LICraftgals spot

A blue ribbon for the lady

2009-10-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

So every year around this time is the Long Island Fair at Bethpage Restoration Village. And every year I want to enter some things in it, but do I??? No!! I did about 3 years ago and then finally again this year. So I just made the entry deadline by the skin of my teeth, I actually had to go there to hand in the paper.

I entered 4 things, my wildberry sweater, my medallion tote, a pair of socks and the lady Elenore shawl. The wildberry sweater is really only exceptional in the fact that is it my hand spun yarn really, the pattern is not a difficult one. The medallion tote is a beauty, the socks done ok and quite a boring pattern, and a few mistakes in them. I threw them into the fair kind of as an afterthought. The lady Elenore is quite stunning but an easy peasy knit! It is entrelac and the yarn Noro does all the work but all in all it is quite pretty.

Well the sweater no prize, the tote nothing there either. The socks, 3rd prize, go figure. And the shawl 1st!! Hubby was so proud he took a cell phone pic...

I have to say I was very happy to see that ribbon!! Last time I entered I took a blue ribbon for an afghan I made. I really loved seeing everyones beautiful work. There was some incredible things there. Something about that place I just find very peaceful. The fair this year was quite crowded and even though it was quite a bit more commercial than it used to be I still love it.

Art or yarn? How about both

2009-08-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend I had a workshop for spinning. And let me just say it was incredible!! The things I learned were just amazing. Jacey Boggs from http://www.insubordiknit.com/ was teaching and she is an excellent teacher. Her way of teaching is to listen, then watch, then do. Then if need be ask questions and watch again. I really did learn a lot and had a blast doing it. I met some really nice people too! Here are some of the yarns I did....

We did many types of yarns, coils, beehives, cocoons, auto wrap, core wrap, super coils(my fav), integrated objects, and Incorporated objects, and knots and twists and a few other things. The place was in NYC right in the heart of the South Street Seaport. The building was beautiful and the view was incredible!!!

The Brooklyn Bridge was right there and quite lovely! All in all it was a great weekend and full of fun. I highly recommend taking one of her workshops if you get the chance.

Summer spinning

2009-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

So yesterday a bunch of us from the Sunday knitting group met here at my house for some outdoor spinning/knitting and swimming. It was really quite nice, the weather was wonderful and we sat in the shade and just enjoyed it being summer. Then of course some of us went in the pool to cool off after working up a sweat LOL And of course we ate!! Jennifer brought some great corn dip and some outragous brownies, I have to get her recipes!! Liz made some wonderful bannana bread, so yummy!! And of course chips, cookies, cakes, fruits and nuts. Really it was alot of food. Anyway this is us in the backyard spinning/knitting and just having fun...

And of course there is Luke right in the middle to protect us all. What a sweetie he is. Yes all in all it was quite nice. But not all of us from the group were here, don't ask, so that was a bit of a bummer. But next time... Better planning and less confusion

2009-07-11T10:02:00.000-07:00

Wow over a month since my last post, shame on me!!! But I have been very busy this past month. I finished my Bristow sweater, done in my wildberry hand spun. Sorry no pics, have to get someone to take some, maybe tomorrow. And lots of spinning!!! I am doing the tour de fleece on Team Suck Less on Ravelry. Yesterday Lisa, aka TsockTsarina, and I spun our mile. At least I think mine is a mile, if not exactly the extremely close to it!! We spun for almost 9 hours, with breaks but still that's alot of spinning. But it was beautiful out and all in all an very nice day. The buddy system really is great, we kept each other going and entertained. That was when Luke, her cocker spaniel, wasn't entertaining us!! What a wonderful dog!! He is really a sweetie and very well behaved I might add. In fact here he is.... He was guarding the door way to the sun room so no one could get to Lisa and I. Namely my hubby, he was making sure no one disturbed us!!

He was so good all day, just watching us spin, must have been very boring for him. And here is my spinning for the day. Its a wool silk blend and it is about 44 wpi, that is the thinnest I have ever spun.

Over all I am quite happy with it. The colors are just like a peacocks tail feathers. I have a pound of this stuff soooo, I will be spinning for a while!! That is all for now, back to spinning. Oh and this is what I did for the beginning of the TDF
That is a mohair blend, not sure of the yardage or the wpi but that is 4 ply baby!!! Oh yes I am sucking less at spinning!!

Rainy days and dye days....

2009-06-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

So today is raining all day and cold and clammy. So there was no going out east like we planned or work in the yard so what to do?? Well this..

A really good day to wash the fleece I have sitting around and start dyeing it. Those are the dye pots on my stove and there are my natural dye products on the table. And there is the fleece some washed and some mordanted. The "brown" fleece is mordanted in iron, the other fleece is mordanted in blue vitriol and the other is just washed in the sink. There are 3 different blends of fleece just waiting to be dyed. So I will keep you all posted. Oh by the way I am dyeing with Brazil wood, alkenet, cochineal bugs, and maybe some madder and Osage orange, depending on the time factor.

Oh and this too...

Homemade yogurt!! Just love the stuff!!!

Bloomin Yarn

2009-06-04T08:14:00.000-07:00

Well I thought it was fingering weight!! You see I spun up 8oz of this wonderful fiber called black magic woman from Enchantedknoll to make a shawl/scarf. I did spin it quite thin and did a 2 ply, then after setting the twist and letting it dry.... Poof it bloomed into sport weight yarn!! Being a fairly new spinner this has never happened to me before but I have heard of that happening. For whatever reason, I have bloomed yarn. I am sure it has something to do with how I spun it, and I think I learned something here. In fact when I plied it I had to re-ply it again because the twist was way to loose. But anyway I still love it and am still going to do the Ironwrought scarf/shawl with it. Look how sparkly it is... I love the way this spun it, nice and easy and with very little fuss, just had to make sure there was a towel on my lap to catch all the threads though. So this is sitting waiting for me to get started, just have to finish a few things first, like my sweater, 2 other shawls, and socks!!! Just not enough time to do everything I want to do.

Getting the dye pots out of hibernation

2009-06-02T22:57:00.000-07:00

Wow June already!!! Can't believe it is June, but every year goes faster and faster. Anyway its just about time for the dye pots to come out of hibernation. The flowers will be blooming soon and the indigo vat is on its way!! I am looking into undyed yarns for just this reason, also looking to get more fleece. I want to try some experiments with the fleece that I have been thinking about.
So now I have to brush up on my mordant and dye recipes and look for new ones to play with. I have a few things in mind for a couple of projects, so we shall see. Also I have some stuff I want to overdye for some things I want to do this winter. I have a feeling I will be doing alot of dyeing this summer.
I also am taking a spinning workshop in August!! Yippee, its right here in NYC, Insubordiknits is doing a 2 day workshop on art yarn. I have been looking to take classes for that but couldn't find any around here. And her workshop is really reasonable too. So I am looking forward to that. And if I can hurry up and get some fiber dyed I can use my own dyed fibers, maybe I can do some blending on the drum carder as well. I just have to many things I want to do and not enough time. I really need to quit my job LOL
So off to read some dye recipes.

A really great day

2009-05-31T07:56:00.000-07:00

So yesterday was the Amityville Fair, the historical society has one every year. And like last year a bunch of us from the http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/long-island-knitters/50401/1-25
West Babylon/Panera knitters, went and hung out for the day. This year again we just hung out, well we also did some knitting/crocheting/spinning too!!
It seems that we were quite a show, people were just fascinated by the spinning. Grown men just stood there with there not quite sure what to make of it all. There were pictures taken and lots of question asked and answered. Children were really drawn to us, they just had to know what was going on. And people were very impressed that we all knit/crochet too. It seems that not alot of people knit/crochet they say, hmmmmm...... I don't know I think there are many knitters/crocheters around, people aren't looking in the right places.
But yesterday was the perfect weather, not to hot not to chilly and just a slight breeze. We sat under a wonderful cherry tree and had a grand time for ourselves. A few of us took a nice walk to get lunch for the group, what a lovely village.
I have to say our group is quite terrific!!! I know I may be a bit prejudice but really we are a great group. We laugh alot, and really have a great time when we get together. You see I have been to a few groups that were not so friendly, they don't really make you feel welcome. I have felt like I was intruding on a private club. Us, the more the merrier, come on down and pull up a chair!!! So if you are ever in West Babylon on a Sunday from 1:00 on, come to Paneras on Montauk highway across from Kmart. We will be there, you will be able to spot us, we are right in the front section to the left right behind the coffee station, plus you will hear us for sure!!
So thank you Rena for inviting us to the fair, we had the most wonderful day. And next year for sure we will be there again, because now it's something we look forward to!!
Of course I have no pictures, because I forgot my camera at home. Sorry about that.

It took longer than I thought!!

2009-05-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I started this Revontuli shawl in the beginning of May thinking I would have it done in a week. Yeah right, it seems that the yard work got in the way. When it was not raining I was in the yard. I had much to do, cleaning, planting and such. Hubby and I have made a lot of work for ourselves, but we do love it. Anyway I digress, so finally my shawl is done, much later than I thought. But here it is....

I love this pattern, quite easy after I got over my brain freeze!! I am going to do another in other colors. My hubby said it looks like dragon wings, I think he's right.

Also I am still trying to knit my sweater in the wildberry hand spun, just about there. And I have the peacock feathers shawl on the needles too. Almost done spinning Black Magic Woman for a rectangular shawl. But in between knitting there is lots of yard work and of course housework, and lets not forget just plain old work!! So there will be less knitting but that's OK, I love working in the yard. Oh and soon there will be dyeing, the indigo vat is in the works again this year.

So hope you all had a nice Memorial Day weekend and onto summer!!! My Memorial weekend was quite nice. My brother and his family came to my house for a BBQ! I know that's not really breaking news, but considering we had not spoken for 27 years and just recently reunited, its something special to me. His family is terrific, the kids (grown ups) are great and his 2 grand-daughters are so sweet. I have to say my sister-in-law Maria is one special lady. She stuck by him and got his butt turned around and straightened out. So my son got to meet his cousins and aunt and uncle for the first time. It was funny to see my brothers face when he saw my son, you see my son looks a lot like him. Ever since he was small I always said he, my son, looked a lot like my brother. And his younger grand-daughter is quite a bit like me, oh Karma!!

So off to start my summer. Hope you all are having fun!!

Yes another Febuary Lady Sweater

2009-05-07T09:20:00.000-07:00

Yep here is another one...

Done in Dream in Color, classy, Some Summer Sky. Really love the yarn, it works up great and not pilly. This sweater is really an easy knit and goes pretty quick.

And now for a for a shawl....

Revontuli, done in Kauni EQ rainbow. This was a bit tricky to figure out in the beginning, but once I did it is going relatively quick, but the rows are getting longer now. I can't wait to see this done up. In fact I am off to do some more right now.

I have a few more projects going but another time for those. I frogged my Peacock feathers shawl and have started over. I had a little over 100 rows done, but there was a slight mistake in it and it bothered me. In fact I let it sit for over a year till I finally realised the only way I was going to keep going on it was to frog and start over. Yep, the little mistake bothered me that much, no one else would have seen it probably, but I would have known it was there. Just the fact that I would not work on it says it all. But first I must finish my rainbow shawl.

Happy knitting!!!

Back to business

2009-04-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

So now that my son is back home I can get back to business!! What do I mean by that, well lets see....
First off yard work, there is lots of it!! It seems like last year we really didnt do a lot. And then in August when my son left we did NOTHING. The bare minimum was done and that was it, you know just so it looked neat and tidy. But this year we are getting back to the business of making the yard look beautiful. We, hubby and I, always loved the yard and loved making it look beautiful. All my neighbors always commented how beautiful it was. Even my hubbys uncle who is a landscaper used to say our yard was something else!! So with lots of hard work, which we are doing ourselves, and patience it should all come together soon.
Also on the agenda is.... I am opening my ebay store finally and then my Etsy store too!!!. I have been wanting to do this for a while now. It will be hand-knit bags, hand-spun yarn, hand dyed yarn and sterling silver jewelry. I really need to get this moving. I have quite a few ideas rolling around in my head and just need to get them out and done.
Well I am off to get busy, lots to do!! And on top of it all I work 5 nights a week. So its a bit hectic right now but its all good.
Happy spring everyone!!!

Easter dinner, ala vending machine!!

2009-04-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

Last week I was planning a nice 4 day trip to visit my son in Tennessee for Easter. Well last Wednesday he called and said "Mom,I am having a bad day" in the voice that makes every mothers heart stop. Very LONG story short, the visit is now a go down and get him and his stuff and his car and come back home. Simple right?? WRONG!!!! The car had broken down and now has to be fixed, and fast, and please make sure to tell the mechanic that it has to go 800 miles when its done. OK so that was done on Thursday and the mechanic said it would have no problem going the distance. Now to get there and get him and all his stuff and fit it into 2 cars and get home. Oh and did I mention he has a 50" TV???? And 6 guitars, an electronic drum set, an amp and of course clothes and other stuff!!!
So Friday we head out and for some reason we were not supposed to make that trip that day. Everything went wrong, my navigation was retarded and got us completely off track, I mean really whacked out!!! Then after stopping and have new directions printed out, and having to go a completely different way than the last time, we started off again. But we were in New Jersey and we needed to turn around, good luck!!! Can't make lefts in Jersey!!! I am not kidding you can only turn in certain places, very strange. So there I am trying to find someplace to go to turn, and boom!!! My back passenger tire blows out!!! Thankfully I was only going about 20mph, so I quick turned into the parking lot and promptly got hysterical!!!
Called AAA they came and put my spare on, which thankfully is a full size spare and not a doughnut. I told hubby that's it we are going home and will start again tomorrow!!! When we got home he took the car to our mechanic, who he called and told him to get us 2 tires, and had them put on the car. My mechanic was floored, he had just checked the tires that week because he knew we were taking a road trip. It turns out a lead balancer from a mack truck somehow went into the side of my tire and blew it out, when Jay, my mechanic, took the tire off it was still in there!!!
Then later my son calls and says, good thing we didn't come that day. Tornado's all over the area we would have been in!!!
So Saturday we started out and thankfully all went well, followed AAA directions this time, and got there by 7:00. The "apartment" my son was staying in was in downtown Knoxville. The area is just outrageous!! Love the area!! The apartment, not so much. While it could have been fixed up to be great it wasn't. His friend who's apartment it was, but he was living with his girlfriend, left it a bit of a mess. And my son had no furniture so there was only a futon mattress on the floor. I must say I saw this and my heart broke, he was living in a 2 bedroom place with all new furniture and it as beautiful. He and his girlfriend broke up and decided to just live as room mates until the lease was up in August or at least until he finished school in May. But she decided to throw a tantrum and when she didn't get her way, she told him to leave. He thinking he had an "apartment" to go to said fine. But she did not know he had a place to stay and didn't care where he was going to end up. So for all she knew he had no place to go and still told him to leave, nice right???
Anyway after spending the night on the floor, off we went on Easter Sunday. Got to Pennsylvania and spent the night there, in a great hotel I might add. And came home on Monday!! So now thank God he is home safe and sound and we all made it!!
I have to say, making an 800 mile trip with 2 cars, one following the other is a bit nerve wracking!!! And I am NOT GOOD with road trips to begin with!!! I mean to go 4 or 5 hours away, no problem, but really 12 hours???? So this will go down in the books for us and the craziest Easter yet, and believe me I have had some crazy Easters.
Oh and Easter dinner, lets see....we got dinner from the hotel vending machine, not kidding!!! The hotel room had a complete kitchen in it, so I got a can of ravioli, hubby got a can of soup, and son got 2 easy macs!! By then we were so shot we didn't care what we ate. Heated everything up in the microwave and viola!! But the main thing we were all together and safe and not to far from home!!!!
So the real Easter dinner will be next week!! I will make us something really special. So now if you all will excuse me, I have to go have a complete meltdown!!!

A quick update

2009-04-07T22:44:00.000-07:00

It seems I have been so busy lately, doing what? The hell if I know, but anyway here's a quick update.
First off the Feb. Lady sweater is finally done, pics to come soon. The handspun cardigan, still going, almost done with the front. Back is done, now to the sleeves, then to put it all together.
I started another shawl called Night song, really pretty. Doing it with sea silk in peacock, the same as its done here http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/gail-aka-nightsongs.
I am also doing the Japanese vine shawl too in Blue moon Geisha yarn, this is a rectangular shawl. And as usual I have socks on the needles and of course, crocheting an afghan as well.
Spinning.....still working on the black magic woman, have a shawl in mind for that once its done.
On the home front, lets see... Son is single again and living on his own for now. Still in Tennessee and loving being single I might add. Once school is done who knows what will be, he may be going to Ohio to do some recording with his band, here is the link for the my space http://www.myspace.com/ForeverTheGentleman. It seems a record label is quite interested in them. He is supposed to be coming home in July, but I will believe it when I see it. Don't ask me how, but for some reason my son is a traveler. Don't know where he gets it from neither me or his father like being away from home to long. Go figure, but good for him. But we will be going to see him for Easter. And he says he wants to cook Easter dinner for us. He can cook that I know, but he won't tell me what he has in mind. Whatever it is, that's fine. I am just glad we will be together.
And that's about it here, just the usual work and stuff to go along with everything else. I am hoping for a peaceful spring and summer and lots of knitting/crocheting/spinning and dyeing. I have something in the works and still trying to pull it together. Hopefully by the summer it should be ready to go. And that is all I am saying on the matter.
Happy Easter to you all and Happy Passover too!!!! Whatever you celebrate have a wonderful holiday everyone!!!

A little of this and that

2009-03-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Trying to get some things finished to start new things... Let's see I am almost done with FebruaryLady sweater...Done in Dream in Color Classy Some Summer Sky.

And spinning up some Black Magic Woman from http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=58716 . Her stuff is just amazing!! I have plans for this when its yarn!!!

This stuff spins like a dream and it is just so pretty!! One of the girls, Amy, from my Sunday knitting group made a shawl from this and I just had to have it. I have 8 oz of wonderful fiber to spin up and then knit.

Also I am knitting a cardigan from my wildberry.

I am not showing picture though, you will have to wait until its finished. But I am very happy with this as yarn and how its knitting up!! The colors are just amazing on this, its blue,green, purple all in one!! This picture of the yarn does NOT do it justice, the colors just are not popping in the picture. The sweater I am doing is this http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTbristow.html. The cables are showing up quite nicely too! I was not sure if they would with the dark color, but they are. So anyway that's about it for now. Hopefully next time I will have finished the cardigan and have pictures.

Quite Amusing

2009-03-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yes I also did the Amused sweater from Knitty, it seems to be quite popular. Anyway I did it in Dream in Color Classy in Giant Peach. The yarn is wonderful I must say. Great to work with and just nice all around. Plus it's super wash so that makes it even more wonderful. So here is my version of it.

It is not quite so orange but the color is close. I did a smaller ribbing on the bottom, only a couple of inches not as much as the pattern and also joined it higher up than the pattern. But yes this is an easy knit and just love it!!!

Not enough time...

2009-03-08T15:23:00.000-07:00

You know when you think there will always be time for .... whatever it is your thinking??? Well sometimes time runs out. When I came home today from being with my knitting buddies I found out a very dear friend passed away.
You see my friend Hope moved upstate a while ago and kept saying for me and hubby to come up and visit. Well we never got there but said this summer for sure we were going to get there. But time ran out, Hope had a massive heart attack and passed away yesterday.
I met her at the Massapequa Diner way back in the early 80's, we were both waitresses and lived a few blocks from each other it turned out. Well we became fast friends and did so much together. In fact she was with me when I went for my blood test to see if I was pregnant. We were always there for each other and through thick and thin.
She left waitressing and worked for the Red Cross, taking blood and then went into nursing. I believe she was what they call a nurses aid for private home care. I always gave her so much credit, she overcame all and any obstacles life handed her.
I will miss her very much, but I am glad for all the wonderful memories I have. So Hope, I love you and will never forget you. Be at peace my dear friend.
So to everyone I say, no there is not always time. Sometimes it runs out, so do the things you want to do and be with the people you want to be with. The rest will fall into place somehow, it always does. So if you want to go do something or see a friend don't let housework, yardwork , or something else that can wait get in the way. Because you just never know.

78 Coupe Deville

2009-03-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

For some reason that's what I think of when I made this batt on my drum carder, George, that's his name. Why you ask, its simple really. When hubby and I were first married we were going to by this car, a 78 Coupe Deville. Oh how I wanted that car, it was black with a sky blue interior. The seats were baby blue velour and the combo has always stuck in my mind. So when I was

playing with the fibers I had I made up this....Images are thumbnails and click able for close up.

It looks much more blue spun up than in the batt. And of course being a "Caddy" I added a bit of glitz to the batt. But just a bit, not to overdo it. So I made 1oz of this just to practice and use my drum carder and I think I need to make more. I have plenty of fiber, its some super wash I bought to practice spinning on and still have lots left. I think this needs to be a scarf for hubby.

Oh by the way we did not buy the car because my mechanic at the time said it needed work and was not sound. But I never found another one like it or forgot it!!! So here's my tribute to a most beautiful car that was never forgotten!!!

Rice Pudding, easy peasy recipe!!!

2009-02-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

So I made some rice pudding and it's an easy recipe and a few people wanted it, so here it is....

1 cup Carolina rice, yes it has to be Carolina.
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 gallon of milk
2 cinnamon sticks more if you like it REALLY cinnamonny I use 3
1 stick margarine or butter
Put these ingredients in pot and cook for about 45 minutes, while stirring, till THICK.

In separate bowl mix
1 pint heavy cream
1 tsp (more if you like) vanilla
1 egg

After pudding is cooked add this mixture and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Also at this point I add raisins. Raisins are just if you want them. I add just about a handful. Put in large bowl or foil pan, at this point I take out cinnamon sticks and sprinkle cinnamon on top. Let air cool for a few hours and then put in fridge, serve when cold or warm if you want.
Like I said easy peasy!! Enjoy!!!

Where oh where are my blog posts??

2009-02-17T21:50:00.000-08:00

So I am still trying to get my blog posts to show up on Ravelry and no luck!! Just got a new feed from Casey so lets hope it works. This is really quite annoying!
Anyway still spinning and knitting, and now I have some fleece!!! Yeah!! Some lovely BFL/Romney and even though its a bit dirty on the edges, it spins up quite nicely. I am spinning from the lock after brushing the tips and fluffing it up some. So after I get some spun up I will ply and then clean the skein and see what I get. My friend Lisa aka TsockTsarina, spun some up and its lovely. There is more fleece coming too!! All together its about 5 1/2 lbs of the stuff! Oh the dye pots will be going this year for sure!!
And I am still spinning my Wildberry, boy I have a lot of that stuff!!! I have to say that yarn is just incredible!! I am just loving the colors of that, and I am glad I did 3 ply, it just makes a perfect yarn. I am thinking I will have enough for a lovely sweater, something with cables! Just have to finish spinning it first.
Oh I got my drum carder!!! It's a Strauch Petite and its wonderful!!! I was lucky enough to find Janet from http://www.the-wheel-thing.com/ and she let me put it on lay a way!! I got it Friday and it is such fun!! Haven't really played to much with it but I cant wait to start blending fibers, colors and some glitz too!!
Soon there will be some pics of things but right now its late and I am just to tired to play with the camera.
So here's to having my blog posts show up I hope and lots of carding, spinning and knitting/crocheting.

S is also for Spinning...

2009-02-06T11:23:00.001-08:00

So aside from my knitting, I have been spinning some yarn. Images are clickable for closeups.

The first batch is some colonial mix called Wildberry. I have been spinning this for a long time and have decided to do a 3 ply and glad I did. The colors are just so subtle and wonderful. I still have quite a bit of this to spin up but hopefully by the time I am done there will be plenty for a lovely cabled sweater.

Second batch is some Seawool mix I got at Rhinebeck from http://www.yarnsforever.blogspot.com/, she has the best rovings and yarns!! This is 70% wool 30% seacell. Spins like a dream and I did a very chunky overworked Navajo ply. Wanted something big, bulky and funky. It will be a cowl.

The third batch is a combo of BFL and merino from 2 different rovings. One was from MDSW and the other was a gift from a swap. Not sure what the yardage is or what its going to be but it will be something. So that's some of my spinning escapades. Now I must run, some wildberry is calling me!!

S is for......

2009-02-01T14:47:00.000-08:00

Scarf, sweater and socks!!! In other words some FO's.

All are thumbnails and clickable for closer viewing. First the scarf, the basic 1x1 rib in Noro and I love the color changes. This is easy and mindless and warm!! Its the new Noro Tayio, cotton, silk, wool and nylon. Great yarn!!

Second my Wisteria sweater. Easy knit and the yarn is Araicania nature wools, I believe that's right. The pics really don't do this justice, it looks better in person. It's quite warm and comfy to wear too!! Washes nice but does pill a bit, I am hoping that stops.

As for the socks, the yarn is Neo from http://holidayyarns.com/index.html. I just love this yarn!!! It knits like a dream and wears incredible!!! The colors are so delicious, I really need more of this stuff!! I just did a simple sock to show off the yarn and am extremely happy with it. I learned 3 things on this sock, Turkish toe cast on thanks to http://www.tsocktsarina.com/blog/, Lisa swears by this and if it's good enough for her than it's good enough for me!! Then the short row heel, again thanks Lisa for showing me that one!! And last but not least the E-Z sewn bind off, great for stretchy bind offs for toe up socks. So this was a good learning experience as well and a great pair of socks at the end of it!!

So that's 3 of my FO's in knitting. I have some yarn that was spun up but that comes later, after all that is under Y for yarn, hee hee!!

And very soon there will be the tale of the fiber-napping and its safe return, but if you want to know all about it go here http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/long-island-knitters/50401/3001-3025, this starts at post 3002 and goes on. Funny funny stuff!!!

Finally got to a spinning guild meeting!

2009-01-21T20:50:00.000-08:00

So I finally got to go to the spinning guild meeting. I work on Wednesdays so I never got there, but this month I took the night off. I am glad I went too, I learned quite a few things and there may be a workshop I can go to as well. But let me just say, winter is not the time to sit in a barn!!! Even if it has walls and such!! Man it was just cold in there, even with the heat on.

But I did get to see my spinning teacher Tabitha again, haven't seen her in a long time. And I got to buy some wonderful "kitchen sink" roving too!! Its greys, blacks, browns and just sooooo soft and wonderful.

I also finished spinning my sea wool from creatively dyed, I bought that in Rhinebeck. So hopefully I can do the Navajo plying and get that twist set and be ready to knit it up by Sunday. I am thinking either cowl or scarf for that. The colors are just great.

I also know I have to post pics of things that are finished, sorry! I have just been really busy and keep forgetting to do that, but I hope this week!

Friday I have the knitting guild and for that I am on coffee duty and teaching a class. So hopefully that goes well. I am teaching an entrelac scarf, it seems that everyone thinks entrelac is really hard. Funny I thought the same thing until I did it, then I realised its not hard at all. In fact I did a stole of entrelac and it is one of my favorite knitted pieces. The yarn is Noro and that yarn does all the striping for you, just LOVE Noro, any Noro.
So that's about it for now. I shall be blogging again this weekend with pictures I hope!

Just a quick update

2009-01-15T10:01:00.000-08:00

So here it is 2009 and my first blog entry. Anyway just a quick update:
First off its snowing and looks really pretty. Not much snow this year so far and that's OK!! I have to post some FO pics, maybe tomorrow or Sunday. I did get my Wisteria sweater done and my socks are just about there. Also I have a scarf just about half way there. So lots of knitting and crocheting going on. On the spinning front, I have some yarn done in some pretty blue/lavenders and that has to get posted, just finished doing some sea wool and plied that. That has to have the twist set and dried then posted. I still have more sea wool to spin just not sure if I want to Navajo ply it like I did the last batch.
Son is still in Tennessee and so far so good. I also have 2 grand bunnies!!! Gatsby and Belle, 2 lop ear babies!! Lets hope it stays at 2!!
On a sad note my cat of 18 years has passed away. Her name was Taz and she died Thursday night in her sleep. She really did have a good run though, quite a few times we thought she wasn't going to make it through the night. And about 10 years ago she drank some anti-freeze so we thought that was it, she was really sick, but she rallied back and gave us more time. So rest in peace Tazzie we will miss you.
As for the rest well nothing much going on, winter you know. Just working and knitting/crocheting/spinning.
I will try to post more often this year and be a bit more consistent. Now if I could just get my link for Ravelry to work to show the posts!! I have tried everything and just cant get it. I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong, but I know its something.
So till next time....Be well

A most excellent night!!

2008-12-30T07:27:00.000-08:00

On Friday my hubby said on Sunday after the KLO not to make plans we were going out. Oh by the way, the KLO is my Sunday knitting group at Panera's. It stands for Knitting Liberation Organization, hubby gave us that name. Anyway so at about 5:00 on Sunday, we head out, where don't know. So we are driving east and just keep on going and going. Where do we end up?? Here ... pics are thumbnails and clickable for a better view.

He took me to see the Montauk light house all decorated for the first time for Xmas!!! It was just stunning!! A sight that I will never forget and always be in awe of. You see we love Montauk and we go there a lot. In fact we spent our honeymoon there, 26+ years ago.

And on the way we saw such lovely decorations and lights. The one house, blurry picture, was all lit up in clear lights and just incredible! And of course the windmills in their Xmas finery. The little towns and villages along the way were quite lovely as well. Also it was a very nice warm night so that helped too.

Then after seeing this wonderful sight we were off to dinner. And were did we eat?? At the same place we ate on our honeymoon!!! I believe its called Shang Wongs?! In the heart of Montauk, its a bar on one side and restaurant on the other. In fact we sat in the same booth!!! The place looks the same and the food is very good.

So thank you babe for a most excellent night!! I have to say that was one of the best nights I can remember. Although there have been many great times along the way this past 27 years, this is in the top 5 for sure!!! So for anyone who can get there before they take down the lights, do go. I am sure you will find it is worth the trip, I know we did.

Oh by the way the pictures were taken with a cell phone because he didn't want me to get suspicious so we didn't take my digital camera. That is why that one picture has the cingular symbol, its a reflection off the window LOL

A time for change

2008-12-27T23:19:00.000-08:00

First off, Happy Holidays to all!! No matter what you celebrate I hope it was wonderful and joyous. I for one had a wonderful Christmas and am planning a quiet New Year with some friends. Nothing fancy just some snacks and Yahtzee!!
And for this new year I will try to be a better blogger and even if I have no pictures a paragraph or two at least once a week. I have been very bad at keeping the blog updated this year. I really must get with the program.
Also for this year I am really stepping back from the craziness of everything. I mean really we as a society are just out of control!!! We have become such selfish greedy people that nothing is good enough anymore. I mean really how much bigger, better or more do we need??! When that poor man got trampled at Walmart on black Friday I was just sick. To trample someone to get to what, a TV or a game, what is that important?! So this year my family and I really concentrated on what was important, being together and having family time. I made sure I enjoyed the Christmas decorations and the baking. Usually its hurry up and just get the house done, and start the baking, lets go!! But this year every day the tree was lit and so was my village. I really enjoyed looking at them this year, usually I hardly turn them on at all. So this year is a year of stepping back and taking stock and just being satisfied with what I have. I think we need to go back to what is important and to less is more. I mean really, do our children really need all those video games, what happened to books and board games?? And since when does a 10 year old need a cell phone?!! And no I do not need another pair of shoes, or another purse, and my husband does not need a 52" t.v. After all he doesn't watch the 22" one he has, so why do I have to have a huge t.v. in my house that no one will watch?? And my car is 8 years old but works great and I love it, hubby's car is 13 years old and so far so good, but will need to be replaced soon. And if I know him it will be a good used car, not brand new, he wont take that kind of loss on a car. And thank goodness!! After all if it works and gets me where I need to be, than its great, I don't care that its not new. So rather than go into debt for material things I think this year I will do with what I have. If I don't have the money for something than I will wait until I do or just do without. So for all those that need to keep up with the Jones's go for it, I for one am backing away, I will just go at my own pace and be happy for health and family and good friends.
OK off my soap box now, but I was just really bugged by this stuff this year.
So to all have a very Happy New Year and may it be filled with peace, love and health. And lots of laughter, family, friends and wonder!!