UM, Not Impressed, and Impressed

This guy looks like he has been to his share of fiber festivals. He took the crowds and cameras in stride. He did not mind our presence, or having to attend the gathering, but he was clearly not impressed by any of us.

Redskins :: Cowboys

Show :: Stopper

Smoker :: Turkey

Bad movie :: Horror

Play :: House

Jaguar :: Wreck

Click :: Through

Production :: Piece

Sand :: Evil

Foreign :: Film

Just to show it is not just about fiber acquisition around here, this is my latest finished spinning. I like the new yarn. For me, it seems like I keep spinning, and suddenly one skein shows my improvement all at once. This is one of those skeins. I keep petting it, and thinking of what I want it to become.

Fiber: Alpaca, KA Solar-dyed by me

Plies: Two
WPI: 19-20
Weight: 5.12 ozs (145.3g)
Yardage: 608 yds (555.9552m)

Loved

I feel so very loved today. It is my birthday. Bruce was sneaky and got me this set of Hiya-Hiya Interchangeables. They are awesome. This set goes from US2 to US8. Those are my sizes. Also, no tool is necessary to attach needles to fabulously flexible cables. The gorgeous bag that holds them is a great size, has little zippered pockets, and is too precious. A new set of needles always makes me want to immediately cast on for something new. It must be lace, I am sure.
I was already flying high about my new needle set when I went to the mailbox. There was a package for me. Inside, I find this t-shirt.
About an hour earlier, I had just been talking about it to friends, and how perfect it was for me. Guess who had sent me the shirt? Yes, my Lizzie is the best. She said it was good that I did not look too closely at her as I described the shirt, as she was about to burst. My heart is still bursting with love, joy, and gratitude.

Wool Weather

After skipping a year, I returned to the Harvest Days and Fiber Festival at Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Since other non-fiber folks accompanied me, it was an abbreviated visit. However, the festival is tiny, so I was able to see everything. It seemed to me that there were a few more and different vendors than in years past.

By the time we left, the sun broke through the clouds, brightening and warming the afternoon. However, when we arrived, it was overcast and chilly with intermittent mist. The homemade ice cream vendor looked more than a little glum. Most fiber folks had watched a weather report, understood the situation, sucked it up, and carried on with business. They began their day with a positive attitude, smiled brightly, and proclaimed it perfect wool weather. Then there were the few who allowed the damp, chill, and grey affect them. They remained hunkered down under their blankets in folding chairs, apparently uninterested in making a sale, and sometimes flatly ignoring me when I attempted to engage them in conversation. It was no matter to me, as I just moved on to the next booth.

Oh, and I certainly did find many other booths to enjoy. There were many piles of fluff calling out to me like so many baa-ing sheep. I had formulated potential purchase plans before arriving, and of course, harbored fantasies. I secretly hoped to find a bargain on used books, magazines, and weaving equipment. Yeah, the weaving bug has been trying to infect me lately. Anyway, I wanted to purchase some bamboo fiber, as well as some wool/tencel blend top.

On my first pass through, one bright and beautiful braid caught my eye. My hands were still gloved and mittened, but the fiber felt wonderful against my neck. When I saw that it was a six-ounce bump, I knew for sure that it should come home with me. Chrysalis Fibers superwash merino in Grinchy was my first purchase, as well as one of their dyed silk hankies. Even though I have yet to do anything with it, I find myself wishing I had picked up more. Silk hankies look like they could be addictive.

I was unsuccessful in my tencel acquisition attempts, but found some lovely bamboo. I picked up a little bit of some silky black, and then sifted through the pile of vibrantly dyed bamboo. At first, the vendor thought I was displeased with the similar range of colors, but I assured her that I found them all to be absolutely gorgeous. Choosing amongst the brilliant hues presented a happy dilemma. With an overall fiber gain of less than three-quarters of a pound, I am very happy with my choices for the day.

One Down

No, I am not talking about me, but instead, about a Christmas gift. I am not even looking at the rest of the list, with its chattering stream of to-dos waiting for the needles and hooks. Actually, I am not stressing over it, but I am trying to keep at it. The list merely contains ideas and suggestions, and is a nice place to start. What excites me more than this completed knit is something I picked up at the store while someone else was being a sleepyhead. Shhhh...he cannot stand surprises, or the idea that there is a present here in the house waiting. For the health and sanity of both of us, I hope it remains below his radar.

Enough about that, let's get to the fo. I made a Misbehaving Moose hat. I really enjoyed knitting it. As a matter of fact, I do have supporting evidence for that claim. I have already begun another. It will be a partner to the first. I think these are fun hats, and I am glad to be able to send them to their recipients, soon. I want to be sure that the presents arrive in a timely manner. You know how I can be with the post office.

Since I gave away mine, I need to get a new fake head for my model. I have learned some things. I should have gone straight back to the store to replace the head after I gave away the first one. I should not have spent all of that time on eBay looking at other possibilities for displaying my knitwear. I do not need a mannequin. I do not need mannequin parts. I would have to knit many more socks to justify buying those legs. Fake hands to model gloves and mittens would be great, but finding a good matching pair is more of a challenge than I would have thought, and also, refer to sock/leg statement above. My neighbors already think I am weird enough when I take pictures of my knits outside without seeing me with fake people and body parts as models to assist me. Spending hour after hour online looking at mannequins, messes with my head. Still, that silver inflatable one is relatively inexpensive, although it is headless, handless, and footless.

UM Puppies?

The fo for the post I had ready to go for Friday was temporarily kidnapped before its photo session, so it will have to wait. Then Blogger ate my UM. So, I give you puppy photos of Poppy and Violet (more of my mom's babies) and redo the Unconscious Mutterings.

My treat :: My Pleasure

Bell :: Jar

Five :: Spot

You’re crazy! :: Yep.

Disgust :: Fat

Tempest :: Teacup

Bummer :: expletive deleted

Brim :: Hat

Hose :: Beast

Lollipop :: sucker

Happy Saturday, and I hope your weekend is great!

He's Not to Blame

However, just in case, I got this brain-munching maniac out of my home. After hearing how much my brother enjoyed Zombieland, making this birthday gift seemed like a--wait for it--no-brainer. I gave him his present Saturday evening at the party. We were hoping for a marshmallow fire, but our abundance of rain put that off for another time.

I am pleased with the finished Corporate Zombie. I took my time and worked a little bit each day. I thought that I had red felt for the dripping blood, but think it turned out for the best that I had to embroider it instead. The assembly and embellishing details took the most time. They are also what made it something I feel good about giving as a gift. It is a painstaking undertaking, but worth it.

Throughout the creation of this creature, I more closely studied the book containing the pattern, Creepy Cute Crochet. It is a good little book, filled with interesting characters to crochet, as well as some helpful information for making them. I also saw that the perhaps the editing process took more from the book than it ought to have. For example, it states on the back cover, "...more than 20 unique patterns for totally loveable zombies, ninjas, Vikings, vampires, aliens, robots, and even Death himself." Well, amongst the 21 patterns, there are no Vikings.

If the author had been allowed perhaps a dozen more pages, this volume would have been outstanding. Still, there are ways to access information that I think should have been in the book. Over on the website, she offers expansion pack patterns that can be made if you already have the book. I think I want to make The Valkyrie. There are also great tutorials, including this one to help with hair. I definitely needed that help. The book could have really used this additional information. I am just glad that I did a little search and ended up at the author's site. It made all the difference, and I finally put that old hairpin lace tool to use.

UMmmm, yeah

I only have UM for today, but I promise an FO for Columbus Day (yeah, I know).

Yacht :: Club

Paula :: Deen

Delete :: Key

Auto :: Harp

Obsolete :: -ly Fabulous

Dedicated :: Determined

Old :: Spice

Convince :: Annoy

Poster :: Child

Erase :: Mistake

She's Not Available Right Now, May I Take a Message?

Am I treading water? No, that involves more movement, coordinated effort, and concentration. It is more like a combination of brain in a dense fog and body suspended in Jell-O. It is difficult to get anything done or know determine which way to go, it is exhausting and confusing, but the Jell-O keeps me from sinking. Overall, I guess that last part makes it a net positive.

I have been reading blogs, but just not been able to coherently comment. That does not usually stop me, but lately, it has. I have been marking everything unread in the feed reader with the idea that I will go back and comment, but I may need to let go of that idea.

While I may not be able to tell you the day of the week, I do know what week it is. It is National Spinning and Weaving Week. I made it out to a kickoff party the other day at Little Barn. Even with my odd state, it was an interesting time.

I Might Take That Bet

I won this gorgeous skein of yarn from Becky. She included a cute card with a nice note. In it, she wrote that she has a skein of this yarn, but bets that I will knit mine first. I have been lovingly petting the new yarn and thinking of what I would like to knit with it, but I believe it will have to wait. I think I am preparing to move into serious gift-knitting mode, with a side of UFO-finishing.

I am excited about some of the presents I want to make. Thinking about them sometimes makes me wonder about the possibility of family members who may have found the blog, but are keeping quiet about it. If that is happening, (beyond the one who was told about this space) people might find their gift-y surprises rather unsurprising. Of course, I could always keep the projects secret until after I give the gifts, but that is decidedly unappealing.

Another option would be doubling up the knitting and spinning so that I have more content for the blog. Yeah, that is not going to happen. I could have enough of a challenge finishing gifts in time. I am still considering the significance of a piece of information we received this week. The son was filling us in on the happenings of his life, (not a normal occurrence) and within this conversation, Bruce asked him whether things are getting serious with the girlfriend. For the first time ever about any relationship, the son replied in the affirmative. It makes me wonder whether she could be making her way onto the knit-gift-list sometime soon.

It also makes me want to stick my head in the fiber bin and breathe in the soothing wool fumes. Then I could calmly make a list of gifts I want to make, along with a schedule for completing them. Either that or I could sift through books, patterns, and Ravelry for the perfect pattern to use with my new yarn.

Always Learning

I could have cast on for something new, but I have been spinning, instead. I have not been making time for it lately, so I decided to change that. Rather than trying to find a lot of time, or the perfect time, I just grabbed fiber and wheel and enjoyed. While the pile of fluff meant for the first ply is still significant, the bobbin is not empty, either. I was trying to do long-draw, and every once in a while I was doing it. Then I would get excited, and it would be gone. I still have so much to learn. Somewhere I hear Margene's voice echoing, "It's the process."

I spent some time with my book, Spin Control. It has me quite interested in spinning singles for yarn. I think the beautiful pictures are part of the inspiration. The skein and swatch in laceweight catch my attention every time I go through the book.

While it is true that there is so much further for me to explore in the spinning world, I am not a complete beginner. I was able to help my grandma over the phone. She called last week with plying problems. It felt great to come home a few days later to a message on the answering machine letting me know that my thoughts on the matter worked for her.
I am making my way through the alpaca fiber I solar-dyed with Kool-Aid a few months ago. I was not in love with how it looked after dyeing, but like it better as I spin the singles. This only makes me more interested in seeing what I end up with after the yarn is finished.

The Calendar Told Me

I did not realize I have been presenting myself as powerful and in control of things both great and small. I was merely acknowledging that according to the calendar, it is a different season. Lest anyone feel jealous by thinking that I have been enjoying crisp, clear, Autumn-like weather, let me assure you that has not been the case. We have been in the eighties and rainy. The fungi are exploding. In between the sprinkles, showers, and downpours, it is a grey, suffocatingly humid existence. I was looking at the numbers for current conditions the other night, and they had us listed at eighty-one (I think) degrees, and ninety percent humidity. Blech. The weather people tell us there will be a cool-down next week. They have been offering this same hope most of the month.

I have been mixing my looking forward with digging in the past. Some of this has been unpleasant and difficult, but I feel like I am making progress. Still, some of it has been good. I dug a hibernating project out of the stash and resumed knitting on it. That first glove has sat alone for far too long, so I cast on for its partner. It is already time to start the digits. I will definitely need a photography assistant after that, or at least the tripod.
One glove knit and its partner ready for fingers is almost fo territory. I think that entitles me to cast on for something new. I am thinking lace. Of course, that is usually the case.

So Long, Summer!

We finally made it. This summer was not what I would have predicted, but that is often the case. This helps remind me not to become too concerned about what I think is going to happen. A new season is here, and I am looking to it with a hopeful heart with no idea of what is ahead. There will be changes; of that, I can be sure. One friend is moving away in a few days, and another could be within a few short months.
The garden is nearly done for now. We still harvest a couple of tomatoes and okra each week. We have an over-abundance of okra from a neighbor who keeps hanging bags of it on the front door in thanks for Bruce cutting their grass occasionally. Bruce picked our only surviving watermelon and enjoyed what little there was. This year's watermelon growing was more successful than last. I am calling it a win, especially because I started this from seed.

Grey Matters

A nice, mindless knit is wonderful company. It is great when the brain is foggy and sluggish. It makes waiting time seem shorter. It is soothing during stressful times when anxious worry threatens to take over. A simple scarf like The Corrugator is a perfect example of such a knit.

I often cast on for a scarf with much enthusiasm, and for the first three feet feel like I will be done in no time. Then my will to knit usually seems to die, or I feel like hanging myself with the yard of fabric. However, that was not the case with this scarf. I made it to the halfway point, baked a loaf of bread, and was ready to keep knitting. Whether laundry avoidance played a role, I am not saying.

Anyway, I enjoyed knitting the scarf, and have the bonus of a timely finish. It is a birthday present for my brother. I hope he likes it. I think it is right for him. The color works with some of his preferred sports teams, and therefore his other apparel. Also, the yarn, ONLine Linie 21 Marly, is superwash.

Since this scarf did not kill me, I am ready to begin another, but this one in red. I have not decided whether to do this pattern again, or go for something different. If I want mindless again, but a different pattern, I could go with the One Row Handspun Scarf. Perhaps I should go for a bit more excitement and try a Palindrome Scarf.

Munch, Munch

Perhaps you think I have succumbed to the hungriness that has been plaguing me during my weight loss efforts. That does happen sometimes. However, I am talking about time. I gave most of my Monday over to cleaning and organizing. The living room knitting corner is much nicer now that I have tidied it.

Tuesday turned out a bit differently than I planned. I met a puppy. Whether this is the new puppy for my mom remains to be seen. He is cute and sweet, but probably not the one. I am still puzzled how we left the house mid-afternoon and returned home around nine or ten, but that is what happened. My mind is so very fuzzy.

We have somehow made our way to Wednesday, and the Shetland Triangle has been finished for days. This pattern, yarn, and US 9 needles makes for a quick knit. I like that there was not too much yarn leftover, and am pleased that I correctly decided when to switch from the main chart to the edging. While I only knit eight repeats of the main chart instead of the pattern recommended ten, it is still a nice sized shawl. I have finished dimensions around 72"x38" and I like the yarn even more after washing. I thought it was fine before, but a little soak in water and wool wash made a nice difference. I hope the birthday girl loves this as much as I enjoyed knitting it for her. It was a round birthday for her, and it fell amongst much busyness, so she has not had the chance to celebrate yet. I guess that just goes to show that time is being eaten up for others, too.

No More Library Fines for Me

Well, at least there will not be any more for Wrap Style. I have checked out that book a few times to knit the Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark. I think I ended up with late fees two out of three times. Now I do not have to worry about this, as I recently picked up a used copy of the book. Of course, I have also learned (last to know sometimes, I am) that one can now purchase that pattern individually from the designer's website, but I am still pleased to have the entire book.

Since I have the book, plenty of yarn, and a gift-giving occasion perfect for a Shetland Triangle; you know what I have been knitting. I am making this one with Jo Sharp Classic DK Wool. Knitting it has been so very enjoyable. I realized that most of my recent knitting has been non-wool. I love wool, and have missed it so much.

The Possibilities

The scale is unable to reflect the weight I have shed, but I feel the difference. Yes, I have been exercising and monitoring my food intake with FitDay, but this has nothing to do with that. So, what has me feeling as though I am light enough to float away? I finished the baby blanket! The bind-off took a few hours, but the method I chose really gave it a nice finish. We only have to look at it one more time.I know you must be thinking, "Sarah, it is yellow around the edges and looks larger than the 31"x31" as listed in the pattern." Why, yes, observant readers, it does have yellow around the edges and 42"x42" are its finished dimensions. I ran out of the lilac yarn, and the lady who asked me to knit this chose yellow as the best option for finishing. Personally, I cannot decide anything about it other than the fact that I knit it well. Not listing the gauge in sts/in(cm) but rather in finished dimensions of wonky square-ish pieces that are difficult to get proper measurement before finishing the blanket, or in finished depth of the edging, which, again, cannot be determined before finishing the blanket, makes this outcome a bit more understandable. That is the last thing I have to say about that pattern, other than the fact that I do not think I will knit it again for less than $1000.

I have already delivered the blanket, and it is out of my life. I was already considering the next cast-on as I worked the bind-off for the blanket. There are so many possibilities, and now I can take the time to enjoy whichever will be next.

Because I Won't Know Unless I Try

I have had some CVM fiber in the stash for a while, and have only admired it. I thought it so lovely that I got a little bit more. Then I felt a bit ridiculous about it remaining only in stash form. However, I was not ready to spin it, but I liked to think about it. I like the warm, sproingy, brown fluff, but occasionally thought about it being not brown. I think this must have been in my mind when I bought the second batch. Still, I have no idea how much Kool-Aid it would take to dye the fiber, and if this went poorly, it would likely be horrible. I know that over-dyeing would still be an option, but overdyeing unfortunately dyed brown wool is probably far beyond my KA-dyeing skills. Then again, even if the color turned out very wrong, the fiber is very right. I would perhaps practice different spinning techniques with good fiber without worrying about wasting it if had already become unattractive due to my dyeing. If that is not reason enough, I do not know what is.

So, I get out the giant pot, add the fiber, the water, and the Kool-Aid, and let the heat of the day do its thing. Darkness falls, and I try to not do the same as I bring it back inside. It does not look good. My husband thought it could be OK after drying. I poured off the water and started to remove the fiber. Lo and behold, the fiber at the bottom looks promising. Perhaps if I flip the fiber pile and try again, it might work. I think I like what I have done (it is darker than this picture). Now I just need to find the time to spin it.

Lots and Lots of Hard-Yovers, or Mary Maxim Lies

I did a little math, and have a better understanding of why I am not done with the baby blanket. On every other round of the border, two yarn-over increases are worked in each of the four corners. The total stitch count as written in the pattern reflects this increase in eight stitches. What it fails to take into account are the two yarn-overs for each of the 64 leaves. That would be 136 stitches increased on each of six rounds. That put the stitch count at 1460 stitches per round, but not for long. While the corner increases are still happening, on those same rounds, I get to decrease two stitches from each of the 64 leaves. Well, that's quite enough pattern chatter about a blanket no one else is likely to knit. It will be a lovely gift, and I will finish it soon.

We kept my niece overnight on Saturday. While she was in the bathtub, she spent some time inspecting the washcloth. She knew that I had knit it, and was pointing to various parts and asking how I made them. Since it is a garter-stitch piece, there was not much to explain. Then she asked how I made the holes around the edge of the cloth.

Me: Those are yarn-overs
KOH: Harn-yovers?
Me: Almost. They are Yarn-Overs
(mischievous grin) KOH: They're Hard-Yovers, lots and lots of Hard-Yovers.

She was so pleased at her bit of teasing that she could hardly stop laughing, and I was soon laughing with her. I was also laughing about what her new knitting term brought to my mind. I immediately thought of the knitters who take one look at lace and declare that it is something they could never do because it is too hard. Even when a helpful knitter tries to explain that it is just a combination of decreases and yarn-overs, they will not hear of it. They have already convinced themselves that knitting lace requires Hard-Yovers. I get that various types of knitting require different levels of concentration, and that certain techniques and styles come more naturally to some and not so much to others. I just do not understand those declarations that one cannot do it at all. It may not be easy, it may require a quieter environment and greater concentration, and after trying, you might decide not to do it again, but if you want to, you can do it.

Blaming the Knits

Sometimes it is just easier that way, even when I know it is not the truth. I can see that I will finish this baby blanket, but possibly, not by week's end the way I hoped. I was so pleased to have completed and sewed together the four center squares, but then there was the picking up and knitting. That process bothered my hands and wrists, but I finally had 484 stitches and was on my way with the edging. I only have about 55 more rounds to go, and right now, it is only 556 stitches around, but at the end, a round will consist of 756 stitches. Perhaps I should not look any further at these numbers. Instead, I will look again at the completed, sewn-together center.

If go for a small project, surely that will help me make it through, right? A hat would be a logical choice. Yes, that might have been a good idea, if it were not for the horrible, tangled mess that exploded from the ball of yarn. If knitting is going to take the credit for good feelings, good times, coping with life, and everything else, I suppose it will have to receive a bit of blame occasionally.

Herding Cows the Size of Schnauzers*

That's right, there has been an abundance of Aunt Sarah time lately. I like being an aunt, and I love the kids. I just do not always hold up so well to so much of it back-to-back. For a period of about 2 1/2 weeks, I think I had two days without youngsters. That certainly has knocked my productivity down a notch. Add to this the fact that I operate best (and that is relative, to be sure) on a different schedule than the one that kids do, and it is no wonder that I am behind in many areas.

I did give the first knitting lesson to the youngest niece. She has been asking to yarn, and I told her I would teach her. She did not quite take to it. I do not know that I am much of a teacher, or perhaps at 4 1/2, she is not ready to learn. As it turns out, she had given a good deal of thought to this yarn adventure. When she saw that the yarn and needles we were using were sitting on the table while I was knitting something else, she was perplexed. She wondered why I was not knitting her scarf. I explained that I was knitting a baby blanket. Still hopeful that I was knitting for her, she asked if it was for a real baby or a baby doll. She was not brightened at all when I suggested that a scarf could be a nice present for her birthday or for Christmas. Ah, she'll learn.

I cannot decide what I should do about the GVC. I would like to send it to time-out, but if I do, I think I may never finish it. I want this sweater, but it may not be meant to be. The seaming on the sleeves was gorgeous, and I hated to rip. I really ought to be able to figure this out, but I feel stumped sometimes. For now, I just take it out of the bag and work on it for a while. It is a good deal of knitting and ripping, but at least I know that the yarn holds up well. The other positive--it makes knitting on the deadline baby blanket less unappealing.

I do not recall whose turn it is, but I am going to pick up the needles and make some progress. It is about survival. I do not dislike my knitting, but I am not quite feeling the love, either. That is hiding, but possibly in the stash. When we find each other, it will be good.

*why I like that commercial or the other like it is beyond me, but I do