I am knitting too

Will all this dyeing and spinning I am knitting also. Right now I'm working on a sweater from the new book The Natural Knitter. If you have not seen this book its well worth your checking it out. One big not fall is that its kind of pricey. Over 30.00 unless you buy it from Amazon. Anyway this book talks about different yarns and yarn companies. There are in my opinion several patterns that I think are worth my time. The first is the one pictured. Of course you really can't tell. First I'm using Lonestar from Alchemy yarns the color way is Southern View.I have had this yarn for several years just waiting for the right project. I think this sweater is it. The entire sweater is made in garter stitch. You first make the back then the front piece, sew up the shoulders and then pick up and knit the sleeves down. The collar is a rounded scoop neck. The down side is all you do is knit so it does get boring after a while, thus why I'm spinning so much.

spinning with a little bit of glitter

Spinning with a little bit of glitter is a beautiful thing. These four skeins are all single plys that I added some specialty manufactured yarns too. The two multi colored skeins are a wool singles that I spun and then plyed with some Rowan Kid silk haze that I had left over from some other project. The two solid skeins are plied with glitter. The grey lavender color one is a wool silk blend. The pink skein is a blend of camel, silk and angora. If you are a spinner you might try plying some of your left over yarns with some hand spun singles. The one thing to keep in mind is spin your single S as in clockwise and then ply them Z. The reason for this is most professionally spun yarns are spun that way so that when you put the two together they will join the proper way.

March's dishcloths of the Month

I haven't just been spinning and dyeing roving. I have been doing some knitting too. Here are my two dishcloths of the month. I really love how the bunny worked up. I have made this one before and really like the look. The textured one was new to me and I just love how it worked int he Keylime color way. I believe these were both done with Sugar and Cream yarns. I am beginning to get a large collection of dishcloths. My plan it to give them away at Christmas time with a bar of hand made soap to those who are friends and family.

A new Top down sweater?

Well after I did all that dyeing of rovings for the Fiber show coming up. I was inspired to dye some roving for a Top down sweater. If you have read my blog for any length of time then you know that I really love making the top down sweater from www.knittingpureandsimple.com . So I ordered 3 pounds of Blue Face Leister wool from wood land wool works. www.spinology.com I wanted to make sure I would have enough to make whatever version that I wanted once the yarn was spun. Its kind of hard to see but the color way is navy blue, light raspberry, mint green and lilac. I figure it was a springy color in the dead of winter and it will also go great with jeans. So far I have spun about 12 ounces, so I have a ways to go but I'm really happy with the way its coming out. Its about a worsted weight yarn and I'm making into a 3 ply so that it will wear better then the usual 2 ply.

Fiber Fiber Fiber everywhere Fiber

I know I know I have not updated my blog in quite while. Well I have been busy. I have been finishing up some little things. The first thing I finished up was to hand paint some roving. A couple of friends of mine and myself are planning on attending a fiber show and sale in May and in the next few days I will be helping hand paint some yarns. My part was to paint some rovings. On this picture I have 9 4 ounce lengths. I have to say the first few were fun but by the time I got to the 5th or 6th one I was having trouble coming up with something new. In the pictures of the bundled up hanks you can see the different color ways. It has been such a grey winter that I was defiantly inspired by spring and spring colors.

My hubby's hat

My husband has been bugging me for a while to make him a hat. I saw this pattern in a Woodland wool works catalog awhile back. www.knitology.com . He also wanted it to be hand spun. So of course I did. I bought the fiber from Woodland too and its called Tartan green. The dark brown is some hand spun I had for a long time. I'm not sure what it is but it was the color he wanted. When I finished, it was way to large so I washed it and then put it in the dryer for about 10 to 15 minutes until it fit him the way he liked. So its lightly felted.

One skein wonders

If you have been reading this blog for any length of time,then you know I love to knit and collect great patterns. Well this weekend I bought the neatest book. Called One skein wonders . If you have not seen this book I highly recommend it. There are 101 different patterns that use only one skien of yarn. I bought the book so I could hopefully use up some of my hand spun yarns. There are patterns for hats, bags, shawls, and a how bunch more. In the picture I made a pain of fingerless mits. They worked up really fast and only took about 100 yards. I used some hand spun black with glitter spun in. They are great. I have found that they work great when my hands are cold while I spin. I'm working on some more yarn with glitter in it. I think these will make great gifts for next Christmas. Yes I am talking Christmas already. Yikes.

My last heavy Winter sweater I'll knit

OK so this is the last heavy winter sweater I will Knit! this year anyway. I have been teaching a class on steeking and color knitting. This is the sweater I made along with my class. The pattern comes from the lopi book number 22. I used Lopi yarns through out the sweater. It was really fun to knit up but by the end it was getting a bit heavy to have sit on my lap. Its kind of hard to see but the lower and upper bands are used with a bit lighter grey then the snowflakes. I can't wait to wear this sweater next winter. I'm thinking of getting some black leggins to wear with it.

Feb's mid-month dishcloth

Here is my version of the mid monthly dishcloth KAL from the email list monthly dishcloth at yahoo groups. I used Sugar and Cream in the color of sea side. There for a few days we were what we thought was the early stages of Spring. Well we have had snow everyday this weekend and are expected to have some everyday. Now it not sticking on the ground in the Boise valley, but the foothills and mountains are all white. As a matter of fact the local ski area has gotten a foot. Anyway I chose a springy color because I know its on its way soon. Enjoy!

Spring is coming some time

I know in many parts of the US there is more snow then you would want to ever see again. But here in Idaho we have very little snow and the temps are very mild. As a matter of fact we will be in the 50's all week. I even have some tulips and daffodils coming up already. So thoughts of Spring and Summer are coming to mind. So I thought I would get started on some Spring projects. I saw this pattern a couple of years ago and just fell in love with it. This tank comes from the book Cool Crochet. I had some different colors of cotton yarn on cones in my stash so I thought I would use it. However the yarn is on huge cones so I can only work on the tank while in my bedroom watching TV. I really don't want to pack around all the cones when I want to work on it. I did change the pattern some. Instead of crocheting the front and back then sewing it together I decided to make it in the round. I do this by adding and then doubling what my beginning chains are supposed to be. For example if the pattern calls for me to chain 100 for the the back I chain 200 and then join in the round. I will then continue working in the round until I reach the place for the arm shaping. At that point I will separate the front from the back and just work one side at a time until its complete. That way it saves me on sewing the pieces together.

What I did this president's weekend

President's weekend is known for its big sales and great deal on shopping. Well instead of heading to the mall I went with a couple of my girl friends to a Spin-In. We went on Sunday to a small town about an hour away from Boise called Crouch. Now I have been there one other time but years and years ago. This first picture shows what the scenery looks like outside the community center where we were. Crouch it located in a small valley on the other side of the foothills of Boise. Even though its in the mountain you can see that there is very little snow on the ground. At this time of year there should be all kinds of snow on the ground. I know that other places back east are just covered in snow we in Idaho are once again in the middle of a drought. Anyway its was a wonderful to look at the snow on the mountains on the raining Sunday.
There were about 25 spinners, knitters and weavers that attended this Spin-in. One of my girlfriends is just learning to spin so I think she was able to practice and learn some more to help her improve her skills. Of course every time I sit down to spin I learn something new. I was pretty excited because I was able to try out my wheel cart, for my schacht wheel for the first time. I have to tell you if you own a matchless wheel then its well worth the $54 to buy the wheel cart attachment. It was so much easier to get my wheel from the car to the building. Above was the wool that I brought to spin. I wanted to bring something fairly easy to spin because I know I would be distracted watching everyone else. Which I was. I bought this roving last year at the Snake River Fiber Festival in Idaho Falls. The roving comes from Notlwork Spings in Cornish Utah. I paid $8 for 8 ounces. On the bobbin has a little less then 4 ounces and the roving pictured is 4ounces. My plan is to use this yarn, which I will make into a 2 ply, for fingerless gloves/hunters mittens for my husband. I really like how the three brown tones are blending together to make a type of tweed.
Of course when you are around other spinners at a spin-in there is always something to buy. I was able to meet up with my other friend Merri who owns the Fiber Addict ( which you can find the link to her web site on the side bar). I had planned to pick up some fiber from her so I sent in an order to pick up. All the rovings cost me about $42. Each ball is 4 ounces. The pink is a hand dyed Angora,silk, cashmere blend that is 25 grams, but boy is it soft. There was another vendor there where I picked up some fire star in 4 colorways, greens, purples, tropical and reds. I also picked up some white to dye later along with some roving to match. I just love with things match. I also picked up some red Angelia to add to some hand dyed roving that I have in my stash. The orange yarns were part of a white elephant gift that I got at the spin -in. Along with the yarn I got a loaf of home baked wheat bread, and a box of chocolates and a flour sack tea towel. All in all even though the day was grey and rainy. My friends and I had so much fun. I learned some more on my path to become a better spinner, we all picked up some nice fibers and was inspired to make some future projects. I will talk with you later about a mobious idea I have and some hand painted roving I want to make. There was a gal there that had the neatest scarf in a very cool colorway that I plan to copy some time soon. So stay tuned..

Class projects

Even though the month of February is beginning to wind down I have been working on a couple of projects for classes that I'm teaching. Durning the first two Saturdays I taught a class on how to steek a teddy bear sweater. Well everyone has been able to get there sweaters complete. A couple of the gals are finishing up the ribbing. Our plan is to donate our bears to the local police department, so that they in turn can give them to children that are in crisis. I plan to get a picture of all the bears at once add to the blog to be looking for it. Now that we have learned to steek we are tackling a big project. We are all working on a Lopi type sweater. Each gal chose her own pattern and we are now working through the color work and steeking if they chose to. I'm working on a pullover. I know I know its a bit of a cop out when the teacher of a steeking class doesn't do a steek. But I like pullovers better then cardigans.. Anyway the pattern I chose comes from the Reyonlds Lopi Book #22. This pattern comes it two forms. A cardigan and the pullover. The pullover is done in blues and oranges. The cardigan was in whites and tans. I chose greys to blacks.
My other projects that I started so that I could show my beginning Knitting class how to read a chart. This is the shawl on the cover of the Victorian lace today book, recently out by XRX. If you have been reading my blog for a while you know how much I love this book. I have a rule I don't buy a book unless it has three pattens that I would like to make. Well this book has only two things that I would not make so I bought it the minute it showed up at my local yarn store. I decided not to use the yarn called for in the pattern. Which was Rowan Kid silk Haze. Which is a lovely yarn that I have used before. But the problem I had was the only store that carries this yarn in my area I refuse to shop at. They have terrible customer service and I know for a fact as it happened to me, they photo copy patterns and sell them at full price, without checking with the designer. Anyway I chose to use Alchemy's Haiku. The picture doesn't show the color very well but its more of a lime green then yellowish. By the way the pink yarn on the bottom is part of the provisional cast on, it will come off later.

Comfort Spinning

Friends of mine on an email list that I belong to were talking about comfort spinning a few weeks ago and that www.serenity-farms.com owned by Cary Smith was the best comfort fiber there is. Well that must be proven! So when she offered some bumps for sale I just had to order a few. Well as you can see in the picture I haven't spun them up yet but I can tell you that they are might nice and I just know they will be a comfort to spin. So I think I will added them to my stash until I need a little bit of comfort in my day.

Fiber, Fiber and more Fiber all over the place

Fiber, Fiber and more Fiber. I have in the last couple of days been flooded with fiber. Oh Yea! First in the mail came my Fiber of the month box. Amy at Spucky Fiber has done it again. This months offering is called "Walkabout". Her inspiration is the beautiful contrasts in color of Australia. From the Blue Blue skies to the Reds and rusts of the desert of the outback. I can't wait to spin this up to see how it turns out. By the way its 4 ounces of a nice and soft wool. My second box came from Woodland wool works. With some of my tax return money I was able to order some parts for my Matchless wheel, bobbins, whorls, a kate and some fiber. In the picture from the top at about 1 o'clock its called Karaoke which is a soy silk/wool blend. The color is called Mermaid and is on sale right now. At about 4 o'clock and 11 o'clock is 8 ounces each of Wensleydale handpainted. At 4 o'clock its called Oregon lakes and at 11 o"clock its called Fiesta. At about 6 o'clock is 8 ounces of colonial wool in the color of Tartan green. My husband as asked for a toque hat and I plan to spin this for the hat. I was also able to pick up some other great sale wool that I didn't add to the picture because of size. I picked up some Targee, Jacob, merino, Romney, some Blueface and some Wensleydale in white that I plan to dye in a sold color to match the handpaints. If you are in the need to add to your fiber stash you might want to check out Woodland at www.spinology.com they are great to order from and have some wonderful fibers.

Feb's First Dishcolth

Here is my version of the Monthly KAL dishcloth. If you look real closely you can see the nine little hearts. Again this one was fun. I used Sugar and Cream. The color is baby pink, the color is a discontinued one but I think is perfect for this time of year. I was able to pick up some more of the sugar and cream colors at my LYS's Big Super bowl sale this past weekend. So now I have at least one ball of every color in their pallet. Of course they are coming out with new ones So I guess I need to make another list of must haves.

Crochet!

I haven't talked about crochet in a long time. I have been crocheting for about 20 years. I did stop for a time as I could not find a pattern that I liked. I do on a a regular basis crochet baby afghans and regular size afghans. First let me start by saying that I was able to purchase a complete set of Palmwood crochet hooks from Bryspun. If you have never seen these hooks then you don't know what you are missing. They are, in my opinion, the best on the market. They are very smooth, I think smoother then the Brittany hooks. Plus they are just gorgeous. I'm currently working on a baby afghan. I'm using Caron one pound ball in a cream color. This pattern comes from the Leisure Arts book called Quick and Easy Afghans. This one takes about 14 ounces of yarn and uses a size K hook so it works up really fast. I'm trying to get a head of baby items. It seems there is always a new baby on the way and I want to get a bit of a stock pile ready so that I don't have to stop whatever I'm working on to make a baby item. I'm planning on also making a pink and then a blue one.

Mid January Dishcloth

This is my version of the mid January dishcloth KAL. Its kind of hard to see but the texture, Its a cable with garder stitch cable. It was again fun to do. I know that it kind of tripped up a few on the list but I was able to get through it OK. I used cotton tots. I can't wait for the next one in a week or so.

The Borah Scarf

It seems everyone I run into has been making a ruffle scarf,or potato ship whatever you want to call it. So not to be out done. I had to make myself one,too. I mean what I kind of band wagon jumper would I be if I didn't. Now As you look at this scarf you might be thinking Oh boy she is a Green Bay fan. Nope. My daughter goes to Borah High School in Boise Idaho and their colors are green and gold. So I'm a Borah band booster instead. I once again chose to use an acrylic yarn and when with Caron's Simply Soft in hunter green and gold. That way when my daughter sole it to wear at a game it could easily be washed. I have designed this pattern myself. The big difference is I made a rather long scarf then folded it over and crocheted the cast on edge together. IF you do not know how to crochet you can always sew it together. I like how this one turned out. I think by sewing it together it makes the ruffles stand out more. Its more like a boa. Below is the pattern my final length is 46 inches long but if you wanted to make it longer I would suggest you cast on 20 to 30 more stitches,but keep in mind you will need more yarn then I have listed.
The Borah Scarf 1 ball of simply soft in hunter green or about 200 yards of a worsted weight yarn
1 ball of simply soft in golden yellow or about 150 yards of a worsted weight yarn
Size 11 32 inch circular needle
Size K crochet hook
Cast on using the crochet cast on 180 using hunter green
Row 1: knit across
Row 2: inc in each stitch across.
Row 3 -5 knit across
Row 6 Knit across
Row 7: changing to yellow knit across
Row 8: inc in each stitch across.
Row 9: changing to green knit across
Row 10: inc in each stitch across
Row 11-12: changing to yellow knit across.
Bind off.
Fold scarf in half and with K hook sc in each of the cast on stitches. End and weave in all ends.

Baby Top Down Sweater

If you have been reading my blog for any amount of time you know how much I love to knit the www.knittingpureandsmiple.com top down sweaters. I have never made a baby one. You see I'm to old for babies and to young for grandbabies so I don't end up knitting little things very often. One of my girl friend's daughter had a baby boy a few months back and I have just now been able to get a sweater done. Like the adult size this one works up fast. I think it took me about 24 hours to knit, but it is done on a size 9 needle after all. I am a total yarn snob as a matter of fact I really hate to use anything by natural fibers. But for this one I decided to use Caron's Simply Soft. If you have to use an acrylic this isn't a bad one. The colors are blue white and just a little bit of yellow. I made the size 12 months so that he will be able to wear it next year too.

My Boot socks

I have been working to get a bunch of UFO done. These socks aren't quite a UFO but I wanted to get them done before Christmas. My plan was to wear them when we went Christmas caroling back in early Dec. Well that didn't happen so I think I will save them for next year. They are made from some of my hand spun yarn. They are a three ply. Its kind of hard to see but they are camel brown, white and olive Green. The camel color is alpaca , the white it corridale, the olive green is merino. They are at about a worsted weight. I knit them on a size 4 needle. I made them from the middle and did the foot first then came back and knit the cuff. The pattern will be added later if there is interest in it.

My new favorite Mug

This is my new favorite mug. Yesterday after my daughter and I went to the YMCA to work out. I must say we were so tired that we could barely get out of the van,when we got home. When we did get home there was a box at our door. For the life of me I couldn't remember ordering anything. So my wise daughter said the only way you will find out what's inside is by opening it. Well inside was this really cute mug. The verse is "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good His love endures forever." 2 chor. 16:34. Its kind of hard to see but there is a flower on the other side and a little bee on the inside. I also got the book "get out of that Pit" by Beth Moore. Which so far is pretty good. Thanks so much Denise for the wonderful pick-me-up.

Yet another Top down sweater but with a twist

Yet another Top-down sweater but with a twist. Or should I say lace. I'm in the process of teaching a class on the Top down sweater and this is the one I did in class. The difference in this one is the neck and cuffs and the bottom band.To start with the yarn is Cascade Cloud 9. Which is a 50/50 blend of merino wool and angora. The color is what I would call periwinkle. What I did different this time was instead of the usual collar and cuffs. I picked up the stitches for the collar and then using two strands I bound off in purl. I did the same for the cuffs. On the bottom I added about 3 1/2 inches of a lace pattern which was.( Yo,k2 k2tog,k2,Yo, k1) repeat around. I think it make the sweater look a bit more famine which works well with the softness of the the yarn.

Monthly dishcloth KAL number 1

Here is my first dishcloth of the year. This snowflake was made from sugar and cream ecru and I used size 7 needles. Also this is called a snowflake I would say its more like a quilt star. Again it was fun to knit and I'm looking forward to the next KAl that starts on the 16th of this month.

My goals for the New Year!

Every year I try to start the year with some goals. I hate to call them reslultions becasue they are more like goals. SO this year is not different. My lofe goals are as follows:

My general life goals
1. read through the Bible in one year- so far so good I'm doing it through the Quick study plan ( a TV show I watch on the NRB network).
2. Read a non- fiction book a month. ( I love reading but its not every often that its not a mystery) Right now I'm reading Battle Field of the mind by Joyce Meyers.
3. Loose 40 pounds by my birthday. In late April So far I have lost 8 pounds.
4. right a praise list everyday. (I bought a journal calendar at Christmas time that is for this purpose).
As for my knitting/spinning goals
1. Working on improving my spinning skills. More even singles and then ply's, and better yarns with fine fibers.
2. make a gansey
3. keep up with my projects. I don't work well if I have several going at once.
4. Keep up and finish all the Kal from the Monthly dishclolth list on Yahoo groups.

Wow Thanks SP9 Partner

Thanks so much goes out to my SP9 partner. What a great surprise was waiting for me on Saturday when I got home from work. The chocolate was a great pick-me-up, I can't wait to get started on the Koigu socks. Its kind of hard to see what the colors are earth tones. I wish you all could smell this box of goodies. The lavender soap is just wonderful. Thanks again for all the great goodies.

the Shawl

A little known fact about me is... I love to knit shawls. I almost never wear them but they are so fun to knit. This is a perfect example of a wonderful pattern for a shawl. It comes from Fiber Trends and is called the Landscape shawl or scarf. Yes you can either make a shawl or a scarf. I have made this before a few year ago and it has just the right amount of challenge to it. I'm not a real big lace wearer so this one isn't to lacy for me. Each band has a different texture to it. The first being garder, then seed, then stockinette,then moss then finally reverse stockinette. Another great feature of this pattern is that you can use just about any weight of yarn you would like. Anything from fingering to worsted weight. This particular shawl was made with three balls of Gallaway in white. I did have a friend knit this with a multi colored yarns and in my opinion it didn't look as nice as a sold. Some times when you use a variegated yarn you loose the textured of the piece. In this case the texture is what makes the shawl, so I would highly recommend a sold color. I have made this shawl with Mountain colors mountain goat and it turned out just as nice.

Steeking yes you can do it!

Steeking Yes you can do it and not pass out in fear. If you are not familiar with this technique its where you knit a sweater totally in the round then you cut up the center to make a cardigan. Yes cut it up! This little sweater is a class sample that I finished today. During the month of February I will be teaching a class on this technique. SO if you are in the Boise area during the month of Feb. Give Knit Wits a call and sign up. This little project has a two fold purpose. Not only will the students learn to steek, but we will then put our mini sweaters on teddy bears and then donate them to the local police department. Then they will be given out to children that are in crisis. Now for a little bit more information on the sweater. I used some lopi lite that I had. Then once the sweater was all knit, using a sewing machine I sewed four seams. Then I cut down the middle of the four seams. The next thing I did was fold over the edge and sew it down, then I picked up in the purple and knit the edging. After my class does this two week class we will then start in on a full sized sweater, but this time we will add color work as well.

Another Top down Sweater only smaller

Boy do I love the to down sweater patterns. Can you tell. I'm not sure how many I have made over the years but I never get tired of them. This is the latest. This time I made the bulky weight one. Which is so fast to knit on. I think it took me a little less then a week to make. But of course I was using a size 11 needle. The yarn was one of my favorites Cascade Eco Wool. This is just a great yarn to work with. The price is very good. Around 16 dollars for 478 yards. I used a cream, medium grey and then a dark grey. The really neat thing about this sweater is when I finished it I thought oh great its to small, I will have to wait to wear it, until I loose a little bit more weight. But no.... Its fits just great. Which of course makes it even better.

The Last of Christmas knitting

Yipeee! I'm all done with my Christmas knitting. This was the last of my planned projects. This coat is for my youngest daughter who is quite the fashion diva. She of course loves the color pink. I was unable to find the right pattern for what I was looking for, so what I did was modify the child's top down sweater from Knitting pure and simple. Instead of joining the sweater I turned it into a cardigan. Then I made it a bit longer to make it more of a coat. I added two little buttons for a closure and then black eyelash yarn at the collar and then both the cuffs. She has knee high boots that are black and I think will pick up a pair of black leggings and then a white turtleneck to complete the outfit.

Picture Perfect

Well, this whole process has been quite fun and I'm thrilled with the final results. My youngest daughter said it not only looks like the yarn in the picture but it is the yarn. It come in at 20 WPI and 325 in yards. The picture shows it to be a bit brighter then it really is. I really like the tweed effect instead of Navaho plying so that the colors stay with each other. I like the subtle changes in colors, but that is my preference it doesn't have to be yours. The big lesson I learn here was that if you can't find what you want make it happen. I know I have come across some really nice hand dyed rovings on eBay that were only an ounce or two, not really enough to make something with. So now I think I will try to copy them myself.

And the wheel is just a spinning

Well, as you can see my pursuit of a picture project is just spinning along. I'm spinning this rather small. I'm thinking of making a triangular scarf with the yarn. As I look at the progress I think there may be too much pinks and oranges. I would like a bit more green but we will see how it turns out. I'm planning on plying this as usual. I want the colors to mix. So be on the look out for the final results in a day or so.

Pearl harbor remembered

December 7, 1941 .... On this day every year our family remembers my uncle Charles Anderson, a survivor of the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor Hawaii. As a young navy diver stationed there at the time he saw it all. The Navy a few months later gave my uncle a medical discharge for ear damage. A few months after the Navy discharge he was drafted into the Army and became an officer. If this sounds like I'm proud of my uncle Charles ........... You bet I am!!P.S. Uncle Charles is still holding his own at home in San Diego, California.

My pursuit continues

My pursuit of a picture continues. Well the roving is dry and ready for me to spin. I have really happy with how it turned out. I think it will spin up to look just about the same as the one in the picture. I plan to spin it long draw or at least my version of the long draw. I can't decided what I want to make with it. I was thinking a lacy scarf. I plan to make a 2 ply as usual. I really like the tweed effect, where the colors are all mix up rather then keeping the pinks with the pinks and the greens with the greens. I will update you on the spinning process in a day or so.

In pursuit of a picture

I love to read the magazine Spin Off. When it comes in mail the first thing I do it look through it then usually at bed time I start to read each article. Well I came across an ad that just caught my eye and have been thinking about it for a day or so. The ad is from www.stick-and-stone.com( a great site to get some great spindles and other goodies). I went to the site and didn't find the roving that is in the ad,(by the way its on page 102 in the Winter 06 issue). So again I got to thinking. I just really like how that yarn looks. So this afternoon I got my dye stuff out and made my attempt to copy the picture. I had about 6 or 7 ounces of corridale that was purchased at my last visit to Fuzz a new fiber store here in Boise. I was given some Dylon dyes a few years ago and I have used them in the past and really like the way wool takes the dye. So I picked out Olive green, mandarin orange, and Tahiti pink. I then soaked the fiber in warm water and about 1/2 white vinegar, for about 30 minutes or so. Then I layed out plastic wrap on my counter. Lightly squeezed out the extra water, then lay out the roving in an according fashion on top of the plastic wrap. Then I mixed up my dyes in paper cups. Using foam brushes I patted in the pink on the right end of the roving, the orange in the middle and the green on the left end. I then carefully covered the roving with more plastic wrap making sure that the colors would not be able to run onto each other. Then I placed the packet into the microwave and cooked it for 10 minutes then I place the packet on my dryer and opened it up to cool. That so far is what I have. The picture show it cooling. Later, once its cool I will then rinse it out and hang to dry. I think I will be able to get the result I want although the picture doesn't really show there is a difference in colors between the pink and orange. I will update you on the progress of this project. So keep coming back to see what happens

My whisky hat

I fell in love with this pattern back in May or June, the first time I saw it in a magazine ad. I had such fun knitting this hat. The neat thing about it is even though I was on a size 3 needle and the yarn is what I would call smaller then sport or Dk, its totally lined. The process is you start with a provisional cast on that knit the brim, then purl one round and then repeat the brim pattern again. The reason for this is at the end there will be 4 layers around the ears. After both brims are knit then you begin the hat, you can't see but there is pattern work all over the hat. Once the hat is done I added the tassel, and then went back to the provisional cast on and pick up the live stitches and knit the lining in the teal. I can't wait to wear it when we as a church group go Christmas carroling later this month. I'm sure I will be toasty warm.

My shelpy sweater is done and just in time

Well I have finished my shelpy sweater is finished and just in time. We had about an inch of snow last night, that the weather guy said wouldn't be, So after I got home from the gym, and I showered it was so nice to put it on and stay warm for the evening. To recap the pattern is the wonderful Wallaby and the yarn is Ella rae. I made the XL and it took only 6 balls. So if you are going to knit this plan on not using all the yarn that the pattern calls for. I also made mine longer in the sleeves and body. I like my sleeves to be long so that if needed I have hand cover if it gets cold.

Another great Fiber of the month

Well Amy of Spuckyfibers.com has once again out done herself. This month's fiber is called Pie in the Sky and its 4 ounces of Finn. Now I have never worked with this breed before, I find it very similar to Wensledale. The staple length it about 4 - 5 inches long and it has a bit of a stiffer feel to it. As you can see the spingles that I'm working on is coming out quite nicely.