Silk Trash

WOWSA I am having fun. I am such a newbie spinner and have not experienced a lot of different fibers. Average wool and Mohair, to be exact. This new wool/silk blend is quite exciting to me. What is making it so fun to spin, is the fact that the silk trash makes it very easy for me to except and love the slubs. They just sort of spin into nice little blobs of silky color.

Gosh, I am so technical, aren't I?

What is the fiber you ask?
Well, I recently ordered from http://www.littlebarninc.com/default.asp
I had a specific project in mind; somehow I accidentally got the wrong color, but so happy I did.

I ordered this:
http://www.littlebarninc.com/details.asp?ID=285&CategoryID=6&StartNum=31&OrderBy=&Keywords=&ShowMe=10

They sent the blue version instead. I love the color and I love the slubby silk bits thrown into it. As of right now, I am planning to ply it with the pink and teal BFL that I recently spun and I think I will make the Fuzzy Feet Pattern from Knitty.

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter02/PATTfuzzyfeet.html

We will see, when all is said and done.
But now I will most certainly make another order for the black and may even have to have the green also ; )

I have also been inspired to call my mother up and tell her not to throw away any silk trash from her cross stitch projects. I will hopefully acquire a nice little stash of silk threads I can throw into my own fiber. FUN, FUN, FUN!

Beginnings and Ends

Well I am just beginning a new project. The Wavey Cable Lace Cap from Elann. I worked the first 8 rounds of 5 by 2 rib last night. I only had one false start so that is good. It is definitely different to work with this stretchy yarn. I have really, had to loosen up my knitting. Feels strange. Now, onto the lace part of the cap. I am somewhat terrified about it. I have not really done any lace projects before. I tried a dishcloth once with a few yarnovers and what a mess that was. I think I restarted many times and still didn't get it right. I am so bad at fixing mistakes and also such a scatter brain when knitting a pattern. I must have complete quiet and concentration. That is highly unlikely around here ; ) Hopefully, if I take my time and do one row at a time, I will not have to rip out and begin again. So here you have it, the rib ; )
Click pictures for a closer view.

I am also hoping to see the end of a pair of socks for my sweet hubby. His Birthday was Wednesday, Shucks I'm late again! Oh well, he understands. So here is a nice close up of the stitches and one of the socks done. The yarn is Patons Kroy sock yarn and I must say that I love it. It seems nice and thick and this yarn has a nice heather to it. A bit of blue lurking in the brown. I think this is my nicest sock yet. I am learning how to eliminate the holes at the gusset and it is getting better all the time. Hopefully I will have the last sock done by next week.

Esprit

Well it is PrOn Friday again. Hey this is kinda fun! Anyway, I am planning a chemo hat for a challenge project within my local guild.

Here is a link to one of the hats I am planning to make.
http://www.elann.com/ShowFreePattern.asp?Id=184024

I ordered the recommended yarn for it, from http://www.elann.com/frames.asp
I purchased 2 colors, one is a lavender shade, and the other, kind of an indigo.
The yarn is 98.3 % cotton and 1.7 % elastic. I was very surprised at how stretchy 1.7 % made it.
I wonder how it will knit up? I will likely have the hat beginnings to share next week.
I am planning to use the indigo first.
Here is the PrOn!

Purple People Eater Socks

Well my son's socks are done! Not half bad considering all the little snags they have in them.

My son has size 13 shoes and these socks are big! I don't think I will be making my kid's socks again for some time. I want many more pairs for myself. I only have one so far. My hubby also deserves nice socks, his first pair is already on the needles.

Here are the Monster socks.

Purse Rescue

The other night I stopped into the local coffee shop where our fibers guild meets once a month.
I ordered a special coffee and while waiting for them to make it, I happened to see a little felted bag, in a box labeled lost and found. I asked the woman behind the counter about it, saying that perhaps it was left behind from one of the guild members. She said, oh please take it if you want it, that whole box is going to the thrift shop tomorrow. So I rescued the poor little thing.

I knew someone had put some time into it, and even though it was a little pathetic looking, I thought I could fix it up to make a cute purse. So home we went. I quickly sewed a gusset into the bottom to give it some shape. It had been just a flat pouch. It had a single short I-cord handle, I didn't like it at all. I just chopped it off, I stitched up the area where it was attached with a few pieces of scrap wool yarn. I threw it in to the wash to re-felt it. The whole bag got smaller and just the size I like. I went to Jo-ann's Fabric and bought a cute set of handles that were on sale for $3.99.

It is now a cute little purse. The pink in it is not quite me, but I do like the size and the handles. I am glad I rescued the little thing. Now we will see if one of my guild members recognizes it, in it's transformed shape. It measures 8 1/2 inches wide by about 2 1/2 fat and 10 inches high including handles.

Isn't it sweet?

Friday Yarn PrOn...

What is that you ask? Well, I have joined a netring, which requires me to share at least one juicy shot of something fiber, on each Friday.
Hopefully I will be able to keep up and it will keep me inspired to knit faster ; )
It will be nice to keep my blog updated for all of you, also.
Oh yeah, for you family and friends who might be interested in seeing other blogs about knitting or spinning, check out the right sidebar for the rings. You can click on Random and it will take you to other blogs with fun things to look at. Try it, you'll like it!

Anyway as I have mentioned, I am still trying to finish up some Christmas socks. My son chose this yarn so that I could make him socks in the (Vikings) team colors. It is the first time I have attempted to change colors in a pair of socks. It has gone well.
The yarn I am using is (SISU) I purchased it in Canada this past summer. I think it is a German brand. I can tell you that I have not enjoyed this yarn one bit. It has been very splitty, causing me numerous issues where I have accidentally grabbed a piece of the stitch below. Being a new knitter, sometimes I have remedied the situation on the next round, and sometimes I have not or have made a bigger mess.

So without further ado I present the "PrOn"

2007 - Happy New Year!

Well it is a new year, I hope to make it a memorable one. It has got to be better than last year.
We had a tough year and I am glad it is behind us.
We will still have some tough issues to deal with. Darling Hubby's father has been diagnosed with cancer and I sense there will be some sadness to deal with.

I just had some medical testing of my own done this week. I think all tests are turning out well. I had fallen in the middle of the night the Thursday after Christmas. I got up to take some cold medicine and didn't feel dizzy or unusual, but I evidently fell and hit my head. I woke up next to our granite topped rolling cart, very dizzy and confused. I managed to slide down the steps to get to my hubby, and then I laid on the family room floor feeling sick to my stomach with a terrible headache. Anyway, after testing, nothing has been discovered. I wonder if it was caused by an over the counter medication (airborne) I had never taken it before and had taken some before bed.

Goals for this year: I hope to become a much better spinner and knitter. I purchased a spinning wheel the end of last year and have just begun to explore the possibilities. The creative juices are flowing. I look forward to knitting something with my own handspun yarn!

I need to finish up a pair of socks that was meant to be a Christmas present for my son. Also a pair of socks on the needles for my hubby's birthday this month.
I have begun a new spinning project, not sure what the yarn will become. Perhaps felted slippers?
The fiber is BFL (Blue Faced Leicester) that I hand dyed myself last year while I was waiting for my wheel to arrive.

Here is the yarn in it's beginning stage.