Michelle Knits and Quilts!

WIP Wednesday

2012-02-08T08:11:00.002-05:00

Ahhh Wednesday. Halfway through a workweek. My workweeks have actually been pretty full, a far cry from the crappy summer of data entry and begging for more work.

Of course, the biggest WIP is still the festival of legends, and with it, our Kickstarter Campaign. It is pretty seriously hilarious and you should check it out.

In the world of knitting however, my only WIP that isn't in time-out is a pair of socks. Broadripple patterned stripey socks. Broadripple works super well with long-repeat yarns, and it tends to be my go-to pattern. Easy to memorize, only two rows of lace, and it makes a pretty comfy sock without too much of a decrease in its stretchiness because of the decreases (I'm looking at you Jaywalker!)

Bad Blogger, again!

2012-01-19T10:36:00.002-05:00

Wow, was it really September the last time I blogged? Wow. I stink at this. Then I just post a pattern for sale and nothing more? What a bad, bad blogger

So, new developments! Jeff and I are organizing a fariy festival, the Festival of Legends! That is a fun and stressful venture.

I have just published my first pattern in Ravelry, and a "buy now" button is there on your right!

I have knit and crocheted a ton of stuff (more than what's pictured here), so here is a picture dump!

Whew! I feel better now, don't you? I clearly need to take more pictures of things I've knit, too.

Twisted Linen Sun Hat

2012-01-19T10:33:00.000-05:00

My first designed hat! Available for just $1.00!

Made out of worsted weight linen yarn, this hat is comfortable and breezy. IT will keep the sun off your face without making your head hot. The twisted little hurricane type stitches are ones that I *think* I made up ( I at least didn't find them anywhere), although I know that there are no original thoughts.

Buy it here, or from the link on the right!

Sweaters

2011-09-13T08:14:00.000-04:00

Again, a long hiatus, but I've been busy knitting!

Two sweaters completed (with the exception of buttons on one).

The first one is from A Fine Fleece, with a couple of modifications. The original picture had very poorly set-in sleeves, which I don't particularly care for anyway. So instead, I turned it into a raglan style sweater with the decreases hidden on the wrong side next to some c2f cables. No button band either, I'm planning on just wearing it open or using a shawl pin to close it.

This one is made from the Knitpicks Capra yarn, which is a lovely cashmere blend yarn. It cabled beautifully and was wonderful to knit with. I can't wait for fall to wear this one. I just need to find the perfect buttons for it!

Tour de Fleece, Fin

2011-07-25T08:05:00.000-04:00

Today ends the Tour de France, and therefore the Tour de Fleece. My goal was to spin the first bit of merino and tencel, which I did. I then decide I wanted to also spin up the Island of Misfit Toys roving as well. I am nearly done, but still plying since it decided it wanted to be a fine fingering weight 2- ply. I couldn't be happier with the way this yarn is coming out though! Nice and even, and it comes across as a striped tweed.

So would I consider this TDF a success? Absolutely. My goals were to improve my spindling and to spindle every day. I worked on a new technique (pseudorolagging) and then simply enjoyed the process of spindling. I got a lot of interesting looks and had the chance to educate people on the process of making yarn by hand. So yes, absolutely a success and I look forward to next year!

Tour de Fleece, Days 18 and 19

2011-07-20T16:46:00.000-04:00

I didn't get a whole lot of spinning done yesterday (day 18), but I did get my full cop wound off onto a storage bobbin. I've only just started spinning today on the last of the "Island of Misfit Toys" roving, and since we're in Ohio for my cousin's wedding, I should have time tonight for more spinning.

Tour de Fleece, Days 16 and 17

2011-07-19T07:56:00.000-04:00

The actual spinning content of Days 16 and 17 are more of the same. The cop gets bigger, but I haven't wound off onto a bobbin yet. So instead of more similar pictures, here's the other project I've been working on!

This is the egg bird.


Kinda angry looking, isn't she.

But the best part about her?

Give her sides a little squeeze:

And out pops an egg!

I swear, this never gets old!

I'm working through the entire set for Ben, Ally and Nick, my niece and nephews. I hope they like them (and can share, since I"m only making one of each!)

Tour de Fleece, Days 14 and 15

2011-07-16T11:58:00.000-04:00

Since I spent most of yesterday at the Doctor's office (first patient visit and a physical - I check out fine!) I didn't get a ton of spindling done, but I did get my cop wound off onto a storage bobbin. I decided to use some old Ashford bobbins for storage since they'll allow me to actually tension my lazy kate while I'm plying. Here's the bobbin plus what I've spun so far this morning!

I also was greatly enjoying the hummingbirds this morning on the back porch. Their wings buzzing and their cute little "deek deek" chirp. I was able to catch this one at the feeder. There's also a gorgeous ruby throated fellow who comes by every so often, but I wasn't able to nab him on the camera.

Tour de Fleece, Day 13

2011-07-14T21:29:00.000-04:00

Spindling laceweight merino is taking a bit, but I am spindling every day. I'm greatly enjoying the yarn this is making though! It will be well worth all of the work when I am finished!

I also made up a few spindles for the Yarn Tree Studio

Including some rather unique designs!

Day 12

2011-07-14T10:15:00.000-04:00

Tour De Fleece day 12 was more spindling, and the second class with my spindling students. They did wonderfully. They were so proud (and rightly so) of their yarn. I also made good progress on my spinning, despite a busy day at Yarn Tree Studio.

I love that store, and have a great time working there. The customers are friendly and it's a great chance to continue to spread the love of kniting and spinning. We're getting in some new spinning stuff, including new drop spindles made by yours truly! Pictures of those will be coming shortly.

Three Sweaters -or- Why I Spin and Knit

2011-07-14T10:09:00.002-04:00

A short story about three sweaters and how they came to be.
By me :-)

The First Sweater

I went to my favorite department store today, and folded neatly on the table was the most beautiful sweater! The colors were exactly to my liking, the fit was perfect, the design was gorgeous and the fabric was so soft. I immediately purchased it, took it home and wore it the next day. Family, friends and coworkers were impressed by how nice the sweater looked.

The end.

The Second Sweater.

I went to my favorite yarn shop today. Amongst the walls and shelves of beautiful yarns I saw it. My color. My fiber content. The exact weight of yarn I like to knit with. The yarn was luxurious. I spoke to the store owner and together we pored over books and patterns to find one to my liking. Pattern, yarn and needles in hand I made a small gauge swatch to see that the fabric was going to be as nice as I'd imagined, and that the measurements of the sweater were going to come out right. I cast on for the sweater and the rest of my knitting friends admired the color choice, the pattern, and how even my stitches were. I so enjoyed the feeling of the yarn through my hands, petting the unwound skeins, smoothing out the growing sweater and imagining what it would look like finished. Finished, the sweater blocked exactly to my measurements and I pieced it together with care. I decided to name my sweater the same as the designer had called the pattern.

I paraded around in my beautiful new sweater; my knitting friends admired my stitches, how well the sweater fit, what care I'd taken in finishing it. To my family and coworkers I proudly told the tale of how I knit the sweater myself. Some of them were impressed; some asked why I didn't just buy it from the store.

The End

The Third Sweater

My friends and I went to the local fiber festival this weekend. We ate the delicious junk food at the vendor stands, talked to the sheep, goats, llamas and alpacas in the barn, and watched the sheep to shawl competition. Between all of that we shopped (and shopped and shopped) for yarn, needles, notions and fiber for upcoming and newly inspired projects. While I was shopping the fleeces from that years' fleece competition I came across this beautiful brown fleece. The sheep's name was Evangeline and she was a Romeldale. That breed of sheep is known for producing a very soft fleece which spins well, and her fleece had won first place in the competition. The fleece had been well cared for, and it smelled heavenly; like a clean barn. I purchased the fleece and added it to the growing collection of stash which I had been amassing.

Once home, I opened the bag of Evangeline's wool and the barnyard smell reminded me of that day at the fiber festival. I petted and sorted the fleece, removing the few bits that the farmer hadn't removed. My hands were soft from the lanolin. I carefully washed the lanolin and dirt out of her fleece and laid it to dry. Then I started carding. I blended in all of the different shades of brown in Evangeline's fleece so that my final yarn would be a tweedy heathered brown. The fleece was soft and airy and pulling the carded fiber off of the drum carder yielded fluffy batts that I often couldn't help but bury my hands in. When done, I had plenty of carded fiber to make a full sweater with some left over to sample. So sample I did. With my favorite spinning wheel I spun and plied 5 mini skeins of Evangeline's wool to see what kind of yarn I wanted to knit with. I kept the notes of the favorite sample and spent the next couple of months spinning the rest of the fiber. I handled every inch of Evangeline's wool, and then her yarn. I made skein after skein of soft beautiful brown wool. My friends at my spinning nights enjoyed petting and smelling the carded wool and the finished yarn. The friends who had come with me asked if that was Evangeline, and commented on what a good job I'd done preparing her wool and spinning it.

With the yarn completed, washed and in fluffy brown hanks I petted the yarn and pondered what pattern to make. I took a skein to my favorite yarn shop and with the owner we picked out the perfect pattern. I decided that instead of naming the sweater after the pattern's name, I would call it Evangeline. I swatched and knitted a sweater exactly to my liking, in that perfect shade of tweedy brown. I blocked and finished it with care and paraded around in my beautiful new sweater; my knitting friends admired my knitting. When I told them I'd made the yarn myself, some were impressed; some asked why I'd gone through the trouble, why I hadn't just bought the yarn at the yarn shop. To my family and coworkers I proudly told the tale of how I knit the sweater myself and had made the yarn from a beautiful fleece. Some of them were impressed; some asked why I didn't just buy it from the store.

The End

Amphibians and mammals

2011-07-12T16:39:00.000-04:00

A slight break from the wool and spinning:

A week or so ago it was raining pretty good on and off all day. At one point, we heard this odd whirring chirp right outside our door. Thinking it was a bird that had taken shelter we peeked out the window, but no bird. Jeff opened the door and the chirping stopped. We assumed he had scared away the bird.

The whirring chirp resumed an hour or so later, and this time I went to look. There on the porch rail was a bright green tree frog. Man, those things are loud when they're up close.

He let me get in pretty close with the camera before hopping away.

Ribbit, Ribbit

Then last night we got photographic proof of how tolerant greyhounds can be:

"You don't mind if I prop my feet here, do you?"

Tour de Fleece, Day 11

2011-07-12T16:25:00.000-04:00

This time, with pictures!


Here is today's spinning, superwash Merino

I love this roving

It makes for a fantastic yarn with long repeats

Mama, take a picture of me instead!

Cute greyhound aside, my spindling is coming along well. This top wants to be spun super fine, so I may ply it into a light fingering weight yarn.

I also made a bunch of drop spindles, and once they're all dry I'll post another picture.

For those reading on a RSS feed, I added pictures to yesterday's post as well.

Tour de Fleece Days 6-10

2011-07-12T08:24:00.001-04:00

Pictures will be coming, but since we were at a friend's house this weekend, it was hard to post updates.

I finished spinning and plying that multi colored roving, and then on the day of rest (day 10) I made a new set of drop spindles. I have 16 new wheel spindles and four new designs! I had fun playing around with geometric shapes and came up with some pretty darn clever spindles, if I do say so myself!

Since I finished my first set of roving I"ve decided to simply continue to spindle spin throughout the remainder of TDF. Every day, except for the rest days. So today I start on some superwash merino in a colorway called "Island of Misfit Toys" It's really pretty, and I plan to spin this in a more traditional worsted prep, though I'll leave it as singles and knit a cowl, I think. I'll see how it spins up!

As promised, a picture!


This yarn is not completely finished, as I will be using it as a demonstration of why you need to wet-finish yarn.

The skein on the left has been wet finished and hung to dry. The skein on the right has not. YOu can see how the plies even out and the yarn becomes much more round and happy. I'll finish Righty after my class tomorrow evening.

Speaking of teaching spinning, I had the fun of plying yarn in front of my friends' 2-year-old, who of coursed asked what I was doing. She then repeated "drop spindling, drop spindling" in a singsong 2-year-old voice. Adorable.

Then when we left I got a call from her Daddy telling us that she'd taken a lacing card, and was spinning it by the yarn. When asked what she was doing the reply was, "Playing Drop Spindle!"

Tour de Fleece, Day 5

2011-07-06T20:53:00.000-04:00

Today, I did spin on my spindle and I'm almost done with the fiber. Then plying!

But the bigger thing I did was pass it on. I taught two new students how to make yarn on drop spindles. They did fantastically well!

Tour de Fleece, Day 4

2011-07-05T16:59:00.000-04:00

Day 4 looks much like day 1-3, but more.

I have a third bobbin full and a partially full cop. My coworkers were extremely bemused by my spinning. I caught one watching intently while I wasn't looking, but looking away any time I looked up at him!

Tour de Fleece, Day 3

2011-07-04T19:38:00.000-04:00

Day three and I'm still trucking. Amazing what having days off does for productivity! We'll see if I can keep this up while traveling.

I'm starting to think that I may run out of roving though, so I may add something to the challenge!

Here I have two full cones and a full cop. Tonight I'm going to make a bunch more pseudorolags and take my spindle with me to work to spin at lunch. That'll get an interesting reaction out of my coworkers for sure!

Tour de Fleece, Day 2

2011-07-03T09:30:00.000-04:00

Day 2 and I've made a ton of progress on my spindling. The pseudorolags are a dream to spin and I've filled one cone so far. Since this is a tweedy blend, my plan is a DK to worsted 2-ply. What I'm currently debating is if I will do my plying on the spindle or on the wheel. Tensioning the cones will be a challenge, but if I go slower with a spindle, I may be able to get more control out of it.

Now, a picture of my pseudorolags and the yarn I've made so far!

Tour de Fleece, Day 1

2011-07-03T00:26:00.000-04:00

I've decided this Tour de Fleece to work on my spindling. I want to be better to be able to help out students!

So all of this roving will be pulled into pseudorolags and spun on a drop spindlie!

Linus!

2011-04-21T14:09:00.000-04:00

Not only am I good at passing along the spinning bug for friends, I'm also excellent at finding yarn for my Mom's Project Linus group. They (very, VERY unlike me) like to knit with acrylic. Even ::shudder:: Lion Brand Homespun. Friends have learned this and will often pass along their unwanted acrylic, whether it is leftovers from their stash or inherited stash yarn.

One such friend sent me an entire Tupperware full of it!

I do believe there's enough for two entire blankets made out of homespun, and at least two or three more of mixed Super Saver or Caron Simply Soft.

I can't wait to pass this along to Mom!

Auto Wheel Zone!

2011-04-11T21:02:00.000-04:00

I seem to have a penchant for getting friends addicted to spinning. It probably happens because of how much I like it, and that kind of enjoyment can be very contagious.

Lynn of Yarn Tree Studio is one such person to whom I have passed along the addiction. Today, Jeff and I met a gentleman out in Hillsborough to exchange cash for wheel. Unfortunately he'd not oiled the wood since he'd gotten it, and probably not oiled the moving parts in 14 of the 15 years since he'd bought the wheel.

Needless to say, it needed a bit of TLC. It had rust on some of its metal parts, and some of the wood was a bit oil-stained due to him trying to remedy a squeak in the treadle.

So, off to ~~Auto~~ Wheel Zone! (conveniently located at my house)

The rust was taken care of with some fine steel wool and elbow grease, followed by sewing machine oil. That took care of the squeak and got the wheel back up to good working condition The rest is better told in pictures.

The wheel, before

The wood is rough and dry, but some work with a cotton cloth, some soft steel wool and some lemon oil. . .

See the difference between the horizontal post and the wheel? Dry, dry wood!

Aaaaahhhhhh, that's soooo much better.

A short test run indicates it is spinning beautifully.

A little copper wire and some round nose pliers. . .

It's all set and ready to spin!

I know Lynn is going to love it!

NCRF

2011-04-07T09:20:00.002-04:00

The North Carolina Renaissance Festival is a very very sad faire this year. It's funny how one bad year plus a few bad decisions can snowball into something truly terrible.

It used to boast hundreds of vendors. I think we counted 8.

It used to be at a faire grounds where, while it sometimes had the feel of a flea market, there were paved roads, and an entire rodeo rink for the Joust.

Now. . .

Here's the joust

And the location of one of the more popular shows

And the pub

And pretty much the whole muddy fairegrounds, covered in a coat of straw.

Still. Beer Fairy is still serving, and serving beer with a smile!

With a handsome mead ogre at her side.

The worst part is the catch-22 of no fun. Rumors have gotten out about how un-fun the faire is, so nobody wants to go, so it sucks because nobody is there. There are also a number of people boycotting the faire because of how past performers were not paid for their work. This I completely understand, and I wrestled with working there again this year. But we have some very good friends who invested money in having this beer tent, and I'm going to work my cute little tush off selling beer and mead for them!

It could be a lot more fun if certain people hadn't been screwed over last year, or if people just went ahead and came this year, despite the muddy conditions. If the faire fails utterly then there is no chance of past and present acts being able to be paid for their hard work. If nobody comes, then it will fail utterly.

I'm in no way condoning the misdeeds of the management of the faire, but I do wish more people would come to support those of us who are at the faire. So, for those who can, for those whose only reason for not coming is because they think it will suck, please do come to the faire. I have comp tickets! I have beer! The people are what make the faire, and if you oppose supporting it directly, well, that's what the comp tickets are for!

Knitting Content!

2011-03-20T11:11:00.000-04:00

Those of you who know me may recognize the shape of this shawl. It's my second Danish Tie Shawl. The blue one is still beautiful, but I had some fantastic brown marled handspun that was calling to be a bulky shawl.

Believe it or not, this shawl took me 16 days to complete, including weaving in ends and blocking. I think if I'd done the weaving in and blocking as soon as the knitting and border were done, it would have been more like 12 days.

With one project off the needles, of course I have to put a few more on.

Here are a couple of 8" squares made for a friend's baby blanket that my knitting group is doing together.

And I came across a skein of brown Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool that called to be a nice warm scarf for Jeff.

And that's what's on and off the needles right now!

Power Tool Friday

2011-03-11T08:04:00.000-05:00

After getting a very nice ArtFire sale, I decided to go ahead and invest some cash in supplies to make plenty more drop spindles. I found a good woodworking store online and discovered that to buy the dowels pre-cut to 12" would be about $1.10 each. However, buying 36" dowels, a pack of 100 was $22.00. That's right. $0.22 each, then cut into three pieces means these dowels are now about 7 cents.

Seriously?

It costs a dollar to make a single cut?

Well. . . .

Here's what I think of that!

Plus Power Tool

Plus sexy eye protection

Equals

$300 worth of dowels for $22.

Hooray for power tools! Now to assemble a hundred or so drop spindles!

Saturday Morning Serenity.

2011-03-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

Baby Blanket

2011-03-04T20:56:00.000-05:00

My friend Kathy is pregnant, and due soon with a baby boy. Our knitting group has decided to knit squares in "boyish" colors, and then assemble them into one blanket.

I offered to knit a square with a bottle on it.

I did the right kind of bottle, didn't I?

Oh, if it helps, her husband is Russian

Artfire!

2011-03-03T08:12:00.000-05:00

On a lark, and because frankly Etsy wasn't doing much for me, I created an Artfire account.

I didn't do much with it, just had some drop spindles available.

Lo and behold I had a sale! I think I'll get to more drop spindles now, and maybe a couple of batts. The buyer seemed to want to be ale to direct people to me in the future.

Warning: Cuteness Ahead

2011-02-27T09:57:00.000-05:00

My Sister-in-law, Amanda, is a fantastic photographer.

Seriously! Go look at her Facebook Page! (boy I hope she has some permissions open on her FB page. If not you'll just have to trust me that she's a fantastic photographer!)

Anyway, me being the fiber artist I am, and she being the photography artist she is, he kindly bought me a pattern for a cute little giraffe hat for her to use as a prop in her photography.

It was a fun crochet, yellow cotton and cashmere accents. The same cashmere as I'd made into a hat for my niece Ally. The only part that wasn't fun was the finishing parts, and being all picky about actually having the horns and ears symmetrical.

The ball of roving I used to prop it open makes it look a little wonky, but it does lay out evenly.

Mailing this off to her on Monday! These may well end up in my Etsy shop, since the pattern did come with permission to sell. Anyone interested?

WIP Saturday!

2011-02-26T15:02:00.000-05:00

Had I posted WIP Wednesday, it would have looked just like last week, but with more done. I'm on the last repeat of Citron, and ready to do the final ruffle. It's been a nice, mindless knit, but frankly I'm tired of purling. I think the 520 stitches that make up the final ruffle/ruche will be done in garter stitch instead of stockinette. I don't think that slight texture difference will harm the appearance of the shawl, and in fact, it may be an interesting twist on it.

What I have been working on, however, is this:
My friend Elizabeth offloaded some of her SABLE stash of spinning materials, and I'm paying it forward.

Take this for example

Beautiful, isn't is? But this color

Frankly makes me look ill. As gorgeous as it is.

So what to do, but spin it up,

Ply it

And pass it along!

I can't wait to give this to a friend :-D

Another installment of. . .

2011-02-16T18:44:00.000-05:00

WIP Wednesday!

With the vest done, I wanted to have something a little less complicated to work on, and what's less complicated than good old Stockinette Stitch?

It's the Citron Shawl from Knitty, done in Malabrigo Lace. It's so nice to work with. Soft Smooth Merino wool.

I'm also working on spinning up yarn for a friend. Elizabeth brought in a ton of gorgeous roving, and handed the entire bag to me! I was floored, and saw one that was specifically perfect for Diana, so am paying it forward!

Fabulous Friday!

2011-02-11T19:54:00.003-05:00

I actually got the package on Wednesday, but wanted to wait to share the goodies with friends. . .

The box was full and heavy!

Cuppy Cakes and other stitch markers!

Beautiful Glass Beads!


Glass orifice hooks!

Some were immediately turned into gifts :-)

Plus wool, straws, and glass craft stuff!

This is what all those fabrics turned in to. Many have already been or will be given as gifts, but either way, I'm ecstatic about this trade!

If you like the stitch markers, buttons, or orifice hooks, look up Glastonbury Glassworks!

The other fabulous thing was that my birthday yarn vest is completed! In 42 days, to be precise.

It's lovely, and fits perfectly :-)

Slightly Late, but. . .

2011-02-10T07:48:00.002-05:00

WIP Wednesday has been postponed because I am so very nearly done with my Celtic Lattice sweater. I can almost taste it. . . and snorgle it. . .

I will also have a picture-laden post about how all of the fabrics that I got 5 years ago have been transformed into something WONDERFUL!

Cutting up perfectly good knitting

2011-02-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

This week in WIP Wednesday!

Steeking

Scary but fun. It goes like this:

You knit (and knit, and knit) planning ahead for things like arms and necks and torso openings.

One yarn in each hand so that you end up with a beautiful tube like this.

In some places, instead of a pretty pattern you just knit with one after the other, making a sort of checkerboard pattern

Then you use your sewing machine and run stitching down either side of the center of that checkerboard.

And then. . .

You cut!!!!!

ahhhhhhhhh!!!

no, actually it's going really well

See how it's not unravelling? If you look closely you can see black thread where I stitched down the steek.

When done, you have knitting that looks like something vaguely resembling a vest that you can then pick up stitches around to finish the edges.

More to come, as the edges are knit!

Man, I need to clean my craft room.

New year, Better Blogger

2011-01-26T08:45:00.000-05:00

New year, New Layout, New goals.

Like the new layout? Apparently in my bad blogging times Blogger came up with all sorts of new tools for making a blog look cool.

My goal is to blog at least once a week. If nothing else than to keep up with knitting (and other) projects I'm working on. I do like the slightly cliched WIP Wednesday, so let's start with that.

The most awesome Jackie of Feathers for Pleasure has been cleanin out her Mom's attic, and keeps coming across spinning stuff. She came by with a bag full of comercially prepped wool that I'm guessing is Corriedale. So I dyed some of it in a gradient and made a Tappan Zee

It's about 99% done, all blocked and the ends woven in, I'm just searching for the perfect buttons.

I also finally finished Jeff's absolutely gorgeous hand processed hand spun sweater!

Man does it look good on him!

This is how I spent my past Sunday, with more of the commercially prepped corriedale, a cup of coffee and my favorite spinning wheel.

After our friend Phil had blinged it out!

I haven't yet decided what the brown wool will turn in to, but I will certainly have a lot of it. I'm currently filling the 7th bobbin. While Ashford bobbins aren't the biggest, at the thinness I'm spinning, there should be somewhere around 200 yards on each bobbin. I'm planning on a 2-ply, so it should be a sweater's worth of yarn!

Ooh, maybe I'll ply it with the reddish roving I got from SAFF. Stretch it just a little more, and have a gradiented yarn like I made the Tappan Zee out of. . . hmmmmmmm.

How's that for blogging?

Bad Blogger

2011-01-26T07:45:00.002-05:00

Not only do I not blog frequently, when I have a perfectly bloggable event happen, I don't even take proper pictures so I can blog about it!

This past Saturday I went on a cleaning spree, and once the bathroom was done,I put all fo the bathmats in the wash and set them to go.

The washer stops, and I ask Jeff to put it into the dryer, but he finds it to still be full of soapy dirty water, and apparently one of the bathmats has completely disintegrated, sending little carpet threads and nasty plastic sand through the pump.

Uh-oh

Sure enough, after a bit of sleuthing it would appear that the pump is either burned out or clogged. It's a nearly 10 year old machine, so this isn't too upsetting. Worst case scenario we get a new washer, right? However, I'm not the type to just toss something that may be fixed so I get out my handy Reader's Digest Household Hints and Handy Tips book (Thanks Mom and Dad! Best book ever!) and look up what might be the problem.

I break out the putty knife and open the front and sure enough, the pump is sitting there, hot and not really pumping out any water.

Break out the hose and start bailing the washer, including all of the junk that came from the disintegrated rug. Then carefully pull off the hoses connected to the pump.

Did you know that there's still about a half gallon or so water left in the bottom of the washer's basin even after getting all the water out of the basket? I didn't.

Glush! All over the floor, me, and down the register. I start trying to dam the water away from going down the drain and all the time shouting for Jeff (who was in the bathroom and couldn't hear me). So there I was, fiercly pinching shut the hose from the washer with my left hand, and pushing water away from the air register with the right and shouting for Jeff to come help.

He's shows up to my panicked cries, and we get it mopped up. Fortunately not much went down the vent and Jeff was able to mop it up with his much longer arms. We flush out the basket with fresh water until no more carpet bits or backing comes out, and I run water through the clogged parts of the pump until it works.

The question then was is the pump burned out, or is it salvageable? I get out my handy voltmeter and determine that the motor is still conducting normally, so I'm hopeful.

A bit of a struggle to get the hoses reattached, curse words and a cry for some vegetable oil to lube this %$^& thing may have been uttered, but I finally got it back together and plugged back in. We poured a couple of gallons of fresh water into the basket and turned the washer to pump it out. . . .

Success.

Without a $200 service call from Sears.

Go me!

Unfortunately there are no pictures though, because I'm a bad blogger.

Maybe for 2011 I should have a set blogging schedule. Even if there's nothing to say, I will blog!

2010

2011-01-04T07:43:00.005-05:00

Goodbye 2010. I'm really not sure what I did to piss you off, and I'd like to apologize.

Hello 2011. I'm hoping we started the year off on the right foot, and that this year is better than last for me and my family. I'm going to start recording the good things that happen this year, more than I did for last year.

Let's start the year off with a lovely finished object!

Made this hat for my friend Angela. Fisherman's Wool, with needle-felted accents.

Five Years

2010-12-10T08:32:00.002-05:00

In August the 5 year anniversary of me working for my company rolled around. Five years. The longest I've been in any one place working or learning in my adult life.

It has been good. The first four years were steady and routine. We had one contract that I primarily worked on, with occasional jaunts to do emergency response work. In the last year we lost two contracts and gained three or four more (two of which I work on steadily). The last year has been a roller coaster ride settling in to the new contracts, and that ride continues on into 2011. Still, this job has been good to me.

I knit at lunch and my coworkers are extremely bemused by my hobby. Travel has not been a constant, but is often an enjoyable break from a desk job. Office politics are essentially nil. There's one coworker I'd rather be without, but I try to take him with the tablespoon of salt that is necessary and go on with my life, disallowing him power over my emotions.

At our Holiday lunch paid for by the company, everyone reaching a 5-year increment received a little plaque and a pin recognizing their service. Five years earns you a tiny ruby in a pin. In terms of metaphysics, it is believed that rubies improve motivation and the setting of goals; the stone of love, energy, passion, power, and a zest for life.

I'll take that :)

Heat

2010-11-16T08:55:00.000-05:00

Heat was restored on the 5th of November, and although they tore up the yard and knocked a pipe loose that ran my house vacuum, I was overall happy with the company I used. Granted, now I have the equivalent of a car payment again, but that' only for the next 18 months (thanks 0% financing!)

Now back to more knitterly blogging!

The joys of homeownership

2010-11-01T14:42:00.002-04:00

I have to admit being impressed with any appliance lasting 20 years. Our gas pack has a cracked heating unit, which essentially means death for any heating unit. Good timing though. We can still take advantage of the current tax writeoff and get an energy-star appliance to boot! Details to follow.

SAFF 2010

2010-11-01T14:02:00.004-04:00

I forgot my camera, but I had an absolute blast this year at SAFF. Phil, Jamie and I headed on out to Asheville and saw so much fiber and fun. Here's the pictures of my haul!

Long Overdue

2010-09-05T13:25:00.007-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

Options

2010-09-05T12:25:00.007-04:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5 days

2010-08-26T18:20:00.004-04:00

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

Frog Pond

2010-08-04T09:19:00.001-04:00

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

and I hate it.

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

New Bike!

2010-07-04T09:48:00.004-04:00

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

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

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

Off I go!

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

So I return mostly successful about 45 minutes later.

Not bad at all.

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

Jenny's Wedding Shawl

2010-05-12T07:28:00.003-04:00

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

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

The second yarn was perfect.

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

And how lovely it looks when it's done.

Blog? Huh? Wha?

2010-05-11T08:32:00.002-04:00

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

Bacon Apple Pie

2009-11-02T10:08:00.003-05:00

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

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

They were delicious.

And rather pretty.

And my friends came up with another interesting idea.

Replace the bottom crust with more bacon.

Gauntlet thrown. . . Stay Tuned.

New Old Wheel!

2009-10-19T15:32:00.003-04:00

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

only one speed

And missing the treadles (Which are rather important!)

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

Brown Sheep FIber Swap!

2009-09-28T17:38:00.004-04:00

Goody Goody! Goodies!

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

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

In it I found:

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

More cute doggy pictures

2009-09-02T17:17:00.002-04:00

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

The effects of gravity on a greyhound.

2009-08-26T08:18:00.005-04:00

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

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

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

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

umm, Mimsy? Is that really comfortable?

mmmmmmyep!

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

Getting Closer. . .

2009-08-15T07:23:00.003-04:00

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

"my foot is cold"

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

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

Another reason I like my in-laws

2009-08-10T09:35:00.002-04:00

MIL double-fisting

Greyhound Sleeping Positions

2009-08-10T09:28:00.003-04:00

Perpendicular

parallel

With Daddy

Mimsy!

2009-08-01T09:04:00.006-04:00

It became clear pretty quickly that Mimsy fits our new pooch's personality. And as fun as it would be to have Callooh and Callay, well, ya gotta go with what feels right.

Day 1 went really well. We had introduced them at the kennel, and they liked each other really well.

She settled right down on the car ride, laying down after about only 5-10 minutes of standing. She very easily tolerated being picked up to get out of the car, and managed to navagate the two stairs up into the house from the garage. We walked her around, and she just kept walking in a circle around the circuit of our house! very cute. Then we took them outside in our backyard and watched some synchronised peeing!

Inside into her crate and she settled down without a fuss.

My friend came over later in the evening, and we again walked her in the backyard, letting Callay stay off-leash. More sniffing and peeing.

About the only odd thing that happened was at one point while I was outside and both dogs were inside (Callay wandering free, Mimsy in her crate) I hear barking. I go inside and I see Callay barking and play-bowing at the crate, and a bewildered look on the new dog's face. I tell Callay this is not appropriate and stare her down. Then she lays down right in front of the crate.

Mimsy settled right in when we took them upstairs (carrying her since she just was spayed) and she laid down in the crate without protest, and slept through the night. The only time she whined was when I got up this morning to go to the bathroom, at which point it was time to get everyone up.

The walk this morning was interesting. We took them on leash in the neighborhood. I'd forgotten just how rambunctious a high prey drive, young dog can be the first time they see a squirrel. hoo. She was trying for all her might to slip the lead, and a couple of times I grabbed her around the chest to hold her. We made that a rather short walk. We'll try again later today.

And now, some pictures!

Bugs at home

2009-07-26T11:57:00.002-04:00

I didn't know honeybees liked hydrangeas!

I also tried to get a shot of two cicada killers fighting, but wasn't quick enough. All I got was blurry spots.

Fun at the lake

2009-07-26T11:52:00.004-04:00

I always enjoy watching Callay swim. Well, "Swim" really. More like she floats in her life vest and holds on to someone else who's swimming. This past trip we were making the most of the use of the lake and getting Callay some "hydro therapy" getting her to actually swim and use those muscles that have atrophied a bit with being sick.

The first couple of swims were off of the dock, with Jeff lifting her in by the handle. Then we beached the boat and went swimming off of a sandy beach, letting Callay go in at her own pace. With Jeff and Mom out in the water calling to her, and me holding the leash (but not MAKING her go) she went right out into the water and swam of her own accord!

After a bit she got tired and wanted to rest on one of us floating, so Dad tossed in a blue funoodle. She rested her paws on it to help her keep her head above water, and was walking on the bottom, pushing the noodle along!

I was helping steady her bum when this picture was snapped.

Then we got back in the boat. She likes going fast. All the wind in the face like running but without all the exertion!

Happy Anniversary!

2009-07-21T15:42:00.001-04:00

Today is our 8th anniversary. We will celebrate by consuming massive amounts of sushi.

New addition!

2009-07-21T09:35:00.004-04:00

Since Callay is pretty much all better, Jeff and I decided to head on out to Greyhound Friends of NC to pick out a sibling for Callay.

We met a few doggies, and came to the conclusion that Callay doesn't really like boys. Her reactions to them were either ignore totally or be rather annoyed by their presence. They were permitted to sniff her royal hindquarters, but if they sniffed at her breath she kept avoiding them.

So it was down to two girls, who currently go by "Sister" and "Tuff"

Callay liked both of them. Lots of face contact and tail wagging. Unfortunately, Sister seemed a bit skittish around us, and with as boisterous as we and our friends tend to be, I can't imagine she'd be that happy. While we probably could bring her out of her shy shell, it's not guaranteed and she probably wouldn't be terribly happy.

Tuff, on the other hand not only got Callay to actually RUN for a bit, they still did some great space-sharing, and some simultaneous trotting. I was having too much fun watching them to get too many pictures, but here they are (one is of Tuff from the website)

Callay was tired from all the fun

A fun car shot just for the heck of it.

Tour de Fleece Day 2

2009-07-05T22:49:00.003-04:00

A bobbin and a half full, and most of the batts pre-drafted and ready to spin.

Callay isn't sure about all those other greyhounds in the house.

Tour de Fleece

2009-07-04T06:56:00.004-04:00

On your mark?

Get set. . .

Go!!!

Adamas

2009-06-15T20:50:00.003-04:00

Adamas in greek means indomitable or untamable. This name was given to diamonds because of their incredible resiliancy.

When I started this shawl, Callay was sick and I was wanting to focus my energy on something that symbolized such strength and resiliancy of diamonds. Then my uncle and father both get sick as well. So with each stitch I was thinking of those I love and want to be well, as well as those I love who are hurting because of their loved ones' illness.

One thing I know for sure: We're all tough as diamonds, and able to adapt. Much like this shawl, in both symbolism and the blocking transformation.

Before

and After

More random cuteness

2009-06-12T17:10:00.003-04:00

Going through old photos of Callay I came across a few particularly cute ones of her "swimming" at my parents' place on Lake Oconee. I put swimming in quotations because, well. . .

She didn't exactly work on her dog paddle

Clever shawl

2009-06-11T10:29:00.003-04:00

I've had this shawl finished for a while now, but have jsut been bad about getting pictures up.

So without further ado, a crappy in-the-hallway picture taken with my cellphone, and an even crappier on-the-bed photo of this shawl.

In all seriousness I love this shawl. The way it stays together without a shawl pin is just plain. . . clever. I don't even undo it when I take it off, I just slip it on and off over my head.

THis was made with some of my earlier handspun. It's still incredibly nice, but the stuff I've done more recently is vastly superior. I like having things like this around to remind me of my humble spinning beginnings.

Cute distractions

2009-06-09T19:22:00.003-04:00

There's been too much lack of posting, or posting of not great things. So here's something cute instead!

Callay was feeling better for a while, and this is a photo from that period of time.

No neck pain, and eating well. This was from mid-April.

Family

2009-06-06T09:14:00.002-04:00

I'm in a hotel in Augusta GA. Dad is in the hospital for depression, and his depression is such that he just doesn't want to be seen by anyone. I'm here anyway. His doctors say to respect his wishes, and I agree. I don't want to cause him more stress and anxiety being seen by his daughter in a state where he doesn't want to be seen.

I'm just hoping that I can lend a hand to Mom, help her deal with this, and be a nice surprise when Dad does say that he wants to see me.

The risks of texting in posts.

2009-05-20T19:06:00.004-04:00

Apparently this is what gets posted when I "text" to my blog. *sigh*

My apologies for the weirdness.

Weird post follows. Needless to say it is unlikely I will be using this feature much.

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The results

2009-05-14T09:32:00.003-04:00

The results from the ultrasound were, like all others, inconclusive. Which on the one hand is good because she doesn't have liver or kidney damage, but on the other hand it doesn't get us closer to an answer for what's really wrong with her. She does now have some swelling in her joints, which could be infectious material that's settled there, or it could be autoimmune. Our options at this point are to start over and do pretty much all of the tests over again, do nothing, or something in between.

Two of the in between ones that made sense were to either treat her with long term antibiotics to try to rout out what's causing the infection, or tap her joints to see what's causing the inflammation. If they tap her joints and isolate some sort of bacterium from it, they can also test it against different antibiotics to see what it's susceptible to, and then only put her on those antibiotics. The test isn't terribly expensive, and that way she doesn't have to be on an entire battery of antibiotics, where perhaps only one is actually doing any good. So after talking it over with Jeff, we decided that we're going to take this approach.

Wish us luck

Spoke too soon?

2009-05-13T13:03:00.003-04:00

Callay was feeling a lot better. She was eating, she looked to be putting on weight, she was acting almost like herself again. So much so that I almost decided against taking her to the vet's for another checkup, but I took her to Banfield, since we have something akin to doggy insurance that makes checkups free. Well, she was running a fever, and didn't really want to eat that day, or over the weekend, and even until today. I've kept her going with gentle force-feeding (shove wet food in the side of her mouth until she swallows it) but this is not a good thing.

She's at NCSU yet again, this time for an ultrasound to see the current condition of her internal organs, if something has been damaged by all these antibiotics, if she has some lesion, or if just like all of the other tests, it shows "nothing conclusive"

This is so very difficult. If we just had an answer from this battery of tests. . . But for her to go downhill after 2 weeks of feeling really good. For her to spike a fever while still on potent antibiotics. If we just knew what the hell was causing it, we could decide. . . something. She is still acting like she feels fine. She just has a fever and doesn't want to eat. But say the words Walkie, Cookie, ride in the car, and she's bouncing all over the place. Take her for a walk and she wants to jog the whole way. Do we let her stay where she feels good enough to do all that but doesn't want to eat? When do we stop and just let whatever's going to happen happen? After what we have put into this, how do we stop now? How do we just give up on the best veterinary hospital in the state and just see what happens? I really don't believe they're pushing tests on us that they don't feel are necessary. They do seem to be acutely aware of the fact that their reputation is being tarnished somewhat by the fact that they're doing all these tests and still don't have an answer for me or for themselves. I keep asking how this test or this test will change her treatment. They always have sound answers.

I'm frustrated, sad, and worried that I'm making the wrong decisions for her care. Every test seems like it's a good idea and it will answer something or rule something out. And then it doesn't.

So what do I do?

Finished objects

2009-05-08T09:18:00.005-04:00

Boy have I been bad about posting pictures of my finished products. Here's one now!

Samus was done in about 4 months, and almost entirely at work. Not while I was supposed to be working, but rather when the guys are hanging about chatting after I'm long done eating, I knit. I would get about 45 solid minutes of knitting done while they discuss the latest television programs. I was a little worried that I would get it done just in time to put it away for the seasone, but fortunately, there was still time after it was finished to wear it. Hooray for freezing temperatures in April! It's missing a button, but my awesome friend Aaron is going to be cutting me one from a piece of antler he has.

I also have been having some moderate success at Etsy, so made a purchase of some new roving and dyed fleeces from The Sheepshed Studio

Some blue superwash, some "dye soppers" and some coopsworth curls.

I was so excited about the order I immediately started a batt. No name for this one, but it's sooo soft and fluffy, I think I"m going to put it in my etsy shop along with a drop spindle as a learn to spin kit!

Shop Update!

2009-05-04T18:29:00.003-04:00

www.knitkass.etsy.com

Back again!

2009-05-02T12:32:00.004-04:00

Sorry for the long delay. I'm sure most readers know that Callay has been feeling rather poorly as of late, and I've been more consumed with spending time with her than thinking about blogging. She's back to being her normal self now, and while she may need to live with a low-grade heart murmur for the rest of her life, at least she's feeling like a dog again, rather than just feeling sick.

Aroooo!

CH-CH Changes!

2009-03-28T08:45:00.002-04:00

I was planning on posting about this all last week, but kept getting distracted.

So two big things have changed around here.

First, our living room looks a LITTLE different.

Michelle, my college roommate came down for a visit, and because I was lamenting the vast number of white walls in my house. She's a whiz with color, and I would have never had the courage to pick the teal, but it looks fabulous!

Also, this smiling face is a little altered

Because of this smiling face

Yep

Bald

Jeff has been doing a fundraiser every year to go towards the freshman field trip. It's pretty simple. If enough money is raised, the single highest contributor will have the privelege of shaving his head.

In reality he's been wanting to do this for a bit, and he looks really good bald, in my opinion!

Still here

2009-03-26T13:21:00.001-04:00

and Callay continues to improve. We're taking her in to the vet's tomorrow for another checkup, a weigh-in and to see what's going on with her ankles (They're swollen)

Hopefully it's nothing. She's still a little stiff and stoned, but other than that she's doing better. She still gets all excited over going outside for walkies and has been eating better since we started putting wet food in with her dry.

For Steorracat

2009-03-17T14:31:00.003-04:00

It's on its way!

It's somewhere in the 300-320 yard mark (measured before fulling the yarn).

Sent priority, so should be there before the week's end!

Update on Callay

2009-03-17T14:11:00.004-04:00

After a nerve-wracking week, wondering if our precious greyhound has cancer, it's been determined with fair certainty that she does not. Although they weren't able to determine exactly what's causing her pain, they're hoping that some time spent recouping, with a decent load of pain meds will make her feel better.

Instead of a greyhound in pain, I have a rather stoned greyhound.

I'll take it.

"whatchu talkin' bout? I'm not stoned. . . Where are the cookies?"

The rawhide you see between her paws is one of three litmus tests I placed around the house to see how she's feeling. She hasn't really wanted food, and has needed coaxing to eat. She's also been acting like her jaw hurts, and so hasn't wanted hard biscuits or rawhides, or even greyhound crack, a greenie. So I left one of each of them on the floor, in places near to where she'll lay down if she's at home. Today the greenie went, and she started in on one of the softer rawhides. I think she's feeling better.

She also has much better neck posture today, actually holding her head up instead of looking at the ground.

Cloudy day?

2009-03-01T08:48:00.003-05:00

Nope, just the batts!

Available Here

Quilt-a-long, part II

2009-03-01T08:38:00.002-05:00

Wow. That's a lot of half-square triangles. . .

In retrospect, I wish I'd bought a roll of Thangles. Oh well, next time :)

Even battier

2009-02-23T17:00:00.001-05:00

New batts on my Etsy Shop. These are "matched batts" which were all made at the same time, with the same materials, but mixing them differently so that a spinner can end up with a striping yarn. Definitely fun to spin!

Fluffy rainbow

2009-02-23T11:03:00.004-05:00

An experiment in blending, and an experiment in woolen spinning.

The roving (hand-dyed)

The rolags

And the yarn

Sooooo fluffy!

This yarn now lives at the Hillsborough Yarn Store. At least, it does until someone snags it up!

It was very fun to make, so I'm going to make another one for my Etsy shop. It was nice too seeing the difference between my spinning from a couple years ago and now. I've improved a LOT.

For Jenningma

2009-02-16T09:49:00.004-05:00

This

has become this

Approximately 140 yards of worsted weight, super fluffy single. Ships tomorrow since the post office is closed today, and its still drying. There was some VM still in the batt which came out nicely when it was spinning, and then it had a bath in some eucalyptus Eucalan.

More things a-brewing

2009-02-15T09:38:00.008-05:00

My friend Phil has now gotten me into beer brewing. We started a nice thick scottish ale which I've tasted before when he made it. So we have 5 gallons of beer brewing in our laundry room. And boy is it bubbling away. Beer ferments a lot faster than mead, and this stuff will be done in 5-12 days. I'm hoping that next weekend we'll be able to bottle it and let it carbonate up just a little before the dojo party on the 28th.

We also discovered that the mead we'd made went far too fast. So we're making another 5 gallon batch of mead. This time the recipe will include:

1 gal organic wildflower honey
4 gal water
The zest and pulp/juice (but not pith) of 8 organic limes
1 1/4 oz fresh organic mint leaves
2 T organic lemon zest (leftover from baking lemon cookies)

2.5 tsp yeast nutrient
4 tsp high alcohol yeast nutrient
1 package dry mead yeast

We're using dry mead instead of sweet because the mead actually ended up a little bit too sweet for our tastes. This is going to be called grog mead, since grog was traditionally watered rum with lime and sugar. Pirate mojitos!

We're also going to bottle more of this, rather than drinking it out of the carboy. While it was tasty young, it aged extremely well.

After cooking and mixing, the alcohol potential of this mix is only 8-9% based on my density measurer. Odd, considering we started with the same ingredients.

Etsy Live!

2009-02-15T09:20:00.004-05:00

Finally, my etsy shop has gone live. You can find me at www.knitkass.etsy.com.

Per another Etsyer's suggestion, I'm letting the things I have trickle in, to keep me at the top of the page.

The first set of offerings will be the batts from a couple of posts back. I've bundled them into groups of three coordinating or complimentary batts. I think I'll go assemble a couple of drop spindles to make up drop spindle "learn to spin" kits, like what I had at the Ren Faire, and select which handspun items will go. I'm going to list some of the things I've had on hand since the Hillsborough Farmer's Market, like the corn bags, neck coolers, coffee cup cozies. All in good time.

Quilt-A-Long!

2009-02-13T07:37:00.005-05:00

I'm participating in a quilt-a-long! I'm very excited, since this will give me lots of incentive to quilt, something I've been wanting to work on for a while. My assignment over the weekend is to pick fabrics, which shouldn't be too bad. I just have to decide if I'm going to use stuff from my stash or buy new.

You can see a picture of what the finished pattern will be here.

I may only do 3x3 blocks, and finish it at 71 1/2" square rather than rectangle. That's a good cuddling size right?

Update: Fabrics selected!

The blue hearts is going to be my directional fabric, fussy cut so that the hearts are all facing the right direction. The variety of rich cream and yellow fabric will be the sashing between the blocks. The red-brown batik on the left will be the red borders and the binding, the white-on-white will be my background color, and the various colored fat quarters and bag of scraps behind it will be the half-square triangles and blocks between the sashing. The bag is comprised of scraps from a quilt my aunt made for me and Jeff as a wedding present. The quilt still sits happily and warmly on our bed, and the scraps are slowly being whittled away. With the blue in the focus fabric and the blues in the scraps, I thought this was an ideal project for using up a lot of those little scraps. It also will be great to use up some of the inexpensive fat quarters I' ve picked up over the years. Those fabrics I just LOOVE but have no idea what to do with!

Can't Stop Here. . .This is Batt country!

2009-02-08T16:48:00.003-05:00

With apologies to H. S. Thompson.

I will admit. I've been going a bit crazy with the drum carder.

I love it. love love love it

I took the entire 1 lb bag of Cotswold Curls I'd ordered from Brown Sheep, mixed them up into 1-ounce mixes, and now have 16 gorgeous batts, ready to start my Etsy Shop! (If they don't sell there, there's always the Ren Faire).

The Cotswold was as advertized, brightly dyed with the potential for some VM mixed in, and there is still a little bit of VM in some of the batts, but it will come out when spinning.

And now I have this:

And want to do this to each and every one of them!

Twist and Shout

2009-02-06T10:26:00.012-05:00

I was explaining to some friends about why I spin yarn, and the topic of S versus Z and the effects of those spinning techniques on the finished project came up. This was responded to with a number of blank stares.

To put it simply, when the flyer twists the yarn in a clockwise fashion, you're spinning (or plying) Z, and when the flyer twists the yarn in the counter-clockwise fashion, you're spinning (or plying) S.

Here's a picture to help:

Whether this is two plies of yarn we're looking at, or the direction of twist of the fibers in a single, picture yourself holding the near end of those fibers, and something twisting them clockwise or counter-clockwise at the other end. For the purposes of this tutorial, it doesn't matter whether the finished yarn is a single or plied. All that really matters is the last twist put into it. The only difference is with plied yarn it may come unplied a bit, and for a single yarn it may come untwisted (and potentially hinder the integrity of the yarn, but I'll cover how to avoid that).

So how can twist work for or against you while knitting/crocheting/weaving your project?

I'll start with knitting. The yarn goes around the needle in the clockwise direction (generally. Although there are stitches out there that wrap the opposite direction, but let's keep it simple). This will add twist to Z twisted yarn and remove twist from S twisted yarn. Makes sense, right? We're moving the yarn in the opposite direction to which it was last spun, thus taking just a little bit of at last spin out.

On to Crocheting. Again we have the issue of which way the yarn goes around the hook before being pulled through to make a loop. My friend Kim wraps the yarn around from bottom to top (counterclockwise) to pull it through, and I wrap the yarn from top to bottom (clockwise) so our crocheting looks very different. The same principles apply to crocheting as they do to knitting, counterclockwise will remove twist from Z and add twist to S, clockwise will add to Z and remove from S.

So what about weaving? Let's take another look at the picture above. See how the fibers or plies slant to the right or the left? Let's stack them, and make those letters a little smaller:

See how when you stack two sets with the same twist direction (Z-Z here, but the same would apply to S-S), the plies or fibers crisscross each other? Here the texture of the weaving would be distinct. Then when you stack yarns with twist going in the opposite direction, they almost nest together. This fabric will be flatter, less textured.

So what are the ultimate ramifications of this? Two-ply yarn illustrates this the best. Sometimes, when knitting or crocheting with yarn that's 2-ply, it almost ends up seeming like you're just working with two strands held together, because some of the plying twist has come out. Other times, yarn that feels soft and drapey in a skein (its relaxed state) will seem rougher once knitted or crocheted. It's all about the twist. While the small amount of twist added in the act of knitting or crocheting isn't much, it can still have an effect on your final project.

So what to do?

I like to add more twist than I think is necessary to my plied yarns. This is because I knit continental (picking) and my favorite way to spin and ply is to spin Z and ply S. I know that my knitting will take a little bit of the spin out of my plying efforts, so I plan ahead.

When I was spinning yarn for my friend to crochet into a hat, I studies how he crochets. He moves the yarn clockwise, so I spun the singles S and very loosely. I know that the structure of his crochet stitch will add a little twist to the singles, making them stronger, but it should keep enough air in it still to make the hat super warm and soft. If I were spinning yarn for my friend Kim, I would spin singles (or ply) Z, because she moves her yarn counterclockwise.

With handweaving, if you're working with commercial yarns, you're stuck with however they spun the yarn. This is where the art really comes in. You can spin singles that go in the Z direction for warp, and either singles spun in the S direcion for weft, or 2-ply yarn that's spun Z and plied S for weft. Your weaving will lock together like cobblestones. Or, if you want a more textured handwoven piece at the end, make sure all yarn is spun in the same direction so that those plies intentionally do not nest.

I hope this tutorial has been more helpful than confusing, I know I've had fun writing it!

(although it may need more pictures!)

Quilty, very quilty

2009-01-31T09:39:00.002-05:00

I'ave also been working steadily on a folded fabric quilt to hang in my office. We have all pretty bare walls, and some color would be good.

Most of the work is done, actually. It's down to the tedium, appliqueing down all of the flower petals. You can see on the right that I have 3 of the 8 flower blocks completely finished (button centers and all). Each block takes approximately 45 minutes to do all the petals plus the 5 buttons. Really at this point it comes down to stamina. I can usually get two done at a sitting, then I need a break.

Fuzzy, very fuzzy

2009-01-31T08:58:00.003-05:00

The yarn for Hodge is done, and I'm just waiting to hear from him and get an address for where to send them. I really hit the peak of softness on these yarns. The purple is especially squishy, and for reasons I haven't figured out, even though they appear to have the same approximate yarn dimensions and such, the blue one has less yardage. Oh well. A total of 3.5 ounces each skein, and 130-140 yards each. appx 608 ypp, so aran-bulky weight, which is about what I was going for. This will make a very nice warm hat for him!

For myself, I've finally mustered up the courage to spin the tri-color alpaca I bought at SAFF. Oh my this is heavenly to spin. I actually keep forcing myself to stop just so I can enjoy this for longer. There are a few bits of chaff and tiny flecks of straw, but the preparation is so light that I'm usually able to simply blow on the roving and have the chaff fall out.

I'm working towards an even 2-ply fingering to lace weight yarn, and I'm planning on making a super-soft against the skin cowl for myself. Probably Abby from Knitty.

I started with just under 4 ounces, and split it in half weight wise, and am spinning the singles onto separate bobbins. Then I'll ply. Cross your fingers that they end up being the same length. If they aren't I don't know what I'll do. I've had success with short lengths of essentially andean plying leftover ends. I'll attach the remaining single to the wheel, walk the remaining bit out and then fold it back on itself. If it's close, I'll do that. If it's nowhere near close, I'll probably try to ply the remaining little bit into 2-ply off of my ball winder. maybe I'll try to reserve that mini-skein for petting purposes!

More snow pictures

2009-01-31T08:44:00.004-05:00

Everything does look so pretty when it's covered in a layer of snow. It's best if you don't have to go out in it, but that's really not that difficult in this state. Everything shuts down, sometimes even with the THREAT of snow!

Our house looks very white gigngerbreadey in the snow

The streetwas not quite Currier and Ives, but it was pretty

We got to watch our rain chain transform into the coolest icicle ever.

Which only got neater when it started to melt. Unfortunately, the videos I took of it melting don't show up very well, but the water was running mostly on the inside of the icicle, rather than the outside. No idea why, but it looked awesome

Just batty

2009-01-30T06:55:00.002-05:00

After the snow, there was plenty of time for crafting, and I have been totally loving on the drum carder Jeff got me for my birthday. So much so I keep forgetting to take pictures of things before I spin them, but at least I remembered with this one!

This batt is destined to become a mixed worsted/woolen style spun single, worsted to aran weight. It's for a friend who currently lives in AZ, and who got yarn from me previously, ran out, went to a box store to find something similar, and decided mine is too nice!

It's mostly Punta wool from Brown Sheep, with about 5% baby alpaca mixed in. My that baby alpaca is nice. It adds a nice hand to the spinning, is super soft and warm, and will hopefully make finishing his hat very nice for him! The companion batt to this is already spun up. It has the same base colors, but replace orange with purple. He has an orange/purple theme to his Ren Faire costume. Hopefully when I see him this fall I'll have a chance to get a photo of the finished product!

I've been waiting. . .

2009-01-20T13:21:00.002-05:00

. . .over eight years to do this.

While the temperature was great, right around freezing, the snow unfortunately was perfect for snowmen, snowballs, and snowforts, but poor for skiing. Still, I did get some good schusshing in before the treads got caked with snow.

It's looking like this snow is going to stay here for a day or so, but I doubt the skiing potential is going to improve.

Still. Totally worth it.

My little snowbunny

2009-01-20T10:10:00.005-05:00

I think she likes it!

This is probably only the second or third time Callay has seen snow. This morning her tracks showed the efficiency of a greyhound on a mission. Out the door, to the fence, pee, back through the doggy door. I wanted to see if I could get her to do some running. She had fun! But as you can see, at the end she literally bolts for the doggy door. We then warmed up inside, I wiped down her coat and her paws, and she's curled up contentedly on her bed in the office.

Too cute!

2009-01-08T17:20:00.004-05:00

I just got a picture of my adorable niece Ally in the Piggle I'd made for her. What a sweetie!

Looks like the top is a little bit long, and she'll need to wear her pigtails a little lower to make it really work, but it looks like we have a winner!

Wow Wowio!

2009-01-03T09:41:00.002-05:00

A bit ago, I included the wowio widget at the bottom of the page, just out of curiousity for how many people read my blog, what they read, and where they come from. I see a lot of people from knitty and ravelry (Hi friends!) I see people who came to my blog directly, rather than from a link (Welcome, and I hope you enjoy it. If I'm on your list of bookmarked pages, I'm honored!) , and I see people who have come here from Google (welcome to you as well). One had googled bruised heel in google images and of course the broken fat pad from my blackbelt test came up.

Just today I noticed someone from Milverton, Canada who followed a google link and was reading one of the posts from when Callay (my greyhound) had her lipoma removed. To the reader from Milverton, Canada, I hope your greyhound is doing okay. If you have any questions about what mine went through that weren't answered in the blog posts, or if you just want to talk, please comment!

Also, I followed the link back and discovered that if you google for Lipomas in Greyhounds, my blog is the #1 google hit!

I feel like such a dork for being excited about that.

Fun times behind, fun times ahead!

2009-01-02T18:55:00.006-05:00

The birthday party Jeff arranged for me was a blast. It was just what I was wanting; a relaxing evening with my friends. We had a few drinks, ate some tasty grilled ribs, and our friends brought yummy side dishes to go with ribs, and we had some nice snacks to tide us over and go with the beers to drink while we were waiting on the grill. The ribs are Jeff's family tradition at large parties and he did a great job with them. Good times, good friends.

I mentioned earlier, I recently have been bitten by the quilting bug (Thanks, Mom!)

Of course, with birthdays comes the opportunity to purchase treats for myself with some birthday money (Thanks Mom Kass!)

Oddly enough, more than half of this is actually going towards making stuff for someone else, but I still get all the fun of making it! Muhahaha!

First up I got three "charm packs" by Moda. The fabric line this comes from is called Bistro, and it has all sorts of coffee and latte themed things. On anyone can quilt she made a lovely table topper quilt using two of these charm packs. I wanted an extra one just in case, although I'll likely make mine the same size or smaller, to go diagonally on my rectangular coffee table that I don't want to cover up so much as protect and decorate. The swirly brown fabric under the 5"squares is going to be the border, and I'll probably use unbleached muslin for the back. While we were at Joanne's, Mom found some beautiful Debbie Mumm fabric in the discount pile, and when we were at the cutting table, when her lady was done with it, I asked her to place that right on top of the pile my gal was working from! There were only 2.5 yards left, and it only came to like $3.50 for the rest of the bolt. No idea whatsoever what I'll do with it, but with that quantity, I can totally use it for a quilt back.

Next up is fabric that's going to be an ABC-123 quilt for my new nephew. More details on that to come :)Now we come to the red batik fabrics. I have a rather ambitious project in mind for these. I've been facinated with fabric folding, which is a marriage of origami and quilting. There is a pattern in the fabric folding book which consists of some 150 folded roses (with their folded centers) appliqued into place to resemble topiaries teeming with roses. And yes. I want to make this. I'll just start collecting red batiks, cutting squares, folding them, and do it whenever. I'm going to work on the background, the pots and the window at the same time, and applique the roses whenever it suits me. One of those ongoing projects that any progress is fun and fulfilling.

So that's all for now. I have an Amazon Giftcard to spend, and I'm looking at a few more very nice quilt books, or maybe a spinning book!

30

2008-12-30T11:39:00.004-05:00

Today I turn 30. Wow. Where have the last few years gone?

10 years ago I was still in college.
9 years ago I met my husband and he was with me to celebrate turning 21.
8 years ago I received the Goldwater Scholarship, and got engaged.
7 years ago I graduated from Alma and got married
6 years ago we bought our first house
5 years ago we adopted our first dog
4 years ago we started taking karate at Shaw's
3 years ago we bought our second house and our first new car
2 years ago we bought our second new car

This year a whole lot has happened. We got our blackbelts, saw my parents celebrate their 40th anniversary, welcomed a third grandchild into the family, had a few low points but even more high points.

Really, turning 30 isn't that much more of a milestone than 29 or 28 or 27. . . It's just one of those big round numbers that looks scary in type. I like how my life goes from "I" to "we" after getting married.

I'm greatly looking forward to this evening being surrounded by some of my closest friends, and doing little other than the usual hang out that's just so fulfilling. Drinking wine, eating ribs, telling stories, and just plain living.

Whatever the future holds, it is friends like these and the family I love dearly that will keep us afloat during rough times, and celebrate with us during the good times.

A few for me. . .

2008-12-29T23:11:00.004-05:00

I've been knitting a little for myself lately, as a reward for all the awesome handmade presents that went out in the last couple of weeks.

I made some monkey socks for myself. I loved the texture of the monkey socks I'd made for Mom, that I just had to have a pair for myself.

I also combined a couple of different patterns. These socks have the toes from a very nice Berroco book Mom got me, combined with the heel from a Cat Bordhi heel. Trust me, they're some odd heels, but I have to say these are probably the best fitting socks I've made for myself to date. The gussets may be in odd places but then again, the heel is a fairly strange piece of human body architecture, if you think about it.

Last is a cute little shrug that took me less than a day to make. I had found myself riding in the car and, having finished the toe socks, I had nothing left to knit. Now, mind you I had just gotten that PILE of yarn from a couple posts back, but my husband being the expert packer he is had packed them safely away in the car. . . so I couldn't get to them.

Fortunately I had at hand another new knitting book from Mom, 101 one-skein wonders. I also happened to have in my knitting basket an already wound skein of my first three-ply handspun. It was fate.

And it is cute! I need to find a cute, thin long-sleeved shirt to wear this with!

I think she likes it!

2008-12-29T11:32:00.002-05:00

I made a really basic, but pretty handknit sweater for my SIL for her birthday.

I'd say by the smile on her face, she likes it! The sleeves are a bit short, but I can fix that easily.

Looming Crafts

2008-12-27T17:29:00.004-05:00

Jeff, as mentioned earlier, received an Ashford 20" knitters loom from me for Christmas. I will admit that it is a somewhat selfish gift, as Jeff is a completely unselfish person, which means it's nearly pulling teeth to get him to buy/make something for himself. So this means anything I want woven, I'll be able to simply buy him the yarn and he'll make it. However, he has been wanting to start some sort of hobby which leaves him with a physical object when he's finished. As brilliant of a D&D planner as he is, it's what a vocal director called transient art. Once it has been done, it is passed and cannot be replicated.

This way I get a nice cotton stole.

Here he is warping the loom at my parent's place, which has a fantastic granite countertop that 's over 6' long, so plenty of room for a nice long warp.

It took him a total of 2.5 hours to warp the loom, and about 4 hours of weaving.

Awesome.