margit's knitting adventures

The Blog is Moving!

2006-12-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

And it has something to do with what's in this box...

Check out the new blog at fiberfiend.com/blog to find out what's in the box! And to continue reading about Margit's Knitting (and Spinning!) Adventures!

Some Scarves

2006-12-04T09:50:00.000-08:00

Here's Holiday Scarf #2 in Moda Dea Tutu

It kind of looks like snow... it's the same 20 stitch 2 x 2 ribbing pattern I used on the Aerie scarves.

And here, sound the trumpets, is my hand-dyed handspun soy silk entrelac scarf!

Yay! And a closeup!

P.S. I got some Lorna's Laces in Black Pearl at the after Thanksgiving sale at Purlescence...

Mojo's 4 months old!!

2006-12-03T23:46:00.000-08:00

Mojo turned 4 months old today. He weighs 25 pounds! That means I don't think he's going to get as big as I had initially thought and hoped. Jezabelle was 44 lb. at 4 months. He's a sweetie though, and I'm sure however big he gets will be plenty big enough.

Since I last posted about Mojo, he's been to the dog park a few more times, and he made some new friends...

He frolicked around with Siena...

He got a little muddy...

We all took a nap (Lilla was in her crate)...

We started putting him and Siena in the same crate overnight...

Mojo started digging in his water dish, getting quite wet, so we gave him a new water delivery system (like a giant gerbil feeder)...

I let him explore the empty dog food bag while I watched through the window, prepping his food (putting kibbles in chew toys)...

And he plopped down in the grass...

We noticed he has webbed feet, which probably confirms that he is part Yellow Lab. We had dinner with some friends for Thanksgiving, and one of their friends said he has Blue Heeler eyes, aka Australian Cattle Dog eyes, which could explain 3 other things: pointy ears, heel biting, and small size.

So, now I think he's a Yellow Lab/Australian Cattle Dog/Rottweiler mix. I think he'll be 50 lb. at 1 year and 60 lb. as an adult. Next month, I think he'll be 33 lb!

Sweater Woes

2006-12-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

The sweater is almost done. You know what sweater I'm talking about. I absolutely love it. But, I've just about run out of yarn, and it's not quite done yet. Since realizing I am going to run out of yarn, I have contacted 4 different online vendors to purchase one more ball. They all have websites that say they sell this yarn (Lana Grossa Due Chine), and they're all out of stock in the color I need (and most other colors as well). I've posted on Knitters Review. It's my last hope...

I'm in quite a pickle here, because 1) I wanted to sell this pattern, so I now have to find a new different yarn that will work at approximately the same guage and knit another sweater in that yarn before finalizing the pattern and putting it up for sale, and 2) I really really love this sweater and really really want to finish it and wear it!!!

Booooooo!

[Added later, but before posting]
OK, so I picked a new yarn and I'm excited to knit another sweater. I really love the pattern, so it will be awesome to have 2 sweaters in different yarns and colors. Plus this way I will follow my pattern directions (once I write them up in a bit more orderly fashion) and see if my directions are good or not.

In other news, I'm knitting an entrelac scarf with my handspun soy silk, which I will post a picture of soon. I started another holiday scarf, but put it on hold. I figured out what pattern to use for my nephew's baby blanket. I haven't spun anything in almost 3 weeks... and Mojo will be 4 months old tomorrow, so I'll post more pictures of him then too!

Also, my mom loves her new socks.

(You see where I get my love of big dogs.)

And I did say I'd post pictures of Siena modeling my latest scarf, the only holiday knitting I've completed so far...

Doesn't she remind you of Greta Garbo?
She's definitely got flare...

A little sock yarn and fiber for your viewing pleasure

2006-11-18T10:26:00.000-08:00

I used my coupon at Purlescence and picked up some Claudia Handpainted (Walk in the Woods, Jungle from Left to Right), and some Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock (Pioneer, Mt. Creek, from Center to Right)

I also picked up some Chasing Rainbows Dyeworks Merino/Tencel fiber, which might just get its chance on the spinning wheel sometime very soon...

Mojo Madness

2006-11-18T09:43:00.000-08:00

[Picture-heavy puppy post. If you hate puppies, don't scroll down.]

It was a momentous week in Mojo's life, as he made his first trip to the dog park.

He was a bit terrified...

but he made some new friends...

Siena wasn't too happy about having to share the back of the car with Mojo...

but there is plenty of room for them in the back of my new (pre-owned) dog mobile...

Mojo also made it up on the couch, without the impetus of the devil vacuum cleaner.

He convinced Siena to play with him a bit...

And we've started trying to teach him to leave Lilla alone...

Sometimes Siena just wants to be left alone too...

Somehow Mojo didn't gain any weight this week (or I weighed him at the wrong time of day), so he was 19.5 pounds at 15 weeks. He did grow 2 inches taller since the last time I measured him 2 weeks ago, so he's now 14.5 inches tall. He's still 17 inches long. He has started biting our heels, so he definitely has some herding dog in him. His ears are still getting perkier. So, I still think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Lab mix, and that he'll be 70 lb. at 1 year and 90 lb. as an adult. I'm going to go for 23 lb. again as my guess for next week's weight.

Knitting and Spinning Progress

2006-11-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

I finished the first Moda Dea Aerie scarf, in an off-white color, which will be a holiday gift.

I wove in the ends this evening -- I'll have Siena model it tomorrow.

I started a second one too... in a light blue color.

Yay, I'm using up stash!

When I was out with Mojo the other morning, when it was sunny after pouring all day long the day before, I noticed this...

and thought it was pretty darn cool.
No, my fence is not on fire.
Water was evaporating off of the wet fence.
(Isn't my neighbor's house ugly?)

In the world of spinning, I was surprised on Tuesday when I started spinning up the bamboo I dyed earlier this year.

How did this

turn into this

?

Every time I look at it, it amazes me.

Because of the all of the colors, and because I only have 4 oz., I initially thought I would make bamboo sock yarn, and knit myself a pair of bamboo socks. However, Cookie said that bamboo socks probably wouldn't be very flexible, and suggested I make something lacy. Since it's coming out in varying shades of purple, I might just leave it as singles, and do just that.

Hand-dyed handspun soy silk yarn!

2006-11-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

Yay! I finished spinning the soy silk single on Saturday at Linda's knitting/spinning retreat (which was awesome). I finished plying it just now!

This was my progress plying yesterday...

This is the yarn on the bobbin, after Navajo Plying.

Here it is, all skeined up!

And here are the gratuitous close-ups...

Did I mention I LOVE it?!

Mojo at 14 weeks!

2006-11-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

Mojo had a big first this week. Not his first tooth. Not his first step. It was the first time (and only time so far) he jumped on the couch. Randall's been trying to get him to jump on the couch with the lure of freeze-dried liver. Nope. He stands on his hind legs with his front paws on the couch, but doesn't jump up. What, you ask, made Mojo jump on the couch? I was vacuuming. He was terrified. He had nowhere else to go!

Here we are, Siena, Mojo, and I, all on the couch... one happy family...

Except Siena gets a bit grumpy when Mojo's on the couch...

Another amusing tidbit, which I find quite humorous and adorable, is that Mojo's ears are standing up more now.

When he sits down and looks up, they even stand up all the way!

Maybe he is a German Shepherd/Rottweiler mix after all! Although I still think he has some lab in him. He also sometimes has a furrowed brow, which can be seen in German Shepherds. He now weighs 20 lb! Next week I think he'll weigh 23 lb!

Rules Schmules!

2006-11-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

So, I cast on 3 new projects in the last week. I know I said I would get down to 5 WIPs before starting a new one, but, well, I like starting new things. After finishing so many things in October, it's time to start lots of new things in November. Sounds reasonable, right? (I still haven't put that zipper in my Rowan Plaid Cardigan, but I think I want to find the ends, unweave them, rip out the sleeves, and re-knit them.)

First, I tried casting on for a washcloth 3 or 4 times with different stitch patterns. This is the most recent one. I still don't like it. The pattern looks good in the picture, but that's in a solid color. It doesn't really work with the variegated yarn, so I think I'm going to rip it out and start over for the 5th time. I decided I might make washcloths for some of my family members for the holidays when I was at Michaels a few weeks ago buying Wilton's Icing dyes for dye-fest and the Sugar n' Cream was on sale for $0.99/ball. I bought 10 balls, thinking that if I never did anything with them, it was only $10! (slightly more with tax) ...anyhow, we'll see what I come up with.

Next, I started a sweater. I drew a picture of what I want the design to look like at least 6 months ago. I got the yarn, Lana Grossa Duo Chine, on my birthday. Here's what I've got so far...

You'll have to wait to see what comes next!

Lastly, in terms of knitting, I needed a project I could do while watching movies, etc., so I started a 2x2 ribbed scarf in some ridiculously soft nylon yarn I got at Michaels a while back. I finished the first ball of yarn, so that's half the scarf, since I only have 2 balls. I think it will be a decent length.

Then, in the world of spinning, I finally untangled all of my homepun, wound it into a skein, set the twist, and let it dry. The results: sock yarn!! And quite a bit of it too, I might add.

I actually think there's enough here to knit up 3 pairs of socks (my sized socks). What do you think I'll be casting on next?

Mojo at 13 weeks!

2006-11-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

At 13 weeks, Mojo weighs 17 pounds, he's 12.5 inches at the shoulder, and 17 inches long.

He LOVES playing tug-of-war.

Sometimes he loses...

I still think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix and that he's going to be white, tan, and black when he grows up. I think he'll weigh 70 pounds at 1 year and 90 pounds as an adult...

Siena still doesn't really approve of him...

He started this new thing this week -- digging in the plastic planter we keep dog toys in. It's pretty hilarious.

Next week I think he'll weigh 19 pounds!

Happy Halloween!

2006-10-31T20:05:00.000-08:00

We had some of my coworkers and their kids over this weekend to carve pumpkins...

This is my pumpkin!

This pumpkin was Randall's, but he didn't want to carve it, so I used an extra ghost pattern and carved it...

I did meet all of my Socktoberfest goals... although not as neatly as I would have liked...

My bobbin got full, so I tried to unload some yarn...
Something went horribly wrong, and it got unbearably tangled! This, might I emphasize, is AFTER 2 hours of detangling effort.

(I'm really not good with the whole tangled yarn thing.) I might note that I was interrupted by trick-or-treaters quite a few times.

I really don't know what to do. Randall thinks I should cut out the tangle and THROW IT AWAY! I can't do that. I spent so much time making that yarn!! How could this happen?!?!

Oh, yeah, Happy Halloween!

Socks Done!

2006-10-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

I finished my RPMs!

Pattern: RPM from knitty.com, modified to CO 45 sts for my large guage with medium weight STR.

Yarn: Socks That Rock in Moss Agate, medium weight

Needles: US 2

Woohoo!

You might notice major pooling in the gusset, green on this side...

...and orange on this side!

They were fun and fast to knit!

I also polished off some baby socks for my coworker, whose son was born on Friday!

To recap my Socktoberfest Goals:
1) Dad's socks: Done!
2) Mom's socks: Done!
3) My 2nd RPM: Done!
4) Spin enough sock yarn to knit a pair of socks: Plying in progress!
5) Nephew's baby booties: Done!
6) Coworker's baby socks: Done!

Only one goal left! And I think I'm about halfway done with the plying... (the wheel is safe from Mojo on the couch... at least for a few more days!)

We've got yarn, folks!

Mojo is 12 weeks old!

2006-10-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here he is, looking fierce!

Trying to get up on the couch!

Mid-run with floppy ears!

With a stick!

With a rubber chicken!

At 12 weeks, Mojo weighs 15 pounds, he's 12.5 inches at the shoulder, and 16 inches long.
He's getting these lighter strips of fur on his shoulder blades...
I still think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix and that he's going to be white, tan, and black when he grows up. I think he'll weigh 70 pounds at 1 year and 90 pounds as an adult...

His rump and tail are still getting darker...

Next week I think he'll weigh 18 pounds!

Progress on the wheel and the needles

2006-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

So, I finished one bobbin of red superwash singles for my sock yarn. Now I just have to spin the other bobbin and ply them together, and I'll have yarn!

However, I haven't been making any progress on the 2nd bobbin, because I started spinning my soy silk!!! I love this stuff SO MUCH! Once I'm finished spinning it up, I'm going to navajo ply it into a 3-ply yarn. I can't wait!

In other news, I'm down to the foot of my 2nd RPM sock!

To recap my Socktoberfest goals:
1) Dad's socks: Done!
2) Mom's socks: Done!
3) My 2nd RPM: on the foot!
4) Spin enough sock yarn to knit a pair of socks: One ply done (out of 2)!
5) Nephew's baby booties: Done!
6) Coworker's baby socks: haven't started yet

Also, zipper in sweater: not yet

I'm sure I'll be down to the wire, and I might not meet all my goals, but I just have to spin that soy silk!!!

Dye-fest!

2006-10-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Cookie and Kristi came over for a good old-fashioned dye party. We used Wilton's Icing Dyes on a wide variety of fiber...

In this sink we have (top to bottom): Cookie's laceweight 95% merino/5% cashmere yarn, my mystery fiber (which we think is wool with tencel in it), and Kristi's merino.

In this sink we have: Kristi's superwash merino on the left, my soy silk on the top, and my mystery wool on the right.

Here is my mystery wool (started out gray) dyed, wrapped, and ready to microwave.

Here is my mystery fiber (wool with tencel?) that I dyed.

Here is my mystery fiber (wool with tencel?) that Kristi dyed for me. It turns out that 250g of fiber needs to be dyed in 2 batches... who knew? So, since I had 5 batches of fiber to dye, Kristi had 2, and Cookie had one, Kristi helped me out and dyed one of my mystery wool/tencel batches (while Cookie knit her sock).

Here's my soy silk.
(Rainbow!)

This is my 2 packets of mystery wool (started out gray).

Here is my mystery fiber (wool with tencel?) that I dyed, being rinsed in the sink.

Here is my mystery fiber (wool with tencel?) that Kristi dyed, being rinsed in the sink.

Here is my soy silk, very wet still...

Here's Cookie's yarn.

Here's my mystery wool, quite wet still...

Here's Kristi's merino, almost dry!

Here's my wool/tencel mystery fiber that I dyed.

Here's my wool/tencel mystery fiber that Kristi dyed.

Fiber snails!!!

Here's my soy silk, which dried MUCH slower than all the wool.

Cookie's yarn all done.

Kristi's merino all done. Check out her blog for more pictures...

Here's one batch of mystery wool (started out gray).

I'm going to spin the above batch of mystery wool and the mystery wool to the left, and then ply them together to make sock yarn.

This is my mystery wool/tencel batch that I dyed.

This is the mystery wool/tencel batch that Kristi dyed for me. I think I'm going to spin these separately into sock yarn.

Here at last, we have my soy silk...

I LOVE it!

It's so shiny and soft, I want to spin it right now!!!

Mom's socks done!

2006-10-20T17:07:00.000-07:00

I finished my mom's socks, one month before her birthday!

That's a first.

Pattern: RPM from knitty.com with modification for opposite spiral direction on 2nd sock.
Yarn: Knit Picks Sock Memories in Gladiolus.

Siena tried them on.

So did I. Her feet (my mom's) are a half size smaller than mine...

I hope she likes them!

Here's an update on my Socktoberfest Goals:
1) Dad's socks: Done!
2) Mom's socks: Done!
3) My 2nd RPM: On 4th repeat of leg
4) Spin enough sock yarn to knit a pair of socks: Started!
5) Nephew's baby booties: Done!
6) Coworker's baby socks: haven't started yet

Also, zipper in sweater: not yet

Mojo is 11 weeks old!

2006-10-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

A few days ago Mojo, for the second time, got to take a ride around the neighborhood in Lilla's backpack...

However, he tried to escape! So, I had to carry him the rest of the way home. He'll just have to wait until his last puppy shot to go exploring now...

Siena actually decided to play with Mojo!
Mojo tried to play with Lilla when she was in her crate... Lilla seemed a bit like she wanted to play too, but judging by Mojo's excitement, I'm sure she was glad she was in her crate.

Here he is all super cute.

Here he is playing with Siena again.

He fell asleep with his nose through his crate.

His face is starting to widen...

He's getting big!

And he's getting darker...

every day!

He currently weighs 13 pounds, he's 11 inches at the shoulder, and 16 inches long.

I still think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix and that he's going to be white, tan, and black when he grows up. I think he'll weigh 70 pounds at 1 year and 90 pounds as an adult...

And next week I think he'll weigh 16 pounds!

Homespun!

2006-10-17T22:20:00.000-07:00

Homespun
in
the
wild!

Roving: Blue Faced Leicester from Deep Color Studio, dyed by yours truly with Kool-Aid and RIT dye

In honor of Socktoberfest (or something like that), Kristi came over to drink beer and spin sock yarn! That would be the beginnings of my red superwash wool from Yarn Place. You'll have to check out her blog for her Sheep 2 Shoe progress.

Sock Yarn Stash! 50g progress & Finished Baby Booties!

2006-10-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here is my tiny sock yarn stash. Top left is Cherry Tree Hill, clockwise from that is Socks That Rock in Blarney Stone, Knit Picks Palette in Black, STR in Puck's Mischeif, Knit Picks Memories in Gladuolus (I got 3 skeins for my mom's socks because the pattern called for it, but I'm totally not even going to come close to using 2 skeins), leftovers from my dad's socks and my first pair of socks (see Q&A below), and Knit Picks Dancing. In the middle is some Knit Picks wool I dyed with Kool-Aid.

Some of this yarn will soon disappear, as the ball on the right will become the rest of my mom's second sock and the ball on the left will become my second RPM sock. However, I'm sure I'll have leftovers of both.
Here is how much sock I got from one 50g ball of Knit Picks Sock Memories! See one 50g ball in the photo above and imagine how much left over I will have.

Now it's time for the Socktoberfest Q&A:

1) When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started knitting my first sock in January 2005 and finished it about a week later. I taught myself from Cat Bordhi's book, Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles.

2) What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?

The second sock took me quite a while longer...
You can see the pair here. The pics of the first sock were taken right after I finished it. There's a good story about how Randall proposed to me by tying my engagement ring to some yarn in the middle of that skein... I've worn them a number of times and they've gotten a bit fuzzy, particularly in the heel.

3) What would you have done differently?

Finished the second sock sooner!

4) What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Socks that Rock and Knit Picks Sock Memories, so far.

5) Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I've only knit them on 2 circulars, and I like it that way.

6) Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I've only knit heel flaps.

7) How many pairs have you made?

Well, I'm done with 2 pairs of adult socks. I've also made 2 pairs of baby socks, some baby booties, one RPM for me, one RPM for my mom and a second one through part of the gusset, and a Pomotomous just about to the heel. If you're curious, just look though the sidebar on the right side of the webpage for socks and click on the links.

Speaking of the baby booties, I threaded the ties through and attached pom poms to the ends, stuffed them in an envelope with 2 stamps and I'm putting them in the mail today.

Fiber Stash!

2006-10-15T09:10:00.000-07:00

Here is my whole fiber stash, to date. Most of this fiber I bought in the last week.

Here is all my dyed fiber. From left to right we have 8 oz. of red superwash wool I got from the Yarn Place on Friday. It was very difficult for me to not buy any laceweight while I was there. Next up we have 4 oz. each of merino and then corriedale I got from Carolina Homespun at Stitches in February. It's laughable that I thought I would spin these on a CD drop-spindle. I'm hoping to make all of the above into sock yarn.

Lastly, on the right, we have 4 oz. of bamboo I got from Deep Color at Stitches and then dyed with RIT dye. I have no idea how difficult that's going to be to spin, how thick I want to spin it, or what I'm going to make with 4 oz. of bamboo...? Suggestions are welcome!

Here we have all my undyed fiber. I think I'm going to dye some of this before spinning, and some after spinning. Since I have boilable plastic bobbins, Kristi suggested I could spin 2 or 3 plies, dye them, and then ply them together to make some pretty nifty yarn. So, I think I'm going to try that, probably on some of the merino, top left. That is one whole pound of merino I got with my spinning wheel at Carolina Homespun. Moving counter-clockwise, the entire bottom row of fiber I also got at Carolina Homespun. Bottom left is 250 grams of mystery fiber #1, which Kristi and I think is wool with tencel. It's from Louet in Great Britain. Bottom middle is mystery fiber #2, which I'm guessing is also 250 grams of some kind of wool. It's quite soft. On the bottom right we have 250 grams of Cashgora Top, also from Louet. This is apparently from a mixed-breed of Cashmere and Angora (mohair) goats. And I apparently got an amazing price at $10/lb! Too bad I had no clue and they didn't have more! It is very soft!

Moving on to the top right and middle, both of which I got from the Yarn Place on Friday, the top right is
8 oz. of 95% merino/5% cashmere, super soft, and the top middle is 8 oz. of soy silk, also very nice and soft.

I can't wait to spin and dye or dye and spin this fiber up!

Purlescence Grand Opening!

2006-10-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Purlescence Yarns opened today!

Here's the storefront with the ribbon before the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Here is the sign on top of the building (which just showed up very recently). I live mere blocks from this store, so I walked there once last week with Siena and Lilla when the bookcases were shelveless and yarnless.

Then Kristi and I stopped by there on Wednesday for a few minutes before spinning and helped put price stickers on yarn (the sign still wasn't there then). Cookie has some great pictures from that night. It's been fun to see the progress.

You can also see delicious yarn pictures on the store's blog. I'm sure they'll post about the grand opening sometime soon (and I should be in a picture or 2).

Here's a close-up of the ribbon before cutting.

Here's the actual ribbon cutting.

And this is the very delicious Blue Moon Socks that Rock that is now mine. I had to have the strongest willpower ever to resist buying more yarn.

But patience will pay off as I got a free magnet and a coupon to come back next month for $10 off a $50 purchase!

The colorway is
Puck's Mischief.

Socktoberfest!

2006-10-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

I officially joined Soctoberfest!

I have 6 goals for Socktoberfest:

1) Finish Dad's socks and mail them in time for his birthday. Progress: Done!

They've even been happily received!

Yarn: Knit Picks Parade
Color: Checkers
Pattern: 2x2 ribbed socks modified from Cat Bordhi's Socks Soar on 2 Circs book
Needles: US 2

2) Finish Mom's socks by the end of the month (her birthday is next month).

Progress: One sock done! Second sock has opposite spiral pattern (harder than you would think) and I just started the gusset.
Yarn: Knit Picks Sock Memories
Color: Gladiolus
Pattern: RPM from Knitty
Needles: US 2

It looks so different inside out that I had to take a picture.

3) Finish my second RPM sock in STR
Progress: Well, the first one's done, right?

4) Spin enough sock yarn to knit a pair of socks (this is by far the hardest goal)
Progress: I bought a spinning wheel! And I'm practicing... (and I've bought fiber!)

5) Finish up my nephew's baby booties and mail them off to him. Not quite socks, but pretty close.
Progress: I'm done knitting and felting and making one pom pom. I just need to re-make the eyelet holes, thread the ties through, make 3 more pom poms, and attach 4 pom poms to the ends of the ties.

6) Another coworker of mine is having a baby at the end of this month, so I'll be knitting another pair of baby socks...
Progress: Haven't even decided what yarn to use!

Lastly this month (nothing to do with Socktoberfest) I plan on sewing the zipper into my Rowan Plaid short-sleeved cardigan. The sweater has been blocked, so all I have to do is pin and sew. I'm really not into basting.

Here's a (not so great) detail of the top front where the zipper is going to go -- you can kind of see the lace and cable pattern.

Mojo - 10 weeks!

2006-10-14T08:57:00.000-07:00

Mojo is 10 weeks old. The other day he snuggled up with Siena on the couch and she let him! This is quite remarkable considering how many times she has growled and snarled at him when he gets too close to her.
This is about as close as they usually get. Note the rubber chicken in the background. I think those things are both Siena and Mojo's favorite toys. There's a hula hoop too. Randall was trying to get Siena to jump through the hoop last week...

(Added later: rubber chicken pictures!)

Isn't Mojo cute!?! At 10 weeks he weighed 11 pounds. At 9 1/2 weeks (4 days earlier) he weighed 9 pounds. I'm going to chart his growth progress. Randall suggested that each week I project what I think he will weigh the following week, at one year (ok, I added this one because it's sooner to measure than the next one), and as an adult. Additionally I shall predict what kinds of dog I think Mojo is, and what colors I think he'll be as an adult.

Ok, so I think next week, at 11 weeks, he will weigh 14 pounds. At one year, he will weigh 75 pounds, and as an adult he will weigh 90-95 pounds. Previous to this week I thought he was a Yellow Lab/Rottweiler mix. The picture to the left was taken on Thursday.
The picture to the left was taken today (Saturday).
It seems EVERY DAY he gets more black hair along his spine, so now I think he's a Rottweiler/German Shepherd/Yellow Lab mix. I think he'll keep the white on his chest and tips of 3 paws, keep the tan on his head, and have a darker back and tail with some tan but mostly black.

SPINNING!!!!

2006-10-12T23:01:00.000-07:00

Kristi came over to SPIN yesterday!! We're going to try to make this a weekly thing so we have some dedicated spinning time...

My wheel looks so tiny compared to hers! SO much fun!!! (You can see Siena the couch potato lying next to me.)

Here is my second bobbin of home-dyed homespun yarn!

And here is my setup to ply my singles into actual YARN!!!

How exciting! (If you're me.)
(Ignore the tangled mess that happened when I had to stop plying to stop Mojo from eating the carpet.)

Here's a shot of what I was plying last night. I finished spinning just before Kristi left and I stayed up way too late trying to ply all the yarn while Mojo got into trouble and I had to stop many times to get him to play with his toys and not eat stuff. I still have more to ply and then I have to set the twist and wind it into a ball before knitting...

Oh, and here's my very first handspun that I spun on Kristi's wheel and she so kindly plied, set the twist, and skeined for me. I have no clue what to do with this small amount of very unevenly-spun yarn...