One Crazy Fiber Lady

I had a wonderful Weekend Out On the Lake, as usual.  I could have skipped the 5 hour drive home which should have taken a little over 3.  I hate the NY Thruway.  Killed some of my rest and relaxation buzz It was a beautiful weekend with wool, old friends and new friends.

I spun:

This is 452 yards/4oz of Polwarth in the Calico Blue colorway from one of my favorite crack dealers indie dyers, ITW. I must admit to emitting a loud SQUEE when I heard she had polwarth fiber.  I lurve that fiber and this was just a joy to spin.  It wasn’t the only skein I spun either.  Then again, I wasn’t the only one spinning. This was the view out front of the Lake House this morning before we left with all the new yarn drying in the sun.  Mine is the purple/green one in the middle (or so).  I have not measured it yet, but it is also 4oz of Polwarth from Cris, but this is the Rainbow Dash colorway that I spun on the Road Bug while sitting on the dock on Friday.

I made sure my wheel was safe during our 200 mile drive…

Thank you ladies for another wonderful year at WOOL!.  And now, to relax before full re-entry tomorrow.

Craft on!

As I approach the end of my two year contract with AT&T, naturally I’m considering the next cellphone.  Do I get the new iPhone 4 or do I try something else?  While I love my iPhone and will keep this 3g around at the end of the contract and use it like a iPod Touch (handy for handing to a bored kid), I’m not sure if I want to replace it with the new iPhone.  I’m not that much of a fangirl that I HAVE to replace the old iPhone with a new one.  Yes it has been a fave tech toy since I bought it almost two years ago.

What am I considering?  The Motorola Droid X.

I read an excellent review of it here.  As a developer, this phone has two advantages for me over the iPhone:

1. Apps are written in Java – which as a C# developer I pretty much already know as opposed to Objective-C which has some similarities but is far more different and is a far bigger learning curve.  While learning yet another language is not a bad thing, I could be up and developing Android apps far faster.
2. The distribution of Droid apps is an open market – not closed like Apple.   I don’t believe I would have to pay $100 to even get the SDK let alone distribute any application I do happen to eventually turn out.
3. Since the language is Java, I could develop apps either on my Macs or a PC, depending on how the mood was flowing and which computer I actually felt like carrying around.  With the iPhone, I was locked into a Mac.  Now this is not necessarily a bad thing as I do heart my Macs, but my netbook is far lighter to schlep carry than my MacBook.

That’s the short list.  I’m sure, given enough time, I can come up with a few more reasons.  On the other hand, I’ve invested a bunch in iPhone apps.  Fortunately, that won’t go to waste as I’m still holding onto the 3G and I’ve got the beloved iPad that can take advantage of all. 

Anyone have an android phone and can offer up advice either way?  I have some time to do further research as my contract ends in early August and the X ships finally in mid-July.  I don’t want to be paying early termination like I did when I made the jump from Sprint to AT&T (though it was worth it for the iPhone).  I wonder if I could get a temporary number from Verizon and then port the old number from AT&T when that contract ends… hmmmm. 

Oh and since the iOS4 update, my battery indicator is flaky.  Unless I reboot the phone, the indicator is pretty much stuck.  Awesome.  Hope that patch fix is soon.

Wait, what is that you’re saying?  This is a crafty blog?  Hmm.  I better show some crafty pictures then post haste!  Would a picture of two different crafts make up for the geektalk above? 

The sock is the Roundabout Socks (rav).  I finished the first one on Saturday and started the second yesterday during my morning commute.  The yarn is mmMalabrigo Sock in Stonechat colorway.

The spinning is ITW Merino-Silk in the Autumn in Burgundy colorway.  I’ve moved to the high speed whorl and bobbins on my Matchless.  I’m going to two ply this stuff and hopefully get enough yardage for a decent lace project.

Okay, that’s all for today.

Craft on!

There’s been a number of requests for more information regarding the newest wheel in the herd. It is a double treadle Merlin Tree Roadbug.  Here is another shot of her nestled in her bag:

The pocket on the front of the bag is her second treadle.  When Dave modified his little portable wheels from single to double treadle, he didn’t modify its overall footprint.  Instead, he designed a removable second treadle.

You can just see the “left” foot off to the side here in this picture.  Also included for scale is my Van Eaton production wheel in the background (with the endless bag of CVM fleece).  I love the green monstah wheel on the Bug.

Here she is with both her treadles and set to spin:

From this picture you can see how her left treadle attaches.    She makes for a pleasant (if a smidge noisy) little spinner that fits perfectly on the boat.  I also like how the flyer poses no danger to anyone wandering too close to the wheel (beyond them hitting my leg and making me get whacked with the flyer) which was a concern with the Sonata and how her flyer was out back.

On other fronts, I finished the latest pair of socks at SnB on Thursday.

I decided not to reknit the first sock as there is so little difference between the pair, beyond actual stitch count (52 v. 56) and needles used (both US1 – dpn v. circ). At this point, I can’t tell which is which.

Craft on!

I know it has been a while and I won’t begin to apologize. Work has been seriously kicking my butt for the last month. We had a service pack release that I was the lead developer (and for a while the only developer) on, as well as the build specialist compiling the package for deployment. I’ve put in a bulk of extra hours with little desire to spend additional tine with a computer. The beloved iPad has seen most usage as a book reader with bejeweled thrown in when the brain was totally fried

While I haven’t been doing much else at night before collapsing into bed, there has been spinning while watching the Red Sox on Extra Innings. The pictured skein is from the monthly spin-a-long with Into The Whirled fiber. If I remember correctly, this fiber was the April-May offering of “Just Fig” color way in Falklands wool. If I’m wrong would someone comment with the corrected info please? I spun it three ply (like the last selection – return to warmth) on the new CPW that I bought at MDSW. Love that wheel, as well as Cris’ fibers. She does a beautiful job. Again, the day it was plied it was skeined up and washed. Two days after that – when I had finished the Pink Cadillac socks – the yarn met the needles.

I have a small problem though. I started the sock using my new Signature dpn needles. Love the needles but they are a tad too short so I’m going to return them for the 8″ set. Instead of waiting to finish the remaining 1/4 of the first sock like a sane person, I swapped in the knitpicks circular and went back to magic looping. When I tried on the finished sock I found that my gauge had changed with the needles. The circs was a tad looser and I have to admit that I like it better. Soooo this pair of socks will actually be three. I started the second sock (pictured) and am creeping up on the heel now. When I’m done, I’ll rip out the first one and re-knit it. Sigh.

That’s about it for now. Train is almost in Hoboken.

Craft on!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there. I hope your day was as nice as mine. My day started off much later than it normally does. I didn’t wake up until the phone rang at 10AM, which is about 3 hours or so later than normal. Oh there is the rare weekend when I get to sleep until almost 9, but this was a luxury! It was almost too much sleep! As a result, I did a bit of lazing around.

Yesterday I finished up the Campfire singles on the Bordua and plied it with the Womack. Surprise surprise, I even pulled out the skein winder and wound it off the bobbin without making it sit around for ages. I did that with the other two bobbins of plied yarn that had been living on my dresser. Waiting. Here’s the trio of new yarns awaiting a bath:

From front to back:

3 ply Crown Mountain Farm in Shala, which has been aging in stash since 2006  It measures 314yds and is a fingering weight.  I spun it on the Tina using the standard flyer and the faster whorl.

Next is Freckleface Fibers in Denimy, I believe.  It is two-ply measuring 374 yds also spun on the Tina.  I’m pretty sure I started this the Catskill spin-in in February but my memory is a tad rusty.   Whatever it is, I’m liking it

Finally, the two ply from SeeKay, superwash merino in the Campfire colorway.  If memory serves, I purchased it at the Catskill spin-in in February.  This ended up being 358 yds.

I’ve got some Into the Whirled falkland wool on the CPW now.

I didn’t spin today, however.  I know.  If you’ve been around here for previous mother’s days, I usually spend the day outside with the kids and a wheel.  Not today.  To darn cold.  Brrrrr.  And windy.  Not great outside spinning weather.  Didn’t mean that I didn’t do anything crafty.  Oh no.

I decided it was time to quit being a wimp, break out the warping reel that I bought on eBay and get busy on those towels I’ve wanted to weave since I got the Baby Wolf. The 24 ends an inch wasn’t the daunting part, but the fact that I needed to measure out 442 ends.  {Shudder} That’s alot of ends!  I don’t believe I’ve ever done anything that intense.  Probably cause I’m a wuss.

So while the twins played with the Wii:

I got busy winding:

442 ends at 6 yards each.  That’s a lot of yarn.  After having measured out 350 ends, counting them into 50 end bundles, I finally figured an easier way of counting.  I pulled out one of them clickers I used to use for knitting and held that while I wound on.  As I turned the peg at the end, I’d click.  The last 92 ends went far faster that way.  Hopefully I’ll remember this approach the next time.  No.  I did not dress the loom yet  That’s a monster for another day. I’m weaving a pattern that I got from Webs.  It has been sitting around in the box long enough that I can’t remember what the weft color is!  I think it might be a cranberry red, but I wouldn’t put money on that.

So now I’m going to kick back, fold some laundry and watch the Sox hopefully take ONE from the Evil Empire.  Hope you all had a good day.

Craft on!

The new girl and I have been doing sone bonding over the last two nights. What with the baseball season in full swing and MLB Extra Innings on Fios, I’ve been spinning while watching the Sox battle the A’s.

Notice I did a little rearranging of the wheels in the corner of my bedroom. The CPW is In the corner that the Reeves and Van Eaton used to occupy. I found that if I sit sideways on the pang chair that i can easily treadle the wheel with my left foot and see the tv . Here she is in her corner.

The fiber I am spinning is some superwash merino that I bought from Carolyn (Seekay). The color way is Campfire.

I finished the first bobbin (2oz) last night. Look closely at the wear marks on this flyer. This wheel has seen some significant use over the years!

After finishing this bobbin, I pulled out the best friend of a wheel with only one bobbin: the electric bobbin winder. I used one of my Schacht bobbins temporarily while I wait for the cardboard storage bobbins that ordered to arrive.

I’m ready to do the second two ounces tonight

Craft on!

Thanks for the sympathy for the frustration I felt last week having felt like I wasted a day (which I don’t have the time for). Fortunately the designers saw my point of view and modified their design to be in line with what I had already coded. Win. Downside is that they’ve added some tricksy web stuff that I’m fighting to get working. Oh well. I do like a challenge.

I’ve finally gone back to the spinning project I’d been working on when I hurt my foot. The photo is the 2 pounds of bl that I bought at Rhinebeck. It took 5 of the Van Eaton bobbins. Now I just have to get busy with the plying. Add that to the list

And finally, the new love of my life: the iPad. If it were human I would marry it. I can’t wait for the camera/card reader attachment that is due out very soon. That would make it perfect and replace the iPhone as the blogging platform. While it doesn’t have the 3g, it does have wifi and with the addition of the Verizon Wireless MiFi device, I always have Internet ready wifi. I’d thought about getting a USB based wireless connection for my laptop(s), but that wouldn’t work with the iPad as there is no USB port on it. The mifi is perfect as I can use it with any wifi device including my PSP should I choose to carry it and decide to surf. Cool huh? I also found that the apple wireless keyboard that I picked up last fall will also pair with the iPad. It has become my go to (along with the beloved iPhone) device. Anyone want to buy a lovingly used Kindle

Craft on!

I do indeed still knit! I finished that lovely ITW “Return to Warmth” merino on the Canadian Production Wheel (which has totally spoiled me). It turned into a skein of yummy yarn measuring 538 yards and weighing in at 98 grams. Three ply.

I know. I’m kind of impressed myself.

I almost immediately broke out the ball winder and made to knit with it.   I started the first sock last Wednesday evening.  I just grafted the toe closed using a method I read about here.  I have to admit, I kind of liked this method!

You can see my purty new Stitched by JessaLu bag.  I got it this weekend at Tina’s shindig upstate.

This is going to be a short post. Rough day at work. I’m off to start the second sock.

Craft on!

Re-entry was tough.  There’s no getting around that.  Didn’t help that it snowed within the first week back and we won’t even talk about what happened this week!  All I can say is thank goodness for being able to work remotely.  Ugh.  The kids might be relieved to go back to school tomorrow as they get out of the trash the room/clean it cycle.   They are currently cleaning their rooms under threat of garbage pail currently.

I had a couple of inquiries into the status of the foot.  It is much better.  I think partially because it had time to heal, but also because I’ve chosen to ignore it.  Didn’t have much of an option on the cruise as our cabin was way in the bow of the boat and everything else was way in the stern.  There was a 1000ft walk to get just about anything. I wore sneakers and just took it easy.  The hardest walking was on the beach, but it was a worthy suffering We’re back to the point where the old right ankle is the more painful, so yes, life is back to normal now.

Yesterday, while the kids did this:

I played with this:

This is my new-to-me Baby Wolf!  I sold my LeClerc and used the proceeds to buy it from a friend (who was selling it to finance a brandy new 8H BW).  I got it last weekend and was finally able to play with it yesterday.  She’d left it warped so I could play immediately. How awesome is that???  I love it.  It has the Wolf Trap and the Stroller, so I’m  a happy camper.  I can keep busy for a long time with 4 harnesses.  I might pick up a small 8H table loom for those times when I want to do something more complex, but that can wait a bit.

When I was finished weaving, no I didn’t warp it for more.  I’m waiting for the warping reel I ordered to arrive, as well as a couple other doodads, I went back to spinning.  I’m in two spin-a-longs right now, so I have to get busy.  First up on the Schacht is fiber from Zarzuela Fibers that will be knit into a shawlette.  This is some superwash in “Purple People Eater” colorway:

I have one bobbin done and the second well underway.

In another project, for the Into the Whirled SAL, I’m working this yummy merino into a true three ply on the CPW.  Here’s bobbin 1:

Having only one bobbin is a bit challenging.  Now I’m really glad I bought that electric bobbin winder (which I used earlier in the day to wind my paper bobbins for weaving)!  I have a surplus of Kromski bobbins with 5 regular and a bunch of WW version.  I unwound this CPW bobbin onto a Kromski in no time with the electric winder.  It was awesome.  I finished up the second of three and am halfway through the third.  The CPW likes to spin FINE.

Work has been INSANE for me since getting back.  Shortly before the cruise, we had a little team re-alignment in the development group.  The five developers were split into two teams. Three were put on the User Story team which meant they worked on tasks towards adding new features to the software.  The remaining two were put on a Maintenance Team, to support customer service and fixing defects.  Lets just say I’m not writing new stuff.  I’m hunting and killing defects.  The split should be for the next 6 months to a year.  Could be worse.  It’s a less glamorous spot, but I’ve done worse.

My greatest frustration was that the other person on the team with me was terribly unhappy.  He was a software architect type person and miserable in the less glam role.  In many ways, he made my job harder.   On Tuesday, we had a company re-org. Several people were let go.  My Maintenance Team partner was one of them.  That leaves me as the only developer doing maintenance work.  To say I’ve been busy is a bit of an understatement!  My boss, when he sat me down right after my partner was let go, explained to me what was happening before I heard it on the street, so to speak.  Then he outlined what he saw coming down the maintenance pike.  It won’t be all defect work, but some smaller development projects geared towards empowering client services and customer support to do more things on their own and freeing me up from tasks that don’t really require a developer to do.  I’m content with that.

Off to play some Wii with the boy.

Craft on!

I spent the better part of this weekend with spinning wheels.  I gave in to something I’ve wanted now for a couple of years.  Back when I bought the Vermont Wheel, I’d been looking seriously at buying a Canadian Production Wheel.  I’ve always loved the way they look, especially the Borduas wheels with the cast iron treadle.  And to spin with a humongous 30″ drive wheel?  Oo la la!

Anyway, I wound up buying the Vermont wheel then, which it turns out was modeled after the Paradis style CPW.  I still love that wheel and she is divine to spin with.  Not to mention, she’s a gorgeous cherry with the inlaid gold.  What’s there not to love.   But the cast iron treadle has been calling to me.   I joined the Rav CPW group and drooled.  And while enabling someone into a wheel, I finally got enabled myself when a “nest of wheels” appeared.

She arrived in a humongous box on Saturday…a F.B. wheel!  Cast iron treadle and all.  She was in some sad and dirty shape when I unpacked her…

The twins and I spent some time and elbow grease with Wood Beams cleaning and moisturizing here.  Still needs some work but you can see the rich color of the wood now..

(Please to ignore the hideous couch and 70s fugtastic shag carpet.)  Still needs some work (and further cleaning.  Can you tell which end of the bench Alex was working on?).  The drive wheel is a tad warped and she needs new bearings in the uprights, not to mention flyer repair.  It had cracked clear through.  I glued it and its drying on dad’s work bench now.  I need to hobble down there and check to see if the glue has held.  It also needs a new set of hooks on the flyer.  The “nails” are in the wrong orientation, overly bent or just plain missing.   I did get to do a quick test spin.  She is FAST.

Now that the urge to spin was a burning need, I went to the Matchless to finally finish up the red merino I’d been spinning on it forever.  Anyone who has seen me out and about with the Matchless in the last year and a half has seen this project in one state or another.  It started with bags of fiber from Little Barn at MDSW in 2008, having been inspired by Zarzuela’s Toney Road sweater.  I started spinning the fiber shortly after buying it in May 2008.  The mixed red was followed by solid red that I distinctly remember being very bored with at WOOL this summer and indulging in fiber that my fellow attendees brought.  Well Saturday night, I finished the last of it.

Yesterday I pulled out the Womack electric and got busy plying.  I’m not quite finished yet, but have jam packed 5 bobbins worth of two ply.  Three have been skeined up and measured approx 1190 yds.  I’m getting on average 400yds per bobbin.  Whew.

I still have 2 bobbins worth of plying to do.  I’m sooo happy to not have this hanging over my head and tying up the Matchless anymore.  I’m thinking maybe one of the sweaters in A Fine Fleece.  Need to check the gauge, but I’d love Fylingdales in that rich red color (picture is a little too bright.  The real color is a deeper more brick red).

Craft on!