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Sooo I think we can safely say posting every day isn’t for me. Anyway. No new finished objects today, but I do have a bunch of stuff on the needles! Here’s a smattering:
Socks! I’m almost through the gusset decreases on the first one. The yarn is Wild Hare Pinnacle Sock in “Peacock”, and it is absolutely stunning. The colors are SO PRETTY. Unfortunately, the sock is kind of on the back burner thanks to everything else.
Big blue triangle shawl! The yarn is Berroco Ultra Alpaca. I got two skeins of it from Joe for my birthday last year, and I think it’ll be perfect as a gigantic triangle shawl. I’m not getting to work on it as much as I’d like though.
Catkin! I’m a bit further along than this, although not much. It’s in Skinny Bugga and it’s for AnnaMarie as part of a WWFY swap. I actually really enjoy working on this when I get the chance.
Alas, the thing that’s sucking up the majority of my knitting time is something I don’t have pictures of: shark mittens. There ARE pictures of shark mittens (on my patterns page and up in the header, and that’s just on the blog). I have to do teeth on a pair of adult smalls I just finished and I’m about a centimeter past the thumb divide (working two-at-a-time) on a pair of adult larges. And then I have a pair of child smalls to do. I need the money, especially with my upcoming move, but still. Sharks forever.
So moving: I’m doing it. Ideally in January (I say ideally, but what I mean is I’m pretty sure I’ll be evicted from my current place then soooo). I don’t have a place picked out yet (there are some issues), but I have been looking. There’s a place that I think would work out really well, but I have to discuss it with Joe. I tell you, apartment hunting is soul-sucking. Not as much as job hunting (which I’ve been doing as well), but still. Being an adult sucks, you guys. It really sucks.
Or: Ravelry folks are the kindest people you will ever meet
You guys. YOU GUYS. Let me spin you a tale (pun ABSOLUTELY intended). A tale of kindness and goodness and generosity. So I’m a fairly poor 20-something living in a basement. My disposable income is not great. I make do. I spend a lot of time on Ravelry in various forums, notably (for this story) the Unravellers forum. We take apart thrift store sweaters to save money on yarn. I have, on occasion, bemoaned the fact that I can’t afford a spinning wheel to ply all my cobweb weight cashmere and also fiber. Anyway, I got a pm the other day from the sweetest person ever. She said her friend had given her a spinning wheel that had belonged to the friend’s mother. Having no use for a wheel but being a member of Ravelry (and thus access to people who might want and use a spinning wheel), she took it. And then pmed me saying she had this wheel and had seen my posts and would I like it?
Would I like it?
Would I like it?
I could have it, she said, so long as I reimbursed her for the postage.
*excited screaming*
Needless to say, I accepted her INCREDIBLY generous offer and the wheel was shipped off. It was delivered yesterday, and I spent a couple of hours putting it together and figuring out how it worked. I had some issues getting the flyer to spin and it was a whole thing, but I got it working. This is my lovely new wheel in her new home:
I’ve named her Alexandra. I wanted something sort of English and regal. My first thought was Elizabeth, but that’s what my dress form is called, so that was out. Victoria didn’t seem quite right. So Alexandra it is.
The wheel is a Saxony style of unknown make and model. There aren’t any markings or anything on it. It appears to have both flyer and bobbin whorls, so I can set it up with Irish, Scotch, or double band tension. I set it up with Irish tension since, after a bit of playing, that seemed to make the most sense to me. I played around with some extra bits of fiber and once I thought I’d gotten the hang of it, I started in with some nice fiber.
This is Mountain Colors Targhee, which I purchased at a yarn shop in Vienna, Uniquities. I’m going to two-ply it I think. It’s spinning up SUPER fast on the wheel. I’ve got about 2 oz of 4 oz on the bobbin here, and that was after about three-ish hours of spinning yesterday and maybe another hour tonight. No way I could do that on a spindle.
I’m going to spin this up for Lisa, the amazing person that brought this wheel into my life. I don’t anticipate it taking very long, since work today was an exercise in patience being away from my new shiny for so long.
I’m gonna have to buy a lot more fiber to satisfy my new spinning need. I’m in love.
We interrupt this steam of FOs to bring you some WIPs! I’ve been working on a bunch of things, but I’m a little bit away from having something finished to show off. There’s a little bit of everything in here.
These are the Heart to Heart socks by Wendy Johnson from Toe Up Socks for Every Body in Cascade Heritage. They’re a bit further along than this, but they’re good knitting for when I want to pay a little attention, like when I’m watching stuff on Netflix.
Socks with long ribbed cuffs in Deborah Norville Everyday Soft Worsted acrylic. They’re for a swap, along with a couple other pairs of acrylic socks. Simple, easy knitting, and the Deborah Norville isn’t too bad to knit with. I knit on them at work, actually, as I’m fortunate enough to get some knitting time on the job.
This is the fingering weight sweater I keep referring to. There’s a whole saga with it, but I’ll talk about that when it’s done. I’m working on the sleeves now, which is the last part as I’ve already done the edging. It’s a recycled merino and Red Heart Sashay. FUN. It will make my hips look enormous and I don’t care.
Aaand some weaving. My first foray into clasped weft. The warp is some recycled wool/rayon/cashmere/nylon, and the weft is Knit Picks Palette. I adore it. It’s a lot slower than my usual tabby, but I like it. It’s a trial run for some clasped weft that I really want to do–blue rain drips on a black background.
In fandom news, Joe and I finished Choices of One and started I Jedi. Excite. I’m kind of reading Black Fleet Crisis, but I don’t know how much I like it. I started watching House of Cards, which I’m sure I’ll have finished by my next post. It’s really interesting and Kevin Spacey is great. I kind of gave up on Voyager, but I might go back at some point and just skip to season four or so. I dunno, things are okay. I’m making lots of stuff. Til next time.
I have a couple of WIPs I’ve been working on at amusement parks and such. Knitting’s a great way to pass the time in long lines for rides, but I’ve also been putting the project bag on my wrist or tied to a belt loop and knitting while we walk around (especially since at parks like Animal Kingdom and Busch Gardens, there’s a lot more walking and less ride-going-on thanks to the zoo portions). Here’s what I’m working on:
Scrap Socks 3: The Scrapening. No lie, this is about four days of knitting. Each of the color blocks was completed in about a day. I have a couple more gusset decreases before I cruise down the foot and finish. Fast socks are the best socks.
Gloves I’ve had on the needles for a couple months. The yarn is a strand of cashmere and a strand of navajo-plied silk. I’m using the Phalangees finger method. Bit out of season now, but winter will come again.
I’ve also been working on inkle bands. I have a finished one on which I practiced some pick up techniques. I’ll have to get some pictures of that soon.
So I’ve made a craft purchase. I mean, I make a lot of craft purchases, but this is something of a major one. I bought an inkle loom! Because I apparently have loomitis and I want all the looms. Plus it’s another good way to use up stash, which I need. And I can make straps for all of these bags I’ve been weaving.
Pretty, huh? I bought it on eBay. The band I’ve got on it is a strap for a bag. The max warp is like five feet, which should be fine. Plus it’s small enough that I should be able to tale it to Florida and get some weaving done there.
Here is the first band I’ve made on it, a super simple one using scraps of cotton-blend yarns. The width is a little wonky, but it’s passible for a first attempt.
Pre-inkle loom, I practiced inkle weaving on my LeClerc, which is possible, though a little difficult. Here’s the band I made on that:
And here is the second band I’ve made, using the warp from my messed up towel attempt (with some patterning)
I think I’m going to sew it into a belt. I don’t think it will be that difficult.
Currently, as I mentioned, I’m working on a band for a bag. Here’s a picture of the actual wip:
The picture is of the first of two bands, though I’ve since finished it and started on the second. They’re pretty quick to make when I’m just doing plain weave. I just bought a book of inkle band patterns, so I’m going to try more complicated patterns soon.
It’s only a matter of time before I buy an actual sized inkle loom (or make one), so I’ve clearly got the weaving bug. Cause I needed another hobby.
I’ve got a couple of things on the needles and in the works currently. I haven’t done much knitting in the last few days as I’ve been kind of busy. Working, halloween, random get-together at a friend’s. So yeah. But here’s what I’m working on:
There’s a Carousel sock in Red Heart Heart and Sole:
I’ve got deadline knitting preventing me from working on these too much, which is too bad because I love them and I need more socks.
There’s a pair of dinosaur mittens for Etsy:
These are much further along now. I will try my hardest to snap a picture before I send them off. I usually forget.
I’m also working on a test knit of a sweater pattern.
I’m a bit further along on this too. The deadline is November 14 I believe and I should be able to have it done by then. It’s a short sleeve top and I’m almost to the underbust.
Hopefully more interesting craft things to report soon. In fandom news, I am almost through reading the Courtship of Princess Leia with the boy and it is cracktastically awesome except for the purple prose and occasional lack of continuity. In life news, Tuesday is election day for Americans, so get out and vote. I don’t think it’s any secret that I’m hella liberal, so, y’know, go ‘Bama. But seriously though? VOTE.
Good news first: I am employed! It’s only part time, but it’s working with a nanny agency and I quite like it. We’ll let that be the reason I’ve been terrible about blogging. Because I’ve been doing a bit of crafting, mostly knitting. I currently have two projects on the needles, though one is a super secret wedding present, so no pictures of that because the recipient might wander over here. The other is a lace sweater of my own design:
Top down, set in sleeves, making it up as I go. I’m using a half pound cone of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece fine. I think I should have enough yarn, but I’m going to do all the cuffs/edgings in a blue of the same yarn. I’m pretty thrilled with the way things have turned out so far.
Here’s a close up of the stitch pattern I’m using:
I do sort of have a finished object, but it’s a pair of shark mittens for an Etsy buyer. You guys all know what they look like and anyway I forgot to snap a picture before I packaged them up.
I’m also doing two swaps: a yarn/hooper swap (for which I am a yarnie and will be knitting) and a Doctor Who swap. The new season starts Sept. 1 and I cannot wait at all. Love that show. : )
So remember how I bought that supported spindle from the Uniquities Fiber Market? I have been practicing my butt off and I’ve finally got the hang of it. It took a couple weeks and some serious frustration, but I’ve found the key: a loose prep and fiber that’s not boring. I spun up this batt the other day:
It was only about 1.5 oz so it took practically no time at all. Plus I stopped caring about evenness, which was pretty impossible considering the yarn/neps/bits content. I two-plied it and got this:
It’s only about 50 yards of a dk-ish weight. Not sure I’ll ever knit it into anything (maybe a little stuffy). It’s kind of the ugliest yarn ever, but as my first supported spindle skein, it’s not bad.
Having finished that, I spun up some leftover BFL I had hanging about:
This one required a ton of predrafting because the fiber was so compacted, but it came out pretty nice. I navajo plied it. Not sure of the yardage but it’s a tiny tiny little skein. Mostly just decoration I think.
I then started a new supported spindle project:
The fiber is the other half of a four oz braid I got somewhere online a while back. It’s merino in the color way “Storm Front Coming”. I bought it from LakeHouse Loft on Artfire I think. It’s pretty compacted from being smooshed in my stash, but it’s spinning up pretty evenly. So yay.
A note on the spindle bowl: I was previously using a tiny tea cup. When I was in the Outer Banks, I went to a store called Michael’s, where they sell all manner of fossils, shells, geodes, stones, etc. They had a bunch of stone mortar and pestle sets and I was going to get one to use as a spindle bowl. On the last day, I spotted one that had been marked down for its missing pestle. Perfect. So I got an amazing spindle bowl for $5. It’s stone, so it’s good and solid and won’t tip over. WHOOT.
YOU GUYS YOU GUYS IT’S THAT TIME. Where I challenge myself to knit a sweater and apparently five other things in two weeks! Whoo! I hear there’s some sports or something happening, but NBC apparently doesn’t want me to actually see them seeing as I don’t have cable. (Bootleg online tv is another story, however. Don’t tell the ass hats at NBC. Or do. Whatever.)
ANYWAY I’m knitting a sweater. Well, a top at any rate. I’m knitting Counterpane out of some recycled linen/cotton in a GORGEOUS teal. Here’s where I was earlier (I have since knitted a fair bit more):
I’m knitting for Team Unravelers, where we are using recycled yarn. Whoo!
I also had to knit a Betta fish for an Etsy customer, so I guess I medaled in Toy Toss but I never actually got a picture of it before I put in in the mailbox this morning. I also had a impromptu Frogging Trampoline entry where I frogged my Lelah as it is too small. Plus side: Two skeins of my beloved Cascade Sierra to play with.
More sweater updates as they happen. I’m planning to see if I can squeeze some fingerless mitts in before the end.
Happy Independence Day, Americans! I’m safely back in Virginia Beach for the week and am knitting again. I only have two things on the needles and they happen to be red, white, and blue!
There’s the Roundabout sweater:
I’m just over the bust at this point so I’ll need to figure out how I want to do sleeves/straps.
Then there’s my TARDIS socks, which are half done:
I haven’t yet cast on for the second sock, so I guess these aren’t really OTN per se, but I’ll get the other one on there soon.
In life news: Much of this week will be spent packing. I’m hoping to have an actual moving date of Monday for when I’m going up to Northern Virginia to move in with my boyfriend. I’ll keep you posted on the job status but for right now, my only income is my Ravelry pattern store. I’ll start looking in depth when I get up there.
But today’s for drinking and knitting and fireworks and whatall. And watching Independence Day, natch.
Stitch, Brinn, Stitch! 