A Bit of News

So much has happened since I last posted.  After all, I did say that I was cutting back on my posts.  

Now that the guilt over not posting so frequently is over, I find myself being called back.  As long as I can return here when I think I have something to say, I may be able to pop in every so often.  A month's break was quite refreshing.  I hope I don't make this a seemingly never ending post.

One of my most recent bits of news is our new family member.  Harbor Humane Society called him Figg.  Here he goes by Figgy Puddin'.

 

It took until last night for him to come out of hiding.  For the first couple days we could usually locate Figgy by thes hisses and by Leo staring (or glaring) in his direction.  But he has come out and now sleeps a lot in out of the way areas.

The highlight of the last month was my confirmation.  It was after much study and prayer that I was confirmed at the Easter Vigil service.  

 

Midge patiently shepherded me through the process. Mary was my sponsor and Fr. Stanley celebrated the sacrament that brought me into full communion with the Catholic Church.    Much of my Lenten reading, especially a book called "When the Church Was Young" strengthened the decision I had already made.  I am very happy with my choice.  It is good to know your church actually takes a stand.  And that it has a tradition going back to Christ and Peter.

And I have been knitting.  (Not crocheting Doug!)

 

I am making a Shape It Shawl for Mary to use at the silent auction for the new hospice house she is a part of.  It will be a long triangle with tapering ends.  Perfect to wrap around and tie or let hang.

 

I am using the left overs from my handspun yarn.  I originally used it for the yoke of a sweater I made about seven years or so ago.  I also had stripes of it around the bottom ribbing and the cuffs.

Well, there you have it.  I won't promise I won't be gone so long because I just may.  But I will pop back from time to time.

I Said I Needed Something Quick

This definitely fit the bill.

. 

This was just what I needed, a very quick project.  

Now I may need to cast on with something new, since I hear we have a very light schedule for Board of Review.  Maybe this? 

 

Same pattern in "Dragon" colorway.  The finished Cowl is in Kimono colorway.  It is totally brainless.  I may at least cast on and knit the first row tonight to have it as backup.  Of course I need to hand wind this skein again too.

But I do have this to get going on too.

 

This is (obviously) a Crazy Zauberball and I will be making a pair of helical striped Mitts after I finish the cuff.  It is lesson one in the Year of Techniques being featured on Mason Dixon Knitting.  Next pattern is out April, so I may fall behind but each pattern is a new technique featured on a quick pattern.  

I can almost guarantee I will fall behind.

New Beginnings

After finishing the Graceful Harvest Cardigan, my thoughts turned to my unfinished works.  I need to sort through the Baby Hap and the purple Ten Stitch Blankie, checking against the patterns and seeing where I am again before starting with them.

But after the sweater and the Sockhead Hat (which was miles and miles of ribbing and stockinette,) I felt the need for something quick.  So, I cast on.

 

Well, first I had to hand wind this so I could knit.

 

As you may be able to read from the label it is mostly bamboo.  Actually it is bamboo rayon, with some wool and a touch of acrylic.  

After a couple days of knitting, including a near needle disaster I am doing quite well.  The tip came off the cable, leaving several inches of stitches swinging free.  I dug out a darning needle and heavy thread, and put them on a lifeline.  From there I was able to put them back on the needles and catch the ones that dropped back a row or two and all is well.

 

Did I mention it is going to be a cowl?  Easy peasy knitting, with some watching the one needle tip.

I also turned this:

 

into this.

 

I weighed them so they should be equal.  More on this project in the future.

Stash Busting

Today was Spin Guild, postponed a week due to the Senior Center being closed last week.  And even though I brought my knitting, due to my bum knee, I did bring fiber.

A few days ago I was tossing stash in my Wool Room and knew some had to go.  My spinning fiber stash was well beyond the SABLE level.  SABLE stands for "Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy".  My fiber room definitely reflected that status.

I pulled out a gold and red bag to start with, then two bags of light blue Corridale cross.  A one pound bag of a pine green and brown combed top, a big bag of peachy Merino roving from Stonehedge Mills, some possible alpaca, and various bits of other rovings.  I had three large garbage bags full. Plus the merino in a separate bag of fluff.  I didn't look too closely.  I didn't want to be tempted.

Once at the meeting place, I lugged them in, plus my coffee, purse and knitting bag, all in one trip.  (Whew!). Then I dumped it down and told the others to have at it.  None of it was coming home with me.

There was some unclaimed, but that is going to be passed on to another spin group that meets farther north.

On my way home I picked up a four foot closet rod and tossed the aluminum rack that had been sagging and dropping hangers of clothes in my wool room.  While I was setting it up, I found the original bag of red gold roving that started it all.  I know just where it is going.  Not on my shelf either.

 

I put in the new closet pole, hung summer clothes and put some of my remaining roving on the corner shelf.

 

I have walking around room again.  And I found of the second pound of pine green and brown top. 

 

Thursday, it will go to live with the first pound.  

Sweater quantity!  That's always a good thing!

First Finished

The first Finished Object of the year, like the last project of 2016, is a hat for a granddaughter.

 

You may recall, before Christmas when we went shopping for sweater yarn, that my Favorite Teen mentioned needing a slouchy hat.  The Turquoise Sockhead hat fit the bill perfectly.  Being her favorite color didn't hurt either.

 

And it is definitely slouchy.  I want one of my own.  Which is also the problem I am having with the Graceful Harvest Cardigan that I am working on too.

 

It is a simple raglan sweater with a unique collar/border treatment.  It is a fast knit and I only have a few more inches to go before I start the bottom four inches of garter stitch.  I hope she likes it.

Problem is, now I want one of these too.  But it isn't on my list of knitting goals for this year.  I need to finish some other projects first.

On the bright side, here it is January 19, and I still haven't cast on anything new.  

For me, that is amazing!

One Down!

With some fast and furious knitting, I have finished my first project of the year.  Just as the last of 2016 was a hat for my littlest granddaughter, my first  FO or Finished Object is another hat.  But this time it is for my oldest granddaughter.

 

I know it looks long but the Turquoise Sockhead Hat is a slouchy hat and the length makes it slouchy.  It even fits nicely on my big head, with room for my hair clip.  Once I catch up on all of my knitting goals and dare start something new, I just may make one for myself.

And there I go, already wanting to cast on a new project.  But I will carry on with my previously stated goal and continue on to the Graceful Harvest cardigan, again for my favorite teen.  

I will probably want to make one of those for me too, when I get done.

I Hate When That Happens

The red hat for my Little Peanut was going great.  The required 6 inches was complete and the final shaping was begun.

And then......it wasn't coming out right.  I unknit the shaping row and could find no mistakes.  

Then I recounted the stitches.  Oh oh.  Only 64 instead of 72.  That will make a difference.

 

So, here I am back at the beginning again.  Luckily, it is going to be a bit warmer these next few days.  I can get it to her by this weekend, I'm sure.

In the meantime, I better get those needles flying.

What's a Grammy to Do?

So, when Grammy discovered on Christmas that her Little Peanut needs to find a hat that fits her, what else can Grammy do but go diving in the stash?

 

And today I started a hat with some superwash wool yarn left from the crocheted scarf and mitts.

 

We are guessing on the size, after looking at several patterns.  So far, I have this much.

 

Since the patterns are estimating 13 inches for a newborn head, and 15 1/4 for a year olds head circumference, I hope this will work.  All in ribbing, it stretches from 6 1/2 to 14 1/4 inches.  

Measurement of actual baby head to follow.  Unless Grammy finishes this and takes it for a try on first.

Brrrrrrr!

Country winters, gotta love them.

This morning, I knew something was up when I only had cold water to wash my face.  I woke Hubby as I got ready to pick up Younger Son at work to check it out.  Apparently he had bumped a line on the hot water heater, and it just needed tightening.  

But that wasn't the least of our troubles.  

The inside temps started dropping, down to 63 by the end of the day.  It seems the damper on our outdoor boiler has a broken sensor.  (We discovered this at 9pm and the afore mentioned interior 63 degrees.) Why do these things always happen when it is blowy and like 9 degrees outside?

Of course, after Hubby bumped up the thermostat on Monday, and I was in a 76 degree house in shorts and tee shirt, with the fan blowing, I wasn't as put out as he was today.

Until he can get in touch with the local Amish dealer for our furnace Hubby stuck a big bolt in the damper, to hold it open.  I think my big wool Leftover Pi Shawl/Blanket will be on the bed tonight.  

 

I know the pets will appreciate it too.

Fiber Fumes

So, on the day after attending a fiber festival with a friend, what do you do to recover from the lanolin and yarny fiber fumes? You play in your stash of course. While I just could not justify spending upwards of $75 for a single skein of the ombre dyed yarn that was everywhere (going from one color to another, or light to dark, over an 400-800 yard skein) I still found something to love.

Of course there was some stash enhancement while there. I purchased the two skeins of semi solid blue, and got the green free. I think they are probably destined for another shawl, since I wear shawls more than sweaters. One of the three patterns I purchased was a two color shawl.The skein on the left had a sample that was knit up into a scarf that really showed off all the light and dark color spots. I think that skein is telling me it wants to be socks, simple ones to let the colors play together nicely.

I also made a purchase to replace my broken sizable zero needle, which is already safely inserted into my Simple Brainless socks, taking over my broken needle.

On the way home we stopped at Arnies, a mega multi-craft supply store. I got some more yarn in a slow transitional colorway to possibly use with another shawl pattern I purchased.

Eventually Sandy and I made it home. With her mothers illness we had not gotten together much all summer. I was happily surprised when at the last minute we were able to make this trip. It was great fun to be able to spend the day together.

It does not, however, count as the "up north" roadtrip to compensate for the knitting of her Traveling Woman Shawl.

Even if I didn't get a picture of the finished shawl from her Alaskan cruise.

 

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Knitting Angst

It's real people. Just like the agony of defeat, without the skis.

So what happened? I got ready to sit down with some knitting this evening deciding to work on my Simple Brainless Socks. I pulled them out of my bag, adjusted the needles when....what? The one tip has snapped off from the cable. So I know one thing I may need to purchase this weekend at the Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool Festival: size 0, 40 inch circular needle. Preferably wood, but I won't be fussy. I had only used them for the amount of sock you see here.

So, since that won't be getting worked on for a while, I pulled out some handspun, merino silk I believe, and wound it into a ball to start a new shawl. Of course, since my swift is hung up with that mohair I mentioned before, this was hand wound again.

I think this will make a decent semi-brainless traveling project, once I work through the pattern repeat a time or two.

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Knit On!

The day started with a warm turn. So the blankie sized projects stayed in their project bags. But look see!

I was able to work on my socks. And I have one finished and the second sock cast on! Even the ends are woven in. These are the Gold Digger socks in the color Cactus Flower by MadelineTosh sock yarn. I hope the second one goes as fast. It took just one month, with lots of other projects, since the chart work was too hard to do in the evenings.

This was the first time I ever used a lifeline on the toes of socks. I was doing my usual toe, because my foot is wider and less pointy then the original. I wanted to be sure I didn't make it too short so put in the lifeline in case I had to rip back. But all was good.

I also spent some time in the wool room. A short time back I wanted to start another shawl project. I found some country blue baby loop mohair that had been marinating in the stash for a few years. I heard it say that it wanted to be a Faroese shawl, so I was ready to turn it into a big yarn cake so I could get started knitting.

However, after getting it on the swift, and struggling in the heat and humidity to adjust the swift and start winding, there was not an end to be found. Even after I cut the yarn that was holding the skein together, (in only one place) there was no end attached to it as usual.

After struggling for several minutes to find at least one end, I finally gave up, as the wool room was turning into a steam room. Or so it felt, in my frustration.

Today, while it was somewhat cooler, I tried again. With no luck finding an end again, after several minutes I finally surrendered. I broke the yarn and started winding by hand. The hand winding was necessary because in searching and poking the skein, as well as the struggle to get it on the swift, the lovely mohair was a bit tangled.

This is going to take a while, untangling as I wind. Maybe by the time it is all wound up, I will be able stand to have a lap full of mohair again.

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Hot, and Muggy, with Wool Sock

Will this summer ever end? I can only count a few nights in the last couple months with comfortable sleeping conditions. Old farm houses do not cool down easily after the sun beats down on them all day.

I am leaving my snowy background on Facebook until the weather breaks. I am sure glad I don't need to sit in a hot stuffy classroom all day.

On a cheerier note, I have the sock ready for session two of my class. It is the Gold Digger Sock, top down with the gusset done before the heel turn.

The gusset is all complete, and ready to turn the heel.

I even made the supreme sacrifice and tried on the sock to show on the blog. (I mean after all, wool? In this heat.)

See how the design goes all the way down the heel?

I think I am going to like this sock. Even if I don't enjoy trying in on on a muggy afternoon. Wool doesn't wear well with 88 degrees and high humidity.

I am so ready for cold and snow.

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Hearth and Home

My hometown, Hesperia Michigan, is celebrating 150 years this summer. Each weekend from July 4th through Labor Day there is something going on.

This weekend is dedicated to Hearth and Home.

You will notice on the schedule above, this Saturday there will be some demonstrations in the pavilion at Weaver Park. Old timers like me may know it as the old fair grounds. There will be demonstrations of quilt tying, basket weaving, Dutch oven cooking, and spinning. Guess who is the guest spinner?

Yes, that's me.

Hmmmm. I have a feeling that I won't need to bundle up quite so much tomorrow. Last October, when I spun at the library, the temps were in the low to mid thirties. (I can only dream of those temperatures now.). At least it is only supposed to be in the mid to upper 70's tomorrow.

I have been scurrying around, gathering roving, my hand cards, some uncarded locks, a couple drop spindles and spinning totes. My traditional wheel, Addy, is already loaded in Hharry and ready to go. I can hardly wait. (Why yes, I do have more than one wheel. But only three now. I have had two others that I learned on and passed along.)

So please stop by if you have the chance. I will be there from 10am to 2pm and would love to see you.

 

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Reminiscing

Gosh, was it really seven years? It must be because these pictures popped up from June 2009.

Our Spin Guild took a field trip one week, to the fiber mill near East Jordan, Stonehedge Fiber Mill.

One of our group had a bunch of wool to drop off/pickup. (She has her own wool room there.). The rest tagged along for a field trip.

What fun! They showed how they clean and prepare wool both to leave as roving or to spin into yarn to sell.

And their spinning room. Wow.

We may have even made a few purchases.

 

Then we were off for lunch and another stop, with more purchases.

Hey gang, we need to plan another trip like that some time. It was fun.

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