September was busy, October shapes up the same.

Classes at Fuzzy Wuzzy have been filling.  The DYO Christmas stocking class is so much fun.  There's another one on October 12!  You can see more info HERE!

What have you been working on?

I finished one thing ... like a sweater for the penguin on my desk.  DON'T JUDGE ME FOR MY LOVE OF MY PENGUINS!

It's a simple raglan in penguin proportions.  Next sweater will have fewer belly increases.
Seriously, I have knit 100% more sweaters for my penguin than I have for my sig other...

I can't believe that's all I've finished... not true, I finished hats, but I don't enter them into my project pages.  One hat is for halos of hope, the other for a friend I will see this weekend.  Silly pictures from lager fest will be coming!

Next works in progress.  I have a sweater I'll be starting tomorrow, with math.  I have some lime green handspun, and with the 30 day sweater challenge ... I'm going to get it done!

And I have started working on my 4 blankets on the needles.  I've done about 25 hexipuffs for the beekeepers quilt.  All in fall colors (the penguin sweater was done while making puffs out of that yarn).

 

A bag of puffs.  Not too bad!  

Chrstmas sock project under way, Greg has big feet and prefers dark socks.  I'm working with Brown Sheep's wildfoote sock yarn.  I like the marled effect, at least that's interesting.  Only 7" left to go on the cuff and I'm done!  

That whooshing noise that the end of summer makes ... when the bobbins are spinning.

Did the end of summer pass you by just as fast for you as it did for me?

I love the end of summer and the beginning of fall.  So many fiber festivals and yarny events.  So much running around and getting everything ready for the fall rain and the winter snow.  It's time to knit!

I have been spinning though, I'm loving this hobby.  Here's what I've done:

I finished the Corridale I talked about Hawser Plying in the past month's blog.  It's been set and is ready for gift giving.  How pretty is this?

I made a chain plied BFL from Two if by Hand that I got as a door prize at Yarn School.  It was in the color Lurky.  Very Halloween.  The red is bobbin leftovers from the above yarn.  (I know that red just turns into purple with those blues!)

I decided they would make baby legwarmers - showed them off in the last post!  I did removed the pink from the mix for the project though.  The tone was a little off.

I love the next yarn.  I just finished earlier this week.

I worked a Spinning Bunny Batt that I won from Tour de Fleece, a supported long draw.  I worked some top from The Fold, Romney, undyed white, in a true long draw.  I beaded about 300 yards of silver thread.  I then plied them all together.  And it was lovely.  I did have to re-bead at one point because I didn't catch the end of the bobbin before they all slipped off the end!  I also had to spin up more Romney.  All fibers were a delight.  Beaded yarn can go for up to $45 a skein, and I can tell you after creating it - it is worth it.

August Round up! Projects & WIPs

I have finished 4 more projects!  All within the last couple weeks.

I finished my third Camp Loopy, and am wearing it right now!  A lace weight cardigan, I love it so much.  It's Audrey's cardigan, from the 2010 Spring Interweave. 

My new favorite is worked at a big gauge, and has snagged a bit.  :-(  The yarn is lace wool from Prism color 103 I think, a basic brown.

I also finished a cowl that I was doing for the mean girls yarn club.  It was such a pretty color I wanted flashing, this called for crochet.  I made 50 two layer granny squares and joined them in an infinity cowl with some lace weight from knit picks in the bare color.  I only finished on Tuesday, so I missed the deadline.

Finished photos are coming, it's blocking right now.

I slammed out some Halloween leg warmers for a special girl.  Perfect for fall.  3 because you might lose one!

The yarn is DK handspun from BFL from Two if By Hand in the Lurky colorway.  I was told when spinning it the yarn looked like fruit loops, but now it looks very Halloween!  I improvised the pattern.  36 stitches, 1 inch ribbing, 5 inches plain knit, 1 inch ribbing = warm legs!

The Shark-nado socks are done!  A holiday gift is done!  

I have a few patterns to write up now...

On the needles?  I put a new pair of grey socks on them.  The love of my life likes boring socks.  I am using gift yarn though, which makes these extra special socks.

I have a charity hat on the needles, the yarn was more stripy than I expected, so I think I need to switch pattern :(

And all the blankets are sad, because I finished all the other projects and not them.

Classes and Events for August 2013!

2 big events have happened.  I went to Stitches Midwest and I went on vacation.

Stitches has not disappointed me.  A couple of my classes there, a little, but this year I took no classes but went to all the evening events.  I was very happy and excited.

I worked in the Zen Yarn Garden Booth, my LYS Fuzzy Wuzzy Yarns will start carrying their yarns this fall and we hosted their yarn at Stitches.  I spent Thursday's market preview learning about their yarns and talking up their cashmere blends.  It was so pretty, I came home with some (not these ... they were already gone)

I came after work on Friday, but missed the podcaster meet-up due to yoga.  I did meet up with some folks from the Fox Valley area in WI, HI!  It was good to see my Yarn School Buddy Ann.  I got my books signed by Antje Gillingham and Melissa Leapman.  Both were very nice but honestly Antje changed my knitting life.  The 2 at a time on 2 circulars method made socks more achievable and more likely to be the same size!  I couldn't thank her enough, she might have gotten teary.  I know I did :)

The fashion show put on by the yarn sponsors and vendors was that night.  I got to sit with Jen Lucas of Sock Yarn Shawls & Knitting Like Crazy, Laura (who won the student banquet editor's choice), Christine and Pam that I all know through my time at Fuzzy Wuzzy.  The Fashion Show was very cool, lots of great things going on, Lion Brand's LB collection has some real nice stuff in it!  I was really impressed with Laura Bryant's Artful Color, Mindful Knits collection from the book.  I wish I had more time to check out those garments.

Then the PJ party.  I packed up my sidekick spinning wheel and had it in the car for the PJ party.  I knew that after work, shopping the market and the fashion show, I would be fried.  I took it as an opportunity to spin.  I was the only spinner, but I did get to teach a little about the wheel and what I was doing.  It was a lovely night.

On Saturday I was back in the afternoon after mowing the lawn, house work and some laundry.  I came in around 1, dropped off some noms for the ladies working the Zen Yarn Gardens Booth, because I knew they wouldn't stop to eat.  Then did a little walking the market place and shopping and then did a 2 hr volunteering at Halos of Hope.  Man I love Pam, Alex and that whole organization.  They do a lot to make sure people fighting for their lives have some comfort and love around their heads.  Do check out the drawing for a FREE RIDE to your next stitches event for a $5 donation!

In the evening on Saturday I finished the day with the Student Banquet and Fashion show.  I just love that event.  The peak at what the industry is presenting is great, but seeing what the others at the show are doing is the best!  Fantastic work and great workmanship.  Oh, I loved it.  So proud of the other stitchers there!

I came home with a few goodies from the dinner and then came home to pack for a week of vacation in MI!  There was very little fiber fun on the road.  I knit a lot of my Camp Loopy Project, some socks, and taught my friend to spin!

She should be very proud!  And she is so enthusiastic that when she got back to California, she signed up for a drop spindle class.  Woo hoo!

I saw cool things and ate lots of great food.  Ann Arbor MI is a wonderful town, even for a Buckeye.

I wish I had had the time to take a class at Stitches, but I pooled my money into SOAR.  And it's good I did, because it's the last one :-(  I am thrilled to be going and to sleep in my own bed while attending.

On the teaching front I have several classes that are new to me.  Design Your Own Christmas Stocking.  Like this one I made for my sig other.  

I am teaching Christmas Ornaments too - Balls Up! is our pattern and it's going to be great!

Check out the store website for details. 

It's August - Let's Talk about Spinning and Books

This month's Spinning and Books are linked.  

I was gifted 8 ounces of Gale's Art Corridale wool in a Randome Colorway.  Of course there is no before picture.  Sorry.  It was a bunch of Purples, some red, a navy, aquas and a blue.  They were 2 bumps of four ounces each, likely dyed at the same time.  I didn't care for the red, however the purples and blues were very nice.  I decided to break this up, pulling the colors into different piles.  I then weighed each pile to see how I could divide these colors up while still being able to pair the red with a color that would ply into something good.  The red is so tonally different than most of the other colors but I wanted a 2 ply.  I figured out a color progression that would pair the red with the navy which should give an effect of a purple from a distance.  

My sidekick bobbins hold about 4 ounces so my intent was to spin 2 bobbins FULL and ply them together making a 2 ply that would be a lovely purple yarn to gift over the holidays to a new knitter.  I have never spun Corridale before, it wanted to be spun pretty fine, finer than I usually spin.  So, I needed to come up with a different option and I turned to The Spinners Book of Yarn Designs.  I had flipped through the book in an early post, but I hadn't READ the whole thing.  I did, and I loved it.  I went browsing and learning through the book looking for a multiply that would work with my Z spun singles that are divided into 2.  I had already spun one bobbin full :-/ 

I found the Hawser Plying, I think I was familiar with Hawser Rope.  It's a 4 ply that is a double 2 ply taking your z spun singles and making a z spun 2 ply yarn, then taking the 2 ply yarn and making an S spun 4 ply!  Ah!  And when I was flipping through the book I found a secret pouch on the back that had cheat sheet cards!  So handy to remind me what I was doing.

So far I have spun my Z spun 2 plies.  I should start S plying tonight.  BUT I SAMPLED:  Look how nice that is :)

Bonus Recipe You Need To Try: 

Filipino Chicken Adobo.  So easy, so yummy, in love.  Make with rice, eat with gusto.

A Late July Wrap Up - Projects!

I've been readying for a vacation and Stitches Midwest and the Chicago-land Yarn Crawl.  All the while I let the end of month wrap up fly by!

I have been knitting swiftly and getting a lot of projects done.  I still have a few projects in need of buttons.  Including my Bittersweet vines set.

I worked the smaller size out of Plymouth Mushishi.  Love the silk noils, don't they just crave your attention?  I don't know if I like the color gradation, but with 5 buttons in place I will be putting this set in the gift pile.

I also need 2 cute buttons for Ava's sweater.  It's a Helena from Knitty.com.

I made the largest size and made a couple modifications.  Those were removing the picot edging on the bottom and sleeve to match the garter edging on the button band/collar.  I also did all garter and reverse stockinette in a contrast color.  A forced modification due to a lack of purple yarn was to add a couple stripes near the edging on the sleeves.

Her 3rd birthday is at the end of the month, and she picked out the purple, Flashdance in MadTosh DK.  I picked out the pink to go with it.  The combo reminds me of Dora the Explorer, a big hit at her house.  This soon to be 3 year old said it was pretty and you can't ask for a better endorsement!

I have been obsessed with the Knitty.com pattern Sallah Cowl by Bristol Ivy.  All my 100% wool sock yarn WANTS to be one.  Including some Insanity Sock from Knitting Like Crazy (currently not dying up more) in a Packer color!

It's drying on the rack right now.  I love the simplicity of the pattern.  With a set of interchangables, I put on one size 5 tip and one size 10 tip and off I go.  The cowl is so squashy and the pattern creates a lot of pockets for air to act as insulation.  I am completely fascinated with the squash-factor and color pooling.

I have yet to pick a new yarn to become a Sallah, but I'm eyeing some Zen Yarn Gardens Serenity Silk at Stitches Midwest for one!

On my needles right now are a million things.  I found a blanket in Lion Brand Homespun that was 1/4 done in my closet.  I moved it from the old house and shoved it in the closet?  *sigh*

So I dug it out and quickly doubled the length in cool afternoon a couple weekends ago.  I do like it and it's on US 11 needles, so it's about 2 rows per inch.  BAM!  Blanket!

For those counting that's 4 blankets on the needles, none remotely close to being done!  I'm 1/2 way through the GIANT needles blanket too.  That one is heavy and warm.  8 strands of worsted acrylic on size 50's.  I did about 8 more rows on it but have gotten to a point where I need to be joining new yarn.  Things get tangled and I get frustrated.  Every row helps though!

I haven't done any work on the Building Blocks or Beekeeper's Quilt.  They are lonely and neglected.

Other projects I'm working on are a hat for Halos of Hope.  Simple Tam pattern for that in a beige.  Kind of boring... a KAL with the Mean Girls Yarn Club that I have made a million (about 35) tiny granny squares for.  So cute.  I can't wait to work with them, but I have to weave in ends.  YUCK!  But I'm going to attach them and combined withe some garter stitch rows of white... maybe I'll have a new pattern!

Have you seen Sharknado?  I have been bitten and I am making Sharknado Socks!  Look for an afterthought garter stitch heel.  Oh they are sweet.

Lastly I've started challenge 3 for Camp Loopy.  800+ yards in ONE project.  I'm doing the Audrey Cardigan in 100% Wool Lace from Prism.  I have lace tension issues and have snapped the yarn once.  (I'm a hulk)  I do nothing but re-think my choices when knitting this; it's not a good sign.  The color is a boring brown, which I know I would wear all the time but don't like looking at right now.

I know that I have had to make a couple adjustments to the pattern for my hips and arms.  It all makes me a little nervous.  Dear God I hope this works out.

Hope everyone's knitting is going well!  See you after Stitches!

July Wrap Up - Tour de Fleece and other things

My July was mostly filled with Tour de Fleece and all the focus went there.

I bought a couple books, and I'll talk about that next month, if I open them.

So with that Let's talk Tour and FO's and WIPs.

Tour de Fleece is an event that takes place along side the Tour de France bicycle race.  All meeting at the starting line at Ravelry.com we set our personal goals and support each other with each leg of the race.  I can't tell you why I haven't done the Tour in previous years, but this was my Rookie Year on the Tour.

I had goals, oh yes, the Tour is about personal goals and mine were lofty.  I wanted to finish the long term projects on my bobbins and spindles.  I had 8 ounces of Mixed BFL from Blue Moon Fiber Arts that I got at The Fold when they were at the Sewing Show in March of 2012.  I had 2.7 ounces spun on my spindles.

I decided to spin 4 on the wheel and 4 on the spindle.  I finished up my 1.3 ounces on the spindles and completed the 4 ounces on the Sidekick.  I worked a 2 ply on the Sidekick and got a delicate fingering weight.  It's so pretty - in reds, pinks, and greens.

So soft and lofty.  When washed it blossomed!  Oh, I love it.  Aprox 690 yards.  :)

I also have some BFL from Miss Babs I got from her website and from Loopy Yarn in the Loop.  Some in the color Dew and some in the color Envy Me.  They were both BRIGHT GREEN, I love that color.  I spun about half of it up on the Vespera espinner and I was a little green myself when I spun it.

I finished the singles on the Sidekick and plyed on the Vespera.

I worked a 3 ply and it is puffy and glorious.

I then tackled the last long term project.  I have about 5 lbs of llama to spin up.  I'm really struggling with it.  I don't think it's well prepared.  The spinning guild helped me find the problems with it and what to look for next time.  It's full of veg matter, and there are second cuts.  It makes it hard to draft properly without stopping regularly to clean and pick.

So to combat this disheartening task, I SWEAR I will do 3 bobbins of llama between other projects.  I did my 3 bobbins and like it.

The last thing I did was start a new project!  Yay!  It is Corridale from Gale's Art in a Random Colorway - it's blues and purples with a pop of red.  The red is slightly out of place, but I will spin it up and gift it at Christmas.  Here's some pictures:

Love it! I will post on Friday about my WIP's and FO's.  Are you excited?  

July Spinning and Classes

I have finished a couple classes on Craftsy while finishing my Stoker Pullover.  I think I finished them both ... hmmm.

I finished the Fit to Flatter class with Amy Herzog.  A nice follow up to that class would be something on Arm-hole math.  I would love that.  Seriously.  I need that.  Well, her class is pretty great.  The only improvement I could see is that in the beginning we look at pictures and analyzing shape.  We are given the tip - contrasting outfit for your background.  What does she do?  Models in black against a dark wooden background.  Behind Amy?  A pale blue wall.  *shakes head*  There is a lot of tips on math, and some practice.  It was really helpful.  And then - you really only have to do this kind of math once, then you will know what to do for EVERY SWEATER you will make for yourself again.  Assuming you don't change too much.

Well worth it.

I also signed up for the free class - Know your Wool.  And it helped me get my sheepy fix after not seeing any at the Midwest Folk and Fiber.  :)

With the sheep - it's Tour de Fleece!  And Bright Green BFL from Miss Babs is almost complete.  I will wash and set right after posting this!

Pictures:

June's Projects in various states of complete

I've been working fast and furious on my projects.  A lot of KAL's - per usual.  I like to do Camp Loopy with the Loopy Ewe in CO.  I knit swiftly and the 1 project in a month is not too difficult for me.  I like the crazy challenges.

So:

I finished some projects I love.

I have a new pair of socks that have a TARDIS theme!  I worked on them while THE BLACKHAWKS were WINNING!

They are in my Garter Chevron pattern - available BOGO Free right now - use coupon code: FUZZYSOCK2013 use it wisely.

I finished a sweater that I will love in the cold windy winters of Chicago-land.  The Stoker Pullover from the Fit to Flatter book.  I already want to make another in say ... a wool.  The alpaca chainette construction of the Flicker Yarn is going to be so warm.  Oh but the modifications to fit ... Wide hips, as written above the waist, wider arms, and some armscye math.  Cowl neck as written.  :)

A co-worker that I convinced to start going to yoga classes with me has a birthday coming up.  I made her a yoga mat bag that will coordinate with the color of her mat.  It's an aqua color - this is the Om Yoga Mat Bag from the Stitch n Bitch Nation book.  It's probably one of my first knitting books.  My friend Fluffy had it when visiting me back in 2006, and it really inspired me to try new things.  This book and her influence pushed me over the edge.  I made this pattern back then for my yoga mats, I made it bigger for myself and ran out of yarn.  Mine looks crazy, Ning's looks a lot better.

In progress I have a ton.  Always. I cluster knit.

Still in progress are the hexapuffs - I got sick on Monday and made a couple YELLOW ones.  Yellow is making me happy right now.  I'm still working on the Bittersweet Vines set from Anne Hanson.  That project takes brains, and those projects take me a little longer because I have no time for that right now.

I started a blanket for Project Linus 8 strands of yarn given to me from a friend who lost her grandmother.  It's plain acrylic and it's working up nicely.  (size 50's from Bagsmith)  I was on FaceTime with a friend who called her hubby over to watch me work on them.  (Go Team Squishy)

I started another Sallah Cowl.  I love that pattern, it's a free Knitty.com pattern.  Bristol Ivy did a wonderful job, well written.  The only thing missing on Knitty is the schematic, but I think it is on her blog.  I'm working in Packer Themed yarn - Go Pack!

I've also joined a KAL for my old yarn club - The Mean Girls Yarn Club.  Yarns were themed around a villainess of the month.  My year (year 2) was centered around the movies.  I have worked up one - it was hard to find a pattern to work with that yarn.  It looked horrible worked up, but lovely in the skein.  I am still not happy with it, but too stubborn to rip it out.  This yarn - a 2 ply superwash fingering weight screams SPRING with an olive green meeting purple and coral.  I did not want it to blend - I wanted pooling.  I viewed the Run Amok projects on Ravelry, and found when the colors blended it looked brown from a distance.  No - I wanted SPRING.  I went crochet.  I'm doing tiny granny squares that I will couple with a white boarder.  We'll see how this goes :)

Lastly it's time for Camp Loopy project 2 - I'm doing the Helena for a lovely almost 3 YO.  She picked the color - a Flash Dance Purple in Madelinetosh DK.  Here's the progress shot.