Four Hundred and a Giveaway!

This is my 400th blog post! I feel like it should be epic. It really isn't though, just everyday knitting stuff.
My Vesper KAL socks for July are on a timeout because I managed to completely snap one of my needles. Really I can just swap out another set but I was kinda annoyed so they're taking a short break.
I've started a few new things recently. I started a baby sweater for a friend who is having a little one in January. She adores the color green (especially this bright, lovely green) so I cast on a green baby sweater.

So far it doesn't look like much of anything but it will knit up quickly if I actually work on it. The yarn is nom from Gritty Knits in the colorway Brazil and the pattern is Maile Sweater by Nikki Van De Car. They don't know the gender yet (although we have suspicions) so I'm hoping the color and pattern won't look too girly in case it isn't a girl.
I also finally started my Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief. It's knit from my Cloudlover handspun Merino/Silk in the colorway Ligeia. It's beautiful and over 500 yards of chain-plied yarn so although I'm knitting it on size US 3 needles, it should be a decent kerchief.

I cast this on then promptly went to a family reunion bringing ONLY this project. If you know me in real life, you know that's odd. I knit on it a lot in the car since my husband drove and while visiting with family. Then we went and hung out with our gaming friends and I knit on it some more. I got a good distance on it since it was all I had to knit! 
I also decided that my lovely little French Press Slippers, which I adore, were too worn out to repair so I had to knit another pair. This is my third pair! I just love them because I can wear them everywhere.
They're not too heat-inducing for the summer and they're great for spring/fall/winter too.

Hard to believe these will fit my feet soon isn't it? They're in felting right now though. I started these last night and finished them this morning. I only took so long to knit them because I spent a little time reading last night and also I really took my time sewing up the outside edges, reinforcing it because that's where the other two pairs have worn out. I don't bother with the strap part of the slippers, it's purely decorative and they stay on fine without so I just keep them as they are. I am hoping to dye these some other color but we'll see. The white might be cute.
The Garter Monster Shawl Take 2, Mini monster is finished too!

It's one of the three projects I finished knitting while visiting with family. I really like how this one turned out too and I'm going to be writing up the pattern (then looking for test-knitters) so I can release it as a pattern! You may remember the original Garter Monster knit from DK/worsted yarn. I wanted to knit it again to make more detailed notes about the pattern so I used a fingering-weight handspun. I think it turned out beautiful.

I'm going out of town again this weekend so I will probably take one or both of the Garter Monsters to wrap up in if the Air conditioning is too chilly.

The month of August is coming up fast and it's set to be very busy so there will be lots of running here and there. Hopefully it won't affect the blogging schedule too much because the travel will be mostly on the weekends.
In the meantime I really need a travel sock so it's time to dig out some other needles for that Vesper sock. It can't hide in it's project bag forever.
Also, since it is a special 400th Blog post, let's do a giveaway! 

This is a 4 ounce braid of Zarzuela Fibers Falkland. The colorway is Cinnamon Stick and it was part of her fiber club for September 2012.

I'm going to give this away as a custom-spin! You tell me how you'd like it spun and I'll do my best to comply! Two-ply lace? Chain-plied worsted? Let me know what you want! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post. I'll leave it open until August 15th to be sure everyone has a chance to enter. At that time I will close the comments and draw a winner! We will communicate and I will spin it up for you. (Please note, I hate that I have to say this but nasty and negative comments will be deleted and not considered for the drawing.)

Crises

I'm so sorry for the blog silence. I was working along on the Tour de Fleece and really enjoying it when things took a big change. Last week on Tuesday my great aunt was in a car accident. She was killed instantly. We weren't very close in the last few years but we exchanged Christmas cards every year and I had been out to her house for coffee a few times with my mom and grandma. She had health issues, including her heart but we never expected anything like this. It came as a huge shock.
Things immediately changed as I had to travel to be with family, help plan and attend a funeral. It's times like these when you truly appreciate the Elizabeth Zimmermann quote:

"Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." 

That's what I did. I packed several knitting projects and some spinning because it was the Tour de Fleece and I travelled to be with my family. And I knit. I packed about 4 knitting projects. Over the week I was with my family, I finished 3 of them. They'll each have their moment in the sun but for now, let's focus on one.
I had taken my Multnomah out and was knitting away again. It didn't look like much finished.

But blocking is magical and it's waiting to dry now. It looks wonderful!

I really like this pattern and I would totally consider knitting it again, I love the idea of doing one that's larger too. I love the way it breaks up the colors in a hand-dyed yarn too. Although this Alpaca Sox is a commercial yarn, I had lots of trouble with pooling when I tried to knit other patterns.
The days were busy, full of family and lots to do but the nights, trying to sleep with your mind racing was difficult. Although we weren't close in the last few years, my grandmother and her sister were very close, they spoke daily. They lived close to each other and spent many days together, this will be difficult for her. I have so many memories of visiting her farm and playing as a child and yes, learning to knit. This amazing aunt is the one who taught me to knit. Coming to terms with the end of that has been difficult, more difficult than I thought it would be but I'm happy to say; I'm coming through the other side, thanks in no small part to my knitting and my family. This shawl's for you Gloria.
My husband did his best to understand why I was gone so long (although he was down for the funeral, he travelled home after) and to try to tidy up the house for me so it wouldn't be such a shock to come home. The lovely things awaiting my arrival from the mailbox helped too!

For now I'm going to settle back into life at home and take some time to knit.

Itching for Knitting

I've been really focused on spinning lately since it's the Tour de Fleece and I'm working on some lovely things!

Targhee from Zarzuela in Emeralds (that's the green), Cloudlover Shetland in Decay and on the Russian supported spindle, Cloudlover Rambouillet in Iris. It's just gorgeous stuff and I'm making great progress but I'm definitely missing my knitting time.
I managed to finish my Vesper KAL socks for June while down with family for the 4th.

Short socks are so great for the summer and this colorway, called Clover Kiss, reminds me so much of clover! I love them. The green is much brighter green than it's showing up here, much more like a clover green.
I did cast on my July Vesper socks but I haven't really worked on them in days and I'm daydreaming about knitting a sweater. Yes, during the 90 degree heat, I'm daydreaming about sweater-knitting. I did dig out my Multnomah and started working on it again, in the hopes that a bit of knitting after I'm tired of spinning for the day would be nice but it's not scratching the itch. I haven't cast on my Age of Brass and Steam yet either, the balled yarn is glaring at me right now. I may have to cast on my Monday Morning Cardigan like I swatched for awhile back, you know, just to take the edge off.

Decisions, Decisions

I'm slowly but surely making some slow progress on my TdF goals for this year. My drop spindle has been slowly filling up and I really feel like my Supported spindling is getting better.

I've been spinning some Cloudlover Rambouillet in Iris on the drop spindle and some Gritty Knits Merino on the supported spindle. I love the colors in the Merino but since it's so similar to the color of the spindle, I found it a little boring and the drop spindling is tough on my back since I most often do it sitting down and spend most of the time with my arms raised high trying to get a decent length before winding, so I've decided to put away the drop spindle for now and concentrate on the support spindle, with the rambouillet. I did spin almost an ounce onto the drop spindle though so I'm very happy to have made such progress. It really is amazing fiber.
Since I got home from family events for the Fourth of July (Independence Day here in the United States) I have been wheel spinning too. I'm mostly working on my Cloudlover Shetland Decay. I really love this color and it's so unusual for me to love these colors together.

Browns, orange and some bright blue. It just looks great. I originally split the braid down the middle to spin into a two-ply. It's spinning very well and I'm not making any effort to make it super fine so I think it will be a sport weight if I two-ply it. Did you catch that? It was kinda subtle.
The truth is, I'm not sure I'm going to two-ply it. I just don't know how useful a two-ply sportweight will be in Shetland. I wouldn't knit a shawlette out of it since it's not the softest fiber and I have several hats and mitten sets, do I really need another? (I know, I live in Minnesota, I can always use another but let's gloss over that for the moment.) I'm considering changing my mind, making a three-ply and knitting bulky socks for the winter. The question then becomes should I chain-ply or traditional 3-ply. I have a little bit until a third of the fiber is actually on this bobbin so I will consider. Because I love the colors together and not necessarily individually, I'm leaning toward a traditional 3-ply but that will look completely different as yarn and then knit into socks so maybe a chain-ply will be fine. The color repeats appear to be long enough and then I wouldn't have to find extra bobbins somewhere in the office. Maybe now I'm leaning more toward chain-ply. You can see the trouble I'm having.
I'm also trying to go easy on the wheel-spinning because I managed to overdo it last week and my ankle is hurting. It's an old sprain that was never really given proper time to heal (long story involving a very bad doctor I couldn't change because it was a workman's comp issue. He retired soon after.) So I'm just trying to spin with my right foot which is fine as my Matchless is a single-treadle but I'm accustomed to switching to the other foot if one gets tired and I can't do that right now.
Maybe instead I'll just go knit this ball of handspun into an Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief.

It is calling to me. That's why it's wound up and ready to go instead of in a skein like it was before.

Slow Progress

I'm working hard on my Tour de Fleece goals. Saturday we had a great St. Cloud Knitters party and I got lots of spinning done. I'm really trying to keep up my momentum but it does take time.
I did manage to finish spinning my pretour fiber last night and today I plied it into yarn.

It's pictured here with my other spinning. The Zarzuela Targhee is started and I've been working on the Cormo/Cashmere batt I got at Shepherd's Harvest on my Russian Supported Spindle.
The yarn that's finished is that lovely purple though. It's chain-plied and I'm very happy to say it came out to be over 500 yards! I want to knit the Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief in the Smitten Yarns KAL so I'm very glad to have this finished and drying so I can cast on soon.

It sure does look pretty in the skein though doesn't it? It is definitely a little over-plied but after a wash and twack it's drying very nice and straight so I'm not worried about curling.

It's handspun so of course there's some variation in the yarn but overall averages a light fingering weight and I adore it. The colors are much deeper and richer than in the photos but I just can't seem to get a photo of it that has the right colors.

Preparation and Training

Saturday is the start of the Tour de Fleece or TdF. For those nonspinners out there, we will get you, it's only a matter of time... I mean, it's a super fun time where we spin along during the Tour de France. One of the best parts about it, as far as I'm concerned is the fact that you set your own goals. You can do whatever you'd like but you are encouraged to challenge yourself. For me, I love to use it as a time to strengthen my spinning skills and try to spin a little bit each day. I did go digging in the stash to find some things to set my sights on though.

Here are the main goals for the tour. Starting at the top: Cloudlover Merino in Peacock. This was a club colorway that a friend got and didn't love so I purchased it from her. It's been calling to me but I have no idea what it would like to be. To the right, Cloudlover Shetland in Decay. I love the Decay colorway and I got this last year at Shepherd's Harvest. I'm not sure about the Shetland base in this color so I also bought it on Polwarth this year. I feel like then it's okay to spin the Shetland and "use it up." I'm a little odd like that. The third braid is Zarzuela's Fibers Targhee in Emeralds. I really want this to be a traditional 3-ply because I think it would look amazing with those colors, subtly blending.
I also have one secret spinning project. I've already started it and it looks like this.

Exiting huh? No spoilers on this until it's done because it's a gift for a friend. It's going to (hopefully) be a lovely laceweight 2-ply when it's done though.
I have no delusions on finishing all these things, only that I'd like to work on them all if possible. I'd also love to spin something from my Into the Whirled stash finally so if I do miraculously finish all these things, then I can work on something from there.
I've been doing other things to get ready for the tour too. I glued the whorl back together that's been broken for over a year.

I can't believe how nice it looks, you can't even tell where unless you look very closely.

Don't worry, I was still using it, I just thought it was about time I actually fixed it.
I even sewed a spindle bag for my supported spindle I'm planning to use during the tour.

It's a 12-inch Russian Spindle made of Honduran Rosewood and I'm still getting used to it, it's my first Supported spindle ever so part of my goals are to get better with it during the tour. I cut the same size fabrics for the other box bags I've sewn, I just used a different zipper and sewed it the other way.
Here's a "regular" knitting project box bag.

Isn't that funny?
I've also got on my agenda to clean and oil the wheel very well so she is all ready to go and I'm "training" by trying to finish up a spin that's been in progress for a long time.


It's (surprise, surprise) Cloudlover 80 Merino/20 Silk. I think the colorway is named Ligeia but I can't tell for sure. It's all different shades of lovely purple and I want to knit it into an Age of Brass and Steam Kerchief when it's done.
The Tour de Fleece is really fun, you can join as many teams as you'd like, I'm on the Cloudlover team, the Supported Spindlers team and our local St. Cloud Knitters team. The very best part of the Tour de Fleece though? My amazing local spinners. We're taking the opportunity to have an all-day spinathon and potluck on the first day of the tour. Now I just need to figure out what I'm bringing as a dish to share and I think I'm ready for Touring.

Plurk Sock Swap Package

About the only good thing about Monday as far as I'm concerned is the mail comes. Sometimes that can be bad too if it's full of bills but sometimes you get something awesome!

Today I got my Plurk Sock Swap package. My awesome swap buddy Heather sent me some wonderful things. A purple drawstring knitting bag from Bright Light Crafts that even has pockets inside, a skein of Desert Vista Dyeworks Viso in Emeralds, Sapphires and Prince. I've never tried Desert Vista Dyeworks before and this 75% Superwash Merino/25% nylon yarn feels really nice. I can't wait to start knitting it. A really awesome bumper sticker that I have to find just the right place for (maybe on my spinning journal instead of my car) and some really pretty blue stitch markers. There's also a really nice card and some super cute cat post-its. She sent me my pattern through Ravelry and I got the Breaking Hearts Socks by Cristi H. Brockway. I can't wait to try it all out.
This whole experience has been so fun! I haven't done a swap like this before and I really enjoyed shopping for my swap partner and knowing that someone out there was shopping for me. Hopefully my partner will get her package soon too and I can send off her pattern then share what I tucked into her package.

Quenching the Craving

Once you become an experienced Knitter, Garter stitch becomes something new to you. Instead of being just a learning tool or even a staple in your Knitting diet, it becomes like junk food. You can love it and you can probably survive on it but eventually your brain is going to start begging for real food. For fruits and vegetables and complicated spices and nutrition. So many of the projects I've been knitting lately are garter stitch and I'm loving the ability to just zone out and knit, to read and knit or any number of other things but I was starting (I totally typed that as stitching.) to crave sustenance. Something bulkier, meatier. I was craving something complex. When I finished the Color Affection I couldn't resist any longer. I was craving something and garter stitch just couldn't quench it, neither could any of my other projects so I started digging through my Ravelry queue. It's gotten a little out of control so I refused to find something not in the queue. I looked through every single sock I had queued and finally settled on Lohengrin.
It's complicated and lovely and just what I was craving. Then I had to dig out yarn too of course and I finally settled on a skein of Malabrigo sock in color 854 Rayon Vert. In the skein it really looked very semisolid and I'm finding quite a bit of contrast now so I'm not sure that I love it but I need to get more rows into the chart to see if I like the way the stitches look before I decide.

It's very difficult to photograph, it's much more burgundy and less purple in person but it's just lovely and I love the feel of Malabrigo sock so I hope this works out.
The Plurk sock swap is done now, meaning I mailed off my package but she hasn't received it yet and I haven't received mine yet but I'm so excited for both of those things! I had so much fun choosing things for my swap buddy and since her favorite colors are out of my color comfort zone it was really a challenge sometimes too but a great challenge. I'm all nervous for her to love her package though and for me to love my package. Hopefully we'll find out soon!

All the Finishing

It's been all finishing around here lately. I have been wanting to finish up some spinning projects that I'm in the middle of so I dug out the two ounces of rambouillet from Cloudlover that were still not spun up. The color is Maenad and the first two ounces turned out great! I got more than 350 yards of chain-plied yarn. I wanted to spin the second half the same way so I spun it all up as a single on one bobbin. It had been a good while since I spun the first half (like more than a year) so I would have liked to have it nearby to look at but I seem to have misplaced it. That's because I pulled the whole office/wool room apart so I could organize it but I haven't got it all put back together yet. It's still a disaster and now so is the living room.

This skein spun up pretty well and plied up into a lovely skein of about 220 yards. I'm not sure that it was split evenly so I'm still happy with that yardage. Now I really want to find the other skein though so I have them together.

I just love it. The colors are unusual together but they really work. This skein is a little bit overplied (which is normal for me with a chain-plied yarn because I don't want it to be too loose) so it needs a good wash and twack, I just haven't gotten that far yet.
I really forced myself to work on my Color Affection too because I was excited to have a finished shawl and I was so ready to stop working on it.

It paid off too because now it's done! I continued the short rows in the three-color stripes until all the stitches were worked and I decided the edging in the third color made it a little dark so I didn't want to knit any more of it and I bound off after knitting only an inch of the edging. It still needs a blocking too but I really like it. It's not as deep as I thought it would be but it's really long, soft and lovely and I can't wait until I can wrap up in it. It's far too warm for that now.

The stripes look great and I really do love it though. All this finishing just makes me happy and it makes me not feel so guilty about the fact that I started something new last night. You'll have to wait and see what that is though. For now I'm going to revel in the fact that these things are finished.

Focus, I Think

The last couple of days I've really been focusing on my Color Affection, trying to get it finished. I love it and I've really enjoyed knitting it but the rows are long again and I'm just emotionally done with it.
The three-color stripes in short rows don't go all the way across the length, there's a small section at the side where they don't cover it. I decided that I would keep going with the short rows since I have plenty of yarn left and finish off those last stitches. I'm really not sure why I decided to do that. Maybe because it feels more finished if I short-row all the stitches. Maybe because I'm punishing myself for some unknown wrong I did somewhere in my life.
Who can tell. Anyway, I've been trying to get myself to work on it but I keep getting discouraged and finding myself just holding it and not knitting it.

I still think the colors are really great and I love how they play together, I'm just ready for it to be done. They sure look cute in my Stitched by Jessalu Doctor Who bag though don't they?
I really had to squish the cakes to get them in there but they fit very well now that they're partly used.

I guess I know what my weekend plans are; get this bad boy done!

Weekend in Pictures

I had a great time at our family reunion weekend. It was at my cousin Hunter's house way out in the country so we had lots of room for everyone in RVs and campers and whatever else. There was some mud.

That's my brother rocking his 4-wheeler back and forth to try to get it out.
My cousin even got his larger two-seater really stuck.

My uncle brought up the tractor.

But that wasn't cutting it so my cousin's husband brought up his pickup and chain.

They did eventually get them out too!

Although somewhat dirtier than when they started.
My view looked like this.

It will not post straight. I didn't get all muddy this time, it was much more fun to watch. The food and drink flowed freely and the sleep was minimal but it was worth it!

There was even knitting by the bonfire, that may have just been me.
Some legal fireworks.
 
Including well-supervised sparklers.

And staying up late. I ended up watching the sun rise on Sunday morning!

It was beautiful and after I finished up a toe yesterday at home, with socks that smelled like delicious bonfire;

My May Vesper socks were done! The colorway is Pansies at the Phipps and they stripe almost perfectly!

The only difference is a tiny bit of lavender on one toe. I think I can live with that. I've got my June Vesper skein wound and started but I haven't decided if they'll be plain again or if I will do a pattern. I've got a few rounds of ribbing to go before I decide.

Quick Hello and Good-bye

I'm sorry I've been absent from the blog, I've spent a good deal of time with this girl;

This is my niece and while she is super fun and busy, she is not super great at creating knitting time. To be honest, it's totally worth it to spend the time with her though. As you can see she loves to do silly things like sit in the toy box. She did manage to "help" me finish my first Vesper Pansies at the Phipps sock though.

I always forget how much I love knitting plain stockinette socks. I can do almost anything while knitting them! Exclusions seem to be showering and doing the dishes. I can practically knit them in my sleep. This is the skein meant for May though so I'm falling a little bit behind. I have a family reunion that I'm leaving for in about half an hour that I am hoping to have a little knitting time while visiting and while in the vehicle (I'm not the driver) so I'm planning to pack another skein of sock yarn, this half a pair and the Color Affection. That should be enough right? If you don't think so, don't tell me, I don't want to know! Regularly scheduled blogging will commence next week.

Lack of Affliction

The trouble with having a bunch of different things on the needles is that I want to work on each of those things. That means very little progress gets made. I did manage to get to the point of starting the 3-color stripes on my Color Affection.

I think it looks wonderful. I love how the colors are playing with each other. I really thought the third color and the second color would blend a lot more than they have.

As you can see though, the third does stand on its own. I love how short the rows are right now too, although they're getting longer, that's the nature of short rows.
I'm definitely enjoying this knit but I'm not planning a second or third Color Affection right now, maybe I haven't actually caught the "Affliction" some others have.
I am definitely afflicted by the weather this week though. I think that's part of my restlessness in my knitting. It's been rainy and gray every day this week with tiny little bits of sunshine here and there. I'm definitely ready for the rain to go away.