Extravayarnza

Okay, I just had an it's a car cozy moment. So, please pardon the late night crummy flash photos. I think I'll find some reassurance just writing this down...

First off,
Blocking wires are the best thing ever created! I've never gotten a shawl with such even strait edges.

Second,
This shawl took up a bit more of the floor than I was expecting~

This seriously freaked me out.

For scale I brought in my Pacific North West Shawl that's 80" wide & 40" down the center.

So, it's about as wide as the purple shawl, but tapers down much slower. I think I can live with that (or I guess I think Audra can live with that). It's still tons bigger than Sharon's original.

As you can see Siouxsie likes it, so it must be okay.

I'll take him out for some better pictures tomorrow in the day light.

One last note: I spent a good part of the afternoon messing around with my blog. Yes, I know it had been showing up funny on some browsers. I think all the problems are solved now & all 3 columns should be in line.
Yippee!

So,
The dragon Shawl is officially finished!

Stats
Heere Be Dragons designed by Sharon Winsauer
Weights in at a respectable 75gm
Used about 1100 yd
Yarn: A discontinued yarn from Grinasco. Merino/Cashmere blend, it is somewhere between cobweb & lace weight. I hand dyed it a brown red.
Needles: 26" CPY Bamboo size 2
Notes: I think this is a fantastic pattern. I think I would use a slightly heavier lace weight yarn ( like fino from Alpaca w/ a Twist or Zephyr) to help the definition of the patterns. Hopefully we will have this pattern in stock soon. I'll let all you know when it's here!

Peacock Shawl

Gosh, this yarn is knitting up so much better than I imagined. It's not really pooling at all. Every once and a while the blue & purple bits like up for just a few stitches & rows and look like the eye of a peacock feather. In two evenings of knitting I've finished the first 78 rows of the chart. You can see near the edge that I'm into the second lace pattern. This shawl is a much quicker knit than the dragon shawl mostly because it's repetitive. However it shifts lace pattern often enough & has little fun bits like double yarn-overs that keep my attention.
I have to go and update the shop page, but there is only 1 skein of this yarn left!

Print O' The Wave Shawl

I now have all the yarn spun!
I did end up with about 1150 yards of the green & 300 of the blue, so I'm not worried about running short.
You shouldn't hear about this project again for a little bit. I only like to work on one shawl at a time & the peacock shawl is already going.

A side note:
I spent the last 2 afternoon searching for a basket to hold my spinning accessories. It needed a lid (to keep cats from the roving); needed to be big enough for my lazy kate, extra flyer, extra bobbins, and roving for my current spinning project; needed to be smooth on the inside so the roving didn't get caught on it; and needed to be small enough & attractive enough to store in the living room.

Here's what I finally found at Linen & Things~



Isn't it perfect? It was also one of the least expensive boxes I found. I highly recommend them!

Now off to join Siouxsie in a nights slumber...

I know I'm feeling Swappy Today~

I guess I'm gearing up for Fall swaps because I managed to sign up for 4 swaps yesterday.
All but one of them still have sign ups open, so there is still time to be a joiner.

SP9
Yes, I'm giveing Secret Pal one more chance. My lucks got to change on this one eventually...

Hot Socks!
This is a neat little swap.
We're sending out~

• Enough sock yarn to make a pair of adult sized socks
• Some tea/coffee/hot chocolate (whatever your pal prefers)
• At least one other little treat (for example a set of knitting needles, chocolate or body lotion)

Mittens Mittens Mittens
Another new swap. This is the only one I signed up for that involves actual knitting~

1. Make and send a pair of knitted mittens to your pal.

2. Include some additonal surprise (example: candy, magnet, cool knitting tool, holiday ornament).

Those are the 3 that are still open to join!

I also managed to sign up for Spinning Roving Swap just under the wire...
As a Rebel Rover
I'm swapping:
-4 oz of roving
-a pattern appropriate for use with handspun yarn

Here's the Questionaire for my Pal~
(does anyone know how to do that 'behind the cut' thing with typepad? It sure would be nice to know)

1) How long have you been spinning? 
I've been spinning on a spindle for around 2 or 3 years. I got my First wheel in August.

2) Are you a beginner, novice, or experienced spinner?
Probably a novice

3) Do you spin on a drop spindle or wheel, or both?
Both, I'm loving my wheel at the moment...

4) What types and weights of drop spindles (or what type of spinning wheel(s) ) do you currently own?
My wheel is a Lendrum double treadle.
I've got a collection of handmade spindles. All are top whorls except my Purple Heart Turkish Spindle. He's my favorite!

5) What type of fibers have you spun with before?
I've spun lots of wools, Alpaca, silk, soysilk, Ingeo, tencel, angora...

6) What fibers do you prefer to spin with?
I like something easy to draft. I really like Merino, Alpaca, CVM, Blue Faced L., and wools in that vein.

7) What fibers do you dislike?
I really am not fond of Corriedale

8) Do you prefer natural colored fibers, or handpainted/dyed fiber?
I spin with both. My only hesitation with handpainted fiber is that sometimes it felts a bit when it's dyed. If it's soft and fluffy I'm game!

9) Would you prefer all one type of roving or smaller amounts of different types to sample?
Probably all one type

10) What are you favorite colors?
I'm most fond of browns, purples, and greens

11) What colors do you dislike?
I guess I like Orange & yellow least, but they are fine as an accent color, I just wouldn't want a big bright yellow sweater.

12) What would you like to do with your handspun yarn, or what do you plan to do with it? (pattern clarification here)
I'm saving up handspun for a blanket... Log cabin style! greens on one side, purple on the other (still quite low on greens...)
I also have fleeces for a few sweaters, just spun up yarn for a shawl, and am itching to spin some superwash for socks (hint hint...)

13) What spinning projects are you currently working on?
Blanket yarn & the shawl

14) Do you have a wishlist?
Not a current one...

15) What are your other favorite hobbies?
knitting, sewing, painting...

16) Do you have any allergies (pet, smoke, food, fiber,etc...)?
Lets  just leave it at Smoke, Acrylic, and Almonds. The list is quite long, but mostly things you shouldn't worry about for this  swap.

I snapped a quick Twilight picture for Saturday Skies

I think this is my favorite picture I've taken for Saturday skies.

I finished the knitting on one of my side projects!

1 1/2 balls of Karaoke color 299
Makes a 16x16" Entrelac Pillow!
This is the class project for my Entrelac Simplified class this fall. I'm really happy with how this turned out. It's really square, did I mention before that I love my new blocking wires? I think the one I knit along with the class will be out of Silk Garden. That will be a much calmer looking pillow.
In preparation for a bit of sewing I picked up a pillow form & did the best I could with finding some fabric for the backing...

The blue is wrong in every way possible, but the purple, yellow, and pink are dead on with the yarn.
Simply put it just doesn't look right, but it looked less wrong than any other fabric I put next to the pillow.

We also had a fun visitor at the shop today. Sophia finished her Silk Corset yesterday & wore it to a wedding today. She plays harp & sings. She called us to let us know how many complements she got and offered to stop on her way home to show it off.
As a bonus she brought in her harp & gave us a mini concert!

In addition to playing at Weddings, Sophia teaches harp lessons & runs a non-profit harp ministry that plays at hospitals. Her little pup there is Pegio who is a therapy dog. She's just an all around wonderful gifted person. She's only been knitting for about a year now & the silk corset turned out beautifully! A perfect example of how when you find that project that you just have to knit you will find the motivation to work thought it.
Congratulations Sophia!

Hi, I just got back from a very cool local event, Llama Fest!
This a show that's held each  year at Michigan State University that features Alpacas & Llamas. They have fiber contests, animal judging, obstacle courses, costume competitions, and farm sales.
I saw lots of very cute Alpacas~

There were also lots of Llamas~


Llamas were cute, but I'm a bit uncomfortable with animals that tower 2 feet above me.
Alpacas are more my pace I think...

I also saw Sharon Winsauer there (designer of the fab Dragon Shawl!)
She let me know that she still has more students for an Intro to Lace class, & since the first session is full we will be opening up another session!
She had the new colors of Fino there are well & I'll be rushing out to get those in the store.
I just couldn't resist adding to my lace yarn stash~

500 yd of lace weight mill spun from her Alpacas.
She hand dyed it with Natural Dyes, Indigo & Fusti.
It's super soft & the colors are fantastic. She has lots more in several other natural colorways. It's well worth it.

Well, I'm off to a Detroit Tigers game tonight!
I haven't told you guys this but I'm a big Detroit Tigers & Detroit Red Wings fan.
Maybe tonight I'll post a picture of me as a kid all ready for a game.

I hope you all had a lovely Labor Day weekend.
I know I did.
Laying around the house, knitting, watching Baseball games...

In fact Sunday I went to my first Tigers game at Comerica Park. I used to go all the time at the old Tigers Stadium. I loved Tiger's Stadium. When the crowd got excited the whole place shook.
I had been apprehensive about Comerica Park. It just seemed wrong to move the team.
After Sunday I think all those feelings are put to rest. Maybe I just wish that they had kept the name of the park. I don't like big buildings that have corporate sponsored names. Comerica has nothing to do with baseball...
The park is just beautiful. The seats are comfortable & raked steep enough that even all the way at the top you can see the field.

We had tickets about 2/3 of the way up the upper deck right at 3rd base.
Despite what many think I don't find baseball boring at all. I watch a lot of baseball & find it quite captivating. Double so in person. I didn't find time to knit the whole game.
A big deal right now is saying that you were a Tiger's fan before 2006. Seeing as how they are #1 in the American league right now a lot of fans have come out of the wood works.
I have rock solid proof of my long love for the Tigers.

I was a cute kid... *blush*

I celebrated another of my favorite sporting teams this weekend by dyeing yarn.
Although I don't like football I root for any MSU team & have dyed up a bunch (10 skeins!) of Green & White stripeing sock yarn.

It's cooling off right now...

I did get lots of sock knitting done this weekend.
I got to the toe on my first Snake Skin Sock (for the Six Sock Knitalong)

I also started some new socks. Something I was attempting not to do. I need to knit some second socks...
But, that new Sock Candy was so tempting... and the Dragon Sock pattern was so perfect...

This colorway is knitting up really cool. It's so rare for hand dyed yarns to behave so well. The pattern is deceptively simple. I knit 3 repeats in the car on the way to the game. I'm itching to finish the leg so I can start of the nifty heel details that are written into the pattern.
Stay tuned to see how the colors behave in the heel!

Sorry, I'm warning you, I need to vent.

So, I'm taking this Paining class this Fall. All things seem to be going well. I managed not to embarrass myself the first actual painting class. (I'd never put a brush to canvas before last Wednesday).

I've always ordered my supplies from Dick Blick. They just simply rock. They have terrific customer service. The local art shop is a bit too weird for my taste, but I do support it when I need something right away (such as supplies for the first class).

They shipped my order Fed Ex Home (basic service), it shipped on Thursday and was at my doorstep Friday morning around 10AM. Wow! It went to quick dependable Chicago/Toledo/Lansing route.

Unfortunately, an item was missing from my box. I called up Dick Blick, they apologized. I explained how I needed it for class Wednesday, they shipped it that day (Friday) via Fed Ex 2-day at no charge. (umm... how's that for customer service!) Monday was a holiday, but Fed Ex runs on Saturdays so it should have been here Tuesday. No...

They routed my 2-day package to Memphis, then to Flint!, and they are delivering it to my house at an estimated 7pm tonight! (an hour after my class starts)

Fed Ex WTF?

How does a 2 day package take 2 days longer than a Home Delivery package?

Now I have to go spend almost $10 on something that I don't need 2 of but I have to have for class tonight...

Sigh....

Sorry for bugging you guys with this, but I just needed to get that off my chest.

I've felt that the blog has been a bit short of pictures of Trent lately. So, I'm warning you know that there's lots of cat pictures ahead! (lots of knitting stuff too, don't worry!)

Come on, You know you love him.... He's so cute when he's sleeping!

He attempted to help me show off my progress on the Sock Candy Dragon Scales socks. I was forced into hiding last night (guys over watching wrestling = Rae cowering in basement with beer, popcorn, movie w/ a hot guy in it, and knitting... perhaps a dangerous combination). Plus I had some frustration to work off earlier today, so I'm past the heel!

I love everything about this sock. The yarn is so soft & squishy. It's just the right size to hug my leg (I'm on size 0 to size the sock down to fit). The instructions for the short row heel were so easy to follow. I still usually get one pretty side & one icky loose side, but not on this sock. Plus the pooling on this colorway is behaving so well. More stripeing than splotching. I'll probably have this finished in a few days & I'll take some better pictures then (probably after I cast on for the second sock because I'm eager to wear these).
Many of you have been asking at the store if this yarn would sag because it's mostly cotton. I've tried them on several dozen times & they are just as snug as they were the first time. I think all signs are pointing toward the elite doing it's job very well.
You've also been asking if it's as difficult to knit with as fixation (gauge issues). To be frank I hate fixation. I knit with it once & pulled on it so much that my hand just hurt for days. It took me months to find the reserve to finish a wrist warmer. This yarn is nothing like that. I don't know why. It doesn't have quite as much stretch in the yarn as fixation. I found fixation to have almost no stretch in the fabric after it was knit. Sock Candy has lots of stretch after knitting. My opinion is simply that it's a whole different construction & therefor a whole different feel to knit.

I did finish one other sock...
(lots of knitting in the last 2 days...I also got quite a bit done on my shawl, but I'll post about that when I reach the next lace pattern)

I love the yarn, I'm not so crazy about the stitch pattern.
The yarn is Fortissima Colori, Disco. The one with the bits of silver sparkle in it.
The sparkle doesn't scratch at all when it's knit up. The yarn is quite soft.
Unfortunately the neat slip stitch pattern in the cuff just wasn't for me. With all the yarn-overs & passed stitches my gauge was just all loose. I didn't change needle size or stitch number between the leg & the foot and you can see the huge difference in size. The foot fits like a glove, but the leg is way way too big.
This sock is destined to be a display sock at the store. It does show the yarn off quite nicely.
Luckily it only used 24g of yarn so there is plenty for me to find a new pattern & get a pair for myself out of the yarn. Until the perfect pattern is found it's headed into the stash...

I worked my buns off today at the shop. I realized rather abruptly that classes started up again tonight & over the summer our class room has kinda turned into a back stock/ sewing room...

I brought home my drum carder & 4 (yes 4! ) boxes of fleece & roving. All had migrated there in the last couple of months... The sewing machine had to stay because I sew my messenger bags there when it's slow. But it (and all the fabric) found a new home on top of the yarn sample book case. All the yarn was put away... all the boxes were torn down & recycled... the walls and table were scrubbed... floors vacuumed... at the end the whole room sparkled.

Here's the photographic proof that yes I really can clean when my mind gets set on it.

Good thing too, this Fall has our best class enrollment yet! There's still room in most classes & we're setting dates for a second go around of the Intro to Lace & the Thrummed Mitten class in case you didn't make it into the first session. You can find the class schedule at Rae's Yarn Boutique under classes.

Lynn opened up the class season tonight with a Fruit Hat class.
I was a bit inspired and whipped one up when I got home. (I earned a new project, I don't know if I've ever cleaned that hard before)
Trent would have nothing to do with modeling it, but Siouxsie really liked wearing it. She wore it around for almost 10 minutes before it fell off. Perhaps she's not just deaf, maybe it's brain damage. I swear she didn't even notice it was on her head!

I used Socks That Rock Heavyweight & Cashmerino Astrakhan. You could easily knit 4 or 5 newborn sized (cast-on 64 sts) hats using 1 ball of each. Or maybe a fruit hat and a matching little sweater?
It really knits up cute!

Hi,
I just have to do a quick 'drive by blogging' because my computer was misbehaving last night and blogging was out of the question...

Now I'm at work & can't get to the before felting picture....

But here's my little felted fish on display!

It just took me 4 hours to type even this!

Sometimes you just can't think of a title for a post... It's hard coming up with a couple hundred of those a year!

Besides this is just a progress report...

I love how the Sock Candy is knitting up. The carbon colorway isn't one I probably would have chosen had I gotten to pick the colors for the order. I only even choose it to knit with because of the name of the pattern (Here Be Dragon Socks). I'm really happy that all this came together & I'm using this yarn/colorway. Just check these out!

This sock is so soft, doesn't sag at all, and it really hugs my foot. Possibly the best sock I've knit this year!

I'm also whittling away at the Peacock shawl. It's so good to take a picture every once in a while because it shows off the lace motifs better than when  it all scrunched up on the needle inches from your face. Currently I'm about 2/3's of the way through the medium feathers...

For any of you in the Lansing Area.
My store (Rae's Yarn Boutique near Frandor) is having a sale today.
Closeout yarns are 40% the marked down price for today only!
Plus some great new fall yarns are 10% off.

So stop by between 11&3 to pick up some great deals!

We were so busy at the store today that there was no chance to get any knitting done. Plus, I had a time consuming assignment for my painting class. One of those assignments that takes tons of time, is worth practically no points, but is well worth the experience it gives you.

I've now mixed a couple of hundred colors using my acrylic paints filling little grids like these...


The theory is that with these charts in my portfolio & with the notes I took on which colors I used, I will be able to easily make the colors I want when I'm painting. I can see these helping.... I can't easily see myself pulling these out while I'm painting. I hope that I do though.

I've also been collecting fabric for my first quilt. Sewing a quilt has been on my 'to do' list since the costume shop I worked at sewed 3 of them for a show. I had a great deal of fun making those, but so many people were working on them we finished all three in less than a week.

I found a fun quilt pattern, Log Cabin Crazies. There is a really good picture of one over at Quilt Makers of Dallas.
I'm up sizing the pattern a bit, rather than 54" square I'm making a 72" square. I hope to bump that up to 80" with the border.
By my calculations I need 8 yards of dark & 8 yards of medium.
Here's my 8 mediums..

& My 7 darks (I doubled up on the one on the right)

It was not easy to find this many fabrics that I liked & fit together. My original vision was greens & browns. The reds jumped in there at some point when I was choosing fabrics.
Did every one catch that I have a thing for paisley?

I don't think I've ever been this cold.
I walked 5 blocks to and from my art class in freezing rain. Despite my alpaca shawl I got soaking wet. I skipped out this morning & grabbed commercial socks rather than hand knit ones so my wet feet got very cold. I was stuck sitting there for 3 hours in my cold wet cloths.... My whole body just began to ache.

When I got home I pulled out all my heavy knits. I'm sitting here now in 2 pairs of DK weight wool socks, colorwork leggings, my Llama Rogue pull over, a heavy wool hat, & angora wrist warmers... all over my winter flannel pj's. 3 hours and I'm starting to just feel warm.

However this has really reminded me why I knit. Does a 'normal' person have this my woolly warmth to wrap up in when they get cold? I had my choice of garments to warm up in. At this point the only part of me that's still cold is my hands and only because I've been working on the computer & had to wear fingerless hand warmers.

My theory has always been that I'd rather have it be cold because I can do something to keep myself warm. In the summer I just turn into a blob in front of the fan & I'm still too warm. This has to be my favorite time of the year because I start to pull out all of my favorite socks & sweaters that have been neglected all summer long.

Plus when I got up to get some papers I came back to this view...

Doesn't that just warm your heart?

Well, as you might remember I got caught in some cold rain on Monday. This allowed the mild cold I'd been fighting to become a full fledged illness...
Unfortunately, when you run your own business (and when 80% of your fall yarn shipment had shown up in the last two days) you don't get to take sick days. So, thank you to everyone who stopped by the store. I really hope that I didn't get any of you sick.
Right now I'm feeling like I need one more good nights sleep to really feel well again.

However, I looked at my schedule & decided I could afford to miss a day of school. So after work it was off to home & crashing on the couch. Plus lots of knitting (I hadn't knit in about 4 days...) & 5 or 6 hours straight of Myth Busters.

So, what did I learn on my day off school?

If you really have to jump off a building try to find one with awnings to land on.
A stick of dynamite will clean the build up off the inside of a cement truck.
You can't cut a sword in half with another sword.
DC current & salsa will allow you to break out of jail in about 6 weeks.
There is no such thing as a visible laser security system, they use infrared & are darn had to foil.
It's way easier to conceal an ejection seat in a car than it should be.
A car may be able to jump 175 feet, but neither car nor driver will enjoy the landing.

It takes about a minute and a half to return this~

Back into a ball

And most of the evening to knit this much on design v. 6.0

This was a bit of a design challenge for me. The color that arrived was basically the color I least worked with my original design. My plan was for an entrelac hat, I finally scrapped that tonight because it need to have this finished in about 7 days & have hated every single incarnation of the entrelac design...

I will be giving the entrelac a second life as a beret out of silk garden lite.

So,
I taught my first in a series of Thrummed Mitten classes today. It now looks like I'll be teaching three rounds of this class before the end of the year. It's the cool thing...

Since I have lots of opportunities to knit mittens along with the class, I'm knitting myself my own luxury pair of mittens.

My camera got left at work, but trust me these mittens are going to be terrific.

I'm using the chocolate brown Louisa Harding Wool/Silk blend for the knitting. Then I'm using brown fine fine cashmere for the thrums. Yep silk mittens lined in fluffy cashmere.
The best part?

We have a mini hank of Cashmere roving (just the perfect amount for a pair of mittens) for only about $2 more than the corriedale roving pack. So worth it...

Also,
For those of you near Lansing...
Do you have the itch to try and dye your own yarn?

This Sunday I'm teaching "Easy & Safe Yarn Dyeing"

Sept 17 Sunday 1:00-3:00
Learn to create the colors of yarn you want with a safe & fun dyeing method. Using food colors and a microwave this type of dyeing simple to do. Class fee includes all supplies except yarn. Wear grubby cloths because they could get stained. Come spend a fun afternoon playing with colors!

There are still a few seats left in the class & I know it's going to be tons of fun!

See the Rae's Yarn Boutique website for information on signing up or give me a call at the store 517 336 YARN

*Note: I thought I'd published this post on the 15th,  but now I see I never switched it off draft...*

I think that the Americanized theory of Karma is a very cool thing. I try to live my life well & do good things for others. My life has taken some pretty good turns & I'm generally a happy person.

I see Karma a lot in my life...

My favorite vineyard in Michigan is Karma Vista.  (I'm biased on this one because it's owned by an old school mate of my mom's).
They do have quite nice wines & thinking of it now I do have a bottle of 'Pink side of the Moon' in the cupboard.

This morning Scout posted a nice little post on Karma & I was lucky enough to snag up the 100% Merino,  Karma's a Bitch sock yarn. I was tempted several times by the Lime & Violet, but with the black in there I think the colors just jump.

I now have my camera again and can show you the super cool thrummed Mittens I'm making along with my class~

First off, Yes I'm making the mate for the original mitten...

The amount of yarn left is making me a bit squeamish about having enough, but I've weighted it and there is enough...

Second, I'm super excited about the new pair...
They are Louisa Harding Wool & Silk in Chocolate Brown with 100% cashmere thrums!

These are going to be so warm!

I just got word from Jonelle at South West Trading Company that I can go ahead and show off my design for the book of Karaoke Hats!

I love the way the final design worked out,

This hat makes me so happy. The lines zig zag right into the top. The decreases worked seamlessly into the design. I didn't put a specific turning ridge in so you can fold it to fit your head. In one of the brown or forest green colorways I would totally wear this hat.

The pattern will be available from South West Trading Company later this Fall.

This week was my brothers 20th birthday. We had a bit of trouble all getting together at the same time, so tonight Nick & I decided to break into the cake.
He was feeling a bit neglected, so we tried to make it up with candles...

Yes he managed to blow out all 35 candles in one try!

I finished a fun little project last night, (to be honest I both started & finished it in one day).

The new FiberSpace felted Seahorse pattern came in & I just had to knit it up~

I used a single skein of Nature Wool color 53 & a ball of Cashmerino Astrakhan 07. Fun pattern to knit, and I think I'm getting my own little sea hanging on the store's ceiling. Maybe I'll make a turtle next...

The intense part of my class teaching season in coming up. I have several classes starting over the next few weeks. Some of them I've taught before & just need to refresh the class notes, some are new for this fall & require a bit more work...

I spent most of this evening getting ready for my class tomorrow, Easy & Simple Yarn Dyeing. I guess it's easy for the students, not as much for me. I had a lot to do to prepare for tomorrow.

Yarn in cones needed to be in skeins, weighted, labeled, and priced... I had to gather supplies from my dye studio, make sure I had all the colors I needed of Wilton icing dye, and go purchase a few things (especially vinyl gloves, a few students are allergic to latex & I know I sure like the vinyl ones better).

Then I wrote up 6 pages of dyeing and color theory. They came out surprisingly well. The big test will be tomorrow I suppose.

I also am managing to keep up with my thrummed mitten class. The mate for the striped mitten is knit to the point where the cuff hem is knit in (where the class picks up).

I made up a mountain of cashmere thrums & knit the first thrummed mitten to the thumb.

There are still a few spots left in the Sunday Yarn dyeing class. I'm running both a 1-3 & a 3-5 session. Give me a call at 517 336 YARN if you'd like to join us.

Yes, I'm officially finishing up my SKB. I pulled it out today & knit about 6 inches of the first sleeve. I don't think I ever did post a photo of how it's fitting. I hope you all enjoy the photo because of course as soon as I put the half knit needles hanging out sweater on & had the camera ready with the timer.... the first customer I'd had for over an hour walked in & I was stuck wearing it for about 20 minutes. (answering questions like..."How much for this poncho here?" "Do you have a catalog?" "Where's the fabric?") So without further ado~

At this point I had knit the lace, but hadn't done the purl ridges yet. I finished those up right before my class. I like the way the sweater is fitting. I was quite worried that the sleeve would be too big above the lace & way tight in the lace section. No fear, it fits really well. I also took time to weave in the 16 or so ends that I had so far. I am a big fan of weaving in ends as you go (once you're pretty sure your not going to rip the whole thing out).

I also finished the first Candy Dragon Sock~

Just a quick review, the yarn is Blue Moon Sock Candy. 96% Cotton, 4% Elite (for stretch) in Carbon.

It takes 2 balls for an average pair of socks.

I knitting the scaled up version of the Here Be Dragon Socks designed by Teresa at Keyboard Biologist.

The pattern is wonderful, she carried the stitch detail into the heel & the toe shaping. Very clever! I've mentioned before how much I enjoy knitting this yarn. I wore it all evening & it still felt pretty snug, then I tossed it into the washer & dryer before putting it on temporary display (until the second sock is finished... then they're all mine!)

Speaking of sock yarn... how about a little yarn porn?

Yum! This is the "Karma's a Bitch" 100% merino sock yarn I picked up over at Scouts. The green just pops. She's had a tough day... go buy some yarn! It's for a good cause ( how can a blogger live without a car or a laptop!)

Tonight walking to my painting class I decided I just had to have some hand/wrist warmers that covered my fingers better. Luckily Bev gave me a lonely single skein of Koigu in the KSKS swap. I split it in two & pulled out my favorite needles, size 1 Rosewood double-points. I'm just knitting them as long as I can...

The theory is that I can wear them down when walking outside....

And then flip the ribbing up when I need more use of my hands (i.e. knitting....)

Now I just need to finish these by my next class on Wednesday...

So, first up... what can you make with a single lonely skein of Koigu? Only the coolest pair of handwarmers!

One down, one to go.... These each only take 25g of fingering weight yarn.
Size 1 needles, cast-on 48 sts. 1x1 ribbing, switch to knitting flat for a few inches to leave room for the thumb. Bind-off with single crochet to allow for stretch. Simple...

Lately I've been knitting to make me happy. I noticed how cold my fingers were walking to class; I feverishly knit long wristwarmers. I decided that 'I' needed thrummed mittens (not just the display pair); I go all out luxury & make a pair in wool silk and cashmere...

I've been having this annoying nagging in the back of my head that I need a cardigan. I ignored this little voice all last winter & knit pullover after pullover. Well, I'm ignoring that voice no longer!

I set the yarn aside for this cardigan/jacket in July for cooler weather. Gosh I wish I'd just started it when it arrived. The yarn is so silky soft. However, when I picked out the yarn I didn't find quite what I wanted for the CC2 which makes a raised cord between the border & the main color. From knitting the mittens I realized that the new Louisa Harding wool & silk would give me a soft & shiny cording.

I'm knitting the Wrapture Jacket from Black Purl Designs.

Modifications? Of course~

I generally knit sweaters at 38" and cardigans at 40". The smallest size on this pattern is a 46". Changing the stitch numbers won't work due to the chart on the back. My solution is to knit the pattern at 5 sts/inch rather than 5.5. I'm currently measuring the back at a touch over 20" so I think this plan will work!

Despite the fact that I found bobbins absolutely necessary for my argyle socks I decided to go with the rats nest method for my cardigan. (BTW it's now officially a cardigan not a Jacket. I measured it today & it will have a finished bust of 40" and the fabric feels fantastic!)

To preserve my sanity as soon as a got a few rows knitted I went back and tucked in my ends. I also an using my new skill of backwards knitting for the section with the intarsia because I can deal with it better if the right side is always facing me.

I also pulled out a new toy from my stash... Removable highlighter tape! It is making following the chart so much easier. Especially since its on over sized paper, so I'm working off the original.

I'm finding it really hard to only work on one shawl at a time... I know that's all the brain waves I have, but my next shawl project came in today & I'm really eager to start.
It's one of the new Candace Eisner Strick kits. I choose the Adagio Shawl in the Blueberry colorway. The kit is the top one in the picture...

Not only does it contain 8 colors of the softest merino lace weight. You knit with 3 strands at a time & that makes 24 possible color combinations. These kits just do this incredible color shift.

So I'm making it a challenge to myself to finish up my Peacock shawl. I knit 16 rows today (considering the number of stitches per row this was quite a feat!). I have 8 more rows until I finish with the medium size feathers & a new chart = new momentum. I love the way it's turning out so far & am looking forward to wearing it.

I haven't forgotten about my SKB. It's getting knit on little by little. I need a mindless knitting project for this weekend because I'm working on Jesus Christ Superstar. I think sweater sleeves will be the perfect pick up & put down knitting.

So, for those of you who have been out of the loop... Sock Wars began on Friday Night.

I've been working at the theatre all weekend & have to rush off in a few minutes for the early show, but I did get a bunch of the Socks of Doom knit & they will be rushing off to my target on Monday Morning!

Okay, everyone the dukes are up in Sock Wars!

I've finished my first pair of Socks and first thing tomorrow they are off to their target. She's a dead man walking! Lucky for her she's in Belgium & will have a bit of time for the socks of death to reach her.

Vital Stats

Standard Socks Wars Sock Pattern

About 80g of DK weight yarn on size 4 needles (26" CPY magic loop)

I used a yarn I'd never really given much thought to before (possibly because it only ever came in 1 color and is now discontinued). Maggi Knits DK Tweed in color 1.

It's 100% machine washable wool & has lots of loft. It feels a lot like the 3ply CVM I spun up. In fact I had a friend who I was still searching for the right thing to knit for him & he saw these socks and really like them. I think I may knit him a pair out of this yarn too!

I also finished up my wrist warmers.

I think if you are all interested I may write up the pattern for these. They are so nice for walking out in the cold. The trick was to use light enough yarn that I could fold them over and not have them be too bulky. I worked in them all day today & didn't get them caught up on anything.

I've defiantly reached an important 'conjunction' in my Peacock shawl. The dreaded chart 6. It joins the medium and the large feather motifs together. The whole mess is non symmetrical (yippee reversing decreases & figuring out the second half of the shawl for yourself...) doesn't always seem to line up well with the previous row & didn't look like it was making any sort of a shape till I was a few rows from completing it. I have ripped more on this chart than I probably have on all the shawls I've knit combined. It's taken me almost a week to knit 15 rows, this is like knitting in molasses for me.
Luckily I now only have 2 more pattern rows left to complete it & move on to chart 7, the last one before the border! Plus, now that I've gotten through the nasty bit the pattern is starting to reemerge.

you can see the change near the top, right?

I guess Sock Wars is over for me... Today marked my death with the receipt of the dreaded Socks of Doom.

Although for deadly socks they sure are comfy. I've been wearing them all evening!

Tonight my mom finished a bit knitting project & I gave her a hand figuring out the whole blocking wire thing. She's leaving for a trip tomorrow night, so I'm helping her out by weaving in all those pesky silk ends.

This is the Fiddlesticks Lotus Blossom Shawl knit in Debbie Bliss Pure Silk by my mom~

I do have some terrific kid pics today. One of our customers brought in her Grandson & we hung out for a few hours. In the end he started trying on some hats & we got his mom's permission to take a few pictures of him...

I've been very busy tonight!

I dyed 3 pounds of Superwash Merino Wool roving (yum!) & we recently got in a shipment of 12 colors of solid feltable merino roving. I made a big dent into breaking all those one pound bundles into 1 oz bundles...

So, I've got to get that dyed roving on the drying rack & keep on skeining up that solid merino...

See you all tomorrow!

So, spinning has been high on my list lately. Especially spinning for socks.
I am joining a new knitalong called Twisted Knitters dye/spin/knit & my supplier just came out with a new superwash merino & tencel roving blend... got to order a ton of that!
I dyed all that superwash merino roving last night & got right to work spinning the first of 3 planned hanks of sock yarn.
This is my  first handspun sock yarn & possibly the thing I've spun that's made me the happiest.
Here's bobbin one lounging on a pillow of unspun roving..

And here's that roving almost completely turned into a second bobbin....

Do you see on the left where the bobbin is so full that it hardly  clears the flyer?
That's where I had my possibly stupid idea.
The idea itself isn't stupid... I have a feeling you all will think it's pretty good.
The fact that it may (hopefully) turn into yet another thing that eats up more time than I have to get it is the part that makes it stupid...

Let me lay it out~
How does a handspun sock yarn exchange sound?

I think it sounds very delicious.
I would have a beginning spinner and an 'expert' group so everyone could give it a go.

Please leave me a comment if you think I should go ahead & flesh out some rules and get a blog going....