Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Party Angel ~

How can one pass up yarn called Party Angel?  Obviously, not me...... With some help from Jitteryknitter, I cast on for a lovely shawl that will be another Christmas gift....
So far, it looks lovely - lightweight and a bit of twinkle as it catches the light. Christmas knitting in July is a good idea!

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Sherbet Socks ~

Although the label says, "Sherbert" as the color, and the website also has that spelling Jitteryknitter says that it is a typo in all places.  So, I shall call them "Sherbet" like the yummy iced delight that the colors mimic.
This yarn is oh-so-soft and I LOVE the colors, as I fell in love with these colors as they hung from the barn rafters on Dye Day.  One of Tina's staff found a skein of this yarn while I was dying my own fiber, and I've been itching to cast on since Dye Day.  Since I cast off BOTH socks yesterday, I was rewarded with casting on this lovely electric sherbet. Happy, so happy with these!

Monday, July 28, 2014

Sweetie Sixteen ~

How can it be that this little sweetie....
has grown into this little sweetie.....
Love this kiddo so much, and doesn't she look delightful in her birthday socks!

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Socks be done ~

Yes, serious knitting occurred at the river this weekend.  I was able to finish both pairs of Christmas socks for my kids, plus cast on another pair (more about those later).
 
Here are the finished ones for #1 daughter. Lovely sock yarn with merino and cashmere, oh so soft!
Here are socks for #2 daughter. Our beloved Jitterbug yarn, still one of my favorite yarns of all time! Both are lovely and soft, and great yarn for each of them. I feel great getting some Christmas knitting done!  Hurrah!!

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Camping 2014 ~

Now that we are all home, let the camping trips begin!  Our first trip to the river with our dear friend, and neighbor kids, all helping to celebrate our youngest birthday - sweet sixteen.
The weather was hot, the river was cold and the sky was clear for star gazing. A perfect camping weekend on the river, as I was able to do some serious knitting!  Hurrah!

Friday, July 25, 2014

Madagascar Adventures ~

After seven weeks of study, our sweetie is back from Madagascar.  We are thrilled to have her home safe and sound. Hurrah!


Her adventures and pictures are amazing. Her blog from her adventures has a link on my right side bar.  Also a link here.  You'll enjoy her adventures, too!

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Stitch 'n Pitch 2014 ~

Another great night at Seattle's Stitch 'n Pitch. Lots of yarn and new projects to see, and catching up on stories and adventures with the best friends, ever.
Plus, sharing some knitting tips with my new best fuzzy friend here, what a sweetie! Who knew he was a knitter too!
Here we are with a "wanna be" knitter behind us.  His comment, "I wanted to be a part of something important." 

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Color surprises ~

Now that my dyed silky merino is dry, I made a braid out of it to see how the colors would play together. They look lovely together, and I was so excited to see how this would spin that I started spinning as soon as I was done plying the Chicken Coop Fiber.
I think the dying and then the rinsing/spinning in the washing machine felted the fiber a bit, as I have to pull and fluff a bit before spinning.  So far there is more thick and thin bits in the single, as I need to pull and fluff even more before spinning.
More time to try this week!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Color Me Beautiful ~

I am delightfully surprised at how beautiful this yarn turned out. Given that this fiber was overlooked at our Guild as, "Who would want this?" and the fiber was felted a bit so I had to do a lot of fluffing and pulling before spinning, the colors of the plying are so beautiful.
 
 
The final skein is so amazing with all the colors and blending of orange, green, yellow and hot pink.
What delightful project can I knit with 169 yards!?

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Amazing Yak ~

I started to spin the yak/merino blend that I bought from Blue Moon Fiber Arts Barn Sale yesterday. The sale was so great and this fiber is so soft, plus I have never spun any fiber with yak...so how could I resist such a learning experience?   I had to buy some.
 
It was so soft and beautiful that once I separated it into two equal bumps today, I had to start spinning right away. Otherwise, I would have dreams about this fiber tonight and been frustrated that I didn't start spinning right away this afternoon.
Everything you have heard about the softness of yak is true. So very soft and I feel like I am spinning the single thinner than I normally spin, as the fiber slides softly from my fingers to the bobbin with just a whisper of movement. I may have to finish this fast, as I cannot wait to see (and feel) this yarn!

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Dye Day at the Barn ~

When Jitteryknitter invited me to attend a dying class in Portland, well, of course I said yes. She makes everything an adventure, even grocery shopping! She is awesome like that. She didn't know the details of the class, just that we squeaked in before it was full.  Turns out, the dying event was with the rock star we know from our Sock Summit days, Tina of Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and the event was at their famous barn studio.  Well, now I was really excited!  Plus, we could knit during the drive except the driver (thanks Jan!).  Sweet!
Those that know me will know that when I saw these hanging from the barn's ceiling, I said, "I want those" and sadly they were made for a special order. One of the great helpers found me a skein of that Socks that Rock yarn, Sherbert, in the mill ends sale so I was able to have some neon on sale. Yes, this was turning out to be another perfect fiber day!  Here are pictures of our four color stars, working their magic on their yarn and fiber.
 
 
F1bercat has a very good description of our great day on her blog.  Here is how my fiber turned out - no neon here, just magenta, turquoise, yellow (not muddy yellow, Lisa) and green.
Not bad for a girl obsessed with neon and rainbows!  I can't wait to see how this spins up into yarn. The fiber is merino/superwash merino/silk and very soft.  Since I played with fiber today, I am counting this as part of my Tour de Fleece event!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Two Ready to Ply ~

I have been able to spin each day of Tour de Fleece except for Thursday, as I had a night meeting at work and arrived home too late. So we shall call that day a "rest day" from the race, and I started up again to finish this second single of the Chicken Coop Fiber.
This has spun fairly well, a bit felted and needing lots of fluffing and pulling before I could spin it, but worth it to see these lovely peach and yellow colors purring through to the bobbin.  I am looking forward to plying this one to see what it will look like with the mixture of colors, "Creamsicle" and "Pinata" sounds like the final product might be "Sangria!"  Hurrah!

Monday, July 7, 2014

Chicken Coop Fiber ~

Spinning again today, I do love this Tour de Fleece goal of spinning every day of the race! I am still on vacation from work, so it has not been difficult to find the spinning time. Tomorrow will be the test, as I am back to work (sad face).
This is the Chicken Coop fiber that is now discontinued, as I have not been able to find it on line. From a local fiber artist that has probably moved on to other endeavors. I am happy to be spinning this fiber with no veg matter and such a lovely color!!

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Hidden Jewels ~

The corriedale fiber turned out lovely, with the mohair colors popping in a delightful yet subtle way. There was a lot of veg matter in it, so I am happy to be done spinning this.
 
After a nice soak, it became softer than before, yet still not next-to-your-skin-soft. I'm not sure what would be a great knitting project for this yarn, 228 yards. Perhaps some color work that would bring out the pops of color?

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Tour de Fleece ~

I have never participated in the spinner's version of the Tour de France, called the Tour de Fleece. I have always wanted to make goals and learn new techniques and do all the preparation for a spinning event. I was pulled into the Ravellympics by Jitteryknitter this year, and very happy about it, as I had always wanted to try this but needed that extra boost into the rabbit hole.
My boost for Tour de Fleece was an instagram post of lovely spinning saying that her goal for Tour de Fleece was to spin each day of the race....wow, no classes, no set amount of fiber to have spun at the end, no yards of yarn at the end of the race.....hey, I can make that goal too, just trying to spin each day of the race including July 27th. This fiber was a gift, and I love the color!

Friday, July 4, 2014

Holiday Boot Camp ~

When a holiday falls on a regular boot camp morning, like Memorial Day, Labor Day or the 4th of July, our instructor "gives us" an extra 15 minutes of working out at no charge, plus we all meet at the coffee shop afterwards to relax and officially begin our holiday!  This is a great tradition, and there is always a great turn out during holiday boot camps.
Here we are in wonderful sunshine at 6:00 am on the 4th of July.  What a great way to begin the day and the holiday!  Hurrah!!  Thanks to Son for this amazing picture!