Pink Wool and the Tiny Folk

Ever since my sockapalooza pal sent me this:

it's been on my mind. I would pull it out to look at it from time to time, but since I still consider myself a beginner spinner (hey, that's kinda catchy!), I didn't want to risk, ruining it. Plus, I really couldn't think of how I might spin something that was so full of different colors.

About a month ago, I met a local spinner who is REALLY good. She knows what she's doing, can spin for a project, has the ability to consider a fiber and then spin according to how that particular fiber will respond best. I've been spending some time with her, so I brought this Merino top over to her house last week. She gave me some options, and this is what I decided:

First, I ripped off a good length. Then I split that section of top along the color lines. It was interesting to me how easy it was to divide the colors cleanly.

Then I spun that up in random order, without organizing the color sections into any particular sequence.


Next, I took the rest of the top, and pre drafted the entire thickness of it, like this:

That allowed me to spin more of a blended singles, so that when I ply them together, they will (hopefully) blend well together, without any colors opposing each other too much. I'm still working on this second one:


As you can tell, the colors are much more mixed together. It's more of a pink heathered color, with some shots of purple through it.

I can't wait to see how this comes together! I'm thinking that it's going to be a fingering weight when plied, which should be perfect for a lacy shawl. Spinning for lace is great, because lace is so open that it really doesn't use all that much yarn.

The boys have been very happy that I've been spinning. Sparky loves to treadle with me, but also, he and Max both have this thing for wool. I ripped off a piece of pink wool for each, and found them a few minutes later giggling madly under my desk.

Max's wool was already felted into lumps in his sticky little hands, and Sparky was rubbing his all over his face. Merino is buttery soft; I love the reckless, joyful abandon of my tiny folk.

Knitted Ferrari

Knitted Ferrari

Wow... has anyone seen this yet. And I can't even finish my darn knitting olympics picovoli.

Saying goodbye, pyro greif and crochet nipples

Stitch N Bitch meetup was kind of bittersweet on Monday, because Knitting Friend Laura is leaving. She happens to be (a doctor) in the Army, which never seemed to be of consequence until now, which is why I've never mentioned it, but she's getting deployed on Saturday. (She's one of those people who happens to have a job in the Army, but that's just her work, not her life.)

For some reason I didn't take any pictures of her Last SnB, but here's the Handmaiden Sea Silk that I gave her as a parting gift:

It really is just as soft and wonderful as it looks. The colors are rich, and it smells just faintly of the ocean. Be sure to click on the link above; it has anti-inflammatory properties and releases vitamines into your skin as you work with it and then wear it. Incredible. I will most definitely be getting this for me, maybe in some blues or greens or something. Yum. I have to admit that, for the few weeks it sat on the edge of my stash, I may have walked around holding it a few times.

We all stayed at the meetup until around 11pm...it's so sad to say goodbye. We'll miss you Laura! You being deployed puts a whole new spin on "adopt a soldier" programs. Our group has pledged to "adopt" her, our very own knitter, who will soon stand on foreign soil (or sand?)

Something good that came out of that night is two finished objects! My two samples for the store are completed, and I turned them in yesterday morning. It seems I was a bit overenthusiastic about the bag-strap length.


Now I am short, but this probably would still look silly on a 6-foot woman. Fortunately, the strap can be knotted since it's not too thick, and it doesn't look too weird that way... Anyway, the bag will be hanging on a wall for a while, so it doesn't matter.

Upon closer examination of the strap, I also noticed something else. Somehow I'd managed to crochet a double-bobble, which somehow could only look like a mutated nipple to me. Which calls into question why I've now crocheted two bags entirely covered in these nipple-bobbles, but let's just go ahead and not ask those questions, shall we?

Laura suggested adding a flower to cover it up, which is what I did.


Not bad, eh?

Here are some unusually crappy pictures of the finished bag.

Front:

Back:

This bag is my hybrid version of the Flower Power Rug (free pattern on the Bernat site or in craft stores selling this yarn), and the Textured Tweed Clutch from Interweave Crochet, Fall 2005. I used a size 6 aluminum hook, and Bernat Handicrafter Cotton.

The yellow isn't a gross color in real life. It's actually this perfect shade of light, icy lemon.

Also, I finished this baby hat, with a spur-of-the-moment flower appleque (I probably just totally butchered the spelling):

I never did end up figuring out the crab-stitch, but I'm ok with that. For now.

This pattern (sans flower) is also free on the Bernat site. I completed it in about an hour or less, so this would be suitable for a beginner, or someone who needs a quick gift.

I want a little baby girl, just so that I can decorate her in things such as this. (Sarah, judging from my current track record, I'll probably keep on having boys, so since you haven't started yet, can you just get on the girl program for me? That'll work out nicely. Thanks.)

My thoughts on working with this yarn, Bernat Handicrafter Cotton. It was nice. It was exactly like Sugar N Cream and Peaches N Cream. Do we really need Bernat to make massive skeins of their version? No, I didn't think so either. But reguardless, I have no complaints (except the occasional knot, which was annoying). It's about $10 for 340 grams, which ends up being about the same price as either of the "N Cream's". Crochet and cotton do go well together, I must say.

This post is getting quite picture heavy, but I must leave you with one more. Has anyone seen this yet?

Looks seductive, yes? Don't buy it. "Write! Mark! Melt! Transfer! Cut! Seal! Sucks!" Oh wait, that last one was my own thoughts. The outside of the package is all cute and stuff, but it doesn't mention anywhere that you need pliars to remove and replace the tips. Thankfully I had one at home. The directions are on this one tiny piece of paper, and it kind of just says something about pliars in passing.

Something else that they failed to mention is if you are supposed to unscrew or just pull off. I tried to just pull first. Guess how well that worked out for me? Then, I finally got the hang of the tips, and was changing them out to see what worked for which purposes. Except that grabbing with the pliars was creating digs in the surface of the metal tips.

I was burning my cardstock and paper on top of an acrylic cutting board, when I realized that whenever the paper would finally burn, it would stick, forever fused, to my board. Ask me if I've been able to remove the burned shreds yet. (Actually don't. It'll just incite me further.)

Furthermore, it was very difficult to get a decent burn mark in the paper or cardstock at all while on a flat surface. The burning process really needed more air, and worked best when the paper was held up...except that's exactly where I had the least control of things, and very nearly burned my fingers several times.

My conclusion: do not waste your money. Thankfully, I still had the receipt, and was able to return mine. (I thought it was kind of funny when they innocently asked "oh, is it damaged?" and my immediate response was "yes, now it is!")

If anyone else has had decent results with this product, please let me know. Perhaps I'm just craftiness-challanged and it's all me. Please speak up if this is so!

Flower Power

Thank you so much to those of you who voted and left comments in reguard to the Deep V Vest! It was all just about to be very helpful...when I showed the pattern to my husband, and he confessed a great dislike to it. Now I could have sworn that I'd showed him it before, and that he'd thought it was cool then. But maybe I just imagined that. Who knows. The point is, I could still knit it, but then I will be spending all those hours creating something that he's not going to like on me, and knowing that will always make me not really want to wear it or feel good in it. Harumph. The pattern looks so fun that I almost feel like doing it anyway. But better sense prevails. So anyway, thank you anyway, everyone.

A few weeks ago, the store manager at Major Craft Store gave me an armful of some new cotton yarn they just got in called Bernat Handicrafter. For whatever reason, I had zero motivation to work it up, so it's just been sitting on my desk for 2 or 3 weeks. Bad me.

Finally, on Saturday, I decided to stop putting it off. There are 4 free patterns that are hanging up in tear-off pads by the yarn display; a bag, a hat, a poncho and a rug. The manager had asked me to crochet a hat and a poncho. The problem is...well, it's not that I'm prejudiced towards poncho makers (or will hold anything against you if you happen to love 'em), but...by the time that I started knitting a year ago, I knew that ponchos were already on their way out in the fashion industry, since their wild reintroduction to the market 5 years ago. I have no idea why people still spend so much time crafting something that is only still popular in the fiber arts world. (This does not apply to doll-wear -- their clothing is small, plus anything for a doll is adorable no matter what it is, and has a certain timelessnes to it somehow) But maybe it doesn't matter to anyone that it's "out"? Again, I'm not trying to bash anyone; these are simply questions that I ask myself.

So. I kind of have this pact with myself that I Will Not For Any Reason knit or crochet a poncho. Plus, I doubt that the store will pay me enough for my trouble and dislike (thus far, I've been paid, at the most, $3 an hour for my time, when all is said and done). Instead, I am un-venting a bag. It's a cross between Bernat's Flower Power Rug and the Textured Tweed Clutch (IK Crochet Fall 2005)


Here are the front and back pieces blocking. The long yellow thing is the strap (seemingly endless!), and in the upper left corner is the baby hat.

Something a little disturbing that I realized is that I've been crocheting wrong for a year-and-a-half now. Look at the inside of the hat:

Those lines shouldn't be there (I don't think?) I've been picking up only one loop in every stitch instead of the whole "v". It seems from Happy Hooker that I'm supposed to be picking up both those loops, which makes the fabric more uniform on both sides. Can anyone prove or disprove this point?

Something that's making me crazy is that I can't finish this hat, because I can't figure out the Crab Stitch. I know that this hat doesn't HAVE to have it, but I want to know how to do it! I've tried to work from several sets of directions on the web, but to no avail. Hopefully tonight at SnB someone will know how and can help me. I hope to turn both these pieces in to the store by tomorrow.

Vest

I want to start on the Deep-V Argyle Vest as soon as Orangina is off the needles, but I'm having trouble choosing my colors. I am going to use KnitPicks Merino Style. (Pics courtesy of KnitPicks)

Storm (Dark Teal) and Vanilla




Cinnamon and Vanilla




Cinnamon and Nutmeg




Petal (Pink) and Cinnamon




What do you think?

My little ducklings

The new Knitty is up! So exciting! There are tons of sock patterns, most of which are quite interesting. I do agree with Mouse though -- why are there so many hats, gloves and socks in a SUMMER issue? Hmm. Anyway, it's another great issue. Knitty is by far my favorite of all print and online knitting mags. Not only do they usually have smashing patterns, but they also have interesting and educational articles, as well as product reviews.

Has anyone seen Eunny's new sweater? That girl is completely amazing. I purchased her "Deep-V Argyle Vest" when it first came out, as well as "Chuck's Cabled Socks" (confusingly, these are sized for a woman's foot). I can't wait until she posts the pattern for the new Twisted Stitch Sweater! I've been watching her knit this, and it's totally fabulous.

Earlier today, Mr. FiberFlash took Sparky and Max outside to play. I took a nap because I wasn't feeling that well. A few hours later he came rushing back into the house. Max was covered in blood, and since I'd just woken up it took me a moment to figure out what was going on. They'd been playing on the concrete steps, and Max had somehow fallen and cut his top lip. Max was in suprisingly good spirits, but the cut was deep, and I could tell that stitches were in order.

Thankfully, Mr. FiberFlash was able to bring him to the hospital. I stayed home with Sparky, since he needed a nap, and I think that I would have cried and been sick all over the emergancy room when they had to sew my little guy up.

Sparky was a little concerned about where Max had gone, but we read "Make Way For Ducklings" while drinking sweet tea and eating peanuts (the only thing to eat while reading that book, if you remember the story), and he's now fast asleep.

Max is on his way home from the hospital at this moment, and it seems that he is doing well (and is also asleep).

On Monday, at Stitch N Bitch, it seemed that Old Navy green was the color of the day (at least for Tiffany and I):

Please excuse our shiny heads -- it's hot here in Georgia!
(Photo by the hilarious Becca)

In the past week, I've finally begun to make headway on Orangina:

Exciting! I can't wait to wear this.

I've been catching up on my Blogroll today, and noticed the Yarn Harlot's spinny entry on Tuesday. She was spinning up batts by Farm-Witch, and they looked utterly gorgeous. I needed some. Unfortunately, every other spinner in the world probably thought the same thing on TUESDAY, and everything is bought up (this is not reflected on the store's site, but I have confirmed this via email.) She should be posting some new batts in the following week though, and I'm going to be all over that! While I kind of suck at spinning thus far, I am a firm believer in spinning good quality, beautiful stuff, just in case I suddenly get good. Or maybe just to keep me interested. =) So I guess, since this has to be postponed for a few days, this is will be a semi-impulse buy.

Shopping day!

Well, it's been a little while since I posted last. That's because I've been spinning this:


This week I learned how to spin with a long draw. It's gotten more and more consistant, but when I plied it, I found all the underspun spots...because that's where the yarn broke (over and over and over), and I had to tie it in knots. It's not very pretty. But I'll be the one knitting with it, so I can just work around the bad spots. Ah well, it's all a learning experience.

The yarn is about 8 oz. of light worsted-weight three-ply (Corriedale Cross); the top one is Navajo Plied because somehow I had a lot left on one bobbin. I plan to dye them today, and I'm trying to figure out what color combination. I was thinking of using every color in the Garden Tone box (Delphinium Blue, Aster Mauve, Juniper Green, Buttercup Yellow), but then I've been thinking that I would like to have a momento of Georgia once we move. Panseys will always remind me of here, since our landscapers kept them blooming all through the (not so cold) winter.

Whatever the colorway, I intend to knit it up into the Short-Row Ribbed Scarf (except without the fringe, probably). A pattern like that seems to be best when working with a multi color yarn, since it keeps everything from pooling too badly (suposedly) and may help the finished project look as pretty as the skein did.

A week ago, I went on a shopping trip with Knitting Friend Laura. The nearest local yarn store (LYS) is 35 minutes away, so we made a day of it. She came by to pick me up at around 10 in the morning, and then we headed out. We would have left earlier, except that we were driving to Alabama, and they're an hour behind us. Nothing much seems to be open before 10am on a Saturday over there.

The yarn shop was our first (and most important!) stop, of course. The store is located in the front three rooms of the owner's house. She (Darlene) runs it with her husband and sometimes her kids help out too. We wandered around the store for a good while, feeling every ball and skein at least three times. Laura found what she wanted pretty quickly (as in, maybe a half-hour) but I couldn't decide. Darlene's daughter came into the store at one point and asked us if we wanted some chocolate banana bread. Our answer was pretty much and instant "yes!" The banana bread was dark chocolate, and the bananas made it taste like there was bourbon in it. Incredible. Thankfully, I thought to ask for the recipe, and I'll see if I can get permission to share it on my show in a few weeks. She brought the bread out to us on little blue and yellow stoneware plates, along with glasses of water with lemon. We felt like celebrities. (Well, we are, of course) =)

We talked with the Darlene for a little while about a new technique she's come up with recently, called "Concording". She sells a DVD with all different knitting techniques on it, including Concording. She is currently in the works of writing a pattern book based all around that technique for Vogue Knitting, which should be interesting.

Finally, I was able to find what I wanted, and we left.


Our next stop was a strip mall. We picked over things at the Salvation Army, then headed over to the Asian grocery. I love international food, and I was so hungry from all that shopping! It was hard not to buy everything in there, but I managed to leave with only a few fried snacks, and some chili oil. The weirdest thing that I got was dried, sesame anchovies. I ate a few of them, but then the fishy flavor overcame me and they ended up in the trash. Ah well. They were interesting though.

After that, we went to the Thai place and picked up some iced coffee (Thai coffee is made with sweetened condensed milk and super-strong coffee -- very tasty!), and I got some spicy/sweet/sour soup. I can't remember what it was called, but it was quite good. The restaurant was a total hole-in-the-wall, but I've been thinking about it ever since, and if I'm ever in the area again, I'll have to go back there. Laura got some steamed spring rolls.

We brought our Thai food over to the antique mall, where there is a sitting are in the back for tired husbands to hang out and watch TV while their wives troll the isles. It was pretty funny, because we were sitting there with two old guys watching Nascar or something, while eating this fragrant food out of styrofome take out boxes. We got a few looks.

After lunch, we wandered around the mall for a while, and I ended up getting this tiny vinyl purse, which is the perfect sock knitting bag.

The most interesting thing about going to Alabama is that there is this distinct feeling of a time warp. My cell phone is my clock (I haven't worn a watch in years), and that clock always shows local time, so it's hard to keep track of what time it really is back home.

Alltogether I had a wonderful day, and I'm so glad that my husband is willing to watch the boys for me and let me have the freedom to do things like that. =)

Born into fiber arts?

The other day, Knitting Friend Laura brought over two small eggplants from her garden. Today I ate them for lunch. In case you happen to have eggplants on hand too, I'll tell you how I cooked them because they were seriously tasty, if I may say so myself (and I do!):
Slice eggplant thinly
Use one piece of eggplant to smear extra virgin olive oil (or regular olive oil) over a pan
Arrange all slices on the pan, and sprinkle with garlic salt, a little red pepper flakes, and drizzle with a tiny bit more oil
Broil on low for about 7 or 8 minutes
Flip each slice with spatula and broil a few more minutes until they are toasted on both sides to your liking
Eat!


Recently, Sparky has been expressing great interest in the fiber arts. "I need to knit yarn" he said to me the other day. So I got out some size 15 needles and a ball of yarn that I hate, and set him up with a few rows:

Check out the look of concentration:


Then today, during his nap, I was spinning. When he came out and saw me, he was all excited about it. I let him "help":

(The strange look on his face is because as soon as he saw the camera, he was asking Mr. Fiberflash "gotta see it, want to see it!")

Has anyone ever tried this? It's quite hair raising. Pretty much, he was just treadling at a mad crazy pace while I tried to make sure that he treadled in the proper direction, attempting to draft wool for a laceweight singles all the while. Yikes!

shameless self-promotion

Yesterday I had a lovely time shopping with Knitting Friend Laura, and I will go into a bit more detail later, but for now, once again, I present my podcast:

The show is not in iTunes yet (just the old one that no longer has any shows on it -- not sure how to "unsubmit" that one), but you can listen to it on knittingcook.com website. Ok, for real this time, let me know what you think if you listen to it. =)

So far, I have three members in the podcast's Frappr map -- show me some love!

Sarah's yarn

A while ago, Sarah (who blogs with me here) sent me this as a little "pick me up" gift:

She's gotten quite good at dying, I must say. I knew that I'd have to save it for something special (how do you use a yarn gift?!), and today, when I was over at Craftsanity, I found just the one: Brenda Dayne's Pembrokeshire Pathways Socks. Clearly, that is what this yarn wants to be.

Congratulations to Becca and Joya. Although Joya (my little sister Joy) didn't get the name, you were correct with your memory. Yes, this is Orangina, the lovely but ever infuriating Sweater Of Summer Past.

This is what I worked on in the salon today (the sock is for Max -- an adaptation of Spunky Toddler Socks by Amy Boogie)

This is why I was at the salon all day:



10:30am to 3:30pm. That's how long it takes to look this awesome. Let's not discuss cost.

I love it.