Ravelry's power is down - oh, my!

Well, phooey! I'm finally remembering to get onto Ravelry more than once every 2 months (literally), and look what happens: they lose power, or something. I hope everything's okay - I've not heard that there were any major storms this week - wonder what's going on?

SO - I'm here to brag report that the Winter's End Morning Surf Scarf is about 95% done. It's blocking right now, on towels on the bedroom floor. It's so cold back there it'll probably take forever to dry. Better that than the dogs ripping it to shreds, or tromping on it, though. Now all I have to do is the special fringe I'm planning (and hoping it turns out really well).

I've taken my green Golden Lace socks (designer Jeanie Townsend) out of hibernation - it's been well over a year since I started on them and put them away to obsess about learn how to spin. For the socks, I'm using Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino yarn in solids (my favorite). I think the name is "Pesto" for the shade of green I've got. It's certainly not Lime or Loden (which I've also got stashed. Well, no. Lime's all used up - rats!). They're lovely, but I've already made a couple of mistakes and had to tink ('knit' spelled backwards) what I did. Gee whiz - the pattern's not that hard! No, I haven't got a picture of the green ones yet, but will try to get one posted sometime this week. In the meantime, here's a pic of my dd's Golden Lace socks in turquoise, knitted with (what else?!) CTH Supersock, also.

I've been a tad busy, otherwise...

with a stupid virus. My computer's been sneezing, coughing and groaning for a week or longer, and now I know why! I'm just hoping it wasn't a keylogger-Trojan (is there such a thing??) - but it was certainly a Trojan, darn it. Can't remember the name and I can't imagine how it got on my computer considering I have every virus protection/firewall known to man! And they all work together very, very well. Until they encountered an irresistible force...

MY TEENAGE SON.

Of course, no one reading this could imagine what I mean by that...not at all. A foreign concept to most, I would imagine.

:::coff, choke:::

I've had to change all my passwords and cancel my debit card. Still need to go get another one, or I won't be able to buy squat online (no credit card, which is usually a blessing, right?!). All in all, it took me a mere 8 or 9 hours to - hopefully - get things straightened out. Heaven help that boy if I have to lose any more knitting and spinning time! Not to mention, I was supposed to be making more stitch markers for the store that evening. Now that we've started schooling back up - there IS no real time to devote to my relaxing, better-than-Prozac obse hobby.

Oh - I nearly forgot to make another brag (a small one). Ravelry asked me if they could use my photo example of the Golden Lace socks! Apparently, no one had entered a Project using that sock pattern, so ... no photo for anyone to see what it really looked like. That's sad; Jeanie is a very talented designer, long past-due for more public recognition. She has her devoted followers (like myself) who eagerly await the next pattern, but more people ought to know about them! She's good - really good - and picky about how well her patterns are written and work up.

Christmas stash acquisitions

Not to make you drool or anything, but here is some of my BFL Stash from Miss Babs. Chucked into the pile is some bright RED Fleece Artist...well, fleece. Roving, that is. I picked it up at I-forget-which-shop on the Yarn Crawl. No time to list all the colors - I'm yawning my head off and why I am still up?!? But I feel like I've been really behind on the blog - am trying to semi catch up.












Annnnd, these lovelies are from Ruth MacGregor, of course, of Spinning Forth (please see sidebar until I can put in all the links).













Again, I'm much too tired to list the colors, but I will, soon!

*** UPDATE 01-07-09 *** Silk colors, clockwise from bottom of left photo:
Silk spinning kit w/spindle - Garnet - 50g, Aubergine - 50g, Canard - 50g, Red - 50g, Sunspot - 50g, Coquelicot - 50g (middle)

Ruth told me, when I was enquiring about how much silk I might need to make a medium-sized project, that 50 grams of silk went much further than 50 g of wool. She said if you spin the silk fairly thin, it should get you a scarf that stretches from neck to waist (!). I'm assuming that means using large enough needles to get lace, but I didn't think to ask her.

Read blog post below for the Discussion Of The Scarves! You will probably have noticed that the poll has disappeared. There's a good reason for that...

Making a beginner's mistake

Well. No question about it - it won't be the Garterlac Scarf, for sure. This thing puts the 'ug' in ugly. I think I know why, too. The yarn is much sturdier and thicker than the yarn I used for the first Garterlac scarf, so I had to go up at least 2 needle sizes. I also had to spin and ply it quite tightly as the fibers were short and yet I was (stupidly) spinning them worsted. That's the beginner's mistake I mentioned in the title. Yup. Why I didn't think to card the roving and go woolen is beyond me. Yes, I'm stupid - so sue me.

When I tried to use the original sz 6, the fabric was so tight that the yarn had no room to 'breathe'. The silk ended up making the yarn feel like soft, crackly paper - yuck! It felt worse than the nastiest 70's acrylic you could find. We all fingered it (at the shop) and agreed: bigger needles! I switched to a sz 7 - same thing, just not quite as bad.

Got home and pulled out the big guns: my Kollage 8's. Ahhhhh! The poor yarn breathed a sigh of relief as it found room for itself to look and feel like actual yarn. In fact, it feels wonderful knitted at this gauge. Unfortunately, the stitches are so large, that the whole ensemble just looks...odd.

Beginning from the outer end of the ball (without frogging the Garterlac so ya'll could judge for yourselves), I cast on for a narrowish Morning Surf Scarf. Glory. I think that's what it wanted to be. Granted, both pieces could look better, but they're not blocked yet - give 'em a break! So tell me what you think of this one:











Even though a few more voted for the 'lac than the Surf...we're going with the Surf, unless someone has an even better idea.

Agonies of indecision: Which shall it be?

Shall I make another Morning Surf Scarf (free pattern!),

...or another Garterlac Scarf like the one I just finished?









for this:







Just FYI, the "Garterlac Scarf" is actually named "Slotted Neck Scarf with Entrelac Knitting" and is Suzanne Pufpaff's (Pufpaff's Fiber Processing) own pattern.

The stuff I am spinning is so lovely, with its many subtle shadings of blues, browns, melding into whites - all of them quiet, gentle colors reminding me of a late Winter's day, with the sky so blue and the brown Earth still covered in snow, but melting at last. The Garterlac Scarf would work so well to express that! But, then again...

I am reminded of the Winter ocean with her cold, blue waters foaming almost-white against the sandy, shell-strewn beaches. The Morning Surf Scarf would be perfect for this imagery.

Which, oh, which shall I make?!? I wish you could see this yarn's sheen and luster. I suppose you could, if only I was able to take good pictures. My camera-skills are legendary. For their poor quality, that is. In the skein photo, it appears as if some of the browns have a green-ish cast, but I assure you - they don't! That's just my lack of photog skills shining through. Guess I'd better have dd try her hand at it.

I wish you could feel the warm, silken hand and surprising drape. I didn't know a rather tightly-plied yarn would still have such nice drape! I had to spin it rather tightly due to the general shortness of fibers, and - being so eager to see it "done" - I then Navajo-plied the first bobbin (the second just barely begun).

Because of the extremely uneven character of the dyed areas across the loose roving, I knew I couldn't get a satisfactorily shaded (to me) 3-ply. Once again, I had recourse to the good old standby of Navajo-plying. I'm so grateful someone invented it; what an excellent way to keep color-runs together to obtain a certain effect!

If only I'd had 8 ounces of this exquisite 50 silk/50 Merino, I would make both! Does anyone out there have a preference, or should I just toss for heads/tails? Take my poll and help me out, here, please!

Winter's End:











I think I forgot to mention that this fiber came from Leah of Yarn Or A Tale - wonderful stuff! - and she ain't got no more of that particular dye batch :-( Dang it.

Entrelac (garterlac) Scarf done!

Well - it's been simply ages since I posted. The days have just whizzed by. I got this scarf done 2 days before Christmas and got it to its recipient - and forgot to take pictures. As usual!


















The fiber is Falkland from Laughing Rat Studios (thanks, Jenn!)











and the pattern is from Suzanne Pufpaff of Pufpaff Fiber Mill.

She has some really interesting patterns and I wanted to try her simplest one as I'd never in my life done entrelac. It was a weird experience, but I'm so glad I persevered! I changed her pattern quite a bit (mostly making it narrower), but it still looks much the same as her original one. I used size 6 needles (4mm) - and they were the totally cool Kollage square circular needles. WONDERFUL needles!

The biggest changes I made to the pattern was that I only knitted the leaves up to 30 stitches wide, and I changed the entrelac "rectangles" to squares by using garter instead of stockinette. Then, for the number of stitches in the squares, I kept them at just 8 stitches wide, rather than increasing them up to 10 or 11, as the pattern called for. But other 'n' that - it's just the same!

You know your house is cold when...

you go to bed fully dressed (well, minus the boots), flannel pyjama pants on over the leggings, wool socks, thermal shirt, large wool shawl over the shoulders, heavy denim skirt, heavy wool scarf over the head and ears, 2 very heavy quilts and one heavy, double-knitted blanket. And you're still :::shivering:::.

In case you're wondering, dh looked about the same, but he has no knitted wool shawl, poor thing. Perhaps he will never again whine that his hand-knitted, Cherry Tree Hill, totally gorgeous, handknit socks are (hold your breath):














"too hot".









He's lucky not to have been moved out to the garage for that crack this Summer.

I really, really HATE Winter. Hate it. I hate and despise everything about it. I don't understand people who say crazy things like: "I LOVE snow and cold weather! I can hardly wait to freeze my tushie off!"

Me? I think they've cracked up. Totally. That's not freaking normal by any sane standards on Earth. Unless you're a penguin at the South Pole. Or something.

Bears are smart. THEY know when to stay in out of the cold.

I'll post about knitting and spinning as soon as my fingers thaw sufficiently. Right now I'm using a pencil held between my teeth...

just kidding, guys :-)

Did I ever show you this wheel?

THIS is what I would love to have for a bulky/artyarn wheel! It's Pocket Wheels by Doug. Yes, I know - A Ladybug has my name on it...somewhere, somewhen, but it doesn't spin bulky - and that's what I'm needing. This Pocket Wheel is just too cool! I know - I'm beginning to obsess about a bulky spinner. I never thought I would want (let alone need) one. Oy. That's what I get for Spinning My Imagination: more flippin' wheels to buy. Hm. I wonder if Harvey could make something like this?!? Oooh - I'm going to ask him!


Also - on a VERY happy note, little "Charlie" (our new foster Brittany) actually came OUT of his crate and jumped up on me to lick my face! How about that, eh? Needless to say, I am so pleased! He might be even younger than we thought for him to try to make friends this soon. This is great!