BAAbins

FO: Handspun Shawlette/Scarf

2009-07-13T15:20:00.009-04:00

Yippee!! Some stash finally saw the light of day! I aquired this hand dyed roving at MD Sheep and Wool Festival several years ago. 4 oz of Blue Face Leicester became approx. 330 yds of luscious 2 ply yarn. The colorway is so subtle, it reminds me of Amethyst Quartz.

My Grandpa LaCour used to be a "rock hound". He collected many rocks, agates and gems over the years as a hobby and made jewelry. He used to make Malachite jewelry for my Grandma because her maiden name was Malach. He had many of his collected stones and gems on display in a room in his basement that he called "Arnie's Rock Shop". When I was a little girl, I loved to sit with him while he polished his rocks and I learned about Mexican Lace, Picture Rock, Jasper, Jade, Tiger Eye, Malachite, etc. etc. etc. These are my favorite memories of him and I still have most of his collection to share with my children.

Anyway, back to the shawlette, it is 51" x 21". I used the Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl pattern from Ravelry. I enjoyed every minute of spinning and knitting it and would definately use this pattern again.

Our local library is currently having a silent auction for a fundraiser. So donate I did! I hope it finds a happy home!

Production Spinning: Need Something Spun?

2009-07-08T12:05:00.015-04:00

Hot off the Baabin handspun for Kathy!

A yarn this hot, has got to cool down in the shade! Isn't this a fun colorway?

I have been spinning for around 6 years. Two of those years, I hand dyed Finn roving for Sandy DeMaster at Wee Croft Finn Sheep. (If you take a look at my avatar, that is one of my color combinations.) Sandy sold my hand dyed rovings at MI Fiber Festival, Jefferson Sheep and Wool and Tall Grass Farms (both of the last two are in WI). During that same timeframe, my colorways in her Finn roving were chosen to be featured in a workshop at the Midwest Felting Symposium. Thank you,Sandy, who is now enjoying retirement from the fiber business.

After moving from WI to IN, I did production spinning for almost another two years for Robin Page of Pagewood Farms in CA. Unfortunately, she no longer features handspun yarn; her hand dyed commercial yarn has really hit the market. Yeah, Robin! And thank you so much! It would be interesting for me to go back in my notes sometime to figure out how many pounds I actually spun for you. It was a lot!! especially when boxes came at 5 lbs at a time!! but I enjoyed the spinning and working with all the various colors and fibers. You can see some pictures here and here if you'd like.

Recently and closer to home, I have spun over 1500 yards of rabbit/Polypay for a wonderful lady who has rescue rabbits. She saved their sheddings and blended them with Polypay wool at Wooly Knob Fiber Mill and is now enjoying a blanket from the yarn! This year, she intends to send me rabbit/Romney for a planned weaving project. Thank you so much! I really enjoy helping to make others' creative ideas become reality.

However, the closest to home, other than my own handspun (Haha) is for Kathy, Katbrown on Ravelry. She had some luscious hand dyed Cormo wool roving that was acquired at MI Fiber Festival from Winterhaven Fiber Farm.

It was a fun colorway to spin and 5 oz made a luscious lofty approximately 530 yards of approx. sport/DK that may become a shawl. I hope she enjoys knitting with it. Thank you so very much, Kathy! I can't wait to see your final project!

My spinning wheel, Sadie, is happiest when busy and is looking for more production spinning. So here is a shout out from Sadie for anyone who has more fiber stash than they can handle spinning or for those who don't spin and would love to try working with handspun yarn. Please keep Sadie in mind as you peruse booth after booth of fiber festivals this summer, drooling over all the wonderful rovings and fibers. She's an enabler; she can help you add handspun yarn to your stash!

Since Sadie is wonderful at spinning but not too adept at writing, feel free to contact me here via the blog (click on "view entire profile" on the upper right of this page and then click on email) or pm me via Ravelry as baabins. Thank you for your consideration.

Happy Knitting and Spinning!

Philosophy at the Zoo?

2009-07-08T10:48:00.005-04:00

Meet Dusty, one of the amazing animals I worked with last summer. Please take a moment to gaze into his eyes and then read the following story...

We are all connected...

As I explained in post, "A Dear Deer Story", I am sometimes so touched by an experience that I have to share. I had many wonderful experiences last summer when I was working with the animals and the people who came to see them. However, this particular moment was special to me and I came home right away to share it via email with my friend, Jenny. I will reprint that email now to share with you.

Hi Jenny,

I had a very special experience today at the zoo and I wanted to share. It was a very HOT HUMID uncomfortable afternoon before storms came in and closed the park/zoo. Anyway, I was walking around checking on people when I saw a man standing alone by Leo the Lion's pen. He was a large man with kind eyes and had an intent expression on his face; peaceful yet intent. I walked over to him and said, "Isn't Leo wonderful? He spoke to me in a thick European accent. I am terrible with accents so I am guessing Polish or Romanian. He asked me if the animals knew that they were going to live the rest of their lives here and if they knew certain things. Well, I first explained the basics of how they are rescue animals, yada yada yada. But he kept asking in depth questions as to how much the animals knew or if they communicated. Very interesting.

I explained certain circumstances of their behavior and that I believe that they knew that they were in a good place being well taken care of and that they were comfortable with that. I said they really respond and talk to the main zookeeper because she has been there since the beginning. I explained what a gift it was to save them from euthanasia and what a gift in return they give us by their presence. He told me that when he got home, he would look up specifically what day in the Bible, the tigers were created. He said his dog was created on the 6th day and did I understand that animals were created in one day? And that they were made of the same things as we are, their skin, their bones, their muscles, etc. He explained that the only difference was that we have larger brains so it is our job to care for these animals. He showed me a picture of his dog on his cellphone. He is over 100lbs and sleeps with him every night. He said that he loved him so much that when the dog died, he would too because he did not want to be without him. He said, "With love, there is also great loss and suffering." And I immediately said "Yes, but it is worth it." I told him how Alyssa, my daughter, had recently lost a pet and when she was grieving, I explained to her that she hurt so much because she loved so much...and that was not a bad thing but a good thing. Eventhough it hurts, it is worth it to love and keep our hearts open.

He thought about this and nodded. He introduced himself as Rudy. I told him that I was very pleased to meet someone who had a deep love of animals and respected them. I wished him well, wanting to give him some space and he just stood there so I asked if he would like to join me and walk thru the zoo and see all of the animals with me. One by one I took him by each big cat and he was fascinated like a little child. He said to me, do you realize that we are even made from the same things as the stars in the sky? I said, "Yes, I do. We are all made of love and from love and that we are all energy. Everything in nature and all people are connected. It's just a shame that people have forgotten that and that they don't respect that." I also said that there are small miracles everyday if we take the time to notice. And he replied, "There are often big miracles too and we need to be grateful." He said that there is a time to accept and a time to give back to God. I told him yes, I believed that and we should be more grateful. I explained that I used to work ICU and CCU years ago and that I was with people who died. I said it was as much of an honor being present with someone who died as it was when people are born. It is a sacred thing. He said, "Aaah, so you understand some of the deeper things in life."

We travelled on thru the zoo and he asked so many questions about the animals and he appreciated and laughed and lit up like a child for every one of them. He shook my hand several times and kept looking at my name plate and asking my name. I laughed and told him how much I appreciated meeting him since he had such a deep love of animals. Then I looked at him, after we walked thru the zoo and I said, "Follow me." I snuck him into the fawn pen. All five fawns came up to us and some were licking us. His eyes lit up and he laughed like a child. It was wonderful to see. I felt that talking to him was a gift to me and this was my gift I could give to him. He loved it. I explained about deer and fawns and he said how wonderful all nature is. He laughed such a deep hearty laugh and said, "I've never been this close to anything like this; they are so very gentle and beautiful!"

At near the end of our tour together, my new friend, Rudy, had a woman approach him who called him Reverand. I was not surprised. It fit; he's one of God's angels on earth and I was so glad that I could share a moment with him.

Have a great day,

Lee

Lions Tigers and Deer?

2009-07-08T09:39:00.003-04:00

Since moving to our current home, I have become quite fond of deer. I am lucky and blessed to have the time to be in nature and observe. Often we have fawns being born and nursed in our yard. Once in awhile, we have deer that are so curious that they seem interested in what I am doing, like the deer I named, Knobby Head that I wrote about a couple years back. Anyway, these gentle creatures have helped me pause, reflect and enjoy the moment more and I am grateful. However, I never anticipated that a deer would find me a part time summer job.

Meet Yellow. Last summer, she was wandering around and bleating hopelessly and the sound broke my husband's and my own heart. We tracked her down when we heard her one evening. By the time we found her, she had settled down in the woods and we decided to leave her alone to see if her mother would return.

When a fawn is born, it has no scent to it. Nature makes it that way so that predators cannot track it. So the mother beds the fawn down in a safe place and leaves it during the day so her scent does not attract predators. She usually stays nearby and her fawn is safe because it makes no sound and does not wander on its own. So when you hear a fawn (they bleat similar to sheep), calling out and wandering on it's own, it has been abandoned. We believe her mother had been hit by a car.

Anyway, the next day after we had first heard the fawn, my husband was out working in the yard when he heard it again. He started tracking it in the woods. It came out of the woods, walked towards him and fell at his feet. It was starving and exhausted. He brought it into the house and I called the sherriff's office to see if there was an animal rehabilitor in the area. Within moments, I was put in touch with such a person and when she picked up the deer, I asked her about animal rehabilitation. I said I always have animals coming to me and would like to learn more about taking care of them. She right there on the spot said she had a job for me and asked if I would like to work with lions and tigers! Little did I know, since I was new to this area, that nearby my home was an amusement park and a small zoo which specializes in big cat rescues. I was ecstatic and my husband was certainly surprised when he returned home from town to hear that I had a new part time summer job working with lions and tigers. The kids were bouncing off the walls knowing that their summer was going to be spent at the amusement park!

Well it was a wonderful summer indeed and such a great experience...one I will never forget. For three days a week, during the summer season while the park was open, I supervised the college and high school kids at the zoo, greeted and educated the public and fed and cared for: 5 golden tigers, 2 white Bengal tigers, 2 lions, 2 black panthers, 1 cougar, 2 Muntjac deer, 1 white tailed deer, 7 abandoned fawns, and 1 funny McCaw. I loved every moment of it! All of the animals were rescue animals especially the big cats who had been severely neglected or abused and were to be euthanized if this owner had not decided to save them. All the fawns, including my little Yellow (so named because each fawn had a different colored ribbon and her's was yellow), were local fawns that had been abandoned. They were raised and rehabilitated until they could graze on their own and then were safely released to the wild.

Each animal, had it's own unique personality and some were a little more "cranky" than others due to the way they were mistreated before they came to this small zoo. Each had his own story to share and since in my heart, I felt so fortunate to have this experience with them and to be so close to these majestic animals, while I worked there I tried to honor them. In doing so, I gladly greeted the public and answered questions but I also was very conscious of creating an atmosphere of respect and dignity for these animals. They are a gift to us; not the other way around. It was amazing how little disregard some people gave them as they threw rocks or taunted them to make them growl. AND slowly, a transformation would happen as I would tell these people the animals' stories of how this black panther had been chained up and beaten so yes, he is a little cranky around people and I don't blame him one bit. Or how these three tigers get aggressive when we feed them because they were kept locked in a small cage where they couldn't even stand up and were starved almost to death only because the breeder wanted them to be white Bengals when they were born and not golden. So when they get aggressive about food, it is because they had to fight for what little they had before we received them at the zoo. For the few months I was with them, I gave a voice to these animals out of my respect for them.

Equally interesting, many times, the people who usually taunted these animals, upon hearing their stories would share horrendous stories of their own lives and would now look at these animals with a new sort of connection... a kindred spirit of sorts, understanding that they were both survivors. And my heart would soar because I know deep inside we are all interconnected in this universe. And I am so blessed to have helped in some small way to make this connection. Thank you, baby fawn, Yellow, for allowing me to experience this!

Speaking of connection, meet Leo. He is a huge 500 lb male lion. He was neutered and from that process, the drop in hormones, caused him to lose his mane. On my first day at the zoo, I would be in between his cage and the fence where the visitors would be. I would be talking with the public all the while being attentive to what Leo was doing behind me. I noticed when I moved, he would move with me, not in an aggressive manner but he would settle in his cage very close to where I was standing. An instant bond was formed!

I chatted often to him since the cats become accustomed to your voice and he was always a gentle giant to me. During the summer, he was the animal I became closest to. He developed a sore molar in the back and was having difficulty eating. So he had to be hand fed and babied for awhile. Nothing like hand feeding a 500 lb lion to make you feel empowered! Haha. Especially when his nose is about as wide as my face. Actually it was a very humbling experience for me and I was honored to do it.

Here we are together on one of my last days at work. A co-worker took this picture because she thought it looked like he was leaning in for a kiss! Actually I was just chatting with him and leaning forward telling him, "Leo, you are such a good boy!" And this is how he responded! Priceless!

I will forever remember my summer with these fabulous creatures. I was blessed! Unfortunately, the amusement park and zoo didn't open this season due to the economy. It relies heavily on company picnics and businesses are cutting back this year. For now the animals are still there being taken care of by the main zoo keeper. I wish them well and hope to see them again sometime soon!

A Dear Deer Story

2009-07-08T08:34:00.006-04:00

Sometimes I am so moved by something that happens that I feel compelled to write about it. Often, it is in an email to a friend or family member (as you will see in the next posts). However today I am sharing this with whomever is going to take the time to read this...

As I was driving home early this morning, I noticed a perfect fawn was left in the road after being hit by a car. No external injuries, it layed there so quiet and serene...

I couldn't bear to have it just lay there where it may be hit again, so I drove home, parked my car, grabbed some gardening gloves and started walking towards it. While I was walking the hill of my yard, heading toward the road, I was feeling angry that someone could not take the time to place the deer in a safe place off of the road and also deeply saddened that such a beautiful creature had died, tears were welling in my eyes. I looked up at the blue sky and said, "God, I am so sorry one of your beautiful creatures has died; I'm worried about how I'm going to get him off of the road. As silly as it seems, I don't want to hurt him and I don't know if I am strong enough to lift him gently off the road. I could use some help." At that moment, a beautiful white bird, gleaming in the morning sun flew directly above me.

At this time I am at the road and still have a ways to walk. The road is a ribbon of hills and valleys and it is difficult to see any cars until they are right in front of you. Over the hill behind me, I could hear a car honking, three beeps as if in a friendly greeting to someone. I could not see it yet but I was worried since I wasn't close enough to the deer yet, that the car would come up over the hills and hit it. I walked faster and held my breath as this car came up over the ridge. All I could do was watch. It missed the deer, slowed down and backed up. We reached the deer at the same time. I, with gloves in hand, watched as this policeman dressed in casual shorts got out of his car, went to his trunk and grabbed gloves. With tears in my eyes I told him I had found the deer there and was coming to move it to the side and he said, "I'll do that for you." He gently put the deer in the grass. We both thanked each other and went on our way.

It was while I was walking home that I realized, what I had just prayed for, had been answered...

One Fish Two Fish Purple Fish Blue Fish

2009-07-07T15:38:00.007-04:00

At the beginning of June when school was out, we headed south for a week of water, fun and sun. We drove to Orlando and stayed at the Marriot Conference Center and Resort. Each night the HUGE waterfall pool got much use and Miss A., my 11 year old daughter, was a little mermaid indeed! During the days, we spent the week at Sea World, Sea World Aquatica (a very fun waterpark), Epcot (since the kids were too tiny during our prior trips to Disney) and last but not least, the reason we went to Florida...Sea World's Discovery Cove. It is a wonderful oasis where you can swim with dolphins and snorkel with myriads of marine life swimming around you. They even had barracuda and sharks in underwater tanks disguised by rocks and sunken ships that you could swim down and see so it was like you were swimming next to them. It was incredible! Also included was a wonderful lazy river, a manta ray pool where they swim all around you, and three aviaries which you can feed all sorts of exotic birds. It was a day in paradise and we would all gladly do it again!

On our way down to Florida, we started our trip with a visit to the Atlanta Georgia Aquarium which has the most unbelievable tank holding 4 whale sharks among a whole throng of fish and the tank is so massive, you usually don't see all the whale sharks at the same time except for feeding...which was incredible indeed! We really enjoyed the aquarium, the Titanic exhibit and these huge monstrous new friends...

Well the trip was a success for all and it inspired Mr. J., my 13 year old son. He decided he wanted a fish blanket. So thanks to Ravelry, I was able to find a pattern.

Well, here is the meager start and since it will be a slow work in progress, I will share more fish photos as I update my progress on this blanket. Mr. J., has been forewarned it will take awhile to knit enough fish for a blanket! Ironically, I had most of the yarn in stash and only had to add the two greens (by the way, the colors are brighter than above and the darkest is a true purple, the one to its right is a bright turquoise).

Anyway, several years ago, the kids each picked out several colors of yarn for blankets which never saw completion. All the yarn still made the move with us here and surprisingly, eventhough both my children are older, they still love the colors they had picked. So both Miss A. and Mr. J. thought it was about time Mom got busy!! And of course, no favoritism, I have to do a blanket for both kids. Miss A. chose Rambling Rows by Cottage Creations for her design in some crazy kicking colors!! So stay tuned for future updates of the blanket sagas! The goal is to have them finished for snuggling when snow falls!

Spindling Bliss

2009-07-07T12:18:00.006-04:00

Now this is the way to start a day! It was a beautiful cool quiet morning. Before the kids awoke, I slipped outside to enjoy the birdsong and the warmth of the sun coming up over the trees. Watching the silky strands of fiber glittering in dappled sunlight, feeling the zen of a blissful moment with my spindle, I eased into a new day...

This roving has a grand plan on what it wants to become; it wants to be the "Misty Morning Shawl" designed by Sharon Winsaur. "Okay", I said gently, knowing that all great dreams start with a single step. "Let's enjoy this time together."

So spin I will; not counting the hours, not wishing away the time,... to live in the moment enjoying the process, spending quiet time with my self and my friend, spindle.

Serendipity: Butterflies on Your Shawl??

2009-06-15T11:05:00.006-04:00

Since the Handspun Spring Shawl went to a very special person, Marje, I wanted to share a story with you.

I love the idea of prayer shawls. Sometimes I feel it is a wonderful thing just to acknowledge someone for who they are. Marje is a very kind, quiet, unassuming bookshop owner who helps a lot of people find their spiritual paths or answers to questions in life. Her motto is "Helping You to Help Yourself". I have had the chance to meet some wonderful people thru Marje and read some wonderful thought provoking books. Her warm smile is always welcoming and I so appreciate having met her. After participating in an Intuition workshop with her, I noticed that she looked radiant in pastels and I decided to surprise her with a gift of appreciation.

Sometimes you come across an item in life that is different than something you would normally choose. I purchased the pastel roving (see previous post) years ago thinking I would pull out certain colors for another project. However, every time I went to use that roving, it just didn't seem right. I played with parts of the roving over the years but nothing materialized. Since pastel colors wipe out my skintone, it was never something I could wear but for some strange reason I couldn't part with it. Well, after seeing Marje wear butter yellows, mint greens, pinks and blues, the EUREKA moment hit. I knew that it was meant for Marje!

I happily spun and knit this shawl with a HUGE grin on my face; since being a little kid at heart, I LOVE surprises and especially LOVE surprising others! However during the whole process of creating this shawl, for some reason, I kept thinking of a butterfly pin. I kept picturing a butterfly pin resting on this shawl. The thought had reoccurred so often that I questioned whether I should purchase a butterfly pin to present to Marje as well. So I kept my eyes open for a butterfly pin but to no avail.

The day I decided to take the shawl down to the shop, The Catalpa Tree in Grabill IN, which is a two hour roundtrip for me, it was chilly, dreary and storming in the morning. I debated whether I should make the trip. However, after dropping the kids off at school, the sky cleared a bit and I decided to go. On the way down, I thought wouldn't it be funny if Marje was wearing something to match the shawl? I arrived and first went inside the shop without the package to see if Marje was there for the day. She had on a lovely blue outfit which would match wonderfully with the shawl! So I brought the shawl in and presented it to her... all the while still wondering about the butterfly pin.

I was so delighted that Marje loved the shawl and decided to wear it that day since it was chilly. She even proclaimed that the size was just right! As she gently lifted it over her shoulders, tied it in front and adjusted it ... on her left shoulder, above her heart sat a beautiful butterfly pin softly resting on top of the shawl's edge!! I did a double take and then started laughing. When I told Marje that all along, I pictured a butterfly pin on the shawl, she opened the shawl to show me her beatiful blue top with her handpainted flowers and also a handpainted butterfly resting beneath the shawl! She then told me that she had originally dressed in something else that morning while getting ready for work but it didn't "feel right". So, since it was chilly that morning, she put on the blue outfit and adorned it with a butterfly pin.

SERENDIPITY indeed! My shawl has made its way to a happy owner and has found it's butterfly friend!

FO: Anatomy of a Shawl

2009-05-30T09:17:00.013-04:00

I found slightly over 5 oz of this hand dyed BFL in my stash that has been there for years! The bright Spring colors begged to be spun and knit.

My husband takes one look at wool rovings and calls them "sheep guts". Well, these sheep guts had a great time on the spinning wheel. Here is a single ply on the wheel.

For those nonspinners out there, it takes two of the above to ply together (twist in the opposite direction that it was originally spun), to make a two ply yarn like below. From the 5 oz of roving, I spun aproximately 470 yards of two ply yarn to make the skein below. The yarn was between a DK and a light worsted weight.

Then I tried several shawl patterns. I wanted to make a simple shawl that would show the effects of the yarn and make the most of the yardage. I decided to knit "La La's Simple Shawl" pattern from Ravelry on size 10 needles to make it lightweight and lacy. Here it is resting in one of my knitting baskets.

I knitted about 460 yards of the skein and made adjustments in the pattern to finish it with a nice edge due to the length left of my yarn. I was quite pleased with the results and will definately try this pattern again. The finished shawl is approximately 66" across by 31" in length. The shawl is lightweight and oh so soft and cozy! It is a surprise gift for a friend who wears a lot of pastels. Hope she likes it!

Well I'm back to my wool stash to see what else I can play with! Happy spinning and knitting!

Just Catching Up: A FO

2009-05-21T09:05:00.004-04:00

Remember this? I was seeing stripes in previous post...

AND I was reworking a few skeins of Noro salvaged from a scarf into this...

Which grew into this....

It's been finished for quite some time. I just needed to catch up on my posting of it. It is a simple neck down raglan cardigan with seed stitch borders. The yoke is Noro Silk Garden colorway 224 and the body is merino Shepherd's Wool Great Lakes colorway. It is a warm and very cozy sweater which I will look forward to wearing next fall and winter.

Emergence of Something New

2009-05-18T09:07:00.009-04:00

Slowly, the leaf unfurls into the first warm breath of Spring.

Patiently the lace reveals it's beauty in the sun.

Cautiously, new growth breaks thru the ground.

Boldly, the lace claims its presence.

I've Got The Blues!

2009-04-14T18:21:00.005-04:00

With Mother Nature being fickle with rain, snow, 60 degrees, 20 degrees... it would be easy to get the blues waiting for flowers to bloom. However, I am still in nesting mode and happily spinning and knitting away. As soon as I get 5 buttons sewn, my latest sweater will be making its' debut here along with a new scarf or two.
Until then, I am shopping my stash once again and reclaiming/reusing yarn. I have 2 skeins of an unknown indigo dyed fingerweight from a long time past purchase on Ebay that has never found a purpose. The blues and greens of the Mega Boot sock yarn lured me at first sight. I started a simple garter stitch shawl over a year ago with them. However, it was relegated to the time out closet due to the striping of the yarn. I just didn't care for it. Then I saw the simple garter stitch shawl that Yarn Harlot was working on and had to look up the pattern "Shawl That Jazz" on Ravelry. It calls for a DK weight. WHALAH!! The indigo dyed fingerweight and the sock yarn became instant friends! I think the sock weight was just overjoyous to be let out of the closet again! So for our next trick...let's see what a striped, marled sock yarn and a multi-toned indigo dyed yarn can create together in simple garter stitch! Let's see...cast on almost 250 stitches and knit, knit, knit!

Sharing a Smile

2009-03-16T20:24:00.003-04:00

When I woke up this morning, the kitchen was full of three huge bunches of these and a homemade chocolate cake with chocolate frosting! (I've never met ANYTHING in chocolate that I didn't like. Haha.) What a way to start the day! When I first saw the balloons, I was grinning ear to ear and said, "How wonderful! All the colors of flowers without the worry of keeping the cats from eating them!" Thanks, hubby and kids; love you so much!

These made me smile so I wanted to share that smile with you.

Another year older (yes)...wiser? (remains to be seen)...but definately HAPPIER!! Here's to the coming year...it's going to be great!

Serenity

2009-02-25T09:31:00.003-05:00

New Leaves?

2009-02-15T20:22:00.005-05:00

Blue sky...

Moss celebrating a sudden thaw...

New leaves...

Ta Da! Another Redo!

2009-02-10T21:47:00.008-05:00

From this...

To this...

Remember the Handspun BFL from February 2008 blog post? It started off as a "Blue Jean Lace Leaf Shawl". It was about 1/3rd of the way finished when it was put away for summer. (Sorry, the picture only shows the start of the shawl.)

The Summer issue of "Spin Off Magazine" came and showed Evelyn Clark's "Old Shale Shawl" and immediately I thought of that handspun! The shawl pattern reminded me of waves and yarn over "bubbles" and the yarn colors spoke to me of surf and sand. I knew they would be great together. However, I really loved knitting the lace leaf shawl. So it sat and it sat until I finally got the courage to rip it out and start the "Old Shale". I am very pleased. It's on the list of must finish!!

Hey! This rip, redo and reuse my stash is getting quite fun!

Hot Off The Wheel

2009-02-09T09:31:00.006-05:00

We've had a bit of thawing which is contributing to my spring fever. I am anxious to see some green. So since it is not quite time for Mother Nautre to provide, I searched my fiber stash for something to spin this weekend. The top bobbin is apalca/merino/silk. The bottom bobbin is angora/merino/silk.

Spinning commenced thruout the weekend and here they are plied together. YUM! Aproximately 500 yards 2 ply from 3.6 oz.

I firmly believe that yarn will tell you what it wants to become. This yarn had a definate opinion!! Who am I to argue?

Rip, Rip, Redo, Recreate and Rainbows

2009-02-02T11:00:00.012-05:00

I have been reassessing my stash lately and my unfinished projects. My goal is to determine which ones deserve my time and talent. Those are the ones that I will truly love to work on and will truly enjoy for years to come. Some stash or some projects just don't inspire me anymore, so those will be weeded out or maybe recreated into something I do love. Things change, ideas change, priorities change, people change...it's all a process...

Well, WAY WAY back in my October 2007 post, I was working on a diagonal knitted scarf with Noro Silk Garden color #224. I loved the yarn and the scarf pattern was a delight to knit. However the yarn color combination and the way it knitted up, really looked awful with my coat. So I ripped out the yarn right after I finished the scarf and saved it for later...

This weekend, inspiration hit! And now those couple of balls of Noro told me that they wanted to be part of a cardigan! Imagine that! So who am I to argue? Cast on I did! Add one more WIP to the knitting basket!

Often I find that something I am inspired to work on, shows up in nature around me, whether it is a certain color, a certain pattern, etc. Look what showed up on my kitchen floor this morning...

I guess I'm seeing stripes!

A Spinner's Legos?

2009-02-02T09:05:00.004-05:00

I'm building clouds...square, rectangular fleecy clouds...blocks to build an igloo or maybe a castle... Doesn't it look like a spinner's dream Lego??

I have been washing fleece and in an attempt to protect it at night from kitties who may snuggle in it, drag it around the house and/or become amorous with it, (Yes, my male cats, Tigger and Jaguar are enamored with the soft warm clean fleece.) I stored it in a laundry basket overnight. The next day, when I went to spread it out for an additional day of drying, this is the shape that occurred. Very cool!

Spanky, the wonderful Finn who donated his fleece, was washed last spring. However, he was put aside to be rewashed at a later date since the tips of the wool were still dirty. So I proceeded to open the locks and rewash in small batches. Here he is drying by the furnace vent in all his radiant washed glory.

In an attempt to knit, spin, dye and create more this coming year, I finished washing Spanky and sent him off to the mill with some of his other wooly friends who have been taking up residence in my home. They will be processed into roving. I hope to receive this batch back by the end of February. I will post before and after pictures at that time. In the meantime, I am anxiously awaiting some great spinning days ahead full of wonderful fibery goodness!

January

2009-01-23T16:14:00.006-05:00

When January comes and the snow blankets the ground, I tend to "hibernate" after a busy holiday season.

It's a time for finishing projects and taking inventory of knitting and spinning works in progress, unfinished objects and ideas for new projects that I want to start. Sometimes I feel like I'm buried with things to do.

Then little by little as I "whittle" away, needles clicking, spinning wheel whirling, projects do eventually get finished one by one. I start to see a bit of daylight. AND dream of things to come in the new year.

Hidden Talents

2008-09-10T10:57:00.002-04:00

I have a confession to make! I am struggling with my SLOW dial up service and am having a hard time uploading photos to any site, here, Ravelry, etc. It has been going on for quite some time now hence one of the reasons for lacking blogs. Let's face it. It's just not as fun to explain or to show what I'm doing without the pictures! Be patient. I am trying to find alternative online service.

In the meantime, I came across this and thought it was fun. Enjoy!

Your Hidden Talent

You are both very knowledgeable and creative.

You tend to be full of new ideas and potential - big potential.

Ideas like yours could change the world, if you build them.

As long as you don't stop working on your dreams, you'll get there.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

I'm Back!!!

2008-08-22T08:14:00.002-04:00

Holy Smokes, Batman!! Time has gone way too fast. It was a very busy spring and summer and now that the kids are back in school, I hope to play catch up with knitting, spinning and blogging! It was a wonderful summer and we travelled quite a bit in July. I'll share pics later.

Since it's been awhile between blogs, I feel like I almost have to introduce myself again. To get back into the swing of things, the following was an introduction into a Ravelry group and I thought I'd share it here. Feel free to use the same questions to use on your blog so we can get to know each other better.

Knitting or Crochet or????? Knitting mostly; haven’t done crochet in years.
Do you drink Tea or Coffee? Tea, herbal or noncaffeinated, like to blend different looseleaf teas at whim
Are you Sane or crazy? A little bit of this and a little bit of that… makes life more interesting that way! :-D
Do you have a Cat, dog or ?? Both, 80 lb Rough Coat Collie, 4 cats THEN (at my part time job: 2 lions, 1 cougar, 2 white tigers, 5 golden tigers and 2 black leopards)
Favourite Flowers? Daffodils are my absolute favorite, violets make me smile
Favourite Foods? CHOCOLATE…favorite is DeBrand’s Key Lime Truffle!!!
Favourite season/time of year? Autumn, beautiful colors, warm sun, cool breeze, clear blue sky
Are you a morning or night person? A night person
What is one thing that makes you happy? Nature
What is one thing that irritates you? People who are cruel to children and animals
Country or Countries you’d like to visit? Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New Zealand

Silly String, Serenades, Salamanders and Snakes???

2008-03-16T13:10:00.004-04:00

Sorry no pictures this post. I have been having too much fun caught up in the utter silliness of the day!

I was awakened this morning by a rampage of my husband and two children screaming "Happy Birthday!" and spraying me with Silly String! Pink, blue and yellow strings covered me, my pj's, my bed, etc. better than any Black Widow spider could even dream of! Haha.

After escaping the confines of Silly String, I followed them downstairs only to see a Happy Birthday Banner and tons of balloons being weighted down by my children's stuffed animals. Simba, our 80 lb Collie, caught up in the commotion was parading around with a balloon tied onto his collar and bringing me his toys. Mr. J., my son, was serenading me with a helium induced munchkin voice and then decided to play "The Chipmunks" CD. Only to have my hubby and Miss A., my daughter, tie ribbons onto two of the cats tails as they whirled and twirled in time to the music. Yes it was pandamonium; however, it was the best birthday morning I've ever had! We took a moment in the celebration to each grab a helium balloon or two and step outside into the morning. We each made silent wishes and watched them float away into the sunshine.

We proceeded to go to the Potawatomi Inn for breakfast where the chatty omelet man flippantly said "Happy Birthday" as he dished my omelet on a plate. I laughed and said, "Thank you. It actually is my birthday!" We both laughed at the coincidence. A waitress overheard us and next thing I know I am being serenaded with a candle in a blueberry muffin with ice cream by a flabbergasted waitress. The reason why she was flabbergasted is as she did her "presentation", the next table said, "You have the wrong table. The birthday is over here." And then she looked at the table to the other side of us and said, "So I suppose you are going to tell me you have a birthday too." The funny part is, they did too. What are the chances of 3 tables in a row having a birthday on the same day?? J's comment was, "That's Random!" Haha. Too funny.

We finished a great brunch and then went down to the beach and walked out onto the ice of Lake James. It was about 27 degrees and nippy but sunny. Miss A. and I continued walking thru the forest path to the Nature Center while hubby and J. got the car to meet us there. At the Nature Center, we serendipitously happened to arrive when they were feeding the critters. So we saw, frogs, toads, turtles, salamanders, and snakes being fed. The kids loved it; especially A., who LOVES all things froggy and toadish and was able to help feed them. And hey, how often is it that you can see a rattlesnake fed on your birthday?

Thanks, family for the fun and the smiles! I love you all very much!

Twirl A Whorl

2008-03-15T11:55:00.004-04:00

Sometimes loads of enjoyment comes from the simplest of things. I haven't felt like spinning on the wheel lately or knitting much. So I started to just twirl my whorl for awhile. I have a bunch of little leftovers of dyed fibers that I've acquired throughout the years. Some are Cherry Hill Tree's Powder Puffs purchased here. You can get an assortment of 65 little "puffs" that total 6 oz. They are used for needle felting but are fun to dink around with on a spindle. I'd like to eventually spin and ply a whole bunch of little skeins of different colors/fibers/hand dyes/solids...you name it. Put them all into a basket (just like the cover of Spin Off Magazine Spring 2003) and then just play by knitting them into something scrappy. I've always had a fondness for playing with bits of color and textures in my rughooking and quilting. Now I would like to play more with them in my knitting.

Here is the spindle I am using. Don't you just love the little rabbits chasing each other? I picked this one and some bright roving to brighten the days a bit until spring is finally here. I purchased this spindle 6 years ago from here. When I saw Lynne Vogel's hummingbird spindle in "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook", I wanted to try one too. By the way, that one book originally gave me the inspiration to learn to spin and knit again. The color combinations of her hand dyed rovings and knitted pieces are wonderful! I automatically knew what I wanted to do with my own dyeing experience from rughooking!

In the meantime, I'll keep twirling my whorl for awhile. I had forgotten how much fun it was and how little increments of time here and there can really add up. So sing along with me...

"Here comes Peter Woolly Tail. Hopping down the spinning trail. Hippity Hoppity, yarn is on it's way!"

Great Things Come In Small Packages and a FO

2008-03-11T10:00:00.006-04:00

Great things come in small packages. Look what came in the mail for me yesterday! It was like receiving little flowers from the mailman. I recently joined BlankieMania group on Ravelry where we are doing Shelly Kang's Sock Blankie from leftover sock yarn. On this site, Ann agreed to swap some sock yarn leftovers with me. This is the wonderful box I received from her. The amazing thing is, they are all new yarns for me and mine were new to her also. Thanks, Ann!

So...I need to pull out this and get working on it again....

Thanks to Shelly Kang's wonderful idea, I started using up some of my leftover sock yarn and scraps from friends. I started this blanket before I moved and it has been hibernating for most of the past year. It is a LONG term project for me. Iwant to wait until I get a variety of sock scraps...so if you have any, send them my way! I'll probably finish it when I am 193 but it is fun to pull it out once in awhile and add onto it. It waits patiently and enjoys seeing the light of day once in a while! It will be seeing more sunshine soon as I work on the new colors.

For years, I used to quilt. I loved to handpiece and handquilt. When my husband saw this blanket in a basket one day he said, "Hey! You're quilting again!". It does remind me of a crazy quilt. I think that's the fun of it. I get to play with colors, each striping yarn looks different knitted into different squares and I also get the instant satisfaction of finishing something...a square!

Speaking of finished objects and great things come in small packages. I will be mailing the Peaks and Valleys Scarf to my SIL, Penny, this week. It is from Socks That Rocks Lightweight yarn, color Chapman Springs. I asked her to pick her favorite colorway. The pattern I adapted from the "Peaks and Valleys" sock pattern from Mountain Colors.

I have a previous post on it. I laughingly call it my "Scarf of Perserverance" since it started as a shawl. Then I thought she would get more use from a scarf. Then I swatched several different patterns; had one I loved and the yarn pooled so I went back to the drawing board to try a new pattern. Then I had the scarf more than halfway finished only to realize the next time I took it out that about 8 inches of borders were knitted wrong while I was knitting by feel on a dark car trip. SO...it was easier to rip back than repair... with all this and much time hibernating in between, I am glad it is finally finished. I absolutely love it. I think this pattern really enhances the yarn and vice versa. Hope she likes it too!

Afghan and Lace Leaf Love

2008-02-19T11:26:00.010-05:00

TA DA!! I thought I would share the progress of the Noro Silk Garden Afghan. It is currently 2 feet long. I will post it when it is finished. AND I will share the pattern with you on my blog at that time. It is mostly a "weekend" afghan in that it is my main weekend knitting. However, it did not get a chance to be worked on this weekend. Other things ensued.

It was mid 40's, rainy and windy on Saturday before the next cold spell hit. (Note: It is 10 below windchill today.) I was not up to par over the weekend to do much of anything while I was battling the sniffles. Besides that, I was just plain sick of snow, ice and winter. So I decided that I needed a bit of spring knitting. A shawl...hmmm...with a colorway named Herb Garden, who could refuse?
So I got out a skein of Alpaca Sox by Classic Elite and cast on for the Blue Jeans Lace Leaf Shawl. I wanted something that would fire the old neurons in my sluggish and stuffy brain but not put it into overload. The picture does not do the yarn justice. It is lovely, soft, subtle shades of grey blue, olive and gold. The pattern was fun but the yarn was too subtle of colors for my rainy day knitting. A handspun skein from my stash kept calling very insistently to be knit. I finally, no willpower at all, succumbed to this...
It is approximately 5 oz of Blue Face Leceister spun as a singles yarn at about 668 yards. It has been in my stash for a LONG time. Noticing the yarn was spun thick/thin varying from fingerweight to sport/dk, I know that I spun this in my early spinning days. It was from a nonrepeatable roving hand dyed by Lynne Vogel of Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook Fame. I loved the aqua, turquoise, tan colorway from the moment I saw it. It reminds me of a far away exotic beach filled with surf and sand. (Hey, give me a break. I live in NE Indiana where it is 10 below at the moment for heaven's sake. A girl has got to have a dream!)

I spun it as a single to get the most yardage out of the roving and to keep the colors vibrant. So being the very impulsive and fickle knitter that I am...Herb Garden was dropped like a hot potato and I cast on this....

It is soft, light, lofty and engaging. It makes me wonder why I don't knit EVERYTHING with handspun. It was just what I needed to perk me up! I am definately feeling the Lace Leaf Love!! :-D (Eventhough as all lace knitters know, it looks like nothing but a bunch of Ramen Noodles before it is blocked.) It is amazing that we can get excited over a bumpy lump of nothingness!

I think this will have to become a priority project. (SHHH...don't tell the others; they tend to get jealous!) I can't wait to see it finished and blocked!

Afghan Inspirations

2008-02-09T12:56:00.000-05:00

We've been in the new house for a year now. It is interesting how many of the things we have "collected" (using that term loosely) over the years seem to have a place in this new house as if they were meant to be. For instance, my husband brought home this print one year and it sat in our old basement forever, never finding the right place. It was instantly welcomed in our new home above the fireplace as if it were purchased exactly for that spot.

Our living room is very neutral with tan couches and chair so I wanted to bring in a little more color into this room and emphasize the colors in the print. So last spring I happened to come along a colorway of Noro Silk Garden that I thought would be wonderful. It was one of those instances where the moment I saw it, it had to be mine. It was #245 ( last picture). I started blocks for the Lizard's Ridge Afghan but after completing two, it was stashed in the closet for later. I realized I did not want to do that afghan with this colorway.
So this January was a month for reading, looking over old "Spin Off" magazines, taking a break from spinning and very little knitting. It was like I was in hibernation mode. I didn't feel like working on anything in particular. However, that afghan wiggled it's way back to the forefront of my brain.
I tried several different patterns and ripped them all out. Then all of a sudden, last Saturday, I sat and played with a few stitch patterns. I knew I wanted something simple to make the most of the colorways. I knew I needed something simple because my brain still seems to be in hibernation mode.
So I cast on and ripped and cast on and ripped, until I found the right pattern for what I wanted. All of a sudden, I was excited about knitting this and I found myself picking it up at odd moments and watching it slowly grow.
And then...as it frequently happens with me...I find that I am working with the colors in my surroundings. Often I am knitting away and then notice, "Hey, that's like what I'm knitting!" My eyes focus on the "malachite" green tiles of the fireplace, the gold, copper, grey, black and touches of blue in the print above the fireplace. Looking out the window, I see the dark bark of the trees with touches of white snow and shadowy greys, along with the brown crispy leaves and the evergreens hinting a promise of the green to come. And...unconsciously, with the foggy, snowy grey days of winter, I wanted to bring more light into our home and I recently purchased simple candles. I found inexpensive glass containers and I added colored pebbles (anything to bring nature indoors)...but look at the colors...hmmm. Last but not least, is the quilt from my Aunt Marilyn which is the last thing I see at night and the first thing I see in the morning as it covers me while I dream.
So, I guess it's no surprise that this is the yarn I picked. Although it has been stashed away until recently, my subconscious has been working on this project for quite some time. Now I am off to curl up and knit my afghan and take comfort in it's warmth as it continues to grow. Hmmm...maybe a hot cup of tea and a good book would also be welcome.

Finished Objects!! Finally able to post...

2008-01-20T10:13:00.000-05:00

Whoo Hoo!! With Blogger download problems this month and extremely SLOW dial up service, it has been extremely frustrating to try to blog. Hopefully things are on the mend.

Here is the 2nd Noro Striped Scarf which I knit for a surprise for a good friend of mine, Judy, in WI. I used Noro Silk Garden: 2 balls of #34 olive/brown/lavender and 2 balls of #88 soft neutrals of tan/grey/lt green. I loved how it turned out. The pictures here make it brighter than it actually appears.

I finished it at the end of the year but I had to wait for Judy to receive it and for Blogger to work in order to post it. Thankfully, she loves it too. With this cold snap, hopefully it will be a welcome addition to her wardrobe.

The Felted Kitty Bed is finished and since I held one strand of alpaca and one strand of miscellaneous, Noro Silk Garden, grey merino and handspun together, I used up 1022 yards of stash which goes towards my knitting a mile for Stash Knit Down 2008. YIPPEE. I followed Wendy Knits pattern but did an extra increase row and knit several rows after that. For the decreases, I did 3 decrease rows with 5 knitted rows after each decrease. It blocked to a diameter of 17". I wanted it bigger to accomodate various sizes of cats: 5 lbs, 7 lbs, 14 lbs and 17 lbs. Since my colors were so muted, there was not a lot of variation in the piece after it was felted. After finishing this one, I decided that the cats would just have to share. One was enough for this household. So....

Olive has graced it with her mouse on a string but hasn't taken to sleeping in it.

Jaguar and Pinky were snoozing and grooming.
And Tigger found it a cozy place to cuddle. Good thing I made it extra large! All of this was done on the first day it was on the floor. So the results are in....(drumroll please)....

3 out of 4 cats prefer the Felted Kitty Bed. :-D

Pinky's Seal of Approval

2008-01-14T18:21:00.001-05:00

Mary asked me if I thought the cats would actually use the Felted Kitty Bed. Pinky couldn't even wait until it was finished and felted! She snuggled right up in my lap while I was knitting. I am SO close to getting the knitting finished; I keep adding odds and ends of yarn. However, it is quite the challenge to knit in the round with a kitten inside! :-D

Stash Knit Down and Kitty Beds

2008-01-10T13:55:00.001-05:00

Noro Silk Garden #88 and Alpaca With a Twist worsted from my stash to start the Knit A Mile Challenge on Stash Knit Down 2008. The purpose of the challenge is to knit a mile, 1760 yards, out of yarn from your stash from Jan 5th to Feb 19th. I've been a little late in starting. I have a few smaller projects picked. However, I decided to knit Wendy Knit's Felted Kitty Bed. So I started this one Tues afternoon. This is the progress so far:
I love how the one strand of the Noro Silk Garden and one strand of the alpaca are knitting up together. I can't wait to see it finished. It should be soft and cuddly.

Why the urge to knit kitty bed(s)? Well, if you read my post, Animal Tales, you already know that I have two cats , Tigger and Jaguar, which were abandoned on the road as kittens. We found them just in time. They are great cats and deserve kitty beds. However, they are now just getting acquainted with their two new sisters:

Meet Olive. In my post, Animal Tales, you may have read how my daughter lost her best buddy, Shadow the hamster. Well to fix a broken heart, she needed a new buddy. So last Saturday, we found Olive at the Humane Society. She is a little over a year old, is 7 lbs of fluff. Poor Olive has been at the shelter since September. There is no other history on her. My daughter picked her out from a roomful of cats and said to me, "Mom, meet Olive." She said the name just popped into her head as soon as she looked into Olive's HUGE bright green eyes (which look like olives). Haha. Cute name so it stuck. Olive came home yesterday and is in kitty quarantine in the downstairs bathroom for three days while she is being treated for fleas and earmites. She is a wonderful, laid back, lovey cat who likes to chatter to you. Meet Pinky. She just came home Tues night. A. had seen Pinky's picture posted on a pet store bulletin board and that was where we were headed when we stopped at the Humane Society. As soon as I held Pinky, it was love at first sight (or purr). She is a little lovey motorboat purr baby. She is a Blue Cream Torbie ( I'll have to look that up on the internet as I've never heard that term before). Anyway she is buff/cream colored with light grey and her belly is very light cream with grey dots. It looks like a snow leopard's. Very cute. She has the most beautiful amber eyes but when her pupils are dilated, her eyes look so dark compared to the rest of her.

Pinky was named by the animal rescue foster home. She is 5 months old and ended up in foster care 3 weeks ago. She was found living in a car with a woman and 7 cats. All except Pinky and another kitten were euthanized. How sad! Pinky fostered in a home with 5 dogs and several cats so eventhough she is TINY, she is not fazed at all by our 80 lb Collie, Simba. She takes all the animals in stride. In fact they are more cautious of her than the other way around. Jaguar, 14 lbs, thinks she's fun to watch. Tigger, 17 lbs and scared of his own shadow, chooses not to look at her when she is sniffing him. It's like "if I can't see her, she's not really there." Too funny!

We love the name Pinky. I have a friend, Judy, in WI who has a cat named Pinky and we always loved that cat and name. I apologize for not the greatest of pictures. Neither cat wanted to stay still; they are more interested in being petted.

So it looks like 4 kitty beds will find their way to my knitting needles!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008-01-01T18:10:00.000-05:00

Wishing everyone, laughter, love, health, and prosperity. Enjoy the ones you love and engage in the pursuits that make your soul sing.

Snowed In

2007-12-17T12:42:00.000-05:00

EGADS!! December 17th already?? Things have been quite hectic around here. This is always a crazy time of year in our household but this year seems like time is going WAY too quickly.

I have been scrambling to get some much needed production spinning done for here. The latest batch was 2 lbs of wonderful cashmere/silk blend which will make some lucky soul a beautiful sweater! It is spun DK to light worsted weight. Sorry I didn't check specifics like WPI, etc. Note to self...must document more to share. Thanks Jenny for teaching documenting is important and thanks to you readers for being patient with me. :-) I'm a WIP!
While trying to production spin and trying to knit a Christmas present, I have to admit I'm feeling a little of Yarn Harlot's Christmas deadline insanity this year. Although I don't have the overwhelming knitting schedule she does, I am beginning to feel a little anxiety as the days tick away. Will I get everything done?? To add, my munchkins have been home from school a LOT in the past three weeks starting out with 2 half days for teachers' workshop and ice/fog then 2 full days for an ice storm last week and then again a full day today for a snowstorm. Mother Nature is laughing as she's tampering with my Christmas preparation time.

We seem to be stuck in a weather cycle lately with storms in the Midwest over the weekends. A week ago, we were graced with an ice storm. Luckily, A. and I were able to leave early for the weekend to go to Indianapolis for a much awaited Hannah Montana concert. We drove the 6 hours roundtrip in driving rain, sleet and ice but we made it! All the while I was worried about getting there, getting back and having less spinning time for my deadlines but do you know what?? It doesn't really matter because the look on my 9 year old daughter's face when Hannah came out singing A.'s favorite song was absolutely PRICELESS!! And of course, in our rush to "beat the storm", I hurriedly packed and forgot my camera. DUH! However, it was a fabulous time.
This is the view outside yesterday morning. We woke up to a foot of snow and it was still snowing and blowing until midafternoon. We were definately snowed in.
Just a view of the table and bench on the deck... Isn't it funny? We received about 14 inches total and school was cancelled for today. It was a nice day to be snowed in although an albeit exhausting one. My wonderful hubby, who is in denial about snowstorms, has yet to break down and buy a snowblower. After 7 hours of shovelling out our driveway, (mind you, we live in the country and it is about 400 winding feet downhill to the road) he exhausted as can be, proclaimed, "If I ever get out of here, I am buying a snowblower". Mother Nature won that battle! :-D However, he is my hero. I pooped out after 3 hours of shovelling and bed never felt so good last night!

This was our reward after all the shovelling. The sun finally came out...frosty blue sky and sparkling snow. It was absolutely beautiful!

Stay warm, cozy and safe all of you who are battling the winter weather! I will be travelling later this week so I wish you all the warmest of holiday seasons!

Ice, Snow and Knitted Daffodils?

2007-12-02T20:26:00.000-05:00

DECEMBER ALREADY??? Mother Nature decided to start December with a winter storm watch from yesterday afternoon until this morning. It was 15 degrees Friday night and that was without the windchill factor. It had been a chilly week and a windy one. We got a good dusting of snow which then turned to freezing rain and later just rain. As you could tell from the picture I took of the driveway, with the reflections of the trees, it was wet this afternoon!

I'm behind in my knitting and spinning projects so I took advantage to cozy in last night and work on them. Sorry, no pictures, some are for Christmas. I'll show later. However when it warmed up above freezing today and was raining like crazy, I took advantage of the weather for something else...
YES, that's ice and yes, that is a daffodil bulb. I have been late in getting my bulbs in this year. It is not the first time I've planted after a light snow. However, it warmed up enough that the ground was saturated and soft. I had at least another 30 bulbs to plant out of 70 or so. So out I went with raincoat and trowel. In hopes that I can see this, next spring.

We moved here last December. In the spring, one of the things I missed the most was my daffodils. At our old house in WI, I scattered bulbs every year for about 6 years near the woods. I would stand outside and toss the bulbs in the air and wherever they landed, is where they were planted. Later on, I tossed tulip bulbs, grape hyacinths, snowdrops and crocus also. Each spring, after a grey long winter, I would be excited to see my own sunshine in the backyard.
So last spring, when I was flowerless, I purchased this yarn. It is a soft buttery yellow 70% baby alpaca, 30% silk laceweight. It is Alpaca With a Twist, Fino. Along with the yarn, I picked up Fiber Trends, "Spring Blossoms Shawl" by Eugen K. Beugler. I figured since I didn't have daffodils yet at my new home, I'd have to knit some! So when the grey winter days stretch out too long this year, I will be knitting my daffodils and awaiting the arrival of a little sunshine in the yard. I love surprises and hopefully some of the daffodil bulbs will survive deer and critters.
A daffodil story to share...many years ago, when my children were still tiny, my husband was out of the country on business during our birthdays. Our birthdays are two days apart and in the middle of March when it is still cold and dreary in WI. Anyway, one night, I had an unexpected knock on the door. I was alone with my little ones and it was after 9 pm so I was startled that anyone would be knocking. I went to the door and turned on the porchlight to find my mom standing there with a huge grin on her face and a bouquet of daffodils. She had picked the daffodils in her yard that morning and had driven all the way from Arkansas to Wisconsin (about 11 hours) to wish me Happy Birthday!! What a total surprise! I loved it and it will always be a great memory. I think of it every spring when I see daffodils. Thanks, MOM! I love you.

Animal Tales

2007-11-26T09:00:00.000-05:00

I am thankful for a lot of things in my life but I want to take a special moment to be thankful for the animals who share our lives. This is Shadow, my 9 year old daughter's "baby". Shadow is a Russian Hamster. When we moved to another state during Christmas Break last year, my daughter had a really rough time. She is shy and to uproot everything and everyone she has ever known was especially difficult. She needed a friend. So she picked Shadow. Shadow has helped her tremendously by being her little buddy that she could confide in whenever she didn't feel safe to talk about her feelings and frustrations. As A. (my daughter) said, "Shadow gave me confidence".

We came home this holiday weekend to find that Shadow had passed away. She was struggling for a few weeks but it was heartbreaking when my daughter carried her hamster to me and said, "My baby has died." A. cried all night and most of the rest of the weekend. She talked that she wished she had one more moment with Shadow and also talked about how she wished she had given Shadow something special.

I told her that animals that share our lives are gifts. Shadow's gift to her was to give her support and confidence until she could make new friends and get comfortable in her new home. I told her that A's gift to Shadow was her heart. She cared and loved Shadow and gave her a good home and took good care of her. I told her that it hurts so much because we love so much and although that doesn't feel good right now, it is a good thing. So we will take one day at a time to ease the heartache and when A. feels she is ready for another "buddy", we'll find one. Mommy is as heartbroken as A.

Meet Jaguar (left) and Tigger the supercats. When my daughter was potty training, she was showing her obstinate side. We had an older cat, Gracie, then and A. wanted kittens so badly. However, she knew she wanted two and one had to be black. Dad promised her we'd find kittens if she would just use the potty. Well, potty training came and went and we could not find the "right" kittens. We looked everywhere and A. was not satisfied. My husband and I decided two kittens would be better because then they could keep each other company since Gracie was growing old.

We were travelling back from a park one night in late August. It had been raining the previous days and the air was cool in the 50's. It was dark and we were travelling a country road. Up ahead there were two sets of eyes in the middle of the road. I thought they were baby raccoons. Hubby stopped the car and went to investigate. There were two of the tiniest kittens huddled together to keep warm. They were not used to humans and wouldn't come. A french fry that the kids had left over was the bait. The poor things were starving. We bundled them up in a baby blanket and took them home.

Many weeks went into nursing these kittens back to health before they even had enough weight to be vaccinated. They were flea infested, had their whiskers chewed off, and were only an inch wide behind the ribcage. The vet said we found them just in time; they would not have made it through the night. Unbelievably, these were the kittens A. described and wanted and even more unbelievably, they were not from the same litter. They had found each other and had survived by keeping each other warm.

Both are very pampered housecats. Jaguar is the independent one but is a huge "lovey" whenever the kids go to bed or when A. is crying. Tigger, although now 18 lbs, is afraid of his own shadow and is a "Mama's Boy". He follows me around and talks to me until I sit down to pet him and snuggle. They have been wonderful and we love them so.

The cats' gift to me was being able to love and care for them during a difficult time in my life after my father died from cancer. I was lost and needed someone who needed me even if it was two little flea bitten kittens. They have been a blessing in more ways than one.

Simba, my 80 lb. gentle giant, is a Rough Coat Collie, just like Lassie. He is now 4 years old. I grew up with dogs but have always been more of a cat person until Simba. A. (my daughter) always wanted a dog. Let's face it; she would bring home anything that moves. Haha. J. (my son) never showed an interest when he was younger and also seemed to be afraid of dogs. But then again, J. was a serious young boy who tended to worry about a lot of things including playing outside by himself (until Simba came along). Eventhough he is two years older than his sister, when he was little, he relied on A. to always be by his side. She was like his protector.

Frequenting zoos and pet stores is a favorite past time of ours. We love animals. So one cold day in January, we stopped at a pet store while out running errands. We always love to pick our favorites. Well, Simba was mine. He was as small as our cats at the time and just a little bundle of fur. I asked if I could play with him and the most amazing thing happened. My son, who never showed an interest in dogs, could not wait to be lifted over the cage to play with the puppy. He laughed and he played and he said, "I could play with this one all day long." It was amazing.

After a few days of debating, and much to my husband's chagrin, I wanted to get Simba. We brought him home on a night with 26 below windchill factor and going outside with him every two hours was an event! He was so tiny that he could not climb the one porch step by himself. This dog was smart! He was bell trained, potty trained in about a week and he has learned so much. He is the only self disciplining dog I know who will put himself in his kennel if he does something wrong while we are out. Usually, he is feeling guilty for sleeping on the couch. Haha. Since we moved here, he has full reign of the couches so doesn't feel the guilt any more. He is also so well disciplined that he will not take people food that is placed right next to his nose until he is told he can do so. By the way, one of his favorites is watermelon. If we bring one home, he will follow you until you cut him a piece.

He has a natural herding instinct. In our old house he liked to herd the cats back upstairs, the kids to the couch and my mom to a certain couch. I kid you not. The kids were used to playing that game with him but with my mom, it was a different story. My husband travelled a lot and I was thankful to have Simba who made me feel protected. My mom came to visit one time when my husband was away. She would wake up earlier than I and come downstairs. Simba, not being aggressive by any means but also being protective of the kids and me, would gently nudge my mom to sit on the corner of the couch. When she would sit down, he would bring her his toys as a reward. Then he would patiently sit beside her and watch her until I came downstairs. I would have to tell him it was ok and he'd let mom move around the house. Too funny!

Here at the new house, he is "Guardian of the Hill". He loves to stand or to sit on our hill outside the front of the house and keep watch. He will herd deer back to the woods. He never crosses into the woods; he knows his boundaries with nothing more than being walked thru the yard and being told yes or no. So the deer don't pay too much attention to him when they are near the perimeter of the woods. However, he will chase them back in if they are in the yard. He is intelligent, beautiful, so very gentle and we love him dearly.

Simba's gift to me has been a sense of "peace and presence". He has always been there when my husband was travelling or when we were separated 6 months during our WI/IN move. I could sleep easier knowing that I was not "alone" in the house with two small children. Simba would alert me if something was amiss. As I said, he is my "gentle giant" who is all heart and soul and our guardian.

I feel blessed for not only the people who come into my life but also the animals who join my life. They are truly gifts.

Inspiration: Spinning Jenny

2007-11-19T08:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no pictures today. Remember? I was the DUH who forgot to take a camera to the spinning workshop here to learn from Jenny. You may want to check out Beth's blog or Jenny's for pictures. However, I do want to share some insights from my experience of taking two full day classes. Friday's class was Spinning Thick, Medium and Thin Yarns. Saturday's class was Plying Techniques. I learned so many tips that it would make your head spin to hear them all. (I took 20 small pages of notes and that does not include the handouts!). I could describe all the details until you say, "Egads, girl! Get over it already!" but I choose not to. You could learn every one of these techniques in various ways. I choose to put a more personal twist on my experience.

I truly believe there are no coincidences and that once a need/wish/want is planted in your brain and heart, avenues open up to guide you towards that journey. That said, I have been feeling "stuck". Spinning and knitting for about 4 years, I still consider myself a newbie. There is so much more to experience and learn. Once I learn a new technique, it opens a door to a myriad of others I want to try. I love to learn; I love challenges, and I love to grow.

I currently production spin but I have been feeling frustrated and want to take it further. I want to be in more control of the outcome and not have to rely on other people's shipments of fiber or deadlines. I don't mind deadlines. However, when I am waiting on other people, it sometimes makes it difficult to plan or schedule my own time. This is further compounded by a very busy husband and two very busy children. I have been feeling anxiety and frustration where I want to find balance.

I have been feeling "stuck" in my abilities. I love to experiment, to create, to challenge myself. However, since first sitting down with Lisa, and watching her spin which opened the world of spinning to me, I have been basically self taught. That includes anything that I have read or tried on my own. Yes, I can make nice yarn but I wanted to know the why's and the how's and have some guidelines. So, once I understood the mechanics, I could troubleshoot, plan, experiment and control what I'm doing. Also, once you learn the rules, it gives you a base knowledge and a starting point of tweaking and bending the rules. See, I do really have a bit of renegade in me; the nuns didn't repress all of that. Haha. That being said, it is very hard if you are on your own to decipher what is the "best" approach from myriads of differing opinions in print.

I said aloud to no one in particular (possibly my cats and Collie) that this was the year I wanted to learn all the options my wheel could do. Hey, give me a break! I often talk aloud when I am home by myself! Sometimes it keeps my sanity if only briefly. Haha. With so many wheels on the market, I have my favorites but before I ever invested in another wheel, I wanted to learn more about my own. I love my Schacht Matchless Double Treadle and would NEVER sell it. However, Sadie (my wheel) may want a bigger sister someday...a Saxony production wheel. It is an investment; so I wanted to learn all my options. First, however, I felt I needed to know the basics of wheels in general, different ratios, etc.

Another thing I said to myself, Tigger, Jaguar or Simba, was that I really wish I knew more about spinning so that I could do more. I have quite the stash of wonderful rovings but I promised myself that before I touched my favorites, I would learn how to get from point A to point B. For instance, if I had a sweater in mind that I wanted to spin for and I wanted a certain weight of yarn, say DK, how do I use that fleece to the best of my ability to produce a lofty, consistent, luxurious yarn? Or if I want to spin laceweight the size of frog's hair. What??? You've never seen frog's hair?? Okay that's what I mean...so fine and delicate that it would make angels sing. HOW do I do it?? It is very difficult to learn to ask the right questions about something if you have not experienced enough to learn what to ask. I wanted to learn as many basics as I could so that I could try on my own and then grow to ask the questions that would eventually follow. AND I wanted to meet people who could answer these questions.

I know that is a pretty tall order and I may want it all. People say you can't have everything you want. Well do you know what I say? Why not? If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way. One of the best things I have learned over the years is that when I get to a point where I am "stuck" or frustrated in my life, it is a time to sit back and reflect a bit because it usually means big changes are coming. Change can be hard, change can be scary but change is also wonderful and exhilarating! I know I am headed for a big change now but in what direction or where it will take me is the mystery. I will try to remain open and relish the adventure.

On my personal quest to grow in the spinning realm, I was fortunate to hear that Beth was hosting Jenny Bakriges at her shop. The title of the classes grabbed me...short, sweet, to the point and describing what I wanted to learn. I have to admit, so sorry Jenny, that I had NO idea who Jenny was. Being a newbie to blogging, Beth did point me to her blog and I did peruse the last post or two. Plus after seeing Jenny's portfolios at the workshop, I had realized I have been reading her articles in Spin Off without even making the connection. However, I went into this workshop totally without any preconceptions, without any expectations. and without any specific questions. AND I AM SO GLAD I DID!!!

I am so fortunate to have crossed paths with Jenny. She is a woman who appears to be very comfortable in her own skin. She is gracious, giving, genuine, diplomatic and absolutely hilarious. She presents TONS of information in a fun, creative and very entertaining fashion. It was wonderful to spend two days with her. Her knowledge of spinning techniques was astounding; her personal stories and shared experiences were fascinating and her willingness to take the time to trouble shoot and help her students obtain the comfort level they each needed was truly impressive. She makes spinning intuitive.

I was so impressed by her heartfelt words spoken of her mentor, Rita Buchanan. I believe we owe a lot to others who have "gone before us". I have always said that "Not one of us is as great as all of us together". No matter how "expert" we are in a field, we can always learn and grow from others. It was truly inspiring to meet Jenny and see her in action, represent qualities that I admire. I believe when someone does a job well, they need to know it. Life is not a competition. It does not hurt us in any way to bolster another person. Often as women, we tend to downplay our accomplishments in the attempt to not come across as conceited or to offend anyone. That is all the more reason to tell someone when they have done a good job. JENNY BAKRIGES, you do phenomenal work and I thank you wholeheartedly for your dedication and willingness to share with others.

That being said, if you ever get the chance to take a class from Jenny; run don't walk! Grab your wheel and go! Do not hesitate. Consider hiring her for a workshop for your guild. We need people like Jenny to expand our spinning horizons and let us expand her horizons by bringing her out of VT more! Haha. Thank goodness a genuinely talented and gifted person is willing to share her knowledge!

Finally, let me take this just one step further, we all have talents to share that someone may really want to learn. We all don't have to jump on a cross country circuit to do that. Please take the time to consider what you can share in your everyday life. It might even be as simple as teaching your new knitting neighbor how to knit socks (Hi Sue!). The simplest of things may actually change someone's life or at least open doors for them. Just think about it.

Introspection

2007-11-18T08:38:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful weekend at a spinning workshop which I will discuss in the next few posts as I get some time in to rest and process the myriad of ideas in my brain. After the first full day of class and a wonderful evening with new found fiber friends, I was driving to a hotel and something interesting happened. I was faced with insights on myself.

I am an observer. I love people and I am always fascinated by them. Their eye contact, body language, facial expression, ease of laughter, what is said and what is told by what is left unsaid is amazing to me. The interactions between two people versus group dynamics is fun to watch and to analyze. I love to try to figure out why people do what they do. I am usually pretty good at sensing people's "vibes" which has been a great asset in my life.

That being said, when I turn the tables and look at myself, which I was presented an opportunity to do this weekend, I am constantly learning new things. I love hearing other people's stories but I am hesitant to tell my own. I get so excited about hearing other people's stories that it is often difficult when "on the spot" to share, to think of something to say about me. I am generally not the focus. I guess this presents a challenge in blogging doesn't it? One that I will try to overcome gradually by "coming out of my shell" so to speak.

Which brings me to pictures, I unfortunately did not take a camera this weekend. DUH!! I have a blog now where I want to share my experiences! Why did I not take a camera? First of all, I guess it is ingrained in me from way back when, not to interrupt or disrupt a forum as a show of respect for the person leading it. I know, I know, I need to relax a bit. Hey, in my defense, 8 years of parochial education with handsmacking ruler rapping nuns in charge puts a damper on some very basic instincts to be a "renegade".

Another reason for not taking a camera with me probably goes a lot deeper. I rarely have my picture taken. That being said, I posted a self shot with me holding the camera above so that you can truly see that I exist. Haha. Relish it now folks, pictures of me are usually scarce. My children will probably look back on photos decades from now and say, "Did we really have a mom or was that a figment of our imaginations?" I am usually the one behind the camera taking the photos. So it was very interesting this weekend when Jenny was taking photos while we were spinning. I didn't mind having my photo taken but it was a really weird sensation as to "what does she want me to do in this photo?" Should I look serious and keep spinning with my head down? Should I look up and smile for the world? Or should I jump up and dance gleefully exhibiting my latest handspun? Going back to the ruler rapping nuns, I was not a renegade, I quit laughing or chatting or whatever I was doing at the moment and demurely looked down in "deep concentration" at my wheel. Why???

I'm going to tell you a secret. Come a little closer and listen carefully... I am shy. Now people who really know me say, "YEAH RIGHT!" "Once she gets talking, she never shuts up! Egads!"
Seriously, I was extremely shy as a child. The first 8 years of school were spent with basically the same 14 kids in my class. It varied a bit from year to year but mostly it was 9 girls and 5 boys and then I was thrown into a public high school of 400 people and although I was in gymnastics and cheerleading...yes, I was a cheerleader and pom pom girl. I know some of you are gagging right now! I was considered in the "in crowd" so to speak but I never felt part of the crowd. I was often mistaken as being stuck up when basically I was still extremely shy and overwhelmed by people. Eventhough I loved people, it always surprised and amazed me when they liked me. I was like Sally Field, "They like me! They really like me!" Ha ha. Over the MANY QUADRILLION years since then, it is funny to see that part of that shyness still exists.

A friend once summed it up that I am very careful who I give my heart to. That being said, I will share a few more secrets about me.
I am: humble, extremely grateful, playful, inquisitive, creative, love challenges,intelligent, intuitive, compassionate, passionate and extremely loyal. I love to laugh and be around people who make me laugh. I would give the shirt off my back to you or do anything I humanly can to ease your pain. If nervous or really excited about something, I will "chatter" like a squirrel. (That is in reference of never shutting up.) I find pleasure and greatness in nature and the simplest things. I am a hugger and when my heart encompasses you, look out world; I'll defend you until the day I die. It may take a while to get to know me but all in all, not too bad, eh?

Snow???

2007-11-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

What a difference a few weeks make!
From BRIGHT
To BRISK!!!
Yes, that is snow you see. Northeastern IN has had flurries off and on all day. Mother Nature is trying to tell us that winter is indeed coming. Isn't it amazing how quickly the days go?
Rain, sleet, snow or the dead of night, I am heading off to here tomorrow to have fun with Beth and new fiber friends yet to be met. I am taking two full day spinning workshops from Jenny!

So Mother Nature, bring it on! This brisk weather is great for playing with fiber and happily spinning away at the wheel! I'll update you on what I've learned when I return. Until then, stay cozy and Happy Knitting and/or Spinning!

Starting Mystic Waters Lace Shawl

2007-11-11T12:27:00.000-05:00

I have always loved water. Whether it was playing in mudpuddles or sending leaf boats down the street drainage system during a heavy rain when I was a kid or swimming in anything bigger than a puddle, I have always been naturally drawn to water.
It is mesmerizing how it moves, how the color changes, how the light plays with it and how it changes "mood" with the wind or calm. Now I get to play with a new kind of water: the Mystic Waters Lace Shawl KAL.
This is just the very tip of the iceberg so to speak for a very intricate large shawl. However, it is fascinating to see clue by clue how it is evolving. I love working with the Angel Hair laceweight from here. The yarn is soft, lofty and oh so wonderful with very subtle variations in color.
To add a bit of sparkle and to add a little weight for drape, I am adding beads from my stash along the border. I am only adding them to the top and bottom of the large diamond motifs. They are "Black Opal" colorway beads from my stash and are green/blue/purple/bronze which compliment the subtle yarn variations well. I wanted something very subtle so it would not interfere with the intricacy of the lace pattern.

This is definately a "thinking" knit and I know the progress will be slow. I just started and so I have 3 clues waiting to evolve and the 4th of 8 will come out on Wednesday. I am not so concerned with "catching up". I just want to enjoy the process and being part of my first KAL.

KNIT ON!!

Friday Eye Candy: A FO!!

2007-11-09T09:34:00.000-05:00

This is the Noro Silk Garden 1 x 1 ribbing scarf that I posted in October. You can read more details there. I did make some minor changes to Jared's pattern. I cast on 40 stitches on size 6 needles and slipped the first stitch of every row for a nice edging. Finished size unblocked is 6" x 78". I can't wait to feel how the yarn softens with a gentle soak.
It was a lot of fun to knit because the colors line up in unexpected surprises. It was a relaxing easy project for the times when I just wanted to mindless knitting to relax in front of the tv or in the car.

Unfortunately my pictures cannot show the depth of the colorways. It really is a lot darker in person. I named it my "Fall Into Winter Scarf" because the colors go from bronze/brown/golds/greens/rust/reds to cooler colors of teals/turquoise/purple/grey/black. I rarely do a project twice. However, I might have to cast on another one of these since it is fun to play with the different colorways!! :-D

Shopping My Stash

2007-11-07T10:57:00.001-05:00

Hey! When yarn speaks; who am I to argue? Especially when it can spell with coordinating beads!! Such a deal!! This is going to be my Mystic Waters Shawl. As the clues, keep coming, I am getting further behind so I decided I don't want to spin and dye for it right now. I'm too busy with other things. However, I want to be knitting at least part of this with the KAL group. I was looking thru my stash and here was this beautiful 100% wool laceweight, in Denim colorway from here . It had been a Shoalwater Shawl in progress that was stalled. RIP!! I was ecstatic to have the yarn work so well for my new project! I guess cleaning closets can be fun. Yeah right...okay only sometimes! :-P

I have been shopping my stash or The Lee Store as my husband says. I've been in the mood to reorganize projects and STUFF!! If it is a WIP that I've stalled on, do I want to finish it or frog it? Is this a yarn that I still really love or can I find another use for it? Etc., etc., etc. I happily frogged a shawl in progress for my wonderful SIL. She had some health issues recently and I wanted to knit her a "hug" but I stalled out on the project. It was turning out beautiful but then I really got to thinking that maybe she wasn't the triangular shawl kind of gal. However, she had picked out this STR colorway of Chapman Springs as her fave so I wanted to make something she'd use and love. So I ripped out the triangular shawl and then started a rectangular simple lacey stole/scarf. However, I was not pleased with the pooling of the colors. So having just finished the Peaks & Valleys sock pattern from Mountain Colors, (see previous posts), I though it might work out great for a scarf. WHALAH!! I cast on and knit while I was waiting for a doctor's appointment and I am loving it and the yarn. So eventhough it will be a smaller item, I think it will get more use. I hope she loves it because it still is a "hug" and well wishes for someone I love dearly.

No Mystic Waters Here

2007-10-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

I spun up the second ball of hand dyed roving I had. However after looking at the dimensions of the Mystic Waters Shawl, which is GINORMOUS!!, I won't be using this yarn. Boo hoo sniff sniff! It would be too close to call on the final yardage. I know I wouldn't be able to replicate this particular dye since it was done over a year ago and I don't want to spend all that time knitting the shawl and then running out. So, I need to find another project for this one. I also need to figure out what to use for the Mystic Waters. Back to the drawing board or the spinning wheel as it may be!

Finally! A Project to Do!!

2007-10-25T16:16:00.000-04:00

When I signed up for Spun Stitches, I went through my stash to see what I already had spun to make a shawl. I found this 4 oz skein of BFL, approx 706 yards, single ply between lace and fingering weight. I have been looking for a pattern to knit with it. The other day, I was reading the group posts and I saw the mention of MysticWatersKAL. It was an "AHA" moment. I loved the name of the shawl and the color of the yarn seemed to fit. However, I needed 1200 meters. So back I went into the stash. You have to realize that most of my stash is buried in boxes from a recent move and it is not easily accessible. Anyway, not only did I find another 4 oz of roving that I dyed at the same time but also some beads that would match! EUREKA!! It was serendipity!!
So here is the skein wound into a ball waiting to be cast on and here is the ball of roving waiting to be spun. I know what I'm doing this weekend. I want to spin the second skein so that I can alternate the two skeins in the shawl in case of any variance in thickness of the yarn. If I spin the second skein at approx the same lace to fingering weight, I should have just a teeny bit over what I need for the shawl. Blind faith I tell you! (Not only in the spinning but in the knitting...it's a mystery shawl. ) Keep your fingers crossed! I am excited to be knitting this. I tell you it was meant to be! Haha.

FO: BOOtiful Socks :-D

2007-10-25T09:07:00.000-04:00

Finished!! My first attempt at 2 socks on circular needles; see previous posts. The pattern is Peaks & Valleys socks by Mountain Colors. The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot color Sapphire Trail. It is navy with bits of orange, red and green throughout. Very nice color for this time of year; mysteriously dark and spooky :-D The yarn is 60% Superwash Wool, 25% Mohair, and 15% Nylon. It has a cushy, slightly fuzzy feel and will be nice and cozy to wear. Especially since it is 37 degrees right now as I type this. BRRR!! Fall is here, folks!
Finishing 2 pairs of socks this week, my new sock bag is empty. I love this little bag from Knowknits; I purchased mine from here. I LOVE collecting different bags for knitting and the hot pink of this one really made me smile. It is a lightweight nylon bag which has a snap clip if you want to attach it to a purse or your beltloop if you walk and knit. (Okay, how many people actually do that? It's kind of like rubbing your stomach and patting your head.) Also there is a small loop inside to run your yarn thru so the yarn ball stays down in the bag and there are no tangles. It's a fun little bag.

Updates: Since I mentioned Socks on Sunday posts, have you noticed that it hasn't worked out that way? Oh well! Sometimes life gets in the way of our better plans. And although I don't have any socks on the needles right now....oooh the horrors! Don't worry; I have enough sock yarn to last centuries and I'll be starting a new pair soon!

Also re: Pumpkin Patch socks...they will be frogged and going to a knitting friend of mine who loves them and wants to make them for herself. I love it when things can go to a good home!
The socks that were my trick will be her treat. Such a deal! Happy knitting, everyone!

FO: One Less Pair of Socks on the Needles!

2007-10-23T19:18:00.000-04:00

YIPPEE!! The nights are supposed to get down in the 40's and high 30's this week so these socks will feel oh so cozy! They are made from Austerman from my stash; sorry no label for the colorway. They have a great feel to them...very soft although I really cannot tell the difference of knitting them with the aloe and jojoba oil in the yarn. However, I do LOVE the soft tweedy colors in their yarns. I knit a pair for me in the Denim colorway that I really liked until I caught my 11 year old son (whose feet are bigger than mine), wearing them while playing basketball in the driveway. He was doing so without any shoes. He stretched them out and they showed a lot of wear on the heels from the concrete. GRRR! They are now his socks. So I had to get busy on this pair for me. I just did a simple 2 x 2 ribbing for the cuffs.
Introducing my new sock blockers! I never block my socks to dry. I just dry them flat. However I wanted a way to showcase them better for blog pictures. Thanks to Maryann

I made some quick, easy and inexpensive sock blockers out of a plastic placemat from Walmart. Yes, it is not greatly attractive (I do so love the wooden ones), but when showing socks, the blocker is covered anyway. I could not resist doing this for around $1.50. Look on Maryann's website for her great instructions. I simplified it by just taking a knit sock that fit me and tracing around it on the placemat and cutting it out and then making a duplicate. It took less than 10 minutes and only one placemat. Such a deal!

A Change of Scenery

2007-10-18T17:12:00.000-04:00

I've had a "little one" home from school for the past two days with a 102 degree temp. She decided to reside in the sitting area off the kitchen where she had the dubious honor of "Queen of the Remote Control." This is my usual spinning area where I can watch hummingbirds, birds and critters out this window. Don't you just love Mother Nature's valance curtains? I do. Anyway, after being overloaded with cartoons, I decided for sanity's sake to try a new venue.
I moved my spinning wheel to the living room. It was a blustery rainy day and this was the view from the front window. A little dreary and not many critters out today except for a few hardy birds, chipmunks and squirrels. Usually we have a deer gathering and squirrel a palooza going on. However, if I looked out the back window, this was the gorgeous view taken at the same dreary time of day with no sunlight. Mother Nature is awesome! It just made the day seem so much brighter. What an impact a slightly different view makes! Hmm...maybe that's a lesson to be remembered in everyday life. I hope you have a bright spot in your dreary days too!

Spinning My Wheels

2007-10-16T14:12:00.000-04:00

If you have read my blog when I first started posting, you would already know that I am currently a production spinner. So as much as I would love to be knitting my own things and spinning my own stash, a lot of my time is spent, "spinning my wheels". Haha. Actually, I do all my spinning on my Schacht Matchless wheel which I named Sadie. She was a birthday gift from my family a few years back and I really love that wheel! .... and my family :-D

Here is the latest order that I shippped out today to here. The colors just made me smile when I saw them all together and I thought I'd share. Back to work...I have 70 4 oz skeins to complete by a December deadline and only 8 of these 20 in the picture above count toward that total!

Take time for yourself to do something enjoyable today!

Back to the Pumpkin Patch or the Frog Pond

2007-10-16T09:23:00.000-04:00

After looking at the Pumpkin Patch socks this morning, I have decided that I am not going to knit any further. They will be a project that never was. Haha. Life is too short to be working on socks I won't wear. Oh well, it's one less project in my stash now! On to other things I do enjoy!

Have a good day!

Trick or Treat; Smell My Feet...

2007-10-15T16:03:00.000-04:00

I was all excited when I pulled this out of my stash from here. I thought that I would love to get it done for Socktoberfest and SAM4. It is The Pumpkin Patch kit from one of Blackberry Ridge's Sock of the Month Collections. (You can purchase the kit separately, as I did).

Anyway, I believe the trick is on me. The yarn is 100% wool in what they call medium weight. It has a nice feel and loft; the colors are great, brown and the orange is a bit duller in person than in the photo. The pattern is adorable and looks like fun to do. So what's the trick?

The problem is, the yarn is a lot heavier than I am used to knitting socks with and I know that I would be way too warm in them with the double stranding of the colorwork. Hence, I don't want people to be able to "smell my feet". :-O I am done with the leg and am starting the heel. I may just finish the rest of the sock out of pattern and with one yarn to make it less dense. It is a really thick sock! It could practically stand up on its own! I am curious to see if it softens a bit with washing. Or it may be the socks that never get done. I'm not sure that I'd wear them. I am definately going to put them on the backburner for awhile. However, in the spirit of the season, I wanted to share the cute jack o' lanterns.

Noro Scarves in Progress

2007-10-13T13:02:00.000-04:00

I should be spinning, I should be socking, what I have been doing is scarfing. (not food, although the chocolate chip oatmeal cookies have been disappearing much too quickly :-) I was cruising Ravelry and I saw two scarves that I wanted to try. So on Monday, I grabbed three balls of Noro Silk Garden #244 and started the Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf by Karen Baumer. It is a quick and fun scarf to knit with all garter stitch and I am 2/3 finished just picking it up here and there this week. I'll post it when it is finished. Hopefully, I can get a better picture; it is really dreary today.

As if one scarf project were not enough, I became fascinated by this striped Noro scarf also found on Ravelry. A neat feature of Ravelry (if you haven't joined yet, you may want to get on the list), is that they have pictures of FO's or WIP's of certain patterns people are doing. So instead of doing a web search through a lot of blogs, you can pull up a file and see for example, 100's of color combinations for this scarf. I was fascinated by the play of the colors; it looked like so much fun! So I just had to cast on!

Last night (Friday), I gathered 4 balls of Noro Silk Garden: 2 of #86, and one each of #244 and #245 and started this scarf done in 1 x 1 ribbing. It is a surprise scarf because you don't know what color combinations are going to line up with each other. I am excited to see what happens which is a good thing because it will be finished faster that way! Haha. I'll share more pictures as it progresses. I can already see me trying at least another one of these in a different colorway, or two or three...heehee.

In the meantime, check out Ravelry or you can also see an explanation and a GOBSMACKING GORGEOUS!! example on this blog. Thank you so much Ravelry and Jared for the awesome inspiration! I'm off to knit!

Self Imposed Stash Busting

2007-10-08T09:21:00.001-04:00

The heat is on, not only outside right now (this is October, isn't it??) but also in my mind. I like challenges so I am going to challenge myself to a yarn diet from this day October 8th 2007 until March 16th, 2008. Why March 16th? I don't know...maybe because it's my birthday. "It's my birthday; I can buy yarn if I want to." Hmmm...sounds similar to a song. Haha. No I actually wanted the fall/ winter months to regroup and to work on what I have and that date popped into my head.

The only purchases allowed to be made are for completing existing projects and/or for gifts. Also, if there is a class that I REALLY want to learn something special, then I can purchase the items needed. Okay? Things are getting busy here and the weeks are flying by. Before I know it, the holidays will be here and there will be snow on the ground. I tend to go into "nesting" mode during the winter where I just want to stay in and hibernate. So, while hibernating this winter, I want to challenge myself to refocus on what I already have. I want to see how much progress I can make without adding more to the mix.

The same diet goes for spinning fiber. I have TONS. So I would like to see what I can do with what I have. So stay tuned for my frantic endeavors to reorganize and to get things done.

Added Note: The past few weeks I started an unintentional trend on my blog, Sunday Socks. In the interest of not being buried alive by my sock yarn stash, I would like to continue to show progress on my sock knitting with Sunday posts.

Sunday Already??? Socks Update and New Gadget

2007-10-07T12:24:00.000-04:00

WOW!! This week went fast! It's Sunday again and the sun tea is brewing. It is near 90 in Norhteast IN and humid today; the normal high is low 70's for this time of year. So I am taking advantage of the sun tea weather for as long as I can!

Here is an update of the socks from last Sunday. The pattern is Mountain Color's Peaks and Valleys Socks and the yarn is their Bearfoot in Sapphire Trail colorway. This week's picture is more accurate of the colorway. The main color is navy with bits of red, green and orange interspersed. It's a great colorway for fall and winter and the yarn is so cozy!

I want to share a few interesting things about this particular pair of socks. My LYS had a class the past two Saturday mornings of knitting two socks at a time on one circular needle. Since I have never tried the "Magic Loop" method and I have never tried socks on anything other than double points, I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Well, let me tell you, you could hear the neurons "pinging" in my brain as they were growing! I really enjoyed the class. It was challenging to learn two socks at a time on one circular needle, in a patterned cuff and instep and with a dark colored yarn. I love challenges; bring it on! It was fascinating for me to see how to switch the stitches around to fit the sock in progress especially after the heel and picking up the gusset. It is amazing how Sarah Hauschka's mind works. How in the world did she come up with this Magic Loop idea? It's so totally twisted but cool! There is a book, The Magic Loop, which describes the process written by Sara Hauschka and Bev Galeskas published by Fiber Trends. Check your LYS and give it a try.

I decided that I would like to try a few more pairs of socks with this method to get it "implanted" in my brain. I don't know if it will be my method of choice for socks since I have a great rhythm established with double point needles. I'd like to see if I could get a rhthym going with this method. However, it is really fun to have a pair of socks completed at the same time! I am glad that I learned this method; I love learning new things.

There are two other things I learned during this class that I would like to share with you. First, I learned the Twisted German Cast On which is very stretchy and I would like to try this again on a few pairs of socks. If this is something you are interested in, an online search provides you with LOTS of information. Go for it! I also learned about a new gadget to fix my boo boo's. What boo boo's you ask? The ones when I am tired and knitting at night with dark yarn and too lazy to go get the Ott Light. The next morning, they kind of humble you by smacking you right in the face like DUH!! :-D Here was a nifty little gadget called the Seed Stitcher: (Heads up! Lea-ann might be changing the name.) However, you can check it out here and see how it works.

http://www.knittingtoday.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KT&Product_Code=20011&Product_Count=&Category_Code=

I have to admit, I am a gadget and gizmo gal. This little gizmo is a nifty little handknitter's helper. How does it work? Well, in a nutshell, it reminds me of a Push You Pull Me (the two headed llama on Dr. Doolittle) What?? You also don't remember the giant pink sea snail?? Ok, ok...I know...I need some more sleep! Haha.

Anyway, when dropping a stitch off the needle to knit or purl back up into place, you insert this two headed hook into the stitch below the one you want to fix. Then working up the ladders of yarn, if you pull the head thru, you make a knit stitch. If you push the other head thru, you make a purl stitch. It is very cool, very simple and will work on different gauges of yarn without splitting the yarn. I tried it on fingering weight. Also, you don't have to stop and figure out which way the crochet hook or knitting needle has to go into the stitch to get the stitch you want. It takes a bit to get the hang of it but this will be a staple in my knitting tools bag.

What's For Breakfast?

2007-10-04T11:08:00.000-04:00

While making my breakfast this morning as the sun was starting to come up, my Collie, Simba, started whining which means there is a deer close to the house. This little buck was eating breakfast at the birdfeeder right outside my dining room window (hence, the fuzzy picture...it was taken thru the screen and the window).

Our yard is a haven for deer and other critters and having the "herding" instinct inbred, Simba likes to patrol the top of the hill and "herd" the deer to the woods. He never follows them into the woods. In fact, they are so used to him that they will stand on the perimeter of our woods and nonchalantly continue to eat or frolick and ignore him. Too funny! We have "regulars" in our yard which we name including Long Tail ( a young buck) and Mama who gave birth to twins in our yard this year. At any given time day or night, we have deer sightings and if they are not visible, they are easily heard thru the deer paths in the woods. Last winter when a big snowstorm came in, we had 30 deer bed down in our yard.

I have been busy spinning a production order this week so there is not much done on my knitting endeavors. I guess the spinning is appropriate since it is National Spinning and Weaving Week. However I am anxious to start spinning up some of my fiber festival finds for some sweater knitting! I accumulated quite the stash of hand dyed roving from MI Sheep and Wool and from Midwest Folk Art andFiber Festival. If I leave it in plain sight, it looks at me with little puppy dog eyes begging to be spun into luscious yarn. So it is stashed away for now but I swear I keep hearing tiny voices saying, "Spin me. You know you want to. Think how great I will look in a sweater. Think how much fun you'll have...you know you love my colors..." Enough already! There are things and deadlines I HAVE to get finished first. My resolve is faltering but I must move onward and make some progress. So back to spinning I go with daydreams of getting to my own spinning and knitting soon.

Sunday

2007-09-30T16:03:00.000-04:00

SUNDAY

SUNSHINE

70's

SUN TEA

SOCKS ON CIRCS

SEE YA!

FO: Socks and Washing

2007-09-24T10:17:00.000-04:00

Here is the finished pair. I posted them as my September socks on SAM4 . I did a 2 x 2 ribbing cuff with the leg as follows: 2 rows K, alternate with 2 rows of K2 P2. It is fun and simple and looks great with striped yarn. Sorry, I didn't keep the ballband but I believe it is Online yarn.

I love handknit socks. Once you try a pair, you are hooked! It's fun to see that my children automatically reach for their handknit socks when they want to feel cozy. I often see them wear them when they are "under the weather" or when they are tired and/or when it's chilly. The only time I am not enamored with the kids wearing their handknit socks is when they are playing basketball in the driveway without shoes. :-) They will reach for handknit socks before regular socks. They love them and have even worn them when they've outgrown them! They stretch them to fit. My daughter used to call her socks, "Mommy's Hugs" when she was tiny. I'd like to think that they can feel the love that went into them. Added note: when my kids were little, having them pick their own sock yarn at the LYS allowed me a bit more time to shop! Haha. There is always a method to my madness. :-D

My husband, on the other hand, has not been coerced into trying handknit socks yet. He thinks they will be way too hot since they are made of wool. The kids and I keep telling him that they "breathe" and feel wonderful on. At first I was frustrated that he didn't want me to knit him a pair. He said that if I did, he would not try them on. However, maybe it is a blessing in disguise. He wears a size 13 shoe. I'd be knitting forever! With my kids' feet getting bigger all the time, (my 11 year old son's are bigger than mine not to mention he is now 2" taller than me), I have plenty of socks to knit.

I've heard people say that they wouldn't want to have to wash them by hand. Ever since the kids were small, I put a plastic tote with a hand drawn picture of knitting and socks, on the dryer. They know that their socks go in there and not in the regular laundry. Then when I get a whole bunch, I wash them in the tub sink in the laundry room with a squirt of Dawn and spin them in the spin cycle of the washer. Then I lay them flat to dry on towels either on the deck if it is a nice day or on the floor by the heating vent. It really does not take long to wash them by hand at all. You could put them through the washer and even the dryer depending on the yarn content, but I think they get "nubby" faster. I like the look of them when they are handwashed.

FO: My First Lace Shawl

2007-09-22T18:32:00.000-04:00

Charlotte's Web Shawl is finished! It took 5 skeins of Koigu in 5 different colorways ranging from yellow golds/olive greens/corals/golden browns and blues. I'm sorry I didn't save the ball bands so I cannot share the exact dye lot #'s. (The colors are much more rich and vibrant in person.) I blocked this shawl to be about 70" in width and 36" in length.

I had wanted to make this shawl the minute I first saw it but it took awhile until I could find the right combo of colors. One day last fall I made a trip to Needles n Pins . It was a dreary rainy cold day and I needed a little drive cross country to avoid climbing the walls. I had nothing in mind only a small getaway before picking up the kids from school. It was serendipity that a new Koigu shipment had recently arrived. Anyway, I sat down on the floor ( I am known to do that) and played with color combo's until I found just the "right" one for me. I had waited so long to get the right combo and as I layed the skeins out on the floor, the funniest thing happened. The sun broke thru the clouds for a moment and everyone in the shop commented on it. A sign?...it was really funny! My whole day was brightened by the new yarn combo and the thought of making this shawl.

I've had it on the needles for awhile and packed in a box to move to IN. I wanted to finish it but I was stuck on the edging. I didn't want to do the fringe. I'm not really a fringe person and I didn't care for the crochet edging all by itself. I wanted something simple. So when I got it out again recently to finish, I did a search online to look at examples and I found a beautiful example on Knitting Wench's blog . She simplified the shawl by doing a YO edging. I loved it; thank you so much for the inspiration! Aren't blogs wonderful?

So here she is in all her autumn color glory just in time for Autumnal Equinox! I really enjoyed knititng this shawl. It was a wonderful project for my first lace shawl.

Spa Day for Knits

2007-09-21T23:34:00.000-04:00

My Charlotte's Web Shawl had a spa get away in SOAK (Aqua fragrance, I believe). I really like the scent. It is fresh and makes the house smell good, not at all like wet wool. Plus it leaves the yarn so silky soft afterwards.

Then Charlotte got blocked today. I pinned and pinned and didn't realize how long it took but I'm glad she's drying. I told you I'd show her before the official first day of Autumn and believe it or not, that is this Sunday. Time goes way too fast!

Other items that were washed today (but with a spritz of Dawn) were the kids' knit socks and some of my own. I finished the purple turquoise pair that was featured in a previous post. We've had a bout of cold nights last week in the upper 30's and lower 40's so I am just getting ready for when it decides to stay awhile. I hope it is not too soon. I'm enjoying our seasonable weather this week of 80's during the days and 60's at night.

Swatch This: Sneak Peek

2007-09-20T12:12:00.000-04:00

It has been about a week and the little guy on Friday the 14th's post (let's name him Al) has been working along slowly but surely. Maybe he should be a turtle instead of a walrus. :-D The swatch is now 12" x 34 1/2" all garter stitch. Any clues yet as to what it is? Knitting Today's ladies cannot guess since they already know from last Friday's sit and knit.

It's coming along...not only the project but Mother Nature's project as well!

Enjoy your day!

FOF Syndrome

2007-09-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Looks like a fallen leaf, doesn't it? Since fall is quickly approaching, I need to get this finished.

I had a quilting friend named, Bev, who said she could never finish anything. We laughed and said she had FOF (Fear of Finishing). I know that I have ADD and Startitis when it comes to projects. I am like a kid in a candy store. I get so caught up in the excitement of new colors, new textures, new patterns, new techniques, that I always have umpteen projects going at once. I never worry about getting them finished. I love the process and I know that each will get finished in its own time.

This picture shows the state of the shawl when I unearthed it from a box in my new home. It was still on the needles. I finished the knitting this summer. Now all that remains is the darning in of ends and the blocking. Problem??? This is the first lace shawl that I've knitted and I've never blocked before.

So I am making the commitment right now to just jump in and block this baby sometime this week so that the finished photo can be posted on this blog for the official start of Autumn. Deal? Stay tuned.

Swatch This

2007-09-14T17:58:00.000-04:00

Doesn't he just look blissful knitting a swatch? Yes, I do have something new on the needles, something that will come in handy as this taste of cooler weather stays. You'll have to stay tuned to watch it grow and get the details. Although I am not a fast knitter and although I have many WIP's that I keep inching away on, I think this one will grow quickly. I'm looking forward to wearing it this fall.

I am also working on my Noro Rambling Rows afghan. I have about 18 more blocks to go and then the border. I hope to finish soon. I'm looking forward to snuggling under it! Seeing that it is almost the middle of September, (how in the heck did that happen?) I need to crank out a pair of socks for the Sock A Month. And then there is a wonderful sweater idea that was implanted in my brain when I went to my LYS today...mmm...I need to learn how not to sleep. Just imagine, getting all of my work done during the day and having 8 hours of peace and quiet to knit, spin and create at night with no interruptions. What a dreamer! In the meantime, be patient as I give you little teasers, I'm knitting as fast as I can. Progress pictures soon!

Just for Fun

2007-09-13T09:09:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Beth, at www.threesheeps.blogspot.com , I got a good laugh the other day when I needed one.

Did you ever want to be acknowledged for what you do? Well, now you can! You can become dubbed with a peculiar and eccentric British aristocratic title. Gee...with this, you'd think that my laundry and dishes would do themselves, my house would self clean and my children would bow and curtsy! :-)

Lesson for the day...don't take yourself too seriously; laugh and have fun!

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
Her Exalted Highness Duchess Lee the Cosmopolitan of Buzzing St Helens
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

About the only thing that is buzzing around here is my wee brain trying to remember all the things that need to be done today.

Have a great day and enjoy!

PS. A quick apology for those who read my 9/11 entry. I have NO idea why it didn't save the spacing that I had which would have made it tons easier to read. Maybe I should make better use of the "Preview" button. :-) Oh well, I'm still learning. Back to knitting, which I will post soon!

I REMEMBER...

2007-09-11T08:45:00.000-04:00

It was an ordinary back to school day... drop my 3 year old off to 2 hour preschool and my 5 year old to half day kindergarten...go to the grocery store...and then hear the news...

...worrying about a husband who was stranded in Las Vegas for business for about a week when everything shut down after the attack...no planes, no rental cars, no bus, no train...nothing...

....hearing that Las Vegas was a suspected target after having my husband's first flight out being grounded in Arizona with US Federal Marshalls "escorting" unknown person off the plane...

...reading online how our kind Canadian neighbors were helping our people whose planes were grounded...and realizing that we are a small world...and love and kindess do exist...and we are much more alike in this world, as people, than we are different.

...holding my babies on my lap that evening while I watched our government, gathered on television in Washington DC, singing "God Bless America"...With tears streaming down my face, my 3 year old daughter reached up, touched me and said, "Don't cry, Mama...that's the most beautiful song I've ever heard. Will you teach it to me?"...and so I did right then and there and listened to countless renditions of it over the next few months as one delighted 3 year old sang "God Bless Our 'Merica".

...feeling for the first time in my life a STRONG feeling of patriotism as I hung the flag and burned candle vigils in the driveway at night...and my heart lightened knowing I was not alone when flags were EVERYWHERE...barns, silos, cars...it was breathtaking!

...hooking a rug when my 5 year old son was awed by all the flags and drew one of his own...where he drew outside the lines, I hooked outside the lines and I copied it exactly as he had drawn it...When he saw it finished, he said, "OhMama, you weren't supposed to put in the parts I couldn't do right" and I replied "Honey, that's the part I love the best." ... it was a great moment for remembering that no one is perfect, we might not always be able to do it right, but it is important to do things with all your heart.

Take a moment today to reflect, remember, and reach out to show others you care.

GOD BLESS AMERICA and the world...

Starting With Socks

2007-09-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

Hello,

No pictures today. I just wanted to give you a little background information about me. I have always loved fiber arts, texture, color, the amazing act of making something from nothing, etc. I learned to knit about age 9 from my mother but I don't have a specific recollection of it, only that I knit little bitty garter stitch Barbie scarves and that was the end of that. That was the same age as when I , with the help of my ingenious and talented mother, learned how to sew a dress for my Raggedy Ann doll. And yes, Mom, it had to be the yellow fabric with blue flowers on it! You have been recently "gifted" with that doll and said dress.

As a youngster, I tried crewel, needlepoint and counted cross stitch. I taught myself to crochet and made afghans as big as a tent! Don't laugh, Mom! You probably still have that one super duper monstrosity! Haha. But hey, I got better and won an honorable mention in Women's Day Magazine for my design when I was 19. I still have my prize, a full set of Bernat crochet hooks.

As I entered high school, I was enamored with quilts. Not knowing anyone who quilted at that time, I read everything I could and I taught myself handpiecing and handquilting. Quilting kept me busy up until the past decade or so. I even taught quilting classes for awhile when I was pregnant with my daughter (now 9).

While I was teaching at a quilting class, I met a lady who made hand hooked rugs. Well, that new passion ruled my life for awhile. I was fortunate to learn from a lady in her 9th decade of life and she was a wonderful mentor. Thanks so much, Alberta! I was also very fortunate to learn from several gifted teachers from across the country including Joyce Krueger, whom I will always be gratetful. They truly inspired me and I learned to express myself with dyeing wool fabric for hooked rugs. I even did a few commission pieces between chasing toddlers and changing diapers.

Then I happened to stumble across the book, "The Twisted Sisters Sock Workbook" by Lynne Vogel. It totally changed my life. I looked at the colors and the fiber and KNEW just KNEW that this was a new medium for my dyeing. I needed to learn to knit and spin... NOW!! Being a stay at home mom with two small children, and knowing that as they grew, I needed something "portable" to do, my rugs and quilts were put away to make way for this new phase of fiber arts.

I discovered Needles and Pins yarn shop in Delavan WI and signed up immediately for a sock class. Doreen Marquart, the owner (and now author), was wonderful in helping this "crazy lady" who was a beginner knitter learn to knit socks. She explained that knitters don't start with socks. I was not deterred. I was on a mission! I figure, if I want it badly enough, I'll figure out how to do it! And so it began... Thanks, Doreen, I've loved the time we've spent together and with Kim. Then I was fortunate enough to meet, Lisa, www.sheepeez.blogspot.com who welcomed me into her home and her life. I was enamored with her sheep, the shearing and the spinning process and purchased my first wheel from her. I was off and running which later included being a part of her knitting group and making great friends with creative souls, starting the quest of fiber festivals and even dyeing fiber for Wee Croft Finn Sheep for awhile. Wee Croft is owned by the wonderful Sandy DeMaster. We were thrilled when my dyed fiber was chosen one year to be used in a class for the Midwest Felting Symposium in Madison, WI.

So where does that leave me now? I am currently living in a new state since the first of the year. We moved from Southeast WI to Northeast IN. I am doing some production spinning to help feed my "fiber addiction". I am enjoying time with my family; a wonderful husband, a daughter (9), a son (11), a rough coat Collie named Simba (he's not embarrassed to have his name on my blog), two cats, Tigger and Jaguar and my daughter's hamster (who likes to remain anonymous...haha). I am trying to convince my much missed WI neighbor, friend, and creative knitter extraordinaire, Judy, to blog so I can keep up with her "works of art". I am slowly uncovering and unpacking WIP's and my yarn stash so that I can make a dent in it. And most of all, I am trying to find my way to new fiber friends.

SOCKS!

2007-09-04T12:14:00.000-04:00

SOCKS, SOCKS, always SOCKS!!! My name is Lee and I am a sockaholic. I always have several on needles at the same time. I can be seen carrying bags of sock knitting to most kids' events, waiting lines at school pick up, anywhere I think I might get a "few rows in" and even occasionally at the movies. Shhh...don't tell.

I need to start a national chapter of SYSA: Sock Yarn Stashers Anonymous...

Eventhough I have enough sock yarn to last 3 lifetimes, new sock yarn always mysteriously follows me home. It is a unexplainable phenomenon! Even if I am on a " yarn diet", sock yarn does not count. Right??? Really, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

A Scarf With A Story

2007-09-03T15:05:00.000-04:00

Labor Day seems like the unofficial end of summer with the kids going back to school. We've had one of the best summers yet filled with sunshine, boating, swimming, travelling, visiting family and introducing the kids to the ocean for the first time. It is a summer full of memories.

So, when I see this scarf, I'll smile. It was knit in the car travelling state to state with my family to visit other family in TN and SC. This scarf was knit while visiting the ocean and driving through mountains...it has captured a memory.

The beginning of this scarf is a different memory; my family accompanied me to the Midwest Folk Art and Fiber Festival in Crystal Lake, IL. We worked it in as a stop on the way to an extended weekend in WI. It was an enjoyable day with beautiful weather and of course, I can't leave a festival without "fluff" to spin. That, however, I will save for another day to share with you.

Brooks Farm Yarn had a sample scarf on display. The yarn is "Four Play" which is a 4 ply 50/50 silk and fine wool blend. It is truly yummy! This scarf takes one skein (4 oz = 270 yds). I chose colorway M 4P dyelot 22. I'm sorry but the pictures do not do it justice. The colors are actually deeper teals, golds, reds, corals... it was love at first sight. Another bonus was when you purchase one skein, they give you a copy of their scarf pattern. It alternates garter with stockinette (as you can see on the closeup and on the bottom half of the scarf in picture 1) but the "back side" of all garter stitch is luscious too (as you can see on the top of picture 1). It will be a pleasure to wear this winter. Not only will I be warmed by it's beauty but by its memories.

I hope your summer was full of wonderful memories too! Happy Labor Day!

Just Rambling On and On

2007-08-30T13:24:00.000-04:00

On of my hopes for this blog is that it will encourage me to finish works in progress.

With the cooler nights and lower humidity, I've been "rambling" again on the "Rambling Rows Afghan" by Cottage Creations. Before I know it, winter winds will be blowing and this will be so cozy!!

The mitered squares and rectangles are so much fun to knit...all in garter stitch and no seams to sew! I am doing size "medium" and out of 55 units total, I have 32 completed. So needless to say...Take heed! I'll be rambling awhile. Haha.

The yarn is Noro Kureyon color 178. I originally purchased it for a jacket but the yarn "told me" it wanted to be an afghan instead. I was in the middle of planning a move to another state and I thought an afghan for my new home would be a great idea. See, don't argue with yarn; it knows what it's talking about! Anyway, the colors reminded me of woods and water. Since I love nature, I was wishing for this at my new home. In case you are wondering if it turned out that way...thankfully, yes it did. I love my new home and I really am loving this afghan.

HELLO!

2007-08-30T08:59:00.000-04:00

Hello and Welcome,

I've enjoyed reading knitting/spinning blogs for a few years. There are so many talented and creative people out there! Thank you for your inspiration and please be patient as I learn about blogging. I will try to challenge the adage that "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". However, I have a new saying, "You can't keep an old cat out of handspun merino!"
Mmmm....who can blame him?