Back in the saddle again

This weekend has been wicked hot here. It was 101 yesterday and was 84 today. ToolMan and I did our errand running very early on Saturday; so early that we'd eaten breakfast out, gone to the vet to buy Andy's insulin, done our grocery shopping, stopped by the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions, and were home befor 10:00 a.m. We had decided to lay low the rest of the weekend and just wait out the heat wave.

I hadn't touched my spinning since WWKIP, so an entire weekend at home was a good time to get back to my spinning. I finished up one bobbin and started a second of the Sheep to Shoe that I got at Blue Moon's Destash sale.



This was intended to be the "Rooster Rock" colorway but was one of the "oops" dye lots. I'm not sure what the "oops" part was, except there are areas that have very pale colors rather than the saturated ones shown on their website. I'm not spinning it in any particular manner, just letting the colors come as they may and I'll ply them the same way. Even though it's superwash merino, I doubt I'll do socks out of it. I'll probably 2-ply it for marled yarn and maybe do a small shawl out of it.

Remember last week, when I said I was going to make another tam to go with the cowl? Well, I casted on the second pattern from Three Tams, and went zipping right along, all confident in my stranded knitting skills and ability to read color charts while knitting on MAX to and from work every day.

Then Friday on they way to work, I got to the decreases and realized I had left my dpns at home. Oh, well, I can just do magic loop and finish it up on the way home, right? Except that on the way home, I realized first that I had lost the marker for the beginning of the rounds, and it was one of those pretty pearl ones Monica made. And, I had arsed up the pattern one one of the repeats at least 3 rows back. So I shoved it back in the bag and waited until I got home to repair the damage.

Once I got home, I thought I could use the same technique I use to correct cables to fix the spot I arsed up. Well, I thought wrong, because of course this isn't a single strand of yarn, but two. So while I could fix it, it left me with some stitches way to tight because I tried to squeeze and extra stitch out of one strand and other stitches way too loose because I didn't need as many on that strand. And it seriously screwed up the nice neat inside I worked so hard to maintain. So, I decided to frog it down to the mistakes.

Okay, so frogging off stranded knitting makes a seriously big mess. I was ripping it back with blue on my left side and white on my right so I could wind the yarn back onto the balls. So far, so good. Then I tried to pick up the stitches and realized that after ripping back and flipping the hat around a couple times in the process and because the beginning was hidden in a vertical stripe and because I had been so damned efficient at weaving in the ends as soon as I got past the corrugated ribbing, that I no longer had any idea where the beginning of the rounds was at.

So I just picked up all the stitches, figured out what row of the chart it was on, and started in again, figuring out that soon all would be clear. Except I somehow was now somewhere in the middle of a round and not at the beginning, and it appeared that I had either knitted one row twice, or left one row out completely. So the only thing that got clear was that now I had really screwed this puppy up. And now my second tam looks like this:



I admitted defeat and cast on a new project; the Lillehammer hat from Cider Moon. Yessirree bob, I got right back on the horse that threw me.



I am still obsessed with stranded knitting. This time I'm using all 8 stitch markers from Monica (Thankfully, the missing one turned up in the bottom of my knitting bag); one between each section so I can check the pattern as I go along this time. And I tied a piece of that green onto the marker at the beginning of the round. And I put the right dpns in the knitting bag already. Now, let's just see if I can read a chart.

The Countdowns Begin

I'm determined to use up my "mass produced" yarns before the end of the year. After all, I have to make room for all the hand spun I've been cranking out and for all the fiber I intend to bring home from OFFF this year.

Most of what I'm knitting will be for Christmas presents; after all, it's only this many days until Christmas. So, I finished the Asherton Scarf and a tam to match. I really did intend this to go into the Christmas present pile. But then I tried it on.



I've let my hair grow out and have it in a short bob now and I like the way the tam sits with the new haircut. But why did I wait until it was 80 degrees outside to try these on???


Why are you wearing that hat and scarf in the middle of summer? Any why don't I get hand-knitted stuff to wear?

The pattern is from Knitty.com, "Three Tams", and was a fun, quick knit. This is the last of the three patterns listed, but I'm going to do the other two, too. Here's a better picture of the brim and back.



And the obligatory picture of the inside; just a nice as the outside.



I also finished a simple cowl.



I didn't use a pattern; I just casted on a bunch of stitches (200, I think), did two rows of purl, 2 rows of knit, 2 rows of purl to separate drop stitch rows and k2tog, yo rows.



I'm going to make another tam to go with this; actually, I casted on for it today while watching the Olympic Trials for diving and gymnastics. I think I'll twist the leftover blue into cords to lace through the yo holes so it will match the hat.

ToolMan liked the fair isle tam and said he'd like an argyle one for winter. I'm thinking this one would be perfect. It's not really an argyle, but I wonder how many people would notice. I might have to put aside the Christmas knitting, since Talk Like A Pirate Day is coming up before then. Hmmm, that might make a good project for the Knitting Olympics. Avast, mateys! I'll be doin' me pirate knitting for the Olympics! Arrr!


I'd totally wear one of these, if you'd make it for me, Mom.

I'm tellin' you when nobody's around, that dog talks up a blue streak!

I went to WWKIP and have the scar to prove it

I finished the Asherton Reversible Scarf on Friday; it's been pinned out on the board and steamed, and now resides in the "Potential Christmas Gift Box" in the Stash Room. I kept this one a little on the short side and didn't block it too severely, just enough to really show the stitch pattern best.



Even though the pattern is 44-row repeat, it was pretty quick to learn; the only hard part was remembering which was the "right" side; I resorted to pining a big stitch holder on one side to mark it. The fabric works up very soft and drapey; it would make a great baby blanket pattern.

I still had quite a bit of the blue left, so I pulled out a skein of cream and started a stranded pattern beret to go with the scarf. I'm only about 1/13 of the way up, so there's not really much to look at yet.

I got my Majacraft Mini-Combs from Woodland Woolworks last week. Aren't they pretty?



Toolman gave me a clamp to hold one on my winding station.



I finally got a chance to play with them this weekend. I didn't have any locks except for the little bag of kid mohair that Barbara sent me a few months ago, but I sure didn't want to use them as a learning fiber!

So, I dove into the stash and came out with one of the first skein I ever spun. It was some unknown wool, pretty coarse, and looked like a Colinette reject. There was only about 20 feet of it, so I figured I had nothing to lose. I un-plied the yarn, pulled out the thick parts, and viola! I had "locks."



Which I proceeded to comb.



Hey, this is going pretty well!



Very little waste left on the fixed comb, so I cleaned it out and started on the second pass.



By the second combing, I had some not bad looking fiber, which I pulled off into roving.



ToolMan made a diz for me, although he had no idea what it was, or why I needed one. This one has holes that are a little too large; I'll have to ask him to make a few smaller holes for me.

Saturday was World-Wide Knit In Public Day, and also the Yarn Harlot's birthday. Tami organized a get-together through the Hillboro, Oregon group on Ravelry. How did we ever organize and share information B.R. (before Ravelry)????



There was a pretty good turnout; the knitting circle kept getting bigger and bigger!



The Knitting Bee send yarn and books to be raffled off every few minutes. And, offers a discount until the end of the month, if you show them a receipt from Streets of Tanasbourne dated June 14, 2008. I won a skein of Schaeffer Yarn in a lovely dusty green and blue.



Eventually, even though I had slathered my self with sunscreen, the sun and heat got to me and I had to move over to some shade. Some of my knit sibs came and joined me.



After I moved over to the side, it was amazing how many people (usually led by a pre-school girl) came over to see the wheel and ask about spinning. The girls all knew about Sleeping Beauty the spinning wheel and wanted to see how this one worked. I also gave a 5-minute drop spindle lesson to an older girl, about 8 or 9, whose grandma promised to take her to the Knitting Bee for her own spindle and fiber. Ah, another unsuspecting convert!

I was spinning some superwash merino from the Sheep to Shoe bag I got at Blue Moon's Destashing Sale. I think it was intended to be the Rooster Rock colorway, but wound up with too much undyed; and it didn't seem to be in a clear color pattern.



I decided to spin it up randomly and ply it the same way. Just let whatever happens, happen. Which turned out to be great for public spinning; I could tear off little bits of different colors to let people feel it and show them how to twist it in their fingers.

By the time ToolMan came to pick me up at 2:00, the heat had taken its toll on me; I was pretty worn out, so as soon as we had unloaded at home and I had a bite to eat, I crashed for a nice long nap.

And despite coating myself in sunscreen and borrowing even more sunscreen from other knitters, I missed one spot and got a burn.



Could've been worse. I just hope it doesn't peel!

All done, . . . or done in . . . .

The Summer Shawlette is done. Knitted, washed, blocked, and tried on.



I'm really happy with the way this came out. I made it about 10 rows longer than the pattern called for, so it went just to elbow length.



It's a quick knit and easy to memorize the pattern. I'll definitely make more of these. I had intended this one to go in the gift box for Christmas, but I just might keep it for myself.

See that tree I'm standing under? It's a Japanese Snowbell which has the most beautiful blooms on it.



Which you can only see really well from underneath. And they must be full of nectar, because the bumblebees seem to really like it. This usually blooms in May, but everything is behind this year due to the cold weather. My mountain laurel, which also blooms in early May along with the azealeas and rhododendrons, hasn't bloomed yet, either.

When I posted about the shawl last week, I wasn't sure that I'd have enough yarn to finish. As I got closer to the end, I was positive that I'd run out before binding off. This project was from my "store bought" yarn stash, so I popped into Joann's to pick up another skein of the same yarn, just for insurance.

So, you know what happened, right? Right, finished the shawl with about 6 feet left. Of the skein that was from the stash. Meaning, I had finished a project and my stash still had the SAME AMOUNT of mass-produced yarn that I started with. Sometimes, you just can't win.

So, my pledge to reduce the "factory built" stash reduction continues. I immediately cast on with the new skein for this reversible scarf.



Smariek has some really nice free patterns on her blog. Go ahead and check it out; I'll wait right here.

I found this one through a Ravelry search for "reversible scarf free pattern", which actually turned up a lot of patterns. But most of them weren't really reversible, only that the back looked acceptable enough to show. This one, however really IS reversible. See:



There you have it, flipped over so you can see both sides. And they're identical! And not too feminine or too masculine. And it's a pretty quick pattern to learn, even if it is a 42-row repeat. I plan on finishing the scarf and making a matching hat. Let's hope I don't need to buy another skein of yarn . . .

One other thing that's finally done is our house. The painters came last week, between rain showers, and finished the last of the outside painting: the rails around the front stoop.



That's right; sixteen months after the Great Flood, joining the Homeowners Association in suing the original builder for construction defects, and having our house de-constructed and re-constructed, inside and out. We are finally done. Just in time for the housing market slowdown. Some days, you're the windshield; some days, you're the bug.

One more mile

Since I got that new Lendrum, it's been less about knitting and more about spinning. ToolMan fixed StitchJones yarn reel for her and she felt compelled to "pay" by gifting me with a roving. This is 4 ounces of blue faced leicester in her "Gems" colorway. Feast your eyes on those colors!



This gal's got a way with color that is unbelievable! Go click on that link up there and look at her yarns. Her hand painted yarns are beautiful, and her kettle-dyed are fabulous! She does a deep cobalt blue kettle-dye that is so beautiful it makes me want to cry.

I split the roving length-wise and made two very fine singles. Let me tell ya, it spun like "buttah." I found only 1 or 2 neps, no vm, and not a felted spot to be found.



See how nicely the color change looks on that bobbin? I did my darnedest to make both bobbins come out that way. I was hoping to ply them together for a 2-ply that would have stripes with some marling in between. Which only sort of happened; I got a lot more marling than I really wanted. So, I cabled the 2-plys together to get a light worsted weight which was all marled, but with sections of mostly-blue, mostly-green, and mostly-purple.



A couple weeks ago at Westside Wednesday, StitchJones said she had no hand spun in her stash. So, last Wednesday, this little skein went home to live with it's mama! I thought it only fitting that a gal's first hand spun should be her own colorway!

And I plied up the second batch of that bright green from Ronnie's Handspun.



You can't read the card in that photo, but it's 1,156 yards. That, along with the skein for StitchJones, put me over the 2 mile mark. It took me four months to do the first mile, but with the speed of that Lendrum, I did the second mile in less than a month.

And, I'm working on that second goal, of improving my spinning skills. Look how consistent this skein is:



The first skein wasn't bad, but side by side, this one is definitely more evenly spun and plied.

That was the last of the Kermit green; next up is the darker green. I'll have to think of a better name for the color while I'm spinning it.

And just to prove that I haven't given up knitting all together, I cast on for a Comfort Shawl from the Sweet Somethings pamphlet from Interweave Knits.



I made the Summer Shawlette for the auction for Thomas; this is a similar pattern but without the lace pattern down the back. Lots of stockinette so it's good commute knitting; and machine washable yarn so it'll be easy care. I only have about 10 rows left, so I'll finish it up in the next day or two. Then, I'll have to toss the stash for another project (I mean besides the socks I'm supposed to be blogging about for Monica).

I'm trying to use up all my "store bought" yarn before using knitting my own hand spun. I've made a few things of my own yarn: ToolMan's socks, a couple of scarves, and a beret. But I know that If I really start using my own yarn and the small producer yarns, I won't want to go back to the mass-produced stuff. You know what that means, don't you? It means I'll be knitting lots of Christmas gifts early! Yeah, right.