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2009-01-06T16:03:00.002-05:00

New blog is here: http://heknitsnspins.wordpress.com

Long Time Gone

2008-12-29T13:53:00.000-05:00

For two months now, I have been the world's worst blogger. Ok, maybe not the worst, but if my blog were a baby, it'd be in the protective custody of DSS. Where the past two months have gone, I have no idea. I was working hard trying to finish my bachelor's degree and am happy to report that I am finally done, 13 years after the quest began. My last class ended on 12/11/08 with a 30 page paper due, and as is always the case, I worked that f'er right up to the last minute. But I am psyched to be finished and am ready to start looking for a better paying job.

Besides that, I actually haven't been somewhat productive with the spinning...here's a quick recap of some of the spinning successes:

Top to bottom is 1) Shetland in "Gannet" from Hello Yarn, 2) Corriedale/Alpaca in "Rte 66" from Spunky Eclectic, 3) Superwash BFL in "Lame Duck Mallard" from Spunky Eclectic club, 4) Finn in "Buckland" from Hello Yarn club and 5) Australian Merino in "Fields of Gold" from Come In Spinner. See my Flickr set for more details on each.

Last month, I also became the proud new papa of a Louet full size fine cloth drum carder thanks to Amy's Black Friday sale at Spunky Eclectic. I got to drive up to Lisbon, ME to pick it up and was able to spend a good chunk of the day hanging out in the shop. Lots of fun! I've been having a great time with the carder making all sorts of fun batts. Here's a couple...

"Tundra" - Corriedale/Alpaca/SeaCell

"Pistachio" - Corriedale/Alpaca/sparkle

"Insect Wings" - BFL/sparkle

Finally, on the knitting front, I sadly only have a couple things to report as finished...that area has been lacking.

I knit a cowl out of the Buckland handspun...

I FINALLY finished my mom's Anemoi Mittens just in time for her birthday...

And I designed my very own mittens :) These were a Christmas present for my sister-in-law and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out. The yarn in Noro Silver Thaw and is absolutely gorgeous.

I very much plan to be a better blogger now that school is out and the holidays are over!! See you soon!

Autumn brings...

2008-10-27T13:30:00.009-04:00

This year has been one of the first years I've actually appreciated, and even enjoyed, autumn. I think Rhinebeck and my complete and total obsession with all things wool has played a large part in this. This time of year means getting to wear all of my favorite handknit stuff...curling up in bed at night with the window open, all wrapped up in blankets...being able to spin and knit without sweatily sticking to whatever it is I'm working on...drinking hard cider...and so many other wonderful things.

This past Saturday I had some time to kill while visiting a friend of mine who lives in Charlestown, right on Bunker Hill, so I got to walk around for a bit and took some pictures. It was an absolutely beautiful New England fall day and the area is so pretty.

I've also cast on my very first sweater! Rhinebeck, and all of the beautiful handknit items I witnessed while there, inspired me to venture something bigger. I've never ~~knit~~ finished a sweater, I have an awful case of knitting A.D.D. There's several beginnings of sweaters lying around on my needles but none have made in very far. This time, I'm determined! And I've made pretty good progress so far. I'm knitting the Cobblestone Pullover ( ). I managed to get a good 8" of the body done on Saturday before I gave in to the realization that it was going to be HUGE! And yes, I'm a bad knitter, I did not knit a gauge swatch, so it serves me right. I ripped and cast on again on Sunday with some smaller needles and am now back to about where I had left off.

This is after casting on for the second time, I'm quite a bit further along than this

I know I'll finish this sucker because I'm already really excited about wearing it out. The yarn is Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed and is gorgeous! It will be the perfect autumn sweater.

I also got a wonderful gift (from myself) Friday. I came home from work to find my new Golding Tsunami spindle waiting for me. I immediately pulled out some Hello Yarn fiber I had been saving for just such a special occasion, "Frosted Forest" in 50/50 Soy Silk/wool. One flick of this spindle and I knew I was in for a real treat! Words really can't even describe how amazing this spindle is. It is the most perfectly weighted and balanced spindle I've ever had the joy to use...and it spins forfreakingever! Seriously, I have had to actually stop the spinning on several occasions because it was still going and I had no more room to spin. It's truly incredible and the Tsunami, at only $39, is a STEAL!!! There are a lot of spindles out there that don't even compare to this one for a quite a bit more money. If you've never tried a Golding, I guarantee it will change the way you feel about spindle spinning!

Rhinebeck!

2008-10-22T11:31:00.008-04:00

So, if you live under a rock and didn't already know, the New York Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck was this past weekend. I decided fairly last minute that I would go, so of course all the hotels were booked, which meant I got to go camping! Usually not my first choice of fun ways to spend a weekend away, especially this time of year in New England (It was FREEZING!), but I survived and had a really good time!

If you've never been to the festival, it's CRAZY! HUGE! CROWDED! And SOOOOO MUCH FIBER!!! It was heaven. Any fiber, yarn, tools, accessories you could ever imagine...beer...good food...great people...I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend!

I got to meet some Spunquistadors in person...

Spunky Group

David flew all the way from Australia to go...

David and me

And I made it into the photo set on the front page of Ravelry!

I'm in the 3rd row down, center picture, spindling

Here is the actual photo...

Me spindling at the Ravelry party

I made a couple fantastic purchases while there, but I didn't go crazy. I went in with some strict rules so as not to really go too nuts (because that would have been very easy!). I decided I would only buy something if I didn't already have any of it and it was something I would have a hard time finding elsewhere. I knew ahead of time that finding some nice Cormo top was mission #1 and I was able to accomplish that mission day one, so I was pretty happy. I can never find any prepped Cormo top online, only raw fleece which I don't have the time or interest for. After that, I really had no mission. I did end up buying some "Mystery Bump" roving thanks to a bunch of peer pressure ;) Everyone else bought one so I had to. It's 7 oz of dyed roving and apparently the color changes as you spin your way into the center of the bump. Should be pretty fun! Day 2 purchases included some of the most AMAZINGLY SOFT Superfine Merino/Angora/Cashmere blend top (60/20/20)...it's so soft you can barely even feel it! I can't wait to get working on that. Haven't yet decided if I'm going to dye it or leave it white, I'm almost afraid to do anything with it! Last purchases was a metal swift, nothing too exciting, but something I've been needing.

So that's it, it's over, I can't believe it. Already looking foward to next year!

Fall is in the air

2008-10-08T11:44:00.002-04:00

The leaves are starting to turn, the air is getting crisp, and all around are images of autumn and Halloween. In all honesty, fall is not one of my favorite seasons. It always signals the end of summer, which I love, and the beginning of a very cold, gray, snowy/wet winter here in New England. But there are a lot of things I do love about fall...Sam Adams Oktoberfest is out, I get to pull out all my knitted stuff to wear/wrap up in, trips to Salem for a nice cup of hot cider, apple picking and the pies that follow, and this year as a first for me, the New York Sheep & Wool festival in Rhinebeck! A week from Friday I'll be hopping in the car and driving out to Rhinebeck with my favorite traveling companion, Erin, for a weekend of camping, meeting my online fiber friends, and lots of woolly fun! I'm pretty darn excited...so much so that Autumn is turning into a season I may become fond of going foward :)

This fall also bestowed upon me an AMAZING batt, in a colorway appropriately named "Pumpkin Juice", from Josette of Enchanted Knoll Farm. It is a blend of superwash Merino in wonderful golds, oranges, and purple with lots of sari silk strands and glitz. Each draft of this stuff uncovers heaps of little treasures and I am honestly in fiber heaven. If you ever get the chance, grab this fast, cuz it won't stay in her shop long, especially not with me around!!

I also got a mad dash of knitting done this past Friday night/Saturday a.m. to get a birthday present completed for my friend Beth. I made Porom by Jared Flood, and I couldn't be happier. It was a pretty fast and easy knit, and the finished product was wonderully woolly and slouchy and chic. Due to the rush I was in (I finished this thing with seconds to spare) I didn't get a picture of it before gifting it so you'll have to settle for a poorly lit picture of the hat in use by it's recipient, who absolutely loved it, by the way ;)

Returning to you...as an UNCLE!

2008-09-24T14:50:00.002-04:00

Man oh man, the end of the summer was brutal, as is apparent by my lack of anything going on here. My summer class ended one week before my one and final fall semester class, so I will finally be graduating college in December, 12 years after I started ;)

My brother and his wife had their first baby this past Thursday at 10:30 pm. JJ (Jarrod Jacob) was 6 lbs 4 oz and 18 3/4" long. So I'm an uncle and very excited about it. He's the cutest little bugger I've ever seen (I might be a little biased).

Some knitting and spinning has been happening, but not much. I finished Jarrod Flood's Habitat last week and am completely in love with! And because it is getting very autumnal outside and was only 55 degrees F when I left the house this morning, it made it's inaugural appearance in public today. I don't want to take it off...ever.

Here it is partially done...I don't have a finished picture yet, I'll be sure to do that.

I live...

2008-08-06T10:20:00.005-04:00

It's been quite a while since I last posted anything so I thought I'd better stop in and give a little update on the past month or so. It's been a busy one as I'm taking a summer class that meets for 3 hours twice a week after work. There's light at the end of the tunnel though. 2 more weeks of that, then one class in the fall and I finally have my bachelor's degree.

In non-knitting/spinning/dyeing news, my Redwood tree is doing spectacular! I'm just a little concerned about what to do with it over the winter, I gotta do some reading up.

I bought this little guy back in the spring at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society's Flower Show. If you've never been, it's definitely worth checking out. I try to get there every year, there's always a lot of great stuff to see and buy!

Ok, back to the fiber stuff. The Tour de Fleece is over and I only managed to finish one measly skein of yarn, pretty pathetic. I really should have learned by now not to sign on for these things as I know I'm just setting myself up for failure and disappointment. But I am pretty proud of that one skein I did actually finish. I spun up the "Illuminated" Wensleydale I had grabbed from Hello Yarn. Spun up laceweight, Navajo plied, 4 oz became about 440 yards. I was pretty psyched about the yardage.

I think this is definitely destined to become a pair of mittens! or two!

Lastly, I got a bunch of dyeing done this past weekend, most of which I am in total LOVE with! Especially that center one..."Carnivale" in 100% Romney combed top. I really fought with myself about keeping some for myself. Before the fight was over though, both bunches I had dyed were bought right out from under me. Oh well, guess I better get more dyed up!

An adventure in sewing

2008-07-10T21:07:00.004-04:00

As if my list of time consuming hobbies wasn't long enough, I signed up for a sewing class at The Stitch House to make an Amy Butler Sophia Bag. The instructor told me this was a hard one, and she was right! Well, it wasn't so much hard as it was time consuming...lots of pieces to cut out...and that piping made things tricky. But I did it and the bag came out awesome! My sister was the lucky recipient and now my mom and friend want one. What have I done?!

I had some fabric left over when I was done so I decided to whip up a spindle/sock knitting bag tonight. This was definitely more my speed...much easier! It's a little too girly for me to use though so I put it up for sale in my Etsy shop. It's the perfect size for a spindle and some fiber or a small knitting project to take on the road. The bottom is reinforced to stand up to the sharpest of spindle shaft and knitting needles. I'm really proud of both bags!

Score!

2008-07-03T16:02:00.004-04:00

There was a frantic Hello Yarn update today and I managed to score some FANTASTIC fiber!

First we have "Illuminated" in Wensleydale, 4oz.

Then "Batik" in South African Fine, 4oz.

And finally "Gannet" in Shetland, 8oz.

Sorry for the small photos, I'll get better ones once it arrives. I'm pretty psyched, this was the first Hello Yarn update I've managed to catch. Adrian's color palette is always so intense and right up my alley!

I been tagged...

2008-07-02T16:52:00.002-04:00

For Spunky...and everyone else who stumbles over here.

1. Where was I 10 years go.
At the University of Rochester as a physics major (shudder)
Working part time as a cake decorator
In the closet
(those last two don't really seem to work together!)

2. 5 things on today’s to-do list
Work
Have car damage assessed (forgot to do...oops)
Pick up thread
Go to sewing class
Bed

3.Snacks I enjoy
Cheezits
Grapes
Pretzels
Cheezits
Cheezits
Cheezits

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
Start my own business
Pay my parents back for everything
Buy a house
Pay it forward

5. Places I have lived.
Marshfield, MA
Rochester, NY
Quincy, MA
Marshfield, MA
nowhere too exciting...yet

6. Jobs I have had.
Paperboy
Ice cream store lackey
Librarian's slave
Cashier
Cake Decorator
Check typist
Accountant
Database developer
Project Manager
Business Analyst

7. Who would I like to know more about.
Everyone who pops in here!

Spunky club June 2008

2008-06-30T14:44:00.002-04:00

The Spunky Club June 2008 fiber arrived Friday afternoon and is (as always) beeeeyoooootiful! It's a Merino/Mohair blend, one of my favorites in the colorway "Flowering Weeds".

Because it's a blend, there are only 3 ounces so I'm kicking myself for not getting the double dose. I have a bunch of undyed Merino/Mohair (same blend) at home so I could try to recreate the colorway and get more yardage. Or I may try spinning it with the undyed fiber as is. Or I may try spinning it with some other fiber I've got (I'm thinking the Corriedale/Alpaca mix I have in Spunky's Monkey Farts colorway. Many options, lots to think about...

In the meantime, last night I began spinning the "Blowjob Shot" Merino/Mohair I had dyed up a week or so ago. All I have to say is YUMMMM! The blend is amazing and the colors are just SO ME. I am absolutely, positively in love. So much so that I took the one I had put up for sale in my Etsy shop off so I could have all 8oz to myself. I'm so selfish!

Hemlock Ring blanket - done!

2008-06-22T18:32:00.004-04:00

Alright, it took me a lot longer than I said it would but it is finally done. I was hoping to get it all finished up a week ago but it had been ridiculously hot here and knitting was just too painful! Especially with Eco Wool. I love the stuff but it's itchy and hot when it's 90+ degrees out!

I was able to block it today, but it's in the basement (that was the only place I had enough room to do it), so it's going to take a bit to dry. Here are the pics of it blocked, I'll get some better ones as soon as it's dry.

I was also very productive getting stuff dyed this weekend. I got a total of 1lb Merino/Mohair, 1lb Rambouillet, and 1lb Wensleydale all dyed and dried.

Top two are Rambouillet in "Bengal" and "Ape Sh#t"
Bottom two are Wensleydale in "Humpback" and "Twilight Storm"

And these...

Both are 70% Merino / 30% Mohair blend...in "Creme Brulee" and "Mai Tai"

Spunky Club May '08 Fiber all spun up

2008-06-21T18:43:00.000-04:00

Took a little longer than normal, mostly because I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do with it, but my Spunky Club May '08 fiber is all spun up. I loved the colors and the fiber (Corriedale), I just couldn't think of anyone that would enjoy something knit up with these colors. I ended up deciding on worsted weight singles, spun in a Malabrigo-esque style, something that I feel always suits Corriedale well. And once done, I ended up donating this to my mom's yarn stash...I'm sure she can come up with something to make out of it.

A completed project?

2008-06-09T15:57:00.002-04:00

It is true, it may actually happen this week.

I'm known for my attention deficit style of knitting, almost always having 5+ projects going at once, rarely to ever see completion. I'm good with hats, gloves, and mittens, and that's about it. Scarves rarely wind up on anyone's neck. Sweaters generally never get sleeves. Anything fingering weight...well you see where this is going. So this is something I'm consciously trying to change. Nothing feels better than finishing a project you've worked hard on. And nothing is more saddening than seeing yarn wasting away on half finished projects.

Given my history with projects larger than a bread box, tackling the Hemlock Ring Blanket was a bit risky. But I've been determined to finish it, even now where the rounds are at 400+ stitches each. That blanket WILL be done soon! To get to where brooklyntweed ended his, I have 18 rounds to go (plus whatever edging I decide on). Of course the stitches/round increase as I move outwards making it ever more slow going. But I am forcing myself, no matter what, to knit AT LEAST 4 rounds each night this week, and then edging over the weekend. I ordered and received blocking wires last week in preparation for blocking this monster. I'm all prepped for history in the making here people! Make sure I stick to it!

On that note, knitting with a REALLY bad sunburn in 90+ degree Fahrenheit heat is not pleasant. Trust me on this one. I got the worst sunburn of my life yesterday, and that EcoWool rubbing on fresh sunburn could prove to be a very useful form of torture.

Wool, wool, and more wool!

2008-06-03T12:59:00.002-04:00

I've gone a little fiber nuts this week...I'm on a serious wool high at the moment and had to share!

Yesterday I ordered 6 oz. of Merino/Bamboo blend in the "Castaway" colorway of the month from Spunky Eclectic. It looks like it will spin up into the perfect yarn for a baby blanket for my soon to be niece/nephew.

I also have 2lbs of undyed Wensleydale and 2lbs of undyed Merino/Kid Mohair 70/30 blend zooming their way to me from Paradise Fibers. I think I may need to take a week off of work to play with all this fibery goodness coming!

I see lots and lots of dyeing and spinning in the near future, what a great start to summer :)

Wensleydale

Merino/Mohair

New fiber all dyed up

2008-06-02T13:54:00.004-04:00

I haven't gotten much done lately. I've been extremely busy at work and was helping my brother and his wife move all weekend. I did, however, find some time Sunday to dye up some Rambouillet I had lying around. If you've never used Rambouillet, you MUST! It is so soft and wonderful. Very similar to Corriedale but softer in my opinion. It's beautiful...

The colorway on the left came out surprisingly fantastic! I just threw a whole bunch of colors together and wasn't really sure what the end result would be. It came out so pretty, and sold less than 5 minutes after I put it up in my Etsy shop!

I'm calling the one on the right "Stung" for obvious reasons and it's another one of my favorites. New colors for me, and definitely not for everybody, but I love the way this one came out too.

I also received my monthly fiber from the Spunky Fiber Club, "Rosebud" 100% Corriedale. Very pretty! I'm spinning this as sport/worsted weight singles but haven't gotten very far yet. Here's a photo of the fiber...

A day of dyeing

2008-05-26T18:01:00.003-04:00

What a friggen' amazing weekend it has been! I was stuck inside most of Saturday and Sunday working at The Stitch House in Dorchester, but today it was time to enjoy a day off and some very nice sunshine!

I figured I'd get out there and dye some of the wool I have sitting around to put up on my Etsy shop. Dyeing outside is nice cuz I don't have to worry about spills or getting dye powder anywhere or the smell of the vinegar all up in the house. It does have its drawbacks though. Today was SO windy...and it's pollen season. Between trying to keep the cling wrap from blowing around into a big old mess and trying to keep the pollen off the wool and out of the dye cups, things got pretty frustrating! So I only got one pound of superwash merino dyed up.

I did one new colorway (top) and one I've already done before ("Riverbank" on the bottom). Actually the new colorway, which I'm calling "Ocean Storm", is the same recipe as the "Blue Steel" I dyed up a little while back, only the black stayed in the wool this time. Sadly, I think I liked "Blue Steel" better, but this one is pretty dang nice too.

Yarn Harlot cracks me up

2008-05-21T20:44:00.006-04:00

Oh man, I found this on YouTube and had to post it here. It is too funny.

The funniest part is that a friend's sister stumbled onto my stash this past weekend and I think she is still in shock...and slightly scared of me now. The problem with my stash is that it is everywhere...in my bedroom, living room, backseat of the car, trunk of the car...you name it, there's yarn there! I could have used one of her responses!!

Speaking of stash, here's some handspun I've had done for a while but hadn't been able to get a picture of because it was stolen from me as soon as it came off the Niddy Noddy! I posted a picture of the roving a while back but here it is again...

And the finished yarn...around heavy worsted weight and VERY fluffy!

About to get REAL busy

2008-05-19T10:06:00.002-04:00

I recently posted about the Men's knitting class I was teaching at the Stitch House in Dorchester...well, now I'm going to be working there on weekends as well! I'm not sure how regular it's going to be but I'm pretty excited. I'm going in to train this coming Saturday and then I'm on my own Sunday. Hopefully I'm a quick learner ;) So if it's not too busy, maybe I'll actually make some progress on that dang Hemlock Ring blanket! Wish me luck!

Some Knitting Progress

2008-05-19T00:17:00.003-04:00

It seems most of my time the past couple months has been spent on spinning and dyeing endeavors but there has been some knitting going on. Not a ton though.

I've been working on the Hemlock Ring Blanket a la brooklyntweed, in a nice gray color of Cascade Eco Wool. I'm now on round 60, right where it really starts to get tedious so I just gotta forge ahead! The rounds are getting long and there's no new pattern from here on. But it is a beautiful blanket so I'd really like it done before next fall!

I also had a bunch of Noro Silk Garden lying around in a great, masculine colorway of black, blues, and greens so I've been looking for a nice masculine stitch to use for a scarf I would actually wear. I found the Rosary Stitch in "Super Stitches Knitting" and so far it looks great! Although, it's a tough stitch to picture, especially in this dark color, but here's my miniscule amount of progress...

Today included many fiber related activities. In a true display of A.D.D., I knit a bit, spun a bit, combed some fleece, watched tv, and repeated...twice. I don't know why I can't just sit and do one thing for a substantial amount of time. But on a positive note, using the following videos (thanks to David's tip), I got the hang of combing using my new hand combs and got a good amount of border leicester fleece and some alpaca fleece combed. It was great!

Using Hand Combs part 1
Using Hand Combs part 2
Using Hand Combs part 3

Spindle HEAVEN!

2008-05-17T18:27:00.002-04:00

I am in spindle heaven! My new dalmation jasper spindle from Butterfly Girl Designs came today! It matches the one I bought from Spunky Eclectic a couple weeks ago but is heavier so it's a fantastic pair. I thought the Canyon 100% superwash Corriedale from Spunky would be the perfect thing to inaugurate this one and so far it's wonderful!

I'm also working on the very cool batt I got from Batt Out of Hell, spinning it on my heavy weight Schacht spindle as worsted weight singles.

I'm really enjoying the portability of the spindle and I guess the simplicity of it. I still love my wheel but right now it's all about the spindles!

"Blue Steel" was a hit!

2008-05-14T09:19:00.007-04:00

I put the 4-4oz. braids of "Blue Steel" Rambouillet roving up for sale in my Etsy shop on Monday night (4/12) and they were all gone by noon on Tuesday (4/13). WOWSA! I guess I will have to dye more in that colorway! I just ordered 1lb of BFL and 1lb of Superwash Merino from Hello Yarn so I'll be dyeing that up when it comes, probably 1/2 in "Blue Steel" and the other half in something else new and fun...I gotta think. I also have 12oz. of Superwash Colonial and 8oz. of BFL sitting at home waiting to be dyed. Lots of dyeing to do!

Anyone have any color combinations they really love and would like to see??? Let me know!!!

Thanks to everyone who purchased stuff from my shop! I was just starting to think maybe Etsy selling wasn't for me, I had only sold one thing since I opened in the beginning of March. I'm guessing the IRS Rebate checks had something to do with the surge ;)

On a separate note, my batts from Batt Out of Hell arrived yesterday and are even more fantastic in person than in pictures! And oh so soft. I've never spun from batts before so I'm using this little tutorial from Spunky Eclectic. So far, it's going so-so. When drafting from the rolags, the fiber doesn't really seem to be drafting well...it's getting kind of tangled. I think maybe I'm making the rolags too tight, I don't know. The singles are looking good though so I guess I shouldn't worry. I'll get a picture up tonight.

New addition to the shop

2008-05-12T20:00:00.005-04:00

Here's the latest out of the dye pot...12 oz. of Rambouillet wool hand dyed with Jacquard acid dyes in black, teal, and turquoise. Most of the black rinsed out and left a nice silver gray color. I'm calling this one "Blue Steel". I think this is my favorite so far!

More pictures on my flickr page.

I also came home to a nice new surprise tonight. In an attempt to learn more about fiber prep, I posted a request for some hand combs on Ravelry and one very nice user, Amelia of The Bellwether offered me a pair in exchange for some of my hand dyed fiber. She was so nice and the combs are beautiful! Now I just need to figure out how to use them...and not impale myself on them! The are SHARP!!

Beware the shopaholic

2008-05-12T11:15:00.006-04:00

Finding Etsy has been one of the best and worst things to ever happen to me. I have a serious problem on there, buying way too much stuff, and justify it by saying that at least the money is going to small businesses or individuals who really appreciate their craft and buying homemade rather than mass marketed crap.

On that note, here are my most recent splurges...

First is 2 - 2oz. batts of Corriedale and superwash Merino in a rockin' retro colorway named "1976". Erin of Batt Out of Hell is responsible for this fiber marvel and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Fingers and toes are crossed that it shows up on my desk today!

Next is a drop spindle that Mary of Butterfly Girl Designs made specially for me out of a Dalmation Jasper stone. It weighs about 1.6oz and was made to match a lightweight spindle I already have from her that weighs about 0.6oz. Mary was SO accomodating in getting this done and I really appreciate it! Her work is amazing!! Everyone should check out her spindles...I have a hard time not buying one of everything she has!

Ramen Knitting

2008-05-06T22:55:00.001-04:00

I'm SOOOO knitting the next time I find myself out to dinner at a Japanese noodle restaurant!!!

Fiber Thief!

2008-05-02T11:27:00.003-04:00

Well, I got the Deep Sea all spun up and washed last night. I gotta say, I didn't think I was ever going to get that one done. I felt like I was spinning for days and days. Really it only took me two nights, but it was a LONG two nights. I ended up 2 plying it and it came out to 300 yards of fingering to worsted weight. That seems like a lot of yardage to me for 4 oz. I love it! It's so lofty and soft, and the black and turquoise play off each other so nicely.

I would have a photo of it to post here but as soon as my mother saw it, she stole it from me! She offered to give me money but since I live there right now and pay no rent, I told her that it would be my rent for the month. I'm pretty nice, huh? ;) I probably shouldn't have told her I only paid $0.50 for the wool!

So after getting two 4 oz bumps of wool spun up this week, I think I need to get back to some knitting. I haven't gotten much done in a while. That freaking Pi Shawl Blanket is going to be the death of me. The rounds are about to double in stitches too, that's going to hurt!

People are learning from me?!

2008-05-02T11:14:00.001-04:00

This fantastically cool knitting/sewing store opened up in Dorchester near my work last fall so i of course had to go check it out. It is the Stitch House, owned by Annissa Essaibi George, and it's definitely got something going on that other stores in the area don't have. I don't have anything against the other local yarn stores, I frequent them all quite a bit, but the Stitch House has a younger, hipper kinda feel to it. Often times, as a male knitter, walking into some of the other local places is a tad awkward. I tend to get some strange looks from the older ladies shopping and often don't get paid too much attention to. That is fine, I tend to prefer being left alone when I'm shopping, but I've always felt a little more welcome at the Stitch House.

Anyways, after my first trip there, I decided to contact Annissa to see if she needed any help because it seemed like it'd be a fun place to work...not to mention the thrill of being surrounded by yarn and getting paid for it ;) I work full time though so it's been tough finding a time that she needs me. I met up with her though and she asked if I'd be interested in teaching a Men's Knitting class at the store. At first, the thought was fairly intimidating. I've never taken a knitting class myself and wouldn't really consider myself an expert of any sorts. Maybe it was the high of being around all that yarn, I don't know, but I agreed.

So for the past 3 weeks I've been teaching 4 men (one of whom is Annissa's husband...pressure!) how to knit. At first I thought 4 was a nice, small class. I quickly realized more than 4 would be suicide! The class is 2 hours every Tuesday night for 4 weeks, and I leave there EXHAUSTED every week!! But they are doing very well so far, I'm surprised how quickly some of them picked it up. One has even gotten bored with the scarf we were working on so he's moved on to a hat...pretty impressive. I'm not really sure this teaching thing is for me, but it has been interesting and fun. They're a pretty funny bunch of guys.

Some Spinning Progress

2008-05-01T15:25:00.000-04:00

I've been spinning my brains out this week! I'm pretty proud of that fact as I usually don't have the attention span to get much spinning done during the week after I get home from work. I received my fiber of the month from Spunky Eclectic, a lovely bump of 100% Wennsleydale wool dyed up in a colorway named "The Perfect Storm".

I've never spun Wennsleydale before, and this is why I love this club. Every month is usually a different fiber and an exclusive colorway not available to anyone else. I've been a member since December '07 and so far have gotten Superwash Corriedale, Icelandic, South African Fine, Superwash Merino, and this Wennsleydale.

Here is is spun up:

It is 2 ply, about 16 wraps per inch, and 180 yards. I think I'll be making mittens out of it, we'll see.

And last night, I started spinning some Merino wool I had bought on Etsy a while ago in a great colorway of Black and turquoise. I'm calling it "Deep Sea". No pictures of the spinning yet but this is the roving...

I love the way this is spinning up so far! I was considering Navajo plying this but the color runs are pretty short and I think it'll look better as a barber pole 2 ply. I should hopefully get it done tonight.

Woolly Goodness for Sale!

2008-05-01T12:30:00.000-04:00

I've got some new stuff all dyed up and for sale in My Etsy Store! I've also got a pound of Rambouillet wool roving zooming to me in the mail as we speak to dye up. I've never spun or dyed Rambouillet but I've heard great things so I'm pretty excited for it to get here. Here's some pics of the newest stuff...

"Riverbed" - handpainted 100% Merino yarn - fingering weight

"Riverbed" - handpainted 100% Superwash Merino roving

"Tortuga" - handpainted 100% BFL roving

"Banana Split" - handpainted 100% BFL roving

My new Etsy store!

2008-04-23T16:00:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything here! Life has been pretty crazy between work, school, and teaching a men's knitting class at The Stitch House in Dorchester.

My spinning has been improving although it's been hard finding time to get much done. The fiber stash is growing almost as fast as the yarn stash these days! Some nights I wake up and feel like I'm being attacked by sheep in my sleep. To add to the madness, I've also gotten very into dying wool and yarn. It's becoming another huge obsession. Seriously, somebody STOP ME!

This here was my first go at dying and it came out SOOO much better than I expected. I love the richness of the burnt orange and olive green.

But I've come to the realization that I will NEVER be able to use everything I spin and dye so I decided to open up my own Etsy store here: http://ironjohn04.etsy.com

I've made one sale so far which was quite exciting but I need to get rid of some of this dang wool so people, go there and buy lots of stuff!! :)

A weekend of knitting...phew

2007-12-23T15:51:00.001-05:00

In preparation for the looming holiday, I had to hunker down this weekend and get some serious knitting done! So...I finished one Anemoi mitten...FINALLY. But that's actually not a Christmas gift so that was a waste of precious knitting time ;) I also started and finished a hat for my brother. I forgot to take a picture though before I wrapped it. It was a basic K2P2 rib throughout, knit with Sheep Shop One in a dark camo color. I figured it'd be perfect for my brother to wear while out ice fishing. And today, I have completed one mitten for my sister. This matches a hat I just made her (same pattern as the blue cabled one I made for my sister in law). Hopefully I'll finish the other mitten tomorrow night or she's just getting one for Christmas!!

One Christmas Present Done

2007-12-16T15:58:00.003-05:00

I made this cabled hat for my sister-in-law. This was a pattern I created. I never seem to find hat patterns that decrease the way I like. This is the third of these hats I've made for Christmas presents this year. It's fast and simple! Click the "Buy Now" button if you'd like to buy teh pattern.

Yarn: Sheep Shop One, Color F98

Needles: 2 sets of US size 10 circulars

Some Progress on the Mittens

2007-12-16T15:52:00.000-05:00

I haven't had much time to work on this so not much progress made...slowly but surely though, they're getting done.

A new addiction

2007-12-11T15:57:00.000-05:00

I ordered something new for myself last week and it arrived today. I'm thinking this may have been another moment of insanity...we'll soon find out.

It's a Louet top whorl spindle and 8 oz of Bluefaced Leicester to spin. I've never hand spun yarn before, so this is brand new territory for me...seems to be a theme the past week or so. I gave it a quick whirl (pun intended) tonight and boy oh boy is it hard! Needless to say, it ain't pretty. It's slubby, uneven, overtwisted, undertwisted...you name it! I need help!

On a better note...I made a little more progress on the Anemoi Mitten tonight...

Anemoi Hell

2007-12-10T15:53:00.000-05:00

In an obvious fit of insanity this weekend, I decided to begin knitting Eunny Jang's Anemoi Mittens. I've never done colorwork like this before, I never have the patience to knit on such small needles, and I never check guage before I start anything. This error of my ways on this last point has finally caught up with me! Let me also point out that I have not finished my Christmas knitting so beginning something like this just for "fun" is not very wise. But these mitten's are gorgeous so once I saw them, I had to make them.

(note - these are not mine, this pic is courtesy of the Eunny Jang website, see link above)

I finally found the perfect yarn to make them Saturday. I bought Paca Peds in Fireside as my CC (although mine is more burgundy and less gold than the picture on their site) and Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in Oatmeal as my MC. So, Saturday night I hunkered down and started my trek.

The tubular cast on, which I've never done before, was a pretty simple learn and I really like the way it turned out. This is my new favorite cast on for gloves/mittens. Following that, however, is the corrugated rib cuff. This is where the nightmare begins. This was also a new skill for me, and a very tedious one at that. It looks nice, but I will avoid it at all costs in the future. As I mentioned, not checking guage caught up with me here. I used the recommended US size 0 needles for the cuff, and knew pretty soon into it that there was no way a human hand was going to fit into it without the breaking of several bones. I could barely get three fingers in. So after 2 hours or so of corrugated rib and lots of cursing, rip, rip, rip. I couldn't bring myself to do it all again (and then again for a second mitten) so I decided to go safe (and sane) with the cuff and do a plain K1P1 rib in the main color. After about 15 rounds, I decided I just didn't like how plain it was and again...rip, rip, rippppp. I quit for the night...3 hours or so and NOTHING to show for it except some good blistering on my fingertips from the tiny needlepoints.

A good night's sleep, some strong coffee, and I jumped back in Sunday morning. Now on US size 2 needles and casting on an extra 6 stitches (12 stitches to be added to the body of the mitten, I will only add 6 now), I was off. Back to the corrugated ribbing...did I mention how tedious this is?!?! I would say that the entire cuff took at least two hours and it was still tight, but will fit the recipient who's hands are tiny. Beware if you are making these mittens...I think an average size hand would need at least a US size 3 needle as opposed to the US size 0 recommended in the pattern.

Once the cuff was done, I had had enough for the day! But I was eager to begin the stranded colorwork in pattern so i knit 8 rows of it. MUCH FASTER moving now! Like I mentioned earlier, I've never done colorwork so this was new territory. But I'm finding it pretty easy knitting with one color in each hand. normally I knit with my yarn in my left hand so I was worried this might be troublesome, but I caught on pretty quick. So far, I LOVE the colors I chose and the way the pattern is knitting up. I will post a picture when I have more of it done.

NOT looking forward to cuff #2!!!!

Pics of the Anemoi Mitten beginning

2007-12-10T10:33:00.000-05:00

Here's a couple of pics to show my progress after one day of knitting...not much but I'm happy so far...

The back...

The palm...