want to finish these so I can free up the needles so I can try toe-up socks.

I need more time to spin and knit. If only work wouldn't get in the way...

More spinning fun

2010-03-25T12:21:00.008-04:00

And more blues, of course.

Remember the blue roving and spun yarn I dyed in the same pot?

I finally spun up the roving. I manhandled the roving too much in the dye pot and it got a little matted so drafting was a little difficult and the resulting singles were not too uniformed. It's so interesting and very educational, thoug, how exactly the same amount of roving, dyed at the same time, turned out quite differently.

It is really a learning process. I have about four ounces of each. I think I will make Andrea's Shawl from it.

I also dyed two skein of sock yarn. One was done using Wilton food coloring colors. I was experimenting the the kettle dyeing method. Not bad.

The other skein was painted. I probably could have done the immersion dyeing and gotten the same result than the time-consuming painting it. On well, as I said before it is a learning process.

I like this one a lot.

And two more roving -- a corriedale and a cormo -- dip-dyed with Gaywool acid dyes.

Do you think I have a prolem with the color blue?

I am getting a head start

2010-03-24T09:02:00.006-04:00

Let's see if I can keep this up.

Hey, I've got the first of the 2010 Christmas gifts done!

I decided this year I am going to give give of not only handknits, but handknits from handspun! How ambitious can that be.

Well, I am getting off on a good start.

Here is the fiber from the Yarn Side.

It's four ounces of 80% merino/20% cashmere roving that was just a dream to spin with. It took me no time at all to spin it up. I Navajo-plied it to keep the colors as intense as I could and to minimize barber-poling. It still barber-poled, but I was quite pleased with the yarn I got:

Only then did I realize that because I was doing the Navajo plying -- in essence three-plying the singles -- I ended up with much less yardage than expected! Well, what I got was about 120 yards of worsted-weight (12 wraps per inch) of absolute beauty and softness.

Now what to knit with it. I wanted something simple that would show off the beauty of the yarn. I spent hours perusing Ravelry and finally came up with this:

The Birthday Cowl.

Four stitches per inch on #10 needles. Cast on 77 stitches. I have about three yards of the yarn left. Perfect.

One gift down. How many more to go? I am on a roll!

An experiment in dyeing

2010-03-11T05:50:00.007-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I took a synthetic dyeing class at the Mannings, a knitting, spinning, weaving shop and school in East Berlin, PA, just outside of Gettysburg. I learned how to use synthetic dye to dye yarn and roving. There are several methods -- immersion, dip-dyeing, painting. It was a lot of fun. It was amazing how a little bit of dye, vinegar and heat can transform a skein of yarn into some colorful hand-painted skein you could be paying top dollars for.

I decided to apply the knowledge I learned to my handspun and roving. I wanted to see how different dyeing spun yarn and dyeing roving and then spinning it would make. So I started with a skein of merino yarn I spun and the same roving.

After soaking both the yarn and the roving in a vinegar bath, I dunk both in the pot on the stove and pour in the dyes. I was using Gaywool dye colors Indigo and Cornflower.

I let the yarn and the roving simmer in the pot for about a half hour then turn off the heat and let them cool. Then I dumped out the wet matted blue wool in the sink:

Several hours later after they dried:

The roving is more verigated than the yarn. The yarn is more semi-solid. I think it was because the dye striked the roving more unevenly. I will spin it up and see what it looks like plied. More fun to come!

Blue

2010-03-05T09:05:00.006-05:00

You can never have enough blues...

Honestly.

Have you seen the latest issue of House Beautiful magazine? It's called "all about blue." That's my next house. I am saving the copy.

In the meantime I am making all the necessary accessories:

A pair of blue socks:

This is Skinny Bugga! sock yarn in the colorway Blue Metalmark. The pattern is Loksins socks.

To go with a blue shrug/cardigan for the upcoming spring --if it ever gets here:

After the intensity of the cables of the Ravelympics cardigan I decided a plain stockinette would be a nice and easy knit, so I cast on the Whisper Cardigan in Madelinetosh Merino Light in denim colorway.

And to complete the blue package I picked up the Swallowtail Shawl that has been languishing in stash for some time.

The first part is now finished. I am on the border now, with the infamous Nupps... Can you spot one?

I did it!

2010-03-02T06:01:00.007-05:00

GOLD

And I couldn't be happier.

Seventeen days from cast on to bind off.

Pattern: Fiona Ellis' Gathering Intentions from the book Cables Untangled, with modifications.

Yarn: Have You Any Wool Luxe Worsted, 7 skeins

Needles: size 7

I have about three yards of yarn left.

It's blue; it's cable; it fits.

What more can I ask for?

Another gold medal, of course!

Five days to go

2010-02-24T11:29:00.002-05:00

Will I make it?

The back and the two fronts are done and blocking.

And I am half way up the sleeves.

I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!

First medal

2010-02-22T07:37:00.001-05:00

I just had to make this.

I had to stop my Olympic sweater and knitted this hat:

This is the hat that the US atheletes wore on the opening night. It was designed by Ralph Lauren and sold for $69. Well, they were sold out within minutes after the ceremony.

No sweat for us knitters. One knitter charted the pattern and posted it on Ravelry for free. Need I say more.

It looks a little dorky, but I just had to make it.
Now back to the project...

Day Four

2010-02-16T10:25:00.000-05:00

Moving right along.

I finished the back of my Ravelympics Intentions! yesterday:

This is really fun knitting. It is eating yarn like crazy though. I used more than two skeins (370 yards) already for the back. Good thing I have another skein coming from the dyer (Have You Any Wool).

Now on the the fronts. This is where the real challenge begins. I am alternating skeins throughout the project. I was going to knit both fronts at the same time but juggling four skeins at once might not be a great idea. One at a time.

On to day four.

A sweater worthy of the Olympics!

2010-02-14T18:24:00.001-05:00

How many days does it take to knit a sweater?

I hope 17 days. As long as the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

I am taking up a challenge organized by the knitting communiy Ravelry called Ravelympics. It is simply a knitting olympics. You pick a pattern. You cast on as the Games open and you finish before the flames go out.

Sounds like a piece of cake, right?

But this is the Olympics. You don't do something simple. You challenge yourself. You go that extra mile. You push harder.

So I am attempting to knit a sweater in 17 days.

Here is the pattern:

It's called Gathering Intentions by Fiona Ellis in her book Inspired Cabled Knits.

I am knitting it with Have You Any Wool Lux Worsted yarn in colorway lone star. You can swatch to get gauge before the event started.

I got gauge on size 7 needles. Perfect.

But this is the Olympics. You just don't follow the set pattern. You challenge yourself. You go that extra mile!

So I am making some moderations to the pattern. First I am making it into a cardigan. With a zipper.

Then I added two inches ribbing to give it a finished look.

I am also mirroring the side cables.

So far so good. Here is how far I got on day two:

285 yards knitted. Moving right along.

Back to the needles now. Cheer me on!

Storm of the century

2010-02-12T05:33:00.000-05:00

Fifty inches of snow.

Let the pictures do the talking.

This is the most Washington DC has got in recorded history.

It snowed more this winter in Washington than in Michigan!

The federal government was closed for four days -- that was a record too. We spent the four days shoveling, and shoveling, and shoveling.

Finally, clean.

I had enough snow to last another century! But we are expecting "another system" next Monday!

It's very pretty, I must say...

But I'd rather not see another flake for a good long while...

valentine's is just around the corner

2010-02-02T05:51:00.000-05:00

And I am ready!

Or at least my sweater is.

Proudly present my Valentine's Cassidy:

Yes!
My first sweater of the year. Madelinetosh Tosk DK. Six skein. Colorway is Tart. On size 8 needles. The pattern is Chic Knits Cassidy. It is a hoodie but I didn't have enough yarn so I knitted a collar instead. I took the collar pattern from another Chic Knits pattern -- Twist Cardigan. It matches perfectly and I am very happy with it.

I like Tosh DK a lot. It was originally classified as a worsted weight yarn and I knitted it as such. It felt a little loose. I am glad it got reclassified as a DK. I think it knits up much better as a light worsted/DK at 5 -5.5 stitches per inch.

Now I am inspired to finish my Twist, which has been languishing in hybernation for over a year.

A new year's resolution

2010-01-27T08:20:00.000-05:00

Or not.

January is almost over and I have yet to come up with a new year's resolution or two.

But then again, why bother?

This year I am going to take a new approach. I read earlier that for the first time in a long time the number one new year resolution for Americans for this year is not to lose weight but to save money. Well, I am doing okay in the weight department and I am financially responsible, I believe.

My Achilles' heels, as we well know, is yarn.

My name is Aporanee and I am a yarnaholic.

There. I said it.

I have more yarn than I can knit in my lifetime. Worse, I cannot stop buying more.

However, this year I am determined to do something about it. No I am not going to stop buying yarn. That is a hopeless cause. It will never happen.

Since I joined the "stashdown" effort in the Yarn Snob group on Ravelry last year I have been looking at my stash differently. It is not that I have way too much yarn. I have way too much yarn that I will never knit. It just sits there. It doesn't call out to me. It doesn't inspire me. It just sits.

Those yarns need to go. And they have been going. I have been selling them on Ravelry at cut rate prices. I couldn't care less. Somebody else wants them. Somebody will enjoy them all the more because they are getting a good deal and I am getting rid of them.

I am stashing down. And it is working. I have been sorting out yarn and setting aside those I will keep. A lot I will try to sell. A lot I will give away. Like this:

And this:

They are going to Interim House knitting group in Philadelphia. A short-term facility that treat women with drug and alcohol problems. They have a great knitting program. Read about their knitting program here. Boxes of yarns are going their way.

Now that's the yarn. Then there is a second problem

I keep casting on a new project. A bad case of startitis shall we say.

Here is the solution. I have been looking at my work in progress (WIPs) and sorting them. Those that are more than half done are set aside for serious consideration. Do I still want this? I look at them again and again. If for two weeks they still don't inspir me they will be set aside for the frog pond and the yarns reclaimed. I have no problem frogging at all. Rip, rip, rip. Those that I still like will get knitted. One by one. As I cast on a new project I will work on a WIP at the same time.

So far so good. I finished a blanket for my stepdaughter that was meant to be her Christmas present.

And I have not even cast on a new project, as I have two pairs of socks I need to finish within the next two weeks. I am swatching though.

Next to finish up is my Cassidy cardigan. This also was meant to be a Christmas cardigan. It will now be a Valentine cardigan. It will be done. I have the back, fronts and the sleeves done and blocked. I will now put the pieces together and do the band and collar. I don't have enough yarn for the hood so it will have a collar instead.

Then I will cast on.

Looking forward

2010-01-07T10:52:00.000-05:00

Oh what a year it was.

I think it is fair to say that 2009 was one of the most interesting years of my life. It was a very sad year but it was also a very happy year.

In May I said a final goodbye to my late husband Bill. He is now a part of the Eternal Reef.

The concrete ball containing his ashes and those of his mother was placed in the Chesapeake Bay as a part of an artificial reef. It is a man-made habitat of all sorts of ocean life out there.

Bill was an avid diver. He will be happy there.

A final resting place. At last. Goodbye, Bill.

There is no more sadness. There is no more pain and misery. Whenever I think of him now I remember the happy times we had together.

For the whole year I felt a chapter of my life was drawing to a close. The final curtain was drawn November 30th when we said goodbye to Runty.

Runty was diagnosed with stomach cancer earlier this year. He was responding so well to chemotherapy until November when the disease took over his body and there was nothing more we could do for him. It was a very sad goodbye but I felt I was doing right by him. After all, we had 17 years together and he had brought nothing but pure joy into my life.

And now Runty has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. He and Bill are together now.

That chapter of my life has finally drawn to a close.

I have no regrets. I wouldn't have asked for anything else. It was worth the ride.

And it was also in 2009 when I entered a new chapter of my life. A new beginning brought on by a man named Carl Vercio.

I am so happy. I learned the hard way that there was happiness to be had, that you could love, and be loved again if you would open your heart to it. I am glad I did. A happiness named Carl.

I am looking forward to our future together. I am ready!

Happy New Year

2009-12-29T10:00:00.001-05:00

To you and yours.

Aporanee and Carl

My angel

2009-12-21T05:37:00.000-05:00

Runty.

Runty

2009-12-01T05:34:00.000-05:00

Mommy loves you.

We said goodbye to Runty yesterday. The cancer won. But he is not hurting anymore. He is my angel now. It's been 17 good years and I will have lots of memories to remember him by.

My first Wollmeise

2009-11-24T08:11:00.000-05:00

And a first Clapotis too.

Finally, I found out what the craze is all about Wollmeise yarn.

It is as nice and they say. And more. At over 500yards each 150-grams skein you have plenty for a variety of projects. I knitted my Clapotis scarf with five and a half increases and 20 straight sections. A tiny bit left over.

This will be a Christmas present for Carl's daughter Michelle. One down, two to go.

It needs blocking but at least it's done.

How many days until Christmas? Yikes!!

My Facts and Figures

2009-11-09T05:47:00.000-05:00

A good way to stash down!

This is the start of a sweater that Penny Sanford, the owner of the Yarn Barn, my LYS in Burke, VA, disigned. It is a customized sweater designed to fit your "facts and figures." We started with taking our measurements and from a favorite sweater that fits and go from there. We are using eight accent colors of about 100 yards each and two main color of 300 yards each. It is knitted cuff-to-cuff and can be a cardigan, pullover, v-neck or crew-neck.. Whatever you like. It is made for you by you!

This is what I got so far:

It is a fun knit and fast too. Tonight we meet for the second part. Stay tuned.

They say lace knitting is addictive

2009-10-30T08:38:00.000-04:00

Now I know why.

This is the beginning of the Swallowtail Shawl. Malabrigo sock yarn Persia colorway.

It could be a start of a new love affair...

Still seeing red

2009-10-28T07:05:00.000-04:00

And a bit of blue, too.

The Cassidy cardigan is moving right along. I finished the two front pieces.

I can't seem to get the color. It is a much nicer, deeper red. I will try to take it outdoors today weather permitting. Anyway, on to the sleeves now. I love this yarn. The Madelinetosh and Dream in Color are now my two most favorite yarns.

Another not-quite-so-red sweater I am working on is the Urban Aran Cardigan for my sister. I am knitting this in Dream in Color Chinatown Apple. The pattern calls for a bulky yarn -- 15 stitches per four inch. I am knitting it in DIC worsted at 18 stitches. I am making size large to get a medium. It will need some serious blocking but I think this will work. DIC blocks out beautifully.

Here is the front

The back looks equally interesting!

Maybe I can try a reversible cardigan.

Another red project is my holiday vest. Trudging along slowly.

Just the lower part of the front left.

On Sunday I took a class from Nancy Bush at one of my LYS -- Nature's Yarn. It was an introduction to Estonian lace knitting. We made this little sampler.

I learned how to make the nupps -- that's the little bobble-like thingie that makes up the lily of the valley pattern. And lace cast-on and off. Really neat. It took away my fear of lace knitting. I think it's time to tackle the Swallowtail Shawl.

As if I don't have enough projects at hand, right?

I'm seeing red

2009-10-20T07:04:00.000-04:00

And loving it.

All of a sudden I see red everywhere.

My Tart Cassidy is moving right along. I finished the back.

The color came out way to purply. It is a gorgeous, deep, rich red. This is the first time I work with MadelineTosh yarn and I am loving it. And the red. In fact I love the Tart so much that I got it in sock weight.

And in lace weight.

Now that is the most true of the colorway.
And that's not the only red I acquired. I got a skein of Have You Any Wool Lux Sport in Rage.

That's merino-cashmere-nylon. This is going to be Morgan. In fact I want to make one in the dark blue Traveler yarn I got from the Sanguine Gryphon for Carl as well.

Another merino-cashmere I got was from Squoosh Fiber Arts. True Love merino-cashmere in worsted weight.

I am debating whether I should make this into a Dream in Color shrug or a textured shawl.

But I haven't forgotten my blues. Here are two skeins of Sundara sock yarn that I got from a fellow Raveler.

Tosh sock in Stovepipe.

And to top it off, an alpaca roving from the Sanguine Gryphon.

That's it! I have exhausted the yarn budget for this year. Now knit, knit, knit. Spin, spin, spin. So much stash in I have to work at stash out!

Wednesday update

2009-10-14T06:45:00.000-04:00

I have been pretty productive lately.

I finished Julie's Central Park Hoodie. I am very happy with it and hope she will too. I was able to sew the zipper in myself! A major accomplishment.

It was not that difficult as I was afraid. The finished object is very, very nice.

I have about 1,400 yards of yarn left over. The pattern called for 2,900 yards. Search me. There is enough yarn left for a hoodie for me.

I also finished my handspun Lavalette. Another pride and joy.

Needs blocking.

I finally decided on a pattern for my Madelinetosh Tart knitalong. Cassidy. I have had this pattern for all ages. I might put in a zipper instead of buttons too!

Despite the fact that the actual picture is a landscape orientation, blogger brought it in portrait! Oh well, you get the idea. The actual color is more intense than in the picture. Everybody is raving about this yarn and now that I am knitting it I understand why.. It has a very soft hand and is knitting up beautifully. I am alternating two skeins to prevent pooling even though the colors seem consistent throughout.

Another Dream in Color project is in the pipeline. Rogue hoodie for Pom. in Chinatown Apple. Think I will have yarn left over from this project too. Hmm, something wrong with my math here...

It's Thursday

2009-10-08T06:42:00.000-04:00

Just one more day before a long weekend.

And more knitting days! Yeah!!

I finished a Colonnade. This was the quickest knit ever. I started this on Saturday. Manos de Uruguay Wool Classica from stash. I decided against a button. I think it drapes nicely by itself.

I am giving this to a friend's mom. It will keep her warm this winter.

Another FO is my Dream in Color sweater. Another quick knit.

Will need to sew on the buttons today.

I am still searching for the perfect pattern for my Madelinetosh Tart. I am now inclined to go with Mr. Greenjeans. It is classy and will look good with shirts, blouses or T-shirts.

I like this pattern too. From a new book edited by Veronik Avery called St-Denis.

It reminds me a lot of the Central Park Hoodie. I have to make a decision now if I want a Christmas cardigan. Maybe I'll make Mr. Greenjeans in Tart and the hoodie in Baltic...

Yarn Bliss

2009-10-06T06:16:00.000-04:00

This is what a yarn heaven feels like...

I love my mailman. Especially on a day like yesterday. All these came:

Six skeins of Madelinetosh Tosh worsted in Tart.

Six of Baltic:

Two skein of Wollmesie:

And a skein of Sanguine Gryphon Traveler:

What more could a girl ask for?
Time to knit, of course!

Lavalette II

2009-10-05T07:23:00.001-04:00

I have no business starting a new project, but I couldn't resist trying out the Targhee yarn I made. I cast on a second Lavalette:

I have no idea how much yarn I have. It is about 4 ounces and I have 14 wraps per inch -- in-between fingering and DK. I estimate I have a little bit more than 300 yards. That's why I chose this pattern. I can stop when I run out of yarn! So far it is knitting up beautifully.

Not at all my color but this will be gifted.

Another gift I am trying to crank out is Colonnade:

Manos del Uruguay from stash. This is a quick knit so hopefully it won't take me long. I just have to focus on it and not pick up another project or sit down at the spinning wheel.

We'll see.

Spinning fun

2009-10-01T07:45:00.000-04:00

As if knitting is not enough.

I felt I needed a little break from all the knitting so I sat down at the spinnig wheel. I have been trying to do the Navajo plying for some time but had not really gotten good result. Then last week Caroline at LYS Uniquities where I go spinning sent me this video tutorial on Navajo plying from Spin Off Magazine. It is great! I watched it and watched it and watched it. Finally I sat down at the wheel:

Much, much better!

The color saturation is beautiful. This is Mountain Colors Targhee combed top. I think I have four ounces of it. Maybe a scarf or a shawlette. Not for me since this is not at all my colors but it will make a nice gift. I wonder if this is enough for the Herbivore.

Now this is my color:

A Blue-Faced Leicester roving that I got at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival a couple of years ago. It spins like a dream.

Definitely my color.

85 knitting (and spinning) days until Christmas.

Why, oh why, does one have to work?

A quest for red

2009-09-29T07:34:00.000-04:00

I'm getting there.

My search for the perfect red for a Christmas sweater is winding down.

I got this in the mail yesterday.

Madelinetosh worsted in scarlet.

Looks good on Runty.

I am thrilled. This is my first order with Madelinetosh and it looks like a start of a wonderful relationship. I have five skeins of this from EatSleepKnit.

Now the search for the pattern. I think this is going to be Mr. Greenjeans.
Then this morning I got an email from the Backwards Loop. They are getting Madtosh in tart this Thursday! Six skeins are on my way!

It's raining red on my party, and I'm enjoying it.

In the meantime this is what the hallway in front of my office looks like:

Boat anchors anyone?

Finally, finally we are getting rid of the old CRT monitors and replacing them all with the flat-screen LCDs. I got mine over a year ago (rank has its privileges.) but some offices have had to wait. Finally there is some year-end money to spend and they are replacing the old clunker monitors. About time!

TGIF

2009-09-25T06:32:00.000-04:00

Just keep on knitting...

I have been pretty productive. The CPH for Julie is coming right along. I finished the fronts, back and sleeves. Now will have to join the shoulders and get to the hood. I am going to have a lot of yarn left over. The yardage requirement for the larger sizes in the pattern is way, way off!

In the meantime I whipped up a cute little vest from the Noro Mini Knits Book 2 by Jenny Watson:

A very quick knit in Noro Kureyon. The pattern calls for 200 grams for size small. I used more because I wanted to match the stripe sequence. This is color number 52. Stash yarn. At one point in time I was buying a lot of Noro yarn. Then I found out that a full-size sweater in Noro is a bit too colorful for me. A little vest like this is perfect. Just enough colors to jazz up a wardrobe but not too overwhelming.

Speaking of color. I dream of it. Dream of Color, I mean.

This is Dream in Color Dusky Aurora. I have had this for at least a year now. Every time I looked at it I said "Hmm, it's kind of dull." The colors are a little muddy. I wonder why I bought it. Then one day I decided to swatch it. Just to see what it would look like knitted up. I was really surprised how pretty it is knitted up. Perfect.

This is this sweater, from the Queensland Collection book 11 by Jenny Watson. I love her designs.

Front and back done. Now on to the sleeves.

My favorite color is blue. In fact I have too much blue stuff. It's time to deviate. Another trip to the stash came up with this.

Perfect red. This is Brooks Farm Solana. I picked this up a couple of years ago at the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. Just two skeins -- 620 yards. I don't know why I only bought two skeins. I want to knit a Christmas sweater but that is not enough. It will have to be a shrug or a vest. Maybe a DIC shrug.

The red yarn I really want is this one:

Madelinetosh worsted in tart. It is out of stock everywhere. Hopefully EatSleepKnit will have some soon.

In the meantime I dusted off my wheel and picked up spinning again.

This is Mountain Colors in meadow. Very pretty jewel tones. Not my colors but it will make a nice shawlette gift, I think.

I will Navajo ply this. It is going to be gorgeous.

How many projects do I have ongoing? Now you know why I look forward to weekends!

91 knitting days until Christmas.

Another shawlette

2009-09-24T08:55:00.000-04:00

My latest addiction is knitting shawlettes/neckerchiefs with one skein of sock yarn.

This is Noro Kureyon sock. The pattern is Gaia, a free pattern on Ravelry.

Done in one week!

And gifted to BFF Pauline on her birthday.

Guess what I'm giving friends and family this Christmas!

Block it, block it, block it

2009-09-02T05:57:00.000-04:00

It's amazing what a little water and soap can do.

Remember how I was fretting about the Central Park Hoodie.

It was never going to fit the intended recipient. I was ready to frog the whole thing and start over when I decided to give it a blocking. I have never fully blocked -- total immersion in water and stretching it out, that is -- before. Usually I just steam-ironed the edges prior to seaming.

Well, the CPH back took a plunge and Hey Presto!

The magic of blocking. I am blocking everything from now on.

Reassured, I started the fronts. I am knitting both sides at the same time.

I love this yarn. Dream in Color. I have two more sweaters to be knitted with DIC waiting to go.

Another WIP shaping up is the Gaia shawl.

This too will need serious blocking. But at least I don't have to worry about the size.

Yes there is the Knitting Fairy

2009-08-28T05:55:00.000-04:00

And she is smiling upon me. I hope.

Herald the Harald:

I am thrilled. This is the most beautiful sweater I have made.

And there will be no sweater curse.

Cascade 220 tweed in grey. Simply beautiful I must say.

And I believe the Knitting Fairy is smiling upon me when it comes to the Central Park Hoodie as well.

It is blocking! To measurement. I am holding my breath. I am also holding on to knitting the front until this dries completely and I take another look at it to be sure. I have hope.

In the meantime I worked a bit on the Rambling Rows afghan.

And the Girasole blob is growing, albeit slowly.

I am halfway on Chart D now.

And during all knitting frenzy Runty totally ignores me.

I couldn't care less, he seems to say. I am happy on the window sill here.

And as though I don't have enough projects going on I found a new addiction. Knitting small shawls with fingering yarn.

This is Gaia with Noro Kureyon sock yarn. Another birthday gift. A lot of people mention the "roughness" on the Noro sock yarn. I had that reservation as well when the Noro sock yarn first came out. I knitted a couple of pairs of socks with it and found that once the project is washed it softens considerably. I have no problems with the socks being rough at all. They are very comfortable. I am sure this shawl will be nice too once I washed and block it.

I need more knitting hours....

I have serious doubt about this

2009-08-27T05:53:00.001-04:00

I hope I am wrong.

I finished the back of CPH for Julie.

It is gorgeous. Except I think it is going to be too small. It is a 52 and I got gauge!

I am going to block the heck out of it tonight and see what I get. Let's hope I don't have to restart the whole darned thing! That would really bum me out!

There is no monogamy in my knitting life

2009-08-26T06:52:00.000-04:00

Isn't variety the spice of life?

I have a knitting friend who decides on a pattern, buys the yarn, knits the project, finishes it and then decides on a new project.

I greatly admire her self-decipline and sometimes wish I were like that. Because I think I might be in over my head right now with projects underway and projects in queue.

My Christmas gift list is so long. Everything I have on the needles right now is for someone else. Not that I mind. I love giving gifts that I made myself, especially to the people I love. The things is I need more time to knit.

And no mistake! Not like this:

That's my Girasole. Actually it's for my friends George and Ann MacDonald. And it had a mistake on row two of chart d. And I was on row 12 when I noticed it. There are 380 stiches per row. That's 3,800 stitches I ripped back. I am now back up and plucking along. Love that pattern.

Lesson learned: Check your work after each row, especially when it comes to yarn-over.

Fortunately the Central Park Hoodie for Julie is moving right along.

I am up to the armhole shaping on the back now. I love Dream in Color yarn. It is such a joy to knit. And the cables really pop even though you can't see them too well in the picture. Here is a close-up.

Romeo Blue. One of Dream in Color's new semi-solid colors. It is simply beautiful. I had bought ten skeins from the Loopy Ewe (on sale) meaning to knit Carl a sweater. Then when I couldn't get gauge (or didn't the look of the fabric when I got gauge) of the Cascade 220 superwash I got for the hoodie, I decided to use this instead. I had to order two more skeins from Eat.Sleep.Knit since the Loopy Ewe did not have any more. I was holding my breath afraid the color wouldn't match. I lucked out. There is very little color variation in the two dye lots. I am alternating the two new skeins nonetheless.

The yardage called for in the Central Park Hoodie pattern is a surprise though. I am making a 52-in bust size which calls for 2,928 yards. That's 11.7 skeins of DIC. Well I am almost done with the back and have not even used two skeins. Assuming the two front pieces will take two skeins, the sleeves three, I will have five skeins left for the hood? Maybe the fronts and the sleeves will take more. I have never done such a size before so we shall see. I hope I won't end up with two or three skeins left that I will then have to match the color again. The next size down (48-in bust) calls for 1,830 yards. That's 1,098 yards less than the 52-in bust size. Hmm.

I am plugging along with Rambling Rows as well. I try to knit at least one block each day. There are 55 blocks in the blanket. I've got ten so far.

In the meantime I need a small project to take along.

I was checking out one of our newest yarn stores in the area, Nature's Yarn, when I came across this Zauberball sock yarn. Perfect for a multi-directional diagonal scarf. Another to go in the Christmas gift box.

Too many projects; too little time.

Why do I have to work too?

It's growing

2009-08-21T06:05:00.000-04:00

Stitch by stitch, row by row.

I took the Harald sweater to Uniquities, my LYS, to be sewn up. This is the first time I had somebody do the assembly. It seems like cheating but I hate sewing up the seams and want it done really well. Besides, I am supporting my local yarn store, right?

In the meantime I am progressing very well with the WIPs.

Girasole is growing. I am working on chart D. It is now too big to carry around so it is now evening knitting on the sofa. I really like working with Cascade Eco Wool.

I made a bit of progress in the Central Park Hoodie.

I love this yarn. Dream in Color in Romeo Blue. The two extra skeins came from Eatsleepknit yesterday and I was so glad to see that there is no color variation! I will alternate two skeins to be on the safe side, however. It is going quicker than I expected so that is good news since I have a couple more sweaters in the queue for Christmas list.

Another project that is growing fast is the Rambling Rows blanket.

Five blocks done. 50 to go! The best thing about the project is you knit one block at a time and each row has fewer and fewer stitches as you knit.

The weekend is coming up. What can I start? This, perhaps?

This is Roland, a gorgeous henley from the Rowan book Classic DK Designs for Men and Women. It is knitted in RYC Cashsoft DK. I have been trying to get gauge in Cascade 220 Superwash that I have in stash but it is a tad too big. Either I will make a smaller size to account for the bigger gauge or will break down and buy the yarn. Will mull over that this weekend.

In the meantime Runty is wondering about all this knitting frenzy.

And what is that crazy thing you put around my neck, Mommy?