A Little Bit of Everything

Not giving up on the spinning yet! Even with my really amateurish lumpy-yarn producing skills, I can see/feel the difference between the spindles.


Clockwise from the left, my heavy-duty Cascabeles had me spinning a really chunky yarn which I crochetted into a baby hat. The Forrester, a little lighter, got me producing something more worsted. The tulipwood Bosworth Midi, the latest addition to my spindle collection, is my favorite so far. I can spin thinner and more even yarn. Sheila Bosworth test-spun the spindle before sending it to me, and when it arrived, I dissected and studied the small sample of fiber and spun yarn she left on it. (Hey, I'm desperate; there are no spinning classes around here!)

...and if I'm spinning, I will eventually need to use this Niddy-Noddy. (As if I need more things to collect...)

I'm knitting too; an organic cotton baby blanket (pic soon), and a thin scarf made by alternating every couple rows between some Koigu and STR.

Here is a close-up of the 2-Colour Star Stitch Pattern found in Harmony Guide's "44o More Knitting Stitches". Using 2 contrasting solids would make the "stars" pop out more, but I'm liking this Impressionistic look.

Continuing with the stash-busting, I used the leftovers from the Flore hat combined with some Reynolds Saucy Sport to crochet a market bag. I'll take it for a test run soon.

D'OH!!!

There are reasons why one should never, ever, attempt to do fancy stuff with one's Blogger template late at night after drinks. I erased all my stuff. I'm sooooo stupid! It will take me a while to get all my links back up... At least my posts survived! ARGH!!! Anyway, it's a good excuse to try out a new look, I figure. I'm going to go kick myself some more now.


Several Hours (and many cups of coffee) Later: Okay, most of my links are back, and I'm still having fun tweaking the look. Thanks to blogger-saavy Rachel - when I followed your instructions, my links did reappear! I erased too much to get back all the little buttons, etc., but I'm still quite happy! Thanks again!

Trying it again...

WARNING: Lots of Fiber Tool Pr0n...

Getting inspired by Monika, I figured I should give spinning another try. I think last time, I got very impatient with the whole inch-worm/park-and-draft stuff, and sort of...well...gave up.
I de-stashed (and then bought more) Spunky Eclectic fibers (pictured is Corriedale), and got a good spinning book.
And then...I caved and bought this Cascabeles Spindle to add to my Forrester and to the small No-Name spindle (waaay to light for me, whatever it is).
They fit really well in this crochet hook holder I made for myself a while back. I think it would be good to use for knitting needles too, if it were taller.

Closeup of my crochet collection: a few are Brittany Walnut, but the others are Graydog Woodenware which I painstakingly collected over several years. Their stuff is really gorgeous, but the bidding wars can get fierce. (As with all auctions, you have to practice self-control and know when to walk away. Which will happen a lot...)

...and finally...
I need some help! I don't know what to make with this! I got two grab bags at a really steep discount, thinking there would be lots of colors that wouldn't go with each other. Then these showed up and the colors match really well! It's machine wash, so I was thinking baby stuff (I need to get crankin' for 2 summer babies). However, that would leave a lot leftover. There are 1,520 yds all together. Any ideas? I've considered a blanket or a sweater, but otherwise, I'm totally stumped!

Finished Flore Hat!

Woohoo! Finally finished the Flore hat from Knitwhits! This also marks the first time I've used my new camera; it has 10 megapixels (my old one was 4), so I'm curious to see what the differences are...

shown in the "Red Pepper" colorway
blocking=stuffed with plastic bags and unceremoniously crammed on top of tupperware

This pattern was pretty fun for me; it's worked in a series of layers. It calls for 2 sets of size 5 16", but I only have one set, so I just used a size 4 as a large stitch holder while I worked on the next layer. I misread the pattern, and did twisted M1's (I know, just making it harder for myself...D'oh!...) Next time, I think I'll try casting on in purl to match the purled third round of every layer (a little OCD, perhaps). Truth be told, there were lots of ends to weave in, and you have to tack down the points of the petals (good Zen exercise), but I didn't mind because the hat is so cute!

The Winners Are...

Okay, first of all, sorry for the delay-! My camera is almost dead, and I haven't figured out how to use my new one...

A huge thank you to everyone for helping me celebrate my blogiversary and for leaving such fun answers for what they'd like to have in the middle of a ball of yarn!!! It seems "chocolate" was the most popular answer; I guess there are a lot of chocoholic knitters out there!

Without further adieu, here is my lovely assistant again, who is wearing some Fixation "practice gloves".
...and the 5 winners are:


1. Courtney, (Claudia's HP)



2. Rachel, (Opal Parrot)



3. Ren, (keychain)



4. Jeannette, (keychain)



5. Adrienne, (keychain)




Congrats to the 5 winners!!! Please email me your snail mail address to:
violiknit@yahoo.com

Thanks for playing, everyone!!!