Robin's Nest All Spun Up

The fiber I picked up in Logan, when I visited the kids in July, has been turned into these singles:




Which was then Navajo plied into this bobbin:




And has been turned into these two skeins. I don't know how many yards I've ended up with. I didn't want to count that yet. But this yarn, I think, will turn into a pair of fingerless mitts for myself and maybe a hat to go along with them. The knitting of the mitts will have to wait until all the Christmas knitting is done though and I don't know when that will be for sure.

Happy knitting and spinning.

Lavender and Polworth

Sunday was the perfect day to go outside and get some pictures. There is lavender blooming again in the pot on the front steps. It's not as full of blooms as earlier in the summer, but still pretty and smells really good.

Sunday was also the day I finally finished plying the Polworth in the Water's Edge color from Misty Mountain. It is four ounces of a variegated blue which I really like. I chained plied it, wanting to keep the color variations. Not to mention, chain plying is my favorite form of plying.

This was the maiden fiber for my new to me Kiwi. It only took me two months to spin this fiber. Maybe it took so long because I have too many projects going right now. Four other spinning projects (no time limit on these) and about twelve knitting projects which I would like to have done in time for Christmas.

Now I have to find the perfect spinning project to put with with Kiwi. There is two ounces of silk going onto the Lendrum, four ounces of Crosspatch Creations going onto the Scholar, four ounces of "Fiona" going onto the Traditional, and four ounces of fiber from River's Edge going onto the Hitchiker. Can you tell I like the four ounces? They are perfect for a shawl or small accessories. Plus I usually don't get bored with spinning the fiber before I am done with it.

Well, off to do my daily spinning. Happy knitting and spinning.

New Old Yarn

I have to share pictures of the yarn I got from my Aunt Melanie. Remember the yarn for the BSJs which was from my grandma's stash? Well, I got that stash because Aunt Melanie took all the acrylic yarn and I got all the wool yarn. She took the acrylic because she was making baby toys at the time. When I spent the night at their house a week ago, we talked about the BSJs and the yarn. Aunt Melanie said she had some yarn for me. I thought it was more of Grandma's yarn. This was not yarn from Grandma.

While Uncle Gerry was in the Navy, they were stationed in Saudi Arbia during the 1980's. Aunt Melanie didn't have much to do so she spent quite a bit of time shopping. Well, during some rearranging she came upon these skiens of yarn which she bought there and knew she wouldn't use. I was the lucky receipient of said yarn!

The pink is Pinguin- fleur de laine made in Brazil with 182 yards. I don't know for sure what I will do with it, but I think it would make good colorwork mittens with some handspun that I have.

The purply brown is Jaeger 3 ply wool pure botany. They are six skiens of 25 grams each. I don't know the yardage, but will probably measure one skien out for a guestimation. Like the pink, I have no clue what I will do with it, but it is fun to imagine.

My sweater isn't blocked yet, so no pictures of that. It will happen sometime soon, I hope. It's back to work usual hours next week, so there is only this week to get some projects done and that is one of them.

This afternoon C and I are meeting ES in DC and heading to the National Geographic Museum. ES will spend the whole time in the Terra Cotta Warrior exhibit I am sure, C will hurry and get through looking at everything and then want to go home. Me, I will take my time and enjoy! I'll let you know what we think of the exhibits.

In the meantime, happy knitting and spinning.

Catching Up

So, there has been a lot going on around here. C left yesterday to spend a month in Idaho with his brothers, sisters, and friends. Before he left, he wanted a new hat. His old one was lost in a puddle on a rainy day about a month ago. He reminded me he wanted to take it with him to Idaho on Sunday. I finished this hat by Monday morning and had him modeling it. He chose the colors and yarn from the stash. Now I just have to make some hats for all his friends that have requested them.

The first hat which I knit about a month ago, right after C lost his other one, ended up being too small for C and has since found a home with his friend Nate. I haven't seen it in use, but C says it has been worn. C also picked the yarn and colors from the "stash". What a great stash buster.




I have been watching the blossoms on the pumpkins growing in my planters on the balcony. There are quite a few blossoms and I am hoping to get a couple of pumpkins out of the deal. I also have some blossoms on my cucumbers and some green tomatoes on the vine. I just have to remember to water daily, as the planters dry out really quickly.

These are the skeins of yarn I picked up while in Chicago. The green is Dream in Color Smooshy (Happy Forest). I really like this color and there is 450 yards. The other skein is Alpaca Sox in colorway # 1858 with another 450 yards. They are both "my" colors, but will probably be knit and given as gifts.
Don't know yet to whom they will be given, but I'm sure someone will pop into the mind.


The last picture is of the clouds last night. They were really spectacular to watch as I sat on the balcony spinning. The colors of the sunset and the depth of the clouds were quite a combination and kept me entertained for an hour or so. That's what happens when I get home from work while it is still daylight, I get to watch the sky, people going by, and spin on the current wheel.

ES Goes to Latvia and Brings Me Back Fiber Related Gifts

I thought I would share some recent events with pictures. First off is the indigo plant that I bought at MS&W. Liz bought one also and shows a picture at the bottom of this post. My plant is doing very well out on the balcony and even has some little red buds forming. I've never grown indigo before, so I am enjoying this plant as I watch it grow. It amazed me at how fast it adjusted to the pot I put it in and the sun it is getting. It has grown quite a bit since I brought it home.

In other news and pictures: ES went to Latvia for a conference last week and he brought me presents. He brought me the nesting dolls. "C" got quite a smile on his face when he saw them and had a fun time pulling them all apart and setting them up. Yes, he is still a child at heart, even if he is almost 18 yrs old. The stacking doll is now sitting at a place of honor on the mantle waiting for little fingers to come play with it, or big fingers for that matter.


The second gift ES brought was this skein of single ply yarn. There are 340 grams in this skein which is pretty close to the color in my monitor. It is a grey/light brown color. I haven't figured out how many yards are in there yet, but know there is at least 600. This will make a really pretty shawl, maybe something from Victorian Lace Today. ES told the story, when he gave me the yarn, of buying the yarn. He said that the lady he bought it from was very definite about it being wool, a very good yarn and at a very good price. She did not want to sell him anything else but wool which worked well because ES wanted the wool. The little white spot in the center is actually the sticker that has the price and the weight. ES says he couldn't get across to the lady that he did know a little about yarn, because his wife was a spinner and a knitter and he has picked up some knowledge from that fact.

The last gift he brought me was this pair of hand knit lace socks in the large size. He says there were only two sizes there at the street market, small and large. I think ES did a very fine job of bringing back surprises from his trip to Latvia. He even brought back chocolate, but gave that to "C" which I don't think he has eaten yet, by the way.

ES's next trip is to Chicago and I get to go with him. Maybe I can find some suvienor yarn when we go there next month.

Until next time, Happy knitting and spinning.

Pictures of MS&W

Seeing as how I can get the pictures to download today, I thought I would share pictures of what I purchased at MS&W (finally). I only bought one skein of yarn that was from Tess Designer Yarns, where Liz bought her microfiber ribbon yarn. This pretty aqua color will end up being something for ES's step-mother, I think.

The second purchase was 8 ounces of merino fiber dyed purples, pinks blue and some green. I passed this by on the first walk through the vendors and hoped it would be there when we went back. I am not sure it was the same batt, but it is pretty and spinning up nicely. It's on the Hitchiker right now.

The most "have to have" purchase was from Creatively Dyed. I love her fiber and colors and couldn't pass up getting some more of her fiber. I love the colors and feel of this fiber and can't wait to get it onto the Lendrum on it's next rotation into spinning time.

The only animal picture taken was by Liz of the alpaca we saw as we started wandering around Saturday morning. They were so cute!


The final picture today is of the one bloom on the newer Christmas cactus. The bloom is now gone, but the older cactus has two blooms getting ready to open. I love it when flowers bloom when they aren't supposed to.

Next up, I have some finished yarn to show and a couple of baby sweaters almost ready to go. So much going on. Happy knitting and spinning.

Sunrises and Surprises

Seeing as how it is Monday morning, I thought I would share last Thursday's sunrise with you. It's the dawning of a new week. School, work, play, knitting and spinning all need to have their beginnings, just as the day has to have it's beginning. I like sunrises and enjoy watching them. Walking Cleo in the mornings makes for a perfect time to watch the morning colors. I don't get to see the evening colors very often as I am at work. It's not very often that I remember to take my camera with me on these morning walks, but on Thursday I did remember it and the colors were all so pretty.

On Friday night, when I got home from work, ES asked me to close my eyes and hold out my hands. He did this four times, each time he handed me something different: twice it was a book on the constellations, once a cd of Bob Marley which promptly went to "C" (he has already listened to it), the last time he handed me these two skeins of Malabrigo. One in the colorway Coral and the other in the Caribeno color. I asked where he had gotten everything and he said the Smithsonian was having a "garage" sale and he had picked the things up there. He wondered if he had gotten a good deal on the yarn and I told him he definitely did.

BTW doesn't the Coral color match the Thursday sunrise?

Now just to figure out what to do with these two skeins of silk/merino blend. I'm thinking a cowl. It would be nice and warm and soft up against my neck on those cold morning walks. So glad ES thought of this fun surprise!

Happy knitting and spinning.

Surprise in the Mail

Friday in the mail, I received a package from Catherine. It is 236 yards of 2-ply Monadale which she hand-painted and submitted at the fair. She received a third place ribbon on it! It is so pretty. I will have to find a project which will show off all the colors and what a nice job she did on the spinning.
When "C" saw this he said, "I thought you weren't buying anymore wool." I told him I didn't buy it and that it was a gift. He just rolled his eyes and walked out of the room. He doesn't care for all the yarn in the house, although he likes the items he gets when I
make something for him out of that wool.



The other project that I wanted to show you were the prayer flags I bought from Linda Wolfe during the past two seasons. The colored ones had been hanging up between my entry and livingroom at the old house. When we moved to the new house I also wanted to display them and found the perfect place for them in the kitchen. The colored ones hang above my sink and greet me each time I walk into the kitchen. The white flags are above the stove and can be seen from the balcony when I look in through the kitchen window. I am glad I have the flags where I can see them and brighten my day each time I see them.

Not much else is going on. There is progress on the shawl for the wedding and I have half a pair of booties done for Master "B's" blessing outfit. "Au" called and asked if I would make a pair to go along with his little tuxedo which she is making for him. I hope they will be what she wants.

Happy knitting & spinning.

Early Morning Good-byes

This isn't the best picture! ES was trying to set the timer so we could get a picture of the two of us, before he flew back to DC this morning. I am talking, of course. I was telling ES he needed to bend down or his face wouldn't be in the picture. Yes, it was really cold and the car was nice and warm. I miss him already. He says he didn't get everything done he wanted to do. He will be back in about six weeks, so he can get more done then. I'm not really this short, I had bent down to get in the picture. I usually hit ES at his shoulder.

The flu bug has bitten at our house. C has had a fever since Sunday morning. I thought it was strep-throat, because he had the strep smell. But he has definitely been down and out with the flu. His fever has finally broken this evening, I think. He may spend another night sleeping by the sun-room heater.

My January sock club package came in the mail today. That really brightened up my day. I have been looking and looking for the package to come. I must be the last one to have received my package. I love the colors of the yarn. I don't know for sure what I will make with them, if I will follow the pattern or not, but they will sure be pretty.

In other sock knitting news--I have turned the heel of the second button sock. I could have these done by the end of the week. That would be good and I would even be done before I needed the needles for the next class. That class is still two Saturdays away.

Happy knitting & spinning.