BookBookBook

As a huge fan of the Yarn Harlot, I was very excited to go to Barnes and Noble last night and find this:

Stephanie has written about how overwhelming it feels to suddenly be a published author. I can tell you, I don't know her except for her blog, but I feel exactly the same way for her. What a wonderful accomplishment--congratulations, Stephanie, we hope you come to Oklahoma City on your bookbookbook tour!

This week has been taken up with a new challenge--a toe-up sock. Although I've completed a few pair of socks, I've never tried it from the toe up. Seeing some of the results of the Six-Sock Knitalong, I thought I'd try it. I have a few skeins of Koigu that have been waiting patiently for me, so that made it an even greater temptation.

I started by looking at knitty.com's article, Tiptop Toes, by Wendy Johnson. Wendy does a great job of explaining several different ways to cast on a toe. I chose the last one, using waste yarn to get started, and I must say it is pretty easy. But, of course, I have other challenges.

I'm using Size 1 needles, and since I tend to knit socks a little tight, it was only a matter of time before I snapped one of my pretty new Brittany birch needles. However, a quick trip to the SWAK website, and I had a new pair the next day. Then I found out that Brittany has a five-year warranty to replace broken needles! Since I'd had these less than five days, I definitely qualified for a replacement. One e-mail later, and a replacement needle will soon be on its way.

In the meantime, I tried knitting with a taped needle--doesn't really work. Every time I got to that needle, I had to move all the stitches to a good needle before I could knit them. This slowed me down considerably. Add not being happy with how the toe started out, plus one try with Size 2 needles, and I have started this one sock at least four times! This is a good way, however, to learn the new cast on--I think I could do it now in my sleep!

I think this one is a keeper (finally!). I'm trying to knit a little looser, and so far so good:

There's a little dimple on the right side, but I can handle that. It looks a litle pointy, but I'm going to keep on and see what happens. I mean, what else could happen except I frog it a fifth time!

As for the Koigu, of course I love it. This colorway reminds me of summer roses. (Yes, for those of you smart enough to keep track, this is how far I've gotten after four days' knitting--I'm slow, get over it.)

This weekend--spinning!!!

Weekend Update

Well, my poor Cowboys played their damnedest Thursday night, but they lost by one point. They have nothing to be upset about--they played very well. Looks like Coach Sutton is retiring, too. All in all, not the happiest day for us OSU folks, but we always have next year.

I watched the game while I worked on my Cashmerino scarf. It's almost finished, but I'm not sure how much farther I can go with what yarn I have left. So I spent the entire game knitting and frogging--I think I did it at least two, maybe three times. I am determined not to waste an inch of this yarn, so of course I'm going to frog it so many times that I may never finish it! The knitting did keep me from pacing the floor, however--I tend to do this when I'm really into a game. I even managed to keep the noise down to a respectable level, even though Maggie didn't agree--she spent most of the game asleep in the bedroom. (She doesn't like it when I yell.) At least she wasn't hiding in the closet like she does sometimes!

Saturday was bitter cold here, in the 40s but it felt a LOT colder. I even turned the heat back on for a while. Today seems to be somewhat warmer, and the sun has come out, but I just can't seem to get warm.

I did spin some more on my Perendale that I started two weeks ago--I would like to get one bobbin off the wheel today if I can. It's interesting--this fiber in unspun form is very bright and colorful, but the spinning has taken some of the brightness out of it. I think that the navajo plying will help, but it's always a surprise to see how my yarn will turn out. One of the extra benefits of spinning, I suppose . . . .

I don't have any fibery photos today, but I will share this one with you--I think it's so cute!

And now, I'm off to clean up the kitchen and make up the bed--yippee!

It's almost Friday . . .

and I still don't have a whole lot to show for it. Actually, this is just a quick note before I sit down and watch the basketball games. I can use the excuse that I can't really concentrate on anything when I'm watching a game, but otherwise--I have no excuse.

I have been working on some UFOs--I am almost finished with a pretty red cabled scarf made of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino. I'll post a photo later.

And now, I'm off to the couch!

Go Pokes!!!

Oh, and one more thing--isn't this cute:

go here: Spell with Flickr

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa . . . .

(through my fault,
through my fault,
through my most grievous fault . . . .)

Man, do I ever feel like I need to go to confession!

Missy and I went to SWAK on Saturday. Of course, that meant that I also had to go to Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and Border's, but I swear this is all her fault--she got me started . . . .

Now, I have learned over the last few years that restraint is the best way to go in any situation in which I am involved--it's just easier that way. But this weekend, for some reason, I forgot the meaning of the word, as you will see by the following photos. I'm posting these all at once instead of rationing them out over the next few days as a sort of self-inflicted punishment.

First, I kinda went nuts with the yarn--can you tell? This is a lot for me. The three on the left are for hats and a headband (yes, I know it's almost April, but this is Oklahoma--I can guarantee you that we will have at least one more hard freeze before Spring actually, well, springs!). The middle yarns are for socks, except the middle one--SWAK only had one skein, so it may end up being fingerless gloves. The yarn on the right, I swear, has been fated to come home with me for six months. It's Wool in the Woods Twin Twist (92% wool, 8% nylon) in the color "Thief in the Night" (what a cool name!). I have been lusting over this for months, and it was finally on sale, so I bought the last two skeins. It's fated to be toe-up socks. And, of course, I had to buy needles--sizes 0 and 1 for socks, mittens, etc. I also bought a pair of size 15 bamboo needles to use with the bulky yarns.


Then I fell in love with this:


This is Jagger Spun, lace weight, 50% Chinese Tussah silk and 50% Merino wool. The color is "Cinnabar." The color really isn't very good in this photo--think more like cinamon red hots. I want to make a shawl out of this, but I probably will wait to work on it this summer when it's hot, so I have a while to make up my mind as to what pattern to use. Isn't it pretty--I just love it!

Then, I had to buy books. I love books--I have a hard time saying no to any book. But look at these:


I've been wanting all of these for a while, and imagine--finding them all in one day--it was just meant to be. The "Yarns to Dye For" book is really interesting. There are some cute ideas in there--I love the watermelon-patterned yarn they create! The "Color in Spinning" book is wonderful. I don't think anything's been left out. It may take me months to get my head wrapped around all the concepts, but it looks like a great reference book. Since I need a lot of help with color, I think it's definitely worth having.

I also bought two Fiber Trends patterns--the "Sheep Shawl" and the "Paws to Remember" scarf. The "Paws to Remember" is so cute--the border is little doggie paws! I may spin some yarn for that one.

And then, there was this, the only thing I had really planned to buy:


I am actually more excited over having my very own ball winder than any of the other stuff I bought--how sad is that?!?!?! (Terri--thanks again for the Christmas present!)

So, as you can see, I've been very, very bad. However, if you consider that we hadn't been to SWAK since at least December, I guess it could have been worse.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go practice some restraint . . . .

Oh, yeah--how 'bout them Cowboys? We're goin' to the Sweet 16!!

Friday Cat Blogging!!!

Since there hasn't been much progress on the knitting/spinning front this week, I present the first of what will be occasional Friday Cat Blogging:



These two beautiful girls are Molly (top) and Princess. They were rescues from the city animal shelter. They, along with their baby sister Abby, were the lights of my life for many, many years. They are both gone now, but I miss them all the time, especially every time I see this picture.

On a happier note, my Cowpokes beat Southeast Louisiana this afternoon 63-50. They move on to play #7 seed Southern Illinois on Sunday.

RIDE 'EM COWBOYS!!!
And on an even happier note, Missy and I are headed to Guthrie tomorrow to SWAK--look out, here we come!!!

My first handspun project - COMPLETED!!

These mittens were made with the first yarn I made on my Christmas giftto myself, my Babe Starter Wheel! They are also the first mittens I have ever made. The pattern is from the Ann Budd book "The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns." I think they turned out relatively well, considering that my yarn had some consistency issues. The right mitten is the first one I knitted, and it's a little bit large on my hand; the second one fits better (I think the yarn was a tad bit smaller ). You can tell by comparing thumbs that something happened there, and I'm not too happy with the way the tops came out. The pattern tells you to pull the stitches off the needles, thread the yarn through them, and pull tight. This makes no sense to me--wouldn't that leave a hole that you have to sew up later? So I kitchener stitched them together. I think I would rather have a rounded top of some kind. They are a little too long, so I may end up frogging the tops and redoing them at a later date. However, right now I just like looking at them--I'm very proud!

I forgot to mention--the fiber is from Copper Moose, some Colonial wool in a color called "Ruby Red."

Not much on the spinning front to show. I started working on more of the Perendale Saturday--I needed something bright to play with. I didn't get very far, but I plan on working on it more this week. I just don't have a lot of energy right now--I came home with a migraine yesterday, and the weather's absolutely lousy (Saturday - 83 degrees and beautiful; Tuesday - 41 degrees, wind, and rain), so I've got the blahs.

However, there was good news this weekend--March Madness, baby! My alma mater, Oklahoma State, won the Big 12 Championship and is ranked #2 in the Albuquerque bracket!!!

GO POKES!!!

TGIF!!!!

I think Maggie had a party while I was at work today. I left the office a little early (oh, the joys of your boss being out of the country!), ran a couple of errands, and made it home about 4 pm to find my jacket, the couch cushions, and a shirt of mine on the floor, a collapsible chair knocked out of its spot, and the cushion from the computer chair on the floor as well. Now, this last item means only one thing--Maggie has been looking at doggie porn again. I have explained to her how just a little doggie porn can put a sweet, defenseless pooch like herself on the road to ruin, but I just can't get her to understand.

Why, oh why must we suffer this scourge upon our society? Please--help stamp out doggie porn--the puppy you save may be your own!



On the other hand, I scored a real deal at CVS--FOUR, count 'em, FOUR bags of Reese's miniature Easter eggs--for the price of TWO!!! I guess this makes up for not eating any last year while I was on South Beach (diet--who, me?)

Have a great weekend!

A lazy day at home . . . .

Here's the result from the Shetland Morrit--about 54 yards. This can't possibly be right, but if one-half ounce made 54 yards, 16 ounces would make 1,728 yards--yikes!!! I have more of this fiber for a shawl ala WendyKnits (see December 2005 archives), but I definitely want a thicker yarn, so I'm on to the next experiment--the fiber at the top is Jacob top, and I'm spinning it on the same spindle but much looser and thicker. I'm hoping for closer to a worsted weight yarn.

Of course, I'll be spinning the yarn for the shawl on my wheel, but I just can't stop playing with my new spindle--it's soooo much fun!

Oops--I'm off to take the last cupcakes out of the oven (does it count if you drop one in the sink? I'm just asking)!!!

And THIS--this is my beautiful new American Beauty spindle made by CopperMoose (Vermont Spindle Company). Isn't she beautiful? I'm think I'm in love . . . .

Here's my latest project--1/2 ounce of Shetland Morrit from a sample pack from Woodland Woolworks. I was going to ply this tonight, but I've spent too much time on my blog--maybe tomorrow night.

Here's the result! Not too bad for my first try at Navajo plying . . . I think I will use most of the Perendale for socks at some point.

These are some rovings I bought from kiwicrafter on eBay--aren't they beautiful? It's handdyed Perendale from New Zealand (except for the dark blue on the bottom--that's Corriedale, I think). I've spun the middle one on the top row. It really came out pretty well, seeing as I was pretty clueless as to what I was doing.

Maggie's favorite coat!

Hi there!

This is a test to see if blogging is something I want to pursue. I'm not sure what will happen, but I'm going to try!

(PS--Missy--are you happy now?!?!?)