THREADLESS
(Photo from Threadless)
Threadless is having a sale, which I wouldn't normally mention, but dude- there's sheep!
Yarn Preview
A preview of yarn to come on Wednesday (or Thursday is the not-feeling-well continues tomorrow as well and I don’t get more work-stuff done). I’ve been trying to spin some more artsy yarns lately instead of my usual- and I hate to say it, favorite, smooth 2 and 3 ply handspun.
I’ve been continuing to work on my colorwork piece, but I am not sure if I am thrilled with how I chose to arrange the colors and if it will be too “stripey”. A couple repeats will tell I suppose- if I don’t like it I plan to felt it in to a cat bed after some decreasing. This piece is unique in that I am doing it at a slightly looser gauge that one would usually use for colorwork as I plan to full (not felt, full) the piece slightly, after doing a test swatch of course. It is also unusual in that I did some simple waist shaping- it only draws in maybe 1.5-2 inches, but should be enough to make it not seem baggy like many colorwork pieces are.
You might have noticed that I keep calling this colorwork instead of fair isle. The patterns, but not the arrangement or style(and certainly not the color arrangement!), are indeed Fair Isle, but Fair Isle refers to a specific style/type of design of which mine is not. Colorwork, two stranded, stranded knitting, and many others are terms which would more accurately represent what I am knitting. There are many colorwork books out there that discuss the differences between a Shetland, Fair Isle, Bohus, and colorwork sweaters based on differences in regional styles.
(Notably, I turned up the flash and contrast on these pictures to help the design stand out, the design actually almost blends in to the background and is very, very subtle, which is partly why I am worried, especially with the bright green stripe in the middle of the blue.)
Spinning reds and blues
I just had a really scary super-dizz-blurry-and-out-of-focus episode. It was really bizarre and kind of freaky since I'm not sure what would have caused it*, and usually things don't actually go so blurry that you can't tell where steps are, etc. Plus, my mouth hurts since I had a new wire put in for braces so I haven't been able to eat anything that I REALLY wanted to today, like a nice bowl of cereal with soymilk or some chocolate with caramel and nuts in it. Or a giant bowl of popcorn.
Current tatting, a piece of lace about a yarn long. I am now adding a second "layer" to it. Knitting on the color work sweater I have been doing hasn't really made progress since I have been writing papers and doing the tatting in class. The astute among you will notice that I am needle tatting- this is not my usual, I prefer a shuttle. However, needle tatting has it merits. It is arguably negligibly faster and it can be easier to pick up some picots to join pieces with a needle than it is with shuttles. Also, beginners might find getting an even tension easier. However, needle tatting tends to be looser. In shuttle tatting the thread (one strand) is all that has to pull through. In needle tatting, the rings and chains have to be loose enough that your needle AND two threads (since there is a tail) can pass through. There are other things I dislike needle tatting for, but like crochet I do it on occasion, I love delicate handmade lace too much to not.
Maybe it (diziness) was caused by watching the cat eat a ladybug today. Ick. Besides the ladybug the only thing he has eater that is not dry food was cinnamon and sugar with butter drippings left on a plate from toast. You think he would at least want to eat some cheese or milk, but it's better if he doesn't of course! Joey is also OBSESSED with felt balls, like the ones Rachel Marie (Knitting Dirty Girl) makes but slightly bigger. I am not sure how he found them, but I had a stash of little felt balls about an inch- 1 1/2 inches diameter around someplace and now I am digging them out from under my secretary desk.
These little, harmless felt balls are serious prey here in casa-Joey, complete with full scale stalking mode. They get serious "air" when tossed as well, perfect for Joey who wants to be able to throw his prey in to the air and catch it with both paws and claws fully extended on the way back down.
At any rate, he turned down my offer of a nice ripe cherry. I want to say these are Rainer, but I am not sure (anyone know?). I love that more of the "fruit side" of produce is coming in to season now, since I am all about the really sugary foods.
Spinning has been happening here too. I don't usually draft out in long strips, I prefer to spin chunks over a finger in a long draw- woolen, sometimes with a woolen prep. These I did divide in to nice long strips, the yarn now drying is a variety of two plies that really shows off the red highlights more than the roving did.
*normally I would attribute it to being dehydrated, which I am not, or as a weird reaction to painkillers. However, I have been cranky today due to a LACK of painkillers (plus, Tylenol shouldn't make things blurry)
Current tatting, a piece of lace about a yarn long. I am now adding a second "layer" to it. Knitting on the color work sweater I have been doing hasn't really made progress since I have been writing papers and doing the tatting in class. The astute among you will notice that I am needle tatting- this is not my usual, I prefer a shuttle. However, needle tatting has it merits. It is arguably negligibly faster and it can be easier to pick up some picots to join pieces with a needle than it is with shuttles. Also, beginners might find getting an even tension easier. However, needle tatting tends to be looser. In shuttle tatting the thread (one strand) is all that has to pull through. In needle tatting, the rings and chains have to be loose enough that your needle AND two threads (since there is a tail) can pass through. There are other things I dislike needle tatting for, but like crochet I do it on occasion, I love delicate handmade lace too much to not.
Maybe it (diziness) was caused by watching the cat eat a ladybug today. Ick. Besides the ladybug the only thing he has eater that is not dry food was cinnamon and sugar with butter drippings left on a plate from toast. You think he would at least want to eat some cheese or milk, but it's better if he doesn't of course! Joey is also OBSESSED with felt balls, like the ones Rachel Marie (Knitting Dirty Girl) makes but slightly bigger. I am not sure how he found them, but I had a stash of little felt balls about an inch- 1 1/2 inches diameter around someplace and now I am digging them out from under my secretary desk.
These little, harmless felt balls are serious prey here in casa-Joey, complete with full scale stalking mode. They get serious "air" when tossed as well, perfect for Joey who wants to be able to throw his prey in to the air and catch it with both paws and claws fully extended on the way back down.
At any rate, he turned down my offer of a nice ripe cherry. I want to say these are Rainer, but I am not sure (anyone know?). I love that more of the "fruit side" of produce is coming in to season now, since I am all about the really sugary foods.
Spinning has been happening here too. I don't usually draft out in long strips, I prefer to spin chunks over a finger in a long draw- woolen, sometimes with a woolen prep. These I did divide in to nice long strips, the yarn now drying is a variety of two plies that really shows off the red highlights more than the roving did.
*normally I would attribute it to being dehydrated, which I am not, or as a weird reaction to painkillers. However, I have been cranky today due to a LACK of painkillers (plus, Tylenol shouldn't make things blurry)
Joey
This is kind of how I feel after 16 hours of work this weekend and a long long day at EH and a full schedule of classes complete with lots of essay writing this week.
The LYS tour/shop hop was this weekend and we had HUNDREDS of people in the store, it was really, really crazy. The Bear that Jessica made for the free pattern was a HUGE hit. We had two people who finished up the tour at our store- that's a lot of stores in 3 (or 2 for some people) days!
That picture would be Joey after I caught him eating my plant!.
Of course, he only does this when I am IN THE ROOM. Go figure, right?
Rainy Days
Rainy Days make it hard to not want to just curl up on the couch with a blanket and a hot cup of chai in porcelain teapot and brightly colored vintage teacups. The addition of a cuddly cat doesn’t hurt either.
Since things do have to get done today, and because the cat is watching the construction going on out the window, I suppose I will have to settle for spinning yarn on my brightly colored wheel and watching the cat eat what is left of my grassy plant. Which was, until he came, quite alive and well, thank-you-very-much!
The weather is always to funny here in Seattle in the spring. One day it will be in the 70’s, the next barley 50 and overcast with rain threatening on the horizon. It is surprisingly not wet this month, I was expecting a fair bit more rain, I mean this is Seattle after all. I am thankful for the lack of rain though. Stomping around in rainboots gets old pretty fast, as cute as mine are.
Since things do have to get done today, and because the cat is watching the construction going on out the window, I suppose I will have to settle for spinning yarn on my brightly colored wheel and watching the cat eat what is left of my grassy plant. Which was, until he came, quite alive and well, thank-you-very-much!
The weather is always to funny here in Seattle in the spring. One day it will be in the 70’s, the next barley 50 and overcast with rain threatening on the horizon. It is surprisingly not wet this month, I was expecting a fair bit more rain, I mean this is Seattle after all. I am thankful for the lack of rain though. Stomping around in rainboots gets old pretty fast, as cute as mine are.
Sock yarn
New Sock yarn and handspun yarns at Midnightsky Fibers
(shown: strawberry sock yarn, here)
Though I'll admit- I'm knitting up samples for all the colorways, and I really, really love Sunset Boulevard the most...right now.
(shown: strawberry sock yarn, here)
Though I'll admit- I'm knitting up samples for all the colorways, and I really, really love Sunset Boulevard the most...right now.
Joey
Meet the newest member (and not notably vegetarian!) of my family! I'll have time to tell you his story once midterms are over!
The short story is: This is Joey, who is 2.5 years old and a former (reformed?) shelter cat who comes to me from an old lady who, after a nasty fall and several months of rehab, is finding she has to give up her cat to move in to a care facility with a higher level of care that does not allow cats. She is very, very sad to see him go! He's also shedding like crazy. I resisted using my handcarders on him though you will be glad to know!
eta:/
I will be changing his food (currently Iams) and possibly his litter once he has settled in, and would love to hear what people recommend for food- all natural and people grade, organic is a plus and/or eco friendly a plus. This cat food is appealing because it is organic, has lots of real meat in it, and is local the the NW, but there seems to be a lot of rice etc in it. Thoughts?
Also, google has failed me. Does such a thing as a recycled plastic litter box exist, in general, or even better with a cover? Joey has an automatic litter box, but I would prefer a covered litter box so I can use a more eco friendly litter and not use the electricity- plus electicity poses two problems: 1.) automatic ones always get stuck running...and running and 2.) the switches in my bathroom turn off with the light switch so an electric litter box is not ideal.
I should really save this for Fiber Friday, but here is goes...
Fiber in pictures
I am in love with this picture. Wish I had thought to use a higher resolution when taking the picture though!
At any rate, I was having fun with the contrast! You can tell my camera focus was not on the fiber in these though since it washed out the fiber in weird ways.
I am thinking of making one of these in to postcards and using it on my business cards. Thoughts?
I am in love with this picture. Wish I had thought to use a higher resolution when taking the picture though!
At any rate, I was having fun with the contrast! You can tell my camera focus was not on the fiber in these though since it washed out the fiber in weird ways.
I am thinking of making one of these in to postcards and using it on my business cards. Thoughts?
Organics
My last PO had all sorts of goodies in it, from turnips and watercress to avocados and baby bananas. I finally got around to setting up some items to get regularly- eggs, milk, granola, cider, and so on. I also added in reminders for flour, sugar(s), honey, hot cocoa, yogurt, and a couple snack items. More and more items keep getting added to PO, which makes me intently happy. They even have vegan donuts!
Car Woe update.
This thing gives me the biggest adrenaline rush I have ever had when driving. That includes learning to drive and riding in cars on washed out roads and
Sporty no? Makes it really hard to see as I reverse. Not to mention my annoyance at the "jumpiness" of the acceleration, what I think of the car in general, the scary sound it makes when it locks, or how close I have to sit to the wheel to be able to see out all of the windows. I have bruises on my knees from the dash here, people!
O yea... umm. Sorry to anyone here who drives or likes this car, but ick. A car that looks sporty but doesn't accelerate well and could MAYBE MAYBE make it to 120...if you were really lucky, I'm not sure I believe the speedometer!?! My car... well, let's just say the tires go out at about 130-133, and I won't admit to why that is relevant information to me. And you can actually turn a decently sharp corner, thank-you-very-much!
My car woes are soon to stop. Well, you won't hear my B*tching about this electric blue neon that I am terrified to drive at any rate. I'm going to be getting my car back! It needs new tail lights and to be re-licensed and inspected because it's now a salvage, but I will be able to drive it! I'll get the body fixed eventually, but it is drivable with new tail lights, which will suit me fine for the time being. Err, will once I stop negotiating with the insurance company. I have to give the rental back Monday (you should have seen the first mid size car they gave me- I can't drive anything that large [my car is compact! I've only drive compact cars. Well, I've only also driven Mercedes, but thats another issue altogether.
A salvage title huh? I plan on driving this car to the ground, not a chance I am going to ever let go of it until it becomes really unreliable. Now if only the insurance company would give me the money the car is worth so I can at least fix the body.
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