From Bobbin to Skein

Last night I finished spinning the Alpaca/wool/angora fiber. I'm loving the flecks of angora and the overall softness of the yarn. I have to ply the second skein. what shall I make with it. I think I'll have at least 500-600 yards.

Round and Round

This collage depicts the circularity of our lives. We spin round and round, and we teach our daughters as well. Upper left corner shows Carol M's work; next to her is Carol R's purple varigated singles and then my Alpaca/wool/ and bunny. Middle row left is Sue's blue and purple mohair spun on her Hitchhiker; next is Sandy's wool followed by Patty's neat wheel. The bottom row hosts Paula's electric spinner filled with some lovely plying; next is Phoebe knitting a sock followed by Paula helping Phoebe. What a challenging first project, Phoebe!!!!

Yes....the joy of Saturday's Spin In at Sue's......

Two Kinds of Joy

Well....this is my brandy new antique wheel!!!! I am so excited about it that I could scream. My dear niece's husband brought it over after I returned from Claudia's blogger get together Sunday. My nephew's father heard that I was a spinner and gave me the wheel!!! I'll have to find a flyer, bobbins and a whorl for it, but I still love it. I am just soooooo lucky.

The other joy this week is watching my Amaryllis bloom; it helps to cure the winter doldrums for me every year. My mom and I always start forcing bulbs every January and discuss their progress. This morning she told me that she already has three blooms while I have only two blooms.

What a Special Sunday

Who says the Internet has replaced face to face contact? Sunday was a testament to the chance to develop new communities because of the web. Thanks to Claudia, a gracious host, Judy and I were able to meet a number of knit bloggers and blogless folks, eat and share some knitters' lives.

So many blogs to read and so little time!!! I've visited with Cathy, Paula, Carole, Teresa.
I was able to touch Cathy's wonderful lavender and beaded cap as well as Teresa's swatches for Crossed in Translation. I also talked with Laurie who was wearing a beautiful aran cardigan made by her mother. I also met Stitchy and learned about the Boston Olympic Team. Colleen showed me her new swatch for a sweater she wants to make. I fell in love with Beth's Peace Fleece sweater.There were many other bloggers there, but I'm at a loss to list them all.

Stay tuned to my next post. I will have pics of my new antique wheel!!!!!

Another Day Ends

Sunset, January 19, 2006

Stashes

Here is a great use of my Stash and my camera. I took my first self-portrait successfully after 10 tries!!! This felted hat is knit in Peer Gynt yarn.


This morning I mosyed over to Laurie's blog and listened to her intelligently discuss the most emotional topic of all....that of stash size. This is the first I've heard of microstashing, but I like the concept. In fact I could divide my stash into microstashes and perhaps alleviate the guilt of owning so much fiber and yarn.

Let's see.....there is the fleece microstash hanging out in my garage mostly. This stash doesn't bother me as much since it's by its lonesome away from the twin towers of my real stash. Then there is my bin microstash....this contains rovings and yarns which are separated as to yarn weight. The last microstash is the most embarrassing...this is cones of yarn and other assorted yarns just thrown together in bags in much need of organization.

OOPS....I forgot the dining room corner...this area is the launch pad to the twin towers in the basement. When I buy new yarn or fiber, I park it briefly in the corner of the dining room. DH notices that the pile grows...when it gets too high and he complains, I move it to the basement....so I guess this is the birthplace of a microstash.

My DD has been causing me to add to the dining room corner. Look below and you can see I've caused the pile to grow higher with Paton's Classic Wool and Dalegarn Sisik...add to this she got me to buy more yarn today....EEKkkkkk.

A Collage of Knitting

It certainly has been a busy week! I went back to work after a holiday break. I also was thrilled to be back knitting at RI Handspun. As you can see we have been busy knitting up a storm.

The first row begins with Paula's ( aka the aran Queen) socks done in a lovely Border Leicester yarn. Next to Paula's sock is Rachel's scarf knitted in very even garter stitch tension using Cascade 220. I want some of this yarn...the purple and pink is lovely. The last of the row displays Patty's North Ronaldsday's yarn knitted into a Faroe shawl from The Best of Knitter's Magazine Shawls and Scarves . It is so soft to the touch...a lovely grey and blue.

The second row shows Barbara's glovettes knitted in dyed woolen yarn she purchased from Knitpicks. Then we have Carol R's Merino scarf and hand sewn wool lined jacket. Another view of it can be seen in row 3. The third in row two belongs to Sue....her tea cozy knitted in Anne's pattern is so sweet.She knit it in Plymouth's Galway.

The last row sports Carol R's Lucy bag soon to be felted. Next to that is my new purchase of Artyarns Merino. It is much like Koigu; it may be a small shawl.

A January Escape

Thanks to Cassie's post on Durrow I decided to make this marvelous sweater. Because Marisa played the Christmas Elf, R bought me some luscious Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed ( 85% wool, 10% silk, 5 % cashmere) from Webs. They still have more if you want it!!! It knits up nicely and feels warm and soft.

If you're feeling the January doldrums as I am wont to at this cold time of year check out Judith's blog for her post on seed catalogs that will remind us of the spring that's down the road. I'm starting to dream about all the daylilies I planted from the Foster Fair, a Rehoboth nursery and from Cathy's very own garden! Cathy, I should tell you that they took well when I planted them so I look forward to blooms.

Hey....check out some interesting Ribby's at the Chic Knits site. What a neat interpretation of a sweater for a baseball player!!

Gifts Revealed

Above are the felted mittens I made for Marisa for Christmas!!! They are so soft! Thanks to Carol M I decided to make these out of Garnstudio's wool and angora yarn. Marisa wore them for driving thanks to the Fiber Trends suede palms I bought at RI Handspun.

Here's the Kilmainham Scarf I made for John. The yarn and pattern are from Paula, who created this pattern after a trip to Ireland.

Just Two of My Favorite Gifts!!

I am so lucky!!!! I received a wonderful cardinal from Marisa and red polka dot sheep ornament from John for Christmas. They are so special.....

Ralph bought another catfish. He's enjoying this hobby all over again!

T'was a Knitter's day Before Christmas

T'was a knitter's day before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a knitted gift was stirring not even a mouse;

The knitted gifts were wrapped by the tree with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.....

Ahhhhh..... the gifts are all knitted, the packages all wrapped, the cookies all baked and I need a long winter's nap....zzzzzzzzz!

Happy holidays to one and all !!!! My apologies to Clement Clarke Moore.

A Chullo Surprise

Look what I found at a local resale shop. I must admit that I can't pass up a handknitted find, and this is a treasure for three dollars. It is on the small side, but nonetheless beautiful. It appears to be a chullo made of wool and alpaca as far as I can tell. It was probably bought for very little money from some seller of chullo hats or just maybe some local knitter created this lovely hat. It was in need of repair.The lower back edge of the hat was a bit unraveled and as Carol R knows I love to repair handknitted items.....particularly those that might be consigned to the rag bag.

I've repaired many a handknitted sweater or sock for friends and family. A good friend of mine wore an aran sweater so often it developed holes. He sadly thought that he would have to get rid of the charcoal aran that another friend had knit him years ago. Then came Cindy to the rescue;that sweater can be mended! I located some like colored sewing thread and very carefully picked up the loose loops and secured them in such a way to render the fabric whole. It just delights me to resurrect these knits. I suppose this delight is akin to the many behind the scenes technical people who restore antique carpets, old paintings and what not. It's my way of ordering the chaos in a world where entropy is the natural course.

Chullo Patterns can be found here and here and here.

Tree and Shawl

Marisa sent me a pic of her tree all decorated and with presents wrapped. This caused me to think I'd better get going with my tree. Yesterday R headed out to Twin River Road and found us a great little tree, and we didn't even have our annual Christmas tree fight to boot. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was not there when he set up the tree :). The tree now stands in a corner of the room near the window because the fish occupy the traditional tree corner. Last night it drank up a whole gallon of water. The tree smell is heavenly!!!

Marisa's Adagio shawl is coming along beautifully as you can see. She is using hand dyed yarn from our very own Sue. I may have to start another of these shawls soon.

I've been plugging away at my Regia socks and pointed hat which will be finished soon.

Here's a nifty site to knit a hat of any gauge.

Need Gift Ideas?

As Judy reminds IT happens. We only have so much time before the holiday to figure out those gift ideas.Here is a Knit Human Digestive System from tongue to guess where with
many color photos. Be sure to check out the pattern for it, so you can make one, too!
And there's a knit-along project, if anyone wants to join in...

Or perhaps you want to buy shoes......
Here is a printer friendly version ......

Much to Tell

Much has been happening this week in addition
to holiday madness that can be witnessed here
and there. Thursday provided much entertainment at our Oceanstate Knitting and Crochet Guild Holiday party held at Fina's home and hosted by both Fina and Dottie. Fina's husband nicely agreed to take our picture.








Holiday games provided us with much fun. We participated in a good old fashioned Yankee Swap and I must say it brings out our ruthless side. I kept my choosen gift which I've posted below...a lovely set of festive markers made by our very own blogland buddy, Judy. I love them and I'm sure she has more.














The last below was taken after attending our monthly R I Spinning Guild meeting. The sky was so stunning I had to run in the house to grab my camera.A number of us braved the snowy roads Saturday to share our wares this weekend. Judy continued spinning her bubble gum pink barbie fiber that is wonderfully soft. Harriet with Judy's help knitted an I-Cord edge on her sweater. Carol R. spun her purple merino while telling the sock untangling story that originated at Sue's RI Handspun one cold night.

Marie D helped a new addition to our gang, Paula( of The Black Olive fame) spin some merino on her Golding spindle. Paula told us about her use of PDA software to aid in row counting and project listing. Palmsource provides some neat tools. I have downloaded a trial version of Knitable to my PDA in the past and may explore it a bit more. Paula also worked on a lovely sock. It is always fun to meet other bloggers out there.

Surfing for Knit Content on the Web.....
I typed in " Bloggers who Knit" in Google and came of with a list of many of us! It's uncanny how we, bloggers, have added to the cyberuniverse these past few years. Keep on blogging, baby!!!

Woof Sweater is Done

Luckily the Mia's small sweater moved along swiftly! I like the pattern which can easily be adapted for a larger dog. I really like the idea of using any stitch pattern for the top of the sweater. A great experimental aspect for the creative knitter much like sock legs.I hope Mom doesn't see this sweater before Christmas!


I'm also plugging away at another mystery project for the holiday, but I can't post pics. As a matter of fact Blogger is giving me a hard time with posting any pics lately with Hello. Anyone else out there in Blogger land having this issue? This morning I received a network error message.

This morning I enjoyed taking pics of R's fish; I love the black Angels!!!

If you get a chance check out Judy's Flora
and Cathy's Grayce.
Judith's Scarf is lovely and Laurie's Requiem for a Squirrel for the not-so -squeamish.

More Fish

Woof Holiday Knitting

Last night I started a sweater for my mom's dog, Mia. She's a Shitz Su/Poodle and needs a small
coat for cold days. The gallery shows all the different variations you can knit. I'm sure the pattern can be adapted for larger dogs. I'm using my dyed wool to make this sweater for a Christmas present. I'm enjoying making this sweater with its mindless garter stitch, but you can substitute all manner of pattern stitches to suit your tastes.

Pattern Alert
While reading one of the many fiber related listservs,I discovered this site by Garnstudio with 630 free patterns. Be sure to scroll down to read the pattern and click on the diagram link to see all related charts.This sweater is wonderful. The Internet is such a treasure trove of patterns!!!

Winter's Here

Snow has arrived on the birdhouse roof. The summer and fall seasons are over. The gardens have been put to sleep and nature hibernates. Luckily, we have fiber to keep us warm and happily occupied. As much as I like to knit and spin year round, nothing beats these activities when it is cold outside. It gives more meaning to what we do. Who would wear our wooly creations if it were 60-90 degrees? That's why I sometimes feel for our southerly neighbors who must knit in cotton or other cooler fibers. Nothing beats the warmth of an aran sweater or colorful fairisle mittens not to mention handknitted socks. This reminds me of Neruda in "Ode to My Socks"

The moral
of my ode is this:
beauty is twice
beauty
and what is good is doubly
good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool
in winter.

Here is another pic of my cat Bennie seated upon three of my handknit shawls. He knows where to park on a cold winter's day :)

Cats and Fish Oh My!

What a lovely sight at our house.

No knitting news to report other than......the music of Les Tricoteurs (The Knitters). According to the website: "It is a portrayal of clicking needles and miles of yarn. Things proceed at a fast clip until the ending, when a series of diminished chords depicts mailles-lachées (crossed stitches)."

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