Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Drum Carder is HERE!!! More Yarn Goodies, Too....

I had ordered my drum carder from Manmade By Jonne and had a call one day about a week ago, letting me know it was in. I was surprised because I didn't think it would be here until this week. I've yet to use it because it needs to be clamped to a table and mine doesn't have a smooth edge. It has a graduated curve to it. My plan is to have Pat come up with a way to attach it to the table. If the craft room is cleared out, I should be able to use that table instead. Just getting it arranged is taking time. My husband needs to get the treadmill out of there first.

I've been playing with some dye as well. A friend of mine showed me how to dye some of my yarn and fiber. Now I'm addicted. I love the unexpected colors at the end. I thought some would be lighter or darker than they came out. The end result reminds me of stained glass in this aspect of not knowing until it's done how it will truly look. Of course, this new fixation of mine has led to a purchase from Knit Picks to see how their Bare yarn takes color.

Ravelry members who are de-stashing are also figuring in my fiber world lately. I've bought more yarns and fiber from a few ladies, and have a few more on the way.

I'm still working on the modified Pi Shawl. I had to start over after losing six stitches. Actually, I never lost them. I just miscounted the cast on row and was six stitches short. DUH!! That's what I get for not counting the row twice. MS3 hasn't been touched lately, due to other projects as stated above.

I have been spinning some of my fibers up. I finished up 3.75 ounces of domestic wool roving I had gotten from the Etsy shop, A Knitting Duck a/k/a LittleQuacky on Ravelry. While trying to ply from a center pull ball, I snarled up the last bit of singles, so I ended up with about 3.50 ounces and about 200 yards of yarn. Right now, I'm finishing up a lovely Merino fiber, "Violet Coral", I purchased last Fall from Knitspin at her Etsy shop. It's soft blue with violets and pinks. I weighed the roving out and split it in half making 2 two-ounce balls. Hopefully I have spun this even enough to not have any or very little left over after plying. I plan to make Victorian Lace wristlets with this.

I have to get packed for this weekend's spinning retreat. I have the fiber in the car already, and the suitcase with the clothes ready. I just need to add a few odds and ends and will be ready to hit the road. Oh, of course, the wheel goes in the car first. lol

Sunday, January 20, 2008

A visit to the yarn store.....More Yarn Goodies... And Pretty Sheets of Glass....

Yesterday was a nice day for a drive so I went to Tiverton to Sakonnet Purls and met up with Kimberly. I ended up being very late getting there due to the long line at the post office. Apparently, everyone who wanted a passport was there yesterday to apply for it. I just wanted to pick up my package which was waiting for me. It was the one for the yarn de-stash purchase I did on Ravelry from MomSue84. If anyone is on Ravelry and wants a great person to shop from, this is the lady. Her choices of yarn to destash are terrific.

Anyway, I finally get to Sakonnet Purls. After a quick hello, I shopped for a bit. Actually quite a bit. Happy Feet, Schaefer Anne, Claudia, Alpaca Sox, Regia, and Malabrigio Lace were the yarns I bought along with some big buttons. I might use one as a shawl pin after I attach a clip or pin to the back of it.

After talking to Kimberly and the other ladies for a while, I headed homeward. As I approached the exit for Rehoboth, I decided to detour to the Glass Emporium glass shop. I came out of there with a few sheets of stained glass. All are mixed colors. There's a Yougaghani in a deep shade red with yellow and orange in it. Two of those found their way to the counter and into my car. I found one sheet which is predominantly green, but has many colors in it reminding me of a smudged, muted, field of flowers off in the distance. That's all I bought which is really good for me. Usually I buy a lot more at a time. There were only a couple of people in the store when I got there. The shop was closing at the time I got there, and the owner was nice enough to let me shop first.

I also managed to find a pair of pajamas I like at Catherine's. I need them for the spinning retreat on February 1.

Then I stopped for a pizza at Papa John's for supper before I went home. After eating, and sharing with the animals, I got comfortable and worked on the modified Pi Shawl for 2 hours until my husband came home from work. I didn't want to quit in the middle of a repeat, so I spent another hour knitting until my eyes were trying to close.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Spin, Spin, Spin, Knit, Knit, Knit......

Now that the wrist is healed, I'm knitting and spinning my butt off. I attended the Knitting and Spinning Guild meetings this month and had a great time at both of them. I've been busy acquiring all kinds of goodies as far as fiber and yarn are concerned. Now I can actually use it. My Coopworth in Natural is spun, plied, washed, and ready to become a hat and mittens. Also spun up is almost 4 ounces of roving from A Knitting Duck. It transitions in a very subtle way from green to purple to rose and flows very prettily along. I'm going to ply this from a ball tonight to see the end results. I have managed to spin it very thin so hopefully it will be fingering weight. The natural is between a DK and light worsted weight. That's a big difference from my heavy worsted/bulky which was my first yarn.

I joined the FINISHALONGPALOOZA on the Lime N Violet thread at Ravelry and here's how it's progressing:

The mittens that match Clapotis 1 for Aunt Barbara are finished, just needing the ends worked in. The modified Pi Shawl is started in "Medusa" lace weight from Skein Queen. This is a bright yarn, but, I think it will work well with this simpler pattern. If I chose a more complicated pattern I think the yarn would overpower it and you wouldn't really see the pattern. My test knit socks are cast on and have a bit done as well. These will be my traveling projects for now. MS3 is still languishing at home and has become my home project again. Clapotis 2 and matching socks will be the next projects after the Pi and test socks. I will be able to travel with both of these items as well. I just worry that the yarns are similar colors and I'll become bored with them. I might have to throw the Barcelona socks in to break it up a bit.

Babs and HannaBabs, the dog, has made it to her 17th birthday on the 13th. She's on the left in this photo of her and her daughter, Hanna, on the right. I really thought she would be in doggie heaven by now and am glad she's still here. She does have the "postal" attack going on. She gets confused and starts growling when the other dogs aren't even near her. Lately, she's gotten her nose and face pointed toward a corner and can't figure out how to get out. Monday, she managed to slide her head under the heater/baseboard in the kitchen and growled with the back legs kicking. She couldn't get out. I went over and gave her a gentle push and she slid right out ~ she wasn't stuck. The other two dogs just sat and looked at her as if to ask "what's up with her?" It's a day by day decision now as to how long she has. Pat doesn't want to take her to the vet if she still has good days left. It's a hard decision.

Megan in her do not disturb poseMegan, the cat, turned 11 on the 14th. She has started to mellow a bit and lets me pet her more, sometimes even purring at me when I do. Everyone else is fine.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Wrist Saga Continues......

On Thursday, I went to the podiatrist, then the orthopedic doctor. Ortho doc decided I needed an MRI of the wrist. I thought it was healing well, but, he didn't agree. I usually go for MRIs of my head every few years because of migraines, so asked to be booked at the same place for this test. Upon leaving the ortho office, I went by the MRI office. Now, I'm extremely claustrophobic and usually require a dose of Valium an hour before this test. This time, my appointment was for an hour after I stopped by there. No time to get a script for the Valium or time to take it. Cold turkey for this one.......Well, I went in, had the test, and survived fine. The only part of me out of the machine was my eyes and top of my head. It took a full hour for the test because of all the small bones in your wrist. Now, I wait to see the doc on Thursday to learn the results. I think he was looking for a cyst on the scapula because of the thumb pain. The rest of the wrist feels much better.

I went to Yarnia to treat myself for doing so well during the test. I came home with a skein of Cherry Tree Sock yarn in solid black, and two other colors of a soft yarn for socks, one yellow and one lilac.