May 30, 2008
Back To Basics
Life has a funny way of getting in my way. I look at the things everyone around me accomplishes in a day and I'm in awe. How do you do it? And then you add kids to the mix and I'm blown away. I basically manage to get myself to work and home and once in awhile I cook dinner. I make sure I watch General Hospital every day, and usually knit a bit while I'm at it. Otherwise, I have no idea what happens to my day. I guess I shouldn't say that because I do karate 2 nights a weeks and I work at the yarn store on Wednesday nights, but what about all the other things I like to do? What about that running I've been meaning to start and the spinning I've neglected? Those sewing patterns I have plans for? One good thing about summer is that most of the tv shows I watch are in reruns, so maybe if I don't dedicate myself quite so much to watching tv, I can find the time to do a few of the things on my To Do List. Maybe.
In an attempt to spin a bit more, I took my spindle and some pretty pink roving to my office.
I thought I might be able to find 5 or 10 minutes a day to spin a little on the spindle. And the added benefit is that it's right there and so springy and pretty, maybe I'll be inspired. I also picked out some bright roving from the stash to spin on my wheel. The alpaca just isn't working for me, so I think I'm going to try something else and see how it works.
I always enjoy my time spent spinning, but I just need to make time for it. Sigh, the story of my life.
I've decided to try running again. I really need to add some cardio exercise to my karate workouts - which I should be doing more than I do. I found a good basic plan on Runner's World. Or at least it looks good to my uneducated eye. I think I'll try to find a 5K in the area in a month or so to give me some motivation to stick with it. I know my dog would like it if I'd take him for a run a couple of times a week. And I would like it if I could lose a few inches - so I just need to figure out how to translate that unhappiness with my body to stick-to-itness (and I totally just made up that word). Maybe yaiAnn can give some pointers?? She just finished the Brazilian Ironman - talk about sticking to it...
And to continue with the "basics" theme, I've been reading In Defense of Food and I'm finding it very interesting. I'll keep you posted as I work my way through the book. A few friends have read this book and had great things to say, and it is an easy read even though I've been reading it before I go to sleep and I keep falling asleep while reading. I don't think that is a reflection on the interest of the book, rather just my inability to stay awake lately.
It's Friday afternoon and I'm headed home for the weekend. Hopefully it will be really productive and I'll feel better about how much I get done (or don't get done) by this time next week. Have a great weekend of your own.
Steph
Posted by Stephanie at 3:53 PM | Comments (5)July 9, 2007
Where Does The Time Go?
I had drug school again for 10 days the week before last and the beginning of last week and let me tell you, being out of the office that much makes for an interesting return to work - even if you only work part-time! The good news is that I learned A LOT at drug class. I can honestly tell you that I've led a sheltered life. I didn't even know a lot of that stuff existed. And now that I know I'm not sure I'm better off. Oh well, what can you do. Besides drug school I've been busy. I'm not exactly sure what I've been doing, but I've managed to fill up the hours of the day.
I've been knitting on the Undulating Rib socks. The first one has been done for a week or so.
The second one is about 4 inches into the leg. I need to get these socks done by the 19th so my mom can take them to my sister when she goes to visit. I'm going to have to stop messing around if that's going to happen.
I've also been spinning! Shocking, I know. I actually pulled out my spindle and have set it in the living room. When I have a minute I pick it up and spin a bit. Thanks Carole for the great suggestion!
I've also been sewing. In fact, I may be a bit obsessed with sewing right now. Spinnerella will be happy to know that I've made 3 pairs of pajama pants for Christmas gifts. I still have one pair to make, but I'm quite pleased with myself on that front. So, as a reward I bought some patterns and fabric for projects for myself. First up is the simple a-line skirt from hotpatterns.com. I ordered fabric from Gorgeous Fabrics (fabulous stuff and wonderful customer service!), but it isn't here yet. In an effort to get a skirt that actually fits me that I like, I did what everyone is always telling me I should do, and I made a muslin.
Ok, so that's actually a really cool thing. I ended up taking in the hips just a bit - taking out a little bit of the curve and it's a lot easier to do that on fabric you don't care about rather than on the expensive stuff you really like. Go figure. The "real" fabric should be here today or tomorrow and I'm ready as soon as I can wash it. I'll let you know how it turns out. And depending on the outcome of this project, I have plans for a dress next. Oh, and the lady at the quilt store gave me a dress form. For Free! They had it in their basement and weren't using it! I had to wash the cover because it was really dirty from years in storage and the cover shrunk, so I need to figure out something else for a cover because it's really hard to get things on and off it with the t-shirt I put on it. I also need to figure out a way to pad it just a bit. It's perfect in some measurements but an inch or so too small in the hips and the bust. Anyway, it works pretty great for free.
Happy Monday.
Posted by Stephanie at 6:47 AM | Comments (15)May 6, 2007
Baking, Spinning, Knitting, & A Job!
You know, I really meant to be better. But posting to your blog is one of those habits that it's easy to get out of the habit of. Sort of like knitting or spinning or well, just about anything that we do in our lives. It isn't that I haven't been doing a lot of things that deserve some blog-time, but I didn't make time to talk about them. The good news - and I mean really good - is that I finally got a job and I start tomorrow! As much as I've enjoyed being a complete slug, I'm really excited about having a job again. It's only part-time, but there's a good chance it will work into full time in the fall. So, for now I'm working for the city doing prosecution work. I'll be the one prosecuting traffic offenses and dui's, stuff like that. It's from 8 to noon every day. That means I have my afternoons free to knit, spin, work in my garden (more on that at a later date), bake, and maybe even ride the horses once in awhile. I'm nervous. I didn't think I would be because it's a really small office and I really liked the girls that work there, but it's Sunday night and I need to think about what I'm going to wear and what I need to take with me, and I'm nervous. I imagine things will be fine about 15 minutes after I get there, but I'm just going to have to be nervous until then.
Baking has always been one of things that I love to do. I find that it's a great way to relieve stress. It's kind of like knitting - you take a bunch of ingredients and mix it all together and when you're done you end up with something that makes you happy. I'm lucky my husband likes to eat baked goods (and has the metabolism to handle it). Lately I've been doing A LOT of bread. I joined A Year In Bread, which is probably when the desire to improve my skills started. Since then I've been baking up a storm and I think I might be getting pretty good at it. I've made Farmgirl's Oatmeal Toasting Bread a couple of times and it's been a big hit with everyone I've given a loaf too.
Next time I make this bread I think I'll make a couple of regular loafs and the third I might make the cinnamon swirl version from Kitchen Mage. I love this bread - it's moist and yummy and it freezes great!
Yesterday was sourdough bread day. I made sourdough bread a couple of weeks ago and it was terrible - blah and yucky. I don't know that it was anything I did or it might have just been the recipe. So, yesterday I made the sourdough bread from How To Be A Domestic Goddess - with a few modifications.
I didn't add the yeast the recipe called for, but just relied on the wild yeast in the sourdough starter. I also let it rest for 20 minutes before I added the salt (as Farmgirl Susan recommends). This bread is really good and I'm quite happy with it (and I'm impressed that I could make something that tastes this good). It's nice and moist with just the right amount of "sour." I'd like to get a good bread cookbook, but there are so many that it's hard to decide. I guess for now I'll just continue on with the recipes and cookbooks I have (and it isn't like I don't have a whole lot of them) and see if I can get better at this bread business.
My major knitting project lately has been Butterfly (yes, I know - exciting!).
I was really excited because I thought I was almost at the point of starting the armhole steeks and for some reason that milestone seemed important. Then last night I remembered that while I'm knitting the petite size (yeah, who would have thought I'd ever be petite) for the width, I was supposed to be knitting the medium size for length (or a combination of the petite and medium - it's complicated). That means that rather than starting the armhole steeks at 26cm, I need 31cm. I know, it doesn't seem like a lot, but it is! The good news is that it's still fun, which I think is kinda the point.
And the miracles just keep happening here at chez Unwind. Yesterday, I sat down at my spinning wheel! I know, shocking. I tried spinning the alpaca over the fold and it worked.
It's slow going, but I seem to be having an easier time making even singles. And once again, it was fun! I probably spun for 4 hours and I put it away feeling good about it, so I think I'll have an easier time making time again (maybe even on Friday!)
I hope that as I get back into the swing of steady employment, my old blogging habits will resurface. I miss you guys when I hole up and do my hermit thing, so I'll at least let you know how the new job's going this week. Thanks for sticking with me through what can only be described as a troubling time in my life. I don't know what I'd do without friends like you.
Edited to add: There seems to be some sort of problem with my comments. I sent Living Dot a help ticket and they say they've forwarded it to the appropriate department (whatever that means). I'm hopeful that they'll get it fixed asap. In the meantime, if you can't comment, send me an e-mail - I love to hear from you guys. It's fixed!
Posted by Stephanie at 6:40 PM | Comments (13)February 12, 2007
Coopworth
The never-ending blue coopworth is finally done. I had hoped to ply it during the week, but I didn't get to it until Friday night and it took me a couple of hours on Saturday to finish it up.
While I didn't enjoy spinning this fiber, I am quite pleased with the overall result. It is fairly even and I'd say about sport weight.
I tried to spin this fiber woolen, which creates some challenges, but overall plying it went better than I could have expected. The finished yarn is scratchy, so I'm not sure what it will become, but it's in the stash closet and the right project will come to me one day. The Friday Night Spinners is really working for me. Even if I don't spin at all during the week, I make time to spin on Friday nights and I'm actually making progress on my spinning. I told you before that I have some camel colored alpaca (and a little bit of dark brown - yum), but I also have some Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sheep To Shoe that I won from Wendy. Which one do you guys think I should spin next?
Posted by Stephanie at 5:02 PM | Comments (14)February 5, 2007
Time For A Change
How was your weekend? Mine was nice, despite the cold weather. I got some crafting done and I baked up a storm. I haven't baked in a long time and I'd forgotten how relaxing it was and how satisfying. Aside from the baking I spun on Friday night - I finally finished spinning the coopworth and I'm going to try to ply it today. I'm anxious to see how it turns out and to move on to something else. I'd show you a picture, but it looks just like the last time I showed you a picture, with just more on the bobbin.
I also did some sewing last week. I joined Holiday Headstart and then promptly didn't do my January project. However, I did manage to finish the pajama pants by February 2nd, so I'm counting that as close enough.
Project Details:
Pattern: Wide-Leg Lounge Pants from Amy Butler's In Stitches
Fabric: Some blue cotton I bought last summer to use for a dress that never materialized. I had enough for the pants and my sister likes blue, so I thought I might as well use it.
Modifications: I didn't add the trim on the bottom because I didn't have any and my sister likes plain things so I wasn't too worried about it. Now that they're done, I'm glad I didn't add trim because the fabric is pretty busy and I think the trim would have been distracting. I also used ribbon for the drawstring rather than making a cord out of the fabric. I thought sewing the fabric into a 3/8" cord would be a major pain in the ass, but I also thought the ribbon looked nice and was easier to tie.
These pants were a simple project, but very cute in the end. I tried hard to make everything look really professional - I even finished the seams. Honestly, I wasn't sure about the Holiday Headstart thing, but now that I've done one project, I really see the wisdom. I'm already thinking about what I can do for February. I like those pants so much, everyone might be getting pajama pants for Christmas.
In life news, I've been holding out on you guys. As I'm sure you all know by now, I haven't been happy at my job for a long time. Things have been steadily getting worse, so a week ago was my last day. I had gotten to the point where I had a headache or stomach ache every day and I just decided that it was time to make a change. The kicker here is that while it is definitely time for that change, I don't have another job lined up - yet. That is causing me some stress. Ok, maybe more than some. But, I have a couple of options to consider and I'm keeping my ears open for a great opportunity. And in the meantime I'm taking advantage of my time off to read and craft and I'm probably going to tackle painting my bedroom in the next week or two. The really good news is that despite the stress of having to find a job, I feel so much better. It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm happier and enjoying the things that used to make me happy. So, if nothing else comes of this, those feelings make it all worth while. Have a happy Monday. I have knitting to share with you tomorrow.
P.S. Does anyone use Gimp? I'm trying to download it and I'm having a hard time (I keep getting an error message).
January 22, 2007
Friday Night Spinning
My Friday night spinning got off to a late start. I stopped at my mom's house on my way home from work to do a book exchange, so I didn't actually sit down to spin until about 8:00 (but I got some good books to read). I suppose the important thing is that I did sit down and spin on Friday night. I'm still working on the same blue coopworth I was working on the last time I spun anything, so I'm afraid I don't have anything fabulous to tell you about. I started a new bobbin because this is destined to be a 2-ply and we'll see what it's suited for once I get it done (if that ever happens).
This weekend was quite relaxing. I read, watched tv, baked, and even sewed (I know, shocking). Since I don't think I'll have a lot of knitting content this week, I'll share everything with you in the next few days.
On a side note, does anyone have a good newsboy hat pattern? I absolutely love this one (scroll down a bit), but I don't know where to find that pattern book or something similar to it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Happy Monday.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:19 AM | Comments (22)January 8, 2007
When It Snows...
The only thing to do is stay inside and spin and knit. Friday night spinning went well. I sat down at about 7:30 and spun for 2 hours. I'm pretty pleased with the singles - they seem to be fairly even (or at least they look like it at this point).
I still have some roving left to spin, but I think that will be for the Friday after next. I won't be spinning next Friday because I'm going to Phoenix for my best friend's baby shower.
I made good progress on the baby Dale, I finished the chart on the chest and am working on the plain white on the upper portion of the body. I'll have more on that tomorrow. In amusing events, Riley likes to hide his greenies before he eats them (usually under the pillow on the guest bed). Yesterday he decided to hide it under the file cabinet (and he managed to get it too far under to get out by himself). This is what it looks like when Riley and his dad try to rescue the greenie.
I spent most of Saturday afternoon outside helping Travis with the ridiculous amount of snow in our driveway. I had to get the horses in because the idiots will stand out in the wind and snow until they freeze to death. I swear. Then I got to run the snow blower. Man, that is hard work, especially when the wind is blowing 70 miles per hour (and I am not kidding). Then we put up the snow fence (better late than never). The purpose is to break the wind and make the snow fall right behind the fence, rather than drift the driveway shut).
Yesterday I knit and took the Christmas tree down and put all the decorations away. The holidays are officially over. The tree has been hauled outside, the pine needles have been swept up, and the furniture rearranged. We've even eaten all the cookies and candy - so it's back to the real world.
Posted by Stephanie at 6:00 AM | Comments (27)November 21, 2006
I Like This Dyeing Business
On an administrative note: Jacqueline and I have decided to host a knit along for the Victorian Lace Today book. It's a very flexible sort of thing - join when you want, start when you want, knit what you want (from the book) and finish whenever you get around to it. We're imagining a place for people to get together and share ideas or problems, ask questions, and get advice from other lace knitters. If you're interested in joining us, e-mail us at victorianlacealong AT gmail DOT com.
On Saturday I took a dyeing workshop at the local yarn shop and I have to tell you - I had a great time. Dyeing isn't as scary as I thought it would be. We had a great teacher and a fun group - there were about 7 of us - and I learned a lot.
We started by handpainting some yarn with the primary colors and I got some nice rainbow sock yarn. It might be a bit bright, but it will be fun for someone. That KnitPicks yarn I've had for eons came in handy.
Then we handpainted yarn with varying depths of shade - I chose blue - and it turned out pretty good. I imagine they'll be a nice, subtle sock when knit up (and I'm really hoping it doesn't pool like crazy).
We stopped for lunch, which was a carry-in and after lunch we dyed some merino locks in the crock pot, handpainted some roving, a silk hankie, and some silk sliver. I didn't even felt my roving, I was so proud.
We had a little outlet problem, so we had to take most of our stuff home and steam it, which was interesting, but it turned out ok. So, now I need to figure out what dyes to order, what else I need, a good book or two, and when the heck I'm going to find the time to play with dyeing. I honestly think I need to quit my job or figure out a way to survive on 3 hours of sleep because that's the only solution that's coming to mind. Tomorrow will be dedicated to baking a preparing for the big turkey day. I still need to grocery shop tonight. I'm still not sure how it got to be Thanksgiving already. Wasn't it just Halloween last week? Anyway. I need to grocery shop (I finally made out my list this morning, which made me late for work). Tomorrow, I need to bake a pecan pie, a pumpkin cheesecake, some dinner rolls, and cut about 50 pounds of stuffing ingredients. Oh, and I have a massage appointment tonight that I've rescheduled twice. Travis is supposed to pick up the turkey from the butcher tonight before 5:30. Last year he forgot, so I need to try to remember to call and remind him before they close. At some point I need to finish rearranging the furniture in my house (it was a brilliant move to start that project on Sunday - sheesh), clean the guest room, do something about the state of my craft room (it's at the "enter at your own risk" stage), and iron a table cloth and napkins. Yipes. I'd better stop writing - I'm starting to scare myself. In fact, the eye twitch is back.
I have plans to post tomorrow, but I'll be home and at the mercy of dial-up. We'll hope that the speed of things increases after everyone goes to work. If I can swing it I'll post some in-progress shots of the baking.
Posted by Stephanie at 12:27 PM | Comments (24)November 13, 2006
It's All About Yarn
I had planned to post about Tatami - the sweater I test knit for Sundara Yarns, but every picture I took was terrible. The light here was awful all weekend. So, I'm going to try again today and hopefully post about the sweater tomorrow.
This weekend was pretty quiet. I made a lot of progress on the Knee High, but did run out of yarn.
Please ignore my really white, bruised leg. That's how far I got with the first ball of yarn. The good news is that I have a second ball, and I continued with it and am in the process of getting a third ball from Piece of Beauty. I should have the third ball before I'm at that point on the second sock, so it all worked out. I debated about finishing the sock with the blue, but I decided that it would be too much plain blue and I wouldn't like how it looked. Better to do it right and get an extra ball of yarn.
Yesterday I spent some time working, but I also sat down at my spinning wheel and finished the purple I was spinning (I'll try to ply that next weekend) and started the blue roving I bought at Estes Park.
I'm not sure about this stuff. I think I'm used to spinning top or something because this stuff is kind of annoying. There are all kinds of little burrs in it and the fibers seem to be going every which way. Despite that, I am pretty pleased with how it's spinning up. I'd like to make a hat or socks with this. I think I have 4 oz, so I'm not sure what I'll be able to get out of it, but I'm trying to spin worsted (even though you can't really tell - the end result is really hairy).
I have a Supreme Court argument this week, so it's going to be kind of quiet around Unwind until Thursday. I hope you all have a great week. I'll have a sweater post for you tomorrow and hopefully a knee high finished this week.
Posted by Stephanie at 7:16 AM | Comments (19)September 20, 2006
Purpley Fiber Goodness
It has been so long since I've sat down at Lennie and spun anything. I've been watching lots of bloggers' spinning progress and I was feeling a little guilty about not making time to spin. So, Sunday it was cold and windy and I spent the entire day inside. And I spun a bit!
Both singles are spun from some BFL from Spunky Eclectic. The first one is her Azalea and the lighter one is the Salvia (maybe). I tried to spin both using the woolen method and I think it's working pretty well. Things seem to be holding together and the singles have a nice fuzzy look to them. I still have a bit of the Salvia to finish, but I'm going to try to do that this weekend. And then I'd like to ply them and see how they look together.
I've been trying to be good and not buy a bunch of new fiber, but man there's a lot of temptation out on the web. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to resist all that fibery goodness.
Posted by Stephanie at 10:26 AM | Comments (9)July 6, 2006
This Much Baking Will Make You Fat
Besides washing the fleece this weekend, I also baked a lot. I'm not sure what got into me, but I was on a baking kick. Friday night I made cinnamon rolls
And I sat out at the barn and knit on the Noni bag while Travis shod some horses. Our horses were less than enthused with the company
Saturday I made oatmeal raisin cookies (but forgot to take pictures - sorry, but they look just like oatmeal raisin cookies). Monday I got a new cookbook (thanks, Bakerina, for the suggestion - it's a great cookbook!) and Tuesday morning made scones.
Bakerina made scones for us in Estes Park and I have to tell you that they were by far the best scones I've ever had. She recommended this cookbook and while the scones I made weren't as good as her's, they were the best I've ever made. There may be hope for me yet.
And finally, on Tuesday I made an apple pie.
Because really, what's the 4th of July without apple pie? This was the best applie pie I've ever made too. This cookbook is already my favorite and I've only had it a couple of days.
Let's see, what else... Oh, I worked on Butterfly. I finished the first repeat on chart B (but I only have about 8 inches total)! I'll take a picture this week after I get a bit more done.
And spinning! Look at my finished yarn
I'm really happy with this skein. Most of it is 3-ply, but I ran out of the red towards the end and finished up with the remaining two singles. There is still room for lots of improvement, but I really think I'm getting better. The singles were much more even and the yarn seems to be quite usable.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:55 AM | Comments (33)July 5, 2006
Washie, washie
I love long weekends. Even though I never, ever get as much done as I plan to, I still love them. There's just something so wonderful about not having to put make-up on and dry my hair and get dressed up for work. It makes me really unhappy about coming back to work, but such is life. This weekend was filled with baking, knitting, reading, movie watching, and spinning, with just a touch of yard work thrown in for good measure. But, the highlight of the weekend was washing the fleece I bought at Estes Park (if you don't give a crap about fleece washing, stop reading now and come back tomorrow for the baking report).
To start, I laid the fleece out on some towels on the patio and shook the worst of the vegetable matter out (and this fleece really didn't have very much).
Then I separated it into lingerie bags - I really could have packed a lot more fleece into each bag because while they looked full, once they were wet each bag was only about half full.
After that I went to the guest bathroom and laid out all of my supplies and reread the information I had on washing a fleece (for about the hundredth time - I was really nervous about this whole process). Maggie Casey gave us some information in the packet we got for our class, plus there is some information in a couple of books, but everyone seems to do it a little different. In the end, I went with Maggie's instructions and kept my fingers crossed the entire time.
I filled the tub about 3/4 full and added a bunch of Dawn dishwashing soap and put all the bags in to soak.
And man was the water dirty after the first wash
I repeated the wash process once more and the water wasn't as dirty the second time
Then I rinsed twice - once with a "glug" of vinegar and once without. Then the bags took a spin in the washing machine to get some of the water out (I turned the water off on the washer just to be sure) and then I laid them all out on the bed in the guest bedroom to dry.
I am very happy to tell you that I didn't felt any of it! I'm not sure if it was that I did things right, or if I just got really lucky, but whatever the reason - I'm very relieved. I see that I missed some vegetable matter initially, but it shouldn't be too hard to pick what little there is out when I'm carding it. All in all, a successful first fleece experience. The entire process took me about 3 1/2 hours just because there was a lot of soaking time, and I got my spinning time in while I waited.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:20 AM | Comments (31)June 27, 2006
The Process
Last night was karate and I have the bruises on my arms and legs to prove it, but that means no knitting. On Saturday I plyed the corriedale singles from last weekend with the merino I spun at Estes and it turned out ok. The merino wasn't as even as I remembered, but the good news is that the corriedale was quite even. So, I guess that shows progress. After I plyed those singles, I spun 2 ounces of wool blend roving from Spunky Eclectic and I am really happy with how it turned out.
I used a long draw on most of this, but played around with the results using different drafting methods, but I settled on a woolen yarn and I think it works. I only have 2 ounces of each color, but I'm going to spin the other samples I have in the red/pink color range and try a 3-ply next weekend. I hope the result is a subtle, tweedy kind of yarn. I won't have a lot, but at this point it's all about the learning and trying.
Butterfly saw a little action over the weekend, but progress is incredibly slow. Fun, but slow.
And Riley is just amazed that anyone cares about all this fiber stuff
Have a great day.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:43 AM | Comments (21)June 23, 2006
Practice Does Make You Better
Who knew? I guess all that stuff people tell you about practice is true. I really think I've gotten a lot better at the whole spindle thing. As you may recall, my first attempt didn't go so well. And the second attempt, well it was better, but not by much. But, this latest attempt ... it's going so much better!
I'm getting fairly even, well twisted yarn and I'm spinning from combed top! I am really enjoying the mid-whorl spindle. This thing spins like a dream (even though I've dropped it a few times! They don't call it a drop spindle for nothing.) I find that it's a lot easier to spin for 15 minutes on the spindle than to sit down at the wheel, which I suppose is the point of having one - instant gratification. This week has gotten away from me and I haven't sat down at my wheel since Sunday, but I am planning on plying those singles tonight. We'll see how it goes.
And, I think my tension on my fair isle is improving a bit with practice.
If you look above that checked garter stitch border hell, you'll see some kind of crappy tension, but when it moves into the green and orangey colors things are evening out a bit (the green and orange stuff is what I've done this week - not a lot, but...). I'm trying to remember to spread the stitches out and my right hand is maybe starting to get the hang of things. I hope I just continue to get better as this project progresses.
Tonight is the photo shoot for the Oak Ribbed Socks, so I'll have pictures for you in the next day or two. Have a great weekend.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:54 AM | Comments (17)June 21, 2006
More Estes Park
Hi Again. I'm sorry I didn't post the rest of my Estes Park stuff yesterday. Travis and I had to go to a funeral and we were in the car for 10 hours yesterday, which meant no time to blog. But, I'm back and I have the rest of the pictures - mostly of the loot, but a few of some of the bloggers I met (although I have to admit, I wasn't as good about taking pictures when I was there as I should have been).
Let's see, where was I? Oh, right...after the spinning class. The spinning class finished up at about 4:30 on Friday and I was packing up to go meet Margene and Carole and the rest of the gang. I told Maggie I'd stop by the Shuttles booth on Saturday and she said that I had to go Friday night (they open the vendor barn Friday at 5:00 for everyone who took a class) if I wanted a fleece from Clyde Vair. So, what else could I do? I had to go see, right? Well, when I got to the barn, Mr. Vair only had 2 fleeces left and of course I bought one. Don't look at me like that. You would have done the same thing. It's a great fleece (I asked someone, that's how I know) and the price was good too. The fleece is a Corriedale, CVM, Polypay cross and I'm going to wash it myself.
Here's a sample of the fiber that has been washed.
Look at that fluffiness! I hope I can wash this without screwing it up. But, we'll see how it goes. Maggie provided some information on washing, so I'm going to follow those to the letter and keep my fingers crossed the entire time. And assuming I manage to wash it without felting it, then I'm going to have to figure out how to dye it - another felting nightmare. Oh well, it's all about the learning.
After my whirlwind fleece shopping, I headed over to the condo to meet up with everyone and I am not kidding when I tell you that it was like we'd known each other forever. I was instantly comfortable. That is one of the most amazing things about bloggers. I'm not usually outgoing in groups of people I don't know, but it's different when you feel like you've known the people for a long time, even if you're "meeting" them for the first time. We went out to dinner Friday night and had a blast.
Saturday we shopped and shopped and ate and visited the animals and shopped....
Until we couldn't shop any more!
I left Saturday evening because I'd been there since Thursday, but that meant I missed out on Jen's fabulous dinner (there was pie!). I was sorry to leave all my friends, but quite relieved to be home and sleep in my own bed.
So, now for the loot. I really tried to be good and I only bought 1 skein of yarn. But there were a few fiber related purchases (no surprise there, I'm sure).
With the purchase of the fleece, I realized I needed some hand carders, so I headed off the Shuttles' booth and Maggie helped me pick out some lovely Schacht hand carders, and then I saw the drop spindles! I have a nice spindle, but I was intrigued by the mid-whorl, so I got one of those too.
And then there was In Sheep's Clothing and Spin-Off.
4 ounces of indigo dyed coopworth (I think - I can't remember for sure)
And finally, one skein of Brooks Farm's new sock yarn (they website appears to be down).
I was going to post pictures of all animals we met, but you're probably bored by now. So, I'll wait until tomorrow and see if you're still interested. Thanks for putting up with my rambling and my lack of knitting content. I do have a finished project to tell you about - maybe that can be tomorrow too.
June 19, 2006
Wow!
I had the absolute best time at Estes Park. The spinning class was beyond fabulous and I met so many wonderful people that it kind of boggles the mind. I think I'm going to have to take a couple of days to tell you all about the trip, so I thought I'd start at the beginning. The Spinning Class. Wow. I adore Maggie Cassey (does she have a fan club because I want to join). She is a fabulous teacher and I learned so, so much. There were 14 of us in the class and we talked about everything from selecting a fleece to washing and carding (we didn't touch on combing) and then we spun.
She brought a corriedale cross fleece (the whole thing - see that pile on the floor) that we carded and made into rolags. I learned how to do a long draw and learned how to draft with the twist between my hands. Very cool stuff. Afer we'd spun 2 bobbins worth of woolen yarn, we plied. Maggie taught me how to hold the two singles so that I can get a nicely plied yarn and it turns out it isn't too difficult. Who knew? I actually managed to spin and ply some relatively even, balanced yarn.
After the hand prepared fiber, we moved to some merino top and I learned all about worsted yarn and the different drafting methods. I even spun some over the fold! And I ended up with some fairly even singles. Finally, she let us play around with some merino/silk top.
I really feel like the class improved my spinning skills by 100%, but I'm really glad I went to the class with the basics. I think I got a lot more out of it than I would have if I'd never touched a wheel before. When I got home Saturday night I spun an ounce of one of my Spunky Eclectic sample rovings to go with the ounce that Carole spun on Lennie at Estes. And then I plied it. I realized I underspun my single because quite a bit of twist came out when I plied, but it's too pretty to care.
Yesterday I spun a bobbin of the corriedale top to ply with the merino top I spun in class and I am very pleased with how even it looks because I think the worsted draw is kind of hard, but I've gotten pretty good at keeping the twist out of the drafting zone. I probably won't have time to ply it until tomorrow or Wednesday night, but I'm anxious to see how it turns out. That's it for my spinning adventures. Tomorrow I'll tell you all about the great bloggers I met and the stuff I bought (including the, um, the fleece).
Posted by Stephanie at 9:00 AM | Comments (32)June 12, 2006
Plying
On Friday night I finally took the time to put the plying head and band on my spinning wheel and I sat down to try my hand at plying. It wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be, but I obviously have a long way to go.
I plyed using 2 colors so I could see how things looked, and as you can see, some of my singles were not very good. Interestingly, the gray was a lot more even than the white, but that could have been because I spun the white first or that the white is top and the gray is roving. At this point, it's really hard to tell. I think I over-plyed a bit, but I couldn't really tell you. I guess I'll have a better idea of how to do things "properly" after I spend two days with Maggie Casey at Estes Park. All in all, I was pretty pleased with my first attempt. There are some places where one strand wraps around the other and things just aren't right, but I suppose that's normal for a first try.
Other than my spinning attempt, I spent the rest of the weekend working on baby knits. I finished the kimono, but couldn't get motivated to seam it. I did buy some cute ribbon on Saturday. I have to mail everything on Wednesday, so I'm going to try to seam it tonight. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I started a burp cloth and think it's just adorable. It's so soft and squishy!
Last night on my way home from the grocery store, I saw this little fox hanging out taking in the scenery.
I think she's the mother fox that has a den in that pasture. Every summer I see her with her little babies and they are so sweet. Not that I think she's that sweet when she's hanging out close to our house - fox eat cats (if they can catch them) and I worry about Isabelle. Luckily, she doesn't get too close because of Riley, and Isabelle is a really smart cat.
This week is a short work week because my spinning class is Thursday and Friday. I'm excited to learn more about spinning and to meet all the wonderful people who are coming.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:15 AM | Comments (20)June 9, 2006
Lennie Gets Clothes
Lennie got a new suit for Estes Park. He'll be the most fashionably dressed wheel in town.
It's a spinning wheel bag from The Bag Lady. Cara has one, and I thought it looked like a great idea for taking my spinning wheel to a class (it has straps that allow you to carry it like a backpack or a bag). I looked around (and found some, but none that I loved enough to spend a good chunk of money on), but then I finally found the Bag Lady's website (thanks, Yahaira, for the google help!). Going to the source is always a good idea. Ellie is sooo nice. She sent me photos of her fabrics and we talked about linings (because the linings were my hang up on the other ones I found). She found a semi-solid color in her stash to use for mine rather than her normal florals.
I have to tell you, this is one of the best shopping experiences I've had in a long time. Ellie responded to my e-mail right away and sent me the fabric photos the same day. Two days after my initial inquiry, my bag was finished and on its way to me. I adore good customer service and getting something quickly (I'm really not patient, so I was soo happy). The bag looks great and came with detailed instructions on how to put the wheel, flyers, and lazy kate in so everything fit. The workmanship is guanteed for life, and it's pretty! Lennie will be so happy to be so nicely dressed for our first spinning class.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:44 AM | Comments (7)May 10, 2006
Pile O' Fiber
Now that life is starting to settle down a bit (although I very well may have just jinxed myself with that statement), I'm ready to dedicate some serious time and effort to bettering my spinning abilities. I haven't done too bad so far, but I bought a whole mess of fiber from Spunky Eclectic and the colors are enough to motivate anyone.
I got 14 colors, 1 ounce of each color and they represent 4 ounces of wool blend, 3 ounces of Corriedale, 3 ounces of Merino, and 4 ounces of BFL. I think spinning with some color will be a lot of fun and I'm excited to try some different types of wool.
I enrolled in a 2-day spinning class at Estes Park this year and I think it should be very educational. In looking at the material list, the one thing I need that I don't have is a set of hand carders. Anyone have a suggestion for a good brand? Because I'm clueless. And what's the deal with woolie winders? A must? Something I can live without?
Still no word from my Sockapaloooza sock recipient. I'm sure she's received the package and since she hasn't posted or e-mailed, I'm betting the socks don't fit or she doesn't like them. Either way - not good. My pal said she was mailing my socks out on Monday, so I'm going to start stalking the mailbox until they come.
Posted by Stephanie at 10:12 AM | Comments (24)March 24, 2006
Hello. My Name Is...
Lennie
Thank you all so very much for all the wonderful names you suggested. It took me a really long time to choose (obviously). I made a list of all the names and read them as I was sitting at my wheel - I wasn't actually spinning, just considering, because goodness knows I certainly can't do anything else while I try to spin. But, when I started spinning, it seemed like he was just a Lennie. Lennie is after all a simple wheel made of good solid Canadian maple. A simple name just seems to fit. So, thank you to Angela for suggesting it.
Angela is on a bit of a yarn diet, and she's being really good (she has way more willpower than I do, I can tell you that). So, of course she must have yarn as her prize for picking the name. And since I'm in love with Sundara Yarn, she's getting some sock yarn. I have to choose the color, but then it will be on it's way to Angela.
Today is finally Friday, and I'm really ready for the weekend. I'm hoping that this weekend and next week will be a bit slower because it's about time.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:29 AM | Comments (13)March 20, 2006
My First Handspun
While it isn't surprising, it's still frustrating. What is? How tricky this whole spinning business is. I spent quite a bit of time trying it out this weekend and made significant progress, even to my uneducated eye.
This is my very first attempt. As you can see, it leaves a whole lot to be desired. But man was it fun! I spun this on Friday night.
On Sunday I tried again.
Better, but still iffy. Uneven and places with too much twist and a lot with not enough. But, I felt like I was making progress.
So, I tried again.
I spun most of this this morning - snow day! While it still needs work, I feel like each bobbin gets better than the last. Which is the point, isn't it?
Other than spinning and working on my second skirt for Sew? I Knit! I didn't do anything. No knitting. Yesterday, I didn't even get out of my pjs. I'm actually really glad to be at home today. I can do all the things I didn't get done yesterday and maybe make some progress on some projects. And it gives me a chance to go to the bank and get the paperwork in order for the new car! I'm really excited, but kind of sick. Seriously. Sick. All that money. Why do cars have to be so expensive? Do you have any idea how much yarn and fiber and fabric (and food) I could buy for the price of a car? It boggles the mind.
Have a great day. Friday will be here before we know it.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:30 AM | Comments (28)March 14, 2006
Spinning!
I am now an official owner of a Lendrum spinning wheel. Wheeee! It came last night and I'm just so excited.
Here it is still in the box from Bountiful
And here are all the pieces
And finally, put together (and boy is that process simple)
Last night I sat and treadled while I knit on Clapotis and watched television. And it was so much fun. Does that mean I'm sick? Just treadling was a blast. I got to where I could treadle without really thinking about it, and I think that's the goal. Tonight I might try to spin, or I might just treadle some more and maybe try knitting some on Butterfly while I do it. Depends on how brave I'm feeling.
Posted by Stephanie at 11:11 AM | Comments (31)January 23, 2006
Around 'N Round We Go
I had a lovely weekend. How was your's? I didn't really do a darned thing, which in my mind is what made it so wonderful. I finished the first mitten - it's blocking and will be making an appearance tomorrow (by the way, it fits!). Other than that, I just sorta hung out. I found some wonderful fabric for the shades in my newly minted craft room - I'll take pictures as soon as they're done and hung up (that way if you all hate them, I won't be able to do anything except cry in my tea). Fabric is a funny thing. I had in my mind just what I wanted and left the fabric store with something completely different, but I absolutely love the funkiness of it (which knowing me and my definite lack of funkiness, could be very scary). Want a hint? It's paisley. Close your mouth - I know, it's shocking, but you're gonna just have to wait and see if I'm brilliant or just plain crazy. I also brought all my fabric up from the basement and organized it and my sewing machine on a bookshelf. I love having everything accessible - it's such a treat.
Oh, and I tried out the spindle again. And I have to say that it went a lot better than the first try.
I didn't move past the park and draft method, but think I might be ready next time. It's really terrible, but I couldn't be happier with it. It's think and thin and overspun and in some places barely spun at all, but by golly, it's my very first yarn and I'm tickled with it. So there.
Thank you all so much for the blog birthday/anniversary wishes. I wouldn't still be here without all of you who stop by to read what I have to say - good or bad - and leave a comment. You are all so wonderful and I'm so very grateful that I've gotten to know each and every one of you. Have a wonderful Monday.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:07 AM | Comments (16)January 5, 2006
I Do Love A Good Plan
I'm a planner. I think it goes with being anal, but there you have it. So, Caitlyn and I have come up with a plan to further our fiber obsession. We both want to learn to spin and we both want to purchase spinning wheels. In recognition of this goal we've decided that since we both have plenty of yarn and projects designated for the stash yarn, we aren't going to buy any more yarn until we've each saved enough money to buy our spinning wheels of choice. I know. It's a bit shocking and I had to sit down when I first hatched this scheme, but the queasiness gets better after a few minutes.
I think I can save enough money by not buying yarn (and saving a little extra too) to have a spinning wheel by late spring (late spring for you all, actual spring for me - like April). I have no crazy thoughts in my little head that this saving plan will be easy, but with some moral support from my co-conspirator I think it can be done. It's good to have a plan and a goal (a cohort doesn't hurt things either) and if you hear me talking about a new project that requires a yarn purchase, I'd really appreciate it if you could remind me of this plan because I have no doubt such occasion will arise. Because let us not forget the fundamental fact that I am weak when it comes to yarn.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:07 AM | Comments (15)
