Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Not Much of a Leap



It should be March 1st. I am glad it is not because once more I get to say "it's only February" when I am talking about what has been happening outside.



There has been a whole lot of this going on....



..and this.



These are the roses. THE ROSES. In February. It's crazy.



The daffodils are also getting ready to do their thing. Most people's have already bloomed. My yard is shadier than most so we get a later start on some things.



The Vinca has been climbing the walls and blooming since late January.



These are my Hostas getting ready to poke up. I hope the deer don't see them.



The Hydrangea is already in bud also.



This is another crocus patch in the woods. I know just how they feel. This warm winter has made me very happy too. If you can't have snow, which we rarely have, you might as well just skip it.



Here is today's haul from the garden. This is not an early spring crop-but still last summer's! It was just cold enough to keep the bugs away but not cold enough to do any damage to the kale or the chard. You can't beat that.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

The Waiting Game




My stranded mitten project was going along just fine until I came to a color change that I couldn't figure out. I am making the colors up as I go along and I discovered that in my big box of Palette, I did not have what I needed. Off I went to order more.



Today the box of new colors arrived so I am finally back in business.



The stranded Flight Path KAL that I was working on has been on hiatus for the past two weeks until the replacement yarn can be dyed and sent out. I am grateful for the time off because my stranding needs practice. Lots of practice.

Monday, February 27, 2012

UFO Sightings



That shelf that holds the silk hankies also holds a few other projects that are in desperate need of attention. I started this sweater for a nephew that is now much too big to fit into it. I need to finish it and donate it somewhere.



There is also a box of random spindle projects that need to be finished or permanently abandoned.



While I was digging through the mess, I found this project near completion so I went ahead and finished it.



Now that I have this wonky but comfy cushion on my formerly hard as a board craft-room chair, I have no excuse not to just sit down and get some of that other stuff done.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Pretty Little Useless Things



From time to time I get terribly bored with everything I am working on, so I head off to the shelf where I keep the projects that have no chance of ever being completed but nonetheless are fun.



My silk hankies will never be anything wearable but they make me happy.



I love drafting them out into something to be wound around a tube but I hate knitting with them.



The colors are so pretty but they stick to everything. The static cling is unbearable.



You also can NOT frog it, as I found out the hard way with my lumpy little swatch. That is a big waste of precious fiber but there is no way it will come apart-believe me, I tried.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Super Fail Times Two



For the past year I have been weaving miles and miles of the same fabric in hopes of seaming together an afghan sized throw.



I thought I was measuring it all very carefully so each side would match. For a while they did.



And then they didn't.



There was nothing more to do so I tied them off and gave them each a bad haircut.



After I get rid of all the uneven fringe, I will figure out what to do with the two almost identical, extremely long, rectangular thingamabobs.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Much To Do



I am still feverishly washing fleece. I need to have a reason to buy more at this year's Sheep and Wool Fest and I can't do that if the shed is still full of unwashed wool in May.



I am also plying. The official Cormo total is 3 skeins which total about 200 grams of finished yarn. I am pretty much done with this 2010 fleece but I sure would like to know how 9 pounds of fleece ended up being only 200 grams of yarn. What on earth did I do with the rest of it? I better go take another look out in the shed.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Yeti Sighting



It's been one of the warmest winters on record around here but I am still determined to wear The Stuff I Have Made. This wrinkled mess of a giant top down raglan was made about 1o years ago and maybe worn once. The scarf was one of the first made on my loom and never worn. I had to wash the dust off of it.



In 2008, I slaved over these handspun on-a-drop-spindle socks and then never wore them either. I vowed never to do two-at-a-time color work ever again after that experience. It was no fun.



To top off my Geeky Daily Outfit, I pulled on an ancient Calorimetry and then headed out into the 50 degree weather. Although it was mild outside, the temperature in Dad's house is always about 2o degrees colder so for once I could visit for a while without feeling like I was on the verge of frostbite.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Big Boo Boo Part 2



Way back in August, I posted about getting near the end of Daughter's wedding shawl and then having to rip more than half of it back because of a boo boo I found while counting the pattern repeats to see if I had enough. Do you want to guess what I just did-again?



While counting the pattern repeats and hoping I had enough to start the border I found a big problem. Everything behind the finger had to be ripped out when I spied this row of malformed diamonds way back near the beginning.
You'd think I'd learn to check the pattern after I finish each repeat. Maybe this time.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Is That All There Is?



I tore the house up the other day looking for the yarn that I made out of some batts that I had dyed for the woolen spin along over in the Yarnspinner's Tales group last September. I couldn't find it because I was looking for something bigger. Much bigger. I didn't expect it to be so puny. I can't do much with this. That was a lot of batts I had carded and dyed- or a least I thought it had been. I, obviously, was wrong.

Monday, February 20, 2012

Too Much of a Good Thing



I haven't posted about spinning with a drop spindle lately, but I'm still doing it. It's the wheel (wheels) in the morning and the spindle at night in front of the telly. I am still working my way through one of three giant bags of Merino from Puckerbrush Farms, a booth I can't resist at the MD Sheep and Wool Fest. I even brought a bag back from Rhinebeck although I am pretty sure I will never finish up the bags I already have. Wanna bet I come back with another bag this year?

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Daddio Update



I can knit, spin or dye my heart out and nobody notices, but when I post about Daddio's quilts, everyone seems to want to comment so here is a peek at what he's been up to.



Potholders have been his latest obsession. He's making one for everyone he knows so chances are, one of these are for you.



We even picked up some Easter fabric so he can make many, many more.



While he is busy sewing away on his little masterpieces, I have been working on these Dresden plate blocks, in hope that one day I may have one of my own as nice as the one he made.



But the best part of quilting with Daddio this week is that he had these.


Saturday, February 18, 2012

Light My Fire



Almost a year ago today, I bought a ton of Palette Heathers to make a pair of color work mittens, Vinterblomster, to be exact. I even printed out the pattern and had the good sense to store it away with the yarn.



I even blogged about it here -and then never cast them on-something that unfortunately, I do all the time. Since my stranded KAL is on a break while we wait for more yarn, I have been itching for another color work project, I decided to dig it all out of the closet and finally cast one on.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Ouch!



I sat on one of my size 1 DPNs last night. I'm OK but my needle is not. It's a good thing they come in sets of 5 or I would be waiting for a replacement instead of keeping calm and knitting on. That is actually a lie. I am anything but calm about it. I hate when I do stupid stuff like this.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Inventory



It is a well known fact that I own a ton of commercial yarn but now, much to my horror I have realized that I have also accumulated a sizable handspun stash.



I am spinning and plying and stashing a great deal of stuff these days...



so the pile just keeps on getting bigger.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Resolution Fulfilled



My knitting resolution this year had nothing to do with making stuff but rather wearing the stuff I have already made. This week I am proud to say I managed to put on and walk around in three of my most wearable handknits. From top to bottom: Classic Lines Cardigan (love), Central Park Hoodie (kinda love), and my Palette Cardigan (would die for).
I've still got more where these came from so let's see how well I do next week.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Warm Fuzzies for Valentine's Day



While it's true that I can't dye fiber or yarn worth beans, I can dye locks. I have bags and bags of pretty Corrie locks waiting their turn to get cranked into the drum carder. I love locks. I really, really love them.



Of course I can't stick them in as is, so I have to take the time to open them all up into little clouds of color. I could spend all day fiddling with them.



In they go one by one, layering on top of each other like a brilliant fuzzy rainbow.



I am usually rewarded for my patience with a pretty little batt. Here it is important to know when to say when. Too much manipulation can give you a muddy mess. Trust me. I've been there and it isn't pretty.



I could keep the batt as is but I prefer to tear it into fourths and pre-draft it out a bit into little nests. That way they are ready to spin when I am.



I already have one bobbin of my little nests spun so someday soon I am going to have some crazy colored socks to show for all this fun.
Happy Valentine's Day!