Posts from — January 2009

It feels like it’s been a very long week. Suffice to say, I’m looking forward to tomorrow. It’s actually been above zero lately, so maybe we’ll get outside to sled in all of the beautiful snow we got in the last storm.

i'm loving these socks!

I’ve got a couple of things to share on the crafty front today. The first is the considerable progress on my handspun socks. I am having so much fun knitting these up!

I decided to use Silver’s Sock Class two socks on one circ tutorial as a basic technique guide. As fast as these are moving along, I may even have them done by the end of the weekend. Hey, a girl can dream.

I’m sending out samples today for the February Phat Fiber Sample Box. It’s a great new mail-order club that includes sample-sized yarns and fibers from many different fiber artists.

fiberphile glimmer and mosaic sample skeins

This is my first month contributing and I’m really excited about it. The photos from last month made me very sad that I wasn’t able to get my hands on a box.

The boxes sold out in a phenomenally fast 15 minutes last month, so if you’d like to get your hands on one, be sure to sign up for the newsletter to know exactly when the February boxes go on sale!

study time isn't complete without a hot cup of joe

School is back in session which means that a considerable amount of my time is spent reading and writing. This semester, I’m taking a class that has, so far, been really interesting and thought-provoking: Science and Spirituality. The opening discussion was about science and religion and whether they were mutually exclusive or integrated. Good stuff!

It’s online, which means that I don’t have to spend two hours total driving to class and back (major bonus in the winter!) but I do have to spend a lot of time on the message board. Wow, whoever thought that all of my online slacking skills would be put to such good use?

finished handspun sock yarn

Despite being back in school, I did manage to ply and dry the latest falkland singles I had on my wheel. It came out as a nice fingering weight (exactly 450 yards/100g) and I can’t wait to cast on some socks with it! There are still some places that are underspun/underplied -I am still very much a student of spinning- but all-in-all, I’m pleased. It did take FOREVER to be plied though! There will be no navajo-plied sample of this yarn because for once I actually finished both bobbins within mere inches of each other. That has got to be a sign of improvement!

my second handwoven scarf

On Saturday our boys went to visit their grandmother for the day and my husband and I took advantage of the free time to pursue some of our individual hobbies.

I warped my loom for my second project (with some help from the aforementioned husband)- a scarf made from some louet gems fingering weight yarn that I had dyed several months back.

I am so much happier with this project than the first. My selvedges are quite even and there was only one skipped thread, which I was easily able to fix with some guidance from my book- Weaving Made Easy by Liz Gipson. I will wear this beautiful new creation with pride- but I wish I had some yarn left for a matching pair of mittens!

one bobbin of singles completed

In other crafting news, I spent some time over the weekend spinning up some more falkland fiber that I dyed. I’m really happy with the singles and I’m planning to ply them tonight. If all goes as planned, I’ll have some strong, lustrous sock yarn for my next sock project.

Speaking of my next sock project, I still haven’t made a decision, but I’m leaning toward a plain vanilla pattern for use with my handspun sock yarn.

fiber, singles, 2-ply and navajo-plied yarn

I was so excited about my knitting and weaving FO’s that I completely forgot to tell you that I finished the falkland that I had been spinning.

The large skein is a worsted weight 2-ply and the mini-skein is Navajo plied. I always prefer the look of Navajo plied yarn in the skein but love the random look of the 2-ply in finished objects.

I’m very happy with how it came out, and it will likely become part of a hat and/or mittens very soon!

I managed to get some decent photos today. Presenting my 9-5 socks:

getting in shape on the sock blockers

Whew am I glad to have those babies off the needles! Actually, they’re currently on my feet. They’re soft and squooshy and I love them. Now to decide which socks to cast on next. I’m thinking that I want to do two-at-a-time magic loop, and I want to do them toe-up. Nothing terribly complex, just simple, easy TV knitting.

my first weaving project is finished!

I also got a photo of my finished scarf, though it’s not a terribly flattering one. It shows my wonky selvedges but that’s ok- that’s what a first project is about.

In other news, there is a nasty stomach bug going through our house and I’m beginning to feel like I’m going to be its next victim. If you don’t see me here for a few days, that would be why!

Actually, I managed not only to complete my first weaving project today, but also to FINALLY finish my 9-5 socks! The slacking comes in the photography department. No photos! It was getting dark by the time I finished and I didn’t have the heart to take photos of my beautiful finished objects in bad light. Tomorrow, I promise.

my new loom and some hand-dyed yarns

My loom came today! My boys were both home sick from school, but they were well enough to help me figure out the warping process, and actually helped me quite a lot! One managed the yarn ball to be sure that there were no tangles, and the other used the hook to thread the heddle. I haven’t had much luck getting the older boy interested in any of my crafty pursuits, but he showed a genuine interest in weaving. I cannot express how happy that makes me!

My first project is well under way. It is definitely a first project. There are skipped threads and uneven selvedges, but that’s ok. This is how we learn- and honestly, I think it’s the wonder of discovering and pride of learning a new skill that motivates me more than anything in my crafty pursuits.

the beginning of my first handwoven cloth

It was a lot of money to invest in something that I had never done before, but somehow I just knew that I would love it. And I do. I’m so glad that I found this hardly-used loom!

I’m hoping that by the end of this project, I will have mastered some basic skills. I’m looking forward to taking this project off the loom, finishing it, and then being able to observe the progression of my abilities from beginning to end. I’ll wear it with pride; skipped threads, loose selvedges and all, because it represents the time I spent learning this new, wonderful craft.

On another note- my boys and I watched the inaguaration today. I was overcome with a wonderful sense of pride of my country and hope for our future. Good on us, America!

liam's thorpe

I managed to get a decent photo of Liam’s thorpe, though he wasn’t terribly happy about the photo taking.

I have since finished Kody’s thorpe and now we’re on to the Dad thorpe. That will require some dyeing as black and navy blue were requested and knit picks is backordered on black yarn in any of the bulky weights.

I’m using the lull to finish up my 9-5 socks. I have only made a couple of inches in progress but every stitch counts! knitting has been excellent treatment for my instant gratification addiction.

I’m doing well with my 2009 resolutions so far- blogging regularly and creating objects for everyday use especially. Each new finished object gives me a fantastic sense of accomplishment and motivates me to keep it up.

kody's thorpe in progress

Sadly, my loom did not arrive Saturday as I had hoped. Since it’s a holiday tomorrow, I will have to wait until Tuesday. In the mean time, I have handbag orders to fill.

I’m aiming for a small shop update mid-week, so be sure to sign up for the mailing list of you want to be notified!

My baby. Can you really be six years old?

Daddy wanted to name you Connor. I wanted Liam. Since I named your brother, I deferred to Dad. After you were wrapped up and settled down, he looked at you and said “Yep- he’s a Liam”. He’ll never tell if he was just being nice to me, but I’m very happy he decided that way. It was 20 degrees below zero the day we brought you home.

You are so much your mommy’s boy. We both love chocolate above all else, and we’ve both got serious spunk. There are many times that I feel like I’ve had it up to my eyeballs with your stubbornness, but inside I’m secretly proud. Nobody will ever push you around.

making a nbedele house

Despite all of your willfulness, you are an incredibly sweet and empathic boy. When you were just two years old you looked at me and asked “Mommy, are you frustrated?” You are always the first to give a hug or a reassuring pat on the arm when somebody is having a hard time. In that way, you are so much like your big brother. The two of you fight and argue as any young brothers will do, but you love each other deeply. As you both grow and mature, you are finding many things that you enjoy doing together. I know that in your adult years you will be friends as well as brothers.

building with star wars legos

You love your monster trucks, legos, and cars (all eight billion of them) and you also love to make things. I love to watch you concentrate as you draw, color and cut. You are a serious artist! You also love to help your Daddy with his mechanical projects- and you really understand how things work! That, my little one, you get from your Daddy. he was disassembling toasters at your age. It was a few years, however, before he could put them back together! Please don’t get any ideas. I’d rather not buy a new toaster.

I always wanted a boy and a girl, but I would not trade my second little boy for anything. The moment I met you, I couldn’t imagine life without you. Thank you for being my baby.

It’s cold. Really cold. Unbelievably cold. I’m a Vermonter, I know all about cold. But this is beyond what we’re used to. This is positively frigid.

What can we do when it’s this cold? Not much, really. We can thaw and repair frozen water pipes (that’s what my poor husband was doing at 6:30 this morning) pray that our cars will start, and that our furnaces won’t quit. Luckily for us, we have a woodstove that we heat with, so no danger of that quitting on us. However, when you heat your house with a single central source, the rest of the house stays pretty cold.

We’ll be doing a lot of huddling and snuggling today, I think.

my handspun thorpe

It will come as no surprise, given the weather, that I have been focused on hats. Warm hats that cover delicate ears and the backs of necks. I, my friends, have been on a hat knitting frenzy! It all started (as things often do with me) with a photo in my flickr contacts. One of them was working on a thorpe. Now, as I mentioned in my last post, this particular hat has been in my plans but seeing hers looking so lovely and warm made me want to cast one on immediately. Which I did. That evening, I had a beautiful, warm new hat!

This hat was made with some of my very first handspun. I honestly wasn’t crazy about the colors in the yarn but I think they’re lovely in the finished hat. That little coil beside it is all of the yarn that was left after the project- about a yard. That’s my idea of a well- planned project! (Coming clean here- I didn’t plan at all. I just figured if I ran out I’d pick up with some natural bulky I had in my stash!)

So when my boys (all three including my husband) saw my finished hat, they all wanted one too! That evening I cast on for the littlest one (who turns 6 tomorrow!) an orange and brown one that followed the colorwork pattern. It is so adorable. And of course the best part is that he loves it too! He insisted on wearing it to school and didn’t want to take it off when we got there. How that warms a mother’s heart. I haven’t had time to get a good photo, but I will absolutely try to get one this weekend. It’s too darn cute not to share!

I’ve got a green and blue on the needles for oldest boy, then a black and blue in plans for my husband. This really is a terrific pattern- functional, nice-looking and super-quick to knit!

In other news, I have a Schacht Flip 20″ rigid heddle loom on its way to me as I type. With any luck, it will be here tomorrow and I’ll have the weekend to get acquainted with it.

Stay warm, everyone!