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But not on the blog. The kids read this from time to time, and I want them to be surprised.
But go to my notebook on Ravelry. If you don’t know or can’t find my username over there, drop me a line.
3 sweaters and a work in (slow) progress are over there.
It’s Spring, and it is shaping up to be a delightful one. This has been one long year and a half. (Did we even have a spring last year? … with all that has gone on, it is sort of hard to remember.
Good things, great things have been happening lately.
Bill has recovered enough to return to work (2 weeks under his belt now), and is gradually making progress to full recovery.
Great things have been happening on my work front. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next!!
And, I saved the big tease for last… Here is what I am getting to buy/ work on lately.
Yes, yes, tis true. I get to knit for a wee one. I have been sitting on this news for a week, but did not want to go public with it until after our girl had been to the doctor and gotten the official confirmation and a due date. (December 1) So, now we have a baby to look forward to, and I have graduated from just another old knitter to a knitting grandma-to-be!!
I have been through an especially dry season for knitting, but am happy to say I have emerged from this to the other side at long last. I had started a laceweight scarf of Misti Alpaca, but lace knitting was not a very good match with what was going on in my life, what with Bill’s surgery and recovery (he’s going back to work this week, so he has made great progress from where he was immediately post op). My mind finally calmed enough to finish the project:
Blocking was a bit difficult, but it surely ended up pretty, or so I think! The pattern is Seafoam (can be found on Ravelry) by my friend, Ruth, and is really quite easy, if you don’t have eleventy-zillion things running around in your head to distract you. It’s lighter than a feather and tremendously soft!! I am glad I made it.
I just finished an awesome shawl made from some of my handspun merino/tencel as well. I have not blocked it yet nor taken a decent picture, so that will have to wait for another post.
Seems I have not blogged in a long time. Not only have I been AWOL from blogging, I also went AWOL immediately post Bill’s neck surgery. So, now what would induce me to leave my husband the day after he came home from the hospital (but never fear, my stepmother came down to sit with him for a week) and brave the 1 digit temperatures in North Carolina? 
(You can see the cold, can’t you?)
Well, only one thing could have done that. Lest you think I was being mean, let me remind you that I had this event planned for 6 months, and Bill’s surgery only came up for discussion within the last month or so. He definitely did not want me to miss my class at Folk School.
The class was “Spinning Colorful Yarns” and was taught by fiber/spinning/weaving expert extraordinaire, Judith MacKenzie McCuin. If you look closely, you can spot her in the classroom.
I just knew, knew, knew she was the best ever teacher, but I was also delighted to discover just what a wonderful lady she is as well. And, oh, the stories she regaled us with!!
Here are the goodies she brought along for us to play with:
Color wheel of 80s merino for us to experiment with. We learned how to spin the perfect sock yarn.
This is really the first time I have actually enjoyed spinning merino.
Then, she brought all this other wonderful stuff to play with. A lot of it came from our friend Jennifer from Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Yum!!!
She also brought a mixture of Cotswold wool and wolf fur, which I enjoyed experimenting with immensely. Well, who would have thought I would enjoy spinning wolf? Who would have thought you could even spin with wolf? And who was brave enough to gather its fiber?
Another goodie was some of Judith’s hand dyed singles, with which I learned to make boucle yarn.
Those who know me well know I have always been stumped by novelty yarns.
Here are some practice yarns:
Boucles and knot yarns.
Novelty mohair slub yarns.
4 ply cabled yarn. 
As well as 6 ply cabled yarn, which I love, love, love.
We carded crazy batts:
And spun crazy batts:
Dyed wool:
We also learned yarn control. Yay!!!
Judith was extremely generous with her time and quite patient with us. What a lovely time we all had.
I also had the very amazing opportunity to watch Lyle Wheeler make a chair, using only hand tools. No glue, no nails, no power tools. This is the man who made my great wheel and my spinning stool. I now have a greater appreciation for these treasures after seeing him work.
I ate well and met some awesome ladies in class!!
It all made up for the cold weather, as I left with a warm heart.
So, that’s my January in a nutshell. I hope you have had an interesting month as well.
1. Roasting a turkey in a convection oven makes a royal mess. You see, that fan in the oven just throws that grease from the turkey skin everywhere. From now on, I stick to oven roasting bags.
2. Knitting lace with laceweight alpaca on wooden knitting needles is a BAD idea.
3. When we gave out our new address to people likely to send us something, they all thought it was just a suggestion.
4. Fedex will leave a package at a totally uninhabited duplex that has a FOR RENT sign on it. (See #3).
5. People will help themselves to unattended item in #4.
6. iPod Touches are totally addictive.
7. How to blog from the iPod Touch.
(At least I think so. We’ll find out in a moment.)
Lifted from Ravelry. It was too good not to spread around. Sue, the creator of this masterpiece was generous enough to let me share it here. Thanks, Sue for spreading the holiday cheer!
Filked by Sue Yosemiteelp and Jim Michael Sableat5
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the stash
Not a needle was knitting, I was all out of cash;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
All knit in intarsia and lace if you dare;
The cashmere was nestled in soft little skeins,
“It’s saved for a project!” a knitter explains;
Mamma in her lace shawl, and I in my vest,
Had just settled down in our fiber filled nest,
When out on the lawn I perceived a kerfuffle,
Untangling my scarf, to the window I shuffled.
In order to get there before break of day,
I had to clear project bags out of the way.
The soft drifts of fiber on the floorboards below
By the glow of the night light looked like new fallen snow,
As I managed to get my chin up to the sill,
St. Nick and his reindeer came over the hill,
His hand crocheted hat and Selbuvotter mittens,
Looked as soft and as warm as a basket of kittens.
Like a fast spinning swift his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, Mohair! Alpaca! now, Camel and Rayon!
On Needle, on Marker! on Cable! and Cast On!
Fly on to the knit shop! it’s less than a mile!
We’ll bring one more project to add to the pile!”
As fibers that though the skilled spinner’s hands fly,
When carded too briskly will mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of knitting, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard through the ceiling
A clatter of needles that sent my head reeling.
As I picked up my knitting, I turned fast enough,
To see St. Knit land in a blizzard of fluff.
He was dressed in hand knits, from his head to his toes,
For knitting is timeless as everyone knows;
A bundle of wonders he had on his back,
He pulled projects! yarn! needles! from deep in his sack.
The yarn – how it sparkled, the pattern, how daring,
I knew the techniques with my friends I’d be sharing,
The sweater was cabled, the sleeves they were steeked,
And parts of the pattern just begged to be tweaked;
The scarf was fair isle in a curious pattern,
With the bright moon and stars and the rings around Saturn;
The hat was of lace, both knit and crochet,
‘Twould keep my hands busy for many a day.
He wrote a fine pattern, this jolly old elf,
And I gasped when I saw it, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know he’d leave plenty of thread;
He spoke not a word, but with straights he did knit,
More stockings so all of the goodies would fit,
And laying his needles aside of his nose,
And dropping a skein, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, ‘neath the shinning aurora,
And away they all flew like a wisp of angora.
But I heard him exclaim, with sparkling wit,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good knit.”
Yesterday, I finished 2 small projects. First, the scarf:
All washed, fulled and brushed and ready to go!! It is nice and fuzzy and soft. This was my first weaving project where I had to fix a broken warp. Worked out fine, and I am glad to have learned a new skill.
Here’s a closeup of the weaving:
Then, I used my Elsbeth Lavold Baby Llama to knit myself a cowl.
Mmmm… it is soft!!
Found this while browsing the web this morning. Quite weird pictures though. How many shall I knit you for the holidays?
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Ours will be low key. Maybe watch a parade, then go out “somewhere” to eat.
No company expected, and we aren’t traveling to see family, well at least until Sunday when I drive to Atlanta for a meeting Monday. I will stop off at my step mom’s for the night.
First, lest Bess think I forgot she awarded me a lovely prize, I will start with this:
I am truly honored that Bess gave me this award for several reasons: she is a dear friend, a true artist with fibers and someone who truly sets a high standard in blogging, fiber related and otherwise. Her blog was the reason I started blogging in the first place!!
Now, comes the passing of the torch. This time of year is incredibly busy for everyone, so I am passing these awards out without expecting the recipients to pass them along to others, unless, of course, they have a burning desire to do so. These are “freebies”, girls, so just bask in the glory:
A bloggy ribbon goes out to Ruth, a great designer of user friendly, but interesting (and beautiful) sock patterns. She is also a talented dyer, check her Etsy shop, which, hmm… at this time seems to be on hold, but I know why. She is doing a small version of a trunk show today. Way to go, Ruth!! She is also a great friend and spins marvelous novelty yarns (not the fiber type, at least not yet, but the kind made of words! You haven’t really lived until you have read one of Ruth’s tall tales!!)
Next I award the ribbon to Donna, my neighbor just to the north of me in South Carolina, who proves you can have it all… she is a successful professional with a delightful teen aged daughter and adoring husband who actually dyes yarn for her to knit with, a backyard with chickens and now, sheep!!, and she has a loving and giving nature and is kind hearted to boot!!
Then, one to Sally, who is an enthusiastic knitter and upcoming talent who isn’t afraid to take risks!! She wanted to know if she could ply commercial yarns together, so I told her to come on up and we would do it. She ended up with some gorgeous mohair stuff that looked like the luscious filling of a raspberry/blackberry pie, and all I wanted to do was pet the yarn. She is also a great friend, awesome gardener and talented cook!
I do not know Beverly nearly as well as I would like to, having only met her once at SAFF, but she is one talented and prolific knitter. This year, she took the sweepstakes award at the South Carolina state fair this year!!!
Now, on to other things with a warning!!! If you get offended at the abuse of knitted objects, you may want to avert your eyes, block your computer from displaying images or take some such action!!!
So, does The Swifty from the second Mason-Dixon book really work?
Okay, so this is the picture of a pristine one which has not been dirtied yet.
You can see for yourself, they DO work:
Ewww… And, no, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The first was a Swifty I made for my stepmother.
The dirty one is mine, which does prove that I do work on occasion around the house.
Next, is what I have been doing with my days off:
Crockpot dyeing, my favorite way to dye fiber. This is BFL/Alpaca 50/50, which is about the most amazing fiber to spin that there is. I have a pot of polar red/lilac simmering out in the studio to complement this batch.
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