Spinning Again

I know it hasn't been as long as it seems, but it feels like it's been forever since I've been spinning... at least a couple, three weeks. So I've set myself out to spin all week to get back into my zen spin groove, which I'm seriously needing.

I have a lovely 4oz of handdyed norwegian wool that I've set my sights on spinning into sock yarn. So, on Monday, I weighed and divided it out into even parcels, one for each sock. I had a little left over for a sample that I spun up immediately, into a 3-ply sock yarn size, about 22 yards. I used my Matchless with the 15:1 whorl and spun the singles into a fine, smaller than lace-weight singles and navaho plied it. And the resulting yarn is lovely. I mean, really lovely, with nice twist and a beautiful sheen.

But I'm a math gal, ... just drawn to figuring out the numbers...so I just had to do the computing to extrapolate the yards and ounces of my sample and figure out if I would have enough yards for my socks if I continued on with the plan. Turns out, if I spun up the 1.85 oz I'd divided for each sock, using the very same technique, I'd end up with less than 300 yds total for both socks. Not quite the weight of socks I had in mind.

So tonight, I changed my wheel whorl to the 17-1/2 ratio, high speed, and began spinning a finer yarn. It's fun because it's been a very long time since I've used my high-speed whorl and I can see how quickly the twist enters the fiber at the same treadling speed, allowing me to spin finer with virtually no extra effort!

I think I'll still do a navaho/chain-ply with this, and am really excited about how it's looking. Of course, it's so easy to amuse me with spinning!!

Once I get this done, I'm going to spin up the April fiber colorway. It is a fiber I think you will like and it's all about spring in central Texas. I love driving through central Texas in Spring... why?  it's all about wildflowers, no??

For you non-spinners, don't worry about all the spinning technicalities... there is spun yarn dyed and ready to go in the colorway of the month.

(psst... take a drive up TxHwy 21 between Bastrop and Paige and you will see the colors bursting!)

Jubilation!!

I made my way through my accounting woes and I am jubilant! So now I'm back and able to focus on fibery things.

First, let me show you what I've talked about having finished...

My 198 Yds of Heaven blocked. Yarn is Mirasol Tupa, a 50/50 merino & silk blend that has a fab sheen.
I'm pleased with the final results.

Next up is my Weekend Jacket. I started this a year ago January and set it aside when spring came. I'm happy that I pulled it back out and finished it. It has become my very favorite sweater jacket! Soft, cuddly and looks great dressed up or down. I use a shawl pin for the closure.

This was one big project off my list of WIP's... hooray!

Then, just tonight, I finished the Cabled Sleeveless Shell, the first of my spring and summer tops. I used the new Cotton Twirl, a variegated cotton & elastic yarn. The yarn is tightly twisted, which I really love, so knitting with it was non-splitty and totally pleasureable. I'm going to have to make another top out of this yarn, as it's super comfy and stretchy in just the right amount. Tomorrow this gets blocked and then it's ready for prime time.  Btw, the color is called BBQ Sauce. Don't you just love that?

Finally, for those of you who may think that nothing much exciting ever happens in Paige, here's the turkey that ran up our street and up over the railroad tracks a few days ago. He certainly has some place to go, other turkeys to see, by the look on his face!

When Life Gets in the Way

My blogs have been few and far between for the past couple of weeks because life has gotten in the way...

Every day, I think about posting pictures and describing what I'm doing. The pictures of my lovely blocked 198 Yards of Heaven shawlette are still on my camera, as are the pictures of my FINALLY finished Weekend Jacket (that I absolutely Love, love!, btw), and that I've worn a couple of times this past week. Even on my camera is a picture of the absolutely huge wild turkey that gobbled his way up the street and up over the railroad tracks, just as Rebecca's grandson, Kaleb, was looking out the window. It was quite the spectacle, amid all the WOW's!!

Why am I delinquent? It's my accounting woes... I've some software issues, some human errors, some lack of understanding and learnings with my POS/financial software integration that has taken over ever waking moment that I'm not with customers for the past few weeks. Deadline for getting this all done is Monday.

If you don't hear from me by Tuesday, send in the chocolate, wine and bandages!! I'm hoping for a good outcome, though... so close

Things finished

I've been hunkering down this last week and finishing projects. First done, the 198 yards of heaven shawlette. I even blocked her and she is quite lovely, with a finished measurement of 45" x 21". I would definitely add another repeat if I do another because I had lots of yarn left over and it could use being just a tad bigger.

Next up, the Weekend Jacket. This is one I started in Jan 2009, but put aside when spring came, pulled it back out again this winter and have had it ready to put together for at least a couple weeks or so. Finally sewed it together... don't know what I was avoiding as it was really easy and only took a couple hours to get it all done. I love how this jacket came out! it's longer than I expected and I like that about it, too.

Finally, I'm nearly finished with the cabled shell out of Cotton Twirl. I should get the front done tonight, and maybe even sew it together so I can work on the armhole and neck finishing.

Aren't they lovely? don't you just love the colors and styles??

ok, I've once again left the finished pieces at the shop, while the camera is with me at home. Pictures of these beauties will come, I promise!

I do have one more little nugget that you will enjoy... I know I did!
Remember that lovely SOAR yarn I spun and finished last week? that gorgeous black blue-faced leicester/tussah blend that Morgan, our little cali cat was obsessed about? Well, I was diligent about putting the fiber up after that so she couldn't get at it any more before it had it spun up. And that worked swimmingly. After I finished the plying and photoed it and posted for you all, I set the skeins next to my bag that I take with me to the shop so I wouldn't forget.

The next morning, one skein was on the floor and we just assumed that the cats knocked it down when they were playing/tumblng. Silly me...  Once at the shop, I started to steam set the skeins and one skein had this funny 'wobble' area where the threads seemed out of whack. Yeah, they were out of whack, alright! Morgan (I feel confident accusing her!) had chewed right through the skein! Not all of it, but enough that she had to have worked that puppy for some time, only stopping when the threads were cleanly broken, with sections out of the middle. yum, yum... I can just hear her...

I haven't checked to see how much of it I've lost... I guess I should just let it go... easy come, easy go, and she must have relished her fiber dessert.

So productive week, overall. Sorry you can't see it!

Maybe I'll wear the jacket tomorrow at the shop's 2nd anniversary so you can drool over it!

I'm a Magnet

Ever feel like you are a magnet for the very things that drive you crazy? Like you can't stand the toilet paper roll paper unrolling over rather than under and you find a mate who puts it on the holder exactly the way that makes you want to bite your nails?

Well, thankfully, John and I both put the roll on the same way, but I'm finding I'm not so lucky with my knitting patterns of choice lately. I've written about the intuitive knitter/wannabe pattern designer and how they make me crazy when they write patterns as if the following of them doesn't matter. I thought I had it out of my system, but I was overly optimistic. And now I'm finding myself a magnet for them.

My latest misadventure is with the "198 Yards of Heaven", improperly named, but I don't want to get ugly. Actually, the finished product from this effort by the designer is quite pretty, and is what prompted me to attempt it in the first place. It is more than pretty!

Here's my finished piece... lovely isn't she?

She still needs to be blocked and will grow quite a bit in width and length, but I'm really fond of her.

But.... for all who want to do this and create their own very lovely version, DO NOT follow the written instructions!!! just Do not... You don't know how much it pains me to say that I have encountered yet another intuitive knitter who has written a pattern following the successful completion of her own project, but it's true. In this case, it's even documented how the pattern was tested by Ravelry test knitters. Alas, that can only be part of the story... they could not have used the written instructions as part of their test, only the charts. The charts are correct, with some adjustments following tester comments. The written pattern should just be deleted.

So I won't rant about how intuitive knitters need to write patterns that are correct and can be followed explicitly by someone coming behind them. I won't moan about how it cost me 2 evenings doing and undoing the 22-row repeat to figure out where the problems were arising, and I won't even comment on the fact that the pattern has this goofy switch  from a 2-stitch rib to a knit pattern in the edging, which can only be interpreted as not paying attention to pattern. Why? Because, at the end of the day, this is a lovely piece when you go with the fabric flow that I'm thrilled to have worked through.

Want to make one? Follow the chart only, do not follow the written row instructions, change the lace edge stitches to follow the pattern as in 'continue in pattern', and well....
Maybe you want to forget this one, unless you like reinventing the wheel... because, you will need to do and undo many times to get this to look right. Now that I've done one, though, the second should be a piece of cake!

Nope, I'm not really a Slug!

Sometimes, I feel like a slug... I get others, like my DH, to make meals and clean around us, and generally hold up the fort. He doesn't mind, really. In fact, he likes that he is so appreciated doing things he, at best, totally enjoys (cooking), and at worst, knows needs to be done and that he's supporting our larger goals. Still, I oftentimes feel a tad guilty that I really should be 'doing my part' around the place. 

John is a dear and assures me, when I show him what I'm getting done instead, that it's totally worthwhile. I love him madly for that! Here's what I've been working on over the last few days with his support. 

I spun up the SOAR comemorative fiber (black blue-faced leicester and tussah silk, 75%, 25%). I managed to spin up 806 yds of 2-ply out of my 4 ozs and so have enough for a shawl. The finished color and sheen is amazing. Now that it's done, I'm fantasizing about overdyeing it for a woven shawl. It's so beautiful, I can hardly keep from petting it.

Then there is the Cotton Twirl Shell I started a couple of weeks ago. See how lovely it is with it's soft cable? I'm nearly through the front (and the back), so should be done in just a few more hours.

Next comes the Spunky Eclectic fiber for February, a Superwash BFL in a colorway that is totally not my colors, yellow, orange, burgundy and turquoise. It's sort of a southwest colorway, though she calls it "oh la, la, tropical". I decided to go outside my norm and comfort zone with this, since there was really nothing to lose... I divided up the fiber into long strips and wound them into cakes for spinning, each in sequence, keeping the colors intact. I married the yellows up with the burgundies, the oranges with the turquoise. 

I am spinning the singles as a somewhat uneven yarn, with the idea that it will result in a worsted weight, uneven 2-ply. Here is the yarn as a singles. More to come on how it will look plied up!

You Know I Couldn't Resist!!

I have  been hearing about the shawl called "198 Yards of Heaven" for a few weeks now and finally relented (that's my excuse, and I'm stickin to it!). What is so wonderful about this shawl/shawlette is that it's made using a worsted weight luxury blend of your choosing, doesn't use much of it, and produces a nice-sized shawl/shawlette. From all accounts, it's a speedy knit, too. So I started one... yes, I did! Mine is in Tupa, the lovely Mirasol merino/silk worsted weight yarn and I'm so loving knitting with it and how it's coming out. I've finished one repeat of 22 rows and set it aside for tonight so I could work on another project. I think this is probably just a 3 or 4 evening effort at a nice, casual pace. I'm loving how the leaf pattern shows up and will post pics to show you mine, maybe tomorrow!

My other project for the evening? Spinning!!! Have I told you how I love to spin?? I'm finishing up the last of my SOAR commemorative fiber, the black blue-faced leicester/silk blend that was made specially for the participants. I'm hurrying to get it done because Fischer and Morgan, 2 of our family cats, have declared their passion for this fiber, too, and plan, plot and excute how to chomp on it every waking moment when I don't have my eye on them, which is most of the time. They are fascinated by the smell of it and I can only hope I can get it to a safe place, as I have visions of the resulting shawl being eaten up by them... what's so up with that??

See Morgan's razon-focus as she watches me spin that fiber? "I want it!!" And Fischer, below, is just waiting for his moment to pounce.

March Colorway of the Month

Yes, it's ready... the March colorway, "The Ah Ha Moment!". The fiber is a soft falkland top, 4oz and the yarn is a squishy, tight-twist sock yarn. Here it is:

Purples and pinks, a bit of coral and sometimes a green where the yellow meet the dark blues. I can't wait to see your spinning and finished objects in this!

I haven't been busy, oh no... not me! :)

More on Organizing Life through Cubies

I spent much of my free microcycles today thinking about compartments and fitting life's projects/to do's into them. The more I think about compartmentalization, the more I know that I must be an expert at it. Case in point, house cleaning is necessary and done by most rational, 21st century woman beings. I have managed to put that into a cube that doesn't apply to me. When the vacuuming needs to be done, I am always surprised, because it can't be ME, can it that needs to do it? John, DH, accepts this about me and he, magically, vacuums when the need arises. This allows me to avoid the subject altogether.

What that does for me is it allows me time to work on my other cubie projects... spinning, weaving, knitting, crocheting (less crocheting, but I do have a couple projects on my list for 2010). If DH loves me, why would he not want me to work on these things, and he loves me more than I deserve!

So he's cleaned the house in a manner beyond anything I can comprehend today, and I'm sitting looking at my spinning, weaving and knitting... actually admiring it, if truth be told. It's  liberating, sinfully freeing to work on projects in exquisitely clean and lovely surroundings. Tomorrow, I will proceed to fill the space with fiber dust balls again as I fill bobbins, and shuttles and needles with all I do... happiness for me and smiles from John as he gets pleasure knowing he's enabled me yet again. Life is grand!

Letting it Go

I always have lots of projects going at a time, and I am really good at compartmentalizing... I mean, if truth be told, I only have 4 knitting projects in the works - socks, my hoodie, my shell and my weekender jacket that just needs sewing up and final blocking.
Of spinning projects, I have 3 wheels going (and my charkha with my home-grown cotton), but these are my stress-relief time chunks and when I get an 'I love to spin' energy burst. I just have 5 weaving projects in the works... my Cricket washcloths, my bamboo warp, gifted Noro weft scarf project, my handpaint ikat-like fabric I'm set to weave for a jacket, my pomagranite shetland handspun warp for the ultimate scarf that will also use up some of my handspun stash (one of my three 2010 fiber goals), and my towel warp, yet to be completed... I won't even add the handpainted warp scarf that I'm hoping to become a kit, my silk and vicuna scarf... Let's not forget my crocheted wrap or the socks I have as another 2010 goal.

Compartmentalizing is so useful... it means that we never have to look at the whole at any one time and can rationalize why the compartment (3 or 4 things at a time) is the only thing that is important (vs. saying that I have 20+ projects going on simultaneously, all needing my attention). This is a mental health issue. It's how to cope with an imagination gone wild and a desire to try everything one can get his/her hands on without any reasoning on time bounds or responsibilities.

But every now and then, we find that this justification bites us in the behinds. And today was one of those for me. After a long day at the shop working non-stop on random, but important projects, I came home to work on something to get it done or approaching done. I sat, and pondered, and sat, and had a glass of white wine and looked around me at all of these things to be done with the idea that I would just reach for one and begin knitting, or spinning, or weaving, or crocheting... and here I sit. The more I think 'outside the box/compartment' the more overwhelmed I've become. I'm exhausted just thinking about which thing to work on next. Know what I mean?

Usually, when I feel this way, I start something new, but I've decided to give myself permission to just accept my project overload and let it all be... I acknowledge that I'm a frantic fiber project freak. But I'm holding back starting anything new. Tomorrow, I'll figure out which 2 or 3 things I'll focus on til completion. Which compartment shall I focus on?