yarn store

it seems that i'm finished (for now at least ) with hats. they are awesome and i may need to make one more, but not just yet. re-knitting the second one that i did, well it did me in.

mittens on the other hand :) are still going strong. i bartered one of the hats with amythefibergoddess for two skeins of her wool/alpaca blend. i'm using 3.25mm needles and will hopefully get the gauge and fabric i want. it's starting to warm up here, but i know that these babies will still get lots of wear. maybe even on my hands!

today i went to a yarn store. really. as i was strolling about, touching and fondling skeins of yarn it dawned on me that i had not been in a yarn store in..... i can't even remember. i shop online, at festivals and in amy's back porch, but not in an honest-to-goodness yarn store. it was fun. really fun. i found lots of new things, missed some of my old favorites and needed another hour. i did come out with a bag full of goodness. some berroco peruvia in charcoal for another vest, several skeins of boku just because i've always wanted to try it and today was my day. of course, the twenty percent sale was the motivator to get me in the door. i may just stop back again.

just can't stop

i'm certain that there is some sort of deep seeded need that i'm fulfilling with my colorwork addiction. the upside is that i just can't stop. this is the latest object, a flap hat in colors to match those mittens. it is zipping right along and i couldn't be happier. each round, i anticipate what color will be next.... will this be the row with a pattern. madness, i say!

the downside is that i just can't stop seeing all those projects i want to do. at the skating rink yesterday, i commented on a friends hat. she is a world traveler and had gotten the hat in peru. next thing you know, she had taken it off and sent it with me to figure out the pattern. i literally took the hat off her head.

really, i've got to stop!

it's not all about the fiber..

my spinning peeps came over for a day of fiber and fun. we haven't had a chance to play since we all were at joan's, so i threw out an invite. we did get some spinning in, but the major focus was getting joan acquainted with ravelry and sandy signed-up. the goal was met..... joan's raverly name is 'woolewespin' now really, how dear is that? sandy is longmeadowwool, which is perfect for her. we uploaded pictures, found patterns, made friends and just were to techie for words!

after lunch we got down to some serious spinning. i'm finally working on my exchange fiber and it is kicking my spinning ass. it is baby alpaca, soft as can be and making me actually think about my task. i've spun alpaca and wool (amythefibergoddess has delicious roving) that was pretty easy. i have to concentrate on what i'm doing with this and stay on task. this is probably why the bag has been sitting there since november...... mocking me. i know what i'm going to knit, so once i get this part done i'll be able to cruise right along. i just got season one of the closer, so tonight i'll settle in with a modest glass of Riesling and deputy chief johnson and try to get the second bobbin done.

here are the last pair of mittens. i'm still all about the colorwork and it seems i've got several more in me. i've got to pester amy for some time in her yarn. i love her colorways and think they would go great in this pattern.

knitted gifts

i was finally able to let go of the mittens. yes, i made two pairs and i really have a third in me if i only had enough yarn. the recipient loved them and they fit like a, well...... mitten.

i found the hats & mittens tin at the christmas tree shoppe and knew that it would be the perfect container for this gift. i'm starting a new pattern, again with the fair-isle, so i'll see how those go.

on to the hats. this is the camo jester hat the i did for my nephew. how cute is he? i cast another on for his mom thinking they'd match, but she desired a plain hat. (talked her into the pom pom) i was so glad that she was honest with me (and that i had the good sense to ask her) about what she wanted. i love it when my knit-wear recipients give me direction. there is absolutely nothing worse than making the item of your dreams only to find out that it's their nightmare.

emptying the wheel

now that we're into the new year, i decided i had better get spinning on my fiber exchange. i had a pattern in mind before the exchange and i am thrilled that the fiber i drew and the person who will be wearing my handiwork (totally pun intended). so, that means that i had to empty my bobbins. well, someone had been doing alot of spinning (i don't know how that happened) and it needed to be plied.

behold, yarn... and my puppy. she could not understand why mommy had put the no-no on the floor, right at her level. the red is roving i found at rhinebeck this year. it is long wool (vendor would not be more specific) in the most stunning shade of red. i loved the color and fell hard. the other is sandy long fiber that is beyond lovely. the singles were really spun well and since it's my wheel i can only surmise that i did the spinning. it really is better than i usually spin. now if i don't freak myself out and spin the rest as well.

mittens

it seems i'm finally on a roll with these suckers. that's the thumb of the second mitten. they are truly beautiful! i struggled a bit having never actually done a full sized mitten. i've made a gazillion wee mittens, but none that would fit an adult. i was almost done with the first one when amythefibergoddess saw them and remarked that they seemed small. so small in fact that they would not fit the intended recipient. sooooo, i ripped them back to the cuff, went up a needle sized and loosened up. then i was nutty that they were going to still be too small. i kept trying them on, debating about re-knitting and driving everyone in my house crazy. they all started to run when they saw me put them on for fear i would ask their opinion. i kept going and today they are completed, blocked and drying on the register. i'm still thinking about whipping up another pair on the next larger needle size. the party isn't until next weekend (last christmas gathering) so i would have time to get them done.

ending the year

joan invited a bunch of fiber gals to her home for lunch and ... fiber. there was knitting..

spinning....

even beading!i have not had much time to sit at my wheel and spin. anything. i fell in love again with my wooly addiction. i quickly spun several bobbins and came home eager to spin more. as i looked over my resolutions for last year, and one of them was to try different fibers. any kind of different fibers. i was moderately successful in making that happen. falkland, romney lamb, and even milk. i have several more to try next year. i also want to revisit some that i haven't spun in a while. try my hand at doing them with the skills that i have under my belt. so, onward to the new year.