Tour De Fleece 2019 – Week 1

Hello friends and welcome to the 2019 tour! This week’s project focuses on…who would have guessed…Spinning!

We are one week into the 2019 Tour de Fleece! Have you been spinning along every day? I have managed to spin every day, although sometimes it’s just for 10 or 15 minutes, but that’s 10 to 15 minutes more than last month! Or even the last two months!

For this year’s tour, I’ve joined 5 teams…loosely. I’m better at spinning than posting and chatting, so this will have to do. I’m in #tdfteampeleton2019 of course. Then I’ve joined #TeamAkerworks2019, #tdfhousecup2019, #TeamFThisKnit2019, and #teamschacht2019. I’m also doing an off the radar team with my friend Kim who taught me to spin, and her mom.

Currently, I’m spinning a Rambouillet/Alpaca blend from my friend Kristen who owns Happy Bottom Homestead.

She plans to make the roving from her Alpaca’s available to sell in the next year, so I’m working on a sample that she can take to fiber festivals and photograph. I’ve got about 4oz of this to spin and another 4 in a brown. Both are natural and undyed. I’m spinning this on my Schacht Matchless using a short draw and a Z twist. I’m also using one of my Akerworks bobbins because I need to get my wooden ones re-reamed for this wheel. They have expanded over the years and get stuck quite easily, making spinning a nightmare, but the Akerworks ones work perfectly!

Tomorrow is a rest day for the tour, which works out well since I’ve got meetings tomorrow evening.

How has your spinning been going? Are you on any teams?

Project Year-Long Sweater

*eye of the tiger music plays*

*Runs out of doorway, victoriously fist pumping, wearing an amazingly soft, intricately cabled, cream colored sweater*

YEEEEEESSSS!!!!!

I DID IT!!!!!!

I FINISHED MY SWEATER!!!!!!!! THE ROCKY COAST CARDIGAN IS DONE!!!!

And it only took me 361ish days!! (According to my ravelry page I started December 1, 2013…but usually a 1st of the month start date indicates I forgot when I actually started it…sooo….yeah.)

Let me back up and start at this sweater’s humble beginnings.

Technically, this journey probably began with Hannah Fettig and Alana Dakos publishing Coastal Knits. Most of you are probably aware of this book, but if you’re not then GET THEE TO CLICKING THE LINK!!! It’s probably one of my favorite pattern books of all-time. I have a rule about purchasing knitting books. I only drop cash if there are 3+ patterns in the book that I desperately want to knit. So my book collection is reasonable…and…I’ve never knit a single thing out of any of them until now. HA! Yeah…I’m special.

But Coastal Knits is amazing. I fell in love with every single pattern and bought the yarn for more than one. However I never cast anything on.

I desperately coveted the Rocky Coast sweater on the book’s cover…but immediately I said I wouldn’t ever knit that. I wasn’t a sweater knitter. I’d started a sweater…and eventually finished it 3 years later in 2013. So last year I decided I might be able to be a sweater knitter. I was flirting with the idea not that one, very basic, sweater was complete.

In October of 2013 I went on my yearly trek to the Montpelier Fiber Festival in Charlottesville VA. I went to sleep at my friend’s mom’s house the night before the festival….and had my first knitting-dream ever.

I dreamed I had knit the Rocky Coast and I had worn it in my engagement photos. (I was engaged and the photos were scheduled for a few weeks after the festival…so this dream was clearly not in the realm of knitting-reality) I woke up…and I had to knit that sweater. I bought the yarn from a festival booth that day. The most perfect cream colored worsted weight wool.

And…judging by my project page I cast on after my engagement photos….sometime in December. Now, you should know I’m a polygamous knitter. I’ve never…ever…(well since my first ever project) had less than 3 things on the needles. Right now it’s closing in on 20…*dies a little* So I started….

Progress as of December 1 2013

I dug this photo out (it’s weirdly yellow….bad lighting, sorry)…and maybe I did start on December 1st. Huh. So 361 days. Nice!

December 20, 2013

Then…it got sat down for awhile. And I got married…so that was a tiny distraction…

Around August of 2014 I decided IT MUST GET DONE BY THE FESTIVAL AT WHICH I BOUGHT THE YARN….

This is from roughly September of 2014. I got one and a half arms done by October 2014. Then…in the last week or so….I decided it MUST BE DONE BY THANKSGIVING. Night after night (Ok like 2 nights and one morning) I knit for hours. The arm maybe took 2 hours to finish, but the edging…Ohhhhh the ribbed edging. I even did knit-math. One repeat took me 22 minutes. I needed 20 repeats then a bind off row (which always takes exponentially longer than anything else ever and involves some kind of time-vortex, I’m sure.) So…yeah. That took time. And then my knitpicks had a slight malfunction

https://www.flickr.com/photos/projectshalfdone/15900486805/

NO!!! DEAR GOD NO!!!!! WHY, GOD, WHY???!?!!!? My interchangeable needle CORD separated from the metal part!!! EVERYBODY KNIT-PANIC!!!!

Ugh. I switched to my other cord….and pressed on. To the bind-off-vortex.

BUT I DID IT!!! THANKSGIVING MORNING AROUND 10AM I FINISHED THE BIND OFF!!!!

And then of course….I have to wear it to lunch. (Please ignore the random fan and heater and dog beds in the background. We were in a smidge of a hurry)

So today, it’s blocking. My beautiful, finished, cabled, masterpiece of 361 days is DONE!!

Ahhhh. Life is good.

Former Perfectionist Tips on Rocky Coast:

• If you have normal-human (Sorry Hannah, you’re a tiny, tiny person) arms, FIND THE ARM WIDENING INFO.
• Learn to cable without cable needles. This is a great project to exercise that skill.
• Write out the cable repeats on a post-it to tally your rows as you go.
• Fall in love

What’s your longest project on the needles? Have you ever had knitting dreams?!?! Ever knit a dream-project? Anyone else in love with this pattern?? Because I’m about to make another!! Happy knitting!

 

So. Broke.

Look, I came back!! (again, damnit.)

Anyway…

 

Dear grad school, you suck the fun (read as: money) out of everything.

Between wedding planning and living on my stipend…it’s rough. But the good news is that my awesome boss at the yarn store is letting me teach some classes on Sundays!! Yes, this means I’m going to be working both Saturday AND some Sundays….in addition to doing long runs on Sundays…and…yeah. Just one more year…one more year…one more year….then I SWEAR, mom, I SWEAR I’ll get a real, big-girl, all grown up, adult job.

I hope.

I’ll try, at least.

Let’s go to some pictures, shall we?

Engagement Pictures by Christina Wolfe Photography:

Best Christmas Presents EVERRRR…

 

 

I FINISHED A SWEATER, OMG!!!

 

 

 

 

Then I cast on another…

 

Then I am working on some socks from my handspun Hedgehog Fibres

 

Aaaannd that’s all for now. More coherence next time, I swear.

 

Festivus!

Best. Weekend. EVER!!!

Ok, I say that every year, this weekend.

Why? Because it was Montpelier Fiber Fest!!!! Every year I go with one of my favorite people in the whole world…she’s my mentor, my trainer and basically who I want to become when I grow up. I get to spend the whole weekend with her and her family, some other friends, AND we go to a fiber fest, AND get awesome food (because her mom is an amazing cook) AND I get to run one of my favorite routes, AND I get my flu shot!!! YES!!!

I’m not kidding, this weekend even makes me excited about flu shots.

I love this weekend so much. Only 363 more days until I get to do it again!!!

Friday night we got in late. I basically went right to bed so that the next day we could get up and go to the festival!!!

I love this festival so much. Awesome vendors, great selection, but not over-crowded. I can look around, then go back around again and get what I wanted. No pressure. It’s fantastic. More on the purchases later. I promise.

So after the festival we headed home for dinner…and these awesome ladies gave me the most amazing card…and I lost it. Cried at dinner. They also got me a little gift to wish me well for the following weekend (this coming weekend) when I will complete my first-ever marathon. The full 26.2. The big dance.

*falls over*

So…I’m as prepared as I can be. More on that…next week.

Oh holy God I’m actually doing this, aren’t I? Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.

EEK!!!!

Ahem.

So. Stash that got acquired….

 

From leftish to rightish: 1) Spinning gift bag from friend’s mom. Included a new lap pad for spinning WITH POCKETS!! What??!? Yes. 2) Alpaca fleece from friend’s mom is under that. AWESOMESAUCE. I almost bought one and was regretting it. She had some to spare. SO COOL. 3) Spindle and 3oz fiber for a gift for a friend that worked all weekend at the yarn store for me so I could go play!!! 4) 6 oz each of merino in slate and burgundy. Goal is to spin for the Tempest sweater. 5) White merino for dying. 6) So…I had a dream the night before the show. I dreamed I was knitting the Rocky Coast Cardigan….and I was wearing it in my engagement photos. So I bought yarn to make it. Why not. I feel like if something comes to you in a dream and it’s reasonable…you should follow that notion. 7) Random 3.5oz of cormo that was purchased to go with hard to see 8) which is my new supported spindle!!!! IS SO PRETTY!!! Better pictures later. 9) Spinners Book of Yarn Designs. *drool* Had wanted for awhile. Friends mom had it and I spent all weekend lusting over it. So I bought one. Then 10/11) is the gifty from the amazing friends and the card.

Fantastic weekend.

Well…3 days until Baltimore. I better get packed!!!

Social Filter Smackdown

Let’s start off with a small discussion on social filters.

So, I was sitting somewhere that it is socially acceptable to have a spinning wheel in public…and spinning on my Schacht Matchless. Spinning away. Loving every second.

And then…this woman comes in to the general vicinity of myself. She watches me for a few minutes. And then promptly states “I just hate double treadle machines”. To which I politely told her that that was fine, and mine was a single treadle.

(My wheel looks like this…..)

She stood there for a few more seconds and then said “Well but you’re using two feet”. I calmly explained to her that I was choosing to do that, but I could also treadle with one foot. I have a SINGLE treadle. ONE. ONE PIECE OF WOOD THERE. (I didn’t get shouty. Be impressed.) So she stood there some more, walked around me and finally said “Well, I have a CLASSIC single treadle, single foot machine.”

Good. For. You.

Did I ASK you if you liked my wheel? NO. Did I ASK you if you WANTED my wheel? NOOO. Do I CARE if you hate my wheel?? NO I DO NOT!!! Are you rude in walking up to someone and telling them you hate something they clearly at least like enough to borrow or own? YES!!! For the love of all things wooly, social filters, people! Social filters!!! Let me tell you, there was a LONG list of very rude things I thought about telling her that I “hated” but due to my upbringing and SOCIAL FREAKING FILTER, I maintained my good manners and didn’t tell her my thoughts.

She had a friend with her…and personally if one of my friends had have said something like that out loud to another human, I would have physically hit them. Or another option, the one I currently utilize, is to not be friends with rude people. I mean, turning to your friend out of earshot and expressing your loathing of jeggings is one thing…but walking up to a stranger and telling them about their fashion faux pas is not in your job description unless you are Stacy and Clinton. For seriously, people. SOCIAL FILTERS. Use them and encourage others to do so as well.

Social. Filters.

Moving on. And not beating anyone with sticks.

Knitting News

I fell down a rabbit hole today. I just discovered VeryBusyMonkey. Oh. Em. GEE. Have you SEEN her patterns?!!!? MUST HAVE ALL THE PATTERNS. Usually, I’m a free pattern knitter. I’m broke, in grad school, and value my free patterns. Yeah, I buy books and magazines, but I’m getting more than just a pattern or four with that. It is RARE for me to buy a pattern. Not because I don’t value the designers work, but mostly because I prefer to buy a whole book or magazine for some reason. I don’t know. It’s just me. I’m odd. Also, it’s rare that I like ALL of someone’s something (yarn, fiber, patterns, whatever). The only other designer I’m hardcore in love with is Wooly Wormhead. So now I’ve found another favorite, which is awesome.  I bought her Shawl Pattern #4 collection. I want every single one. The good news is that I’m getting one of these for Christmas. I’m gifting the patterns to a friend for a swap. I knit her socks, she knits me a shawl. SO EXCITED. I don’t know which shawl I shall get, but it will be AWESOMETASTIC.

I’ve also been working on mittens for KP’s mom. One done and size-tested on everyone’s hand I could find, since I do not know the exact size of KP’s mom’s hand…but I assume it to be larger than my tiny ones. If I was a good blogger I would have pictures. But I slacked. So sorry.

I did manage to get some spinning done though!!!

Spinning Stuff

DONE!!!! My first TIBH spin is all done!!!! Not sure on yardage yet, it’s resting on the bobbin right now. I’m also not sure what it’s going to be…. The colorway is Olivander’s Wand Shop. Mostly greens which isn’t something I wear a lot of…so I’m not sure what it will become just yet. But it was super-fun to spin. Love me some TIBH.

Single ply…

2 ply with some chain at the end because….I fail at spinning evenly.

More pictures once it’s skeined and set!

Craft-tastic Crap

Well as you know both DF and I are major University of Tennessee fans…and thanks to pinterest I have been stalking some super-cute UT wreaths. Then at the flea market I found wooden wreaths for $3. So why not make one???

I got some ribbon and wooden letters, painted them up, wove in the ribbon, and…..

Super cute, yes?!?!

Well, that’s it for now. I’m going to go do some meal planning, school work, and remember to use my social filter!!! ❤

What Your Moped Means to Me

Hello!!!

It’s been a little while since I’ve made a real post. The last few weeks have been tied up with family issues and then vacations. First my Uncle, who is like a second father to me, wound up in the hospital and then had to have surgery…so needless to say I dropped most things and spent several days driving back and forth to the hospital. He’s still in the hospital, but is recovering fairly well. Then…I went on a much needed vacation to the beach. More on that in a wee-bit. Let’s get started.

Knitting News

I finished TWO projects since we last chatted!!! Two!!!! AND STARTED A THIRD!!!! And no one had better point out the other 15 UFO’s hanging out around my house. Most of which I haven’t even put on Rav because I don’t want to face the numbers. I am not a monogamous knitter, ok?? Ok.

So…the Inishbofin Cowl from KnitScene Accessories is DONE! He-whom-it-is-for does not know this yet…and hopefully won’t read this or see me modeling it. Hehehe. If he does, he can harass me about mailing it. I’ll get there eventually.

Cowl completion!!

;

Details

Then I knit up a pair of mittens for my Aunt for Christmas. Yeah, you heard me. ONE CHRISTMAS PRESENT DONE!!! HA!!!!!

;

Mittens DONE!!

Then finally, I started some fingerless mitts for myself. I used my regular mitten pattern and added a 2×2 cable about 6sts in for the left mitt, and 23 sts in is the plan on the right. For the left it should have been over another 2 sts, but…then I would have had to move things on to different dpns and my sts wouldn’t have been even on each needle and…I was lazy, ok?? Sheesh.

;

Fingerless Mitt #1

I worked on my neon socks a little bit too. I…should put some of these things in the Ravewhatever Games. I joined like 3 teams. I should…ya know…compete.
I’m a slacker. For more evidence, see below.

Spinning Stuff

Um….no.

Seriously. Haven’t touched a thing. I had a Tour De Fleece epic fail…and have continued to fail.

Wants and needs

To spin more.

Ha!

Right now…I can’t stop buying buttons. Mostly from Ephemera and Beanforest. I needs them. I wants them. MUST HAVE ZE BUTTONS!!!!!

They go on my nifty new back-to-grad-school bag.

Dr Who Messenger Bag!!

Yeah….I’m a dork like that. So far…I’ve bought 6 new buttons this month. I need to post a picture of my button board…my purse is covered in buttons too…and sometimes they fall off. And then I cry. I need to sew them on. I’ve said that for…forever.

So what I want more than anything is a magical monkey to sew all my buttons on to things because I’m a slacker. Kthx. 🙂

Workout World

Last week I did a killer 7 mile LR. It was AWESOME. So happy with that one…however…this week I went to the beach. Aaaand I did nothing.

Can you blame me for not working out??

Actually I walked a lot…but we were only there 3 days, technically…it was one. Monday…we drove, Tuesday we beached, and Wednesday we drove home. So…yeah. Thursday I did bike a little…but I felt awful most of the day. Vacations wear you out!! But I’m slowly getting back in to things.

Today…I did one leg of a sprint distance triathlon. So there’s that. More on that in a wee bit. Tomorrow the goal is to do about 6-7 miles.

 

General Chatter

Well…as I mentioned, I start grad school in a few weeks. It’s starting to get all kinds of serious now, with meetings scheduled, and my first training for being a TA…but the fun part is all the new school stuff. I’m a sucker for school supplies…I can’t help myself. I LOVE NOTEBOOKS. And pens. Oh and don’t get me started on post-its and highlighters. SQUEEEEE!!!!

In other news, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, my neighbor annoys the $@!* out of me. In addition to his antics, we also have “The Vertical Trailer Park”.

I swear, it’s just this one building. All the other buildings in our complex are older people, or young post-college couples just starting out. But the VTP is ridiculous. It’s also the newest building in the complex which that right there just makes me want to rip my hair out…anyway. Everyone in the VTP…seems to be what one might call “trailer trash”. Most…seem to be related or at least in close association. Often people are wandering barefoot from one of the buildings stairwells to another. Frequently dragging kids back and forth. Or just screaming from one balcony to the other while hanging off the edge.

The cast of characters includes Little Hispanic Girl Who Glares, Big Lady Who Wears Things With Writing On The Rear, and my personal favorite, Orange Mohawk Safety Vest Marley Moped Man. That’s just a few of the gems. In fact, there is a whole moped crew, which that alone terrifies me. Driving a moped says one of two things: Either “I’m too broke to afford a real vehicle and think driving 35mph is socially acceptable” or “I have had so many DUI’s that this is all the state will allow me to operate”. Both of those just rub me the wrong way.

It is quality entertainment, but it’s starting to make me uneasy. The other day a man tried to sell me an air conditioner…and I’m fairly certain I saw a woman from social services doing a home check on one of the residences. Also I think two of the apartments are occupied by a husband and wife who are now divorced, because they yell at each other, transport kids back and forth between apartments, and both discipline the rugrats. It’s lovely. Really.

Before I go off on a rant about letting your children sit in the middle of a frequently used parking lot at 10:30pm…we will move on.

Awesome Award

TA-DA!!!

Team KnitWits!

 

This week’s Awesome Award is for my mom and my good friend Jo!!! Both of them completed their first sprint distance triathlon as a relay team!!!!! Jo has a full-fledged sprint tri coming up soon, so this was her practice for it. Mom…is not a super-swimmer so this was a great way for her to compete without getting her feet wet!

Jo swam, I biked, and mom ran. It was a really great race and I’m SUPER proud of these two ladies for all their efforts.

And apparently we need to give my dad a bonus Awesome Award for his sprint with the camera. According to witnesses (DB and Jo’s Hubby) dad snapped a few pictures of me finishing the bike leg, then grabbed his chair, water, hat, and camera, and sprinted off to the run start to see mom before the rest of the group even knew he had moved. Apparently, he moved so rapidly that the rest of our support crew was talking to him one minuted, and couldn’t locate him the next. With all the races and horse shows dad has played pit-crew for, he clearly knows how to navigate a crowd, and make a speedy exit if needed. He also knows where to be with a camera. Thanks dad, for always supporting us. And way to be quick on your feet while toting all our crap and your chair…but next time maybe tell the noob’s where you went….

That’s it for now! Hope everyone had a good week or so while I disappeared. And look for more updates of the Vertical Trailer Park and Downstairs Neighbor…I’m sure they will come…

 

The Destruction of a Delivery Man

Hello!!!! Yes, yes, I know. I’m a smidge late on posting. My apologies. Pet sitting overtook my life. Let’s dive right in.

Knitting News

Working at a yarn store…creates yarn-buying accidents. I’ve bought…oh….9 skeins this week?

Ok, ok, ok, before everyone yells at me…it’s only around $8 a skein, AND it’s DISCONTINUED!!! Ok?!?! I had to. I mean….discontinued yarn means….it’s over. Done. Finite. End. I HAD to buy it if I EVER wanted to knit a thick and thin black and pink scarf!!! And then…uh….a orange and white one too? BUT IT’S TENNESSEE ORANGE!!! I HAD TO!!!!!

This is the pink…I have a weakness.

No one tell DB. Seriously. Do not tell him. I’m so totally supposed to be on a budget in preparation for grad school…but…ICOULDNTHELPITANDITWASPRETTYANDISPENDALLMYPAYCHECKONYARNINSTEADOFFOOD!!!

Yeah so I can’t eat for a week or two…but my scarf is pretty.

My lighting is bad. But my scarf is pretty.

I need to work on Christmas stuff…ugh. Is it that time already?!?! How about you? Any Christmas projects yet??

Spinning Stuff

I have kind of fallen off the Tour de Fleece wagon. I am going to pull the “I had to pet/house sit” card. I lost at least 2 hours a day due to driving/destructive dogs. I did, however, start spinning silk for the first time ever!! It’s going well so far. I’m starting from silk caps, pulling them apart and stretching it to roving. It’s a little easier than the Merino/Silk blend I did last. It sticks together a little better….but if I spin too thin and it snaps…I can’t splice it back together. I have to tie it together…unless you have a better suggestion?? Again, totally new at the silk stuff…any thoughts would be super.

I’ve got a little more than this, but this is my start.

I’ve done two pulls out of the first cap…didn’t weigh it beforehand so I’m not sure how much weight-wise yet. Hopefully this week I’ll jump back on the wagon.

Wants and needs

My good friend just got one of these wheels…and I so totally want one!!

It’s a spinning wheel with a bike tire!!!

I either want my dad to make me one…or find out where I can buy one. I’ve googled my little fingers off…but I can’t find any makers!!! This only makes me want this wheel more. I have “It’s not easily accessible”-itis.

Workout World

This week was really up and down for working out. Thursday I did a nice 3 mile run then a 30 min swim…then Friday I couldn’t get out of bed I was so exhausted.

But today….awesome run! I ran an easy 3 miles at the park and met a new running pal. There was an older gentleman up ahead of me, about my pace when I started. It took me almost a full mile to pass him. We were very evenly matched. Also known as…I’m a slow runner. Ha.

So we chatted and ran another half mile together. He had just retired from teaching high school, so we had lots to discuss. Then I turned around and he continued on. Hopefully I’ll see him again sometime!

That’s my favorite part about running. All of the people you meet. Almost everyone is friendly and they all have stories to share. It makes the miles go a lot faster.

I’ve got 6 miles on the books for tomorrow. Hopefully this week will be an up week!

General Chatter

ALMOST UNPACKED!!! Yes!!!!! I think I cleared out about 6 more boxes today. I can see most of the floor in my office now!!! It’s exciting. Trust me. And no one tell my mother that all the stuff I’m storing at her house is probably going to stay there. Hehehe.

So we’ve mentioned the house sitting this week. What I didn’t mention thus-far is the insane dogs. Sweet…but nuts. They obliterated a package that the UPS man delivered…and possibly the delivery man himself. I’m really not sure. All I know is I got home from work, and there were shreds of packaging at the gate…and 4 innocent looking canines all wagging their tails.

I got to the porch…and there was the rest of the packaging, including a large plastic bag that the delivery man had clearly intended to protect the package from the elements with. He didn’t come prepared to protect it from a pack of wild animals. I managed to dig out the packing slip which managed to only sustain one or two bite marks. The package was a water testing kit…and I looked all over the floor of the porch, in the bushes, around the house, around the gate and couldn’t find the actual bottle for testing.

Then I looked up.

The testing bottle…in a box…was resting on top of the upright kayak. With one tiny bite mark.

Let’s recap…shreds of packaging at the gate. Majority of the packaging and packing slip on the porch. Contents (or all I could find) of package 5.5 feet in the air, precariously balanced on a kayak.

So…any physics or animal psychology experts want to take a stab at this one??

All I can deduce is that the UPS man left the package at the gate…realized the dogs were going to shred it…took it to the porch….then a monstrous battle occured between man and beast…and the UPS man did his very best to protect the package…put it out of the dogs reach…and ran for his life.

Mind you…I’ve been wrestling power tools away from these dogs all week so…this is a totally plausible story in my mind.

Awesome Award

So I just found a new comedy band…Garfunkel and Oates. They are definitely rated R…and offensive to most…but if you enjoy adult humor, check them out.

I think this is possibly my favorite song ever…I wish I’d found it sooner. Could have been useful.

 

 

And on that note…have an awesome week everyone!!! (And don’t buy more yarn than I do. It’s not healthy.)

 

That’ll Be Dr. Knitter

Knitting News

So much yarn, so little time!!!

I’ve finished my Sweet Georgia Socks and am now working on some neon ones. I don’t know how to function without socks on the needles. Come on now. Sock knitting is about as addictive as tattoo’s…speaking of which…I feel that itch creeping up again, but anyway, back to knits.

I started a new job…at….yeah…a yarn store. It shall remain nameless for now because…eh…that’s too much personal info. But the shop is one of my favorites, and I’m UBER happy to be working there. It’s seriously the best job I think I’ve ever had. I’m SO happy to go to work every day. It’s amazing. I don’t do well with sitting ALL day so usually I straighten the yarn, pet the yarn, admire the yarn…and clean everything. Then knit for awhile…then wander the shop rearranging things. My favorite part is when the UPS guy comes with new merchandise. For one, this means I get to pet new yarn, and it’s another excuse to wander around the store. Overall, it’s the best job in the universe. Pretty sure.

I’ve had a bit of cast-on-itis lately. I started the Inishbofin Cowl which is in the latest KnitScene Accessories…but for some reason is not on Ravelry. It’s my first ever pattern with a chart *gasp* but so far it’s going well. It’s for a dear friend who lives in a chilly place so I’m hoping to get it done quickly.

I also have acquired yarn for two sets of mitts from KnitScene Accessories.

The ones on the cover will probably be first. That yarn was acquired on a trip to Tennessee. More on that later.

Other than that…and some awesome free yarn from my awesome boss…my mom just got back from Spain and what did she bring me?? YARN!!!!! It’s pink so I’m super excited about that. Some of it was straight acrylic…so that will be for someone’s baby somewhere. Most was Merino/Acrylic. Not too bad. I don’t know if she found a real yarn store or just a hobby shop. But hey, it’s yarn from Spain!! Although it weirdly is labeled in English…but it says Made in Spain so….yeah.

Spinning Stuff

Well I’ve moved to a new location and Eloise (my Schacht Matchless) is poised in the corner…with not much going on. I have to remedy this soon…especially with the Tour De Fleece starting TOMORROW!!! I’ve never spun for the TDF, but I joined this year. I’m in the rookie team, Peloton, Team Nerd Wars, Team Schacht, and Team Spindlers. I think 5 is good for my first year, right??? Man I need to find my current drop spindle project!!! *gasp*

Here’s the current fiber on the wheel. It’s been there for about 6 months. The goal is to FINISH IT!!!

I have been working on knitting my handspun merino in to a Multnomah. It’s going beautifully so far. Just started the feather and fan. Pictures to come!

Wants and Needs

I desperately want a new spinning wheel…but that’s not about to happen. But if I could, right now I’d get a Ashford Traditional. It’s light, portable, and a Sleeping Beauty style wheel. My Schacht is great, but it’s a beast. I’d love to have a little ashford to tote around.

Also I have a tattoo of an Ashford Traditional so…there’s that.

I also really want to get some Fleece Artist. I currently own none. With my given sock obsession, I really need to remedy this. In particular, I’d get the Twilight colorway. http://www.theloopyewe.com/browse/yarn/fleece-artist/trail-socks/twilight/ I don’t have socks that color…which is depressing.

Then there’s this…

It’s KFI Luxury Silk. We carry it at the store I work for…and I pet it every day. The problem is…it would be around $60 for two skeins….but there’s this perfect scalloped shawl pattern…yeah. I want it bad.

But…I’m about to be a broke PhD student….so wants aren’t happening. More on the PhD later.

Workout World

This is a new section, and not really knitting like the rest of my blog…but it’s something important to me. I also don’t think all knitters are as sedentary as the general populous believes.

I’m mainly a runner. I do 5K’s and half marathons. I also love triathlons so I do a bit of running and swimming as well. Here’s a little bit of my race remembrance wall. It’s motivation to do more.

Right now I’m trying to train for a marathon without a race in mind. Every time I’ve tried to do a full marathon training schedule with a goal race picked out…I fail. So…I’m just focusing on doing the distance, regardless of the race. If I make it to an 18 mile training run, then I’ll pick a race.

I’m also working on doing more toning. Currently I’m working on the 1000 Squat Challenge. The goal is to do 1000 squats in 1 week. I’m doing 150 a day for 6 days, then 100 the last day. So far I’ve done 300…and I’m starting to feel it. Anyone care to join?!?!

Also in my occasional Workout Wednesday post I’ll be sharing a favorite workout move, or a really good running story.

General Chatter

BIG NEWS!!!! I got accepted to a PhD program!!! I have officially QUIT TEACHING HIGH SCHOOL!!! BWAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!! It’s OVER!!!!!! Finally!!!!! Phew. 3 years was more than enough servitude. I’m going to be working on my PhD and hopefully teaching college and doing research from here on out. No more getting cussed out (ideally), no more hormonal adolescents, no more parents blaming me for everything…Sweet freedom.

The PhD program has led to a move back to my old hometown, so I’m super happy about that as well. The DB (dear boyfriend) moved with me from his home in Tennessee, so…things are somewhat serious. Including…maybe a little engagement ring shopping and talk. NOTHING official yet but…it’s a thought. 🙂 We shall see.

Overall I’m THRILLED with this new opportunity and SO fortunate to be doing this program. It’s a 3 year program in Agricultural Education. I can’t wait to get started in August.

Awesome Award

This Awesome Award goes to Lindsay who was on Jeopardy tonight. (Yes I am a dork and I watch Jeopardy) She stated that she took pictures of litter that she would find in indoor places and posts it to her blog. When asked why, she said that she felt people that were rude should be publicly shamed.

I officially adore her. Mainly because I spent a full 50 minutes (10 minutes per class) each year trying to explain the difference in a TRASH CAN and a BOOKSHELF to my high school students. I had 5 trash cans in my room. One bookshelf. I can’t tell you the number of times I cleaned trash off my bookshelf.

Oh wait…yes I can. 180 days of school times the 2 years I was in that room. 360. There. That’s how many.

So Lindsay from Jeopardy….you are my hero for today.

Here’s a link to her tumblr. http://litterinstoreslitterindoors.tumblr.com/

Well that’s it for now. Have a good week!!!!

Seriously? He Said That??

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let it be known that on this, the twelfth day of February in the 2012th year of our Lord and Lady….my boyfriend just stated the following:

“You can never have too much yarn, right honey?”

Yes. He said that. He did. At approximately 5:40pm he uttered that statement. This has now been entered in to the public record in every way I could possibly think of. I am keeping this one.

Also he is now a tad flustered by my reaction and trying to redact his statement. He’s beginning to realize the grave, grave error he just made in giving me free reign in any yarny area I can afford. Poor thing. I love him dearly. He just has no idea what he just did to himself. For the rest of his life I will remind him of this. Poor, poor man.

Here’s a little insight in to what exactly my stash looks like….

Around 150 different listings in Rav. About 30% have multiple skeins and some are fiber for spinning. Ohhh the poor man.

Just wait until he has to help me move it all, come June!!! HA!!!!!!

You heard it here first, folks. I CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MUCH YARN!!!!!!!!!

Watch out Loopy Ewe…here I come.

 

 

 

He’s still trying to figure out the magnitude of his error. It may take him years….or Rhinebeck to grasp…

 

Proud Mary (Also Known as Sheep to Yarn in Pictures)

Here’s a quick and dirty explanation of how your yarn gets from a sheep to a knitted garment. Enjoy!!

This is the story of Mary. She was my cousins backyard pet. I don’t know if my cousin will read this or not…I’m kind of hoping she won’t because this is her surprise for next Christmas.

So, lets meet Mary, shall we?

Mary! She's about 11 years old in this picture.

Mary is a Dorset sheep. Typically this breed is more of a meat-sheep, but she was my cousin’s 4-H project, I think. Mary has lived with my cousin on their farm since 2000.

I got Mary’s fleece a little over a year ago. I didn’t have much time to process it, so that’s why we are just now getting to the end, but it went a little something like this….

Mary's fleece started here. Around 5lbs.

Mary's fleece was...ahem...DIRTY. This was the skirting process.

Skirting is the process of pulling off the bad/too dirty/unable to use bits of wool. For Mary…this ended up being….a lot. I could really only salvage the top of the fleece (The part along the line of her back where she didn’t lay in dirt, didn’t roll too much, sit in stick-bushes and didn’t….well…poo. So much poo…*cries*)

Then we started the washing process.

Washing Mary’s fleece honestly has taken me the better part of a year. I have used every detergent known to man, every wool wash, super scour formula, anything and everything to strip out dirt, grease, stink, and ick. Mary had a LOT of lanolin which is the oil/grease that sheep secrete. Lanolin is great in some ways…it makes your hands super-soft and the wool as well…however Mary’s variety is…sticky. I washed this fleece just under 20 times in the last year. Not even kidding, guys. This is about an hour long process each time which involves boiling water, adding detergent, pouring the water over the fleece that is bagged to prevent it from felting, then draining out the soapy, dirty water, then rinsing it with more hot water and laying it outside to dry, sometimes for days until it’s totally dry.

Moving on.

This is the Picker. It's the only reason I could finish processing this fleece.

Huge, huge, huge thanks to Natasha at Unplanned Peacock Studios for letting me come over and borrow her picker and drum carder. If she hadn’t have been around to help me out on this bit…I really think I would have quit. Drum carders are WORTH the investment.

Piles of batts fresh off the drum carder.

So Natasha’s amazing drum carder made Mary’s fleece in to easy to manage batts. I also added a little merino in to the batts for added softness. As I mentioned, Dorset is typically a meat sheep and Mary…was coarse. Merino will help to soften things up. Also, let’s all take a minute to admire just how clean I got that fleece. Ooooo…..ahhhh…..

I stretched (or pre-drafted) the carded batts out in to roving.

I pulled the batts apart, and stretched them. This stretching is known as drafting or pre-drafting because I did it all before the spinning process. Most spinners will draft as they spin, but because this fleece was still SO sticky and because my goal was a thicker yarn, pre-drafting was needed here. I also picked out a lot of twigs, burrs, straw, and other vegetable matter (VM) as I pre-drafted. This was probably the most time consuming process other than the washing.

This is some of Mary’s fleece being spun in to yarn on my wheel. This goes pretty fast as I was aiming for thick yarn.

On to the spinning process!

Here’s what the yarn looked like as singles or one-ply bits of yarn.

Spinning Mary's fleece in to singles.

This is one of the singles from Mary.

You can kind of tell that there are a lot of little fibers that come off and go different directions on this yarn. This does tend to make the yarn a little more itchy. Again, this is partially because of the breed that Mary is.

Next I plyed the yarn.

Mary's Fleece is now plyed on to the bobbin.

Plying is the process of taking the singles and spinning them together to form a doubled up or thicker yarn. My final product here was around worsted to aran weight yarn. Because it’s handspun it does have a fair amount of variation. I wanted that in this yarn to add visual interest in the final product.

Once this was plyed, I then set the twist by taking the yarn and soaking it in very hot water. The hot water causes the fibers to felt a little and stick together. This allows the twist to stay in the yarn and not come undone when you dangle a piece or knit with it. After the twist was set, it was time to dye!!

All plyed and dyed!!

I dyed it with two different colors of blue dye. I use a kettle dying or immersion dying technique. My cousin’s favorite color is blue, so that’s what I went with.

Hanging up to dry.

As I type this, the yarn is still hanging up to dry. Once it’s done I will knit it up in to *something* for my cousin. I know what the something is…but just in case she reads this I won’t reveal it just yet. She honestly has no idea this process has been happening. I hope she will be happy when she does read this and I hope she will understand how much I love her.

You see, Mary passed away this summer. She really was my cousin’s best friend. My cousin is 19 and had had Mary for 11 years. She had been a part of my cousin’s world for over half of her life. So that’s part of what motivated me to finish this project and write this post. Mary was an amazing sheep and I’m glad I got one of her last shearings so I could process it for my cousin so that she can have her sheep with her always.

Much love for Mary.