Nearing Completion

So the felted vest has everything that needs to be felted done! Hooray for rediculously long car rides. The next step is putting on a temporary cotton border and felting the whole darn thing. Not sure if I'll get to that in Michigan or in GA, or not until NC (Depending on who will let me use their washing machine!)

Here it is in its rediculously huge starting point.

Ally and Ben!

So we're in Indiana now, visiting with my brother, his wife, Amanda and their children Ben and Ally.

Ben had a good birthday,


Got some big boy underpants


And Ally tried to eat Amanda!

All Healed!

My mom was requesting a picture of Callay's surgery site all healed. It's looking really good, and I think that the hair will probably grow back over it and cover most of the scarring. We'll see!




And she was very cute on the car ride up to Michigan!

And, Socks!

So these are the socks I made for DH, Jeff. They are made from a ramie/wool/nylon yarn I scavenged from a sweater from the thrift store. Essentially, it's got a crocheted toe, a knit body and a crocheted afterthought heel. They aren't great, but Jeff likes them and I certainly learned a little about how to make your own sock pattern. I'll make more socks with this yarn, but maybe a little looser, they are kinda tight on Jeff.

Spun and Plied!

Here it is, my first yarn. It's the brown and blue fiber I got a couple of weeks ago. It's not perfect, slubby in some places and thin in others. I made a few measurements and it's about 114 yards and somewhere between 12 and 13 WPI, which makes it right around worsted weight! Go me!

Flashing My Stash!

Okay, so maybe I went a little overboard, but I was wayyyyy too excited about amassing a stash of some gorgeous woolen roving. I ordered this from The Sheepshed Studio. It's a total of 8 lbs, with what looks like a bonus 0.5 lb bag of teal thrown in for good measure. It got here very fast, and about the only thing I wish was that the black was a little more solid black, but what I have is absolutely lovely. And they're mill ends, so I really can't be terribly picky, other than the general category of color they're selling.

Here's some fiber Pr0n!

First REAL Yarn! (and first fiber Friday?)

So last evening I finally got up the courage to go into that batt of roving I got along with the three ashford bobbins. Here is my product!



I think I started out with not enough twist, because it kept pulling apart in my hands. Then I adjusted my ghetto tension band (Thanks for the tips Jimbobspins!) and got some fairly steady yarn. Then I think I was getting tired and stiff in the shoulders because I way overtwisted the single and discovered it was because my ghetto tension band had loosened on me. I think I need a better handle for it, the one I made doesn't seem to stay consistent terribly well. So far I've been through two arms-length chunks of the roving. I'll need to borrow my friend's scale to see just how much I've actually spun, so I can get an idea for how much more I need to do.

Definitely a learning experience, and definitely fun! I can't wait to ply this and make something (Probably something felted to hide the mistakes!)

Callay's Lipoma, Post-op Update 9 - Stitches Out

So the stitches came out today. You can tel the areas where she was able to access it and lick it through the shirt. The Vet said it's really not a problem, but she needs to be kept calm for another almost week. That and the fact that she ripped her back toenail off completely on Sunday.

sigh.

Here's the pic. It looks pretty bad, but actually it is fully healed. Greyhounds just don't have a lot of fat and have a lot of loose skin, so they heal funny.

It's Yarn! (technically)

Okay, so the "practice yarn" from Joannes has been taken apart, the slubs drafted, re-spun and Navajo plied. I was too excited and didn't get a picture of the singles.

It's way over-twisted, but it was a good way to learn about my wheel.

Next I'm going to take the wheel apart, finish it, and be a good, patient girl. Then I'll put it back together and start on that gorgoeous blue and brown roving. I don't think I'll navajo ply it, I may try making one of those Handy Andy's or simply andean ply it myself.

High Fiber Diet!

So, you have to love an enabler. I went to a local fiber store that happened to have Ashford bobbins for only $8 apiece, which is less than you can get them anywhere online. I decided to take a spin through the roving she had, and picked out a lovely brown and blue roving. The blue is dyed merino, the brown is natural alpaca. The owner said it would be a very nice starting fiber. I was thinking I'd get just enough to get started, and wanted about 4-5 ounces. She weighed it and said it'd only be about $18 for the whole thing, 11.5 ounces. So I bought it all. Got to love commercializm and enterprizing. I did stay within budget, however!

Here's the pic of my lovely purchase, next to my less-than-lovely computer. I'll post more as I get it spun up.



I'm actually planning on starting spinning by taking apart some of the Joanne Sensations "Licorice" yarn. It actually starts off looking like some plied handspun, and when the plies are taken apart, it drafts much like roving, in the places where it it lumpy. This way, I'm practicing on 3.5 ounces I paid a dollar for (gotta love Joanne's sales). Here's the before pic. Hopefully this evening I'll be able to post an after pic. Wish me luck!

Another Stripe Gone!

So the top descriptor has changed, as Jeff and I successfully completed our tests for first brown. It was a really great test for us. Both of us made small mistakes on katas and such, but either the black belts didn't notice or they didn't think too much of it. I received a lot of compliments on my self-defense sets, and one of the black belts wants me to teach him some of them! I take that as a very high compliment from him!

One of the students who was testing with us, well, we knew ahead of time he was going to be trouble. He didn't come in to class, he obviously didn't practice, and we saw something we've never seen before. He didn't get stepped out on. He failed, and while the rest of us were told we had permission to walk the line for our belts, he was told to get back in to line. Oh. . . the tears. I have to say though I wholehartedly agree with Sensei Shaw's decision. I overheard him and another black belt discussing it afterwards and she said she wouldn't have felt good about passing him. He was going for his brown belt, and really did not show the level of energy and effort required.

But enough about the bad. The afterparty was fabulous. Another student had brought in bottles of water nestled in ice. Well, a few drinks later and the ice is going where? Down peoples' shirts. Fun times. I am proud to say I was the instigator of that. They got me good, though. Mr. Shaw decided it was time for my comeuppance, and he pinned me while some of the kid students poured cold ice water down my pants. brrr. I got him, though. My hand was free and there was a particularly large piece of ice within reach. I got it down his pants, and I think into his underwear! hee hee. good times.

I'll post pictures when I get them back. My friend and fellow student Kellie took a bunch of them and another student Peter videotaped the whole thing. I appreciate them greatly for what all they did.

So I'm sore all over, partially from the test, partially from the wrestling with the kids and Mr. Shaw afterwards. I think Jeff and I are going to go see Pirates, and then supposedly my boss is having a graduation party for his son, which we were planning on attending. I'll have to call and see if that's still on, because Tropical Storm Barry's remnants are currently dumping a lot of well-needed rain on the area. Hey, maybe my grass will grow!

Callay's Lipoma, Post-op Update 8

So no pictures today, Callay's doing really well. I've been able to express about a teaspoon or so of fluid from her surgery site each time I did it the past two days, and as of this morning, there's no fluid buildup. There is some swelling, but it's not liquid, so nothing's moving. It's probably a hematoma, which is good because that means healing. She gets her stitches out on Wednesday, so I'll post a picture of the final product.