Whoops!

I completely forgot to show my latest FO. Pre-senior moment maybe? (I am not driving a Buick yet, so don't worry.)

The Panda Wool socks are done and I'm sure The Sporty One will be wearing them soon. Just a simple staggered 2x2 rib. I got a lot of compliments on this yarn when I was knitting these. I think I will be purchasing more at some point. It would be a great yarn for baby hats and socks. I might even donate a couple of little hats to the hospital. Every baby deserves a cute hat. No offense, but some I have seen at our local hospital are um...really ugly. I really should make a few for friends and relatives too, in case they are given one of those icky ones at the hospital.

I have started a bit of spring knitting. Cotton feels pretty good right now.

I am optimistic that eventually Michigan weather will actually allow me to wear this.

I'm still spinning a little too (when I can). I would love to hear your favorite fiber sources if you care to share them.

I need my knitting and spinning too, for sanity. Lately I have been a little, shall we say, frazzled? Too much stress and too little time for me.

P.S. I took the girls shopping today. I am now broke, tired and grumpy (hehe). If you live in Michigan and cannot at least drive the minimum speed limit, properly use your turn signals, leave a reasonable amount of space while cutting in front of someone or generally just don't know how to drive, will you please STAY OUT OF MY LANE?!!

So happy!

Yeah, so I have been hinting about my good weekend. Well this is why it was so great:

I am the proud new owner of a Majacraft Rose wheel!!!!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I never thought I would be able to get one. I went to my first spinning meeting last Monday night and watched all the other spinners with their wheels. I observed, listened, drooled and longed for one of my own. I got home and the hubby asked why I didn't get one. I said they were too expensive. He said to go get one.

Well I didn't let the grass grow under my feet! (and I surely wasn't going to give him time to change his mind!) I did some research online and found a shop about 1 3/4 hours from me. I called The Spinning Loft and talked to Beth the owner. She was so helpful and said she had about 14 wheels on the floor that I could try. I was SO worth the drive over there. Beth is very patient, informative and helpful, not to mention she is the biggest sweetie pie ever! I think I tried about 11 wheels, but the Rose was definitely the one for me. I loved it immediately and even after trying a bunch more, this one was still my favorite. So I took it home! I love it to pieces.

I have been practicing a little and I am having a lot of fun. This is some mystery fiber that I got from a friend, but I am going to ask her what it is, because it spins like a dream. Once I get the rest of it spun, I hope to try plying.

The dyeing job I did, IS really barfy. I am not even going to show it yet. I think I will take a couple of pics, but spin it first and see if I like it. If it spins up as ugly as it looks now, I will be overdyeing it for sure! Oh well, I wanted to try it and didn't expect it to be gorgeous my first time. I wasn't really expecting hideously ugly either, but I will try again, because it was fun.

Not much knitting news. Still hunting for the perfect summery pattern that I can use some stash yarn on. I really don't want to buy anything new right now. I have several cottons in the stash, and I would rather use one of them first. A couple possibilities: This or this (last pic in the 5th row - the carmel colored cardi). What do you think?

So much better!

Aren't you glad you don't have to hear me whine today lol? Sorry I was such a loser the other day. Things are so much better now. I am having a great weekend so far.

Friday my daughter's soccer team had their first game. They won 3-2. It was fun to see them play for the first time. She loves it already.

The weather is spectacular here today. It is in the 60's and sunny. It feels just wonderful! I have all my windows open in the house, and I can heard the birds singing outside. Life is good!

I'm experimenting a bit.

So far I think it looks a little, um, barfy? However, I have seen some pretty disgusting looking roving that turns into very nice yarn. I guess I will have to wait and see.

I am also having fun with my no-brainer crocheted ripple afghan. It is looking better now that I have more rows done.

This thing matches my family room so perfectly. I think I am going to love it. I will probably order some cotton yarn and make a baby blanket like this at some point. The pattern looks great in pastels and all different colors, like in the links from my last post. I can see why people get addicted to these. It's like fiber yoga!

Tomorrow I hope to have pics of the drying fiber and I also have some super good news to share. YAY!

Where's the love?

I'm just not feeling it.

Case in point. Lately I have been inspired by this and this and all of this.
This, not so much.
Well I have started and maybe this is one of those patterns that grows on you? Or maybe you need lots more stripes to be wowed? So far, I am definitely not loving it. I need to get a new hook too because this one just feels weird. It kinda squeaks on this yarn. It is grating on me like fingernails on a chalkboard. Shiver!

Not loving the second sock I am working on either.

Not loving the inability to decide on a summer pattern to try.

Not loving the family drama that is going on.

Not loving the new work schedule and how tired I am because of it.

Not loving that I cannot keep my house as clean as I want it.

Not loving the fact that I am obviously really crabby and probably making all of you run like scared rabbits lol.

I promise the next post will not be even remotely as lousy as this one. Really....I promise to behave next time. There is supposed to be some great fun ahead in my weekend. If things go as planned I will have something spectacular to show on Monday! YAY!!!

Two winners!

First winner is.....ME! Yay! A while back my friend Opal told me about a blog contest that Harriet was having over at Lime Dragon. Well she is sorry she told me about it now, because the random number generator picked me! She sent me a wonderful package!

This is Twinkletoes sock yarn and the colors are so yummy! Harriet knit herself a gorgeous pair of Pomatomus socks with the same yarn, you can see them here. I might actually have to brave that pattern now, because hers look so nice in this yarn. She also sent some chocolate (YUMM! I'm surprised I had enough willpower to take a picture before I devoured it lol), a crocheted hat pattern, a darling little sheepie clip (anyone know where to get these? He is just adorable!), and a knitting girl note card. She is so sweet! Thanks again Harriet.

Our next winner.......

I declare my experimental sock a winner! I think it turned out pretty cute. I am making them more of an ankle length for The Sporty One. I received the Panda Wool from Crystal Palace when I agreed to test knit with some new needles. I really like it, and I would definitely buy it again. I'm not sure where to get it yet locally, but if I see it, I will probably try some of the solids next.

Thanks anyone who is still reading. I know I have been so lame with the posting lately. I can't reply to most of the comments either, because Blogger won't let me unless your email is public. Working is definitely cutting into my hobby time too. I will have more money for yarn now (evil cackle), or maybe I will save up for a laptop, so I don't have to share the computer with the kids. And then there's that spinning wheel........

So what's everyone knitting for spring? I'm in need of some inspiration! (I'm so sick of cold weather!)

Potluck

Today, that's what you get. I have nothing organized and about 5 minutes to post. It will be totally random hehe.

I did do some knitting this weekend. I finished another UFO. I had actually almost forgotten about this one, until last night when hubby reminded me about it. His slippers actually. I ran out of yarn and didn't get another skein until last week, and then I still forgot about them. So last night I finished them. I am a little worried. They will need some MAJOR felting.

These are HUGE! REALLY HUGE! I based them on the dimensions a friend gave me for men's slippers, but um, maybe her hubby has BIG feet? Let's pray they shrink A LOT!!! Hopefully I can felt them tonight.

I have been working on another sock too.

This is the new Panda Wool from Crystal Palace. It is quite nice. I like the way it feels and the colors are really great! It is a bamboo, wool and nylon blend. I would definitely use it again. I am making little anklets for my daughter for summer. So far I think they are cute.

Spinning too!

Some more BFL, this time in a really yummy brown. I absolutely love this color, and the fiber is just wonderful. Spins like a dream. I got some from JT to try, and I wish I had lots more of it lol. I am learning, and it is all so fun. My friend Shelly, who spins like a machine, has been so patient and answers all of my dumb questions.

I actually have to work today. I am a stay at home mom most of the time, but some friends needed help in the greenhouse, so I am working there this week. It should be fun. I really like working in the greenhouses, especially this time of the year when I am so sick of winter. I wonder though, if I will be touching base with some muscles I forgot I had. Ouch. I could be really sore tomorrow. I am so out of shape, it isn't even funny.

Well if you survived the all-over-the-board nature of this post, have a great day!

Happy Dance!

I am a happy girl tonight. First off, I finished my Bearfoot socks. They are so nice and cosy.


That's Brodie lounging against me and my new socks. Silly dog.
I just did a simple k6, p2 rib on these with 64 stitches. Just my plain old standard sock. I forget what color this Bearfoot is, sorry.

And this also made me happy....

That was my snack tonight. Doesn't it look just wonderfully yumm? Oh it was so good! I was in the grocery store and smelled, yes smelled, these strawberries as I was walking by. I couldn't resist. See strawberries are my favorite fruit, but here in Michigan, good berries can be very hard to get this time of year. In the summer our local berries are so delicious! In the winter, when they are imported from all over, they usually have no taste. These were awesome! I quick whipped up a batch of my great grandma's shortcake, and woo hoo, good snack tonight! I'm telling you, this stuff is awesome! If you would like the recipe, send me an email.

Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorite desserts and brings back lots of great memories. We ate it a lot when I was a kid, but only during strawberry season. I picked strawberries for my grandparents every summer. They had a farm and peddled eggs, the berries and other fresh produce in "town". I had so much fun picking them and then riding along on the "egg route". I remember getting paid a nickel for every quart I picked back then. I thought I was rich! We lived right next door to my Gram and Gramps and I was very close to them. They have been gone over 20 years now and I still miss them like crazy. Nothing like a good strawberry to take me down memory lane.

Next up: I need to work on that Lopi sweater. Crud, by the time I finish it, it will probably be spring. Figures.

Bits and Pieces

I feel like I am accomplishing only bits and pieces. Do you ever have that, where you are making progress but finishing nothing? I know I have too many projects going, but I get so bored with just one.

I am ready to pick up the gusset stitches on the Bearfoot socks. I wanted to do it last night, but this yarn is impossible to work on at night for me. I just can't see those tiny dark stitches. So I will work on them today, after I have the cleaning done.

My spinning is progressing. The lastest fiber I am trying is some hot pink BFL roving. Ok, stupid me didn't realize until yesterday that the first creamy BFL I was spinning was top. Can ya tell I am a major beginner lol? I have so much to learn. Boy did I feel dumb. I didn't even know there was a difference , duh. This pink stuff feels grabbier to me, maybe because all the fibers don't go in the same direction - the top vs roving thing maybe?

Here is what I have so far. I am hoping to spin a little more this afternoon.

What do you think? How am I doing? My friend Shelly thinks I am doing well so far.

A little closer?

I think it looks okay, but I am still getting a few "nubs" (or should that be slubs?) in my yarn. I am still having trouble holding my fiber loose enough to draft properly. Ah well, I am learning, no? This yummy pink stuff was a Secret Santa gift from my friend Sharon. I love the color!

All you spinners out there, I would love to hear from you. I want to know everything! I feel like a spinning sponge hehe. I am having so much fun with this!!!! Yay for spinning!

Ok, YUCK!

Enough already. This weather is nasty.

There is a layer of ice on everything, and it is still coming down. Why do I live in Michigan?

Today our state has warnings ranging from snow storm, to possible additional ice, and thunderstorms. Yuck to all of them. In the summer I love a good thunderstorm, but not now when it will flood like crazy if all this snow melts at once in addition to the rain. What a mess!

Isn't it time for spring yet?...............(yes I know I'm a whiner)

At least we have wool right?

Wool is good!