I gave in

to weaving that is...

A little yarn to drool over

Wollmeise Daisy WD Twin

Would you be able to resist?

MIA once again

I haven't disappeared, just been busy. Summer has begun, the kids are home and keeping me occupied and then of course those stupid pesky health issues put a dent in my knitting time as well. I have been able to sneak in some time, mainly at hockey tournaments, to get some knitting done. These are the socks that I made for Anthony's 40th birthday with the yarn I spun a few posts ago. He is pleased with them and has already requested another pair. I knew once I gave him a pair of hand knit socks he would be hooked.

I've been addicted to knitting plain old vanilla socks lately. I use magic loop, toe up with a short row heel. I realized that I care more about having a wide wardrobe of socks more than a few really fancy ones. And certainly I have the stash to provide for this. These socks are so soft and comfortable and fit really well. The more pairs I make the more I've realized that I need to make myself really skinny socks for them to fit right. I'm talking 48-56max stitches on size 0 or 00. I have really skinny feet and I don't like baggy socks.
This is the one sweater I'm working on at this time...well actually it's been a few weeks since I've picked it up but I am eager to get it done, something about the summer....perhaps the 90°+days, keep me from wanting to knit big items, hence all the socks. This is the Berries Cardigan I am knitting out of Wollmeise. It's a bit of an adjustment to do color work with fingering weight, so far the only fair isle I've done was with Philosopher's Wool, but I do like the resulting fabric. I'm making it a bit small as an incentive to lose a bit more weight this summer. So far I'm down 9 lbs and we won't talk about how many yet to go.

These socks are with Noro Kureyon and again is simple toe up with a very easy rib. I'm alternating knitting these with the next pair. I knit one sock and then knit one of the other and then back to the first. Trying to keep it exciting.

So this would be the other pair. I just turned the heel on the second one so they should be done soon. They were supposed to be for Father's Day but I'm a wee bit late. I love this WM color, Spice Shwammerl, I hope I have enough left to make myself a short pair. Although I don't think I'll get the same effect since I will have to decrease the stitch count considerably. But that should make it exciting to see what it works up like.

So that's about all the excitement in my knitting world. I am already starting to think about my goals for next year's knitting. I really want to focus more on designing and would like to do a project from fleece to FO including the dyeing and designing. Once I finish all my UFOs I'm going to start small, perhaps with a pair of color work socks and WM or handspun. For now I'm just enjoying the summer and trying to abstain as much as possible from the WM updates. I'm not very disciplined to Anthony's dismay.

Prom 2010

It's all Kathy's fault!

Okay maybe it isn't all her fault but she brought the skein of Saami to the retreat and I was reminded of how pretty Wollmeise is. I had a lonely skein of Digitessa but somehow I managed to add some skiens since then. In the center is the sweater project I'm working on, a skein of lace, and a lonely cake of petite poison that will soon be cast on for a pair of brainless socks.

I've been wanting to take pics for a while but I always was awaiting for another purchase to arrive. Right now only 7 skeins are on the way and hopefully they will arrive soon. Until then I'll be ready to stalk at a moment's notice.

A new toy!

It's been a long, long time since I've done any scrapbooking. Probably since we moved into our new home. Today I received in the mail some nifty new scrapbooking software to help me catch up with the millions of photos I need to preserve. Unfortunately my shots I received earlier this week have seemed to have hurt more than help so I've been in my pjs today with plenty of downtime to fiddle around with the new program. It is called Memory Mixer and it really user friendly.
The nice thing is that there are plenty of different downloads available, papers, embellishments and alphas so you don't get bored. The possibilities are endless. If I didn't have an order of over 500 stitch markers to fill I could see myself getting sucked into this.

But I do think I will bring my computer along for the scrap I'm attending on Super Bowl Sunday. I wonder how many pages I can get done?

2009 Summary

So I perused my projects page on Ravelry and came up with a summary of what I accomplished in 2009.

4 pairs of socks

4 scarves

4 sweaters

3 hats

3 baby outfits

3 shawls

and 1 dog sweater

6 of these were made with handspun

Many of these were items that were already started and were a part of my resolution to finish all UFOs. I hope to accomplish this much again this year with a greater percentage made of handspun.

Right now I am working on the Necessity vest using my hollyberry handspun. I really like how the colors are working up.

I just finished these socks using Mini Mochi. I love the colors and they are super soft and squishy. Aside from knitting I have been enjoying our girl Lily. She is growing so big and has more than doubled in size since we brought her home. She has continued to be a good little puppy. She is very mellow and is now finally house broken. She's a snuggler and a welcome addition to our family.

Up Next: Plans for Knitting 2010

So far so good

No yarn purchased and I've been busy spinning! I've been working on this for quite some time and I finally finished it! yay! This is a 3ply, 18wpi, 417 yds, 6.75 oz. I spun one ply of Spunky's SW Lame Duck Mallard, one ply of Spunky's Banff and a third ply I alternated the two rovings. The wool was SW BFL and Corriedale. I put a lot of twist into both the singles and when plying to make it durable. I plan to use it to make my dh a pair of socks for his 40th bday. It was really fun to watch the colors come together as I plied.
Banff, SW Corriedale:

Lame Duck Mallared SW BFL:





Next up pics of my latest project and finished socks.

New Year's Resolutions

Since they worked out so well for me last year, I have decided to make some resolutions for the coming year in relation to my knitting.
1. No yarn purchases until all my credit cards are paid off.
This excludes: yarn for gifts, yarn bought with money from de-stash, yarn needed to complete a project.
2. Limit fiber purchases to monthly clubs and Estes. Above rules also apply.
3. Knit a sweater every two months. I have yarn for about 20-25 large projects and it is about time I start making some of them. List to come later.
4. Knit at least two sweaters from hand spun.
5. Spin at least once a week.
6. Sell enough stitch markers to purchase an electric spinner.

That should cover it. I think this will help me tackle some of my stash and will result in some nice new garments to wear. We won't talk about the great binge that occurred right before the 1st. Hence the credit card balances.