Attack of the Frostrosen Blob!

It really does look like a 60's Sci Fi Horror Monster doesn't it, kind of blobbing across the floor? It can't spread out on the needles any more so it just looks kind of stringy and sad. This is the Green Moss Shawl from Heirloom Knitting that I'm doing in my handspun yarn Frostrosen, which was originally a set of Kitchen Sink Batts from Kary. I've got about 20 more rows until I start knitting the lace edging along the top edge and then I'm done! I'm going to put some serious time into this over this weekend and see if I can't get it finished up. It got put aside while I got the Mystery Stole knit up and the group going, but I really want to get it finished because the color is perfect for Summer.

I thought I'd answer a couple of questions from previous posts. Several of you were asking about the red sock blockers I had the socks on in Wednesday's post. I got those from The Loopy Ewe. They are a heavy weight plastic (about 3/16 of an inch thick) and while they didn't match the socks I showed on them very well, I thought they looked fun and would make photographing socks for the blog easier. If you haven't checked out The Loopy Ewe yet, go take a look, even if you're not in the market for sock blockers. (They also have some nice classic wooden ones if red isn't your thing.) Their sock yarn stock turns over very quickly, sometimes a new sock yarn sells out the first day it's put on the site!

For those of you who are wondering about Mystery Stole 3, YES! You can still sign up! The first clue was posted this morning but it's not too late to get in on the fun. When I post Clue 2 next Friday morning, I will be closing the group to new members. This keeps the group on track better as far as where we are in the stole and theoretically does do a bit of crowd control. (We currently have a membership of 3426 so I'm pretty sure any crowd control theories have been thrown out the window at this point.) The text portions of the pattern are being translated from English to German, French, Italian, Dutch, and Spanish so if you know someone who might be interested, but who is concerned that their English isn't good enough to do this, please let them know! The charts are also being translated from chart form into a written out version for those of you who can't knit from charts. Come join the fun if you aren't already signed up for this group. We'll see how many emails your inbox can handle at once! CLICK HERE to get to the group's site and then you can sign up.

Waffle Socks Done!

A finished pair of socks! These are handdyed, handspun, and handknitted. I used a GCNI/Yearling Mohair blend roving (85/15) and spun up a two ply. I knit them on US Size 1's (2.25mm) at 7.5 spi. I used the stitch pattern from Blueberry Waffle Socks worked in my own gauge. Personally, I love the mis-matched stripeyness!

My next socks will be for my Sockapalooza Pal. I have to pick a pattern for her yarn.

Putting the Pink Back in Pink Lemon Twist

In my constant quest to find the perfect pink sock yarn (and to add more pink socks of all shades of pink to my drawer), three more yarns have joined the Pink Lemon Sock Stash! I got these from The Loopy Ewe yesterday. I think I ordered last Friday afternoon - yes, she ships that fast!

As you can see, someone has discovered that he can be part of the AM blogging photo op around here. From left to right: Finn's left paw, Ashes Of Roses by Seacoast Handpainted, Lipstick from Claudia's Handpainted Yarns, and Chantilly Lace (go ahead and sing along - I am) from Duet Sock Yarns. The Duet Sock Yarns have a main skein and then a tiny little baby skein which coordinates for toes and heels. Isn't that a cute idea?

Good News, Bad News, and Good News

The Good News is that I finished knitting the design for Mystery Stole 3. I have corrected the charts and it is done and blocking. I'm very excited about this year's design, but of course I designed it too. We have probably cleared the 3000 mark for Knit Along members, since last night we had 2900+ and we are adding around 100 a day. This means we have quadrupled the first year's number (760+) and we are getting pretty close to tripling last year's number (1061). I'm very excited about this and about the huge percentage of international knitters who are joining us this year. Of course on Friday, when the first clue gets posted, we might very well kill Yahoo as everyone tries to log in and get it.

The Bad News is that I can't show you a picture, because of the whole "Mystery" part of it. Don't worry, by the first of next week, pictures will probably be popping up all over the blogosphere as the group knits Clue 1.

The Good News is that now that I'm done knitting on the stole, I can go back to my regularly scheduled knitting and spinning and have a fresh supply of blog fodder each day.

Finn would also like everyone to know that Friday, when he posed with the sock, he wasn't eating it, he was resting his chin on it very gently and didn't even drool on it. He is a very good fiber dog and apart from the occasional snuffle of processed fiber and attempting to roll stealthily in raw fleece, he doesn't mess with my fiber and has certainly never harmed any of it.

Awwwwwww!

Some pictures don't need explanations.

More Spinning

I've started another little spinning project. This is Polworth wool. I had it processed into roving and it's just wonderful! I'm spinning it semi-woolen at 36 wpi for the singles. I sampled a bit of 3 ply and it comes out right in the worsted range. The bounce is amazing on the finished yarn. I don't know yet what it will be, but the Polworth is so soft I'm thinking about a cuddly turtleneck - yes, it really is that soft. I have over 3 pounds of it after the processing so there's even enough to do a twin set if I wanted to. And I'll probably spin some of it up for a shawl too.

Stash Enhancement

Today we will look at some stash enhancement. I don't know when I'll get to knit it, but isn't it pretty? All of this came from The Woolen Rabbit. Spinners probably know about her wonderful fibers (she is the one who did the Opalessence Fiber I spun up a while back), but a few months ago she started dyeing yarns too. At the top is her laceweight in the Peacock colorway, which uses Zephyr Wool Silk as the base yarn. Each skein is 1 ounce and I hope to someday knit Christine's Gift of Friendship scarf with it - I even have some beads that will be beautiful with this yarn. The middle skein is Merino/Tencel sock yarn in Mo' Berry. The bottom skein is the same sock yarn in Peacock again. I have never knit socks with the Merino/Tencel blend yarn, but I know several of the yarn dyers are using it and after holding it in my hand and petting it, I really like it. It's very soft and silky! I've changed my mind about my Sockapalooza Pal's socks and I will be knitting them in the Peacock skein you see here. Of course, now I also have to pick a new pattern because this yarn won't work with my original plan.

Sometimes I get away from MS3

I've been spending most of my time lately dealing with MS3: emails, knitting it, figuring out the last, uncharted parts. We are now up to 2047 members. We have volunteer translators for English to German, English to Dutch, and English to French (and maybe other languages as well - I haven't gone through all of this mornings email), so that those who don't speak English can participate. Yes, Mystery Stole has gone Multi Lingual! If you haven't joined yet, what are you waiting for? Join the madness here.

Sometimes, when I have read all the emails, and I'm tired of knitting lace (I'm up to what will be Clue 4 now), I sit down at a spinning wheel. This is the first bobbin of singles from the Romney/Merino blend that I did on my drumcarder. It's being spun very slowly, but I find the rhythm very soothing and comforting and non MS3 - ing. It's good to take a break from MS3 occasionally. But now I have 119 emails left to read - gotta run!

A Fur Bearin' Critter

It finally happened. Finn grew an undercoat! Puppies don't really have undercoats, just a general fluff, but then Finn started growing in big dog hair, but there was no undercoat. You should have seen how fast he was doing his business all winter. Then, a couple of days ago I was combing him and TA DA! Undercoat! Most of it is a pale blonde apricot color, but on the backs of his drumsticks (AKA the butt fuzz), he has a pure white undercoat. What you see above is a combination of the two because I was just combing him, not realizing that we had two different colors going. I'm going to get me some doggy fiber* to spin!

For non spinners, dog fiber is frequently referred to as Chiengora. It's a very fine, very soft fiber that will bloom in a finished yarn like angora rabbit. It's also very warm. I'll probably blend Finn's with - well how could I not - Finnsheep. For now though, I've got to keep harvesting it.

Something Else I've Been Working On

For the last couple of weeks, I've been working on getting a gray Corriedale fleece carded. Yes, it really is a true silvery gray! I've found that I can flick open the locks in the evening in front of the TV and you can see a basket of the flicked locks in the chair behind the drum carder. Then, I can send the wool through the carder at random times during the day: while I'm on the phone, while I'm waiting for dinner to cook, while I'm waiting for Caleb to finish eating his dinner. At this point I'm just getting it carded up. Once I have it all in batts, I will sort the batts into light, medium, and dark gray's. Then I'll recard the lights and darks together and mix up the mediums a bit so I have a fairly even color. I've got enough for a sweater set aside to card up, but I'm not entirely sure of what kind of design I want - I've got a couple of ideas though.

Socking along

Occasionally, over the last 5 days, I have come up for air from the tidal wave of Mystery Stole 3 emails, and I've done a bit of knitting. The Mystery Stole 3 group is already bigger than we've ever been before and apparently, we've put quite a dent in the world's supply of laceweight yarn in black and white - particularly Zephyr. Stephanie is doing her Represent! tour, collecting hats for charity and blowing the minds of bookstores and bars across the North American continent. I'm not exactly on tour (and no where near in the same league as Stephanie), but by leading a worldwide (at least 11 countries are represented so far) contingent of lace knitters in a crazed buying spree of black and white laceweight yarn, we're going to leave our own mark on the economy (namely, that no one will be able to buy black or white laceweight until Christmas or so). I understand that even the online bead community is wondering what's going on. My crazy idea 2 years ago to do a little Mystery Stole knitalong seems to have really taken off, and become a crazed yarn buying monster. Vive le Monstre!

So, when I escape from the computer, giggling in a demented, undercaffeinated kind of way (I'm actually misspelling my own name on emails right now), I've been knitting on two different things. One of them is the Mystery Stole (must knit enough to stay ahead of the Monster, I mean Group), which I can't show you and the other, when I can't form coherent thoughts, is this second waffle sock. See? I've done the leg and the little curly thing at the top right is the beginning of the heel flap. The stripe pattern is completely different from the first sock, but I still really love the way the colors are working together. By the end of this summer, I might be sitting here staring at nothing but the way the pretty colors blend together. Or I may be hauled off in a long sleeved white jacket - but it won't be knit of laceweight yarn - there's not much more of that available.

Happy Birthday Finn!

Happy First Birthday Finn! Yes, a year ago today, the blog dog was born. Fat and fluffy, with giant puppy paws, he came to our home and hearts in August.
Now you can see what a handsome boy he's grown into. We would also like you to notice the big boy Stay he's holding here. He's also a little miffed because Mommy was taking pictures before breakfast, when clearly, the only reason to even bother getting out of bed is to eat. I fed him right after this picture was taken - there was much wagging!

Happy Birthday Puppers! We love you!

MYSTERY STOLE 3! Let the madness begin!

I know you've been waiting for it and it's finally time! Mystery Stole 3 is now open. This year's design is all new and you won't want to miss out! The first clue will go out on June 29 and just like last year, the group will close to new members on July 6. A clue will be posted every Friday, except for the Friday after the Harry Potter book launch. I'll be giving you a bigger than usual clue on Friday, July 20 and then two weeks between clues so you can juggle your knitting time with your reading time as you need to. At this point I don't know how many weeks it will be, but I'll update the group with that information as soon as I can and definitely before the first clue is released.

This year there is a bead option (to bead or not to bead, that is the question...) and there will be giveaways! The first drawing will be on Monday, June 11 and everyone who has signed up for the group will be eligible! I will be giving away yarn and beads for two Mystery Stole 3's - one in white and one in black. You have to sign up for the group to be entered in the drawing! There will be other giveaways later in the knitalong, so if you miss this first one, you could still win something!

OK, so now you have the details (or at least the details so far) so CLICK HERE and join the Mystery Stole 3 Yahoo Group!

Waffle Up!

Last night I finished the first of my GCNI/Mohair waffle socks and got started on the second one! I love the way the stripes blended from one color to another and its going to be fun to find out how they'll work out on the second sock. This is also the debut of one of my Loopy Ewe sock blockers. All together now.....OOOooooooh!

Tomorrow.....Big News! Hmmmmm, wonder what that could be?

I'm Back!

OK, so yesterday morning I called the repair place and they sent an AC repairman. He looked everything over, determined that it was the outside box thingy (my brother has informed me that some people refer to that as a compressor, but I don't know these people), and had figured out what was wrong with it. The capacitor was dead. Apparently capacitors are kind of like batteries so when Caleb suggested that maybe we should just change the battery on the AC, he was pretty much right - except that it doesn't run on AA's. So a quick change on the capacitor, a check on the rest of the outside part of the system and by 10:30 he was gone, cold air was filling up our home again, and I was still going to make it to Field Day with Caleb! The best part? Capacitors aren't too expensive so the whole service call was under $250! Not too bad in the world of HVAC repair. Thanks for all the well wishes and happy thoughts sent the way of our AC! So, back to the real purpose of this blog: to ramble on and on with whatever is hanging off my knitting needles, winding around my bobbin, or laying in little puffs beside the drum carder until your eyes glaze over. Today we will discuss something that falls into the first category: The Green Moss Shawl That Isn't Green At All, But Knit In My Frostrosen Yarn, Which Reminds Me Of Apricots. I've been referring to it as the Green Moss Shawl for short. I have completed 128 rows which means I'm through the shaping part of the shawl. Now I just work straight for 20 rows and then I just knit the edging across the top. Yes, I'm coming around the final turn for this. It hasn't been a difficult pattern to knit and it actually knits up very quickly, I've just been piddling with it and haven't devoted my time to it properly. I'd like to get it done soon because the color just really begs to be worn for summer.

Oh, I forgot to mention yesterday, over the weekend Mindy sent me a picture of her socks so I could put a picture of the orange socks on the blog - scroll down to the bottom of Friday's entry to see them!

Not Today

No real blogging today. The AC is broken. I've got people coming to take a look at it so let's all cross our needles that this isn't just stupid expensive. (It's the outside box thingy. It's not moving. I know this isn't good.)

A Finished 3 Ply

After the brake band broke on my Majacraft, I replaced it with some kite string I had sitting around here and was able to finish plying the GCNI/Mohair the next day. I also picked up some fine hemp twine to use when the kite string breaks (it's a two ply polyester and I just don't think its going to hold up to the constant abrasion that brake bands are subjected to). Hopefully this will work! I ended up with almost exactly 300 yards of the three ply which, according to my wraps per inch thingy, is in the DK weight range (I can't remember the exact wpi this yarn came out, only that it was a fine DK weight). I still plan to make socks with it, they'll just be house socks.

There were a few questions about the plying from the other day, so I thought I'd answer them today. If you have Judith MacKenzie McCuin's Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning, look on page 103 for pictures and step by step directions for how to hold your singles as you ply. If you don't have her book, go order it now, then while you wait for it to arrive, you can look at this picture of her hands as she does a 4 ply in the class. The trick is getting the singles into your hands like this and then your fiber hand (the one closest to your body) DOES NOT MOVE. It just sits still, letting the singles go through your fingers and automatically adds just enough tension to keep things under control. The forward hand that controls the twist also separates the singles as it slides back towards the fiber hand, allowing the twist to enter the singles and plying them together. Once you get the singles sorted out in your hands, it works great. Everything stays even and the twist enters all the singles at once, twisting them together into a beautiful yarn.

Kicking Myself

Wednesday was my sister in law, Mindy's, birthday and since she got the gift last night I was going to blog it today. I was going to have a pretty picture and tell you all about what I made for her. I had taken pictures before I mailed it to her, just so I could blog it. That was all great, except yesterday morning I decided to clean out the memory stick from my camera. Yep. Cleaned out everything! So now you get a blog entry with a picture of something else. Make sense?

A year or so ago, Mindy and Rick were up here visiting and we had gone shopping. Mindy found some orange clothes. Now for some reason, (I'm really not an orange person at all), Mindy really wanted to buy the orange clothes. Fortunately, she asked me and Caleb how she looked in orange before she made the purchase. Caleb and I explained to her that while some people can wear orange near their face, most of us can't and she fell in with the "most of us" category. I believe Caleb was a little more blunt with an, "Oh Mindy, that's not good" kind of reply. Apparently the orange thing hasn't let Mindy go because when I blogged about my dandelion yellow Crocs, she emailed me about orange ones. Crocs are a long way away from your face so this seemed like a perfect option for fulfilling her orange jones and keeping her from looking like the walking dead. (Remember, Caleb is trained in stopping zombies, we wouldn't want him attacking his only aunt because she wore orange. I mean, this is how serious family squabbles start.) Well, when I went to MDS&W, I stopped at the Tess Yarns booth, like I always do (you really can't walk by that booth without at least a fondle or two - of yarn!) There in the sock yarn pile, was the perfect sock yarn for Mindy. It was like the clouds parted, a sunbeam shined down on that yarn, and the angels began singing Mindy songs. Except of course, there were no clouds, the sun was shining on everything, and I couldn't have heard an angel singing in that booth if it was sitting on my shoulder what with all the mayhem, knitters grabbing skeins left and right, and the mass chaos that is Tess Yarns at MDS&W - but you get the idea. What was the perfect sock yarn? A soft, orange sherbet kind of orange, except that being hand dyed, it had hints of mango and tangerine too. It was beautiful, and it was orange, and I apologize to anyone I might have elbowed/pushed/kicked/stepped on to get it, but there were only two skeins of this yarn in the ENTIRE BOOTH and clearly it was dyed just for Mindy.

When I got home, caught my breath, washed off whatever it was that had gotten into my Crocs and made the bottoms of my feet black, and the buzz from the wool fumes started wearing off, I started thinking about patterns for Mindy's perfect sock yarn. I thought about various things, but in the end I chose the Waving Lace pattern from IK and also in their new Favorite Socks book (it's on the cover). I love this pattern, having knit it for myself a year or so ago and it shows up well in hand dyed solid types of yarn.

Fortunately, I do have a picture of my own socks so if you can imagine them in a soft, sherbet orange, well this is what they look like:

UPDATE: I just got an email from Mindy with sock pictures! Now you can see her actual sock. And since I know how much you all like fur babies, the gentleman with the white face is Jack, a Golden Retriever who is convinced he is a person and who as a puppy, had the delightful talent of turning on the bathtub, closing the drain and flooding their apartment. The paw you see on the right belongs to Stephen (unless my brother has developed a serious body hair issue), also a Golden Retriever. Stephen is all dog and Caleb actually taught baby Stephen to climb stairs. Mindy and Rick were not really ready for Stephen to climb stairs at the time, but Caleb had his own agenda.