Full of Grace

Unfortunately, I don't have any finished yarn to show you guys today. I had really planned on finishing my plying last night, photograph it today and then post, but....you know how life goes!

I'm actually in the middle of plying my two singles and everything is going great except for, one of my singles maybe shorter than the other....oops? So I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that.

Last Friday, I convinced my boyfriend to buy me some really nice fiber from Corgi Hill Farm. I got the Amur Maple (75% BFL and 25% Tussah Silk).  The fiber came with a sample of their polwarth and some candies. How sweet is that? This roving just screams fall to me, and thus fall socks are going to be made out of this. I spun a little of it on Lucie last night and it spins like butter and the color is so vibrant.

I am also being inspired by geometry in nature.
I have a cousin, Liza, who is turning 7 next month, so I have started to make her present. I saw this 12 pointed star on Knitting Daily TV and thought it was really cute and would make a nice little accent for a child's room. Plus, none of her snot nosed friends would have one ;)

And then there were two =)

It's been almost a week since I posted last. My anniversary was pretty wonderful. Thank you for all the good wishes.

Friday night I got a call from my best friend, Adam. He's such a sweet guy. I've known him for quite some time. Anyways, he told me that his mom wanted to talk to me about knitting. I've talked to Rose before about knitting and I've showed her some of the stuff I have been working on. Recently, she has been diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. I'm sure I don't even have to say it, but my heart really goes out to her and her son. Rose  is such a sweet and caring person.

Anywho, she wanted me to come over and teach her how to knit since she has a lot of time on her hands. I planned with her to come over Saturday, bring her some needles and some yarn. I was so excited to finally teach someone who really wanted to learn. Someone who would soak up all this knowledge that I am willing to share. Then, Adam called me Saturday morning and told  me that Rose got really sick and they had to take her to the hospital.

I spent Saturday night with Adam, tried to help him relax and keep his mind away from worry. We ate pizza and just hung out. It reminded me of old times and it was pretty fun.

Rose called me yesterday afternoon. She called to thank me for the lapghan I had made her and also to thank me for hanging out with Adam. It was so sweet and best of all she still wants me to teach her how to knit.

So,  in between all the things I did and didn't do this weekend, this is what I'm working on. Two socks on one circular needle= no single sock syndrome!

As you all know, I am in love with spinning. I bought some more wool roving, this time from Etsy. I purchased two 4oz balls from slimchicken. And I have to say I am very impressed. The roving was fairly inexpensive and yet, the quality is great! I love the vibrant colors (I am a big fan of anything blue-green, or purple) and the softness of the roving. It is soooo squishy! I am in love I think.

I also bought another spindle. It's made from this special wood from alaska. I can't remember the name of it. It's totally gorgeous and totally lightweight. This means that squishy long wool roving is going to turn into sock yarn!!! Huzzah!

Speaking of socks, the socks I am working on have been put on hold. I finally found a video today on how to wrap stitches (something I hadn't yet learned how to do), so maybe later tonight I will be able to tackle the heel. Gosh I love socks. I could see myself knitting socks for the rest of my life. Nothing but socks all the time for me. Everyone's feet will be so warm in my house :)

Current Projects:

• Spiral galaxy socks with origami heel
• Under the Hoodie
• Black slouchy beanie
• Circular needle hanger thingy (need to shop for fabric)
• Roll up knitting needle case (need to shop for fabric)

Rambo Kitty

Hey y'all! 

I've been spinning like a madwoman with my spindle. My pack of cats are a little confused about it. They aren't sure if it's a toy or if it's a predator. Funny cats! I thought for sure they would be right in the middle of my spinning. My favorite cat, Gidget, she loves the smell of the wool. She just wants to lay on it and rub her face all over it. I made her a little red headband out of some roving. Now she looks like rambo kitty!

I've been quite the busy bee actually. I've been spinning. I also finished a pair of socks for Mary. They were actually supposed to be for me, but my gauge was a little off and they ended up being for her :]  I also finished a lapghan that I was making with speedstix and 4 strands of boucle yarn. It came out looking very yummy and soft. It's amazing to me how complex stockinette stitch can look if you use textured yarns. One of my pals could have sworn I did a 1x1 rib, but no, it's just plain stockinette. No blocking required!

I am now working on a pair of socks for myself. The cuff has baby cables, which are so effing cute by the way. I'd never done baby cables, but they are so simple and look amazing. I'm mixing and matching parts of socks from the Socks a La Carte book. I'm hoping that I might get the second one someday. I still haven't yet mastered the toe-up technique even though it really appeals to me.

I also wanted to mention that I got my ravelry progress bars up. I'd been trying to do that for so long and I couldn't really understand the cryptic instructions on the website. I finally found someone in the forums who knew what they were talking about and gave instructions clear enough that I could understand them. So ravelry progress bars up. I really want to add pictures, but I'm not sure how to do that yet. 

Hope you all are having a great week  :]

Finished Socks!

Huzzah for a three day weekend! I have soooo been needing this. I don't have much planned except for bike rides, seeing Iron Man 2, and knitting (duh!). I have also started watching the True Blood series. So, I will probably watch more of that, and possibly order the books online.

I wanted to share my first pair of socks with y'all. These are your basic 5 stitches per inch worsted weight vanilla socks. I have a real hard time completing the projects that I start, so I find it quite fulfilling to be able to share this with everyone. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Memorial day weekend! 

Summer is almost here : ]

I've got a lot of stuff going on right now. Finals are next week, which is a blessing in disguise :) I've got so many projects going I don't know where to start/finish. I started a knitting journal/notebook to keep track of all the patterns I am working. I am also about to finish  The Friday Night Knitting Club (Friday Night Knitting Club Novels).
Since I have so much stuff going on lately, I've had to push back my weekly Dungeons and Dragons game until school is over. Yes, I play Dungeons and Dragons, and let me say that before I played it, I thought, "Oh this is just some nerdy game that nerds play in their mom's basement." Well, you don't really have to be a nerd to play it, all you need is a little imagination and a patient game master. It's actually quite fun, it reminds me of being a child and exploring. It's great to be able to use my imagination once a week and spend quality time with friends.

Works In Progress:

• Crocheted Half Granny Square Shawl
• Amigurumi Octopus
• Toe Up Socks 
• Striped Scarf in Stockinette Stitch 
• Grey Slouchy Beanie

Colds and Conventions

Well I haven't updated in awhile, my apologies. Last week I caught a nasty little bug! I couldn't work, or go to school. One upside of that is having more time to knit. Since I last wrote, I have been able to complete two hipster beanies.
I also went to the Stitches West convention in Santa Clara, CA. It was so great! I have a little anxiety around large crowds, so it was a big deal for me to go to a convention. And let me tell you, there were tons and tons of people. There were so many great stands that I saw, Debbie Bliss, Blue Moon....It would really take me forever to name them all. One of the best parts of the trip was buying my first pair of Addi Turbos. I cannot tell you how much I have wanted a pair Addis! I actually got a few different sizes in circulars, since I am really into knitting hats and trying to learn socks valiantly. I managed to walk out of the convention with several hanks of beautifully dyed wool, a few pairs of needles, and a new tape measure by Lantern Moon that looks like a little sheep. It was a wonderful day :)

I went to my LYS on Sunday. I bought some more yarn, since I had a few bucks. I was talking to one of the owners, Carol and she told me that if I was buying yarn at her store I could pretty much come in and get help on any of my projects. How sweet is that!? I told her about the trials I have seen while trying to knit my first pair of socks, and I mentioned how intimidated I was by the heel turn/heel flap/gusset business. She invited me to come in anytime and she would help me out and show me how to conquer a pair of socks. It feels great to know that there is someone right down the road who is willing to help me :)

Goals for this year:
Knit my first pair of socks
Knit a  baggy sweater