March Happenings.

Today has been a cozy, at-home-day watching British Murder mysteries, eating chocolate, and spinning. There was a scheduling snaffle at work and I ended up having today off which delights me to no end. Where I work I often find myself chilled to the bone while sitting at my desk so I determined that next year I will have a handspun & handknit lap blanket to ward off the chill. I'm thinking a lofty, woolen spun yarn should be ideal for creating a very warm blanket. All my odds and end skeins are destined to be in the run-up for the lap blanket.

Winter has relaxed it grip and we have warmer temperatures with the promise of Spring in the air. The little bit of snow we did have is gone, and small plants are popping out of the ground everywhere. We've also had quite a few rainy days already. The first portion of this year has flown by, so when I am home and it's raining I'm actually thankful. Then I have time to still  hunker down and do some winter-type knitting. Comfortable, by the fire, with tea.

I recently picked up my 2nd pair of Terpander socks that have been languishing on the needles for a good year. I have no excuse other then that I lost my copied out pattern with notes and don't know where I am in the design. Yesterday I looked at the pattern in the actual book and I am torn between completing it per the instructions, or just throwing on a few inches of ribbing to change things up and calling it good. I'd like to wear these before the warmth of summer has arrived. As you can see in the above photo, I had two different dye lots of yarn and never bothered to switch them between rows. So now I have a dual-colored sock going on. I don't mind, it's unique, if a little odd.

A few weeks ago before the snow had melted I stayed the weekend with a friend and we did some sewing. First up, I helped her make a duvet cover for her bed. It was my first time making a duvet cover and I was pleased with how it came out. We ended up closing it off with twill tape ties and all & all it looks great. Between runs to the fabric store for things we forgot (twill tape), I also picked up flannel to make myself a pillowcase, and then these little squares in the Strawberry Field's Revisited line. I'm not sure what they will end up becoming, but they were too darling to pass up.

Our visit included a marathon of Downton Abbey, and some pleasant winter walks. Also too much coffee, breakfast in bed, and lots of toddler giggles. It was a good weekend. 

Happy New Year

I never make New Year's resolutions anymore, but I do try to overview my previous year and think about where I can make changes, and what I can improve, as well as plan for the coming year. Today I've been thinking about what projects I'd like to make. And while I don't have anything definite nailed down yet (except I DO know I must make a Vulpix shawl) I have decided to slowly work through my Ravelry favorites, picking one I love, purchasing the materials, and knitting it up.

My first new project for 2016 is going to be a shawl designed by the lovely Alana Dakos. I've signed up to participate in her first ever MKAL and as its also my first time participating in one I'm pretty excited. Madeleinetosh Tosh Vintage in the Mill Pond colorway is what I've selected as my yarn and its the most vivid shade of green imaginable. (Think rich mossy carpets on a forest floor.)

But that won't be happening until January 8th. For now, feel free to enjoy this collage of my most popular projects in 2015. Let's hope 2016 is as colorful and productive. Happy New Year!

Project Portfolio: Fluff-to-Socks Sal/Kal

Remember when I blogged about the Fluff-to-socks Spin-along, Knit-along that I was participating in? We had the month of May to spin the yarn and the month of June to knit the socks. Initially I was confused and thought that we could use any pattern we wished. Then a friend kindly let me know that the sal/kal was supposed to be done using the Effervesce sock pattern. As you can see there is a great deal of cabling in these socks but with the cabling-without-a-needle method they fairly flew of the needles. I was also pleased with how closely the striping lined up. 

As I stated previously, there isn't an outfit in my wardrobe thay such wild socks will work with, but they will be warm and they were such a fun project from start to finish. 

Project Portfolio: Quaker Yarn Stretcher

This was my first time making the beautiful Quaker Yarn Stretcher. When it comes to practical use, it isn't my first choice of shawl. The wierd slanting shape doesn't lay right nor wrap in a proper manner around your shoulders. But it is intended to be a kerchief I believe, and as such it would probably work fine. I had a good deal of handspun yarn in the stash so I clubbed it all together and just knit until I ran out! In the end it made a delightful, if somewhat odd, shawl. I meant to do a mini photo shoot and model all my newest knits down in the orchard this autumn. But the time flew, the leaves fell, and now everything is sodden and grey down under the apple trees. Maybe I will still get a photo or two in before the snows come. But don't hold your breath; winter looks to be just as busy as summer and fall were. If I can just blog every once in awhile I shall feel quite accomplished indeed! Meanwhile, be on the lookout for new puni sets in the shop. I've managed to squeeze some carding sessions in between work hours and on my days off. An update will be happening soon! 

I am back! Plus, Fluff-to-Socks news.

After a long hiatus from blogland I have finally returned. Spring was ever so busy and all of the sudden here we are in Summer already! 

The pace of life quickens during the warmer months; we scurry and flurry our way through a myriad of things, be it get-togethers, gardening, or holidays. The calendar is dotted with parties, weddings, family functions, birthdays, church functions, showers... Last year was an exceptionally busy year and I wasn't able to take the time for some things that I needed to. My shop, for one, didn't get the attention it should have. And I felt frazzled and worn out by the time autumn rolled around. This year, however, I have been working on managing my time & obligations better and, while busy, so far I am not running myself ragged and into the ground. Which has been a huge blessing and relief. I love summer and it is nice to be able to just enjoy it and take time to reflect on the goodness of God.

But onward to the brightly colored socks and yarn in this post! Remember the Fluff-to-Socks spin-along and knit-along I told you about in a previous post?  Well, the above socks are my "entry" for said sal/kal. Those of us who participated in the sal/kal were given 3 months to spin the yarn, and 1 month to knit the socks. June being the designated month for knitting, I am picking these up whenever I can and squeezing in a row or two. They are quite vibrant, and will add a splash of cheer to grey and cold winter days. They probably won't go with a single garment I possess but no matter. They will be warm, and that's what matters.

Project Portfolio :: My fourth Age of Brass & Steam Kerchief.

After I finished my previously shown shawl, but while the Age of Brass and Steam Sal/Kal was still going on, I decided to start another shawl with the same pattern. My sister was wanting a shawl and the Age of Brass seemed the perfect fit. This is the fourth one I have knit and it fairly flew off of the needles. The yarn I used was all various handspun skeins that I spun over the last year or so. I believe the majority of it was spindle-spun; I can't remember about the last section though...that may have been done on my wheel. I obviously need to keep a more detailed spinning journal!

 Instead of doing the standard bind-off I opted for a few more rows of garter stitch and then did a picot bind-off. It made for a tidy edge and the picot gave it a nice feminine flair. I've always been a fan of picots, other then the fact that they eat up a lot of yardage. But it's worth the yard and time in the end. 

The shawl blocked out beautifully.  I just wet it, squeezed out the water, and laid it flat to dry on a towel. When cold weather hits blocking knit items does become rather tedious. It sometimes takes days for things to dry and this little shawl was no exception. It always amazes me how blocking works miracles on a project. This particular pattern is very forgiving when it comes to blocking. A lot or a little, it always turns out splendid. 

A Summer in Snapshots :: Part One

1. Haybales in a nearby field. Nothing smacks of summer like the sight and smell a freshly baled hay field

2. Late evening mist over the fields.

3. Brunch on the front lawn. Tea. Oatmeal. Knitting. It was pretty much a perfect morning. 

4. My flower patch was a profusion of colors this year. This is year two for the perennials and they really took off. Purple Cone Flower, Black-eyed Susan, Painted Daisy, Miniature Sunflowers,  Sweet William, Coreopsis, and I know not what else. It was quite lovely and I picked many a bouquet from here this summer. 

5. Knitting. I didn't do as much this summer. But I did design a pattern or two. And I gathered lots of inspiration for the winter months when I do more knitting & designing.

6. Painted my toes aqua. Collected rocks on Holiday. It's impossible to go away to our secret cabin and not bring a few home. Well....we bring a few more then a few. *ehem*

7. Spinning. Lots and lots of outdoor wheel spinning. Out in the cement patio is my favorite place to spin. It's breezy, sunny, I'm surrounded by flowers and the ground is level for my wheel to sit on.

8. Hiking. This summer we went on several hikes. Found some new trails and explored a new area. I'd like to go back someday. There is just something about the smell and silence of a pine woods in summer....

9. Gardening. This summer we had an excellent crop of zucchini,  butternut squash, corn, and peppers.  The tomatoes perished, after yielding a bumper crop of greenness and a few god red ones. They sort of just wilted and rotted away. It was disaapointing. But I was happy for all the zucchini. Eggs with zucchini,  peppers, mushroom, onions, and tomatoes was my lunch most of the summer. So delicious. I wish I could grow a zuke plant indoors all winter. 

10. Celebrating! Watching fireworks from out on the dunes. 

11. Berrying. An abandoned blueberry patch. Picking was free and oh, was it pretty there.

12. Hollyhocks by an orchard. Single-blossom hollyhocks rank in my top 10 favorite flowers. They're so pretty, & elegantly old-fashioned.

Catching Up On Projects Past: The Sweetgum Wrap

When I was getting ready for my trip across the country to help my friend, I decided that it would be nice to make a cozy wrap to wear while on the airplane as I am always chilly on airplanes. So I picked out a couple of my colorways, with 'Cozy Plaid' being the main one, and started spun it uo on my various drop spindles. It ended up being a bulky-weight yarn and the pattern I picked to knit with it was the 'Sweetgum Wrap' on Ravelry.
This pattern was a fun knit, very quick and easy to remember. If you have 300 yards of bulky yarn in your stash that you can't seem to find the right project for, this may be it. the pattern was designed with handspun but any bulky yarn would work I'm sure. If you've knit the Sweetgum before I'd love to hear what you thought about the pattern.

Heading off on Holiday.

One of the most delightful things ever to see is a pile of handknits. And its even better if they are handspun as well. Of my stack the top four are handspun, the middle two of those four were dyed by me. What is this pile you say?
Well, it is some of the knits I collected together for my trip.
Weather is such a fickle thing. And being in the Wild, surrounded by woods and water, one day you may need a light & airy shawl, the next you could be bundled up from toes to nose & braving a blizzard.
So into my trusty Thirty-one cinch sack these all went.
And while I can not say that I used all of them, I did use most.
When it comes to knits & weather I hold by, "Its always better to be safe then sorry".
What about you? Lots of knits or very few? Over-packer or under-packer? I'd love to hear from you!

Holiday Knitting.

Tiny knits are in progress! This is for my sweet little niece who will be making her appearance very soon.
It was a quick knit, though I did have some trouble at the beginning and had to restart it. But I began again yesterday and  just finished it this evening. We are on Holiday so between hiking and spending time together there has been plenty of time to knit. I still have to gift this, that is if I make it back from Holiday in time to attend the shower! After that I can show the reveal of the whole project, from start to finish.

Tata for now, my friends!

Knitting :: Cowl For A Friend

Last November I spun and knit this cowl in a matter of days. The fact that it was on drop spindle is what amazes me for bulky weights on a spindle are not my forte. I should say Single bulky weight. But it turned out very nicely and I do believe my friend was quite pleased with her cowl. It was a birthday present and since I spun and knit it quickly I did not keep proper notes and write down the pattern like I should have.*Ehem. Cough.

One of these days I will spin up more bulky yarn and write out the pattern for all of you. I'll keep you posted if/when that happens.

January Fiber Updates

 Hello my friends! It is good to be back here in blogland with you. I will admit I have been spending more time on Instagram then on my blog. Probably because the camera on my phone is nicer then my point-and-shoot. And it is fairly instant, far less work then editing photos and doing up a blog post. But I am determined to be a little more regular on here, as time allows, and not neglect my poor blog and my wonderful followers. 
 First up are shop updates. 
I am keeping fairly busy with my shop. Things slowed down around Christmas but are picking back up within the last week. Spindle sales are on the rise and that is a blessing. I get so excited every time I sell a spindle. Actually I still get so excited every time I have any sort of sale. Each one is a blessing and an answer to prayer.
Newest in my shop right now are my Marbled Puni Collections! 
I am working on carefully carding up unique fiber blends on my hand cards and selling them in small amounts. These are similar to batts, but are already split up into sections as you can spin straight from a puni. They will make beautiful heathered yarns and depending on the content, will be lightly textured.
If you haven't seen them yet please do stop by and check them out!
** Concerning Punis, I will be doing a special post about what makes a puni, and the difference between punis and rolags. Stay tuned!

 In my own personal non-business-related Fibery dealings, this is a little of what I have been working on. Bright and early New Year's day, (yes, I mean about 12:30am!) I dumped out my container of woolly odds and ends left over from other carding projects. I wanted to see if I could make some order out of the chaos and maybe card them into rolags/punis. Yes, I know I could use them for felting or stuffing, but they seemed to pretty to use for anything other then spinning. I lashed them neatly onto my hand cards as shown above, then away I carded.

 As you can see they turned out beautifully! They have some short,, blobby spots. And I had to deal with a few more noily sections then I usually do, but overall I loved them. Since I was using scraps they ended up being a mixture of merino wool, angora, silk, bamboo, llama, and sari silk threads. 
 This was my project basket on New Year's Day. Although I ended up just working on my scrappy punis and never did get to spin on my Christmas yarn. I carded, spun, and plied all of my scraps on January 1st, in between the general chatter, food, games and time spent with my wonderful family. 

 Here is the resulting yarn, my first handspun of the year 2013!I am not sure on the WPI of the yardage, I will have to measure it again.

 As for my Happy Christmas yarn, it spun up fairly quickly. I dithered back and forth on how I should ply it. Two ply to blend the colors more? Navajo ply for longer color repeats? Normally I don't have trouble deciding what to do with my plying but I wanted this to be perfect so it sat as a single for a little while. Two different people advised that I do two-ply. So that is what i ended up going with.

And I absolutely LOVE the way the colors ended up! It is a very unique yarn, and some of the colors are not "me" at all. But as a whole I love it and I am already designing a shawl pattern with it. This was only 180 yards of fingering weight yarn. I have already knit almost all of it and I am plying the second skein for it. Depending on how the shawl turns out I may turn it into a pdf for sale on Ravelry. I'll be sharing pictures with you soon!
What about you? What projects have been keeping you busy in your spare time thus far in the New Year? I would love to hear all about them!