2007

I know, everyone's doing year end recaps so here's mine:

2007 wasn't all bad but it certainly wasn't all good either. Quite truthfully, I'm glad in few hours it'll be gone.  I learned to spin and how to make lucet cords (which I need to do some more of since it's so fun). I hope to keep increasing my spinning knowledge too. There's so much out there to learn, to try... 

I knit a lot. A LOT, I mean look at that list on the sidebar. Wow. I learned how to do new knitting techniques. I'd like to keep learning those too. 

On a personal level, I made some great friends and plan on keeping on meeting new people and spending time with my friends and family. I lost my uncle and have a cousin that's in pretty bad shape. I have friends who lost loved ones and with my remaining grandparents as old as they are and in the shape that they're in, I know it won't be but so much longer before I lose them. I know, it may not be this year but I certainly won't have them another... (hmm... almost told you how old I am ;)) so many years... 

But on a lighter note, my nephew was born and he's so beautiful and I can't wait to see what kind of person he becomes. 

My goals for 2008 - besides what I've already said?. Well, I do have some I'm not really planning on sharing but I'm going to cut back on my consumption of goods. Yes, this means yarn and fiber too. I'm not going all out I'm still in my fiber club and will still buy yarn and all but for at least a few months I'm going to spin what I've got and knit what's in the stash. I bought that yarn for a purpose and it wasn't to sit all closed up in a box. 

Oh, and since she's showing an interest, I thought I'd teach Pepper to spin: 

Which is good, I'll need more yarn because apparently Bartholamew has finally seen the light and is all about enjoying fine hand knits:

You'll have to look under his head and feet to that is my Noro scarf there keeping his Highness warm and providing a soft place for him to take a nap. 

Be safe, y'all. Have a good 2008 filled with joy, love, and enough fibery goodness to get you through the rough spots!

thanks for reading...

I'm likin' this spinning thing

embiggen (for those of you that don't read the same blogs I do, that means click to make bigger to enjoy the beautifulness that is this bobbin of singles)

(ok, embiggen actually means to click on the picture to make it bigger but still...)

ETA- apparently this whole "embiggen" thing isn't working anymore... but I still hope you enjoy the beautifulness that is that bobbin of singles)

edited again - thanks to Mary's help embiggen/biggerize is up and running!

Merry Christmas! (or he's a rebel and never be any good)

First off let me say I hope each and every one of you had a very Merry Christmas filled with joy and light (and maybe some knitting related gifts and fun relatives...)

Yesterday, Mom, my sister and I went out to lunch. They kept telling me about all the great deals at this local store. 50% off type great deals. Needless to say, we went back. I got new sheets and a new duvet cover. In this house, changing the sheets is an ordeal! To the four legged heathens, it's the most fun since cat nip anything... and for me. Well, it's trying. To be polite because, well, it's Christmas.

Bartholamew is the master of all. Especially the sheets. 

Yes. I bought green sheets with purple ladybugs on them. The duvet cover is about that shade of green too. All for 50% off! 

I did a little "Christmas" knitting. (so called "Christmas" knitting because they were knit on Christmas Eve. Not because they were presents. Although two did go to live with people other than me)

I found out about them here. Jane found the pattern here. I would highly recommend stocking up on your wine corks now. They're great fun and a very quick knit.

Beware though, because they are quite mischievous too:

Lastly, I finished super secretive knitting project #1. I can't wait to show it to you but it will have to wait til #2's done. Which will be longer than normal because I got distracted. 

Dianne sent me some very lovely worsted weight peace fleece for Christmas. I had to start knitting on it almost instantly. With Marianne's help, it became mittens. Or A mitten. The 2nd mitten is on the needles now and will probably have life before the end of the week (would be sooner but the job doesn't tend to approve of me knitting on the clock).

But I can knit on it now and do hear it calling my name...

bad blogger...

Yes, that would be me, a bad blogger. However, today I'm going to blame the holidays (and my new wheel and my super secretive knitting). Yeah. That's it.

Well, OK, it probably does have a lot to do with it. And in a more realistic goal starting in the new year I'm going to try to post 3 times a week.

Since I haven't plied any yarn yet on the wheel, I can't show you that. The 2nd bobbin of the gobblin eyes looks pretty much just like the first so that's not a good picture.

Can't show you the knitting...

Oh, ok, here's a picture of my finished felted back pack. I like it. The straps are a titch long... that may be something I fix or something I just get over. I'm leaning towards "get over"



It now has a "I want it all!" Christmas pin a friend gave me on the front.

Oh, and how about a happy cheesy ass picture for you?



Back in August I reached my 5 yr anniversary with this company. They add the names to our board in the Library at the end of each year and my friend who also hit the 5 yr mark and I took cheesy pictures pointing at our names. I blame the sugar high we were on from all the desserts. Yeah. That's it.

I'd show you the pictures of our snow storm that turned into an ice storm but well, that didn't happen. It sleeted a little but then it all turned into rain. And well, pictures of a wet parking lot aren't that exciting.

Hope to see you again soon but just in case - I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!!!

(this post was brought to you by the letter *B* as in Blame or passing the Buck)

Another catch up

Well, I went to work for a little OT this morning and stopped at my LYS - Needle on the Square on the way home. After getting lovlingly chastised by not one but two employees - cough Mary cough cough Becky cough - I thought I should give you a little update on what I've been doing.

I haven't been knitting. My poor Marvelous Mitts have sat almost neglected - although they did go to our Knit Night Christmas party for a "coming out" show.

I spun this:



It's nice gray wool from some of the sheep at the Farm where I got my wheel (still unnamed BTW).

And I spun this:



It's Goblin Eyes from Spunky Eclectic's Fiber Club (October. Received the DAY I shipped the old wheel off to it's new home). I know dimes and quarters seem to be the norm when showing off singles but a nickle was all I could dig up out of my change pocket.

However, after I go try my hand at washing a fleece, I'm going to get back to knitting on my mitts. And this:



It's part of a top secret project (that you're not supposed to tell anyone about Mary and Becky!) that I got at NOTS today. The other part I have here already. I'm aiming on it being done by Christmas (stop that mad laughing!) but if not then it's OK.

Now, I must go get all stinky and greasy before our company Christmas party this evening... (can we extend the holidays for like another month so I don't have so much crammed into such a short time period??)

Welcome Home!

My new wheel. It's a Lendrum Folding Wheel. I have 3 different flyers for it - the regular flyer, the fast flyer and the plying head (that's what they call it...). The plying head does have it's own mother of all and drive band and the bobbin holds 2 full regular bobbins. (insert happy sigh here) The fast flyer fortunately takes the same bobbins as the regular flyer. I also have a tensioned kate. I need to read up on how they work differently than a lazy kate but I'm quite sure I have that information in a book.

I'm also needing some information on ratios. I think I have the basics down but really want some good information on this. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd appreciate it.

As you may remember I fell in love with the Lendrum at SAFF. I sold my Ashford Traditional and a couple of other things sitting around collecting dust and saved up my pennies and bought the wheel from a lovely dealer in Suffolk. Why Suffolk you ask? Well, not only were they were quite friendly and helpful at SAFF, but my aunt Judy (who I made the socks for) lives in Norfolk. Not quite an hour away... darn, have to go visit the family.

I love going to visit my aunt. We have a ton of fun no matter what we do. We get up whenever and eat breakfast and sit at the table for hours in our pjs talking about everything before we change clothes and do whatever it is we had planned to do - that is if we had anything planned. So add that into the mix and of course I went to Suffolk.

Saturday morning we left with plenty of time to find the dealer's studio. However, we did not realize that Suffolk's Christmas parade was Dec 1. We saw some of the Christmas parade as it was headed right down Main Street in the exact direction we wanted to do. After digging out the good ol' map we found away around the parade only to run into it again (it was quite a long parade...). We forged on but found ourselves on a road that wasn't on the map. We stopped to ask one of the very nice police officers how to get to where we needed to be. He politely told us that we were on the street we needed to be on. So on we went.

On the way back from picking up the wheel, we got re-routed by an accident. We saw an awful lot of Suffolk yesterday and enjoyed the whole trip. She did take the first pictures of me spinning on my wheel but (not surprisingly) we got to talking and she forgot to take some with my camera too so when I get them from her I'll share.

Now, if you'll please excuse me, I have some wool calling my name...