k8knits

moving back

2012-01-29T13:32:00.003-05:00

I have too many sites to update, and it's too complicated for me. So, all of my knitting exploits from now on will be found on my original blog:

http://kismet09.livejournal.com/tag/fiber_arts

If you use that link, you'll only get the fibery content.

And, of course, everything also ends up on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/k8knits

Thanks for reading!

winter break project management

2011-12-20T18:51:00.000-05:00

i have two weeks away from work, more or less. 34 hours of that time will be spent in the car, driving maine to chicago, round trip. i am driving-averse, so probably most if not all of that time will be spent in the passenger seat. that, plus lounging about at my parents' place for a week, plus another week at a scrabble tournament, means lots of knitting time. one of the luxuries of driving is that my luggage is not limited by one carry-on - i can bring all the yarn i want. it has been a busy knitting winter for me, and i'm still itching to do more. here's what i'm considering.

burberry cowl

slip cowl

dashing

burberry inspired cowl (on the left) - i did one of these and love the way it sits. i think the high variegation of rios will look great in this cowl, and i'll have something to match my dashing mitts (on the right). rav project link. or is this the tuesday night cowl? now i can't remember. they seem pretty similar to each other.
a plain garter stitch cowl - i have russian joined a bunch of odds and ends of purples and greens together, including some berocco jasper, cascade, karabella aurora 8, random stuff i dyed when trying out some potential yarn bases, and who knows what else. i'm hoping for something along the lines of this scrap-happy scarf (ravelry link), minus the fringe.
slip stitch cowl (in the middle) - another one that i just did and love, and i still have more random scraps left that could easily be incorporated into another one of these. my rav project page.

i guess everything i have planned at this time is for me... that isn't really intentional. i think i've made something for everyone i know in the past two months who i think might appreciate it!

deconstruction

2011-12-19T22:12:00.000-05:00

i just realized that i could link this blog to my google+ account - maybe it'll see more action now that it's linked up. i've knitted a million things for xmas, but i can't post any of them until after people get them (although most of them are up on ravelry... more public details perhaps once they've been gifted and unwrapped). the last thing on the list is to create two stockings kind of like these for my coworker. the complication is that these take on some natural wave due, i think, to a thick and thin yarn rather than anything fancy like intarsia. i have to figure out how to either make my pattern replicate it with the uniformly spun yarn that i have, or come up with something that will complement these but be slightly different. i really don't want to just do straight stripes. any ideas would be welcome here.

Squam Art Fair

2010-05-31T13:04:00.004-05:00

The Squam Art Workshops bring fiber artists together with amazing teachers to learn new techniques and share ideas. In addition to classes, there will be a fair with 37 vendors, including woolarina! Come visit me - admission is free, as is beer!

I'll have lots of sock yarn, including the woolarina lux sport, with its cashmere-y goodness.

Saturday June 5, 7:30-10pm, about 1.5 hours from Portsmouth. Click on the image to learn more!

back to the dyepot

2010-01-23T09:04:00.002-05:00

I'm trying to get some yarns done for Homespun Yarn Party - someday, I'll get ambitious and create a similar event up here on the Seacoast.

I think it's time to really start recording how I make some of these colors. It'd be nice to be able to replicate some of my efforts, sometimes. Right now, I have a pretty good instinct for how much water to how much dye, and which colors to blend to make new ones that go together, but sometimes I'm sad when the yarns go off to sale knowing I'll never be able to make ones I like again.

These guys are springy colors, since I'm starting to yearn for spring. The bottom picture is my friend Emily's first attempt at dyeing - I love the eggplanty colors together and some of the blends that her different colors made when they ran into each other.

chevron cowl

2010-01-17T13:42:00.003-05:00

For those of you who haven't met her, this is Cassie. She often gets stuck modeling my knitting projects. She's a nine year old amalgam of dog breeds. In this picture, she's wearing my newest cowl project. It's based loosely on the chevron scarf in Last Minute Knitted Gifts - I love the idea of alternating a strongly variegated yarn with a solid or almost-solid yarn. I also dislike purling, so working the pattern in the round was pleasing.

Here's how I did it - I'm not a very professional pattern writer, so comment away if you want to try this at home and have no idea what I'm trying to say.

Chevron Cowl

needles: 16" circ in 3s and 5s
yarns: CC - Noro Silk Garden (the neutral one) and MC - Mini Mochi (I have no idea what colorway this is). one skein each (with leftovers of both)
one stitch marker

I didn't work a gauge, but the 5 row repeat was about 3/4” for me on the larger needles.

total length: 10”. circumference ~20”.

CO 144 sts (or another multiple of 18) in CC with larger needles (or even larger, if you cast on tightly like I do), place marker, join w/o twisting.
knit 1 row and purl 1 row in CC (to create a garter ridge, to try to keep the thing from curling up).
join MC, knit 1 row, purl 1 row, knit 1 row.
next row, begin chevron pattern below.
continue to a couple inches short of desired length (i did 15 repeats of the 5 row pattern).
change to smaller needles (i did this to change the gauge enough to make the cowl stay up around my nose when it’s cold).
work pattern twice (10 rows)
work the pattern row (row 1) of the chevron, then purl 1 row CC (this will create a row of garter stitch instead of stockinette). work 1 garter ridge of MC (k 1 row, p 1 row), another of CC, and bind off w/larger needles.

chevron pattern:
row 1: w/CC, k2tog 3 times *kfb 6 times, k2tog six times* repeat to six st rem, k2tog 3 times.
row 2: w/CC, knit
rows 3-5: w/MC, knit

[i knitted three rows of mini mochi because the yarn is a little thinner than the noro and i didn't want the color to get lost]

resolve

2010-01-12T15:50:00.002-05:00

My Knitting Year Resolutions:

1. to post something here at least once a month. even if it means no pictures and mundane text. just get something here so that i don't forget that it exists.

2. be more active in woolarina. dye more. knit more. bust through the stash with some handknits out of all the handspun that i'm accumulating. this should be even more fun now that i have my own drum carder*.

3. get to at least one fiber gathering, whether it's spa or nh sheep & wool or rhinebeck or something. it'd be nice to just be immersed in fiberness for a weekend to stay in touch.

*the husband bought me a louet carder for xmas. gold star for husband! i'm still trying to figure out how to use it well (ie so that it makes decent batts, of a good thickness, without being scared that i'll break the crank mechanism).

oops, i missed november

2009-12-01T22:29:00.003-05:00

but only by one day, so i'm not doing that badly.

i finished a project, but i can't show you, because it's a christmas gift.

i bought some yarn, but i can't tell you about it, because it's a christmas gift.

so ummm... here's some corned beef hash with roasted beets and sweet potatoes to tide you over:

used the cook's illustrated best recipe as a jumping off point. so good.

once a month

2009-10-10T09:28:00.003-05:00

i will try to vow to write at least once a month. Crafty Bastards has me back on the fiberwagon, so here i am.

business was good at the fair - lots of yarn found hopefully happy homes. a few newer knitters were asking how much sock yarn it'd take to make a scarf... more power to folks who knit scarves from sock yarn, but i'm thinking it might be time to test drive some worsted weights and see if we can add one to the inventory.

on my needles right now are lots of hats, in prep for a winter craft fair and a couple of new babies. my camera is still packed from this weekend, so no pics today, but hopefully soon!

Crafty Prep

2009-09-11T15:04:00.002-05:00

First of all, the main woman behind Woolarina is now plus one baby boy! congratulations, Paula!

baby Oliver means that I need to pick up the pace in carrying the weight of the wool, at least when it comes to Crafty Bastards, a fair that we wouldn't miss. I'll be flying down for the weekend, yarns in tow. I'm still in the process of dyeing, so if anyone has colorway recommendations, send them this way!

I've had the week off of work recovering from pesky medical issues, so I've been entertaining myself by knitting on very small needles. I have a whole box of odds and ends from previous dye jobs, so I started making wrist warmers. None of them match, but they do show off the yarns that I've made, and they've been keeping me company while watching season three of Dexter and some Red Sox games.

sunny days

2009-05-07T09:12:00.001-05:00

Okay, it's been years since I managed to knit a sweater of any kind. I know myself well enough to know that sleeves and seams are not likely to happen, but I have an 8-hour car ride to and from NYC this weekend, so I figure I should have something to work on. Plus, I sit in front of the tv for baseball games a lot these days, so more mindless projects will come in handy.

Thus, I've decided that Soleil is a good next project to put on the needles. I have a full bag of Classic Elite Premiere that's been in my closet for years that should be perfect. Wish me luck!

halfpi

2009-04-28T19:31:00.001-05:00

halfpi
Originally uploaded by kismet09

Paula gifted this yarn to me for xmas, and i've been fretting about how to do it justice. it's a gorgeous handpaint from fleece artist called Suri Blue, a blend of Suri Alpaca and Blue Face Leicester, in the Midnight colorway. I finally decided on a half-pi shawl, since I had such good luck with the full pi shawl that I gifted away. Yet another mindless knit, and that's all I seem to like these days.

soxscarf

2009-04-28T19:26:00.001-05:00

soxscarf
Originally uploaded by kismet09

i'm still here. i'm barely knitting. it was too cold to dye in the basement in the winter in maine. but, i do have a traveling scarf that made it home that i figured i should show off. it's about 8" wide, and fairly short, and i like it a lot. i was worried about what a bunch of different reds might look like together, but it turns out that they behave just fine. i have two more projects to show off, but i'm too lazy to code things, so i'm going to keep using this flickr blog engine to post them, and just make them two new posts instead of combining everything.

Pi Shawl

2008-12-28T18:59:00.001-05:00

1208-shawl3
Originally uploaded by kismet09

this is my favorite knit of the year. It's an Elizabeth Zimmerman Pi Shawl, with yok2tog rows every six rows, knit out of a bunch of scraps that I have from various dye projects. I love the way it looks after being blocked - it has been awhile since I've done a lace project, and I forgot about the magic that comes with blocking. It's hard to tell with this lighting, but it's mostly dark purples, blues, etc., but it has all the colors of the rainbow in it. It took a very long time, and measures about 6' in diameter. It ended up being a Christmas present for my mother. I also just finished a merino/silk Clapotis that I meant to keep for myself, but my grandmother liked it, so it went to her as a gift. That just means I get to treat myself to more of that yarn and dye it up. I'm currently in California and stopped by a yarn shop with a wall full of Schaefer yarns, and realized that I can pretty much replicate any of their colorways, if I really put my mind to it. That's pretty cool.

winter break plans

2008-12-19T09:27:00.003-05:00

So, I have 16 days of vacation! Some of them will be taken up by traveling, but a fair amount of the traveling also allows for knitting. I spent a good hour staring at my boxes of yarn and shelves of patterns. Here's what I think I'll try to work on:

Japanese Vines in a Louet that I dyed awhile ago and haven't found a use for.
Turn a Square Hat - Cascade and Berocco Jasper
a pair of wristers for the sister in law - maybe swirling gauntlets (rav link)?
A red-friendly scarf for a Red Sox Traveling Scarf project...

Basically, I'm just shoving a bunch of yarn, all my double points and size 5-8 circs in my bag. Luckily, there's a yarn store nearby when I'm home in case I need extra supplies, plus the sister has knitting stuff I can steal from.

Cash Island Wristers

2008-12-12T19:10:00.003-05:00

These were a fabulously rewarding quick knit. First off, I love this new Noro, because it's super soft. I wish the other Noros were equally soft, because the colors make me so happy. I knit the first wrister of this pair on a weekend visit to friends - most of it was knit at a bowling alley on a Sunday morning (doesn't every bowl on Sunday mornings?) The second was knit today while waiting for the power to come back on in Maine - I started it at a coffeeshop, and finished it bundled up in bed, trying to maximize the last few minutes of daylight. Happily, the power kicked back on soon after.

The mitts are just taken from the Anne Budd 'handy book of patterns' - my go-to when I want to knit thumb gussets without having to calculate anything. I started them on sixes and went down to fives to make the finger area nice and snug (a few more details on ravelry here). They took almost exactly a skein, and are fraternal twins, thanks to Noro's long color stripes - there were no real color repeats in the skein. I still have ends to weave in, but I tucked them all in and took a picture -- this is one of the few projects I can share, since so many of them are xmas gifts that have to remain under wraps for a couple more weeks.

ready for next weekend

2008-11-30T14:27:00.004-05:00

My yarns are labelled and inventoried, including the merino/sea cell pictured here. All the rest are also previewed in my flickr photostream. Come visit - Sunday at the Castle in Boston!

back to the dye bench

2008-11-17T22:04:00.001-05:00

IMG_0897
Originally uploaded by kismet09

It's good to be dyeing again. All of this will be for sale at Bazaar Bizarre. I'm about 20 skeins into my dyeing, with about 30 to go. I missed it a lot and am glad to be back to the dyepot. The new setup is also making it so much easier to get stuff done. Yay!

workspace!

2008-11-09T22:27:00.001-05:00

1108-bench2
Originally uploaded by kismet09

Among other things, since i last updated, I:
-- sold a house, bought a house, moved to Maine
-- started a new job at the U of NH
-- broke the top 100 in competitive Scrabble
-- was accepted to Bazaar Bizarre

That last one has finally motivated me to get my dyeing back in action. We moved into the new house about 2 months ago now, and today, I finally had things more or less in order to get to work. We bought a kit to build a work bench from Home Depot, and refitted it with longer legs, which means I can do all of my dyeing without bending over and straining my back. I worked for about 2 hours today, with no soreness. This is almost a miracle.

I threw out all of my old dye storage containers at the old house, but found some perfect tupperware-esque containers in town. I now have six stock solutions to dilute and combine to my heart's content. I'm trying to be a little more scientific so that I might be able to actually recreate colors once in awhile, but I admit that my last two skeins of the evening involved dumping small remnants of all the other colors into each other to finish things up.

Pi Progress

2008-08-16T10:18:00.001-05:00

piprogress
Originally uploaded by kismet09

This shawl is great for baseball and Olympics watching - I barely have to look down. With all the tiny remnants of yarn I'm using, though, I do have to join in yarns every few rows. I'm knitting the old and new yarn together for 4-5 stitches, and then knitting the rest of the round. When I come back to the spot with the join, I pick up one of the stray ends and knit it together with the active strand for another few. Hopefully, this will save me from weaving in too many ends by hand. the colors look kind of weird next to each other here, but I think it'll all blend okay by the time it's completely done.

a shawl to be

2008-08-10T11:52:00.003-05:00

0808-remnants
Originally uploaded by kismet09

I found my tupperware of remnants! These are little bits of almost all of the fingering to sport weight yarns that I've dyed for woolarina. They will become a pi shawl. I started yesterday, and it took me about 45 minutes to finally give up trying to start it in the round on dpns. Instead, I knitted the first couple rounds, including the first increase round, on two needles, then moved to the double points. I can fuss with it to make it look like it was joined from the beginning later. This should be a good, mindless knitting project to keep me occupied during our move. Due to timing of buying and selling, we'll be in a rental for a month, with no cable or wireless. I'm going to guess that I'll get a lot of knitting done, or possibly go crazy.

even further north

2008-08-03T20:17:00.001-05:00

BadgerIsland
Originally uploaded by kismet09

As it turns out, we'll be moving about a mile north of New Hampshire, to Kittery, Maine, in less than a month! This is the view from a restaurant on Badger Island, between Portsmouth and Kittery, where we ate freshly caught seafood on one of our house hunting excursions.

knitgoods

2008-06-01T10:45:00.001-05:00

knitgoods
Originally uploaded by kismet09

So, we're moving again -- Woolarina North is heading further north, this time to New Hampshire! Since it's summer, and since we're moving, all of the scarves, hats and mittens have been packed away in preparation. I'm in the process of packing my stash as well, and am glad to report that it hasn't grown in commercial yarn since my move from MD to MA three years ago - I have one new Tupperware full, but it's all stuff that I've spun or knit.

Spring means...

2008-04-19T09:45:00.001-05:00

No leaves on the trees yet, but nice weather, sun and a breeze - perfect conditions for hanging newly-finished handspun yarns out to dry. All of these guys - plus lots of Woolarina Handpaints - will be for sale at the Cloverhill Yarn Shop booth at Maryland Sheep & Wool next month.

dye day - march 08

2008-03-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

This is the first bunch of dyeing I've done in the new year, and I took advantage of hauling out the supplies by getting a dozen skeins and three bunches of roving dyed up. I tried to do some spring-friendly colors, but as always, things tended toward the deeper, darker colors most of the time. Included in this batch of dyeing was about 700 yards of merino/silk, destined to become my next Clapotis.

ping

2008-02-19T16:29:00.005-05:00

malabrigo metro mittens complete. The inspiration was Subway Knitter, but I made the pattern up from scratch with the help of Ann Budd's pattern template. My actual pattern details can be found on Ravelry. The malabrigo worsted was fantastic to work with. next up: an iPod cozy that I can connect to my timbuk2 strap. stay tuned!

xmas madness

2007-12-13T21:56:00.000-05:00

i can't post any pictures here, in case the readers are the ones getting the gifties! they are over on ravelry, though, if you want to find me there. so far, i've finished three pairs of wristers, a couple of hats, and a calorimetry. having a few hours off today for a snow day helped - i actually got some ends woven in for a change.

four hours of my life

2007-11-11T22:46:00.000-05:00

Most of the time, the yarn that I purchase, dye, and reskein is completely perfect, no knots, no tangles - I just transfer it from one skein to another. This time, not so much. I love the colorway, browns and reds and rust, very autumny. I loved the yarn, too, at first. But, after four hours of untangling, excruciating yard by excruciating yard, I kind of hate it. I will put it in a box somewhere, and hopefully, someday, I will forgive it. It was going to go to woolarina.com, but after all of these hours of work, I feel like I should further tame it by knitting it myself. I don't know what it'll be yet, but it's okay - I probably won't look at it again until next fall.

I have finished three hats in the past three weeks, most recently a beanie out of Plymouth Boku, a new self-striping Silk Garden clone. It took about 2 feet less than the full skein of yarn. I'm almost done with another hat out of Plymouth Jasper, but it's going to take about 10 yards more than a full skein. Having to buy a second skein was a good excuse to spend some quality time on yarn.com today.

extra extra

2007-10-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

This Cabled Newsboy Cap was a fun little knit, even though I don't love the high-maintenance-ness of using a cable needle (and haven't learned to cable without one yet). This is my own handdyed roving, which I then spun and knitted up into this Stitch n'Bitch Nation pattern. It has been a good project to work while watching Red Sox baseball.

I added a few stitches (using a k10 instead of a k9 in the plain sections) and one extra repeat, but otherwise stayed fairly true to pattern. I like the way it fits, although it's not quite a winter hat and not quite a baseball cap - I guess it's good for this in between weather time. All that's left is finding the plastic mesh to firm up the brim, and sewing everything up!

progress

2007-10-12T18:27:00.000-05:00

fiberlove always languishes in the summer, and this one was no different. but now it's cold again, and the needles are back out. what i've worked on lately:

--hat for a trade on swap-bot.com, which is on its way to finland
--two hats for woolarina
--a bunch of new woolarina yarns, most of which were already sold at crafty bastards, but there are nice brown and multi-wine sock skeins left, plus some rovings.
--spun 200ish yards of superwash that i dyed, which is slowly becoming wrist warmers.

i'm also starting to conceptualize xmas gifts. i'm coveting Michelle's Japanese Vines and will probably work up a bunch of handspun hats for the family.

in the rest of my life, the main themes are continued competitive scrabble (i'm the highest rated female in MA right now), much enjoyment of the vegetable season and the meat csa, and the end of the boy's dissertation in sight.

that's what i got. time for some baseball.

Dashing

2007-05-10T07:45:00.001-05:00

0307-dashing1
Originally uploaded by kismet09.

I feel like I've been posting yarny things, but I guess it's all been messing around at ravelry.com, and not here. I have been knitting, dyeing, and spinning a bit -- not as much as usual, but this wrister is one thing I have to show for it. The yarn is handspun. It's one of the few yarns I've dyed and spun where I wish I had some kind of template to go back to, because I'd love to make more. It's about a dk weight, which made it perfect for the knitty Spring07 Dashing pattern. This was a fun, easy knit, and the thumb opening is pretty unique and useful -- I might have to steal it for future projects.

internal stash enhancement

2007-03-26T17:20:00.000-05:00

My yarn diet is going well - I've only purchased yarn once, and it was for a chemo cap/birthday gift for my grandmother, so I think it's allowed. This is not to say that I'm not finding alternative ways to continue to acquire yarn, though. Most recently, I'm participating in a Magic Yarn Ball Swap (so fun! want to do it again!) and also decided that it's about time to repurpose my first-ever sweater, which I have worn all of once. Since I'm not brave enough to wear it in its current state (as pictured here), and it's probably illegal, somehow, to wear a deconstructed sweater in public, I think it'll become a bulky cardigan of some kind.

Finished Fake Isle!

2007-03-05T19:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, this hat was a pile of roving, and today, it's a hat! I started around 10am yesterday, and finished it around 9pm (with breaks for food and Scrabble, while also watching about a dozen episodes of How I Met Your Mother on DVD). I came across the pattern at Spunky Eclectic, while stalking the owner of said site, who is a yarn swap pal for an upcoming project. The fiber is the same stuff that Manos uses to make their yarn, which I ordered forever ago, and which just arrived recently. I don't think I'll work with the fiber again -- soft though it may be, it was felted to the point that even pre-drafting was only moderately helpful, and I had to fight with it a lot as I spun, which made a mess of my consistency.

In any case, the roving is variegated, but I pulled out a bunch of the darkest parts (since I had to predraft the heck out of it anyway) and used the dark as a contrasting color, and the lighter hues as my main color. I swatched (for a change), settled on size 6s, and then worked the hat up from there.

I was surprised how addictive the fair isle was. It's a simple repeat, simple enough that I could memorize it as I went around, and stranded knitting in the round with two colors came pretty easily to me, since I can vaguely knit continental (since I can't purl, the in-the-roundedness of the hat was key). Going from circular to dpn was challenging, as my floats got a little wacky, but I think it'll work out. I love the fair isle band that goes across the middle, because my knitting does pull in a little in the fair isle sections, and that actually makes the hat fit more snugly on my big old head.

I'm addicted. I think I might jump into anemoi mittens next!

Grenada Knitting

2007-02-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving for Grenada on Sunday, for work, and I'm at a loss for what to bring, knitting-wise. It's going to be warm, so I want something light and/or small, but I don't have anything on needles right now that fits that description. Similarly, I don't know what book to bring for vacation reading. In both cases, I should start things so that I know whether I'm going to like them, because if I don't, they're all I'll have with me. With books, at least I could buy something else once I got there. With knitting, I have to commit to a single project. If only I could justify one more Clapotis, which is my favorite travel knitting, but since I've already made four...

I'm considering the rabbit-proof fence scarf or the foulard, both from Morehouse Merino. I have so much lightweight yarn right now that both have good potential. I just worry that the patterns will be too mindless. I could start new socks, but I have bad luck getting excited about socks. Something fair isle seems too complicated. Hmm.

jaywalkers!

2007-02-12T19:17:00.001-05:00

I like socks the same way that I like exercise - the reward once done is so worthwhile, but the effort to get moving is more than I can usually muster. Thus, these socks have been on needles since June, the first one mostly done since July, and only today are they (mostly) finished (with a couple of ends to weave in, and a hole to close up). Thanks again to Karen for the dye swap o rama yarn!

In terms of stats... it's knitpicks' color-your-own, which comes in 440 yd skeins. Because my feet are of ridiculous proportions, this means that a pair of socks knit to four inches above my ankle bone used up all of the yarn, plus some leftover other yarn to finish up the toes. Gauge was 7.5 sts/inch on the stockinette sections, on size 2 needles. So yeah. Having big feet = always running out of sock yarn, even when I get it in large amounts. On the bright side, though, they fit me, which is more than I can say for most women's socks out there, which I stretch to get over my feet, and whose toes thus wear out much more quickly than I'd like.

dk superwash added

2007-02-10T12:05:00.001-05:00

One new category, six new yarns -- check out the DK superwash yarns at woolarina.com!

New Year, New Store!

2007-01-31T20:07:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting until I had some of my new yarns up to announce the roll out of the new and improved woolarina.com storefront! Hopefully, the program that runs behind this one will make it easier for us to bring you great yarns without technical difficulties.

I've loaded in some of the sock yarns that I dyed recently, and hope to add a bunch more in the near future. And, to celebrate the new store, and maybe convince some of you to try it out and help us work out any bugs, you will get 10% of any purchases from now until Friday, February 2 if you sign in and make an order, using the coupon code WOOLARINA at checkout.

Of the new yarns, Auckland is my favorite:

...all purples and greens in subtle colors. Yum.

Even if you don't want to buy anything, though, if you just want to poke around and let us know how the site's looking, please do! We welcome all feedback!

January 07 colorways

2007-01-28T11:35:00.001-05:00

January 07 colorways
Originally uploaded by kismet09.

The bad news is, I fell down a flight of stairs, and my left thigh took most of the damage, so sitting down is not the most comfortable position right now.

The good news is, since I can't sit much, standing over my dye pots was an attractive activity, and I've finally returned to dyeing, just in time for the upcoming launch of a new woolarina.com storefront (which should be coming in the next few days).

I couldn't resist giving a peek at the new yarns, 'cause I love 'em. Only the valentine colored one has been reskeined so far - the rest I hope to do today or tomorrow, as soon as they're dry enough to play with. I also did a bunch of roving, and have returned to spinning, after a brief hiatus.

Winter has definitely reawakened the fibergeek in me. Now if only my bruise would heal...

mindless = happiness

2007-01-16T22:18:00.000-05:00

I've known for awhile that I'm happiest with instant gratification projects, and/or mindless knits. I love the thought of colorwork and lace and other fanciness, but it may require more brainpower than I'm willing to give to knitting -- I'd rather spend it on Scrabble.

So, I've gotten a lot finished since xmas, but most of it has been mindless:
--reversible cable scarf for my mom
--prayer shawl for grandma
--gloves, two hats for me
--birthday present for Tim (tomorrow's the day! maybe pics after)

I've also started a bias knit scarf, to be donated to the red scarf project. I had to rip it out three times because I kept accidentally doing the increase/decrease on the wrong side, which makes it warp in interesting, but not useful ways. Now that I'm in the established pattern, I'm pretty good at remembering what's going on, but it took awhile...

Next up will be Broad Street Mittens, a pair of wrist warmers for me, maybe a cowl, and Eunny's Endpaper Mitts, if I get really motivated (although what I really crave is the Anemoi Mitts). Lots of happy small stuff.

Also? Almost (finally) done with Jaywalkers, and man, knitting on 2 size1 circs makes my fingers ache. Is it that I'm using 12" circs and don't have enough wiggle room? Am I knitting tightly? Are my hands just too big and awkward to knit with toothpicks? Not sure, but am still trying to get em done.

resolved

2007-01-14T13:05:00.000-05:00

I have a million tupperwares of yarn. I've gotten better about not buying single skeins, but at the same time, I've gotten into the habit of spinning skeins that I can't part with. Also, there are numerous Large Things that I'd like to save money toward (e.g., flat screen TV, new computer, retirement). Thus, I am joining Wendy's Knit from Your Stash 2007, with my own set of slightly modified rules. Guidelines:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 12, 2007 -- a period of almost nine months, ending on my birthday.

2. I will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:

2a. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that I really and truly do not have the yarn for, I may buy yarn to knit that gift.

2b. If I am knitting something and run out of yarn, I may purchase enough to complete the project.

2c. I get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- I am allowed to fall off the wagon one time. This must involve a real, live store, and not an internet purchase in times of weakness.

3. I am allowed to receive gifts of yarn.

4. Trading stash is allowed/encouraged.

5. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.

6. Yarn bought for sole purpose of selling via woolarina is allowed. Falling in love with said yarn and keeping for myself may be inevitable from time to time.

What's in a name?

2006-12-05T23:02:00.000-05:00

I got crazy tonight and named all of my yarns at woolarina. I've learned that I'm not that good at it. I'm a tournament Scrabble player, I'm a writer, I know a lot of words, so why aren't names easier to come up with? I'm going to start using arcane stuff that I learn in my Scrabble study, like EARSTONE and GODETIA.

cash cable

2006-11-18T14:29:00.000-05:00

This is one of my many holiday knitting projects, and I've just finished the first ball of yarn, so I thought I'd show it off. It's the reversible cable pattern from Scarf Style, which I'm knitting in debbie bliss cashmerino aran on size 9 needles. It's a wonderfully soft yarn to work with, and the colors is good and neutral (it's more khaki than the greenish that this picture captured), which its recipient should appreciate. One 90m (98 yd) ball of yarn resulted in about 16" of scarf, about 4.5" wide.

Just say baa...

2006-11-13T18:13:00.000-05:00

MADRID, Spain - Farmers led a flock of hundreds of bleating sheep through downtown Madrid on Sunday in an pungent protest urging the protection of ancient grazing routes threatened by urban sprawl...Smiling crowds lined Sunday's route past McDonald's, Starbucks and august buildings like the Bank of Spain. Small children squealed with delight as they petted the thick, matted wool of the marchers, a sea of white with the odd black sheep mixed in.

My favorite thing is that the article was written by Daniel Woolls. Perfect.

Read the full article on yahoo news here.

prayer shawl

2006-11-13T07:14:00.000-05:00

My grandmother has been sick for awhile, and has thus been on my mind a lot recently. That has finally inspired me to use some of the Schaefer yarn that I've been hoarding for a long time now. While I'm not at all religious, my grandmother is, and will hopefully appreciate the thought behind a prayer shawl:

The yarn is Miss Priss, and the colorway is Eleanor Roosevelt. I love most of it, but the light blue pops a little too much. I might overdye it once I'm done, or I might just try to get used to it. The yarn is incredible to work with. Soooo soft, with a nice loftiness for a two ply yarn. The k3 p3 pattern is also really comfortable to knit.

(oh, I also switched to blogger's new beta layout thingie. I have no real idea what it means).

Studio Envy

2006-11-06T21:42:00.000-05:00

I dyed the last of my merino roving this weekend. I haven't spun in weeks, and I was itching to do so. I thought I was dyeing things in colors that made vague sense together, but as it turns out, since I did the painting of the roving in my basement with not enough light, they weren't quite what I expected. Luckily with roving, everything tends to spin into a yarn that makes sense, color-wise, since all of my dyes are fairly similar in terms of saturation, tones, etc. I toured some local studios this weekend and coveted their high-ceilinged, naturally lit, beautiful space.

So, since Saturday, I've spun up 140 yards of a magenta/purpley batt that Paula bought me at the last Sheep & Wool, and 90 yards of a three-ply merino that I dyed Sunday, which is, unsurprisingly, purple.

I also learned the my new cat, Harriet Scampi, is enamored of watching the plies fly by as I make yarn. Watching the dog watch the cat watch the yarn is good entertainment.

giant balls!

2006-10-16T19:51:00.000-05:00

1010-freepeople
Originally uploaded by kismet09.

There's a store in the Prudential Mall that uses these balls as a display item. Some of them were a good foot and a half across. I covet them.

Mistake Rib Goodness

2006-10-12T17:13:00.000-05:00

I forgot to put this up before! This is that scarf I was working on in NYC. Doubled Noro Silk Garden, alternating every two rows with some handspun that I navajo-plyed, thus allowing the colors to stay together. The bright green isn't as bright as it looks in this picture -- I just took it and it's getting dark, and I had to play with the exposure a bit to make it look even vaguely true-to-life. You also get a nice shot of my purple door, which we painted this summer.

Yarn found

2006-10-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

My knitting life revolves around hats and wrist warmers, in prep for a fair in Pittsburgh. I'm not making the fastest progress, but I'm getting there. I finally corralled my yarn into bins so I could take a real stock in what I have. These are the three most recently finished (or mostly finished):

	left to right: hand-dyed BFL; Plymouth Encore (I swear it isn't that big in real life); hand-dyed merino, kid sized
	left to right: superchunky hand-dyed merino; a woolarina handpaints worsted; some Classic Elite Wings that I dyed (mmm alpaca blend - this is a great use for it); Brooks Farm, for me!

That last pair on the right is the first pair I've actually made with plans to keep them for myself, and I've probably done at least a dozen other pairs before these, given as gifts or sold at fairs. I thought I had run out of yarn about 5 rows shy of having a matching set, but thankfully managed to dig up a small ball at the very bottom of the last bin that I rummaged through frantically today. Phew. So, this pair will be for me to wear with my brownish side of my wardrobe, and I'm sure I'll have a purplish pair soon enough. But maybe not before the next fair.

yay! new camera! and new spinning!

2006-10-06T07:41:00.000-05:00

I haven't really learned to use it well yet, but I just bought a new camera so that I could load more pics to woolarina.com, and my old camera was taking three pictures before draining the battery. Just so you know that I haven't been slacking, here's stuff I've spun in the last month or so:

I've taken to dyeing four ounces at a time (a good amount to wrap in plastic wrap and steam on the stovetop) and then spinning it. Four ounces gives me enough yarn to do something with it, but not so much that I get bored with the colors. Now I just have to decide which ones to keep as yarn, and which ones become hats and other things.

trains are perfect for knitting

2006-10-01T09:18:00.000-05:00

I had a work meeting in NYC, and took the train to and from, since it's much easier than flying (and also, my brain hates flying). I had packed one knitting project, which was the mistake rib scarf yarns, not even casted on yet. As it turned out, the yarns weren't quite as compatible as I had hoped. The weights were good, but the black's silk content gave it a really different feel than the merino, and the black was a little too stark of a contrast. So, I tromped around the city, checking out options at various yarn stores. With the help of a lovely salesperson at The Point, I decided on doubling Noro Silk Garden against my multi-color spun yarn (other options considered included a couple of Uruguayan handpaints, and some tweedy yarns, but I loved the idea of the two yarns with fairly long color repeats).

I had to wrestle quite a bit with the Noro -- since I had to double it, that meant buying two skeins, and trying to get the colorways on both to line up exactly. Luckily, I had the help of a friend who has more spatial sense than I do, and with some minor cutting and reballing multiple times, we had it worked out. I knew I wouldn't have quite enough yarn, but still only bought two balls. I'm not sure what my logic was there -- probably that I was already spending quite a lot of money (since I also felt compelled to pick up a skein of Lorna's Laces Worsted in Mineshaft -- so pretty). I ended up buying two more skeins of Silk Garden at Downtown Yarns, in a different colorway, again wrestling them to match up, color by color.

I knitted the whole scarf, starting Friday at the yarn store, finishing up on the train on the way home yesterday. Sadly, my new camera won't be here until Tuesday, so no finished object picture -- just a less-than-great quality camera shot pic of the tasty cupcake at Point, and my SG, mid-re-skeining.

Scarf Plans

2006-09-27T09:37:00.000-05:00

Okay, back in March, I had decided to knit the Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which is basically just a mistake rib scarf alternating two yarns. My yarns are handspuns, one black, one multi. I love that I can type "Child's Rainbow Scarf" into google and see so many pics of others' scarves. Looking at this one, I think I can get away with doing black against rainbow stripes, and not have it look too dramatic...

time for some substance

2006-09-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

I've been knitting lots of hats and wrist warmers, and I think I need some bigger projects that aren't quite as big as the flower basket shawl (which I screwed up awhile ago and have let languish in my knitting basket ever since).

So, if any of you have favorite man scarf patterns to share or link to here, particularly some that might work well with variegated worsted to bulky weight yarns, please share! I've done basketweave for the last two, but I think I want to try something different, and would rather not fall back on 2x2 rib or mistake rib, even though that's the direction I'm currently headed in.

Accomplishments

2006-09-24T18:02:00.000-05:00

My back gets stupid amounts of tired when I have dyefests these days. Tim says he felt it in the weeks after turning thirty (which I just did, less than two weeks ago), and I can't disagree that the pains feel more pronounced, annoying as it is.

Anyway, I got a bunch of dyeing done this weekend. I admit that I fell back, largely, on my favorite color combos, which means more purple than you can shake a stick at (unless you really want to shake one, but really, it'll look pretty silly):

I also had a special order request from Maia for some yarn similar to one that I've dyed before, but in a larger batch. It was fun to work from someone else's inspiration, and hopefully the yarn will do it justice:

I have a fan full-blast on the yarn right now, so hopefully it'll be dry in time to send off to Crafty Bastards. I think if it goes out tomorrow, priority mail, it'll work out...

I would dye more if...

2006-09-23T10:37:00.000-05:00

I've been putting off a dye day for a long time, both because it's lonely to do it by myself now that I've moved so far from my counterpart, and because my new house is not at all conducive to the dye process.

First, I have to mix the dyes from powder. Dyes are extra-toxic in powder form, so I do this in my basement. This involves hauling super-hot water down to the basement from the kitchen, since there's no sink/faucet in the basement, and then propping everything on top of the washing machine, because there's no table. Then, I have to clean the washine machine, because I inevitably splash dye about. I put my dye containers (which are 32oz and plastic) in a big box, and haul them upstairs, along with my squeeze bottles. I now have two boxes of containers, and more squeeze bottles than fit in the carrier I use (which I call a grooming box, 'cause that's what they're used for in the horse world, where I used to live).

I mix my colors over the sink, because it's too dark in the basement, and there's no drainage, so again, more mess, at least this part's in the sink. I have one small piece of counter on to which I can lay rovings to prep them for steam-dyeing, which isn't really enough space. Plus, I have to clear off the counter, since it's usually full of my cutting board, knives, and other kitchen ephemera.

After the yarn/roving is dyed, I haul it back down to the basement so that I can whirl it about in the washing machine on spin cycle to pull some water out. Then back upstairs, where I hang it in my bathtub to dry.

Oh, for a studio. I'd make so much more yarn in a studio. I guess I get more exercise this way, but it's awfully high-maintenance.

Craft Fair Alert

2006-09-14T10:33:00.000-05:00

This weekend is stART on the Street '06!

I'll be there! Dharia will be there! Spinning, selling, and other merriment will ensue! Come and visit. Check out my bright burgundy hair.

moving?

2006-08-14T17:42:00.000-05:00

I'm thinking about taking this show over to vox.com, but haven't decided yet, so I'll just doublepost for awhile until I do, I guess...

I've been doing a lot of spinning recently, prepping for craft fairs, and the weather finally broke, so I threw some dyeing in there as well. You'll have to excuse the lame composite picture, which I threw together with my graphics program, which I don't know how to use. I've had fun experimenting with various fibers recently -- the middle left is a silk/merino, and the bottom left is some random fiber I bought at NH Sheep and Wool. I'm always glad to return to merino, though, and everything else in that picture is merino. The green is from Dharia at skeintily clad, who lent me roving to spin at the Lowell Folk Fest. The jewel tone roving at top and middle right is what I'm working on right now -- dyed by steaming in a saran wrap packet on the stovetop, which is my favorite way to do 4oz packets of roving. I think it'll become hat kits. The bottom right is way prettier than that photo makes it look. Must work on photo and photo shopping skills.

is this thing on?

2006-07-26T10:50:00.000-05:00

I haven't been knitting much, hence lack of posts, but I have finished almost-one and the beginning of a second jaywalker, plus 9 repeats of a flower basket shawl. I didn't finish the jaywalker because I'm paranoid about running out of yarn, so left the toe and started the second, so I can use a different yarn for both toes if need be.

I'm also trying to gear back up into craft fair mode. I spun 300 yards of a wonderful merino/silk blend from Bonkers Fiber that will probably be too pricey for anyone to want, but it'll go in the for sale pile for awhile at least. I'm trying to figure out what I dyed last time I dyed, as very little of it is labelled and it's from, oh, May or so. Argh.

My yarns will be at the Lowell Folk Fest on Saturday and Sunday of this week, and I'll be joining them there on Sunday. I'm playing in a Scrabble tournament on Saturday, so the lovely Dharia will be wool-sitting for me. Exciting stuff! Hopefully everything will be accounted for by then.

it looks so innocent...

2006-06-17T09:15:00.000-05:00

This is the bag that we took to Paula's wedding. I'd unloaded all of the clothes and such, so all that was left was the one side pocket, which didn't look like it could hold so much. Somehow, Paula had remembered to bring some roving for me to the wedding, so that's what was in that pocket...

This is the roving that I managed to squeeze into that pocket. It's probably about 5 pounds worth. The pretty blue one on the bottom left is a silk/merino blend, and the mulberry on the right is also wool/silk/something all blended into batts (which is fun, because I rarely spin from batts). Up top is cormo. MMmmmm cormo. Should keep me busy for awhile.

2006-06-13T07:10:00.000-05:00

Since I live in Boston (okay, 9 miles west of Boston), I am compelled to knit some Jaywalkers, and so I am. The yarn is from the Dye o Rama, and I love the colors. I haven't decided how I feel about Knitpicks sock yarn, though. It might be that I'm knitting on size 1 needles, and I feel no love for anything that takes as long as something on size 1 needles does. At least I've only had to rip back once, and only three rows, but even that almost made me throw the sock back in my tupperware and abandon it. Oh well. It kept me entertained on the plane to and from the much more blogworthy event:

The woolarina wedding was beautiful, just like I knew it would be. If it takes Paula a few days to respond to any comments or questions you might leave about woolarina, you'll just have to forgive her for being on her honeymoon :)

79 stitches, but who's counting

2006-06-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

I'm starting my way into a Flower Basket Shawl. I'm still not 100% sure that size 6 needles and sock weight yarn are the perfect match, but I'm sure it'll be fine in the end. I had to make myself a spreadsheet, just like I did for charlotte, to remind myself how many stitches I'll have at the end of each repeat. I have serious short term memory problems with lace knitting. For example, tonight, after knitting row 3 of the repeat, I did my purl row, and dutifully restarted row 3 as if I hadn't just finished it (and I really had forgotten that I'd just finished it). I'm pretty obsessive about checking my progress as I go, plus with a symmetrical piece, it's fairly easy to tell when you've messed up, as you either knit right past your middle stitch, or you haven't quite gotten to it, as you think you've finished one side. So, I now have an excel that has computed how many stitches I'll have at the end of each row, so as I count back as I purl, I'll know exactly which row of which repeat I'm on. This should be easier than it is, but for me, it just isn't. It is a nice pattern, though.

Whee Dye-o-Rama

2006-06-05T05:44:00.000-05:00

Happily, it has been a successful swap experience in the world of yarn. Yay! Thanks, Karen! Aside from a lovely yarn, I also received a translucent Chibi (I have been coveting one), very cute stitch markers in colors I love, and a set of notecards (I even got to send one of these cards to the person I'm dyeing for)!

The Dye-O-Rama, while possibly decreasing my audience for purchasing handpainted yarn, was tons of fun, and folks seemed to learn a lot and enjoy themselves. I got a lovely yarn that has a much nicer color than I ever got Kool-Aid dyeing. Plus, it's self-striping, and I don't have the patience to make my own self-striping yarn, so it'll be fun to play with. Sadly, the yarn store was closed yesterday so I don't yet have two circular size 1 needles, but as soon as I do, socks will begin. I think I'll do Jaywalkers - I think the pattern will keep me entertained. It's about killing me to work the second 2x2 rib sock that I'm currently doing, and I'm working on 48 stitches rather than the 80ish it'll take me to work on size 1 needles.

These are the yarns I sent my dye pal, plus a little skein of handpainted, handspun merino, of which I have no picture. Hopefully it'll make it to her - I accidentally sent it to the wrong city, but the right zip code, so it may take an extra couple of days:

NHS&W - Vicarious Shopping

2006-05-23T07:05:00.000-05:00

A couple of weekends ago now (I'm slow to post), my sister was in town from Chicago. Since she lives in the Big City, she doesn't often have a chance to see things like a small town fiber fest, so we slogged out in nasty, rainy weather, an hour and a half north to the NH Sheep & Wool Festival. She finally has a break from school, so she'll have time to get back to spinning and knitting, and has little access to roving. Despite the rain, she seemed to love the experience, and came back with at least a couple pounds of various handpaints, including a Totally Tubular from Carolina Handspun, which is the first thing I spun on the wheel she now owns. Unfortunately, the rain was too awful to stay for sheepdog trials or see much outside the vendor barns (aside from some rather beleaguered alpacas). I've apparently gotten pickier as a fiberfest veteran and hand-dyer -- I only picked up a 4 oz ball of red/black roving, and some wedding gifties for Paula. I think I got more out of watching her shop and enjoy herself than anything else, and that was fine with me.

Oh, the choices

2006-05-18T18:17:00.000-05:00

I've taken quite the hiatus from knitting. ALl I've been doing are hats. I figure I should get some more substantial projects moving, as the stash is piling up. So, here's what's on the agenda:

the Evening in Eden shawl pattern forced me to purchase it at Wild & Wooly today. It's a 16 stitch repeat, which is manageable, it'a a rectangular shawl, and it's written for three gauges, which makes the pattern more flexible (or at least allows me to have to think less). This may finally be what I use the giant skein of handpaint for.

Bonnie's Brooks Farm scarf is inspiring me to do something lacy and scarflike with some merino/mohair that I just dyed. It's very mother-of-pearly yarn, all shimmery and barely colored, and I think it was look great in this kind of lace.

Jessica has convinced me to revisit socks using two circs to the point that I managed to buy the circs and load some languishing sock (well, at least languising small piece of sock) that I started a year ago on to them. They're size 5s, so at least they move quickly. I had to laugh when reading the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules book, at the mention of toes being on average about 1.5" long as you estimate sock knitting. I just measured my longest toe and it's a good inch longer than that. If anyone out there has evidence that they have a toe longer than 2.5", send it to me [the evidence, not the toe] and first person who does, I'll send you a prize.

Not that I'm giving up my bulky, handdyed, handspun merino hats. They're just too perfect for travel and a great party trick, since I tend to start them when I arrive somewhere and nearly finish them once I'm ready to leave. In fact, sometimes I use not having my double points to decrease as an excuse to go home when I'm feeling antisocial. Knitting is good for that sort of subterfuge.

for my dye - o - rama pal

2006-05-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

Your favorite colors? Eggplant, Periwinkle, Sage, Merlot, Khaki, Chestnut, Midnight Blue, and I can't think of a descriptive name, but denim-y, medium blue and super-dark, almost black versions of most colors are some of my favorites. I could spend hours in the paint chip section of Home Depot.
Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)? Sport and thicker, unless I have a ton of yardage and am doing a scarf. I'm too impatient for size 0-1 needles when sock knitting.
Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn? I like variegateds that have short bursts of color.
If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn? Whatever makes her happiest!
Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)? Sure!
Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it? Probably something cheesy like "night skies over evergreen trees in vermont."
What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along? A chance to share my yarn, and maybe knit my second ever pair of socks.
Have you dyed yarn/fiber before? Yup!
If so, what’s your favorite dye and method? Painting on immersed yarn on the stovetop. I'm sure there's a more technical name. I should do a photo documentary of it again soon. I haven't done that since back in my kool aid dyeing days. In fact, I'll add a dyebath shot here!

Do you spin? I do!
Have you knit socks before? Once, but I keep meaning to try it again.
Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too? I use sock-weight variegateds for a lot of things.
What are some of your favorite yarns? Koigu, Reynolds Odyssey... gosh, I've been spinning a lot more than knitting recently... I haven't worked with much I'm in love with in awhile!
What yarn do you totally covet? Blue Moon Fibers - I especially love Lucy in the Sky; Iolite; and Seal Rock. Mmmm.
Favorite patterns? I had fun with Clapotis. I like quick things like wrist warmers. Anything that I can mostly memorize is good.
Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object? Hmm... I wish I had more patience for lacy shawls.
Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)? I've been considering short Addys for socks on 2 circs. I knit mostly on circulars, mostly on bamboo.
If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Something soft and useful, but somewhat unassuming... maybe Manos in a single color, or a subtle colorway like Coffee.
Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack? Snobby chocolates, like Vosges and Lake Champlain.
What’s your favorite animal? I like dragons. And lemurs.
Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages? Cassie, a Dalmatian/Terrier thingie (6) and Jasper, a Border Collie (7).
Do you have a wishlist? I do!
Anything else you’d like to share with the group today? Yes, but I gotta get back to work!

schemery

2006-05-08T21:23:00.000-05:00

The Dye-O-Rama goodness has begun! I've received email from both the giver and receiver of the yarns, which means I may actually end up in a happy secret swapping scenario, unlike my single attempt at secret palling.

Also, I just learned that NH Sheep & Wool is this weekend, and only an hour and a half from home! I don't know if I can pass it up. Mmmm fiber. Plus, it's going to be AlpacaFest, and who can pass up an AlpacaFest? My sister and fellow fiber-type will be visiting, so it'd be a fun chance to show her a new dimension to the madness.

Not a lot else to report. I'm in a knitting rut, although I just dyed a bunch of merino, so at least I have some spinning to keep me going. Jess has me intrigued with socks on 2 circs, so maybe that'll be the next endeavor. Right now, I'm just trying to catch up with work after an Air Force-sponsored trip to Texas. No yarn to be had, but i got to see the Alamo!

my pictures are kinda crummy...

2006-04-25T17:21:00.000-05:00

I'm in the process of loading new sock yarns into the store. All superwash, all dyed this weekend -- check em out!

dye-o-rama

2006-04-21T19:57:00.000-05:00

One more day to sign up for this dyed yarn swap!

last minute yarn selling endeavor

2006-04-21T18:18:00.000-05:00

A bunch of woolarina handpainted and handspun yarn will be making its Waltham debut at the Gore Place Sheepshearing fest. The website says...

Saturday
April 22, 2006
10 am to 4pm (rain or shine)

"Gore Place, the historic Governor Gore estate in Waltham, MA, presents its 19th annual Sheepshearing Festival on Saturday, April 22, 2006 from 10am to 4pm (rain or shine). This popular outdoor event takes place over several acres of this beautiful 45-acre estate." There's a map here.

Check out the booth in the craft fair, where I'll be hanging out alongside Skeintily Clad & 3 Cat Nite.

raiding the warehouse

2006-04-02T08:11:00.000-05:00

Classic Elite's warehouse is located about half an hour from my house. My blogless friend Jenn tipped me off to a big sale this Friday and Saturday, and I managed to find time to go. I wanted to spend $200 or less. It's amazing what you can get for that:

10 balls of Phoenix in Black Ash, to make a shawl for my grandmother.

10 skeins of Premier (pima cotton blended with Tencel, 50 grams/108 yards, Gauge: 5.25 sts = 1", #6 needle) for summer shell.

10 skeins of Wings in deep blue ("The hollow core technology of Wings makes this yarn perfect for lightweight but warm garments, and intricately cabled designs that would be heavy if knit in conventional yarns. In addition, the alpacas/silk/wool blend gives it a cashmere-like hand. This yarn is 15% hollow; each ply has a hollow center that holds a layer of air, like goose down, for warmth without weight." 55% Alpaca/23% Silk/22% Wool, 109 yards/skein, Gauge: 4 1/2 sts. = 1" on #7 needles) for a sweater, plus 20 skeins undyed Wings to make sure that I have enough for a sweater, and to sell in the store.

And 12 skeins of Imagine, which is the yarn I used to make my summer tank a couple of years ago that I love.

So, that's 62 skeins of yarn, for right around $200 -- definitely worth the drive to Lowell.

languishing

2006-03-24T20:50:00.000-05:00

i have so many projects that are so close to done:

1) sweater - need to buy buttons so I know how big to make buttonholes and where to put them. plan to buy buttons this weekend.

2) wrist warmers - the Weekend Knitting pattern; I've made one pair and the thumb hole was too constricting, so I made another with two extra stitches of thumb hole, still no good. Thus, I am unmotivated to finish them (although I will soon, since I want to send them to my mother for her birthday in two weeks).

3) brooks farm scarf - just another two feet and it'll be done. argh.

I have been spinning, though. I just finished 160 yards/2 ounces of fabulous merino from Skeintily Clad. The merino is lusciously soft, and it spun up easily (I did the whole thing while watching the Great Garlic Cookoff and an ep of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations via my Tivo).

I also just finished a hunk of roving from Rhinebeck:

I'm not sure how many yards it is, but it's shiny and soft and lovely. Maybe tomorrow will be sunny and allow for some pictures.

sweater finishing

2006-03-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

okay, so I still haven't finished my raglan cardigan, mostly because I'm now torn on how to do the button band. I've knit the top and bottom and sleeve edges in seed stitch. I've picked up the stitches to knit the band to which I'll sew the buttons. My question is, should I:

a) just knit the bottoms and tops in seed, and 5 or so rows in stockinette, and end with two rows of seed stitch;
b) knit the bottoms and tops in seed stitch, and the rest in rib;
c) knit the whole thing in seed stitch

I'm leaning towards (a), because I think it'll reduce the bulkiness of the band (since I'll have the one with the buttonholes overlapping, and I plan to do that one in seed, I think) but I can't seem to find other sweater patterns that show the button band in stockinette. Will some kind of horrible rolling occur? Will the gauge of st st be so far off from the seed stitch that it'll look funny? Am I being silly about the bulkiness, and ignore it in favor of doing the whole thing in seed stitch?

spinning at dizzying speeds

2006-03-05T14:45:00.000-05:00

I just purchased a bunch of corriedale x rambouillet roving from eBay (specifically this seller), and it's turned out to be so great to spin that I can't stop spinning it.

I dyed this roving by painting colors on in a rainbowy order, spritzing it with vinegar, wrapping the roving in saran wrap, and steaming it over water on the stovetop. I let it steam for about 45 minutes as I was dyeing yarns, and was patient enough, for a change, to let it cool before I rinsed it, which meant less felting.

This is what it became -- about 200 yards of navajo plied, rainbowy goodness. It's not as soft as merino, but it's still against-the-skin soft (I wore the skein around my neck for awhile yesterday to test it).

My current plan is to knit the Child's Rainbow Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which is essentially a mistake rib scarf that alternates two self-striping yarns. I'm thinking I'll knit two rows of this handspun against two rows of a black wool with rainbowy silk noils that I spun:

I'm hoping that that works out. I'm on a handspun scarf kick right now. I have one in process (my cormo roving that I spun forever ago, in a farrow rib), and this one and another about to hit the needles. Mmm handspun.

harnessing the website

2006-03-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

I'm finally learning how to update the catalog. New yarns should appear throughout the weekend, starting with worsted weight!

16 skeins

2006-02-26T19:15:00.000-05:00

Sixteen was a lot to tackle in a weekend, especially since finishing them means counting out large skeins into smaller sizes to sell. I'm very tired of counting to 90 and 100, which I did multiple times as I skeined my yarns to size. Oy. But! They're pretty. And I'm hoping to actually sell some in real life tomorrow, to a knitting group at the Somerville library. And if I don't, then to the website they'll go. I'm reasonably happy with the colors, and even managed to custom-dye some for a friend from work. The little guys in the picture are leftovers from the fingering weight skeins. The pic is bad, since it was taken in the dark with flash, instead of in real light, but I think they're cute anyway.

almost there...

2006-02-20T22:03:00.000-05:00

After much frogging and gnashing of teeth, here is my sweater, lounging on the carpet, after an initial blocking. As feared, it's a little small around, so it'll have an extra-wide button band, and we'll call it an artistic element. I ripped down to the armpits after almost finishing the decreases the first time, and knitted back up a la: slip two stitches, knit 1, pass the two slipped stitches over. I like the pretty line that this creates.

Since I added 16 stitches to each sleeve to make up for my poor gauging, I also had to figure out how to account for that as I decreased down. I ended up decreasing two sleeve stitches on each sleeve twice, both toward the top of the sweater, which seems to have taken care of enough of the extra fabric around the top to make it fit me reasonably well. I'll take in a little extra at the armpits as well. Now it's just the bands, and it'll be done!

But, knitting will be set aside briefly, as I've gotten an invitation to bring some of my sale yarns to a knitting group event next Monday, and I have so much white yarn still here, I figure I should dye at least some of it before then... time to clear the kitchen counters!

sweater again

2006-02-14T21:03:00.000-05:00

Okay, maybe this pic shows it off better. Tim has agreed that it will probably make me crazy, so I was be frogging tomorrow, in the car, on the way to visit Brown. Or maybe during my lunch break. Either way, I guess it's better to get it right than to never wear the thing.

gored decreases

2006-02-13T22:09:00.000-05:00

I have been speeding along like a good little knitter on my raglan sweater (designed from Ann Budd's sweater pattern book). By the time I reached the sleeves, I was half a stitch off of gauge (oops), which I didn't notice when I swatched (and I swear, I swear I swatched). In any case, it didn't affect the body too much, I don't think -- I was knitting it to be larger and roomier, and now, well, it isn't. It should still fit. The sleeves, however, needed to be made larger, so I added 8 stitches to each. I still don't know how it has affected the outcome of the sweater, but I've put it on, more or less, a couple of times, and it seems to be fine and good.

Except! Except I have been doing my decreases backwards from how I meant to do them. They should have slanted toward the seam, and they are slanting the opposite way, thus creating a fairly pronounced gore between sleeve and not-sleeve. So now I'm left trying to decide whether this will become a decorative element, or whether I have to rip all the way back to the armpits (about 7" at this point) and redo the decreases so that they slant towards the seam instead of away. Sigh. My sweater knitting is cursed. Thoughts, comments?

a few pictures...

2006-02-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

I used way too much soap this time around... much rinsing ensued. These are a couple of the six skeins. I'll post pics of all of them once they're reskeined. They're much more attractive after they're reskeined, in my opinion. I also learned my lesson and dyed only one weight of yarn for a change. I won't have to stare at them and try to determine which are sock weight and which are light worsted. I do have two purple/blue/yellow/green skeins, though, so I'll have to devise a system to keep track of which smaller skeins I make from each big one.

paint & dye (but no pictures)

2006-02-05T22:13:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a good one for home improvements, especially if you count changing white yarn into prettily colored yarn a home improvement, which I do. Tim finished painting the downstairs bathroom to a lovely blue with grey undertones, and I took down most of the hideous accoutrements (shiny gold accessories just aren't us). Now it just needs a new light fixture and towel bar and it'll be done!

I spent a few hours this morning becoming reacquainted with my dye equipment. I'm now up to an even dozen powder dyes, which means I may have to get some more squeeze bottles soon, since handpainting is a much more exact process with the squeeze bottles than it is trying to dribble dye out of spaghetti sauce jars. I seem to have managed nonetheless, and have six skeins drying above a heating vent. I'll try to have some pictures soon -- most are deep/dark colors, with a couple of rainbowy skeins, and one orange/yellow/red thrown in. I really should work up a pattern to use with these things. I don't really know what 560 yds of worsted would be best used for.

I'm plugging along on my sweater, but my gauge is 1/2 a stitch off, which I think will be okay in the body, because I'd planned a bigger size than I needed to anyway, but I think the sleeves are going to come out too tight. So, I'm planning on knitting 66 stitches instead of 60 around, but then will it get all wonky when I join the sleeves to the body and do the raglan decreases? I've tried to dissect the pattern, but haven't gotten too far.

I know that I knit half the front of the body (it's a cardigan), then knit all but 8 of one sleeve, then the back, then all but 8 of the other, then the other half of the front... so, when I join everything together, I'll have 12 more stitches than my pattern calls for... so I guess I haven't figured out how to adjust my decreases to make it make sense because I've never knitted a raglan before. Hopefully someone at knitting group tomorrow may be able to parse this out with/for me.

closet solutions

2006-01-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

The new closet where I plan to keep my yarn is in an ideal location. It's embedded in a little nook between my living room and the guest room/tv/spinning/music room. Across from the closet are built-ins that include bookshelves that hold all of my fiber-related books, a drawer for loose patterns and extra-large needles, and a cabinet for various projects, my ball winder, and other paraphernalia.

Unfortunately, my giant Tupperwares of ~~doom~~ yarn don't fit in this closet, so I'm trying to update my storage solutions, and these ornament boxes are coming to the rescue. They're collapsible, you can compartmentalize them with the inserts if you want, and they're two-layered. This is one of the ones that I've filled, and I have another that holds the yarn for my ab-fabbish afghan in the bottom compartment, and my afghan itself (in all of its long-unfinished glory) in the top half. As an added bonus, the organizers were on sale at Home Depot for $2.50, so I was feeling economical enough to buy some more undyed yarn for an upcoming dyefest, whenever I get around to that. Today, I spent a couple of hours organizing the basement, and will probably spend another hour on the bookshelves, now that I've dug my book boxes out of the basement. Mmmm alliteration.

Also, I have other things to say, but I think I'm going to try to post here more often, which means I'll save them so that I can use them in new entries, sooner rather than later. The topics include: paradise fibers rhapsodies demystified; newly-spun yarns; my sweater.

new "storefront"

2006-01-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

Attention shoppers! Woolarina.com is beta-testing its new osCommerce storefront. It should be fully functional, but please let us know if it isn't!

The Full Catalog
The Sale Page

Much applause to Paula for getting this up and running!

(if you do decide to order something, and don't get a confirmation from us, please email us and let us know -- the website doesn't like to tell us when we get orders, and we're trying to work that out...)

sweater, take 4

2006-01-10T15:09:00.000-05:00

I've embarked on yet another sweater project. This will be the fourth sweater that I'm knitting for myself, and perhaps I'll wear this one, although I'm not banking on it.

Sweater #1 I knit two winters ago. I bought the yarn in Chicago in December 2003, I think, and finished the sweater while it was still vaguely chilly out, maybe. It's a great tweed yarn, bulky (the sweater's knit on 11s) with dropped shoulders. I think I was kinda sorta using a pattern in Hip to Knit. My seams are awful and I never wear the sweater. If I fixed the seams, I might wear it. And maybe took an inch or two out of the width, which is a little more problematic.

Sweater #2 is an acrylic blend, bulky yarn with one black ply and one brown. My shaping was off, the seams, again, less than stellar, and the bottom rolls. I don't wear it. I plan to frog it one of these days.

Sweater #3 is Berella Polar, and I've written about it here. The raglan shaping at the top makes it look wonky, and I think I should've gone up a needle size and regauged, because the fabric just doesn't feel right, plus . Or perhaps I should stop trying to use acrylic blends. This one, too, will likely be ripped up and recycled into hats or some such.

So, this new sweater has some lessons learned behind it:

1. I'm using a worsted weight, 100% wool yarn (Cherry Tree Hill potluck yarn in blues, greens, and purples, kinda like this.
2. I made a real, live, 4" gauge swatch. In fact, I made 1 1/2, 'cause I started on 8s and bumped down to 7s.
3. I'm creating a pattern from the Ann Budd Book of Sweater Patterns, but I'm doing all of the measurements extra-carefully, and basing them off of pre-existing sweaters that I like and wear.
4. I'm knitting a cardigan, because I'm more likely to wear it, especially since it's a variegated yarn and I think it needs something solid to offset it.

I'm doing seed stitch bands on the edges, 1 1/2" on the bottom and it had better not roll; crew neck; raglan shaping, although I might change my mind by the time I get to the top part; simple sleeves without bells or any other madness; no body shaping. We'll see what happens.

miles and miles of fiber

2006-01-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

So, 2006, eh? I guess it's time to clear the sidebar and start anew!

I added up the yardage I've documented in spun yarn for 2005 -- 5,862 yards. That's 3.3 miles of yarn. Neat. That also means 6.6 miles of singles, give or take, since all I've spun is two- and three-ply.

For this year, I have many fibery goals for myself:
1. learn how to spin reasonably balanced singles
2. use all three of the flyers for my wheel
3. take a spinning class, maybe, to work on these sorts of things
4. finish at least one lace shawl project
5. dye less felty merino (i.e., learn to exercise patience in dye process)
6. learn to dye blues more consistently (my colorways always eat blue)
7. keep track of mixed dye formulas for colors so that they can be replicated

Please excuse my lack of grammatical sense this morning. Not enough coffee yet, I guess, but I wanted to get these down.

And, if I can behave myself and budget it out, I hope to purchase a drum carder. I don't know if I can wait til post craft fair season. I will wait at least until Sheep and Wool, which I'm hoping that some local folks will want to trek down to (Anne? Jess? We can use my car, as long as someone else drives).

So, that's the beginning. The end of 2005 was a bit of gift knitting -- a couple of handspun hats, the completion of the Clapotis IV, and now I'm working on a scarf from my Brooks Farm yarn purchase (see picture above), all for me. I'm also spinning merino, and looking forward to creating a home for my yarn, which it'll have as soon as the new house is more put together.

a bazaar bizarre success

2005-12-13T08:09:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at Boston's Bazaar Bizarre on Sunday. The crowd was amazing - the line was around the block, so it's a good thing that it wasn't as ridiculously cold or snowy as it could have been. It was, however, cold enough to sell a plethora of hats. There are many days of hat knitting and dyeing ahead before Crafty Bastards next October. Not sure if we'll do summer fairs, unless we think of useful things to sell there.

My favorite new addition to our inventory is odds and ends skeins. These are small bits of yarn from that last bit of roving that we spun, or leftover dyed yarn after reskeining a batch to a useful length. It's a great way for folks to try out a new yarn without the full-skein commitment, or to have just a bit of trim for a project. And, it's a great way for us to use our little oddball bits.

If I drove and didn't mind not having a steady income, I would craft fair across the country.

the reveal

2005-11-20T09:27:00.000-05:00

Okay, so back in October, a month ago in fact, I went to Rhinebeck. I posted about Rhinebeck. I put up some pictures. But, the most exciting purchase that I made had to stay off the Internet until today.

Today is my little sister's 21st birthday. She has been knitting for longer than I have, and took up spinning quickly and intuitively. She spent many hours spinning on my Ashford Traveller when she visited, and she drop spindles on the train in Chicago (so if you see a small Asian with cute hair and a drop spindle, feel free to say hello).

Anyway, today, the wheel is being gifted to her (well, a picture of it is, and she'll be here for Thanksgiving when she can claim it in person). That means that I can show off its replacement, which came home with me from Rhinebeck.

She's a Lendrum, Double Treadle, scotch tension, plus I have the lace and bulky flyers to go with her, although I haven't tried them yet. I had to watch Chelsea talk about her wheel (which happens to be the same make/model as my wheel), and convince myself to wait until now to talk about mine. My last three yarns have been spun on the Lendrum, and we're learning to get along. The action is much smoother, and I love that the design means that I can see the yarn as it builds up on the bobbin so easily.

Of course, I will miss my Traveller, which has taught me so well the basics of spinning. But, I know that it will have a good home, and be a good gift for the sister.

lazy dyeday

2005-11-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

The dyebath is percolating, and Tim is off to purchase some vinegar so that I can do some steam dyeing with the rovings. The colors come out nicely, but they do need the acid wash to set. The yarns are cycling through the pan on the stove. I'm even wearing gloves to prevent my looking like a dye artist at work on Monday.

My Clapotis yarn is being ornery. I wound it into a center pull ball, and somehow it ravelled itself around itself so that when I pulled, two extra strands of yarn came along with the one I needed. Ended up rebaling the whole thing. Better work this time. Grr. I am five repeats into the body of the pattern, and have found many instances to pull it out and work a few rows (before meetings at work, while signing home insurance paperwork, etc).

We close on a new house in a week. I've been working at the new job for 3 months. It's no wonder that I'm not writing here as much as I'd like.

Getting things done

2005-11-08T08:26:00.000-05:00

I've joined a local group of creative type journallers in a challenge to do some creating every day in November, as a kind of answer to the National Novel Writing Month phenomenon. Apparently, this has helped to motivate me even more than reading other knitblogs. I've actually finished projects that are months old, and have done some work toward the craft fair; namely, I have re-entered the mouse knitting season:

That little stack is the beginning of a larger menagerie that will be stuffed with catnip and on sale. If only they reproduced like their real-life counterparts.

I've also completed the arm warmers based on the Mikado fingerless glove pattern, except mine are fuzzy Suri Merino:

and I've embarked upon my fourth (they're addictive! they're good for xmas gifts!) Clapotis:

That one's hand-dyed superwash yarn, just like this stuff.

Progress! Woo!

craft fair strategizing

2005-11-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

by this time next week, i hope to have completed:
-1 set handspun armwarmers with reasonable pattern that can be given away with handspun
-10 felted mice, ready for stuffing
-organization of the inventory spreadsheet

Bazaar Bizarre Boston - Sunday December 11, 1-9pm!

Come see Paula and I be excited for the reasonable hours! We shouldn't have to get up at 5:45am for this one!

less than two months?!

2005-10-26T12:19:00.000-05:00

Holiday knitting is upon me, and caught me completely by surprise. I have at least four projects that I'd like to complete before xmas, plus I'm desperately in need of a pair of pop-top mittens for myself, and I'm 3 inches from finishing my Plymouth Odyssey hat and currently out of yarn (grr to my big head). The four projects? A scarf, long opera gloves, a lace shawl, and a multi-yarn garter shawl. Also possibly a leaf lace scarf, but that one's on hold in an attempt to remain realistic. Plus, spinning up 4 more ounces of silk/merino that I'm spinning on consignment, of sorts, plus another craft fair. *whimper* Time for a game plan.

sp6

2005-10-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

Yay! My pal received her first package. It was yarn that I dyed, but I was all paranoid about telling her that, in case she could track me down online via woolarina or some such. I have been a slacker with the mail since moving here, so I'll have to motivate myself to get the next batch of stuff out soon.

As for my secret pal -- are you still out there? I got one email, but I haven't heard from you in a bit, and your email address was undeliverable...

Fiber in the Mountains

2005-10-17T19:16:00.000-05:00

Much fun was had with bloggers, livestock, and friends this weekend, but I gotta say that the fiber took center stage for much of the time. Rhinebeck felt more fiber-centric than Maryland Sheep and Wool did -- I'm not sure if it was the location, all pretty in the fall and far from home, or if it was my particular focus on looking at fibers rather than yarns, but it seemed like there was less commercial yarn and knitting ephemera, and more spinning and weaving and handspun or otherwise artisanal yarn (i.e., from smaller dyers/spinners rather than the big companies).

I got to the fest on Saturday at opening, and braved the gloomy, misty/rainy weather to wander through the first few barns. I serendipitously ran into these lovely ladies of the Maryland blogger/Mayorga meetup contingent, and was able to connect them to their roommates for the night. Paula and I wandered around for most of the day, and I filled my big bag with 6oz fiber balls. By the end of Sunday, I was getting pretty good at holding balls of roving in my hands and approximating their weights. Another nifty party trick for me, I suppose! Paula picked up a drum carder, which means new ways for us to blend rovings! I got lots of fabulous merino and merino/silk and other fibers, and some other goodies that will remain a mystery until my sister's 21st birthday, if I can wait that long. I am pleased that the only yarn that I purchased was from Brooks Farm (2 skeins of Four Play, to make a nice, soft scarf). It was hard to pass everything else up, but I stayed within my budget (I had all of 78 cents left when all was said and done), and I will be set for spinning for quite some time.

Other highlights: enabling a new fiber geek; fried dough and irish creme coffee; a clear sky even for a brief period; a free pound of fiber; lots of beautiful shawls; apple wine that tastes even better warmed up. and the goat? He's made of cashmere. Mmmm...

Rhinebeck Bound

2005-10-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

Today was my last day in the office (we get Jewish holidays off sometimes, and then I'm going to a workshop thingie on Friday), so my mind is already on the weekend. I'm headed to Rhinebeck for the Sheep and Wool goodness. This will be my first visit, but since it's closer than Maryland Sheep and Wool from where I now live, it'll probably be the fest of choice.

I'm throwing around ideas of what it is I want to buy. I don't think I'll be able to pass up Brooks Farms' yarns again. They're just so amazing, and the colors really drew me in at MDS&W. Pictures don't really do them justice. Tomorrow I plan to do to reality check on how much yarn I actually have, so that I remember how much I don't need a lot more...

Crafty Success!

2005-10-06T16:16:00.000-05:00

A fine time was had at Crafty Bastards '05, and now much restocking must be done, which means more fun with dye in the near future - hoorah!

Here's a pic of the booth with two of our intrepid crafty vendors:

Blogger can apparently do something with images that I haven't tried before, so let's hope this works.

In other news, thanks to the new job, travel, and possibly dim sum on Sunday, I have spent the last four days horizontal and fighting a virus. All is not lost, though -- I finished knitting three hats, and got some work done on the boy's scarf. Knitting was about as much focus as I had, but it was enough! Kids' hats = instant gratification.

Craft Fair this weekend!

2005-09-27T06:36:00.000-05:00

Saturday, October 1, 2005 • 10am–5pm

Without even meaning to, I have two small grocery bags full of stuff -- one is all handspun, the other is hats and scarves and a pair of mittens -- plus the three wine cozies and three nalgene holders drying on the table. I don't even remember what we actually have in Maryland, but I know that we've created over 200 skeins of yarn at this point. Phew! I guess I was reasonably productive.

wrist woes

2005-09-24T20:06:00.000-05:00

9-10:30am -- walk around neighborhood yard sale day. pick up some puzzles, a table, a gas grill, a book. spend whole time knitting a wine cozy. i was about 1" in when i ventured out, and halfway done by the end.

10:30-11:30am -- drive to Cambridge, watch the kids that the boy teaches in high school play soccer (they won - yay!), spend entire time knitting wine cozy. finish cozy.

11:30-12:55pm -- head to beer store, cast on hat while boy is driving, work on hat while in beer store, stop for pizza, knit while waiting for pizza, finish about 4" of hat (on size 13 needles), drive to A Good Yarn.

12:55-2:30pm or so -- alternately browse through fabulous yarn store and chat with fabulous Anne, picking up and knitting hat a bit, but not much. purchase Lavish Lace with Handpainted Yarns, which will hopefully help me in both my yarn and my lace designery. I like that it provides examples of swatches of the same patterns knit with different yarns. Nice lesson in the differences the yarn can make.

2:30-3:30pm -- drive to Jamaica Plain, drink bubble tea, finish hat, start another hat.

3:30-6pm -- drive home, stopping at our new favorite produce store (leaving knitting in car), home, watch some tv, finish spinning 125 yards of two ply worsted weight merino, finish a couple more inches on hat.

6-6:45pm -- play tennis.

6:45-8:45pm -- eat dinner, spin an ounce or so of merino, work hat a bit.

is it any wonder that my right wrist is killing me right now? i'd like to think it's a good hurt.

craft fair dilemma

2005-09-15T20:48:00.000-05:00

Argh, so, Crafty Bastards is October 1, in DC. I am in Boston(ish). I want to go, but I'd be paying about $200 to be there for about 36 hours, and giving up a weekend in the middle of crazy working like a mad person time (I'm doing two jobs right now - my old one and my new one - so I work a good 55 hours a week). But we're all set to go, and I wanna see Paula, and help with the booth, but then I also want to go to Rhinebeck, and I have to go to a wedding on Oct. 8. I need a magic 8 ball, and a lot of money.

more q and a

2005-09-15T05:41:00.000-05:00

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I'm married (for 4 1/2 years -- crazy that it's been that long) to a math geek/high school teacher/dissertation writer. I'm trying to finish a scarf that I've been knitting him for way too long now. I have a Border Collie named Jasper and a Dalmatian/Pointer/Garbage Disposal named Cassie, and they're 7 and 6 years old, respectively. We're all getting old.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
I wouldn't complain about owning a fiber store. I love to arrange shelves full of stuff, and I imagine having cubbies and cubbies of yarn would keep me happy for a long time. Until I can afford to take such a risk, though, my life dreams are mostly focused on enjoying now, but not to the extent that it leaves me broke later.

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I wish I could afford my favorites in any great quantity! Debbie Bliss Cashmerino, Cherry Tree Hill merino, Koigu, Reynolds Odyssey. I've wanted to try Schaefer's Helene, Laurel, Marjaana... and I guess my favorite yarns that stay within my budget are Brown Sheep Prairie Silk and Karabella Aurora 8.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Scratchy non-wool ones :) -- the scratchy wools I can always felt. Oh, and mohair without coordinating non-mohair yarns. I'm just not sure what to do with them.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Spinning is my current obsession, really. I covet Paradise Fibers' Rhapsodies. I'm also working an afghan along the lines of the Ab Fab kit -- just a lot of my scrap yarn in deep purples, blues and silver. It's been awhile since I picked it up, though - it was too warm to work on in the summer!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Hats and arm warmers for the instant gratification, sweaters for the longterm usefulness.

17. What are you knitting right now?
That afghan, the scarf, a bunch of stuff to sell at craft fairs, a pair of Prairie Silk wristwarmers... plus I'm conceptualizing holiday gifts that will need to be done soon.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
They look cute on some people... I'm still on the lookout for a perfect half-circle shawl for myself. I'm getting to like shawls. I wear my Clapotis everywhere. I might even wear a cape if I ever made one of those, but ponchos and I don't really get along.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
circs. I knit almost exclusively on circs these days. Straight work I try to do on 16" circulars. It has something to do with the way I like to hold the needles.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Bamboo! Or addi turbos.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
Barely...

22. How did you learn to knit?
At a college where I worked. From this lovely lady.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Old.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
Umm... I like dragons, I suppose.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas. The family-centric, decorating, gift giving and eating variety. I could take or leave the media hype, the overblown retail madness and the religion.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Non-knitting related? Not really. At least I try not to. I refuse to throw out any back issues of Real Simple, but I've convinced myself that I can cut select articles out of other magazines rather than keeping every issue.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Spinoff, Interweave Knits.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
There's a special section of my wish list devoted to them.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another??
The shawl I mentioned above, mostly 'cause I haven't found a good one yet.

ETA: 30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like?
Oh lord, my feet are huge. I wouldn't wish sock making on anyone. They're pretty much a foot long. Size 12.5ish.

I have finally gotten around to participating...

2005-09-12T19:48:00.000-05:00

...in the secret pal-ed-ness. Behold the button:

And in that spirit, the beginnings of the survey:

1. Are you a yarn snob?
I do prefer wools and blends, especially really soft ones.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
I spin and dye. A lot. Mostly merino, but all kinds of fibers. I don't crochet.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
Mmm.. I don't know if I have a smoke allergy, but the smell makes me pretty irritable.

4. How long have you been knitting?
Since February 2001.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Indeed. here 'tis.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like lavendar, lemongrass, chamomile...

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Not as much as some, but sure.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I stick mostly with spinning/knitting/dyeing. I do make a lovely mix CD, though. And I bake, occasionally.

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Folksy types with good lyrics and harmonies like Indigo Girls and Kings of Convenience; bluesy-folk women like Emmylou Harris; fun, eclectic "world-like" stuff like Pink Martini.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I tend to stick with deeper colors and earth tones. I'm still looking for a perfect combo of browns and dark greens. I love blue-based purples, forest greens, cobalt blue, greys/silvers. I just bought some Reynolds Odyssey in Granite Mix and I looooove it. There was a loose ball at a yarn store, and I bought it because I loved it that much:

I may have to track down some more, or maybe just make arm warmers. I tend to stay away from pastels and super-brights. But then again, I love all of the Noro Silk Garden colorways, so I guess brights in moderation are okay.

Tired now! more soon!

Not quite as tall as me

2005-08-14T10:11:00.000-05:00

I have corraled my entire yarn stash:

I guess it could be worse.

From top to bottom:
Roving, spindles, yarn baller, niddy noddy
Neutral wools and mohairs
Various larger lots of wool, mostly purples (some Patons grey, a bunch of Karabella)
Novelties and non-wools
More wools, including most of my hand-dyed, plus some cotton
Handspuns

I'm down to one tub of non-natural fibers, and I hope to keep it that way. Even my projects are all in these buckets (a tank top, a scarf, a sock, an arm warmer, I'm not sure what else). It's about 5'7" tall, all stacked up. Also note the motor oil in the bottom right hand corner, with which I grease my spinning wheel.

wheel to be packed last!

2005-08-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

So we're moving in less than a week! Phew! My local knitting circle list is going to have to change substantially (although kniterati will now, finally, be accurately in place). Woolarina North will be located in Waltham, Mass. (I need to learn how to spell that state name consistently). I'll be back down in the DC area for Crafty Bastards in October, though, and I'm sure I'll make it back for Sheep and Wool!

The knitting and spinning have been on hold, more or less, for the past two weeks. Our last dyeing session was a couple of weeks ago (stuff to hit the webpage soon), and I'm packing my dye equipment today. Won't pack the wheel til the last minute, though - whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, it's still the place I go to unwind (although this week, the wheel has lost out to the bed on many occasions -- at least I've been sleeping well in preparation for the move).

Those of you in the Boston area, any and all suggestions on things to do (and eat!) and places to shop (and eat!) are welcomed.