Look, see?

Not only have I been spinning, but I’ve been plying!

Here’s the very first look of my Merino/Kid Mohair 3-ply yarn in the “Copper Slate” colorway. (Roving from Crown Mountain Farms, of course.) I just love these colors, and the yarn is coming out so nice, too.

Really, though, I am not enjoying plying these days.

First, there the “balance” issue . . . and yes, I took a sample as I spun to get an idea of what it should look like. But it still doesn’t help me figure out whether I’m under- or over-twisting the yarn as I ply. I spin clockwise, so that’s a Z twist. I ply counter-clockwise, so that’s S. But if the yarn twists back on itself with, say, a Z-twist . . . does that mean it’s under-plied or over-plied? (The fact that my brain simply doesn’t seem to want to recognize the difference between Z and S when I look at twisted fibers. I know with my head that they are so named because the slant of the twist mimics that slant in the middle of the letters, and yet, as soon as I squint at the yarn, my brain just can’t picture the correlation. It’s a weird, conceptual thing.)

But, other than that, I’m frustrated with my Lendrum. One, the plying head is hard to treadle. No matter how I adjust the various tensions–the height of the mother-of-all against the wheel, the tension in the brake–treadling is a real effort. But also, the sliding guide/feed that replaces hooks on other-style flyers does NOT stay in place. It keeps twisting around on the arm, or actually moving . . . the tension meant to hold it in place is clearly not tense enough. So, I’ll position it, start (laboriously) treadling, and then . . . suddenly the yarn’s feeding in the wrong place. Sigh.

We won’t even address the issue of the annoying, tensioned lazy kate that, no matter how loose I make the tension, grips the bobbins so that . . . especially when they start getting close to empty . . . the singles are harder to get from the bobbins to the wheel.

But, enough about the problems. The yarn looks beautiful, doesn’t it? (No, I’m not fishing for compliments.) I just can’t make any guarantees about it being balanced. I’m not holding my breath (grin).

Tomorrow, Risa, her twins, and I are going to the Garden State Sheep Breeder’s Association Festival. (A long name for a small festival!) Ina from Jersey Knitter is submitting some of her new spinning into the skein contest.

Chappy, meantime, plans on being bored and sulking for most of tomorrow, while I’m out gallavanting. Poor little guy–he hasn’t had a walk in the last two days because of the rain, and it’s not looking good for tomorrow, either. We’ve got our fingers crossed for the weather, mind you, but either way, since I’ll be out for a good portion of the day . . . it’s not looking promising for a walk tomorrow for poor, lonely little Chappy.

Of course, I’d feel worse for him if he hadn’t gotten himself into trouble this morning. He ran into my parents’ room, jumped up on the bed (which he’s not supposed to do), stole my Dad’s socks, and leaked on the bed. I’m not sure if it was an accident or an intentional thing, but still . . . that’s not a fun way to start the day. So, we’ve got the baby-gate up across the hallway again, and Chappy’s not allowed in their bedroom for a couple days. Tsk, tsk! I mean, really, no marking territory on his grandparents’ bed!

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Another cute little meme–Go here and look through random quotes until you find 5 that you think reflect who you are or what you believe. Repost in your blog

(Although, I may have gotten a little carried away–I couldn’t stop at five, I was having too much fun. And they may not “reflect” me so much as just, well, amuse me.)

If God had really intended men to fly, he’d make it easier to get to the airport.
–George Winters

It took me fifteen years to discover that I had no talent for writing, but I couldn’t give it up because by that time I was too famous.
–Robert Benchley

Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.
–Alfred Hitchcock

I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn’t it.
–Groucho Marx

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.
–William James

Trouble is part of your life, and if you don’t share it, you don’t give the person who loves you a chance to love you enough.
–Dinah Shore

Good order is the foundation of all things.
–Edmund Burke

A cheerful mind is a vigorous mind.
–Jean De la Fontaine

Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand.
–Oprah Winfrey

There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.
–Oscar Levant

Man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them.
–Adlai Stevenson Jr

When I was born I was so surprised I didn’t talk for a year and a half.
–Gracie Allen

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Here’s this week’s contribution to Sundara’s Eye Candy Friday.

I’ve had this little porcelain cottage since high school. Mom and Dad bought it for me in the Great Britain section of Epcot, down in Disney World. We’d gone for just a weekend, the three of us, because Dad had a business trip, and figured it would make a nice break for us from a New Jersey January. Naturally, the day we were supposed to leave, we had a snowstorm, and out flight was delayed. Not only that, I woke up that morning witha fever–the first one I’d had in years and years. (When I told my parents that I had been so cold during the night, they said I should have gotten up and taken some Tylenol. I asked why, they said because of the fever. But, really, this had been the first time since I had been in elementary school that I’d had a fever–how was I supposed to know? When I was little, Mommy took care of these kinds of things!)Anyway, because of the fever, they wouldn’t let me help shovel the driveway clear of all the snow–even though that was the ONE winter that I adored shoveling–and when we finally got to the airport, I fell asleep while Mom and Dad were checking in. I slept on the plane, which is absolutely unheard of for me. Mom and I walked around Disney world in the rain that Friday, while Dad was in his meeting, with me trying to keep warm . . .

The next morning, I woke up feeling fine, but the weather was still pretty miserable. Wet. Damp. Cold. It even felt colder in Florida than it had in New Jersey, although of course, that wasn’t actually true. But we weren’t as bundled up as we would have been at home, either. But we saw Epcot Center, which was still pretty new (there were some exhibits that weren’t even open yet). And my nice parents got me this little souvenir.

I adored these little cottages–I loved the tiny details, as if you could climb right inside. Which, of course, is something I used to imagine all the time . . . I’d sit with it right in front of my eye, picturing what it felt like to walk up to that little front door, to peek into (or out of) the windows, to climb the stairs . . .

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Tags: Eye-Candy Friday by Deb
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My issue of Spin-Off came today, and I really enjoyed reading through it. (Although, I’m going to have to go back to really appreciate the technical aspects of some of the spinning-in-the-fold instructions.)

There are some adorable tea-cosy patterns. Including, especially, my favorite. I may have to add this to The List. There’s a great write up on Cara‘s Spin-Out, too, as well as a tribute to Jane Hyland by Liz. Oh, and an article about those nice Bosworth people…. I do still lust after a Journey Wheel….Nice issue.

Good timing, too, because I needed the incentive. Do you know I have not spun since Saturday?? Tsk tsk tsk.

In fact, that’s where I’m going right now . .

Thank you for your good wishes, too. We appreciate it!

Ooh, and look–I’ve adopted a new puppy! (Chappy picked the name . . . Quiddick was already taken.) Pet him! Give him a biscuit! (Thanks to Shelley over at Shelley’s Book Shelf for letting me know about these.) How cute, huh?

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adopt your own virtual pet!

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Booking Through Thursday

1. Do you tend to read more books written by one gender over the other? If so, which one? Men?
   Or women? I find this kind of interesting, actually. Glancing over my extensive (grin) library, most of my fiction does seem to be written by women. Not to say that the men aren’t represented, but there are more female-written novels than male-written. On the other side of the shelf, though, more of my non-fiction is written by men. I’m not sure why–there’s quite a variety over there, and yet the ladies are under-represented.
2. Is this a deliberate choice? Or just something that kind of happened? It just kind of happened . . . odd, huh? At least about the non-fiction, I think.
3. And (without wanting to get too personal), is this your gender? Well, yes, I am female . . . so the fact that I would connect more to fiction written by women does make a certain amount of sense. But the fact that I have more books about history or biography or dog-training written by men is curious. It’s not like women can’t write incisive history just as well as men, after all! Although almost every craft-book I have is written by a woman, as are the fashion-decorating-etiquette kinds of books.

Tags: Reading by Deb
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Well, it doesn’t look like much of a bag . . . yet . . . but it will. The bottom is done, and I’ve just picked up the stitches around the edge and knitted about three rows. Clearly, there’s still a way to go, but . . . progress, at least.

I also did two, whole rows on my stole . . . exciting, huh? That puts me at row 103.

But then, I got over an inch done on my sock this afternoon, so that I’m only a couple rows away from the heel.

See, I had some extra time this afternoon. I went to the doctor (who prescribed Singulair and an Albuterol inhaler, by the way), and then over to the pharmacy, where there was some kind of computer glitch with my insurance–one scrip was accepted, the other wasn’t. It was sorted out, but . . anyway, they had a chair in the corner of the drugstore, so I sat there and knitted. Kept myself quite entertained, in fact. Now I’ll just keep my fingers crossed . . . allergy medicines I’ve tried in the past have not agreed with me, but my doctor assures me that this one is “different,” so . . . hoping. Skeptical . . . but hoping.

Hey, without going into details, we’re having some problems that may (will?) hit the crisis point within a few months unless something changes . . . there are some plans, but they’re not moving quickly enough and, well . . . if you could say a little prayer, send some helpful vibes our way . . . it would be much appreciated. You know, before things become critical…. Positive thinking can never, ever hurt!

Oh, and some good news? My niece got accepted into her number one college choice! That is so, so exciting! She applied for early-admission, it’s the only school she really wants to go to. In fact, she talks about it the same way I talked about Drew my senior year in high school. That she just knew it was right the minute she saw the campus, it was just what she’d always pictured in a college. Really, she could almost be quoting me . . . I’m so happy for her! Now, its just that pesky little financing issue . . .

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I got this over at Phyl‘s and thought it was cute.

My 10 Names Meme

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: ( pet and current street name) Chappy Birch

2. YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME: (grandfather/grandmother on your moms side,
your favorite candy) Maude Chocolate

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of last name, first three letters of your middle name)
B Ann

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) Yellow Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Ann Denville

6.
YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2
letters of your first name, first 2 letters of mom’s maiden name and
first 3 letters of the town you grew up in.)
Boydefrden

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (“The”, your favorite color, favorite drink) The Yellow Water

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first name of both your grandfathers) Otto Albert

9. FUTURISTIC NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne and the name of your favorite shoes) Stella Merrell

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother/father’s middle name ) Carol Walter

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Dentist again today–an hour and a half for the intermediary step between the temporary crowns last time and the permanent ones in two more weeks, and my mouth is sore. And it didn’t help that the sore teeth in the upper right part of my mouth made my right ear, which has been twinging a bit with the allergy/sinus thing the last few days, decide to jump in and play, too, and start to ache. Sigh.

Luckily, the Advil I took as soon as I got home eventually kicked in. And I laid my sore ear on my hot puppy for a while (hugging a dog is always good therapy, you know). The shower and shampoo helped, too. But still . . . the knitting was not adventurous tonight. The lace was, well, definitely out of the question. The tote bag would have been great, but I’m right about at the point where I need to start the sides . . . but first, I have to be sure the propoprtions of the unfelted bottom are correct, and, well, that required thinking, too. So, I worked on my sock, which is coming along nicely.

Really, I need to write down what I’m doing . . . this pattern has potential.

Have you SEEN the buttons for Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo? (Which now has it’s own site.)

You know, real buttons, as can be ordered over at Cafe Press?

One for the squares for the Bingo cards. And one (even more hilarious) for those playing.

Darn it, Dolores with a lasso almost makes me wish I hadn’t volunteered to be a square . . .

Will Rhinebeck weekend NEVER get here?

Tags: General by Deb
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Here’s the wheel I learned to spin on, my Ashford Kiwi. I got it secondhand on Ebay almost two years ago and am really quite attached to it.

However, the poor thing rarely gets used anymore. I use my Lendrum for just about everything, and I haven’t used the Kiwi for anything at all since last November.

That’s just not fair. It deserves better.

So, what I want to do, is find a new home for this good wheel. I’ve got the wheel–a double-treadle, versatile wheel. Seven bobbins. A basic 2-bobbin lazy kate. A hi-speed “kit,” and a maintenance kit.

New, these would cost about $350.

I’m thinking . . . $300. Maybe $275?

But–here’s the important thing. The big Condition.

I am not willing to pack and ship this. I don’t want to take it apart, and I definitely don’t want to risk shipping damage.

So, that means that whoever buys this wheel has to be somewhere within pick-up distance. Or willing to meet me at a halfway point no more than an hour or so away from me here in northern New Jersey. Or, going to Rhinebeck on Saturday, since I would be willing to tote this to Rhinebeck on the one day I’m going.

What do you think? Anyone want to give this poor, lonely wheel a new home?

Updated 3/31/07: This has been sold. But thank you for your interest!

Tags: Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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September 11, 2001
Never Forget.

[Read more →]

Tags: Uncategorized by Deb
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Here’s a look at my knitted-bag-to-be. This is two strands of Cascade 220, knitted together, on US size 10.5 needles, which feel absolutely HUGE. I put the bobbin of singles in the picture as a size-reference, but I must say, those colors look pretty fabulous together, don’t they? Although, really, the brown in the knitting isn’t quite as coppery as it looks in the photo.

I had planned–well, hoped–to get the rest of my third bobbin of singles spun up today, but that didn’t happen, because I didn’t feel well enough to sit and treadle this afternoon.

Last night, I colored my hair (very necessary), and while working the dye into the back, I got a face-full of dye fumes, which triggered . . . not exactly an asthma attack, but something like. I’ve had a bit of a cough for the last week or so–not nearly as bad as last month, when Chappy was coughing, too–but kind of there. Well, last night, after I did my hair . . . wheezing and whistling.

I couldn’t get to sleep until after I’d used my inhaler (leftover from my lung infection last March), because my lungs were whistling with every breath . . . and I slept fine about 5:15 this morning, when that same noise woke me up. And again around 6:15. And 7:15 . . . and I was just more or less short of breath all morning. (And yes, Norma, I took some Elderberry syrup.) We took Chappy out for a walk this morning, but it was a short, just around the block one.

Of course, instead of being really smart, I then did what I’d wanted to do today–I cleaned my closet. Pulled out my craft stuff, the extra parts to my spinning wheel, books, yarn . . . I vacuumed around inside the closet (it’s amazing the amount of fur that gets in there). Reshuffled things to make better room for my knitting books. Stuff like that. Surprisingly, my lungs were better after that.

But anyway, that was my day. It would have been a lovely day for a good, long walk, but that didn’t happen. I planned on doing some baking. That didn’t happen. I should have cleaned my bedroom, but that didn’t happen, either. (Ironic, I know, that I vacuumed my closet, but not the rug I sit on every night while I type.) And I really wanted to spin, but . . .well, maybe after I finish this post.

Today would also have been Jilly‘s birthday. She would have been 23 (yes, unlikely, I know.) Here’s a picture of the two of us at work however many years ago this was. Our office had a “Stuffed Animal Day,” where people brought in stuffed toys. Well, I brought in Jilly, because “She was the most stuffed animal I knew.” Mom came and picked her up around 10:30, but for a little while, we worked together. (Please note that Jilly brought HER stuffed animal. A little teddy bear named Chewbone.)

Oh–and let me ask those of you who embroider. My Mom is making a wedding gift for some friends and wants to put their names at the bottom. We need an alphabet about 5 stitches tall and relatively narrow, to spell out their names–does anyone have a good one we could use to chart them?

Tags: General, Katy, Jilly, Muppy, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Silver Jewelry, to be exact. My favorite kind.

Especially the Earrings.

  Curvy ones.

  Curly ones.

  Long(ish) ones.

  Short ones.

  And there might be a necklace or two, though I don’t wear them that often. This is one of my favorites, though. “Road sign” charms from Martha’s Vineyard, one with Katy’s name, one with Chappy’s. (There really are advantages to naming your dog for tourist spots.)

  We won’t forget my authentic Boykin Spaniel charm, either, all the way from South Carolina. (Boykins ARE the state dog of South Carolina, you know.)

Thanks, of course, to my Diva Peacock Stole part 1, for modelling. She’s trying to keep herself occupied while she waits for me to finish part 2 . . . which is taking a looooong time.

And, sure, I could have used “Spinning” or “Spindles” or something like that, but I thought this would be more fun!

Tags: ABC-Along by Deb
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Ah, that feels better, now I’ve got that “Must Buy Books!” itch scratched.

Tags: Reading by Deb
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  What’s wrong with this picture?

Yep. Two full bobbins, ready to ply, waiting on my Lazy Kate . . . but the third? It appears to be a bit behind the others . . .

No matter! I separated it out into a bunch of smaller strands of roving in my hat, like I did with the last batch, and I spun on the first piece or two, “to get it started,” last night before I went to bed.

I love the way these singles look. I love the colors (“Copper Slate,” you’ll remember). I have no idea how I’m doing as to yardage, but I’m trying to get as much as I can. Mostly because I want my finished, three-ply yarn to be usable for socks. I did pull off a sample and folded it in thirds to let it twist up on itself, and it looks like it’s in the vicinity of sock yarn!

Of course, with a total of 6 oz of roving, this could make a lot of socks!

My other socks are moving onward, looking beautiful, although I didn’t get much done last night. I was tired after a refreshingly busy day at work, and then flipping pancakes for supper.

I DID start my to-be-felted bag, though. (Garter stitch on big needles was about my speed last night.) I had tossed my swatch in with our weekly load of towels on Thursday and remeasured, and so I’m starting with 50 stitches of double-strands of Cascade 220. I’ll knit this, the bottom, in garter stitch, until it’s a rectangle of sufficient size, and then pick up stitches around the outside and work the body upward in stockinette stitch. In my studies of the original, it doesn’t look like I really need to do any shaping at all–that a rectangular bottom with straight sides should be perfect. We’ll hope so, anyway!

And, oh yes, I’m doing this in the brown and blue–not the magenta. That was really just too pink for my tastes. I’ll just take the look of the finished product on faith, is all…

Here’s what our sky looks like this morning–clear and blue. It’s supposed to be about 80 degrees today–not too hot, which is a plus.

Mom and I are planning on heading to a bookstore. Do you know, I can’t actually remember the last time I was in a bookstore?? You have to realize how horrifying that is for me. Like a knitter who hasn’t been to a yarn shop in months. (Which, come to think of it, I haven’t been, either.) And I think the need is fairly urgent, too, because while we all know I have plenty of books, when I’d finished my current book yesterday and went looking for another . . . I couldn’t find one. I picked up and started four different books over the course of the night last night, and none of them “clicked.” Clearly, the library needs some fresh blood. Because while I am delighted to read, and re-read, and re-read again, just about any of them that I enjoy . . . sometimes, you just need something new! So . . . the bookstore is calling.

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Here’s this week’s contribution to Sundara’s Eye Candy Friday.

A look into my (dusty) cup of pens on my desk….

Brought to you by:

Tags: Eye-Candy Friday by Deb
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Just a couple things.

I finished the first of my two socks. I’d show you more, but I actually have Plans for this pattern, so a peek at the toe is all you’re going to get. Yes, it’s a contrasting color. I even, in fact, used reinforcing thread to give it extra strength (ooh la la!). The main yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in “Indian Summer,” which was gifted to me by Shelley back in April. The contrast? Some Koigu that I had in the closet. I thought the colors looked really well together.

Meanwhile, I’m trudging along on my Peacock Stole Part Two . . . I’ve been working for months and I’m only on row 87 out of, what, 250? As much as I love this pattern, and love the idea of making a rectangular version of the triangular original . . . I’m ready to be done with this now . . . and yet, there’s no end in sight!

Oh! And the roving I showed the other day, that I said I was disappointed in? Teyani (about whose customer service I really had no doubts) offered to exchange it for a ‘darker’ batch, which is great. Pretty though it is, I do so hate being disappointed, don’t you?

Did any of you see this article in Publisher’s Weekly, about the slowing down of the knitting trend? (Huh. Obviously the writer doesn’t know any of us.) Although, actually, I thought it was a fair, well-balanced article, focusing on the slow-down in knitting-book purchases in the last year. Well, sure . . . there just aren’t enough really good, new knitting books. I mean, there have been some great ones this year (the Harlot’s, Wendy’s, Mason-Dixon . . . and I’m eagerly awaiting Eunny’s), but once you have a reasonable knitting library, there’s only so much to buy. (Some, of course, would say that my knitting library is UNreasonable, but, what do they know?)

Also, on an important-to-me note, today would have been Katy‘s birthday. She would have been seven today. I could really use a cupcake, too. Our favorite nickname for her was “Katycakes” and for some reason, it just seems like there should be cake today . . .

Is it strange that I still miss her so much? Lord, look at those eyes she had! Amazing, really–same breed as Chappy, and yet her face looked so different. Not quite so rounded, she had that “triangle” of fur down her nose. She kept her hair neat–no topknot on the top of her head. Fewer curls than Chappy. Oh, she was so pretty . . .

But don’t tell Chappy I said so. He gets just a little jealous when I talk about her….

Tags: Family, General, Katy, Jilly, Muppy, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
15 Comments »

Booking
Through Thursday

1. We asked last week about what draws you to your favorite kind/genre of book. This week, we want to know–how often do you depart from that comfort zone? If you love mysteries, do you ever read fantasy? If you primarily read cookbooks, do you ever read a good romance?
2. How MUCH variety is there in your reading? Do you mostly stick to one type, with just the occasional toe-dip into a different style? Or do you generally read a variety of things, just, maybe more of your favorite style than anything else?
   

I read a little bit of everything, really. Or at least, a little of most kinds of genres–fiction, non-fiction. History. Science. Science Fiction. Biography. Dog training books. Travel. Essays. Books on writing and grammar. Cookbooks. Craft books. But also in fiction, I’ll read fantasy, mystery, literature, historical fiction, contemporary . . . About the only thing I DON’T read is horror/true crime. They keep me up at night. Westerns and books about sports, romances–none of these are favorites, but even those, I’ll read one every few years or so.

I try to stretch my boundaries and read different kinds of books, even if I keep going back to my favorites, my “comfort” reads. But throughout each month, there’s usually a reasonable mix . . . or at least, I try. I pretty much always have at least one history book and one fiction of some kind going at once, but since I zoom through fiction faster than I do through non-fiction, the finished list each month is almost always weighted toward fiction.

Tags: Reading by Deb
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Best Festival Idea Ever: Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo.

Sheer brilliance, as could only be conceived by Debbie aka Stitchy McYarnpants. (I’ll admit, though, that as much as I love Dolores, this is a little more of her than I really needed to see.)

Baring unforeseen disasters (which I do not expect) I know I’m going to Rhinebeck again this year. With Company, if all goes well. Plus one more, if there’s baby-sitting available at home. It was so much fun last year–and it’ll be even more fun now that I know how to get there. (Piece of advice–if you print the directions off of the Rhinebeck site’s page–make sure everything fits on your paper, and doesn’t scroll way off to some far-distant right-margin in never-never land. Those directions are much more difficult to follow.)

Now, my sweater that I finished the other day . . . I’m rethinking the sleeves. I put it on this morning, thinking I might wear it to work . . . although since the day warmed up, I’m just as glad I didn’t. But the point is that I’m still not happy with the way they look. I like that “diamond” from the side, I really do, but from the front, the downward-pointing sleeve tip is just . . . odd. So now I’m thinking about taking the sleeves out and just leaving the ribbing at the armhole.

So that, instead of this, it would look more like this:

(Well, you know, something like that but with better editing.)

Yeah . . . I think I’m definitely leaning toward doing this . . . It’s either that or rip out a certain amount of the blue to get rid of that little “pooch” and make the finished edging horizontal when worn. But . . . yeah. I like the sleeve, I do, and yet . . . I don’t like wearing it, and darn it, I WANT to wear this sweater!

Oh, and even though Rhinebeck is getting closer and the excitement ist starting to ramp up, for those of you in New Jersey, let me tell you (if you don’t know) that there’s the Garden State Sheep Breeder’s festival down near Flemington in two weeks. Risa, the twins, and I are going. It sounds small and sweet and fun–not huge, like Rhinebeck. Anyone else planning on going??

A friend sent me pictures today of her daughter’s first day of kindergarten. Her daughter was born just a few days before Chappy . . . which made me realize. If he were a human little boy, he’d be starting school this week! That just seems so weird….

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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Because, naturally, I needed more roving!

We have here 8 oz of Merino Superwash in “The Beat Goes On” and 8 oz in “Big Yellow Taxi.” And then 8 oz of Corridale Pencil roving in “Crown Jewels.”

I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed in the first one. It’s got a lot more white in it than in the picture on the website. (The second one does, too, but I like it just fine.) And I love the pencil roving–the colors are gorgeous, and just what I expected. Still, it’s lovely roving, isn’t it?

And then, for a small, practical thing of great beauty–what about this tapestry needle, huh? Isn’t it just lovely? So much more elegant for weaving in ends than the plastic Susan Bates needle I usually use.

Now, elsewhere in spinning, I finished my first bobbin of merino/mohair in Copper Slate, which is just so, so pretty. I adore the colors and am really happy with the way it’s spinning up. The plan, again, is to spin up 6 oz and then triple-ply them into something resembling sock yarn, which is why I’m spinning as finely as I reasonably can. And really . . . sooo pretty.

Thank you all for your help (so far) with the felting questions. I don’t think I’d made it clear yesterday that, when I mentioned the pocket for the bag frame, that I didn’t mean an actual pocket–but rather, the pocket/sleeve through which I’ll be threading the satchel frame when the bag is done. I mentioned to Jessalu that what I really needed was something that I could put in there to prevent it from felting closed, but which would be easy to pull out AND (most important) would be washing machine-friendly. She suggested a rubber hose, which really, sounds just about perfect.

Then Diane mentioned re-felting the swatch in the washing machine, to make sure the felting level would be the same as I’ll get in the finished product . . . which, I have to agree, is excellent advice. (The only reason I didn’t do that yesterday was that I just couldn’t bring myself to use that much hot water for a tiny little rectangular swatch, and we just don’t do any of our laundry with such hot water.) I’ll see what I can do, though . . . although that would definitely put a massive delay in my getting started. Chances are, I wouldn’t get to do that until the weekend, and well, I’d like to start the bag tonight!

And–head on over to Unraveling and make a donation to Celia’s Asthma Walk. (You know, really, Chris‘s regular announcements of various charity drives and contests is very handy.)

Lastly, any geeky, sci-fi-loving bloggers out there–you have to check out this cartoon. The punchline just cracks me up–I’ve never had that exact reason, of course, but I certainly have sent people to my blog and told them to scroll down past Chappy and knitting pictures to get to whatever I’m directing them there for . . . anyway, I thought it was funny. And, I got there through the blog of Steve Miller, co-author of the Liaden books I love so much. Sharon Lee has one, too. That’s pretty cool all by itself.

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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So, I mentioned last month my intention to try to recreate my beloved Planet Dog satchel as a knitted bag, despite my complete inexperience with felting. (Because, well, where would the fun be without some added danger.)

I’ve started smartly. I’m using Cascade 220 from my stash, which I know felts well. I’ve even made two swatches–one in the greenish-brown which I bought last Spring, which I then decided was too “flat” a color, and then made another one with a strand of that with a strand of magenta, which I also had in my stash.

I marked off 20 stitches and 20 rows with some thread, as detailed in “Felted Knits” and then I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed the swatch in a sink of very hot water, and remeasured the whole thing.

So far, so good, right? Except . . . Well, the first thing I can tell you is that I do NOT like felting by hand. Too hot and tedious.

The second thing is that I don’t like the magenta. I mean, the felted swatch looks fine, and all, but it’s far too pink for my taste. I’d rather see two parts brown to one part magenta, at the least . . . 50/50 is way too much. But that’s okay, I have seven skeins of a really lovely blue Cascade that I bought ages ago for Mason-Dixon’s Perfect Sweater. I adore the color, but that pattern doesn’t seem to be upcoming any time soon, so . . . I think I’ll substitute that.

Still . . . all well and good, so long as I don’t run out of the blue. This is what swatching is for!

But now we come to the questions . . . things that I just don’t know enough about since I have never made a felted bag before.

1. Do I sew the pieces together before or after felting? I mean, I plan on needing as few pieces as possible, and heck, isn’t this the kind of thing circular knitting is for? But there will still be things like handles and pockets, even if the basic structure of the bag is done by knitting needle.
2. I’m going to need pockets for the satchel frame. Can I felt the bag with those pockets already there? Or will they felt closed, instead of remaining a tube?
3. Will shaping details like a purl-row to mark a direction change translate to the felted fabric? Or just disappear into the fabric like all the regular stitches?
4. Ideally, I’d like to knit as much of this bag in one piece as is possible, and then just felt the whole thing. But, without any real felting experience, I don’t know . . . is it better to assemble things at the end, say, with a sewing machine, than it is to mattress stitch seams with yarn and then felt everything together for added strength?

Anyway . . . things to ponder, right?

Elsewhere, thank you, to all of you who suggested Replacements.com and mentioned their matching service. I now know that my Grandmother’s dishes are Noritake pattern N898, discontinued approximately 1936. That’s very cool–thank you!

Also, today being Labor Day, the Summer of Stash is over. I’m proud to report that the only yarn I bought during the summer was a tiny bit of sock yarn, which really, was Liz’s fault. (I mean, it would have been RUDE of me not to buy yarn at her local shop, right??) There was the Sundara Petals Collection yarn, but since that was part of a club I’d joined well before SOS began, that didn’t count. Nor did the two skeins of Suede I bought to make baby booties, because, well, they were for a gift, I declared them upfront as possible exceptions, and anyway, I refuse to feel guilty about them. All of which means that I consider myself free to take advantage of my promised-reward: one of the many St*rmore kits I’ve been lusting after. I do love the Elizabeth I sweater that Cate got me longing for, and I have to say, that Grant Avenue vest has been calling my name for a long, long time. Of course, there’s also the thought of hand-dyed silk lace yarn from Sundara, which frankly, I’d also love to have….

We’ve been really lucky with the weather this weekend. Saturday was as wet and miserable as the forecasts had said, but yesterday and today? Really quite nice. We took Chappy out for a nice, long walk this morning and it was delightful. 70 degrees, mostly sunny, a nice breeze. Very nice, indeed. Especially since the forecasts had been predicting that the whole weekend would be like Saturday was. So much nicer this way! And Chappy has been able to enjoy that rarest of things, a GOOD Monday. Now, if only my teeth would stop hurting . . . stupid temporary crowns . . . grumble, grumble . .

Tags: General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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This was ALL the yarn I had left in my skein.

Just barely enough to thread onto a needle to weave the ends in.

Granted, I have another, untouched skein (one in each color, in fact), but you understand . . . it’s the principle of the thing. Having to blend a new skein of yarn solely for the purposes of binding off the sleeve? That’s just wrong. Wrongwrongwrong. On so many levels.

But, you realize what this means, right?

Yep. My sweater is done.

You’ll have to forgive the mediocre picture, but this way you can see the nifty diamond shape the sleeves make when worn. They have a strange little “pouch” to them when lying flat . . . which, I admit, I would have avoided if I had known ahead of time. But I consider the downward diagonal to be a serendipitous occurence. I like the sleeves.

The colors look pretty accurate, too–the green looks green and not yellow, so that’s a plus.

I like the way this came out. I like the stripes (Shelley’s idea, originally), and I like that I staggered them in different thicknesses instead of doing regular stripes. I like the 5×2 rib that I opted to do the body in–it adds a little heft to the fabric, without making it too clingy. It was also interesting enough to knit that it didn’t feel as endless as stockinette stitch sometimes does. I shaped the shoulders and the sleeves with shortrows . . . I suppose I could have used a little more shaping at the shoulder, but, then, they mostly look odd in this picture because of the ribbing on the sleeves.

The reason the sleeves look so strange in when it’s unworn is that I knitted them in 2×2 ribbing, mostly because when I picked up all the stitches around the armhole, it wasn’t divisible by 7. It’s a tghter rib than 5×2, so the sleeves “gather in” more than the fabric of the body does, although worn, they fit and “match” just fine.

The specs again, such as they are: knitted in Karabella Aurora8/Aurora Melange yarn, in my very own design.

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It’s been a lovely family day, here. Lots of silliness and laughter–and playing. Chappy’s toys were very popular (as was he). Even my sister got in on the game–a goal-scoring game where she tried to get the soft frisbee past my nephew into the dining room, and he tried to get it past her into the living room. Chappy mostly stayed on the outskirts of the game, but every now and again, he would jump in to grab the toy (it is HIS, after all). At one point, he saved the toy and pranced around with it in his mouth, head held high, tail going a mile a minute, just clearly so darn pleased with himself.

Really, they were all very entertaining.

The food was good, too. Mom broiled some chicken which came out nice and juicy and very tasty. I made potato salad, which is always a hit with my family. (Personally, I only like potato salad when it’s freshly made, and really only like my own, and once or twice a year is plenty. But even mine, once it’s passed 24 hours or so . . . blech.) I also made two desserts–an end-of-summer one and a beginning-of-fall one.

The summer dessert (illustrated here) is a frozen lemon pie. Now, the inspiration for this came from my 1999 trip to London, when my friend and I ate at one specific pub and had a dessert that tasted like–and had the texture of–a frozen lemon meringue pie. Delicious. (In fact, we made a point of eating at that pub twice, just so we could get the pie again.) I’ve wanted to recreatre it ever since, but had no idea how to get that meringue-like texture in an ice cream. But then, the cookbook I got last month had a recipe for lemon-curd ice cream AND one for a caramel semifreddo which got its texture from beaten eggs, rather than air churned into the mixture as it freezes. Hmmm . . . . So, I made a crust out of crushed ginger snaps, made the lemon curd ice cream, and then made the semifreddo with a couple of adjustments. (No caramel, and instead of using two eggs used the 4 egg whites left over from the lemon curd.) The result? Almost perfect. I poured the lemon curd ice cream base directly into the pie shell instead of churning it in the ice cream maker first, and so it ended up with big ice crystals–not as creamy as it should have been, but still . . . the flavor was great, the idea worked, and so far as my memory serves, it’s darn close to the original. (Granted, it’s 7 years since I tasted the original, but . . . maybe that’s not a bad thing, huh?)

Oh, and the other dessert was an applesauce cake–the recipe from the Joy of Cooking, and which has been a family favorite for about twenty years now. And which remains about the ONLY way I like raisins at all.

  Lastly, take a look at the picture they gave my mother. The drawing was done by my niece–that’s her in the front, and Ocean Park on Martha’s Vineyard in the background. The frame was assembled as kind of a family project. Isn’t it wonderful? I can knit and all just fine, but I cannot draw a jot . . . gotta admire this kind of talent . . .

Okay . . . very tired now. It’s been a full day (grin). And, oh, you should see poor Chappy . . . he’s doing his rug imitation–as flat out on the floor as a dog possibly can be. Happy, but exhausted!

Tags: Baking, Family, Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning by Deb
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This is as close to the sky as I’m going to get today. It’s been raining steadily all day and shows no signs of letting up. It’s gray. It’s damp. It’s blah. The only bright spot is that I don’t have to go out in it and that Chappy and I are together.

And, oh yes, it gave me a reason to put on a pair of my handknit wool socks for the first time in months.

Still, I’ve been productive. I’ve got the desserts for tomorrow finished and boiled the potatoes for salad. I cleaned my bathroom and dusted my bedroom. I did some filing. I even found time to finish my book (“Sense and Sensibility”)–which means that so far I’ve finished two books this month . . . already! (grin–I don’t expect that to keep up.)

Now–I’m going to go, make some tea, and sit with Chappy and my new, current book. Maybe pull my knitting out of the bag . . . or not. Maybe get some spinning done . . . but except for making some supper later, I don’t plan on doing any more WORK today.

It’s just too darn gray . . .

Tags: General, Sky, Weather by Deb
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