Random

I thought I had downloaded new pictures, but I guess not. So no pictures today. I guess it will be a random post.

I have finished the knitting on the November sweater. I haven't blocked it yet or done the embroidery which I want to do. I think I will get those done when the Christmas knitting is done. I think it counts if I got all the knitting done during the month. Besides it then gives me something to look forward to when I'm done with Christmas knitting.

We are busy working here on plans for the church party which is to be held this next Saturday. I have been busy getting people to volunteer to bring salads and bake potatoes. We are planning for 150 people and I've never done a dinner for that many people. I am also not very good at delegating jobs to other people. I am a control freak, I guess. After next Saturday, I might have a meltdown.

My Christmas cactus is closer to blooming! I even have buds on my second cactus. I look forward to them blooming every time they do.

I am looking forward to knitting a new shawl after the first of the year. I would like to make shawls for all the women in my family. That will be quite a few. This will be my new challenge this new year.

Thanks for reading. Happy knitting & spinning.

Fun Little Quiz

I haven't done one of these in a while so I thought I would. I don't know if it's very accurate, but it was fun.

you are lightblue #ADD8E6

Your dominant hues are green and blue. You're smart and you know it, and want to use your power to help people and relate to others. Even though you tend to battle with yourself, you solve other people's conflicts well. Your saturation level is low - You stay out of stressful situations and advise others to do the same. You may not be the go-to person when something really needs done, but you know never to blow things out of proportion. Your outlook on life is bright. You see good things in situations where others may not be able to, and it frustrates you to see them get down on everything.

the spacefem.com html color quiz

Not much going on here lately. Still knitting and working on Christmas things and getting ready for the church Christmas party ES and I are in charge of.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Sweater Progress

I thought I would show you the sweater for November. It is from stash yarn and the yarn Catherine sent me in September. It is a top down raglan. Yeah, no seaming! And is working out very nicely. I am on the second sleeve and should be done before the end of the month. This sweater has been my computer knitting, because there is lots of stockinette stitches. I think that is why it is getting done so quickly.

There hasn't been much happening around here lately. I haven't heard back from any of the jobs I've applied for yet. I haven't gotten the Christmas shopping done yet and I haven't finished the Christmas knitting yet. So, not much getting done.

I did have fun last night at knitting night. I really like going and seeing what everyone is working on. Last night I took the Hitchhiker with me to get some spinning done. I got almost a whole bobbin spun and everyone liked the roving. Judy does a good job with her dyes. They are always a joy to spin with, although this that I am spinning now has a little of the purple dye bleed while spinning. Not too bad though.

Well, off to get something accomplished. Happy knitting & spinning.

Traditional Still Spins

I don't think I have posted about this fiber that I purchased at the Montpelier Fiber Festival. I bought this four oz of Mohair/Cormo blend in this green and orange colorway. I then spun it on the Ashford Traditional, plied it into a two-ply and ended up with 360 yards of lace/fingering weight.

I think I have enough to make the Forest Canopy Shawl, but will have to play with it to see.

But first I have to finish up the sweater I am working on--it's half-way thru the first sleeve right now--and the two pair of socks that are on the needles too. One pair is just about done, probably about two hours worth of work. The other pair has a bit more than that to go.

I started the Christmas shopping yesterday! Not my favorite thing to do, but I need to get it done soon. I would like to get everything mailed by December 5, so I know it will be there in time for Christmas and "E's" birthday.

I had a job interview on Thursday. We'll see how that goes. The only thing about it is, I would be driving for 30 minutes each way to and from work. Not sure I like that idea too much. And it is back in retail again, so there will be some nights involved. But it will be nice to be working again. Not as much crafting time though.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Stitches Purchases

Guess what? One of my Christmas cactus has buds on it. I am so excited to see it blooming again. I checked the older cactus also and I think it has a bud. I'll have to wait a couple of days to see though. It makes me happy to see the Christmas cactus in bloom. Plus having moved it clear across the country, it's still blooming. The move didn't hurt the plant.


Yesterday I spent some time plying the fiber that has been sitting on the Scholar for the past 8 to 10 months. It is some superwash that I dyed last winter, the same fiber I used to ply with my silk challenge fiber last spring. I have 90 yards of a lace/fingering weight to do something with. I don't know what to use it for yet, but I'm sure something will come to me. Maybe a cowl.

I also have pictures of the fiber I bought when Sheryl and I went to Stitches East. I bought two 4 oz bumps of fiber and two skeins of sock weight yarn. The dark skein has 436 yards and I'm not sure how many yarns are in the other skein. The second from the left is fiber dyed by Lisa Souza. Lisa is the dyer that Alison talks about in Wrapped in Comfort and on her blog.

I have fiber on three of my four wheels. All from different dyers and all different colors. It is interesting to watch how each of the fibers are spinning up. I have been spending at least ten minutes daily doing some spinning which is helping me get some fiber spun and keeping my stress level manageable.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Wedding Shawl Pictures

Yesterday, Sheryl and I headed to Baltimore to the Stitches East market. It was a very fun day. We spent a number of hours in the market wandering around and looking at all the fun sweaters, shawls, fiber, yarn and books. We both bought plenty of everything. I'll show pictures in the next couple of days or so. The best part for me, was sitting at the same table as Alison and getting her to sign my book. She had three friends with her and all of them had on shawls that Alison had made. It was a memory I hope to remember for a while.

Speaking of shawls, I thought I would show you my Adamas shawl that I made to wear to the kids wedding reception.
Here it is blocking and then with me wearing it that night. I wore the shawl tied behind me, because I didn't own a shawl pin at that time. It is a fun shawl and turned out really well, in my opinion. But then I like all my shawls.

(If you click on the picture, it should make it bigger so you can see the pattern.)

My sweater is progressing, as are the socks currently in progress. I am working at least four rows a day on the sweater and will spend more time on it in the next day or two. After attending Stitches, there are so many things I want to make and spin. Now there definitely isn't enough time in the day.

Happy knitting & spinning.

"K's" Shawl and Upcoming Plans

The leaf pattern shawl done in the Brown Sheep Cotton Fine modeled by my new DIL, "K". She was very gracious in receiving this shawl. Don't know if she will wear it often, but it would be great for taking to church when the chapel is a little chilly. The color looks good with her blond coloring, to add to the appeal.

Last night at knit night Sheryl and I arranged to attend the Stitches East market on Saturday. This will be the last time it, Stitches, is held in Baltimore. We would like to go and Sheryl has never been to a market before. I've never been to Stitches, but I've been to SOAR. We are leaving early Saturday, so we can get lost without any worries about being too late. Neither one of us has been to Baltimore, that I know of, so this should be interesting. I'm taking the GPS just in case.

My sweater is progressing very nicely. It's a top-down raglan and I'm past the arm divide. I still like how it is coming out, but now I am to the boring stockinette stitches which sometimes takes forever.

I went for a job interview yesterday, but the lady doing the interview had to leave on a family emergency. Don't know when that will be rescheduled. Can I tell you? I hate looking for a job that I will like and I'm not very good at talking about my achievements and good points. Oh well, the search will go on.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Great Falls Pictures and Catching Up

This is "C" and I the day we went to Great Falls to wander around and do some spinning with Esther. You can read her account of the day here. My account of the day is here. I just didn't have my camera when I wrote that account and I had a few other things on my mind. So here are a couple of the pictures. They also show my hair when it was long. While I was in Idaho a couple of weeks ago I got it cut.

Here is not the most flattering of pictures, but it shows my hair shorter. I got to spend some much needed time with Master "B" while in Idaho. Here he is wearing an outfit that his daddy wore over 20 years ago. Yes, for my siblings, I do have some of Mom's tendencies to keep stuff! That little outfit was fun to see again and getting good use. Master "B" is now a little over 10 pounds and is such a cutie.


When I got home a week ago, I had a package in the mail. It was from Vicky and I couldn't imagine what was in there. I opened it to find my new favorite t-shirt in just the colors I like. This shirt has already seen a bit or wearing time. Thanks, Vicky, I love it! Vicky is a very talented lady.

My sweater for the NaKnitSweMo is coming along nicely. I'm still liking the way it is working up and the colors. I have found that my left thumb is hurting a little on the knitting of this sweater, so I have changed needles. I'm hoping this will work, but only time will tell.

I have the pictures of the two shawls I completed. That will be the next post. I got a couple of good pictures with "K" in her's and I have some of me in my shawl.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Sorry it's been so long

I can't believe it has been about three weeks from my last post. I have a lot of pictures to share of the wedding and the trip to IF. But those pictures are on the camera which is upstairs and you know--I'm lazy and don't want to go get it or I won't get this done today.

I started the November sweater challenge. I have a basic pattern that I am kind of following, but I have to make some changes and make the sweater my own. I am using the skein that Catherine sent me as an accent and I really like how it is turning out so far. The main color is some 100% Galway yarn color #106 that I have had in my stash for over four years. Yesterday, I almost bought some Lion brand wool yarn which is on sale at Michaels. But I talked myself out of it and am really glad that I did, because I like the way the yarn I have is coming out so far.

Even though the link is from 2006, I know there are quite a few people doing the challenge this year. I see a lot about it on the different blogs I read.

I haven't gotten as many socks done during the month of October as I had hoped to get done. I still have a number of socks to finish before very long. There are too many un-paired socks on the needles, to let it just drop. But, I am getting tired of socks, just to let you know.

I bought some fun yarn while in Idaho. It is yarn I have never heard of before, but then I am finding that I haven't heard of a lot of yarns. I'll get pictures in the daylight tomorrow and share with you then.

Ok, I think I'm done rambling now. I will get my act together and be a little more consistant with my posting from now until the end of the year. After that, who knows.

Happy knitting & spinning.