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Gifts and Weaving

2009-10-19T22:00:00.006-04:00

My newest niece received a bright teddy bear that arrived in her home just a little while before she did.

I also worked on a gift for my neighbor's new baby - she or he hasn't arrived yet, but a new bear and blanket are waiting for him/her.

I recently finished weaving something. It was my first weaving project and it was very exciting to have it come off the loom. I still need to finish hemming and weaving in the ends of all the color changes.

I can't wait to have all five cloths done and wash them and have them done... I just had these random other things to finish first.

...like these:

My three kids now have new slippers (or will as of tomorrow when I felt the last pair and stretch out the smallest pair a bit)

More things for the Kiddies

2009-09-17T15:40:00.007-04:00

I'm getting ready to mail off (or send with my mother when she goes to visit) a package to my sister's house. The brown pocket hoodie is for one of the kids... The newest little kid will be getting a teddy bear (yet to be made) and a blanket

It's a nice snuggly cotton blanket... I used up all my scraps and bought a couple of new skeins to make sure it would be nice and big.

I think I reached my goal. The only problem right now is it is shedding a bit as I discovered when my little tomato insisted that he sit on my lap and wiggle as I worked on the last little bit (I think he might be getting a complex - I keep crafting and he loves each item a tiny bit as I work on it, and then I give them away - I'll have to make something soft for him soon). It's just leaving little cotton threads behind - I think a couple good washings and it will be fine.

Of course, I'm ruining all of the surprises for my sister, but since I won't be there to see her face anyway (and it's up to her whether she wants to show the pics to the kids or safe the surprises for them), eh.

I then wanted to try a new technique for spinning. These samples were core spun over some crochet cotton. One of them (the red) I spun a bunch first, and then let it untwist a bit as I corespun it. The other one is definitely more rough and twine-like since I didn't twist first. - so it's a little tight.

I felt I had played enough with the technique (I'll try it again sometime with different fiber) so I just spun normally the other fiber in that packet and started a little doll blanket.

This will be for my 5 year old niece in that family. As I finished it up I added some pink merino with some glitz in it, I think my girls are a little jealous. I might have to make them something small with glitz in it soon!

I'm still working on socks for my husband, a vest and a shawl for me, and of course, the teddy bear with sweater to finish up this package so I can get it ready to send!

Current Favorite Recipe

2009-09-17T12:08:00.003-04:00

I know, I don't normally share recipes, but this one is good. I got this from the 'Reclaiming the Home' group on ravelry several months ago and every time we make these and they are eaten until gone, the begging for more begins. Let me know if you try them!

Chocolatl Scones

2C flour
3Tb sugar
1Tb baking powder
4Tb (1/4 C) cocoa powder
1 (or 2) tsp ground cinnamon
1C chocolate chips
6Tb chilled butter
1 beaten egg
1/2 C half and half or buttermilk or evaporated milk or sour milk (1Tb white vinegar or lemon juice + 7Tb milk, let stand 5 min)
1Tb more of the above milk
2 tsp cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 400F. Mix dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Cut in butter until butter pieces are pea sized. Leave a well in the center. Mix milk and egg together. Pour mixture into the well. Stir until moistened. Dump out dough on floured surface. Knead 12-15 times until dough is smooth and pliable. Do not overwork.

Pat dough into a circle 1/2 - 3/4" thick. Cut into 12 wedges. Place wedges 1" apart on baking sheet. Brush the 1Tb milk onto the wedges and then sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar. Bake 12-15 min until golden. Serve plain, with whipped cream, or with ice cream. (Can be microwaved for about 15 seconds if cold to make it warm and moist) Store in a ziploc bag, with the air squeezed out.

They will stay good for a day or two before starting to stale (but I've never had them last longer before being eaten). We've been making fresh whipped cream (heavy cream, a little powdered sugar, a bowl and beaters that have been in the freezer for a few minutes - Yum!) to top them, and I'm thinking some fresh fruit on the side would taste great. I'll have to try that next time....

Gifts...

2009-09-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

It's 10pm. The house is quiet. Everyone else is asleep. So after finishing up some other things, I decided to catch up on the blog. It's been a month almost, but this time I have valid excuses. Many of these items are for other people, so I couldn't blog about them before giving them... well, one of them I will, but as it's for my nephew and he won't see if unless my sister shows him I think we can all survive.

First up was a baby shower gift. I finished these with plenty of time (more than 26 if I remember correctly) to spare. I took photos and even took the time to place them in a nice gift bag.

As you can see, I normally try to match my teddy bear outfit (if they have one) to another part of the gift (if there is one), unfortunately, in an effort to make the blanket as big as possible, I only had enough yarn left for a rascally little hat.

I made the vest out of other yarn in my stash.

Hopefully the little boy won't be as much of a scamp as his bear is.

...speaking of rascally little boys (like that segue?) I finished a sweater for my nephew. He's about a year older than my little guy, so I thought it'd be funny to put the sweater on him.

He didn't agree...

So here's a bad picture of the sweater...

...hopefully after I mail it out I can get a good picture of him wearing it.

I hope it fits him well, after all the measuring he endured for it (custom fit, except it should be baggy). I want a picture especially if it doesn't fit well - he just can't have the same expression in it as my guy!

I also finished the swap sweater. In the end it took 50 hours (dk weight, lots of little cables and lace... fun, but long). Isn't it a pretty color and stitch though?

I'm hoping that she won't have to block it all out every time it's washed, but I wanted to in order to make sure the fit was larger than needed.

I saw it on her on Sunday (without ribbon still - hopefully a pic of that when it's in too!?) It was loose and hanging just right and very pretty.

If it won't just dry flat and work then I will show her a quicker way of blocking than with all of these pins! I'm glad she likes it and it fits well, I hope she still likes it so much after many hours of sewing for me!

...and last for now, but certainly not least, is the sweater I finished for Curly. This is the reason my nephew got the above sweater. I needed/wanted to knit one from pattern before I tried to adapt for handspun yarn.

This is fiber she chose back in May at the MA sheep and wool (Fantom Farms). It was fun to work with when I spun it in July during the Tour de Fleece. I wanted something a little bulkier than what I normally knit with, but not as bulky as when you buy 'bulky' yarn in stores. I knit a swatch to see what size needle would work best, and then figured out how long around the sweater needed to be, and then cast on for the size that would give me that many stitches around her body. (It ended up being the 2T size, so I followed that around, and just made sure to knit to the right lengths for her). Having made the sweater once already really helped me know where I could adapt and where I should follow.

I think it worked out great - unfortunately, I was about 12 rows short in the hood (and only had about 10 inches wasted yarn - in 4 pieces), so she got a couple stripes of Cascade (violet) and then to tie that in I put the flowers on the pouch. If I had known it was going to be that close I would have spread it out and put random stripes throughout the whole thing, but I'm not about to rip out the whole thing to change that when this works fine. She loves it, and has even worn it out a couple of these chilly mornings.

I am working on a couple of knits for my nephew's family, but I've also started swatching for a couple of projects for me - and then I still have a sock started for my husband, and various spinning things - both started and planned. We started homeschooling again this past week - so I'm purposefully giving my projects a backseat for another week or so (still working on them when I can, I still need to knit/weave/spin a bit, right?) to give us time to adjust back to school schedule instead of summer schedule, but then I'm hoping to find more time again and finish a couple!

Distracted

2009-08-10T20:17:00.004-04:00

I'm still trying to finish a couple of projects, but I have been busy with this:

and with this...

...and my husband's week long vacation, and painting our hallway and bathroom ceiling, and our ninth anniversary, and normal summer stuff.

I should have at least a couple finished things to show next week, but this week is going to be lots of quiet work, which sounds great to me right now.

Present Pictures and Tour de Fleece

2009-07-28T09:59:00.003-04:00

Since my presents for my nephew arrived I can now show the pictures of those. I made a blanket for him...

You can really see the cool texture in the close-up.

...and a little bear also!

The silk that I had recently finished spinning was knit into a kerchief for Lily.

I adapted a shawl pattern and knit until it was big enough. She of course, then cut her hair so it is less needed, but she can still use it.

I used the rest of the silk to make a choker for Curly.

She loves wearing it and has me put it on her most days.

now, for the Tour De Fleece wrap up. Out of my six goals I managed to accomplish 4 of them. I did spin every day - in fact, yesterday was the first day I didn't spin probably all month. (and I washed yarn instead - all of these pics are pre-washed)

I also finished some fiber...

The Yarn Pirate April Club Fiber was finished. I think it's between a lace and fingering. I'll have to measure it after it dries.

I also finished the Fantom Fiber Purple. This is for a sweater for Curly. She helped choose it at the MA sheep and wool. She wants it made into a Wonderful Wallaby sweater.

I really like how it came out. Now I need to do a swatch and see how much I'll need to play with the sizing. I was aiming for a worsted weight yarn, some places look a bit thicker as it's drying.

Another goal was to start the silk hankies I have.

They have been started. It was fun to just start this and put it away in the middle of the other spinning.

The Sweet Pea (Yarn Pirate) was spindle spun and then plied on the wheel. The purple was done completely on the wheel. Both were chain plied. The silk is on my bosworth featherweight.

The two goals I didn't get to were to spin either gray or brown for an adult sweater, and to spin another fiber (4 oz or less) of something I had gotten at Rhinebeck several years ago. Oh well.

Now that the purple yarn is done for Curly's sweater I need to finish a commercial yarn test of the pattern (so I'll know what if anything I need to change as I knit the handspun one). This is for one of my nephews... there's no time crunch, I figured I'll send it out in the fall with a baby present, but Curly is wanting it done tomorrow so I will start her sweater as the purple yarn dries.

I'm still working on the lace and cable cardigan for my sewing swap friend, but I am on the first sleeve, and actually halfway done with that I think... so if all goes well I should be seaming it up within the next week or two. After that (during the wallaby sweaters) I plan to start two things for me. One is a shawl, and the other is a vest.

This is the yarn for the vest, which is going to be fun as I haven't done colorwork in a while, and I have never steeked, and this pattern calls for both! :)

I also have a loom borrowed from my neighbor and I just got all the tools for it today... I think I'll be learning to warp a loom sometime very soon also...

For Fun and For Family...

2009-07-27T17:46:00.004-04:00

Enjoy!

(July 16, 2009 10pm)

Tour de Fleece - goals

2009-07-06T13:28:00.005-04:00

Ok, so although I never really sign up for things, I sometimes do like to participate. The Tour De Fleece for instance, is a spinning challenge to set some goals for yourself and spin every day of the tour de france (July 5 - July 26). Last year I managed to spin four different yarns. Three of those four yarns have now been knit up, which is a very happy ratio. The orange became a bag, the sage and daffodil yarn became mittens and a cowl (the mittens are loved by Lily, the cowl - not so much), and the red yarn became Noel's scarf.

This year I would like to:

1. Finish the April yarn pirate roving (5/16 done, working on number 6 during the first couple days of TdF). I've been spinning it on a spindle and plan to navajo ply it on the wheel to get a sock weight yarn.

2. Spin the purple wool that was just bought at the Ma sheep and wool for Curly's sweater

3. Spin either some brown (alpaca) or gray (superwash) for a sweater for an adult

4. Spin one additional braid of pretty wool in my stash

5. Start some more silk (hankies?) on my featherweight spindle

6. Spin some (at least 10 min) every day

I'm not sure I'll finish all of these goals, but at least they are out in front of me now, so I can keep an eye on them. So far I have done the spinning every day by working on the April roving on my spindle. the only problem is I have a lot of knitting I want to get done in this same time-span. ...and some sewing, and some gardening, and exercise, and family time... yeah. We'll see how well I can juggle these goals with the rest of my life!

What are your hobby goals for July? Come on... other than normal daily things that HAVE to get done, what are you trying to do this month?

Another month, a bunch more done

2009-06-29T21:32:00.004-04:00

Wow, what a month it's been. We finished all of our external homeschool groups, 'Curly' turned 5, we celebrated several times, we went camping for the first time with kids, we started our 'summer schedule' (piano practicing + one schoolish thing every day), we've endured days and days and days of rain, my back went out, the library summer reading program started, the garden is planted and in, we picked strawberries and made jam, flowers are blooming, and suddenly a month has passed.

On the crafting front many things have been started, several things have been finished, and much more is planned...

First up, I did my first Pay it Forward gift. Noel was given this beautiful scarf.

It was made of fiber that I spun last July (tour de fleece). It's a merino/tencel blend that spun close to a dk weight. I was planning to make this Rivulet scarf - and joined a group on Ravelry to discover they were doing it as a Knit-A-Long, so I decided to let it skip queue and started during their KAL. I had to drop down a bunch of needle sizes, as I'm not used to holding yarn tight unless it's for socks, but it was a fun pattern, and pretty easy.

Handwash cold, lay flat to dry (I blocked it out with wires and pins, but just laying it flat should be good enough). I told her all this when I gave it to her, but thought I better include it here in case her memory is like mine...

Hope she likes it and gets lots and lots of use from it!

Next up, I started a pair of socks for my husband. I actually began it during the drive out to camping, I finished the first toe on the way, and then on the way back I only did about 6 rows.

I have this as my travel project, as it is mostly ribs with just a couple tiny cables, I can figure out where I am fairly quickly. It's yarn from my husband's stash (that he wanted me to knit up for him), and a pattern from WendyKnits.

I also had been drop spinning the silk cap I purchased. I managed to finish spinning the single, wound it into a center pull ball, fixed the big mess it became, and plied it. Then I wound it and plied it back on itself, so this is a four ply cable yarn I guess.

Althought it was purchased for 'Lily' she was willing to share. After I finished a kerchief for her (shawl pattern from Knitter's Stash - changed into a stockinette pattern instead of a garter one, and then I added a crochet border on to the knit on.) I also made a choker necklace for 'Curly'. She loves it and I still need to snap a picture...

Let's see... I also started a time-swap sweater. One of my friends made a bunch of skirts for my girls, and so I'm knitting for her. We agreed to buy our own materials and just swap time. Since she chose a sweater that's made with Dk weight yarn, with cables and lace, I might be getting some more sewing done for me :)

It's a debbie bliss pattern, Empire Line Cardigan, making it with Knitpicks swish so she can machine wash and then lay out to dry.
I did just finish the back yesterday. I need to block it out to size it and make sure it all looks good before I start the two fronts.

I'm also involved in another time-swap. My friend gave me a big bag of roving to spin up for her. I never did take a picture of the roving, but 21 hours later...

There was actually three skeins, two larger and one smaller. I had given her the first one after finishing it so she could see how it was coming along. I didn't really take too many measurements of the yarn, since it wasn't mine to keep, but it was very nice.

Probably a bit thicker than worsted, which was the only direction she gave me (thicker rather than thin). I spun it all up and Navajo plied after I filled each bobbin, that way I had some finished yarn gratification before the end.

I can't wait to see what she does with it... even if it takes a while!

Oh right, since it was the month of June I also got my final fiber club shipment. This fiber is BFL and the color is by the Yarn Pirate and is called Zinnia. Although I really enjoyed getting the fiber club (great present idea any time, almost any fiber club...) I thought I'd not renew this gift from my husband and maybe buy a bit every other month of different wool blends from different etsy sellers. Unfortunately I've already found several that I like and faved on etsy.

It is so pretty though, I can't wait to spin it...

However....

I have started a bear and blanket for my new nephew, need to finish the rest of the Empire Line Cardigan, I borrowed my neighbor's loom, knit my husband's socks, a vest for me with steeking, and fiber to spin for a sweater for 'Curly', and many other projects that I can't wait to get to... so the fiber club spinning will happen - sometime.

Projects and Sheep and Wool

2009-05-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

I finished my traveling socks.

Originally this was a top down sock, I didn't bother doing anything to the pattern, so technically it's upside-down, but I don't care - looks good.

I also finished a teddy bear. My husband asked if I'd make one for a co-worker who went back to Japan, who's wife is due this summer sometime.

Kindof cute - now it just needs to be shipped.

So, suddenly, the day before MA sheep and wool, I didn't have any knitting projects. I had a couple spinning ones, but nothing knitting. So I cast on something I've been wanting to do for a while. Using some of the yarn I spun last July I'm making a Rivulet Scarf.

Originally the pattern gives no gauge and uses sport weight with a US6 needle. This gave me such a loopy wide scarf that I ripped out the 10 rows or so I had done and dropped down to a 3. I did about 15 rows and decided it was still too wide. I actually dropped down to a large US1. That's the same needle I just used in those socks I finished. I think I actually hold the yarn and needles differently (looser?) if I know I'm not working on socks, because it still is loose and drape-y but looks like a scarf instead of a wrap now, which is much better.

With apologies for the bad picture, I am also spinning on the wheel...

A friend of mine bought this wool for felting purposes and now, after using some for that, is ready to not have a big bag of wool in her life (or house) so I'm spinning it for her in exchange for probably some house repair advice from her...or something.

A few hours down, many hours left.... but it is fun - as she had no specs in mind for the yarn, so I'm just spinning it the way the wool and wheel want it to work.

I also got my May Yarn Pirate Fiber. This time it's BFL in colorway Zephyr. Pretty. :) I really want to start it right now, but have too many things going on at the moment.

Ok, so the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool was this past Saturday. Since we didn't go to any fiber fairs last year I was really looking forward to it, in fact, I think the whole family was happy about going. We looked through all the barns and stalls and saw the sheep, and then started going back and making purchases.

Curly has been wanting a sweater - most likely a Wallaby with a hood and pocket. I was spinning some yarn recently that she's tried to claim (and I probably will use it for her too) but this bag should be perfect...

especially since it has purple and blue :)

I then went over to the Journey Wheel booth and bought myself a 'real' spindle. I have a big ashford boat anchor from my mom, a spindlyn and a small ebay spindle (which is good, but not very sturdy). I chose a Purpleheart Featherweight. It's only 17 grams (.6oz) and it spins forever!

While buying the purple wool bag I also picked up just one small silk cap from Fantom Farm. I'm spinning it now on the new featherweight and will probably make a small kerchief for Lily with it.

I wish I had grabbed a couple more... oh well.

My husband picked out two projects he'd like to make, both are lacy, both use fingering weight. One will be blue, and one will be green, both from Sliver Moon Farms.

He also decided he wanted to at least try spinning, so when we walked by the Spunky Eclectic Booth he picked up some BFL in a nice green...

...and a little turkish spindle.

He says that if he like spinning it will be his for good and I can buy another one sometime soon - and if he doesn't like it then we made sure that I also like the one he chose. He has dabbled a bit now and seems to enjoy it. So far he's using some of my mill ends white superwash (mostly the pencil roving bits) and he's picking it up pretty quickly...-

We also stopped at The Wheel Thing and got some fun tools. I haven't tried them out yet, but hope to soon

We also sat through a senior (teenagers?) class sheep show that had a variety of breeds and listened to the judging, got to watch one shearing, saw the winning fleece and knits and yarn, and the girls had a chance to weave - they now want to borrow a loom and do some more 'real' (not potholders on a peg loom) weaving...

To finish off the day I ordered a tiny bit of yarn for a vest and helped one of my friends pick out a pattern and yarn for a sweater I'll be making her (she did some sewing for me), so I have a bunch of things I'm working on, and a bunch more planned. Fun Fun Fun!

The Difference Between Cooked Noodles and Pretty Lace

2009-05-11T15:06:00.010-04:00

OK, here's an in-progress shot of the shawl, see how it's all lumpy, bumpy... the stitches are pulling together so it's pretty small and looks messy?

That is why we let lace soak and then block it before it dries completely. Usually this is done on a foam board, with big pins and wires...

You stretch it out, pin it in place and then stretch and repin. If you want a soft block you might just stretch it once. If you want a hard block you keep stretching - first one side and then another - lace can usually stretch a LOT. Once you have it how you want it, you just let it dry. When you unpin it and take the wires out it might relax a bit, but it will still hold the shape and be pretty.

Once blocked you can see the empty space that makes lace look so nice.

Isn't it purty? :)

The shawl didn't take all of the handspun yarn, so I wanted to make something else with it. I looked around a bit and found a pattern I liked, and then did something completely different.

Not completely different I guess, but I did change a bunch for this pattern - some details are on my ravelry page.

This Mothers Day was pretty low key, but we did go on a family bike ride, since I got a new bike! I still need to put a child seat on it for the little guy - already ordered. The girls have been riding the past couple weeks to knitting time at the library (1.5 miles one way) while I've been pushing the stroller and walking. In anticipation of my riding too I thought I better get them used to carrying their own books and knitting. So we (they helped choose the colors) used my leftover Lopi and made these two backpacks.

Here's another shot of Lily's. She decided to have me make hers second, so all the bugs would be worked out of the pattern I was adapting.

I still need to sew on big toggles or buttons, but right now I clipped one of my stitch holders there and it worked fine (I just want them back sometime).

One of my birthday presents from my sweet husband was a 3 month membership to Yarn Pirate's fiber club. I got my first shipment a couple weeks ago.

It's called Sweet Pea, and it's already on my little spindle. I broke it into 16 little balls and I'm just working through them one at a time.

I'm also working on some Superwash I had ordered a while ago from The Loopy Ewe that I'm spinning up using my Spindlyn. Aside from those two spinning projects I'm down to one knit project currently.

That one knit project is my socks. I had gotten both of them past the heel (toe-up) and when I counted the cable twists they didn't match. I then compared them and figured and tried to make sense of it - undid the offending one and redid the increases and heel. I then counted - I had undone the wrong one. I then undid the other one and redid the increases and heel and they now match fine.

The other sock is just a pattern or two shorter, but now I can pick up either and just knit on them whenever. I have the four row pattern memorized, and it's very easy to tell which row I'm on. I'm just knitting until I'm a lot closer to running out of yarn (since they are using separate balls of yarn).

I'll keep working on these - but I will be starting another teddy bear and a lace scarf soon!

Slippers, Shawl, and Sock

2009-05-11T15:03:00.000-04:00

One (or two) more catch-up posts and I should be good to go. I actually couldn't post these right when they were done because they were a gift for my Father-in-law (his birthday was the end of April). Since Webs has a sale on their Cascade 220 I used it to make a pair for me, and then bought enough for his slippers and some for my girls that I'll make sometime over the summer.

These are a lot of fun to make - I just have to pay attention to the short-row shaping.... I can't really put them down in the middle of a section.

I ran them through the washer a couple of times and then had my neighbor try them on quickly - his foot is a half size off of my FIL, so we thought they'd fit well.

We went the extra step and put the leatherish bottoms on them so he won't be slipping around (and hopefully they'll last a little longer that way). I hope he likes them!

I also finished my swallowtail shawl. I had taken a break for 3-4 weeks in the middle of it, and then another week or so while I pondered the nupps in it. I ended up doing those rows with the help of one of my little crochet hooks - it took a tiny bit more work probably, but it was a lot easier than trying to make my needles work through 5 stitches...

Here it is before blocking:

...I have a whole post for blocking and after that I will do right away!

I am still working on my traveling sock also - updates on that soon too!

One Year (a month later)

2009-05-05T20:40:00.000-04:00

Ok, so it's been a month since I started this post - time to let it out of draft mode and let it be seen.

My little Tomato is growing up. He's a year (and a month) old now. For his birthday I finished this:

Cute huh?

...I thought it was much more cute this way:

This was on his actual birthday - this is one of the first times he stood by himself.

He isn't walking by himself yet, but he is all over the place and he looks so much bigger already.

I did the sweater top down and it was a good thing I had done it that way. The first time I tried it on him it fit ok, but every time I picked him up I had to tug it back down. I went back and added a couple more inches to the body and it works much better now. He was willing to let me take pictures all I wanted, as long as I kept handing over some animal crackers (and let him take the hood off).

Swapy Birthday Fun

2009-04-21T15:33:00.003-04:00

Ok, so my birthday was the beginning of April, but I've been a lazy blogger (well, a busy mommy) so here's my Birthday Post:

After taking a year off from swaps, I decided to participate (again) in the Ravelry Birthday Swap group. I was partnered up with someone else who had my same birthday and we sent nifty little packages to each other. She had mentioned that a mustard colored yarn would be cool - and look what I found on etsy:

So I spun it into a true 3-ply (haven't done many of those - usually a navajo ply it) and came up with this:

(the big skein is the 3-ply, the small skein is navajo plied of the extra singles)

Pretty yarn :)

I was pretty pleased with how it came out - didn't get a completely accurate yardage measurement, but it came out I think close to a DK (If I remember correctly?)

I then took a fun trip to Webs to finish off the package (and get some yarn for a couple other projects and such of course). So here's the complete package I sent to her:

And here was what she sent me for my birthday:

The chocolates and candies disappeared quickly, the kerchief went right on my head, the apron I have been using a lot already, and the sachet I haven't decided yet where to put it. The yarn and ribbons were for a project that she had seen on my favorites page, since the pattern is free she got me the other supplies needed so I could make it. It took me a couple days to cast on, and about a week or so to finish it:

So I had a great birthday! (My sweet husband also took the day off of work and did the homeschooling for me, made me take a bubble bath, took us out to lunch, and bowling, and then someone watched the kids while we ran errands and had a calmer dinner out... and presents spread throughout the day) Oh right, and one of the presents was three months of Yarn Pirate's new fiber club :) ...the first fiber came earlier this week...

Bear and Socks and Fiber... oh my!

2009-03-25T17:12:00.004-04:00

I had this post almost ready to go out about a week ago, when suddenly our DSL wasn't working... it took 5 days to get it back and then another day to make sure everything was working again, so finally, here's the post!

My husband has a co-worker who recently had a child (well, he's the father, so he didn't *have* the child, but yeah...) so my sweet husband asked if I'd be willing to make a bear for them.

Then of course another co-worker saw the bear and asked if I'd make one for him to give away, so we coordinated and got more colors...

At this point the second bear is actually done and photos will be in the next post!

I also finished the stripe-y socks!

My husband now has a pair of tall warm winter socks (and he actually wore them while it was still really cold).

He did say that the shaping started a bit late, so it's a bit tight right before the increases start.

...and the ribbing still had too many stitches in it (didn't decrease enough), so it stretches a bit big - we're trying to decide if it's worth fixing or if we'll just keep it in mind if (when?) I make another pair sometime before next winter. Since we keep the house so cool during the winter these were definitely appreciated!

...and completely unrelated...

While shopping for a swap I'm participating in I saw this roving in an etsy shop and loved the colors! So... this came to my house and gets to stay :)

My fiber-y stash and Ravelry

2009-03-13T14:53:00.003-04:00

At the end of January my husband decided that he needed to take stock of his yarn. So we set up some white posterboard, a couple of good lights, and used our newish camera to take pictures of all of his yarn. Of course, while he was setting it up (with his yarn sitting calmly off to the side) I brought my yarn into the other end of the kitchen and quietly piled it up. The spinning fiber snuck in also.

My husband of course was able to get his yarn uploaded into ravelry that night. My stash on the other hand.... I ended up entering it mostly in an all day marathon a week or so later. I entered everything. 8 grams of raccoon fiber? into the database it went. 3 big bags of alpaca fiber? Weighed and recorded. Lots of scraps of Lopi yarn? Ummm... maybe entered it all together, but with all the information I have. I really want to forward these scraps onto others (already mailed off two envelopes to people on ravelry who needed just a bit more of something I had) or I want to use these up in a productive way. I figured I had to enter every single bit - or toss them, because if I don't know what's there, then there is no way I'll ever use it.

So everything is up there... and now, for those of you who have no clue what ravelry is, and therefore couldn't follow those links... go sign up. wait a couple of days. ...and then you will know. Ravelry is about knitting and crocheting. It has forums to find people to talk to, places to record the projects you have finished (or those that you will never finish). It has databases of patterns and yarns for you to browse through... and of course, you can keep track of other people's projects that you like... or those you plan to make.

After putting up my stash I decided to go through my queue. I know that many people use their queues in different ways... I personally use it to keep track of those projects that I would really like to make. Perhaps I won't cast on in the exact order that they are listed, but when it makes it to the queue it means I really do plan to make these and usually already have the yarn on hand. Of course, there are already 12 patterns there. So I guess I know what I'll be doing for a while... (of course, I'm not locked into any of these, but there are reasons that they made it to the queue)

Now that my fiber is all listed, and my queue is set up, I really am excited about some of my future projects... of course, I still enjoy my current ones.. I just wish they were a lot shorter :)

Slippers

2009-03-10T14:52:00.003-04:00

Part of my Christmas presents from my husband was a slipper kit. It came with slipper bottoms and a gift card to my LYS so I could knit myself up a pair of felted clog slippers (cuz I made a pair for him and he loves them so much).

So I finished up a couple of projects and then went to the LYS and picked up some Cascade 220, and then a little while later I whipped them up.

I then felted them and tried them for a while

I then decided I needed to felt them a tiny bit more, and then, true to his word, he sewed the bottoms on for me (knitting my own slippers - okay... sewing them on - ulgh). I've now been walking around with warm feet...

...now just to make new ones for the girls (well, maybe in the fall... and the boy will need a pair by then too)

Scooting and Rocking (Videos)

2009-03-10T14:31:00.007-04:00

As you have seen, I rarely put my kids up on the blog (first because this is a craft blog, and second, for their privacy) but I've had a number of requests to see these videos of Mr Little Tomato... We'll see if this works.

The first is of him moving across the room. He now will crawl (on his stomach) if we put him down that way, but he used to scream and cry and then put his head down and just wait for us to sit him up, so this is the way he learned to move around from his preferred sitting position.

This second video is of him on the rocking horse that one of his grandpa's made for older sister (when she was just a bit bigger than he is now). He can't quite get on it by himself yet, but when someone puts him on it we get rewarded with huge grins ...usually. Even though he can't get on, he can almost always get off of it without help when he's done.

Hope you enjoyed the rare pics of one of the kids!

A little lace

2009-03-09T19:02:00.003-04:00

Remember this?

Well, I finally finished spinning it (squishing the last yards on it).

As I tried to unwind it I got a tangled mess for a while and had to just keep winding it onto the niddy-noddy. Luckily my girls were playing quietly and my boy was napping. I finally finished and gave it a rough washing. Hot water, cold water, flinging it around, whacking it against the tub. I'm sure I 'lost' several yards this way, but I am not so worried about it falling apart. This is the first time I've planned to work and knit with singles. Then I set it aside on a door knob (with tile floor) to dry.

As I wound the yarn into a ball (and then used the ball winder to make it easier to use) I could feel the felted yarn strands being pulled apart. I couldn't wait and as soon as I knew I had enough (just over 2 oz, 483 yards - at least I hope that's enough!) I cast on for the swallowtail shawl.

This first picture is blurry, but shows the color so well....

...and this second picture is washed out, but you can really see the pattern forming.

It's coming along slowly, as I do still have two tall socks and a small sweater I'm working on... and my husband added a project to the current pile for me to do as quick as I can.... but I did bring it to my daughter's birthday day-out (she turned 7 and brought a friend roller-skating and out to dinner instead of having a birthday party) and I went from row 30 to row 48 (out of 84 for the first chart) while listening to really loud music at the skating rink. It will be slow but steady hopefully. It is so much fun to knit with yarn I spun myself... I think I've done it over a handful of times now and it is still a blast!

(My husband is finishing my slippers right now... post on that soon!!)

oh right...

2009-03-04T06:21:00.003-05:00

Before I forget, I still need some people to craft for... go down a couple posts and sign up. Blog-less people are now allowed I guess, but they still need to pay it forward somehow! (and let me know how they do, as I can't just stalk their blogs) I'll take two more people (as I will of course make something for my husband... although after these stripey socks it might take awhile before the next project for him) :)

Just a note: the items you pay forward need to be made by you, but don't have to be fibery, they can be anything made by you for someone else.

Warmer Winters

2009-03-04T05:52:00.002-05:00

Well, although you've already seen this red hat when it was first finished I was delinquent about everything else I made for Warmer Winters this year...

When my mother started this program in our area she had some yarn that had been given to her to be used, so I snagged three skeins for me to use. I figured Christmas knitting was done and I could whip some stuff up...

There was this hat and cowl

...and this hat and cowl...

...this yarn I had got for 'Lily' to make something - instead she asked me to make something with it to donate - but not a cowl... she doesn't like those... so I made a small pocket scarf!

(graciously modeled by my friend's daughter, as mine are both giants) This picture was taken at our local library, which has a weekly knitting group we've been going to. It is held right after our ice skating class, and is during the day, so it's all homeschoolers or older adults, which has just been lovely. The girls knit for a bit and then find their books for the week and talk with their friends while I get to (usually) sit and knit and talk since Mr Little Tomato likes to be awake during skating and sleep for most of the library time. While I really enjoyed other groups I've been to this one really seems to suit my life and schedule!

I also made this little hat out of leftovers.

oh, and I also really have another skein - 'Curly' took it and is knitting a simple hat (round and round) with it. As Warmer Winters will take items year-round I'm patiently waiting for her to finish it.

---------------------------
Back before Christmas (just after sending the package off to Missouri with some family presents) I started a hat for a friend. We had decided to barter (my knitting skills for her photography skills... now that everyone's almost well I'll have to schedule that with her soon). She chose this hat off of ravelry and I (very willingly) ordered some Japanese craft books. Details are on ravelry, but it was rather fun actually decoding the directions... especially as I hadn't ever crocheted from a chart before.

Reactions were good and I think she liked it.

I've also finished spinninng this yarn (shots of pretty yarn later) and have already started knitting with it.

I realized I like to have two or three projects going at once and while at the moment my slippers aren't completely done, the knitting of them is. The only other project I had going (before starting this new lace) was the stripey socks - and although there are two of them, each a big project, it's not quite the same as having a variety of things to work on...

Pay it forward, with some caveats...

2009-02-27T00:15:00.003-05:00

I saw this blog post and decided that I've seen this lots of places, I really love stalking Hattie's blog, and figured it would be fun to play - so I'm in! (especially since I have a year to come through)

The first three people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It’ll be done this year.
4- You have no clue what it’s going to be.
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who do the same on your blog. The first 3 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it! Who’s in?

If for some reason three people don't comment within a couple of days I'll open it up to people without blogs... but blog-people get first dibs :)

...been working

2009-02-25T00:43:00.004-05:00

I finished a little blanket and bear for a baby shower I went to.

I usually love the way these baby gifts turn out, and this one was no exception. I thought this combo was especially cute!

My husband discovered The Loopy Ewe (which I tried to tell him about almost a year ago, but he just wasn't ready for it). He did his first order, which included a couple of Wendy Knits sock patterns (big hit - can't wait for her book!) ...and since he was already going to order, he kindly put this in the cart for me:

Isn't it pretty? It's called Little Fish and it's from Enchanted Knoll Farm. Of course, I hadn't ordered from The Loopy Ewe yet, so now that I know how quickly it comes.... I believe he already has a cart waiting, waiting of course for the new knee socks from Wendy Knits (Catriona) to hit the store - as soon as they do, the cart will be on its way to us.

Of course, he made that order purposefully before his business trip to Japan. He had a week between when the patterns got here and when he left - so he whipped up a sock:

I think he was even surprised by how fast it worked up, and then he knit its match while in that super-long-when-is-this-going-to-end flight, finishing it up (weaving in ends, etc) while recovering from jetlag.

Details for all projects on Ravelry because, really, if you care about details, you should be on there by now.

Finally Finished

2009-01-20T15:39:00.002-05:00

I kept knitting and knitting... and near the end I kept having my husband try it out and see if it was going to be the correct size. In fact, because he's so tall, we actually order lots of extra yarn so we wouldn't be limited by yarn on hand when we determined it was done.

Now that it's done, I don't think I'll be blocking it. The squishy-ness of the knitting seems right somehow. The lace is pretty enough without stretching it open, and this wrap definitely doesn't need to be stretched (well, maybe width-wise, but it's okay the way it is)

Even though I couldn't get a modeled shot my sweet husband has been wearing it on the couch every night and keeping warm in our cool winter house. I could barely convince him to take it off long enough for me to weave in all the ends (ulgh). I'm glad it works for him.

Both sides are so nice looking, and it just looks great throwing it over the chair or couch.

Details are on Ravelry, but here's a quick note: Stonewall by Anne Hanson (knitspot.com) done with Silky Tweed on US 4 and 5, I followed the pattern (34 repeats and all), although it appears now that my gauge is obviously not right on, as it used a lot more yarn, but it all is great, as it fits nicely.

I also have worked up this hat (modeled kindly by Lily) for a local group called Warmer Winters (which my mom is running for Springfield)

up next... more hat, scarf, wintery things, and some spinning and a small sweater for the Little Tomato

Post-Christmas Post

2009-01-16T15:25:00.003-05:00

Christmas is now very much over and I can finally post the finished projects (sorry for the interesting photos, I remembered to take them right before wrapping them up and shipping them off.)

First, was for my almost 2 year old nephew

I made up a couple of these yarn balls and also wrapped up a collapsable laundry hamper for throwing fun.

I also got foot measurements for my brother and his wife. He got these:

Just plain socks with ribbing on the instep and cuff.

...and she got these:

they are not that pinky/red - they are a much deeper wine color. (both the ink and the wine are knit picks kettle dyed, I really liked how they looked once they were worked up.)

The sock almost looks normal on the foot, but the reason I made them is I fell in love with how they look off the foot (in their restive state)

Aren't those just cool?

I also finished a hat that was swapped to a friend. She got a cool hat, I'll get the use of her photography skills for my kids. I, of course, forgot to take a picture of it, so I'll have to see if she can take one for me.

I told my girls that AFTER christmas we could make gingerbread houses (they kept seeing the kits at every store we went to) so last week, while my sweet husband was out of town for business we spent several days to that end. We made the dough one day, cut and cooked the pieces the next day, and then put it together the third morning and decorated it that same afternoon with a friend.

I think this is my first time making royal icing as an adult - what fun! ...especially using meringue power so it is quick and edible. After all the pieces were firmly attached we made up another batch, added the chimneys and then thinned it down to use the rest for gluing the candy in place.

We might use a slightly smaller pattern next time, but I think the kids could talk me into this again, especially if you consider all the time it used that can be considered different schooling areas.

I am almost done with what was supposed to be a birthday present (early December), and then a Christmas present... and now it's just a present for my sweet husband. Pictures of that next time...