what are you doing new year's, new year's eve

basking in projects done! the christmas hat for my sister.... lovely! it's from knitty winter 2007~three tams. yarn is: mc~ jo sharp silkwood tweed, cc~ noro kureyon, both from the stash. i think i acquired them from a close-out bin. worked in the round with a long-tail cast on. you tube saved my butt. i'm using this cast-on all the time now. it is easy, looks great and is a nice thing to have in that bag of tricks!

eldest child has her felted slippers. {she has been waiting since the spring for these} i started and realized that i was not going to have enough yarn. a quick call to lys, they were out. as i pondered my choices i reached for a long shot and called amy the fiber goddess. didn't she have an extra skein of pumpkin?
lesson learned...... you can never have enough tucked into that stash!

woodland nymph fiber, spun, awrapaho plied, drying. amazing color changes. it was an absolute dream to spin and i'm needing to do more. it is a wool/alpaca blend from sandy long. it will be the final piece of cc's holiday gift.

now to enjoy these last hours of 2008

twas the day before christmas

and all my knitting is done!

okay, that is a big fat lie.... but in my mind it's done. it was done, even those blasted bags that i agreed to knit/felt/finish at the last minute. in fact, here is the final batch

how cute are they? i can deliver those this evening then focus on the last holiday gift. a hat. well, it's really a tam from knitty.com

my sister was telling me that with the latest winter storm and Arctic cold, her hats were mia ( which knowing my sister means that they are buried under a pile of stuff, never to see the light of day again) she was telling me that she got a pull on cap at wal-mart (bleck) .... could i make her one? this was monday. the 22nd. of december.

so of course i am. she'll get it on the needles in a bag tomorrow, but it is an entertaining knit and seem like it will go quick. i had some stash yarn, jo sharp tweed in blues and you add noro to give a fair-isle effect while only carrying the two yarns. the pattern forced me to finally learn the long-tail cast-on. what did we do without the internet and youtube? love the cast on and will be adding it in the rotation.

so, the cookies are baked, snowman is made, family is watching holiday shows.....

i can knit.

never give it up

i was sitting in the waiting room of a providers office this week. it was a waiting room like none other i had been in. the ceiling was two stories high with tapestries and artwork displayed, the wood work was oak, the seating antique desks and benches with a few cushy chair tossed in. i was overwhelmed with all to look at. so i sat, and instead of immediately pulling out my yarn, i just sat. quietly. it was decadent. i had no thoughts in my brain, just the stillness of sitting. doing nothing. i'm not able to capture this sensation in my normal life. i can always feel the pull of some task left undone, or be pulled by someone needing my attention. it so reminded me of my yoga days, pregnant and non, when i just sat in the studio surrounded by peace. the tickling question now is how to put that back into my life. if only i had the peace to think that out!

soon i was reaching for the needles and yarn, casting on yet another mitten. they are so damn cute and so damn easy. i may fill the tree yet. i felt someone watching me and glanced up to see a women slightly older than me walking toward me. it was like she was drawn to me and nothing would block her path. she sat down and immediately started asking about my project, did i make my vest, how much i knitted and so on. she was completely focused on my yarn. she tole me that she had been a knitter, but upon returning to the workforce she had little time to spend on it. so she gave all her yarn and needles away. gone. i just stared at her. there must have been quite the look of shock on my face and she quickly explained that she needed the space and didn't want to keep moving stuff about. sadly, my turn arrived and we bid each other good day. my final words to her were to start knitting again, she smiled and said 'after seeing you, i just might'.

i can't imagine. no yarn. no needles. no fiber. when i got home, i hugged the stash!

i think i'm over it...

my obsession with this pattern. here is the final abrazo vest. it is from my handspun, a wool/mohair blend from tintagel farms spun bulky then navajo plied.

i love it. i really do. it is warm, comfy, and all mine.

this project really rang all my bells. it was a quick knit, required some thought, and was fun. just plain fun from beginning to end. i've made three for myself and one for #one child. i could do more, but really.....

i had dinner with a non-fiber (but very creative) friend who gifted me with these. she knows that when knitters and spinners spend evenings together we often include wine, so these were created to show our love of our woolly friends.

sheep. etched into the glass.

can't wait to try them out!

could i be done?

my holiday knitting is done. done. i'm still a little shocky. i keep thinking that i need to cast something else on, finish a row, work a pattern, but nope. it is done.

the sweater for mom is great! it went together well, although i was challenged in seaming garter stitch. i re-did a side twice before checking one of my few reference books. but there it was, clear, concise details on how to make it look good. i want her to wear it before we decide on front closures.

dan's hat is knit. i had a moment (well several actually)when i thought i was going to run out of handspun. i think the hat would have been in the dumpster. i want him to try it on before i give it the final bind-off.

with all those coupons flying around these days, i decided to expand my library. i often put books on my wish list, but never seem to get them. so while out and about i acquired these.... all with 50% off coupons.

nice. i'm enjoying browsing through dreaming of what creation to start next.

open house, a road trip adventure

amy the fiber goddess, cc and i decided to attend longmeadow farms open house. sandy is a great gal who has a way with her fiber. her batts are lovely to spin, the colors delightful and unique. she does not replicate colors exactly. if you like it, you'd better get it all cause there won't be more!
so off we went...wheels, treats, coffee... we were set!

since freedom, ny was just a speck on the map, we had to get lost... i mean redirected. there was lots of snow...lots. the road was a path with cars parked in it. we suddenly found ourselves in a wind farm. and it was breathtaking. we stopped. shut off the car. listened and watched. they were graceful, spinning (get it) in the breeze. and it is those unexpected events that last.

we found sandy's shop.

charming! as was our hostess with soup, food, treats, spinning and fiber.... it gets no better than that!

yes, some came home! cc's holiday gift on the left, my treat on the right.

and we got home with nary a glitch!

brief interruption

now that the holiday season is officially upon us, i find that i am easily distracted from those 'must knits'. my dear mother is receiving a cardigan sweater. it is nearly finished, just a few more inches on the sleeves, then the assembling of all pieces.

i just can't seem to pick up those needles to finish.

i am doing a flap-earred cap. the yarn is spun and ready.... must do a gauge swatch.

i just can't seem to get it started.

the kids are in a piano recital this weekend. why not make the eldest a vest to match those new pants.

i am obsessed!