Episode 7: Lightning Speed

This week my computer decided that it needed to update, which today was an excellent day to update, but it meant that I was a little pressed for time when I was recording. Because of this I kind of speed through my projects at lightning speed!

While I was waiting for the computer to update I picked some wildflowers from outside, that just popped up by the deck steps. I was amazed at the different shades of colors that they were and how delicate they were, I just thought that I would share.

I talked about my past week, and about my mom's birthday that was this week. I made her this great mixer cover for her kitchen aid mixer. I really loved the chicken print, and it goes really well with her kitchen, which is all chicken themed, so it worked really nicely. After the photo shoot I made sure to put it back in the kitchen so it can keep the mixer cozy.

Next I talked about all my great finished objects that I had this week. I finished G's socks. They are men's size 12 or so, so it was a fair bit of knitting. I made them 88 stitches around on US size 1 needles. I worked them two at a time toe up, magic loop method. I worked them in JaWoll color for the mottled green, and Cascade Sock in green for the toes, heels, and cuffs.

I also finished a pair of socks for myself. I striped two different self-striping colorways from Berroco Sox. One was various shades of green, and the other was red, pink, peuce, green, and blue (which probably doesn't sound very pretty, but it turned out really cute. I worked them 72 stitches around on US size 1's. I worked them one at a time using the magic loop method. Last week I was just above the heel on the second sock, and this week I finished all the leg and cuff. All that is left is for them to have the ends woven in.

Another finished object is not really knitting or crochet or spinning related, but it is still technically fiber. I finished sewing a top for a Project Linus quilt. Project Linus is a charity that donates new, handmade blankets to children that are ill or traumatized. They are handed out at hospitals, and police and firemen can carry them around with them. This one was a kit that was already cut for the most part and step by step directions were included. My mom helped me out quite a bit, she did the second cuts, and helped me press the pieces, and gave me pointers about how best to assemble to quilt. (The middle block is supposed to be sideways, I did it on purpose).

This week I had a few Works In Progress (WIPs). I started and worked a lot on a chevron cowl that will be worked until I run out of yarn, and then kitchener the two ends together. I provisionally cast on 100 stitches and then am working a chevron pattern on the tube. I am using Lang Yarn Mille Colori Socks and Lace yarn and Berroco Comfort sock weight, held together. It is being worked on US size 4 needles, and I think it is turning out pretty nicely.

Confession time, for the past three weeks I have been working on a project and haven't shown you, because... well, I'm not really sure why, maybe I was embarrassed at having so many projects on the needles? At any rate, I'm coming clean. This is going to be a pillow for the Design Challenge Aug/Sep Challenge on Ravelry. It's a group that just runs bi-monthly challenges on their forums. This two month challenge is to make a pillow that uses cables and has texture. I am using short rows to make wedges that will form a circle that will then have a strip around the outside of cables, and the other side will be in a gradient that I dyed around this time last year. Anyways, I'm working it on Jaeger Gabrielle with Mohair held double on US size 9 needles. I am taking good notes, and I plan to work up the pattern, and have a blog post devoted to it, so that if you want you can make your own little cushion. Here's what it looks like so fair.

Also this week I decided I needed a crochet project, since I hadn't crocheted in about two weeks, and I was really itching to get my hands on a hook. So, I decided that I was going to make a "crazy quilt" afghan, so I am letting it grow organically, but still making sure that it is staying rectangular as I work it. That way when I'm done it will be a really unique blanket. I worked the center square, and then I did a couple rows of border around it. Then I did triangles around the center square to set it on it's corner, striping the triangles randomly. Then I added a border with puff stitches to give it texture and interest. I plan on making log cabin stripes on two of the sides, to make it a bit asymmetrical, but still rectangular. I will also be using some other stitches, such as bobbles, V-stitch, and Cross post stitch to give the log cabin stripes some texture. I'm pretty excited about this project, so hopefully it comes out as nicely as it sounds like it will in my head.

Lest you think that I am being neglectful, or that I have Project ADD or something else, I would like to acknowledge that there were three projects that were not featured this week. First was the Hippy-hippy shawl which is by Gabrielle Vezina, which was not seen, because it did not receive any work, mainly because the fingering weight on US size 2 needles is pretty small, and I just didn't make myself sit there and work on it this week. Then there is the Project Linus blanket that I am knitting with the ball band dishcloth pattern. I did work on this, but it felt like there was a lot going on in this podcast, and so that project just didn't make the cut. Finally, my brother's sweater, the Hedge Fence Pullover, by Elinor Brown, was not worked on, mainly because this is the first week in the past two or three where I could sit and knit as long as I wanted without my hands killing me, and I just hadn't sat down and cranked out a whole pattern repeat at any point in the week.

So, anyways, this week I also spun. Both fibers were from vendors at the All-MO Spin In in Chillicothe, MO that I went to this May. The orange and pink skein is wool that I plied with metallic sliver thread, and one spool of brown thread with beads, I got 368 yards, and am planning on making a shawl. It's very airy and was spun from an art batt. The blue and green was sold in a hank of roving, and I wasn't sure about the colors when I bought them, but I really like them now that they are spun up. I like how the different colors play together, and I think it will make a very nice hat. I split the roving into strips lengthwise, about six strips, spun them end to end, and then plied the whole thing back on itself. I am also still working on drop spindling the mohair and wool blend that I got at the MOPaca festival that I went to earlier this year as well. I'm spinning that on a turkish spindle that I got in a swap package last year or so.

This week's stash enhancement included some fiber, two different sweater quantities, and sock yarn, as well as sock yarn to dye. I'm pretty excited about all the possibilities that these new additions bring. The thought of the week this week was about the Bullet Journal idea that I'm trying to see if I can organize my life a bit more. I am making lists of different things that I want to do, and how to do them. I think that it will help me. If you type in "setting up bullet journals" into YouTube there will be a bunch of different tutorials about what a bullet journal is and how to set it up. I think that it seems to be a good idea.

Thanks for watching and reading, and I hope to see you next week!

Wool Piggery, Portuguese Knitting, and A Container Garden

So last weekend was the All Missouri Spin-In in Chillicothe, it was a lot of fun. I was able to see other spinners! But, it was wet and rainy and I didn't get my spinning wheel out, so I just watched others spin. I also watched a fashion show, and did a lot of shopping. I also took a class on Portuguese knitting. I got a bunch of wool, four batts (one is already spun up, and I'm spinning the second one) and four braids, and I am going to spin three of them together into a three ply, so I'm hoping that the colors will play well with each other for that.

I am spinning the pink and purple batt as we speak, and here is a shot of the bobbin that I'm working on. I'm thinking that I'm going to ply it with a sparkly metallic thread and that will give it another dimension of interest rather than just a flat yarn. It's spinning up thick and thin, so it would be really irregular if I just plied it back on itself.

And then I took a class on Portuguese knitting. It's where you have the yarn tensioned either around your neck or through a pin that you clip on your shoulder. I liked working with the pin better than having it looped around my neck. I am working on making a Reike hat, or something close to it. I didn't look up the pattern and just cast on using my normal number of stitches, I think it was around 90, on size US8 needles. I am knitting up the first batt that I spun up. It was an art batt that had yellow, red and grey in it, and then had little bits of yarn dispersed throughout, so there will be texture to the finished product. I am liking how it is knitting up so far. It is hanging on a mixed media canvas that I made on a Girl's Night Out craft night through my church. It was pretty neat.

Up close, and far away, you can't tell any difference between Portuguese knitting and my regular knitting. I think that it is just an interesting skill to add to my repertoire.

And finally there is my container garden, that it fully established. Many of the plants have been replanted, and most of them have transferred well. I think that they are all happy, and that they are all going to be able to make it. I hope that they are happy outside. There were a few leaves that were turning brown and crinkly around the edges, so I'm hoping that they will be happier outside. I haven't worried about insects or disease a whole lot since they have been inside up until now.

I'm still working on socks using the small circular, and am on the toe of the first sock of a second pair. And then I am also working on the Curl that I was working on, and it is coming along. That and I've started a hat that I am hoping to wear during the summer, so I'm not doing any colorwork on it, and just letting the colors in the yarn sing out.

Splitting A Ball in Half

Today I finished a scarf that I made with four different balls of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Wool, but before I show you the picture, I am going to describe my method for splitting balls in half without a ball winder, a swift, or a scale.

This is the ball in it's original state. One could just start knitting from the inside or the outside, since it's a center pull ball, which is perfect for my purposes. The first step is to find the inside end and the outside end, holding them together, start winding a ball, just manually. 

At the end of all that you will have a single ball held double. Cut the string in half when you get to the very end of the original ball. If you are making two at a time socks you can stop here, and can knit both socks from the same ball, meaning that if you are knitting toe up you will know exactly when to end in order to use up as much of the yarn as possible. I prefer knitting two at a time toe up, on 40" cable needles, size US 1. I think that they go fast. I will describe my vanilla sock recipe in a later post. 

 Next take both ends of the ball and start winding two separate balls. If the yarn gets twisted, simply untwist it. I never find it to become terribly troublesome.

Continue winding into two separate balls. 

Eventually you will end up with two completely separate balls.

Tadaa! A ball split in half with no fancy equipment whatsoever.

After I split the ball in half today I finished crocheting a scarf. I used half of four different balls of Hobby Lobby's I Love This Wool, so I have exactly enough to make an exactly identical scarf, which I think that I will end up doing. I would just like to say that I did not love the I Love This Wool though. I thought it was too splitty, and it kept splitting on me. It did come in a variety of different plies in the Naturals line. I started with a solid brown, then did a section of three plies of brown with one ply cream, then half and half, two plies brown, two plies cream, and finally three plies cream and one ply brown. I think it ended up being a really interesting gradient, and I may have to experiment with making gradients like this using handspun, since I have never really played around with anything more than Navajo plying or two ply, so playing with more plies would be fun. Here is the finished scarf. I used a size US J crochet hook, and used the berry stitch, which is just alternating double crochet and single crochet stitches every other stitch and then double crochet in the single crochet and single crochet in the double crochet in the next row.

I came home this evening and made an especially yummy dinner. I roasted peppers, tomatoes, and chickpeas in the oven, sprinkling them with garlic salt and pepper. I sauteed zucchini, yellow squash, and red onion and minced garlic in a skillet on the stove top, and then I cooked some gluten free spiral pasta. I waited until each component was done then I mixed them all together with olive oil and Parmesan cheese in a plastic container, I ate half and saved the other half for tomorrow. It was really delicious, and I might write out a more specific recipe, but I don't really want this to become a food blog, since I think my crafting is more interesting than my cooking. I'm also not always exact when I cook, so making recipes is not my forte. 

Swaps, Designs, and Dyeing!!!!

First and foremost, I finished two adorable washcloths to send off in a "Hands that Do Dishes" on the "A Swap In Time" group on ravelry.


And they were received by the lovely moderator! Which was fun and exciting.

Next up, I did some dyeing, preparing fleece and anticipating the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry, I'm on the rookies team this year, as this will be the first year I will be participating.

I dyed it with koolaid, in a variety of pink, red and orange tones. It smelled awful, as if a very oily sheep was being bathed in fruit punch.

Now here comes the funny part, I want it to dry faster, so it is outside in the sweltering heat, sandwiched between two stacking patio chairs so they can be outside and hopefully dry faster.


It looks like my wool was very very baaaad, and got sent to wooly prison... oh noes!


And then last, but not least, I dyed some wool yarn that I got from a surprise box from etsy that was a really gross melon color... but now it is a happier pink and red mixture.

I am going to knit up a stole for the Project Yarnway, this month it is based on a book that you have read, and I just finished reading "The Grand Finale" by Janet Evanovich. It will be wavy with some type of scallop or fish or nautical theme, I haven't hashed it all out yet.

In other news... I am out of the hospital (yay, all around!) and will be following a slightly different course regarding my education. I will be hopefully going to get my CNA and then go to work. School is just too overwhelming to even think about right now. So, that is my life, not a lot going on, just taking things really slow and allowing my time to heal and get better, and of course, fiber fun!