Both of My Wheels

. . . are now empty.

The single green skein is the end of a bump of alpaca, romney, and mohair that I bought in March of this year.

The heathered purple, blue, and green skeins are three-ply Corriedale and total about 670 yards. I started spinning that 8 oz. bump in March last year. So it feels good to finally finish it. I’m rather pleased with the final results though I have no clue what to make with it. lol

I think this is the first time that I’ve made a three-ply yarn. Really, with the corriedale and how finely I managed to spin the singles, I was surprised at the finished result. It’s a light fingering to medium fingering weight yarn with a softness and spring that I didn’t anticipate.

I’m not a detailed spinner, and I don’t pay much attention to the technical aspects of spinning. I’ve never taken a class, so I spin mostly by feel. Still, I’m rather enamored of it.

Cheap Ass* Knitting Tools

I’ve been wanting to try some sort of pattern manager or tamer like the kind being sold at the Loopy Ewe, one of my favorite little shops, but I didn’t want to pay the $15.00 for a set. I’d rather spend money on fiber or yarn, but every so often you have to increase the tool box. So I pondered on this problem for several weeks.

Today it occurred to me that Hobby Lobby, where I was headed for elastic and buttons, might sell magnetic tape. Magnetic tape + pretty scrapbook ribbon = cheap ass* pattern managers. I think I spent about $4.00 plus tax and I have plenty of ribbon and tape left to make more of these. And they work quite well to track my chart row.

*An homage to Bezzie, and her cheap-assed-ness

Some Tiny Finished Pieces

I just couldn’t settle into knitting on my larger pieces yesterday, so I cast on another garter stitch washcloth while I watched Charade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant. As a result, I decided to call this the “Charade” washcloth.

Not very imaginative I know, but no one said that I had to be creative every time I named a project. Well, actually, I’m never very creative with names. I should try for more creative names from now on. Nah, we both know that isn’t going to happen.

I had thought that finishing the washcloth would satisfy my craving for a quick finished object and I could get back to the new shawl that I started, but sadly my lust for finished objects wasn’t sated. I scrounged around in my mind for some small projects that I could cast on: another washcloth? a knitted toy? What to make? Of course! A garter for one of my soon-to-be-married friends. I perused my stitch dictionaries for an edging that could be adapted to a garter and settled on the Heart or Palm Leaf Edging from the second Barbara Walker Treasury. I followed the pattern and knit nine repeats in total. I rather like how it turned out. Now I just need a touch of elastic and a few tiny buttons to finish it. 🙂

Highlights from Sun.

We didn’t go quite as many places on Sunday, though we did a great many things at the house. We cleaned out the rabbit barn, moved rabbits around, and prepped nesting boxes before lunch. After lunch we cleaned the flower beds near my deck, planted seeds, mulched, and watered. Then we repeated the landscaping process in the front of the house, but only around one of the bushes.

Here are a few shots of the finished deck beds.

After we ran a few errands and had dinner at Sonic we went to the movie theater and enjoyed the new Indiana Jones movie. I managed to finish an entire garter stitch washcloth while watching Indy, so this one is aptly titled the Indy Jones Washcloth.

Plus, my clematis bloomed on the east side of the stairs, so I took a few photos to share with you.

And, my Dwarf lilac bush finally bloomed, it smells lovely, but since I can’t share that over the internet, you’ll have to settle for a photo instead.

Some Highlights from Sat.

Sculpture by the Farmer’s Market. Lovely tasty things to be had here. The Lafayette Farmer’s Market has been held for about 100 years, if I remember correctly. They still hold it by the courthouse every Sat. morning.

Speaking of the courthouse, here’s the fountain near it. . .

And here is the Courthouse from across the river.

We ate lunch at the Buttery Shelf where Cait’s salad was bigger than her head.

We saw the art around the fountain and went to the Art Museum where there was a gorgeous lilac bush.

We ran home for a little while, dropped off our purchases, washed some skeins and some locks and took off for campus with Beau in tow. . .

Where the flowers were in bloom all over campus.

And Beau was seriously contemplating a squirrel snack.

In the end we enjoyed the scenery, ran a few errands, and wandered home. For more photos from our day out, click here.

Come Fly With Me

Over nine feet of knitted lace, 16 days, 10 blocking wires, a handful of pins, and a good soak later, here is the finished result.

This is a wedding shawl for a friend, being graciously modeled by my friend and co-worker Brittany. Isn’t she cute in that shawl? She reminds me of a Greek statue.

A little close-up of the Japanese Feathers pattern.

Plus a little close-up of the bleeding hearts pattern.

Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the edging, it’s delicate and beautiful and looks a little bit like tiny hand fans spread coyly against a woman’s cheek.

So to recap: Misti Alpaca laceweight, 100% baby alpaca, US 2 Addi Lace needles, Japanese Feathers pattern from Barbara Walker Treasury (BWT) No. 2, Bleeding Hearts pattern from BWT No. 3, and Queen’s Edging from BWT No. 2.

Monday Monday

One of the clematis bloomed last week. Here are a few shots of the first day and then a shot from a few days later.

The shawl is still in progress and it is going to be huge. I’m about 90% done, I think.

Oh, and this is my outlook for yesterday, today, and likely tomorrow.

Seven Deadly Sins: May

I am very pleased with this month’s shipment. A nice small project, some lovely cotton yarn, chocolate, tea, soap, bath salts, and a small beeswax candle (wrapped in the tissue paper still). This month’s theme was Wrath vs. Peace, where the club designers decided to focus on ways to make us feel more peaceful.

A Little Stash Enhancement

Malabrigo lace in Tortuga.  I love the lighter areas of purple and green that come through in this otherwise black yarn.  I like this colorway so well that I’m thinking of buying the last skein in this dye lot from my LYS, River Knits.

I also bought another set of Chibi needles and some of the new Eucalan woolwash.  It’s the grapefruit scent which I don’t usually like, but the Eucalan version was fresh, so I bought it.

Hearts and Feathers in Progress

After finishing my last lace project, I was still feeling the lace itch, so I searched through my stash for a new yarn to work with. I considered many options and finally settled upon some Misti Alpaca Lace in a lovely cream color.

Choosing a yarn means choosing a new pattern; which always means perusing your pattern and book stash. Sometimes, it also means creating your own pattern, which is what I did this time. Using the Barbara Walker treasuries, I paired a lace bleeding hearts stitch with a Japanese Feather stitch.

Yes, I did use a crochet cast on so that I could choose a neat edging later to finish the shawl. I just haven’t decided on my edging yet. I might actually attempt to echo one of the motifs in the edging, or I might just blow that idea off and go for something already charted. We’ll see.

ps, See those fat clematis buds? That’s the plant on the other side of the steps. I can’t wait to see some big clematis blooms.