re-do

this is the eyelit cardi revised. when i finished it several weeks ago, i was not happy with the button piece. the pattern called for garter stitch on the fronts with a crochet button closure. it looked like, well....... crap. i tried blocking, i tried different shirts, i even dug up a bra and tried that.... nothing worked. so i ripped it out. couldn't find the left-over yarn. let it sit for a while as i considered my options. the february lady sweater (yes, i started that) gave me some insight on how this might work. so, i used 1x1 ribbing with three buttonholes at the top and put garter stitch around the neck. it's perfect. i'm hoping to take it out tomorrow.

where did the time go

it seems like just yesterday (now doesn't that make me sound OLD) when i was enjoying the month of october, finishing up those few projects and ready to immerse myself into some new project. well, guess who came to live in my house. this is our newest addition.... could she be any more darling?? and she is truly just as good a girl as she is cute! but it has really cut into my fiber time. the house is baby-proofed, all my wool is hidden and knitting projects? well, that sweater is giving me fits! the bands on the front just didn't look good, so i blocked it hoping that would solve the problem. it didn't. so it just sat in the bathroom glaring at me ( or i at it, depending on the time of day) finally, i ripped it all out. and it sat on the kitchen counter, this time with me pondering my next move. i cast on the feburary lady sweater, knit a pair of felted clogs, and finally it came to me. i decided to use a ribbed button band for the fronts and the garter band around the collar. when i get it done, i'll model!
so i desperately needed some fiber fun..... life was getting toooooo nutty here. so i spent the day with the guild group at stella maris.

lots of spinning to be had and i'm almost through the autumn leaves.then i'll need to choose another project!

finishing up

i'm ready to get moving on some new projects! all those temptations at rhinebeck, all the ideas that started floating in my head...... need to move onto needles. knowing myself, i couldn't get started until i cast-off up my current items. here is the chick knits eyelet cardi. finished and blocking in the meager sunshine, i can hardly wait to put it on. i've not had super success with top-down garments fitting me the way i want, so i've got alot riding on this one!
next up is the starry-night hat for eldest spawn. this is my handspun from tintagel farms, fiber fest 2008. i used the morehouse merino frog-stitch hat pattern...... it's perfect. the plan is that this will be a layer of warmth under the riding helmet for lessons. i did have a fair amount left over...... so it looks like a neck warmer will soon follow!

finally, i celebrated another year on earth. my family gifted me with this:yes, a woolee winder. i've been considering this for quite some time and had absolutely no idea that my musings had been heard. i plan on using this for plying, but may toss it on to see how it spins. wow!!!

rhinebeck

another wonderful, woolly, event! we were anticipating (and prepared for) all sorts of stormy weather. while it was cold, we didn't have rain. cold + wet would have been bad.
the visit at laurel castle b&b was marvelous. we had dog love, lots of wine and yummy food! up and out early saturday morning, driving the colorful highway to our destination. i still don't know how i found it, but there was a link to pre-purchase and print tickets. with those in hand, we went right in the gate and started shopping by 9:15am
first stop was the mitten vendor, wool creations by carol. i scored four pairs of woolly mitts, two for me, one each for the offspring. we hooked up with amythefibergoddess.....

and made our way through everything. with the opening of another building, the vendors were spread out more, making shopping much easier. i chatted with barbara perry (foxfire fiber) and left with two bags of spinning decadence. next was maple row farm for some more of her roving. my 'friends' watched me buy a ball (eight ounces) of roving. luckily i came to my senses before we got to albany, and realized i needed to make that an even pound! there is an adorable sheep scarf kit, five 4oz balls of lustrous longwool, and the fiber of the year, leicester longwool top, dyed in my shades of greens! the item of the festival was a sheep mug for our morning coffee.
i was still feeling the woolly high this morning, and had but a few regrets. needed to get some creatively dyed yarn, and some foxfire fiber yarn.... and why didn't i get several balls of leicester top?
already planning for next year!

something so sweet

remember those baby hats that i knit this summer?

well the recipients have arrived. my nephew and his wife welcomed two charming lads into our family. eli arrived first, followed quickly by isaac. all are hale and hearty and learning to love the new life they've entered.

here's the charming part of the story. i really vacillated about hand-knitting a gift. it's almost expected now (at least in my family), but i wonder if it is enjoyed. i even considered doing the dudes sweaters, but stopped at the hats. the mom was thrilled when i gave her the gift and time rolled on. well, grandma just told me that the new parents packed those hand knit hats and took them to the hospital and sure enough, auntie caroline's hats were on their little heads. i hope you can hear how very touched i am that those hats with all the love and hope and joy and very best energy knit in them, made it onto those two new heads!

i may just need to make those sweaters!!

as the wheel turns

it would seem that the choices of a few wacky spinners, has opened another door for me. optimism has never been difficult for me. i will take the 'glass is half empty' stance, but usually because the other point deserves being heard. when i stepped into the vast abyss of spinnerdom, i took the 'what's the worst that could happen' approach. well, it seem that we've found out.
my house is getting too small.
considering the square footage that there is, i felt that when we completed our remodel.... i would always have way too much space, and i would not be a slave to my possessions.
that was pre-spin. now, there is fiber in every nook and cranny, items are assessed for their fiber storing potential, and now.... i'm rotating antiques to the garage to make room for this..

how lovely is that? a great wheel is now residing in my home. with all her working parts, my quest is to learn to spin on her. i'm hoping to get some pointers from the guild gals, since they are indirectly responsible. i was even asked by the clerk if i was 'really going to spin' with it. she seemed quite tickled when i replied that i was. and my long-suffering spouse is thrilled to have it living here. (okay, i'm exaggerating slightly.... but i did say i was optimistic)

dear pansy

that cute little pansy, tempting me greatly while i was trying to finish the tour, finally got spun. the colors faded when spun with the green really becoming predominant. i was less than pleased with this fiber prep. there were alot of vegetation in the roving and it made for a messy spin. i think that constantly trying to pluck the stuff out made for uneven singles.

you can really see the differences in this pic. i'm anxious to see if other fiber that i've purchased from this farm have the same outcome. but for now, i needed a break from wool/mohair.

so i gave the stash a toss and found 8 ounces of romney lamb from maple ridge farm dyed in an autumnal colorway. it is b e a u t i f u l!! i regret only have the one batch. this was a 2008 rhinebeck purchase so i'll be on the look out for more of this fiber.my left thumb had an encounter with a knife blade... really slows the spinning down!