Out With The Old? In With The New?

First, Out With The Old. Here's a recap of last year:

What I Knitted:

ToolMan’s Driving Cap
Barbie Clothes
Queen Anne’s Lace Shawl
Dryer Balls
White Mohair Cowl
LaLa’s Simple Shawl in Sea Wool
Storm Cloud shawlette
Hot water bottle cozy from handspun
LaLa’s Simple Shawl in StitchJones (gifted)
Readers Wrap in Twinkletoes (may be frogged)
Baby Surprise Jacket for trtlbby
Clapotis in BMFA handspun
Socks for me
Bamboo & Ewe socks for ToolMan
Wool socks for ToolMan
Transitions short sleeve cardigan for me
Sample sock for StitchJones
LaLa’s Simple Shawl in Glam Sock Yarn
Swallowtail for me
Yak Hat for ToolMan
Fingerless Mitt (6 pair) for coworkers
Hat for Nic
Scarves (4) for coworkers
Coffee Cup Cozies (12 or 13, I lost count) for coworkers
Felted Bowl for Jane
Elf Hat
Fulled Bags (gifted)


What I Spun:

Lots and lots of yarn in lots and lots of different fibers


New Things I Learned:

Went to a sheep shearing and processed the fleece
Drumcarded batts for the first time
Went to alpaca shearing
Processed and spun the exploded clown fiber


Other Stuff I Did:

Unraveling Sweaters Tutorial
Dryer Balls Tutorial
World Wide Knit In Public Day
World Wide Spin In Public Day
Demonstrated at Multnomah Days
Assisted at Sock Summit


Of course, there's the other stuff that happened last year: Although there were some really great things that happened last year, like Sock Summit, the basket of hearts from Knit Sibs, there were also the really not-so-great things that happened last year. Like ToolMan's heart attack and colon cancer, got a new job in The Big Company and changed offices, Andy Rooney became diabetic, my brothers faced health issues, and I continued battling sarcoidosis. I wasn't sad to see the end of 2009. As far as I'm concerned, it went on way too long.


Now, In With the New. Here's what I've got planned, so far:

Pattern Writing:

There are a couple patterns rolling around in my head that I'd like to get published this year. I signed a contract for one to be in a book, so one of them will be released into the world this year. As for the others, we shall see what develops.


Knitting:

I've cast on a new project: a pair of socks for myself in Bamboo and Ewe. I loved the way it felt when I knitted that pair for ToolMan and decided to make myself a fancy pair in red to wear with my black mary janes. I must have been suffering from temporary insanity because I picked a pattern with . . . are you ready? A 72 row repeat. That's right, A SEVENTY-TWO ROW REPEAT. I started it three times before I quit arsing it up. I thought for a moment, and only a short moment, about knitting them the way I usually do: two at once on separate sets of dpns. Except that in this pattern, the socks are MIRROR IMAGES of each other. So you knit one sock reading the chart from left to right and the other from right to left. Even thinking about doing them at the same time seemed like a big ole' piece of crazy pie that would surely come back to bite me in the ass. So, one at a time it is. Gotta say though, I'm almost to the heel on the first one and it is seriously beautiful.


Spinning:

I'd like to get through a lot of the stash. There are some really luxurious fibers in there that I've been holding onto until I felt I was good enough to spin them. I think I'm ready now.


Blogging:

I've thought about giving up the blog. Not shutting it down or anything, just not being as regular about posting as I have been in the past. Oftentimes it seems that this blog is a lot of self-centered navel-gazing for me. I mean, really, I don't get all that many comments, although when I do, they're great. Usually, when I get to thinking like that, I get some great comment like the last one from Anonymous. Or my Google Analytics Report comes in and shows a bunch of hits from all over the world. Estonia? Really? Do you know how flattered I am that an Estonian knitter (you are a knitter, right?) come to read this? And Iceland? And China? And Japan? And New Zealand? And Brazil? So then I decide that I'll keep it up for awhile more. But really, see that button on the side bar that says "Would it kill you to comment?" I meant that.

My Gall Bladder:

OK, so this is new to the blog but it really should be up there in the Out With The Old. For at least 3 or 4 years, I've had near constant heartburn and reflux. About 3 months ago, nearly everything I ate made me nauseated. We finally figured out it's the dang gall bladder. So, next Thursday morning, out it comes. We'll have to see how that 72-row repeat sock gets along on pain killers.

Sock Summit 2009, Day 1

Today at Registration, the line wasn't quite as long as yesterday, but there still were people coming in.

I hitched a ride with Tami, and we arrived about 8:30 a.m. The place was already crawling with knitters.

Every chair at every table had a knitter in it.

There were KnitStars to be spotted; if you look carefully at that front table below, you'll see the Knitmore Girls. That's Jasmine with the bright pink hair and Gigi to her left.

I also spotted Sandi Wiseheart, Amy Singer of Knitty fame, Joan Schrouder, Chrissy Gardiner, Deb Accuardi who does the "At the Kitchen Table" podcast, Cat Bordhi, Morgaine of Carolina Handspun, Jess and Casey (and Bob) from Ravelry, and Judy Becker. I spotted them and either I was running an errand for one of my teachers or they were in the midst of something, so I didn't get pictures. I'll try to get shots during the book signing tomorrow.

When class time came, the concourse looked practically deserted.

See, there were even empty chairs at Starbucks!

I had been assigned to be the volunteer teacher's aide for Nancy Bush, but when I got to the classroom and introduced myself, Nancy said she was pretty self-sufficient, but . . . . And then Stephanie poked her head through the door. Nancy explained that she really didn't need an assistant, but Judith McKenzie McCuin was next door and her usual assistant was not able to come with her. So, I was tagged to cover both teachers!

Judith's class today was "The Gentle Art of Spinning for Socks", and I can tell you that even without a wheel, I learned a tremendous amount. I think I probably have enough new information to build several lesson for Portland Spinnerati!

Classes let out at 4:30, so Tami and I hit the Marketplace. We made a beeline to the SockSummit booth and each of us snagged a great knitting bag with the Sock Summit logo on the front.

We made a quick swing around to see StitchJones' booth and decide we needed a plan before tackling the whole thing. Thank goodness we have 3 more days to snag whatever we can't live without!

Now, I've got to unpack the two bags I hauled today, consolidate into the new bag, and rest up for tomorrow. I plan on Kinneering as many KnitStars as I can.

Yes Sir, Yes Sir, Three Bags Full . . . .

Remember the box of "exploded clown" that Meg sent me a couple weeks ago? I've been sorting, processing, and organizing it. I found these great storage bags at Dollar Tree; they're perfect for storing fiber and yarn.

I started by sorting each color into a bag. Then I pulled out the intact locks from each color into their own storage bag, then carded the remainder and put it into a bag of its own. There are a couple of bunches that are blindingly bright (a lime green and a hot red), but the others are "calming down" considerably when they're carded.

I've only got about half of it sorted, picked, carded, and stored and it's already bigger than the box it came in! Meg really packed that box full! But I have a class of Chinese exchange students to give a demo/class to on Wednesday afternoon, a beginning spinner who needs to get some fiber to experiment with at Spinning Our Wheels on Wednesday, and a new spinner to get started at Westside Wednesday. Meg didn't give me the details on what breed the sheep are, but there is some VERY nice fiber in here!

Despite all the fiber prep going on, I have actually done some knitting. Case in point is this sample sock for StitchJones. Sharon has this pattern for sale, but the picture on the printout has another company's yarn. Big No-No for an indie dyer! And this lonely only will be on display at Sock Summit on a couple of weeks.

Speaking of Sock Summit, a bunch of the PDX Knit Bloggers met with Tina and Stephanie last Wednesday to get our volunteer assignments. Man, have they got stuff planned down to the last itty-bitty detail! There are spreadsheets, and notes, and computer files, and display boards, and post-it notes, and color-coding, and indexed tabs. They've got more office supplies than Staples! And we heard about stuff that isn't on the Sock Summit website. This is going to be serious fun! And, it's coming up in barely 3 weeks!

Which means that I really need to get knitting on this if I want to wear it there.

A top-down, round yoke, short sleeve cardigan, knit in a wool/nylon blend from Yarnia on size 6 circulars. Will I make it in time? And more, importantly, will it fit? And, yes, I SWATCHED.

Gorge-ous Weekend

I was invited to demonstrate spinning this weekend was Gorge Falls Fest, put on by the US Forest Service and Friends of Multnomah Falls, which meant I had to pack up my wheel, along with all the accessories, tools, and LOTS of fiber! I found this large wheeled bag in Goodwill several months ago for $7 (What a bargain!), and have been using it to transport everything for Spinnerati meetings and demonstrations. Much easier than carrying the wheel and lots of bags and baskets!

The wheel gets folded up and cushioned with bags of fiber before being strapped in.

The front holds the flyers, bobbins, etc. I put a yoga mat over the wheel before I zip the bag closed; it cushions the wheel in transport and then gets put on the ground under the wheel when I'm spinning outdoors. I use the outside pockets for the camera, phone, wallet, my tea thermos and water bottle, and any small things I might need. Everything fits inside the bag except my folding chair.

The Fest was scheduled to start at 10:00, so ToolMan and I planned to be at Multnomah Falls by 9;30, which meant we needed to leave home early. We actually arrived about 9:00, which was a good thing, since parking was already becoming scarce!

There were several tents set up by various organizations. This was the Folk Art Tent which was organized by Teresa Kastner (that's her behind the gorgeous blanket). She collects trade beads and was displaying her collection as well demonstration beading techniques. There was also a quilter (on the right side of the tent), but I was so busy all day that I didn't get a chance to move out of my chair, let alone talk to her!

The tent had tables set up with space inside to sit, but I wanted the wheel to be out in full view, so I opted to use the table as a backdrop. I had my fiber supply out, a basket with some CD drop spindles left over from WWKIP, some skeins of my hand spun yarns, and some little samples of different fibers.

We had taken our small so I used it for my toolbag, lazy kate, ball winder, and the coffee and tea cups, of course! They also provided plenty of chairs, so ToolMan snagged one. By the time I got everything unpacked and started spinning, it was almost 10:00.

It wasn't long before the crowds began to grow and people were stopping by to watch and ask questions.



I had some really bright roving from StitchJones in her Cosmic Birth colorway, which really caught people's attention and really appeals to kids. I tore it off into sections by color, so I could "barberpole" the colors, showing how yarn is plied. I'd give them the short version of how a wheel works to twist the fibers and show them how the fibers get stronger by twisting.





If the kids (and occasionally a parent) were interested, I'd bring them beside me, put on a new color of fiber, show them how to draft in the Inchworm Technique (pinch, pull, slide), then let them spin a foot or so. They'd get this big grin on their face and say "Oh, I get it!" Then I'd pull out the single they had just spun, make them hold the join, pull off the same length of the previous color, break the single and let the yarn twist in mid-air and give it to them as a souvenir. Their were many happy faces!


I don't know how many kids I taught, there were a lot; sometimes they were lined up 3 and 4 deep! I started with about 4 ounces of roving to start with and by about 2:00, I was out of it! Since it was being spun and plied at sport weight and given away in lengths of less than a foot, there must have been a bunch of kids who learned spin that day.



I was glad I put out the CD spindles and some fiber. There were several people who asked in-depth questions about learning to spin, so I was able to give away a spindle with a little bunch of fiber (and StitchJones business card for more fiber) to 3 or 4 people who were really interested.

I also had some of my hand spun skeins out for display. I tried to pick a variety of colors, weights, and fibers to display. I actually sold a couple of skeins to one woman who was visiting; she's a knitter so she wanted them as souvenirs. I guess that makes me a "professional" spinner; I'll have to ask the CPA if that means I can deduct the costs of spinning.

One of my spinning sisters, Sara Ferguson, had volunteered to come join me but would come later; she has a teething toddler and the family's activities are dependent on his moods, at least until those four molars that he's working on pop out. My cellphone rang about 1:30 and it was her husband; the whole family had all been up all night with Connor's teething and had gotten a late start. They had been circling the parking lot for nearly 45 minutes, unsuccessfully, and were heading back home. I knew Sara was disappointed and asked if she was crying; his response was "Not yet." Well, she must have talked him into more more time around, because pretty soon, there there were! Sara set up her wheel and spun while her husband, Jesse, took the kids around to the various booths to explore.

By the time she arrived, I had run out of the pretty colors and had moved onto some white wool that I was carding with dyed mohair locks. She was spinning a beautiful blue/purple BFL in a worsted laceweight, so I switched over to some carded Jacob to spin woolen style using longdraw.

The crowd of children was thinning out (probably nap time!), but more adults were asking questions. The gentleman on the left had his video camera and took several minutes of us spinning; he was asking questions about spinning, fibers, preparation, etc. I didn't get a chance to talk to him; I wonder if he was a teacher filming for a class or maybe for his grandchildren?

Sara's a new spinner, she's only had her wheel for a couple of months, but she has become quite accomplished. This was also the first time she had spun for demonstrations, but she answered questions quite well.

All too soon, the crowd thinned out, it was 4:00 and Jesse came back with Erin and Connor. Erin is 6 and already a knitter (she's been knitting since she was 4). Sara reported that a few weeks ago, they were in Knit Purl when Erin picked up a skein of Koigu and said she "needed" it. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree!

I had about an ounce of the Cosmic Birth singles left, so I wound a center pull ball and plied it back on itself then wound a skein. The colors aren't really my cuppa tea, but I asked Erin if she'd like to take it home for her stash and she nodded enthusiastically.

Before long, we were all packed up and heading for home after a gorgeous day in the Gorge. We were tired, hungry, and thirsty, but we had a great time. Sara and I were already making plans for next year and how we're going to get there early and what we need to bring with us. I don't how your weekend was, but I hope it was half as nice as ours!

*tink* *tink* Is this thing on?

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth; I just don't know where the time went!

The second weekend of the State Fair was pretty much same as the first, except we rallied the troops and had fiber, yarn, rugs, other things to fill up the booth. Lots more folks stopped by over the Labor Day weekend; people were taking advantage of the long weekend and cool weather (and staying close to home thanks to gas prices). The only bad part of the weekend was the occasional deluge of rain, but the temps were perfect. I even had a couple friends and a former co-worker stop by to visit!

I did get lots of the Incredible Hulk spun at the Fair, but there's still a lot left, too. My only prerequisite for buying fiber from now is that it NOT be green. I'm determined to make it through this stuff, if for no other reason than I'm sick of looking at it. So sick of looking at it that I think I might have StitchJones over dye it for me; maybe add some browns and blues to kill the green.

And now that the Fair is over, I'm going to put the Country Craftsman up for sale. It was a great wheel to learn on and it spins wonderfully and it certainly is beautiful, but the old girl just can't compete with the Lendrum and it's multiple ratios and it's portability. Time for it to move on to another spinner, or want-to-be spinner.

And I have been knitting but I have absolutely nothing to show for it. I had several scarves knit to go in the Christmas present box; a lovely pink mohair, a bright multi-colored bamboo, a lovely navy merino/silk blend, and a wispy teal in Shibui sock yarn. All of which went home with darling daughter-in-law when they came over for dinner on Labor Day. Come December, I'll remind her that she already got her fair share of the hand knits!

Oh, and I did get a hat knitted out of some bulky multi-blue merino; which was tried on, declared it to be perfect for wearing in the garage this winter, and promptly appropriated by ToolMan. And I mean promptly; it was tried on, and stashed in his coat closet within minutes of the ends being woven in!

And The Blob is still being knit on; actually, the end is in sight on that one. I only have 14 rows left (but they're BIG rows) so I only get about 3 rows a night done. I'm trying to get it knit up so I can do the sewing up and blocking next weekend.

Speaking of next weekend, that's the TKGA Conference here in Portland. WHOO HOO! My tickets came in the mail this week, along with my name tag, raffle ticket for a doorprize, and a ticket to turn in for my goodie bag from Coats & Clark (I'm hoping for some of their new yarns to try out). I'm not taking any classes; I'm saving money for OFFF, but I will be taking my camera so my next post should be much prettier to look at!

Oops, it's past my bedtime, and the dog needs to go out before we hit the hay. See you next week!

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.