Gotta love a great swap partner

You know there is nothing better then coming home from a long day at work to find a box waiting for you. Its even better if you get a box from a swap partner. The reason its so great is; one, I didn't pay for the contents and second I have no idea what could be inside. A couple of weeks ago I signed up for a knitting kit swap on Ravelry. The Idea is to send your partner everything they will need to knit up a project. The needles, yarn and pattern. The box I got today was totally cool. Andrea Higdon sent me a knitting kit that included two balls of Knit Pick's Palette in purple and mint, a set of Knit Picks' new wooden DPS and a pattern for color work mitts. Now I'm not totally sure how she knew but I have been wanting to try these needles. I have to be really careful what needles I use as I have an allergy to metal so I have been using wood ones or nylon when I can find them. As you can see on my blog I really love the color green and for the past 6 months or so I have really been getting into purple so this was just great. I need to finish up a couple of other projects so I can get started on these. Thanks Andrea!

Its been a spinning winter here in Idaho

I have lived in the Boise area for about 22 years now and this winter is one for the records. We have had more snow that I can ever remember. Of course I grew up in southern Oregon were snow was a rarity. One year, as a matter of fact I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, it was 20 below for a week or so, but we still didn't have the snow like this year. Sense Oct 1 we have gotten about 30 inches our normal is about 14. So its been awesome spinning weather. There is nothing better then sitting in a warm home spinning and watching the snow fall. Needless to say I have been doing a lot of spinning.

**** Comercial Alert***********
This first skein of yarn is a great Romney batt that was processed by Pat Anderson, She sells a 1 ounce batt for just $3.00. I'm not sure what all she carries but I can tell you I have some Lincoln in waiting. I don't usually like to spin from a batt but I have to tell you that its the cleanest I have ever seen. There was no VM in it. This Skein is a three ply that I spun from three different batts I think I have close to 200 yarnds. If you would like to give a batt or two a try you can email Pat at patseylanderson@SBCglobal.net. I really like to support small home grown businesses. By the way she is in the San Diego area of CA where lots and lots of small farmers have lost so much this past year with fires and now heavy rains.


This skein of yarn is three colors of Gotland. If you have never felt this fiber then you are in for a real treat. I purchased this roving from ebay to just try it out. This was before the latest issue of Spin Off came out. (there is a really informative article about the Gotland sheep and its history). Because I had three differnt colors of grey,Gotland only comes in shades of grays, I decided to spin something a bit different. What I did was to divide each of the rovings in half and then spin the light, then the medium and finally the dark. I did this on two bobbins. I then plyed them together so that for the most part the dark stayed with the dark, the medium with the medium and the light with the light. I spun this in a light weight. My thought is to knit a scarf that starts our light and moves to the dark. I haven't looked for a pattern yet so I'm not sure if it will turn out or not.



Now this was I spun just because. With all the snow and the gloom of this winter I wanted to spin something cheery. I have no idea what the fiber content is. I do know that there is some wool, and glitter and maybe some mohair too. Its kind of hard to see but there is one strand of lavender with glitter and one strand of blue/green with glitter.



Two weekends ago I took a class on wool combing. I have never tried to use wool combs and I found them to be much easier then I thought they would be. As a matter of fact I am thinking of buying a set. One of the neat things about the class was I got to try out all kinds of different combs. So when I do decided to buy a set I have a better idea of what I want. Durning the class the teacher also showed us a couple of different ways to wash fleece.( which I will demonstrate in a later blog)So I had to give both methods a try. Instead of washing a hand full of fleece we washed them by the locks. Well when the class was over there was quite a bit of washed lock waiting for a good home. Which of course I had to make sure they got one. The fiber is Polworth ( love it) I wish I had some of the fleece before it was washed. It was really yellow from the lanolin. Polworth is known for its bright whiteness. The lenght of the fiber is around 3 1/2 to 4 inches. So when I got home I don't have any combs so what I did with each lock was to use one of my cotton cards and flick card it. I would nomally use a really good dog comb that I have but it was not were to be found, so the cotton card worked great. I wanted to spin this into a lace weight yarn so that I could knit a pair of lacey fingerless gloves. I plan to use a pattern out of the New Once skein Designer book. I need to have about 225 yards to for the gloves. Well I ended up with about 300 yards.



Lastly, Its angora month. As I have talked about one of my goals for the year is to spin a different fiber each month. I chose angora for the month of February. Yes I know this skein is really small, well spinning angora was a bit harder then I remembered it. I did finish it like Judith Mackenzie McCuin talks about in her book Teach yourself Visiually Hand Spinning. Its where you lightly felt the yarn to even it all out and set the twist. It did work out well but I do have to say my spinning does need to improve. So my question to you is... What is your best way to spin angora? I plan to do a bit of reading and rethinking the angora and giving it a try either later this winter or next fall when the temps cool down. I don't really want to spin angora when its really hot outside.

So you might be asking your self does she ever sleep? Or what is she going to do next? Yes I do sleep, and I am planning to spin some burgundy roving that I picked up last summer in Salt Lake to make a pair of Cookie A socks. I'm not sure wich pattern I will knit, I'm going to wait and see how many yards I spin up first. I would like to knit some knee highs so I will defently need more than the usual amount for socks.

a little crochet too

This is my all time favorite baby afghan to crochet. I can't even tell you how many I have made over the years, but I can tell you that the book it comes out of it beginning to look a bit worn. One of the reasons I like this afghan so much is it only takes 14 ounces of worsted weight yarn and you use a size K hooks. So it works up really fast. Over the past couple of years I have been buying the Caron 1 pounders for it. This ones is mint green. I do know that its for a boy but the mother hates the color blue so green was the request. By the way the pattern comes from the book Quick and Cozy Afghans.

Racing Russets first stop

Here is the loot from the first stop of the racing russets group. One of the Yahoo groups that I am on (love2knitdishcloths) is doing a contest were groups of knitters each get a box with two balls of cotton yart a knitted dishcloth and then some other small goodies. Well I in the Idaho group called the racing russets. I was the first stop. The gal (Tami) sent me a beautifully knit green dishcloth some great stitch markers and some chocolate that my daughters have already eatend. She also sent me two balls of cotton yarn. I am to knit a cloth from the yarn and sent it to the next gal in our group. I'm not sure how many groups are playing along but the first group to get through the group and then back to the starting point wins a prize so I think we are off to a great start. I plan to have mine part done tonight and in the mail in the morning. So I better get to knitting.

Hemlock afghan

OK so when I saw this pattern on Ravelry a few month's back I just fell in love with it. The pattern comes from a 1942 knitted doily. Well someone, OK a lot of someones knit this using Cascade Ecological wool and size 10 needles. I think there is even a yahoo group working on this. I used the same yarn and size needles. It ends up being about 49 inches across so its more of a lap afghan then anything. The pattern does tell you how to make it larger, but I decided to knit it the size I first saw so that I could tell how big it was. I am planning on teaching a class on this afghan in March so I wanted my students to see what size it would come out as. I do think the next time I make this I will make it larger.

Angora Mits

OK so I don't usually do a commercials on my blog, but today I am. I have a dear friend that is like a sister to me and we exchange gifts on Christmas and our birthdays. I have to confess that I look forward to her gifts the most. She has a way of out doing herself each year. This year was no exception. One of the wonderful gifts is what I'm going to talk about. These fingerless gloves are a kit. The yarn is 85 % German angora and 15% merino wool. The pattern and the yarn come from http://www.bungalowfarm.com . The kit cost is just $20. You can't buy a ball of angora yarn for $20 and you get the wonderful pattern too. Which by the way was very easy to knit and they fit my hands just perfectly which is great as its going to get down to the single digits tonight . So if you are one of those people who are already starting to think about next years Christmas gifts or you know someone who needs a great Valentine's gift or if you want just treat yourself. Check out the web site and order a kit or two. She also has other kits that I'm sure are just as wonderful. I know I have my eye on the sock kit.

I must be crazy! or is it just old age

I must be crazy! or it might be old age or both. This year I have decided to knit a black sweater. I know I know I'm totally nuts. But I figure I better knit it now while I can still kind of see the yarn before I can't see it anymore. The only problem is I think I might need bifocals. So I can only knit on it during the day light hours. I chose a some what easy pattern from the book 100 knit projects. The yarn is Galway in black on size 7 needles. One of the reasons I chose this pattern is the cable I really like the way its turning out. The other reason is its a top down. you got to love the no sew patterns. The body it totally 2 X 2 ribbing so its keeping my interest. I know the picture of what I have so far looks grey but it really is black. My hope it to have if completed by the end of the month but we will see.

Sense I can only knit on this sweater during the day light hours I have also started another sweater. Well its really a cardigan but who's counting. I found the pattern for this cardigan in the latest issue of Knit Scene. If you haven't seen this issue you might want to check it out. As a rule I really don't like this magazine but this issue has several things that I think I will make. The yarn I'm using is Lorna's Laces Revelation in a green and purple colorway. Now I have had this yarn for years. As a matter of fact Lorna herself dyed it. So that's how long I have had it. Its a nice change from the black sweater as I'm using size 10 1/2 needles. I'm really happy with how its turning out so far.

Finally finished

Have you ever had a project that you just couldn't seem to get done. Well these socks are close to that for me. I started them back in November and I really do love the pattern but I just seem to not be able to knit on them. If it wasn't Christmas knitting for someone or some other thing that needed to get done I just couldn't work on them. Well I finally finished them today. They fit just perfect so I can't wait to wear them. So what's next? Not sure I think I will look through my sock patterns and see which one to do next. I do want to try to have a pair of sock on needles at all times. I have been thinking of making the Jaywalkers and I have notices that I really don't have any blue socks... So I think I will go take a look for some yarn and get knitting.

January fiber

Well as I have talked about I want to try to spin new fiber each month. So for my first fiber I have chosen pagora. I purchase this roving at a fiber festival in Salt Lake City from Wooly Wonka fibers. Now this isn't 100% pagora there is some wool in it but I can't remember which one. It is very fine, I don't think its merino but its something close. My plan for this roving is make a lace scarf, although I don't have a pattern picked out yet. I have to say it has been spinning up like a dream. I think it will end up somewhere between a lace weight to a fine weight 2 ply. I think for next month I will spin angora, which is a great fiber to spin in the winter when its not so warm. I plan to in later months spin hemp, silk, alpaca,flax, yak, camel,and many others so keep a look out

I have been knitting too

I at the same time as I was getting my yarn room all set up I have been taking time to knit. The first project I have worked on and finished is the Oregon vest. I found some Encore chunky in my stash. I chose to knit this vest using the bulky pattern. So I held two strands together and knit with a size 13 needle. It knit up really fast. I think it took me about 2 days to get all the knitting done. I haven't added the zipper yet. I want to find a zipper that has rindstones on the teeth. I know I have seen them here in town but I'm not sure where so I'm still looking.
I love to knit socks and I think one if not the favorite pattern is Cookie A. pattern called Monkey socks. Well I started these socks in November, but I have had to put them down as I finished up Christmas knitting. So my goal is to get them done this week. I just about have the cuff of the second sock done So I should have it done soon.

My other project that I have been working on is Crystal Palaces' Taos diagonal Jacket. I have to say I just love this yarn. Its so soft and the color changes are just great. This jacket is knit in 6 pieces and sewn together, which is not my favorite thing to do but so far its not been to bad. I just have to finish the sleeves and then it will all be done. By the way the color is 04 mirage.

New year new look

So for a while I have been thinking of reorganizing my yarn room. If you are a fiber nut like me you have quite a stash. The big problem with a good sized stash, is as you get older you forget what all you have. So I have been thinking of ways to make it more user friendly. As I talk about this I really thought about if I should share my yarn room with you all. Then when all the changes were made it turned out so much better then I thought I decided to share so if its something you might want to try. First of all in my house I have a bedroom that is really small. My youngest daughter used the room until she out grew her toddler bed. This room is so small that if you put a twin bed in it you would have no more room for anything else. So for the past few years I have been using this room for storage. I have for years had all my yarn and spinning fiber in plastic binds. Needless to say this room is always a mess. I never really knew what I had and where it was. Well in the current issue of Knitters there is an article about how this gal over a weekend bought wire crates and set them up to hold her yarn. Well when I read that I knew this is what I wanted to do. I looked all over town for these wire crates and could only find them at Fred Meyer. With some luck the day after Christmas the crates went on sale. So I went and bought a few and set them up. Now I have to tell you that it took a lot longer then I thought it would. About 3 hours. I then put my yarn and rovings in somewhat by colors. I wanted to have the yarn mixed with the rovings to give some visual interest. I also set my books up so that they can be seen and easily accessible. The next thing I did as I was cleaning everything up I hung on the wall all my unfinished needlework projects. Not only does it decorate the walls but it also helps remind me to finish them at some point. I then added a comfy chair so that I can sit and knit or spin in what my daughter calls Mom's yarn store. Because all my girls knit I have a bin that is full of my leftover bits of yarn. They know that they can grab anything out of it and make something with out fear they took something I had saved for some project.
One great thing I have found by doing all of this is it has helped my remember what I already have. so when I'm at a yarn store looking at yarn or fiber I know how much green yarn or maybe I have nothing in red. So it has helped my on adding to my stash. It as also make this store room into a little den. My middle daughter likes to go in there and play her violin or just read. And yes it does have a look of a yarn store. The great part of that is I have already bought everything in there so I don't have to figure out how to sneak in the house.

New year New things happening

Well Its already 2008. Yikes! Where did 2007 go? I was talking with a friend of mine this weekend and we were lamenting on how busy we both are and yet getting nothing done. Well I do have to admit I have been very busy these past few weeks. Not only do we have tons of things going on around the holidays but my oldest daughter's birthday is on 4. So Now with all the parties over and everyone is back to school, I can get back to normal. I really wish I knew what normal was. Anyway, every year I don't make resolutions I set goals. So 2008 its so exception. So here are my goal for the year,in no particular order;
1. Loose 50 pounds by 8/8/08 - the first day of the Olympics
2. Read through the Bible
3. Get more fit - which goes with number 1.
4. fiber a new exotic fiber each month
5. knit a pair of socks every month
6. read a really good book every month
7. Take a few minutes to just stop and be still
8. design my own sweater
9. Enter knit, crochet,tat and needlepoint items in the State fair
10. Stop and list my blessings every week.

Now as the year progress I will let you all know what how I am doing on each of these goals.

OK Christmas can come

OK so Christmas can come. The reason? I'm done with my all my Christmas knitting. With five days to spear. The last two projects where for daughters number two and three. Daughter number two is in love with the color blue so I made her the top down bolero. I'm not totally sure she will like it as its a bit more girly then she is but her sisters picked the pattern so there is hope. I used some yarn that I had in my stash so I'm not sure what it is.
The sweater for daughter number three is also a top down one. She asked me a couple of months ago for a sweater like mine so that is just what I did. Of course its done in the colors of pinks and purples. She pick the yarn her self. It I think ended up being bigger then she needs, so she will be able to wear it for a couple of years.

Now that I have all my Christmas knitting done, I also have two weeks off from teaching classes, you would think I would take a brake. Of course not. I'm on to projects that are planned classes in 08. First up is the Oregon Vest from Oat Couture. I will be making my model in bright Red, so be on the look out for the coming vest.

My Daughter's Grinchy socks

When you are a knitter you are also a collector, so if you are new or have yet to become a knitter be pre-warned. You will collect yarn, tools and patterns. Also if you have family members that live with you they will begin to expect knitting done for them. Which is part of the fun of knitting. So because I am a collector I have lots of magazines and I add to that collection often. This holiday season I picked up a couple magazines that are just full of holiday projects. Well one afternoon my youngest daughter (also a knitter)was looking one and found the add from socks that rock for the grinchy socks. She is a huge fan of the Grinch who stole Christmas. As a matter of fact she watches it all year long. So of course she just had to have them. Well I have to confess I really didn't want to fork over the money for the sock kit for a 9 year old. So what I did instead was look through my stash of yarn and found funky reds and greens. Then I went to my favorite sock book. Sensational socks and found a pattern that I liked and went from there. I'm not sure what the red is I think its wool. The green at the toe and the stripe is silk left over from some project and the glittery stuff is left over too. The green from the heel I have no idea what it is.
The big test however is does she like them? The answer Yes as matter of fact she plan to wear them today, tomorrow and Friday to school. Of course when you are 9 clean socks isn't as important then looking cool. So I guess I will wash them each night.

Number one daughter's sweater and a trip

Well I was able to finish my number one daughter' s sweater that I was making for Christmas. Unfortunately I had lots of knitting time this last week. We had to make a road trip to the Tri Cities in Washington state. My father in law was very ill. As a matter of fact we just about lost him. He flat lined 4 times on Monday night and was not expected to make it. So we left Boise after the kids got out of school and drove up. I am happy to say that when we left on Friday he was sitting up and eating. We just found out that he is going to be leaving the hospital for basically what amounts to a half way house to continue his recovery. He isn't quite ready to be home yet but he also doesn't need total monitoring care either.
So while I was in the waiting room all last week I worked on my daughters sweater. I have to say I think I like this yarn better then Noro. Even though it has the same type of color ways as Noro I think its a bit softer. Of course my daughter knows I was working on it as I couldn't really hide it from her while we were all in the same room. But I think she will like it. So now I'm on to the Number 2 daughters sweater. Hers will be a bit smaller so I think I can get hers finished this week.
While I was in Richland WA. My husband and I stopped at a shopping center and looked around an antique store. They had two spinning wheels that they were really proud of. They were old but not that old and they both were in terrible shape. One was $485 and the other was $185. The one that was $185 was workable, but the other wasn't it didn't even have a bobbin and the flyer wasn't workable. But on a good note my husband did find a blacksmithing hammer for $6 so he picked that up. On the way to the car we found a yarn store called Knitty Gritty. It was a very nice shop. The owners have a great variety of yarns and prices. I picked up only tow skeins of yarns. Both are ones that I have never see before. So I just had to have them The pick one is 100 % alpaca, I plan to make a pair of fingerless mitts for myself with them. The other is called Aslan and it 50% angora 25% merino and 25% polyamide. Each skein has 295 yards and is about a sport weight. So I think I can get a pair of socks out of it.

A little me knitting

Even though my daughters picked the yarn for the sweaters that they want for Christmas, they all think I won't have time so I only work on them while they are at school or not home. They know me so well that if I'm not knitting on something there is a problem. So I am doing a little bit of me knitting at the same time. So what's better then a pair of Monkey socks. I think this is my 4 pair and I have to say I just love this pattern which you can find a copy at Knitty.com. I am using Araucania Ranco multy. The color ways is number 303 or better known as pinks and purples. Not my normal colors that I would pick but I do like them just the same. I also bought some yarn the day after Thanksgiving to make a sweater to match. So be on the look out for that. By the way I am trying new needles. Clover sock needles. They are 4 .5 inches long and I have to say they are just great. Not quite as neat as my rosewoods but nice just the same.

Its begining to look like Christmas knitting

Now that I have the Christmas stockings all done and the customer is happy. I have been working on my Christmas knitting. Now each one of these sweaters are not a huge surprise to the members of my family. The reason.... they picked the yarn they wanted and the color. I did make one rule NO ACRYLIC. The first one finished is a vest for my husband. He already knows its done and has tried it on. He wanted it for Christmas Eve. He will be singing at our church's three Christmas Eve services. So I had to do that one first. Its hard to see by the picture but its hunter green and it was made from Lopi Lite. Not the softest of yarns but it was the color he wanted. Not to mention he will be wearing it over a shirt anyway. Now that its done I'm on to the next sweater. Next up is the V neck for my oldest daughter. I decided I would go from oldest to youngest. Or largest to smallest. My daughter is a jeans and Tshirt type gal so I was a bit surprised by her yarn choice. The yarn is Plymouth Boku. If you have never seen or felt this yarn its a lot like Noro. Its a wool silk blend and I think its softer then Noro. The colorway she chose was orange, greens and purples. So far its looks wonderful.

Thanksgiving

So I have been asked to talk a bit about what I am thankful for. Well this could be long, because there are so many things that I am thankful for. Let me start with the usually stuff even they are extremely important to me. I will also add some pictures of things but I have a policy not to post pictures of my family on my blog so I will have to get a bit creative. First I am so thankful for my Husband, we have been married for over 20 years and it been great fun most of the time. He even understand about the yarn collecting. Then there are my three daughters. Ages 16,13 and 9. They are all very wonderful caring girls which is rare sometimes for teens this day and age. My 16 year old plays in the marching band at school. They took 1st place in a local marching band competition this year.

I am so thankful for my job. I have so much fun teaching others to knit and to improve their skills in knitting.

I am also thankful for the Internet. Because of the web I have met some really nice ladies that share my same interests and obsession with fiber.

I am so thankful for God providing my spinning wheel for me. As you all may know Matchless spinning wheels are not cheap but I was able to get mine at a price I could afford.

I am also thankful that this past year I was able to attend a couple of fiber shows. Its so fun to see what other fiber artist are up to and of course its always nice to add to the stash.

I am also thankful for the different class that I have taken in the past year or so. Its so fun to be able to learn something new.

I am thankful for my different groups that I am a member of from The Treasure valley knitting guild the spinning group and the Idaho Civil War renactors. I love to spend time with other people with the same interest that I have.

OK so this is a bit of a crazy one. I am thankful for baseball. I am a huge fan of base ball. I know when friends of mine find this out they are just surprised as all get out. But I really love to sit and watch a great base ball game.
As you can see I am thankful for a wide range of things. Life has been tough for us this year but as I look back there are some many things to be thankful for. My home, my family , my friends,but when I think of being thankful the first thing that come to my mind is God. With out him I would have nothing and be nothing. He has blessed me in millions of ways so many that I don't have space to list them all. He has given me the talent to knit and the talent to share my skills with others. He has given me the heart to love others in maybe a way that some don't. God bless you and take a minute today to thank God for all you are bless with in your life.

Christmas Knitting- boy have I been busy

OK so I have been busy doing some Christmas knitting. In the past couple of weeks I have knit 5 Santa Christmas stockings. However they were not for me or anyone in my family. When you work at a yarn shop once in a while you get asked to knit an item for a customer. Well at Christmas time we all at the shop end up knitting a stocking or two. So this year I was asked to knit 5 all the same, except for the names. As you can see in the picture I have them all done, well OK you can only see three of the five and one of the originals believe me they are all on my table drying, they just couldn't fit in the picture. The one on the far left is the original. It seems Grandma knit the same stocking for everyone in the family, kids, and grand kids. Well she passed away this last year so I was asked to knit the great grand kids stockings. I have to say I was happy to do it. Now that they are all done I can now start on my own Christmas knitting. My husband wants a buttoned down vest and all three daughters have asked for sweaters so no rest for the weary.

Sock it to me twice questions

The Questions
How long have you been knitting? 10 years
Do you consider yourself beginner, intermediate, advanced? Advanced. I am a knitting teacher by profession
How long have you been knitting socks?10 years off and on but I have really gotten back to socks this last summer.
What are your favorite fibers to work with? wool, alpaca, mainly natural fibers
What is your favorite color? purples and greens
What are your current WIPs (works in progress)? Sweaters for my family for Christmas
Name your favorite yarns, (brand, fibers, colors, etc.). Socks that rock, Koigu,Galway,Cascade Ecco wool
What are some yarns/fibers that you stay away from. Acrylic I'm sorry I just hate it.
What is your family situation? (Married, kids, pets?) Married for 20 years, three girls ages 16, 13 and 9 ( all knitters) and a dog named Tiny who isn't
Name some of your hobbies. In order of love Knitting, Hand spinning, reading, crocheting, tatting, needlepoint
Name some of your favorite movies? Austin Powers, the Thin man series, Quiet man, and Hop a long Cassidy movie. yes I know its a bit all over the place
Do you like to read? yes I love to read a good mystery and Debbie Macomber
Do you collect anything? sheep
Do you own an iPod or mp3 player? not yet waiting for a good sale this holiday season
What are your favorite type of knitting needles? nylon, I have an allergy to metal so I don't use them at all. I also only use circulars for most of my knitting but I use only dps for socks. I love rose wood for socks. My all time favorite are the old Susan Bates grey nylon circulars, but they are hard to find these days. Although I would like to try the new wood ones from Knit Picks.
What knitting notion could you not live without? stitch markers and good needles
Who are some of your favorite designers? Cooke A, the gal that designs the Knitting pure and simple patterns.
Do you subscribe to any magazines? (Knitting or otherwise.) Spin off, Knitters, Interweave Knits, Wool gathering
When is your birthday? 4-26
Do you have a "wishlist", (on Ravelry, Froogle, or Amazon)? Amazon I haven't gotten my wish list going on Ravelry yet.
Do you have a Ravelry ID? yarnsnthreads
If you had a sheep, what would you name it? Winston