tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-764138348435641982009-11-08T19:09:07.372-08:00A knitting and spinning blog. Occasional ramblings about life. A way for me to feel connected to people.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-67242163752868024272009-11-08T18:50:00.000-08:002009-11-08T19:09:07.385-08:00

I am so scatterbrained right now, I am going to do something I normally do not do: blog in list format.1. We attended the wedding of some very near and dear friends this weekend. We stayed here. The food was amazing, the weather gorgeous, the lung capacity severely diminished due to tight-fitting bridesmaids dress and altitude. It was gorgeous, woodsy, and a heckuva lot of fun.2. I might be

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-73995393262539790562009-10-26T15:36:00.000-07:002009-10-26T16:12:52.811-07:00

I had some pretty good knitting time over the last week. On Friday I finished the knitting for a pair of insanely cute slippers:I know they don't look like slippers right now, but once they're sewn up and felted they'll hopefully look a little bit like this. The knitting goes super-fast on huge needles, and it's perfect if you have lots of worsted-weight yarn leftovers. These are so cute, I'm

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-31586948946767299122009-10-18T15:16:00.001-07:002009-10-18T15:32:24.909-07:00

Sometimes you just need a nice accessory to wear to the farmer's market.A little something to keep the chill off your shoulders while picking out produce,and in a lovely green color that reminds you of winter squash and carrot tops and flower stemsI was amazed when I looked back at my notes on Ravelry and realized that this shawl only took me about 8 days to knit. The yarn is Dream in Color

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-9489276008520049562009-10-15T16:59:00.000-07:002009-10-15T17:57:22.873-07:00

It's starting to feel like fall, and we got our first real rainfall of the year two days ago. Now everything is kind of gently steaming and humid, so it doesn't really feel autumnal, but I can pretend:Another handspun hand-warming device, these are Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts, done in two colors of handspun Verb for Keeping Warm fiber. One is the green half of the Hollyhocks falklands, and the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-74730993407538589522009-10-05T15:03:00.000-07:002009-10-05T16:15:46.009-07:00

That's what this has been.So, right before Sock Summit my favorite enabler and fiber guru Kristine announced a contest on Ravelry. The challenge was to enter a mitten (or, later, a fingerless mitten) knit out of Verb yarn (at least 50%). This could either be a published pattern, or you could make up your own pattern.I needed a challenge during the second part of summer before the semester began,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-46065782628975341292009-09-13T10:03:00.000-07:002009-09-13T10:03:14.718-07:00

After getting through all the post-Tour de Fleece spinning, I realized that my stash had kind of grown in an odd way. I didn't anticipate it, but in retrospect I probably should have seen this coming. The growth necessitated some repotting, splitting what had become one huge plant into several smaller, more organized and easily tendable specimens. But in doing all this gardening-type work, I

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-57709607627457338602009-08-26T12:50:00.000-07:002009-08-26T14:16:03.663-07:00

I am continuing to indulge the desire for simple, quick-ish projects. Enter the perfect remedy, Elizabeth Zimmerman's Snail Hat (Rav link):First one is pink shetland/silk handspun. This yarn took several incarnations before I was able to figure out what it really wanted to be. I like the pattern a LOT (easy to memorize), but I was hoping it would turn out a little more pointy. So I did

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-40630584296457837422009-08-18T14:01:00.000-07:002009-08-18T15:28:19.754-07:00

Here's what happens when you have two and a half weeks off with no blogging:Fingerless GlovesPattern: ToastYarn: Handspun Wool/Seawool/Milk Protein from Creatively DyedAnother CowlPattern: Loose Interpretation of Dolores Park CowlYarn: "Night Sky" Hello Yarn Fiber Club handspun superwash BFLYet Another CowlPattern: Same as aboveYarn: "Manka's Thicket" Verb Fiber Club handspun black BFL plied with

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-7350106695732864272009-08-06T10:06:00.000-07:002009-08-06T11:45:17.572-07:00

I have two weeks off before the new semester, and I've been taking advantage of the free time by staying at home and relaxing. Two days ago I was enjoying the quietness of my kitchen in the middle of the morning, when all of a sudden I saw a mouse scurry along the front of our kitchen cabinets! I was almost too slow to see him disappear between the wall and the stove. I figured he must have

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-5177616810352187122009-07-31T11:17:00.000-07:002009-07-31T11:18:05.988-07:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I took my first trip to Canada last weekend for a wedding. It was a trip I'll never forget. First of all, I get a little irrationally nervous in security checkpoint situations. We drove across the border, and this had the major benefit of allowing me to knit while going through customs. The border guard noticed and asked me what I was knitting, and I showed

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-11841888138157632942009-07-30T11:55:00.000-07:002009-07-30T11:57:45.321-07:00

Dear Canada,We had a fabulous trip this week. Thanks for being so welcoming, and allowing two wonderful people to join their lives together. My home country is still coming around to the idea, and I am so very grateful that you are wise enough to recognize their marriage. Thank you also for providing the world with such amazing natural beauty, I found it truly breathtaking. Your contributions to

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-78832080113378310752009-07-20T13:44:00.000-07:002009-07-23T17:37:23.051-07:00

But I don't think I can stop spinning yet. I'm pretty sure I won't hit my goal of spinning half the stash, but I'll get close to spinning all the fiber I set aside a month ago. The problem is that I didn't take into account that at the end of the tour, I would simultaneously be inundated with grading (it's the last week of summer session) and getting ready to attend a wedding in another country

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-88569021107673562792009-07-13T09:44:00.000-07:002009-07-13T10:43:49.609-07:00

We spent the weekend up at a friend's cabin near South Lake Tahoe, and although I didn't have a very large amount of time to spin, I did get a few things off the bobbins before we left and squeezed in some more spindle time while we were up there.These got wound off and washed last night:Here we have two singles yarns: the Ripe Olives Merino/Mohair from Hello Yarn, and 2 ounces of Dew BFL from

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-22687434706161840282009-07-08T22:48:00.000-07:002009-07-08T23:00:58.268-07:00

So I still haven't gotten plying thread, but I've started spinning a bobbin of Hello Yarn Wool/Mohair in the "Ripe Olives" Colorway:I got inspired by another Raveler's project, who knit a lovely lace shawl by splitting off individual colors from a multicolored roving and spun one long color transition. So over the weekend I spent a bit of time making these on my handcards:I think I'll leave the

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-67051481045976755732009-07-05T09:03:00.000-07:002009-07-05T09:21:01.903-07:00

Yesterday we had a big ol' 4th of July bash to attend in the afternoon, so I got up early to spin some and get myself off to a good start. I kinda hoped I'd be able to spin and blog the spinning before we left, but it was not to be (I'm sure nobody wanted to read the post that was forming in my brain around 1AM last night). So here's my first day's progress, the Arabian Nights wool silk all

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-5110856810972816932009-07-03T10:29:00.000-07:002009-07-03T11:43:45.716-07:00

So I've got my 6 bobbins all emptied this morning, and I realized that I desperately need to blog/knit/do something to keep myself from starting my Tour de Fleece spinning too early! Yesterday I finished up one spinning project that I started a while ago, and am very excited about:This is "The Silent Undergrowth" Falklands wool from the Verb fiber club. I'm very glad I didn't decide to make

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-17693137634238163832009-07-02T10:35:00.000-07:002009-07-02T11:41:03.284-07:00

It's that time of year again, time for all spinners to race along with the athletes in the Tour de France, to complete their own fibery goals in the Tour de Fleece. Last year I set myself goals that I thought were achievable but not too stressful, being on vacation in Europe and knowing that I would be limited in the amount of fiber I could spin. This year, the training wheels (ha-ha wheels, I

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-24991352432335311682009-07-01T17:16:00.000-07:002009-07-01T17:22:50.451-07:00

SO. When I said I had 8 hours of driving to work on the Halcyon, it turns out I actually had 4 hours (gotta split the driving time with the guy) all of which got taken up with grading papers. I'm not sure if I like the summer gig, the class is great but it's so fast-paced (and the money is always welcome in these times). I'm finding it difficult to do anything else but crash after I get home

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-80037551466419388642009-06-27T20:57:00.000-07:002009-06-27T21:58:44.616-07:00

I can hardly believe that June is almost over! In between camping and the start of summer session, I managed to squeeze in some fiber fun at Spinner's Day on the Farm, an event put on by Sonoma County Fiber Trails and held at Westside Farms near Healdsburg. It was a great day of hanging out with spinners. I made a couple new friends, and saw some old ones too. It was an absolutely beautiful

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-44760594764022446662009-06-15T12:34:00.000-07:002009-06-15T13:01:10.556-07:00

Two weekends ago, we went camping at Humboldt Redwoods State Park for my birthday. This year my birthday fell at about the halfway point between the end of the spring semester and the beginning of the summer session (a 6-week intensive). Last year we were in Germany for my birthday, so I knew I wouldn't be able to top that this year. I knew I wanted to relax during the short break between

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-15058573765921992862009-06-10T09:45:00.000-07:002009-06-10T10:48:57.404-07:00

There were people:There were robots:There was fiber:There was Kinnearing (Cookie A.):There were sculptures:There were wings:There was philosophy:We stayed until the faire ended this year, which is a big deal because usually we're too pooped to walk by 3PM or so. I said hello to lots of fibery people, but didn't buy anything because rent was due the following day! We got to hear Adam Savage

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-34953247961624135402009-06-02T15:52:00.001-07:002009-06-02T16:19:49.654-07:00

So when I posted on Saturday, it had completely slipped my mind that the new issue of Twist Collective was coming out on Monday. It's another lip-smacker, full of the fabulous patterns and beautiful photos I've come to associate with this magazine. I have to say, no other print knitting magazine out there captures my interest as fully and consistently as Twist does. If it were a physical

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-83334053143459936942009-05-29T09:18:00.001-07:002009-05-30T08:47:34.456-07:00

As promised, here's the spinning update. Over the last few weeks, I have slowly started to realize that my handspun stash is growing, and my fiber stash isn't really shrinking thanks to my membership in two awesome fiber clubs. Why didn't I ever realize that fiber takes up more room than yarn? So I'm trying to spin more with projects explicitly in mind, and also group fiber into complimentary

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-58458042865235662372009-05-29T08:24:00.000-07:002009-05-29T09:59:16.238-07:00

It's what I do whenever a semester ends. I'll have exams, then a slow wind-down afterwards including piles and piles of grading, painstaking entering of grades, and then responding to student emails for about 10 days. Only half of that time will be spent in the office, so I get to indulge myself by knitting during grading breaks, but mostly my free time is taken up with activities like laundry,

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76413834843564198.post-74792436758962150202009-05-13T14:17:00.000-07:002009-05-13T14:30:03.959-07:00

The ones I talked about in this post? Well, for anyone who says that one needle size won't change your gauge that much, look ye upon disaster:All gloves are unblocked, and no that one on the end isn't flipping the bird. It doesn't even have a bird to flip, since I stumbled upon my error while knitting the index finger and never got around to the middle finger. From left to right, we have:1.

Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04643115443395820620noreply@blogger.com0