Just Keep Spinning, Spinning, Spinning!

Spindles. Aren't they pretty? That's our first attempt at spinning. Even Boobette is getting into the act. She's a fiberholic in training.

When we go to the yarn shop, she smells the yarn. It's hilarious. She is fascinated by the wheel and wants to learn to spin so badly.

We're working on that, she treadles way too fast....

If you have't guessed, I haven't been knitting. :(

I have been spinning! :)

I received my Lendrum DT the other day and was able to set it up myself in just a few seconds. I have been practicing on some undyed Corriedale.

That thick one near the loopy thing (technical terms, I know) is the last one and it'll tighten right up when I continue. I'm trying to get it onto the bobbin nice and evenly but it's tough. I'm just a little too short for this and it's hard to see around and over the top!

I may be more comfy with a little higher chair, must experiment to see what works. I love how it matches the decor of my house.

It spins like a dream, so nice and smooth and quiet! Ah...bliss...

Makings of a Busy Weekend

I am so sad that I haven't had all that much time to work on my slipped stitch rib sock. This weekend is flying by and has been somewhat of a blur.

Friday afternoon, I left work at 2 to do a lumbar MRI. It took a long time before it was my turn, I think that I waited about 50 minutes. Much to my dismay, it was a closed machine. I keep my eyes closed so as to trick my brain into not knowing that it was inside a tube with the diameter of a ziti. I daydreamed. I had headphones on. I listened to banging and clanking. This was my fourth MRI but only my first time in the ziti. I think. The first one was in 1999 and I only vaguely remember it. This was my first MRI of my lumbar area and I felt the scan. It was weird. My lower back felt nice and warm at times. Very, very odd feeling. Oh well, lovely pictures. Modern technology, they give them to you on a CD nowadays. No sense in printing them out on film. They looked pretty good to me, much better than I thought they would but then again, what do I know? This Thanksgiving, I will not be taking the turkey out of the oven because that's how I think I got hurt in the first place.

After that, I went to the Halloween party with my kids and DH, who was a chaperone. This was as the school and was pure chaos. Kindergartners, first graders and second graders, loud DJ, candy, popcorn, cotton candy, a craft, games...you get the picture?



A nice picture of my DH in a rare moment of 'glow' as he gazed lovingly at our fine children. Here they are, wax teeth for him, real ones for the princess.

It was fun for them (not for us) and they were dirty and tired afterwards. Glad I don't have to deal with that for yet another year.

I finally got my account straightened out with Google. I now have 9MB of space available and I can show you my latest projects.

I am attempting to learn to spin. I shouldn't have gotten the merino, it's tougher to spin but the color just grabbed me. I kept making a bit of a mess. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to spin and then wind it up all down the shaft or keep it at the top. I tried both ways. Here's some predrafted fiber and how I started out.


After awhile, I was able to get it somewhat even.


My family's feet and my new yarn.


This piece came out great, looked almost store-bought! Finally, after only an eternity a few hours, I had a small ball of yarn that one may actually be able to knit with.



I was very inspired by the Tsock Tsarina. I was lucky to actually get a chance to meet her at Rhinebeck and she was happily spinning yarn with the width of dust on a spindle. She's my idol! Plus, just like me, she loves itty bitty stitches. In fact, she loves even itty bittier stitches than I do. She spins beautifully. I noticed from her blog that she picked up a few more spindles. I got my Bosworth at Rhinebeck.

One other thing I picked up was a hank of Creatively Dyed sock yarn in beautiful autumn colors. It has tons of yardage and I am thinking about making a pair of matching socks for DD and I. Just lovely and it seems that alot of people picked that up at Rhinebeck, too! I am seeing it all over the blogs. Hmmmnnn....

The sun is coming up now, it's Sunday. Today on the agenda: French Toast making for the family, church, Ragamuffin Parade at noon and maybe a trip to the preserve to take some fall pictures of the great outdoors. Stay tuned to some shots of trees, flowers, geese, spinning and my slipped stitch rib sock!

Happy Weekend!

Rhinebeck - Part II - The One Where She Spins

I didn't set out with the intention of really buying anything other than some STR. You know from previous posts that I'm not totally into the yarn itself but I love the colors. Don't get me wrong, it's a pleasure to knit with and the colors are absolutely awesome but it's a bit on the thickish size and I want 10 more yards per hank so I can make man socks without sweating it out. I hate that feeling of, "OMG, These will be peddie socks for my husband".

However, next year's New Year's Resolution will be to be able to spin yarn on a wheel and do a good job of it. Entirely do-able, being I have what, 14 months? I'm almost brave enough to actually sew alone but not quite yet, this is yarn so it will be a piece of cake. Let's talk about spinning...

I tried on a really pretty wheel at Rhinebeck. I have done it only one time before and this time was a little bit harder, actually. I think the first time that I tried it, the lady was helping me draft and the roving was somewhat predrafted to begin with. All I had to do was peddle slowly and feed, drafting only a teeny-bit for evenness. I was able to do it and created lovely bumpy yarn. This time, harder still. The wheel keeps going and it was hard to keep up with it, peddle, draft, feed the yarn in the little hole, all these things happening at once. There was no doubt in my mind that I would get it, just that I needed time to get the right coordination thing going and learn to draft smoothly. So, I got a drop spindle.

Sunday morning, I got up and took apart this nicely braided pile of roving and sat down to try out my spindle. It took me a long time to get it started. I cheated and used a scrap piece of yarn to slip knot it around the shaft instead of trying to spin my own. I don't think that it makes much of a difference, actually. You can't really use the very end of the yarn anyway. After about 40 minutes, I got it. I watched a few videos on youtube that were very helpful. I spun and spun and spun. And, after like the ... the entire day, I had enough to actually wind into a ball. I have no idea how much you can spin before you HAVE to wind it off but I was getting very excited and wanted to see how even it was. The very beginning was coming out nicely and then when I got to the end, I saw the unevenness. That's ok, this is just practice and I'm not at all hard on myself. After all, the day before, I couldn't do it at all. It was actually knittable yarn! I started another ball last night with the intent of actually using it for a small swatch, to keep forever, maybe hang it on my Christmas tree with my first sock....

Pictures are coming tomorrow. I am out of space on my Google account and cannot post pictures until my space limit is raised. I just bought 10GBs but it takes 24 hours.

Next post, more Rhinebeck pictures, pictures of my spindle and homespun plus more ponderings.

Rhinebeck - Part One

Ah, Draft Horses, fall colors and.....some of my haul from Rhinebeck.

Yes, I'm back! Yesterday, I roused the kids and the husband at 4:45AM, "comon, let's go!" and we got in the car and left the house at 6:10 AM. One stop on the road around 8AM (when it happened to be 34 degrees and I was freezing, woolies and all!) and we arrived at precisely 9AM. The parking lot was somewhat full already and the gates were only open for a few moments. I grabbed my Stop N Shop tote and bag, woke the kids and hustled off to The Fold to raid the STR.

Needless to say, it was a mob scene. I ran into Christine A., who was behaving and not buying all that much. Shortly afterwards, Elizzabetty, arrived and she was trying to be good like Christine. Behind her are the mill ends, tons of them. They were gone when we went back later in the day. I was lucky to get three of them. I also got two skeins of Soft Touch Ultra in "Straw" which I think I'm going to adore. One other skein of some autumn colored sock yarn and then a moment of weakness. I bought a Bosworth Spindle and some lovely purple roving. I was able to spin some yarn on it this morning. I plan on getting a wheel, maybe in early 2009, we'll see how things go. It was really fun to do and I would show you but I just exceeded my Picassa photo limit. Pictures coming next time!

I was able to see my friend, Marina, who is lucky enough to live in upstate New York only a half hour from Rhinebeck but she doesn't knit, .... yet. We'll get her going soon enough. She brought her adorable little boy who my kids loved playing with. (Pictures next time.)

Everyone was sporting their Ravelry buttons and wandering around with bags of roving, fleece and yarn. There was a petting zoo and I even saw a kangaroo with a little joey in her pouch. He briefly popped his head out to see things.

Socks, Socks, Socks!

I am still sick. This is getting to be ridiculous.

Enough complaining, let's get to the meat of this post and play with my socks, socks, socks!!

TA DA!! Stuff that's DONE!

Anyway, I've got some nice pictures to show you. First up, FOs. The Jaywalkers! Pay no attention to the bathrobe covering the legs there. I told you I was sick. Also, I finished them around midnight so I was all set for bed! YAY! TWINS! Aren't they lovely? I liked them more after they were completed.





Pattern: Jaywalkers by Grumperina!
Started: July 5, 2007
left to age properly for months
Completed: November 17, 2007
Magic Looped, two at once
Knitpicks - Size 1.5
84 sts casted on, I enlarged the pattern but didn't really need to-heels and toes reinforced wth wooly nylon. I used blue and you can see it a little around the heel. This stuff is great! I have enough to last my entire lifetime now.
Yarn: Austerman Step.

Next up, the Spindle socks for DH.


Pattern: Spindle from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Started: October 15, 2007
Completed: November 16, 2007
Magic Looped, two at once
Knitpicks - Size 1.5
70 sts casted on
Yarn: Dale of Norway, Baby Ull that I bought in Saratoga!
Heels and toes were reinforced with wooly nylon in black, can you see it?
Comments: ahh! Soft like a baby's ear!

Note on these: I had less than NINE YARDS left when I completed these. WHOA BABY! And they're not really that big. They're not snug, they're really just right. That lovely yarn went fast!

Oh, and what have we here? This is my latest endeavor, Stansfield #16 from More Sensational Knitted Socks, Knitpicks Options size 1.5 (that would be a 1 but I call them 1.5, they're the 2.50 mm ones.) 64 sts cast on, STR in Ruby Slippers. I started these on November 19th. I love the colors but I am not crazy about the striping of this yarn. Being anal, I divided the ball and made it match.. somewhat...


Well, it's Thanksgiving Eve, time to pack up the kiddies and take them to work with me for a special event!

Weekend Update

Still sick, went to a baptism today.

For those of you paying attention, Jaywalkers AND Spindle Socks are done, see sidebar!

Pictures coming shortly.

This wouldn't be interesting without a picture! Here's one taken nearly a full year ago! That's Elizzabetty and my children, winding the yarn for the hooded Danbury.
Fascinating....

Myths & Legends

To get the flu shot or not? Every year, I get a flu shot. DS and I have asthma. I do not want to get the flu. Having had the flu in the past, it is truly an unpleasant experience. So, I get the shot.

I will not bore you with the controversy but everyone has their opinion on this. "My wife got the flu shot and died that night" "I got mono from the flu shot" "The flu shot nearly killed me". But seriously, it is hard to link the flu shot to these things in most cases.

I got the flu shot Thursday at 4PM. I got a sore throat at 5:30 PM. On Friday, cold symptoms, feeling ok, runny nose. Friday night at 9PM, congested, badly congested. This morning, worse.

Coincidence? Myth or Legend?

In any event, DD and DS are at karate. I have exactly 30 minutes of sanctuary. DH is off teaching music lessons for the next 5 hrs. I am going to have to entertain the children in a little while. I think we'll make cookies or an apple pie or more soap.

I should be napping. Or knitting.

Onward to other things. This morning, I read some blogs, finally. I am happy that the harlot has some nice sweater pictures amont the little snowflakes. Ah, beauty of nature. I am sad that Grumperina has to rip out those lovely Bavarian socks. They're gorgeous! I am proud of Elizzabetty for posting everyday, even if it gives all of her readers a beautiful shot of my triple chin. It's called a 'waddle', isn't that what a turkey has? My mother had it and even my little daughter has it. We're fat necks. I wonder what Katherine Hepburn was hiding under that scarf? I suppose I could have it sucked out with liposuction but that's not something I would do. I remember when someone I worked with did it though and it looked great, after a month. She came back to work 10 days after the procedure and looked like she went 10 rounds with Sonny Liston.

In addition to feeling crappy, I got my braces tightened and three braces replaced. The two front teeth and one tooth are killing me. I am sneezing, have sore teeth and tired. A perfect day to knit!

Well, thank you everyone for listening to my complaints. Now, let me show you my stuff! My currently unfinished objects. Socks without toes! First up, Jaywalkers. Nearly done. Twins. Need toes. I have been working on these for months. I have recently unknit the toes and need to fix them and finish these once and for all.

Ah, the lovely spindle socks. So, what do they need? To be kitched. You'd think that I would finish them?

The lovely and beautiful Iris Afghan. Photographed for you in natural light in my messy room. You can see DD's little sweater in the pile of junk behind my glider. I love this afghan. I am sure that baby-to-be will like it very much as well.

Elizzabetty on the LIRR, fall leaves whizzing by. (she has one of me and I have one of her. The other riders thought we were tourists instead of seasoned commuters.) Below, Stansfield #12, commuting to NYC, with train ticket!

Stay tuned for more exciting pictures tomorrow in which I flash my stash and complain some more!

Spindle Socks Update

My fingertips hurt. I don't know why but they do. Particularly my right index one. I think that I tap down the ultra sharp knitpicks needle (the left one) with it when I knit and it has a little hole in it. Probably filled with bacteria. White blood cells going crazy as we speak. Some of the other ones on my left hand hurt, too. That's because I whipped out my violin in hopes of gaining 30 years of practicing time in 2 weeks so that I can play a christening.

Anyway, wanna see my spindle socks? I keep thinking there is an extra row before the gusset part but there isn't. It's right..hmmn. I am probably going to finish these today. I need to knit 30 rows and a toe and they'll be done. I'm clipping away at them but I haven't worked on the Iris Afghan in a whole week. Tonight is knit night and I may bring my Jaywalkers to unknit the toe some more and then fix them up tomorrow morning when I have some, "I'm the only one in the house until 11:30". Can you see that I reinforced the heel with black wooly nylon? I love that stuff. The heel and the toes, works great!

Today, the man is coming to repair my range. It is electric and the problem is: it stays on. I can't turn off one of the burners. Probably a control board and I hope it isn't too expensive to fix. He also better be here on time. I am taking DD to the yarn shop by my job today. They're closing the store on 12/15 and today is the first day of 50% off everything. They open at 10AM...Will I be first? Probably. I wonder how much Cherry Tree Hill she has on hand. I wonder what the limit of my credit card is...But seriously, I don't need any sock yarn but I would like some and I cannot resist a sale. This is a BIG sale so let's see what happens.

Yesterday was Halloween and, like almost all of the October days, it was warm. In fact, it was almost hot at one point and I used the AC in the car. And, two Halloween Pix for you, DD and DS and the scary monster, nicknamed, "Goosebumps".

So, today, off to the yarn shop with DD in tow to pick out some sock yarn. I also have to look for my cable needle. I can't wait to start new socks and continue to work on my Iris Afghan.

More tomorrow, for sure!

In the Bullpen

I try to be creative with the titles of my posts and I think that their obscurity sometimes leads to my lack of hits. It being the World Series and all, I'm trying to keep with the season. (I.E. Socks on the Pumpkin. Comon! Wasn't that cute?) I just wonder how many people out there read this regularly and just continue to lurk. Well, for my loyal readers, I have a bunch of nice pictures for you to see today. Oh well, I'm at fault, too. I read all about people's lives and their knitting and I almost never leave a comment.

Here's my little girl enjoying playing in the yarn a bit. She can't wait to learn to knit and I think that she will be very good at it someday.









She loves sniffing the yarn and winding it up. Sometimes, she doesn't like the vinegar smell if it is too strong but for the most part, she loves to sniff yarn, just like me. She really liked the Kangaroo Yarn from Webs. You can really see the nice subtle shading as she is sporting it around her neck.

Next up..look how nicely the spindle socks are coming along. Last night, I separated them to do the heel flaps with reinforcing thread and I kept going on sock A because I wanted to see if 210 yards was going to cut it. I have 11 grams left...down to the ball of the foot. I bought this yarn in Saratoga and don't feel like driving nearly 500 miles round trip for another skein. I will have to stay up late and finish sock A or at least see if I am going to need another ball and then call them tomorrow. 2 grams makes one "spindle" and I have enough for four spindles left so I MIGHT make it, barely.
















Up in the top left, that's Socks that Rock, "Lucy in the Sky"next to Webs Valley Yarn, the one that's been dyed by a Kangaroo..."Cherries". Ok, "Kangaroo Dyer". It might be a person who not only dyes sock yarn but dyes kangaroos. But anyway, I was torn between Cherries and Pine Cone....and Spruce and Twilight....So, Elizzabetty got me some Cherries on her latest escape to the North Country. Isn't that great? I will pay her back with a surprise next week. It's no fun if she knows what it is so don't tell her. I will get her just what she needs....a puppy! A big giant one with big giant paws that is cute when it's little and then grows into 200 lbs! :)

Shhh!! Don't tell her. Let's hope she is too busy to read this between now and the time that I pick it up from the breeder.


Meanwhile, back to my socks...

I want to make red socks next. And, next might be soon. I'm between that Old Rose from Cherry Tree Hill (not pictured here), Cherries and Ruby Slippers. Here's Cherries on the top and Ruby Slippers on the bottom. I also don't know what pattern I'm going to use yet....possibly a lace sock, possibly Monkeys, possibly another one from More Sensational Knitted Socks which is rapidly becoming my favorite book.


















Lastly, another shot, L to R: STR: Lucy in the Sky and Ruby Slippers, Valley Yarns: Cherries. That nice green one on the bottom is Lorna's Laces "Douglas Fir" a gorgeous green.

What to do? Who's in the bullpen???

I know, finish the spindle socks.

Off to knit them now...only one sock project at a time and I still have to unknit and fix the Jaywalker toes. We could see three FOs this week being it is a short work week for me....

It's FALL! There's Frost on the Pumpkin!

Well, with this freaky weather we've been having, there isn't much frost at all. In fact, it hasn't really been cold. The coldest I remember was...that week in August that we were in Lake George where the temperature didn't get much above 60 on most days. Of course, now that we're home and back to work and school, it's been HOT. This is New York, it's supposed to be crisp and cold at this time of year. the leaves haven't really even changed. They're green and just kinda drying up a bit and falling off. No real color to speak of!!!

We went pumpkin picking this weekend. This wasn't the place we went last year, out towards the eastern end of Long Island. This was suburban pumpkin picking. For my friends in the Midwest, get ready to laugh. This was a bumper crop of pumpkins though!

Suburban Pumpkin Picking 101:
They have this open field, right in the middle of an industrial / residential area. They have some corn there to make a corn maze, a shed for a haunted house and a grassy area. They cart in pre-picked pumpkins and put them in a field. People get on a hay ride and ride about 350 yards out into the field an select a prepicked pumpkin. Then, they pay for it up front, 67 cents a pound. DD couldn't decide on what she wanted so I wound up getting $45 dollars worth of pumpkins and a sack of apples for pie.








The sock picked out a pumpkin to sun itself on. Note the big expensive houses in the back of this 'farm'.


Here's a few shots of the kids, see the cornfield and the hay ride in the background?

While I'm at it, what do you think of the Iris Afghan? Coming along nicely, isn't it? This is five days worth of work, not too shabby. I have also done some work on the spindle sock but nothing overly noticeable. I really want to get this done. Nice now that you can see the texture. It's a really nice pattern and I think it's going to come out very lovely.

I suppose I should get ready to go to work sometime this morning. I guess it's going to be another hot one, high of low 70s and possible rain this afternoon. Ho hum....

Quick Update - Iris Afghan and Spindle Socks

I took alot of math and I got nearly a perfect score on the SATs (in math, for English..well, that's another story.) I used to be able to do calculus, geometry, integration, I knew the word transcendental had something to do with math and not only meditation... BUT.....

I can't count.

Not only did I screw up the stitches on the Blue Wallaby and not notice until I was six inches into it, I did the same thing on the Iris Afghan. Yes, I frogged the entire thing back to the skein this morning and casted on, this time 158 sts instead of 132. But after knitting the first row, I had only 156 sts. That won't work. So, I started again. Isn't it lovely? Twenty five rows ripped out and two rows done. It's worth it to get up at 5:30 to knit, isn't it?

Of course the Spindle Socks are coming along beautifully, thankfully. No unknitting there at all. I've completed one repeat of the pattern and have just started the second. I love them, I love the yarn and I love the color. I am bringing these projects to knit nite tonight for Show N Tell along with the poncho and some members of my completed sock family. The Tofutsies will make a cameo as well.

Well, it's 7:16AM and I must get DD out of the bed. DS is already up and dressed and ready for school. He's finally settling into the Kindergarten lifestyle and is behaving in class and doing the homework with ease.

We'll be hitting the Pumpkin Patch this weekend, for sure!

The New Project...Baby Ull Spindle Socks

Now that the Tofutsies are old hat...I started a new project. This time: WOOL!! YAY!!! Two at once, of course.

I find it difficult to get started by casting on one sock and then the other and trying to work them both at once. There are too many chances to twist and all those strings hanging all over the place. It's easier to cast on, work a few rounds for one sock and then knit them onto two DPNS. Then, cast on, knit a few rounds and knit the sock from the DPNs onto the loop. The advantage of learning this: No real row counting. Ok, ok, the real advantage: They're done at the same time. Plus, less time spent drawing up loops. Each side is double the amount of sts before you need to turn. It's great and faster! Think of all the socks you could knit.

I was going to fully document this sock but I think I'm going to wait until I do one in a lighter color. One that shows up nicely against a neutral background so you can see exactly what's happening. We'll do it together. I will photograph a sock that I won't show you until it's completed and then post all the steps at once. That'll be fun, no? Like a little scrap book. Alot of work on my part but it'll all be worth it if someone finds it helpful.



For now, I'll show you some quick shots of my new project.


I'm using: 1 circular, 32" long, DPNs in the same size, two balls of yarn. I am using size 1s (the 2.5mm) and Baby Ull fingering weight yarn and have 70 sts in one round. The pattern is Spindle from Sensational Knitted Socks. I started these 10/14/07 at night.

Here they are just as I was beginning round 5. Note how I have the second sock on the DPNs. I start a sock on the circs, magic looping a four rounds. Round four was knitting them onto two DPNs. Then, I started the second sock, knit four rounds and the first side to begin round 5. Round 5 started at the far right edge of this picture. Then, I knit off the DPNs onto the circ. I knit the entire sock onto the circular needle, pulling up a loop after half (35 sts) were completed and turning, just as if I had only one sock.








Notice that I had my crochet hook handy. I had to use it when I pulled the DPN out thinking it was the circ....idiot that I am. Suggestion to you: Don't do that.






In this picture, one DPN has been removed and I'm about to pull up the loop and knit off of the other DPN....which is at the top right of this shot.





That being done...












I've flipped over and everything is on the circ. The sock on the right is the one that was knit off of the DPNs. Now, I'm back to the first sock and I'm ready to knit towards the pink yarn marker, indicating the end of round 5 (for both socks.) Note that the tails are hanging down vertically at the same side (the left) and working yarn are the ones at the top. Note how I'm ready to knit the sock on the left and the working yarn is ready for me, right across from where I need it! Pull that first stitch tightly, now! No loose mess at the edges. Of course, you could do what I do at least once per pair ... knit them together!! That's good if you're making them for a mermaid. Or merman.

Ahem...







And, lastly, one round completed. This is a relatively easy pattern, moving right along.















The new project accompanied DD and I to NYC yesterday. Every once in awhile, I get on the Long Island Railroad, something I did every day for years, and I visit my NYC office. I took DD and my new sock. See? Here we have the sock visiting Times Square. Behind my hand is the Army Recruiting station and we're looking north. I'm standing in front of One Times Square and The Ball isn't there...yet. Just a Chevy add. For years, it was Cup A Noodles, dry ice making steam 24 hrs a day. Anyway....








These were taken after work. I picked up DD at the special day care center that she spent a good part of the day at and we walked back to Penn Station. In rush hour. I was the annoying regular who looked like a tourist, taking out my camera at 5 o'clock and stopping traffic to take pictures.

See the sock visiting the garment district?


It's under her chin. When I looked at this picture and the expression on her face it reminded me of Mary Tyler Moore right when she throws the hat up in the air...





We also tried to take a shot of the Empire State Building but the lighting wasn't working and the 3,000 people trying to get home kept getting in my way. It's there, in the picture, to the right of the flag but you can't see it. So.....see below for a nicer shot without a sock to ruin the picture.
























So, lastly, the Empire State Building in all its glory. Next time I hit my NYC office, it'll probably be dark when I go home and the Empire State Building will be lit up in the colors of the day. I like when that do that.



















Just a gorgeous October day in NYC for DD, the sock and I.

Stay tuned for some new episodes in blogland: the results of my Poncho blocking, pumpkin picking, baa baa brown sheep and the baby blanket!

BTW, the recipient of the crocheted baby blanket entered the world four days ago and will be home tomorrow! Good thing it's done...uh...except for those seams and it needs a bath so it smells luscious.

Time to knit!