Gansey Workshop -the pin cushion

This last week I started a Gansey workshop that is being hosted by the traditional knitting, located in the yahoo groups. So far this has been very informative and fun. Every couple of days Liz ( the designer and leader) uploads a file or two on the art of Gansey knitting. Our first project was this pin cushion. Each side has a different pattern. If you are not familiar with ganseys they are sweaters that are knit very tightly and have lots of texture. The designs are done with knit and purls not colors. Traditional ganseys were knit for fishermen and usually are made with dark colors. Navy, grey etc. I have always been interested in the both the history and method. I plan in the future to spin and then knit a gansey for my self. So if you want to learn to knit gansey this might be the workshop for you. We will be making several smaller projects using the knit and purl patterns. I next pattern I plan to try will be a pillow cover, then socks.

What I'm working on Now

I have been knitting for other people for so long that is has been fun to be a bit selfish and knit for me. I do have a couple of Christmas gifts to do. I plan to start then next. Right now I'm working on an Einstein coat from Sally Melville's Knitting experience the Knit Stitch book. I have knit this before and really liked how it turned out. The problem with the first one that I did was that I ran out of yarn and the sleeves ended up a bit to short. I have decided to break the rules some. I am using Noro Kureyon. I know its not a bulky weight but I did get gauge on the size 10 needles so I figured why not. I have had this yarn in my stash for a long time and its time to use it. I know the coat is going to be more of a sweater then a coat but that's ok as I have a heavy sweater coat already. I did ask about the yarn change on a knit list that I'm on and was advised not to. Well sometimes I think its a good thing to break a rule or two when it comes to knitting. That's what makes it fun. This has been a great mindless project. I have been taking it with my when I have to run errands. It seems that now that gas prices are dropping so everyone is on the road. I also seem to have the luck of hitting every red light there is, so I have been knitting at stop lights, which help without the road rage that can occur in heavy traffic.

What's on the wheel now

I have been trying to spend a hour or so spinning each day. At first I had a little trouble getting used the matchless. Every time I spin on a new wheel it seems that I have to relearn to spin. I haven't tried any of the other size whorls yet. I'm still using the medium one. Right now I"m working on 2 pounds of a wool roving that is called confetti. I can't remember where I bought, but I'm sure it was ebay. The roving it white with what I would call small sewing thread threads mixed in. The threads are all different colors. It has a bit of a rainbow effect. I know the picture its the best but it has been fun to spin

Secret Pal swap 9 questions

Below are the questions that I need to answered for the Secret Pal swap that is going on now. If you are not involved it still gives abit of info on me. Enjoy. 1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?I'm a total yarn snob I love to work with wool, angora, silk, alpaca hate to work with any man made yarns.2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?I mainly use dps and circulars, they are held in a jar and and a wall holder respectfully 3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?I have been knitting for 9 years and would say I am advanced. I have taught knitting for about 5 years now and I love to do all kinds of knitting 4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?please email me for the info 5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)lavender 6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? YES dark chocolate 7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? Yes I spin I also crochet, tat and I love to read a good mystery. 8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I mostly listen to Christian rock ( newsboys etc.) I also like Celtic, bluegrass 9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?Greens are my favorite but I also like jeweltones. I'm not a huge fan of pastels 10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?Married for 19 years, three daughters ages 16,12 An 8 one dog11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?I do wear hats, mittens and scarves but no ponchos 12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Whatever the next project is13. What are you knitting right now? An Einstein coat 14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?Yes15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?I use only nylon circular and dps. I really like the new bryspun but the old grey nylon Susan bates are my all time favorites 16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?Yes but they get used a lot.17. How old is your oldest UFO? 2 weeks. I'm kind of strange I work on one thing at a time.18. What is your favorite holiday?Christmas19. Is there anything that you collect?teddy bears and sheep 20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?I subscribe to Knitters, Interweave knits, vogue knitting, and Spin Off. 21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Not really I love to cables, color work, enterlac, steeking,felting, really all types of knitting. 22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?I knit maybe 2 or 3 pairs a year so I'm not a huge sock knitter, but my shoe size is 723. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) in April

Fall is Here Yipee!

Here in Boise its has been a long hot summer. I really don't like the hot hot weather. I grew up in southern Oregon near the coast so even on really hot days it would cool off at night. Even though I have live in the Boise area for 20 years I still really hate July and August here. Its just not fun when at midnight its still 90 some degrees outside. Well the leaves are changing colors now and things have cooled down some. We still have not had our first frost but it is more livable. To celebrate falls return I decided to reknit this sweater. Yes I have knit this pattern before but that was a few years ago when I was a much larger size. I have gotten rid of all my size 24 cloths but kept all my hand knits so that I could take them apart and reknit them. This is one such sweater. The pattern is one of my favorites from knittingpureandsimple.com . This top down sweater is the light weight V neck. If you have never made a top down I can recommend them enough. If you don't liking working with straight needles and sewing up seams this is the sweater for you. The yarn is interlacements and the color way is called poppy fields. Or as I call it the drug sweater. All kidding aside it is a wonderful fall colorway. I think it I will wear it at my daughters next football game.

Wow has it been a month?

Wow I had no idea its has been a month sense I updated my blog. I have been rather busy with kid events. My oldest daughter is in marching band at her high school and it seems I am either picking her up from practice or a game every 5 minutes. I have been able to fit in some knitting and spinning while all of this has been going on. So over the next couple of days I will update you all on some of my finished projects and then talk about a couple that I'm still working on. To start, this in my latest dishcloth. The pattern was a fun one to do and shows up nicely with this tan and white ombre. The pattern comes from my yahoo group monthly dishcloth list. This was the mid September cloth.

Got To Love those KAL's

You just gotta love Kal's ( Knit-a-long). This last weekend The love 2 knit email list had a Pj party and one of the activities we did was the Sheep KAL. I know the picture isn't very good but its a sheep. The funny thing about this is. A week or ago I was thinking that it might be neat to add a few sheep to my rather large collection of Teddy Bears. So what's the next dishcloth I knit. A Sheep. So I guess that's a sign to start collecting sheep. Well, at least that's the story I'm sticking with. The other cloth comes from the monthly dishcloth Kal email list group I'm on. Again the picture isn't very good. The pattern is of an oak leaf. Just in time for Fall. Which I can hardly wait for. Its been so hot this summer here in Boise. I'm really looking forward to cooler temps. We have also had really bad smoke for the past week or so which has caused us to have to stay inside. But temps are cooling and it looks like it might even be in the mid 70's. Which will be great as I am planning on attending a wool growers festival and then a bluegrass festival on Sunday.

Another goodie in the mail

Today I found another goodie in the mail. This is mini stocking that was waiting in my mail this afternoon. This came from another exchange I did on one of my email lists. This was for a hand spun mini sock. I'm not sure who spun and then knit this little beauty but its just wonderful. The spinner says this is from her first spun yarn. Boy I wish my first few balls of hand spun looked so good. The yarn is wool and one ply is a cream and the other is a pink/purple Kool-aid dyed. Just wonderful. My Christmas tree each year is full of mini socks and this one will be a very great addition.

How I did at the fair

Well the fair is over and school has started. We all did really well this year. My husband made his first knife and got third place. He lost to a Roman metal costume. My oldest daughter got second place with a hat she knit. It lost to a full sweater. I also did somewhat well. I got second place on two sweaters. They both lost to machine knit ones so I don't feel to badly about it. I did get a few blue ribbons. My FLAK cabled sweater got first place and also the Best knit item from the local knitting guild. That came with a $50 dollar gift certificate to the Craft warehouse. I also got a first place on a skein of alpaca that I spun and a pair of socks I knit. All told I won $73 in prize money and another $75 in gift certificates. Yes I did get a $25 one for the mittens that the lady thought were machine knit. Which I think is pretty funny as there were two sweaters that were machine knit but neither were mine as I don't own a knitting machine. I went to the Craft warehouse on Friday to spend my prize money and I was there over an hour. My plan was to get one of those rice baskets, but they didn't have anymore. So then I thought I would buy a book, but there weren't any I wanted. I usually buy my next big project with some of my prize money but I have already got the supplies for that. I plan to spin, and then knit a gansey. So I have decide to put most of the cash money on the spinning wheel, and I bought $50 worth of Sugar and cream yarns for dishcloths. I haven't decided what I will buy with the $25 dollar gift card. Its for a very exclusive yarn shop in Boise. I'm thinking of getting another set of Lantern Moon rosewood dps, but we will see. All in all I entered 18 things and got 18 ribbons. I won 6 blues ribbons, 10 red and 2 red, one best of division ( for a miniature teddy bear) and two best of awards from the Local Knitting guild. So I'm much closer to totally owning my Schacht wheel and I'm ready for dischloth KAL's. I do plan to work for the Best in Needlearts award next year. The gal who won that entered over 25 things so I best get busy.

In the Mail

What is better then getting mail addressed to you? Getting something fun in the mail. I spent most of Saturday teaching knitting classes so I was pretty tired when I got home to find two boxes. The first was this skein of yarn. It was part of a skein swap that I didn't some months back on an email group I'm on. Beth, the gal who spun this skein said she could not remember what type of wool it is but she dyed it with Kool-aid. I'm not sure what I will knit with it, so for now I will put in a basket with other yarns and just look at it. The second box was the September fiber-of-the -month. Amy calls this "cool rain" and boy do we need that here in Idaho. It has been one hot summer and I have to admit I'm ready for fall. I will be looking forward to some cool temps and even some rain. The fiber is South African Fine. I have not felt or used this fiber before. It somewhat feels like merno but it doesn't have the sponginess. Which I don't care for anyway. I'm really looking forward to giving this a try.

The Vest

I finished my husband vest this evening. It worked up really fast and was fun to do except for the sewing up the side seams. I never have really enjoyed sewing sweater together but this one was a bit more tricky as the purl side of stockenette was on the out side so I had to take extra care. He is really pleased with the end result, now we just have to wait for the temps here to cool down so that he can wear it. Tomorrow its going to be 100. Yuck.

Machine Knit?

Ok so I have a funny fair story to share with you all. Yesterday the fair opened so my family and I headed down to see how we did on all our fair entries. I will talk about my ribbons and how we all did later but these mittens have a story to tell. While I was looking around at all the items, looking to see what I lost to or what I beat, there was this lady that was extremity upset. So much so that she went and got the suprervisor that is in charge of the Needle arts area. It turns out that she was upset because she just knew that these mittens were machine knit. She was so mad that she was screaming at her about how it wasn't fair and how there was no way that they where hand made. She was ranting and raving all over the area, along with her family. So much so she plans to write a letter to both the fair office and the local knitting guild. While she was doing all this my family and I were snickering. She didn't know I was the one who made them. Now the supervisor knew they were mine and didn't let the lady know so I'm grateful for that. But I would like to have told her that I don't even own a Knitting machine. Now here is the really funny part. I got third on the mittens. Go figure.

Latest try at spinning

I'm not sure if you are like me but everytime I think I'm so smart I prove myself wrong. I have been thinking about spinning the silk that I received this month for the Fiber spin-along. So what I thought I would do is pick up some silk/merino wool to try on the Schacht and get used to both the wheel and the silk. I figured it will be easy and it will turn out perfect. NOT So. I first really need to learn my wheel. I spun the entire 4 ounces with the bobbin backwards. I kept thinking that it was the fiber, but no it was that fact that I didn't check what I was doing like I should have. The skein isn't to terriblely bad but there are parts that are over spun and wirey and not at all what I want. I bought this fiber from a friend of mine that will shortly have a web site up and ready to sell to anyone. As soon as that happens I will let you know the address. This fiber is in shades of greens and is 70% merino and 30% tussah silk. I found a neat fingerless glove pattern that I think I will give a try with this as I have to use smaller needles to make a tighter fabric and I think the over spun parts won't show as bad as maybe a looser knit item. So look for the gloves to come soon

Fair! I think I'm ready

Well now that my FLAK is done that means its time for Fair. I really don't take competing at the Fair as a real big deal. My daughters are in 4H and we have to spend quite a bit of time there. In the past they have shown rabbits and cavys but as they are getting older they are finding it hard to commit that much time to showing. My oldest daughter will be starting High school this fall and is wrapped up in band. As a matter of fact she starts practice on Monday to get ready for football season. This year my oldest daughter will be showing knitted socks and a hat along with some hand spun yarn and some herbs. My middle daughter will be showing a knitted pillow and socks, hand spun yarn, tea bags and jerky and some frozen bread dough teddy bears. My youngest is still a cloverbud so she will be showing frozen bread dough also. A cloverbud is a child who is under the age of 8. They don't really compete they just show something they did over the year. My husband has also gotten in the act of showing things at the fair. This year he will be taking biscuits and snickerdoodles. He has won second place on his biscuits in the past and its looking to get the blue ribbon. He is also going to be showing a knife that he made. He has been learning the art of blacksmithing. As for me I will be taking a few things. Ok a lot of things. Now I look at winning a bit different then other do. Its nice to win but if I don't its OK. As long as I loose to something better. Which in the past has not always bee the case. Anyway we as a family do it mostly for the fun of it. We usually use our prize money to eat dinner one night at the fair. This year however I think I will do pretty well as I have a few things I'm really proud of. First is my Steeked cardigan. It was a bit scary to cut up after I did all the knitting. Then there is my FLAK sweater, and my lace poncho. But I think the one area that I did some real improvement is in the hand spun yarns. First the 4 skeins that I'm entering I think are better then they have been in years past. I contributed that to the fact that I have a better wheel this year and I took a few spinning classes this spring. Also I made a crocheted purse and knitted mittens from my hand spun and I don't think you can tell they are hand spun. Its kind of hard to see but the purse is the light brown one and the mittens are the grey ones. So we will see how we do next week. We have to turn in all our stuff by Tuesday the 15th and then its judged on the 16th but I won't know how we did until Friday the 18th

Please make me something

Well I have herd these words for quite some time now, from my husband. So with my FLAK done and all my other projects done I finally caved in and am making a sweater vest for him. I'm using Encore chunky in a dark sage green. Now he is a big guy so I am making it a 57 inch. He also likes his shirts and sweaters a bit on the longer side. So I have added 4 inches to the body of the vest so that the total length will be 30 inches. I found the pattern booklet on sale at JoAnn fabrics and so far its knitting up very quickly, but its should as I am using 10 1/2 needles. The pattern book is called 9 Family knits from Lion brand. The patterns all call for Lion barnd wool-ease chunky, but I like encore better thus why I chose it.
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SOCKS, enough already!

Ok so I have become very addicted to blogs. I try to look at a few everyday. I have been noticing one big common dominator with knitting blogs. SOCKS. It seems everyone is knitting socks. Now I know its summer here in America and its hot and socks are a great summer project, but there are other things you can knit in summer. Case in point I just had to knit up the garderlac dishcloth today. If you have not come across this pattern you can find in at http://criminyjickets.blogspot.com/2006/07/garterlac-dishcloth.html, Dave has a wonderful blog and you just have to try this pattern out. Now the pattern tell you to cast on very loosely. What I did was cast on over two size 7 needles. Once I had the 24 sts cast on I slipped out one needle and then continued on with the pattern. I used Sugar & Cream in the color Summer splash. It can sometime be tricky to use a variegated yarn and make it so there won't be any pooling. This as you can see works great.

I'm all FLAKed out!

Finally, Finally, Finally! I'm finally finished with my FLAK sweater. I started this on the first of January and its now drying on my bed after I blocked it. Now I have not been steadily working on it. I have had to stop to work on other knitting "jobs" so that's why it has taken me so long to finish. OK so that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I really wanted finish this in time to show it at the fair. Which is great as I need to turn stuff in on the 15th. I have to say I really love how it turned out. I decided to make the neck a simple roll instead of a ribbing. I also made sure to do both the bottom and cuff rippings so that it would come out of the cables. When you are doing a cable sweater I really suggest that you keep an eye on this as it makes it look more finished. I used Alchemy's sanctuary in the color of teal. If you have not tried any of Alchemy's yarn you really need to treat your self. They have the neatest colorways and nearly solids that I have ever seen. The best part of this sweater is that it fits perfectly. Now I can't wait until it cools off so that I can wear it.

New dishcloth and what's next

Well, today I was able to wear my pink modular sweater to church and received many complements on it. Its kind of a warm day so it works well to look nice and stay cool. Today I also finished my first Monthly dishcloth KAL from the yahoo group I joined. The funny thing is that my daughter just made this cloth for a 4H project she is doing for fair. Hers was knit in white and my is sugar and cream soft teal. I am also now able to get back to my cabled sweater that I started Jan 1. For those who don't remember this is the sweater that the yahoo group started call the FLAK. I hope to have it finished by the end of the week so that I can enter it into the fairwhich is next week. I should be able to as all I have to do is finish the body. The yarn is from Alchemy and its just wonderful to work with. I'm not sure what will be my next project. So if you have any suggestions I will gladly listen. I do have a sweater I like in the new Fall 06 Interweave Knits. I also got my copy of the Fall 06 Vogue Knitting and I have to say there was nothing in it that I liked. It looks like the issue could have been printed in the 80's, so I guess its the 80's turn to be back in fashion. Maybe I will look in my old pattern books and see what I find.

Modular Top finished on to other things

Well I was able to finish my modular top this evening. The color in the picture is a bit misleading. Its really a hot pink not red. It was lots of fun to knit and it will be a nice top for summer as I think the cotton will be cool. If you have never tried to knit modular I do suggest that you weave in the ends as you go. It saved me lots of time weaving in the ends. I did however go back and we've in some more as cotton has a tendency to work its way out. I did think the top was a bit short in the body and if I were to make it again I would most likely make the tunic length. But sense I used 100% cotton I think as I wear it, it may get a bit longer. My next project is to finish my other two projects that have been waiting for me to get back to. I have been knitting for other people for so long that I have had to put my own projects aside. Well I plan to enter my FLAK sweater in the Fair later this month so need to get that done. I have to turn it in on the 15th. So I just have 13 days to finish. I don't think that will be a problem as I just have to finish the body. As you may remember this was a sweater I started on Jan. 1 from the top down. I have had such fun working on this and I can't wait for cooler temps so that I can wear it. My other project is a simple top down sweater. I have had this one sitting in my car, I have been working on it as I wait for traffic or to pick up one of my kids from some activity. This one is in pinks and will be very similar to the lime green one I made early this year. After these two projects I have nothing on the plate. I will be teaching a simple cable sweater at the yarn shop I work at but that will not be until Sept. So I figure I can start to look around for a project soon. You know the next project is always the favorite.

Fiber in the mail

You know its a great day when all that comes in the mail is FIBER, not bills! Yes today was a great mail day. The first box I opened had my fiber of the month from Spunky fibers http://www.spunkyhats.com/acc_spunkyclub.htm. This months offerings is a wonderful 2 oz of 100% tussah silk. The color way is called the new Black. I think I will spin this for a triangular scarf. However I will have to wait for a couple of things. First the temps to go down. Its really hard to spin silk when its over 100 degrees. And second I think I will wait until I get the fine whorl for my Schacht, which will be next month. My second package of fiber was some wonderful Irish linen that I purchase off of Ebay. I have never spun linen and really never thought I would, but its was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up. $1.95 and ounce. I think I will spin this in a DK and make a couple of soap sacks for Christmas gifts. So I best get busy.

New wheel

Well, I have the new wheel in my house. I have had it here for about a week but I have not had the time to play with it. I have been busy finishing up the cabled man's cardigan and a couple of other projects. So I have now had time to sit and spin on it. I have to say I have spun on quite a few wheels.,Ashford traditional, lundrum, Fricke, Louet, and my old hand made one. I have to say I just love this Schacht. I'm looking forward to getting more whorls so that I can do some fine spinning. It came with the Medium and extra slow whorls. But the first thing I need to do besides paying it off, is to buy more bobbins and a Kate, then I will work on getting the whorls and I think I will also get the wheels that you can put on and it makes it much easier to transport to classes and spinning groups.

What's next!

I have been knitting for quite while for other people that I though it was high time that I made something for myself. So Thought it was time to give this pattern a try. I have had this in my collection for quite sometime, but have never gave it a go. I love to knit modular its great for when its really hot outside. The yarn is 100% Egyptian cotton and I would call the color hot pink. I did have to adjust the size a bit. The pattern calls for you to cast on 40 sts but I added 46, which makes the squares a bit bigger but not to large. I also am using a needle one size larger a 7 so that the fabric will be a bit lighter weight. I do plan for some growth as I wear this as cotton as a habit of doing that. If you like this pattern you can order if from http://www.justonemorerow.com/ . They have lots of wonderful patterns.

Finished my cabled Cardigan

Well, it took me quite a long time but the cabled man's cardigan is finished. It was some what fun to knit. The big problem was the past few days have been over 100 degrees here in Idaho and having a wool sweater sitting on my lap was not fun. I'm not a real big fan of sweaters that need to be sewn up. I usually make ones that are done in one piece. But I do think this one did come out well. I have been working on this for a customer of the yarn shop I work at. I plan to use the money I am going to make for knitting this to buy a new used spinning wheel. One of my good friends is selling me a Schacht matchless single treadle for a very good price so for a while all me spare cash will go to getting this wheel. So it was worth working on the hot sweater to get the wheel.

Glitter spun

As I continue with the spinning tour, I'm having a to come up with different ideas to try in my spinning. A few months ago I was given a bag of weaving yarns from a friend of mine. In the bag was a spool of this really neat glitzy thread, way to thin to knit or crochet with but still really neat. Last night I was thinking before I fell alseep, that the glitter thread might look nice plied with some wool. So here is my results. The blue is cotswold dyed in denims and has a wpi of 12. The red is a wonderful wine color of corriedale with a wpi of 13. I did both with two plys of the wool and one of the glitter. The blue has about 55 yards and the wine 120 yards. I'm thinking I may enter the wine one in the fair, but we will see. I just can't make up my mind which novelty to enter.

le-spin-de-tour

I haven't talked about this yet but I'm participating in the Le-Spin-de- tour. As you may or may not know, starting on July 1st the Tour-de-France began. That's the insane bicycle race that run though the month of July, that Americas Lance Armstrong has won for 7 times. The idea is similar to the knitting and spinning challenge groups that spun or knit through the Olympics,earlier this year. Those who are working on this have to spin each day that the tour is racing. You can find more information and even sign up at http://keeponknittinginthefreeworld.blogspot.com/2006/06/le-spin-de-tour.html. So far I have spun the yarn that is on my blog for July 2 entitled a "New Project" and then yesterday and today I spun up my Fiber of the Month. I came out with 260 yards with a wpi of 25. So I think it will make wonderful socks or mittens as I wanted. Now I just have to find the right pattern, so I guess I will let it mature some.

Fiber of the month

Today I started spinning with my fiber of the month roving. You may be aware that there are sock-of-the-month type programs going on all over the web. Where you send in money and each month you will receive enough yarn to knit a pair of socks. Well Spunky fibers also has a sock-of-the-month program but they also have a fiber of the month. The cost it pretty good. $15. I just started doing it this month so I thought I would show you the roving and then the single and then the 2 ply later when I'm finished. This months fiber is BFL (blue faced leicester)and the colorway is berry patch. I have 4oz. I did spin this very finely as I'm trying for a sport weight so that I can either make socks or maybe mittens. I don't know for sure. I have a friend that says you have to let your hand spun yarn sit for awhile and let it mature like wine. So I think this will be one that will needs to mature. If you would like to sign up for the fiber of the month, I think its great fun you can go to http://www.spunkyhats.com/acc_spunkyclub.htm for more information.

So what am I knitting now!

I have been teaching knitting classes for a few years now. I am on a bit of a vacation for the first few weeks of July, so I'm trying to get myself caught up on some knitting projects. Right now, I'm working on a cabled cardigan for a customer at the yarn shop. It's been fun to work on, but I have just needed more time to work on it. I hope to finish this project by the end of July, but we will see.

My favorite hand spun yarn....So far anyway

This is my favorite hand spun yarn that I have spun so far. I not only spun the yarn, but I hand dyed it also. I used little cups of colors that I have had . These dyes were given to me by a friend and I have not been able to fine them in stores or on the web. Anyway, I used green, yellow, purple, blue, pink and orange. When the roving was drying my family thought I was nuts for using so many colors. I kind of did myself I was afraid I had made a mistake. Well, I spun this 2 ply and am so happy with the result that I think I will add it to some other handspun that I have and make a sweater. Ain't it great when a mistake works out so well?

A new project

I have a new project I have been working on over the past couple of days. I have spun a skein of yarn for a skein swap. I hand dyed the roving a couple of months back and I was so disappointed with the result, that I stuffed it way. Well, the skein swap's theme is spring colors. So I thought I would see what would happen with this roving. The original color of it were pink, purple and sky blue. Well I just love how it turned out. There is 120 yards of about a DK weight and I have to admit I'm having second thoughts about sending this off next week.

I can crochet too!

I can crochet, and even tat too! As a matter of fact I started out a crocheter way before I learned to knit or even tat, but I have to admit I don't do it very much any more. I have taken the time however to whip up one of my favorite afghan patterns. I just love this pattern I think over the years I have made this afghan about 20 times. This one is for my sage green couch. I really like how the shades browns and reds stand out on the green. And yes, this will also be going to the fair to see how it will do. I know it's a pretty plain pattern, but it was great fun to do.

More classes from Carol

On May 27, 28 and 29, Carol H. Rhoads came to Boise and taught some more classes and I took them all. On Saturday, we learned how to make novelty yarns. I really had fun at this class. I learn how to make cabled, thick and thins, boucle, and slubby yarns. We also spent some time on plying. From that class, I took away the confidence to make a better plied yarn, plus some neat novelty yarns. On the 28th, I took the class on spinning for knitting. Now this would seem to be a much easier class after taking the spinning for fine fibers and the novelties. But no, I found this one to be much more challenging. I can spin a fairly even single to make a sport, DK or even a worsted weight yarn. But let me tell you I found it very hard to spin a bulky weight. My first attempt for a bulky I had to use 4 plys to get the size we were looking for. But after some practice I was able to get a bulky with a 2 ply. On May 29, the class was for Bohus knitting. If you have never seen this type of knitting and you love color work, then you are really missing out. Bohus knitting is a type of knitting that was done from the 1930' through to the 1960's as a way for knitter to make extra money. There is a great book out called Poems of Color byWendy Keele. I do believe that it's out of print, but I have seen copies on sale at ebay and even amazon. The thing that makes bohus knitting different than say regular Fair Isle knittng is instead of carrying just two colors on a round you might carry 3 or 4. Also, there are placed in the pattern purl stitch every now and then to add shaping to the pattern. Also, the yarns used were very fine and very nice. Usually a wool angora blend. In the class I took, we made wrist warmers. Again, something I have never made. They yarn is a 50/50 blend of merino wool and angora. I had such fun over the two weekends that Carol H. Rhoads taught class in the Idaho area. I think it will take me quite a long time to process all that I learned. From spinning to hand carding, to plying to knitting. I was very inspired to keep learning and impoving both my knitting and my spinning.

Yarns for Fair

One of the areas I enter things at the fair is Hand spinning. There are several areas that you can enter. Wool, mixed fibers, non-wool, and novelty. Above are the yarns I have ready for non-wool and novelty. The camel colored yarn is alpaca. It's a worsted weight yarn and there is about 174 yards. I think I'm getting better spinning the finer fibers. Of course, one reason that for the class I took from Carol H. Rhoads. One thing I like to do is shop on ebay for different rovings. The thick and thin yarn I spun is one of those cases. I bought this 2 oz. bit of roving and spun it thick and thin, I then plied it with some size 30 tatting thread that I had. This thick and thin is a bulky weight and is about 95 yards. I think there will be enough to make a scarf. When I get to it of course. The final one is for the mixed fibers. I bought this roving at the Snake river Fiber festival in May. It's a wool/ tencil blend. I just love the colors I think I have about 200 yards and its about a DK weight. Almost all my yarns are a 2 ply once in a while I do make a 3 or ever a 4 ply, but these are all 2 plys

Mittens

Mittens have become my new favorite thing to knit. Here are a couple of sets that I have made recently. The grey ones are from my hand spun yarn. The yarn is wool, mohair and angora. The angora comes from rabbit we used to have a year or so ago. She was a beautiful bunny, but unfortuately a raccoon got near the cage one night and scared her to death. We sheared her about a week before she died and I have been saving the fiber for quite some time to make the perfect thing. The mitten pattern comes from Spin Off winter 2003. Even if you are not a spinner, you might want to check out this magazine as it has some great patterns that can be adapted to regular yarns. My second pair of mittens comes from left over lopi light yarns I had hanging around my stash, The pattern comes from the book Knit Mittens! By Robin Hansen. As a matter of fact, it's the cover set. I did have to change some of the color placement as I ran out of some of the colors. This mitten is not only cool, it does use up some of your left overs. I usually wear a black leather coat in the winter, so I think both these mittens will work great with it. Some days I can be calm and classy and others I can be loud and colorful.

In the mood for some lace

Every now and then, I get in the mood to knit some lace. This year for my birthday I bought the Mananita (lace poncho) kit from www.schoolhousepress.com. If you have never been to this web site, it's the site from Meg Swansen and her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman. In the kit, I got a video showing how to do each stitch and the yarn to make it. The video has two different ways that you can make this poncho. I really like this one as it looks like its peacock feathers. The large holes are made with multiple yarn overs on one round and then you knit and purl quite a few times as you come to the yarn overs. I have worn this over a bright pink tank top and a pair of denim capris, but I also think it will look gorgeous over a black dress this next winter.

My steeked sweater

I have always wanted to to make a steeked sweater. For those who don't know what that is, it's where you make cardigan by knitting it totally in the round then cutting down the middle of the front to add a button band. This pattern is from an old Lopi pattern book. I just fell in love with the color work and had to give it a try. I did use lopi light and I think it turned out really well. I do plan to teach a class on this early next year. It's not as scary as you might think. Before I cut the front, I ran two rows of straight stitching with my sewing machine so all knit stitches were secure. I can't wait to wear this next winter as it's a very warm sweater. If you have never used lopi yarns, you might find them to be scratchy at first, but I have found that they soften up after you wash and block the yarn. I do mean hand wash. Lopi, at this point in my knitting, in my opinion , is the best yarn for felting. I have tried all colors, even the light ones, and they felt wonderfully. And yes, I plan to take this sweater to the fair.

Fiber fair project

On May 19, I, along with a couple of girl friends, went to the Snake River fiber festival in Idaho Falls. I have never been to something like this and I have to say I had a ball. I left here on Friday with a very sore back. I had hurt it earlier in the week and it was very hard for me to carry my wheel and supplies to the class I decided to take there. But, I was not going to let some back pain stop me! While I was there, I took a class from Carol H. Rhoads, who is the Tech. Editor for Spin Off magazine. She is such a delight, if you ever get the chance to take a class from her I would. The class I took was on spinning cameled and fine fibers. I learned how to spin cotton, silk, alpaca, angora, mohair and even bison. I had such a good time at the festival. Not only did I take the class, I went shopping. I left there with a huge tote bag of fiber and patterns and then another shopping bag of goodies. This is a picture of the felted Lucy bag I made from my hand spun. These fibers were in a kit I bought for $8 from the show. I made the strap longer so that I can wear it over my shoulder and across my chest. These are the natural shades from the sheep.

Yarn from dyed roving

This is the yarn I spun from the roving I dyed back in March. I know there are ways that you can spin so that the yarn will have the color in a more variegated way, but I like it with the tweed effect, so you will see yarns spun this way from me in the future. This is about 100 yards of what I would call a worsted weight yarn. I think it will make a wonderful scarf.

What I have been up to

I know it has been a long time since I have updated my blog. Please forgive me as I have been having tons of fun with my new Fricke spinning wheel and all my knitting. At this time of year, I begin to move into high gear as fair is on its way. Each year, I enter as many things as I can. My daughters are 4Hers and we attend the first 5 days of the Western Idaho State Fair.This year, the fair begins on August 18th and runs through the 27th. On the last day we are there, which is Tuesday, the fair office pays out any prize money that you may have won. So we as a family take my prize money and eat that night at the fair. Some years we eat well and other years we share plate of Loaded fries. So for the next few blog entries I will be showing you what I have ready or are in the middle of finishing up for the fair. I usually enter in a few areas: knitting, crocheting, hand spinning and some in needlepoint. To start off, I have had so much fun with my spinning wheel. If you have been thinking of learning to spin, but the cost of a wheel has kept you from getting started, by all means pick up a drop spindle or a lower cost wheel. The Fricke is a very low cost wheel. I saved up & paid $275 for mine and it is well worth it. This is a picture of some of the yarns I have spun on the Fricke in the past couple of months.