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April 30, 2006
Plenty of new things to show off!
I've been pretty busy the past few weeks. I finally finished another pair of socks. These are my first pair of handspun socks. They are so soft and comfortable. The only thing I don't like is the heel. I made an afterthought heel with a double decrease on eash side. I really should have made an afterthought hourglass heel. I could always rip it out, and who knows? Maybe eventually I will.
I also recieved my comb set. I really love combing the wool. I washed a small bit of my raw merino and combed it. Below, you can see how it looks raw (it's not as poop-free as the picture would imply, but still wasn't too horrible) and then how it looks all combed up. Yeah, those balls of white are the same wool. Washing raw wool is a whole bunch of crap. I'm thinking about about sending the rest of it (approx. 4.25 lbs) to a custom spinnery to have it washed and picked. Then I can dye and comb till my heart's content. And aren't my combs so pretty??
I also recieved my Lanaset starter kit from EarthGuild.com. My first dying experiment is below. I ended up with 345 yds of sock weight yarn. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they work up.
In further dying experiments, I ened up with theses two Blue Faced Leicester rovings. The dark one is my favorite, though the teal didn't show up as much as I'd like. Over all though, I'm very pleased. Now I just need more colors of the lanaset so I can dye even more!
Finally, I started the Wyvern Sock pattern this morning. So far, I'm really digging the pattern, and the ribbed sole is great. It's also simple enough that I can work on it while I'm on the job with out worrying too much about screwing up.
I almost forgot! I recieved my Kentucky State Fair Premium book this week. My plan is to enter 3-4 items. In the Knitting Catagory, I'm going to enter the shaped triangle shawl and a pair of socks. Then in the spinning catagory, I'm entering in the Novice catagory and possible the novelty yarn catagory. I've got a great idea that I have to play with first though. Wish me luck!
Posted by Holly at 11:52 PM | Comments (4)
April 13, 2006
Watch out! This woman's got a plan...
Ever since I spun on the lovely Lennox Fiona, I knew I wanted one. But How do I justify that sort of purchase? That's $1125, unfinished and with out the matching chair. (I'm a sucker for matching sets.) So where do I get $1425? I go to work. Everyday. For two years. Yes, one good thing about my job (the only thing these days?) is I get rewarded for perfect attendance. For two full years perfect attendance, I get FIFTEEN HUNDRED dollars. Not only that, but I get money at other milestones as well. I have a plan for that money too:
6 months = $200 = lace flyer for my traveller.
1 year = $500 = probably a drum carder
18 months = $800 = a Journey Wheel
2 years = $1500 = the Lennox Fiona
My plan? Don't get sick. Ever again. We'll see how that works out.
On the knitting side of things, Pomatomas sucks. I royally screwed up the foot somehow, so it's getting frogged, and I'm going to come up with something else to knit with the fleece artist. I have heard many other people griping about the same pattern, so maybe I don't completely suck.
And just so there's a bit of yarn pr0n, here's some of the Go Wilde plied with black alpaca. This skien is 66 yds of super bulky love, the first bulky yarn I've really liked:
Posted by Holly at 11:55 PM | Comments (2)
April 08, 2006
Where in the world is Greencastle, Indiana?
Just west of Indianapolis, but what's more important, it's the home of the Fleece Fair! Yes, today I drug myself out of bed at 8 a.m. to go to the fair. Working second shift, I really don't like getting up that early, but I made an exception for this! I made the two and a half hour drive up to stock up on fiber and other goodies.
After 4 hours, I ended up with 1 lb 125's ultrafine Merino, 8 oz of commercial cashmere (for $20!! what a steal!), 8 oz of blue faced leicester, 8 oz of black alapca, 8 oz of a glittery Corriedale blend called 'Go Wilde,' and another wool/angora/alpaca mix. I also bought 1 lb of Orvus paste for washing my merino fleece I have stashed. Then, I bought 3 bars of soap, one of which I already gave to my mom, and a teeny tine clay drop spindle for Kirstie, plus a WPI gauge that was much needed.
I had never seen so many spinning wheels or spinners in one place! There were two buildings and one outdoor pavillion full of vendors. I was in heaven as I walked through aisle after aisle seeing all the beautiful things and all the people who understood this fiber addiction. I also found my dream wheel... the Lennox Fiona. She's gorgeous, spins smoothly, and also way out my price range.
The Lennox Fiona wheel and other images from the fair:
And you can't have a fleece fair without animals! Bunnies and lambs and alpacas, oh my!
Posted by Holly at 10:03 PM | Comments (1)
April 06, 2006
Just what I needed!
More sock yarn! Oh how I love sock yarn! Thank you so much, Manda, for being an awesome secret pal! I'll be thinking of you everytime I wear one of the pairs of socks I knit from your yarn. Yes, today the mailman knocked on my door at 9:30 a.m. to deliver my final gift. Normally, waking me up in the morning is punishable by death, but for gifts, I'll drag my ass up. In the box was 2 skeins of Lorna's Laces in the Baltic Sea colorway and Sundara sock yarn in the Black Lagoon colorway.
On top of that, I the first Yarn Harlot book. I know, I know, I'm about the only knitter that DIDN'T have it. But I read her blog, so there! Plus a set of darning needles and coiled needle holders! What a great round of Secret Pal!
Speaking of Sock knitting, I'm working on the Pomatomas socks from knitty with my fleece artist yarn. This is after I had knit nearly an entire Fancy Silk Sock from the Vintage Socks book with my Cherry Tree Hill supersock, only to learn my calves are too big. I had to rip out the whole thing. I was so disappointed that I had to start something else. I'm going to pick them up again, and just shorted the cuff the next time. But let's focus on the positive:
My little family has a new addition to it. I'd like you to meet Tilly. She's my Babe Peddle Pusher wheel. After getting use to Eileithyia, my Traveller, this bobbin driven girl is definately different. Of course, she'll suit her purpose of being a wheel I can take out with me and not worry about getting damaged.
I'm currently working on a new layout for the page. Just a warning... I tried not to alienate the 800x600 resolution people, but I can't do it anymore. I've got some great idea, and I'm working on the graphics and coding, so I can't let this hold me back. Just wait... the new layout will be coming around the end of May!
Posted by Holly at 12:24 AM | Comments (2)