Charleen's Fiberblog

The Refined and Not-So-Refined

These finished sweater pics are a little on the yellow side but you can still see the results of the Refined Aran Jacket.

I used a rolled hem for the sleeves, bottom, and pocket edges. I also grafted the ribbed collar instead of using a three-needle bind off. It's noticeable but not as noticeable as the bind off was.

The little cables and the saddles give a nice zing to this understated pattern.

I'm not sure if I was trying to hold in my stomach or not, but if I wasn't I should be after baking this weekend!

First off was a delicious Irish Soda Bread. A little late for St. Patrick's Day but there wasn't anyone around to eat it then.

This was the killer - Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies. I actually made them twice. The first batch was for a friend at work and they turned out so good that I made them for the weekend when the whole family came to see my BIL, who was in PA for a wedding. Can't you just taste the peanutty goodness!

Finally, I'm finished the back and up to the armholes on the first side of Twist.

It Was a Long Time Coming

Finally, after four tries, the buttonband has passed muster.

Compare those sleek bands with these ruffled beauties! Last fall, when Marie and I visited after Rhinebeck, Claudia gave me some suggestions for taking the ripple out of the band. I had already decreased the number of stitches that the pattern called for but Claudia suggested that when I was binding off, that I should knit the two garter rib stitches together, every 3rd rib. The made all the difference!

She also helped me with that dreaded hem flip on The Refined Aran. I switched to a little reverse stockinette rolled hem. I used that on the body, sleeves, and even the pocket edge.

I had time to block it last week but it still sits unsewn. Who knows? Maybe tomorrow I can get started on it.

In honor of two finished (okay, one is almost) sweaters I cast on for Chic Knit's Twist. I'm using a lovely heathery rust, Cascade 220 Heathers, in Japanese Maple (2435).

It has a great cable pattern. Just enough to make it interesting but not so much that it slows you down. The photos are a little washed out. In reality this is a very rich deep shade of rust.

It's progressing nicely and with any luck I'll be up to the armholes by the end of the weekend.

Happy New Year

No resolutions here but I am looking forward to a little more time for my textile pursuits. I'm cutting back a bit on my adjunct teaching and while I'm still teaching a full load at the high school one of my classes will now be virtual. That means I get to sit in my classroom, by myself, and teach psychology to high school students from anywhere in the world. VHS is not a cyberschool. Most of the students attend bricks and mortar schools but VHS allows them to take courses that their home schools cannot provide due to small populations, narrow interests, or lack of funding. For each course a VHS teacher teaches twenty students per semester from their home school can take a course from VHS.

So what do I have on my list? Way more than I'll get to, but what else is new? The program for the Online Guild is fantastic and I'm hoping to take part in several, starting with this month's Braids and Beads.

The Refined Aran is coming along. The back and left front are done. The right front is much more fiddly due to cables, waist increases/decreases, inserting the pocket, and now buttonholes! I was getting too confused with two Katcha-Katchas and a couple of check off lists so I ended up putting everything on a spreadsheet so I can keep track.

I also decided to rip out my corrie tweed cardigan. The yarn is very rustic looking but nice and soft to the touch but it was just too big. Please feel free to remind me to clean up my office before taking pictures!

The problem is that the sleeves are knitted into the body and I'm having a huge problem unwinding. I get to the join and I'm squeezing the ball through but that only works for a bit. This will only be a problem until I get down past the sleeves but I really don't want to end up with a zillion little balls of yarn so I'll have to think about this for a bit.

Any suggestions?

This One's For You, Marie!

Hey, Marie, bet you weren't thinking Freud would show up when you put out that directive!

I took Sigmund's picture two years ago when I was at the APA/Clark University Conference. I'm jumping in a little late on this so if you haven't been tagged, you are now!

Look who finally finished something!

Presenting - The Minimalist The stockinette front bands curl in nicely but I didn't take into account how much they would curl. If I were to knit this again I would add an inch to each side front, but I've worn it twice and it's a great sweater for school.

Despite his expression, Jackson is all about feeding himself. Check him out in his corduroys and flannel shirt.

Doesn't he have the most soulful look? "Please, sir, could someone just love me?"

Taking Care of the Flip

When last we left The Refined Aran Jacket there was the issue of a hem flip. No more, thanks to Claudia's sage advice.

Claudia took one look and said, "too many stitches, decrease by 10%, and since it's such a narrow hem you may still have problems .... so why don't you try a rolled hem instead?" (I always listen to Claudia!)

Modification: With smaller needles cast on 10% less than pattern states. Purl one row, knit one row, purl one row, knit one row increasing 10%. Continue with pattern (RS).

I'm teaching this weekend. My dining room looks like it does every November, just check the archives. Many people will be arriving on Thursday for a turkey dinner. Apparently experience isn't my teacher :-)

Meandering

These pictures were languishing in a draft since early October, but I actually took the machine quilting course right before Labor Day.

Since my return to quilting I've had the chance to assemble several quilt tops but a finished quilt is alluding me. Hand quilting is going to have to wait until I quit my day job and set up my big quilt frame again. I could send them out to be quilted - and for the larger ones that's what I'm going to do - but I like doing all the steps myself. Enter machine quilting! I tried it right before I packed away the quilt fabrics close to twenty years ago. Harriet Hargreaves and others were recommending a smoke colored monofilament thread that I just could not get the hang of. It was stiff, it wore against the fabric, and if you had an end work loose and stick you - jeez, that little bugger can hurt!

I used the walking foot that came with my Janome (much nicer than the optional one for my old Viking) and quilted the 20" block into quarters with plain sewing thread.

Then I switched to my darning foot and began free motion, stippling, and meandering. While you can find a variety of definitions for those two terms, the instructor/owner of my local quilt shop defined stippling as close stitching that doesn't cross over a previous line and meandering as .... just that - freeform, go with the flow!

I found the free motion fun but I would probably chalk out a general design first. I spent too much time worrying that my stippling might cross over a line so I went right on to the meandering. Very cool! Once I get a little more time (and that will be coming up soon) look for a finished quilt.

This summer, Marie showed me her very organized needle collection. She used a canvas ziplock setup that's sold for fishing accessories. This appealed to my stressed out, overworked, when I get a chance to sit down and knit I can't find the right needle (even though I own 3 or 4 of that size) self. Unfortunately time once again alluded me and before I knew it school started. While pulling out things for the start of the school year I came upon this.

At the end of the school year we have to inspect all of our homeroom students' lockers. You would not believe the things kids leave in there. Some too disgusting for words, but others could fill a clothes bank (which is where we send them). I pulled this notebook out a few years ago and stuck it in my closet. Someone's mother thought they were starting their child out on a good foot with with a nice zipped organizer/binder. Except the kid never used it! So, remembering Marie's little book of needles I set out to see if I could make heavy, zip-lock freezer bags fit the bill. I may have to spring for another one for dpns.

I think I'll run a strip of heavy packing tape along the folded area before I punch the holes to give it even more reinforcement.

Thanks to Claudia's recommendation I picked up a great new cookbook - Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Try this yummy soup! You won't be sorry.

1. Combine the bean mix, water, parsley, and bouquet garni bag in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring a few times, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add to the cooker, cover, turn the cooker to LOW, and cook the soup 4 to 5 hours.
3. Add the kale and stir to incorporate ((if you need to let the soup cook all day while you are gone, just add the kale at the beginning or substitute spinach and add at serving time). Cover and continue to cook on LOW until the beans are tender, another 4 to 5 hours.
4. Discard the bouquet garni. Stir in the wine, vinegar, and hot pepper sauce. Season with salt and plenty of fresh black pepper.
5. My mods: The night before I rinsed a bag of Goya 16 bean soup mix and soaked them overnight, in about 8 cups of water. I also cooked the onion and got the herbs ready to go. The next morning I drained and rinsed the beans and threw it all in. It cooked for about 9 hours on low. When I got home I cut up a pound of low-fat turkey kielbasa and tossed it a bit in a skillet before adding it to the beans. About 15 minutes before serving I added a pound of thawed frozen spinach, along with the wine, vinegar, Frank's hot sauce, and ground pepper.

Twist and Shout

My Minimalist cardigan is getting closer to the end. I have 1.75 skeins left and both fronts to do. Yikes! I'm finding that the moss stitch is really torquing but I can pull on the diagonal and it looks good. I'll block the pieces first and then the seams should hold it all in place. The picture is from last weekend, I finished the back last night.

I also started on my last fiber from Anne. This is Oberon - 40% gray alpaca, 30% gray angora bunny and purple/blue dyed angora, and 18% purple/blue dyed silk, 2% purple angelina. I'm spinning this in a laceweight.

I didn't spin when my kids were young. Now that Jackson can get around more I'm learning a few things!

You'll be happy to know that he pushed that car right behind the wheel without actually hitting it!

Tangled Yoke

I seem to be having the same blog paralysis that's plagueing Sue. I've taken lots of pictures and I have lots of ideas, the problem is being at a keyboard when the thoughts come together!

So here's a shot of the Tangled Web cardigan finished sans buttons. It's quite warm so I have a while to find the perfect ones. It's a little big (so say my daughters) but I like the wider neckline. It will be perfect for school because I never know what temperature my room will be.

After the buttons are on I will block the cables a little better.

I absolutely LOVE the Sailor's Rib vest. However I started last spring and thought I was making a smaller enough size. Once it was done I thought it would still look good, and it would if I wear it over a heavier sweater but I would be more likely to wear it over a blouse or turtleneck.

A bit big, no?

I loved working on this pattern. I knit this all sitting on the sofa at my mother's. I'm so happy Claudia suggested the 220 Superwash. I'm not a fan of superwash but on her suggestion I tried it. This is lovely. Soft, but not artificial feeling. Definitely a yarn that will becoome a favorite for Jackson knitting.

You can be assured that I will be posting soon. If for no other reason than to get my mug off the top of my blog!

Back to Knitting

I'm an evening away from finishing my Tangled Yoke cardigan. You might remember that I wasn't happy with the folded neckband. I didn't bother blocking - I knew I wouldn't like it, so I ripped back and bound off and I was much happier.

Then I followed the directions for the front band and despite my concern that there were too many stitches I blindly picked up the stated number of stitches and ribbed away. Once I started binding off I could see I was going to get ruffles.

I ripped out and picked up 2 stitches for every three rows and that did the trick. It looks quite puckered but after weaving in a few loose ends I'll give it a good soak and block. I still haven't found the right buttons but I've got plenty of time. I don't think I'll be wearing it until next fall - especially after today's 82° temps.

I found this almost finished cardigan in one of the bags I used to take to my mom's. I worked on it last summer and it only needs the front bands and a zipper but I don't think it will fit Jackson now. Guess it will go in the box for the next grandchild.

No Sausage Now!

After ripping out the old Fixation sweater (you might remember Jackson as an Oscar Meyer look-a-like) I knit it again in a larger size with a larger needle.

While he is, of course, cute as a button, the variegated yarn doesn't quite flatter his cute little Buddha belly.

It popped over his head like a charm and will probably fit him for a year or two as there is plenty of length in the arms and body. If he's like his daddy the middle will slim down as soon as he gets his running legs.

Now it's time to get back to the rest of the knitting projects. I must have six sweaters that I started during the time I spent with my mother. I was a little surprised at how difficult it was to pick them up at first. So many memories in those stitches.

Finally, I remembered! I've been meaning to post this recipe for awhile now. Someone passed it on to me a few months ago and I loved it so much I went out and bought the book - Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.

ONE WILD CHICK SOUP
1 tbsp olive oil
1 ½ cups red onion, diced
1 ½ cups celery, diced
¾ cup carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed
¼ tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried marjoram
3 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (I used canned)
4 cups vegetable stock (I used chicken)
3 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp fresh sage, minced (or ½ tsp dried)
1 tbsp fresh thyme, minced (or ½ tsp dried)

In a large pot on medium heat, add oil, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, wild rice, salt, pepper, dry mustard, dried thyme, oregano, and marjoram and stir to combine. Cover and let cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring once or twice. Add 2 ½ cups chickpeas, stock, water, and bay leaves and stir to combine. Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45-55 minutes, until rice is fully cooked and inner white of grain is exposed. With a hand blender, briefly pulse soup to add some body and creaminess if desired. Stir in the reserved 1 cup chickpeas, nutritional yeast, sage, and fresh thyme, and cook 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, and serve. (I put all the chickpeas in at the beginning and don’t blend)

Ms and Os Finished

I finally cut off the Ms and Os and started the finishing process. This is the alabaster weft, before washing.

And here, after washing. Would have been nice if I had the same orientation.

And again, after pressing.

The baked clay weft, which will be a dresser scarf for the guest room:

and my sampling with thicker wefts. The variegated is 4/4 cotton, the brown and gold is 5/2 perle.

I like Dixon's suggestion of using a thicker weft. The 4/4 gives great coverage without making a stiff fabric.

These towels will be used but they would be even better with a thicker weft. I'd use the 5/2 for towels, go with 10/2 for the warp. A few years ago I used a structure similar to this and was not happy with the way the weft filled in. I never did finish that baby blanket. The 4/4 weft would make a nice baby blanket or pillow fabric. I'm sewing the hems by hand because there's no tabby header and machine stitching would be too visible.

Final thoughts? I can definitely see more Ms and Os in my future for table linens, blankets, and upholstery fabrics.

It Doesn't Really Go Away

If you're anything like me you have this ability to believe that if you wish really, really hard that the little flaw you noticed just might go away! WRONG!!

I should have taken a picture right away and then there would be no doubting the fact that you can see this and it's not acceptable. Oh well, at least it's pretty high up the sleeve, a 3/4 sleeve to boot! Ripping won't be that painful.

Apart from the obvious problem the Minimalist Cardigan is coming along very nicely. I'm using Cascade 220 in Bluestone (7920) with size 6 US needles. It's a lovely greenish blue, although you wouldn't know that from my washed out photo. Here's a better better view.

If you didn't read the comments on my M's and O's post Christine suggested floating selvages and Marie suggested a temple. I'll try both later this week.

Out With the Old

Rip, rip, rip! It's out with the old and in with the new!

You might remember Jackson in his sausage sweater. I was just going to give this to a younger baby but I realized it wasn't proportional. The arms are too short and the body too tight and long. I started this at a very stressful time last fall and I now realize that along with my gauge being off I was following several different sizes in the instructions. Doh! While looking for something else I found another ball of the Fixation so knowing I'll have enough for a size 2 I started ripping. I started over, going up a needle size and have progressed through the neck ribbing and short row shaping and am now doing the raglan increasing through the shoulders. In case you need a dose of cute, here's Jackson getting ready to watch the Super Bowl!

Inspired by Leigh's lovely M's and O's I starting winding a warp for some more towels using one of my favorites - WEB's Eight-Two in willow green.

It's a 128 end repeat and I have three repeats wound. Now I have to figure out my sett and decide if I need to play with the pattern a bit. That's wrapped pretty tightly and it's 36 wpi. I could have sworn I used 20 epi before with this yarn. You'd think I'd have records somewhere but apparently only pictures!

I'll mull it over while I rip up carpet. Yes, I'm doing another room makeover!

For those of you who are lucky enough to have a three day weekend, enjoy! And take some time to read Syne's new endeavor WeaveZine. Bonnie has a great Turned Weft Ikat article. Tonight it's back to the table of contents for more information and ideas.

Tangled Yoke

My Tangled Yoke Cardigan is coming down to the wire. Some of the modifications I made were knitting the ribbing on the sleeves and body a more traditional length and forgoing the waist shaping.

I've never done a neckband in this way. It's knit in a garter rib for 18 rows. Then you use a much smaller needle (I used US1) to pick up stitches from the base of the neckband and do a 3 needle bind off.

I'm tempted to graft the underarm stitches and block this puppy before knitting the button bands because I'm not sure I like the neckband. It looks a little thick but it might just need a good blocking. I know the cables will look a lot better!

I'm a little behind in my posting, but I wanted to thank Cathy for nominating me for a "you make my day" award. I really appreciate it. While the last year has been rather hit or miss, I've gained so much from my 4.5 years of blogging. I've been thinking about the 150 or so feeds on my Bloglines and realized that they are all my favorites! So I will have to pass on my personal list and just say

You ALL make my day!

Pollyanna has now left the room......

Reading

In response to my "What are you reading?" question Valerie gave a thumbs up for The Space Between Us, by Thrity Umrigar and for Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. I started Water for Elephants last year, right when my mother's health began to fail. I had to put it aside for a bit but when I picked it up again I found that it wasn't as sad as I thought - it was actually hopeful. I haven't heard much talk about Gruen's Riding Lessons or Flying Changes but I like that she donates some of the proceeds from her books to related causes.

Cathy put in a plug for James Gleick's Chaos: Making a New Science. By the looks of the summary I'll need to read this one, not listen to it.

Kim suggested The Blood of Flowers, by Anita Amirrezvani. Kim says there is lots of fiber and rug weaving in the story and the narator's accent just adds to the depth of the story. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabron, along with Neil Gaiman's Nevermind and Terry Prachett's Making Money.

Rob suggested John Sanford's Dark of the Moon. I've read all of the Prey books (there's a new one coming out in May) but this one slipped by me. It will be one of my February Audible downloads.

I finished My Sister's Keeper last week. What a fascinating story! I felt like I could see the characters emerge little by little as the story peeled away their facades, the whole time wondering "what would I have done?" I'm almost finished The Senator's Wife, which was described as having a Picoult-like ending. Hmmm...

Waiting in the wings are four more books by Picoult. The Tenth Circle, Vanishing Acts, Second Glance, and The Pact.

Since I'm listening I had my hands free to start The Minimalist Cardigan (artfully posed on a lovely hotel ottoman).

WIPS

With nothing new on the fiber front, an update on my WIPS seems to be appropriate.

Knitting

Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke is nearing the end. Of course it would go a LOT faster if I wasn't reknitting each row 2 or 3 times! It's not the pattern, it's me - but at least I can see the beginning of the end. I also enlarged the graph and color coded it. I'd like to say that I didn't make a mistake after that - but I can't! I knit a few rows more after that picture and it's very cool watching the twisted stitches turn into the intended design.

I hope to finish the yoke before leaving for the weekend. The Minimalist Cardigan will be my traveling companion. I don't want to drag that whole sweater up there and work on the edging. That's a recipe for disaster.

Weaving

I don't have any weaving time coming up for a bit but that doesn't stop me from thinking about the next project. I was inspired by K. C. Alexander's table runner, Warp Rep Craftsman Style, in the Jan/Feb 2008 Handwoven (p. 40). I'm thinking about placemats and a runner and using 8/4 carpet warp and 10/2 for thin weft. Here's hoping that Fiberworks soon becomes available for Mac.

Quilting

I did get some time to work on my quilts before heading back to school and traveling. I can't seem to find the right fabric for the next, wider, border.

Nothing is doing it for me.

Even my much beloved green!

Can you say BLECH! It will be better as the backing. So on to the baby quilt.

It's small enough to fit on my cutting table. I used masking tape and binding clips. Thanks to Claudia for that tip!

It's all basted and ready to go.

I wasn't thrilled with the gold for the binding so I stopped on my way home Sunday and bought a brighter orange print. Looks much better.

All This in One Post

This is what happens when you take pictures but don't update your blog ...

The Fixation crew neck sweater was coming along fine but ...

Jackson is growing like a weed!

He looks like a little sausage.

The Tangled Yoke sweater seen here

is now up to the sleeve insertion point. One sleeve is done, one more to go.

The Embossed Leaves sock was too tight. I knew it but kept knitting anyway - somehow thinking that good thoughts would make it fit. I could put it on but it looked too stretched out. Rip, rip! I'm going to use the same pattern but I need to decide if I want to add a couple of purl stitches or go up from a size 1 needle to a 2.

So if I have no time, what am I doing buying fleece? I really can't answer that question except to say - wouldn't you?

Lovely lamb fleeces from Ewes in Color. A Wensleydale fleece

and a Teeswater fleece.

Part of what's keeping me so busy is that Laura bought her first house and we've been busy drywalling, sanding, and painting. My sister brought a bottle of wine to help us along, but Laura hadn't moved in her kitchen stuff - so no cork screw. One suggestion was to use a drywall screw and then pop it out. Sarah was game. First she tried a pry bar.

Then pliers.

Finally she went over to the guys next door and borrowed a corkscrew. Much easier!

Variegated Variations

Finally, I'm on the last of the False Damask variegated warp towels. These rather washed out photos don't do justice to the variety of looks I'm getting by changing up weft and treadling.

With black weft I treadled 1-8 with no repeats.

The terra cotta weft was my favorite. I used only 3 repeats each of 1-4 then 5-8, rather than the original 4 repeats.

The last two towels are striped, treadling only 1-4.
Kim's obsession with The Secret Life of Bees has led her to create a beautiful colorway which she named Tupelo Honey. While ensconced in my room (I was teaching a few hours from home) this past weekend I started Mona Schmidt's Embossed Leaves Socks from the Winter 2005 IK. Love the yarn, love the pattern!

The slightly out of focus picture captured with my iphone. While I had it out I had to snap a pic of why I'm finding teaching out of town to be a pretty relaxing weekend. I could get used to this! I just ran down the steps and there was pineapple and strawberries, oatmeal and dried cranberries. Oh my!

And just because I find it funny .... Someone sent this link to one of my psych lists. After watching that I noticed a link to the Colorectal Surgeon's Song. Come on, wouldn't you click too?

Back to Spinning

Once this last bit was plyed, the superwash from Crown Mountain was finally finished. I don't know if it's a characteristic of superwash, or just my inattentiveness, but it was terribly underplyed.

So on to the swift it went and I added more twist. Compare the re-plyed back skein with the underplyed front skein.

Much better, eh? So now I have about 1000 yards, 8 oz., and I have no idea what I'm going to do with it.

Indecision abounds! I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing with the 3 ply corrie that I finished almost a year ago. It's just begging to be knit up with cables and texture stitches. I've got at least 2300 yards so I should have more than enough.

While rummaging around, looking for all those skeins of corrie I uncovered a finished sweater! According to my archives I finished this in April 2005 with the Beast I was spinning way back in 2002. Okay, it's not quite finished - but I've been wearing for the last week without any buttons. I remember buying them, but I can't remember where I put them. (Don't ask why I didn't remember that I finished it!)

Get At It Girl!

Holy crap! I just looked at my MT menu and I've got more draft entries than I have published these last few months. I've actually been doing things but getting the pictures, writing, etc. together just hasn't been happening! So let's see if I can get rolling.

With two weeks left before school started I decided I better do some traveling! I drove up to the Funny Farm and did some trichromatic samples with Marie. If you read Marie's blog you know that I was just a little clumsy! We're trying to work our way through our Sabracon dyes.

You get a lot of muddy neutrals - which I actually like - working with 10s so I'm thinking about trying a similar triangle but using 100, 80/20, 60/40, etc. Would save on dye and I think give a very good result. Of course I haven't tried it yet. So stay tuned.

The next week found me heading up to Marie's Monday night and Tuesday morning we pulled into ....

After a short detour at Southampton Quilts, more about that later, we arrived at WEBS!

I love their Eight Twos, a really great warp spun cotton, very similar to the 2/8 from Maurice Brassard. It doesn't shed like other unmercerized cottons and has a wonderful hand. I bought 3/2 perle for a blanket for Jackson. I also picked up several different cottons, spiral, 8/4 rug warp, etc for dyeing.

Once home there was major shopping at Countrywool. I picked out some Heilo for Eunny Jang's Tangled Yoke Cardigan and Cascade220 for Ruthie Nussbaum's Minimalist Cardigan.

Some Fixation for Claudia's top down Wee Raglan (scroll way down) for Jackson fell into my bag too.

I've already finished the neckband and the short rows at the back of the neck. Now It's smooth sailing down the yoke, increasing every other row.

Sure, there were Margaritas and yarn, but really, can you beat a scene as peaceful and idyllic as this?

I'll let you in on a secret. I have a nifty new camera with a digital video setting and, just between us, I have plenty of material to make a few people squirm.....

Depending on how the blackmail proposal goes you might get to hear Marie singing selections from The Sound of Music as she models Claudia's new hat pattern.

What a great way to finish up the summer! School started this week for teachers, ninth graders come for orientation tomorrow, and after a four-day-weekend school is open for everyone.

Updates

While this close up was taken in progress, the hat, knitted from two Machine Knitting to Dye For blanks, is finished
.

Where's that Faroe Vine Cardigan? Well, I've picked up the stitches on for the right half of the front neckband. Once all the stitches were picked up and a couple of rows knitted I cut the neck steek and then pulled out the double pointed needles and let the stitches run down! After taking a break due to hyperventilation, I continued to knit and the band turned out great!

Try as I might I could not get a decent picture to show you the braids made with the excess yarn from the stitches. They will be encased in the finished neckband. I've had the buttons for a couple of weeks but I just can't bring myself around to cutting that front steek. I told myself that I wouldn't be wearing it until next fall so I had plenty of time, but with the cold weather we've been having lately I could have been wearing it now.

I finished the handspun corrie tweed cardigan that I was knitting at my mother's. Just need some buttons and blocking. Here's the start of the Sailor's Rib Vest (scroll way down). It's got a nice reverse stockinette stich hem which looks a little scalloped before blocking. I'm sure it's just the difference between the double moss stitch and cable sections.

Location, Location, Location

Location 1: That old adage applies to beading too.

I wanted to make another Jewel of India bracelet for my sister's birthday. I think she'll like these black/pewter/bronze delicas. I'm using a silvery gray fire polished bead as the center accent. I started with the sample on the left but didn't like the multicolored bead next to the accent bead. A little too messy looking. So I started over and put the matte pewter bead next to the accent and it looked much better.

Another hour or two and it will be finished.

Location 2: The corrie tweed cardigan returned home with me last weekend. I dyed and started blending this fiber almost two years ago. I finished spinning and started knitting a top down pullover. Last summer I decided to rip it out and use Claudia's percentage cardigan pattern. I've been working on it at my mother's since her health began to fail last fall.

I have yet to take a good picture of this yarn. It's showing too much red on my monitor. I'm waiting on an extra long size 3 needle to do the button band and neckband and I've still got to decide on buttons.

Location 3: I bought my Lendrum Saxony last March and as much as I loved it I was having trouble with a clunking sound. It bugged me enough that I drove up to Kingston in July. Gord sat down and it didn't make a sound, but when I sat down it got noisy. He couldn't figure out why it happened, maybe the length of my leg (pretty stubby) but he put a little piece of nylon bushing around the brass shaft and that seemed to work. A few weeks later it started up again. So this week I was poking around in the archives of the Online Guild looking for spinning information and found that someone put together a list of the different wheels that people had and comments they made about them. Someone (no names were attributed) mentioned that she had a Lendrum Saxony and loved it. However she noted that she couldn't use her spinning chair anymore but that it didn't bother her because the easy chair was more comfortable anyway. Hmmm. Now I remembered that when I sat at the end of my chaise that it didn't make any noise. So I tried it again and voilà! No noise. I sat on the sofa and spun. No noise! I sat back on my spinning chair and the noise reappeared.

Expect to see much more spinning as I won't have to grit my teeth everytime I hear the clunking. On the bobbin is some gorgeous roving from Anne. This is Peacock - 65% jet black alpaca, 25% dyed silk in royal blue and teal green, and 5% bronze angelina. Be sure to check out her etsy shop.

Now this is a stretch for the location theme but too bad. The sleeves and body of the Faroe Vine Cardigan are ready to be joined. I can't believe how fast this is coming together!

There's nothing sweeter than a well designed sweater and the increases are so organic.

Finally - A Snow Day!

Not too much snow but the ice was enough to give me a snow day. I got to use the new mittens and Calorimetry while shoveling. Both worked like a charm to keep my hands and ears warm, which was no easy task with the sleet and snow mix blowing all around. When I came back in I treated myself to this.

As you can see I couldn't wait until after I took the picture to start eating. My oldest, the papa-to-be, gave me the recipe. He makes it for mama-to-be, cuts it up, wraps it in foil, and freezes them. She takes them to work for a healthy snack. If you cut them into 16 bars they're about 75 calories and 8 grams of protein each. The recipe is below.

The Faroe Vine Cardigan is coming along well.

The easy-to-remember vine pattern is a delight. I also love the way Claudia has drafted the pattern to have the vines meet at the raglan decreases. Beautiful, yes?

Blueberry Bars

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground Flaxseed
1/4 cup wheat germ, oat bran, or ground nuts
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
1 1/2 cups white grape juice concentrate
4 tablespoons butter -- melted
2 large eggs -- lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup dried or dehydrated blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 F Lightly coat a nonstick 9-inch square cake pan with vegetable oil cooking spray.

2. Place the whole wheat flour, flaxseed, wheat germ, oats, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and stir to mix well.

3. Place the grape juice concentrate, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract in another mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on a low speed or with a whisk until well mixed.

4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the grape juice mixture, continuing to beat at a low speed just until thoroughly blended; be careful not to over mix. Gently fold the fresh and dried blueberries into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

5. Bake the cake until the top springs back when lightly pressed, about 40 minutes.

6. Let the cake cool slightly in the pan before turning it out onto a wire rack to completely cool or let it cool and serve it straight from the pan.

Faroe Vine Cardigan

Don't you just love starting a new project? I'm starting Claudia's Faroe Vine Cardigan. You can read more about her steeking samples here. I'll let her do the research - I'll just knit! Be prepared for plenty of pictures because I'm already in love with this sweater. This is Heilo in Evergreen (discontinued) and medium brown heather. Claudia put the combination together for me. Guess she knows me pretty well, eh? The stitches between the two markers are the steek stitches. Since I took the picture I've finished the hem (yellow stitches are the provisional crocheted cast on) and border. I've also reversed the color combination to the evergreen background and the medium brown heather for the vine for the body of the sweater.

The short-row toe-up sock is starting to feel a little left out!

Catching Up

Oops, I did it again! I've uploaded pictures and started two posts, only to discover later that I never finished nor published them. Oh, well! So.....

After listening to the interview with Bonnie Tarses on WeaveCast last fall I was intrigued with the idea of Horoscope Weaving. I put it on the backburner until Marie brought up the idea again when she was planning a baby blanket. Now that I'm going to be a grandmother in June (like the way I slipped that in?), baby blankets are a top priority! ETA: Thanks, Sara, I forgot to include a link to Bonnie's blog!

I finally found some nice fabric for the Amy Butler messenger bag that Carolyn talked about a few months ago.

I've been getting in the habit of putting things in a big tote as I think about them then bringing them into my mother's. We're getting settled into this every fourth day routine and it's working out very well. When I have weekday duty it's from 4:30 until she's ready for bed, but weekends are all day and evening. While there's no sewing machine, loom, etc. I can get tons of prep work done.

One of the perks of the Online Guild is that you have access to archived notes from all of the past workshops. I've only done one toe-up sock before so I was eager to try some other variations. This is the crocheted provisional cast on with a short-row toe. You cast on half of the number of stitches you need and short row until you have 10-12 left in the center, then reverse the short rows until you are working all the stitches. Rip off the crocheted chain and pick up the other half of the stitches and you're on your way. I love this technique. I'm almost up to the heel which is also short-row. The other sock in the workshop uses a Turkish cast on and a Reverse Dutch Heel.

What about that boundweave sampler, you asked? Well, it is coming along, slowly. No sense posting pictures as I'm working my way up the back of the little purse I'm making and it's the same as the front only rightside up! I'll post more pictures after I change my tie up with the next sample. I also bought some more perle cotton in different colors at JoAnns (thanks, Sara, for the tip) which is good. I was getting tired with the blue/red/yellow/white scheme.

Calorimetry

I reknit Calorimetry and just in time as winter seems to finally be making an appearance around here. After several record breaking highs over the past few weeks it was actually cold this morning.

I used handspun from some of the first roving I dyed in the oven roaster. I cast on 80 stitches instead of 120 and recalculated the short rows by the same percentage. This one fits like a charm!

I had about 250 yards and I was able to make the hat, a pair of mittens, and I'm using the rest for a narrow scarf. We'll see how long it is.

After seeing what Leigh and Karen were creating with the Online Guild, I signed up and began working on Leigh's Computer Design Workshop. I'm starting to explore the filters on Photoshop and have come up with some pleasing results. More about that in my next entry.

To The Sea!

I'm quite secure in following my own path as I traverse through life, but show me a new tool, pattern, or book and my lemming tendencies shine right through!

I read that Carolyn wants to make Amy Butler's High Street Messenger Bag. Done. Pattern came yesterday. I'm not going to use it for my laptop though. I have a very cool backpack that also has a sling pouch for my laptop. What I need is a bag that will hold all the stuff I need when I'm taking care of my mom. Cell phone charger, iPod, etc. This is going to the head of the list.

When I heard someone mention micro-macramé on one of the DIY shows a couple of months ago I didn't think much of it, but then I saw Maus' new earrings. Before I could stop myself I was ordering the Joan Babcock's Micro-Macramé Jewelry and Sherri Haab's Beaded Macramé Jewelry. I quick order for some C-Lon and I should be in business by next weekend.

On one of my drives through blogland I saw a hat that I might actually wear. So I grabbed some handspun and started knitting Calorimetry. Since I have an absolutely huge head I tend to knit hats on the big side. Several years ago I posted this picture of a hat I crocheted for my sister (about 10 at the time). This was no exception. It's supposed to stretch out and meet at the nape of the neck with a button closure.

That's about an 11" overlap there folks.

Is anyone else thinking Mick Jagger??

But I really loved the way a rather blah ball of yarn knitted in this shortrow pattern, so I ripped it out and started over. I kept the size 8 needles which I felt produced a nice fabric. I cast on 80 stitches and short rowed until I had 28 in the center and 26 on each side. This fits perfectly but I couldn't get a picture with my cellphone so it will have to wait until I'm back from my mom's.

I finished another necklace yesterday. This was my own design. I did a base row and then three rows of scallops.

After the second row I was worried that it would be to ruffled but once I started on the third pass it started to look good.

I was going to do a square stitch across the base row but that distorted the neckline.

So I ended up going through the first row again for strength and added a pewter bead which stick ups a bit and looks rather like picot.

Kimono

After I accidently pulled the needle out of 1/4 of the stitches, I decided to bit the bullet and rip the Sheep Shawl. As you can see progress was slow. Although I enjoyed watching the pictures develop I knew I wouldn't enjoy wearing it as much. I want a lightweight shawl that will work for spring or summer. Meet Kimono from Folk Shawls.....

I finished a few more repeats since I took the picture, but I'll spare you repetitive blob pictures. If you want to be wowed you need to travel over to Snail Spirals and see Sue's Urchin Shawl! She charted the original design, knitted the fantastic shawl, and then dipped the finished shawl into the dye pot. What an undertaking!

Look What I Found

I opened a little used drawer last week and rediscovered a sweater that was almost done. I started it in 1998. I know that because I have the Knitware directions with a start date of January 8, 1998. Four years ago, after Claudia asked everyone to share their UFO's (see 9/16 entry). Sunday I devoted a couple of hours to seaming and sewing the button band on. Now I know why I love knitting sweaters in one piece. I HATE sewing sweater pieces. The band is a little wonky at the top of the button side, but I can fix that. I need to get buttons and it will be ready to go. The stitch definition of Bendigo Colonial is fantastic. I forgot how much I liked this yarn.

I don't know if this actually qualifies as Cooking with Intention, but after making a double batch of the Cheddar Broccoli Soup and a double batch of Vegetable Beef Soup I knew I had to make something to satisfy my mom's sweet tooth. Carrot cake baked as cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

3 cups grated carrots
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup crushed pineapple -- well drained
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup walnuts -- chopped
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325. Line muffin tins with paper or spray with Pam.

In a large mixing bowl beat eggs until well blended. Add sugar, oil, carrots, pineapple, and vanilla.

Add flour, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Spoon into pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

Dust with 10X sugar or frost with cream cheese frosting.

I got 24 cupcakes and enough leftover to fill two large custard cups. For those eagle eyed readers, Josh got to one before I could snap the picture. The containers are waiting to be filled with soup!

No picture, but I made some Cheddar Onion Bread to take in too. It's great right out of the oven or toasted later on. I use my bread machine through the first rise.

1 1/8 cups milk
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup grated onion
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
3 1/3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Heat milk to 80 degrees. (30 seconds on high). Add ingredients to bread pan in order. Set for dough. Remove dough, punch down, knead gently and form into loaf. Oil bread pan and roll dough until lightly coated with oil. Cover and let rise until doubled. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until internal temperature is between 190 and 195.

New Necklace

I finished the necklace and wore it last week. The shiny beads are silver-lined blue zircon delicas, the main beads are olive iris seed beeds. This was an easy to remember pattern. I'm making it again in moss iris beads with bronze metallic seeds for the accent.

This lump is the finished, but unblocked, Swallowtail from the fall IK.

Here it is blocking, but I must have skipped a zero when typing in the thumbnail size. Since I'm at school I can't correct it.

I have to get some TIG wire (recommended by Sara) as trying to pin out the points was getting tedious. I can only imagine how tired I'd be if it were a full size shawl. This is from the singles I bought at WEBS last spring. There was so much energy in the yarn that I had to hold it up and let it unwind every row or two.

I finished Butterfly a month or two ago but finally got around to blocking that. This going to be a laprobe for my mom. I didn't keep any ball bands, but it's a German dk superwash I got in a swap a few years ago. Not enough for a sweater, but it blocked out to a 46" square. This was a very easy knit. I would do it again in a laceweight for a largerer shawl.

Just Because I Can

The inner geek is coming out as I sit in my mother's house, knitting, listening to my ipod and surfing the net connected to my cell phone. It's as slow as molasses but it keeps me happy! Mom has night wanderlust and then sleeps happy as a clam for the whole morning. Unfortunately I never learned to sleep in spurts so when I'm up I'm up. Here's how the corrie tweed cardigan is progressing (again via the cell phone):

I am so pleased at the way the colors are changing, with no unsightly pooling or striping. I'll have to remember to bring my real camera in for better pictures.

I was getting a little bored last week and brought some of my wool singles that I'm weaving with to start something new - meet my Swallowtail (and my right thigh)!

I had to take this home as it wasn't compatable with jumping up at a second's notice. Notice the wheels in the background. My mom has been able to stop using the wheelchair and gone back to using the walker. Um, well, except that I've been sitting next to it in the kitchen for two hours and only just realized that she must have slipped past me for a bit of wandering during the night. I'm sure she'll be a little confused when she wakes up with out it next to her bed.

Knitting Updates

Here are the two finished Claudia sweaters from the yarn that followed me home during the Excellent Adventure last March. I had my son take pictures because everytime I take them on timer mode I have the stupidest look on my face. So now I have weird coloring and the same stupid look. But Whitby looks good!

Here's another view showing the underarm gussets.

It was knit in Cascade 220 and was actually finished early in the summer but I never bothered weaving in the few ends or washing it since it was too warm to wear.

This is Northcott Rib knitted in Peace Fleece worsted weight. It was made in one piece with no seams to sew or stitches to graft. The only thing I had to do was sew on the buttons and weave a couple ends in. This will probably serve as a jacket until the temperatures really drop. Both patterns (and yarn) are from Countrywool and are easy to follow and were a joy to knit.

The Beginning of the End

I only have eight more days of school and since this summer I only have a couple of fairly easy online classes and one week long AP Psych class I'm looking forward to a real summer vacation. Yes, folks, I'll be weaving, sewing, spinning, dyeing, knitting, gardening, kitchen organizing, hell - I'll even throw in some attic and garage cleaning.

Despite writing exams (for my students) and papers (for my instructors) I still had some time to work on my Northcott Rib.

The other big news since I posted last was my mother's 90th birthday.

She thought only my one sister was taking her out for lunch but the rest of us took off work and met them there. Later all the grandkids and spouses stopped by for pizza and cake. Not the grandest party, but it's what she wanted.

Our present to her was to put a new roof on her house. She lives alone and would feel uncomfortable with lots of people she didn't know working on the roof. My brother has rehabbed several homes, including the one he lives in now, and thought this would be a good solution. Of course we had to pick Memorial Day weekend when the temperature was in the 90s.

The old man is in front, one of my nephews to the right, and my brother (the job foreman) on the ridge.

My oldest son, Dan, and my brother-in-law scrape the old layers of the kitchen my father added to the little ranch I grew up in.

I tried to go on the roof but punked out. My job, along with food prep, was to cut these sets so the pieces were staggered. Reminded me of strip quilting.

The supervisor watched over everthing. Yes, it was 90° but some of her meds make her feel cold. Funny, when I was growing up I never saw her wear a sweater unless she was using it as a coat.

Just in case it wasn't crazy enough, we had two little ankle biters running around the house. My daughter and niece thought it would be cute if their new dogs got to know each other. Looks like they did! (Don't worry, no damage done! My daughter's partner protected their little Bella from big, bad Marley!)

I Think I Like It

I'm on the second one of the not quite log cabin towels. My tension is wonderful and the selvedges are looking pretty good, too. Usually my sides get a little loose as I work my way through the warp, but this trapeze method really helps with even tension throughout.

I've got quite a list for this summer's weaving, including placemats, runners and a couple of rugs for the kitchen. I think this technique is going to save me a lot of fiddling with the warp.

Northcott Rib (scroll down the page to cardigans) is coming along well. I love the yarn and the pattern, but my hand and wrist are bothering me. Could it be because the yarn is bulkier and I need a longer needle? I feel like it's all scrunched up and I'm always pushing the stitches away from the ends. I'll have to see if I have a 40" around here.

Back to the Grind

Back to school and back to weekend classes, so the loom sits - still partially threaded. I have been able to finish one sleeve on Whitby and I'm heading down the other.

I ended up spinning all the tussah on one bobbin

and I'll ply it with some lovely purple corriedale.

I should have enough for a scarf and I have some green and purple beads that would look cool with it.

Whitby Progress

Claudia's pattern drafting is perfection! The gussets under the arms allow the drop sleeve to fit perfectly. It's big, but I only have a thing pj top underneath. I'll make sure I have, ahem, more support for the final photo. I can tell this will be a much loved, much worn sweater. I also love that I'll only have a few ends to weave in when the sweater is finished. How cool is that?

I received many comments about not spending too much time cleaning up. However one of the problems with a messy house is that you know you have equipment but somehow you can't find it. That's the case with my beautiful Kromski niddy noddy. Since I only have four bobbins for my new wheel this posed a problem. I crushed the scrap of foam board seen in the background while winding off one bobbin. I located my skein winder, but it was far back in the nether regions of my fiber storage room, locked in by bags of fleece. I was, however, able to find some pvc and T connectors and these plans. Works for me!

This is a very loosely spun Romney/mohair blend. I spun two bobbins while testing out the wheel. I'm going to use it for fulled mittens or a bag so the inconsistencies will disappear.

Anticipation

Although I was hoping that my new wheel would arrive on Friday, it's probably a good thing it didn't. I was able to finish two projects for my class and outline a new course I'm teaching next year.

I wasn't let down on Monday though!

After a few tense moments - from missing lines in the instructions to not knowing what some things were - it came together beautifully. Today I went over it with some superfine steel wool. All it needs is a little tung oil and I'm ready to spin!

Whitby update: I'm ready to divide for the sleeves. I'm loving this pattern.

Where Does It Go?

I always believed Mick when he said it was on my side, but looking at him now makes me realize that we're both getting a little long in the tooth. I've been working like crazy trying to get into the next salary class and I think it's about time for a little reward. Okay - not so little, eh? Mine will be cherry. Sweet!

It looks a whole lot better than it does in this picture. There is black plastic needlepoint canvas inside to stablize the base. I needlefelted a little design around the opening. It was actually very easy to do, but since my sister was driving here while I was stabbing, the simple design had to do. I snipped off a piece of my butterfly bush to serve as a perch. Nancy was thrilled with it, despite the many smart-assed remarks about it being a new hat. (Many adult children with various friends and partners were mooching dinner again!)

Along with forgetting to take her picture with it, I also deleted a picture of Laura's fantastic Everything Bagels. So all you get is the link. The recipe made four HUGE bagels. Next time around she'll make 6. She added all the ingredients right at the start and used the bread machine at the dough setting.

Whitby is progressing slowly, but surely. I've got about 6 more inches before beginning yoke patterning.

And Once Again I Post Only In My Mind

Yet again my mind fails me! I guess I don't have to tell you about this or tell you that my deck looked like this. Of course, if you've been following the nation's crazy weather happenings you might know that we were in the 60's Thursday and Friday so my front hill now looks like this. What you can't see is me shivering due to the drastic plunge down to the teens.

Last Monday's snowday gave me some time to look through old projects. I found my Lo-Tech Sweat so close to done that I finished the hood and washed all the pieces. Just tell me WHY I made this pattern when I hate to sew pieces together. I still have to put the buttonband on, so who knows when it will really be finished!

I've been really busy with this class. I have to research funding, policy, etc. for technology education. Blech! It's not what I want to do, but it's necessary for the certificate, so suffer I do. But not without successfully casting on and beginning my FIRST toe up sock. I tried Anna Zilboorg's (why did she change the name from Fancy Feet to Simply Socks?) figure eight cast on and was swearing up a storm. Then I remembered I bought Claudia's Logical Toe-Up Sock pattern a couple of years ago.

Maybe someday I'll have some weaving to talk about...(insert pitiful sigh). In the meantime, take a spin around the WeaveRing. There are some great things going on.

Off the Loom

This blanket started out 35.5" in the reed; off the loom it is 33" x 50", before washing. As you can see from the picture I didn't plan ahead on this one. The purpose was to see if the Sabracon dye would be good after sitting for a year and it was successful in that aspect. Only time, and washing, will tell if it lost any of its "fastness". If I had been thinking ahead, I would have painted the smaller bout to match the center bout.

The stripes don't hit you in the face as they do in the picture. In fact I like this so much it's going in my hope chest. Well, my hope plastic bin! Never had one when I was younger, but while I was making all of these baby items and giving them away I decided to put a few of my favorites aside for my grandchildren. What grandchildren you say? With four kids you figure my odds are pretty good that I'll have some, but who knows? (No, they don't know that I'm doing this. I know that none of them are ready right now.)

With that in mind -- this is the last Wallaby I'm making for awhile. My daughters both want one, but I'm going to have to give it a break. This was quick to knit, but seemed like such a chore. Cottage Creations has a new hooded cardigan that I think I'll try for the next baby gift. Ann made it earlier this month and it's knitted in such a way that it will be interesting (as long as I don't make too many of them).

It's been awhile since I've posted any recipes. Time's been tight lately and I'm always looking for fast and tasty meals. I made my version of California Pizza Kitchen's Sedona Corn Soup tonight. Goes great with some easy corn bread and a salad.

Yet Another One

It's a win-win-win gift. Easy pattern to knit up, everyone loves it, and it takes two skeins of worsted weight yarn. Luckily I seem to have a year or two in between the baby bonanzas.

Despite a high of 55° today and an expected high of 62° tomorrow I'm still planning on making this over the weekend. I'm making one pullover and then ordering two zippers to make the other two jackets. Here the fabric, soft and cushy after washing, ready to cut.

I also have some great knit fabric from EmmaOneSock to make a sweater . It has a great hand - hard to believe it's acrylic. A couple of rayon/lycra tops are in the picture too. Can you tell a three day weekend is coming up?

Making Up

I certainly am trying to make up for fiber time I lost this summer and fall. The plying is all done and the yarn is hanging over the laundry room sink. Swatching will commence tomorrow.

Despite discovering my sleying error in the first yard of the warp I was still able to get five towels. The last one is a few inches shorter but they are for me so no problem. The other three are for Sarah's new kitchen.

I got them washed and dried tonight and I'll hem them tomorrow.

Yet another Wallaby. This one for the granddaughter of my thesis editor. Although it does look much better in person, I can't say I love the yarn. I have, however, been assured that a two-year-old will love it.

One more day of vacation.

Cleaning Up

Don't worry, I'm not spending too much time cleaning my house! What I am doing is trying to finish up some nearly done projects that were forgotten when something new caught my eye.

My Coup d'Etat cardigan was done and ready to be sewn together. Unfortunately I see now that one sleeve is smaller, both in width and length, than the other. I think I may have forgotten to change to the larger needle as the fabric seems to be a bit denser too. That's what happens when you knit a project over a period of years. Yes, YEARS.

I started my teal corrie LoTech Sweat last August and took it to school with me. The only time I worked on it was in spare moments in study hall. Those spare moments added up and I brought it home in June with only half of one front and the hood to go.

Throughout this busy summer I have been carding the corrie tweed and spinning it up. This was all measured out in 60 gram bags so it's no-brain work to card up two bags, spin a bobbin from each and ply. I have put way too much time into trying to get a decent picture of this yarn. I think it's because I love it so much but every picture ends up looking like mud. I've tried every exposure setting imaginable and finally ended up pulling the fabric shade down and then using no flash and a cloudy setting. I think the problem was that the window was messing with the meter even though there wasn't any direct light coming in. It still looks rather blah, but then again, blah is often misunderstood.

I painted Josh's old room, now known as the Thesis Room! I finally found the hardware to put the sliding doors back on the closet, so this fabric will be stripped to make a rag rug for the room.

If I can keep to the schedule I've made for myself, I'll be spending every Saturday for the rest of this year in that room. Hopefully the very soothing sage green will not be so soothing that I can't write.

Go Team Socks

Once I got my spelling straight these socks started to fly. I have a lot of this yarn and I think I'll go down to a zero (these are 1s) next time. These are a little loose for socks, but I'll only be wearing them a few times a year so no ripping at this point, plus the two color knitting on the heel makes a nicely reinforced fabric.

I've had a chance to get back to spinning the tweed corrie. I cannot tell you how soft and fluffy this yarn is. I don't care if it's going to pill, I know this will be one of my comfort sweaters. I have enough to make it slightly oversized the way I like my weekend, hanging around sweaters. The skies are clearing up, maybe I can get a good picture today.

Just Keeping Me Grounded

The last I looked the name of my school was N--- Area High School. So why did my Go Team sock read NASH?

While I was redoing the wording on the sock, I spent time rewatching Sara Lamb's Warp Painting. I need to just bite the bullet and cut the warp for the kimono already. You have to understand my apprehension considering my mishaps over the last month. What was that about too many irons in the fire?

At Last

Finally, I got something finished this summer. It's not much, but considering my track record with socks - I'll take it!

My summer classes are DONE. I have one more class in September, but that's an action based research class and the project will be the first chapter of my thesis. I finished my last paper today. Now all I have to do is one more project with a short (4 page) rationale.

On to my summer. We joined Charlestown Farm this year and we get to pick up lovely produce each week.

Along with the produce we pick up, there are fields for pick-it-yourself crops. We've had strawberries, snow peas, raspberries, and there's always herbs and fresh flowers. This was a bonus last week when we got to pick enough to freeze.

Hopefully I'll get to some fiber.

Bird Identification

I heard the birds chattering up a storm last evening and when I looked out I saw this on the bench. I was able to get my camera but it still had the manual settings for the yarn pictures and between that and going through the glass I didn't get a clear shot. My niece thought it was a hawk. It was about 24" tall and looked to have a wing span of about 40". The legs crack me up - looks like he has little leg warmers on. Let's just hope he doesn't like fish!

Thanks for the advice yesterday. I didn't go in the attic nor did I weave! I did, however, plan a blanket and looked through my sample books to pick colors for painted warp dishtowels. My niece is up from Alabama. She thought she was escaping the heat and heavy humidity. Ha! She is also excellent at untangling so I set her to work on some badly disfigured skeins of sock yarn - she untangled and I balled them up. I also balled up the autumn yarn and made a swatch.

I tried fair isle for the bottom motif and it was too heavy and distorted. The top one is much better (though the camera angle seems to belie it). It was done with intarsia, two strands of gold and one of rust. The body of the sweater is done in one piece so it will be a little messy for those eight rows, but I'm not using bobbins - the lengths are less than 18" so it shouldn't tangle too much.

Spinning and Knitting

No weaving. No time or energy the past week or two for planning out the next project or even to begin sewing the kimono. I won't bore you with all of the details, but our school is making drastic reforms and switching to small learning communities. Along with that we are also changing from traditional 47 minute periods to four 88 minute block. It will be an A/B block with four classes each day. All teachers have to change rooms, regardless or whether their room is in the allocated space for their community or not. Mine was, nevertheless I had to pack all of my stuff and move next door! School was officially over for the year Friday, but we have two Flex Days? for next year that we are being requested to serve on Monday and Tuesday. Since this is a public blog I'll stop here.

I finished a pair of socks! Now that might not seem like such an accomplishment to most of you, but I seem to have a problem finishing socks. These Opal socks have been in production since May 2002 when I started them at MDS&W. The first sock I ever started looks exactly the way it does in this picture . To commemorate my accomplishment I immediately started the Chutes and Ladders sock. I thought I liked the variegated yarn but it doesn't really show off the pattern. I have a mushroomy solid that might work well with this.

Spinning seemed to be a way to wind down and relax this week too. I got another batt of my corrie tweed spun up and then, being too tired to stand at the carder, I reached into this eye burning nugget gold and began to spin a heavy two-ply. Originally I was thinking of a jacket, but now I think maybe a blanket or even a rug. I have equal amounts of silver-green and rust. These were straight Cushings Perfection dyes on Marie's lovely Finn/Dorset cross. Could I get any more 70s?

Back to Sewing

I finally bit the bullet and sat down to finish up two knitted items. Four hours later - done! The vest only needed to have the ends worked in. The Beast cardigan had to be sewn together, but the yarn is so thick I decided to go with some Top of the Lamb (sport weight) for the seams. Both were washed and patted out to dry. I'll take pictures when I get home from school.

I ordered a few new patterns for spring and summer sewing. One of them has (what I think to be) a unique feature. There is a separate front pattern piece for B, C, and D cups. I know you can make alterations yourself, but I thought this was pretty cool. I traced the pattern onto gridded pellon and cut a test pattern out of some mystery fabric I'll never use. I always underestimate the time it will take to paint trim, but hopefully I'll have some time left to sew this weekend.

Kitchen's Almost Done

Here's a follow up to my kitchen painting. I changed the color I used for the sponging, going with a green which was close to the cactus in the border. I still used Cotton Fluff as the base coat. I mixed five parts of the faux glaze to one part of Valley Mist, sponging with a sea sponge to get this subtle result. Putting on two coats of satin sealer really gives it a nice sheen and will make the area between the counters and the cabinets easy to wipe down. The trim will have to wait until this weekend.

I haven't done any more weaving, but I finally finished the edging for the Indigo Moon Brushstrokes vest. I ended up using a k1p1 ribbing instead of the crochet. After the third rip I realized I wasn't going to get the results I wanted. As soon as I can clear some space on the dining room table I'll block it and post a final picture.

Shadow Knitting Bag

I took Shadow Knitting with Vivian Høxbro at SOAR last fall. I finally finished the little bag we used as a sample project. Click on the pictures to see the "shadow" view.

The front:

The back:

I'd really like to make the Bumblebee Jacket, but I think I'll start with Ocean Vest and see how that goes. We're talking about 26 sts and 50 rows = 4" with size 2 needles.

Note to Sylvia: No, my house is never that clean. You just saw a little corner of the room I just finished putting back together.

Unexpected Three Day Weekend

I got a call at 4:30 AM Friday. When's the last time you got good news at that time of night? Well, the power was out at the high school and we got the day off! I'm sure we'll be making it up in June, but once again, I'm only thinking in the present.

I got the room put back together:

I finished the cotton hooded baby sweater:

And I figured out where I was on the Sheep Shawl started so long ago:

How sad is it that this is my progress picture from 6/29/03!

I'm Going to Have to Think About This

The vest is seamed and I've done two rows of single crochet around the arms, but I'm not sure that the 5 or 6 rows I have planned are going to keep the bottom from rolling up. It's not blocked yet, so that will help. If it doesn't hold I'll just have to go with a ribbed band.

If you're looking for buttons, check Cathy's links in the comments to my previous entry. I found some winners!

Indigo Moon is Swatched!

I just love this yarn. Unfortunately, there's not enough to make a sweater. I used Sweaters 2.30 to come up with a set in sleeved, v-neck cardigan, minus the sleeves. In other words, I'm making a vest! I'm knitting with the KnitSmart, so the back was finished today. It's going to have a singled crocheted band around the armholes, bottom, and fronts. I haven't decided if I'm going to have buttons or some other closure.

I almost finished the hooded baby sweater, but I was too lazy to go out and get buttons, so the front bands aren't done yet. Anyone know a good online source for buttons?

A Change from the Blankets

You know, there are just so many blankets you can make before you come up for air! I decided Ava needed a little cotton sweater for the spring. I made one for her big sister, Isabella, so now it's her turn. This is from Elann's Endless Summer Collection Lara. Despite the color's name of mauve, it's really more of a lavender. The yarn is mercerized and has a lovely sheen to it, however not a lot of fun to knit. It splits very easily, but I'm only doing the ribbing by hand - the main pieces were done on the KnitSmart. You may notice the rug warp used as waste yarn! I'll get the cuffs done tonight and then sew it all together and do the front bands. Guess I can't do the buttonhole band until I get the buttons, though.

I didn't get many parents at the conference yesterday. We were there from 12:00 to 7:30 and I had 30 students represented, out of 149. There was lots of time for knitting and I finished the back of the Beast jacket and started on one of the fronts. This is so heavy I'm going to have to seam it with some finer wool.

Two Block Twill

Despite having to change bobbins every 12 rows, I was able to get the samples and two baby blankets woven off in one week. However, my speed cost me. Can you see the mistake? Oh, well. I'll give it as an extra, you know, not the main attraction. The second blanket turned out well.

Here's a close up of the weaving just after I took it off the loom. There doesn't seem to be any puckering. We'll see what the washing shows.

More gloves! I couldn't make a decent pair of gloves to save my soul until I got my hands on The Knitter's Handy Book of Patterns. These are the third pair, made for keeping my hands warm on the way to school. I puposely made these with very little ease, to make it easier to drink my coffee and eat my English muffin on my 10 minute drive to work. I was in such a hurry to finish them that I didn't wash the frogged yarn I used on the second glove. Notice the wonky ribs on the left glove.

Recycling

I have a handspun sweater that just didn't fit right. It was too wide and too short. So last night I took it all apart, skeining the yarn on my niddy noddy. It looked like a pile of curly spaghetti, but it's been washed and will be ready to go tomorrow. I worked up a sample on the KnitSmart and hopefully I'll have the major pieces done by the weekend. Ribbing will probably have to wait for next week.

On the spinning front, I really loved June's yarn, spun from batts she bought at MDSW. No wonder I was so attracted to it, I bought three of the same batts (Brushstrokes) from Indigo Moon Farm at SOAR this fall! I spun a little sample tonight. Now to decide what movies I'll watch this weekend.

Indigio Moon Farm, Brushstrokes

Found

Just in case I didn't have enough irons in the fire, I decided to see if I could find my old KnitSmart knitting machine. I packed it away when I started teaching full-time, 10 years ago. I found the machine pieces in the attic and the keyplates in the basement. Now all I needed were the transfer tools, claw weights, etc. Where did I put them? I could picture a yellow plastic lunch box. I started in the basement. Found a pink My Child and a red Transformers box. Headed upstairs and looked in the hall closets, then up to the next floor where I looked under my bed (hard to see to the middle of a king-size bed - way too many dust bunnies), in the closets, and then up to the attic.

How do I describe my attic? Let's begin with the fact that I have four kids in their twenties, who have moved in and out several times. They also seem to be abnormally attached to their childhood teddy bears, baseball cards, and paper back series (Sweet Valley High, etc). However, they are not attached enough to actually move them to their homes (oh yeah, two still live here!) Eventually I found it. Rainbow Brite.

I put everything together, after cleaning off 10 years of dust, and it worked like a charm. I knitted up this tote in less than 2 hours, including the pocket and handles. Sewing it together took almost as long! Into the washing machine it went.

I made a folded hem (in red) but it didn't full as much as the rest of the tote - gives it a bit of a ruffle. The pocket should have been a little narrower and a little deeper. Oh well, live and learn.

Oh, and Happy New Year!

Fingerless Mitts

Claudia inspired me to make a pair of fingerless mitts. So much faster than fingerless gloves, and they'll serve the same purpose. My purpose? I wanted them for weaving in the cold basement.

The herringbone tweed was looking fine, but the singles wool I was using for both warp and weft was a little too soft. Duh, Charleen, you have heard of the snap test. After a yard or so, I decided to cut if off and wet finish. It was feeling mighty scratchy and I was hoping it would soften up. If so, I was willing to work with those end threads to keep them strong. No such luck, it felt like sports jacket material, not next to your neck and face scarf material. But all is not lost, I can sample different wefts and have plenty for my twill exchange. When I get bored I'll cut the rest off.

Here's what I did this afternoon. A three color triangle - that's 66 samples. Actually 132, since I did 1% and .5% DOS. Today's colors were: blue, yellow, and fuschia.

How much CAN I cram into the next five days???? Stay tuned.

Weekend Update

Catherine was mentioning that she was working so much that she only finished a few small items. When I'm bogged down with work I find that I finish nothing, but start many new things.

I love the feeling you get when you first pick the yarn and then work out the pattern, sometimes going through several yarns and/or patterns! Whether it's knitting or weaving, the thrill is the same. I've been so overworked that I've started a new working on a twill scarf pattern, a new sweater out of the Beast I started spinning about two years ago, and I've been spinning up some corrie for a fair isle sweater.

I'm pretty proud of the corrie, as it's the first time I've planned out the yarn before I began spinning and then actually accomplished my goal. I wanted a soft, fluffy two ply around a DK weight. I've spun up 6 skeins so far, each a little over 2 ounces and about 260 yds. I'm leaning towards a deserty colorway, dyeing a main color and four contrasting colors using a 1/2% DOS.

The Beast is going to be a thick, cushiony v-neck cardigan, probably with pockets as it will most likely end up more of a jacket. I started spinning this with my Louet, back in December 2002. (see December 26th entry, it shows more of the rusty brown that's in the fiber) Incredibly, I almost finished the three pounds, so I should have more than enough. I'm not sure if I'd be able to spin the rest to match!

I bought several cones of 1/8 wool from Pollywogs and I've been playing around with several different twill ideas. I think I've settled on a Herringbone twill, maybe the one from the Nov/Dec 1996 Handwoven.

I bought Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals 2 right before school, thinking I'd get some fast ideas. She's got some great recipes, although she warns that for some recipes you've got to prep the night before to really make it in 30 minutes. I tried the quick Honey Lime Grilled Chicken tonight but I wanted some type of spicy soup to go with it. I combined a few different recipes to come up with this Mexican Vegetable Soup. It was a big hit and I was able to make the soup, chicken, and a big tossed salad in less than 60 minutes (including spinning three different greens).

Have a great week - only 10 days to prepare for Thanksgiving!

April 20, 2003

I just love the look of a warp all beamed and taut. I was going to do a random warp, but I'm just not a random sort of gal, so I counted out what I had and made a plan. The extra red on the left of the picture will be the two sides. The fold is on the right. I still have to add the fishing line and weights, but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

I've got one more day of spring break. I have some little bits of mohair and bright pieces of wool that I want to blend on the carder tomorrow. I'm in a fish exchange - based loosely on the fulled fish from knitter's stash and I want to spin some tropical colors. Check out the fish Carolyn made for a baby shower - they were the inspiration for the exchange.

Thursday is my annual Asian American Club trip to NYC. This trip puts my nerves in an uproar every year, but the kids love it so I keep doing it. We have so many kids in the club that I booked two charter buses, but with world affairs what they are many parents would not allow their children to go to New York this year. I had to cancel one of the buses, but now we have three members on the waiting list. They are predicting chilly, damp weather for Thurday. So what else is new? No matter when we schedule this trip it rains. Sometimes it's a cold, bonechilling rain, sometimes warm, but IT ALWAYS RAINS!

MDS$W - Accuweather is predicting a rainy weekend for Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, but I don't mind that :-) It keeps those daytrippers away and allows the serious fiber folks more space.

posted at 7:30 PM

Not of whole heck of a lot I can post, but hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow. Been spinning up the corriedale, just plied another 8 oz. I'm ready to beam on another blanket warp. I dyed some of my Bartlett's and then I realized - or should I say was advised - that I needed to wash the rest of my warp, since the dyed yarn was much softer and loftier. Did that Friday night, and got the warp sleyed and threaded last night. I'll probably end up watching some of The Ten Commandments (wouldn't be Easter without it) and knitting some more on my Little Dimun.

The kids are all older now, but they insisted on the bunny cake again this year.

Pi Shawl

After
reading about Catherine
taking advantage of the good weather to block her shawl, I was reminded
of my poor Pi sitting in a ball. So after a good soak, she's sunning on the
back deck. I've been thinking about the Peacock I made years ago, this lemming
thing is nothing new for me! I gave that one to a friend, but I'm thinking of
making it again with some 3/2 perle cotton I have around.

April 8, 2004

Here's my progress on the Little Dimun and here's my new toy. It's a Howell Skein Winder,
from Woodland Woolworks.
Thanks for the tip, Carolyn.
I got the counter to go with
it too. It came unfinished, but very smooth. I'll probably rub an oil finish
on it next week when I have some time - spring break finally!

Little Dimun

The Little Dimun is about 5" now, but it is slow going. At least I know it will hold me through my trip to Cleveland. Kate is right, beginning shawl pics don't really look like much!

I finally gave my brother and sister-in-law the blanket I wove for them. They loved it - my brother announced to his kids that it was "all his"! Here's an old picture of the two of us when we lived in Japan. Remember those clip on glasses that came with the doctor's kit?

January 30, 2003

Lots of good movies helped me get a couple of things finished up this weekend. I saw Signs, then watched the 1934 The Rise of Catherine the Great on History International, Analyze This, Finding Forrester, and finally, The Mummy. It was a great day, my family all had plans to go out to different parties to route for the Eagles, unfortunately that didn't have the desired results. I finished weaving the brown and white plaid blanket on Saturday, and twisted the ends and washed it yesterday. I finished the second scuff (Nancy Lindberg pattern) for my youngest son, Josh, yesterday and fulled and fitted them before he left to watch the playoff games. The mohair shows up iridescent on the picture, but they are not so glowing in person. He likes them, but I think I'll try the Fibertrends clog for me - it seems to come up on the back a little more. I have the bootie slipper, but I want something I can kick off.

I got the 6" Schacht bobbins for the old shuttle I had, but I guess I didn't measure right, because it has the little flanges on the ends and it just fits. But did I think it through before I forced it in? I think you know the anwer to that! So now I have to either crush the bobbin, or try to get a hacksaw blade down in there to cut the metal. I think I'm going to have to sacrifice the bobbin since there's only about an 1/8" on either side. Duh... The good news, I've ordered a new Schact shuttle that will accomodate these 6" bobbins. I want to be able to cut down on bobbin changes when I'm using thicker weft yarns. Speaking of shuttles, I love my new Bluster Bay shuttle. It just shoots across the loom, but since I won't be using the 15" shuttle that often, I really don't want to put out that much money.

I have about 25 rows left on my Pi Shawl. I haven't decided what border I'm going to do yet. I've been using the alpaca from one my UFOs and it is so soft and drapey. I've been thinking about my next shawl and although I haven't narrowed it down yet, I think it will be from Folk Shawls.

Once I get three scantron keys filled in for 3 different 200 question midterms AND my eyes begin to focus again, I'm going to start spinning some more Beast. I find that if I use a tennis elbow strap on my arm and alternate projects my tendonitis is minimized. Besides, I know I'll want to play with my new Schacht as soon as it gets here, so I won't be up for any thick yarn on the Louet for a while.

August 14, 2002

After a harrowing ordeal of untangling a seven yard warp, the heddles are threaded. I'm going into school for a couple of hours this morning, and then back to sleying and weaving!

I think this blog is allowing for some introspection that I never usually give myself time for. I delivered the hooded baby sweater to its recipient and the two grandmothers were ooing and ahhing. They asked me if my mother knit and talked about their family members who worked with fibers. It got me thinking about families and how lucky I am.

There is so much hurt and pain suffered as a result of the families that people are raised in. My family and childhood was so blissful that I don't think I realized the magnitude of problems that can occur until I had children and began observing and talking with other parents. The thought of not wanting to see your parents or siblings was just so foreign to me. As my husband was transfered and we moved around, I missed not being able to jump in the car after breakfast and be at my parents before lunch. And here I was talking with women who lived 10 minutes from their family and made it a point to NOT see them. How does this fit into a fiber blog? Except for one aunt, no one in my family did anything in the way of fiber playing. Yet, when this bug hit me at the age of 8 or 9, my family did everything they could to support me.

My first real fiber present (potholder kits not included) was a Barbie knitting kit. I got a pair of red plastic needles, yarn, and instructions to make a coat and pillbox hat (ala Jackie Kennedy). Can you imagine a first time project making a coat, in pieces, for a skinny (well, not everywhere) doll? I was supposed to make a tapered set-in sleeve for a first project. After many attempts I was discouraged, but my mother came home with the green Coats & Clark How to book, and I was rolling. I never made the coat, but I knitted things, ripped it apart and knitted more, just to knit. After the yarn was shredded beyond hope, I found out you could just go to the local 5 and 10 cent store and BUY MORE!!! That little green book was my only source for a long time. I made hats, mittens, and learned to crochet from it.

Aroung 10 or 11, I decided I wanted to sew. Dad went out a bought a Singer treadle machine. He sold and repaired Hoover vacuums, and his salesman told him to start me on a treadle (can you imagine a 25 year army veteran, turned vacuum repairman, discussing his daughter's fiber interests?). Then he had it converted into an electric, ( I know, but didn't know THEN) then upgraded to a new machine, complete with cams that could do "fancy" stitches.

When my youngest sister married in 1983, my two daughters were flower girls. I made them dresses to match the bridesmaids and my father was so impressed with my talent that when he saw the new computerized Viking on the Today show a week or two after the wedding he called me. Now my father HATED the phone. When I called from college he
would say, "How are you? Here's your mother". So a phone call from PA to Michigan was unusual to say the least. He told me to find that machine and buy it, he would pay for it. Maybe that doesn't sound so extraordinary to you, but he died a week after I picked up that machine. I never finish anything early (you know, hemming in the car and the way to the event), but that year I had a new machine, and all the Halloween costumes (for 4 kids) were done a week before they were needed. That machine is will be 19 years old this fall, and I still feel so close to him when I set it up.

This reminiscing started with a comment on ST about different machines, but really got me on a roll. I was going through old pictures and found a picture of my father, with one of my first crochet projects. I was very impatient, and never bothered with gauge. I thought I was going to have a hat for my little sister and stayed up all night working on it. He got up around 5:30 and we decided it may be a little TOO big for her. Sort of like the sweater I knitted for my husband (to-be) which was too big for my 275 pound cousin! As I look back, I realize that some things stay the same, as others change. I am much more patient with the sampling, gauging, etc. in fact, that is sometimes as far as I get, because it's the most fun!! BUT, I'll still stay up to the wee hours if I'm really into a project. And I'm still the happy recipient of fiber support, only now it's usually in the form of gift certificates and magazine subscriptions.