Heading for winter!

Now that we've passed the high point of this year, it's on the downside and into winter! I can feel it coming already! Oh, I dread winters! Why do I live in this part of the world? I've been asking that ever since I was 12--- still haven't been able to change it.

Ted was remarking at how light it still is at 9:30 in the evening. Well, yes, silly boy -- it's summer! When we were young at home, Mom had a real hard time trying to convince us that it was time to get to bed on a school night when it was still perfectly daylight and we weren't finished playing yet! But that is how summer is "way up north". Hahaha... and I'm in the south of the province!

I took these pics at 10 pm out my window facing east and a bit north. You can still see the reflection of the sunset in some of the windows. It's hard to get a good pic with a digital of the gorgeous soft pastels of the skies at this time of day/night. It gets dark pretty fast after that, and by 10:30, it wasn't possible to get any pics of anything useful. It is still quite light out, enough that streets lights are only starting to come on. People from the East or South are always so amazed at how late the light stays with us in summer. We just accept that as normal around here. Of course, in winter, it's a whole different story! (won't go there)

Of course, we can't go thru a summer without extremes! So, just to show us that it's not all peaches and cream, we had a bit of hail only a couple of hours earlier. It came on quickly, altho I noticed the strange dark clouds forming at 6 pm, and only lasted a short time. It was about pea-sized hail, but I think it was heavier in the north end of the city; they seem to get the brunt of most storms. You will note that all the white on the rooftops is hail! It's quite fun to watch it come down-- when you are safely inside looking out! It can be quite painful to be caught in it outdoors! The plants will recover since there is quite a lot of growing season to come.

I know I shouldn't have continued working with that acrylic when I discovered why it felt so strange in my hands. I need to learn to trust my fingers more often! But I am stubborn that way: once I start, I will continue on to the very bitter end! So I did -- trying to tell myself that this is a practice piece to learn the correct way to increase and how to drop those stitches. And I did learn a few things! I just saw one live and in person at a LYS today... and it was very nice! It was knit with larger needles too, so it would go faster than this one did. With delicious yarn, it would be fun to do as well! Oh, well -- *sigh*

The LYS held a Summer Solstice Sale today and were open for a whole 12 hours. I hope they did well, and according to the number that were there within an hour of opening (me included), I think they did. They don't have run-of-the-mill yarns in their store, and I didn't buy much. The things I wanted were NOT on sale oddly! But some things were 20, 30 or 50% off, which is good. When I picked up a nice skein of Lorna's Laces in an interesting colourway and looked at the price ($69.95), I decided that I really didn't need it that badly. I did get some Noro Kureyon, but only because of the discount; I don't think it's really that great a yarn-- for my purposes, at least. A lot of the "fancy and expensive" yarns that are available today are not really my tastes, and I personally don't feel they are going to be around for long. They are fun and interesting (but way too expensive) and pretty garish -- a fad -- and will disappear in short order. I've been around a long time, so have seen many things come and go just as fast! All things come around again if you live long enough. However, the younguns need to have their opportunity to play with fun things while they can... and they ARE knitting!

So it's all a good thing.

The Clapotis

This is something I’ve been working on for a while, and finally got it done. It went well at first, and then I just got bored with it, I think. And then I didn’t know how to actually finish it up.

This is the clapotis scarf from Knitty. I always thought it looked so interesting, and yet so simple to do. So why not? Got to find the right yarn for it first of all…. And found this odd ball of some unnamed yarn. It was in a bright solid colour, so perfect for this. I don’t like the variegated for this.

After knitting for some time, I found I didn’t like the feel of this. I finally opened up the ball band, only to find that is was 100% acrylic!! Yuck! I should know better…. But had to continue and finish this thing. I used two balls for this, and then as I got near the end of the second ball, started the decreasing for the last part. This is knit on a diagonal, so you start with 3 sts and continue increasing on one side, decreasing on the other. And then decrease on both sides near the end – simple idea. And then the fun of dropping the stitches at one side!! Hahaha…. It doesn’t take much to amuse me!

Even after washing and blocking, it still didn’t improve. I’m used to wool, which adjusts to the knitting after wet-processing, and relaxes. This did not! Why do I even bother with it?? I know that acrylic has some uses, such as the scrubbies I made earlier, but not for scarves. I never learn!

I may just rip this out. My very first project that I will rip out!! Oooh! And this yarn would be better suited to the scrubbies, I think. I think I will do this with some wool, or alpaca I have, and make it wider. And maybe find some interesting patterns in the body of it... Lots of possibilities!

Scrub up!

Somewhere I found an interesting item and had to try out the pattern. It's a very simple -- too simple -- knitting project, and is a lot of fun to do!

This is one time I purposely used acrylic! I have a bag of stuff, odds and ends, with out labels. I could tell this one was acrylic of some kind, and that is what I wanted. I wanted something that was soft, but yet strong and won't give out quickly. You see, this is going to be used a lot!

It's a scrubbie. It's something you take with you into the bath (or shower, I suppose) and use it to give yourself a real good scrubbing. It is all in garter stitch to give a lot of edges to do it's job, and to hold soap and water well. It's easy to rinse out, and will dry in no time at all. It won't wear out! All I had was this pink, so it really doesn't go with my bathroom; I don't have many things that are pink in my place! haha

I did the smaller one according to the pattern, but I felt it was too small. I suppose if I had thicker yarn, with larger needles, it may have been fine. I made the mid-sized one with more stitches, and that worked quite well. But I felt I really wanted something larger to fit my hands, and cast on a whole bunch more stitches. But I also felt I needed to make some adjustments to the pattern, because of the large diameter, and that was rather fun to do, and I think it worked quite well. I'm not sure how much larger you can do these without re-writing the pattern to take into account the large diamter. It's all a matter of mathematics here, I fear! However, I think the larger one is not that user-friendly, and the mid-sized scrubbie is about right in a practical sense. I now have to find some light blue in my stash and make a few for myself!

latest completions

Yes, sometimes I actually do finish some things! I just don't get around to posting pics of them.

These are the socks I finished few weeks ago, which I stuffed because I didn't have the right size of blockers for them. These are knit from Regia 4-ply in Jacquard colour. I've knit a smaller pair before, and was trying another method to do the caston for the toes, and then wanted to try a couple of increases --- and somehow they just became socks! I did both at the same time on the same circular needle, and was going to try something different for these after-thought heels, but decided to just do them later, since I hadn't worked out all the details and didn't want to delay them any longer. Next time.

In the meantime, I'm still spinning, and working on some scrubbies. More to come!

White Buffalo anyone?

You have seen that I like a lot of the White Buffalo wheels for spinning. A friend has written to tell me she has 12 wheels of it, mostly in dark olive, one of gold, one of turquise and one pale yellow/cream. She lives in NJ, and shipping to me would cost too much, but if anyone in that part of the world would like to get some of these, write and ask me for her address. I love the colours, but perhaps someone closer to her would like to have them.

Getting ready

This has been a good weekend!

Firstly, I had a good sleep. This is very hard for me to do, because of so many factors. One being that I stay up too late at night (so much to do) and then have to get up way too early to get to work (why do we HAVE to do that??). I have back problems a lot and find I can't lay down for long. I am a light sleeper, and any little noise wakes me up -- in a large city, with high-density houseing, there is never any silence. I slept very well when I was visiting Mom these last few times. But she lives in a small village, where nothing hardly ever happens, so it's quiet all the time. Love it! I got home on Thursday, very tired, and before 9 pm, I just went to bed since there is no sense in trying to stay awake when the eyes just won't have it! I slept until just before 11 Friday morning -- fourteen hours! I felt great! I don't understand it, but my poor old worn out body just needed it, I guess. No complaints!! I probably could have slept a bit longer, but felt there were things I needed to do, and felt compelled to get up.

I really didn't need to. There is nothing --- NOTHING -- in this world that is so very important that it needs to be done right now! Everything will wait. I know that. Still, I try to convince myself there are things I really should do; and I will --- later.

Secondly, I spent quite a bit of time preparing some wool for spinning soon. Remember those cheeses of 6-strand wool I had? Well, I have LOTS of those! So I spent most of the days separating them into individual strands, and winding them into balls. I have about 5 different shades of brown, and I am thinking that I need a nice sweater, in those colours. I only have 227 gm (8 oz) of each shade, but that should be enough. Now, I just need to come up with a colour sequence and it will all be done! There is the knitting too, but that is merely just the follow-up, right?

I also have some white and grey that was knit up, and then ripped out, and wound into balls (from the thrift shop) which I am taking apart and winding into little balls. I have some grey, white, and brown already spun. Those are 3-ply, all spun on the CD spindle; I quite enjoy working with it. The rest will be spun on the spindle too -- it holds more than my wheels do.

I grafted the final toe on the socks. I wanted to block them after washing, but don't have blockers that size. I need to make some, I know -- I was going to cut them from cardboard, but don't have a sharp craft knife handy. So I took a tea-towel, rolled it up into about the right size, and put it into a plastic bag.. and then slipped it into the sock. Well, slipped is not quite the right word; I giggled thinking it was more like putting on a condom on someone not-quite hard enough!! LOL-- not that I would know about that!! But it did seem to work quite well, and they look just fine now.

Now, there is that one shawl that is still mocking me.

Moebius is done

I got some pics of the finished moebius. I finally settled on a simple 3-stitch garter stitch border, with a YO thrown in for fun! I realize that it looks better on a person, than laying flat on a table. But you should be able to get the idea of how it lies, and see that it is one continuous shape -- with no beginning, no end, no inside, no outside. It is wide enough to just go around my shoulders, as a wrap, and if doubled, makes a nice neck scarf. You can pull it up over you head, with enough of the scarf hanging down to create a dramatic effect, or if doubled over your head, it makes a nice tight-fitting hood. It's really quite versatile!

There is a scarf in one of the issues of MenKnit Magazine "Cha Ching Moebius" by Witt Pratt. I think I will attempt one like that as well. I tried to do some lace patterns in this one, but since this thing is reverible, you need a pattern that looks good on both sides! As well, most of these are done with knit/purl ridges, or some other sort of reversible stitch. I will search for more patterns, but I suspect that keeping it to the simple, tried&true will still be the best way to go. I didn't wash and block this one; I thought it looked alright as it is, but will wash it at some point, which seems to make it settle in better, and make all my stitches more even! hahaha

Of course, I did it in red (not my colour, you understand) but because I had this HUGE ball of a mohair-type of yarn, and I needed some sort of project for it, didn't I?

These are fun to do, but rather tedious --- but all lace can be like that. But that first round --- well, you already heard the story!

Spring Update

There really isn't any explanation for my lack of progress on the various projects that are now on the go. I seem to be doing something, but haven't anything to show for it.

I have been studying again, and found another way for a provisional cast-on. It could be used for socks and mittens, I suppose, and anything else that requires casting on in the middle of your work. So I had to try it out, of course --- and then had to do a couple of different increases as one would do for socks. Then I had to do another one, to see if I really got it right, and then these things grew larger and larger, and before I knew it, they had become socks! I couldn't rip them out, now could I? So I am still working on them. There was so size planned for these (they are going to be small) and I don't know who is going to get them.

I am doing them both together on two circular needles -- only because I didn't have one that was long enough! One is quite short, the other a bit longer. It doesn't matter, really; it all works just the same.

I was planning on doing the after-thought heel as I got to it, designing the whole thing in my head as I worked on the boring foot. But when I got there, I just decided to go on ahead and do the heel later. I put in a contrast yarn to mark the position, and continued up the leg. As I got near the end of one ball of yarn, I started the ribbing for the cuff, and it seems to be about the right length. I'm showing you a pic of them on the needles, trying to show you both needles, just as I started the ribbing. They are not identical, but nearly so. I should have started one from the outside of the ball, to get a different order of colours, but that is alright too. I just may do another one (or two) this way, and have a variety of options for wearing quite different colour patterns to make up a pair at any time.

I am presently coming to the end of the ribbing, and will start on the heels any time soon. I sure want to get these done!! They are not difficult at all to do, just are boring. They are something to do when I am waiting for pages to load while surfing.

I have been doing more spinning on the spindle. I have a couple more skeins completed -- no pics, very ordinary stuff. I also picked up a couple more cheeses at the thrift shop (they know me too well there!) and will attempt that lot. There was some knitting that someone started, but never got very far. I ripped that out, and will separate all the strands and spin it up. I got two shades of gray, some white, some brown and some black. It seems quite nice, so will make a nice yarn. It seems a lot finer than other wheels I've had, so I may do it into a 3-ply this time.

The lace moebius experiment is not going anywhere. I haven't worked on it at all. I need to come up with a simple pattern for the edging, and just haven't had the energy to even think about it. The long-suffering lace shawl is also waiting for attention. I did get some fuzzy mohair to do the last section along the outside edge a few weeks ago. I'm not sure yet if I will use it -- it is the right shade (couldn't find any co-ordinating colour in the sock yarn) , and I think a different texture might add something to this shawl. I just need to sit down and start and see what happens. Just.

I'm still surfing the net, looking for more patterns. Whatever is wrong with me? I will never ever get a chance to do them; I have great ideas, but lack the time to work on them. I had better get started on one of them!!

Final yarns

I didn't have my camera for a few days (silly story) and didn't get any pics of my skeins of yarn! But that is all corrected now, and here is one. It's almost the correct colour... it seems to change in different light! It is a soft grey/blue shade, very neutral, but very nice!

This is a rather big pic, so you can see each and every fibre! LOL --- I love close-ups of yarns!

There are no plans for this yarn yet. I am thinking it needs to go to someone that needs good yarn to work with instead of the acrylic she now has. There are only 3 skeins, 8 oz total, and I don't know what she will be able to make with it. Perhaps a scarf, or mittens, or it can be added to some other yarns, and make something larger. I think I will go search through my stash; I think I might -- just might -- have something that co-ordinates with this quite well!

More twists with the cheese

To continue my explanation of spinning from a “cheese”, I now have more pics of how I do it. I am using a CD spindle for these. I took this with me on a recent trip to see Mom and family – a v-e-r-y long bus trip and had thought I would do a little a spinning while traveling. Bit it was a bit crowded on the bus, and I like to travel at night, so slept most of the way and didn’t get anything done. So these were all done while watching some of the Olympic coverage – it is quiet and I can do it without looking. At least my time was not all wasted!

I spun these “S” and then plied “Z” since I want to use this for knitting. I only did a 2-ply, but did consider a 3-ply; I like it better for a knitting yarn. To spin “S”, I roll the shaft with a very fast swipe along the side of my thigh upwards. I am doing this on the right side, but if you want to do it on the left side, you will have to roll it downward. I can get quite a good speed on it that way, and then I just let it twirl! When it slows down, I might add another spin, or stop it and wind on.

There are actually 2 CDs on the whorl – and the top is decorated with some bright stickers! And why shouldn’t it look pretty while you use a simple tool?! This spindle has a simple cup hook at the top. I like to come up from behind the hook and just through it. This is enough to hold it in place; it won’t slide anywhere!

This shows a finished cop which I just slipped off the spindle, and another one on the way to becoming spun! I usually use a slip of paper rolled around the spindle shaft as a quill, which holds the cop solidly, and I can put it on a lazy kate when plying. These worked well when plying without it, except when I reached the last few yards, but I managed without getting it all tangled!

There is a simple movement to allow the twist into the unspun roving. I will try to describe this, but it is easier to show than to say! I need to explain something at this point: you need to know that twist will move all along any length it can between two unobstructed points. In the case of this spindle, most of it will be from the hook of the spindle to your first hand. If you open your hand, the twist will run along the opened up free areas, until it meets another obstacle. You control this length. You need to know the length of the fibre you are working with; this determines how far apart you will hold your hands. Too far apart and it will come apart for you and you will know the meaning of "drop spindle".

I will describe the hands as top or bottom hand. You may use right or left as your dominant hand; the movements are the same. First, you need to have a good amount of twist in the lower part, from the spindle top to the lower hand. You will have a few inches from your last spin to act as leader. The top hand will pinch off a section about 4-6 inches above your bottom hand. The bottom hand releases the twist into the top section. This is enough to hold the fibres together. You continue to let enough twist build up in this area, and then pinch off with the lower hand.

The top hand will move up a couple inches and pinch off a new section. The lower hand releases the twist and allows it to run into the top. Again, the bottom is pinched and the top moves up. And you continue this dance until you have an arm’s length, or when the spindle reaches the floor. The spindle has been twirling away while you are doing this, and eventually slows down, usually about the time you have reached your arm’s limit. Stop the spindle, and still holding the yarn under tension (arms far apart), wind on the newly formed yarn to the spindle shaft. Wind around the hook, and start over by rolling it along the thigh once again!

It's just that easy!

Winter's first snow

I hadn't realized how long it's been since I've written anything here! I get too busy reading about what OTHER's are doing, and not getting any of MY work done!

I've just got back from a trip to see my mother and relatives around "home". I left there long ago, but we still think of it as home, even though they have moved from the place I grew up! Strange. However, it was good to see Mom again; she is doing really well after her surgery. It was a year ago exactly when she had it, and she can't even imagine what a difference it makes to the quality of her life. She is back to her old busy self. Good to see that. And I visited with some of my aunts and brothers and nieces -- had a good time. But it's good to be "home" here too!

I traveled by Greyhound, and probably won't be doing that again anytime soon. They've increased their prices substantially since my last trip. They've eliminated the run I liked to take, so had a 3 and half hour wait to change buses! It was cold, and crowded, and not fun at all! I wasted too much time on that crate (with a driver that didn't know how to change gears)!

The worst thing is that Greyhound Canada has just eliminated 80 people from our call centre, and now all calls will be routed through Dallas, Texas -- like they know anything about towns in Canada! They might be nice people, but still -- how ridiculous!

On the knitting front, I finished a pair of socks for my grand-niece. I meant to start them long ago, but --- Anyway, I did them on the bus a little, finished them at Mom's and gave them to her. She is only 3, the cutest thing, but they are a little big (her mother didn't measure well). That is alright; better than too small! I got some pics here. I don't have a full length photo, but wanted you to see that I didn't want them to be identical. So I made the toes and heels with different colours. I should have started the socks further along so they won't be that close, or one from the other end of the ball, and they would have been reversed. Next time!

I took along some spinning with me, and my spindle. I have to have things to do!! So while watching the Olympics, I would spin. I got two nice large skeins done; I have one more to do. I still don't know what I will do with them. They are a nice colour, and I have some others that may go well together. I keep thinking I need a sweater, but shall see.

I came back home at about 7 am (after a 13 hour bus ride!) thinking I would have a nap, because I had my spinning class to attend. But I had to check emails --- and well.... so I got to lay down later than I should have, and was awakened by my ride! So that was a quick dash out the door (luckily I had everything gathered together) and had a good class. We studied worsted spinning this time; I have always preferred to do worsted over the years, so this was easy. I am liking carding a bit more now that I know what I am doing! I still prefer combing, but that will be in another level. We were given some samples of fleece of an unknown breed, with a lot of yolk on it, but lovely stuff nonetheless. Also, some Lincoln fleece -- nice!! Almost like mohair, and I can see using some of it for reinforcing socks. There was some Gotland too, but I need to wash it first, and spin it up. It does look like it should be nice.

All in all, a good day.

Oh, when I got home, I find that we received a lot of snow while I was gone! I kept telling everyone that we had NO snow at all --- I lied! We have several inches, and it is quite cold. There should be a Chinook Monday, but that will be short-lived. The good thing is that Spring is only about 3 weeks away, and that usually means the snow starts leaving; the farmer's almanac says our seasons are going to be delayed by about 30 days at least this year --- something to do with the tsunami of last year. The whole world is all unbalanced!!

I've noticed that, haven't you?

Yarn from Cheeses

I have mentioned several times to a number of people that I like using these cheeses or wheels of unspun rovings and spin them into my own yarn. In Canada, during the war when sheep wool was scarce, they used the undercoat from buffalo to make yarn. The name stayed, but now they are back to using wool from sheep. Many mills make these wheels; check around. They use these to spin the yarns. I find them in thrift shops quite often. The idea is to knit directly from these wheels-- because of the twisting that happens when you pull up a strand from the side of a wheel, it is enough to hold together. There are normally 6 strands wound around the wheel, and are quite bulky for those great fall sweaters we love!

The first thing to do is to separate those 6 strands. You can't just wind them off the end of the wheel, because they will twist. I rigged up a knitting needle through the sides of a cardboard box, so I can pull the strands off as the wheel rotates. It takes time, but eventually you get six neatly wound balls of singes!

I like to wind them around my thumb, remembering to keep the end sticking out so that I can use them as a centre-pull ball when spinning. That will give it some twist as it comes out of the ball, and then I only have to add a bit more.

There will be more pics of the spinning on another day!

Mysterious Ring

That mysterious red thing is now finished, and it was interesting to do. You can see it completed here (I learned that red is hard to photograph):

This is called a Moebius -- it has no outside or inside surface. If you follow it around, you will see that the outside becomes the inside, and then the outside again! It is never ending. While it is not that difficult to knit, it was miserable to get started! Remember when you did your first circular knitting, and you made that little slip of not insuring that your cast-on wasn't twisted? And what happens if it IS twisted?

Well, this has an intentional twist in your circular knitting, but only one twist (half a turn) which results in that twist at the front. If it is wide enough to just fit your shoulders, it can serve as a perfect shoulder wrap. A long one can be worn as a scarf, and hangs rather neatly. And if you make one half turn along the length, you can double that ring into a cowl, or even pull it over your head as a hood! Very versatile!

However, I did say it was maddening that I couldn't get that first row knit up. I have been thinking of doing one of these for a long time (after seeing several things made by Cat Bordhi. I never actually tried doing anything, but kept thinking about how this would work. Eventually, I just had to sit down and DO IT! I cast on with some thick junk yarn, and then worked the second round, and all was well! Hey-- this is easy!

And then I cast-on with the red, to make a proper sized moebius. I determined the number of stitches to cast-0n... and it was all wrong. Rip out. Try once more. Rip out. This one is really HUGE! Okay, re-calculate, this time only half the number of stitches... rip out! This is so frustrating! I didn't have a bit of trouble with that stupid little sample I made! I'm not giving up!

So it finally decides to allow me to knit those first and second rounds; these are the critical ones. After that, I'm well on my way! It was a snap -- and boring; I was doing knit and purl ridges. So I introduced some YOs just for some interest, and finally tried a sideways lace edging. I found I made one little mistake, and will do it differently for the next one.

Next one? Oh, yes! I will do this again, this time knowing a bit more, will be able to create more of a pattern right where I want it, and the way I want it. I also will make it a little wider, to wear as a full hood, or even a shoulder wrap.

Of course, you know that this is not for me!! That is NOT my colour at all!

New Year updates

Goodness! This year has not started very well! No details, but if this is the way it's going to be, I think I want out -- and let's just get on with the one after this! I even had TWO new years start, and that didn't help at all. It's Chinese New Year on Sunday, so maybe finally this one will be the right one. I dunno.

But I will show you something that I have started working. I'm not saying yet what it is -- just in case, you understand -- but it should be quite something when done! This has been started several times already; in fact, that is all I worked on all this week! I'm persistent (some say stubborn), so I will do it, you'll see! This pic is slightly out-of-focus because I needed to get close so you could see it, but I couldn't focus on it that close. Anyway, it's more mysterious this way! And it's the perfect colour for February (don't you think?)!

Remember that shawl I've been working on? It's still sitting here -- I'm stalled on it again. I am clearly running short of yarn, and I still have a 5-8 inch border to do. I know I will never make it, so am trying to figure a way out of this. I think I will get another ball of yarn, most likely not in the same colour, but something that will co-ordinate and will look good as a border. Just to get to the LYS.

This winter has been the strangest ever -- and I've seen a goodly number! We've had very little snow, nothing to speak of really. The temps have been way over the average, and most days have been above freezing. I'm afraid the trees are going to bud soon, and they may, if we ever get any rain/snow. I've been taking my bike to work every day, which I didn't expect to do much over winter. Not complaining, you understand --- just not quite sure what to make of it, and wondering what Mom Nature has in store for us yet.

First 2006 Treasures

Some of you will know that I make frequent checks at the local thrift shop. Just after the first of the year, I had walked by, and had to stop in since I hadn't been there for over a week!

Usually, there are not many fibre-related items there, but one can never know for sure. So I looked in, and found a whole pile of stuff! I have a weakness for double-pointed needles, and circulars (it's an addiction), and they had a fistfull of them! This shop doesn't often get items like this, so I was truly lucky.

I had to take them all! I know -- I have no restaint; but these were a bargain. I had gotten some just in the past month, at $1 for a set of four. These were priced lower, and they also gave me 50% off for all Christmas items. These WERE indeed Christmas items! LOL There were a few crochet hooks, in various sizes, and since I really didn't have all these --- well, you never know when I might need some! I also found this knitting bag, with the fold-out legs. I have a few of them, but this one was well made, and quite a steal. How can I resist?!! I did leave the circs behind, but now wish I took them; I want to make up a set for a really wonderful girl at work who needs some.

Here is a pic of what I got... all for less than $10!!

Now one thing that I found really intriguing is a needle holder from a company in Montreal. See the silver tube there on the left? And it has a 6 inch ruler as well as a series of 10 holes along the side as a needle gauge -- really neat! I've never seen one like this. Can always use another fun needle holder! hahaha

There is nothing really on the needles right now. I have one sock finished and the heel left to do on the other one. For some reason, that is stalled. Maybe today.

New year yarns

Remember some time in the past, I mentioned that I received a free ball of yarn in the mail. And then I ordered from their flyer --- oh, they are evil enablers! They know I have enough yarn already -- but they want me to have more!

Yesterday, a package arrived with my yarn! I almost forgot about it, and here it was. The package was opened, but all of my order was there. I guess everyone wanted to see what I got! hehehe

And here it is:

The problem with Mary Maxim is that they don't have much at all made of wool or any natural fibre! It's all that plastic stuff, but I did find some Paton's Up Country (100% wool), and only got 3 balls. I really like the colours, so may have to get more of it. And of course, some Regia sock yarn; a sock is already started for my grand-neice -- couldn't wait! Those were the only colours left. They will be alright for children!

And the other yarn I got was some Molash -- a kind of eyelash made with some mohair. It looks like fun, but I only got those 3 balls, and I will incorporate it into something.

I really liked the fast service from Mary Maxim during this busy holiday season, but do wish they had better selection of yarns. I will keep an eye on them, and will get a few more things, when they have another sale.

Looks like I am going to have a very quiet New Year's Eve -- as always. It's just another day for me -- I will finish those socks, and start another pair. I think these will be too small. Oh, and I need to get my fleece washed and samples spun for the class next week -- yah, sure!

To everyone: The very best of all good things in 2006, and may your days be filled with warm fuzzy [fibre] things!

Surprise Package

On Monday, I recieved a small package in the mail. It was from Mary Maxim. Now, I know of the store, and have looked through their catalogue, but have never ordered anything from them. So I had no idea what it could be.

But inside was a ball of Bernat's Disco yarn. Just one. It was a free ball, along with their current catalogue, and a sale flyer. At one time, I had registered for something and forgot about it. Now I recall something about a free offer from Bernat, and this was it. I'm not sure what I will do with 50 gm of this yarn, but it's nice to add to my stash!

One of the reasons I have never ordered from Mary Maxim is that there is nothing of wool in their whole collection! Everything is plastic or acrylic. So looking through the flyer, I see that they have Regia sock yarn, which is only 75% wool, on sale for a good price. These are the self-patterning yarns. I have to look on the website to see the colours; there are only two selections available, and they are not the nicest of choices! But I finally break down and decide to get a couple of balls, enough to make a pair of socks, and they will go to someone.

I also ordered a few other items, and will see what I can do with them when they finally arrive. It's always good to have a few extra things in your collection, right?

Nightmares

I really need to get another pic of our street now. It suddenly turned very HOT and it has all melted, and the sun is shining! What a difference a week makes! Even a day.. it was below freezing one day, but by 10 pm it had gone up to +3 and by 3 am, it was +5. I stayed up just to be sure.

I don't seem to be sleeping well, and suffering for the lack of it. So this morning, without having anything really pressing (it can all wait), I just stayed in bed. I finally decided that I should get out of bed, since I DO have things to do. It's already mid-afternoon, and so half the day is gone. I did sleep most of the time. I would doze, listen to the radio for brief moments, and more sleep. I do feel a whole lot better now. One more day, and I would be back to nornal. Maybe another nap later this afternoon -- gee, better get back to bed, or there isn't time left for a nap!!

I did have a horrible nightmare though. I can't remember how it started, but I was working on the shawl (in the dream) -- that vexing lace shawl -- and for some reason, I had to rip out some stitches. Now, as some of you may know, I NEVER rip anything out. But for some unknown reason (dreams are like that), I pulled and pulled and pulled... not for a long time it seems. I have already started my third ball (odd-- I didn't find the join), but I noticed that I was ripping an odd section, so I stopped to see what was happening. Oh, no!! I had gone all the way back to the end of Clue 3!! That is about 2 months work! I couldn't believe it! I simply stared at it.... what did I do? What was I thinking? I just felt sick! So what do I do now? I really didn't look forward to starting that horrible section again! It was the part that gave me so much trouble in the first place. I liked it up unitl then -- up to the point that I stopped ripping.

Perhaps I was thinking that I would re-design the shawl, and do it MY way. But there I sat, looking at it in my hands, and wondering what am I to do now. Then I awoke -- that is the only good thing about nightmares -- and realized that I had better get working on that shawl, and past this unhealthy section. I am halfway through the second run of Clue 4 (I liked it that much!! LOL), and it seems there are too many stitches. Well, of course: I added four more repeats of the 22-stitch pattern!

I am coping with it well, or so I thought. It is not as confusing as it was, but still tedious. Well, all lace-knitting is like that, so I will just plod along, doing one row at a time, and get through this. There is still the sideways knit border, and I'm thinking of making a few changes to that one. I don't like the way others have ended up, so I'm working it in my head to make a few modifications -- just so it looks more pleasing TO ME when it is finally done. And it WILL be done!!

For now, I have to start on my fruit bread. Never enough time!!

That's snow!

We've had a bit of snow before. This is the first real snow for this season. While it may not last long, there will be more. But it's already near the end of November, and it has been unseasonably warm (up to +20 one day), it has now cooled considerably, and it has snowed. This was what I saw when I poked my head out the window at 8:30 this morning! Not really a pleasant sight, so I turned around and pulled the covers up tighter, and stayed there -- a little longer!

Well, I had so much planned for today! As always, and nothing got done anyway. So be it. I needed some sleep I think. One more day would be really great, but I have to go in to work tomorrow. Not that they would miss me much if I wasn't there, I don't think, but I will make my appearance, and do all that stupid paper work that no one really cares about, nor does the fate of the world depend upon. But I will do it.

I worked on that shawl again today. Yah! It's moving along nicely now, and is behaving itself. I am nearing the end of Clue 4, and am thinking of doing another repeat. Why in the world would I do something like that when it gave me so much trouble?! Indeed, why?? Maybe it's to show it that I am not afraid of it, maybe to show that I CAN do it. Maybe it's because I need a few more inches to this shawl! It sure does seem small so far. I know it will stretch a lot when blocked, but still --- it is small!

I have a small bag stuffed with raw fleece in my warm apartment waiting to be washed. I can't just dump it all in the tub and be done with it. No, we have 10 sections from the different parts of the sheep, and have to wash eash seperately, and spin a 6 yard length (2-ply) from each section. So we know that different parts of the fleece produce different kinds of yarn! And then we also have to wash and spin a sample of locks four different ways! I know this is a study of spinning, but some of these things are just not fun!! Ah, well ---- Might be time for another nap.

It's done!

Well, finally, after some interruptions, the socks are done! I'm always so happy to get a project off the needles, the ends darned in, washed and blocked! It doesn't take much to make me happy.

These socks were started quite some time ago. I've enjoyed working on them. The pattern was not that complicated, but for the first several inches of the leg, I had to make sure I followed the pattern so I didn't get lost. It wasn't until after I turned the heel that it began to make some sense. It's really a simple and logical pattern -- something about that confused me!

I did these out of a navy, thinking I would wear it more often than I would one of the self-striping pink and lime green socks! But I found that it was only possible to see the stitches in daylight; even bright room lights didn't seem to help much. That's why it took so long to do, with the short days we now have!

Work on that Mystery Shawl has stalled. It has actually stopped! I have lost all interest in it whatsoever! This has almost never happened to me before, that I recall. I thought if I left it alone for a time, I would come back to it renewed. It may take a long time!

I'm not really sure what happened. I have done a lot of lace. I enjoy knitting lace! It find it exciting to see the designs develop, and they are not that hard to do. But this one --- it is just not flowing for me. There were a couple of minor errors in the design which I could deal with. But this section of the design has pattern stitches on both front and back rows. And I've done this before too! For some reason, it just was not working. Now, looking at it, I can't tell where I am in the pattern anymore! I've really gone and lost myself somewhere. I hate to say it, but I may have to tink a row or two. I NEVER rip anything out; but I will tink! Once I get back on track, I may be alright. I hope so -- I SOOO want to get this done!