One Crazy Fiber Lady

The heat right now is seriously oppressing. A storm is promised for tonight as a "cold" front passes through and the high tomorrow should be 85F, which by chance was the temp this morning at 7:15AM as I left for work. While I’m a summer lover and there’s no doubt that I hate the winter, I could skip heat waves like we’re having. Woops, I hear thunder as I type. Figures. Will type faster and hope that I can get this finished.  Connection seems a tad slow too.  Maybe I’ll knit while I wait for the photos to upload.

Sunday, during the shortie naptime, I took advantage of the sunshine streaming into the backyard and hauled all the WIPS out to the lawn for some blog pictures.  I’m trying to spread my knitting time amongst all the real active WIPS and actually being somewhat successful at it.  I’ve also managed to wedge in the reading as well, so all seems to be good right now.  In no particular order (as always click for bigger and better pictures):

Pinwheel Sweater.  I’ve started the first sleeve.  The colors are pretty accurately displayed here and I’m pleased as punch with how it looks.  I’m magic looping it as I really wasn’t in the mood for DPN’s and well couldn’t find the correct sized ones.  I doubt I even own any in a US9.  Anyway, the 40" Addi that I bought at Modern Yarn is doing the trick.  Speaking of MY, I had to miss the SnB last week as the folks were out teaching Basic Boating Safety to area Heavy Rescue Squads, so I had child watching duty (tonight as well) but they promised I could go this week.  YAY.  I really like that store and the people.  I have had a great time both occasions I’ve been able to get to the SnB, though I do need to curb the tendency to buy more yarn when there.  On the up side, I’m like 300 yards short of the 5 mile marker to get 25% off a future purchase!  With double yardage on purchases in July, I have no doubt I’ll make that mark on Thursday.  I can always use more sock yarn.  Ha!  But I digress…

Next up are the Calla Lily socks from the Sundara Petals collection.  I had started it the way the pattern called for and didn’t get very far before I was bleh about it.  So I ripped it out and restarted toe up using my standard pattern.  After doing the short row heel, I started the simple lace pattern that is in the original on the back half of the sock.  It looks pretty though I’m not entirely sure what I’m going to do for the top of the cuff.  I’ll probably just do a 2×2 rib, though picot cuff is not a bad idea either.  We’ll see when I get there, probably tomorrow or Thursday as I turned the heel this morning and am finished with 5 of 11 lace repeats.  Love the yarn and the sock hasn’t hit the blehs yet, so there is hope for finishing it and a matching mate.  (As an aside, I have a smaller laptop with a slightly condensed keyboard.  Normally this doesn’t bother me, but when the nails get a little longer than stubs [their normal state] typing becomes an interesting adventure.  Tonight is one of those adventures.  I had a similar complaint while knitting these socks on a US0 wooden toothpick DPN and the pinky nail jamming into my palm.  Time for a nailfile!)

As I pondered my next project in my last post, I went with the majority and started CeCe in Rowan Calmer.  That lovely discontinued reddish shade that I bought over a year ago to make the NBaT.  It is progressing pretty quickly, though it would be quicker if I didn’t divide my crafting attention so much, but still, I’m happy with how it is going.  The pattern is once again one of Bonne Marie’s works of magic.  Once again, I can’t remember exactly when I started this little lovely.  Man, I gotta get back to regular blogging!

I have one more project to fess up to.  I’m the biggest failure of the whole WIP Wipeout thing.  Not entirely surprising either.  Considering it was my whole casting on willy nilly that inspired me to reduce the WIP count anyway!  I saw the Mountain Stream Scart out and about on various blogs.  Bought the pattern and tucked it all away in the rainy day queue.  Well two weeks ago I was at MY for the SnB and saw the skeins of gorgeous kid mohair /silk blend laceweight from Habu.  I picked up a skein in white.  Par for the course, I started it on 7/9  while I waited for ever helpful feedback as to the choice between CeCe and Sizzle (now that I really think about it, I started CeCe on the 11th).  I love this pattern!  I can do one repeat of 16 rows during the commute home.  The yarn is soooo dreamy that I must find something else to make with it!  I have to do the math, or at the very least find where I stashed my KSH and see how it compares.

And to show you all that I do still spin (and maybe to justify what I purchased myself as a birthday present – more on that later), I picked up 4oz of some pretty roving at MY during my last visit there.  I started spindle spinning it but mere moments after snapping this photo, I pulled the Lendrum out, plopped it on the patio and spent an hour spinning in the sun before it got waaaay too hot.  I have probably a third of this roving spun up in what plied will make lovely…wait for it.. sock yarn!  Sorry no pictures as when I went inside to get the wheel, I put the camera away. 

Back to the birthday thing.  Well Saturday I’m having one of those nasty ‘0′ birthdays and figured I could get myself something nice.  I bought one of these, a Fricke ESpinner.  I tossed in the nice wood cover and the On/Off pedal.  I didn’t spring for the woolee winder for it because I already have a woolee winder for a majacraft flyer.  Oops, never blogged that did I?  Oh well.  I ordered it after reading all those MDSW posts.  Anyway, the ESpinner using Majacraft flyers and bobbins so what I have already will work.  What I did select was the one flyer that I didn’t have, the one with the round orifice instead of the delta.  This I can use on Suzie while using the WW on this.  The pedal is a nice addition in that you tap it on and then tap to turn off the power.  No need to hold down to keep running.  As a bonus, I’m getting 2lbs of targhee roving.  Sadly while the thing is on its way to me, it won’t be here in time for my birthday, but I’ll have it on Monday!  Hopefully there will be more spinning posts in the near future

Saturday the folks and I took the twins to their first circus which had popped their big tent in the field of a nearby high school.  My father went all out for the little people, giving them the entire experience.  They had their first cotton candy, an interesting experience to say the least.  They then feasted on funnel cakes.  Dad bought them these really annoying plastic horns, which I just remembered I hid in the foyer closet after we got home because I had a killer headache), and some nifty light things.  I think they were overwhelmed by the circus performance and really I think they just didn’t appreciate how amazing the performances are.  Still, they sat and watched a great deal of it and saw elephants up close for the first time.  It was HOT though.  Kathryn was not amused by the clowns, surprising really considering the whole Big Comfy Couch obsession.  I love the look on Kat’s face!

Craft on!