Long Overdue

Oh how I love long weekends. I took Friday off as well to be able to really relax and get a bit of cleaning done. I'm also obviously taking this chance to get some blogging done as well!

I can't believe how long I've had my February Lady sweater finished and haven't posted pictures. I guess that's sometimes what happens when there's a sweater you really really like that gets worn immediately after finishing.


There was enough yarn left at the end for me to be able to make a matching hat, which is rather cute when paired with the sweater.


I also made this cute flowerpot hat while I was on the road doing USDA work.





A while ago I'd received a bunch of corriedale on trade, so decided to make a chunky three-ply yarn sweater/coat thing. It is extremely warm. I think it'll be fine for a coat-sweater this winter!



Also, apparently my nephew Nick really enjoys wearing hats, and has been borrowing Ally's pink piggle hat, so for his birthday this year he gets his own nice warm handknit hat!

Options

My wonderful Mother-in-law (the one who got me the Jumbo flyer kit a few blog posts ago) liked the shawl in the previous post so much that she asked for one herself. It was such a fun knit I was already planning on making more, so am ecstatic to knit it again. Though I may not only take 5 days at it this time!

Since she's in Michigan and I'm in North Carolina, I'm gonna post a bunch of yarn options here for her to look at.

First up is some handspun. I have beautiful alpaca fiber that spins into a slightly thicker than fingering weight yarn, but it is oh so buttery soft. I can easily adjust the pattern by using a larger needle to make it more open and lacey. This is a swatch of (from left to right) a commercially prepared mixture of bamboo, alpaca and merino (the blueish one), Lola (brown), Snowdrift (white), and Cinnamon (beige)

I can also take any of the three on the right and make a tweedy blend; Lola plus Snowdrift would make for a very pretty carmel color, for example. This little swatch I'm going to mail along with the birthday gift that I spaced out on packing when we came to Colorado for Jenny's wedding.

I also have some washed and ready to card Corriedale which is not as soft as the alpaca, but it makes for lovely varigated yarn that makes a spectrum of natural colors, all from one sheep.



But she was talking more something that could be used for formal, and while these are soft and beautiful, they are more rustic.

So I have some commercially prepared yarns that are already in my stash, waiting for a project!

A black and white tofutsies yarn. Very soft and silky because of the soysilk, and it will block well.

Premier Bamboo Merino and Nylon sock yarn. This should subtly stripe, and is a muted orange, blue and grey color. Very pretty, very soft.


A couple options from Berocco Sox. The top one is browns with purple, the bottom one is greys with blue. Wider stripes than the Sensations yarn, and this isn't as soft, but it's extremely pretty.

Lion brand Sock Ease. A charcoal grey base with yellow, white and orange accents. Mom Kass did mention blacks and blues, but hey, gotta have a little yellow, right? (As an aside, this is Jeff's favorite of all the options in my stash)

a gorgeous handpainted merino yarn. All yellows and tones of yellow. I personally couldn't resist tossing this one in as an option :)

Finally, if none of these seems just right, I'm hoping that they'll end up coming here for Thanksgiving, at which point I can take Mom Kass around to my favorite knitting shops and have her pick out just the right one!

5 days

Yep. I knit a shawl in 5 days. Cast on Thursday, cast off the following Tuesday. The dress was made in about a week as well. Both are for this weekend, as Jeff's sister is getting married!

Frog Pond

The sweater I have been making for Jeff is "finished"

and I hate it.

I don't think I'm even going to post pictures, but it doesn't fit right.

New Bike!

For a variety of reasons, I decided to get a new bike. My mountain bike needs a lot of work, and frankly for living in a city with decent biking routes, I feel it's a good idea to be able to bike to places that aren't that far away.

Like the store, to get beer, pickles, tomatoes and chips for the BBQ we're having today.


Helmet - Check. Sunglasses - Check. Bike basket - Check. Neon orange safety shirt - Check

Off I go!


Of course, as we all know you can't buy beer before noon on a Sunday. . .

So I return mostly successful about 45 minutes later.



Not bad at all.

The ultimate goal is to bike to work on nice mornings like this. My office is big enough that I can store my bike in it even

Jenny's Wedding Shawl

My SIL, Jenny is getting married this summer in Colorado. I offered, instead of china or a dish or something, to make her a shawl that she could wear, both in the wedding and after. Since they're established adults with all their own cookware and such, I though thtis a more practical and meaningful gift. The time and love put in it is worth a lot more than a Mr. Coffee tea maker!

The first yarn we picked was a little too pinkey-purple.


The second yarn was perfect.


It's amazing how shrimpy and pathetic lace looks prior to blocking.


And how lovely it looks when it's done.

Blog? Huh? Wha?

Well, it seems life swallowed up my ability to blog. That and Facebook. Pictures of my recent adventures will be coming. MDS&W, a "new" ren faire, and lots and lots of knitting.

Bacon Apple Pie

I've been rather busy with Ren Faire stuff, and of course, an idiot who keeps forgetting to bring out her camera at said faire. Oh well.

I did do something nice for all my friends at the CRF. With Jenny's help, we made two, count them, TWO Bacon Apple Pies.

They were delicious.

And rather pretty.


And my friends came up with another interesting idea.

Replace the bottom crust with more bacon.

Gauntlet thrown. . . Stay Tuned.

New Old Wheel!

Funny how things work out sometimes. I was talking with an old friend, mentioned my spinning and she offered me a wheel, for free, that was old. Her mom had bought it some 10 years ago and never used it. After getting it, I think I see why, and I will say, this wheel is worth every penny!


only one speed



And missing the treadles (Which are rather important!)


I'm going to see about replacing it all, and making a nice usable wheel out of it. Or, give it to the next person who'd like to do the same!

Brown Sheep FIber Swap!

Goody Goody! Goodies!

On Ravelryy, a secret swap was organized; exchange some Brown Sheep fiber plus goodies that didn't exceed $15, and pamper someone you hardly know. On my end, I had the fun of sharing my absolute favorite coffee with a fellow coffee junkie, plus gave her some of my lovingly blended batts and a new drop spindle. I just love enabling people!

I got my package today as well (I guess everyone had the good idea to ship Priority!)

In it I found:


Some beautifully hand-dyed roving, lovely freshwater pearl stitch markers, some awesome looking tea, some hand-dyed silk noil scraps, plus some coccoons to play with, silver thread, beads, butterfly beads, a teeny tiny crochet hook, recipe cards for dog cookies, dog-themed cookie cutters, and. . . a mystery item. It is a square-round piece of wood, with a piece cut out of it. I can't wait to find out what it is and what I'm supposed to do with it!

More cute doggy pictures

I swear, I still am knitting and spinning, but these two are so cute!

The effects of gravity on a greyhound.

Greyhounds, one of the most graceful and beautiful dogs (in my completely unbiased opinion) are unfortunately plagued by one of the most prominent forces in the universe: Gravity.
Here we see specimen "M" who was only moments ago completely on the couch.



The most common defense a greyhound has against the force of gravity is wiggling. It is the hope of the subject that said wiggling will, through entropic forces, settle them in a state which uses less energy and is therefore, more comfortable.



Initial attempts may cause the head to become stuck between comfortable places.

But the stalwart greyhound will persevere until a more comfortable state is attained.



umm, Mimsy? Is that really comfortable?



mmmmmmyep!

Thus the subject has proven the theory that greyhounds are not only cute, but flexible. . . and a little silly.

Getting Closer. . .

It's fun watching the relationship between these two dogs progress. They went from very hands-off playing, to laying NEAR each other and now. . .

"my foot is cold"

"My hat smells funny"
"Your belly is comfy"

Also, it is AMAZING how much fur Mimsy sheds. I'm not sure if it's because she's still shedding the last of her winter coat or if it's because her fur is black and we notice it more on the beige carpet. Either way, I'm vaccuuming more!

Another reason I like my in-laws

MIL double-fisting

Greyhound Sleeping Positions

Perpendicular



parallel



With Daddy