General Update

So today is a day of catching up, because I have been working on things, but I am just about halfway done or further on several projects, so I will be posting those. Today is also a day of blurry pictures, why? you ask. Well, because apparently I am incapable of operating a camera and I didn't realize it until the pictures were all loaded. Also, everything that I'm posting today is for me, not for my etsy shop, and in case you were wondering I'm waiting until I can get professional photos to post my knitting items up onto etsy. So they will be up shortly, just not today, or tomorrow. So first off, I finished a bag that had been sitting on my UFO (unfinished objects) pile for ages, like seriously, at least two years. And all that it needed was a lining! All the knitting was done, so I sewed up a lining for it, and am now using it as my project bag when I go up to my LYS (local yarn store) to craft with the ladies on Saturdays.

In addition to crafting with the fun ladies at Yarn Mercantile, I have been spinning quite a bit. I finished a singles skein from a center pull batt from a swap that I did in November that was video game themed. I got 282 yds, which is a fair amount for me, I have the problem of spinning almost all of my singles as worsted weight, which means if I want to ply them at all I get a bulky, so I have been trying to practice spinning thinner, but I'm not really sure how well it is working. But these are totally my colors! I am thinking that it is about the weight of Cascade 220, and I am going to go to the yarn shop and find a nice charcoal grey that I can do a stripe with it, and do a nice striping cowl type things, is my plan.

Then I wanted to do a traditional three ply again, because the fiber had such dark colors with bright pops of orange that I thought it would spin better and have a more blended appearance, I'm not sure if I was right or not. I also misread the band on the fiber, and thought I had 8oz, only to discover after I had spun and plied it all that I only ended up with 82 yards, so I clearly only had 4oz, which is disappointing, and I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with this, other than go and get a chocolate brown bulky to stripe it with and make someone a scarf or something, they aren't really my colors, and I don't think I would be happy wearing them.

Then there is the one big project that I have been slogging away at, even though I really love the end product, I just don't think I am a sweater making type of person. It's just not that fun to me, and I would rather make almost anything. I even really enjoy making blankets, just not sweaters, I'm not really sure why. So this one is stuck at a stage in it's life where the body is done and it has one sleeve, and I just need to knit up the other sleeve. I've taken good notes, and I have all the yarn, it's just a matter of sitting down and doing it, and I think in order to procrastinate on this project I have started so many others. So that's my explanation of why I have been having cast-on-itis as of late. So here is my 3 in 1 sweater that I am knitting in Cascade 220 superwash.

So two weeks ago I went to the LYS, and wanted to make a evening hat, something fancier for myself, since I wear hats all the time, but didn't have anything even slightly dressy to wear, and then I wanted to make a evening bag, since I went to the thrift store and found the handles that one sews onto craft bags for $2 a pair, and I got three. So, I went and found a yarn that is DK called twinkle, and a sequin yarn that I held together to create the hat, and I really got a bad picture of it. I am improving the design as I work and am really liking the results so far. It has a slight purl texture, but you really can't see in the picture.

And then for the purse I found some silk yarn so it will have a nice drape, and then I will line it and sew on the handles when I am done. The yarn is a sock weight, and I am working on it with an E hook. This picture looks gray but it real life the color has more purple in it.

And that is what I am working on, I just didn't want to wait until I finished everything to post a new blog entry, since it felt like it had been a while since I posted.

Etsy is Open!!!

Just a quick announcement, that I opened my Etsy shop today! It's the spinningknitting1 shop, and it's now open! I will be slowly updating the shop throughout the weekend, and will have all the bags that I have done up by the end of the weekend, and then I will have the knitted items up when I get the pictures taken. But if you have any requests for a custom order just let me know, and I will work something out with you!

Finished Projects

I recently went to the local big box craft store, which everyone knows can be a dangerous adventure, and I located their fat quarter batiks. I would just like to start off with the full disclosure that I love batiks. I love graphic prints. I think that these are wonderful things that need to be celebrated and be made part of decorating and accessories all around. So, in order to do my little part I purchased enough gray fabric to line all the bags that I planned on making, and then picked out zippers, and then picked out fabric that coordinated with the zippers. I realize that this may sound a bit backwards, but when you think about it, there are far more fabric choices than zipper choices, so I thought that it was safer to pick out the thing with the smaller selection, because I didn't want to end up with awesome fabric and having to get a boring black zipper to go in them. I also added a handle to these box bags, because it seemed like a good idea. So, there is that too.

I think that they turned out really cute, and was quite pleased with them.

Then also last night I finished a hat for my friend K, and she will be getting it whenever I see her next, hopefully on Sunday at our young adult group. So there is that too. It was made with Plymouth Coffee Bean, which is a worsted weight. The construction of the yarn was really interesting, it was a three ply with one of the plies being slightly thick and thin so it gave a slight bit of texture to the finished hat as well as just some visual interest that I liked. The pattern was a free pattern off of Ravelry, the "big fat cable hat". I really liked this pattern, and thought that it was written out really well, and that it turned out really cute and slouchy. I am seriously considering making some more of these for Christmas and other similar occasions.

And finally this afternoon I finished another bias scrap blanket for Project Linus. I liked how it turned out, I just made it from scraps on a US Size I crochet hook, single crochet increasing until it was about three feet on a side and then decreasing until I reached a point. Unfortunately, Project Linus meet-up is on Sunday and it looks like this will be the only knit/crochet blanket that I have finished, I do have the bargello quilted one that I showed previously, but I really like to turn in more yarn based blankets, especially since I have received yarn donations and I like to have a good turn around on those so I am not just hoarding it. (Even though the donations are usually just Red Heart Super Saver, so it's not like there's a whole lot else I can do with them, it's still nice to have a fairly quick turn around on those sort of things.)

I finished For Calvinism by Michael S. Horton, and while I thought it was a well written book, I don't think that it necessarily convinced me that Calvinism is the way to go. There seemed to be some parts in the logic where he didn't really answer the question proposed and just skirted around the issue in order to arrive at the safe conclusion that supported his answer. So it was interesting, but I don't know that it accomplished it's goal. I started The Case for God by Karen Armstrong, but am not really far enough into it to say one way or the other how it's going to turn out, it is interesting so far, but that's about all the insight I can give to it.

Spindle Spinning

I finished a thing! I have been working on a big spindle spinning project, not huge like a sweater quantity or anything, but a pretty big project, for me anyway. To start off I would like to state that I have issues with making my singles anything much thinner than a worsted or aran. Most of the time I get a bulky or even super bulky. So I wanted to try and get a sock weight yarn on a spindle. Not only that but I wanted to get a navajo plied sock yarn on a spindle, and I got closer. I think that I got around a DK weight, so that's closer. I got around 130 yards from 4oz of BFL (Blue Faced Leicester). It was in the Scrambled on the Insides colorway by Nerd Girl Yarns. I like how it turned out, and I think that I am going to make some kind of slippers with them.

I spun it on my Kundhert spindle that is 1.3oz, and it is my favorite spindle by far. I really like the weight at how it spins. I am planning on going to a spin-in at Chillicothe, MO in April, and am wanting to get another spindle there, just to try out another one, but I am definitely going to get one in this weight range. I am also considering getting another turkish spindle, because I like the one that I have, but it is just the knitpicks one, and I like when my tools have just a little bit of embellishing on them. Makes them feel nicer. There is going to be a tool trade at the spin-in so I am hoping to find some good deals there.

In other news I am still reading For Calvinism, although I am almost done, and will likely finish within the next few days. I am also reading New Monasticism by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and it is an interesting read that has given a history of the monastic movement, and now is getting into how principals of monastic living can be applied to the church as a whole. I also went to the library yesterday and got The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, which is the book club book for the March book club, so I don't know anything about it, but it looks like it will hopefully be an enjoyable read.

I did a lot of math yesterday in order to figure out the sleeves on a sweater I am making. It has a bottom up construction, where the body and the sleeves are knit separate and then joined and the shoulders are knit. I've finished with the body, and my arms are just not shaped like a normal person's, I have shorter arms that are rounder, so I had to increase quickly in a short amount of rows in order to ensure that the sleeves will indeed fit me (which is important to me considering that I have invested a fair amount into this yarn).

I also have a time frame for getting my products professionally photographed for my Etsy shop, and so everything is on track to get it all up and running in March, which will be awesome!

Vanilla Socks

Yesterday I finished my purse knitting project that has been in my bag a little over a month. It was from deep stash, so I'm not sure of the yarn brand or name, but it was fingering weight, and it was commercially spun and dyed, and self-striping.

So here are the finished socks.

And I'm going to describe my personal vanilla sock pattern that I use to the best of my ability. I have very wide feet, and have about 8 1/2 size length in my foot. I also have a very high arch, so it is sometimes a bit tricky to get it all to work out and fit on my feet. I also do my socks two at a time toe up on magic loop. 

Step 1: Using Judy's Magic Cast-On I cast on 24 stitches for each toe, meaning that there are 12 stitches on the front and 12 stitches on the back for each toe. 

Step 2: I knit one round, then I increase every other row until I have 36 stitches on either side of each sock, or 72 stitches around on each sock. 

Step 3: I work 2x2 rib on the top of each sock and plain stockinette on the bottom of the foot. This helps the sock stretch to go over the widest part of my foot, and stretch to go over my high arch. I work this until the sock is long enough to hit my ankle when I try on the sock. 

Step 4: I work a short row heel on each sock. This heel just really fits my foot and gives me enough stretch and give to form to my foot. 

Step 5: I work rib on the top and plain stockinette on the back for about an inch, just so the part that is in my shoe is not ribbed on the back, because that is sometimes uncomfortable. 

Step 6: I work 2x2 rib all the way around for the rest of the cuff. I work the cuff long enough so that I can fold the top over the foot and it is long enough that it is as long as the top of the foot of my sock. 

Step 7: I work one row of knit, and then work 1x1 rib for 6 rows, and then bind off using the Jeny's Super Stretchy bind off. 

Step 8: Weave in ends. I don't block my socks, and always use superwash, so I just throw them in the washing machine when I am done with them and have worn them. 

So that is what I do for my vanilla socks, and last year I made about a pair a month, so I was definitely filling up my sock drawer. I love making socks, I am just more in love with the fingering weight hats right now. 

Closet Treasures

While I was in my stash closet the other day I stumbled upon a large white trash bag. I had assumed that this was the final resting place for many project disasters. But much to my surprise I found some really delightful creations, and many of them were made with handspun, so I think that they are extra fancy. This post is really picture heavy, but I just wanted to show them all to you, because they show what I used to knit, and how free form and creative I was with things, not going off a pattern at all and just making really unique items. So without further ado here is the surprise projects.

This scarf has all commercial yarn, different textures, some fun fur, and some that was commercial yarn plied together.

 This hat is just a simple beanie made with novelty commercial yarn

This is a little hat made out of handspun that I thought turned out nice.

This is another hat made out of handspun, it's all crochet and has a really nice slouch to it.

These are all fingerless mitts made out of the same thick and thin blue and tan yarn that I got thinking I would make a sweater with it, but the sweater didn't look good with yarn that was this busy. I still have a ton left of it. One Christmas I made several slippers out of it too, and my grandmother felted hers! So I guess I should make some more slippers this year.

This is a simple triangle shawl with eyelet rows, made from Noro sock yarn, which I think is extra lovely.

This is a headband made from handspun, a really simple pattern just singe crochet.

This is a handspun shawlette, and I did a sort of stitch sample on it trying out different textures and patterns.

This is a scarf made out of handspun, and I really like how the colors played with each other, I just thought they all went together really nice.

This is a crocheted scarf from alpcaca, which means it's nice and soft, and even though I have a lot of alpaca to spin, this is not anything that I have spun.

This scarf also plays with texture. The grey-ish green parts are reclaimed yarn from a thrift store sweater, and there is novelty yarn as well, it's all shades of green and it's a fun scarf.

Then there are two that I finished before I started blogging again, and they will go up in my Etsy shop too, along with everything else that I have shown thus far. First there is a fair isle hat that I really like, and I have one just like it and I wear mine all the time, so I think it's pretty classy. Only mine is cool colors while this one is warm colors. 

And then there is a scarf that I tunisian crocheted from yarn that I got from Hobby Lobby, but I don't remember the name of it exactly. The stitch is a simple lace stitch (that's really the name of the stitch), and I thought that it turned out really cute. 

And last but not least yesterday I finished a hat that has a monogram "A" on it, and I'm super proud of this hat because I charted out the A all by myself and then did it with stranded knitting so I think that it really pops. 

I think that I have enough inventory to open my shop up next month, but I am going to continue making things (obviously), maybe just not at the frantic pace that I have been. Currently I'm working on a sweater, and two blankets and a pair of socks. Once I finish my sweater I'm going to start on a sweater for my brother, so that is all a lot of knitting, but I'm up for the challenge!

Little Things

Well, it's been just over a week, and honestly, I don't have that much to show for it. I did finish Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans, and thought it was a very interesting book. My only complaint is that it wasn't long enough. I wish she could have gone into more detail in some of her interviews. Other than that I thought it was really interesting to read about someone attempting to live out the biblical decrees in a year.

I am still reading For Calvinism by Michael S. Horton, and I'm over halfway done with that book. It too is really interesting, but there seems to be some manipulation of words in order for them to make their points seem nice and logical, like they are stepping two steps out in front of you without letting you see how they go to their position, and then just saying "Trust me, look, I'm out here, it must be ok". Which I don't particularly like.

I've also started listening to the Daily Audio Bible in addition to the three pastors that I follow through their podcasts. I think that his voice is soothing and I find it interesting to discover all these stories that happened in the Bible that I wasn't really aware that they happened, or details that are left out when they teach you the stories as children. I don't really listen to the commentary or the community call-ins, but I think that it is nice to just listen to the Bible being read every day. I think it makes it easier for me to keep going, and I had to catch up quite a bit, since it is now February, but I am now caught up and intend to keep listening for the rest of the year.

I created a "new" bag design yesterday. I'm not the first person to ever invent a box bag, I know, but I did make them bigger than the normal box bag, and I made them in a way that they are lined and the zipper is in at first. I will be putting them up in my Etsy shop. I think the prints that I used are cute and that overall it is a nice little bag, big enough for a medium sized project. I have some more zippers, so I will be making some more of various sizes pretty soon as well.

I also finished a simple cowl that I made by modifying a stitch pattern so that the floats were on top of each other. It made a really squishy fabric, but because the three ply of the yarn is so busy you can't really see the patterning in the stitches, but that is ok, I still think it's cute.

I also finished a striped hat that worked up really fast, and I think turned out really cute. These I wouldn't mind doing on commission in a million different colors, and there's not too many patterns I can say that about, I just really like this hat blank pattern and all the different color work that I have been doing on it. I think that it is interesting and really fun to whip up a hat in just a few days.

In other news I was exploring in my stash area and got down a bag of what I thought was disasters from the past, and inside there were actually some nice and interesting creations that I think I'm going to put in my Etsy shop. And most of them were done with handspun, so that makes them extra special. I was really thrilled. I was expecting just disaster after disaster and instead was pleasantly surprised all around. I will be posting pictures of those finds next time I post.