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28
Feb 2010

Go Canada…….. Go!!!

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While the Canadian Hockey team was getting ready to go into overtime at today’s fantastic last sports event of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, I was sitting at my computer, officially crossing the Ravelympic finish line with my projected.  I finished……… YEAH!!!

Here is the collage of my finished handspun Multnomah – it is such a fabulous pattern.  I know I will knit it again – with handspun or with some of my commercial yarns.  It’s a great little pattern.

Ravelympics 2010 - The The Finish Line - Multnomah Shawl

It was a fabulous 2 weeks.  I wish I had taken in more of the action but it seemed a rather large challenge getting around all the people with the little creatures.

I feel accomplished that I got this project done.  During the week, I have to tell you more about my fun shopping trip to my fave LYS, 88 Stitches

Category: Finished Projects, Ravelympics  Tags: , , , , ,  2 Comments
27
Feb 2010

Two More Rows

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I’m really loving that there is a wireless network to connect to while I spend two hours at the dance studio while I wait for the little Miss. Oh yes, I think I didn’t mention that I got an iPhone for my birthday last week. I wanted one so badly but really can live without one so it was a great surprise and much as I expected, I love it.

This morning I lined up at the ungodly hour of 6:20 am to participate in the awesome annual customer appreciation Sal at the fabulous 88 Stitches. Thanks to Sue and all her stuff (including the hubby ). You guys are awesome!!! I will flash my stash on Ravelry but let’s just say a bunch of lovelies came home with me, mostly Noro. I like it for weaving.

And, as the Olympics wind down, I still have hope to finish my project. I have two more rows to knit. Those will get done in the next hour, here at the dance studio. Blocking right after and maybe it will be dry by tomorrow for its photoshoot!!!!! I Believe…..yes I can do it.

Category: Ravelympics, Spinning  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
24
Feb 2010

Knitting,knitting

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I’m knitting and really hoping that I can finish before the Olympics are over. I think I can do it. I’ve made decent progress on my Multnomah. I have about 24 rows of the feather and fan pattern left to knit. My goal is to finish knitting by Friday and block on Saturday. Here’s a rather dark picture of my progress:

Category: Ravelympics  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment
17
Jan 2010

Knitting with Handspun

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It feels so good……. I’ve been finishing some stuff!!!

I finished knitting my handspun Lacy Baktus scarf.  I really truly enjoyed this pattern.  It’s a quick knit and although, it looks fabulous in commercial yarn, I loved the fact that it looks equally fabulous in handspun yarn.  The yarn I used was my first ever low twist single ply yarn.  I had my doubts whether it was even a knittable yarn once I had soaked and slightly felted it but alas……. the pattern lent itself perfectly to this yarn.

Here are some finished object shots.  I didn’t measure the dimensions but it worked out very nicely.  I think I had around 400 yards or handspun, maybe a little bit more.

Handspun Lacy Baktus

Lacy Baktus in a Bush

And in a fit of finishing, I finally finished this gorgeous pair of handspun ribbed socks made from a fabulous merino/bamboo/nylon blend.  They were a super quick knit because I knit them on 3 mm needles as my navajo plied yarn came out a bit thicker than fingering – probably a heavier sportweight.  I love the colours and how they turned out.  The fibre came from Fat Cat Knits.

4 by 2 Ribbed Handspun Socks - Spring is Calling

There’s something to be said about socks that are a little bit heavier weight.  They are not great in shoes but they sure knit up super quickly.  I did those toe-up on two circs.  You may teach and old dog new tricks, yet.  I do admit though that even in a toe-up sock, I’d rather knit a gusset style heel.

That brings me to spinning and knitting and the upcoming Ravelympics.  Having the Olympics so close to home, inspires me too make sure I participate in the Ravelympics.  The idea of the Ravelympics is to pick a project that will challenge you.  I know I could easily knit a Multnomah during the duration of the Games but I figured my challenge would be to spin for and then knit this beautiful little shawl.  I have now made a decision on the fibre and it will be this gorgeous blue SW Merino/Bamboo/Nylon blend that I just received from the lovely Julie of Julie Spins.

The official day to start is during the opening ceremonies of the Games.  I can’t do much until then but train.  As my training I’m thinking I might try and take a similar fibre and see if I could succeed at a low twist single because if I can, that’s what I’d like to spin for this shawl.  If not, I’ll go to my standard 2-ply because I know i can do that, almost in my sleep.  Mind you, having talked about training, there are a lot of other fibres I’d like to spin like my Crown Mountain Farms January and February fibre club shipments and some other beauties.

But anyways, come back and watch my progress during the Olympics.  As a preview, here’s the fibre I have chosen:

Ravelympics Fibre - SW Merino/Bamboo/Nylon

Today was JR’s forth birthday.  If you’ve been around for a while, reading my blog, back in its old,old home, you’ll remember the stresses around his preemie arrival and then 2 years later his surgery and difficult recovery.  Now, he’s my big 4-year old boy….. it’s hard to believe how fast time flies!!!

Lipstick Boy - Happy Birthday Bud!!!

Category: Kidlets, Knitting, Ravelympics, Sock Knitting, Spinning  Tags: , , , , ,  2 Comments
10
Jan 2010

How Long Does it Take to Block a Shawl?

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How about one year???  Yes, indeed, that’s how long it took me to finally block the Sivia Harding’s gorgeous Norwegian Woods shawl.  I checked it out in my Ravelry projects and I finished knitting it on or about January 4th last year.  It sat on my book shelf in my room the whole entire year and finally, the desire to try out my new blocking wires gave me the impetous to get it done!!  Blocking wires……. can I say, are a must have.  it was so much easier than all with pins although in itself, it was still awkward.

Here are the finished project shots.  I went a little nuts with the camera:

I will soon take another piece of the needles that will take some blocking.  I promise I won’t leave it for a year to block.  Really, honestly!!!

Category: Knitting  Tags: , , ,  5 Comments
12
Oct 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

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Up here, north of the border, it’s Canadian Thanksgiving today.  We had our turkey feast last night so today is a day to hang out.  I started my Thanksgiving weekend celebrating in fibery style with a quick shopping visit to 88 Stitches.  There was a great Thanksgiving sale going on and what’s a girl to do but to support the sale and do some shopping.

Here’s the stash:

Thanksgiving Day Sale at 88 Stitches
Thanksgiving Day Sale at 88 Stitches

Bottom right is some Malabrigo sock in the sought after (or so it seemed at the store) Tiziano red.  I have no idea what this one wants to be yet.  Malabrigo sock does look and feel a bit too yummy for me to actually use it on a sock project.  I’ve kind of had a hankering of doing another Diamond Fantasy scarf from Sivia Harding.  There are several other good options as well for a lovely skein of yarn like that.  Then the other two skeins on the outside are a solid and a multi skein of Araucania Rancho.  These two coordinate and I think are destined for a future weaving project.  In the middle are two skeins of lovely, vibrant Frog Tree Brushed Suri.  It’s fingering weight and I’m maybe thinking of an Ishbel.  That yarn comes in some lovely colours and it was very, very difficult to decide.

Another outing this weekend took me to the Fraser Valley Bead show which is now over and done with.  Let’s just say it was an expensive outing, especially because I probably only spent an hour on site.  I bought all my fall supplies of sterling silver chain, clasps.  Took delivery of a sizable order of chainmaille rings from my “ring dealers” and got sucked into the most gorgeous of clasps.  I love these clasps….. love, love, love them but of course, they are also expensive – very expensive – making a piece of “for sale” jewelry very expensive and making it hard to find just the right market but I just can’t resist these pieces of art.  I will show finished pieces only but one clasp that came home with me was a 5 strand clasp in sterling silver with inlayed black onyx…… and the cuff I will be making – with solid sterling rings – will be just for me.  There were a couple of other clasps, one of them a necklace toggle meant for a front closing necklace that I will start creating the chain for in just a few minutes here.
Here’s hoping for a good craft show season this year…… my mind is brimming full with ideas!!!!
Category: Stash and Supply Shopping  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,  2 Comments
22
Aug 2009

Excel Goodness

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Just thought I’d quickly post this note to let anyone who might, after all these years, still come looking for the Excel chart that I created a long time ago to help with knitting the Charlotte’s Web shawl, that I finally moved it over to this blog and put it back up for download in the sidebar.  See…. over there, to the right.  If it’s something you’d like to use, feel free to download it by right-clicking on the link and selecting something similar to “save target as” or whatever option your particular computer/operating system etc. gives you.

Just remember, this is not a chart that gives anything away about the pattern or anything like that.  You’ll need to have the pattern.  This chart is just a cheat sheet that lets you tick off the rows that you’ve worked and gives some help on when to do the colour changes (if you’re working the traditional Koigu Charlotte’s web shawl).  It also gives some tidbits about the toal # of stitches each row etc.

If you alter it to suit your needs, go for it…. that’s what it’s there for.  If you alter it to suit your needs better or adjust it to use with different yarns, more colours or whatever else you may think of and then pass it on to others, just be kind and give me the original credit.  Other than that, have fun with it and do with it what you need to suit your needs or particular shawl project.  Happy Knitting!!!!

Category: Knitting  Tags: , , , ,  Leave a Comment
13
Jul 2009

Graduated Colours

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I’ve been doing a bit of Tour de Fleece spinning but this spinning project has taken me the whole entire first week and then some.  I set out to spin a 3-ply sock yarn with a Fun Spun Socks Kit that I got from my dear friend Shelley at Fibres West in the spring.  These kits are great.  They come with 5 ounces of merino fibre in a graduated sequence of colours.  The one I chose to play with this time is the pink dawn colourway with colours going from a very light pink into a deep, almost brown burgundy.  I meant to spin it for socks but somehow in the process I did what I had planned on doing with a second kit and that’s to spin for a small shawlette.  That was by mistake and what I did wrong was to not divide all my little one ounce bundles into half first so that I coulds pin two different skeins ranging from dark to light.  I ended up spinning just one skein, a 3 plied skein.  Had I not planned on spinning for socks, I would have spun a 2-ply and achieved a bit finer yarn etc. etc.  But I didn’t figure out the error of my ways until I was well into the project already.  Really, I am not upset by that faux pas though because I love my skein and I just started knitting it into a little shawl tonight using a pattern from the book “The Intentional Spinner”.  It’s working up nicely.  Here’s a collage of the yarn:

Pink Dawn Merino Fun Spun Socks Yarn - 3 ply - Spun for a Shawl.

Pink Dawn Merino Fun Spun Socks Yarn - 3 ply - Spun for a Shawl.

 The yarn is about 15 wpi and I only got about 280 yards.  My biggest problem was that I didn’t weigh my fibre this time to split it into thirds and I really misjudged my even division.  On 2 bobbins, I ended up with tons of singles leftover while the 3rd bobbin was all done.  I usually have more left on one bobbins than the others when doing a 3-ply but this was significant.  I bet I lost at least 75 to 100 yards in the process.  Maybe only 50 yards but still…. a significant loss due to me rushing through the process.

I’ll show pictures of the shawl progress soon.  Now I have to get kidlets into bed.

Category: Knitting, Spinning  Tags: , , , , , ,  4 Comments