Some knitting, but mostly not . . .

I'm still working on the black scarf (I only work on it during commuting), and it's still not done, and it's still black, and I still can't get a good picture of it because . . . it's black. So you'll just have to wait to see it until it's off the needles.

In the meantime, I have cast on for this, but since it's to be a gift for someone who reads this blog, I can't talk about it.



I'm not even going to say what yarn that is (and those colors aren't accurate because I Picasa'd them) to throw the recipient off). By the way, if you're looking for an easy to use photo editing and organizing software, Picasa is a particularly good one; and it's free. Nate, from Tekology loaded it for me last September and I've been using ever since.

I'm getting geared up to spin in Artisan's Village at the Oregon State Fair next month. I emailed to Woolland Woolworks asking for some fiber samples last week, then this little box of goodies arrived on my doorstep this week:



A bag of silk cocoons, some raw cotton still in bolls, and some flax! I've got some uncombed wool locks, some kid mohair locks, and some samples of sea silk and bamboo yarns from my stash, as well. I want to set up some sort of display to use while I'm there to talk about the different fibers and how they are prepared and processed for spinning. Time to hit the library and the Internet so I can talk knowledgeably about this stuff! And, I need to get the Country Craftsman spit-shined, oiled, and fitted with a new drive band.

Speaking of craftsman, here's what I got to look at most of Saturday:



ToolMan spent the better part of Saturday morning up on a ladder drilling holes in the house, dropping tools, and cursing. All in preparation for installing a retractable awning on our deck. The time estimated in the instructions was 2 hours. Approximately 4 hours after starting, we had to make a trip to Lowe's for a ratchet, because really . . . what kind of DIY project does not entail having to buy more tools in the middle of the job?

He says that's not his best side. Even after 20 years, I still think it's not bad . . . .

Thankfully, most of Saturday was cool and cloudy. But by the time we had purchased the ratchet and returned home, it was less than 30 minutes later the whole job was done. ToolMan could hardly wait to crank that baby out and have a beer under it.

That's wisteria growing up the stair rails; we planted Audrey 3 years ago and now it's a weekly job of pruning to keep it on the outside of the rail so it doesn't reach out and grab you as you go down.

Not having learned our lesson with the wisteria, we planted a trumpet vine on the fence last year. It's blooming like crazy this year and the hummingbirds have finally discovered it.

We bought this last year at Max and Hildy's, just before they closed. It's a variety that was found growing wild on Catalina Island; it isn't the usual red trumpet vine, the buds are orange with yellow tips and it blooms a more orange than red but the hummers seem to like it anyway.

And ToolMan wasn't the only one who bought some goodies at Lowe's. I came home with these for ToolMan's next project:

At least this won't require the ladder and dropping tools. But I'm not taking bets on the cursing.

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!

Now, where did I leave off . . . .

I finished that pretty roving from Butternut Woolens. In fact, the singles are still sitting on the four bobbins, waiting to be plied. When I pre-drafted the roving, I split it into four equal parts, lengthwise. And I took care to spin each of the bobbins starting from the same end of the roving. So all four bobbins are in the same color sequence.

Now, here was my dilemma: How should I ply them? Originally, I planned on Navajo plying them to keep the color sequence. Sure, I'd wind up with only 1/3 of the length of the singles, but I'd be able to control the color change pretty well. And, I've never Navajo plied before, so I'd have to practice on some cheap "store bought" yarn first.

Then, I saw some beautiful candy-colored yarn that Dave Daniels plied barber-pole style, which looked just too yummy to pass up. But that would likely knit up into a wild riot of color with no particular sequence, thereby losing the impact of the various colors.

Then, last Wednesday night at SipNStitch, Kathleen suggested I make two 2-ply yarns, maintaining the color sequence in both yarns, then turn one of the yarns "other end up" and knit something like the Kauni sweater. BRILLIANT! (I'm tellin' you, these "knitter people" are some smart folk!) So, I'll make my two 2-ply yarns and then hunt for a pattern that really shows off the color sequences. Maybe a hat that would be felted? Or a bag? Hmmm, may have to do a little pattern shopping on Ravelry.

Speaking of Ravelry, if you are a knitter or crocheter and haven't signed up yet, then what the hell are you thinking? Go there and do that NOW! You have to sign up and wait your turn, but boy howdy, is it ever worth it! You simply cannot imagine the vast creativity, inspiration, and advice available until you browse around the site the first time. I'm a bad Raveler; I don't keep my notebook updated with finished objects, stash, works in progress, pictures, etc. But I'm in those forums almost daily. I've gotten inspiration, found free patterns, read tons of tips and techniques, offered help, made friends, and discovered some really wonderful blogs and podcasts on those forums. No matter what subject or niche you're looking for, there's probably a forum on Ravelry that's a perfect fit. And it's all free! So, go sign up for a membership. And when you get in, give Jess and Casey some money; these two kids (and Bob, the dog) have worked their tails off (Yes, pun intended; sorry, Bob.) and deserve to make a buck or two.

One of those Ravelry forums is where I read about a group of Seattle knitters who will be taking the train down into Portland next weekend for a yarn shop crawl. MonicaPDX saw that post and said, "What they need are local guides" and I said, "Amen, sistah!", whereupon I proceeded to round up some PDX Knit Bloggers (not that it took much convincing) to join these tourist knitter and show them the fine yarn shops we are fortunate enough to have right in our own backyard. Now, if I can just remember to not only charge the camera batteries, but to actually TAKE the camera with me next Saturday . . .

On Saturday, Duffy and I went to Fantasy Fibers in Canby to check out their Mystery Batts. I bought two batts, and Duffy bought several to share with friends. I didn't get pictures, but Duffy has some on her blog so go over there and look. See those two big batts that I bought? I paid less than $15, for both batts! The pictures really don't do the colors justice. The darker one reminds me of the agates you find on Oregon beaches; all dark greens and browns and caramel, with just a few streaks of cream and red and orange to lighten them up. The other one is various shades of gray, from dark to light, with just a few strands of burgundy red. I'm really anxious to see how these spin up.

Then after Fantasy Fibers, we drove over to "Yarn Mecca of the West", aka Woodland Woolworks. One simply cannot drive south of Hillsboro and NOT go there; it would be a mortal sin. I was on the hunt for some dk weight yarn for a test knitting job I picked up in another one of those Ravelry forums. Crafty Diversions emailed the pattern to me last week and I knew WWW would be the perfect place to pick out the yarns to knit this. Ok, so I'm not getting paid for this test knit, but I do get to keep the finished object, so it's almost as good as being paid.

And now that I finished ToolMan's latest pair of house socks, I need a new project.



There they are; house socks made from yarn I spun myself!



The specs: Dragon Waste purchased at OFFF last summer, spun into 2-ply tweed and 2-ply solid. Knit from the toe up, starting with Judy's Magic Cast On, then using my own "perverted heel". I'll have to explain that to you someday. I'm pretty pleased with these; the yarn bloomed pretty well after they were washed and dried. ToolMan says they're about half a size too long, but he did deem them "not droopy like the other ones."

He put on his new socks right after finishing up this lazy kate for Duffy:



That picture's a little fuzzy, and the color really isn't accurate. Here's a better one:



Duffy reports that the rods were too big for her bobbins, so he's making another set with thinner rods. Then he's going to start on an idea for a hat blocker that Kathleen came up with. She's a smart cookie, that Kathleen. He needs an Etsy shop, that man.

And last, but certainly not least, the latest report from the parental units back east yielded this:



My dad loves pitching horseshoes, and takes it very seriously. Just look at that, would 'ya? Ranked 8th nationally! In our family, he's always ranked Number One; even before he started pitching shoes. Way to go, Dad!

Curiouser and curiouser . . . .

Ok, for starts, I didn't make it to the KATU "Meet the Bloggers" shindig. It proved to be just too hard to get there from where I work on a weeknight on short notice. I know several knit bloggers did make it and some have posted about it, although no is sure what the whole thing was about, anyway.

Then, I woke up on Thursday morning with a raging headache, so I called in sick and went back to sleep. As it turned out, I'm glad I didn't go to work that day. One of the girls from my old office called to say our boss was intending to leave the next day. So Tool Man and I went over to see her and her SO one last time before they leave the country. She asked me to tie up a few loose ends for her, and I reminded them both to email and send pictures frequently. It was very sad seeing her this time; she's no longer the person I knew and loved. Oh, she knows who I am and who she is, but it's like someone took the core of her out. Her personality is subdued; as if the "thing", whatever it is, that made her who she is, has been removed. But I'm very glad I saw her one last time and gave her some big hugs to take with her.

I had intentions of getting this pile of fabric straightened out, inventoried, and photographed. Tool Man has been grousing about how the guest room looks. And I told Kathy and Chrispy that they were welcome to whatever is in here they can use. This is wonderful fabric from the boss, as she was cleaning out her house. I'll use some of it, but there's so much here and it's such nice stuff, I hate to have it sitting in boxes unused. There are wools, silks, linens, challis, suit weights, lining fabric, etc. in there. Enough to keep us all busy for quite a while.

I told Kathy and Chris there was a lot of fabric! We'll have to plan a day to get together and split this stuff up. Like I said, I intended to get this inventoried But, then . . . .

On Saturday morning, Tool Man suggested we go out to breakfast and drive to Carlton. You know what's in Carlton, don't you? That's right, Woodland Woolworks. Or as Duffy calls it, "Medina for fiber addicts." What could I say? It was his idea!

Tool Man wanted to look at the vertical reels.



He's plotting how to make one for me. I, of course, went straight to the stash room.



Then, I went to the weaving room to look at more yarn.



This place requires a strategy when visiting. Do not go directly to the yearn (er, yarn) sales room; it can cause sensory overload and lightheadedness. Instead, you must approach it cautiously and carefully, lest you become delirious from the fabulousness that is WWW.



So much yarn, so little time and money!



Hmmm, these drop spindles are really interesting.



Ahhh, look at the pretty colors of roving! Red and blue and purple and green, oh my!



Uh oh; I am almost overcome by fiber fumes! This is when one must depend upon their trusted companion to rescue them from certain destruction of the ol' credit card.

I retreated to the spinning room.



Which turned out to be not such a good idea. Because I found this little one that seemed really "cute." Then, I took my shoe off an tried the treadle. Bad, bad mistake.



It was as if my body had been invaded by some evil entity. I said, Look, it's scotch tension, and has several ratios. And a built-in lazy kate." Honestly, I don't know where that came from!

Tool Man looked at the price tag; then he looked at me like I had three heads. He gently suggested I might want to start with learning how to use the drop spindle and roving that I had been carrying around for the last 30 minutes. Later, he could probably build one of these for half of the retail.



Then, if I liked spinning (and was a very good girl) Santa might bring me a bigger one for Christmas. So, these came home with us:



A Schacht Hi-Lo Spindle with a 4 inch wheel, weighing 3 ounces; an ounce of purple merino top, combed 64s; and 3 ounces of navy heather top, combed 56s. Not that I understand what ANY of that means. I just bought these things because they spoke to me. Now, I just had to figure out what to do with them.

I did manage to restrain myself until I got the laundry done, some chores taken care of, and some resumes sent out. So, on Sunday afternoon, I read some stuff on the Internet and decided to try the spindle out.



Andy Rooney wondered, "What the heck is Mom up to now?"

People don't believe it, but I tell you, that dog talks up a blue streak when no one's around.



"Hmm, it seems to not be going very well."



"It looks like this might take a while. Better just settle in with a cold drink and a snack."

After several fits and starts, I made yarn! And even figured out how to ply it!

Cost: approximately $25.00

Product: approximately 10 feet of very uneven 2-ply yarn

Time spent: 2 days

Satisfaction: priceless