Exciting News!

Welcome back! I have some fun things to talk about this week.

In the Bag

I have made some good progress since I last posted. I have finished the body of the Tapestry Greenjeans Cardigan and have started on the sleeves. I'm very happy so far. This pattern is really easy to follow. Its the Mr Greenjeans pattern by Amy Swenson published in Knitty:Fall 2007. 

I know the pattern does not match from side to side, but that's ok, its the way the yarn knits up. This is Universal Yarns Worsted Tapestry in the Vineyard color way. 

The Nanner Nanner socks won't look much bigger as I am working on the heel increases. I didn't do a lot on them at the end of this week due to a new project. But I really am making good progress. For some reason the heel increases seem to take forever! After that the sock really flies... This is the Nanner Sock pattern by Wendy D. Johnson and I'm using Unwind Yarn Company's Weekend Sock base in the Aurora Borealis color way.

My Weather Scarf is up to date as of yesterday. You can see the light blue row I did last night for the 31° to 40° range. I have woven some ends in but I'll do more as I go along. I won't leave it till the end of the year. We are using Plymouth Yarn Encore yarns. 

 I cast on and finished a scarf for Favorite Mother-in-Law this week. Its not meant to be a surprise so I can post it here even though she doesn't have it. I'll try to remember to get a picture of her wearing it and post that later. I used the Starbella yarn in this lovely pink variegated color way called Hope. I know it looks like a mess, but it will look nice when finished and hanging up.

 I started a shawl this week. Its not the one I had planned to start next but my step daughter, Ashley, wanted to do this one so we bought the pattern and I've cast on. Its the Hitchhiker Shawl by Martina Behm. It sells on Ravelry for about $4.10 or 3.00 Euros. I'm using a cashmere yarn by Jade Sapphire called Mongolian Cashmere. Its a lovely 2 ply fingering weight yarn that I was gifted by a friend, Amanda Truan, for my birthday. She gave me 3 skeins. I'm thinking I will only have to use one. Its luscious and soft as you would expect for cashmere. Its in a variegated pink color way called Vintage Rose. So this is my Vintage Rose Hitchhiker.

In case you are not on Ravelry and can't look at the details, its named the Hitchhiker because the size she knits it gives you 42 "teeth". I'm currently at 12. In the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" the answer to the question about everything in the universe is.... yup, 42! Yeah, I'm a geek... I had this pattern queued and was happy to knit it with Ashely.

I didn't show this before but I have some car knitting that I carry in my handbag at all times. Its just mindless knitting that I don't have to concentrate on. I'm using my left over sock yarn from all the socks I knit to do this. I'm using the Itty Bitty Sock Yarn Blanket pattern by Christine Long Derks. Its a free pattern on Ravelry. I started this back in December 2012.

I didn't purposely coordinate the colors in the beginning, I just started with the yarns I had in the craft room from socks and cowls that I had finished. 

On the Drying Rack/Knitmeter Update

I only have the pink scarf as a finished object this week. But I have started updating my Knitmeter and Spinmeter. I sent the people who do this website a message asking if they can make one of the "distance" choices ounces for spinning. They have recently added spinning to the site but I think how many ounces you have spun is more representative than yards, meters etc. But until, or if, they change it I'll use yards for spinning. Of course the knitting is including yardage from the skeins or balls as I knit them so it won't include projects that consist of one skein until they are done. So far I've knit 591 yards and spun 374 yards. Next year I'll set some sort of goal after I see what I do this year. 

Up and Coming

I still have the Holden Shawl and the Preppy Cabled Scarf planned. I'm going to do the scarf as a cowl and use some handspun Baby Camel. 

Weaving Along

A new segment I'll be doing is about weaving. I'm still working on getting a bigger rigid heddle loom but until then I'll showcase what I do on the 10" Cricket Loom I already have. Last week I ordered some needle tips from KnitPicks and was $14.35 away from free shipping. So I spent $14.75 on a book from their 40% off book sale to save $6.99 in shipping. See how much I saved? 

Sew Good

I'm making project bags using a pattern from the In Color Order blog. I made two in December to use for my Christmas gift in my two spinning groups. 

I have 4 more in progress for Colleen, my friend and owner of Make It With Yarn, my LYS. I also have fabric set aside to make more for myself since I keep filling up the 6 I have... lol

Out for a Spin

My exciting news has to do with spinning. I sold one of my spinning wheels, my SpinOlutions Bee wheel and used the proceeds for a WooLee Winder for my Ashford Joy! I'm so excited! I've wanted one for a long time. I ordered the winder and 3 extra bobbins on Sunday evening 1/13 and it was delivered on Saturday 1/19!

In the box

2 oz. single spun

4 oz. 2 plied

Absolutely everything is easier and faster with the WooLee Winder. Even winding off the bobbin on my niddy noddy. And this wheel being a single treadle has always had some dead spots when starting to treadle but the balance of the WW makes it such that I rarely have to use my hand to start the wheel spinning. 

The other exciting thing was getting my fiber back from Echoview Fiber Mill. I took in some mohair from Mea Stone at Stonywoods Farm, some unknown wool fiber from a fiber festival that I purchased really cheap. This was all raw fleece and needed processing. I also took some silk from Mary Berry at Fancy Fibers Farm. They blended all that together and I got back 10.6 lbs of lovely roving! 

I spun a sample of it, just a half ounce and got 24 yards. Its got a nice halo with the mohair and has good luster from mohair and silk. I haven't washed it yet. I'll set aside 4 lbs. for myself for a couple of sweaters and probably sell some. I think I'll dye some 4 oz bumps and take them to the LYS to sell along with some white ones. It lovely and I'm so very happy with it! 

Flashing my Knits

This is also a new segment talking about what I've been wearing out of my handknits. With the colder weather I've been wearing my Summer Solstice Mystery shawl as a scarf, and my Stacked Eyelette Cowl. As cold as my hands are typing this I need to cast on some fingerless mitts. :)

Mindless Nattering

I've really been enjoying my craft room since Dion got me the glider rocker for Christmas. It has much better light than the den and makes it nice for knitting when I'm home. 

As I was working on my Weather Scarf and having to use colors for the 60's and 70's in January has made me think of Global Warming and all the effects. Last week we had rain all week and some places got over a foot of rain. I think we got about 4-5 inches. My rain gauge has a crack in it. Need a new one... In many places there were roads washed out and mud/rock slides. Near us there was a rock slide of a boulder that was as big as a small house. They had to break it into smaller pieces to move it. All this wild weather is a result of global warming, at least that is my feelings. 

Thats it for now, thanks for joining me on my fiber journey. Remember to make the most of everything you have. Its not the quantity its the quality.