Help! (P.S., contains spoiler for Spunky Club September)

OK friends, I have a tiny little knitting emergency. I was just invited to a baby shower (for a little boy to be born at the end of this month)...which takes place next Wednesday. Everyone in the group knows that I knit and spin, and, from what I understand, no one else does any of these things in this particular set of people: I will be The Token Knitter.

I do not wish to use handspun, since the recipient mother will probably not want to bother with handwashing, so it must be tough. I've considered the EZ Baby Surprise Sweater, but I don't want to knit anything in fingering weight yarn that might not be cherished forever, since what I REALLY want to do (and need to do) is finish up the winter accessory sets for my children. So it's got to be cute and fast. If I can find it in my stash, that's an added bonus, but I live down the street from a yarn shop, so that's not too much of a concern.

So....can you rescue me with that One Great Idea?

Here's some eye candy of the Spunky Club fiber I got yesterday:

8 oz handpainted Finn combed top, colorway "Acadia"

I love the way it goes to blue at one end, and I intend to use this as a design feature in whatever this ends up being.


Daisy adopted it, and did not wish to give it up, but when she started drafting out little bits of it, I had no choice. There were tears.

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Learning to dye

On Monday, I took a little "field trip" with my fiber friends to a nearby farm for a dyeing day/class.

For some reason, dyeing has always intimidated me (what if I get it wrong?  What if I waste material?  What if I don't like my results?  What if I just suck at it?)  Plus, it's fun to be a consumer and buy pre-dyed things just because they're pretty.  However, after spending an entire day with these ladies, fearlessly dunking pound after pound of wool into the dyepots, I think that I could get used to it.  Really, it's pretty fun!











We had such a great time that we decided to make this coming Monday another dye day!  While I'm there, I'm also going to use my friend's drum carder to make up some batts with what we produced from last week.  I'm feeling glitzy, so expect to see lots of sparkle.  (Does anyone remember how I was feeling all earthy and organic with Daisy?  Well, with this baby, it's a tiny bit of a different story...)

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Cute pups and children...and lots of fiber!

After a fun week, we're finally back in NY.  The rest of my family is still in NJ to visit relatives, but we went back home to help take care of these brand new little cuties:



(I took this yesterday when they were three days old -- today they look the same, only fatter.)

On one of the last days down at the shore, we all split up to do our own things.  My children and I went to a nearby playground, although that was short-lived; the sun was beating straight down on us, and there wasn't any shade over the swings and such, so then we visited a convenience store, where we picked up some milkshakes and lollypops.   We went back to the house to enjoy our snack in the shade of the porch off of our room.



I got two new spindles in the mail (I've been wanting Golding spindles for a long time now, and I finally broke down and brought two).



They really do spin better than any others I've tried.  I'm telling you, there's nothing like a Golding spindle, and it's totally worth the price.  To me, every other brand I've tried is just pure frustration, but the long spin time on the Golding spindles makes it a joy to use.

I taught my littlest sister Rachel to spin:



(They're still in NJ for the rest of the week, so I left her with about a pound of fiber and the larger Golding to practice with.)

Here's the finished Rosebud Corriedale (Spunky Club), 8oz, spun on my HitchHiker:


(The top skein turned out a bit more marled than I would have liked, but such is the nature of things when you take chances with a two-ply.)



To spin these, I didn't split the wool at all -- just pre-drafted it out "full strength" to preserve the longer color runs.  I was able to fit 4 oz on each bobbin, and then just plied them together.



It's a bulky two-ply.  I gave it a rough wet-finishing to plump the yarn up an toughen it a bit; this will be mittens and a hat for Daisy, so it needs to be as resilient as possible.

And...I picked up the needles again!  I'm working on my Auburn Camp Shirt again, but before I started, I had some untangling to do (sadly, Daisy had gotten a hold of my working yarn and clapped it about three times, rendering it almost hopelessly knotted up).  I don't know why I waste so much time untangling when I could just cut the yarn and make it so much easier for myself, but I just can't bear waste, and I hate weaving in ends that much.  (Although really we all know that in the time that it took me to untangle that ball, I could have easily woven in about a hundred ends...but let's not speak of it.)



Two final beach pictures, just because they're cute:



My sister Grace and Daisy -- squatting baby pictures are pretty much the best thing ever, I think.



My boys "keeping warm" on a blazingly hot day.

One final fiber shot -- I had a $40 fiber credit at Paradise Fibers, so I spent it on something that I've never bought before: batts!



Pure Merino from Hanks In The Hood.  I see some fun spinning in my future...

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Ummm...

Daisy and I thank all of you for your lovely well wishes, and continued comments of support for our little family. You all are such an encouragement to me, and it really means a lot.

Several of you have wondered in the comments if we'll be going home during this deployment. Yes, we do intend on going home for the summer; one of my sisters is due with her first baby, so we'll be there for that, which will be exciting. I'm not sure about any other trips home -- I guess we'll just have to see how it all goes.

Speaking of the comments, in my Chocolate Berry Sweater post (two posts ago?), this blog received it's very first snotty comment. Now, I would say that I was almost honored to have my first controversial comment, but... well here, read it for yourself:

"The telephone and mobile service is fine in Kuwait. I know I'm a western expat who has lived here 10 years. Don't make generalized comments about places unless you know them!"

Hmmm. Lack of sensitivity aside, it must be embarrassing for a person to leave a comment like that and then realize that they've just gone public with their inability to understand something in context, and lack of reading comprehension skills. Plus, isn't this a place to comment on knitting? Ah well. It happens.

Hey look! Fiber!!


I'm making bagels for the first time today. My mom was making them, and inspired me. They're in the oven right now, so I'll be sure to report back on how they came out!

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