Hello February!

Another month. It's the dead of winter here on Long Island. It snows a bit nearly every day, 2 inches here, 2 inches there. There have not been many warm days and I think we have snow on the ground from around Christmastime, believe it or not. Ugly bits of dirty icy old snow were covered today with a blanket of new snow. It was springlike yesterday and yet today we got another winter storm today and about 4" of snow. I would much rather have 30" of snow than all these itty bitty 'storms' because I only want to shovel once. Hello February.

Yesterday was Groundhog Day. Puxatawney Phil said six more weeks of winter but what's-his-face in Staten Island said spring is just around the corner. What kind of drugs was he on? Once the weather pattern is in place, it stays that way for the entire season pretty much. I predict spring will be late and I'm nearly regretting not digging up my Dahlias. Best to start shopping for bulbs now.

Anyway, I was able to knock out a third pair of socks for January. (well, technically, I finished them on February 1st.) Ok, I knocked out the first pair of socks for February. I finished a pair of Ridged Squares for my Dear Son. He wanted green socks and he got them.

Here's a close-up of the Eye of Partridge heel and the nice gussets. Much nicer than some of my earlier pairs. I used exactly 49 grams of yarn so I can easily make him another pair. The leg on this is on the longish side and they're a bit big for him so I'll be fine as long as it isn't a yarn eating pattern.

For the February KAL for Solid Socks, I'm working on Milanese Lace in a none green color. See if you can guess what it is. Hint: They're not red either! Pictures next time!

Until next time, happy knitting!

Spinning and Knitting Updates

You wait days, weeks, sometimes longer. You track it online. It's "processing". You sing "Anticipation" and think of the old Carly Simon Ketchup commercial. You imagine the vinegar delicious smell. Ah, the glorious beauty of getting a nice package in the mail, opening the envelope and being knocked over with yarn fumes. A smell and a sight to enlighten any dark winter's day.

That's exactly what happened to me a few days ago when my order (finally) arrived. Fresh yarn, Socks that Rock Lightweight.

L to R: Jinglebell Rock, Muckity Muck, Gingerbread Dudette, Autumn and Beryl.

Top, L-R, Jinglebell Rock, Beryl

Bottom: Muckity Muck, Gingerbread Dudette, Autumn

Truly delicious, don't you think? I have wanted Beryl for a long time, you know how I love green...she may become Embossed Leaves. Autumn is beautiful. Gingerbread Dudette is nicer than I ever imagined. I like Muckity Muck, too. It's a color that is different for me, orangey things are usually my least favorite unless they're fall colors. This is orange rust and it's grown on me lately. Jinglebell Rock may become another sock from Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn. I love that book!

To keep me busy, I started Ridged Squares in Fortissima Socka, size 2 needles, CO 50 sts for my little boy. I think this may be my last pair on 2's other than for hubby with STR. They're just not the same as 1.5's to me. Hmmn...Either that or I have to use thicker yarn to be happy. I'll see how my handspun knits up.

Yes, you heard me right. I finally am able to spin well enough to spin skinny enough to make yarn that could be used for socks. Now, I want the plying head and the fast flyer but we'll see. I was treadling ALOT on this. Felt like eons and felt like MILES on the bobbin. But, look at the result.

I started making my own green yarn. Here we have 4 1/2 oz of BFL that I started spinning on Wednesday night's guild meeting. I finished bobbin 2 last night and plyed this afternoon. It's a nearly solid and the name of the color is Evergreen Grove. I don't know how to match colors very well and I don't really like the barbershop pole effect but this is a nearly solid so it's fine here.


This photo was taken moments after it was spun. I believe it is DEFINITELY sock worthy! I wrapped it a few times and it's 19-20 wpi. I used a control card while spinning and spun my yarn nicely, carefully, slowly and evenly. This is 2 ply, I don't know how to do 3 ply.



This is my best yet and I am ecstatic. I don't want to ruin it so I am going to let it on the bobbin for a few days to set the twist a bit before I skein it and wash and hang it. Tee hee, I'm giddy! If you like it, see if you can get some from Jen on Etsy. I was happy with the dye job, she got a 10! It came all nice and pretty in a braid but there were some small spots where it wasn't combed as nicely as it could've been so I had to pick out a few fuzz balls. No big deal at all. Besides, it's green. Here it is, side by side with Socks that Rock Lightweight. You can appreciate the thinness here. Nice, hah?



Wednesday night's guild meeting was really fun! I got to spin some yarn, chat with everyone and eat alot of cookies! I also had a delicious slice of sour cream coffee cake that someone made and they were nice enough to print out the recipe for us. Now I can make it myself at home! I also was able to get some homegrown roving. I bought 10 oz of ......guess what color?



scroll down to see...




















almost there!


































I just love green so much!










Ta Da!

Tricked you, didn't I? Isn't this lovely? It is 90% Alpaca and 10% Dorsett. Nice and warm and lucious. I think it would make a nice scarf. We'll see. Nothing too overly expensive, a soft yarn in a fiber I haven't spun yet and in a neutral color that will go with anything. Course, I could spin it in silkwork thinness and knit lace but I'm not that crazy...yet.

Now that I'm well stocked, I am praying for 3 or 4 feet of snow to shut down Long Island for awhile so I could finish a few pairs of socks! Alas, all we get here has been very cold weather and small snowstorms. Nothing major yet. We'll see, I think we're in for a long, hard winter this year. Just enough for a little Oreo Cookie Eyed Snowman.

Snowman, January 2009