A Little of This and That

Catching up on knitting pictures and projects - so a little of this and that.

I finally finished up a finglerless glove and hat set. The hat that originally could only have fit a doll - not even a small child. Yes, I know, check your pattern. Now they are full size adult hat and fingerless glove.

You know how you start things with the best of intentions...well, I started this little sock last winter for K and quickly realized that despite the pattern saying it was for 2-4 year olds - there was no way it was going to fit my 3 year old, or for that matter any 3 year old whatsoever, so I left it with only the half the foot and toe to finish and started something new. Today, though, I picked up and finished that little bitty sock. And despite the infamous SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) that plagues many a knitter, I shook my fist a the gods of fate and cast on and completed the cuff today, a good start for a second sock. So these cuties should be up for sale this weekend. And they are really cute, aren't they? It makes you wish you were having a baby, doesn't it? Yeah, me neither, but I wish I knew someone who was having a baby.

And for Christmas, someone special requested a gray scarf. I wouldn't want to give away what the gift looks like, but here is a hint.

Yes, that is a gray ball of yarn. 100% wool from Ireland. And that is all you get.

And for myself I have been working on a lace shawl. I have been wanting to challenge myself with a real lace shawl, so I am and it is going well. Although I haven't actually gotten to the real challenging part of the pattern yet.... lol and it is a beginner's lace shawl pattern. Some of those lace shawls are just so exquisite. Mine is in handpainted purple silk yarn that I bought over a year ago on discount with the knitting guild. It is beautiful and so wonderful to work with, just like luxury.... and all for me. It is going pretty slow due to the other knitting but I have time. This is a project you don't want to rush, you want it all exactly right. This is a small pic of the edging, lace doesn't look so great until it is blocked, so I will just give you a little tease.

And that wraps up a little of this and that.

I Love This Weather!

Ahh, it is really fall now. A cold, cloudy day with the leaves finally changing. A day where it is nice to get to cuddle with your children in bed in the morning - I am so lucky to be able to do that, this morning was especially nice as L did not have school. Just look at it out.


Isn't it wonderful? I admit, I was never a fan of winter or cold weather or any of that. Give me sun, lots of sun, lots of hot, hot sun. Weather to swim in, weather to camp, just any old sunshine. That was before I met knitting. Now, I am looking forward to cold winter days, the crockpot cooking, sweaters to slip on. Looking forward to dark winter days - spending them like my ancestors, knitting, cooking, spinning. But luckier than the previous generations, central heating, electricity and all that. Let's face it, no one in my family is really going to be cold if I don't make socks. But I am so darn excited because I love handknit socks. Look at these. They are so cozy. My feet are so happy and warm. No too big, not too small. I could not wait to wear them and today is the first day I can wear them this season! I wore them plenty last winter too. I love handknit socks so much I have made myself 3 pairs. And The Husband is jealous and wants some more for himself. And then K actually showed me some socks in a knitting magazine and told me she wants me to make her those purple socks- that is right, knitting requests from 3 year olds! Socks! Socks! and more socks to make! Shhh, don't tell, but The Husband is getting some more for his upcoming birthday. Bronco socks!

Enjoy your fall day!

A Wierd Little Thing

I met a woman this summer who swore she could not live without paper towels. That is right. Paper towels. I mean, who needs running water, it is the paper towels that are really keeping civilization from collapsing. I never had the nerve to tell her, I don't use paper towels and haven't for several years. Not because I was embarassed or anything. Honestly, I didn't want to embarass her.


When I first gave up the paper towel addiction, my mother actually sent down some paper towels with my oldest son. Cause, you know, you wouldn't want your baby going without paper towels. I love my mother dearly, she is wonderful. But she also once told me you can't have a baby without a microwave. The stork drops off the baby in the microwave or ..... I am still not sure how that all works??? We got rid of our microwave a couple of years ago, so I think I am safe. But I digress....


My own husband would get pretty peeved when he went to reach for the paper towels, and there weren't any. How could he wipe up spilled stuff? What would happen to the counters? Hmmmm, were we doomed to live in sticky spilled stuff? Would I find the children stuck to the kitchen floor an hour after a juice spill? No, instead I knit discloths. Lots of them. All 100% cotton, all different designs. Some plain, some with fun things on them. So far, they have lasted and lasted, no tears, rips or holes, unlike the ones I bought at WalMart. And guess what, the knitted dishcloth work really well. They wipe up spilled stuff. They wipe tables, they wipe floors, they wipe counters. Then they get thrown in the basement and get washed, just like a towel. Just like it, amazing, huh?


Not amazing. I can assure you most of your ancestors did not have nor use paper towels. They would just not understand spending money on a paper towel, quite honestly I probably spent more on paper towels in one Costco visit than my great-grandparents made in a month.

Now I am not saying we should go back to using the Sears catalog in the old outhouse. And if you told me five years ago that I would knit my own dishcloths, I would have laughed so very hard, tears would have been flowing down my face. But once again, I am forced to learn never say never. I am just saying, you can definitely live without paper towels. Good for the enviroment, good for the wallet. And I knit a pretty cute Halloween dishcloth today. It will be listed tomorrow, probably as a pair. And a Christmas pair. And will do a custom order to match your kitchen, if you would like. And for cheaper than that box of paper towels from Costco!

From Roving To Wristers

Several months ago I traded some yarn for this beautiful roving from Southern Crosse Fibers in Australia. It was so beautiful. I spun it up, below is a spun single lying on the some of the original roving. I absolutely love the colors. My son, C, did not think the colors were nice, which shows that even though engineering college people think they know everything, they obviously do not.

And after spinning and plying 2 together, I made these cute wristers, also known as fingerless gloves. They have a thumb opening and extend to the first knuckle of the fingers. This is a small sample of what I am hoping to have in my etsy shop on September 1st. I am so excited and nervous to sell my wares. All of those, what if it isn't good enough? What if no one ever buys anything? What if they buy it and hate it? On the other hand, what if it is good enough? What if they buy it and love it and buy more? What if? Since I don't want to wander what if, I'll be finding out after September 1st!

Dragonfly

This has been quite the crazy week. L started back to school on Tueday. My husband had 2 root canals over 2 days, instead of going to work. Lest you think I am an unsympathetic sort, my husband was told back in April to have this taken care of, and he didn't, so it isn't that surprising he had to have emergency root canals. And I do feel for him, just not as much as I would if this was out of the blue. Listen to your dentist!

On the up side (there is always an upside), I finally got some more pictures taken of the handspun I have been working on. I am calling this Peppermint Twist Treat, it is a 3 ply of merino wool I dyed myself, spun the singles and then thought they would look lovely together. I like it, I imagine it as cute cuffs on a girl's sweater or hat or mittens.

Next we have a 2ply of the baby alpaca I got for my birthday. Love it! It is so soft and wonderful to spin. Really, it spins like butter - no not really, I don't think butter would spin at all and would make a horrible mess, but you know what I mean. Smoooooooth!

Lastly, I did not make this, Mother Nature did. I had nothing to do with the cool dragonfly flirting around while I was taking pics in the backyard recently. But he just had to be photographed. Truly, Mr. Dragonfly missed his calling as a model and instead is just a zippy dragonfly. I am so glad he posed for me though.

Isn't he amazing? He just would not stop zipping at me until I took some pics. Now he has his 15 minutes of fame - lol!

Put On Your Sunglasses!

Put on those sunglasses, we have some very bright yarn below!

Well I warned you I had dyed some fiber bright blue and there it is! Bright blue, and doesn't it look smooth. It is - it is some beautiful blue merino. I am looking forward to spinning, but not sure how I want to spin it. Nor am I sure what I want that would be quite that bright blue. Ideas, anyone?

This yarn is spun from some wool remants I picked up at the Alpaca Show in Denver. I am continuing its name of Mardi Gras. As it is kind of garish, colorful, fun and pretty all at the same time. I even added a few beads in there on crochet thread, then plyed the two together. The results are much better than I thought possible!

And keeping with different themes, I dyed up some more merino into Halloween colors - can you believe Halloween is right around the corner? No, really, it is right there. Peeking at us from around the corner. Depending on your monitor, you can see that front roving is ORANGE. Therefore I am totally seeing a Halloween yarn - orange and black with maybe even a pumpkin or two spun in.

I am about 10 rows away from finishing a pair of handspun, handknit fingerless gloves. I look forward to posting those next with a little surprise.

Going to The Fair

For fun and bragging rights, I entered the El Paso County Fair this year. First, I have to say that everyone should enter whatever their craft or hobby to their own county fair - assuming you have one. It was only $5.00 for unlimited creative arts entries. And I won. Not first place, but for my first time entering I was very happy to win 2nd place in spinning.

That purple is my 2ply merino wool, called Lilac Mist. It really is beautiful. And the judge says it is a "nice ply job and has nice drape." I am really proud of it.

And I also turned in a K's yellow halter for the children's clothing category - 3rd place! There were a couple of mistakes and I knew it, and the judge did too! The main one was a goofed up stitch in the back along the seam and it was pretty obvious.

Last, I entered a purple v-neck dress (for K) in the miscellaneous category and again 3rd place. The judge said I had a knot in it - heck I can't find it still, but I bet the judge is right. It was Noro yarn and if you know Noro you know it occassionally has knots in the yarn. If I had thought I was turning it into the fair when I knit it, I would have cut it out and spliced, but I didn't so I didn't. Next year I plan to make things specifically for the fair. And enter the state fair! WooHoo!

I loved the fair! It was so fun, the kids got to see and pet a whole lot of animals. They also got to see all the creative arts, including those done by children, and now want to enter next year. I am encouraging hubby to enter his delicious chocolate chip cookies, I know he could win! I tried my first fried twinkie, it was very good.

Now it is official, I am the 3rd best child's knitter, 3rd best miscellaneous knitter and 2nd best spinner in El Paso County! Or maybe not, but definitely a winner at this year's county fair!