Recovery Completed!

Well, it did take me a while to recover; but, now I am back and better than before!  There is a lot to cover....

In my last blog post, I was working on my socks, Lurlene the Laundry Monster, and my sweater.  Lets start with the sweater.  I just could not get my gauge going, switched needles from the Signatures to my favorite Addi Lace and still just could not get excited enough about the Brea Sweater by Marie Wallin.  Simple solution- I switched over to the Aisling sweater, also by Marie Wallin.  Reason?  I have never knit from a Rowan book before and by knitting an easier version first, I can get the hang of how they write their patterns and how things fit.  I am using the same Lima yarn in the Macchu Picchu colorway, from Rowan.  What I have learned is that I LOVE this yarn!  It stood up to frogging, is soft and does not split.  I will knit with this stuff again!  I have completed the back of my sweater and have started the front.

I did complete Lurlene the Laundry Monster from the Book of Knitted Monster's by Rebecca Danger.  She is knit of my hand spun, which I call I am no Misty Mermaid Shadow colorway.  This is a combination of 2 of my favorite indie dyers. Fibernymph BFL in I am no Mermaid, plyed with Cloudlover BFL in Mist and Shadow. I was able to get a bulky weight yarn- perfect for my Lurlene Monster!

I just love her spots!   Now this yarn is a gradient; however, I did not get out of the purple portion- I still have a gradient cake of yarn leftover.

Since we are talking about monsters, I am reminded of my brother's twin boys, Cade and Kyle.  No, they are not monsters!  But, the do have a birthday coming up on March 25th.  They will be 5 years old.  My mother tells me they love stuffed toys.  So, I pulled out some leftover handspun from Highland Handmades- 100% Merino in the Sherwood colorway.  I also used the Bernat Alpaca in the natural color to create these 2 Rebecca Danger Monster Chunks, for them.  They are close enough that each boy will have his own and; at the same time, different enough that they will be able to identify whose is whose, thus, hopefully, eliminating the need for arguments.  Also, due to a recent swallowing of a toy incident, I stitched on the eyes and mouths rather than to use safety eyes or glue on the mouths.  I think they will like them:

Ok, so I did more than work on my sweater and the monsters....I always seem to have a pair of socks on the needles!  When I last posted, I was working on Wendy D. Johnson's Hearts and Flowers socks in the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight in the Firebird colorway.  I easily completed these before Valentine's day: 

But these are not the only pair of socks I completed during my recovery time!  My next pair was for my husband, Jim.  He works hard and deserves a new pair:

I used the Cherry Tree Hill Yarn Fingerpaints in the Java Jive colorway to make him this pair of 2x2 ribbed socks.  I did not use a pattern but did make a short row heel.  They fit him well and he seems to like them....he has worn them, already.

And then, I made myself yet another pair of socks.  I did not have many pairs of brown socks, so this was a natural choice!  I used Blue Moon Fiberworks Socks that Rock in medium weight in the Fall on Tap colorway to knit Kristen Kapur's Ampersand Socks:

Socks, Monsters and sweaters were also accompanied by a few hats.  This started with my youngest daughter, Shanleigh.  She requested that I make her hat out of black, grey and red yarns.  She drew me a rough sketch of what she had in mind and here is what we came up with:

I used Debbie Bliss Rialto Aran for this project.  This yarn is so soft and knits up like a dream!  I did not have a pattern, just knit until it looked like we envisioned.  I loved the yarn so much that I used the leftovers to create the Baby Tassels Hat by Susan Flockhart.

But that was not enough!  When the 4th Super Summer KnitTogether challenge came out, I chose the Robin's Egg Blue Hat by Robbin Iufer.  I made this hat out of hand spun yarn I created from Fibernymph Dyeworks 100% Corriedale in the Butterfly Garden colorway.  Please see the spinning section below for more details.

Now let's talk about the projects that I really cannot say a whole lot about.  There is the baby gift.....it is completed.  Then, there are my swap projects.  I am about 70% finished with my scarf swap and I have a sock swap which is about 25% completed- and that is being knit of lightweight sock yarn on 2.25mm needles.  Pictures of these projects will appear in my Ravelry project page AFTER the gifts have been delivered.  I would hate to spoil these surprises for the recipients!

As my recovery progressed, I eventually was able to get back to my spinning.  I spun 4 ounces of the Fibernymph Dyeworks 100% Corriedale in the Butterfly Garden colorway.  I spun another 4 ounces of 100% corriedale in the natural undyed white color. 

Then, I plyed these 2 bobbins together, to create this yarn:

This was a fun, relaxing spinning project for me.  I also found it a little challenging to spin yarn thick enough, on purpose, to get the 8 WPI after spinning very fine yarns.  It was a good practice for me.

I chose my current spinning project in honor of St. Patrick's day!  This is Unwind Yarn Company's 100% Merino in the Grassy colorway.  It is soooooo soft and is spinning sooooo very finely.  Here is my bobbin of 2 ounces completed:

I have just started the other 2 ounces on another bobbin.  Here again, I plan to 2 ply this yarn.  It will be a fingeringweight when all is said and done.  I will put this yarn aside to see what my next Super Summer KnitTogther challenge may be.....

For the future, I have a coworker who is expecting a baby girl, this summer.  I plan to knit her a sweater.  I am looking at something in colorwork- to give myself some practice with this.  There are still another 2 projects coming up with the Super Summer KnitTogether.  While I wait for those challenges, there was an option, this time, which will be a great challenge for me.  Lynn Zimmerman, who is teaching spinning at the event, also gave the option for challenge #4 to spin at least 2 ounces of art yarn.  I have not spun art yarn, purposely.  I say this, because most beginners, and I was no exception, tend to produce a first result that resembles art yarn.  When I complete my current spinning project, I am going to pull out some BFL pigtails that I have from Greenwood Fiberworks which I will use to spin something that will hopefully be classified as art yarn.  This will not count toward the challenge as it was a choice; however, I am so intrigued with the idea of art yarn that I cannot pass up the challenge!  I have some beautiful, new fibers to spin, as well.  I received a shipment from Woolgatherings that includes 8 ounces each of Cheviot and Humbug Shetland wools, both in natural colors, to spin.  It is time for me to break down and purchase the Fiber and Fleece Source book by Carol Ekarius and Deborah Robson. 

My next blog will not be next weekend.  My oldest daughter, Nancy, is getting married in Milwaukee, on St. Patrick's Day.  I will not wait as long as I did between this post and the last, though, because it does make for a lengthy update!

So, until next time, keep the fantasy alive!

How to chase boredom

Well, hello!  It has been a while since my last blog.  I had surgery and am currently at home, recovering.  All is going well.  Friends and family have been most generous with cards, flowers and food.  The cards have been encouraging, the food delicious and the flowers are wonderful!  My only regret is that I did not get the pictures of the flowers a week ago, when they were fresh.  They are still beautiful, though:

So, here I sit, recovering.  What to do with myself?  Why knit, of course! 

The night before my surgery, I was able to finish spinning my Fibernymph Dyeworks BFL in I am no Mermaid colorway.  I then plyed it with my previously spun Cloudlover BFL in Mist and Shadow colorway.  Here is what I got:

This is 212 yards of a bulky weight gradient BFL yarn that I am calling I am no Misty Mermaid Shadow colorway.  It is squishy, wonderful, bulky, yarn goodness!  My wonderful husband took pity on me and he used my swift and ball winder to wind my skein into this cake:

 And now, for my latest project:  For Super Summer Knit____ KAL #3, a Rebecca Danger Monster.  My choice, Lurlene the Laundry Monster.  Reason- the amount of yarn needed coincides with the amount of yarn I spun.  Besides, how cute will this monster turn out?  Here is my progress, so far.....

Another goal I have- a new sweater for myself for 2012.  I started that the day before yesterday.  Here is a picture of the pattern, Brea by Marie Wallin and the yarn, Rowan Lima in the Machu Picchu colorway.  It is sooooooo soft- a blend of alpaca, merino and just enough nylon to keep it from stretching too much. 

In the midst of all of this, I did complete the socks I knit for my mother.  She is coming to Wisconsin in March, for my oldest daughter's wedding.  She hates the cold, so, I knit socks to keep her feet warm while she is here.  I used Wendy Johnson's Dead Simple Lace Sock pattern and Cherry Tree Hill yarn in the Mountain Moss colorway.  I think she will like them; what do you think?

About 2 years ago, I had to take some time off from work, when I had swine flu.  I worked on another pair of socks and ended up frogging them, completely.  I cannot even remember which yarn I was knitting with.  I do; however, remember the pattern.  It is another Wendy Johnson pattern- Hearts and Flowers.  I am knitting this in the Socks that Rock Lightweight by Blue Moon Fiber Arts- Firebird colorway.  This is my first pair of socks without ribbing at the top.  These will be nice for Valentine's Day.

 My spinning is on hold for now.  I look forward to getting back to that.  This last project was an interesting challenge- bulky weight yarn.  I quite enjoyed it, though.  I am thinking it will be nice to aim for a DK weight yarn as my next challenge. 

Well, I have plenty of knitting to keep myself from becoming bored.  In the meantime, I am watching Dr. Who on Netflix.  I started with the 2005 season and counting that as the first, I am now on the 3rd.  I expect the good Doctor to make his next regeneration at any time.  He lost Rose to the alternate dimension in the last season..........

Until next time, keep the fantasy alive!

Wow, where did the time go?

Welcome to 2012!  Although my last post was on Thanksgiving Day, I think I may be onto something good with that hiatus, which was not planned.  It took a little stress out of my life to leave off my weekly blog for the past 6 weeks.  Besides, now I have more information to update and show you, today.

First of all, I am not a person who is given to making New Year's resolutions.  In my experience (and trust me, at my age, I have some), resolutions don't work so well for me.  Why?  I tend to be an idealist and so, when I make a resolution, I generally cannot meet the loft goals I set for myself.  Is there a solution to this?  I think maybe so.  Instead of giving a number of, oh say, socks I intend to knit this year, I can just give the general category as a goal.  That way, all I have to do is make 1 and I have succeeded.

With that in mind, here are my New Year's knitting resolutions:  In 2012 I would like to accomplish the following:  Knit a hat, a shawl, a sweater, a toy, a pair of mittens in colorwork, try a project that involves thrumming (maybe those mittens mentioned above or a pair of slipper/socks), spin yarn specifically for a pattern, knit a pair of socks and knit something with beads.  Now, if I can just knit one thing in each category, I will have been a success.  If not, I will have had fun trying!

This year I a planning to attend the Super Summer Knit_____ in Nashville, Tennessee.  Since the name is changing, I am still in the dark as to what the new name will be.  This will be a first for me, to attend a conference out of state.  I once attended the No-So Knitting day conference in Roanoke, Virginia, about 7 years ago.  At the time, we lived in Waynesboro, Virginia, about an hour away.   I will never forget that experience!  The room was full of crafters and vendors- noise with yarn goodness all around.  I was given the most lovely door prize- a pattern for a self-fringing scarf/shawl, and enough ribbon yarn to knit the scarf.  The vendor who offered the door prize was so nice and offered to exchange the yarn for another colorway- I declined as the greens, purples and burgundies are gorgeous.  Anyway, I am really looking forward to my knitting adventure! 

In the meantime, our oldest daughter, Nancy, is getting married on March 17th of this year!  At 25 years of age, she is ready to make this decision of her lifetime.  We love Neil, her fiance, and his family is fabulous!

My knitting projects are coming along!  My idea for this year was to join the 12 shawls in 2012 group on Ravelry; however, I decided that the goal is just a bit lofty for me.  Then I learned that Diane Thompson of the Knitabulls Podcast is hosting a shawl KAL for Laura Linneman's Thin Ice and I just had to join the fun!  I am knitting mine out of Tosh Merino Light in the Tart colorway.  I cast on New Year's Day and here is my progress, so far:

This is my first KAL with Diane.  She is so encouraging- this is fun!

During my last blog post, I showed you my home spun Polwarth in the Haunted Vinyard colorway from Cloudlover, which I spun for the Knit Girllls SAL/KAL.  I used a navajo ply on the yarn because I felt that you could see the variation in coloring better.  I chose the Suzie's Reading Mitts Pattern for this project.  That was BEFORE the "now defunct" yarn company that originally gave the pattern away offered to sue the designer of this pattern for allowing people free access to it.  Honestly, grow up!  I have not completed this project yet; however, this is where I am at this time:

 As you can see, I need to add the thumb to the second mitt and turn the hems.  The color pooling is odd due to the variation in my drafting.  My daughter, Shanleigh, likes these and has spoken for them....they look good on her.

Speaking of Shanleigh, before Christmas, I made a deal with her:  If she would get me the Rebecca Danger Book of Knitted Monsters, I would knit her a monster.  Well, she did and I am.  What fun this is!  The patterns are simply written and knit up pretty fast.  She is a computer person, so of course she chose Cecil, the Computer Monster.   I am using Cascade 220 in a heathery blue/gray and a navy blue.

 One change I did make to this pattern- I do not like to glue felt onto a knitted item.  I knit Cecil's "uni-tooth" by casting on 3 stitches of doubled up Carron Simply Soft on a size 1 needle.  I knit a garter stitch for 4 rows and then I stitched into place, using the tale of the yarn.  He has green safety cat eyes.  I just need to finish his legs and he will be ready to go!  I am thinking some monsters done in sock yarn leftovers would be 1) fun 2) quick 3) easy 4) future gifts.

In spinning, I am having a little fun!  I went digging through my stash of fiber and pulled out an interesting combination of BFL colorways.  I have a gradient by Cloudlover in the Mist and Shadow colorway and a semi-solid by Fibernymph Dyeworks in the I am No Mermaid colorway.  

I started spinning the gradient, first.  I am spinning this a good bit thicker than my previous efforts.  Here is my progress:

 When both are spun, I plan to ply them together. I think the color will be interesting and I am going for a DK weight yarn- in anticipation of the next project coming up from the Super Summer Knit____.  Each of those projects done with vendor yarn gets you tickets for prize drawings.  You get more tickets if you spin your own yarn.  Wonder if I could get Leslie and Laura to double that since I am using 2 different vendor yarns plyed together.....hmmmmm?  I am totally loving this! 

My current knitting fantasy involves a sweater.  The sweater is the Brea by Marie Wallen. 

I plan to make this in the Rowan Lima yarn in the Machu Picchu colorway. 

I ordered the yarn from my LYS- Iris Fine Yarns because the proprietor, Phyllis, was kind to help my husband with my Christmas gift, a WPI tool, and she is always so nice when I go into her shop.  I want to keep her in business! 

So, support your LYS and keep the fantasy alive!