Wonderland and The Bone Room

our nephew, Damon, loves dragons. REALLY loves dragons. so when i saw this pattern in Cat Bordhi’s book New Pathways for Sock Knitters, i knew i *needed* to make them for him for his birthday.

they wrap around and button in the back when you are done draggin’ your feet. the purple yarn was a stash find - it was a gift from my SP 10. it was perfect.

when i went looking for the red for the spikes, i had the rudest experience in Article Pract yet. i left the shop just about 1 minute after i went in vowing never to return. the sales person was so impatient with being asked a question that she kept interrupting me to give me an answer that had nothing to do with my question. i never did get to finish.after the 3rd time being cut off, i just said that i thought i would purchase it elsewhere instead, since i couldn’t even ask the question without being interrupted. she yelled after me repeatedly to just ask the question then as i tried to leave the store. very unpleasant.

on the bright side, the next place i went looking was a new (at least to me) shop in albany - K2Tog. they were extremely polite and helpful. the shop was bright and cheery (unlike Article Pract). they mostly care the workhorse basic cheap but good quality yarns. they do carry a LOT of sock yarns. i will definitely be going there again. worst case, i may just have to venture farther out for the more luxury yarns… not a bad thing since it helps the random purchases, lol.

he loves them almost as much as the pirate hat made from wrapping paper. ahhh, to be 3!

also in the finished object column, socks for me. all for me! it seems like it’s been a while i’ve been knitting socks for everyone else but myself. these socks make me very happy. they are also very symbolic of the spirit of renewal of this time of year - i bought the yarn at stitches west… the same day i walked holes in my jaywalkers. as i wore holes in one pair of socks, i bought the seeds of another. the yarn is a 50/50 merino/tencel yarn from Ellen’s Half Pint Farm. i think the colorway is Great Lakes Shoreline, but the label doesn’t say. the pattern is Monkey by Cookie A.

i really don’t think the full picture does the soft colors and shine justice… so i leave you with this bit of eyecandy.

it’s been a while since i’ve posted… and there are many reasons for it, but the computer is #1

it all started with the warranty coming close to being up on our Dell. it’s 4 years old… or will be end of may. with this deadline in sight, the poor old thing has taken it upon itself to get as much replaced as possible!

warning, this is a LONG post…
Continue reading ‘(Computer) Woe is me’

I’m playing in a swap that the Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild over on Ravelry is hosting…. The Discworld “I’m just sending this box so my partner can have cardboard for their boots and I was guilted into putting stuff in it” Swap. i’ll be posting more about it after i send the box out. but i was just too excited to not share this:

The Discworld Spindle

(i am growing very attached to this. i need to make another one for me very soon!)

1/4” dowel, cup hook, doorskin disk cut with a hole saw, and polymer clay. i used the doorskin* disk as a base to build the clay on and give it strength.

it spins nicely… thanks to the counterweight continent, lol.

*(doorskin is a 1/8″ thick plywood used in the making of hollow core doors. it is one of my favorite art materials.)

we went over and visited a friend from church and i noticed the pretty knit blanket on her couch. i knew she didn’t knit, so i was wondering where it came from. when she reached over to toss it out of the way, i commented on it. she told me that it was a gift from a friend when she was pregnant with her daughter (who is almost 30 and now pregnant with twins.) the friend who had made it for her had committed suicide over 20 years ago. very sad. she really loved it for the cold winter months, but that it was starting to fall apart now. i imediatly took a look and decided i could fix it.

this was the largest area of damage. i forgot to get a completely before picture… but you can see here how i had started to ladder some of the stitched back up… and the finished repair. not as neat as new knitting because all those strands had a crimp to them from years and years of being in one shape… and i couldn’t make them fit exactly in the same position as before… but you really don’t notice when you aren’t focusing just on the repair section.

here was the next largest area of repair. this section had a couple stitches from the middle of this band ladder all the way across the entire blanket. you can see in the second photo how she had attempted to prevent further damage by sewing it up with white sewing thread. and again, the completed repair.

there were a few holes to darn and LOTS of pulls like the one shown below. i used a crochet hook to pull the yarn from the pulls back into the fabric and even out the tension across the rows.. and i used bits from the fringe to darn and repair the holes.

when all is said and done, this blanket will last another few decades at least.

i finally had a chance to photograph my lazy kate system. i think i have it perfected

i use 2 tension curtain rods in a doorway. i slide my TP rolls of singles onto the lower rod. feed them over the top rod and to the spindle. the top rod helps tension the singles as i ply.

then, to make life even easier, i use an s hook and a binder clip to hold the spindle for me. this way, i can do a nice long draw to even out the ply twist without having to hold it up above my head constantly. i just feed out a section of singles… clip it off… start the spindle spinning and drop it… it keeps spinning while i can do other things for a moment.  in fact, today i’m plying and folding laundry at the same time.

another advantage of my system - when i need to stop for a while and walk away, i just hook the spindle onto the binder clip and it won’t untwist. i can come back to it any time i want and pick it up for just a minute or two… and stop just as quickly.

well, let’s do some updates of what fiber arts stuff have been happening while i was sick… (yes, i did get some done… but really it’s not like i was doing much of anything else for the last month… so it’s not as impressive as it seems all rolled together like this.)
after all the holiday knitting was done, new projects started up for the new year. (let’s just ignore that huge basket of WIPs, thank you!)

• Paul’s Inside Out Socks

i started these socks for Paul as my new project for the new year (cast on on new year’s day). the foot is knit with 00 dpns…. with Medium weight STR. very tight gauge. slooooow to work up. i need to keep putting it down for the sake of my hands.

• Bee Fields Shawl

cast this on as one of my new year’s day cast ons…

originally, the new project for the new year i planned to cast on was the socks for paul. i did cast those on first… but by the evening i was itching to cast this one on and got about 10 rows in before midnight, so it counts, right?

i’ve been excited and wanting to start this since October… but holiday knitting came first.

• new socks for me - Summer of Love Lace anklets from the BMFA RSC kit:

this is a shot of the lace cuff blocking before the rest of the sock is knit. since then, i’ve gotten past the heel and i’m working my way down the foot of the first sock. these are a fun quick knit… but they aren’t a priority, so they don’t get worked on as much. i need to take new pictures of the progress so far.
• Yarn Analysis Project


i’m just starting to get to the point where i can reliably make yarn the way i want it when i start out spinning. in an effort to progress with my spinning skill, i’m starting to analyze commercial yarns to see how they are made up and be able to reproduce a similar type finished yarn. i’ve started to collect small samples of all the yarns i have on index cards. i also take a sample of the un-plied (aka deconstructed) yarn so i can look at the single. then i write all the yarns vital info on the card.

• Baby Surprise Jacket



i wanted to try out making a BSJ with commercial yarn before trying with my handspun… but i’m only a little ways in and i’m thinking of frogging and just going for it with my handspun.

• White Booties



these are so cute! i don’t know if i’m going to be able to let them go to an actual baby, lol. MINE! handily, my antique toddler doll wears a newborn size…

• first experiment in handcarding

these you’ve seen already… i’ve continued to card that rope of roving… and now it is all carded and pulled into a few roving bundles. most of it all got blended to a nice consistent color… but the more extreme color sections of the roving i took and blended into a few bolder (but not pink) sections. i went and picked up some more roving in a solid burgundy and a white to practice some more carding with.

• Baby Hats for a friend’s daughter’s expected Twins

no pictures yet. these are just some simple umbilical cord hats as a start to putting a baby package together for her…

• Paul’s Fuzzy Feet

no pictures yet, but these are finally off the WIPs pile! one down! how many more added?

• Paul’s Watchcap for Work



nice, simple, quick… just a work hat for Paul for the cold rainy months. he always said he wasn’t interested in one before… but this Christmas, while i was knitting gifts, he started hinting about cold ears. of course he would get one soon after the holidays were over. and nicer ones for both work (which includes the freedom to trash them) and not work and already planned.

• felted bowl

another one i’ve neglected to photograph. this was just a quick little something for paul to throw his keys into. it was supposed to sit in his drawer in the secretary… but he keeps pulling it out onto the table so he can throw his keys into it on there. the whole point of the drawer is to keep the table clear!! ugh. but, he just likes it… he wants to see it… *facepalm*

• Headband

nope, no photos here either. i’ve missed placed it… and besides, it’s hard to take a good picture of the side/back of your own head. this was a simple quick knit. i liked it. i like wearing a nice knit headband. i don’t like the finished headband. too wide when done in the worsted weight the pattern calls for. i think i’m going to make another one of these using a sock yarn instead.

• Little sky practice socks



these are the first practice sock from Cat Bordhi’s new book. i think they should be just the right size for squishy house socks for my nephew… and they just started enforcing a shoes off in the house policy.

• Philospher’s House Socks for Paul

one of the patterns from that new book. no pictures of these yet. and no real description either, as these will fill a whole post in a few days. these have been an adventure! but they are going to be such luxury for my sweet Paul. (i’m tempted to try to claim they won’t fit him… should have thought of that before i had him do some fittings, lol!)

i already posted most of the holiday projects back in the run up to christmas… but here are a few that weren’t finished then:

• Round Dishcloths

these dishcloths were made quickly to help fill out a gift basket made for my FIL for Christmas 2007. the pattern can be found here. i was able to make both from one *super size* skien of sugar & Cream cotton. i’m planning to make up a bunch of these through out the year for christmas gifts and quick grab gifts.

• Garter Rib Socks and Pomatomus Socks

i know, i know, the pictures are crap. ugh. there was so little light those days right before these were gifted… and the charcoal color is really hard to photograph anyway. at least this proves i completed them, lol. they are well loved now.

tomorrow, i’ll post about everything i’ve been up to since the holidays have been over.

yes, yes, i know. i’ve been non-existent everywhere online. i have good reason. i’ve been sick since Dec. 15th. i know exactly when and how i got sick… i even am pretty sure about the who… but it just seems to keep coming back and kicking me every time i start to feel a little better. paul even commented that he knew i was really bad when i wasn’t even knitting… just sleeping 22 hours a day, and the other 2 spent sitting on the couch staring into space.

Not Fun!

needless to say, i’m feeling much better now. not all the way healthy yet… still have some deep chest cough and sinus issues… but i’ve got energy and i can think for more than 10 seconds straight. major improvement.

unfortunately, as soon as i start to feel better, i start realizing how far behind i am in EVERYTHING! ugh! (can i crawl back under that rock now??)

very soon i will post about all the finished holiday projects and everything i’ve been up to since. hang tight. i’m revving back up to speed!