WIP Wednesday: Getting My Spin On

I've wanted to spin enough yarn on a spindle about 4 ounces so I could knit some mittens or a hat.  I decided this fall was the time.  Since I was at the farmers market this Saturday I found some wool that was just perfect.  I forgot to ask what kind.  So I will tell you later.



The fiber was washed but not ready to spin quite yet.  I started by flicking the locks but found it's just too short a staple for that.  Then I teased the locks and carded on my drum carder.  That wasn't quite right for this fiber either.  It could be because it's so fly away.  In the end I chose my 112 tpi hand cards.  I'm so glad to do this.  I can sit comfortably in my chair with  the green pillow case in my lap then tease some fiber, card some fiber, then spin some yarn.  It's been nice.

On the picture below starting from the left you can see unteased fiber, teased fiber, then carded fiber.



So far so good, I've spun  one ounce so far.  I did this cool trick of slipping the singles onto some skewers I had in the kitchen. Then to hold the singles in place I added some clothes pins.  This is going a bit faster than I thought it would. I'm a fourth of the way done!

Wip Wednesday: Socks for the Man

Last year I started a pair of socks for my husband.  I felt it was time to knit him a pair because I know he will appreciate them and he does keep me in fiber and fiber tools.



 I started them at the end of September to be exact. The good news is I have turned the heel.



I have many reasons why they aren't done yet.  None of them are good reasons so I will spare you the details.  I predict they will be done by the end of the month.

WIP Wednesday: Another Shawl!

In 2010 I knit and crocheted 10 shawls. as a part of the 10 shawls in 2010 forum on Ravelry.  I had a blast doing too.  In 2011 I needed a break making shawls.  How many shawls does a gal need anyway?  I'm ready to make a few more.




Since I've finished up spinning the lovely Alpaca/Silk fiber I bought while at Yarn School last year.
415 yards of Lace Weight Yarn.




I decided I'd hook up another South Bay Shawlette by Lion Brand.  Out of character for me  I know but I'm not going to dye the yarn.  I want to let the natural color shine here and I could use a natural shawl.

WIP Wednesday: What was I thinking?

That't what I'm calling this, this thing that someday will be a blanket, a lap blanket.  Right now it's about the size of a large doily.

What was I thinking?


 Because what was I thinking about when I started a new blanket  knit with sock yarn on 3.25mm / US 3 needles?  When I still need to weave in the ends on this mother of a blanket?



See ends



My Crazy Blanket, as I fondly call it, fits my queen size bed.  It's made of wool so maybe I don't need to weave in the ends.  I can consider it extra insulation.  Right?  If I do weave in the ends there are several.  Let's see.  It's 18 mitered squares by 18 mitered squares. So I knit 324 mitered squares over the past two years.  So with an average of 2 ends per square that's 648 ends to weave in.  But wait there is more!  Some of the squares have more than one color. So lets add an extra 10%. So there are about 712 ends to weave in.  So if I did 2 a day starting now I could be done by the end of the year.  Yah, right a girl can dream.

Not to say that I don't love my big warm Crazy Blanket.  I do. I love that it's made from leftover stash yarn, yarn I dyed myself some of it with natural dyes and some of it with acid dyes and some with food coloring, my handspun, and yarn I inherited from my mom's enormous stash. So it's a bit of a fiber journal that keeps me warm on a cold winter night.

So What Was I Thinking will be similar.  I'm using up leftover yarn knitting socks and even some sock yarn I don't want to knit socks with.  I have some undyed sock yarn that I just might dye to add to it to.  Quite a bit of it is left over of my mom's sock yarn scraps.  My mom knit lots of socks.

So that's my WIP (Work in Progress) what's yours?

WIP Wednesday: The Fibonacci Poncho

Fibonacci inspired that is. So the poncho starts with 13 rows of yellow then 8 rows of dk brown, 5 rows of blue, 3 rows of brown, 5 rows of yellow, and so on back up to 13 rows then down to 3 rows.

 

But it was too big. Sigh, knitterly denial bites me in the but again. Rip it, Rip it....



Frogged and all balls of yarn are marked to which section of the sequence they belong and how many rows to knit with it.  I'm most proud of myself for this. It's called organization.  It satisfies No. 2 on my uberlist. 

 

 So all I need now is a glass of wine and some Deep Space Nine reruns and some company on the couch or not and knit this thing!

Sunday Book Review: Monkey Girl

Monkey Girl by Edward Hume made my head hurt but in good way. It's about evolution. So if this bothers you please stop reading now.

Things I learned:

The Scopes Monkey Trial was kind of a joke. The town was having some financial problems so the town elders thought that a trial about evolution would help the local economy. So they asked Scopes to say he taught evolution in his classroom. He agreed.

I didn't realize how much or for how long the teaching of evolution has been contested and challenged in the United States.

Text book publishing companies have watered down evolution because they fear the books won't be purchased.

Random Thoughts from reading the book:

I learned about about Intelligent Design. All I can say is why bring science into religion? I can't help but believe that this is drawing line in the sand. If intelligent design is real science then you need to test it. If you did test it would it hold up? I don't think so. So might that then prove there is no God?

I personally don't think evolution makes it so there is not a God. The more I know about the world and how it works the more amazed I am and the more I believe in something. How can you not look at your child's tiny body and not believe in something? How can you not think about life and not be amazed and thankful? I can't.

Ultimately, I believe Religion, Spirituality, and Philosophy is about why we exist. Science is about how. Let's keep it that way.

WIP Wednesday

Another pair of mittens. I'm using the Basic House Mitten pattern from Charmed Knits and some cascade quatro in purple. Can you tell I like purple?




A granny ghan, I'm getting there. I was here just a few weeks ago


and now I'm here

I only have a few more rows to do and weave in some ends. Most of it was made using stash but then I bought more to finish. Now what to do with the yarn left over?

Autumn Romance pullover.


Is actually a UFO, as in unfinished object, since I have worked on it for months. It's time to get on it. The spring weather will be perfect to wear it.

Since I am almost done with this cardigan I have the time.


This is the same pattern as my heathered purple cardigan. I made the neck a bit higher. I'm not going to add buttons but make a button clasp like the ones in Everyday Crochet by Doris Chan. I'm a bit disappointed with this as it's a bit too small. I'm planning to block it a bit more so hopefully it will grow a bit and dear daughter can wear it for more a than a few months.

This afghan is done all except for the the ends that need weaving in. It will be for another niece expecting a baby this month. She's in the Navy so the colors are appropriate, yes?


A doily that hasn't been touched for months.

I got a question about the thread spool. I found it a kitchen supply store and it's a stainless steel meat pounder. It works great as a thread spool.

WIP Wednesday

I need to get centered here. I have too many projects on the hooks and needles. At that same time I'm itching to start some new projects. It has to do with current project angst or it could also be finished project remorse, when I finished my daughters mittens. When I finish a project I feel elated and sad at the same time. I could go and work on my wips but there is something so much more exciting about starting something new.

I digress and need not digress as I have much to do.

So here's the list:

Crochet:

• I started some fingerless gloves for myself last night using some Paton's SWS leftovers in my stash.
• A thread book mark I can't find the pattern to finish so I may just need to wing it.
• A thread skull motif that my son could sew to a bag or shirt or something. Only the ends need to be woven in. I hate weaving in ends.
• A thread ornament just the last round needs doing.
• The Delightful Doily in Simply Delightful by Patricia Kristoffersen. I started few weeks ago just because. It's a bit fussy though because I'm using #20 thread and a size 9 hook and I'm not used to working that small.
• A granny babyghan for one of my nieces who is pregnant.
• Another Suzanne Sweater from Cool Crochet by Melissa Leapman for dear daughter. I'm almost to the shaping on the fronts and back then plan to start on the sleeves.
• Autumn Lace Pullover for me.
• A pair of socks I frogged the cuff so I cna re-do it and it will fit better.
• A totoro hat, I need to redo the ears they are to skinny.
  

Knit:

• I just frogged the toes of my second pair of knit socks that was too short so I can make them longer and wear them.
• The Big Sack Sweater from the Stitch-N-Bitch Hand Book. I'm to the shaping of the shoulders of the back and want to cast for the front, there will be cables involved.

What do I want to do instead?

• Start on another baby blanket so I can test a baby blanket I designed. I want make a bib to match so I would work on that too.
• Go buy some lace yarn and start my first lace knit project.
• Dye the yarn I spun and make something with it.
• My son would like that I start him a hoodie and I'd like that too.
• Spin some more yarn. I did dome some this weekend. So maybe that's another wip.
• I've seen some really cute holiday patterns for ornaments and decorations that I've wanted to do too. I haven't made any crocheted snowflakes this winter, very sad.

This is just my fiber lists of to do. This doesn't count what's left to do for the holidays and the laundry that needs doing and the dishes that need washing. If you are curious you can see what I got done on my list yesterday, the things I finished are in bold.

Today there are errands and and errands to do. I better get to work. Nah, I think I'll have a cup of tea first.