Really...I'm still around!

Funny cuz Stitches West came and went in a flash!  Someone (DISCO, perhaps?) had commented that it seems like none of us are blogging much these days.  I think she's right.  Not like I don't want to-there is always something I could be yabbering about!  And always something knitting-related!

I took a trip over to TwitterLand and have now gotten quite lazy in sharing things long-hand.  Twitter is instant gratification in quick little blurbs.  And yet there is always a full story behind every tweet.  And a full story behind every knitting project, skein of yarn, bump of fiber!

So much to share and so little time to divide between sharing, doing all the things I love to do and doing all the things that are necessary to be able to do the things I love!

So enough about the time issue that all of us seem to have!  How about we just talk fun, fiber stuff?

First off, Stitches was, as always, an event I was so excited about and looking forward to with great anticipation!  For one, I would be reunited with Cockeye and Susan the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sockateers Extroidanaire together with IrishGirlieKnits as SW Team Blue Moon!  The longer I have knit, the more knitting community events I have gone to and being part of these knitterly events you meet...MORE KNITTERS!  The community continues to grow and my knitterly circle expands,  Consequently, these events become a huge reunion of sorts and a home school week for many of us!

IrishGirlieKnits, Cockeyed, EttaMae-love these gals!

 

My usual partner in crime, Nartian, spent time with us there and we were able to catch up with the wonderful, sweet, "Colorplay Fibers" Linda Welch.  This year, PicoAccuardi Dyeworks came to Stitches West, which was a special treat for me!  Deb Accuardi had set up a Pre-Sock Summit luncheon that I had the honor of being a part of, which is how I first met her.  Her partner, Stevanie Pico, had been dying for Abundant Yarns at the time, which is how I first became acquainted with her.  I finally got to really meet and spend time with Stevanie, as well as with their super-girl TerBear.  I actually first met Teri at the Sock Summit lunch, as well, and we even went shopping together that day!  Really a wonderful crew to hang with!  And helping them was PurlsWannaHaveFun, Marisol.  She is an amazing knitter, kind, enthusiastic and always rearing to go!  So much fun!
 
So...Speaking of Cockeyed, she just launched her new line of knit designs-Stitches of My Life and has posted some beautiful patterns at her site!  Below, is "Patricia", her first release and offered for FREE on Ravelry!  


I've already purchased "Faye" and will be knitting it with the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Gaia that I purchased at Stitches West.  KnittingGolfer and I are thinking it would be fun to do a spin/KAL for Ida.  We shall see if we can get that together!

And speaking of Knittinggolfer and new designs-she, too, has launched a pattern line:  Stepping Stone Fiber Creations!  She has a lovely "Bright Spot" scarf pattern available for free HERE!

I actually started her Northampton Beat Socks and am LOVING this pattern!  The cuff knit up so quickly, it is working well with my handpainted Socks that Rock, and it is rich with texture and variation while maintaining an easy-to-remember sequence.


Funny, cuz it's been about 4 months since my last post and I always think about how slow and unproductive I am with my knitting and spinning.  Since it has been so long, it's fun that I have to chose from several items to share!  Makes me feel productive, if nothing else!

In addition to knitting two Patricia cowls, I had knit a cowl for my cousin's birthday...

and even gotten several small bumps of roving spun, including some Blue Faced Leischester from A Verb for Keeping Warm in "Coraline".  Truly lovely!  A nice, warm, coral pink color!

On December 23, my cousin's daughter turned 21.  I wanted to make her something special since I never know what to get the 'youngin's' for gifts!  I asked if she wanted me to make her something and she told me she really wanted a headband.  I asked what colors she liked and she enthusiastically told me how she LOVES mustard!

I ask you:  what, really, IS mustard?!

I'm happy to report that I had some bare yarn in my stash and decided I should dye some mustard yarn, since I had none in my stash!  How clever I am not to go buy more yarn!  After test-dying several swatches, this is what I came up with...

So *which* shade of "mustard" is mustard?  French's yellow? Spicy Brown? Honey Mustard?


  I decided that the Spicy Brown was closest to what would make me happy, so I went for it!  My first attempt was pretty close, but I didn't mix enough 'mustard' to dye the whole skein.  In attempting to remix more, it was a bit more sunny yellow-orangey than I was shooting for, but all in all, I got a 'mustard' I felt I could live with.  Here's what I ended up with...
More to share, but I'll close for now with these last two goodies to share!

A very special pair of socks from Buried in Fibre!  She is the most amazing, talented woman and she gifted me with these socks!  My one and only handmade socks not knit by me, FOR me!  What an absolute treat!  And if that weren't enough, she included a spindle, handspun yarn (SO GORGEOUS!) and a batt!  Pure Heaven and major spoiling!  Many, many thanks to my dear bud, Lara!  I'll have to try and get pics of the rest of the gifties next time, but for now...the socks!

Last, look who joined our family in November?

SassyMan has always been a major dog lover and after losing his dog back when Lil Emp was a bit over a year, a new dog was well overdue.  He searched around for a dog and found Ricky.  Being an 8 year old dog with a bit of anxiety, he was a difficult placement.  And when we went to see him, he looked a bit raggedy with an area above his brow shaved.  He'd gotten nipped by a kennel mate and had to have the area cleaned out.  SassyMan was pretty much decided that Ricky was THE dog; HIS dog!  Admittedly, SassyMan seems to have a good sense about him, as Ricky has been fine and adjusted quite well.  He's adjusted quite well and we are his forever family!

Time Slips Away...

and the blogging has become less frequent!  Where does time go?!

Though the blogging has slowed, I continue to knit.  And the knitting continues at the slow pace as my available knitting time is limited to fairly short spurts.  The only apparent progress are in the small projects-hats, headbands, mitts...

What follows is a hodge-podge of randomness...my thoughts aren't together right now-it's late and I'm tired after trying to get photos loaded from my phone (THAT didn't work!), transferred them to the computer, then uploaded them!...

"Hey, Teach" for my mom, using Blue Moon Fiber Art's Twisted in the Thraven colorway.

Then there are two hat KALs that Wooley Wormhead just started.  I am just about through the first installment for hat 'B', and am considering starting hat "A", but that will require some swatching.  I have one skein of yarn wound, which should work, but I also found another that I may prefer.  Still not sure.

For now, I work on Hat A with the Madeline Tosh DK I got from ImagiKnit a while back.  The color is Lichen and is so gorgeous-a semi-solid olive green with highlights of lavendar!

A while ago, Cupcakefaerie had posted a link to these quick Mesh Ankle Socks, so I thought I'd see if I could quickly knit up a pair. 

 In true form, I am still working on these.  Other projects nudged it down a bit.  For one, my brother and his girlfriend just relocated from L.A.  I decided my "SIL" needed a hat to keep her warm, since she is still adjusting to the climate change.  So I snuck a hat in inbetween.  And because I was afraid I wouldn't complete "Hey Teach" in time for Christmas, I set the socks aside in favor of casting on for my mom's Christmas gift.

And since Lil Emp decided he would actually wear a costume this year, I ended up having to alter one for him. 

 Lil Emp and OST ("Other Son T") dressed as Mario and Luigi

I won a bit of roving from a Phat Fiber contest...H.A.Y. (Hampton Art Yarns) roving in "Orchids"...

 And I even got the Fleece Artist BFL roving spun and plied!

A quick hat knit from Sheep Shop 2 for a friend's daughter.  2 more skeins left, so matching mittens are also on the 'to do'

I also had a KAL fail.  I started TotTopper's KAL and just didn't quite get going on it.  I started the strap, got to the finished length, then the KAL ended.  I haven't picked it up since.

Hope to have a better organized entry next time!  But hey-I blogged!

Where the heck have *I* been?!

Time slips away and it has been so very long since my last post!  Where did the summer go?

Well, for one thing, this summer vacation for Lil Emp was shortened and he ended up starting school mid-August!  He had about a week or two off from school, then started day camp for a couple of weeks.  Just when we decided he could attend the third week, we end up off on a 4-week roadtrip from the West to East Coast!  Actually, the road trip was a four-day rush to get to Massachusetts since a good friend of SassyMan's has passed suddenly.  We stayed in and Massachusetts for two weeks meandering between visits with friends and-yes!-a couple of fibery excursions!

Prior to leaving, I had just spun my very first skein of 3-ply yarn-and, of course, made a fiber purchase!

Lorna's Laces roving-my first 3-ply!

  I had dropped in to A Verb for Keeping Warm and fell in love with these two beauties.

WOW-what timing!  We left for Massachusetts so suddenly that I forgot to grab a bottle of wine from my stash to give to Knittinggolfer, since I hoped to see her.  Fortunately, I had made my trek over to A Verb so I did have the freshly purchased roving to bring to her!  It had been well over a year since we had seen each other in camp, and one of the best things about this trip was getting to visit with her-and her wonderful family!

Lil Emp and her foursome enjoyed playing miniature golf together as well as sharing in other fun activities-like indulging in this...

And as much as we enjoyed the day with SassyMan and the kids, including attending Knittinggolfer's DS's ballgame, I have to say that the best thing was getting to sit in the "spinning room" and check out all the lovely fiber and give my buddy a hug in PERSON!  I even scored some of her Massachusetts-grown alpaca she had gotten and had processed!   (Thanks again, my dear bud!)  The place that had processed it added some merino to it and it spins up so nicely!

I love my girl, Knittinggolfer!

The good thing about road trips is that I was forced to seam this baby top-the seaming was difficult to avoid since the projects I had accessible to me in the car were limited.  And afterall, where was I going, anyway?  Couldn't really get away from it!  But at least this baby top for my cousin's 1 yo was done before I returned. 

Baby Jayla is not a baby anymore!  She turned one, so I made her a top

And SassyMan got to see friends of his who he hadn't seen in years.  And *I* got to meet his friend's wife who sells her gorgeous lampwork beads on Etsy!  (Dark Flower Bead Arts).  AND I got to see her work studio and lovely creations!  (OK, so maybe I shopped a bit, too...)

Dark Flower Bead Art's lampwork studio

Gorgeous beads made into pendants

Another friend of his has a property that formerly housed monks and still has a remaining cabin they've kept intact and maintained.  We got to sleep in it one night!

The inside of our 'cabin'

Prior to the trip I had just recieved these items in the mail before I left on the trip...

I did a little sample spin of the roving (Fleece Artist BFL) but it is waiting in line to one day become yarn.  Under the roving are two balls or "Cumbra" I purchased for the Pembroke vest, which is half completed.  Sadly, the concept of travel knitting forcing the focus didn't quite hold true with this yarn.  I brought it with me, cast it on and knit maybe 2 inches and it sat for a good 6 weeks.  You see, by the time I ran out of other items to work on, I had been able to hit Classic Elite's retail store and had replenished my knitting possibilities.

I got very motivated to design and knit some "Avatar" (Last Airbender,  NOT the blue people Avatars) socks for one of SassyMan's friend's daughter.  She and LE hit it off with their mutual love of the Animae series and spent time watching the various episodes together.

So by the end of the trip, I had spun most of the merino from Knittinggolfer, finished the baby top, completed all but the finishing touches on the Avatar socks, and knit a pair of Calendula socks for my friend-totalling three socks in all, since I completely misjudged the size!

Of course, when there is so much time between posts, there is always so much more to post to catch up.  There are a couple more things from my trip to share, but for now I'll fast forward to what I was working on right before I decided to start this entry:  the Blue-Leaf headband.  I was itching to actually complete a project, so I had to do the counter-intuitive thing-start a new project!  I'm on the decreases and it should be completed soon! 

Next post, I'll share how it relates to the Cross-Country trip, too!  I'll also have to share how my "clever" inspiration turned not-so-clever.  Seems to be a theme with me-I get inspired an in an effort to take a short-cut or avoid something I think will be a big PITA, I end up causing myself even more time and work!

And I STILL knit!

It's late and I need to go to sleep, but I actually found a camera I could get to work and load pics, so thought I'd share some of my current items OTNs!

Remember the Baby Bolero pictured on the front of a Sirdar pattern book I recently purchased?  Well I am quite proud that I found yarn in my stash and a baby set is well on its way with the completion of the bolero and the beginnings of a mini-buttonhead to match!

And then there are the Zoom Zoom socks of which I have completed one, and am working on the gusset of the second.  Kind of put aside and going slower since I am concurrently working on a couple of other baby knit items.

 Speaking of baby knits, here is a larger sweater that was *supposed* to be around a size 2.  It is coming out quite large so that my earlier fears the recipient would outgrow it before it could be gifted are more than alleviated.  As a matter of fact, I probably have a good year or two play time to get this done!

And now, a mini-recap of past posts...


A pic of the COMPLETED Twisted Flower socks!...

And a follow-up of Lil' Emp's haircut after he decided to cut some gunk out on his own...

 This little more than 1/4" that first blended in with his long hair has now grown into a couple of inches-now more visible as a tuft that can easily stick up from his head.  Ah, well...though not at that young pre-school hair-cutting age, he is definitely of the problem-solving, independent age...

Meeting deadlines!

Thanks to Mapleweave, I joined the Socknitters Annonymous group on Rav and ended up joining their KAL in April.  Happily, it pushed me to finally knit Cookie A's "Twisted Flowers" pattern.  I know, this picture is not proof, but close enough and trust me, they ARE done!

And I'm kinda proud that I finished it by the deadline-end of May!  I swear, I got in under the wire, finishing on May 29.

Another happy completion?  My "Plain Vanillas", inspired by Lara's.  I had had the Conjoined Creations "Flat Feet" fabric sitting around waiting to be knit and decided-why no some Plain Vanillas?  So I did it and they are done!



After not doing much by way of socks (or at least, not seeing much progress or attention to socks over the past few months...), I took it a step further and even cast on for Knitquest's Zoom Zoom socks!  

At 56 stitches per round, it is an awesomely quick knit!  I am making these for a friend's daughter and she is a women's size 9 and I have the first one completed.  Love the soft Shelridge sock yarn and the colorway!

And yes, there have been a few purchases.

First, and the most special (to me) is this gorgeously decorated darning egg.

Stormy is an old Sock Camp buddy and when she posted a pic of this egg, I thought it was absolutely adorable!  I love the "Untangling Faerie" and had no idea she was offering the egg for sale.  Apparently, at some point (and I obviously missed this!) she opened an Etsy store and is selling her hand-decorated darning eggs.

Decorating eggs is not new to her, as she has been making and selling Pysanky eggs for some time.  What a lovely cross-over to now decorate darning eggs!  They are truly beautiful and I especially love her White Rabbit (Ala Alice in Wonderland) and Sea Life! 

And in case you didn't notice, see the gorgeous stitch marker she included with my order?  One talented late, I'd say!

I guess I must have decided I had money because I also fell in love with the Moon Valley lotion bar and decided I needed another.  Now, I must admit I love Lo Lo bars and the variety of scents offered by Bar Maids, but after using the lotion bar and later realizing how soft my hands still felt later in the day, I got kinda hooked on the lotion bar, too.  And well....you know, to justify shipping an all...

And no, there is nothing I'm withholding from you except that after having a 9.5 lb kid almost 10 years ago, I was thinking that the tummy bar would be good not just for mommy-in-waiting but for stretch-marked moms!  Come on-how could I request such an obvious TUMMY bar anyway?!


And last, there was the quest for the giant, plastic, ergonomic crochet hook!  WonderMike of Fiber Beat had Tweeted his adorable bulky crocheted scarf and that hook was oh-so-tempting!  At $2.50, available locally, I had to go get one.

As always, I can never leave Lacis without other goodies, too!  Embroidery goodies cuz I seem to have this delusional idea that I will embroider a set of tea towels at some point in my life.  Note:  I have another set of iron-on tea towel motifs still untouched.  I can dream, can't I?...

So quite a bit of time has passed since my last post and I am still the same.  Thinking and dreaming of more and more projects to start and do, with little time to complete them!  The upside is that I AM actually getting projects done, albeit slowly, thanks to my new found 'semi-focus'!  Baby projects are cast on and underway.  Let's see how I progress with them, shall we? ;)

The case in favor of a wheel

The way I see it, I could either wait until the furloughs at work cease and our salary is restored, or I could use my coming tax returns to purchase a spinning wheel now. 

At the news of my former boss (now moved to a City job) losing her job (it was eliminated) and the economy not doing so great, I started to re-think my decision to use part of tax returns towards the purchase of a spinning wheel.  THE spinning wheel.  The long-desired spinning wheel.  The one that maybe 5 years ago Morgaine of Carolina Homespun had recommended to me but that I had decided to wait on so that I could splurge and go to the very first Sock Camp.  The same wheel that I postponed purchasing time and again due to budgetary constraints.  Due to space constraints.

I had finally decided that this was it-I would take the plunge and purchase my long-desired wheel.  Afterall, I will be getting a tax return!

Then I started thinking that maybe *this* is exactly the time I should hold back on a major purchase.  That things could get worst and that this would be a purchase of regret.

Well, at some point I turned my thought around and started envisioning my monetary situation not getting better.  In fact, getting worst where I could never get a wheel.  It then occured to me that this was exactly the time to go ahead and get it!  If times get worst, I will have my wheel and not have to put it off further into the future. 

And the best part?  It is a tool.  If all else failed, I would have a tool to work with, to help me be more efficient in making things.  It would give me more earning/creating options if I had to figure out how to make some extra money with a side job.  How perfect to buy a spinning wheel NOW!

And so, when I saw Amy from Knitty.com retweet "RT @avfkw: you know what's awesome? buying your spinning wheel from your local spinning shop. #supportyourlocaleconomy" I went straight over to Carolina Homespun's site and was immediately reminded of the "1% for Peace" as well as how I had told myself all those years ago that when I purchased my wheel, it would be from Morgaine because she was the one who first told me about the Lendrum.  She was the one who I purchased my very first spindle/kit from.  She was the one who made me sit and learn to "park and draft" when I returned to her booth the following show to tell her how I just wasn't able to teach myself to drop spindle.  And so I clicked the 'buy'.

In my attempt to finalize my payment, I realized Morgaine was out of town for the Maryland Sheep and Wool. Festival.  It was ok.  I could wait for her return.  This morning I was surprised to read Lann's email back to me saying, "the only question is...do you want to come here and pick it up?" 


So right after work, I headed straight to Carolina Homespun.  And tonight, I got to play with my new wheel!

And for fun, I had snuck a couple of stash enhancement excurtions in...

A purchase from One Planet's 3 day sale...

Some Fleece Artist BFL roving and a couple of balls of DK merino that was priced well and I couldn't pass up!  I have been trying to figure out what to knit for a co-worker's baby and new this would be enough for a baby vest.

Then, I saw this and could not resist...

I'm thinking this will be cute in BMFA medium weight Socks that Rock.  I'm thinking Boysenberry with maybe Sophie? or possibly with Grandma's Garden?  Apple Valley Road is appealing for the body, too, but it may come out too stripey and I'm going more 'semi-solid'.  Input?  Feel free to give your opinion-the order hasn't gone in yet!

Catching up!

If you follow my tweets or FB, you have already seen these...

PEEPSHI that I made, inspired by a Craftzine Tweet (a Grace Kang recipe shown here)!

 

 

And finally, a reveal of some of my Stitches West goodies...

Shall I start with some roving...?  This is some BFL from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  The sad thing is that BattGirl is similar to some other colorway name that I can't remember!  So this is either Batt Girl.  Or the other one! (Yaks Per Color-?)  OK, the second one still has it's label and says it is "Batt Girl".  But to my inexperienced-Dyer eyes, they look so same.  But they truly are two DIFFERENT colorways.

 

I decided that I needed this Leticia superbulky in Rainforest Jasper.  Turns out Leticia is discontinued, so it was really a good thing I snagged it up!  And then I, of course NEEDED to get a skein of Lenka!

 

And about that handspun I showed in my last entry...

I swatched...

 

 And now have a finished Buttonhead hat!  I just blocked it and will post a finished, blocked, buttoned version in another post.

 

I actually even finished a Conway Cloche, but alas, need to take a picture to post.  I used the Berocco Vintage Alpaca/Acrylic that I had gotten at Sock Summit in my Rav bag.  I know PDXKnitterati is a self-proclaimed YarnSnob and gave hers away on her blog.  But I must say I love the yarn!

And look what arrived in the mail?  A Knit bag from KnitterBag on etsy!  It is thick and sturdy and sooo cute!

So I have been fairly focused and even finished my "A Little Something".  (Yes, another item with no picture at this time...)  I will post a pic as soon as I can get one taken and loaded!

So as much as I have a zillion socks in progress, I joined a KAL and chose Cookie's "Twisted Flowers" pattern to knit.  I am knitting the pattern with Shabui Sock yarn in the Wasabi colorway.  I'm not sure if any of you recall my sub-sub yarn stash (well, my sub-sock yarn stash that is my green sockyarn stash...)  Well, as odd as it may seem-I've not a green pair of socks to my name to date!  So I decided this would be the opportune time to dig into that GREEN sock yarn substash and knit me some GREEN socks!

I am thoroughly enjoying this pattern and find it difficult to put down.  I have finished the cuff on the first sock and am working on the heel flap.  LOVE this!

 

I'm going to try and behave and keep my focus-mojo going and get this pair done before leaping into my Slip-Jig socks-one of the latest Rockin' Sock Club patterns that just came out.  And it is knit by none other than IrishGirlieKnits!  As much as I'm 'resisting' casting on, I couldn't resist buying yet ANOTHER set of needles and winding the new club yarn (colorway: My Wild IrishGirlie) into a cake.  It will definitely be used for the Slip-Jig pattern, but I definitely plan to knit up Janelle's Secret Garden pattern, too.  I'll have to see what the next Blue Moon Fiber Arts new colorways reveal will be on the 15th of this month!  I've been pretty good, but I sense a 'caving' by way of a BMFA order in the very near future!  

OH-And I almost forgot!  A pic of Solly wearing his sweater and matching hat!  OK, the sleeves and overall length could have been a tad longer, but I'm just glad I completed the set and got it to him while he could still wear it!